A harsh rapping on the door finally stirred Bruce from his deep unconsciousness, and as he came to, he got the feeling the knocking had been going on for some time. He started to move automatically to go answer it, when he found he was pinned down. Oh. Tony, naked and drooling, was spread out on top of him, sawing logs. ...When had they gotten down here again? And why? That question he could fairly well piece together from the pile of their clothes on the floor. It was starting to come back to him now, a little. Tony's hot mouth on his nipple and cock... the look in his eyes when he said...

Bruce's jaw clenched.

"Tony! Bruce! I know you're in there!" The pounding increased. Phil's voice, Bruce recognized. He gave Tony a testing shake, and upon confirming it wasn't going to wake his partner anytime soon, he instead pushed with both of his arms, upending the boy onto his back.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't stop rolling there. Tony's arms pinwheeled as he rolled right off the edge of the futon, letting out a yelp as his back hit the floor. Now wide-eyed and blinking he turned his head to sluggishly to scan his surroundings, "What the f- oh, hey big guy." The response he got was having his t-shirt thrown in his face.

"We gotta get dressed," Bruce grunted, stepping into his boxers and pants.

Tony gave a petulant whine in response, "The fuck are we..." He stopped as it slowly came back to him and he pulled the t-shirt over his head to cover his grin as he stood. "Neverm- Um, yeah..." Tony cleared his throat, catching himself, "So what're they bitching about upstairs now?"

"Don't know," Bruce kept his responses short; he frowned at the state of his buttoned-up button-up, wondering how in the Hell it had gotten like that.

"Is, uh... something wrong?" Tony ventured nervously, frowning at the short-worded replies his friend was giving him. He was having trouble locating his boxers amidst the wreckage, and ultimately decided to just pull on his jeans and worry about it later.

"Ah..." Bruce worried the inside of his mouth with his tongue, trying not to establish eye contact as he slipped the shirt over his shoulders.

Oh God, this wasn't good. He tried to limit his panicking. "Was it the sex? It was the sex, wasn't it? I'm sorry. About the sex. Totally my fault," Tony blathered. He knew he was laying it on thick, but he really hoped it was the sex. Sex could be fixed.

Bruce wasn't really listening, thoughts too jumbled around. "Yeah," he responded distractedly, heading towards the stairs to grab the door.

"Hey, wait a sec," Tony called out to his friend; another loud thump on the door was an immediate interruption. "We're coming, alright? Jesus Christ! Have some goddamn patience!" he shouted halfway up the stairs.

Bruce halted in his tracks and gave a slow exhale. He wanted to bolt. He wanted to run as fast as he could, as far as he could from this conversation. The door was right there at the top of the stairs; he could be gone in three seconds flat. Why? Why was he so scared of this? He'd had this conversation with Betty only a few days ago, about why it wasn't okay for him to be romantically close to someone... he should be able to do it again with Tony, to explain simply and impartially. Slowly, he turned around to face the other boy, lower lip pinched between his teeth.

Tony put his hands on Bruce's shoulders to hold him in place once he'd caught up. There wasn't any running now. "I'm not mad," Tony said, "Really. And I'll make it up to you, I swear."

"I don't..." Bruce started. "You don't remember...?" His mouth closed.

Tony's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "I don't remember what?" He drew out the question to give his thoughts time to catch up. It didn't take too long to realize they definitely weren't talking about the sex anymore. "Oh, you mean..." He bit his lip as he felt his stomach drop, hands sliding away; he fixed his gaze on the corner behind Bruce. "We can, uh... if you want, pretend I don't remember... What were we even talking about again?" he gave a very forced laugh with the joke's delivery.

Bruce felt like he'd swallowed his tongue; he tried to get a response out past the lump in his throat. "Tony, that's not..." He didn't know what to say.

The teen hastily cut him off. "I mean- I mean, be-because I say a lot of crazy shit when I'm drunk; and if you take everything I say seriously, th-then-"

But it hadn't been just Tony who'd said it. Bruce knew he'd said it back. He'd told Tony he loved him. Which he did. God, he really did. And that was probably the real reason he couldn't bring himself to explain to the boy in front of him. This wasn't a childhood crush like it had been with Betty. "Tony-" he tried again, a little more forcefully.

"I'll shut up about it from now on," Tony promised. "Just... I don't want to lose you. As a friend, as a fuck-buddy, as a whatever. Please." The look in his brown eyes was practically heart-breaking.

Bruce exhaled again. Still Tony thought he was going to be abandoned. Bruce reached out and gripped his friend firmly by the shoulder, to give him some physical contact, some reassurance. "You're not going to lose me. And we're going to talk about this. But for now we need to sort out the rest of tonight, alright?"

"Yeah," Tony nodded, at least partially reassured by Bruce's words. He managed a small smile, "...yeah, that's fine."

"Okay," Bruce nodded back. Uncertain he should do so, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Tony's forehead. He did, after all, care very deeply about him.

"What were you guys doing down there?" Phil inquired when the two of them emerged at last.

"Sorry, we were sleeping it off," Bruce explained, reaching under his glasses to rub an eye.

"Well, that's good," the boy responded. "We've got a lot of folks up here who'd like a ride home, if possible. We're a little short on DDs..."

So the party had mostly wound down to a close then, Bruce established from the information and a brief look around. Wow the place was a mess. Bottles and cans littered every horizontal surface, including the floor; snacks were similarly scattered around, bowls upended and spilling their contents of pretzels, peanuts and chips; pizza boxes, streamers and confetti from the after-midnight celebration were in high density. And of course there was the matter of the charred tree and the black soot stuck to the ceiling directly above it. They sure had their work cut out for them.

"I can drop a few people off," Tony volunteered, eager to have something to do to take his mind off of...

Bruce looked at him. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just a little drowsy; just woke up," Tony replied, hesitating a moment before adding, "You wanna come with?"

Bruce nodded. "Two pairs of eyes are better than one," he agreed. He trusted Tony's judgement, but he'd like to be there just in case. He fished around in his pants pocket for his mother's car keys. "Let's take mine." More of them could cram into Tony's 'stang, but the Civic had seatbelts, just in case anything did go wrong.

Phil went back to Steve and together the two of them began organizing the party-goers into stages of groups. Besides Tony, Phil, Leonard, and a few others were all doing drop-offs. Tony and Bruce got their first batch of three students, who recited their addresses; JARVIS popped up a map plotting the most efficient route. Tony handed the device off to his friend.

True to his word, Tony's driving was fine, and with Bruce navigating, they made short work of dropping off the three students, who thanked the two of them profusely for their hospitality and the ride and asked when the next party was. Tony responded with a scoff and a snide utterance of "Check Clint's twitter feed." before pulling away from the curb.

Tony turned the car back towards his house to get a new batch of kids. He tuned the radio to an FM classic rock station. Which reminded him... "Hey Tony," Bruce spoke up over the music. "When I get a car... you know, eventually... could you set it up so JARVIS could play the way he does in yours?"

Tony's eyes brightened at the request, grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as he swigged from his bottle of water. "Are you serious?" he asked upon wiping his lips off. That would be the perfect project to get himself lost in, if he could wait that long.

Bruce nodded. "Yeah. I'd really like it. If it's not too much trouble," he added shyly.

Tony's response was almost what one would call giddy, practically bouncing in his seat with the notion, "Fuck yeah I'll do it! Oh my God, Bruce, do you have any idea how hard it's gonna be to wait for you to get a car now?"

"Uh... really hard?" the other teen guessed.

"Add like, seven more 'really's and you'll be getting close," Tony replied with a wink.

Bruce yawned into his hand, checking the time on his wristwatch against the dashboard display. 3:30 AM. Save for the nap they caught down in the den, it was looking like the two of them could end up pulling an all-nighter. He could really use some coffee or something in addition to the water. He took another long drink of it. This would be horribly tedious if it weren't for the boy behind the wheel beside him- Tony made it bearable. But that was always the case; Tony made everything better. He made bad things tolerable and okay things good, and he made great things fantastic. That was the kind of thing the person you loved was supposed to be able to do.

And yet Tony was more than likely operating under the assumption that he didn't love him back. Guilt crept up Bruce's spine. His friend had lapsed back into silence now; he'd been noticeably quieter than he usually was while he drove- he wasn't even singing along to the Metallica playing over the speakers, and he almost always sang along. Bruce squared his jaw. The meat of their conversation could wait, but he had to tell Tony he wasn't alone about the way he felt. "Tony, I just want to let you know right now..." Bruce began.

"Hm?" Tony raised an eyebrow, but didn't look away from the road.

"When I said what I did... When we were drunk. A-about... you know..."

A siren brought an abrupt end to that thought.

"Shit..." Tony ground out through his teeth, wracking his brain for a good lie, simultaneously praying that the siren was for someone else on the road (implying there was actually anyone else on the road). It figured he'd get pulled over tonight of all nights. He gripped the steering wheel nervously, knuckles whitening, "Okay, Bruce, just be calm, alright."

There wasn't a calm thought in his head as the red and blue lights flashed away in the side mirrors. Bruce pushed himself tightly against the seatback.

"If they ask, tell them you didn't know I'd been drinking, okay?" He took a deep breath as he pulled over and killed the engine.

"That's believable..." Bruce muttered. If he remembered the lesson from Driver's Ed two years ago correctly, they were both about to be in a heap of trouble.

"I'm sorry..." Tony muttered, flipping through his wallet for his license. "I didn't think that..." he let out an anguished sigh, "I shouldn't have got you mixed up in this."

"Don't," Bruce ordered, "I'd rather be in this mess with you then know you got into it alone." He reached for the glovebox to grab the documentation on the vehicle.

A dark-haired woman came to the driver's window, a stiff swagger in her navy uniform. "Officer Maria Hill," she flashed her badge quickly. "I'd like to see your license and registration."

Tony handed the officer his license with a polite nod. He hated authority figures with a fiery passion, but if it kept the heat off of his friend, he was willing to suck up. "Um, it's his mom's car, so the registration's under 'Rebecca Banner'..." he added meekly, passing along the registration as Bruce handed it to him.

"Alright, and I'm going to need to see your I.D. as well, young man," the woman said as she glanced over the various certifications.

Bruce nipped his lower lip but reached into his back pocket to pull it out. "H-here..." he got out shakily, offering it across Tony and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thank you," she said without even looking up; she proceeded back to her patrol car to run background checks.

The two of them waited in suspense. Were they getting written up? What for? Would there be a fine they'd have to pay? How much would it be for? Where would he get the money? Would they have to take a correctional class? Or do community service? Would it go on record? Would it raise the cost of his insurance? Bruce slid lower and lower in his seat as concern after concern piled on top of him. "Please tell me we're still in the den sleeping and this is just a nightmare..." he bemoaned, covering his face with his hands.

"It's gonna be okay," Tony hummed in reassurance, reaching out to take his friend's hand and stroke it with his thumb, "If it comes down to it, I'll... I'll just... I'll fix it, okay?" He brought their clasped hands to his lips and placed a quick kiss on the back of their knuckles. "Don't. Worry," he reinforced.

Bruce didn't know how Tony thought he could 'fix' any of what was about to happen to them. He settled for trying not to whimper.

At last Officer Hill returned. She propped her elbows on the roof of the car to lean in and look at them. "How are you boys doing tonight? Been drinking?"

Bruce looked petrified in his seat. But it would only make things worse if he lied. She'd perform a breathalyzer test and get the truth that way. He gave a barely visible dip of his chin.

Tony froze in shock, but couldn't fault Bruce for his honesty. He bit the inside of his cheek and let out a hard sigh, rubbing the back of his neck, "Yeah."

"You know this state has a zero-tolerance law against underage persons driving under the influence," she stated.

"I, uh... no, I didn't, ma'am- officer. This hasn't... I haven't ever d-done this before, so I didn't-"

Hill shifted her weight onto her other hip. "So then you also wouldn't know that, by law, your driver's license would be revoked and you would be spending the night at the station?"

Tony swallowed. He was usually defiant in these kinds of situations, even when he was genuinely afraid of the outcome, but he couldn't afford to be a smartass right now and kept his defenses down. "N-no, I didn't."

"And your friend could face some serious repercussions as well," she added. Bruce slithered even closer to the floor; his legs felt like jelly.

"I... I'm..." tears pricked the corners of Tony's eyes. He couldn't find the guts to so much as glance back at Bruce. "P-please, Officer; it was my fault... I was driving a few friends home from a party. He just came along to keep an eye on me, and-" God, this had to be the most pathetic he'd ever sounded, because he definitely had never felt this pathetic.

"Three and a half hours into 2013 and I've already written up six DUIs," the woman mused, her eyes unhardening to gaze into the distance. She drummed her fingertips on the roof of the car. "When I took this job, I thought there'd be more high-speed chases and less paperwork..."

Tony gave a few short, confused nods, not knowing where this was going. Bruce's 'laugh' was more of a cough.

"I guess you're always bound to be disappointed by something in this line of work," Officer Hill said. "You two, however," her acute eyes returned to them, "have shown a lot of honesty and remorse this evening. Plus, you were driving the speed limit and obeying traffic laws, which is more than I can say for most of the drunks I've stopped twice your age." Bruce and Tony exchanged wary glances as she went on. "I'm letting you both off with a warning. For the record, I pulled you over because your left tail light is out. You might want to get that fixed."

Tony let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, "Are you seri- OhmyGod... thank you." He felt like full-on crying. "I promise it'll never happen again."

"Good, that will save me some paperwork in the future," she made the joke with an impassive face. She handed back their licenses and the car registration. "But I will be informing each of your parents of this evening's incident when I drop you off."

Bruce cringed, but told himself not to look a gift horse in the mouth. They were still getting off with a lot less than could've been done to them. "M-my parents... are actually out of town," he informed the policewoman; he wrung the back of his neck, "until tomorrow evening."

"Either of them have a cell?" she asked.

"Yeah," Bruce answered, swallowing roughly. Now he had to decide which number to give, his mom's or his dad's... He decided he'd rather his dad give his mom the news than vice versa, surrendering the ten digits that comprised the man's number.

Hill nodded as she took it down. "And what about you, Anthony? Folks out of town?"

"He's not home tonight, but I'll give you his cell number," Tony answered, not wanting to get his father in trouble, but not wanting to out and out lie either.

"He's partying too, huh?" Officer Hill almost seemed amused. "Guess I know where you got it. Seems I'll have to call each of them in the morning. Now, out of the car," she motioned, stepping back.

Tony gave Bruce a brief glance and nodded, unbuckling his seatbelt. Bruce followed suit. She escorted them to the patrol car, opening the rear door for them to climb into the backseat. Bruce got in first, huffing out a sigh as he peered out the barred window at the Civic for which a tow truck would soon be on its way. This wouldn't be the worst news he'd come home to his parents with, he tried to tell himself. Though he imagined it would be a less than pleasant 'welcome home' present for the two of them...

Tony slid in afterwards, keying a quick text to Pepper as discreetly as he could manage once Officer Hill had shut the door after him. Hopefully all the stragglers had been sent home, and the ones who hadn't had a ride were actually sober. He trusted her to organize things better than anyone else he knew. Well, anyone else who wasn't currently under the influence. He sent one last text to Betty (the update on his and Bruce's 'progress' would be nice little counterbalance to her hangover, if nothing else) and put his free arm around the big guy, rubbing up and down in a comforting manner. The police car set in motion.

"When my d-dad finds out..." Bruce stuttered out weakly, knotting his fingers into his hair and twisting.

Tony sucked in a breath, squeezing Bruce's arm a little tighter, "It'll be okay. And if he hurts you, I'll go to jail for worse than a fucking DUI..."

Tony probably didn't understand how little that set him at ease. Violence was rarely solved with more violence, and the very thought made Bruce scrunch tighter, his body taking on a slight tremor. It had been years since he'd received any 'physical punishment', but for what he'd done- been caught doing- he was certain the man would want to hit him, even if he didn't end up doing so. And then there was the matter of his father's study that he'd trashed. Bruce slid his hand over his face. God, he'd really done a bang-up job this week alone, hadn't he? Maybe punishment would actually be deserved this time. Maybe he'd feel better if he did get hit, get yelled at. The man's accusing voice echoed in his head and Bruce flinched, muscles spasming with each harsh word.

"Bruce," Tony worried his lip. This was potentially one of the worst places for the big guy to lose it, and by now Tony knew the warning signs. He tried again, "Bruce, he's not here. Its just me." He didn't know what compelled him to press on, but he did. "It's safe, Bruce. Don't be scared." He pulled his friend into his chest and started stroking his hair.

It took a few moments, but gradually the tension in Bruce's shoulders left and his quivering lessened. He focused on his friend's touch and the words that had come with it, and he managed a nod, not withdrawing from the embrace. "Just you..." he repeated as if solidifying it for himself and believing it.

Tony nodded, "Just me. Whenever you need me."

"I like... just you," Bruce breathed out, hugging a little closer and shutting his eyes again. "When I'm alone with you... things actually seem r-right... instead of..." he shuddered, "wrong."

Tony nodded, kissing Bruce's temple softly, "Nothing's gonna hurt you if I can help it, okay?"

"Y-yeah..." Bruce acknowledged, shaking off his case of nerves. He drew back and settled into his seat again, twiddling his thumbs. Thank God the other boy was here to keep him tethered.

Maybe a change of topic would help keep his friend calm, Tony thought. "So... you were gonna say something earlier?" the teen asked quietly in a sheepish voice.

Bruce glanced at his friend. "Yeah... I..." he exhaled hard, trying to get his thoughts back in order from before they'd been pulled over. The police car gave a little bounce beneath them; he brushed some stray hair out of his face before looking back at Tony. "I was gonna tell you that... I meant it."

Tony swallowed, throat suddenly dry; he leaned back a little, eyelids batting in surprise. "Are you saying...?"

Bruce chuckled, pretty sure he was saying what Tony was asking if he was saying. "Yeah," he nodded with a half-smile. "I think so anyway," he added with a shrug.

It was impossible for Tony to bite back his own smile. "Yeah, it's weird for me too, but... I don't know... we have plenty of time to figure it out, right?"

That shy but always charming smile was captivating even now. Rather than utter his fourth sentence beginning with 'yeah' in a row, Bruce chose to confirm Tony's words by reaching back behind his head and pulling him into a heartfelt kiss. He hadn't expected Tony to be so understanding and... patient... about all this, about the fact that 'time to figure it out' was exactly what he needed. He let his tongue brush the other boy's, caressing his jaw with his thumb.

Tony returned the kiss gently. In spite of all the insanity that had transpired within the past twenty four hours, he felt content.

They were so preoccupied with one another that they didn't notice the police car come to a stop outside the Stark manor. Officer Hill put the vehicle in park and glanced at her rear view mirror at the two teens in the backseat. An eyebrow lifted before she cleared her throat sharply. "Your stop, Anthony."

The two broke away self consciously, Tony glancing at her via the rear view mirror. "You mean, he can't come? He... he was spending the night." His brown eyes switched between hers and Bruce's. "Can I at least grab his toothbrush and stuff for him?"

Officer Hill sighed, unbuckling her seatbelt and exiting the car, before looping around to open the passenger door on Tony's side, "Alright, then out with the both of you. I have to get back to patrolling anyhow."

Tony sighed, relief washing over his features. "Thanks." He gave another brief nod before sliding out of the backseat, stepping to the side to get out of the big guy's way. He was surprised when Bruce pressed his hand into his; right away Tony held on and squeezed back.

"I think you two learned your lesson; don't prove me wrong," Maria regarded the two boys sternly, taking special note of the way Bruce cringed when she'd said the first part. She'd seen too many broken homes in her lifetime to brush off the boy's earlier comments as overdramatic teenage ramblings. Even if they were, it didn't sit well with her to leave it alone. She cocked an eyebrow as the two nodded and shuffled towards the house. "Actually, Mr. Banner, would you mind if I had a short word with you?"

"I- I, um..." Bruce stuttered, turning back around. He took one short-lived glance at Tony before releasing his hold on his hand and returning to the car where the officer was, keeping his head down. "Ma'am?"

Officer Hill returned to her console for a brief moment before returning with a small sheet of paper. "You don't have to say anything," she placed a hand on the boy's shoulder before continuing, "But I'm going to leave you this." Bruce blinked in stupefaction as the policewoman folded the paper and handed it to him. "There's a few numbers on there that should help. And if you're ever in a crisis, just call the local station and ask for Officer Hill," she finished, placing a calling card for the local station in his palm on top of the slip and closing it.

It clicked what she meant a couple seconds later. Bruce committed his gaze to the ground as his fingers tightened on what he'd been handed. "Thanks..." he said in a low tone.

"I'm hoping you won't need to thank me, kid," Maria responded. Honestly, she hoped this hunch of hers was completely wrong. 'Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it', she thought, getting back into her patrol vehicle.

Tony hung back a few short feet away to wait for his friend, eyeing the exchange warily. Bruce returned, looking a bit dejected, and they continued up to the house as the police car drove off. Bruce unfolded the piece of paper and just kind of stared at the numbers he'd been given: the National Abuse Hotline, the National Child Abuse Hotline, and a teen crisis line. Had he really been that obvious? Did he look like he needed these numbers? He felt a little ashamed, and yet at the same time, he recognized that these kinds of hotlines were for situations like his, for people like him. Bruce ran his hand through his hair again. He could really use a cigarette right now, but he wasn't going to ask Tony for one.

"What'd she say?" Tony asked after Bruce had rejoined him.

"Just... well..." the teen pursed his lips, "I have numbers to call if... stuff gets ugly. At home."

"Oh," Tony said, not keen on voicing much more than that.

"Yeah," Bruce responded flatly, refolding the sheet along the creases and putting it in his pocket. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd had these numbers before... or even thought to find them himself... how life might have been different growing up. If things would've stopped sooner. "Hopefully..." he bit off the rest of that statement with a hard shake of his head. No. He didn't need to go down that line of thought right now. Come what may, he shouldn't spend time agonizing over it now.

"Hopefully...?" Tony urged his friend to finish the thought.

"I don't have to," Bruce mumbled.

"Yeah," Tony agreed, "I hope you don't either."

Without another word on the subject, the boys made their way back inside. Immediately upon entry, it became apparent that the cleanup efforts had already started without them. Steve, in spite of his compromised balance, was hefting a large black garbage bag towards the garage. Thor seemed to be making a show of how many red plastic cups he could collect in one stack. Phil was wandering back and forth with two rolls of paper towel under his arm, presumably looking for spills. They'd already made notable progress, no doubt thanks to that text Tony had sent Pepper's way earlier. She really was a great gal, and Steve and the rest were pretty good friends too.

Tony held his hands up, "Guys, I really appreciate your initiative and everything, but it's late." He checked his phone's time display quick. "Like... beyond late. I vote we turn in for the night and get back on this when we wake up."

None of them ceased their tasks however.

"There you are!" Pepper's voice rang out, and at first Tony flinched, thinking he was about to be yelled at. She was obviously angry, though not at him. "I can't believe they pulled you guys over. What, are they pulling over everyone driving harmlessly on the streets tonight? How many cops do they have out there?" She gave an indignant snort, "If the city is that desperate for funds, maybe they should try cutting some of the law-makers salaries!"

Tony chuckled softly. "We got off with a warning, Pep."

The girl visibly cooled. "Well good," she crossed her arms, pretending to still be fuming. After a moment she continued, "Everyone wanted to pitch in and help clean up. But we'll turn in soon. You two head off to bed." If it had been said any sterner, it would've been an order, but there was an uncommon softness in her viridian eyes. She looked over at Bruce, who looked weary beyond measure, "You've both had a pretty rough night of it."

Bruce nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Pepper."

"Yeah, thanks, Pep," Tony echoed, "And, uh... keep track of everyone that stuck around to help out. Tell 'em they'll be the first to know if I ever plan another one of these." She nodded and turned to do just that, but was stopped by a gentle tug on the arm. "Oh, and uh... also tell 'em thanks," he added. The girl gave him one parting kiss on the cheek and hurried off to resume whatever she'd been doing before they came in. Tony cleared his throat, willing the blush in his cheeks to dissipate before clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder, "So... my bed, or the pull-out couch?"

"Bed," Bruce chose with a grunt; he was looking forward to sleep now more than ever.

"But it has Clintasha germs all over it..." Tony groaned with a measure of disgust.

"Clin...tasha?" Bruce queried, not sure he even wanted to know.

"It's their couple name," the boy explained, gesturing his hands. "You know, like 'Brangelina', only with more BDSM and a penchant for party-crashing and blackmail. Also I'm pretty sure they have yet to adopt a third world village."

"We'll change the bedding," Bruce mumbled.

"But that's work...!" Tony groaned in protest, though he knew they'd be doing it anyway. He trudged after his friend who was already grabbing clean sheets from the linen closet.

"Won't kill you," Bruce promised. He grabbed a bath towel. "I'm going to shower before bed. You coming with?" He could understand if Tony just wanted to crash into bed right now.

"Yeah," Tony said in a yawn, stretching his arms up above his head. The drowsiness of earlier was beginning to creep over him once again, but in spite of that, nothing sounded better than rinsing away the misadventures and exploits of the day, curling up beside his friend and forgetting them all. Well, all but one very specific part of the day. The corners of his lips turned up happily. And there was the fact that he wanted to spend as much time with Bruce as he could before he had to go tomorrow evening. "I wouldn't wanna miss that."

The spectacled boy gave a little chuckle, the sentiment reminding him of the tenth track on the album Tony had given him (yes, he did have the order memorized). He had to admit, now that he knew how his friend felt about him, he felt even more disinclined to spend even a moment without him. He was really glad the police officer hadn't sent him home so he could have just one last night together sharing the same bed. Bruce engaged Tony's lips. "We have to fall asleep eventually," he said fondly.

Tony scoffed. "Says you," he shot back. He didn't pull away, instead choosing to rest his forehead on his friend's and stare into those eyes again. He let out a contented sigh, "I'm glad I told you."

Bruce dropped his gaze with a conflicted chuckle. "Yeah, me too," he allowed himself to return.

"It feels great to finally have it off my chest." Tony grinned, "So, what now?"

The corner of Bruce's lip twitched. He ran his hand through his friend's hair again, studying him quietly. Yeah, it felt great to have confessed out loud, but it brought new questions and concerns along with it- like what Tony expected from this... from him. They needed to have that talk more than ever now. He kissed his forehead, "Let's take that shower."