A/N: So I know I usually put the Authors Note at the end of the chapter, but I just have to be upfront and say... I am incredibly nervous about posting this. I like it. I worked very hard on it. That being said, I am also very vulnerable and insecure about it. I've imagined a million different ways that it could be picked apart and decimated. It could very well be that you won't love this as much as I do. You could even DIS-like it...but I'm just some kid writing fanfiction, doing the best job I know how to do, so please for the love of God, be gentle with me on this one?

To sum up, I'll just say that 1) it starts out silly, and for some people the fourth wall might be more visible than they like it. Sorry if that's the case. 2) it becomes a big deal later on, and I really did my very best to handle it well. Finally, 3) it is an INCREDIBLY LONG CHAPTER. Over 7,500 words. Holy crap. Don't forget snacks and bathroom breaks, okay guys?

When Bruce and Tony left their room, their three fellow Avengers were already waiting for them in the penthouse.

"Hey!" Tony said when he saw Natasha eating leftover take-out on one of his sofas. "Don't eat in my living room!"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "You honestly think I don't have the dexterity to avoid making a mess?"

Tony frowned at that. She had a good point. Still, it was the principal of the thing.

"Couldn't you just move to the kitchen?" Bruce asked nicely. Natasha hesitated for a moment, then got up and stalked over to sit at the bar. Tony wasn't sure exactly why that had worked so well, and when he glanced over at Bruce he was surprised by the look on his face.

He looked incredibly sad.

"What's wrong?" Tony whispered in his ear. Bruce just looked at him and shook his head. Tony stared back, trying to urge him into speaking with a look and a gesture. He wasn't giving up that easily.

Bruce relented and whispered back in Tony's ear. "I think she's still afraid of me."

"Even after seeing goofy Hulk?" Tony asked.

Bruce shrugged. "I don't think she's used to things scaring her."

"What are you two love birds whispering about?" Clint asked from his spot on the couch. Natasha had previously been blocking him from view, so Tony hadn't seen the way his heavy boots were resting on Tony's coffee table. Clint was sitting there, looking blatantly at home, reading a magazine-

"Hey! Don't read that!" Tony stomped behind the sofa and snatched it from him.

"You two are real cute together," Clint grinned. Tony simply scowled down at the magazine, one of the tabloids that Pepper had left behind the day before.

"I know we're cute. We're fucking adorable. Now don't read this shit."

Clint shrugged. "It was just lying around."

"It's okay, Tony. Millions of other people have read it," Bruce said, going to sit down on the couch next to Clint and taking the magazine from Tony's hand.

Bruce didn't know Clint very well. They hadn't gotten the opportunity to meet at all on the helicarrier, and Bruce hadn't been mentally present for long during the battle. Their encounters afterwards had been brief and few. Still though, he thought he liked Clint. There was an unwavering calmness to him that he felt secure with. Clint wasn't afraid of him the way Natasha was, although he was reasonably wary. And the things he'd said the other day…gave Bruce the impression that he was a good person.

"So," Steve spoke up from his spot on the other sofa. "What will you two be doing today?" he directed at Tony and Bruce.

"Well, I've always wanted to fuck someone on a lab table, so we might do that-" Tony said, annoyed that Steve was asking about their business.

"Behave," Bruce warned, not looking up from the magazine he was now flipping through.

Tony gave a twisted frown. "I'm…sorry," he said to Steve, each syllable wracked with strain. "I meant…noneofyourdamnbusiness."

"Jesus, Tony," Bruce sighed in exasperation. "He didn't ask for your social security number, he just wants to know what our plans are."

"Well I don't want him following me around, peering over my shoulder!" Tony said. Then, as an after thought, "Besides, I don't know my social security number."

"Tony, they're here to watch me," Bruce reminded him. "That's they're job, not to follow you around."

Tony slumped over the back of the sofa. "Are you planning on not being near me?" he whined.

"You are so pathetic," Natasha commented from the kitchen, her voice never leaving a deadpan. "Bruce, how do you reconcile the fact that you're dating an immense child?"

"Well, he is kind of sexy…" Bruce replied.

Tony's eyes went wide. "You…you just…" he began, amazed that Bruce had actually just said the word "sexy," out loud, in front of people. Tony fell into a moment of stunned silence.

"Banner!" Clint said approvingly. "You really are good at this whole 'getting Stark to shut up' thing."

Bruce looked away, a little unsure how to deal with the friendly praise. He wasn't used to casual approval. Tony's response, however, he had anticipated perfectly, and it made him grin.

"You called me sexy!" Tony cheered, having successfully processed that input. "You did! I heard it! I have witnesses!" Bruce rolled his eyes and smiled, aware of the way Tony was jumping up and down with glee. "Steve," Tony said, latching his attention onto the Captain. "Did you not just observe this man right here refer to me as sexy?"

And for Christ's sake, if the man didn't look like he hadn't even recovered from Tony's 'fucking on a lab table' comment. His eyes were wide and his mouth was clamped shut and his cheeks were red.

"You're a worse prude than Bruce is!" Tony moaned.

"Give the guy a break," Clint said. "He's like a ninety something year old virgin."

Tony froze. Pieces of information started to click together in his head. It was true. Steve Rogers was probably the oldest virgin of all time. Why had he never realized that before? Bless Hawkeye, bless him to Tibet and back, because if that wasn't humiliation gold.

"Oh my god, you are!" Tony jeered, going as far as to point a finger in Steve's direction.

"So?" Steve said, not entirely managing to sound un-defensive, but doing a fairly good job. "I was asleep for seventy of those years. I'm only really twenty-three."

Tony couldn't help it. His mouth dropped open at that.

"Holy crap, you're just a baby!" he said, really never having thought of Steve that way before. Steve acted like such a fuddy duddy old man all the time, and he was such a big hurking muscley thing, it was hard to think of him as just being…just a kid.

"I am not," Steve said sternly. "I've been to war. I'm a grown man."

And really, Tony wasn't going to argue with that, because Steve Rogers was undeniably a man. A man's man. The All-American man. But still…twenty-three. That was half Tony's age.

Tony hopped over the back of the sofa to fall into place between Bruce and Clint.

"It's weird though!" he said. "I'm old enough to be your dad! Except…you're also old enough to be my dad. God, that's just really flipping weird."

"Neither of us are each other's fathers," Steve said, un-amused.

"Well, you're not anyone's father, being a virgin and all," Tony added.

Steve groaned. They were back to that.

"That's okay," Bruce said, still flipping through the magazine. "Tony's a virgin too."

There wasn't a single person besides Bruce in that room who wasn't thinking some version of "what the hell?"

"Um, darling, are you feeling alright?" Tony asked Bruce, reaching out to check his forehead for a fever. "Because I know you know I am anything but."

"Right," Steve said. "Tony's…he's not…"

"He is when it comes to what he wants to do with me," Bruce said with a suggestiveness well disguised as casualness. Bruce simply smirked when he saw Clint raise on eyebrow and mumble "over share" while Steve's face grew red.

Tony gaped at him. "Oh my god! What is this? Didn't I get the safe-word yesterday for talking like this?" He'd never seen Bruce act so…naughty! Bruce was supposed to disapprove of such things.

"Yes," Bruce agreed. "And I'm getting you back. Try stewing in your own personal information being unwillingly shared with the world for a while."

"Babyyyyyy!" Tony whined, flopping backwards into Bruce's lap and throwing his legs over a displeased Clint. "I said I was sorry! I said so! Forgive meeeee."

Bruce glanced down at Tony, forcing himself to smother a smirk.

"What if I want to antagonize you about it first?"

"Oh, for the love of God," Natasha said from the kitchen, throwing her take out box away. "Please don't, I'm not sure I can take much more of this sappy, love-sick moaning."

"Speaking of which!" Tony exclaimed, sitting up. "I want to know what happened after you went after Clint on the elevator!"

"But you never will," Clint said decidedly, shutting him down. Natasha crossed her arms and looked equally unwavering.

"Well…gosh," Tony said sadly. "At least tell me if you two are okay. I'm concerned."

Clint snorted. "Why on Earth would you care? You're just nosy."

"You hurt me, sir!" Tony exclaimed. "Don't you know I totes ship Clintasha?"

He managed to make the only two master assassins he knew blanch and stare at him in stunned amazement with that comment.

"You…you what?" Natasha stammered.

"Did you just say…Clintasha?" Clint asked.

Tony shrugged. "It's an internet thing. You know. They combine peoples names?"

The spy and the archer just stared at him, having no idea what he was talking about.

"You know? Like Branjelina? No?" Tony said, getting the impression that they had better things to do than keep up on the ins and outs of pop culture. At least they got more references than Steve and Thor did. "Well anyway, I made that one up for you after Clint confessed his undying love and devotion to you like a flipping Romeo-Cassanova-Stud Muffin and you cruelly- probably, I'm assuming- rejected him."

"You don't know that," Natasha said, coming to sit down on the sofa next to Steve.

"So you are together?" Tony asked excitedly.

"You don't know that," Clint said.

Tony pouted.

"Why are you two ganging up on me? Clint, don't you want to tell me what happened?"

"Nope," the archer said simply.

Bruce ran a comforting hand through Tony's hair at the little noise of frustration he released.

"Tony, it's okay. Sometimes people's business is their business. You gotta learn to let it go."

Tony let out a wordless sound of complaint.

"For me?" Bruce prompted sweetly.

Tony pouted, but relented. "You fight dirty," he said. "You know I'd do anything for you." He laid back down and nuzzled his head on Bruce's thigh, laying across the cushions. Spurred on by Tony's efforts to take over the couch, Clint moved to sit on top of the sofa's back, out of the way of Tony Stark's legs. He didn't really mind though, he liked being high up and having somewhere to perch.

"So, what are you two?" Steve asked.

"What do you mean?" Bruce responded, confused.

"Your name? Your combined couple name?" Steve explained. Tony couldn't help but find it just a smidge endearing that he would ask. Maybe there was a bit of a dumb puppy quality to the Cap's awkward stick-in-the-mud personality that Tony could maybe sort of half way learn to tolerate a bit. If he was feeling generous.

Bruce smiled at Steve, considering the question.

"I don't know. 'Tony and Bruce,' hmm…Truce?" he suggested.

"That sounds like we just signed a peace treaty," Tony said.

"Well, we can't be Brony, that's that pony thing…" Bruce went on. Tony grinned at that. He loved that Bruce even knew what bronies were. He was pretty sure no one else in the room had any clue.

"What about 'Stanner?' That sounds nice and sexy, doesn't it?" Tony suggested.

Bruce wrinkled his nose. "That makes me think of too many other words, like 'scanner' and 'stamps.'"

"It's a perfectly good name," Tony insisted. "But alright. We'll get more creative. How about… Science Alliance?"

Bruce laughed out loud. Tony grinned.

"Science Boyfriends of utter awesomeness?"

"I like it, but it's a bit long," Bruce smiled.

"What about our alter egos?" Tony asked, immensely enjoying himself. "Black Widow and Hawkeye have endless possibilities… I think 'Black Eye" is the best. How hot is that? It's kinky, just how I imagine they would be," Tony winked at Natasha.

"Stop imagining us being anything, it's creepy," Natasha said in monotone.

"No! I will go down with this ship!" Tony declared.

"I still have no idea what the hell you're talking about with that," Clint said. Tony stuck his tongue out at him.

"You're right about Black Eye sounding cool," Bruce agreed, getting back on point. "But for us there's not much besides 'Iron Hulk' and that's sort of boring."

"Hmmmmm…" Tony said, thinking about it. Then, suddenly, he was rocketing up from Bruce's lap, the idea so clear in his eyes that you could have easily imagined a light bulb lighting up above his head.

"Rage Against the Machine!" he cried, making Bruce laugh and grin, even managing to elicit a chuckle from Barton, who at the very least had heard of the band.

"It's perfect!" Tony cried with joy. But his good cheer was abruptly cut off when he noticed Steve sulking.

"Steve, why are you sulking?" Tony asked.

"I'm not sulking," Steve said defensively.

"Yes, yes you are…" Tony narrowed his eyes. "Is it because you're the fifth wheel and don't have anyone to come up with cool combo couple names with?"

Steve twiddled his thumbs and looked away. "…No," he said, unconvincingly.

"Awwww, Stevie, that's sorta cute. Don't worry, we'll find a nice girl for you and re-arrange every single letter in your names, how's that-"

Tony was interrupted by Bruce.

"Oh my god!" Bruce said, and immediately clamped a hand over his mouth.

Everyone looked at him curiously.

"What is it?" Tony asked. Bruce simply shook his head vigorously, looking at Tony with wide eyes. "Bruce, come on," Tony said, pulling Bruce's hand away from his mouth.

Bruce shook his head again. "It was just the play on words, it just popped into my head, it didn't mean anything. I wasn't even thinking about-"

"Darling, what on Earth are you talking about?" Tony asked.

Bruce stared at him with wide eyes. "No, it'll make you mad and make Steve uncomfortable…"

Tony raised an eyebrow at Bruce. "Darling, I could never get mad at you over a pun, and Steve's probably been in a perpetual state of discomfort since he saw his first Victoria's Secret ad-"

"It's kinda true," Steve supplemented, also curious about what Bruce had been thinking.

"See?" Tony said. "Go ahead. Share."

Bruce looked at each of his four fellow Avengers hesitantly, then dropped his eyes and said quietly:

"Stark Spangled Banner."

There was a moment of silence before Tony and Clint both burst out laughing, and Bruce could have imagined it, but he thought he might have heard the softest chuckle from Natasha as well. Even Steve was smiling.

"Am I 'Spangled?'" he asked, oddly pleased just to be included.

"Oh my god!" Tony said. "That is too perfect! Steve, I don't even like you and I want to have a three-way with you just to make this a thing!"

Steve valiantly managed to not become too terribly awkward at that, focusing instead on taking Tony's comment about not liking him in stride. Steve knew he didn't really mean it. Tony was just…prickly.

"Um, can I just veto that right now?" Bruce asked, doing a little bit worse than Steve at not taking the suggested three-way too seriously. Having a much clearer idea than Steve did on what a three-way actually was probably made the difference.

"Yeah, you're right," Tony agreed, thinking about it and frowning. "Probably wouldn't work out well, considering that if anyone besides me ever touched you I would grab the nearest sharp object and stab them to death."

"Wow," Natasha said, raising one red eyebrow. "A little possessive there?" she commented.

Tony slung his arm over Bruce's shoulder and looked fierce.

"Yes. Mine," he growled.

Bruce smiled. He really didn't have a problem with that. Tony grinned at Bruce, their brown eyes sweeping over each other, and the overwhelming need to kiss called to them both.

"Steve, close your eyes and think of America, this is not for you to see," Tony said, pulling Bruce against him. Tony was distantly aware of Steve saying "I don't have a problem with…" before he trailed off awkwardly, but Tony was mostly just thinking about Bruce locked against his lips.

"Nn, Tony," Bruce said, pushing Tony gently away after a moment. "We can't just make out in front of everyone."

"I accept!" Tony said with a flourish, jumping up from the sofa and pulling Bruce with him.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Bruce asked, bewildered.

"Why, your invitation to go make out in my lab of course," Tony said.

Bruce snorted in amusement. "Is that what that was?" he asked.

"Yes," Tony said, grabbing Bruce by the hand and pulling him to the elevator.

"Gonna go do science and suck face!" Tony called to the other Avengers. He paused at the elevator doors and looked at Natasha. "Feel the need to keep an eye on us?" he asked.

Natasha gave him a look that revealed none of her inner thoughts. "No, that's okay," she said. "Go on."

Tony grinned.

"Who knows!" he said as the elevator doors closed. "I may have lost the last of my virginity by the time I get back!"

Tony saw the uncomfortable look on the Cap's face just before the doors closed, and grinned in satisfaction for a moment before looking carefully at Bruce.

"You know I only said that to mess with Steve, right? I didn't really mean anything…"

Bruce smiled. "It's fine, Tony. I didn't take you seriously. Sue me, but I can't help having this naïve expectation that I'll be properly seduced by you when the time comes."

Tony beamed at him. "Yes, you will be!" he agreed.

"Good," Bruce smiled back. "Because for once the thought of intimacy doesn't terrify me, and I plan on enjoying that."

Tony looked at Bruce thoughtfully.

"I may be a super hero," Tony said. "But I've never felt like I had an actual super power until now. I wish I knew what made me different. Why exactly you feel safe with me."

"I've been thinking about that," Bruce said. "And I was thinking that maybe since…since the Hulk has actually been a part of me, well, my whole life really, not just since the gamma radiation… maybe he was what was causing my problems all that time."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Well…people could get close to me, but they could never get close to him. To all of me, I guess. But you have. He likes you. So I guess… I guess that's why I feel like I'd be okay. Because I know every part of me is safe with you."

Tony smiled. "That's really sweet, Bruce."

Bruce shrugged. "I don't see how," he said, stepping off the elevator and into Tony's lab. "What's so sweet about needing to get past a giant green monster in order to get into my pants?"

"Okay, first off," Tony said. "He's not a monster, and secondly-"

Tony stopped, falling silent. Bruce looked back at him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I just, I…" Tony glanced up at Bruce. "If we have sex, you don't think he'll remember it, do you?"

Bruce stared at Tony. That was…not something Bruce had considered.

"Because, I'm sorry, that would just be really awkward," Tony said, looking away and going a bit red. "I don't know how I'd look the big guy in the eyes…"

"Um, well," Bruce said, rubbing the back of his head and looking thoughtful. "You probably have a better idea of what he remembers than I do, since you've actually talked to him about it…"

"He said that he thinks most of what you do is boring, but he remembers interesting things and things that upset him."

"So…" Bruce trailed off. "Think he'd find sex interesting and/or upsetting?"

Tony frowned. "That's actually a really good question. The last part. What if he doesn't like it? Do you know if arousal makes you transform?"

Bruce blushed. "Well, you've proved that it doesn't in small doses at least."

Tony grinned. "Aw, thanks. But seriously, sex with me is not going to be like making out with me. It's going to be about six trillion times better. Think you can handle that?"

Bruce shrugged uncertainly. "It's always just been anger, danger, and pain before…but those are all primal instincts, and sex is primal..."

Bruce frowned deeply.

"I can't believe I didn't give this more consideration before I agreed to… I just feel so safe with you, you know? And I do want…" Bruce trailed off, growing upset. He should have known better than to think that he could just have this. That he was his own to give. His life didn't really belong to him, he knew that, but Tony had made him forget. He'd wanted nothing more than to be allowed just this one little piece of connection and…and normalcy.

"Hey," Tony said, concerned. "Hey, it's okay." He wrapped Bruce in his arms. "We'll figure out a way," Tony said, kissing Bruce's forehead. "We're scientists, remember? We'll just be scientific about it. We'll study it step by step, collecting data and accounting for all our variables.." he trailed off, giving Bruce a reassuring smile. There was nothing in the world that he wanted more than to put him at ease. He couldn't stand to see Bruce, so adorable and dear to him, feeling upset. The need to soothe him was omnipotent within him.

"So what are you suggesting," Bruce asked curiously. "That we simply approach this like a cause and effect formula? Input said amount of arousal and record the resulting urge to transform? Then proceed from there?" Bruce was trying to figure out how one could possibly attempt to study such a thing.

"Mmm, that sounds really nice…" Tony said, resting his face in the crook of Bruce's neck.

He had suggested it seriously as an actual solution to the problem, but Tony couldn't help but find himself irresistibly aroused by the thought of turning their intimate liaisons into a scientific experiment. It occurred to him that Bruce was probably the one person on the face of the planet who he could combine his scientific passion and amorous passion with.

"How exactly does that sound nice?" Bruce asked with a hint of confusion.

"Mmm, slowly getting to know exactly how you work…" He slid his hands down Bruce's back to rest on his ass, pressing Bruce into him. "What sets you off…" He lifted one hand to slip under Bruce's shirt, brushing against the sensitive skin of his side. "What gets your heart rate up and makes you feel primal," Tony trailed kisses across Bruce's neck.

He realized now that while they'd been talking about the dangers and consequences of having sex, a part of him had just been listening to the "having sex" part. He felt slightly guilty for that, but he wasn't doing anything wrong by pressing Bruce against him, touching him softly and kissing the tender areas of his neck. He was merely starting on the experiment, he rationalized. This was simply a step that had to be taken if they were going to learn more about Bruce's condition. Tony tugged at Bruce's shirt, exposing his collar bone. He gently grazed his teeth across it, making Bruce shiver.

"Tony," Bruce moaned. "You need to stop... I'm seeing a flaw in your plan."

"Which is?" Tony asked, sucking on the sensitive skin of Bruce's neck. He was now irrevocably distracted from any thoughts of caution that might have concerned him just minutes before. All that existed was Bruce's warm body pressed against his.

"Mm, this is going to deteriorate into more arousal than experiment," Bruce stated. "Because if you're trying to study the effect that arousal has on me and providing that arousal at the same time, how are you going to record the data?" Bruce asked, courageously clinging to whatever resistance he could bare to muster. He was enjoying this just as much as Tony was.

"I'll invent something to do it for me," Tony said simply, moving his attention from Bruce's neck to Bruce's lower lip, just barely nibbling at it. Then he swept his tongue across it, slipping in and then out of Bruce's mouth, making him gasp.

"Invent something to record the data or to arouse me?" Bruce asked, breathless.

Tony pulled back to look him in the eyes, the fires of passion burning in his gaze. "Dr. Banner. I am shocked. Are you suggesting that I use stimulating devices on you?" Tony grabbed Bruce's hips and pulled them forcefully against his. "As much as it would pain me to give up the privilege of doing it personally, that sounds fucking hot." Tony bucked his hips against Bruce's to punctuate the point.

"Oh God, Tony stop," Bruce moaned, becoming equally riled up. This wasn't like the times they'd made out, when all the focus had been on lips and tongues and faces. Their desire was dense throughout their whole bodies, spread like wildfire between them by Tony's wandering hands. Bruce was having a hard time remembering the concern that had spurred his words just minutes before. He knew that there was a problem with what was happening, but that information was stored in his brain, which had been almost completely overridden by his body at that point.

Tony considered Bruce's request. How could Tony stop when they both wanted it so badly? Tony couldn't even remember what they'd been talking about a minute ago. All he could comprehend was his own desire, so tantalizingly reflected in Bruce. He could see that restraint, that repression the physicist carried around inside him, and he wanted nothing more than to break it wide open, letting out the passion that Bruce kept locked down so tightly. He knew it was there, trapped inside, and he could feel the desire radiating off Bruce in waves, making Tony dizzy, getting him high.

"Touch me," Tony whispered in Bruce's ear, begging. It was a dirty trick to play, putting the control in Bruce's hands, making him the one responsible for resisting.

And it worked. Bruce looked him in the eyes, a desperation there so palpable it nearly shocked Tony. Before he knew it, Tony was being pushed backwards until his ass hit the edge of one of the lab tables. Bruce was pressed against him, pinning him there, grabbing all the layers of Tony's shirts together and pulling them forcefully over his head.

I think he's stronger than me, Tony realized for the first time. There was something so strangely appealing about that. That just as a regular human, Bruce was strong. Tony felt a rush of lust hit him hard in his abdomen, sending sparks of heat shooting downwards, making his legs go weak.

As soon as his shirts were off, Bruce's attention went straight to the arc reactor, dragging his tongue over it. Tony shuddered and yelped. He was beginning to think that the arc reactor had become like a phantom limb, something he could feel despite there being no nerve endings involved. He felt the strangest, strongest impulse to grab Bruce and shove his face against the arc, but he resisted, and the need proved to be a fleeting one. As much as he enjoyed the attention paid to his arc reactor, desire was coursing much more powerfully through the biological parts of Tony's body.

"Tony. Tony, no. We shouldn't," Bruce said when he managed to regain a bit of control. "What happened to being properly seduced?"

"If you tell me you're anything less than utterly seduced at this point, you're lying," Tony growled.

"What about being careful?" Bruce asked, moving on to his next point of resistance. "Scientific? Testing my response to arousal slowly?"

Tony had an argument for that too.

"Bruce, how turned on are you right now? Do you think you could get any hornier than this?" Tony sure knew he couldn't.

Bruce shook his head. He felt the same way. On fire. He was already at six trillion times better than just making out.

"And do you feel anything close to transforming?" Tony asked, seriously caring about the answer, but thinking he already knew what it was.

Bruce shook his head again. To be completely honest, he didn't. In all his time since the accident, this was the least he had ever felt like transforming. Usually the Hulk was an ever present force, rage filling Bruce's head at all time, whether at the forefront or as background noise. But now, all he could think about was Tony and how good it would feel. The Hulk was as far from Bruce's mind as a forgotten memory.

"There," Tony said. "We tested it, we just skipped all the gradual steps."

Tony started kissing at Bruce's neck again. "Looks like we're good to go," he said. Dear God he wanted to be good to go. He wanted it to be happening, to be real, to be now.

"But…but we don't know what we're doing," Bruce said, not yet having exhausting his supply of roadblocks and hurdles. "I mean, neither of us has ever…"

Tony drew abruptly away from Bruce's neck and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Top or bottom?" he asked.

Bruce stared at him, stunned, too overwhelmed to speak.

"Bruce, top or bottom?" he repeated. "This isn't exactly rocket science, and if it were I'd be able to figure that out too. I'm not ignorant on this. I have internet access after all. What do you think I was doing on those nights when I couldn't sleep?"

Bruce's face turned a deep crimson.

"Bu-…but what about the Other Guy?" Bruce didn't know why he had slipped back into his old term for him. Maybe he was just too embarrassed to say his name out loud. "Like you said, what if he remembers? That could really, really complicate-"

Tony pressed his lips against Bruce's, cutting him off.

"Bruce," he said. "I've realized that the only fuck I give is the one I want to have with you, right here, right now. If the big guy remembers, I'll deal with it, because I'm not going to let an awkward moment and a difficult explanation keep us from this. You deserve to have this. For once, just let someone else worry about dealing with the Hulk, okay? You don't have to. If he remembers, I'm the one who will have to talk to him and I will bare that cross for you. I will bare the hell out of it."

Bruce's heart swelled with emotion. Tony was so good to him. He wanted nothing more than to be with him, and Tony did seem to have beaten down all of his resistances so far. But still…

"We don't have lubrication," he blurted, the thought occurring to him. "We should have that." It was a legitimate concern. All of Bruce's alter-ego issues aside, they were still just two men who were going to be intimate, and that was just as much a part of their reality as turning green was.

"Bruce…" Tony whispered. "We're in a lab. We're geniuses. I know for a fact that I could make lube for us from the supplies in that cabinet across the room, right behind you."

"You know the chemical composition of sexual lubricant?" Bruce asked.

Tony tsked. "Of course I do. I'm a genius and a reformed skank. How could I not know these things?"

Bruce continued to stare at him. "You're going to have sex with me with home-made lube?" he asked, a bit amazed.

Tony tilted his head to the side. "That was the plan," he said simply.

Bruce looked down and blushed. "Is it weird that I think that's hot?"

Tony grinned and laughed. "Wait right here," he said, and kissed Bruce's forehead before heading to the previously mentioned cabinet. Bruce sat up on the table and swung his feet back and forth nervously while he waited for Tony to come back. He kept checking himself for any sign of the Hulk, but he wasn't there. Not sitting dully on his chest or resting heavily in the pit of his stomach. Not even buzzing around his brain like he had before Bruce's last transformation. Bizarrely, Bruce felt strangely alone for a moment. But then Tony returned and Bruce told himself it was simply Tony he'd been missing, not the Hulk. Of course not the Hulk.

"Okay," Tony whispered in his ear. "We're all good. Anything else you can think of against this?" Tony asked.

Bruce thought long and hard. He really did. He knew that he had to be certain, but he couldn't come up with anything. He wanted it. Badly. From the moment he had first realized his feelings and kissed Tony, he had been craving the man. He had managed to keep it at a slow simmer, but in that moment he had begun to boil over. He felt like there was a gaping hole inside of his soul that only Tony could possibly fill. He needed Tony, or he'd break apart into pieces. There was no fear. None. To experience this kind of arousal with no hint of terror for the first time in his life...it was utterly intoxicating, irresistible, overwhelming.

"No," Bruce finally said. "No, I…oh Tony, please," he whimpered, finally giving in to the want.

Tony grinned, finally allowed to commence with what he wanted so powerfully.

"Why are you still wearing this shirt?" Tony asked crossly, grabbing it by the edges and tearing it open, sending buttons flying across the lab.

Somehow, naturally, Bruce ended up lying back on the table with Tony hovering above him, hands on either side of his head, straddling him.

"You, ah-" Tony licked his lips distractedly. "Never answered my question," he said. Bruce knew which question he meant.

"I don't know," Bruce mumbled. "I don't know what I am. But…" he looked Tony in the eyes, and in a moment of surprisingly confident honesty said, "But I think you're a top."

Tony nodded. He thought he was too, at least to start out with. He was glad they were on the same page.

Knowing that this was really going to happen, Tony took the moment to lay across him and bring their lips together, kissing him deeply, focusing on nothing more than the rhythm of their mouths as their lips melded together in unity. They could each hear "I love you," as clearly as if they'd read each other's minds, although they'd spoken nothing out loud. That moment more than anything else seemed to clarify with all certainty that they were each other's other halves. It was such a beautiful moment, filled with the purest expression of their love, their need to connect to each other. Tony with Bruce, Bruce with Tony.

But then Tony remembered that they were still wearing pants and he simply could not abide by that. He pulled away and started undoing Bruce's. Bruce lifted his body from the table so that Tony could tear them off of him, boxers and all, leaving him naked.

Bruce sat up and unzipped Tony's pants, but wasn't in a position to do more than that. Tony looked him directly in the eyes, and removed his pants without breaking eye contact. Shivers stampeded down Bruce's spine.

For a few moments their eyes were full of each other, taking in bare flesh, until Tony laid a gentle hand on Bruce's chest and eased him back down, once again positioned above him.

Their eyes caught and for a moment all they could do was drink in every detail of that moment. They could both feel the hot breath of the other's heavy breathing on their bare skin. They were flushed, blood rushing through every vein in their bodies like wind through a tunnel. Everything felt surface level, like they could brush across each other's skin and touch their very souls.

The need. The burning, overwhelming need inside of them was threatening to utterly take them over. Neither of them was sure where they felt the passion stronger, in their groins or in their hearts, because as much as they were dying for that sweet, primal release, equally powerful was the desire to connect, just connect, to be a part of each other for one glorious instant in time and space.

Tony grabbed at Bruce, kissing his desperately. He loved him. Loved him so much. He couldn't believe that less than a month ago he hadn't even known how much he needed this man.

Bruce gripped Tony in return, wrapping his arms around his back and pulling him forcefully against his chest, feeling the smooth metal of the arc reactor press into him. For once in his life he forgot any and all ideas about restraint, about being judged, or about making mistakes. He didn't care. He was with Tony and he could do whatever he wanted. He slipped his tongue in Tony's mouth and made him groan.

"Oh, fuck Bruce," Tony whispered.

And that's exactly what they did.

Afterwards, they lay side by side on the table, panting and sweating, in a state of dazed bliss.

"Tony?" Bruce asked after having laid there long enough for his thoughts to come back to Earth.

"Hm?" Tony answered, his thoughts still rushing from the sensory overload he'd experienced.

"There are two things that I want right now," Bruce began. "One: food, because I just realized we never actually ate breakfast, and two: to get in an actual bed and snuggle the crap out of you. This table has served us well, but I want a mattress."

Tony grinned. "If this is what you require, this is what you shall receive."

They scrambled back into their clothes, first having to hunt down Bruce's pants, and boarded the elevator.

"They're going to know," Bruce said. "You tore my shirt apart," he laughed, looking down at the decimated article of clothing currently exposing the length of his chest.

"You could have one of mine," Tony offered. "Oh wait, no, that would only be even more obvious," he said after re-thinking it.

Bruce chuckled. "I don't really mind if they know."

Tony cocked his head to the side. "You won't be embarrassed? I thought this sort of thing embarrassed you. Isn't that why I got gamma'd yesterday?"

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Tony, you pissed me off yesterday because you were bringing up a discussion that should have been private, in front of everyone. We're adults. I don't care if they know we're having sex, I'd just like to keep the details between us."

Tony frowned thoughtfully. "Well, you do know that they're going to pick up on some of the details at least, right? I mean…for instance, the location. They know we went down to my lab."

Bruce blushed and looked away. "Well… I suppose that can't be helped."

Tony smirked. "I'm a little amazed you went for that. On top of the table and everything. Seems a little too kinky for you."

Bruce let out a huff. "Well how was I supposed to resist? You were involved. That pretty much makes all other details irrelevant.

"Aww," Tony smiled. "I love you too." He drew in close to Bruce and embraced him with a kiss.

When the doors opened, Tony decided to at least pretend what they'd done wasn't utterly obvious. If privacy was something Bruce cared about, he was going to start trying harder at it, even if it was futile in this case.

With that in mind, Tony peered out of the elevator at his fellow Avengers. They were all sitting on the sofas; Steve reading the paper, Natasha cleaning her gun, and Clint surfing channels on TV. Clint was the first to look up and spot them. His eyes caught on them and his expression went slack.

"Oh," he said in surprise, making the other two look up as well. "I really thought you guys were kidding about fucking on the lab tables…" he said, eyes wide at the disheveled sight of them

Tony shrugged. "We were."

Natasha raised a single red eyebrow. "So...Bruce's shirt just tore all by itself?" she asked skeptically.

Tony shrugged again while Bruce walked into the kitchen and went to root around in the fridge, leaving Tony to deal with the babysitters. "Funny how that happens," Tony said dismissively in response to Natasha's question.

"And your hair," Clint went on. "Looks like a sweaty tornado hit it…just cuz?"

Tony ran a hand over his hair and gave them a blank look. "We were doing science?" he tried weakly.

Bruce returned with various food stuffs thrown into a large bowl. He may not be able to cook, but he could locate things that didn't need it well enough.

"C'mon," he said, the need to fill his belly and spoon Tony within an inch of his life becoming urgent.

Tony grinned. "Okay." They started to head to their room when Steve stood abruptly. They both realized that up until that point there had been far less of a reaction from Steve than they would have expected.

"I am very disappointed in both of you," he said coldly.

That froze everyone in their tracks. For a moment they were all simply silent as Steve glared at the two scientists, and the two scientists stared blankly back at him.

"Excuse me?" Bruce spluttered eventually, completely thrown off by the confrontation.

"You're not even married!" Steve huffed, throwing his arms out.

Bruce stared at him for a long moment, stunned and silent, before bursting out into laughter. He laughed so hard that tears started to form in his eyes, and Tony had to take the food away from him so that he wouldn't drop it.

"What?" Steve asked, put off by Bruce's reaction.

"It's just-ahahahha- oh I'm sorry- heh heh- it's just…a day ago it made you uncomfortable that we were together at all, and now you want us to get married? The very fact that you just assume we can get married…are you sure you're from the forties?" Bruce asked, still chuckling.

Steve frowned. "But…you're together, and you love each other. Why wouldn't you get married? Isn't this what you were talking about when you said these sort of relationships are more accepted now?"

"Same-sex marriage isn't legal in most of the country, Steve," Bruce told him.

"It is in New York," Natasha said almost absent mindedly. But they all knew that they happened to be in New York, so she must have been making a point.

Steve looked back and forth between her and Bruce. He was about to say something more when Tony cut him off.

"Look," he said, sounding irritated. "I know you're confused, and have all these misplaced morals that you don't know how to deal with, but figure them out before you start trying to apply them to us, okay? There's nothing wrong with what we just did, not a damn thing, and if you try to tell me that there was then I'll kick your ass."

Tony gave Steve a hard stare before grabbing Bruce's hand and dragging him over to their bedroom, holding the door open for him. Bruce looked at Tony, then at Steve, then shrugged and went inside.

Before following after him however, Tony did something that shocked each of his teammates.

He gave Steve a quick, fleeting, apologetic look.

Because in all honesty, he'd wanted to give Steve Rogers a damn hug when he'd said that he and Bruce should get married. Although he had truly been defensive in the face of Steve's morality, his main goal had been to end the conversation and keep his true desires from Bruce.

Because he was happy. Tony Stark was the happiest man on the face of the planet, and the fact that marrying Bruce would only make him happier didn't change that. He was determined not to forget that. He had just made the man he loved his lover, and he was going to take a page out of Bruce's book and just live in that moment. Because out of all the moments in Tony's life, this one deserved to be lived in more than any other.

That was what he was thinking of while he held Bruce in his arms, snacking on the food Bruce had grabbed from the fridge, simply laying in bed together.

They cuddled together in silence for a while before Bruce spoke.

"Tony…" he began. "He's coming back slowly, but…I'm so happy right now, I can barely feel the Hulk."

Tony was quiet a moment. "…that's good, right?" he asked.

"I don't know," Bruce mumbled. "It feels good. It feels amazing. But it worries me. Things are becoming unpredictable with him. He shows up when I'm not angry, goes away and actually lets me be happy…who knows what else might start happening? If I can't predict him, how can I control him?"

Tony leaned over and kissed the top of Bruce's head. "Don't worry. Whatever happens, I'll be here to look after you. I'll make sure you're safe."

There was that feeling again, swelling up inside Bruce's heart, that feeling of utter safety that Tony constantly inspired. Giving his body to him had only helped solidify the flawless trust that he had in Tony Stark. He wanted so badly to trust himself half as much, a quarter as much…but he still needed time.

As long as Tony was willing to give him that time though, and as long as that time could be filled with precious moments like this, he felt like he was doing alright. He tried to remember why he had put up all that resistance, why he'd felt the need to fight something that had been so right.

The other day he'd wondered if he even knew how to be happy. He was starting to think that he didn't, but that Tony did, and that he was going to show him.

Bruce snuggled closer to Tony, feeling more whole and complete than he had in his entire life.

Tony chuckled softly. "We are so going to end up taking another nap…"

Bruce grinned. He thought that Tony was probably right about that, but he didn't care. He was with Tony and he could do whatever he wanted.

It was the best feeling in the world.

A/N cont.

As always, please review.