Author's note: Man, I feel awful for taking so long to update. I promise everything is fine with me (thanks MSupernatural for your concern), I'm just an au pair now, meaning it's hard to find time to update like I want, watching kids and being tired at night and all. But anyway, I wrote this while I was with my host mum tonight so I hope this is alright and not horribly and awfully riddled with errors.

Anyway, I really do absolutely appreciate all your reviews and keep them coming!

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Avengers.

Steve is sitting ramrod straight in his chair as the meal winds to a close. Tony is watching him, but has yet to say anything. Again.

Tony must know, he's sure of it. Hell, everyone ought to and yet they all have said absolutely nothing and Steve's anxiety keeps escalating. This is a place where secrets don't go uncovered so why wouldn't they say anything?

He leans forward and takes another bite of food.

Since the day he kissed Clint and completely destroyed boundaries with him, the guilt has been steadily eating away at him, running his peace of mind in quiet moments. And yet that doesn't stop anything; he's there every night in his arms and though he has never kissed him again it's all he can do not to stand up and ask what? What would you have me do?

Bring him back. Make him come back. Please.

He wants to say that, but doesn't and instead cleans his plate off the table and brings it to the sink.

The worst part, the part that makes Steve tremble some nights, is that he thinks Thor will never forgive him. Not for kissing Clint once, but for all those nights after when the shadows are long and the city is quiet below and he's wrapped around Clint in their bed, Thor's bed. It's where they were silent, touches long and soft, just being with each other in ways that made Steve's body and soul practically ache with contentment. It's where he fell in love with him. Thor's long lashes brushing his cheeks, face serene, snoring softly beside him until blue eyes flutter open, a warm mile crossing his face before he kisses Steve slowly.

But now every night he brings Clint here and he knows, he's absolutely sure, Thor won't forgive him for this, for being in this bed. Their bed.

The guilt builds each day, but he can't stop.

Days are fine. He feels how Steve Rogers should more often than not, but when he's alone at night it dips into madness; isolation.

Desperation.

He craves the comfort, the closeness of another when everything collapses around him, stopping his breathe, forcing out panic in his body he doesn't want to feel and knows that he shouldn't so he lets Clint come. They both stay awake in the dark, Clint's fingers digging in the arm Steve wraps around his body squeezing him tight until the tension eases out and they fall away from each other into slumber.

Steve turns from the sink and watches The Avengers banter.

Maybe Thor found out and that's why he won't come back; that it's already over before it barely started and even got a chance to explain or be angry with Thor for going and saying nothing while he was gone, but he doesn't feel that to be true. Minds twist evil wicked poisoning ideas when thinking too hard so instead Steve tries to occupy his time talking to Heimdall when he must be alone.

Steve talks to Heimdall, prays for him to pay attention, hoping he'll get his messages (he knows he does) and will pass on the sentiments to Thor.

As he gets off his knees, now finished praying to God and begging Heimdall for help, he feels Clint in the doorway. Steve inhales deeply, lays on the bed, and Clint comes to him without a word.


Tony growls and looks at the data again. This is so much more complicated than anything he's ever done before and the fact that even with the combined effort of both Jane, Selvig, and himself this is still so slow going has made him horribly irritated.

"Sir, perhaps you should go to bed," Jarvis says.

"I'm not done yet."

"You will not finish tonight, sir. It's 5:38 in the morning and you know Bruce does not enjoy sleeping alone."

Tony scowls. "Low blow Jarvis." When Jarvis says nothing else, Tony pinches the bridge of his nose but supposes he is right on both accounts.

"Goodnight you pain in my ass."

"Sweet dreams sir."

Tony tries his best to be quiet and sneak into the room. Tony trusts Bruce to stay under control, but what's the harm in not startling him awake?

"What have you been up to?" But apparently that doesn't stop Bruce from startling Tony. His heart tries its best to beat frantically past the reactor, Bruce truly having scared him.

"Why are you still awake?" he mutters, hand on the reactor and willing his body to relax.

"Fair enough, but I would like to know. I don't recall anything being all that pressing before I went to bed."

Tony's eyes dart around in the room, steadily avoiding eye contact with Bruce though he can barely make him out in the dark from this distance. Bruce senses his evasion and snorts quietly.

"I could just ask Jarvis, you know."

Tony rolls his eyes. "I'm working on fixing the connection to the bifrost."

Bruce's eyebrows shoot up. "The connection to Thor's world? Why didn't you tell me? I could be helping you…and Jane and them I'm assuming."

Tony strips off his pants and crawls into the bed next to Bruce, propping himself up on his forearm at Bruce's side. He can see him better now, with the faint lights from the city coming through the windows illuminating his face slightly. "I know. I'm just…" Tony lies onto his back and closes his eyes. "The more people that know, the more likely Steve will find out and…" Tony trails off, but he doesn't have to finish for Bruce to understand.

Bruce shifts at Tony's side and when he puts his head on Tony's chest he can feel the smile on his face. "It's really funny," Bruce chuckles.

"What's funny?" Tony pops open an eye to look at him.

"Here we are, both working on the same thing and not telling each other about it."

Tony sits up, forcing Bruce off his chest. "You're working on it too?" he scoffs. "And yet here you are scolding me, bad Tony, for not sharing this with you."

Bruce's cheeky answering smile makes Tony laugh. "That's why I love you. We're always on the same page even when the both of us don't know it." He runs a hand through his hair and looks to the window, hearing the faint sounds of the morning hustle coming about.

When Bruce says nothing for a while Tony turns his eyes to him and his mouth is set in a perfect little 'o', eyes wide. Tony frowns. Why would…?

He goes over his last sentence in his head and…oh.

He said he loved him, so casually, no wonder Bruce looked so damn surprised, but Tony is surprised too He means it, he really does, and that's a shock, but he curls in on himself, defensive (which he almost never is with Bruce, he can't be. Hardly knows how to be) because what if.

"Well don't just stare at me like that. You might catch flies though I would never let this place get in such a state we could have them," Tony muses.

"You love me?" Bruce's voice is quiet, reverent.

"How about that? A man barely with a heart loving someone. Ha ha—" Bruce kisses him then, slowly, tender, hand on the side of Tony's face.

He pulls away, keeping his face closes to Tony's. "I love you too," he whispers against his mouth.

Tony swallows audibly and falls back into the pillows, Bruce curling into his side again. He brushes his fingers over the arc reactor. "It's okay."

Tony's not sure who he's trying to reassure as he stares at the ceiling in silence, body and mind strung out in such a way that he knows that he's fucked.

He can never, will never, let Bruce go.

Author's note: I'm a total and utter sucker for Tony/Bruce as much as I am for Thor/Steve so I had to put that in there because they are just adorable. Plus, we need some lightness around the mess that is Thor and Steve at the moment. I promise, really, that I'll update again as soon as humanly possible for me.