Author's warning: This is mostly just introspective, but there are outright/suggestive themes of sex. It's not dirty, which is why I haven't upped the rating, but please let me know if you think I should.
Idea: Bruce has been called many things by many people, and he remembers them all- but it's the memory of what Tony called him that never leaves, like a scar, a constant reminder.
"Ah!"
Freak. Monster. Ugly words, fearful words. Words screamed in terror, whispered in horror. It never really mattered- the words hurt. Words hurt, no matter who said them or how they said them. Words served as reminders of just what Bruce was, what he had always run from, what he hated. What he wished he wasn't.
"Haaaaah-,"
When Bruce was recruited- blackmailed, more like- into the Avengers initiative, Natasha had come to get him. "Doctor." It was a silly word, really. A safe word. It was a title he knew he deserved, a title he'd worked too damn hard not to be addressed by. But it was also a distant word. A word used neutrally, a word used to address someone you didn't know and probably didn't care to.
"Ah-fuckfuck-,"
Steve's voice. "Banner." He thought it might have been an old habit, from his military time. The habit of using last names. But, sometimes, when Bruce really thought about it- something he'd rather not do- he knew it was more than just habit. It was firm, almost warning but cautious. He was acknowledging Bruce, but not enough to incite any kind of emotional reaction. He acknowledged him just enough to send him a clear warning not to go completely berserk.
"SHIT-,"
After the crazy alien attack on the city, they had grown closer. All of them. It was too gradual for anyone to notice, too fast for them to stop it- suddenly, they all knew each other. They knew each other- Tony knew how to joke with Clint so that the usually stoic man would crack a smile; Thor knew how to tease Steve just enough that the soldier would blush; Natasha knew how to touch Bruce without making him stiffen. They knew each other, and eventually the title faded from doctor to Banner to Bruce- and, in Tony and Clint's case, Big Guy.
"Ah…"
But then, then- this happened. Tony's affectionate banter, his giving Bruce a room, clothes- a home- evolved into something else. It changed from "Big Guy" to "Science Bro" and then there was a kiss, and another, and there were words falling from his lips that Bruce had never had directed at him before. I love you, I need you, I want you, Bruce, please, yes. Lovely words and loving words and words that he cried when he heard.
"Please-,"
Then there was the first time that they ever really made love. It wasn't the quick, desperate sex they'd had in the lab, in one of Tony's expensive private jets, moments snuck on the way to a mission. They took their time, lying in Tony's ridiculously large bed, and it was love. It wasn't the raw, burning desire they felt when their hands brushed over a beaker of some obscure and unstable chemical, it was love. Love that lit the room in the pitch darkness, love that lit fires in their very souls. It was quiet, so quiet, but so loud as they listened to each others' bodies, as they listened to the I love you in each and every movement.
"Aaaah-ah,"
It was the moment they both reached their limit, miraculously together, their nerves and skin and every inch of their bodies pulling forward, towards the other. Bruce almost missed it; he doubted Tony realized what he had said, they were both too caught up and tangled- but he heard it. Bruce. It was his name, but it wasn't just his name, spoken to catch his attention. It was Tony calling to Bruce, to everything he was, everything Tony loved, all that he knew. It was the first time anyone had ever called him.
I hope you all enjoy my stories. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to please review. Thank you!