This is a chapter excerpt out of a story I'm writing for the Avengers called Generations. It was kinda inspired by the song Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute (linked below) I'm not sure if I'm going to post the whole thing. I'm just kinda hoping that this excerpt will decide whether I should or not. A teaser of sorts, if you will. Anyway be warned that this is indeed Stark/Banner action but… Not in the way you might think ;) Please review and enjoy as always!

Chapter Excerpt: Kiss Me Slowly

How did it come to this; her best friend in a fall out with her? She didn't even know what for but, determined to find out, she stepped into the room he called his and stared. He stood with his forehead against the glass wall that overlooked New York, and watched the traffic rush by below, the moon full and bright in the night sky. She couldn't see his face but she could guess what he was thinking.

With everything that had happened to them these past weeks, everything that had happened to the others, with the exception of Garik and Gunnar… Her own skin decidedly cocooning itself for 5 days straight; the proposed DNA integration from her own conception and the triggering of the extremis system in her blood, thanks to her father, breaking her down and remaking her, keeping her unconscious for days; Jake's own transformation, his first real angry moment, taken out on the Norse twins who barely made it out with their lives, Delilah and Jonah decidedly switching the roles of their parents and the Rogers boys both inheriting the same abilities as their father…

Everything came to light at once. They had grown up together, been weak and strong together, had met the rest of the second generation Avengers together, and had more recently gone through this tough and rare form of puberty together. Knowing what he thought was more second nature to her now than it ever could have been before. They were practically siblings…

No…

That wasn't right. Something in her knew it wasn't. Their connection was deeper somehow; stronger. More than the simplicity of kin, but how she wasn't sure…

"You shouldn't be in here…"

His voice startled her and her hands dropped to her sides from their constant motion, another trait she inherited from her father, "Why not?"

"I don't want you to be in here."

Rolling her eyes, she put those hands on her hips defiantly, "It's my tower. My name is even on the side of the building."

"It's your father's building. Not yours."

Her eyes narrowed, "What's your deal, Banner? You've been all pissy since last week. I don't get it. What did I do that pissed you off so bad?"

He sighed, "You don't need to worry about it, okay?"

"No, it's not okay. You've been able to talk to me about anything since we were basically infants and now that we're old enough to have an intelligent conversation, you want to keep your mouth shut?"

"That's not what this is about…"

"No? Then explain, Jake. What's going on in that thick skull of yours?"

"Just drop it, Amber."

"I won't. You know damn well I won't. Not until I get some answers."

There was a sharp growl as he turned to look at her, his brown eyes swirling with green behind his glasses for a moment as he banged his fist against the glass, causing her to jump, but stand her ground, "You're worse than your father, you know that?"

She scoffed, "Are you kidding? We're pretty evenly matched. He's just had more experience in the witticisms and sarcastic, arrogant remarks department." She hooked her thumb over her shoulder, "That old man's stride is just about up and then it'll be my turn to take over." She smirked then and cracked her knuckles, "Gotta hold up the Stark image, you know."

The corner of Jake's lips quirked up before he sighed and ran a hand through his tousled hair as she walked over to him. Leave it to this woman to actually calm him down. It should really be the opposite, but he supposed he wasn't all too normal to begin with, so that kind of normal must not apply. Looking at her sideways he observed the way her dark hair fell in waves and framed her face, cascading over her shoulders and slightly obscuring the Guns N' Roses t-shirt she wore over a gray skin-tight sweater. Those blue eyes stared him down, the face of her mother staring at him, almost into him like she'd seen Mrs. Stark do to Mr. Stark over the years. That face that either said, "spill it all, Mister" or "so help me God, you had better behave", usually one or the other she had to use on a daily basis. He assumed, then, that she was telling him to confess what was irking him. He knew he shouldn't be worried, but yet, he couldn't help but feel terrified of her close proximity. He didn't mind when the twins were too close, it was all too fun to pummel the hell out of them, but the others… He was an uncontrollable beast and he didn't want anyone to get hurt because of that… His father had practically begged for forgiveness and apologized over and over until Jake himself actually had to beg him to stop. He couldn't have known that he would pass on that gene so why did the old man think he would blame him for it.

Still…

It seemed all of their parents were apologizing for their genetics lately, not because of the result but because of the pain it caused for those abilities and curses to be triggered. He had watched first hand as his best friend had become cocooned by scabs as her body composition rewrote and remade itself into something stronger and better; had watched as Mr. Stark tore himself up, quite literally, trying to find some way to stop it, and failing that, returned to the bottle for comfort. He knew that saving the world came at a cost and, with their parentage, it really should have been predicted, but at a time when being a teenager already made him feel imbalanced, this certainly wasn't helping.

Added to all of this was the fact that, since they were eight years old in Central Park waiting for their new friends to arrive, he had fallen for her over and over and over again, each time harder than the last. In his mind though, he knew his origins and somewhere deep in the darkest part, he knew that his fate would lead him to following his father, so he kept his distance while still maintaining their best friend relationship, basically friend-zoning himself. There was no shortage of beauty with her though. She was radiant and purely perfect. The kind of girl you would expect an heiress to be only with more brains than Steven Hawking and the wit of her father to boot. Yes, she had all the boys after her, even their friends couldn't leave her alone. She had that pull, yet another inheritance from her father, but, also like her father, she knew how to handle and harness it, and use it to her advantage. And like the things growing stronger inside him, he knew he didn't have long before his feelings for her overwhelmed him.

God help us…

"Jake… please…"

He sighed again, "I'm not upset."

She scoffed, "Right…"

"I'm not. I'm… scared… I guess… I don't like feeling so…"

"Helpless?"

Right. She had felt it too.

"Yeah…"

"Welcome to the club. We've got jackets." A soft chuckle escaped her, "This is our blood, Jake; our blood that has done incredible and amazing things; that has grown and evolved and made us who we are. It may scare the hell out of us but we are the next generation. The responsibility is passing down the line whether we want it to or not; whether they want it to or not." She gestured out the door, indicating their parents.

"I know."

"Then don't freak out-"

"I'm not, I just… I don't want to hurt you…"

Amber's breath hitched at that moment. The way he said that… it was too intimate to be an encompassing phrase. He didn't mean all of them; their friends. He solely meant her…

Dieu nous aide…

In that moment it hit her. The connection they shared, deeper than kin, more complex… she knew what it was and… she knew he had been aching with the knowledge from the start. She was too blind to see it, and with the way the other boys clung to her and fought over her… What scared her the most was that she knew she felt it too…

"Jake…"

"Yeah?"

Slowly, her hands reached up and pulled his glasses from his face, causing him to blush slightly and his lips to part, warm breath caressing her face as she came ever closer to him. What was going on? What was she doing? Didn't she know that the face she was making would make him spontaneously combust? It should be illegal to do that to a man.

"I haven't been fair to you, have I? I've been so blind…"

He swallowed, "I forgive you."

She smiled softly, stepping even closer, "Answer me something."

"Anything." He was getting dizzy with her proximity, her clean scent hitting him like never before.

"How long?"

Here he hesitated… then, "Nine years."

A low whistle escaped her, "I admire your patience." She was so close that he could taste her breath as she spoke, "I should reward you somehow. But I don't know if I can make up for nine years of stupidity."

His lips quirked "Don't beat yourself up over it."

She rolled her eyes, her hands resting on his chest over the Super Mario Bros T-shirt he wore, "What do you suggest then?"

Her eyes snapped at him full force. Damn her and those Stark genetics with their persuasive and coercing ways and such, "I… um…"

Slowly she leaned forward and ever so gently hovered her lips just off his, "You what?"

A soft growl ripped from his chest as his arms wrapped around her and crushed her to him, their lips meeting hungrily before he pushed her away and held her at arm's length, panting softly, "That should do it."

Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, shocked at the urgency he had exuded just then. There was no way that was enough, "I don't think so."

"No?"

"No." and she returned to his lips, pouring an apology into the action.

Suddenly there was the sound of someone clearing their throat at the doorway and the broke apart.

"H-hey, daddy." she stammered, a bit flustered.

"Mr. Stark." Jake nodded, slightly fearing for his life.

It was quiet for a moment and they both feared the worst until, "You guys realize we have doors for a reason, right?"

Amber sighed in relief a small giggle noticeable in her voice, "Yes, daddy. Thank you."

"No, seriously. Is it broken or something? I'll need to fix it before someone else stumbles upon that." He pretended to shudder, "You guys look like two seals fighting over a grape."

Rolling her eyes, the younger Stark didn't miss a beat, "Yeah well now you know how I feel when you and mom go at it."

He laughed, "Speaking of Rhodey, your uncle is here."

"Uncle Rhodey?" She practically tore out of the room, almost knocking over her father in the process.

"Whoa! Hey! Don't break anymore doors!" Tony then turned back to Jake who stared after her dumbfounded before meeting eyes with him.

The boy swallowed nervously until the man before him gave him a two-finger salute that turned into the "I'm watching you" gesture and then walked away.

Jake took a deep breath and chuckled, whispering under his breath in response to the gesture, "Well I'm a Hulk…" and walked out after them, his lips still buzzing.

PSYCH! I never said which generation Stark/Banner now did I? ;3 And there we are! Let me know what you think and if you're interested in more. If you can't tell the whole story is centered around these two and all the chapters are inspired by different songs and named as such :) Please review!

Here's the link: - http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=lXqYw_II6Pc&ob=av3e

Thanks for reading :)

-Dom