Herbal Remedies (Bruce BannerxReader)

“Are you looking for something?” you asked with a smile, brushing off your light blue apron and standing from the crate you were unpacking to a shelf, "Maybe I can help?"

The mousy-looking man in front of you jumped a bit before straightening himself out. “No thanks,” he said with an almost bitter laugh, “I’m pretty sure you can’t.”

You chuckled at the man’s helplessness. “I doubt that,” you told him earnestly, “I’ve worked in this store since it opened and I’ve found that there’s an herb for everything.” You held up a bottle of white tablets labeled ‘Kava root’.

Handing it to the man, you let him know that it was for anxiety. “N-not that I think you need it!” you said, flustered and catching your mistake, “But, I use this and it works best for me.”

“Thanks,” he told you with a true smile that lit up his sweet brown eyes, “I could use it.”

“A-anything else you need?” you stuttered, feeling a flush grow on your cheeks.

The man rubbed his square jaw. “Anything for migraines?”

You shrugged. “Strong tea works best for me, but we can have a look at what tablets we have for it.”
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20 minutes later, you had handed about seven different bottles to Bruce, as you learned his name to be, all being different herbal tablets for anxiety, stress, a calm mind, and headaches. Stopping in your search after reaching ‘Passionfruit herb’, you laughed nervously. “S-sorry,” you said, another blush creeping up on your cheeks, “I guess I got carried away.”

“No, no,” Bruce laughed quietly, “It’s fine.”

“Obviously you don’t have to buy all of them.”

He stood from where the two of you had been kneeling in the aisle, easily holding all of the bottles in his two large hands. “I could use all of them,” he said, a bit sardonically.

Just as he was walking away, you sighed and got back to shelving the bottles in the small crate. “Hey,” you heard from the quiet man who was just about to leave, “Would you like to come get coffee with me?”

You felt a wide smile grow on your face and you picked up the crate. “Tea work for you?”

The corners of his mouth turned up in a small smile. “Of course.”

Glancing down at your watch, you took note of the time. “I’m off in five.”

He shrugged, “I can wait.”

“Cool,” you said, placing the box on a counter and wiping your hands on your apron, “I’ll ring you up.”

You walked over to the single cash register in the little herb shop. “So what sort of work are you in that you need all of this stuff?” you laughed, scanning the barcodes.

“The government sort,” he said with a little chuckle.

Raising an eyebrow, you glanced at him from the computer by your cash register, “You serious?”

The little laugh that bubbled up from his lungs sounded more like a sigh than a chuckle, “No, I’m afraid not.”

“Man,” you said, handing him receipt and hanging up your apron, “Then you’re gonna need some strong tea.”

“I guess you’ll just have to show me around,” he smiled, hands in his pockets as he walked close to you, “Can’t get rid of me just yet.”

“N-no,” you murmured, that stubborn little blush still on your cheeks, “I guess not.”