IMAGINES

Nuclear Deterrence for Breakfast : Bruce Banner

"Ten more minutes, darling, then we'll go to bed." He kissed your forehead in passing you for the millionth time.

This was routine. You'd sit with Bruce in the lab all day long, and up until 3 am he would tell you "ten more minutes". There were nights you stayed. There were nights you left. There were also nights you fell asleep in the lab and he had to carry you back to your room to sleep in half of the day.

This night, however ordinary, was supposed to be different. It was your anniversary the next morning and every time you tried to tell Bruce, he would rattle off about being focused and brush you off.

"Bruce?"

He didn't respond this time, he quickly shuffled past your confused call to him toward another screen.

"Bruce?" You asked again, and this time he turned around.

"(Y/N), I don't have time right now. I'm in the middle of something and I'd really appreciate it if you could be a little more patient. I've only got ten more minutes, okay?" He twisted back around to whatever he was working on.

You stood for another moment in the doorway, then strolled into the hallway, muttering "You don't have ten minutes with me."

When you arrived to your room in the tower, the door clicked shut and you asked JARVIS to cancel the plane tickets for the next day.

"Are you sure you want to? Should I contact Mr. Banner to confirm..."

"No, JARVIS. It's fine, he knows. Just cancel the tickets and transfer the refund back to his account."

"Alright."

The empty space next to you was incredibly cold and unwelcoming as you struggled to fall asleep, even when Bruce crawled into bed, asking why you had left earlier than you usually did. When realizing you were already asleep, he gave up, wrapping his arms around you and allowing himself to go to sleep.

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The next morning, you got up and poured a bowl of Cheerios and making yourself tea when you realized you didn't want cereal, noticing that Bruce was already gone. He hadn't slept properly in months, and you knew he was already in the lab because JARVIS told you when you asked.

"Oh, Bruce. If only you knew..." You stared out the window, admiring the way the skyline looked in the morning, how the sun hit the top of the buildings, how the streets below were somehow still shrouded in darkness.

"Wish I knew what?" You nearly jumped out of your chair when Bruce's voice rang behind you.

"Nothing. It's..... it's nothing. I thought you were in the lab."

"I was. I came back to..." He opened the fridge, examining its contents. "... to find something to eat."

You continued staring out the window, sipping the peppermint tea from your steaming mug. He came over, putting his arm around you, and stared out the window with you. You offered your mug to him, and he sipped tea from it, never taking an eye off of the world outside the window.

"It's magnificent, isn't it?" He whispered.

You nodded.

"Now, JARVIS."

"What?"

A song began to come through the speaker in the room. You stood up, and he took you into his arms, beginning to dance as he rested his head against yours.

"You thought I forgot our anniversary, didn't you?"

You laughed quietly, holding him closer. "Honestly, yes. I did. I even canceled the plane tickets, sorry, I just assumed that..." Bruce kissed you, stopping you from saying anything.

"Gosh, I love you." He said quietly.

The front door quietly opened. "Hey, Banner. How's it going so far?"

Bruce chuckled under his breath as you went to go wash the mug the tea had been in. "It's going just fine. What's going on?"

"Well, there's the nuclear deal going on that I told you about, the one you've been studying for the past few months, and I was just wondering..."

"Tony, consider my stance for the next few days as deterrence toward it, I'm kinda busy." He looked back toward you, smiling slightly.

"Alright, buddy. Don't get too crazy up in here, alright?" Tony called to you as he left out the door.

"You know, you never figured out what you were going to eat." You stared into the fridge.

"I don't know, blueberries or something sounds good. As long as you're going to hang around for a bit."

"Are you going back to the lab?"

"Nah, it'll all be there when I get back." He closed the fridge. "Actually, I'm not hungry. I could do with a movie marathon though, if you're up for it, darling."

"Anything you want, Bruce."