"I have a better idea!" Loki said suddenly, midway to the training level. "Where is Miss Potts?"
"Currently showing Captain Rogers around the Tower," JARVIS answered obligingly.
"Tell her that Tony needs her in Dr. Banner's labs… and tell Dr. Banner that Stark needs him there as well. And take me there."
"This sounds like you want to see the Hulk."
"That's what I'm trying to avoid. Now cooperate!"
"As you wish…" JARVIS drawled.
Two minutes later, Miss Potts was hurrying into the lab, a panicked look in her eye, as apparently Tony needing her in the lab for one disastrous reason or another was nothing new.
She skidded to a stop a yard in the doorway when she realized that Loki was alone in the room, demanding sharply, "What do you want?"
"To help you." Before he could elaborate, Dr. Banner was racing into the area as well, and before the doctor could even register who was actually there with him, Loki magicked himself to stand in front of the door, closing it and hearing the resolute snick of the door sealing itself – sealing the three of them in. In this instance, Loki didn't beat around the bush, didn't even bother fibbing, he just stated outright, "You're hurting your soulmates, Dr. Banner. I suspect that's what you've been trying to avoid in keeping your distance, but in doing so, you're harming them in other ways entirely. You need to talk to her – to both of them about this mess, honestly, but Miss Potts seemed like the best place to start."
"What is this supposed to be about?" Miss Potts asked him angrily. "Where's Tony?"
"How should I know? This was a mere ruse that I knew you both would respond to."
Dr. Banner moved to stand partially in front of Miss Potts, angling himself so that Loki couldn't get to her as she continued questioning him, "You said you wanted to help me; how exactly do you plan on doing that?"
"By getting him to talk to you. It's past time, don't you think?"
Miss Potts' eyes flickered agonizingly towards Dr. Banner and Loki saw her swallow before the doctor bit out, "Why exactly do you care?"
"Because I want to go home and this is the sentence the All-Father is forcing me to carry out in order to do so. Like I told Barton: happily ever after for the Avengers."
"So you're the one who got Clint and Natasha to go on that date…" Miss Potts said, actually sounding a little awed.
"In a manner of speaking," Loki shrugged. "It didn't take much coercion. I'm fairly certain they were both tired of pretending and just needed someone to give them a shove in the right direction, which I did easily enough." Loki raised his eyebrows then, piquing, "Your turn!" And before any of them could blink, he'd magicked himself from inside the room with them to standing directly outside the door. "You two are staying in that lab until you've talked and figured your relationship out in a manner that makes all of you – including Stark – happy."
He dropped a spell over the door just for extra insurance that they wouldn't be going anywhere and asked the ceiling, "Can I trust you to watch over them until they've done as I've asked?"
"Of course," JARVIS replied. "Although, if this was my plan, I would've locked Mr. Stark in there with them."
"All in good time," Loki said. "One on one means Dr. Banner won't feel so… ganged-up on. But if you'd like to tell me when you believe adding Stark to the mix is a good idea, then I'll oblige you."
"You have got to be kidding me!" Bruce muttered to himself, raking a hand through his hair as he watched Loki retreat.
"It's not a horrible idea, you know," Pepper pointed out softly.
It was far from the first time that she'd spoken to him – both she and Tony had tried to draw words from him too many times to count in the past month – but he had never spoken to her. His silence felt like his last line of defense against crumbling and completely giving in, and he didn't want that.
No… he did! He wanted it more than anything, but he couldn't allow it! For the safety of his soulmates, he wouldn't give in… no matter how much he wanted to.
"Do you realize how desperate this makes Tony and I look?" Pepper asked, sinking down onto Bruce's desk chair. Tears were gathering in her eyes already and Bruce nearly groaned at the sight. Her voice outright cracked as she continued, "How desperate we are? Bruce, we need you! You know how Tony can be; he's exasperating and mouthy and wild and I'm… exasperating and professional and put together and we need someone to balance us out before the two of us fall apart here! We've been this way for a couple of years, and we're really at a breaking point, especially considering the changes brought on by the Avengers. The three of us have to be there for each other, now more than ever, or we're going to go our separate ways entirely…" The first tear slid down her cheek as she admitted, "I can't handle this unless I have both of you helping me along just as much as I promise to try and help you. Please…" she whispered.
Bruce blinked, looking away so she wouldn't see the agony swimming in his eyes.
And her floodgates broke: huge, gulping sobs as she screamed raggedly at him, "Talk to me!"
With that, Bruce was done fighting what he felt for Pepper and Tony. Fate had given him these two people for a reason, and he couldn't not love them like he wanted to. He couldn't continue to live his like this – without kissing Pepper or allowing himself to be as much of a friend to Tony as Tony had become to him. It was unnatural, and he had no idea how Clint and Natasha had held out for as long as they had. Maybe the stress of staying apart was the reason the dynamic duo argued so frequently…
