"I never said the beta ray readings wouldn't garner any useful data, I just pointed out that they have nothing to do with the actual point of the experiment, and I- I, uh."
Jane looked up to where Tony'd stood, trailing off unexpectedly. Bruce had already looked, and had looked away again, half amused and half embarrassed to see their friend in Steve's hands, scruffed like a kitten while Pepper looked on, tapping an exasperated, stilettoed toe.
"Um. Gosh, it's late, isn't it. This can wait till tomorrow, I think I'll go to bed, goodnight all." Tony babbled before Steve marched him out the door. As JARVIS began shutting down their third's workstation, Bruce and Jane shared a stifled giggle and an entertained look between them before they heard Pepper say "Good night Darcy, Betty,"
"Thor." Steve added.
Jane abruptly paled, and Bruce put on a nervous, placating grin. They both started rushing to save and shut down, documenting final results and planned procedures that it appeared they weren't going to be allowed to do tonight after all.
"Jane." Thor rumbled, deep voice vibrating into her and seeming to release a flock of butterflies that made her own voice high and unsure as she replied.
"Hi, Thor. I was just about to finish up here and come find you..." He shook his head, kind blue eyes stern.
"Had I not come for you now, you would have spent another night at your ventures, as would friends Stark and Banner."
"No, really we were just wrapping up-" Bruce denied, sending his most endearing puppy-faced looks at the dark-haired women standing with arms crossed and disapproving frowns on their red lips.
"You were wrapping up because you heard Steve and Pepper say goodnight to us in the hall, and you knew exactly what we'd have to say about you three spending the last thirty-six hours in here nonstop."
"I'll bet you haven't had more than coffee and those dried fruit packets Tony stashes everywhere since we left." Darcy challenged.
"That's not-" Jane began, looking around at their workspace. Counters hosted coffee mugs stacked into pyramids, the sink in the corner overflowed, but there was not one plate in the lot, nor even a balled-up wrapper to mark the presence of solid food anytime since the three scientists had begun their marathon.
"And neither have you slept, my heart." Thor stated, cradling Jane's head in one hand, running his thumb along the deep shadow under her eye. She tilted her face into the touch, despite the anxious pinch of her features.
"I'm sorry." she said softly.
"We didn't realize we'd gone so long." Bruce admitted, ducking his head in shamed admittance.
"You three work well together. We knew there was a risk when we all came up with obligations that left you alone here for the last few days. But I distinctly remember Pepper telling JARVIS to remind you about food and sleep every six hours you were up." Betty said in her sweetly implacable voice.
"Um. That got annoying and Tony told him to stop." Jane explained.
"We're gonna have to work on a better system, then. For now, you know what to do." Darcy demanded, jerking her chin at the open door.
"Darcy..." Bruce protested. "I don't need-"
"You do need to keep up your blood sugar. And if you act like a child who can't feed himself, you need a reminder of what happens when your mommies come home." Betty stated without room for equivocation. Under the two womens' combined stares, Bruce ducked his chin low and slunk out the door, face burning.
Jane watched the three go before turning her caramel eyes up to Thor, nuzzling into his palm. "Thor, can't we just go to bed? I'm so tired."
"I am sorry, my Jane. I don't like to be the one who must point out your errors, but I dislike even more your disregard for your own welfare. You must be convinced to keep it in mind even when your work seems too stimulating to ignore."
She closed her eyes, lower lip protruding and quivering. "Well, couldn't we at least do it in our own room? We don't need to-"
"Nay, love. We have discussed this. There is a specific place set aside for such remonstrations as this, that your lessons may be learnt all the faster and resentment be circumvented through seeing your fellows partake of their punishments alongside you. Besides." Thor bent to kiss her cheek, and lay his forehead against hers. "I would not have our bedchamber sullied with memories of poor deeds and the actions I must take to correct them. I wish it to be filled only with our love for each other."
Jane felt a tear trickle down her wan cheek- sometimes she felt very keenly that the Prince of Asgard, as noble and kind-hearted and loving as he was, was much, much more than she deserved. She nodded against him and allowed him to lead her out of the shared workshop/ laboratory without arguing further.
Bruce's muscles trembled under his skin as he stared down at the rounded plastic hemming him against the tall chair he'd been buckled into. He wished very much that Tony would stop pleading with Steve to spare him the belt, and that Jane would stop yelping in high pitched tones every time Thor's broad hand came down with a crack. If they'd only suffer quietly, he could forget they were there, and that they had only to raise their eyes to see him being humiliated. Bruce easily counted as having had the least pleasant childhood amongst the assembled heroes and heroic civilians present- neglect and unrealistic expectations were one thing, but violent abuse was quite another. Betty and Darcy loved him far too much to risk stepping on his lingering issues by partaking in physical punishments like the others did, even if the Hulk wasn't a potentially devastating factor. But this- the Hulk couldn't manage to feel threatened by a man-sized high chair, or being forced to make up his dietary dereliction with a full meal of soft, pudding-textured foods fed to him from rubber-coated spoons. Bruce was left alone to deal with the fierce, burning shame of his lovers and caretakers undressing him in full view of the others, only to button him into a fleece-warm, canvas reinforced onesie that bound his hands into clumsy mittens. It had straps sewn into the legs for when they let him down from his feeding, which would keep his knees bent and force him to crawl.
A fresh wave of pleading burst forth from Tony's corner, and Bruce's eyes instinctively shot up towards his friend, who was crying on his back. Steve was standing over him, holding his ankles in position over his chest and baring his brick-red bottom and inner thighs while he did. Pepper approached with a mean little switch in her hand, her eyes trained on the soles of Tony's feet. Bruce grimaced- Tony wouldn't be able to sit or stand by tomorrow. Group lab time wasn't going to happen for a day at least. Jane had crumbled into deep-chested sobs as she lay across Thor's knees, her bottom a bright cherry red, and it looked like her punishment was about done with the way Thor had gentled his hands against her, soothing her stinging skin and stroking her hair. Abruptly, however, his friends' torments became less important.
"I need to use the bathroom." he said, heat prickling up into his cheeks.
"What was that, cutie?" Darcy asked, lifting a damp cloth from where her deliberately bad aim had smeared beef wellington in custard form over his cheek. The flushing grew worse, and he felt a telltale prickle at the corners of his eyes.
"Please, mommy, I need the potty." he made himself say, though his tongue felt the effort like every word was made of depleted uranium.
"All right, baby, we'll let you down." She cooed, and she and Betty swiveled the high chair's table top out of the way and released the strap around his hips. Guided to the ground, he made the objectively short, though mentally eternal, crawl towards his ultimate punishment. It, too, was molded plastic, the lid in the shape of a happy clown that they all agreed was disturbing. It had a flushing and self-cleaning function that he never had and never would ask if Tony had built- after all, this wasn't meant to be unpleasant for the girls- but while he used it, it was functionally exactly as it appeared. A larger than average training toilet. He paused in front of it, feeling pressure build in his sinuses as he kept what aplomb he could.
"Please. I'm sorry, I really am."
"We know you are, Bruce." Betty's fingers were cool on his flushed skin as she brushed the curls off his forehead. "But you need to keep this in mind, even when it seems like the next revelation is just one more data point away- you can solve the question to 42 even when you take the time to keep yourself healthy." She managed it, after all. She actually had the ability to heed her body's warnings while in the midst of research and experimentation. He'd marveled since he'd met her at the multitasking she was capable of. "You can learn it." She said, having heard him wonder at her skill before.
"We just need to cement it into your brain." Darcy added. "You have to take care of yourself for us, Bruce. We need you." Darcy hugged him from behind, arms strong around his torso and cheek warm at the top of his spine.
He nodded, head low. "I love you." he informed them quietly, and "We love you, too." Betty replied, stroking his scalp. Darcy nodded, and her arms around him tightened- which made him aware all over again of where he was.
"I really need to go." Bruce squirmed, and Darcy released her grip.
"Okay then, baby boy."
He looked down at the buttons that kept the onesie's flap closed over his groin. He wanted to undo them himself, but in nearly a half-dozen times of trying, he'd never managed to be dexterous enough in his binding mittens. "Can... you help me, mommy?" he admitted defeat before he began, this time.
"Of course, baby." Darcy unbuttoned him and tucked the flap behind him so it wouldn't become soiled. It was a spot of work to get himself into the right position with his legs bent- he managed, but the effort broke his hold on his composure, and he cried miserable, humiliated tears, burying his face in his fuzzily swaddled palms as he allowed his body to do what it needed. He was grateful now for Tony's howling, since it drowned out any noises he made. Jane was long since asleep, and Thor had carried her away.
Gently, his girls unbound his legs, and tugged his hands away to free them. They turned away while he used the disposable wipes they provided and allowed him to button himself back up and stand. He was still hiccuping softly, slow, intermittent tears making their way down his face, while they kissed him soothingly.
Across the room, Tony had finally stopped making a racket, and Steve had lifted him into his arms princess-style since it was the only way to keep pressure off his thighs and feet. He sobbed unrestrainedly into Steve's chest and clenched Pepper's hand in his own while they made their way out, his lovers murmuring softly to him as they headed to their bedroom.
"Let's go to bed." Bruce suggested, and his girls clasped hands with him as they went.