Two weeks had passed and Tony was doing an admirable job with his theories. They had been taking things slow but always moving forward, and Bruce had yet to do or feel anything he had to worry about. The anger was there, it was always there, but it stayed put safely in the back of his head. In some ways, it felt like what they did helped him keep the anger in check. Bruce hoped it stayed that way.

While he and Tony hadn't actually had sex yet, much of Tony's theory testing involved them making out all the time like a couple of teenage boys. They set no restrictions, but Tony always seemed to know when Bruce was starting to worry. Their sessions meant the two of them ended up in various parts of Stark Tower in various stages of undress. Tony was practically an exhibitionist, but Bruce was shyer, and he didn't look forward to running into that cleaning lady again.

Pepper walking in on them seemed like a horrible inevitability. To his surprise, when it happened it hadn't been as bad as he'd feared. Tony had explained to Bruce why he and Pepper had split, and that it was very mutual and they were still friends, but Bruce couldn't help but feel some measure of guilt for the part he had played in it, so he had kept his distance. At least, he had stayed away from her, but he couldn't prevent her from walking in on him and Tony making out in a supply closet. She had looked a little shocked, a little annoyed, but mostly amused. Tony said something about her needing to order more staples and she just shook her head and closed the door again. He didn't know what she did after that, because as soon as the door closed Tony had put his hands in Bruce's hair, and it had been impossible to focus on anything other than the very talented mouth of Tony Stark for quite some time after.

Last night was the first time they had spent the night in the same bed again. That was one delay Bruce had pressed for, as waking up with his arms full of Tony had almost been too much to handle last time. So, they worked their way up to it, and last night had been a fantastic test for their project. He still wasn't sure where kissing Tony had stopped and sleep had started, or where sleep had stopped and kissing Tony had started, but he wasn't too worried about it.

Bruce couldn't decide if was surprised or not at Tony's patience with him. Surprised because he didn't think the manic Tony would be able to reign himself in that long. Two things seemed to temper him, though. One was that he genuinely seemed to care for Bruce. He could see that in him, all the time. Bruce had since given up trying to deny to himself that he was in love with Tony, and strongly suspected the feeling was mutual. Tony actually didn't act any different towards Bruce than he had from the moment they met; Bruce just noticed it more and more each day.

The second thing that kept Tony patient was one of the things that drove him in the first place: his rabid curiosity. At the moment, his project was to prove or disprove Bruce's ability to have sex with him without ending up as the Hulk, so Tony was focused on testing every aspect of sexuality and stimuli he could think of. He didn't go around constantly badgering Bruce for make out sessions, but his mind was engaged in solving this problem, and Bruce knew that he would dedicate himself to the task for as long as it took.

Bruce was at a workstation in the corner of the lab when Steve got there. He was there to see Tony about some prototype motorcycle Tony was building for him. Bruce waved at Steven when he came in, but he was more interested in his files than talk about motorcycles, so he quickly lost himself in his equations again.

After a while, he noticed it had gotten quiet again, and he looked up to see Steve sitting on a nearby stool, watching him work. Tony was nowhere to be seen. Steve sensed his question before he could voice it. "He went to go check on something. He'll be back in a few."

"Oh, ok. How've you been, Steve?"

"Not too bad. Getting my apartment in Brooklyn fixed up. I think I'm finally starting to get a feel for the neighborhood. I mean, the current neighborhood, not the way it was."

"Good, that's good to hear."

Steve squinted at Bruce's display but then shook his head, not understanding the computations he was working on. "Here using Stark's computers?"

Did Steve not know Bruce was living here? "Something like that."

"Stark does have really slick toys, I'll give him that. He's working on a new bike for me."

"Yeah, so I've heard. That sounds cool."

"Yeah. So, where did you end up? Somewhere in the city, right, if you're hanging out here?"

"Well, yeah. I ended up here."

"Manhattan?"

"No, I live here in the tower now. Tony set me up with an apartment in the building."

"Huh! That was nice of him."

"Yeah, it was."

Steve had been watching Bruce as they talked, and then narrowed his eyes at something. "Is that a…hickey?"

Bruce could feel color rushing to his face. How hard had Tony been chewing on his neck this morning? He tried to focus on the computer's display. "Uh, no idea."

"No, right there, on your neck." Steve was quiet for a moment. "Is that really such a good idea?"

This took Bruce by surprise, and he looked up to see Steve giving him a stern look. "Excuse me?"

"You know what I mean. Is messing around with girls really the best way to go about things? You know…for safety reasons?"

Bruce carefully set down the notebook he had in his hand, and then took off his glasses and set them on the counter. "Steve, that is none of your business."

"It is if you end up endangering people."

"After all we've been through, you still think I'm that much of a danger? You think I'd put people in danger with my actions?"

"Hey, Banner, I'm just being-"

"What you're doing, Captain, is overstepping. This is none of your business, and that's the end of discussion." He turned to walk away and Steve got up and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Bruce, wait, you're being reckless here."

Keeping a tight hold on his anger, he turned around and punched Steve in the face. It was just a gesture. He knew that unless he let the other guy out, it would take a lot more than his fist to even mark the skin of Captain America, but he needed to make it clear to Steve that this was out of line. For a second, Steve looked concerned – Bruce Banner getting physical was a sure sign that the Hulk was about to make an appearance.

Of course, Tony had walked back into the lab in time to see Bruce punch Steve. "What the hell did I miss?" Bruce just sighed and brushed past him, leaving the lab.