Learning Curve part 2

[heartsdesire456]

When Bruce came back from going to get the takeout from downstairs, he came in to see Tony had changed clothes while he was gone. “Do you own anything besides thousand dollar suits and vintage band tee-shirts?” he asked as he walked over, setting the takeout on the coffee table. “Why do we never sit in your kitchen and eat? Surely you have a table. Or at least a dining room,” he said as he settled on his knees.

Tony scoffed. “Why would I own anything else? I like tee-shirts and I listen to great music.” Bruce looked over, only to bite his lip when he saw Tony pouring himself another finger of scotch.

“I really wish you wouldn’t-“ Bruce stopped, biting his lip and fidgeting when he realized he spoke out loud. “Never mind,” he mumbled, standing up again. “I’ll be back,” Bruce said, walking towards the hallway.

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Wish I wouldn’t what?” he asked and Bruce stopped, tugging at the hem of his shirt as he glanced back at Tony. He looked down and hunched his shoulders somewhat- a nervous tick Tony had long catalogued amongst countless others.

Bruce shrugged. “You drink too much,” he said honestly. He looked up and saw Tony looking at him in confusion. “You’re never not drinking, Tony. Even if you hardly ever seem the slightest bit inebriated, that’s just… ridiculous,” he said honestly. “To be a healthy person, one who takes all of the supplements, one who takes care to eat right and exercise, you drink so much all of the time.” He shook his head. “It’s just not good.” He turned and continued on his way out, going through to the kitchen to grab two bottles of water out of the refrigerator.

When he came out, he walked over to sit beside Tony, who was already sitting with his legs crossed, unpacking the food onto the table. Bruce sat down as well, only to glance up and notice there wasn’t a glass anywhere near them. Tony looked up and Bruce raised an eyebrow only to have Tony sniff affectedly. “I wanted water,” he said simply, snagging one of the bottles without another word.

Bruce smiled, biting his lip as he looked down. “Thank you,” he said softly, knowing better than to expect a reply.

After they finished eating, while Bruce was explaining that he learned medicine from volunteering as part of an aid camp in Somalia after he ran the first time, Tony couldn’t stop thinking about earlier in the lab. He didn’t even realize he was completely ignoring Bruce until Bruce stopped talking and waved a hand in front of his face. “Tony? Tony are you even listening?”

Tony snapped out of it and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Big Guy, I got distracted.” Bruce tilted his head enquiringly and Tony waved a hand. “Just… thinking about today.”

Bruce hummed. “You’re not giving up, are you-“

Tony snapped and whined, pouting at Bruce. “You’re smarter than me!” he stressed. “Why did you go to normal school if you were a super genius? It bothers me that I don’t know. I’m not used to not knowing! I know how to hack into almost everything why can’t I work out your information?!” Bruce leveled him with a half-amused, half-annoyed look. Tony rolled his eyes. “Oh stop that, I know where Steve went to church and that’s before information was even electronic, but the deepest and strongest security is on your files. why?! I know you don’t want me to know, and you don’t want to talk about it, I’m not ASKING you, I’m just complaining to you because you’re here and I’m annoyed that I can’t hack something-“

Bruce let out a chuckle. “You are the most arrogant bastard I’ve ever met,” he said in amusement. He dropped his head back against the couch. “Tony, there is a reason things are buried. You don’t need to know. Trust me, it’s nothing cool. I wasn’t building atomic weapons at six years old if that’s what you’re expecting to find,” he said and Tony just harrumphed.

“You’re just… smarter than me and I want to compare. Is that so strange?!”

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “Tony, you were a child prodigy. I wasn’t. I did exactly what you said to me, I went through school at a normal pace, didn’t go to college until the army recruited me.” He nudged him. “Besides, I don’t buy your explanation for why you stopped without a PhD but I’m not prying.”

Tony chuckled. “I’ll tell you why if you’ll tell me why?”

Bruce shook his head. “No,” he said, standing up to gather up their trash. “I told you, Tony. No.”

“Oh, come on!” Tony hopped up to follow him around as he cleared up. “Leave that, somebody will get it-“

“Not everybody uses maids, Tony,” Bruce said, ignoring Tony following him around as he went to dispose of their containers and put their bottles in the recycling bin.

“Is it because of your parents?” Tony guessed and Bruce bristled, trying to ignore him as he headed back out to the living room. “Bruce, I won’t judge you, my parents died when I was young, too. I know you lost yours early, is that why you were in normal school? Was it what your mom wanted or something-“

Bruce turned on Tony, glaring. “Tony, I said STOP!” he shouted, rolling his eyes when Tony didn’t even flinch at him shouting when most people flinched when he twitched. “Look, think about who I am, Tony. Thank about what I can do if you anger me the way you’re trying. Stop trying to set me off, I know that’s what you’re doing-“

Tony waved a hand. “No, I’m not, I’m actually curious. Besides, I gave up on setting you off, you have a lid on it,” he argued. “I just want to let you know that… I understand what it’s like to lose your parents-“

Bruce scoffed, laughing darkly. “Fuck you, you have no fucking idea what my life has been-“

Tony gave him a placating look that just pissed him off worse. Bruce turned to head towards the elevator and Tony rushed after him. “Trust me, being the son of a genius and losing parents early is something I can actually understand, Bruce. I’m just letting you know, it’s not like I’m going to judge you-“

Bruce let out a humorless laugh. “Oh yeah, you know what it’s like being the son of a genius, sure, but at least your father LOVED YOU!” he shouted as he spun around, startling Tony when he saw actual tears in Bruce’s eyes. “You have no idea, Tony. No fucking clue,” he said with a pained expression. “You want to know?! You really want to know? Yeah, my father was a genius, you know of him, right? Revolutionary atomic physicist, admired by all?” He shook his head. “My father was a bastard. The records aren’t sealed for my protection, they’re sealed because the people he worked for don’t want it known that he was an alcoholic that beat the hell out of his son all of the time for being smart and killed my mom for trying to protect me.” Bruce shook his head, one tear slipping free from his eyelashes. He looked away and laughed almost hysterically. “The reason I went to school normally, Tony, is because I hated being smart. I hated being intelligent because it got my mom killed.” He sniffled slightly. “I was a ‘freak’, he said. I was already smarter than the average adult at four years old and he decided to beat the freakishness out of me in a drunken rage. That bastard murdered my mother for trying to stop him one night. It was an ‘accident’,” he said, eyes somewhat wild. “He ‘didn’t mean it’ he said. He told them that she was hysteric and he grabbed her to stop her and she fell and hit her head when in reality, he beat her to death,” he spat.

Tony watched him with heartbroken eyes, face slack. “Bruce,” he said softly and Bruce shook his head, forcibly scrubbing his eyes free of tears.

“I’ve always been a freak, Tony. The Other Guy made it public knowledge, but it isn’t like I wasn’t already there. After my father’s beatings, I got my ass kicked at school for still being smarter than everybody else. I went through so much and I was doing my best to be average!” He laughed a broken laugh. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to have my brain and try and be normal?” He walked over to Tony, who watched him with so much pain for his friend etched into every line of his face and an obvious apology in his eyes. “You wanna know how the army heard about me?” he asked, tilting his head.

Tony shook his head, lips pursed. “Bruce, it’s okay-“

“No, you wanted to know!” Bruce spat, sniffling as more tears built in his eyes. “Let’s just say it wasn’t only after the Hulk that I ‘got low’, as I think I phrased it before,” he said and Tony’s eyes widened and his skin went ashen. “I couldn’t take it anymore. The bullies, the pressure to try and be normal… none of it,” Bruce admitted, then bit back a grim frown. “So, I built a bomb. I did it on my own, mixed the chemicals, built the timing devices, all by myself. I put it in the basement of my high school, and I set it off with me sitting next to it and all of the kids that treated me like crap up above it,” he said viciously. “Only it didn’t work. Something went wrong in the wiring and it didn’t blow up.”

Tony just stared, tears in his own eyes at the thought of someone so brilliant wanting to die so young. “Oh Bruce.”

Bruce just shrugged, taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “I got expelled and arrested, but the army wanted me. They were impressed at my abilities, so they recruited me and put me in college. In the end, I got a PhD in nuclear physics because no matter how much I hated my old man, I inherited the same fucking knack for science and the army wanted me to pick up where my father left off,” he said softly, the fight leaving him somewhat. He looked up and bit his lip. “Happy now? No more mystery-“

“Bruce, I didn’t know,” Tony said softly, a look that could only be genuine regret stitched into his eyes. “I had no idea. I just-“ He clenched his jaw and swallowed.

Bruce uncharacteristically looked Tony dead in the eyes, in spite of his nervous shuffling. “You think we have so much in common, but your dad put you in boarding school instead of beat you, you graduated MIT at seventeen instead of being attacked daily for being a freak, and you lost your parents in a plane crash not because your father murdered your mother, Tony. You- you know nothing,” he said harshly, but Tony didn’t even flinch.

Tony just shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry,” he said genuinely.

“Sorry for what? For prying and- and reminding me of everything-“ Bruce swayed slightly, somewhat overcome with his emotions.

Tony quickly closed the gap between them, catching Bruce. “Whoa there, Big Guy,” he said, letting him balance before leaning in- not pulling away- to curl his arms around Bruce. “It’s okay,” he said as he hugged his friend, ignoring his tense, shaky frame.

“W-what are you doing?” Bruce whispered and Tony chuckled sadly.

“It’s called ‘hugging’. It’s what you do when someone needs… well, a hug,” he said, sliding a hand up Bruce’s back, sliding it to clutch the back of his head when Bruce let go and sagged, shaking like a leaf as he slowly wrapped his arms around Tony as well, letting Tony basically hold him up.

“Tony, I’m sorry,” he choked out. “I’m- I’m sorry for getting upset. You should be running, I’m so dangerous, Tony. Why are you touching me?” he asked and Tony frowned, turning his head some to glance at the side of Bruce’s face from where he was on Tony’s shoulder.

“You have a hold of yourself, Dr. Banner. I trust you. Why shouldn’t I hug a friend who needs me?” he asked and Bruce snorted, pulling away so that there was a gap between them. He tried to pull away fully but Tony kept hold of his shoulders.

“C’mon, Tony,” Bruce said weakly, a sad little smile on his face. “I’m a ‘thing’. Nobody would want to get close enough to be snapped like a toothpick if I went green-“

“But you wont,” Tony stressed.

Bruce shook his head. “You can’t know that.” The doctor shrugged weakly. “There’s a reason the closest anybody has willingly got in the last several years was a handshake. And even that is generally only people who have no idea who I am.”

Tony’s heart sank with realization. “I swear I want to kill whoever treats you like a freak most of the time, Bruce,” he said before wordlessly reaching down to catch Bruce’s hands, curling their fingers together. “Bruce Banner, you are not a freak.” He shook his head. “You are… brilliant. And selfless. And you are so fucking good. You’re humble and kind and anybody who thinks a little temper problem is enough to negate the man you are is an idiot.”

Bruce chuckled awkwardly. “I like that, ‘little temper problem’, Master of Understatemen- MMPH!” Bruce was silenced by Tony’s lips on his. Bruce wasn’t really sure how to react at first, but the way Tony’s lips caressed him made resistance difficult, so he sank into the kiss. When Tony’s hands moved to Bruce’s waist, Bruce turned his head, breaking the kiss. “What are you doing?”

Tony chuckled. “Kissing you,” he said and Bruce lifted his eyes to glare, though his burning cheeks made it less menacing that he could hope.

“Why?” Bruce asked bashfully, trying to turn away.

Tony reached up and cupped his cheek, turning Bruce’s face back. “Because you’re a better man than I’ll ever be and I don’t think things like that. Ever, Bruce,” he whispered closing the gap between them to kiss him once more.

Bruce turned away again. “Tony, remember the ‘giant green rage monster’ thing, this is a terrible idea-“

“Rage is so far from what I want to make you feel, Big Guy,” Tony joked, kissing along his jaw. Bruce’s eyelids fluttered and he shook his head.

“Tony, no, I can’t- You shouldn’t-“

Tony sighed and stepped away a few inches. “Bruce,” he said, looking into his eyes searchingly. “If you want to pretend this never happened, you can tell me… but if you’re only stopping because you think you have to, I’m going to be so pissed,” he said and Bruce fidgeted tugging at his shirt tail. “Bruce?”

Bruce sucked his lip into his mouth. “Tony, I can’t know it’s safe… if I’m distracted enough, I’m not sure I can keep him in.”

Tony shrugged. “I’m not afraid of him, I’m more afraid of you thinking you’re worthless.”

Bruce winced. “If this- THIS is your way of saying ‘hey, you’re nice to have around’, I really appreciate the sentiment, but it’s really stupid to risk-“

Tony moaned softly and pulled Bruce close, arms going around his waist. “Put it this way, Banner.” He pulled him close enough to whisper in his ear, one hand sliding up to sink into his graying curls. “Smart is sexy and as a genius, it’s hard to meet someone else I can consider ‘smart’.”

Bruce shivered and Tony smiled, kissing his earlobe before sliding his lips down Bruce’s jaw. “Is- is that-“

“I don’t just give everybody multi-million dollar labs, Bruce,” Tony said, sucking lightly at a spot blow Bruce’s ear that had him trembling in Tony’s arms.

Bruce gasped and let his head fall back as Tony’s lips slid along his throat. “This is a terrible idea,” he groaned as he curled his hands around Tony’s shoulders.

Tony pulled back and kissed him hard. “Oh yeah,” he said, pulling Bruce flush, bodies pressed together from thigh to chest. “Terrible, terrible idea.”

Bruce moaned against his lips, gasping when Tony squeezed his ass, pulling their hips together. “We should definitely not find a bed-“

“Oh God no, horrible idea,” Tony said, then pulled back, looking into Bruce’s eyes. “But, you know, if we were to go with the horrible idea, my bedroom’s this way,” he said, tugging Bruce as he backed towards the hall.

Bruce groaned and kissed Tony, pushing him so that they stumbled into the wall, not parting at all as they stumbled down the hallway, grabbing at each other’s clothes frantically the entire way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bruce was trying to be as quiet as he could as he found his clothes strew around Tony’s bedroom and tugging them on when suddenly the windows de-tinted and there was a beep. “Good morning, Mr. Stark. It is eight twenty-five in the morning-“

Bruce cringed and froze in place when he heard Tony mutter, “Mute.” He buttoned his pants and tugged his shirt on, starting on the bottom buttons before Tony rolled over and groaned as he rubbed his face and stretched. He looked up, only to turn and look at Bruce, who flushed and continued buttoning his shirt. “Got somewhere to be?” he asked, yawning as he sat up.

Bruce cringed, finishing on the top buttons. “Just need to get started in the lab. Should have some interesting results today if I’m right about my theories.”

Tony eyed him in amusement as he grabbed his shoes and hopped around pulling them on. “You know, usually I’m the one that runs off the morning after, this is definitely a turn of events,” he said and Bruce signed, giving Tony an apologetic look.

“Tony… last night was-“ He paused, trying to find words. “Well, not the best idea, I’d say,” he said and Tony rolled his eyes.

“Oh come on, I gave you the opportunity to walk away, why pretend it was a mistake after the fact-“

Bruce chuckled weakly. “I don’t just mean sex, Tony,” he said, looking up with a sad look that Tony hated. “God, that was the least of it,” he admitted. He sighed and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor instead of Tony. “Look, not only did I say way too much- nobody was meant to know anything I told you- but I also got emotional.” He looked up and met Tony’s eyes. He shook his head as he said, “I’m not supposed to get emotional. It’s dangerous. That entire situation was just… too far. I could’ve lost it and killed you and half the people in this building. I cried for God’s sake! I can’t do that, Tony. I can’t let myself get so overwhelmed like that. Hell, the only reason I figured actually having sex wouldn’t be so dangerous is because I was able to stay in control while I was crying and shouting and angry like that.”

Tony shifted over and laid a hand on Bruce’s back. “Well, to be honest, I never meant for that to happen.” He gave him a genuinely apologetic smile. “I had no idea how bad it was, or I wouldn’t have pried.” His smile turned filthy, however, as he stood up on his knees and wrapped his arms around Bruce’s shoulders, leaning into kiss his throat. “Now, about the sex-“

Bruce pulled away some with a groan. “No, Tony, just because I said the sex wasn’t the problem doesn’t mean it was okay-“

“It wasn’t okay, it was fantastic,” Tony said, following him to kiss his throat every time he wiggled away.

“Tony,” Bruce complained. “Tony, I could lose control and kill you.”

Tony scoffed. “Worth the risk, you were incredible.”

Bruce rolled his eyes, pulling further away. “Tony, I don’t do this, okay?” He pushed him away and stood up. Tony pouted up at him and Bruce laughed weakly. “Tony, I’ve never done this. I don’t want things to get weird,” he admitted, putting his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Done what? Is it the ‘man’ thing?” he asked curiously and Bruce made a face.

“No, I did go to college, if you don’t remember,” he said and Tony smirked at him. Bruce blushed slightly under his friend’s lascivious gaze. “I don’t… sleep around like this,” he said, then frowned. “Well, okay that isn’t the words I’m looking for, I slept with one person so that isn’t ‘sleeping around’, but just-“ He sighed in frustration. “I’m not you. I don’t just… sleep with whoever I want to,” he stressed. “I don’t do one-night-stands. And I don’t just mean since my accident, I mean ever. Before last night, I had slept with a total of four people in my entire life and I don’t know how to do sex with a friend so it’s just-“ He flushed, ducking his eyes. “It’s better not to let last night happen again,” he said, glancing up at Tony to see how he reacted.

Tony just looked confused. “Wait… seriously?!” he asked and Bruce nodded. “So you’re saying even when you were a normal guy, one in college even, you never just… slept with a friend for the sake of orgasms?”

Bruce made a face. “Well, I didn’t really do ‘friends’, but no. I didn’t.” He smiled sadly. “I had a few short-term relationships, one that mattered, and then after the accident, I’ve basically lived my life running around and trying to not catch anybody’s attention.”

Tony chuckled. “Oh trust me, Brucey, you more than have my attention already.”

“That isn’t what I meant,” Bruce argued and Tony narrowed his eyes at him. Tony stood up and walked towards Bruce, who tried his best not to look at Tony’s naked boy as he approached him. “Tony-“

“Okay, that’s test one passed, you clearly find me terribly attractive,” Tony said and Bruce ducked his head. “Look, Bruce if you don’t want to, fine. We can go back to not doing this,” he said, stepping right into Bruce’s space. “But you should be well aware, I really enjoyed last night and would really, really love to repeat that sometime.”

Bruce sighed. “I could lose control-“

“You didn’t last night, and you were on emotional edge even before the sex,” Tony argued. He reached up and pulled Bruce into a kiss, fingers sinking into the soft curls at the base of Bruce’s neck.

Bruce bit his lip when the kiss broke, eyes shut as he leaned his forehead against Tony’s. “It isn’t that easy-“

“Why can’t it be?” Tony asked, pulling him into another kiss. “Look, I’m not asking for anything specific, I’m just saying I am very attracted to you and while I don’t generally have sexual relationships with my other friends- well, okay I did, but that’s not the point-“ Tony waved a hand. “The point is, the occasional sexual encounter won’t suddenly make it weird in the tower,” he said and Bruce laughed sadly.

“Tony, I’m a ticking time bomb and you’re insane,” he said, smiling at his affronted expression. “It’s already weird in the tower.”

Tony’s frown morphed into a grin. “Huh, smart, sexy, AND funny, I like it!” he said, tugging Bruce into another kiss. “Seriously though,” he said between kisses. “But really, sex. Totally not going to make it any weirder than it already is.”

Bruce moaned softly as Tony’s hands slid down his chest to start undoing buttons. “I’m-I’m slowly forgetting why sex is a bad idea,” he admitted and Tony laughed against his lips as he parted to breathe.

“Then my plan is working,” he confided before shoving Bruce’s shirt open with a groan. “Back to bed?”

“Try and stop me,” Bruce gasped out as he followed Tony back towards the bed, stumbling as they went.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bruce kept expecting the other shoe to drop for the next several days. However, eventually enough time passed that any fear of things getting awkward between him and Tony was a thought of the past. They continued to sleep together, but for the most part, everything was the same as before they had sex. They still worked most of their days, separate or together on projects, and then have dinner together to touch base on their experiments. The only real difference was how often they ended up in each other’s beds at the end of the night.

In his worry that things would become awkward with Tony and himself, it somehow managed to completely slip his mind to be worried about anybody else finding out until the morning someone did.

Bruce was standing in Tony’s kitchen making breakfast in a pair of Tony’s pajama pants without a shirt- something he would’ve never done before he grew comfortable in Tony’s home- while Tony showered when he heard the elevator ding open. His eyes widened and he all but dropped the tea he was making. “JARVIS, who is that?” he asked, having grown used to speaking to empty air and getting a response.

“Mrs. Potts has arrived with Mr. Barton and Ms. Romanov, Dr. Banner. Mr. Stark gave them permission to come in and get comfortable from his place in the bathroom.”

Bruce cursed. “Damn it, Tony!” He cast around for anything to put on, but the kitchen didn’t exactly have any shirts in it. He was just contemplating a dash for the bedroom when the click of heels alerted him to someone coming to the kitchen door.

“Tony will want coffee for this talk, I’m sure- Oh!” Bruce blushed, clearing his throat as he avoided Pepper’s eyes. “Dr. Banner! Um… good morning,” she said and Bruce inclined his head, forcing an awkward smile when Clint and Natasha appeared behind Pepper. He saw a confused look on Clint’s face and a devious smirk on Natasha’s.

“Good morning, Ms. Potts,” he said, picking up his mug to take out the teabag. “Clint. Natasha,” he said, nodding to them. He looked down at himself then awkwardly tilted his head. “I’m just gonna go… well, I’ll leave you three to talk to Tony-“

“Why is everybody in my damn kitchen?” Tony’s voice announced his arrival. He edged past Clint, stopping to kiss Pepper’s cheek before turning, only to smirk when he spotted Bruce’s bright red face and bare chest. “Well now-“

Bruce sighed and rolled his eyes. “Not a word, Tony-“

“’Good morning, sexy’ is three words,” Tony argued petulantly, smirking as he passed Bruce, but not without slapping him on the ass on his way past.

Pepper raised an eyebrow at the exchange before sighing. “Really, Tony? Can you ever have a friend you don’t sleep with?” she asked in exasperation and Tony snickered as he poured himself coffee.

Natasha just bit back a smirk, looking at Bruce. “Why Dr. Banner, I expected more from you,” she said and he chuckled weakly.

“Oh trust me, I’m ashamed of myself too,” he said, rolling his eyes as he took his tea and walked past them. “If anybody needs me, I’ll be drowning myself.” he joked, earning a small snicker from Clint as he passed him.

Pepper turned to Tony once Bruce was gone and put her hands on her hips. “Tony are you insane?! Do you have a death wish?!” he hissed and Natasha rolled her eyes.

“You haven’t worked that out before now?” she asked and Pepper shushed her.

She glared at Tony. “Tony, Bruce is a careful guy, how did you talk him into something as dangerous as sex?!”

Tony huffed. “For the record, I do not have diseases-“

“Oh you know what I mean, Tony,” Pepper complained.

Tony glared. “Yeah, but I’m trying to ignore that,” he said angrily. “For the last fucking time, Bruce has complete control over himself.”

Clint shrugged. “He did try to kill Natasha that time-“

Tony rolled his eyes. “There was a gigantic explosion, he fell into the fucking bowls of a strange helicarrier, and woke up after a blow to the head when he’s been on the run from the military for years. Being scared to death isn’t exactly what happens during sex, is it?!” he sniped and Natasha snickered.

“I don’t know, this is you we’re talking about,” she said and Tony gave her an exasperated look. She smiled peaceably. “For the record, I’m with you. I forgave him a long time ago for that, it’s like you said, he was terrified. I’d lash out too.”

Tony pointed at Natasha as he looked at Pepper. “I’m way more terrified of her than I am of Bruce, Pep.”

Clint shot Natasha a sidelong glance. “Everybody’s more terrified of Nat than Bruce, actually. She scares Steve so bad he wouldn’t even open his door when we stopped by on the way up,” he said and Tony gave Pepper a triumphant look.

“Okay, we’ve established sleeping with Bruce isn’t going to get me killed, what are you guys doing here?” Tony asked.

Pepper sighed. “Clint and Natasha are moving into their floors temporarily and I figured you should be aware.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Any reason I should know?” he asked and Natasha gave him a stony look he knew well. “Oh so I’m out of the loop, huh?”

“It’s nothing specific, Tony,” she said simply. “Just some rumblings of possible danger. Fury figured you should have backup on hand just in case.”

Tony frowned, stilling. “If there’s a possible danger to me, I should know about it,” he said and Natasha shook her head.

“Not to you. Not directly. Just some rumors that a target of a certain group may be in Stark Tower has Fury on edge.”

Tony narrowed his eyes and set his coffee down. “The only other possible targets in this building are Steve and Bruce. And Steve’s been living here for more than six months,” he said in a cool, measured tone.

Natasha inclined her head, looking him straight in the eyes. “I’m afraid I can’t say anything more specific, only a general sense, Mr. Stark.”

Tony didn’t miss what she was trying to say. He cursed and ran a hand through his hair, turning a grim look on the three in the kitchen. “Not a word to Bruce. Under no circumstances do you let him know anything, get me?” he asked, looking at each of their faces. “This is the safest place he can be right now if anybody has pinpointed his location. If he knows, he’ll run and God knows what will happen if he does that.”

“Don’t worry, Tony,” Pepper said with a small smile. “He’ll be fine.”

Outside the door, Bruce couldn’t help the way his heart pounded. He felt like he was choking on the air he breathed. He could feel his control slipping and he did what he could.

He ran for the elevator, praying JARVIS was advanced enough to know that he really needed to get somewhere safe fast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Mr. Stark,” JARVIS interrupted Pepper mid-sentence.

Tony frowned. “JARVIS, you are better programmed than to talk when someone is telling me-“

“Sir, it is urgent. Dr. Banner’s ‘temper problem’ has made an appearance.”

Tony paled and Pepper startled. Natasha turned to Clint, who nodded. “I’ll get Ms. Potts out of here,” Natasha said and Tony nodded.

“I’ve got this, don’t worry-“

Clint chuckled. “Sorry buddy, I’m calling this one in-“

Tony grabbed him by his shirt. “The hell you are,” he said fiercely. He glowered at Pepper and Natasha before pushing Clint over to them. “I will handle the Other Guy, you just get out of here,” he said, then frowned. “JARVIS, where is he?”

“As he realized he was turning into The Hulk, he made it into the elevator and I took it up to your laboratory. It is the best reinforced areas of the building. I do believe I put him on test floor D where there is less equipment. He should be contained well, the floors and windows are rated to contain an explosion of magnitudes that would level other floors.”

Tony pushed past Clint and ran to the lounge. “JARVIS, I need my suit now!”

“Right away, Mr. Stark.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony was careful as he approached the lab from which he heard a lot of crashes and bangs. He opened the door and entered, cringing some when he saw the prototype of the Mark X in a crumpled heap in between a few lab tables and one smashed up wall. “Hey, you!” he called, feeling confidence that he wouldn’t be hurt as he walked towards Hulk.

The great green shape turned and as those green eyes landed on Tony, he let out an ungodly roar. Tony felt a pang at the wild look in the creature’s eyes. “It’s okay, Big Guy,” he said, holding up his hands as he walked forward. “I’m not gonna hurt you-“

“Bad men come for Banner!” the green one thundered. “Out of way!” Tony backed away, hands up as the Hulk started his way.

“Whoa, whoa hey!” He tried, backing a few more steps back. “Nobody’s coming from Dr. Banner.”

“METAL MAN LYING!” the terrified beast bellowed. “Metal man dangerous!”

Tony was slightly confused at the intelligence Bruce’s ‘mindless rage monster’ side seemed to possess. “Hey Hulk, it’s Tony. You know that, right?” he tried and Hulk grunted.

“Metal man Tony,” he said with a nod of confirmation. “Tony good but dangerous.”

Tony bit his lip before making a decision. “Okay, so you think I’m dangerous. You think I’m going to try and stop you… by hurting you?”

“Metal man scared. SCARED PEOPLE HURT ME!” Hulk roared loudly, making a move as if to swat at him.

Tony was astounded to know that the creature was intelligent enough to recognize that people hurt him (and in conjunction, hurt Bruce) out of fear. It was incredible. Tony shook his head. “I’m not scared, buddy. I’m a friend, okay? I promise you, no bad men will come if I’m here.” He took a breath and then spoke. “I’m going to take off the suit now, okay? Metal man is going away and Tony’s coming out. You won’t hurt me, will you buddy?”

Hulk grunted suspiciously. “Everybody scared.”

As the suit began to peel itself away, starting with the face plate, Tony looked up at Hulk with his own eyes. “See? I’m not.” He stepped out of the boots and made his way towards Hulk slowly, hands held up so he could see he had nothing on him. “I promise, nobody is coming and I won’t let them hurt you, okay Big Guy? Tony is your friend.”

Hulk looked suspicious and backed up closer to the wall. “Hulk like Metal Man,” he said and Tony smiled brightly.

“Metal Man likes Hulk too, man. I think you’re great! Last time I saw you, you saved my life so I’m a big fan of Hulk,” he said brightly. He stopped far enough way that Hulk didn’t start feeling crowded and he smiled. “So I want to ask you to let Dr. Banner come back, can you do that?”

“NO!” he roared and Tony grabbed his ears, startled back a few steps. “BANNER WEAK! BAD MAN HURT BANNER!” he shouted and Tony shook his head.

“Easy, easy!” He held his hands out again. “I promise, I won’t let anything hurt Dr. Banner either. I like both of you. He’s a good friend, I wouldn’t let anybody hurt him, okay?” He held out his hand again. “But people aren’t afraid of Bruce, okay? You’re right, when people get scared, scared people hurt Hulk and I’m sorry, but if you stay out people will come and try to hurt you, okay?” He shook his head, trying his hardest to get the Hulk to trust him. “I need to take care of Banner right now. Can you let him back so I can do that?”

Hulk made a small sound, backing away some. “Banner weak.”

Tony shook his head. “He’s a lot stronger than people think. You may be stronger, but I promise, he can handle it right now. You can come back later if that changes, but I need him right now, oaky?”

Hulk grunted but nodded. “Hulk trust Metal Man,” was all he said before, much to Tony’s surprise, he sat down and curled his arms around his legs, almost like a scared child. Tony watched in awe as Hulk began to shrink and the green began to lighten until he was left with a naked, unconscious Bruce Banner lying in a heap in the middle of Tony’s wrecked testing lab.

Tony just sighed and shook his head. “Ah Bruce,” he said, walking over to the unconscious scientist. He knelt down and touched his face, brushing dust off of him. “Damn it,” he cursed.

Because Tony knew. He knew how Bruce would be when he woke up. He knew how Bruce would react to losing control and putting others in danger.

He knew how hard it would be to keep him from running again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Due to advanced warning from JARVIS of Bruce slowly waking up, Tony went downstairs so that he could be with Bruce when he fully woke up. He was just entering Bruce’s bedroom quietly when Bruce let out a broken groan and rolled over. Tony slowly crept closer. “How’re you feeling?” he asked softly as he walked around and looked down at Bruce.

Bruce blinked up at him with a frown. “Tony? What ha-“ Tony sighed when he saw Bruce’s eyes fly open and his skin go pale. “Oh God,” he choked out as he sat up, looking around.

Tony reached out and touched his arm. “Easy, easy Big Guy,” he said, giving him a comforting smile. “Everything’s fine. Nobody got hurt-“

“And what got destroyed?” Bruce asked, looking skeptical. “Somebody always gets hurt, he always hurts people, it’s what he does-“

Tony sighed and put a hand over Bruce’s mouth, earning an offended glare. “Calm down, Bruce,” he said. He moved his hand and leaned in to replace it with his lips, kissing Bruce softly. “I promise, nothing irreplaceable was damaged and nobody got hurt.”

Bruce scoffed. “Likely story-“

“JARVIS got you up to testing lab D. The only thing that I can’t just buy another of was the prototype for the Mark X and I have all the plans all that needs doing is having another copy manufactured. Seriously, it’ll take two days tops.” He patted Bruce’s chest as he pushed him back down. “You need to rest and trust me, okay?”

Bruce just shook his head, raising his hands up over his head to tug at his own hair in frustration. “This is just… great.” He groaned and put his hands over his face. “I don’t even remember what-“ He froze and lowered his hands, eyes wide. “Did Natasha hint that General Ross knows I’m here?” he asked in a deathly sharp and fearful voice.

Tony flinched slightly. “Nobody is going to hurt you-“

“Bullshit, Tony! You don’t know this guy, he’d rip the tower apart trying to get his hands on the Hulk!” Bruce cried as he sat up. “Shit, I-“

Tony groaned when Bruce tried to untangle himself from the bed, but quickly grabbed his arm and pushed him back down. “If you so much as hint at running, I’ll kick your ass, Banner,” Tony said, resolutely flopping halfway across Bruce, smiling at the doctor’s death glare.

“Tony, this is serious. They have more power behind them than even you-“

Tony rolled his eyes. “Bruce, I created his power.” He cringed. “I like to not think about the fact that I was so naïve in the past, but the truth is, no weapons developer since Stark Industries stopped weapons production has come close to my work. Any big guns are my old things and I’ve had years to develop protections against that stuff.” He looked down at Bruce, who was still tense beneath him. Tony ruffled Bruce’s hair soothingly. “Look, I know you, Bruce.” He looked into his eyes, heart sinking at the fear he found there. “I know how you think. But I also know that truthfully, you are safer here than you ever will be on the run. You know as well as I do that if SHIELD never lost track of you, I highly doubt you’d get away from Ross’s surveillance if you left now that they have a trace on you.”

Bruce snorted. “You’re right. I should’ve never come here,” he said, and Tony flinched slightly. Bruce looked up at him and smiled apologetically. “I’ve done nothing but put you all in danger, Tony. My existence is nothing but dangerous,” he said and Tony sat up, turning to face away as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“I hate it when you say shit like that, Bruce,” Tony said, voice tight. “We’ve discussed this,” he said, standing to walk to the window. “When you say shit like that, when you ‘blame’ the Other Guy on you being alive, it really pisses me off,” he said darkly. “You don’t understand how brilliant you are, you genuinely think the world would be better without you sometimes, and that is just… tragic, Bruce!” Tony turned back with a fierce look in his eyes. “You are one of the most brilliant minds in the entire world! I’m sorry that your life has been so bad, I genuinely am, but the way I see it, you have so much potential to do amazing things and yet I honestly think that Hulk is smarter than you sometimes,” he said and Bruce shot him a disbelieving look.

“Oh yeah, extoll my value to the world and then tell me a creature of nothing but destruction and rage, a creature that does nothing but destroy things and lives, is smarter than me, that’s a great job convincing me why being alive is worth it,” he spat and Tony flinched.

Tony walked closer. “Look, I know you won’t ever believe me, but all the Other Guy does is protect you. Sure, he has hurt people and broken shit, but there’s collateral damage with anything that’s terrified. He just happens to be gigantic, super strong, and indestructible. Watch the surveillance footage, he said it himself that you were weak and he wasn’t. I promise, Bruce, I understand how much trouble your life has had because of him, but wishing yourself out of existence is clearly not the answer,” he said before turning towards the door. “Get some sleep. I’ll bring dinner down here tonight,” he said as he left Bruce without another word.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony wasn’t at all surprised to look up from pouring himself a drink while listening to Clint explain to Pepper and Steve what he had done recently and see Bruce coming off the elevator. “Dr. Banner, I thought I told you to get some rest?” he attempted, but Bruce chuckled, awkwardly waving at the others, who had all stopped talking.

“To be fair, I thought I told you not to drink so much,” he said and Tony looked down at his glass after only one sip, then sighed before walking over to dump it down the sink, grabbing a bottle of water from under the bar instead.

Tony came out into the room and held up the bottle as he walked down to sit on the couch. “You’re killing me, Bruce,” he said and Bruce offered him a small smile as he came down to join him.

“Actually, I’m helping keep you from killing yourself. Your liver is thanking me profusely,” he said and Tony couldn’t help but smile. He turned and gave an embarrassed little smile to the others. “So… I’m really sorry about this morning guys,” he offered, watching for the signs of fear he knew so well.

It was silent, painfully so, until Clint finally cracked a smile. “Well, walking in on you making tea half-naked WAS alarming, but it’s not like none of us have ever seen you naked before by this point,” he said, and Bruce let out a relieve laugh when the tension broke.

Pepper chuckled. “Could be worse, at least he was alone.”

Bruce made a face. “Trust me, if I had expected anybody that early in the morning, I’d have been dressed, I promise.

Tony shrugged, throwing his arm across the couch behind Bruce, ruffling his hair absently. “You’re lucky I was in the shower, I’m totally into nudity before nine,” he said and Pepper just cringed but nodded to confirm it when Natasha looked at her.

“There is a reason I got paid so much before he made me CEO,” she said, and Steve chuckled.

“And I thought the nudity was bad in the Army,” he joked, earning laughs from all around.

Tony turned to Bruce while the others started talking and stroked the hair at the nape of his neck. “You need to go rest,” he said, looking at the strained look on his face. He poked him in the neck. “You. Bed. Now,” he instructed and Bruce sighed dramatically, dropping his head back into Tony’s hand.

“Tony, I’m fine-“

“Go on, you have clothes in my room. Go sleep,” he said, jostling his head slightly.

Bruce chuckled tiredly. “Fine, fine, but you better not start drinking while I’m gone,” he said, shooting him a sidelong glance full of playful suspicion.

Tony smiled and leaned over to press his lips to Bruce’s temple. “Wouldn’t think of it, Dr. Banner,” he mumbled, moving to kiss him softly, lips lingering before he pulled back and swatted at his thigh. “Bed,” he directed and Bruce smiled.

“Alright I’m going, I’m going,” he said, standing up. He stretched with a yawn, then waved to the others as he started out. “I guess I’ll see you all later.”

When Bruce had disappeared down the hall to Tony’s bedroom, Pepper raised an eyebrow at Tony, who just raised his back at her. “What? You all saw him standing in my kitchen wearing my pajamas this morning, no reason to try and hide anything. I don’t think you’re all THAT stupid,” he said in exasperation.

Steve chuckled. “I think her confusion is in you showing genuine affection to another human being,” he said. He shrugged. “I’m still adjusting, but from my general understanding, shouldn’t you be less affectionate with a man?” he asked, and Natasha tilted her head.

“Not to mention I remember when I was working for you-“

“Stalking me under cover,” Tony argued.

Natasha rolled her eyes. “The point is, Pepper and I fielded more women you had slept with that you didn’t even remember seeing before, so the idea of you showing genuine affection for someone that isn’t a robot is understandably confusing-“

“AI, my friends are AIs not simple robots!” Tony argued, then shrugged, drinking some of his water. “Besides, so what, I never liked any of the women you kicked out of my house. I have a total of two actual friends in my life, one of which is Pepper, and do you know how fun it is to not be the smartest person for once?” he asked pointedly.

Pepper chuckled. “Oh my God, call the press! Tony Stark just suggested he isn’t the smartest person in the world.”

Clint raised an eyebrow. “You’re telling me somebody that got himself turned into a big green monster is smarter than the man who built sustainable clean energy? Really, Stark?” he asked suspiciously.

Tony glared in exasperation. “He had an accident. I have accidents all the time! Ask Pepper, I blow shit up all the time-“

“He does,” Pepper confirmed.

Tony waved a hand at her. “His thing he blew up just happened to be a gamma radiation bomb they were testing to make super soldiers like Rogers over her. I get concussions he got a Hulk,” he said simply. “Comparatively, you could look at it from this point of view: he had one accident that just happened to go really bad. I have accidents at least once or twice a week. Since he’s been here, Bruce’s lab hasn’t been home to a single incident, not even a dropped beaker.” He smirked. “And I wasn’t kidding, technically, he’s smarter than me. He may not own it like I do, but Dr. Banner is a real genius with a higher suspected IQ than me. Far beyond the reach of ‘genius’. Bordering the suspected IQ of the elite smartest people in the entire world.”

Clint snorted. “No wonder Tony actually likes him, being outsmarted is probably hot to him,” he joked and Natasha rolled her eyes at his behavior.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony smiled in spite of himself, chest tightening at the sight of Bruce, wearing his lab coat and gloves, asleep with his chin propped in his hand at his table, a pad full of notes on the table beside him. Tony couldn’t explain what it was about Bruce that made him feel the way he did every time Bruce did anything, but he liked it either way. Tony walked over and slid his arms around Bruce, kissing his neck as he shook him gently. “Wake up, Big Guy. You’re asleep at your lab table,” he said softly, kissing his earlobe.

Bruce grumbled and shifted, his head falling back against Tony, who chuckled and nipped at his ear. “Mmmmm, I fell asleep?” he asked, and Tony nodded, pressing a kiss to the back of his head.

“Yep. At your lab table, too,” he said, shifting to look over Bruce’s shoulder to look at his notes. “What have you been working on? I’ve tried my best to keep out of your way, it’s all… non-buildy so it’s not my place,” he said and Bruce yawned, squeezing Tony’s hand before pulling out of his hold so he could pick up his notes and his pen.

“Okay, so before I came here, I was in Bangladesh,” he explained, and Tony nodded.

“Yeah, deworming orphans or something,” he said, gesturing for Bruce to continue.

Bruce chuckled, shaking his head. “Anyways, in a place called Chanta I was helped by this old medicine woman who had all these herbal remedies and she knew enough Hindi that we were able to communicate and work together, modern medicine and herbal remedies together. One of the things she did was give people who have bad dreams these leaves to chew,” he explained. “The effects from what I could tell were very similar to propranolol-“

Tony frowned. “The anti-anxiety medication?” he asked, and Bruce raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a heart medication originally, but yeah, it is used for anxiety usually off-label,” he said, eyeing Tony curiously.

Tony gave him a tight smile. “PTSD meds. I had nightmares and an unpredictable tremor in the arm that got hurt,” he said in a strained voice.

Bruce smiled sadly and squeezed his hand. “Yeah, it’s used to treat those too,” he said, then cleared his throat. “Anyways, the idea is that propranolol lowers norepinephrine, and I noticed that every time she gave me some of this plant when I had nightmares, it got a lot easier to control my ‘temper’,” he explained. “I needed the lab equipment to break the plant down determine the base chemicals, but I think I’ve isolated what compound specifically controls adrenaline production. The only step left is to synthesize that specific compound and stabilize it.” He drew a line around a compound and tapped it. “If I’m right- and I think I am- this can be the key to suppressing the Other Guy through medication.”

Tony shot him a look. “How suppressed are we talking?” he asked, and Bruce shrugged.

“I’ll have to adjust dosages but I should be able to keep him entirely locked up as long as I inject myself often enough,” he said, tapping the table. “No matter what he wouldn’t make an appearance, ever again.”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “No matter what?” he asked and Bruce sighed.

“Yes, Tony. I could be in danger and he still couldn’t get out to hurt people-“ He froze and looked away.

Tony’s heart leapt into his throat. “Bruce, look at me,” Tony said suspiciously. He looked into his eyes, swallowing hard. “If this is your way of making yourself vulnerable enough for harm, I will put you under full surveillance,” he warned. He looked into Bruce’s eyes, reading the guilt. “I swear to God, Banner, I will not let you hurt yourself-“

“Damn it, Stark, why is that where you go?” Bruce asked, standing up with his notes. “The reason I wanted to die was because I turn into a fucking monster. The point of this is to make me safe-“

“And how is that?!” Tony demanded, following him. “Bruce, he keeps you safe! I get it, trust me, but the fact of the matter is that without the Hulk, you would’ve died a long time ago!” he argued and Bruce spun around, eyes wide.

“Tony, I need this! I need-“ He swallowed and looked aside. “I need to end this. It has to stop.”

Tony swallowed hard and held his gaze, refusing to look away. “Bruce, you do this and then turn around and hurt yourself, I swear I’ll never forgive you. Never,” he said fiercely, turning on his heel to storm out, leaving Bruce standing along in his lab.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony had to leave to go to a clean energy conference so he left Steve instructions to check in on Bruce, to make sure he hadn’t hurt himself (intentionally or due to a botched experiment with the synthetic adrenaline blocker). The entire time he was gone, he worried himself nearly sick that he would get a call that Bruce was hurt. It killed him because he’d never worried about anybody that much, not even Pepper and she had been his only friend for most of his adult life.

When Tony finally got back, he went to see Bruce, a little uneasy since the last time they spoke they argued. When he got to Bruce’s apartment, JARVIS let him go inside at Bruce’s invitation. Tony checked the lab and found it empty. He went into his apartment and couldn’t help a sense of relief when he followed JARVIS’s directions and found Bruce meditating in his green room.

When Tony knocked on the open door, Bruce exhaled slowly, then opened his eyes. “Hi, Tony,” he said softly.

Tony kicked off his shoes and removed his jacket, still in his suit from flying in, and walked over. He sat down in front of Bruce and copied his pose, legs crossed so that their knees touched. “Hey Bruce,” he said, and Bruce gave him a small smile. Tony took a breath and reached out to catch Bruce’s hands, lacing their fingers together on Bruce’s knees. “So funny story,” he started. “I just so happened to accidently insult this really great guy by accusing him of being suicidal a while back,” he said and Bruce gave him an amused chuckle.

“Oh yeah?”

Tony nodded, stroking his thumb across the Bruce’s knuckles. “I did, and I’ve come to realize it was a total overreaction, though to be fair,” he added, raising an eyebrow. “He did admit to attempting suicide before and even if it was wrong of me to accuse him of it, it had to be understandable that I just… hate the idea that someone so… amazing and brilliant and good could leave the earth voluntarily.” He shrugged, looking down at their hands. “It was overdramatic of me but I only got angry because I was-“ He winced, humming before spitting out the word. “I was scared.”

Bruce chuckled softly. “You did make me angry but I understood,” he said softly. He lifted Tony’s hand to his mouth and kissed his knuckles. “I know a thing or two about anger coming from fear. It’s how the Hulk works.” He tilted his head. “But you know that.”

Tony nodded. “I guess I can understand why you decided to try and lock him away. Because try as I might, I can’t avoid being scared, so I know you can’t when you have ran for so much of your life,” he said, looking up. “I just… worry about you so much,” he admitted, eyes softening. “I don’t know what it means to worry so much about you, Bruce,” he all but whispered. “About the only other human being I’ve ever truly been scared for before is Pepper and she’s been my best friend for a third of my life. And it terrified me to think that you could- could do that and leave me on purpose,” he admitted weakly.

Bruce’s brow furrowed and the corners of his mouth turned down. “Tony?” he asked and Tony looked up with wet eyes.

“I don’t think I could handle you leaving, Bruce,” he admitted. He pulled Bruce’s hand to his mouth and held their clasped hands to his lips briefly. “A good man once told me that to be a man who has everything he could want…I have nothing.” He shook his head, knuckles white as he held Bruce’s hand tightly and reached out to hold Bruce’s face in his other hand. “But since you’ve been here, Bruce, I have something finally.”

Bruce felt his heart clench. “Oh Tony,” he whispered and Tony shook his head, clearing his throat.

“You are- are the only person I’ve ever met that actually understands the things that I do. You see the world through similar eyes and I’ve never had anything like that. When I have you, I have someone I can share things with, someone I can enjoy life with. I don’t know if I could go back to having nothing, Bruce.” He swallowed hard. “The thought of losing you- especially of your own doing- hurts so bad, Bruce. The thought of you leaving me by your own hand is just too much to even bear-“

Bruce laughed weakly and reached out to curl his fingers in Tony’s hair. “Shut up, Stark,” he said, tugging Tony into a kiss. Tony caught Bruce’s arms and pulled him as close as he could, clinging to him. Bruce groaned into the kiss and broke it to gasp for breath. “I’m not leaving you, Tony. I promise, I wouldn’t do that to you.” He pushed Tony back onto the floor and crawled on top of him, smiling when Tony pulled him flush, claiming Bruce’s lips as soon as he was within reach.

Right there on the floor, as they practically (and almost literally in the case of Tony’s shirt) ripped each other’s clothes off, desperate to feel each other as close physically as they were emotionally, at that moment, as they clutched at each other’s flushed, sweat-slick skin, as they gave in to feelings and emotions and pleasure without a care in the world for their location, Bruce realized something he had never honestly predicted had occurred.

In a haze of emotions and chemicals rushing round in his brain, as Tony touched him in a way that could only really be called ‘worshiping’, Bruce realized a truth he had never fully expected: Tony Stark loved him.