The team had congregated in the main living area of the tower, Tony was stood behind the bar while everyone else was reclining easily on the sofas. Penny had changed into her PJ's since it was 8 'o' clock and they had decided to get takeout and watch trashy films; somehow she doubted that it would go that way though. They decided to meet up and start the film marathon at 8:15, and seeing she had some time to kill, she padded off in the direction of the lab.

Punching in the code Tony had told her earlier when he had given everybody the grand tour; she padded barefooted into the untouched room. There was all kinds of machines and tools, tools for engineering, chemistry kits, and physics equipment…You name it, Tony had it. And if he didn't, he would most likely just go out and buy it.

Whistling as she went, she grabbed a work book from one of Tony's shelves and pulled herself up onto a stool. It was a side project that Tony had decided to work on every now and then, if there was one thing she'd learnt from the past few days she had spent with him, was that once he set his mind to something, he wouldn't give up until he's accomplished it.

"Obviously that goes for research that isn't even his area…" She murmured to herself as she flipped through the pages, her interests flaring with every page. She shut the book and looked at the label on the spine, 'Synesthesia'. Admittedly, she had heard of the area before but had never fully taken the time to look at it properly. Glancing at the clock she decided that she had enough time to read a page or two, and flipped the book open again.

"Hey can someone go grab Penny? I want to start bawling my eyes out as fast as possible." Natasha groaned sarcastically, "More like scratch your eyes out." Clint mumbled against a cold pint. Pepper had first choice of film and had picked 'The Notebook'; anyone that knew Natasha could tell you that she wasn't a sappy, chick flick kind of girl; but Steve was excited about it since it was set around about the era he had 'died' in, and Tony was happy because he got to console a crying Pepper. (She had a hunch that he used that as emotional blackmail against her when he wanted something.) Thor was left questioning rather loudly how a person could magically appear inside a box that small, and Clint, well he thought pretty much the same as Natasha.

"I'm sure she'll be here in a second," Steve started as he flipped the remote over in his hand, wondering how it changed the channel. Bruce's ears perked up as he scanned the room for her familiar figure, but came up empty. Checking his watch he found that it read 8:43, nearly a half hour had passed since they'd said they would meet.

Tony watched Bruce look for her slyly and check his watch before looking around again, a frown appeared on his face. Tony walked over to him and quickly pulled him up, "Just start the film, Bruce and I will go look for Penny and bring her back down here," Pepper opened her mouth to protest but Tony beat her to the punch, "Ah, ah, ah!" She shut her mouth quickly, "We'll be back here before the bit that you always cry at, and if I'm not, I'm sure Cap here will lend you a shoulder." He grabbed Bruce's arm and pulled him out the door, "Order lots of pizza!" He called back over his shoulder before he closed the door.

"J.A.R.V.I.S, is Penny still in the building?" Tony asked quickly, heading for her room.

"Yes sir, would you like to know where she is? Or would you prefer to waste as much time as possible as to avoid the film with Miss Potts?" Bruce smirked and shot Tony a disapproving smile.

"Thank's J.A.R.V.I.S, I haven't played hide and seek since I was a kid. And what are you looking at?" He turned to Bruce, "I saw you, checking for her and then checking your watch. And then checking for her again!" He laughed as they made a right turn and carried on down the corridor.

Bruce winced, "You saw that?" He asked disbelievingly, Tony just gave him a look. "Just worried about her safety is all. She was placed under our protection you know." He lied quickly.

Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket while he was talking and sent a text to Bruce.

Bruce grabbed his phone from his trouser pocket and opened the text message up, 'You've got it bad, my friend.' He chuckled and clicked on the home button, "AHA!" Tony shouted, Bruce jumped and turned to see Tony pointing at his phone. "What? What's wrong?"

Tony walked up to Bruce and pointed to the phone before looking at him and smirking, "The picture is your wallpaper." Bruce's smile faltered and he looked at his hand. "Just admit it; it'll be a hell of a lot painless."

Bruce put his phone away and turned to walk down the corridor, Tony quick on his heels. "Fine, I may, or may not," he raised his brow to Tony who nodded in understanding, "have some feelings for Penny."

Tony fist pumped the air and pulled him to a stop by his shoulder; "Romantic feelings?" He questioned hopefully, looking into his friends deep brown eyes.

Bruce sighed and blushed deeply as he looked down at his feet; he cleared his throat, "Yeah.."

Tony fist pumped again, he ran his hands through his hair in excitement. He got to play cupid. He gets to play match maker and tell horribly awkward jokes around both of them. But above all, he felt a surge of happiness for his new found friend.

He turned around to speak, but instead found Bruce knocking lightly on Penny's door.

"Penny? You in there?" He asked lightly, leaning against the doorframe. He looked over to a bouncing Tony, "Wipe that smile off your face before she comes out and realises that something's up!" He whispered harshly.

"Would that be so awkward though? Say, hypothetically, that she found out," Bruce cast a downwards glance at him, "Hy-po-thet-I-ca-lly being the key word of course," They walked down the corridor to the lift after deciding that she wasn't in her room. "Say she did find out, what would be so bad about that?" Tony pressed the button and turned to Bruce.

"I-I'm a, I mean…Tony." He looked to his friend and continued, "I'm at least 5 years older than her to start with, I have no money, no house, no car. I'm greying at 34!" He stressed as they stepped into the elevator and pressed a button. Tony shrugged, "Yeah but there's always 'Just for Men' for that. And some chicks dig that whole 'Silver fox' kind of look." He reasoned.

Bruce sighed, "I have an anger problem, to put it lightly. Relationships are stressful, women, are stressful." Tony snickered, he had to agree with that one. "I couldn't do that to her. I couldn't put her at risk for my own selfishness."

Stepping out the elevator Tony led them down another hallway, "Does it look like she cares?" He stopped Bruce again who removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "She didn't care when she knew you were the Hulk, she didn't get hurt by him when he came out to say hi-Heck! He even looked after her!" He started to shout, and Bruce replaced his glasses.

"But I have nothing to give her!" He shouted back, his heart rate rising slightly.

"That isn't how relationships work! Bruce!" He followed his friend as he walked down the hallway, "At least give it a chance."

Bruce tensed his stomach and counted to ten, like he had been taught in Brazil; his heart rate started to slow down. "Just, let it happen." Tony finished, his arms dropping to his sides in defeat. "Relationships are hard." Bruce murmured, still facing away from Tony.

"No one said it would be easy," He reasoned.

"They're stressful." Bruce replied quickly.

"Then you'll just have to work extra hard at it." Tony smiled, tasting the victory. Bruce turned around and walked back over, "Hypothetical right?" He smirked.

Tony flashed a toothy grin and nodded, "Hypothetical."

"So this is where you've been hiding for the past," Penny looked up to see Bruce and Tony standing in the doorway, the latter checking his watch. "Two hours." She jumped down from the stool and quickly walked around the work station to stand in front of them.

She was wearing red and white stripy shorts, a grey top that read 'Bon Temps Football' on the front in red letters, and an oversized plaid shirt that had been rolled up to the sleeves. Her hair had been pulled into a messy pony tail; a few strands that had escaped to frame her face were pushed back by her glasses that rested on her head.

She looked around at the mess she had made of Tony's lab and blushed, "I uh, got a bit carried away…" She looked back up at the smiling gentlemen and skipped back off to her previous seating position. Pulling her glasses back down she carried on working like the interruption had never happened.

"We're supposed to be watching a film," Tony started before he got cut off by Bruce.

"Not that Tony minds though, he didn't want to watch it anyway." He chuckled and followed a storming Tony over to the workspace.

"What are you even working on?" He leaned over her shoulder and saw the files he had collected on Synesthesia strewn across the table. "What are you looking at this for? It's never actually been proven, they're probably just hippies high on weed…"

Penny placed her pen down and looked at him sternly, "But what if it weren't?" Tony and Bruce looked at each other as her head snapped between the two. They had never seen this side to her before; usually she was either: extremely shy, extremely happy or extremely hungry. But this Penny was different, she was dedicated and serious; she was in work mode.

"Look," She jumped down off the stool and walked over to the wall where she had drew a large brain with four different sections, "Its fine by the way, you can draw on my walls." Tony added sarcastically.

Ignoring him, she carried on. "There are hints in those papers that suggest to different kinds of Synesthesia, like Grapheme – Colour where numbers or letters will be tinted with colour, or Spatial Sequence Synesthesia where a twisted number line appears in front of them; what if they just had excess 'wires' connecting the two inter-relating areas?"

Tony walked over and sat down next to Bruce, "So, is it just me that's getting turned on by this?" Tony whispered into Bruce's ear. His jaw tensed and he quickly looked to Tony who had turned his attention back to Penny. Bruce's eyes flashed between the two.

"Kinda like wires on a bridge then?" Tony questioned as if the comment had never happened. Penny brightened and jumped up and down, "Exactly!"

She turned back to her explanation and Bruce turned to face Tony, "What?" He bit out lowly, and Tony smirked again. "I said-"

"I know what you said!"

They quietened and looked to the front when Penny's voice wavered in suspicion, she soon continued on with her ramblings.

"So?" Tony questioned, looking down quickly to Bruce's lap. Bruce flushed out of embarrassment and anger, he fidgeted in his seat. "Hands off, Tony." He said through gritted teeth.

Tony chuckled, "I know big guy, I'm just messing with ya." Bruce relaxed slightly, "Seriously though, if she were my girl-"

"She's not my girl." Bruce argued back, slightly annoyed that they had ended up on this topic again. Tony only smiled. "Not yet."

By the time they had finished up in the lab, it had gone one in the morning. Bruce and Tony found what Penny had come up with quite interesting, and planned to help put her hypothesis to the test once everything was over and done with. Tony walked with them as far as the elevator and then turned to say goodnight.

"You owe me for this. I'm going to bed to an emotional Pepper who will most likely cry and beat me because I didn't return to give her a shoulder to cry on." Penny winced and Bruce pressed the button, "Ohh, you're in the dog house!" She chuckled as he pulled her in for a hug.

"What film was it?" She asked as Tony and Bruce man-hugged, "The Notebook?" He replied warily.

Penny laughed loudly, "Oh yeah! Definitely in the dog house tonight!" Sighing he turned around and walked down the hall, "I'm sure I can turn it around!" They waved and stepped into the elevator.

Penny rested her head on Bruce's shoulder. "I'm knackered. I don't think I've ever missed my bed so much in my entire life." Bruce chuckled as they stepped out of the elevator.

"You think you're tired? Try putting up with Tony for an hour and a half while you look for someone!" They giggled and Bruce remembered the conversation that he had with Tony. Just let it happen.

They came to a stop outside Penny's door and Bruce could feel his palms starting to sweat. She smiled sweetly up at him, "Sorry about that in the lab, I guess I just got lost in it…" Bruce shook his head and smiled, "Nah, don't worry about it. We've all been there."

They smiled goofily at each other before Penny broke the silence and looked to their feet, "Well, goodnight then." Bruce nodded quickly and pulled her in for a hug like Tony had done.

His hug wasn't quick and one armed like Tony's had been, it was close and intimate. She had her head rested against his chest again and his arms fitted perfectly around her waist. Bruce didn't know how long they stood like that, but he didn't care. It just felt right.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I really am quite tired…" She murmured sleepily against his shirt. He sighed, opening her door for her, he placing a chaste kiss on her forehead as he whispered, "Goodnight Penny." She grinned and whispered back, "N'night Bruce," Before slipping into her room.

Too mushy? I do like the mushiness though. This one turned out being a bit more Tony-Bruce centric than I'd planned, but I kinda like how it turned out :) I'm going shopping with my mum tomorrow so the next chappy won't be up until tomorrow afternoon/night.

I might put out a filler chapter from Thor's or Cap's POV on what happened when Tony and Bruce we off searching before I post the next major chapter; if nothing but for a little bit of fun.

Review! Review! Review! - - - - - - - -They spur me on! :3

-Readers Assemble!-