[Alas, my first week of college has already dominated my writing life. I was literally working between classes on this whenever I wasn't doing homework. It's been hectic, but I'm very happy here (despite not being used to this kind of schedule and freedom). I am in the dorm for the Honors College kids, so the upperclassmen worked very hard to make sure we all met each other and at least made some friends to hang out with. And, I click with a lot of them. Like, literally, two of the first people I met are HUGE Doctor Who fans. And I made one friend because one of the Doctor Who girls mentions Starkid and then Darren Criss, and she was behind us, and she whipped around and was like, "You guys like Darren Criss?!" In other words, this college was perfect for me. But I'm already busy.

I'm sorry, you probably didn't want to hear my college story. You're here to read a new chapter, after all! This one might be a little... odd, because I wrote this in such tiny spurts. Continue to be patient with me; I really appreciate it!

This is fluff-ish, so that kind of makes up for my absence, right?]

"C'mon, Brucey, just come with me. It'll be fun, I swear. Pepper got a reservation for one of the best hotels in New York, and it would be a waste to cancel. Although… I don't believe she told me which one… So I can't let you know what kind of entertainment they'd have."

Bruce rolled his eyes, switching which ear the phone was propped against. "Tony, I was there, with you, for almost an entire week. I had a pretty severe panic attack in the middle of Times Square." That had been a particularly bad day. He didn't want a repeat of Harlem in the middle of a crowded place ever again. That's part of why he was refusing to visit his hard-working boyfriend at his project, which meant they wouldn't be seeing each other for another couple of days.

Apparently, by Tony's standards, that was unheard of.

"But I miss you!" Tony whined, his voice sounding shrill over the phone, causing Bruce to quickly move it away until he was done talking.

"I miss you too," Bruce told him honestly, pressing the phone between his shoulder and ear to free his hands up for his experiment. "But you know that I won't have much fun. It becomes overwhelming if I'm in a crowded place for either too long or too often." In other words, the Other Guy will think it's Playland.

He could practically hear Tony shaking his head at him. "You're far too paranoid, Brucey-boy. Granted, I am too, but unlike you, I loosen up and have some fun from time to time." There was a sudden crash in the background, and Tony began swearing. "Shit, Dummy! There's a fucking counter there. Are your sensors busted or something?" There was a click, as if Tony had set the phone down, and rustling and swearing commenced in the background.

Sorry, sir, JARVIS commented as his voice came over the phone, slightly startling Bruce, who wasn't used to JARVIS being everywhere. In his British accent he added, Mister Stark will return in a moment.

"You are alright," Bruce said, relaxing his shoulder as he grabbed the phone with his hand. This wasn't the first time JARVIS felt the need to entertain him when Tony abandoned the phone, and Bruce sincerely doubted it would be the last. Tony was far too easily distracted for that to be the case.

Thank you, sir, JARVIS responded, and then sank into silence.

As Bruce waited on Tony to finish dealing with Dummy—most likely, he'd forgotten he was on the phone and was now in the process of repairing the robot—and continued working, he smiled to himself. Despite Tony being gone all of the time and his own lack of visits to New York (only one so far, since he'd been putting it off), the relationship had reached its steadiest. On the nights that Bruce became especially lonely in Malibu—he claimed that his main reason for was because all of his equipment from S.H.I.E.L.D. was stationed there, but he primarily just had a problem with cities—they would Skype each other and send each other text messages on and off throughout those days. It was amazing, how easily their relationship still flowed, uninterrupted by life. Mentally, they might as well not be far away from each other; the physical distance, however, helped Bruce to relax. The Other Guy had been becoming super stimulated before Stark Towers was being built. But, once he got a break from an every-moment-of-the-day relationship, from the kissing and the shared bed—no matter how much he missed it—he found he was calm.

It made every moment Bruce was physically in front of Tony all that much better.

For instance, when Tony came to take Bruce to New York, he hadn't even found his begging all that irritating. "It's incredible," he'd whined, "and you're just missing out on life by cooping yourself up in Malibu. I've got something to show you, anyways."

After a ton of serious debate, Bruce finally agreed to the idea, desperately hoping that somehow he wouldn't destroy New York… again. However, he wasn't expecting something as… magical, as what Tony had planned for him.

Because, apparently, nothing in New York was too expensive for Tony Stark.

He'd started Bruce's visit by renting out the Empire State Building. Bruce couldn't even joke about that. By renting out, he literally asked the people in charge how much he would have to pay to get tourists to quit showing up for a couple hours, a price which he then had enough cash to pay in full. So, instead of it only being a crowded tourist attraction—which it was crowded normally, based on the last time Bruce had gone before his accident—the Empire State Building became a romantic—if not chilly—location for the both of them.

Despite having to practically be dragged there, Bruce had to admit that it was a fantastic date. Tony had hired a chef and some waiters to serve them food, and they'd seated themselves close to the edge, looking at the brilliant city below them. And, somehow, Bruce felt good. It didn't matter that they shared few words. It didn't matter that they were high up. It most certainly didn't matter that Bruce would have to face the swollen city when they left.

All he could do was watch the city and marvel at how in love he was with Tony.

Over the course of those couple of days, Tony always had something for the two of them to do together out of the public's watchful eye, which ranged from a picnic in front of the Statue of Liberty to a lazy cuddle day in the hotel Pepper had gotten them. While it sometimes became nauseatingly romantic, Bruce loved how Tony was trying his hardest to make New York be a positive association for Bruce, a place where he could remember love and romance.

If it hadn't been for the Other Guy becoming over-stimulated on the bustling streets—and almost getting loose, an event which made him decide he was best off returning to Malibu—Bruce might've believed him.

"Sorry about that." Tony's voice woke Bruce from his daydreaming. He blinked, surprised he had zoned out for so long.

"You're fine," he said, still a little disoriented. He might as well have been in New York, with how absorbed he was into his thoughts.

And yet, as Tony launched into the story of repairing Dummy and how much he wanted Bruce to come back to New York, Bruce couldn't stop smiling.

Because, one thing was certain, as certain as the light from the sun would warm the Earth as long as it kept burning.

He loved Tony. With everything, he loved him. And it was reason enough to smile.