Chapter two:

Bruce Banner sat in the professors lounge, sipping his herbal tea and reading over his lecture for later that afternoon when his fellow educators began speaking a little louder than they had been previously. He just added more effort to focusing his attention on his notes and drowning out the voices.

However, a certain name caught his attention and had him tuning in to the conversation.

"-did it again! I can't stand his better-than-thou attitude as he tells me I wrote the wrong math equation. Introverted bastard." Bruce felt a flicker of anger at the words but quickly smothered the feeling.

"Well did you?" one of the other educators asked. She was a younger female who obviously didn't have him in any of her classes and wasn't sharing their attitude.

The mathematician that had spoken previously glared at the female educator. But before he could come up with a most likely biting response another educator took up his rant, this one Bruce recognized as a teacher of something to do with business.

"You had it easy. He not only corrected my explanation but then he stood up and felt the need to give his own lecture! When the class was over he told me with the smuggest look on his face that it was a good idea to invest in motor oil in the next three days. Like I need any help from that narcissistic clown. And, besides, that's insane! It's the exact opposite of what anyone should be doing now! He's an insufferable, arrogant A-hole." Again that murmur of rage, quickly drowned out but still burning behind Bruce's eyes. He tried calming himself by taking a sip of his soothing tea. He felt confusion at his own anger, after all, he had sat through Professor Hansen's rant without so much as blinking. There was no reason he should be irritated now just because he had met the man.

"Pfft." an aged man in the corner that Bruce recognized as a English educator joined in, "Every teacher has a complaint about him. I guess I should consider myself lucky he uses my class to catch up on his sleep."

"I heard he asked you if you were even qualified to teach though." The mathematician from earlier spoke up.

The English educator just shook his head.

"Actually that was me." Bruce looked over to see a younger man with a baby face walk in. He didn't recognize him so he had no clue why Stark would question his capabilities. Though he had a suspicion it had something to do with the fact that the guy looked like he was twenty years younger than anyone else in the room.

"Bruce!" one of the teachers - the mathematician he realized - called, "You have him. What's he done in your class so far?"

Bruce rubbed at the bridge of his nose. He did not want to get dragged into this...

"Actually I've only had one class with him but so far he's been a model student. One of the few that listened."

Bruce was honestly shocked to hear that mister Sta-Tony had done all those things, despite being warned by Professor Hansen he hadn't had any trouble with the 'student from hell' yet. And still yet, what shocked him was how the other teachers were acting towards Tony. Sure the guy may purposely annoy people but it wasn't like he was as bad as they made him out to be, mostly he just did it for attention. He was a genius from what Bruce had read, calling them up on their mistakes isn't something they could really fault him for. Listening to them complain about Tony and all gang up on him was actually beginning to irritate him. Bruce tightened his grip on the mug he was holding before loosening it and taking a sip to calm his nerves.

All the teachers seemed shocked at the thought of their personal pain in the ass actually being tolerable.

"You don't have to be embarrassed to tell us." one of them, the business teacher, prompted, "He's humiliated all of us."

Bruce frowned in annoyance, "I'm not lying. Mister Stark hasn't done anything wrong in my class. He was even courteous enough to greet me at the end of class." he responded bitingly.

"I bet he's planning something." the business professor finally declared darkly.

"That's almost scarier than him actually acting up." the mathematician spoke eerily, "Like he's luring you into false security before he goes crazy."

"I feel bad for you."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to have that kind of suspense. It's like he's waiting for you to really slip up."

Well. That was unnerving. And kind of annoying.

Bruce huffed noncommittally before taking another sip of his tea. It didn't taste nearly as good as before they started talking and that kind of annoyed him.

Now he was going to be paranoid that Tony was up to something.

Damn gossiping teachers. Damn tea.

.

.

.

Bruce stepped into the room with a slightly put-off atmosphere. Tony instantly perked up in his seat and tried his best to look the model student. Pepper would probably laugh at the sight of Tony Stark trying to be a model student.

Bruce did a scan of the room and sure enough Tony Stark was sitting down perfectly behaved and looking for all the world like the model student. It was oddly unsettling how well he was paying attention actually.

Maybe he is just waiting for you to slip up Banner.

Bruce frowned secondly at himself. There was no way those loons were going to get him ruffled with their paranoid and jealous rants.

"Alright class." Bruce began as he leaned against the front of his desk, his arms folded in front of his chest, "Will one of you go around and collect the papers I assigned?"

Instantly Tony's hand went up. Bruce felt his eyebrows go almost as high as Tony's excitedly waving hand. He looked around the room for any other hands and nope, no one.

"Okay. Mister Stark." Bruce nodded to him.

"To-ny." he reminded reproachfully.

Tony quickly stood up, stumbling slightly out of his chair in his haste. Bruce tried to smother the smile that wanted to pull at the corner of his lips as Tony went around the room demanding papers like a prima donna. It was oddly funny to watch and when Tony handed him the papers was that a coy smile?

Surely the other teachers couldn't mean this Tony Stark. Bruce put the papers on his desk before re-crossing his arms. He waited until Tony was seated again before speaking to the class.

"Let's start on anti-electron collisions." he stated after repressing a sigh at the resurfacing memory of his afternoon, "I trust you all read the packet I gave you last time?"

There were grumbles heard throughout the room at that. Bruce raised his eyebrow, challenging them.

"Doctor Banner," one woman spoke up, a brunette, "I read and reread all of the packet but I couldn't make heads or tails of it."

There were a few grumbled agreements scattered throughout the class. Tony was shocked. The man had practically spelled it out.

"Does everyone agree with that?" Bruce asked, looking up at the class from above his glasses.

There were mutual nods and mumbled agreements from most of the students. Tony could hear Bruce sigh resignedly.

Poor guy...surrounded by idiots, Tony thought pitifully, I seriously need to save him from this mediocre place. I'll take him to the Tower and we can have science sleepovers and sexy lab experiments. That was a nice thought. Maybe he actually would.

In the meantime, there was an audible silence in the class as Doctor Banner began speaking, writing long equations on the chalk (seriously chalk?) board, and rambling science, going more in-depth on the papers he'd passed out earlier. As he spoke Tony couldn't find a single flaw, not a single damn flaw. It didn't matter that Tony's field of science expertise was theoretical mechanics and inventing genius things and Bruce's was a field he had never really touched. The man was perfect. A understated, humble genius.

And that shocked him. That shocked him enough to make him not talk but actually listen - and learn no less. The hell was happening?

Tony sat dumbstruck as he stared at the rumpled looking scientist as he continued his quiet, smoothing explanations. He projected calm and cool as he explained the most complex things in a clear, easy way that made Tony want to know the man better. Just listening to him talk about electrons and complex physics made Tony's toes curl.

At the end of class Tony idled behind again. This time though Bruce looked up from his desk without being prompted.

"Was there something wrong with my lecture Mister Stark?" Bruce asked cautiously as he looked up into those brown eyes and handsome face. Wait. What had he just-

"Tony~" the man before him whined like an overgrown child, "T.O.N.Y. Tony. And no. You're explanation was brilliant. Genius." not to mention how sexy your science talk is, "I can't believe those idiots didn't get your notes - but that's not the point. Are you free? Like now would be preferable but hey I'm flexible." that last word was accompanied by a suggestive eyebrow wave. The innuendo was obvious even to Bruce, who blushed slightly at the naughty thoughts it gave him.

Bruce raised his eyebrow and opened his mouth, then closed it again. What?

"I...don't know what to say." Bruce looked at him with poorly hidden confusion.

"Say yes. Say 'please Tony take me now'" Tony used a higher pitch for Bruce's voice which made the tanner man's eyebrows raise even more, a impressive accomplishment in itself, before Tony continued airily "I know some great restaurants and Stark Tower is stocked with the best stuff. Speaking of which you should come by some time, because I could definitely use that big, beautiful mind of yours and I totes need a genius friend to have science slumber parties with. Come on. We could be like science bros. We can paint each others toenails and gossip about Einstein."

Bruce found himself smiling despite everything, not quite knowing how seriously to take Tony.

"Tony." Bruce began slowly, gently, "I'm your teacher. And I'm sure you already have plenty of more interesting friends to eat with."

Tony just frowned indignantly at that, "Puh-lease." he leaned onto the desk, very effectively invading Bruce's personal space, "The only other people worth my time are Peps and Rhodes. Peps' too busy stomping on people with her heels and Rhodes is always ignoring me for his country. Damn patriot." Tony paused as if only realizing something, "Wait. You're not rejecting me because you're my teacher are you?"

"Yes. Yes I am." Bruce grabbed at the logic like a lifeline because seriously he was already getting a bad feeling in his gut about Tony and his gravitational pull. And staring into those sparkling brown eyes at such a close proximity was not helping.

Said gravitational source frowned childishly at that, giving Bruce the strongest puppy eyes he'd ever witnessed. Well maybe just one cup of tea...

Not good.

"I have papers to grade." Bruce blurted out.

Tony's eyes flickered to the sizeable stack before meeting Bruce's again and there was something in those eyes Bruce didn't care to identify.

Tony pursed his lips before pushing off the desk reluctantly.

"Fine." he pouted, "But I will get you to have lunch with me."

"Technically it's linner." Bruce retorted, reassured by the new distance between them. He hadn't realized how quickly his heart had picked up before.

Tony smirked, "Linner." he corrected himself with an amused snort before sauntering out of the class.

Once Bruce was sure Tony wasn't coming back he let out a sigh and turned his attention to the papers stacked on his desk.

Bruce wasn't surprised to find Tony's paper on the top of the pile. He had almost expected it. He read through the paper, well written and showy just like Tony, but overall genius in its insight. Bruce quickly gave Tony an A before setting it to the side face down.

But before he could move on to the next paper something caught his eye.

Finding a rough sketch of a map of the city on the back surprised him. "I know a really great shawarma place" was scrolled quickly on the back in a golden marker. The map was drawn in pen but it may as well have been in crayon with how childish it looked with statues and oddly shaped trees as markers instead of streets.

The corner of his mouth quirked up as he looked down at the map. What was Stark thinking?

.

.

.

"JARVIS, have you done the searching I asked you to?" Tony asked as he strutted into his living room on the top floor, heading straight for one of his larger Stark prototype tablets.

"Yes sir," the AI responded in its' brisk English accent, "I've searched all the specified places for any information on a Doctor Bruce Banner and did additional research on the internet, cross referencing and deleting any irrelevant findings."

"Ohhh, gimme gimme," Tony practically purred, "Show me mister sexy's ASL."

"Sir, may I point out these are stolen files from government computers and SHIELD-"

"Shut up JARVIS and gimme the dirty or, so help me, I will reprogram your voice to sound like an eighty year old smokers."

If a program could have sighed in exasperation JARVIS would have as he replied, "As you wish sir."

Tony's eyes lit up like a kids on Christmas as the screen began running images and articles and secret files on Bruce Banner. Huh, so his first name is Robert.

As Tony read through article after article he found that Bruce had largely belittled his own worth and assistance in everything. The guy was a living humble pie!

Banner, as it turns out, held expertise in biology, chemistry, engineering, physiology, and nuclear physics. Tony had never realized that Bruce Banner was THE Banner of Bannertech, which had been on par with his own technological developments up until a few years ago; some of the technologies included a force field that could protect from the attacks of nuclear bomb-level entities, and a teleporter. He had freakin' made Star Trek real and he didn't even so much as brag a little! Tony didn't know how to process such a freakin' genius and self-effacing person. And then after all that he had just dropped under the radar - which was presumably when he had gone to all those backwater countries to provide clean water and cures for local diseases. And then what? He just ended up teaching in a college? Where was the missing link? And there was practically nothing on him before he graduated at top of his class at twenty.

Tony leaned against the couch feeling unsatisfied. He needed to know more. It had officially become a mission and obsession.

"JARVIS, give me doctor sexy's address."

Remember to review to get chapter updates quicker! ;D Because I seriously feed off that stuff.

So what'd you think? Opinions?