Constructive advice is always highly appreciated! Reviews are very much wanted :)

Let me know what you think.

This is going to be a five shot probably. Or a six shot, I'm not sure yet.

Also, this story is inspired by 'The Group Hug Project' from Student of Dreams.

/s/8246930/1/The-Group-Hug-Project

Read it, it's great!

A hug is a marvelous thing.

It's not marvelous in terms of kissing or having sex. Other than the obvious body-to-body contact, they are completely different things. Hugs are a point in time where everything stands still. Your heart rate lowers, your muscles ease. Like a little light in your body, just steadily giving off a nice, evenly spread warmth, heating up every cold piece of your body and soul all at once.

Nothing is quite as satisfying as that.

After the battle in New York, Tony had invited Bruce to come and stay with him and Pepper in the new and improved Stark Tower. He initially wanted to decline, but Tony had been persistent to the point of annoying. So Bruce had said yes. And boy was he glad.

Living with Tony and Pepper was the by far best thing that had happened to him since Betty. They completely took him in, gave him a room, a place to stay, a place to work. But more importantly, they gave him a home. Pepper as much as Tony. Even though she was often away, she never failed to make him feel loved. As soon as he had taken residence in Stark Tower, she had taken care of him like she had never done anything else. She bought him clothes, and made sure his favorite brand of tea was always in stock, though he'd never asked her for anything. And not just with material things either. She listened to him when he needed to vent, she subtly took Tony for a business talk whenever he felt stressed out. Somehow, she knew exactly what he needed, when he needed it, even if he himself didn't know.

But then again, it was probably how she had kept Tony alive all those years.

Even when she went on a business trip, she left orders for JARVIS, making sure Tony (and now Bruce) ate and slept at all, because really, otherwise they would just work themselves to death, and be perfectly happy in the process. Tony was worse than Bruce though, and Pepper seemed to be a little more content when she discovered that at least one of them had the sanity not to let them starve.

It was then, on a fine Monday morning, that she walked into the lab to announce an emergency departure to Japan. It was not uncommon she left suddenly, so neither Tony or Bruce was startled when she told them she would be going right then.

So Tony kissed her, like he always did, and she promised to come back to him as soon as possible, like she always did. Then she surprisingly walked up to Bruce, and pulled him into a warm embrace.

Even though she'd been taking care of him for the last few months, she had never hugged him before.
In fact, Bruce had already been going for the wave, when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him. Wide-eyed, he stood while she squeezed him. Then she pulled back, smiled at him lovingly, and walked out of the lab with a last bye to Tony.

Bruce couldn't help but stare at the place she'd disappeared.

"You really suck at hugging, you know that?" Tony informed him, looking at him curiously.

. "Eh…" he said, snapping awake, flushing a nice shade of burgundy.

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, what did you say? I couldn't quite catch that."

Damnit. Bruce licked his lips nervously. "I'm not exactly used to, well, you know," he fiddled, ".…people… hugging me."

Tony hopped onto his table. "You don't have people hugging you?" Incredulous radiated of his face. "By 'people', you mean ignorant bastards who only see you as a prize-winning monkey or a threat, right?" he asked, popping a blueberry in his mouth. "Well, they don't count."

"There aren't that many other people," he contradicted.

Tony pursed his lips comically, frowning at the wall, and shrugged.

"Well, there's me for one," he summed up. "Then there's Cupid and Point break. Steve and Nat, well, they are a little less fond of jolly green maybe, but they really like you, which makes five. Personally, I think it's the whole therapist look. Blueberry?" He held out the bag of dried fruit.
"Including Pepper, that's six people. Then there's Coulson and Hill of course, but as much as they like you, they will never leave the 'ignorant bastards' category. Ever." He paused. "Though, Hill might screw you." Bruce's cheeks darkened again, and he scowled, which made Tony grin. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"So," Tony continued, still grinning, "not everybody in the world is a dick! And you've been to every single third world country there is, helping people. You can't tell me you haven't been hugged.

Bruce couldn't help but smile a little ruefully. "No."

Tony paused. "I won't believe that."

Bruce elaborated. "I don't want them to hug me."

That surprised Tony. "Why not?"

Bruce laughed. "I'm a walking time-bomb. I really can't afford to get attached to people."

If he had looked up right then, he'd seen a flash of hurt in Tony's eyes before the playboy took over again.

"I don't believe you," he stubbornly said. "You just cannot go such a long time without doing the things a man's gotta do."

Bruce arched an eyebrow. "Sex. Really, Tony?"

"Alright, yeah, I agree that it might be a little tricky, but come on! It's sex!" He all but whined.

Bruce snorted. "Tony, heart rate, remember?"

Tony grumbled. "You didn't even try, did you?"

He shook his head, smiling. "Well, no. Obviously. Someone could get hurt."

"That really is your favorite excuse, isn't it. Someone could get hurt."

"It's not an excuse, Tony. It's reality."

"No, it's your lack of self-esteem," Tony said. Then, after a silent moment, "but you still had a hug right?"

"No."

"Dude, how can you still be alive."

Bruce then pressed his lips in a tight line and averted his eyes awkwardly. Tony immediately regretted his words. He knew Bruce had attempted suicide. Even probably more often than he wanted to know.

He anguished."Look- all I'm trying to say is that you deserve to be hugged, Bruce. You do. And I just find it really hard to choke down that there are so many rats of asses out there who can't see that."

Bruce was silent for a moment. Then he nodded, acknowledging Tony, immediately followed by an apologetically headshake and he looked at him determinately.

"It's for the better," he said. It was clear the conversation was over.

Tony looked at his partner for a long few minutes, trying to process the idea of not being willingly touched all that time. His stomach clenched angrily at the thought. It wasn't natural. Everyone needed someone to hug them. How could Bruce not see that.

He shook his head in sadly and slid off the table.

"I really don't see how that's better, Bruce."