Bruce Banner was ready to have a nervous breakdown on the couch in his dorm. His stress for finals week had reached its peak. His last finals were tomorrow, and then grades were set for the first semester. Bruce currently had the highest GPA in the junior class at Midgard Academy, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the nation. He was not about to let Stephen Strange usurp his position.
He sighed and turned his attention back to the notes he was holding in front of him. Ugh. History. Bruce had a particular affinity for the sciences, but felt the polar opposite about history. It seemed so pointless to memorize so many dates and facts that he’d undoubtedly forget immediately after his test.
Someone slid onto the couch, next to Bruce. He turned and looked. “Hey, Thor.” He smiled wearily.
“Greetings, Banner!” Bruce’s roommate, Thor, was a transfer student from a small European country called Asgard. He spoke English, but it was incredibly formal. He didn’t seem to be catching on to the way American teenagers spoke. Bruce found it endearing. “You appear stressed. Can I help?” Bruce blushed a bit. Thor had been at Midgard Academy for a few months, during which he and Bruce had become close friends. Also, Bruce had developed a massive crush on him.
“Oh, I’m just studying for Mr. Thanos’ final. Rumor is half of his students last year failed.” Bruce shuddered.
“There’s no way you’ll fail, Banner. I can help you study. We had to learn so much European history in Asgard that this final will be a walk of cakes.”
“Cakewalk.”
“Is that the word? Anyway, I’d love to spend time with you too. It’s been too long since I’ve hung in with you.”
“Hung out. And yeah, it has.” Bruce felt guilty. He’d been avoiding spending time alone with Thor since he realized he had a crush. No reason to entertain the impossible.
“Mr. Thanos won’t know what hit him!” Thor winked at Bruce, who flushed a deep red. “Now, let us obtain this loaf!”
Bruce laughed. “Not quite, Thor. Good try.”
The two studied late into the night, falling asleep on the couch. Bruce was using Thor’s shoulder as a pillow, and Thor had wrapped an arm around Bruce in his sleep. The pair looked serene, as if they could stay that way for all of eternity.
***
Unfortunately, the morning came like a punch to the face. Bruce was the first to wake up, and somewhat reluctantly disentangled himself from Thor. He’d probably be embarrassed to have fallen asleep with me that way, Bruce convinced himself.
When Thor woke up, Bruce had already been to the dining hall for breakfast and back. “Good morning, Thor. I brought you a muffin from the dining hall.” It was chocolate chip, which was Thor’s favorite. He had one every morning.
“You’re the best, Banner.” Thor pressed a kiss into his hair. Bruce tried not to think much of it. Thor always showed physical affection to show when he appreciated someone. This was nothing special.
“Well, I have finals for calculus and physics, then I’ll see you in history.”
“I can walk with you to calculus. It’s on the way to English.” Thor grabbed his backpack and muffin and held the door open for Bruce. Bruce blushed at Thor’s chivalry.
They walked to calculus while reviewing history notes. Bruce was glad Thor had helped him study. If he’d studied alone, there was no way he’d know all this. Mr. Thanos always asked insanely specific questions. Thor seemed to know all of them somehow.
Thor dropped Bruce off in calculus, waving as he left. Bruce sat down next to his best friend, Tony Stark. He was insanely smart, but he spent more time working on his own engineering projects than on actual schoolwork. Tony nudged Bruce, raising an eyebrow. “Did you finally ask him out?” Bruce turned beet red. “W-what? No, it’s not like that! He… I… friends! We’re friends!” Tony smirked. “Sure, Brucie Bear. So are Stephen and I, then.” He nudged his boyfriend playfully, and Stephen shot him a look.
“We won’t even be that if you keep interrupting my study time.”
“You know you love me,” Tony said playfully. Stephen ruffled Tony’s hair and kissed his cheek. Bruce had to stop himself from thinking about all the little touches and kisses Thor gave him.
Bruce finished his final with half an hour left in the period. His mind wandered to Thor. How his smile seemed to light up the world, how his way of speaking was strange but adorable, how affectionate he was…
Bruce shook his head. He needed to stop thinking like this. One kind gesture from Thor and he was already making something bigger out of it. There was no chance someone as amazing as Thor would bat an eye at Bruce. But Bruce couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Physics was much the same. The final was easy for Bruce, but the room for idle thought that came after was not. He tried to deny his feelings. He didn’t care if Thor’s haircut looked incredible. He didn’t want to run his fingers through it, or trace all the little lightning bolts on the side. He didn’t fantasize about kissing Thor, or feeling his arms wrapped around him, or resting his head on Thor’s chest.
I don’t, he thought. But he knew he was lying to himself.
***
History was a nightmare. Less so than Bruce thought it would be, though. Thor sat right in front of him, so focusing on the test was difficult. Somehow, Bruce finished with three minutes left and hurriedly handed his paper in. Mr. Thanos gave him a sour look.
After the period ended, Thor and Bruce walked back to their room together. Bruce gathered his courage. “Mr. Thanos said final grades would be in by 6. Want to celebrate the end of the year? Don’t tell anyone, but I brought a huge stash of snacks that I could use some help finishing.” He was sure Thor would reject his offer.
“I’d like that.”
“Great. Do you like gummy worms?” Thor looked confused. “Are worms a delicacy here? I didn’t notice.” Bruce laughed and explained what gummy worms actually were as they entered their room.
Soon enough, Thor was eating snacks like there was no tomorrow. “I didn’t even know these existed!” he exclaimed, popping a Swedish Fish into his mouth. “I thought it was some uncreatively named Swedish species.” Bruce regretted not sharing sooner. They talked as Thor decimated Bruce’s stash. Soon enough, it was 6. Bruce’s phone pinged.
“Oh! Mr. Thanos put our grades in.” He looked at his phone. “I got a 95 on the final! What about you?”
“I got a 99. I knew I missed that question about the historical significance of decapitation.”
“That’s amazing, Thor! You’re amazing!” Thor smiled and leaned in to kiss Bruce on the cheek, just as Bruce was turning to look up at him. His lips caught Bruce’s.
They both froze. Bruce was terrified, but it was happening already. Why not make it worse? He closed his eyes and tentatively slid a hand into Thor’s hair. That was all either of them needed.
Suddenly, they were kissing. Really kissing. Thor put one hand on Bruce’s cheek and the other on his waist, pulling him in closer. Bruce’s hands were tangled in Thor’s hair, just like he’d imagined. He was euphoric.
They broke the kiss, their foreheads still touching. Bruce’s brown eyes looked deep into Thor’s, which were electric blue. “I love you,” they proclaimed at the same time. Bruce snuggled into Thor’s chest, feeling the other boy’s arms wrap around him. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, holding on to each other.
Finals may have been stressful for Bruce, but now that they were over he was happier than ever. That might’ve had something to do with the boy whose arms he was nestled in.
As Thor would say, they’d finally gotten their happily after everything.