InsaneJournal

Who: Bobbi Morse and Bruce Banner
What: Reverse engineered take-out
When: Nowish
Where: Bobbi's office
Rating: G
Status: Complete



Things got a little crazy after his experiments with Christine, so Bruce hadn’t really had the time to really think about what he wanted to do, if anything, with his newfound knowledge about his ability to potentially have an actual relationship for the first time in more than a decade. He hadn’t really dated since Betty, unless you counted the almost thing that happened between him and Natasha, and he knew that things had changed a lot.

He’d obviously noticed that Bobbi Morse was attractive, it would have been difficult not to notice, but he was also very aware that she was practically half his age. Despite her flirting, he wasn’t sure that she was actually interested and, even if she was, he wasn’t sure if they had enough in common to have a successful relationship.

Still, he found that he enjoyed her company and since she’d been holed up working overtime in the wake of the flooding thing, he decided that turnabout was fair play, so he knocked on her office door late one night, carrying a bag of homemade Indian food.

***

Bobbi had initially given Bruce his space since he hadn’t seemed too receptive to her advances. She didn’t want to get a reputation as being a creeper and brought up on sexual harassment charges so she’d backed off. Then all the shit came down with the flooding, etc and her attention had been diverted to things that were more important than her libido.

Speaking of the flooding, she was currently focused on organizing the teams’ recounts of what happened in the field. They needed to be organized into one fluid timeline, translated into Official Speak then printed, sent to Fury, filed, copied, blah, blah, blah. Needless to say she’d skipped a meal or two and definitely hadn’t slept.

When the knock came she didn’t take her eyes off her computer monitor. “Yeah! It’s open!” For all she knew it was Darcy bringing her something to drink along with some juicy gossip.

***

Bruce had plenty of food though he was sorely lacking in juicy gossip when he opened the door to let himself in.

“Agent,” he said, nodding slightly. “I heard you’ve been working a lot lately.” How he heard that didn’t matter. He had his sources. Plus he felt like he knew her well enough to know that she’d be working a lot. “Hope you like Indian food.”

It wasn’t take out. It was better. He started unpacking containers and setting them on the corner of her desk.

***

Bruce’s voice was the last one Bobbi would have expected, but it was a nice surprise. “Hey!” she said with a big smile coming to her face. “You’re out of your lab, doc.” She finished up the line she’d been typing, saved….twice….then swiveled her chair around to face Bruce.

“You know I do,” she said with a chuckle. It had been one of the take outs she’d brought to him in the lab. “My stomach is grateful. I honestly don’t remember when I ate last.” And her gut gave a growl once she got a sniff of the food to prove it.

***

Homemade food was better, and closer to authentic, than take out. “Well, you’re taking a break now to eat something,” Bruce said. “It’s only fair that I return the favor.”

He even had silverware and dishes. Real ones.

“You think we’re going to have any more trouble from the folks who caused all the flooding?” he asked.

***

“This doesn’t look like take out,” she noted with her brows twitching upwards. “Did you make this?” Bobbi seemed to recall him saying something about being able to cook. Or maybe it was something she read in a profile. Whatever. “And real dishes and stuff? Wow.” She smirked at Bruce. “A girl could get used to this.”

Her office wasn’t that large, but it wasn’t a closet. Bobbi would call it comfortable. With a sweep of her arm she cleared a side table of papers. “Not from what I can tell. I haven’t gotten through all of the field reports let alone collate and study them so I guess the answer is I don’t know.” Bobbi grinned. Hey this shit took a while.

***

“That’s because it’s not take out,” Bruce said. “One of my hidden talents.” Which she was probably aware of because he wouldn’t be surprised if it was in his SHIELD file. Of course, he was pretty sure he’d also mentioned it before.

He popped the lids off the containers and pushed them in front of her so she could fill a plate. “Never really thought about how much time you guys put in behind the scenes with these situations,” he said. It was a lot different on his side of things, just going where he was told, when he was told, and letting the Other Guy smash things.

***

Bobbi laughed as she began sniffing containers. Damn. Bruce was going to make someone a great wife. But back to the not really a subject… “Now you know the real reason why no one sees Fury unless it’s a mission, but don’t tell anyone or I’ll have to kill you in your sleep.”

She was starving but managed to restrain herself from loading up her plate. There was a trick you had to learn in the field. Keep yourself hungry. It keeps you aware. “So what brought this on? Don’t tell me you actually noticed the absence of my charming company.”

***

Bruce shrugged. “I like to cook. I tend to go overboard, so I like to share.” And he had noticed that she hadn’t stopped by in a while, asked around, and found out she’d been putting in a lot of hours. So here he was.

“Are you telling me Fury actually does paperwork?” he asked. “Or are you saying no one sees him because he’s avoiding it?”

***

“Well,” Bobbi said. “Since Coulson is here he’s probably doing Fury’s paperwork again. Such a kiss ass.” She loved talking smack about Coulson. It was more fun to his face since he could give back as good as he got, but sometimes he got that Look on his face that screamed he knew something she didn’t. It was a game between them. Kind of like siblings.

“So where have you been?” she asked in honest curiosity. “Haven’t seen you in a while even before the flooding.”

***

Where had he been? Bruce wasn’t really sure how to even answer that. He wasn’t going to tell her about the tests with Christine, that seemed… awkward. “Oh, I’ve been around,” he said vaguely. “Busy between the clinic and the lab.” It had the benefit of being true. There was always something to do when it came to science.

“I saw you at Steve’s party,” he said. “Didn’t get a chance to say hi though.” Every time he thought about it, she was talking to someone else and he didn’t want to interrupt.

***

If she didn’t know better she’d say Bruce was being coy. It was adorable. Bobbi looked at him with a knowing grin. “Saw you, too.” He looked good. “Figured I’d cut you a break and let you have your space.” It was the truth. She hadn’t wanted to push the limits or cause a scene in a public place.

“It’s good to see you,” she admitted. Weirdly good. Bobbi realized she’d missed spending time with Bruce. God she was getting soft.

***

Had he given her the impression that he needed space? Bruce wasn’t sure. Maybe he had. And he still wasn’t sure if she was genuinely interested in him or if she’d just been having some fun at his expense. He did enjoy her company though, even if it was just friendly.

“You too,” he said. “What other kind of food do you like? I’ll make something else next time I cook.”

***

At first it had just been flirting with intent. Now she wasn’t so sure. She should probably talk to him about this. At the very least it would clear the air and set things straight. Bobbi liked to think she was pretty reasonable. If Bruce seriously didn’t want to be more than friends she wouldn’t push.

“Italian. Chinese. Sushi. Thai. Polynesian.” All places she’d been to as an Agent. “So do you like me or what?” How very middle school.

***

Bruce was very glad that he hadn’t filled his own plate yet because he was very sure that he would have choked at her question if he was eating. “Uh… well, I do appreciate your bluntness,” he said.

“I enjoy your company.” It wasn’t an answer to the question that she was really asking, but Bruce didn’t have an answer to that one yet. “If you’re asking if I want to date you, well… I haven’t dated in a very long time.”

Which also wasn’t an answer.

***

“None of those are answers, doc.” Bobbi smirked as she leaned forward a bit. “I was the one they called in whenever they needed to crack a particularly stubborn interrogation.” It was a joke! She wouldn’t use those tactics on him...unless he asked.

“Maybe it’ll help if I start.” After she had a bite of food. “I like you. You’re way hot. That voice alone..rawr.” Bobbi grinned. “My interested started with sex, but after spending some time with you I learned there’s more to you than smexy science guy.” Another thing she learned as an Agent: don’t waste time.

***

The more she talked, the warmer Bruce’s cheeks felt. It was difficult for him to believe that a young, attractive woman like Bobbi would actually be interested in him. “How about you let me take you out sometime soon,” he said. It still wasn’t really an answer to her questions, but it was as close as she was likely to get this evening. He had not expected this conversation when he decided to stop by her office with dinner.

“And then we’ll go from there.” He was going to need eased into this whole thing.

***

Slow and steady apparently does win the race. Who knew? Bobbi’s smile lifted as she gave Bruce a nod. “Fair enough,” she said then chuckled with a wink. “But I expect to be wined and dined for a first date.” That’s right! She used the D word!

***

“I’ll see what I can do,” Bruce said with a chuckle. He might need advice on that one and wondered who would be best to ask. Tony, of course, would have good suggestions, but did he want to risk the mocking? He’d have to decide. Maybe he could ask Christine for advice instead. There was time though. He didn’t need to rush things.

Though he also wasn’t going to take too long either.

***