Chapter One: A Twinge of Jealousy
Bruce dropped his bags down on Tony's carpet, and let out a sigh. Stark Towers was overwhelming large, almost as big as Tony's ego. Though Bruce was allowed to make jokes about Tony and his personality, he had discovered a softer side to him whilst fighting with him in New York. They had bonded over their mutual hated of Steve Rogers and their scientific brains. Tony had learned about Bruce's various depression disorders, and Bruce learned quite a bit about the real Tony… The Tony that worried about other things than himself, such as Pepper. Bruce liked Pepper just fine, but she was quite jealous of the time Bruce and Tony had spent together in recent months. She had even made subtle jokes about Tony being gay. Of course, Bruce was awkward in these situations, keeping quiet and smiling slightly.
He was only moving in was because of a Pepper argument. Tony reasoned that Pepper was too jealous, yet too flirty herself. The thing that Tony didn't realize was that their relationship had been failing for some time. Bruce observed from the sidelines how Tony gradually lost interest in Pepper, whenever she looked at him with loving eyes; her glances were not reciprocated by Tony but almost looked down upon. And, he began to get annoyed with her easily. When he ended things with her, she moved out, and he decided Bruce was his best friend and he just HAD to move in with Tony because Stark Tower was too… stark. Tony said he needed Bruce for moral support. As Bruce had never dated before (due to his awkwardness and fear of the "Other Guy"), he wasn't much of a help.
Taking a deep breath, Bruce finally stepped inside of Stark Towers and shut the door quietly.
"Welcome, master Banner," Jarvis said, his voice echoing throughout the building. He would have to seriously get used to that, as well as nearly all of it.
"Did I hear that my favorite mean green fighting machine is in the house?" Tony emerged from the kitchen, two beers in hand and sunglasses propped on his nose, obviously trying to conceal a pot addiction. He was wearing the norm for a millionaire playboy philanthropist.
"Yeah… Hey, Tony." Bruce warmly greeted him, worried about his own attire and how dressed down he was. His entire wardrobe's cost didn't amount to one outfit of Tony's.
"You don't look too shabby, Brucey Wucey." He slurred, raising his arms above his head. "Welcome to my – er, our – humble abode!" A grin crept up onto his face.
Bruce approached Tony cautiously, grabbing a beer. Tony, with no warning, half hugged him, causing Bruce's beer to spill all over his banged up jeans. A muffled, "Tony!" escaped from his mouth, along with another sigh. The first of many, Bruce thought to himself.
Ignoring his comment, Tony decided to go a different route. "Wanna see your room?"
"I suppose," he muttered.
Tony stopped his long trek at a room with a dark mahogany door, with "Bruce Banner" in golden lettering out to the side.
"Fancy schmancy," Bruce smirked with his arms crossed. "You know you didn't have to do any of this for me, right? I've been living in various shacks for about 10 years now."
"Only the best for you," Tony replied, seriously. Either he had sobered up immensely, or he was only acting drunk.
He pushed open the door to reveal a darkly accented room. Tony knew Brue far too well. In the corner of the enormous room sat a quaint little reading nook, complete with a built in bookshelf and an overhead lamp. He had even included band posters from the late 80s and early 90s, and a framed photo of Tony and Bruce from 2012 on the bedside table.
"Did I do well? I thought it captured your essence…" Tony looked genuinely concerned as he drifted off into his own thoughts. Bruce, not actually being able to process Tony's behavior, answered his question politely.
"I love it, Tony. I must admit, you know me well."
This made Tony happy. As he spoke, a cocky grin gradually joined his words. "Of course I do, you're my best friend. Now, you have to have a grand tour of the Towers. To my room!"
Bruce tried to suppress a smile, but failed. He followed Tony into the room next to his and braced for impact.