Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel characters.


"No. I can't do it, Tony. Stop pestering me." The undercurrent of tension in the words belied the calm tone in which they were given.

Tony huffed in exasperation. "C'mon, Bruce! You need a break! It's not like you would be in the middle of a gunfight—it's just a ranch."

"A ranch where people could get hurt."

"Bruce." Tony looked at Bruce steadily. "Look at me. You need a rest. Here, you're always working on things. You need to relax, have some fun. A ranch is the perfect opportunity."

Bruce Banner shook his head. "Sorry, Tony. I don't want to endanger them after they've willingly let me stay there, but don't know the danger I present."

Tony snorted. "What about Kolkata? Or Rio de Janeiro?"

Holding up his hands in protest, Bruce backed away, shaking his head. "Those were different, Tony," he objected. When Tony raised his eyebrows in disbelief, Bruce was driven to explain further. "Then, General Ross was trying to capture me. Also, those people didn't willingly take me in. I just stayed there."

"They didn't know the danger you presented," Tony objected.

"Well, true," Bruce had to admit. "But here the situation is completely different. I'm not in any danger from General Ross anymore, and these people would be willingly letting me stay at their ranch. I wouldn't just…be there," he finished, striving lamely for words.

Tony nodded in his best 'yeah-I've-heard-it-all-before-and-I-don't-believe-a-word-of-it' look. "Ah, but one major point of your argument is that they don't know the danger."

"Yeah…?" Bruce questioned.

"Well, what if they did know?"

"But I thought you said that they had no idea that you were Tony Stark, or that Clint was Hawkeye, or any of that!"

Tony smirked. "Well, actually, one of them did. She's the guest coordinator. I like to think of her as 'Ranch Girl Extraordinaire', by the way." Seeing Bruce's raised eyebrows and his short nod, Tony continued. "I've already told her who you are, and she's fine with you coming there."

Bruce's eyebrows leapt sky-high in disbelief. "She knows who I am, and about the other guy, and is fine with me going out there?"

"Yeah, she was," Tony affirmed nonchalantly, neglecting to mention the fact that she was okay with it only after he had assured her Bruce would be fine.

Bruce lowered his head into his hands and shook it slowly. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," he groaned.

Tony's grin nearly split his face. "You're agreeing! Hah! I knew you would!" He patted Bruce on the back gently. "Don't be such a worrywart. You'll be fine, and you'll love it there."

Bruce nodded doubtfully. "Yeah, sure I will," he muttered under his breath.


Sorry this chapter's so short...I had the third chapter planned out, and I couldn't think of anything more to put in this one so...yeah. I love reviews if you want to post one! ;) (hint hint)