"If I were an enzyme, I'd be a DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes."
Bruce slowly looked up from his work with a bit of a dazed expression, hoping to god he had misheard that entire statement. Telling from the way Tony winked the moment their eyes met, that wasn't at all the case.
He shook his head and chose to ignore him, desperately hoping the feelings in the pit of his stomach weren't evident in his face.
"You and I would undergo a more energetic reaction then Potassium and water."
Bruce looked back up from his work once again and raised a brow. "Seriously?"
He could not believe he was being harassed right now with cheesy scientific pick-up lines. Sometimes he wondered how he ever managed to put up with him.
"What?" Tony said defensively, feigning innocence. He went back to his work, and for a few precious minutes Bruce was able to concentrate.
"... How about you and I go back to my place and we can form a covalent bond?"
Bruce didn't even grace him with a reaction this time. He knew the guy was a notorious playboy and a tease, but come on. What fun could he possibly get out of targeting him?
Yet still his tormentor carried on.
"If I was an endoplasmic reticulum, how would you want me: smooth or rough?"
Tony raised his eyebrows suggestively with a playful smirk.
Bruce's heart stuttered and then started to pound. 'Oh god.'
He averted his attention away from him and went back to his computer in an attempt to get the thought of being anywhere NEAR that close to Tony Stark out of his head. After several minutes of typing aimlessly and accomplishing nothing, he was startled by an arm wrapping loosely around his shoulder, its owner only a few inches away. "Want a coffee? You look like you could seriously use one," Tony asked, suddenly all seriousness. Bruce felt another wave of butterflies shock through him, along with a newfound warmth in his loins. 'Goddamit, this needs to stop. If my heart rate goes up much higher there will be no stopping me from-'
Bruce pulled in a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting it out easy before turning to his love interest. "Sure," he responded simply. The best thing right now was to get him away, across the room, and out of his personal bubble. Step two was to get the thought of Tony's lips pressed against his while they lied sweetly in eachother's arms PERMANENTLY out of his head.
"Jarvis, two coffees please," he called out to his mechanical assistant. As he began to walk away, his arm slid lazily down his shoulder and brushed the small of his back, sending chills up Bruce's spine.
He grit his teeth, his knuckles turning white with the effort to hold himself together. Tony looked back and raised a brow with concern etched into his face. "You alright?"
'Stop. Just stop talking!'
He could feel the other guy trying to force his way out. It wouldn't be long. He couldn't hold back much longer. He had to warn Tony. The last thing he wanted was to see him hurt. Before he could so much as take his next breath, Tony grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him sharply around so his back was pressed against the lab table. "Look at me," he ordered calmly, his eyes staring deep into his. "Relax."
He was so close. If he leaned his head forward just a little bit their faces would be touching. Bruce shut his eyes and blocked out his face. He had to stop thinking like that.
"Bruce, you gotta stay with me buddy." As much as his voice attracted him, even when it was saying the most ridiculous things it always provided him with an odd sense of calm. He took a chance and relaxed his muscles, focusing on the comfort of Tony's hands on his shoulders, the warm breath on his face. Bruce let out another steady breath and opened his eyes, momentarily afraid that what he was about to see would send him right back over the edge. But something in Tony's face gave him a sense of confidence. "I'm okay," he said under his breath, assuring him with a weak smile. "Good!" Tony cheerfully responded, clapping his hands together as he took a step back. He turned to go back to his work station, taking a couple steps before circling back with a guilty expression. He ran a hand through his tousled hair. "Seriously, I didn't mean to piss you off. I wasn't thinking. Next time give a heads up if I strike a nerve, okay? I'll do my best to tone it down."
Bruce gave him a half-hearted smile, part of him wanting to let him believe this was an anger-related incident. But at the same time, he wasn't comfortable letting Tony think he had done something wrong.
"Actually, it wasn't your fault," he hesitantly began. 'Not directly, anyway.' He kept his eyes everywhere but in Tony's general direction, feeling all kinds of nervous. "I was just thinking about something that I shouldn't have, it was my own fault."
Bruce wanted to be anywhere else but in that room as he felt his eyes studying him intensely. 'He knows. Oh god, he knows.' The fact that he was blushing at least to some extent did nothing for his confidence. As if to confirm his fear, he could see the knowing smirk slowly form at the corner of Tony's mouth.
"You like me, don't youuu?"
Bruce's heart dropped. It took all his willpower to force back the smile that threatened to give him away.
"No, I don't."
"Come on, admit it."
"There's nothing to admit."
"Oh, aside from the fact that you think I'm unbelievably sexy?"
"I do not!"
"Do to!"
"Do not!"
"Do to!"
"You can be a real dick sometimes, you know that?"
Bruce was blushing furiously at this point, finding it increasingly hard to avoid another hulk-out.
Tony crossed the distance between them, Bruce's attention still stubbornly focused on the opposite wall. "What if I told you I felt the same?"
Bruce shivered as he felt the breath of words in his ear.
"Now you're just being an asshole."
Tony stepped back with such abruptness that he couldn't help but look at him. What he saw in the other man's face was an expression of hurt that he never would have anticipated. "You know, I 'do' have a heart even if it's artificial," he said defensively. Bruce didn't know what to say. He was stunned, to say the least. "I-"
"Forget it," Tony intercepted with a finality that made it clear he wasn't interested in further conversation. He turned to go back to his work for the last time. "Wait!" Bruce called over to him, making him stop in his tracks. He sighed and turned to face him, summoning all the confidence Tony had given him not too long ago. "I do like you... a lot."
To say that it was a relief to finally say those words was a bit of an understatement.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"
Before Bruce had the chance to get offended he turned on his heel and grabbed him by the waist, pulling him in close with a deep, passionate kiss.
Bruce thought he might pass out from the intense emotions that flooded through him in one moment of initial contact. The feeling of Tony's warm, soft lips pressed against his was almost enough to make him lose complete control. But he kept replaying the sound of his voice telling him to relax over and over again in his head, and despite his pounding heart he managed to get a grip on himself. Bruce let out a soft, almost inaudible moan as he kissed him back. It seemed like it lasted forever, when it reality, it was only a few seconds. Tony pulled away and broke all contact with him, going back to his work station with a smug smile. Bruce took a moment to process what had just happened, smiling to himself as he turned back to his work.
"You're still a dick."
"Yeah, but you love me."
"Let's not go there."