A/N - the dress above is the dress you wear. Enjoy!
It was your 10 year school reunion tonight and you'd never felt more worried. You hadn't wanted to go but your close friend talked you into it. You weren't even friends with her at high school, but years after you'd left, you ended up working in the same cafe together and became close friends. She was a popular girl in school, whereas you were the exact opposite. You were the shyest, most socially awkward teenager in the school, and you were quite nerdy. This meant you didn't have any real friends, which was why you weren't too keen on going back.
You had a feeling you'd both arrive together, then she'd just disappear to speak to her old friends and you'd be left all by yourself. You had mentally prepared a list of all the people you could approach and talk to, and other than teachers you had the total number of 2 people. And that was assuming they'd even show up.
Either way, your friend had promised you she'd let you use her father's lab to test out one of your theories with his chemistry equipment. Being a sucker for science and not being financially stable enough to buy your own science utensils, you take any opportunity you get.
So here you are, pulling the dress that your friend had so 'kindly' picked out for you, over your body. Usually you were very reserved, and you were hardly invited to parties so dresses weren't a popular choice in your wardrobe. However, your friend would not take no for an answer when it came to this dress.
It was a black 'boob-tube' styled dress, with lace covering all of it. It pulled in at the waist to allow a flattering 'poofing out' affect around your hips. You had to admit it wasn't that bad, (y/f/n) had good taste.
The dress accentuated your curves and you actually thought you looked sexy for once. You had loosely curled your hair and added a little makeup to complete the look.
Before long you were in the cab with your best friend, heading to the location of the reunion. Your friend had informed you it was an open bar and it eased you a little knowing if things went terrible, you could just get drunk.
Upon arriving at the destination, you nervously shuffled into the room, careful not to draw attention to yourself. Luckily, all eyes were on your friend, and a crowd of old class-mates offering an array of "wow, look at you", "you look great", and "it's been so long" toward her. You took this opportunity and managed to sneak away. You knew the night would pan out like this, but you just didn't expect it so soon. You walked straight to the bar, finding comfort in a glass of wine. You wander around, hoping to find any familiar face among the crowd. You notice the usual groups of stereotypical pretty girls, jocks, and nerds.
You sip your wine, then feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn and see one of the jocks behind you. You remember his name as 'Jake' and he was very popular back in high school. He has aged well and is still quite attractive, however, he was a jerk to you back in school.
"Hey, it's (y/n), right?" He smirks.
"Oh, uh yeah, hi." You want anything but to be hit on by any of the jocks so you freeze up a little.
"You've changed... A lot." He leers, looking you up and down. "You got hot!"
"Oh, uh thanks." You blush, not used to compliments, especially ones that are so forward. He seems to evaluate you, and begins to speak again.
"We should get out of here, I know a bar down-"
You cut him off, wanting the conversation to be over quickly.
"I'd love to, but i don't think my boyfriend would be too happy." You lie to him, in the hope of him giving up.
"Your boyfriend doesn't need to know." He winks. You scoff at him and shake your head.
"Thanks, but no thanks."
You turn and walk away, leaving him standing alone. You decide to head back to the bar since you felt you needed to be a little more drunk to cope with this.
As you glance over to the bar, you spot a man sitting alone. Another man walks over and sits on the seat beside him. As you approach you notice the first man who was already sitting down glance at the second, before briskly getting up and leaving. It must have been a brash decision because mere seconds later the bartender returns with a drink for him, only to be met with an empty chair. As the man passed you, he looked.. scared.
You found this odd, but as you got to a close enough proximity, you realised the man who had sat down was Bruce Banner. He looked pretty sick of everything, and you felt that if there was anyone in this whole place who felt exactly like you, it'd be him.
You sit down next to him and glance at him through the corner of your eye. He is also looking at you through his peripheral vision and seems to tense when you look at him. Maybe he's bracing himself for someone else to run away. However, you stay sat firmly on the stool and order another drink. You notice Bruce's glass is almost empty and gesture towards it.
"You want another?" You ask.
He looks up at you, shock painting his face and he simply nods. "Whiskey." He mumbles, letting you know what to order.
When your drinks arrive you turn to him in hope of starting a conversation.
"I'm (y/n)." You smile.
"I know." He blushes slightly.
"You remember me?" You ask, genuinely surprised.
He chuckles slightly and nods. After a brief moment he speaks up again.
"Oh, and I'm-"
"Bruce Banner." You interject.
"Yeah." He mumbles. "I guess you've seen me on tv?" He looks at you, a layer of sadness coating his eyes.
You nod slowly, and he takes a sip of his drink.
"I would've remembered you anyway." You try to encourage him, but he looks doubtful.
"I would have! Really! I admired you in high school, you're so smart! I remember once in science class with Mr.Jefferson, gosh remember him?" You pause momentarily to let him nod and smile fondly at the memory before continuing your story. "And he had an equation that he just couldn't seem to get right. I remember you politely put your hand up and offered to help, he scoffed at you, clearly underestimating you... I'll never forget that look on his face when you stood at the chalk board completing the equation like it was nothing harder that 1 plus 1." You chuckle to yourself at the memory, and when you look back to Bruce he's staring at you intently, a spark burning in his eyes.
"I'd forgotten about that." He smiles. "I don't know how you remember it."
You blush slightly, and take a swig of your drink to mask it.
"I'm glad you remembered me, though." He adds.
"I'm glad you remembered me." You repeat, placing emphasis on 'me'.
"How could I forget shy, reserved, but brainy as hell (y/n)?" He smirked a little, and swiftly looked down at his glass to avoid eye contact.
Your body is engulfed in butterflies by the way he talks so fondly of you. You didn't think anyone would remember, nor recognise you tonight.
"So what've you been up to since school?" Bruce asks.
"Nothing of importance." You sigh. "Just random jobs here and there, I'm saving up for science equipment so I can try my own experiments. I have some theories I want to test." You smile to yourself at your own ambitious and Bruce makes a noise of approval.
"What kind of theories?"
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know, Banner." You joke, pushing your shoulder into his.
He laughs along with you before inspiration hits him.
"Hey! Why don't you visit the lab at Stark towers? You could try out those theories."
"That sounds great, that's really kind! You know, I wasn't even going to come tonight but my friend bribed me with her father's chemistry equipment. Maybe it worked out better since now I'm getting a full lab."" You joke, and Bruce laughs lightly.
"Stark talked me into coming, I wasn't going to come either. I knew it was going to be like this." He gestured behind him and you looked out into the crowd of old school friends who most likely weren't even aware of your existence.
"Like what?"
"Well I think everyone is a little.. intimidated by me. They're probably scared they'll have a guest appearance by the Other Guy." His finger runs along the rim of his glass nervously and you can't help but smile sympathetically at him. You know exactly who's he's talking about, but you're not scared by him in the slightest.
You open your mouth to tell him this, but you're stopped by a hand on your bare shoulder.
Turning on your stool, you notice Jake from earlier. He seems a lot more drunk and his words slur.
"Your boyfriend wouldn't be too pleased about you talking to this guy, would he?" He raises his eyebrows and continues. "Unless you just lied to me to get me to leave you alone. So, tell me, (y/n), what would your boyfriend say?" His tone was sarcastic and his face looked smug.
You start to feel a little flustered from being caught in a lie and start to stutter out an apology. Bruce stops you by getting up and standing by your stool, straight opposite where Jake stood. He wraps his arm around your waist and begins to speak.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" He challenges.
"What? This guy?" He points to Bruce and looks at you confused. "You're way too hot for a guy like him." He evaluates Bruce one more time and chuckles. You feel Bruce's hand clench into a fist by your waist and you start to worry.
"Woah, bro! I've been looking all over for you!" Another jock appears, grabbing Jake's shoulder. You recognise this new guy as Chase and he's eyeing Bruce with a cautious expression. "Come on, we need to go now." His voice is over-animated, and it's clear he's trying to save Jake from Bruce. Smart move.
"Wait, no, I'm getting a date with (y/n)." Jake insists.
"No, you're not. Leave." Bruce demands, his tone becoming a lot more authoritative.
Jake tries to move closer to Bruce but Chase pulls him back. Chase hisses quietly in Jake's ear and you pick out certain sentences like: "don't be an idiot" and "he's the freaking Hulk, man."
Suddenly Jake goes pale and fumbles over his words.
"Oh, y-yeah Chase, we-we need to go to that th-thing! Yeah, see you guys, you look great together." He's backing away before he's even finished talking and the two make a quick exit.
You turn to Bruce and chuckle.
"Thanks for that." You smile.
He turns to you and his face softens from his frustrated frown into a small, shy smile. It was then that you realised just how cute he was.
He removes his hand from your waist and returns to his seat.
"He was a jerk." You add, letting him know how grateful you were.
"He was right though." Bruce mumbles, downing the remainder of his whiskey.
"What do you mean?" You ask.
He shakes his head and you press him slightly by sending him a questioning look.
"Well, you are very beautiful.." He trails off, gesturing to the bartender that he wanted another drink.
You think back to Jake's previous words.
"You're way too hot for a guy like him."
Your eyes widen in surprise and you blurt out:
"You think I'm too good for you?" You can't keep a straight face and start laughing as soon as the words leave your mouth.
He looks at you, a mixture of surprise and confusion in his eyes.
"Seriously?" You ask between laughs.
He begins to chuckle along with you. When his laughing dies down, he nods.
"Don't be stupid, Bruce! You're a really sweet, attractive guy." You speak the last part very timidly.
His cheeks flush red and you wonder whether it was due to the alcohol or your comment.
"We should, uh, meet up sometime." He suggests, feeling hopeful.
"That was already going to happen. You have a lab!" You speak excitedly. Bruce just laughs.
"So you're just using me for my science equipment?" He asks, pausing briefly before adding: "I could live with that."
He gives you a little cheeky grin.
You both spend the rest of the night at the bar talking, drinking and laughing.
Toward the end of the night you receive a text from your best friend stating she'd hooked up with some jock and was staying out tonight. You sigh in exasperation and Bruce questions your change in mood. When you explain the situation he's adamant to drop you off in a cab on his way home. You try to be modest but he insists, telling you about how pretty girls can't go home alone at night, and that you'd be safe with him since he's an Avenger. You give in, and soon you're both in the back of a cab together.
The streets are dark and inactive, yet you stare intently out of the window, feeling a little more conscious now that you were in a quiet, confined space with Bruce. You could feel his gaze on the side of your face and tried to remain calm and composed.
In all honesty, Bruce caused you to get a little flustered. Whether it was his charming attractiveness or his cute, dorky personality, you definitely felt an connection to the brainy scientist.
Before long the driver had pulled up outside your apartment.
"Stay there." Bruce commanded, before quickly getting out of the car and running to your side to open your door.
"Thank you." You smile. He's such a gentleman!
He gives a quick message to the driver, telling him he won't be long, and walks you to your door. Not the first door to your apartment block, no, he actually walks you all of the way to your apartment door.
Stopping outside, you turn and rest your back to your door.
"This is me." You sigh.
Bruce stands with his hands in his pockets, nervously avoiding eye contact with you.
"Hold on." You say, quickly opening your door and running in. You rip a piece of paper out of your notepad and scrawl your mobile number on it. You rush back to Bruce and hand him the paper.
"Give me a call when you want to organise that lab date."
"So it's a date?" Bruce smirks.
"Well, uh, it doesn't have to be.." You fumble and Bruce laughs whole-heartedly at you getting all flustered.
"You're so adorable." He mumbles. "It's definitely a date."
A silence falls over the two of you as you simply nod in approval.
After a second, Bruce walks carefully toward you. You know exactly where this was headed, and you weren't going to prevent it. He brings his lips to yours, his right hand resting on the small of your back. You feel the lace of the dress push into your skin, the warmth from Bruce's hand seeping through it.
Your hands rest on his smart jacket and use the collars to pull him closer to you. He moans slightly into the kiss and it sends your heart into overdrive.
After a few seconds you both pull away, a smile instantly forming on both of your lips. Bruce steps back, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, his shyness taking over. When he eventually locks eye contact with you once again, his eyes seem so full of love, fulfilment, and maybe even a little hint of lust.
He laughs nervously before speaking.
"Thanks for a great night, I'll definitely call or text you soon."
"I look forward to it."
That should've been Bruce's queue to leave; however, he stayed stood there, just admiring you.
"Bruce, your cab's still outside." You giggle.
Realisation hits him and he rushes out a quick goodbye before running down the stairs.
You head into your apartment, sitting down on your sofa and processing what had just happened. Suddenly, a wave of excitement washes over you, causing your to lie on your back and kick your legs around in the air. The dress caused the action to make a 'swishing' noise and you squealed along in delight. You are pulled out from your celebrations by the text tone of your phone. You compose yourself and read the text.
From: Unknown
'Hey, (y/n). It's Bruce. Thanks for a great night.'
From: (Y/n)
'Hey! & you already said that.'
From: Bruce
'Oops, so I did. Sorry.'
From: (y/n)
'It's okay, I had fun too.'
From: Bruce
'So, about that lab date...'