Bruce waited anxiously outside the small, expensive-looking restaurant, his eyes routinely flicking to his wristwatch every two minutes. Clint and Natasha were over ten minutes late, They were supposed to be here, introducing him to some blind date; an idea that Bruce wasn't particularly open to, until a very convincing argument on Natasha's part finally persuaded him.
Bruce let out a heavy sigh, nervously tapping his foot on the dull grey concrete before breaking into a wide grin as he saw the couple — along with his own date— approaching him quickly. "Hey, did you guys get lost?" he asked Clint before finally taking a look at the familiar-looking tag-along, scanning upwards towards perfectly styled blond hair, "Wait, what's Steve doing here? I thought this was, like, a blind date thing?"
Natasha chuckled, snaking her arm back through Clint's and returning it to her side, "We didn't think you'd want to come if we just out-right said that we were setting you up with Cap, and we knew you wouldn't leave if we showed up," she smiled, her ruby red lips parting to reveal her set of perfectly white teeth, "Plus, you're getting a free meal, so, what's the harm?" She clapped him lightly on the shoulder as she passed him and made her way into the dimly lit room, quickly followed by the trio of men.
"Sorry, man," Clint said in a hushed tone as he passed Bruce with a quick shrug, "I owed him a favor."
Bruce nodded before looking up at Steve with an awkward closed-mouth smile, "You and me, huh?" he chuckled sheepishly, as he followed the redhead and her boyfriend, trying to break through the chest-tightening awkwardness he was beginning to feel about the situation. He cleared his throat, "You, uh, you look nice," he said as Steve pulled out a chair and motioned for Bruce to sit down, a small word of thanks escaping his lips as he accepted the seat.
"Thank you," Steve said with an audible smile as he took his own seat next to Bruce, scooting in closer to the table, "You don't look too bad, yourself."
Bruce hummed lightly and nodded with gratitude. He took a menu from the socially awkward waiter as it was handed to him, and promptly flipped through it, silently deciding on the least expensive item. He set the menu back on the table, hesitantly eyeing the rest of the group as they flipped nonchalantly through their own booklets.
Natasha pulled a couple red strands of hair out of her face as she set her menu on top of Bruce's, looking back up at the waiter with an awkward smile as he filled the glasses with water before silently going about his business. She cleared her throat quietly, gently tapping her leg against Barton's absentmindedly as she took a sip from her cup, the imprint of her red lipstick sticking to the clear glass, "So, Banner," she said in an attempt to clear the silence, "Any interesting projects, or..?"
Bruce nodded, fumbling to set down his own cup as he spoke, "Yes, actually," he said, looking down as he fiddled with his cup, forcing himself to not talk in-depth about his project as not to bore any of the others, "I'm working on this sort of serum with Tony. I have a really good feeling about it."
A collective hum of polite intrigue queued up around the table, Steve smiling lightly at the awkward way Bruce forced himself from getting too over excited about his project, a display he had only witnessed a few times in the short months they had known each other, "What kind of serum?" he asked, genuinely interested in what Bruce had been up to since the last time they saw each other.
Bruce perked up with the question, slightly surprised to find that his answer wasn't politely dismissed for another topic, "We're not planning on actually using it," he clarified, interrupted as the waiter quickly took everyone's small orders before bustling away again, "But, we're going to try to recreate the super-soldier serum they used on you, Cap," he looked over to Steve, offering a sheepish smile before running his hands along his glass of water again, flushing a gentle pink of unjustifiable embarrassment.
Steve's eyes widened slightly, offering a chuckle in the same sheepish manner as Bruce's smile, "Well, if you aren't planning to use it, I suppose there's no real harm done," he said.
The table hummed again, an awkward silence hovering over the group. Clint absently hand his hand along Natasha's leg as conversation sounded up again as food was brought. Small exclamations of joy coming from each member of the group as plates were set in front of them. Hands awkwardly rubbed together as they searched for forks before every dug in, conversation coming easily and quickly as they dined.
Eventually, a collective groan came from the table as everyone was satisfied with their meal and the check was paid (not without the graceful check dance between two men to see who was going to be paying). Natasha led the boys out, grabbing Clint's hand as she promised she would see the other boys later before escorting her hawk home.
Steve cleared his throat once him and Bruce were alone on the cold, almost empty city street and shuffled awkwardly closer into him, "I, uh, I had fun tonight," he said, running an awkward hand though his hair as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, "I wanted to know if you'd be willing to do it again. I mean, without Clint and Natasha?"
Bruce grinned, chuckling sweetly as he hesitantly grabbed at Steve's cold hand, holding it delicately in his own. He intertwined the fingers as they took small steps back home towards the tower, "I would love to," he responded, swinging their arms gently as they walked, small flakes of snow drifting softly onto the new couple's noses.