Part Two
"Hello," Bruce greeted the short woman with curly brown hair who was sitting on the couch of the common floor the Avengers had their movie nights and dinner on. She introduced herself as Agent Morgan Golden. Bruce didn't know if the last name was real or not, but he wasn't going to question her. She was one of the very first people to approach him since his reappearance in Avengers Mansion and around the Avengers HQ. "I am Dr. Bruce Banner."
"Another doctor? Damn, we don't even have that many agents anymore. When Dr. Cho comes back, she's gonna wonder why she's got all of y'all in her infirmary."
"Uh, no, I'm really more of a scientist. I do medical work, but I most work with Tony in the labs." Did she know who he was?
For a moment, Agent Golden's face was blank. She fiddled with the cape draped around her like a blanket and Bruce realized it was Thor's. Before he could ask how she knew Thor, Agent Golden perked up and exclaimed, "Hulk! You're the Hulk! Oh, man, I heard you were back, but I thought it was a rumor. Sorry for not recognizing you." She looked guilty and ashamed. Bruce wondered how anyone other than him could wear that expression when in the face of the world's best destroyer.
"Uh, it's okay?" Bruce scratched at the back of his neck before adjusting his glasses.
The two sat in silence for a moment, waiting for one of the other Avengers to pop up and break the awkwardness. When nothing happened, Bruce began to think of a million excuses to go back up to the penthouse and endure Tony arguing with Pepper over the phone. It seemed easier than sitting with a strange woman who hadn't stopped staring at him for the past thirty seconds with a freaky look in her eye.
"You like Dominican food?"
"What?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Nicole and Clint signed back and forth, gossiping. Natasha wasn't as good at signing as the two were, needing for them to move their hands slower when they signed in order for her to get the gist of it, so they made sure to sign when needing to be discreet about questions and ideas others would find rude. Natasha was the type who would repeat whatever they whispered to each other in the loudest voice she could just to watch the reactions of everyone else.
"Who's the new guy?" Nicole signed, jerking her head in the direction of Bruce, who was playing checkers with Sam and winning. Sam looked ready to flip the board, frowning and looking at Bruce as if he were cheating. Sam was known for his competitive side when it came to games, and Nicole was a bit nervous for the seemingly friendly man across from him.
"Bruce Banner. Old teammate. Natasha's ex-boyfriend. He came back the day you went on vacation. He's been here for the past two weeks."
"Is he nice? Does he sign?" She didn't know much about Banner except for the stuff in his files and what Morgan texted her before she showed up for Game Night ("You like dudes who look like they haven't slept since 1786, right?" "They're okay." "What about guys with nerd glasses?" "They're okay." "Big brown puppy eyes?" "They're okay." "Wow, riveting text messages, Nikki." "I'm trying to get dressed and text you at the same time. Just come to our floor and talk to me face to face." "No.").
"He's pretty nice. I mean, he did bail on us, but that wasn't all his fault. He knows how to sign because he is a doctor, it's just not as fancy as us." Clint smirked, puffing his chest out a bit.
Nicole rolled her eyes. Natasha had a handful to deal with. Speaking of the agent, she was furiously typing away on a laptop, curled on one of the recliners in the room, intently watching the rest of the team. Nicole could only guess that she was liveblogging the actions of everyone. It was great for the public to see the domestic side of the Avengers, especially after all of the drama that was on their tails involving accidental deaths of civilians during fights, property damage and going to foreign countries and fucking their shit up in the name of justice.
"Nikki!"
Both Nicole and Clint turned to look at Morgan. She was trying to defeat Thor in a game of chess while Wade Wilson watched, cheering wildly whenever someone would make a move. Peter Parker was too busy with an intense game of Go Fish with Bucky to shush his boyfriend. Dr. Aries Ellington kept trying to peek at the cards of both players, curious about what was in their hands - they were acting like they held the secrets of the universe.
"Come and play me! I've go Thor on the ropes!"
"Oh, my lady, you have underestimated the might of a great Asgardian warrior. I shall be the victor when this game comes to an e-"
"Checkmate!" Wade nearly had an aneurysm, falling off of his perch on the back of the couch and flopping around.
"I was hoping my rambling would distract you, my beloved. You are crafty."
Nicole didn't know if she wanted to face her friend. Morgan was nearly as competitive as Sam, her cousin. It would end in her either being humiliated or broke. "I-I think I'm good. Checkers is more of my forte."
"Want to play me?" Bruce asked, giving Nicole a friendly smile. Morgan was nice, so surely her friend was as well. "I promise not to gloat if you don't do well," he teased.
"You're on!" Clint called, pushing Nicole toward the doctor.
Is everyone trying to set me up with him or something?
~*~*~*~*~*~
Natasha held up her phone, panning in slowly to the crowd of Avengers and co. that were hooting and hollering at the game of checkers that was growing more intense with each move from the doctor and the medical secretary. Sam had stolen the red cap Scott showed up wearing, turning it backwards and calling above the crowd, "All bets are placed here!" while his cousin was trying to make him stop. "I will put you in a support group for gambling addicts, Samuel!" Morgan cried, stomping her feet when Sam retorted with, "You must be the height of the average human female in order to tell me how to live my life!" All the while, Scott watched the cousins in amusement. Clint was perched on the arm of Natasha's chair, sipping from a beer. He laughed at the chaotic crowd around Bruce and Nicole. Nikki had her hearing aids turned off, bothered by the noise, but the wide smile on her face let the archer know his little buddy was enjoying herself. That was good. Nicole deserved to unwind with the team after her breakup Morgan told him about. Mateo was a dick.
An hour and three shouting matches between Sam and anyone who bet money on the games played later, Nicole was hiding in the kitchen, trying to get away from the crowd of people who started talking so quickly with each other, it was hard to dive into conversation. And her ears were tired, so turning her hearing aids back on was definitely not on her to-do list.
Nicole grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, twisting the cap until the seal broke open. Drinking the ice-cold liquid felt so refreshing that a dopey grin stretched across her face. A tap on her shoulder made the expression melt away as she jumped. Nicole spun around. It was Bruce.
"Hi," he mouthed, waving at her with a shy smile as he adjusting his glasses. "Hiding?"
Nicole nodded. She didn't like talking without hearing herself - the words always, always came out slurred and jumbled.
"Can I sit in here with you?" Bruce asked, pacing his words. "Sometimes everyone gets too loud, and I need a moment to calm down." He looked a little uncomfortable with the admission, but the doctor knew it was the right choice to let himself be vulnerable when Nicole nodded her head enthusiastically. She evidently did not mind his company.
Bruce decided that needed more people like Nicole in his life.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Dr. Banner!"
"Agent Martinez," Bruce greeted as the agent jogged over to him. He was in between working on clothing that would stretch far enough for the Other Guy to wear during times where he was unleashed. He was tired of being naked at the end of a battle. "How are you today?"
"Great," she answered, smiling brightly at him. Bruce was a bit taken aback by the amount of joy in the agent. For one, most SHIELD agents didn't smile when working, and two, she was smiling at him. That was unreal.
With a nod, Bruce found himself smiling back at the woman. He hadn't noticed it before, but her dark brown eyes were the prettiest he'd ever seen. They were framed by thick lashes that caught his attention each time she blinked. Her thick and curly dark hair was pulled back into the neatest bun she could manage with the unruly strands, and the few curls that fell out of it bounced adorably whenever she would move her head. Bruce felt the urge to reach his hand out and touch her hair. The standard SHIELD scrubs she wore were a dark blue, a shade that looked beautiful against her tan skin. He wondered, a bit out of the blue, what her favorite color was and if she minded green.
"How's the science stuff going?"
"It's...scientific." If Tony were here, Bruce would never hear the end of his crappy flirting skills ever again.
Regardless, Nicole threw her head back as she laughed, brown eyes squinting as she giggled. Bruce wanted to preserve the sound for forever.
"Keep up the good work then!" she encouraged before walking off to get back to whatever business she was doing.
Bruce felt his nerve to ask her out for a cup of coffee die in his throat as he watched her walk away. Next time... No excuses, a voice that sounded distinctly like Tony Stark demanded in his mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The next time Bruce saw Nicole, she was standing by his bedside in the infirmary, taking over the duty of reading his vitals. A few Hydra agents invaded the base the day before, and a few agents were killed along with some of the medical staff. Hydra didn't care about whether you were a field agent or trying to heal the wounded. Prey was prey.
Bruce wanted to tell Nicole that when he became the Other Guy, one of his biggest concerns was whether he would come across her or not. He wanted to tell her that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he hurt her. She was a rare gem, and not many people understood needing quiet and calm like she did. He wanted to let her know that right now, he was the happiest he had been after changing into the, "giant green rage monster," and it was all because she was there. Not many people were there in the aftermath. At least, none who were alive.
The pounding in Bruce's head and the bone-deep exhaustion got to him before he could figure out how to string words together to articulate what he wanted to say.
While he was unconscious, Nicole made sure to check up on him as often as possible while tending to other duties outside of her job description. Each time she peeked into his room, she sighed in relief.
Seeing people shoot at Bruce and watching Thor knock him out with Mjolnir was the most frightening thing she'd ever witnessed. He was one of the few people in her life that made her believe that her life wasn't as worthless as Mateo used to tell her it was. Bruce was the type of guy Nicole should have fallen in love with. He proved it when he didn't treat her differently about her impairment. And when he shielded her from the rain of bullets from the Hydra moles that would have killed her.
Nicole trusted Bruce with her whole heart now, and that was the boldest thing she'd ever done.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"May I sit here with you?" Bruce asked when he caught Nicole on her lunch break in the cafeteria the next week, shuffling on his feet as he looked unsure of himself.
Nicole pat the chair beside her rather than gesture at the one across the table. "Hello!" she greeted him as he settled beside her with his lunch. The way his dark curls fell in front of his forehead was distracting, but Nicole was levelheaded enough to understand there was a time and a place for everything. Now, she had questions that were too important not to ask.
"Do you ever feel as if things that should be falling into place just aren't?"
Bruce was a bit surprised by the topic of discussion she chose. "Many people do. Naturally, things can't always go our way, so when they don't, it feels as if we are being targeted. You even start to hate yourself because you think it's your fault. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. It is all a matter of circumstance." Logical answers to questions were easier for Bruce to handle than casual flirtation. Much easier. "Take it from me. I've been there a thousand times..."
She cocks her head to the side, a sad grin filled with years of pain dancing on her lips. Mateo always made it seem like it was my fault... She knew now that it wasn't. If her life was good enough to be saved by the Hulk, she must be nice enough. In the midst of these thoughts, Nicole caught on to the last part of Bruce's response. "You hate your pulse because it still thinks your alive?" she asked, trying to be as light-hearted as she could. To think the brilliant doctor with the most soothing presence in the world could hate himself, well, Nicole found that hard to believe.
The warmth that spread through Bruce as he saw how sincere she was when questioning his self-hate. He loved her for it. She believed in him more than he ever believed in himself. "Yeah, I did. But, that was until I met you."
"Oh, Bruce!" she laughed, shaking her head. He was so funny sometimes.
Tony says ten seconds of courage is all I need to get through with scary things... Please, Heart, don't fuck this up and make me change into the monster again. Bruce took a deep breath. "W-Will out you go date me?"
"What?"
Fuck you, Tony. "Will you...go out with me?"
Another laugh with her head thrown back had Bruce marveling in the beauty of Nicole while it lasted, sure that after the moment of amusement was over, she'd suddenly turn into a demon and lop his head off for daring to ask such a stupid question.
"Bruce! You - You giant nerd! Of course!" Nicole leaned over in her seat and wrapped her arms around Bruce, hugging him tight. It felt like this was a miracle. To find someone so smart, so attentive and so Bruce was a gift from the gods. Nicole wasn't about to overlook such a blessing.
Bruce wrapped his arms around Nicole, returning the hug and letting out a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. Oh, thank god. I've gotta thank Tony by letting him takeover the design of the Other Guy's clothes. He better not make me wear something ridiculous like yellow spandex or something...