9: Epilogue
"Tony... Tony!" Bruce gasped, feeling his abs tense, Hulk right there on the surface, nearly uncontainable. "You – you have to slow down."
Tony paused and drew himself up on his knees, bringing Bruce's hips with him in his hands, and stared down at him, sweaty hair falling into his eyes in a way Bruce would never tire of seeing.
"Baby," he admonished, panting just a little, the tip of his pink tongue resting on his lower lip as he breathed in through his mouth. "I can't go much slower than that."
There was a minute where they just stared at each other and it was so ridiculous in light of everything he had been through that Bruce couldn't help laughing. And then Tony was laughing and oh god it had been over a year but Bruce was never going to take the sound of that laughter for granted – not ever.
Tony fell back down on top of him with a sloppy kiss to his neck as he moved back into him slowly and Bruce could hardly breathe. He was just – he was just so happy. He'd done it – Tony had lived to see his wedding day and though it had been a spur of the moment thing, no rings or ceremonies or anything but a piece of paper left in the car, it was even more than he'd ever hoped.
"I told you – I'm going to fuck my husband." Tony's whisper teased his ear as he rolled his hips and Bruce's eyes rolled back as he fought to maintain control.
But Tony knew how tenuous Bruce's control of the Hulk had been since the incident on top of the Price building and so he was careful, knew how far he could tease. Hulk and Bruce were closer than ever to one another now – the electric current from the incident fucking with their relationship. It had taken over four hours for Bruce to recover from the shock well enough to reclaim his body and then when he had the impression of the incident was like an unhealable scar and Hulk was jumpy – always on the verge of slipping out.
"Yes – slowly," Bruce teased back, nudging his nose across Tony's face for a kiss.
The guilt had dissipated over time but then, in moments like this, when he was happier than he ever thought he could be, he would look at Tony and he would think – would Pepper have been this happy, too? Did he take that from her? But the break up had been long and drawn out, involved counseling and everything, and Pepper had seemed happier now than she had in the months leading up to when they'd called off the wedding. And she never treated him any differently for it – even when it became increasingly obvious that he and Tony were becoming a "thing" – a fact for which Bruce was incredibly thankful.
"Next time," Tony panted as he moved his hips slowly, methodically, "you get to do all the work and I'll just lay there."
Bruce laughed again as he hooked a leg around Tony's hip and twisted, turning them onto their sides, brushing the backs of his fingers alongside Tony's cheek and watching the way his lips moved to follow them.
He helped move Tony along, slowly, legs wrapped around Tony's waist, tensing and untensing so that their hips rocked against one another. Flighty, open-mouthed kisses were exchanged as the tension built and Tony's hand working his dick was too much. Bruce felt it, the pull, the draw that would send him over the edge and he felt the Hulk there and it made his head swim and he whimpered, clutching ineffectively at Tony's sweaty biceps to ground him in this moment as his eyes slammed shut and he came across Tony's stomach.
Tony moaned and thrust in hard – or as hard as he could in that relatively shallow position – once, twice, and then he was coming as well, whispering a litany of affection in Bruce's ear as he kissed at it, tired and spent.
For a long time they lay against one another, Tony's hand moving lazily through Bruce's hair until he was on the verge of falling asleep just like that – a rare feat for him, but he was tired and the Hulk was sedated now as well – when Tony whispered out a soft "sorry."
Bruce chuckled a little but grew serious quickly as he opened his eyes, trying in vain to read Tony's guarded expression. "For what?"
"For not being there," he replied, quietly, clearly aggitated. "For running off. For letting you face that mutant alone. I should've been there for you – you won't be dealing with the affects of it now if I had stayed. If I had a time machine I'd –"
"Please don't say that," Bruce cut him off, feeling his throat constrict with the very thought of it.
He had tried to bury those experiences over the past year, pretend they didn't happen and never think about them again but they all came rushing back in moments like these. And he could never tell Tony, not really. It was a burden he had to bare alone – happily, to have Tony alive, it was worth it, but still. There were no words to say how much he never wanted Tony to feel that way, how much he appreciated what they had now.
"It's the truth," Tony replied, hand tightening in Bruce's hair for just a moment and Bruce wished he'd just shut up for once. "If I could do it over again, knowing what I know now –"
"No," Bruce replied very definitively. "I wouldn't want you to. Imagine how much worse it could've been if you were there – he would've killed you."
Tony snorted but fuck – he wasn't invincible, Bruce knew that. Convincing him was another story. But struggling to control the Hulk was an incredibly small price to pay for Tony's life. He would never really understand that but Bruce would. He promised himself that he would never forget.
"There is nothing I would change," he continued, nuzzling his face up against Tony's neck. "We only have one life – and this one is perfect."