A Twist Of Marvel || Infinity War

62. Hangover

Bruce Banner was a respectable man. He had seven PhD's, and was easily one of the ten smartest people on the Earth. He was accustomed to spending his time in high-tech laboratories,  working on life-altering materials alongside some of the biggest names in science. He was an Avenger, and both he and his green rage-filled alter ego had helped to save the world numerous times.

He was not a man accustomed to emptying his stomach into a toilet in the early hours of the morning.

He would have been lying if he claimed that it was his first time, however.

Truthfully, Bruce didn't have an exact measure of where he was, but he assumed he was still on Asgard. The lavish toilet could attest to that. But he did not have to kneel on the tiled floor in misery alone, however, as soon enough a knock echoed through his room. Still hunched over the toilet, trying not to smell its new contents, he couldn't muster up the strength to answer the door.

"Yeah..." Bruce called, not as a question, or an invitation to answer, but more as acknowledgement that he was still there. After finally flushing the toilet, he could only think it was some royal servant sent to find out who the hell couldn't hold their drink on a planet filled with alcoholics. Bruce had seen both Thor and Valkyrie's drinking tendencies first-hand, and they were almost frightening.

But a servant wasn't at the door, and instead Bruce heard the now-familiar voice of Naomi call out a sleepy greeting to him. "Hey Bruce."

"Naomi." Bruce croaked, trying not to unclench his stomach for fear of vomiting again. He didn't turn to look at her, but he listened to the sound of her footsteps first crossing through the bedroom, then into the bathroom. He focused on regulating his breathing as her feet entered his peripheral vision, then a white nightgown covering her knees as she kneeled down beside him.

"I see the party has moved in here." Naomi commented, fighting off a small yawn in her voice. Bruce felt guilty for a moment that he had woken her up, but a new bout of nausea distracted him. Subconsciously, his cheeks puffed up with air and his face scrunched, pitching him even further over the toilet. Naomi's hand gently landed on his back, and she rubbed small circles over his shirt until he relaxed his face and titled back from the bowl slightly.

"Not much of a party." He groaned, regretting everything.

"You know," Naomi chuckled, "I'm used to holding someone's hair back in situations like this." Bruce laughed lightly, but cut himself off when it upset his stomach. He could feel the bile rising in his throat, so he was really only putting off the inevitable. Bruce couldn't bring himself to remember why people ever drank.

"Maybe Thor's got his own toilet somewhere." He joked, but he made an effort to stop any laughter from rising. Naomi did all the laughing for him, sounding more awake after a bit of talking.

"I have to hand it to you Bruce, I had no idea you could drink like that." She said, the amusement   in her voice evident. He groaned again, wondering what drunken nonsense he had gotten up to while he was hammered. For the life of him, Bruce couldn't remember much after the first bottle.

"It's been a long ti-" The inevitable next vomit session appeared, cutting him off. As Bruce hurled into the bowl- probably ruining whatever Asgardian marble is was made of- Naomi comforted him again by rubbing circles into his back. After nothing had exited Bruce's mouth-or nose- for a few seconds, her hand reached across his vision and flushed the toilet.

"Thanks." He said, wiping off his mouth with disgust.

"Of course." Naomi said, pulling herself off of the floor with a grunt. Still not looking away from the toilet, Bruce heard some vague rustling, and the sink facet running before a clean, wet towel was pressed into his non-vomit covered hand. As he wiped his face and hands off with another 'thanks,' he wondered what kind of life she had led before getting caught up in all their Avengers nonsense. She was clearly used to taking care of someone's hangover, and Bruce dimly remembered her remarking that she had gone to college- which would probably explain it.