AN: In the last chapter, there was a subtle reference to a conversation in the following video, it takes place Between a German TV Host, Ruffalo, Hiddleston and Hemsworth. It starts 11:34 seconds in, . ?contentId=131073

Thank you for reading, sorry this chapter took so long.

Roosters cooed and the hum of the air conditioner seemed louder even than the traffic outside. Tony groaned, face down in his pillow as he blinked slowly, coming to terms with his location. He was in a bed, that much was certain, but how he had gotten there was something he had yet to figure out. Still it was soft, and smelled faintly of peppermint and chocolate. He was in a hotel room, he knew, the same hotel he'd been staying at, and that was a comfort to his sobering state. Waking up was painful, and moving proved to be even worse, but he had to shut up that damn air conditioner, so he could go back to sleep and keep that horrible headache away.

He groaned, shifting to grab the other pillow. He yanked it towards him and didn't bother looking as he threw the pillow towards the air conditioner, hoping it would shut up it's loud humming. It was a ill thought out plan. Instead, he hit someone who had been asleep moments before in an arm chair. Tony heard a low grumble, as his guest awoke, and the sudden noise paralyzed Tony.

"Who's there?" Tony's words were muffled by the pillow, whispered in his confused state. He didn't t know where he was, or with whom, and though not uncommon in the last month, it did give him pause enough for terrified thought.

"Ow...It's Steve, morning to you too," Steve responded, at a volume much louder than acceptable for the situation.

"Steve? Who the f**k is Steve?" Tony asked, and then it came back to him. The pause was torturous for Steve, who had stayed with Tony all night. Something that Tony would soon learn.

"What am I doing in your room?" Tony asked, the weight of the alcohol still on his mind. Before Steve could respond, or even defend himself against morning Tony assailing him, the billionaire continued with his questions, asking the most important one.

"Did we do it?" Tony asked, as he felt himself up.

" What?" Steve asked, afraid he already knew what Tony was asking.

"Sex, yes or no? Did we have it?"

Tony discovered that he was on the covers, still in his three piece suit. His tie hung around his neck loosely and he tried to piece together the evening. Had they made out? Had he fallen asleep somehow in the middle of it? Or did he put his suit on post coitus to go back to his room? Was the tie crucial to the night's events and flirtation. Uncertain as to how he felt about the whole affair, though he vaguely remembered Steve's lips against his. When that was, he was still figuring out. The silence seemed to drum on his mind, as he waited for a response. It was as if each noise was amplified, in the absence of a response, but Steve's outrage came seconds later, in tune of course, with his honor.

"WHAT! NO! I would never, I uh- you were passed out- NO!" Steve responded, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. If Tony had opened his eyes, he would have seen the Captain blushing. But, the response was too loud for Tony to bear, so he submerged himself into the pillows further. He tried to hide from the noise of the busy city, the memories of last night, dominated by black outs.

"How can we hear the traffic? We're on the 15th floor and I can hear..." he paused, groaning as he lifted his head up out of the pillow. It smelled vaguely of something he knew he could place, but he gave up trying to figure it out, yet to find out they were in another Avenger's room.

He focused instead on deciphering the song blaring from the taxi on the street below. "Billie Jean," he finished, letting himself flop back onto the bed.

"Why am I in your room?" Tony asked again, rolling onto his back. He attempted to open one eye and then squinted in pain, groaning as the light hovered over his features

"What happened? I feel like I'm in The Hangover".

"You've got a bad one," Steve responded, missing the reference.

"Actually it was a joke...it's a movie...never mind" Tony groaned, it was too early to deal with generation gaps, and he was still deciphering the events of last night. He wasn't sure if he'd just insulted the Captain, and told him it was too early to deal with him. He would find out if he had said that aloud, judging by Steve's tone when he responded. He would just wait, hoping Steve's words would tell him how much of an ass he was being.

"We're in Bruce's room," Steve answered, soothingly. "You passed out,"

"How?" he bit back a dozen insults, the urge to say obvious, or even no shit Sherlock. So they were in Bruce's room, he realized. Cringing as he finally placed the smell he had tried to decipher before as Bruce's cologne. Recognizing it made Tony angry, it reminded him of how long it had been since they had spoken properly. He grew with fury at the thought of his once best friend, with whom he rarely spoke now, and he made a quick decision not to let anything Bruce did bother him ever again.

Perhaps, he thought, Steve would be his new best friend, as he was being rather helpful, answering every question where Pepper would have just laughed, slapped Tony on the wrist and told him just the important details, never indulging his whims. Still he couldn't stop the pang in his heart that longed to see Bruce.

"Drinking game with Thor," Steve responded, the chair creaked suddenly as Steve shifted in it, to make himself more comfortable. He was still waking up.

"He won, didn't he? I want a rematch," Tony grumbled, knowing that much.

"Tony, you should get better first," Steve pointed out.

"Yeah, better at drinking"

"Tony, you have to stop this reckless behavior" responded a condescending tone that Tony did not welcome this early in the morning. Actually, one he never welcomed. Also, he didn't like that the soldier was ignoring the joke, or perhaps he was too dim to get it, he thought cruelly. He missed Bruce suddenly, and again, but he buried the feeling, resolving to hate Bruce, because that was easier than whatever feeling was trying to control him. He would beat it, he knew, not one to indulge his fickle emotions, anger was easier, and Bruce no longer deserved his friendship. He would deal with that after he dealt with Steve though, who was quickly losing best friend points.

"Just because you knew my dad, you don't get to lecture me," Tony pointed out, his hands gesturing and moving from where he lay on the bed, his eyes still shut tightly. The hot sun glared, the light seeping in through the crack in the curtains, and though he was awake, Tony did not want to deal with that yet.

"BRUCE?" Tony asked, unable to stop his tone from being hopeful.

"He left,"

"Ah, getting me coffee?" Tony asked. If it was true, he wondered, would he even accept the gesture?

"He's back in Bulgaria," Steve responded. "As I was saying," Steve sighed, now realizing how much work the billionaire would be. "Thor brought you here, Bruce called me and said you were asking for me-"

"Was I? Why? I don't think I would do that," Tony pointed out, no censor to his cruel side in these moments.

"Well, Bruce said you did," Steve responded. "Besides, I thought it made sense, considering what happened last night-" Steve started.

"You also thought that outfit made sense in the 40s, or that a four engine plane with the ability to camouflage into any background was just made powered by electricity, you know what's wrong with you Soldier boy-" Tony sat up, opening his eyes to make his point, but he cringed and shut them again, abandoning his speech.

"We didn't do anything last night," he confirmed, fearful that they had.

"Well...no," Steve responded. "We kissed, though"

"At the bar," Tony asked, prying an eye open against the harsh light to look at Steve.

"Yeah, at the bar"

"And you're so attached that you've stayed with me all night?"

"I was taking care of you," Steve responded, shifting awkwardly against Tony's sudden attention.

"Honorable and everything...but unnecessary. Where's that coffee?" Tony abandoned his staring contest with Steve, and picked up the hotel phone. He pressed zero before listing off his usual breakfast menu for the last month.

"Three espresso, a red bull and one of those funny little fruits, bright pink...dragon fruits, that's the one" he ordered before hanging up. He finally found his feet, standing and feeling the familiar pull of vertigo as his body adjusted to the sudden change of blood flow.

"Tony-"

"Don't scold me about the caffeine, I'll leave the Avengers " Tony half joked, not looking forward to another lecture.

"You clearly have your priorities straight then," Steve said, dryly.

"Wait...did you say Bruce is in Bulgaria?" Tony asked, ignoring the attempt at a jab. Or perhaps, he thought, Steve just wanted attention.

"Well, considering the events of yesterday. Can you blame him? He looked-" Steve paused, as if too be cautious around an invisible Bruce. How Steve could be more sensitive to someone who wasn't there, Tony couldn't even fathom, wishing Steve had insight enough to have ordered him coffee earlier.

"Upset to say the least," Steve shrugged, trying to be intuitive.

"He's not in Bulgaria" Tony responded suddenly, knowledgeably. Suddenly, last night rushed back to him in sober clarity. That's why he had been drinking, he remembered, and suddenly he felt he needed something a lot stronger than coffee.

Bruce found it hard to breathe. He should look away, he knew. He should bolt and run for it, but he couldn't move. He clenched his fist, feeling a change in his cells. Even he couldn't tell if he was about to Hulk out and strangle Steve, throw him against the bottles in the bar, or if he was about to weep. He tried to take in breaths, but it felt like poisonous gas was around him. His tongue was dry, heavy in his mouth. Seconds before he had been playing a reel of fantasies in his mind, images of being with Tony. They were all burning now, surpassed by this repeating moment, that was still continuing, that seemed as if it would never end, didn't they at least need to break for air?

He told himself that this was what he had been training himself to accept for the past month. Maybe Natasha had been wrong, he thought, and they had been together all along, as he'd suspected. But there was no avoiding the truth, this was a first kiss. The nervousness of the lean in, the submission, the startled expression Tony held as Steve kissed him, all pointed to that.

Bruce wished he had taken the stairs, raced down the hall, that he hadn't stopped at Natasha's door and thanked her. He just hoped he had gotten here sooner. Somehow the knowing that Steve and Tony hadn't been together seconds before was even more tragic than thinking they had been together all along. He had been right, he thought, trying to laugh at his misery. At least he had been smart enough to see their signs. He hoped this would make Tony happy. He had been ready to do this a month ago, he reminded himself. He tried to ignore how bad he had felt the last month, how he had wished desperately to go back to the moment in the restaurant and take his foot of his mouth, remove all blessings for Steve and Tony. He tried to ignore that he would have given anything to prevent it from happening. Now, the second time, it hurt even more, the pain was worse because hope had been snuffed out in a matter of moments. He doubted he would make it to the elevator before he broke down.

Then, finally, they pulled away. They smiled at each other for a moment, each unable to explain the emotions surging through them.

"Bruce," Steve said suddenly.

"Nice try, but I'm the funny one remember?" Tony commented, going back to his drink.

"No...Bruce is right there," Steve pointed out, his eyes suddenly meeting Bruce's. By the time Tony looked up, Bruce was gone.

He was running towards the elevator. Unable to keep his mind clear. He kept repeating it, locking eyes with Steve. The only image that really stood out, was how happy Tony looked. He'd smiled and returned to his drink. Bruce hadn't been able to face it. He knew in a second Tony's eyes would have met his. He would have looked at him with that nauseating pity, or perhaps something worse. Perhaps Tony was still blind to it, maybe he too believed that Bruce was madly in love with Steve. All that mattered though, was that Tony actually was.

He pounded on her door, unable to stop the tears now.

"JUST A SECOND," came a frantic shout. Barton's voice. Seconds later he appeared, about to offer some excuse to cover up their obvious behavior, but his smile disintegrated.

"Jesus Christ, are you alright?" Clint asked.

"Oh my god," Natasha commented.

"It didn't go well," Bruce grumbled in a low voice, coming into the room. He was surprised he could see through his tears.

"I'll get you a drink," Natasha responded. Seconds later, a glass was in his hand. he drank it without even looking at it, cringing at the bitter taste. He panted heavily, pacing to keep his heart rate steady. There was enough anger in him for an attack, but it sat beneath pain and heartbreak. As long as it stayed there, he could be Bruce Banner for a while longer.

"What did Steve say?" Natasha asked. Clint sat on a bed nearby. He watched Bruce like a hawk, attentive, not a trace of his awkwardness on the surface. Bruce's eyes darted to Clint. He had been ready to divulge his secrets to Natasha, but he didn't know if he wanted Clint to know. He didn't need anyone else to see him this way. Natasha, he knew, could handle it. Clint seemed to sense the tension, and that he was the cause of silence, so he excused himself easily.

"Tasha, I'm gonna go see Thor," Clint whispered, as if he was afraid his words would push Bruce over the edge. She nodded and the door shut seconds later.

"It's not Steve," Bruce responded, getting increasingly frustrated with everyone saying he was in love with Steve.

"Oh god, What did Tony do? He didn't rub it in your face did he? He's an ass, he doesn't see feelings, he's a playboy and for a genius, he's surprising stupi-"

"Don't any of you even listen?" Bruce asked, his voice straining with sudden emotion. She went quiet, watching him for signs that he would have an attack.

"Shhh, it's ok, just talk," she tried to calm him down, as if terrified that just talking about Tony would make him hulk out. He sat down on her bed and nodded.

"I am not in love with Steve," he pointed out, taking deep breaths, calming himself.

"Ok, we don't have to use the word love," she offered, in a gentle, soft tone. One that screamed pity.

"No, I mean, he's great and everything, actually no, he's not, he's arrogant and he's so cruel to Tony, and -" he stopped suddenly, just thinking about Steve was making him angrier.

"I shouldn't hate him, but I do," he sounded out, grinding his teeth, repeating a mantra in his head. Calm down, he told himself. It's useless to attack Natasha because you're jealous of Steve. Be logical, and reasonable, you are better than this.

"I don't understand," she replied, honest. "Why do you hate Steve?" He sighed, breathing out slowly and shrugged, ready to finally admit the truth.

"It was easier to pretend to be in love with Steve, or let everyone believe it, instead of the truth,"

"Which is?"

"It's T-" he sighed, shaking his head. He adjusted his glasses, pushing them further up his face as he sucked in a breath. "It's Tony, it's always been Tony. You know that day when I almost attacked you? On the plane?" he specified.

"Yeah, because Loki had been trying to piss you off, his scept-"

"It was nothing to do with Loki. I convinced myself it was him, but I was jealous, and angrier than usual just because of the way that Steve was looking at Tony," he shrugged.

"You've known since then?" she asked, and then bit her tongue as if she shouldn't have even asked.

"I suspected, but I didn't really realize I was in love with Tony until he-" his voice broke and he shook his head.

"It's stupid you know, he's such an ass about the other guy, the hulk," he spoke passively, as if each word was a delicate secret. His words were soft, and anger was dissolving from the foreground of his mind. Soon, he would be able to think about Steve without fear of hulking out. Whether he could ever work with them again, was a whole other dilemma.

"But the other guy saved him. I mean..all that emotion, what I felt for him transcended the monster, I was able to save him when he was falling from the portal. Oh and tony will never tell you he's a hero, but he went up with that missile" he paused, a sad smile suspended on his lips, as if this was all he had ever wanted to tell Tony.

"When I'm the other guy I don't see much, it's all a cloud, a haze really. All smashing and growling, but I remember feeling so angry at the sheer thought of him dying. I remember feeling terror and worry, and before I could understand it, the other guy had saved him. Tony's the only one to ever really be himself around me, no walls up, and I guess how I feel about him transcended the monster….It's almost as if the Hulk knew before I did," he shrugged.

She surprised him, not picking up on the word love, or even commenting on how long he had felt this way, instead she justified,

"Well, he is technically more in tune with your emotions, Doctor,"

Before Natasha could say anything there was a knock on the door. Bruce wiped his tears away aggressively, but there was no mistaking how red and swollen his eyes were. Anyone could take one look at him and see that he had been a slave to his emotions.

"Hey," Steve's voice carried from the door, where Natasha held it open ajar.

"Is he here?" he asked slowly.

"It wouldn't be a good idea to see you," Natasha responded.

"God he saw us," Steve exhaled.

"Saw you do what?" Natasha asked. Bruce could sense it would all get messier in a matter of seconds. "Wait, he didn't talk about how he felt?" Natasha asked, and thankfully, she left out names.

"No, Tony and I were at the bar, and I kissed him, we were talking about how Bruce was right and-"

"Ok stop there," Natasha instructed. "He will deal with it," she responded, as his advocate.

"I want to make it right," Steve suggested.

"I appreciate that Captain, but you need to go." She shut the door seconds later and focused her attention back onto Bruce.

"You saw them kiss?" she asked for confirmation. He nodded slowly. She sighed, shaking her head at the mess.

"This is worse than I thought, What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Leave as soon as possible,"

"So you're just going to let this happen? You should tell him-"

"No, you didn't see him. He looked happy, and that's all I want,"

"You sure you can't stay?"

"Trust me, it's better I go than I smash Steve until he has to be frozen for another 70 years to recover,"

"Are you sure about this?"

"Look, I know him, and Tony's a playboy, but Steve is crazy about him. This way, I won't get hurt...well it won't hurt as much," Bruce tried, shrugging.

"Bruce, I'm sorry," she nodded, sympathizing, though she wasn't one for falling in love and getting lost in emotions.

"It's a mess, and it's my own fault," Bruce laughed. "I started this, I basically told them to be together." He placed the empty glass on her bedside table, standing up to leave.

"Thank you for everything," he said, as his parting remark. Natasha sighed, listening to the hum of traffic below, as Bruce disappeared through her door.

Tony was still drinking since Steve had left him at the bar. The music that flooded the place was a slow rock, the words meshing together as he ordered yet another whiskey. He had already stripped off his jacket and placed it on the back of his chair. Resolved to relax, or perhaps abandon any pretense of etiquette and high class.

His tie hung loosely around his neck, his own doing, rather than some flirtatious act of Steve's. He groaned at the thought of it all, their horrible misguided emotional drama. It made him sick, he mused as he took a sip. Ah, the liquid went down with a sting, healing him. He cleared his throat and reviewed the events. He was promised happiness by someone who kissed him, and then promptly departed to chase after Bruce Banner. Bruce, he groaned at the idea of Bruce, rage filling him as he took a larger gulp this time, hating the guy. The friend who'd left him, ditched him for Captain F**king America. Who, in his defense, was a very good kisser. But here he was, alone, without a best friend, or a boyfriend. So much for having a connection with Bruce. He growled at the thought of Steve, and his fix-everything attitude, his morals. He decided, as he took another sip, alcohol would be his only friend.

As if on cue, the Norse God appeared, his hair larger than usual, an indication that he had been mucking around with the hair dryer in the room. Somehow, the look suited him. He made no effort to blend in, still clad in his traditional dress, whereas Tony had swapped iron for silk right after the massage.

"Shall I challenge you to a drinking match?" Thor asked, as he sat down at the bar, beside him. "And may I ask you, for what tiny people are the hair products in the toilets?" Thor continued, referring of course to the bathroom and the small shampoo samples.

"They're for us," Tony responded, too angry or hurt to come up with a witty retort. Something must be wrong with me, he thought, before he emptied the glass.

"Surely a human uses more than this?" Thor asked, trying to gauge if it was a joke or not.

Tony thought of passing on the drinking match, and that terrified him. He wanted to run from these feelings, the terror that started in his mind whenever he thought of Bruce's back turned on him. Or how upset he had looked at the restaurant, his words at the sky train. Tony finished his third drink of the night and smiled to Thor weakly. He would find a new best friend.

"How about that challenge or are you a horse's uncle?" he teased, ordering them some drinks. The joke passed over Thor's head, as his response was focused more on the impending match of drinking skills.

"You dare challenge me, son of Odin to a drinking game?" Thor laughed. "Something must ail you indeed," Thor commented, but accepted nonetheless.

"Yeah, it does" Tony commented before the drinks arrived.

Tony didn't want to think about it. About hurting Bruce, or about Steve's desperate emotions. It was all a disaster. He hated all of it, he hated being in the middle of it, and how he hadn't seen Bruce for a month. It was eating him up alive and here he was, shamelessly kissing the Captain and hurting Bruce even more. He didn't know if he could stand the idea of Steve and Bruce. But unlike them, he knew he wasn't noble enough to sacrifice himself so they could be together. He would never be that guy, and he was surprised Steve even liked him. Clearly, the guy didn't know him well enough, and Bruce, who did, had of course picked Steve. He just wanted to disappear, they would all be better off without him.

He finished the pint, much later than Thor, who just laughed at the attempt, slapping a hand on his back.

"Another," Tony called.

"Man of Iron, this is not a wise decision, I counsel you against it," Thor started.

"Counsel all you want, Hercules, I want a rematch," Tony responded. But all Tony really wanted was to drink until he saw darkness and he couldn't remember what his own tongue tasted like, let alone Steve's.

Furious monsoon rains started outside of Bruce's window, and he cherished tomorrow, when he would be far away from here. More than that, he would be far away from Tony and Steve. The negative emotions and anger felt that afternoon had been washed away with his reading. He hadn't drowned his sorrows in drinks, but instead focused his attention on changing his flight, making it earlier and submerging himself into equations and the written word. He only had to get through tonight, and then he would be free from it. He could start to recover. His emotions and the monster that surfaced with them would stop controlling him. He would be able to be himself again, even though the only person to fully accept him couldn't be in the picture.

There was a loud banging on his door, as if a chair was being hurled at it. He put down his book (Advanced Gamma Radiation) that had been calming his nerves and jumped up to open the door. Thor stood in the frame, moving sideways slightly, with a passed out Tony Stark slung over his shoulder. He entered without any invitation, carrying Tony far too easily.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Bruce asked. Thor didn't think the question justified a response and slumped the passed out Iron Man onto Bruce's bed.

"Thor, no you can't, this isn't a good idea-" Bruce started to protest.

"I bid you farewell, Doctor" Thor just said, as departure. He bowed comically in his buzzed state before he shut the door behind him.

"This is going to end very badly," Bruce said to himself.

Bruce would find out later, that Tony had been telling Thor that the cure for any hangover, was the right chemicals. "It all boils down to science" Tony had told him so time before their fourth drink. Thor, unfamiliar with Midgardian science, had surprisingly remembered, and had taken Tony to the best expert conscious. As he was completely unaware of their drama he saw no reason that he shouldn't bring the passed out hero to his best friend.

The other guy, the one rooted and born out of emotion wanted to stay with Tony. He wanted to wake him, to tell him everything, but he knew it would be torturous, he would just be inflicting pain on himself. Tony could never listen, and Bruce knew he had to take care of him, but he thought that meant he could not be there. He completely believed that Tony would not want him here. He fought with himself for some time, watchingTony for some time, his shallow breathing and the sound of the furious rains outside, as Bruce debated his next actions. Tony groaned as he slept through what were surely nightmares, and Bruce was starting to put off what he knew he had to do. Bruce lost track of time, loosing himself in his own desperate emotional turmoil, only amplified by the fierce weather outside. Then, finally, he knew he could not wait any longer. Bruce approached his best friend, hoping he would change his own mind before it was too late. He couldn't control his hand, as much as he wanted to, the one that reached out and delved into Tony's pocket and fished out his phone.

He was hitting bottom again, and he knew, that if he tried to take a bullet, the other guy would save him. That was a matter for a different place, though and he had to do what was right first. He would make sure Tony was ok, answered for, taken care of, and then he would deal with fighting his own monsters. His chest pained him as he dialed 1 and listened to the seemingly never ending ringing.

"Tony!" the voice greeted him with no other emotion than happiness.

"Pepper, it's Bruce" he responded, keeping his voice steady. He stood up, and had meant to pace, but was paralyzed watching Tony sleep on the bed.

"What's happened?" he could tell she was trying to keep fear out of her tone, with little success.

"Nothing to be concerned about. Tony's been drinking. He's gotten into a bit of a bad place. Natasha told me you were keeping track of it," he responded and she breathed out.

"I don't know if I'm relieved" she revealed, honestly. "Any idea how much he's had?"

"From what I can tell it was a drinking competition with Thor-" he waited a beat as Pepper evaluated the information. Her curses silent, before she spoke.

"What brought it on?"

"What do you mean? Natasha said he's been pretty bad lately"

"He got better before the trip" Pepper stated, in a neutral tone, as if her worrying was masked.

"Look, I've got it under control, he's still in the hotel, and he's passed out, so it's fine" he answered, evading the question. It's not that he wanted to spare her, he just really didn't want to say it aloud.

"Good," Pepper responded, before prompting him again. "Nothing triggered him?" she asked.

"Well..." Bruce started. He swallowed and forced himself to look away from Tony's sleeping form. He focused on the floor and cleared his throat, slowly saying the words aloud and getting one step closer to admitting it to himself. "I don't know exactly what it was, but it must have been sometime after he kissed Steve-"

"WHAT!" Pepper interrupted. He heard her exhale slowly. Bruce allowed himself a quick glance at Tony, who groaned and rolled over in his sleep. Then Bruce headed towards his bag and folded in the few items that had been in the bathroom and strewn around the room.

"I knew he was reckless, but he kissed Steve? How much did he have to drink?"

"No, it's not like that" Bruce had to admit. "One drink, maybe two, he kissed Steve...well because they like each other and I think –" he stopped, sensing his voice would break.

"He was sober?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah...he...I mean he decided to kiss him and-" Bruce stopped, unable to take saying any more, but Pepper had heard enough as well.

"I should go," she said abruptly, and the line went dead.

Bruce cringed as he called Steve. He resisted looking through the speed dial, afraid of seeing where Tony's affection had been placed.

Somehow he didn't mind at all, that he had woken up Captain America, and he knew his jealousy and emotions were starting to get the better of him again.

"Yeah?" Steve asked, drowsily.

"Sorry to wake you," Bruce said, staring at the clock. He had spent more time than he'd thought, just watching Tony sleep. "Tony's passed out," Bruce told him. "He keeps asking for you," he lied.

"Where are you?" Steve asked, worry replaced his fatigue.

"Room 1567" Bruce responded. He closed the phone and placed it beside Tony, resisting the urge to kiss him on the forehead, to touch his hair.

Instead he grabbed his bag and took one last look at the room, at Tony sleeping on the bed. If he was lucky, he thought, this would be the last he would see him for a long time. He needed to heal, he needed to get over his emotional issues and be on the Avengers productively, and he would start to get over Tony Stark.

There was a knock on the door and he rose to answer it, hoping Steve would just take the room key and let him go. Of course, the Captain would never let him do that.

"Thank you" Steve said, polite as Captain Canada, when Bruce opened the door.

"No problem" Bruce responded, hoping Steve would not to anything that triggered an attack. He didn't care about hurting the Captain, his jealousy enough to make him explode at any second, if he ever hurt Tony, he knew he would try to commit suicide until he succeeded.

He handed Steve the room key and resisted looking back over his shoulder to Tony, knowing that he should avoid any contact with the billionaire until he was able to control his emotions again.

"You should stay, you're his friend" Steve said, feeling out of depth to cope with the awkward situation and the unconscious billionaire on the bed.

"You're his boyfriend" Bruce managed through clenched teeth. He was filled with the urge to run, and he couldn't wait to get out of there. Each moment was slow and torturous, each second pulling him towards emotions he didn't want to be feeling. He had to get out of this mess, and that meant running. Steve, of course, wouldn't let things go so easily, and the awkwardness of the conversation only amplified the feeling that time was slowing down, and that Bruce was going to lose control. Bruce said everything with a swift abrasive manner, too tired and wrought to care about his tone, or how Steve felt. He had done the right thing, Tony would be taken care of, and that was all that mattered, and obviously all that he could handle.

Steve sighed heavily, his eyes darting over the hideous maroon of the walls, or the green silk bed sheets, anywhere but Bruce.

"I wanted to apologize-"

"For what? It's not about me" Bruce brushed off, knowing an apology would take even more time. Steve's incessant need for chivalry and honor would cause more time to pass, and more feelings to surface, and that would just end in another incident. One that the unconscious Tony Stark could not defend himself against.

"All the same, Doctor Banner...Bruce, you're an amazing guy, you shouldn't leave"

"I'd be a third wheel" Bruce pointed out, eyeing the door anxiously. He steadied his breathing and looked at Steve with a certain annoyance that he couldn't mask, not when he was trying to submerge so many feelings. He repeated mantras in his head and counted the candles in the room, all the while thinking that Steve should just get out of the way. The thought was applicable to many aspects of his life, he thought cruelly.

"Tony cares about you, I wanted to say that..." Awkwardness was pouring off of Steve Rogers like never before and he was finding it hard to breathe. He knew Tony was disappointed in him, he knew that he had failed Bruce too. Right now, he just felt as if everything was going to hell around him and he couldn't stop it. Steve needed to make things right, and he would keep Bruce there until he had. It was an explosion waiting to happen.

"I appreciate that, but he was asking for you" Bruce lied

"You can't just leave" Steve tried in earnest. He needed to make Bruce understand, to make him stay. He wondered if Bruce knew how much Tony cared about him, how much he had talked about him and thought about him in the last month. It was enough to make a guy jealous, and he wondered if that would make Bruce like Tony again.

"Tony really cares about you, this past month at the tower, he's really missed you and I know he wants his frie-" he started, but the tone in which Bruce cut him off was close to anger, and anger would trigger the beast, so it shut up Steve accordingly, and quickly.

"I can do more help in the lab in Burgas," Bruce responded. Steve sighed out heavily, still trying to fight off the awkwardness and remedy the situation wrought with the feelings of despair that he didn't care to deal with.

"You shouldn't have seen- I'm sorry, you're fantastic, I just- he's-" Steve breathed out and shrugged, at a loss for what he could say. Somehow he had to apologize for picking Tony over Bruce, but without hurting him, and that was nearly impossible. He was terrified even mention of Tony would bring out the Hulk, yet his gut told him not to let Bruce go. Not until he knew how sorry they were, how much Tony cared about him. Bruce would have no such thing, and cut across his words again, silencing Steve's attempts at an apology with his monologue.

"You like Tony. I get it. He's funny, thinks everything's a joke, he's brilliant, but he's out of control, and he's got the craziest collection of clothes I've ever seen, he'll never stop talking about time travel as if it's possible, he'll never tell you that he's a hero, and he'll acknowledge your differences, not to weaken you, but just to show you he's different, that he sees them and he does care about people, which you can see with his ridiculous reward system with food, even though it's unconscious" Bruce started off before he could help himself. Memories from their month together at the tower poured over him and he felt a mixture of joy and nausea swell in his stomach at the rose colored, blissful memories. Weeks of hanging out and spending time together, sharing food and clothes, and the lab, and never ever finding that their intelligence had started to get the better of them and numb them into a state of boredom. He continued before he could help himself, thinking that he could have just said 'you and Tony belong together' but that lie would have hurt him most of all, and he couldn't bring himself to say it. Now, he realized, he was rambling with no end in sight, listing off Tony Stark's traits. It was better, he reasoned, than becoming the monster. He hoped too, that it would somehow indicated to Steve that Tony really had his love, beyond caring about the embarrassment of Steve knowing.

"But he's got his faults, play boy, reckless, spontaneous, his ego is about the size of his tower and he's arrogant, and he'll never take on any responsibility, but he's Tony Stark and there's no one like him...and he uh- " Bruce stopped, hating how he had begun rambling. "Just he's great, you'll be very happy" Bruce managed, starting to tear up. He bit his tongue, forcing the sadness away and couldn't bring himself to look at Steve.

"Bruce, I'm so sorr-" he started, but Bruce waved it away, despising him for his pity. He wanted to yell at Steve, to tell him he was a grown man and that he had other things to worry about. He would have told him he would get his mind of Tony Stark in a matter of days and he would perfect the serum, he would look into new and better ways of healing, and find ways to combat new villains who had mistrials with similar research. He wanted to assure Steve Rogers, and himself, that he would be fine. The tears threatening to show were telling him to run, and to get out of there as soon as possible, so instead, he moved past Steve and didn't look back. If he knew Steve at all, he knew that he would take care of Tony, and that was all Bruce would ask for.

Bruce would have stayed, if only he knew that night had been the start of the end. Tony had started to hit rock bottom, but no one would see it for weeks.

A knock brought Tony back to reality, away from the memories of last night, away from his drinking game with Thor yesterday. Steve had stayed silent, letting Tony evaluate the situation. Tony rose to get the room service, and tried to focus on the present. Not on a man who wasn't there, and who obviously didn't care about him, and who was obviously still not over Steve. He tipped the waiter and looked at his espressos and red bull with a queasy stomach, only because he couldn't stop thinking about Bruce. More, he couldn't stop thinking of all that he had done last night and in the past month.

"Why do you think Bruce lied about Bulgaria?" Steve asked, finally breaking the tense silence.

" I don't think," Tony corrected, stabbing a piece of the pink and white fruit.

"Alright, how do you know?" Steve specified, not hiding his annoyance.

"He's in pain, and he thinks that he's a danger to the Avengers so he'll hide until he's over it-"

"Over it?"

"Over you." Tony specified, drinking the three espressos in quick succession like shots. " So he won't be back anytime soon, don't hold your breath."

"He did seem pretty torn up when I spoke to him, like he was on the verge of something horrible-"

"Don't take it too hard Captain, I'm sure you've hurt people before" Tony snapped, opening the red bull and forking a piece of the dragon food. Somehow, he managed to keep the food down, and keep his anger in check.

"Did I do something to you?" Steve asked, glaring.

"Nah, I'm sure you always kiss people and then disappear,"

"I spent the night with you!"

"You watched me sleep, kinda creepy. Only Coulson or Edward do that sort of thing,"

" Edward?"

" A vampire...nevermind "

" Tony, I'm sorry" Steve promised, coming towards him.

" Forget it, don't care" Tony replied offhand but Steve knew it was a lie.

" I knew we would have time to deal with this, and I panicked. I can't have Bruce hating me-"

"He's not the first ever to hate you-"

"Tony ,I'm trying to apologize!" Steve strained.

"You could do better,"

"Listen to me...please"

"Well if you wanted that, maybe you shouldn't have chased after the good Doctor after you kissed me,"

"I made a mistake," Steve admitted, coming towards him. "But I won't be like that this time,"

"This time?" Tony cocked an eyebrow, knowing full well what was about to happen and that this time, he would have more power in the exchange.

"You're a genius, I'm going to assume you already know I'm going to kiss you,"

"You're cuter when you get shy and beat around the bush," Tony shrugged, "it's amusing"

Steve didn't need another word as encouragement. He let a grin expand over his face before he took the fork out of Tony's hand. Tony made a small noise of reluctance which turned into a moan as Steve kissed him. The fork fell to the floor, a hazard for later, as one kiss became 3 and then dozens more. He moved from lips to neck and back again, kissing Tony hard, and full of pent up wanting. Steve was panting hard against his lips, about to say something before he lost his chain of thought. His fingers came in contact with Tony's tie and as he undid it, the silk fell through his fingers to join the fork on the floor. Then, clothes were being stripped off with rapid speed and moans complimented the noise of the traffic outside, as the soundtrack to their tryst.

"Well this is a turn of events," Tony managed, as he pushed the fabric of Steve's shirt off his broad shoulders.

"I did spend all night with you"

"Look at that, you're making jokes, I'm so proud," Tony smirked before his mouth was preoccupied again, with making Steve moan louder. As if by some evil twist of fate, just as Steve's fingers started to undo Tony's belt, there was a loud noise. The ringing of Tony's cellphone on the bedside table distracted Steve for only a moment, who didn't wait before reconnecting their lips.

"Wait," Tony pushed him off, but Steve didn't accept the rejection, redirecting his kisses to Tony's neck and down his bare chest. Tony, of course, recognized who it was by the ring tone.

Tony reached forward, and swore loudly as he stepped on the fork dropped moments before. He sat down and massaged his foot before he was able to grab the phone.

"Let it go to that voice mail thing Natasha was talking about,"Steve begged, sitting beside Tony on the bed. He kissed him slowly, in an attempt to distract him from the call. Tony pulled away, realizing his mistake.

"Put it on ice captain, I have to take this call, It's Pepper" Tony responded, still cursing the fruit fork and the pain in his foot.

"Your ex girlfriend?" Steve asked, wanting to know who he was being ditched for.

"I wouldn't exactly say EX," Tony responded, looking away from Steve's gaze, afraid of the speech and outrage to follow.

"WHAT?" Steve asked, backing away, his fingers and lips retreating from Tony. He moved away, as if being this close to him was going to hurt him more.

"You're not serious, please tell me this is one of your stupid jokes," Steve begged, looking to Tony for a sign of remorse or guilt.

"My jokes are fantastic, and NO, this is real life Captain" Tony responded before he picked up the phone, using it as an excuse to stop the conversation with Steve, not aware that he would have the same conversation in just seconds to come.

"Tony-" Steve started, but he picked up the phone and looked away from Steve. His guilty gaze caught the captains shirt on the floor, his own jacked, tie and shirt there as well. Guilt flooded over him and he bowed his head, trying to keep his voice even.

"Tony Stark," he answered.

"Tony," Pepper didn't sound pleased, and he was about to find out why, and lose two relationships in one conversation.

[tbc]

Please let me know of any inconsistencies, if this chapter's flashbacks are confusing, any bad characterizations or spelling errors. Thank you so much for reading, you have no idea what your comments mean to me. More to come soon.