Wow! I wasn't expecting to wake up and find twelve people following my little fic. I certainly wasn't expecting several more followers through the day (even a couple author follows.) So I guess you guys want more. So, here's a little bit then.

For science!

It was a few hours before Tony woke, wincing as he sat up, causing Banner to stir.

Bruce stretched and yawned. "Tony, hey, how are you feeling?" He stood up quick and put a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Looking down at his now stitched up chest and bandaged legs, he responded, "I've had better nights."

"Who did this to you? I've never seen your suit this messed up." Or you for that matter, he kept to himself. "You should have called for back up."

"It was my mess to clean up," Tony didn't make eye contact as he spoke, "It was my tech Hydra's been using, my job to take it back."

"Or die trying?" Bruce fought to keep the urgency from his voice. "We're a team, Tony. You could have at least called me, or was your absence from the lab this past month supposed to be my pink slip?"

Something crossed Stark's face but Bruce couldn't identify it. Hurt? It was quickly replaced with the cold shell he'd been wearing for weeks. He shook his head.

With a sigh, Bruce added, "If you don't want to talk about whatever's going on, that's fine, just as long as you know you can. We're still partners, right?"

That was the first time that he had used that word out loud. Clint never hesitated to poke fun at their "geeking out" and Bruce certainly didn't want to give Tony the wrong idea, but if the past couple years on the team had taught him anything, it was that Stark had his back. On and off the field. When Emil showed up and framed the Hulk, Tony was the only one defending him. When General Ross managed to get him drugged and imprisoned, Iron Man was the one to break him free. Bruce couldn't return every favor but he did make sure that he always had Tony's back and he'd long since come to think of them as partners above and beyond the team.

Still not making eye contact, Tony replied, "I'm no good as a partner or on a team. Haven't you heard? I don't play well with others. I'm a text book narcissist. I don't give a damn about anyone but myself."

"Tony, you know that's not true. Without you, this team wouldn't have happened. We've worked together to save the world. We've built new tech, developed defenses against gamma attacks, saved countless lives. If nothing else, you took a nuclear missile through a portal into the other end of the universe where you would have died without a second thought." Bruce forced eye contact before continuing. "You may have most people convinced that Tony Stark is a self involved egoist but you'll never convince me."

Tony pushed himself off the table and limped over to a cabinet for personal effects. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey and didn't bother with a glass. He took a long swig before turning back to Banner.

"Alright, Doc. No need to go all mushy on me. You'll get the call next time." Tony took another swig before sticking the bottle back in the cabinet. "So, Jarvis said you've been hard at work. Want to show me the new project?"

It wasn't surprising that Stark was going to act like nothing had happened. Upsetting, for sure, but not surprising. Still, Bruce knew better than to think he could push Tony into doing anything before he was ready. It was best just to let him set the pace, give a gentle nudge from time to time. Patience was something Banner could do, though. Perhaps that's why they worked so well together.

Bruce put on half a smile and grabbed the tablet he'd been using, handing it to Stark. It took Tony a few minutes to scroll through the pages of formulas and a couple more to skim them a second time. Bruce always loved watching the gears turn in Tony's head, as he calculated and processed and added his own unique spin to things.

He grabbed a stylus and added a few notes here and there before asking, "Is this what I think it is?"

"Well, you did give me all that fantastic data from the last encounter with the Enchantress and told me to, what was it?"

Tony smirked, "Figure out the source of her "magic" and snuff it out."

Bruce smiles a little broader and nodded. "I'll need your help building deployment, but if the math is right-"

"The math is right. I checked it." Tony interrupted, placing extra emphasis on that "I" as usual.

Bruce didn't skip a beat, having expected Tony's little ego plug. "This should be able to prevent any of the Asgardian magic, though it will be a challenge to really test. All I really have to work with will be Mjölnir, if Thor is willing."

"You let me handle Goldilocks," Tony replied confidently. "I'll also draw up a model for deployment tonight. How long will synthesis take you?"

"You checked my math. You tell me." A smug response, for sure, but Tony brought that out in him at times, and it was only fair for the math comment earlier.

"Give or take two hours set up, another six for the first round and, if you're in on time-" Tony glanced at Bruce and smirked. "Another four and a half for the second round. You should have a sample for me in thirteen and a half hours."

"That give you enough time to get the hammer and a test device?" Bruce asked, already knowing the answer.

"And catch a nap." Tony turned a little too sharp and winced. "Well, maybe we'll skip the nap." Turning his attention upward, he asked, "Jarvis, where's Thor?"

The AI responded, "Thor is in training room C on the fifth floor, Sir."

Tony waved as he limped out of the lab. "See you in thirteen, Doc."

Bruce's smile faded and he shook his head. One day, this pace was going to catch up to his partner. All he could do was be there to catch him when he fell... again.