#avengers fluff
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Warning(s): swearing,very sad bucky, mentions of PTSD, mentions of violence & psychological abuse
You were used to something waking you up between 3 and 4 A.M. every night. No matter how badly you tried to will yourself back to sleep, your slumber never came. So usually you made your way out into the kitchen to make some tea and maybe finish yesterday’s crossword.
This time was absolutely no different, except the kitchen had already been occupied. You stopped short, standing in the doorway silently for a moment to take in the scene playing out before you. Bucky sat in one of the barstools at the island counter, eyes and nose bright red. You watched a few tears stream down his cheeks. Now, you’d never been close to Bucky. He never made an attempt to get to know you, and you respected that. You gave him his space to get adjusted to life at the Compound, completely unbothered by his social circle only really including Sam, Steve, and occasionally Natasha. Cap had voiced to you and the rest of the team that Bucky still felt as though he was a danger to everyone around him; that he wouldn’t involve himself with the rest of the team until he knew that he wouldn’t be a hazard, a liability.
But the way Bucky watched his metal arm move with a mix of dejection and pure hate pushed you forward into the kitchen.
“Hey, Bucky,” you greeted, trying not to make it obvious that you’d seen him cry. You headed straight for the cabinet. Bucky didn’t respond, only sniffled and wiped his nose with his flesh hand. “Want some tea?” you asked, nonchalantly glancing over your shoulder at him as you reached up to grab your favorite mug.
He nodded slowly and you reached up to grab his mug. You began to make sleepytime tea for the two of you, not pressing for conversation any further. You put the kettle on the stove, doing your best not to look back.
“What’re you doin’ up?” Bucky inquired so quietly that you almost didn’t catch it. You glanced over at him only to see him watching you pensively, brows knit upward.
“Can’t sleep,” you answered. “Did you have another dream?” Bucky nodded timidly.
“It feels like they’re just getting worse the longer that I’m myself,” he admitted. You didn’t say anything, only leaned against the counter beside the stove. Bucky continued on, “And this…” —Bucky gestured to his metal arm— ”this constant reminder of what I’ve done… it doesn’t help me much. And I never wanted to be a burden, so of course, I can’t talk about this with Steve… or… Nat or—” A look of panic crossed the Sergeant’s face; he looked as though he had become vexed with himself for opening up at all, especially to someone like you.
“You know, it’s okay to share things like this with me,” you began. “I don’t mind hearing it. You can’t expect to carry this weight alone forever.” Bucky smiled a little at this, but he didn’t look you in the eye. You wondered if it was some form of shame he carried, shame that he’d felt he was being so weak.
“I thought that I found a way out, you know? I really believed that if I ran, if I got away, I’d be alright… But there are reminders everywhere I go, everywhere I fuckinglook. The nightmares are still tearing me apart,” The soldier rested his hands on the countertop as the kettle began to whistle. You poured boiling water into the mugs and carried them to the island. You stayed on the opposite side of the counter though.
“Thanks, Y/N.”
“You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say my name before,” you replied, giving him a warm smile. He sniffled again, taking a sip of tea.
“Yeah?” he chuckled, and that made you happy. But you could tell that Bucky was still unbelievably shaken by his most recent night terror. He, his eyes glued to the countertop, let out a heavy, shaky breath before speaking up again,
“Can I tell you something?”
“Anything,” you answered, your smile falling a little.
“I’m so scared that I’m going to end up hurting, possibly killing, someone I really care about. It haunts me, Y/N.”
“Is that what you dream about?”
“Sometimes,” Bucky replied. You were a little surprised by his openness, his sudden willingness to talk to you, let alone tell you about his traumas. He continued, “and sometimes they’re not as bad. Sometimes I have dreams of when I wasn’t… when I wasn’t the monster HYDRA made me.” He rested his forehead in his right hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just sorry that I’m unloading all of this on you; you shouldn’t have to even think about this.”
“Hey, I asked, didn’t I?” you asked comfortingly. In a moment of thoughtlessness, you rested a hand on his forearm. He jolted slightly. You yanked your hand away nervously.
“God, I’m sorry, Bucky,” It came out as a whisper. He looked you in the eyes finally, a small smile on his lips.
“No, I’m sorry. It just startled me. I didn’t expect it.” You raised your eyebrows at him.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Y/N. I’m sure.”
Before either of you could say another word, Steve came into your peripherals.
“Whoa, hey. Didn’t expect to see you both up,” the Captain commented, earning a small laugh from Bucky. His soft laugh caught you slightly off guard.
“Why’re you up, Cap?” you asked.
“I had to pee and heard you kids talking,”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” you replied.
“I’m older than you,” Bucky commented.
“Inconsequential information, Bucky,” Steve looked between the two of you, grinning. “I am glad you’re making friends.”
“I like her,” the soldier confirmed. Bucky gave you a smile before getting out of the chair. “I’m gonna try to get a little sleep, though. Thanks again, Y/N. ‘Night, guys.”
“Anytime, Bucky,” you said softly. Bucky raised his cup of tea to you before taking a long drink. He picked up his mug and headed right past Steve, back toward the bedrooms. Steve stood there for a moment, waiting until he heard the sound of Bucky’s bedroom door closing.
“Thank you, Y/N,” he said. You cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Why’re you thanking me?”
“Just… for being a friend, I guess. It means a lot that you’d talk to Buck. He’s not so open with others anymore,” Steve explained. “I’m glad he’s starting to realize that no one sees him as the monster he thinks he is.”
“Anytime. I’m always up at this time anyway. He’s a good man,” you answered.
“Besides, I knew this would happen sometime,” Steve declared, beginning to head down the hall toward the fitness center.
“Why’s that?” you called after him.
“He thinks you’re cute!” the Captain laughed.
You spat out your tea, cheeks flushing red. “WHAT?”
Steve Rogers x Reader
Summary:You have been in a relationship with Steve for a while, and are reminiscing one of your favorite memories with him.
Word Count: 1558
Warnings: None. This is fluffy fluff fluff.
A/N:I hope you guys like my first imagine! Be sure to let me know what you thought of it. I know it’s kind of cheesy and corny and fluffy-poo, but I haven’t written in a while and I needed a warm-up piece, y’know? Well, anyway, I’m open to requests if you have any! Not my gif btw
You stood in the kitchen, your hair haphazardly pulled up in the sloppiest of messy buns. You were at the sink, rinsing some green beans for dinner. Music filled the room, from the tiny little Bluetooth speaker in the corner. It was Frank Sinatra, Steve’s favorite. You weren’t much into jazz until you met Steve, and he started playing it for you. Now it was almost all you listened to. You hummed along quietly, smiling as you remembered the first time Steve played this song for you.
———-
“Now, I know you said you don’t like jazz, but I really think you’re going to like this song.” he said, this excited grin present on his face. The two of you sat in his car, an old red convertible, in the parking lot of the restaurant you at which you just ate. The top was down, the sky was dark and clear, and your stomach was happily full of Italian food.
“If you say so,” you teased lightly, brushing some loose hair behind your ear. “But if I don’t like it, don’t be too disappointed.”
Steve just looked at you and shook his head. “You’re going to like it,” he said, determined, and pressed the play button. Soon the sounds of horns and strings filled the car, and Steve pulled out onto the street. The song, ‘April in Paris’, was beautiful, and you smiled as you listened to it. It was surprising, really, how much you liked it. You stared straight ahead, focusing on the music, but you could tell Steve was glancing over at you every few seconds to gauge whether or not you liked it.
Halfway through the song, you looked over at him and grinned. “I like it,” you said, and his face lit up like a dog getting a treat.
You started to say something else, but Steve reached over and covered your mouth with his hand. “Wait!” he cut you off as the sound of the horns slowly died. “This is the best part.” Within a moment, the horns and strings swelled back up, and Frank Sinatra’s voice rang out like church bells.
You glanced down at Steve’s hand, which was still over your mouth, and pushed it away. You stayed silent for the rest of the song, listening and thinking about this night- it was your fourth date with Steve, and you really, really liked him. He was sweet, and chivalrous, and old-fashioned, which was just adorable. And he was hot as hell, which was a nice bonus. You knew that dating a superhero would be complicated, but when it was all said and done, wasn’t every relationship at least a little complicated? You wanted to try and make it work with Steve, and it really seemed like he liked you as much as you liked him.
The song ended shortly after that, and you reached over and turned the volume down a little on the radio. “Where are we going now?” you asked, looking over at the broad-shouldered blond in the driver’s seat.
“To my favorite spot in the whole city,” Steve said, glancing over at you with this gleam in his eyes you had never seen before. Maybe it was the streetlights reflecting off of their baby blue tint, or maybe it was the stars, but you had never noticed just how beautiful his eyes were.
He drove you to the World War II Memorial, and you smiled softly as he parked the car. Of course this would be his favorite spot in the city. He opened your door for you and you walked together to the memorial. The moonlight reflecting off the water and the sounds of the fountains were calming.The World War II Memorial was right in between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, so you felt a sense of patriotism as you and Steve walked together. You didn’t say much to him as you walked around the memorial together, but instead listened as he explained the symbolism of all the arches and the pillars, the water and the lights, and told you all the facts about this memorial he could spew off the top of his head. He didn’t seem terribly overrun with grief as he talked about World War II, but there was definitely a glimmer of sadness in his tone. You couldn’t imagine how hard it all must have been for him. You slowly reached over and grabbed his hand as you passed Indiana’s pillar, not saying anything as you pressed your two palms together and interlaced your fingers. He looked down at you and smiled.
“God, there’s just… there’s something about you, (Y/N),” he said to you, stopped and turning to face you.
Your lips quirked up into a small smile, and he took a step closer to you. “I don’t know what it is,” Steve continued, releasing your hand so he could wrap his arms around your waist. “But I’m gonna find out.” You looked into his big, blue, Star-Spangled eyes, and you knew what was about to happen next.
Your heart was racing as he leaned in, and your eyes fluttered shut as you stood on your toes, pursing your lips. That song, ‘April in Paris’, started playing in your head, that part that Steve had loved so much. Your lips were just about to touch, barely centimeters away, and-
“Daddy, look, it’s Captain America!”
A small voice interrupted your thoughts, and Steve’s actions, and you turned to see a young boy and his father jogging towards you and Steve. ‘Shit,’ you thought to yourself. ‘Moment’s over. Kiss it goodbye.’
Steve stepped away from you and wiped his hands against his pants, smiling at the little boy, who couldn’t be more than six or seven. “Gee, I’m sorry, Mr. Rogers. But my son here is a big fan of yours- could we trouble you for an picture?” The father asked, eyes darting between Steve and you.
“Of course he can,” Steve grinned, squatting down so that the little boy was just barely taller than him. “What’s your name, little guy?”
“Bryce!” Said the young boy, grinning at his hero.
“Do you want to climb on my shoulders, Bryce?”
“Yeah!”
You laughed slightly, stepping off to the side so that Bryce’s father could snap a picture with his phone. After a few minutes of taking some pictures and small talk, Bryce and his father were soon on their way, and Steve looked at you. His expression was apologetic, and you could tell he was about to say he was sorry. “Hey, look, (Y/N), I’m real-”
“Don’t be,” you shrugged it off, reaching over and grabbing his hand. “I thought it was sweet how you let them ruin our moment,” you teased, placing his hand back on your waist. Steve’s cheeks turned pink and you stood on your toes once again, assuming the position. “Now, where were we?”
Steve chuckled and pulled you closer, lifting you up off the ground just slightly. His lips soon touched yours, and it was like a thousand fireworks lit off. It was a sweet, slow, lazy kiss, and you loved it. That was night you realized you could definitely see yourself falling in love with this goofy, old-fashioned, all-American hero.
———
“Those green beans aren’t going to rinse themselves, Doll.”
“Shit!” You jumped, turning around to see Steve in the doorway of the kitchen. Your eyes grew wide, and your cheeks turned pink when he started laughing at you. “That’s not funny,” you pouted, tossing a green bean at him. “You scared me.”
Steve was still chuckling. He crossed the kitchen and wrapped one arm around your waist, holding you so that your hip was touching his. “What were you thinking about?” he asked, tucking some hair behind your ear and pressing a loving kiss to your forehead.
“Nothing,” you said spitefully, sticking your tongue out before walking over to the stove and turning it on.
“Aw, come on, bug,” he cooed, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind. “It must have been pretty important to take your attention away from the beans like that.” You turned your head so that you could look at him and blew a raspberry in his face. “Now, there’s no need to be feisty,” Steve teased, burying his head in the crook of your neck.
You stirred the soup on the stovetop, trying your best to ignore him and his incessant, loving touches and kisses. “Oh, come on. I’m sorry I scared you, (Y/N). Now talk to me! I haven’t seen you in a week. What’s been on that pretty mind of yours?”
You turned so that you were facing him, and his hands were now on your lower back. “I was just thinking about you, and your stupid haircut.” You teased, smirking as you reached up and ruffled his blond locks.
He rolled his eyes, and leaned down to kiss you. “You’re a whack job sometimes, you know that?”
“I know,” you said proudly, reaching up and wrapping your arms around his neck. “But I’m your whack job.”
Another Sinatra song came on through the speaker, and Steve pulled you away from the stove so that your body was touching his. He swayed with you to the song, singing softly in your ear. “Fly me to the moon…”
Bruce Banner x Original Female Character | Avengers AU
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"We need a way to safely access the other realms again. We need to calm them back down, we don’t need another war, especially if we can prevent it.“ Thor now stood, all eyes on him as he slowly strode back and forth in front of the sofa. "Do you remember how father rebuilt the Bifrost after I destroyed it to save Jotunheim?”
Laussa answered hesitantly as she sat back down.
"You told me about it.“ Thor’s eyes were locked on her now, his expression stressed and somewhat helpless.
"Do you remember how he had to use the Tesseract because he alone wasn’t strong enough? I need your help, Laussa, we need to create a new Bifrost; a new, safe way to enter the other realms, to keep them in check.” She nodded, taking in the new information.
“How?” He stopped now, standing still as his gaze drifted through the room.
“Both our powers combined might be enough, but it’ll take some time.” She nodded, her head racing with questions, but she’d keep those for later.
“I understand.”
Thor’s hair fell down onto the back of his shoulders almost dramatically as he turned around to the man still standing behind the sofa, placing his big hand on his shoulder.
“Dr. Banner here is going to help us conduct some experiments on how we can achieve this in the best way possible, since we’ve never tried controlling your powers this way.” Laussa nodded again as the doctor nodded confidently, a small smile on his lips, but it barely made her less nervous.
If her mother was here now, she would have reminded her to understand, that this was her role, her destiny to help her brother save the nine realms once more, and she smiled at the thought.
"So, what exactly are your ‘powers’?“ Tony asked, raising his fingers up in air quotes as he said ‘powers’ in a sort of condescending voice, Natasha interrupting him immediately.
"Tony, come on.”
“What? I’m allowed to ask, am I not?” Stark leaned back into the sofa, now looking back at Laussa expectantly.
Laussa’s heartbeat started racing again instantly, but she tried staying calm on the outside.
“It’s alright. Did you really never tell them?” she blurted out towards her brother, who was looking down onto the ground now.
“I didn’t wanna bring it up.” he murmured, now avoiding eye contact with her and the others.
“I could have guessed, I mean they never even knew I was your sister,” she chuckled for a moment, before looking around the room again.
"Thor, can you - do you have a shield?“ He opened his mouth in response, but was interrupted.
"I do,” answered Steve Rogers, motioning to get up, as Thor shook his head.
“Not that kind, Rogers,” he clarified, turning around to Wanda whispering something to her, then giving his sister a thumbs up. Laussa sighed, her hand already buried in her brown leather handbag she had left on the sofa next to Natasha, pulling out a small, plain, inconspicuous rock from the cluttered mess of her bag. She twirled it between her fingers for a second before throwing it across the table to Thor. He caught it expertly and held it in his hand as she shrugged off her leather jacket and walked up to the fireplace once more.
She took another step forward, taking a deep breath, before extending her right hand forwards and plunging it deep into the core of the roaring fire. Wanda shrieked, and she could hear the other’s surprise as well, especially as she pulled her hand back out after a moment, holding it out for all of them to see.
Her hand looked unharmed, exactly as it had before, there were no burn marks or any signs of fire touching her in any way, other than the fact that the long sleeve on her green shirt was singed at its hem, still smouldering with the remainders of the heat it had just been exposed to.
Laussa now turned back around to her audience completely, taking a moment to admire their confused faces. Lifting her left hand up in front of her, making sure all of them could see, then she snapped her fingers to make a huge flame appear in the palm of her hand, growing hotter and hotter every second as the flame grew in size and turned from an orange to yellow to a light blue. She then brought her other hand over her left one, extinguishing the flame by clapping her hands together.
Taking another deep breath, taking her time preparing for what was about to come, she was interrupted by Steve Rogers.
"I mean no offense here, but we’ve seen Thor’s powers in action. Is this… all you can do?“
Chuckling, Laussa sought out Thor’s attentive eyes, nodded to him, and just as he nodded back, she let go of her inner restraints.
Her head was thrown back, her arms extended away from her body, as she sensed it coming.
It felt as if her core was imploding with tremendous power, heat soaring through her, burning through her from the inside out, sending sparks and little flames all around her.
She felt her skin heat up rapidly, changing its normal soft texture to the rougher leather-like structure, and she knew it was turning red and black all over, as she welcomed the searing pain that shot through her when she felt the thick, black horns piercing the skin of her forehead and the agonizing pulling ache of her fingers growing into long, sharp claws. A horrifying roar of agony rolled through the room, her voice now almost demonic, deep and raspy, her mouth spitting sparks and little flames everywhere with every breath she took.
When Laussa opened her yellow eyes, her body had risen into the air, suddenly levitating more than 6 feet above the ground, surrounded by a swirling hurricane of fire. As the ball of heat around her, whirling in a circular motion, began to expand further, the dark red symbols of Wanda’s Shield became visible, containing the fire within the bubble around Laussa, as she slowly sank back to the ground. Leaving searing, sizzling black footsteps on the white carpet, she stepped towards the red sofas.
"Is this enough for you, Mr. Rogers?” she growled towards the soldier who was cowering in his seat as she got closer.
“Y-y-yes.” Extending her claw-fingered hand towards him he leaned back even further, sinking into the soft pillows with panic in his eyes as she simultaneously reached out her other arm towards her brother, snapping her head towards him in one swift movement, her gigantic black horns only barely missing Steve’s face.
Laussa saw Thor smiling at her, a sort of pride reflected in his eyes as he thrust the small rock back into her direction, her catching it with ease, stepping a few steps back again, then promptly lifting it up in the air next to her head. She dramatically paused, taking another deep, smoke-inducing breath, before, without warning, stabbing the rock into the left side of her neck, splattering blood on the glass coffee table. Another shriek went through her audience, as the giant tornado behind her now suddenly and rapidly shrunk down, flying towards her and, together with her horns that retracted back into her skull, her skin that shrunk down to the normal human skin, all of the demonic signs that were being pulled into the stone, vanished completely after just a few moments, until at once, everything was quiet.
Laussa dropped to her knees behind the sofa, the stone toppling down onto the ground in front of Steve and Natasha. She quickly snapped her fingers, conjuring up a quick illusion of clothes around her naked body, hidden behind the couch, before standing up and facing all of them.
There was pin-drop silence. When she found the courage to look up at them, she found most of them staring at her in amazement including Thor, who looked like the proudest big brother she had ever seen. Laussa walked around the sofa slowly, picking up the stone to shove it back into her bag.
Softly, she put her hand on Rogers’ shoulder reassuringly, who winced in surprise before accepting her touch with a small smile.
“Sorry about that,” she said as he nodded up at her, and she took her hand off his strong shoulder, feeling relieved.
"Wow, that was impressive, Laussa. Very glad, Thor never told us about you, you could have been of some help in certain cases.“ All heads snapped towards Tony as he broke the silence while standing up, Clint trying to calm him down without hesitation.
"Tony, don’t.”
“What, is it not true? She could have made things so much easier, look at her!” Thor now stood up as well, his arms crossed over his chest.’
“I would never put my sister in any danger, especially if there are other ways.”
“Oh, and there were other ways? She could have helped us so much in New York, or in - ” Thor’s eyes flashed angrily and he rose his voice considerably.
“Oh, in New York? Against her own brother?”
Had she heard the discussion, that was unfolding next to her, she would have most definitely interjected, but she was distracted. When Tony had started talking, she had noticed Banner eyeing her with a glint of amazement in his expression and a small smile on his lips, then suddenly turning away from her, hurrying towards the elevator, unnoticed by the others in the room who were now so deeply involved in their dispute.
She had seen it nevertheless, had seen it before he turned away, had let her eyes roam over his figure, taking in his tense posture, his intriguing, mysterious facial expression and the dark green vein on his neck, creeping up from underneath his shirt collar.
Bruce Banner x Original Female Character | Avengers AU
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“That would be that genius Dr. Banner you were talking about.”
Oh no. Laussa felt all of her blood rush to her face immediately, she must have looked as red as a tomato as she looked down to the ground in embarrassment for a second, before looking up at Dr. Banner again, not being able to contain her curiosity. This was THE Dr. Banner? How could she not have guessed?
She knew the answer to that; she had expected a much older man, one, that looked like someone who didn’t quite take care of themselves because they considered their scientific research more important than anything else, one that was a workaholic to the bone, spending more time in the lab than anywhere else. But now that she knew, now that she was looking, she saw it all in his eyes. The exhaustion, the anguish and the pain.
Laussa quickly shook it off to get back to herself and took his hand again, almost instinctively.
“You are Dr. Banner? I had no idea, I’m a huge fan of your work, I’ve been following your research for years, especially your writings in the field of biochemistry, I am so honoured to meet you, doctor!” She spurted out, shaking his hand vigorously, suddenly feeling all the attention on her like she had said something wrong, but noticed the people around them smiling at her.
“That is very nice of you to say, thank you,” he murmured shyly, and she let go of his hand again.
His gaze was directed at the floor, his fluffy curls brushing over his eyebrows and she could clearly see him blushing before Thor spoke up, almost laughing this time.
"I’m not surprised you don’t recognise her, Banner, but you have met before, a couple of years back.”
Laussa cringed at his words, the topic being something she had hoped he would not bring up, not being something she wanted to talk about at all, let alone in front of all of these strangers.
“Wha-What do you mean?” Banner’s expression changed back to utter confusion, his eyes roaming over her once more, visibly convinced he’d never seen her before in his life, only changing for the worse when Thor continued talking.
“Well, my sister here - ”
A resounding sound of confusion went around the group, Tony being the first one to say coherent words.
"Wait a minute, she’s your sister?!“ The confusion on his face proved to her, that they had had absolutely no idea, Clint’s words only confirming her suspicion.
"What, you never mentioned she was your sister, man! I thought she was your girlfriend or something.”
Thor now stumbled over his words, his face also bewildered.
“What, of course, I did, I must have… Well, maybe I didn’t specifically say it but it was most definitely implied.” Laussa took a step closer to her brother, laying a hand on his shoulder, effectively silencing him, so she could speak.
“I understand my brother here has most inappropriately forgotten to mention who I am: My name is Laussa Odinsdottir, I am the daughter of Odin and Frigga, as is he, although I don’t necessarily want to associate myself with Odin, so I’d appreciate it if you would just call me Laussa.’
▪
"So, why am I here?’ Laussa asked when they had sat down on the velvet sofas, now also joined by Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, who had also seemed very eager to meet her, also reacting equally confused to finding out she was Thor’s sister and disgusted at the thought of being romantically involved with him.
Dr. Banner, who was nervously walking back and forth behind the sofa that Tony, Thor and Wanda were sitting on, was throwing occasional glances at her that she couldn’t quite interpret, but she had the feeling he didn’t really like her, and that she made him uncomfortable. She let her eyes drift back to her brother as he stood up.
"Well, let me explain. When Asgard was destroyed by Surtur, he also destroyed the Bifrost, and any chance to access the other realms safely. As you know, father was the king of Asgard before he died, but he also controlled the peace between the nine realms, keeping them controlled and non-violent. Now, however, Heimdall has recently observed that there are great uproars happening in at least two of the realms, Muspelheim and Jotunheim.”
Laussa looked away at the mentioning of those two, images flashing up in her head of the icy cold storms in the realms of the frost giants, contrasted by the fiery destruction in Muspelheim.
“They both demand new leaders, respectively, after the deaths of Surtur, Laufey and… his son.” Thor paused, looking at her with worry, waiting for a reaction, and continued when she nodded at him encouragingly. “They are seeking new leaders, and once they’ve found them, there will be nothing holding them back from fighting each other, and then the other realms. You know we have to keep them at bay, and you know… You know that you’re the rightful heir to the throne of Muspelheim.”
Laussa now had her eyes completely glued to the ground, once again trying to control her breathing, trying to understand what her brother was insinuating.
"What, why is that? I thought you were Odin’s daughter?“ asked Clint in a confused manner, leaning forward and propping up his elbows on his knees. Laussa took another deep breath, closed her eyes for a second, and began explaining.
"Well, I was born to Odin and Frigga, but I was conceived during a journey our parents took through the space between realms, to which father had previously banished Surtur, the king of Muspelheim, effectively making him my third parent. I got all of my powers from him. Being his only child, I was the heir to the throne of Muspelheim, but father could never allow it. He wanted me on the Asgardian throne, especially after both of my sisters died and Loki…” She swallowed, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes at the first time saying his name out loud in a while.
“After both of our sisters and mother were dead, Thor didn’t want the throne and Loki was… gone, father insisted on me being the new queen of Asgard.”
“I detested my father after everything he had done to both my sisters and brothers and I hated being in his presence more every day, so I left again. I didn’t take the throne of Asgard nor did I take the throne of Muspelheim, I left. I came down to earth again, hid myself away, fled into science and research. I’ve stayed here ever since, down in Australia, helping people, animals, studying, researching. I didn’t want anything to do with Asgard, even after father…” Laussa looked around, her eyes almost automatically seeking out the doctor, who was also fixated on her, now standing completely still. She couldn’t get herself to look him in the eye, her legs almost moving instinctively as she rose from the satin sofa, stepping away from them towards the comforting warmth of the roaring fireplace. Her eyes drifted downwards, fascinated by the intricate moving shadows the fire cast on the white carpet around her, as she finally got back her courage to speak.
"I couldn’t go back, even after, maybe even especially after father died, I just couldn’t… And then Ragnarok happened and Asgard was destroyed, but after Loki died for me - us - in the battle, it never even occurred to me once to come back and I would never have done so, had you not needed my help, brother.“
Laussa turned around, away from the flames, back at the group of people watching her intently, focussing on Thor.
"So, how can I help?”
Bruce Banner x Original Female Character | Avengers AU
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"That’s it, thank you very much.“ Laussa took off her gloves while she was entering the waiting room, immediately making eye contact with the two elderly women that had been waiting for hours, as she spoke.
"The arm isn’t as badly fractured as the X-Ray had made us believe, I’ve set everything back in its proper place, my colleagues here are putting his arm in a cast until it’s all healed off.” The lady with the long grey hair and the flowy blue dress jumped up with more hope and enthusiasm than anyone in the room had expected, and grabbed her hand in a firm handshake. “We’ve also checked for any internal bleeding since we can’t be sure what happened during the accident when his arm was broken, but thankfully there is nothing, so as soon as his arm is healed he should be back to normal.”
The woman pushed a stand of her grey hair behind her ear as her eyes welled up with tears.
“Thank you so much, Doctor, you know we really appreciate it, we would be lost without you.”
The doctor looked back through the open door behind her into the recovery room, seeing the young boy very slowly waking up, trying to move his right arm that was now entirely enclosed in a thick cast, then looked back at the old woman.
“Thank you for giving me the chance to help them. I couldn’t imagine anything more gratifying. But, of course, you can go see him now if you want to.”
When Laussa entered the laboratory a few hours later, she wasn’t feeling much of that gratitude anymore, all of it being overshadowed by the big headache that had started to overcome her about an hour ago. It was the same almost every time she had had a long work day, and she pinched the bridge of her nose before stepping down a couple of steps into her laboratory, hoping for any type of relief.
She quickly washed her hands in the metal sink and pulled her long lab coat over her green shirt, her gaze falling down onto the silver locket on her chest. The pendant hung from a thin, silver chain, and was embossed with delicate details, that she gently let her thumb run over, before carefully opening the silver heart. Her eyes slowly filled with tears as she looked upon the little painting of the two boys that was inside, gripping onto the pendant tighter, the tips of her fingernails turning white from the pressure.
There was a little blonde boy, holding up a sword much too big for him confidently as if his life depended on it, and a dark-haired boy next to him, younger, his straight black hair falling in his face that had a content smile plastered on it. She remembered the day as if it had been yesterday…
"So you’re a doctor now?“ The deep voice echoing through her lab made her jump and knock over a glass on the table next to her, her hands hectically trying to grab it before it slid off the countertop and shattered on the tiled floor with a loud crash. "I would have expected a lot from you, but a doctor on Midgard was never something I thought of.” His powerful steps made the delicate glasses and flasks in her cupboards and on her tables tremble and make tiny clinking noises with every step he took.
“I help the people no one else will help.” Laussa muttered to herself, not turning around. She didn’t need to to know who was there. Instead, she quickly snapped the locket closed and swerved to the table closest to her, grabbing gloves and paper towels to wipe up the substance she had spilled over the counter.
"You know, a simple hello would have been nice. I missed you too, by the way.“ She murmured, throwing the towels in the trash before turning around to the man while taking off the white gloves. The blonde demi-god towered over her, looking so way out of place in her silver, delicate laboratory filled with plants, the world she had built for herself and only ever herself over the past couple of years.
When she finally looked up at his face, he looked exhausted, more so than she’d ever seen him before. His blond hair was flat and greasy, his eyepatch cutting into the dull and grey skin of his face, his puffy eye looking more drained than ever. She knew the moment she looked into his eyes that he needed her help, and that she was going to help him, whatever he was to ask of her.
"Why are you here, Thor?” Laussa inquired with a resigned expression on her face, watching every movement of his as he stepped another step closer to her, now standing right in front of her. He sighed loudly, before starting to talk.
“I did miss you, terribly so, Laussa. But you chose to go back to this place, as you always did.” He said softly, gesturing around the lab, then taking her hands into his, brushing his big thumbs over her knuckles. “But I need your help, I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important, I know you left for a reason.”
Laussa sighed too, looking down to the ground, clearly enjoying the familiarity of being close to him again after such a long time, and she had already made up her mind.
"What do you need me to do?“
Bruce Banner x Original Female Character | Avengers AU
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The scattered golden sunlight crept through the thick leaves of the old oak tree, throwing calming rays of warmth onto Laussa’s skin as she lounged in the dewy, summer-green grass beneath. A few culms were brushing against the naked skin of her lower leg, but she didn’t feel the tickling sensation, too absorbed in the view of the world around her, enveloped in the incomparable golden glow she’d only ever experienced here on Asgard.
A slight breeze brushed her soft, blonde curls into her face, making her turn her head away from the draft, surprisedly laying eyes on her teenage brother leaning against the ancient tree behind her. ‘What are you doing, sister?’ His voice was calm as his dark hair was blown out of his face by a gust of wind, his green cape flowing behind him as he stepped closer to her.
‘Just thinking.’ His leather boots squeaked against the ground as he crouched down next to her. ‘Aren’t you a bit young for that?’ She gave him an offended look. ‘That’s mean, I’m already 6!’ Laussa hit his shoulder playfully. Loki, however, let himself fall over and roll down the hill, his cape wrapping around him in the process, making her laugh almost hysterically as he struggled to get up.
‘You dare to attack me? You have no idea who you’re dealing with!’ He rose his arms, conjuring up a bunch of toy knives, sending them soaring towards her. She rose her hands as well, snapping her fingers together, all of the knives promptly turning into small, shiny bubbles, rising up into the golden sky. Loki faked a scared expression as Laussa got up to run towards him, fleeing back towards the tree. ‘Where did you get those powers? You can’t be stronger than me!’ He ran around the tree, still shouting, her right on his heels. ‘Have mercy, little girl!’ As she rounded the tree, the dark-haired god had vanished, and she stopped to listen for any movement around her except the lush leaves above her faintly rustling in the wind.
‘You’d have mercy with me, wouldn’t you?’ The voice of her oldest brother surprised her as he stepped out from behind the tree. His straight, blond hair barely reached his shoulders, stands of it blowing into his eyes, his red cloak waving behind him dramatically.
Now, Laussa might have been 6 years old, but she wasn’t easily fooled, especially not with a brother that was the god of mischief. Taking a small breath, she cocked her head to the side slightly, looking her oldest brother deep in the eyes ‘What do you think, Loki?’
He let go of the green facade immediately, running off again. She tried to get him, but this time she had to stop after a while, out of breath, leaning forward while propping her hands on her knees, as she slowly gained control of her erratic breathing again.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him, his black hair now falling into his face as he peeked out from the other side of the oak tree, also breathing heavily. She saw him shudder slightly as he tried to calm down and took a deep breath before talking.
‘I know father told you, not to play with me anymore. He thinks I’m a bad influence on you.’ His voice was bitter, and she breathed in once more, standing up straight again. ‘Well, he’s wrong then.’ Loki’s frown turned into a smile, one of his rarer, genuine smiles, and he vanished behind the tree again. Suddenly, Odin’s head appeared on the other side of the tree, an angry expression on his face as he shouted: ‘How dare you speak the truth, girl!’ She laughed at Loki’s illusion, shouting back at ‘her father’: ‘Well, what are you gonna do, send me back into that box again?’
Her own laughter distracted her from the transformation, but all of a sudden, Loki was himself again, his features overcome with a sad expression. She was by his side in the blink of an eye, hugging his torso as tightly as she could. He hesitated, his sorrowful eyes now on her, laying his hand on her back gently.
‘Not so tough now, warrior.’ she laughed, observing his facial expression change back from sad to smiling, then a wicked smirk taking over. She felt him transforming right under her hands before she could see it, green light enveloping him as he shrunk out of his humanoid shape. When Laussa could see through the blinding light again, she just barely saw the long, green snake on the ground in front of her before letting out a shriek of terror. ‘Eek! Stop it, you know I hate snakes!’ He hissed at her, his slick body then quickly slithering into the high grass next to them, effectively vanishing completely.
The atmosphere shifted quickly when suddenly, dark clouds gathered under the golden sky and a distant thunder dove everything into a darker mood. Slightly scared, she started calling out for her brother. ‘Loki?’ The rain started just seconds afterwards, big, heavy drops of cold water hitting her and the environment around her. ‘Loki, where are you?’ The high grass rustled around her, but she couldn’t spot him anywhere. ‘This isn’t funny, Loki.’ She shouted now, the fear clutching her tightly as she frantically looked around her.
Then, there it was. An ear-splitting scream of pain in the distance. She felt a sharp pain shoot through her heart immediately. Loki. She raced back to the oak tree, knowing instinctively the scream had come from here. ‘Loki! Where are - ’
Loki stood there, right next to the tree. He looked older, an adult, his longer, wet hair and clothes were clinging to his body, his posture rigid, as his hand dipped down to his chest. She looked down in shock as she saw the blood pooling on the front of his tunic, running down his torso, and he collapsed onto the ground. ‘Loki!’ She ran to his side, taking his hand into hers, her other hand brushing the wet hair out of his pale face. ‘No no no no no, Loki, what happened?.’ Her hands sought out the wound intuitively, pushing down onto the long stab wound with all the pressure, she could muster up. ‘Stay with me, Loki.’ she whispered, trying to stay calm as her heart beat out of her chest in panic.
He pulled her bloodstained hands away from his chest, taking them into his. As tears streamed down her face, he rose his other hand to her cheek, his cold, shaking fingers brushing over her skin softly, forcing her to look up at his face, clearly contorted in pain. ‘Please don’t, Loki, please don’t leave me alone.’ She whispered frantically, his hand gripping onto her face tighter, using all his remaining strength to pull himself up to her, face to face, then turning to her ear.
‘Then why didn’t you save me?’
Laussa woke up, panting, feeling the tears that covered her face, soaking the thin shirt she was wearing. In an attempt to calm down, she tried opening her eyes, but her body didn’t move, didn’t respond to her cues. Oh no. Sleep paralysis was nothing entirely new to her, but it had certainly become a rarer occasion over the past year.
After slightly calming down her irregular breathing, she finally managed to open her eyes, looking up at the dark ceiling, lit only by the faint moonlight coming through the window to her side. The panic of her nightmare still enveloped her, making it more difficult to try to move in any way, so she tried her breathing exercises. Slow, deliberate breaths, slowing down her heartbeat in the process. Then she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye.
Her eyes snapped towards the right side of the bed, where she’d registered the motion, her breathing stopping altogether abruptly.
There he was. There was Loki, sitting right beside her bed, dressed only in a withered black suit, his hair long and messy, his eyes tired, but focused on her with concern. She let out a shriek, her breathing suddenly erratic, her body now twitching wildly, desperately trying to move.
‘Shhhhhhh.’ he whispered, now leaning forward, his black hair falling in his face as he did. ‘Breathe, slowly.’ He rose his hand to her cheek, letting his fingers brush the hair out of her face as she whimpered. ‘In, and out.’ She could see the scarred, dark burn marks on his arm, perfectly shaped in a handprint - her handprint. He was so close, she could smell him, feel the coldness he always radiated. Looking back up at him once more, he smiled at her sadly, almost exactly as he had in her dream, and, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
As she splashed the cold water on her face, she could already tell it wasn’t going to help. The images of her dream were still so vivid in her mind, so lifelike as if it had really just happened to her. She dried her face, turning to look at her phone. 3:51 am. Thor had returned to New Asgard a few days ago, and she had half in mind to go there now, just to not be alone after a dream like that. But what would she even tell him? That she had had a nightmare? That she had seen Loki sitting by her bed? No, that was not an option. She wasn’t a child anymore.
She left her room to go to the kitchen, quietly making herself a cup of coffee, her mind drifting back to the doctor. What if she went to see him? He would understand, wouldn’t he? It had been almost three weeks since that incident down in the lab where he’d helped her. He would listen, she knew. Taking her cup and warming her hands on it, she entered the elevator, her finger hovering over the button to Banner’s floor for a while.
She couldn’t burden him with her problems, he had enough to bear on his own.
Laussa let out a sigh of relief as the metal doors opened to the now familiar view of the lab. The lights around her switched on automatically as she walked in, but she quickly noticed that some of them hadn’t been turned off, as bright lights were emitting from Banner’s area. Was he still here? Trying to be as silent as she could, she snuck over towards his desk, and sure enough, there he was.
He was sitting in his chair, slouched forward, his head lying on his arms, fast asleep on the table. She stepped closer, an affectionate smile on her face as she regarded the attractive man in such a vulnerable position.
He was wearing a thin, wrinkled grey sweater, and his dark curls moved with every breath he took, brushing over his forehead. He probably hadn’t slept for days, as usual…
Laussa hurried to her desk, picking up the soft fleece blanket she kept there for long nights, rushing back to Banner. Slowly, she walked closer to him, wrapping the blanket around him gently. He stirred, his eyes flickering open and up to meet hers. His voice was raspy as he spoke, and Laussa felt her heart beat faster. ‘What are you doing?’ She smiled at him, fighting the urge to brush the loose curl out of his face. ‘I think you should go to bed, Dr. Banner, it is very late.’ He shook his head sleepily. ‘No, no, I was working on something here.’ He sat up quickly, motioning to get back to work, only groggily pushing his keyboard to the side and knocking a mug off his desk. She moved quickly, her reflexes sharp, catching it before it hit the ground. She put it back on the desk as she suppressed a peal of laughter. ‘Come on, Dr. Banner, I’ll get you up to your room.’
He was shaky on his legs, clearly still half asleep as they reached the elevator. She waited, but when it seemed like he couldn’t hold himself up anymore, she wrapped her arm around his back supporting him. She inhaled sharply as she felt the taut muscles of his back through his shirt, only gripping tighter onto him as he drowsily lifted his arm around her shoulders, automatically pulling her closer to him.
It felt almost intimate, standing so close next to each other, their limbs entangled, enjoying each other’s company, but she knew he was barely conscious anymore. She couldn’t help herself and let her hand wander upwards from his waist to his pronounced shoulder blades and the firm muscles surrounding them, only snapping out of it when the elevator stopped abruptly.
The doors opened to virtual darkness, no lights turning on in the room, as they entered. Her free hand fumbled for a light switch unsuccessfully for a moment, until she gave up. She imagined this floor would be essentially the same as hers, and they found their way to his room quickly with the help of her phone’s flashlight.
She let him fall off of her shoulder onto his unmade bed, then let her eyes wander around his room. It was bare, pretty much like hers, no personal belongings anywhere except for a few books on one of the tables and a few candles. Not wanting to turn on the main light, she walked over to the table, snapping her fingers above the candlesticks, igniting them immediately, illuminating the room in a dim, pleasant light.
Turning back around to the man on the bed, she noticed he hadn’t moved at all. As she had let him fall onto the bed, his thin, grey sweater had ridden up his torso, his trained body and the faint line of dark hair continuing down under his dress pants now clearly visible in the faint light. She shook off the urge to stare longer, quickly walking back to the bed, to nudge his legs up onto the soft mattress, taking off his shoes in the process. She had just pushed him to lie on the bed completely now, as he groaned softly. She couldn’t suppress her laughter this time. ‘It’s like you’re drunk.’ Her words made him chuckle as well. ‘I feel drunk, too.’ He opened his eyes now, slowly, his golden brown eyes looking even more captivating in the warm candlelight. ‘You’ll be fine, doctor.’ she said, breaking free from their eye contact to grab the blanket she had brought with her, gently throwing it over him. As she turned to leave the room, he grabbed her wrist, his touch sending tingles through her body. ‘Laussa.’ She turned her head back around to him, his eyes back open, looking at her, his curls falling back onto his forehead. ‘Yes?’ He took a shuddered breath, talking slowly, but sincerely.
‘I’m really happy you’re here. I like… I like having you around.’ She smiled, her heart suddenly beating much faster as she felt butterflies in her stomach. ‘Thank you, Dr. Banner.’ she said and nodded, now once more turning to leave as he softly let go of her arm. ‘Call me Bruce, please. I should have said that much earlier.’ Her smile grew wider. ‘Okay, Bruce, have a good rest.’ His delicate snoring filled the room mere seconds afterwards, and she only turned back around to him when she’d reached the door.
He looked incredibly peaceful right here in the soft candlelight, and she was overwhelmed by the overbearing desire to stay, just lay next to him, maybe cuddle up against him. She shook her head again, closing the door gently behind her, her subconscious still hard at work.
Maybe one day.
Bruce Banner x Original Female Character | Avengers AU
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Laussa pressed the button to the lab with her elbow as she entered the elevator, the steaming hot cups in her hand fogging up the closing metal doors right in front of her. Slightly worried, she let her eyes roam over her reflection in the mirror-wall, now holding both cups by their handle in her left hand to use the other to fix her messy ponytail that had come loose.
The gray shirt she wore was fitting, but not too tight to not look casual, her black pants sitting tightly around the curves of her body. She let the green shield around her dissolve momentarily, her dark ponytail vanishing to reveal the dark blonde, curly bun she wore her natural hair in, small strands of curls falling onto her forehead around the dark, round scars her brother had seen only yesterday, and the bumpy scarred wound on the side of her neck, where she had stabbed herself yet again just the day before.
Slowly, Laussa let her fingers hover over the half-open wound, feeling the heat pool just underneath the surface. She could see the fire move like lava underneath her skin, glowing all over her neck and chest. Shit. The stress of the changing environment and new people all around her would make it necessary to use the stone more often again.
The powerful ring of the elevator yanked her out of her thoughts, and she instinctively let the green magic envelop her once again before taking a quick breath, entering the lab.
The loud sound the elevator had made reverberated through the large, open laboratory with the high ceilings, echoing back from the glass instruments on the table next to her. She looked around in awe once more, this time seeing the lab in natural sunlight that was streaming in through another one of the usual giant windows of the house.
The mostly metal and glass instruments shone in the warm morning sunlight, casting long shadows on the surfaces behind them. Laussa slowly strode forwards, admiring the craftsmanship on the machines and inventions around just the entrance of one of the floors in this building, that was dedicated to science.
"I’m busy, Tony!“ Banner’s raspy voice broke through the serene silence of the room, making her jump, almost spilling some of the hot coffee on herself. He wasn’t expecting her, she thought to herself with a smile.
Laussa quickly made her way over to where she now knew his desk to be, her footsteps also echoing loudly, as everything did down here.
As she turned the corner to his area, she locked her eyes on him immediately. He was sat in a swivel chair in front of his large desk, monitors all around him, most of them showing different versions of what seemed like a blueprint, others showing texts and documents she couldn’t decipher from her distance.
He was leaning forward onto the table, his right hand rubbing his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, as his other hand was holding his glasses, absentmindedly opening and closing the sides in a slow rhythm. He seemed to be wearing the same clothes she saw him in yesterday, his blue button-down no longer tucked into his pants, but loosely peeking from under his wrinkled lab-coat, his hair now messy and ruffled as it spilled over his forehead.
"I didn’t mean to disturb you, Dr. Banner.”
Bruce flinched, immediately turning around to her, his eyes now wide open, staring at her like a deer in the headlights. Her breath hitched in her throat as she saw him from a different angle, noticing his shirt that was not only no longer tucked into the brown dress pants, but also had more buttons undone, revealing his pale, trained chest. She got a quick glance at the dark brown curls of chest hair before he hastily brought up his hands to button up his shirt again and fix his hair as best he could.
“No, no, you didn’t, I just… I wasn’t expecting you,” he said nervously, quickly tucking his shirt back into his pants and pulling his coat back on completely.
"I brought you something, Clint told me this is how you like your coffee? Be careful, though, it’s hot.“ He looked at her in confusion and surprise as she walked closer and set down one of the cups on his desk carefully.
"Th-thank you, that’s very kind.” His smile was honest, giving her a chance to marvel over his deep brown eyes again, memorising the bright, little flickers of gold behind the overpowering exhaustion he was radiating.
"Are you alright? You look as if you haven’t slept at all.“ The doctor quickly shook his head, now breaking the eye contact, looking back down onto the glasses in his hand, reaching his other hand out to grab the steaming cup of coffee.
"I’m all right, no reason for concerns, nothing unusual. Thank you.”
Still concerned, but aware he didn’t want her to prod further she nodded at him, moving over to her work station.
▪
It took her a while to get acquainted with everything, the technology being so much more advanced than anything she’d ever handled before, but she was able to set up everything she needed to transfer all of her research over to this side of the earth. Hacking had never been her strong suit, especially not hacking through her own security system, but in the hurry that Thor had made her leave in, she had been forced to leave her lab without transferring her data into the cloud, as she usually did, so she had to hack back into her other computer to access all of her files.
It took a long time, but when she finally had found an access point to her old desktop, she gave a sigh of content, immediately freezing to hope the doctor hadn’t heard it.
She had been down in the lab for a couple of hours at this point, sitting only about 15 feet away from where he was working, hearing only the occasional clanking or typing noise, sometimes a little groan as if he was in pain.
Laussa was sure he hadn’t slept the night before, given his looks as she had first seen him today, so he was probably suffering from a splitting headache.
Why was she thinking about him so much?
Shaking her head, she decided to get on with work.
She had now copied most of her files onto the new device, only her ‘highly confidential’ ones were yet to come. As she finished her last lines of input to transfer those as well, suddenly, all of the screens around her started flashing red, some of them having a big ‘Access Denied’-texts written on them, as an alarm started going off. In a panic, she quickly tried to fix her mistake, then, as she gave up on that tried to just cancel the transfer, but nothing worked as she frantically started to manually override security, again and again, the blaring alarm still going off in the background.
"You need some help?“ Laussa heard Bruce’s voice shout over the loud signal.
"No, thanks, I totally have this under control.” The confidence in her voice faltered and she heard him step closer almost immediately, felt him watch over her actions, apparently understanding, what she was doing.
“Laussa, hey, you don’t need to do all that manually, Tony’s got this all handled automatically.” He stepped right next to her, crouching down, now speaking at a normal volume since he was right next to her ear. “May I? You just have to…”
She visibly shuddered, feeling his warm breath on her ear as he leaned over her, his fingers brushing against hers as he took control of the keyboard. Little jolts of electricity shot through her body at the feel of his skin on hers, and with a few shortcuts, he had cut off the blaring alarm.
Suddenly, there was a small progress bar, all of the confidential files now flowing onto the new device. He retreated, taking a small step back and Laussa turned around to him.
"Wow, th-thank you! I had no idea, thanks, doctor.“ He smiled at her and her chest suddenly felt heavy, her heart stuttering as she took him in again, his undoubtedly attractive experience, the kindness in his eyes as he looked at her, a faint blush on his cheeks.
"Oh, no problem…” His voice was quiet, his gaze now distracted, focused on something behind her.
Laussa spun back around, the newly copied files of research, experiments and analyses opening on different parts of the screen, big enough so he had definitely seen parts of it. Shit. She focussed on him out of the corner of her eye, his posture was now rigid, his head averted.
“I’m gonna go back to work, just call, if you need any help.” With that, he left, not even a glance back in her direction as he practically fled the scene.
She turned her attention back to the screens, now completely filled up with the files she had most recently worked on, prominently featuring research on Asgardian afterlife, wormholes and time travel…
…which Banner had definitely seen.
