By the time Tony was done flying the perimeter for stragglers, he was starving.

Tony flew back to where the team was cleaning up. He squinted as the HUD showed him Hulk fussing over the placement of Doombot bits. Tony landed between Hulk and Steve. "Hey, Cap. Nothing left moving. How's it going?"

Steve frowned and nodded towards Hulk. "He hasn't changed back."

"Did you ask nicely?" Tony stepped around a shredded Doombot. "Hey, there, Big Guy? How's it going?"

Hulk huffed and patted the pile of Doombots he was making hard enough to crack the pavement under them.

Tony flipped his faceplate up. "I'm hungry. What about you? I saw this hot dog stand a couple of blocks over." Tony jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "You too tired to walk there? I could bring you some back."

Hulk turned from the pile of Doombots and stared down at Tony. "Hulk not tired."

Tony nodded. "Okay, sure. You want some hot dogs, Big Guy?"

Blinking, Hulk looked to Steve. "What hot dog?"

Steve pushed his cowl off his head. "Uh, it's a type of food."

Tony moved closer to Hulk. "What? You've never had hot dogs? That's tragic. We kicked ass today and we deserve to celebrate it. You coming?"

Hulk frowned and glanced around at the rest of the team watching them. "Team coming?"

Tony flipped down his faceplate so no one would see him smirk at Hulk imitating his tone of voice. "Agent, what about it? Hot dogs sound awesome."

Phil picked his way through the rubble. "I could eat. Mr. Hulk, the hot dog stand I believe Stark is talking about is that way."

Hulk looked down the street and then leaned down to narrow his eyes at Phil. "Agent coming?"

Phil smiled blandly. "Yes, Agent is coming as well. Please consider walking there. I'm sure the maintenance and repair crews would thank you for not gouging up pavement or making holes in the sides of buildings."

Hulk snorted and stood upright. Tony took a hold of the edge of Hulk's hand. Hulk followed Tony slowly, nudging bits of rubble out from under where he was going to set his next foot down at.

Steve stared after Hulk and Tony for several moments before Coulson sidled up next to him.

"We should follow along, Captain. The Hulk is not known for talking. Let alone asking for people to join him in doing something."

Steve blinked and shook his head a little. "Yeah, right." He followed with a wave of his hand to the others. "Let's go find out what kind of hot dogs street carts serve nowadays."

Hulk sat down carefully where Spaceman pointed so the puny curb didn't smash under him. He watched the good smells man fix the hot dogs while keeping an eye on Hulk. He liked that because everyone should know where Hulk was so Hulk not step on them. Hulk could find them to step on if he wanted to, but Hulk thought everyone should do their part.

Spaceman came over and handed hot dog to Hulk. "There you go, Big Guy. There's more were that came from. Everyone should be glad I'm rich. Feeding you, Thor, and Capsicle takes a fortune."

Hulk sniffed the hot dog and then watched Spaceman unwrap his to take a bite. "Like hot dog?"

Spaceman grinned with his mouth full. He chewed and then wiped his mouth with a little white square. "Oh, yeah. They are awesome. I made him leave the wrap off yours so you could just eat. Don't worry about the mess, Big Guy. Bruce will take a shower later anyway."

Hulk poked his fingertip into the stuff on the hot dog. "You not have yellow. Hulk has yellow."

"Uh, yeah." Spaceman smiled at the rest of Team as they came closer. "I don't like mustard. Bruce does, so I thought you might. Try it. If you don't like it we'll get you another made, okay?"

Hulk liked the spice smell in the good smell from the hot dog. He tried to take the size bite he saw Spaceman take, but it was too puny so he put more hot dog in his mouth. He blinked as he chewed like he'd seen Spaceman do.

Starman accepted a hot dog from the vendor and came to stand in front of Spaceman. "Tony, the vendor says you bought him out."

Spaceman shrugged. "It isn't like he'll get more business today anyway. Besides, I don't know how much it'll take to feed up the Big Guy."

Hulk smiled at Starman when he glanced up.

Starman sighed and took a bite of his hot dog.

Hulk cocked his head. "Why Starman have brown on hot dog?"

"That's chili. Seriously, have you never had food, Big Guy?"

Hulk shrugged like he had learned to do from Shooty Cupid. "Hulk always smash. No time not smash."

Spaceman looked upset, but he shook his head and waved at the cart. "You want some with chili on it to try?"

Hulk leaned down to sniff Starman's and wrinkled his nose. "No."

Team all smiled or laughed, but Hulk knew it wasn't meant to be mean.

Redhair Lair pushed on Shooty Cupid's shoulder. "Show him yours."

Shooty Cupid glared at Redhair Lair before coming over to Hulk. "Hey, buddy. Did yours have onions on it?"

Hulk squinted at the hot dog in Shooty Cupid's hands. "Little white O's?"

"Yeah." Shooty Cupid unwrapped his and broke off part of it. "Here, try it and see what you think."

Hulk took the puny bite and chewed it. He frowned. "Sharp..." He looked at Spaceman because he could give Hulk new and better words. "What call taste after all food gone?"

"Aftertaste? You mean that icky taste at the back of your mouth from the onions?"

Hulk pushed his tongue to the roof of his mouth trying to make it go away. "Like sharp. No like after-taste."

Agent appeared silently beside Spaceman. "You could drink this and see if it clears the aftertaste, Mr. Hulk." He held up a cup that was huge in his tiny hands.

Hulk gently took the cup, it was small for him so Hulk was very careful not to smash. He drank it and grinned. "Hulk like tickles."

Agent touched his ear. "Have Sitwell bring more of the orange soda as soon as possible."

Hulk carefully handed the cup back and frowned at Starman, who still hadn't eaten the rest of his hot dog. "Starman no like brown smell?"

Team looked confused at Hulk until Spaceman touched his own chest.

"Ooooh. Steve, he means you."

Starman looked down at the star on his chest and then up at Hulk. "Oh, okay. Uh, no, I was just thinking is all, Hulk."

Hulk nodded. "Puny Bruce think, think, think." He pointed at Redhead Lair's food. "Not hot dog?"

"No, it isn't. It is a bratwurst." She produced another from the cart. "Here, you can try it."

Hulk frowned at her. He still wasn't sure about her having put Puny Bruce in so high a place. The fall had not been fun. "Redhead Lair no hurt Hulk?"

She blinked and looked at Agent and then at Shooty Bird before biting her lip as she held the not hot dog out to him. "No, I'm not trying to hurt you."

Hulk snorted and took the not hot dog. He tried it and ran his finger over her hair before she could get out of arm length. "Like not hot dog too." He turned to Spaceman. "More hot dog? Hulk want red on it like Spaceman."

Spaceman's eyebrows went up. "Like me, huh? Spaceman? Where'd you come up with that...Oh. Right. Never mind." He took another hot dog from the vendor. "Here you go, Big Guy."

Hulk chewed happily as his Team settled around him. TooLoud Hair started trying the hot dogs like Hulk had. He liked the brown, which didn't surprise Hulk. TooLoud Hair was stupid puny sometimes.

Tony waited until Hulk looked like he was about to fall asleep. "You good, Big Guy? All full?"

Hulk blinked slowly. "Hulk...good."

"Good, that's great." Tony balled up his empty hot dog wrapper. "Tell me something, if you don't mind. I'd like to know if you ever ate before this?"

"When Hulk not big." Hulk frowned and pushed his fingertip into the pavement in front of himself. "Puny Bruce always need Hulk. Even before Hulk have Hulk name."

Tony blinked, thinking it through. "Huh. So, this is the first time you've eaten since you turned green and big, right?"

Hulk smiled at him. "Spaceman always understand Hulk."

"Yeah." Tony forced a smile and then looked over to the rest of the team having one of those what the hell do we do now discussions since Hulk still hadn't transformed back into Bruce. "Next time would you like to eat after the battle is over?"

Hulk looked past Tony to the rest of the Avengers and then back down at Tony. "Team no want Hulk."

Tony grimaced. "No, no. That isn't it. You've never stayed so long after a battle. It worries them that you've stayed so long."

Hulk sighed. "No like Hulk."

"Trust me, Big Guy, they like you. It is just different. And that can scare people."

"Remember Hulk like yellow and orange filled cup?"

Tony grinned as he nodded. "Sure thing, Big Guy."

Hulk nodded one last time and flopped over onto his back, shrinking as he went.

Tony waited until he had helped Agent wrap the shock blanket around Bruce's shoulders to stomp over to the rest of the idiots he called his teammates. "Seriously?"

Steve looked relieved when he saw Bruce sitting on the curb behind Tony. "He changed back."

"Yeah, because he thinks that his Team doesn't like him."

Steve blinked and the rest of them looked confused. Tony rolled his eyes and stomped back over to Bruce.

"Hey there, Bruce-y."

Bruce accepted his glasses from Agent. "Don't call me Bruce-y."

Tony smiled and sat down, his armor whirring as he moved. "Hulk likes mustard on his hot dogs."

Bruce rubbed the side of his face as he turned to stare at Tony. "You fed him?"

With a shrug, Tony leaned back a little. "He was hungry."

"Huh." Bruce glanced over at the rest of the Avengers. "I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"No. Well, nothing more than Doombots, but you do know how often we do that, right?"

Bruce shifted, pulling his blanket closer around his shoulders. "Then why are they all staring at me like they've never seen me before?"

"The Big Guy thinks they don't like him."

Bruce blinked, turned a little towards Tony, blinked again, and then stopped. "He...didn't smash them for it."

"No, he didn't." Tony sighed and stood up. He turned and pulled Bruce up with him. "Are you hungry? The hot dog guy has enough left over we're feeding Agent's agents lunch."

Bruce smiled at his teammates and willed the other guy to understand it wasn't that they didn't like him. They just didn't know him very well yet.

After their next battle that required the Hulk, Steve made a point of asking Hulk if he was hungry.

Hulk shuffled his feet and looked to Tony. "Hulk no see hot dog box."

Steve struggled to understand modern English most of the time, but talking to the Hulk was a whole new level of what-the-heck-did-he-just-say at times. Which was when Steve would look to Tony for help.

Tony flipped up the face plate of the Iron Man armor. "What do you say to pizza? You ever have that before? I think we should try a buffet place. That why you can try all the kinds there are."

Hulk nodded, took Tony's hand, and followed Tony. Which was how Steve ended up following Hulk and everyone else following along behind him.

Tony lead them to a hole-in-the-wall place sandwiched between a bar and a store of some sort that Steve didn't want to look at too closely because it might make him blush so much he burst into flames from it.

Tony gave the owners enough money they sat up tables out front and let Hulk smell everything over. Steve stood ready to intervene if Hulk looked like he was going to smash anything, but all he did was sniff and either nod or make a yuck face.

The ones Hulk nodded at were sliced up and he tried each one as Tony explained the toppings, crust type, and what to call it. Which the Hulk pared down to Red Dots, Red Dots with Ham Bits, and Chick-en with White.

Steve had frowned about the Red Dots with Ham Bits, because it was pepperoni and hamburger, but then he figured it out when Hulk tried to pronounce 'hamburger' and got frustrated with the word.

Tony sat Hulk down with his first plate and then he came over to stand next to Steve at the end of the line while everyone else picked their pizza. "You need to talk to him."

"What?"

"Hulk. You need to talk to him, Steve. He really thinks none of you like him."

Clint turned his head and frowned. "Shit." He grabbed up three slices of pepperoni and headed over to the Hulk.

Steve pushed Tony in front of him in line. "Why does he think that?" He could practically hear Tony roll his eyes.

"Why the hell do you think, Cap? The only people that act like they like him are Agent and me."

Steve glanced towards Phil, who was holding up a small tablecloth for Hulk to use as a napkin. "I didn't think..."

Tony sighed. "Look, Cap. I get it. No one knew he could talk as much as he does until he started asking me things. Him wanting friends is not something they cover in the reports."

Steve frowned and took a slice of pizza at random. He was hungry enough it wouldn't matter what it was. "No, it isn't." He looked at Hulk and Clint playing some sort of catch game with bits of pizza. "Bruce worries so much that I never thought aout Hulk lingering after a battle. Bruce is always so afraid he has hurt someone."

Tony made a face. "I know. He'll learn though. And if you can loosen up a little and enjoy the Big Guy, it'll help. I promise, Cap."

Steve bit the inside of his cheek and followed Tony over to his team.

Hulk sat down in the green field and waited. Agent would come with a horrible puny thump-thump and Hulk would go home. He rubbed his stomach as it rumbled.

The thump-thump came and Hulk squinted at it, ready to smash if it made pop-pops, but Agent came out of it instead.

"Mr. Hulk."

Hulk bent forward out of his sitting position and smiled at Agent. "Agent. Friend Agent."

Friend Agent smiled up at Hulk. "Sure, Mr. Hulk. Are you ready to go home?"

Hulk nodded and pushed himself up. "Hulk hungry."

Agent looked up at him. "Do you know what you'd like?"

Hulk gave it some thought. "Hulk want orange filled cup and hissing chick-en."

Agent patted Hulk's arm as he tensed up when the thump-thump made more noise. "Alright, Mr. Hulk. By the time we get to the Tower, Stark will have your orange soda and orange chicken waiting."

Hulk picked up Agent and sat him in his lap. Agent tensed for a moment and then relaxed.

"No, Stark, that wasn't a squeak. I was momentarily surprised by Mr. Hulk's need for reassurance while on the helicopter."

Hulk watched the thump-thump's ceiling as their speed changed.

"I am not a Hulk teddy bear, Stark. Do not make me tase you when we get there."

Hulk smiled as he listened to his Team through his Agent.