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Treat You Better-Bruce Banner

(A/N: Yep, two stories in one day...how about that?  This one is for Shawn Mendes' "Treat You Better" and I also had a writing prompt that I found and wanted to use for this story...so that was fun!)

~~~Your POV~~~

    After a long day at work, curling up on the couch and binging Netflix was all I wanted to do.  I started working as a lab assistant for Stark Industries three years ago, and as much as I loved my job, it was exhausting as all hell.  Between the aliens, the robots and the enhanced, my work was definitely cut out for me.

    I saw the notification on my phone from James, my boyfriend. 

Hey babe, sorry I can't make it tonight, got stuck working a double.  Make it up tomorrow?

I rolled my eyes at the screen and threw it back down on the couch cushion.  Third time this week.  Brilliant.  Oh well, I guess he'd have to be behind on Orange, cuz I wasn't waiting any longer to watch it.  I hit the play button on my remote and started the show.

    I woke up, drooling on my couch cushion.  I guess I'd been more tired than expected.  I looked at my phone screen and it read 3:15am.  Forcing myself off of the couch, I made my way to bed and slept the remaining 3 hours before getting up for work.

    I leaned over the microscope, examining the blood of an enhanced that SHIELD had found.  Bruce Banner walked up behind me, tapping me on the shoulder.  I jumped a bit before turning around.  "Mr. Banner?"

    "Please, call me Bruce.  I've been asking you that for the last three years.  In any case, what did you find with that blood sample?"

    I looked at the microscope again and back up at Bruce.  "There's an amazing number of white blood cells in this one.  It's almost like she can fight any disease.  If we could isolate the gene that creates the extra white cells, it could be incredible."

    Bruce looked at me, seemingly impressed by my finding.  I had to admit, he was cute in an awkward, nerdy way, but I had a strict 'no dating coworkers' rule.  Plus, I was still with James...even if he wasn't around much lately.

    After work, I had gotten another text from James that he was working OT, so I decided it would be a good idea to take him dinner.  He had to be starving by then.  I stopped at our favorite Thai restaurant and grabbed take-out for us, then made my way to the Allsafe office, where James worked.

    I stood at the elevator door, waiting for an available one.  When I heard the familiar ding, I saw a few people step out, including a strange-looking dude in a black hoodie and a very pretty blonde girl.  I stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the correct floor. 

    The door opened and I walked to James' cubicle.  It was empty.  I walked around a bit, then heard some noises coming from a closed office.  Opening the door, I saw James.

    Bending his overtime over the desk.

    I couldn't breathe.  I threw the bag at James' exposed back and he turned around.

    "(Y/n)...I...fuck."

    "Well, you got that part right.  I guess this is your double shift?"  The girl looked up at me, almost guilty.  "James...I can't believe you.  Screw this. I'm done with your sorry ass."  Turning on my heel, I left the building.

    Stopping at the corner store, I picked up a pint of (F/I/C) and curled up on my couch, crying in between bites of ice cream.  I decided to watch (insert cheesy chick flick here) and wallow in self-pity for the night.

    I passed out on the couch again, but didn't bother to crawl into bed when I woke up in the middle of the night.

    The next morning, I did my best to hide my sadness, but it was difficult to study radiation when my heart was broken.  I wondered how long he'd been cheating on me.  Why did I have the bad habit of attracting the assholes?

    "Hey, you ok, (Y/n)?"  Bruce asked me as he removed his goggles.

    "Me?  Yeah...I'm good.  Just had a bad night is all.  Let's get on with this experiment, k?"  I turned back to my work and tried to believe I was telling the truth.

    "Are you sure?  I mean, we've been working together a while and this isn't your usual-"

    "I said I'm FINE!  I just want to do my job, Bruce!"  I glared at him angrily and looked back at my work.

    Bruce grabbed my hand and pulled me into the hall.  When he let go, he looked at me.  "Ok, I'm not the best person to talk about feelings with, but I want to know what the hell is wrong with you today, (Y/n)."

    I looked at the floor.  "I caught James cheating on me last night.  I broke up with him.  I just want to get through the day and go home, ok?"

    He shook his head at me.  "I should've guessed.  Why do you go after these jerks anyway?  First it was Jeff the drunk, then Chris the klepto, now this James guy...that makes me mad, you know?  You could do so much better."

    I looked up at him, shocked.  "What do you know?"

    He moved a step closer to me.  "I know you're smart, and you should be smart enough to not want to be around guys like that."

    I wasn't sure if I was more pissed that he was right, or that I felt like I deserved the guys I got.  "You know nothing about me, Bruce!  You only see the part of me I bring to work, not who I am!"
   
    He started raising his voice.  "Don't you get it?  I care about you!  Which is a far bit more than I could say for them!"  He was moving closer to me, almost backing me against the wall.

    "You care about me because I'm your assistant.  I could drop dead today and you'd find another one tomorrow!"

     He moved even closer.  I reacted out of instinct and my hand went up to slap him away.

He grabbed my wrist and pushed me against the wall.  "You wanna try that again, sweetheart?"  My eyes went wide when I suddenly remembered that it was a bad idea to piss off the Hulk. 

Then his mouth smashed against mine.  I stood there, shocked for a moment.  But my anger and frustration took over and I wrapped my free arm around his neck, kissing him back.  His body pressed mine harder into the wall and he let go of my wrist, wrapping his hands around my face.  After a moment he pulled away, leaving me breathless.  "I'm sorry, I just..."

I took a deep breath and looked up at him.  "No, I'm sorry.  I shouldn't be mad at you for other guys being jerks.  But I have a thing about dating coworkers."

He looked at me pensively, then smiled.  "Look, maybe you could consider breaking that rule for someone who will actually treat you better than some asshole off the street?  We have known each other for three years.  Or I could just fire you, then we won't be coworkers anymore..." he added with a smirk.

I laughed a little, then ran a hand through his soft hair.  "Hmm...maybe I could make an exception in my algorithm.  Do you like Orange is the New Black?  I know a good Thai place."

He grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the lab.  "Can we get back to our experiment now, before..."

A moment later, we saw Tony Stark coming toward the lab.  "Hey, Bruce, (Y/n), could you keep your makeout sessions out of my hallways?  Or at least make it worth my while."  Bruce and I rolled our eyes and walked back to the lab.

After work we picked up take-out and binged at my apartment.  I might have let Hulk smash.