I do not own the Avengers, nor do I make any kind of profit from this piece.
Clint rolled his shoulders, stiff from sitting in the uncomfortable chairs that S.H.I.E.L.D had in their debriefing room. Steve wouldn't let him sit on the floor, or the table, or the back of his chair, or even the filing cabinets in the corner of the room, no matter how much he begged.
He left the room with Natasha, all of the team spread through the halls heading to the waiting quinjet that would take them home to the tower.
Natasha matched his steps silently, glaring a bit at anyone who stopped to gawk—because a few stupid junior agents still did, because he was Clint Barton, the one who let Loki get away. Clint purposefully didn't think about that, though, and just grinned at Natasha when she swept a critical eye over him.
He looked up ahead and nudged her a second later, gesturing with his eyes at Tony and Bruce who were several feet ahead, talking in fast voices, speaking a language made of scientific jargon. Occasionally they'd bump shoulders, and neither man seemed inclined to move so it didn't happen again.
Clint pitched his voice low so that no one but Natasha (And maybe Steve, who was walking behind them with Thor) would hear, "Think they figured it out yet?"
Natasha just rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Do you think Tony would be discrete?" Clint laughed, then, picturing Tony being so obvious about being in a relationship with Bruce.
"Well, I hope they figure it out soon. The sexual tension in the quinjet it going to be unbearable." He whispered back, already slightly dreading the flight home.
Thor shifted against his seat. He disliked riding in the jet. It was small and cramped, and he was very capable of flying by himself. But Steve insisted on it, and so Thor had to make do.
He was glad that they were landing, though. He was ready to bathe, change, and eat. The mission had been difficult, the battle long, but they had won in the end, as they always did.
As they all left the quinjet, Thor watched Tony swing an arm around Bruce's shoulders, and he grinned.
They went inside before he could say anything to them, and so instead he turned to Steve.
"Is it not wonderful?" He asked, grinning with joy.
Steve just stared at him. "Uh…is what wonderful, Thor?"
Thor laughed and pointed at where Tony and Bruce could still be seen through the glass walls, even they couldn't hear them anymore.
"Tony and Bruce! Our friends, together at long last!" His voice boomed, but still the couple in question didn't seem to hear him. "It has been a long time in coming, has it not? And finally, the glorious day is here!"
Steve turned red and quickly made a "hush" gesture to him. Thor frowned in confusion.
"No, Thor, it's not like that." He paused, seeming to think over his words. "Okay, no. It's like that. They're interested in each other, but they aren't together."
Thor's frown only deepened. "If they care for each other, as we can all see they do, why are they not?" He did manage, just barely, to keep his voice softer than its normal bellow.
Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They care about each other—maybe even love each other—but neither of them know it's a mutual feeling. I don't think they've said anything to each other about it while completely awake and sober."
Thor nodded at this, remembering clearly the times when one man had clung to the other, and acknowledging that all of those times one of the men had been intoxicated—either from lack of sleep or consumption of spirits.
"Should we not inform them?" He asked, truly perplexed.
Steve just shook his head.
Tony stretched as far as he could, wincing at the pull of his sore muscles. His fingertips just barely brushed the tool he needed. The bots were all recharging, and he didn't want to wait to get to work on the newest suit upgrade that had popped into his head. He knew that Steve would insist he ate a real meal after their mission earlier that day, so he couldn't wait until later.
Tony stretched a little bit more. Almost…almost…
Tony grabbed the tool with a triumphant smile just as he felt his foot slip.
He didn't even have time to swear, though, before he was falling, and then abruptly his fall stopped.
He found himself looking upside down at a very shocked looking Bruce, hair still wet and dripping from the shower he'd taken as soon as they got back.
"Oh. Hey." He said, calm as could be. Bruce just glared at him. Tony gave him a gentle smile in return. "Thanks for catching me, buddy. Again."
Bruce's glare softened just a hair. "You need to be more careful. I won't always be there."
Tony just chuckled up at him. "Sure you will be." He grinned at his friend and set about standing on his own. Once he was firmly on the ground, Bruce let him go. Tony cut a mock curtsy, and then without thinking, leant forward and just the slightest bit up—why was he so fucking short, anyway?—to place a quick dry kiss to Bruce's cheek.
Almost immediately Tony realized what he did, and his eyes widened.
"Um yeah, so thanks for saving me. Again. Um. I'm going to go. Do something. Not here. Sorry. Bye." And then he was gone, jogging lightly out of the lab, down the hall, and into the first room he came to. It happened to be a small, empty lounge.
Tony threw himself onto the sofa, knees on the cushions and chest pressed into the back of it.
"Fucking fantastic, Stark. Fucking brilliant." He wanted to bang his head against the wall, but as he was too far, he just groaned instead. "You finally find a science buddy that isn't a creepy old guy and you have to go and fuck it up by falling in love with him. And then you can't even manage to keep it to yourself! Fuck!" He groaned again and fisted his hair, pulling sharply. "Fucking idiot."
"Yep." Tony yelled at the new voice and flailed around, falling backwards to land on his back on the, thankfully thick, carpeting. From his new position he could see Clint swinging down from a hatch in the ceiling, grinning like an idiot.
"I fucking knew it! I'm going to put fucking lasers in the vents, you asshole!" Tony was pretty sure some yelling was natural. Clint just laughed at him. He was so going to tell Bruce that he'd been right all along and they were housing a creeper in their midst.
Bruce.
Tony groaned again.
"So, what's got your panties in a twist this time, Stark?" Clint asked, perching on the coffee table Tony had somehow missed on his way down.
"None of you fucking business, Barton." He hissed back, middle finger going up. Clint just laughed again.
"Oh, I think it is. Because I think it's about our dear doctor." Tony's eyes nearly popped out of his head at that, and Clint just kept laughing.
"No!" Tony argued, although really, there was no point in lying to Clint. He might get away with lying to Steve, and for sure Thor, but never Clint or Natasha.
Clint just kept on chuckling. "Uh-huh, sure. So, you finally grow some balls and tell him how feel?"
Tony spluttered. "It's not like that!" And he really wished it wasn't. And fuck, how did Clint know? If he knew, that meant Natasha knew, too. Did Steve? Fuck, did Thor know? If Thor and Steve knew, Tony was pretty sure that Bruce had probably figured it out himself, which just meant he was trying to find a way to be nice about letting Tony down, because Bruce wasn't an asshole.
Clint saw the way Tony's face fell bit by bit and his lingering smile disappeared. "Tony? Man? Did you?"
Tony just flipped him the bird again and didn't answer.
Clint studied him for a long minute before nodding to himself.
"So, you didn't tell him. You should." Tony glared at him again and Clint went on. "I'm serious, man. Tell him. I'm pretty certain he won't react like you think. And I know he's not going to green on you for confessing that, either."
"No shit, Barton! He's not a fucking loose cannon, okay? He's got better control than that! Stop fucking acting like someone sneezing is going to set him off! And stop talking! There's nothing to confess! Jesus, you're making me sound like a fourteen year old girl!" Tony sat up during his tirade, pointing an angry finger at Clint, who just stared at him with calculating eyes.
"I know he's not going to, Tony. He has stellar control." He paused again, keeping his voice soft. "And I know what's going on. Better than you do, really. It's okay to like him, and its okay to tell him."
Tony huffed and leaned forward so that his chin rested on the couch cushion. "No, it's not. Because then he'll feel bad about not reciprocating."
Clint just rolled his eyes, now that Tony couldn't see him. "And how do you know he doesn't?"
Tony closed his eyes and let his shoulders sag. Even if he was a creepy asshole that hid out in vents and creeped on people, Clint was still his friend, teammate, and housemate.
"Because he isn't stupid." His words were a soft murmur, and Clint frowned. He opened his mouth to say something, but then just shook his head, gave Tony a quick shoulder squeeze and climbed back up to the vent. He had to talk to Natasha.
Bruce spent a few minutes blinking in shock before Steve came into the lab, looking cautious, as he always did around machinery. He walked to the couch and looked around before finding his sketch pad, which he then picked up with a small smile. He was turning to leave when he caught site of Bruce, one hand still raised to his cheek in shock.
"Bruce…?" Steve's voice was hesitant, and it snapped Bruce out of his stupor.
Bruce cleared his throat and shook his head a little before he looked over to Steve. "Um, yes?" He asked, mind still mostly preoccupied.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked, obviously sensing that Bruce wasn't. He walked closer until he was standing just a foot or two away.
Bruce gave the floor, where his eyes had drifted, a dark smile. "Confused, but not going to Hulk out." And he knew it wasn't fair, to say that, but he wanted Steve to leave so he could think.
Steve was glaring at him, he could feel it. "I didn't think you would. And I didn't ask that. I asked if you're okay. And I know you aren't. What happened?" His voice had a hint of Captain America in it, giving it a backing of steel, and Bruce sighed.
"Sorry. I just…" He trailed off, wondering if he really wanted to get into it with Steve about Tony.
"Is this about Tony?" Steve asked, voice once against gentle. Bruce's head shot up. His look clearly asked 'how did you know?', and Steve cracked a grin at him. "Just a good guess."
Bruce took a deep breath, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah he…uh…"
"Did you fight?" Real concern filled the words, and Bruce felt his heart warm a little at the fact that someone as good as Steve Rogers could be concerned about him. Maybe he wasn't a lost cause after all.
"No. He…he fell. From the step ladder. I caught him. Told him to be careful, and he thanked me, and then he…um…" And god, was he really going to tell Mr. 1940 about it? But Steve just waited patiently, and Bruce knew this was a man he could trust. He knew Steve wasn't homophobic in the least, and beyond that, Steve was his friend. "He kissed me on the cheek, babbled, and left." He could say it, but he'd be damned if he could look at Steve when he did.
Steve's face got a little pink, but he just sighed and shook his head.
Bruce went on, though, before Steve could say anything. "And, obviously, he didn't mean anything from it. But he freaked out and left. So that means he's obviously picked up on something from me, and that makes him leery of me." He snapped his mouth shut at what he'd just admitted.
He looked up when Steve chuckled. "Bruce, everyone knows." At Bruce's horrified look, Steve amended, "Everyone but Tony." And that didn't really help. So the whole team knew that he was in love with Tony? How could Tony not know, then?
Steve seemed to sense the question, or see it in his face, and he chuckled again. "Tony's pretty oblivious. It's a genius thing, I think." Bruce frowned at that, because he was pretty sure there was a double meaning there. "Anyway, I'm sure he'll settle down for dinner. It's almost ready, by the way. Why don't you come up?" And Bruce just sighed, nodded, and obediently followed his captain.
Steve left Bruce in the kitchen, setting up dinner for eight—Pepper and Rhodey were joining them, since both were in the building for the day—and went to "get the team".
Really, he went to Clint's room, where he found his team already waiting.
They spent the next ten minutes—because it had to be a fast meeting if they were going to keep up pretenses—heatedly discussing the events and what to do about them.
Clint suggested various vulgar things that Steve ignored, while Thor suggested just telling them. Natasha suggested ignoring it, which Steve had guessed she'd do, and Steve himself had no idea. He'd never had a situation like this, before.
Both men were so brilliant, and so oblivious at the same time. It was mind-boggling.
"Okay, fine. New plan. One of you sees an opening for something that isn't disgusting, Clint, or outright saying it, Thor, take it." He said, a bit of his Captain voice leaking through. They nodded and then headed up to the kitchen.
Rhodey followed Pepper down a small hallway to the room where the delicious smells of food were coming from. There was a murmur of voices, too, an occasional laugh or bellow (He knew Thor was there before ever actually seeing him), and Rhodey couldn't help but smile.
He'd liked visiting the tower since the Avengers moved in. Ostensibly it was for repairs and upgrades to his War Machine suit, but in reality it was just nice to hang around with them. And he'd never seen Tony happier.
Which was why his steps faltered when he entered the kitchen and ran into the almost visible wall of awkward tension that filled the room.
Pepper noticed it too, he could tell, but she just kept walking and took her seat next to Natasha at one end of the table. Rhodey took the last seat, on Tony's left.
He shot his friend a look but Tony was pointedly ignoring him in favor of dissecting his lasagna.
After a few minutes of strained silence, Pepper asked Steve a question, and the conversation began again, although it was stilted and awkward and Rhodey couldn't help but notice that neither Tony or Bruce said very much at all.
Pepper helped Natasha stack the dishes in the dishwater as the boys all went to the attached living room to settle in and select their movie for the night. Normally Pepper would be shouting choices into them so that she could at least pretend she had a say, but this time she stayed quiet.
She asked Natasha what was going on with Bruce and Tony—because it was so obvious that something was. She wasn't even around all that often and she could tell.
Natasha filled her in, making sure she knew about the way they felt about each other (because of course she did. Pepper had worked for Tony for years. She knew his tells better than anyone.) before going on to explain about the kissing incident in the lab.
Pepper smacked a palm into her forehead out of sheer exasperation.
"My god, it's worse than two teenagers." Natasha agreed with her and Pepper started thinking up a plan.
Tony Stark was a genius at many things—including talking himself out of a corner. And Bruce Banner had made a lifestyle out of running away from things. It wasn't going to be easy, but she thought she had a plan.
She smiled to Natasha and squared her shoulders. She walked into the living room, head high, glare in place.
The boys all turned to look at her, while Natasha hung back, smirking. Tony had a look on his face that she'd put there more than once. It was his 'oh shit I'm in trouble' look, and Pepper could have laughed at it if it wouldn't have ruined her effect.
Without waiting for anyone's brains to catch up with the rest of them, she grabbed Tony by the back of his shirt in one hand and used the other to grab Bruce's arm, just above the elbow. Her hold was firm enough that both knew they couldn't get away with a small fight, and she knew neither would ever risk hurting her.
She frog marched them a little ways down the hall until she found a door and opened it, pushing them into the supply closet without a second glance.
"Fix your issues, and then you can join us for a movie. Or stay in there all night." She said loudly through the door and over Tony's swearing. She then smiled up at the ceiling. "JARVIS? Please keep this door locked unless there is a call to assembly or a risk to either Tony or Bruce's health."
"Of course, Miss Potts." Jarvis said, and Pepper's smile turned into a full blown grin. She turned back to the room and bowed slightly when everyone starting applauding her.
"Fucking…fuck! She's so fucking fired when we get out of here. I swear to god. Fired! This is ridiculous!" Tony ranted at the door, refusing to turn around and look at Bruce. He could hear the laughter and applause from the other room and it just darkened his glare. "So fired. I am so firing her ass. And Rhodey. He's fucking fired too. Because fuck them. What is their issue? She's insane, and I can't have an insane lady leading the company."
"You can't actually fire Rhodey. He doesn't work for you." Bruce pointed out, a slight smile on his face. Tony whirled to face him and put his hands on his hips, cocking them.
"So? I'll hire him and then fire his ass. Or I'll fire him from being my best friend. Because I know he was in this. I just know it. And how in the hell are you so fucking calm right now?" Tony really didn't care that he was yelling, that the others could hear him over the movie. He was beyond caring.
Here he was, locked in a fucking closet of all places with his friend. The guy he secretly (or not so secretly according to Clint) had the hots for. After making himself look like an idiot. Again.
"I'm calm because Jarvis will let us out if anything goes wrong, and everyone else is just out there. I'm upset about this, sure, but there's no need to rant about it. Besides, this is a really big closet. It's not like she locked us in a tiny room." And he was right, of course, the closet was huge, much bigger than a normal one because it was Tony Stark and he didn't do anything by halves.
Tony just kind of stared at Bruce for a moment, unsure of what, exactly, to say to that, before he slumped his shoulders and sat on the floor.
Bruce followed his example, sitting across from him. The closet was long, but a bit narrow, and so they had to keep their legs bent if they wanted to stay out of each other's space. And it was clear that they did.
"So why do you think they locked us in here?" Bruce asked, because the silence was going to drive him insane otherwise. Tony just gave a shrug, staring off to the left.
"I don't know." He paused, eyes fluttering up to Bruce's face before they fell back to the floor. "Maybe…the kiss thing." Bruce opened his mouth to say something, but Tony beat him to it. "Which I am totally sorry about, by the way. It was a bad move and I shouldn't have done it and I won't do it again, because obviously it wasn't cool, and I'm very, very sorry."
"Tony," Bruce interrupted, catching Tony's eyes with his own when Tony looked up at him again. "It's okay. You don't have to apologize. It was just a kiss on the cheek. Between friends. Nothing to get upset about." Bruce bit his lip for a moment before he steeled himself to continue. "Why'd you freak out, anyway? I mean, it's not really a big deal."
And okay, that stung Tony. He always knew that they were just friends—had brow beaten himself with that information for months—but to get something like the "friends" speech from Bruce? It hurt.
There was a knock on the door that startled them both before Tony could think of a response.
"Stop being babies. Grow up and sort yourselves out so you can come watch the movie. You've been in there for twenty minutes." Rhodey paused. "Jarvis, cut their lights." And Jarvis did.
Tony swore for several minutes about traitorous AIs and asshole friends before he settled down again, not even bothering to get up.
"Hey Tony?" Bruce's voice was soft, and Tony turned his head towards it. There was barely any light in the room, and Tony realized with a small start that it was coming from his arc reactor, muffled through his layers of shirts but still present.
"Look at me, Bruce. I'm a night light." His tone was self deprecating and Bruce made an unhappy noise before Tony heard him shifting around. He startled when a hand found his shoulder.
"Don't." Bruce said, voice low. "Don't act like its some horrible disfiguration."
Tony barked out a humorless laugh at that. "It is. You've seen the scars."
"Yeah, I have. And you've seen me completely naked after turning back from a giant green rage monster. Do you have a point?" Bruce's hand was still on Tony's shoulder, his voice low and his warm breath ghosting over Tony's cheek. Tony tried to stifle a pleasant shiver.
"Nope." Tony said, popping the 'p'. Bruce shifted around again until he settled next to Tony, shoulders and hips pressed together.
Silence reigned, and Bruce had to fight the urge to get even closer than he was. He was trying to find something, anything, to say, when Tony spoke up again.
"I'm actually a little scared of the dark, you know. Because of Afghanistan." Tony's voice was soft, honest, and Bruce turned his head to take in his barely visible profile. "It's kind of…comforting, I guess. To always carry my own light. And, well, if this goes out…I'm pretty much fucked."
Bruce swallowed at that, because he knew it was true. If that little circle of light ever went out and a new one couldn't be put in fast enough, Tony would die. Bruce didn't want to think about just how fragile that made the man sitting next to him.
The silence started creeping up on them again, so Bruce felt it was his turn to admit something. "Me too. About the dark, I mean. I…when I Hulk out, everything's dark. And it's more than that, of course. You've read my file, you know about my father." Tony nodded slightly, and Bruce continued, staring blankly in front of himself again, no longer looking at Tony. "He used to turn the lights off and keep them off. Keep me in the dark, if I misbehaved. He'd smack me around and then make me sit in the dark with all the monsters I imagined up. Most of them had his face."
Tony shifted around until he was turned towards Bruce, and one arm went around Bruce's chest in a pseudo-hug.
"He's gone. And so is Ross. And we can manage the Hulk. And…and I'm here, for whatever that's worth." Tony's voice was barely a whisper, and Bruce exhaled shakily, bringing up his hand and placing it on Tony's arm across his chest.
"And I'm here. You won't be left alone like that again. I promise." Bruce could feel Tony smile against his shoulder, and it filled him with warmth.
"So, since we're sharing and feeling and all that…I should probably tell you that I think I know why those assholes locked us in here." Bruce huffed a laugh against Tony's hair but waited for him to continue. "I…um. I might have…feelings for you. No, I do. And…apparently they all know. And think I should tell you. Sorry." Tony tried to pull away but Bruce wouldn't let him go.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so full of surprised joy, and he just gave the dark an unbelieving smile.
"That actually works out pretty well, because I have feelings for you too, and apparently everyone but you knew about it." His voice sounded tight, but Bruce didn't care. He honestly didn't want to wake up from this dream, because that's what it had to be.
Tony pulled back from him after a minute and Bruce let him go, thinking it was over, he'd ruined it. Like he always did.
But then Tony laughed. "We're idiots, aren't we?" He didn't let Bruce answer him, though, because then Tony was on him. His arms slotted around Bruce's neck like they were made to fit there, and he was kissing him.
It was messy and a little painful, since Tony all but attacked his mouth, and managed to miss the first try, too. They laughed into the kiss until they got it right, and then there was no more laughter, no more talking.
Bruce clutched at Tony, and Tony clutched him right back, kissing the life out of each other.
They had to come up for air, though Tony used it to start kissing Bruce along his jaw, peppering him with tiny kisses that made Bruce laugh again. Bruce worked his hand between them and covered the arc reactor with it, smiling at the gentle hum of electricity he could feel even through Tony's shirts.
Tony smiled against Bruce's jaw. "If this is a dream, please don't wake me up." He murmured, voice low and just a bit rough.
Bruce laughed again. "That was incredibly corny."
Tony pulled back a bit and nuzzled his nose against Bruce's hair. "And I'm incredibly horny."
Bruce laughed, again, and he was so thankful that Tony could make him laugh. "You're horrible, Mr. Stark." He said, his tone light and teasing.
Anything Tony might have said was stopped when the lights turned on and the door opened the show a smiling Pepper and a smirking Rhodey, the team spread out behind them.
Tony got up, glaring at them the whole while, and helped Bruce up, keeping a firm hold on his hand. Bruce didn't even try to hide his smile.
They had just closed the door when Clint lost control and finally started snickering.
"Well, congratulations on finally coming out, guys!" He said, practically howling with laughter from his perch on the back of the couch. Tony snarled something and broke free from Bruce to march to the couch, snatch up a pillow, and chuck it at Clint. He was so busy laughing his ass off that it actually hit him and knocked him off the couch.
The whole team started laughing as Tony bombarded their archer with pillows and curse words, and Bruce chuckled along.
"Well, this is pretty typical. Think you can handle this?" Bruce looked to Pepper, who had moved to stand next to him, a gentle smile on her face as she watched the ongoing pillow fight.
Bruce looked back in time to see Thor knock Tony down with another pillow.
"Yeah, I think I'll be fine." He said, laughter coloring his words.
Pepper took in the scene with him as Rhodey joined in the fight.
"Me too."
~END