My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)

"How'd you even get that photo?" Tony asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the screen.

"Not really the issue right now, Tony," Bruce replied, snatching his phone back.

"Maybe not," Tony admitted, "but we didn't post that anywhere, which means somebody sent it to you, and I think I should know who was responsible. Was it Clint?"

"I don't know, Tony. It was a blocked number, but that's not the point."

"But—"

"You broke your promise, Tony," Bruce interrupted. "Sorry, promises. You broke your promises. You forgot that we had plans, and you forgot because you were on a date with Natasha. I can't believe you, man."

Tony threw his hands up in surrender. "It wasn't a date, Bruce, I promise. You have to trust me."

"Kinda don't."

"Come on, little buddy. I would never—"

"And can you just cut the 'little buddy' crap. I'm, like, an inch shorter than you."

Tony rubbed his face and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. Sorry for calling you that and sorry about earlier, but it isn't what it looks like, I swear. Just let me explain."

After a long stretch of silence, Tony looked up to see Bruce waiting patiently with arms crossed and nostrils flared. Tony sighed again, then launched into an explanation, starting at the beginning.

It had been too easy, and Loki had Natasha to thank.

"Fruit baskets, kisses, darling, whatever you want…it's yours," he whispered into the night air as he reclined in the tree just outside Stark's mansion.

When Natasha had accessed M3 with her phone on Friday night and Tony had replied, Loki finally gained access to both of their devices.

And when that photo popped up on his dashboard that evening, he'd been quick to use it to his advantage. With the closeness between the Romanoff girl and Stark, especially how they were posed…well, it was like Christmas had come early for Loki. All it took was one innocent picture taken on Natasha's phone and Loki had everything he needed to launch the next phase of his plan.

Loki was watching the fight between Stark and Banner unfold through a pair of binoculars hanging around his neck, when his stomach growled.

"What I wouldn't give for some popcorn right about now," he chuckled darkly.

"That's it?" Bruce asked once Tony finished his explanation of the events leading up to the picture.

"Yeah, that's it. Totally innocent."

Bruce scoffed. "Innocent? Yeah right."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I just walked in on you dancing around the room to a pop song like a lovesick schoolboy, Tony. If that's your idea of innocent, then I don't want to see what your idea of guilty looks like. And it doesn't change the fact that she's the reason you forgot about our plans. What the hell, man?"

"I don't know what to say," Tony declared. "I said I was sorry, but you're right, it wasn't completely innocent." He looked away. "I like her, Bruce, but I made a promise to you, so I'm trying to keep that promise because our friendship means so much to me. I don't know how else to say that. I mean, I even told Clint that last night…about backing off for your sake, I mean."

"Dude."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, but it's true and I have a strong aversion to having my face bashed in. At the time, it seemed like the best way to avoid having Clint kick the crap out of me. Besides, between the two of us, he'd rather have you going after Nat instead of me," Tony lamented.

Bruce turned away and walked across the room, hands on his hips. He came to a stop and stood there like a statue. Tony watched with bated breath.

"Fine," Bruce relented. "I'm still mad at you for forgetting about our plans, but I believe everything else."

"So, were good?"

"Dude, no. Weren't you listening? Our plans, remember? I'm still mad at you," Bruce growled.

Tony looked away. "What can I do?"

Bruce shook his head and shrugged. "There's not much you can do."
They stood there in silence, allowing it to fill the room, crushing them.

"I don't like this," Bruce finally continued. "I don't like what this girl is doing to us."

"I don't like it, either," Tony agreed.

A noise outside broke the tension.

"What was that?" Tony asked, peering out the window and into the darkness.

"No idea." Bruce's voice sounded farther away.

Tony turned around to find Bruce walking out of the room.

"Where you going?" he called out, jogging after him.

"I'm going home, Tony. I need to clear my head. I just…I just can't be around you right now. I need some time to think, okay?"

"But—"

"Later, man," Bruce said, closing the front door behind him.

Tony sagged against the wall.

"How am I going to fix this?" he asked.

The silence offered no reply.

Loki went rigid at the sound of Stark's front door opening and closing. He watched as Banner emerged and walked down the driveway. Once he was out of sight, Loki groaned in pain.

Falling out of the tree hadn't been ideal. And he was almost caught spying after yelling when he fell, which wasn't ideal, either, but the worst part was why he fell.

"What is it going to take to get these guys at each other's throats?" he grumbled to no one in particular.

Banner and Stark had been so close to getting over it by sympathizing with one another. If it hadn't been for his ability to read lips, Loki might not have fallen out of the tree, and the lack of distraction might've made a reconciliation possible between the two friends. Even though he was in pain, Loki was thankful for his momentary shock-induced clumsiness.

While he hadn't caught most of what transpired after the fall, the amount of time between Tony going to the window and Bruce walking out the door left little doubt in Loki's mind that everything was resolved between them. One last look into the window to see Stark shuffling back into the living room with a troubled expression confirmed Loki's suspicions, and that was all he needed.

"Time for phase two."

*Song Inspiration: "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)" - Fall Out Boy