Multi-Fandom Imagines

The Avengers [b. banner]

Pairing: Bruce Banner x Reader
Imagine: Starting your new job at Stark Industries labs
Warnings: None

You smoothed out your lab coat and made sure your name tag wasn't crooked. It was your first day working for Tony. Having known him for years, that's not what you were nervous about. You were more nervous about your assigned lab co-worker.

When you were younger Tony promised that whenever you were ready for the job, there would be an opening at Stark industries. You'd finally taken him up on his offer. As stubborn and headstrong as he is, you and Tony got along great, and you were excited to be working with him.

You became less excited when Tony explained there was something else who often inhabited the lab–Dr. Bruce Banner. Tony gave you a stack of files to read before coming in, making sure you knew exactly who Bruce was. Safe to say it freaked you out a tiny bit, but not nearly enough to scare you away from your dream job.

So here you were. You were waiting in Tony's office, as he had insisted on showing you in your first day. Your watch read 10:27, and you were supposed to start at 10. You were about to just find your way without him when he finally burst through the door.

"Sorry I'm late! I didn't want to get out of bed."

You rolled your eyes. "It's only my first day and I'm already half an hour late."

Tony linked arms with you and led you out of the office and through the tower. "Well technically I'm your boss, so I can do whatever I want."

You rolled your eyes as Tony went on and on about literally anything and everything from Pepper, to the rest of his team, to trying to upgrade Jarvis. He was a very chatty person.

Finally the two of you stopped in front of some glass doors, and you could see lab equipment inside.

"Here you are. Now I'd go inside with you, but I was supposed to be in a meeting with the Secretary of State like an hour ago, so I should probably go."

"Tony! That's not a meeting you should be late for."

"Well like I said my bed was really comfy this morning and-"

You shooed him away, telling him to go to his meeting. Once he started talking there was no telling how long he'd go on for.

Once Tony was gone, you took a last deep breath before entering the lab. The moment you stepped in and looked around you instantly relaxed. This was your safe place, surrounded by things you knew and loved.

You walked around the lab, familiarizing yourself with all the equipment. Tony's technology was far more advanced than any you'd worked with before so you knew it would take some getting used to.

You walked over to your desk and just as Tony warned, a huge stack of paperwork was sitting on it. As annoying as it was, you typically didn't mind paperwork. It was a quiet task, one that you could get done fairly quickly. You had just sat down and picked up a pen when you heard the door to the lab open.

"Tony I thought I told you to go to your meeting." You sighed as you began filling out a nondisclosure form, not bothering to look up.

"Tony typically doesn't like meetings."

You froze. That voice was definitely not Tony Stark. You looked up, and a man with curly hair and glasses stood in front of you. His name tag read Dr. Banner, and your face immediately began heating up. You just embarrassed yourself  in front of your new co-worker. Great.

You stood up, shaking your head. "Sorry about that. I thought you were Tony, coming in to avoid his responsibilities."

Dr. Banner chuckled. "That's definitely something Tony does so I wouldn't surprised."

You smiled and held out a hand. "I'm (y/n (y/l/n). You can just call me (y/n)."

He shook your hand. "Bruce Banner, you can call me Bruce."

You spent the next couple minutes chatting about the job, before you decided it'd be best to get back to work.

"I'm just working on paperwork today, I'm afraid." You said with a sigh, returning to your desk.

"Paperwork is no fun." Bruce agreed walking over to his desk which was across the room from yours.

"I just want to get to the good stuff. The equations and mathematics and formulas....." You trailed off, thinking about all the possibilities.

Bruce smiled at your enthusiasm as you got to work.

It was quiet in the lab after that, with you filling out forms and Bruce working on something over on his side. Everything was peaceful for about half an hour until he knocked a beaker to the floor, the glass shattering.

He cursed. "Do you see a broom anywhere?"

You pointed to the other side of the room, where an old brown broom was resting against the wall. As he walked over to the broom, you stood up to help. You grabbed a roll of paper towels from your desk and knelt down to the spill, soaking up the pooling liquid.

"(Y/N)! Don't touch it, it's–"

You hissed as the mystery substance touched your skin and immediately began burning.

Bruce dropped the broom and jogged over to you. You stood up and held out your hands, both of them burning like hell.

"Probably shouldn't have touched it." You grimaced.

Bruce's face was panicked as he led you over to the sink and began washing your hands. "I am extremely sorry about that."

"Don't be! It's not your fault, I went against a universal lab rule." You reassured him, wincing as he finished rinsing your hands.

"I still feel bad." He mumbled. He dried your hands off, which were still a bright red. "How do they feel now?"

"Not great."

He sighed, putting his head in his hands.

You chuckled, making Bruce look up at you.

"What's so funny?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"It's only our first day working together, and I already have a chemical burn."

Bruce's shoulders drooped. "Yeah.....I won't blame you if you don't wanna work together anymore."

"That's not what I meant at all! It's only our first day, we'll both have plenty of time to mess more shit up." You shrugged.

He perked up at that, giving you a small smile. "How about I buy you dinner tonight? I feel really bad about your hands, and it'll give me a chance to redeem myself."

You grinned widely at the proposal. It didn't sound like a date, but Bruce was extremely handsome and you were excited to get to know him.

"We should get Tony to come along too, he hardly ever eats." He added.

You tried not to deflate at the suggestion. It definitely wasn't a date with Tony along.

"Tony can be kind of a smart ass, but he does need to  eat occasionally. I guess he can come this time." You chuckled, only half joking.

Bruce's smile grew even wider.

"Just this time".