Only a Time Bomb @onlyatimebomb - Tumblr Blog

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

Tony smirked at Bruce a across the table and shook his head slightly. “You should. You are a hero, after all. Two times over, kinda.” He told him, looking up to the waitress when she approached and ordering a coffee asking her to bring a soda when the pizza was ready.

When she walked away, he turned his attention back to Bruce and rolled his eyes even though there was obvious amusement visible on his face. “I guess you’re one of the lucky ones who get that mental image. It’s one of the few things I would not be okay with the general public seeing, so you should be honored.” He said as the waitress came back with their drinks. Tony picked up the coffee and blew on it for just a moment before taking a drink.

Tony raised an eyebrow and grinned over the rim of the mug. “Does my filter alone not show how well it works? I mean I’m practically an angel, Brucie.” He quipped, putting on one of his best innocent faces. “What, do I offend you with my public usage of words such as fuck, shit, asshat, and cumquat?”

Bruce chuckled, taking a sip of his water. "Not me, really, remember?" he pointed out, ignoring the few other people in the pizzeria who were taking notice of their presence now. That, he was used to. "I think I'd rather go without all the notice, to be honest. Even now."

He took a long look at Tony, and then smirked. "So if I slipped that into an interview, you'd be upset?" he teased, though he was certain Tony knew he would never do it. The telling, or the interview at all. He'd turned down so many requests for interviews that he didn't think he could count them all if he tried. If he'd accepted every request, he might be as rich as Tony by now- but it wasn't worth the money, in his opinion.

"Practically an angel, huh?" he repeated, and then he gave Tony a confused look. "Cumquat? Really? Of all the completely inappropriate things you've been caught saying in public, you're going to go with cumquat?"

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

Tony shrugged and kissed him back, bringing his unoccupied hand to rub at the back of his neck. “No, it’s fine I don’t really blame you for asking questions. I mean hell, I definitely had some. It doesn’t make much sense unless you hear the whole story and knew my father, I guess.” He told him with a small self deprecating laugh. He hadn’t ever said much to Bruce about his parents because he didn’t like to dwell on the past, especially when it just brought up bad memories and the yearning for his mother’s love that he’d been torn away from when he was only seven in order to attend a boarding school at his father’s wishes. But maybe now was the time for it. His mind had been occupied with memories of both the elder Starks lately, and it might have done him some good to actually talk about those things rather than keep them all bottled up and drinking until he was numb. It seemed like an option that his liver might be thankful for.

Tony allowed himself to be pulled forward and was soon by Bruce’s side rather than following behind him, and he let his hand slide into the pocket of his jeans casually. “Honestly?” He said, taking a moment to look around the street, looking at all the storefronts and neon lights. “I’m still trying to figure that out…” Tony chewed the inside of his cheek as he debated, his eyes scanning the area as he thought about where to stop for a bite to eat. His eyes fell on a small hole in the wall pizza joint, and when the smell hit him, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to pass the place. “Pizza?”

Without waiting for a proper response, Tony led Bruce towards the restaurant and let out a low groan when his stomach rumbled at the smell. Yeah, this was as far as he was going. He stepped into the line and looked over the different pizza options. “One large pizza with everything if you would, my good man.” Tony told the man behind the counter who nodded and tossed him two cups, telling him that ‘heroes eat and drink for free’ and nodding at both of them. He grinned and gave him a curt bow before thanking him. He would end up leaving the guy more than the pizza and drinks were worth because kindness was something that should be rewarded, but he didn’t bother telling him that now. He never turned down a freebie because he knew that a lot of people felt good being able to give back to those who had saved their lives and he didn’t like taking that away from them.

Making his way over to the drinks, Tony whistled a random tune, not paying much attention to what it was, and began filling the cup. “Did I ever tell you my mother believed in washing my mouth out with soap until the day she died? … When I was seventeen?” He asked as he turned to look at Bruce with a laugh. “I couldn’t even get away with letting a ‘Jesus Christ’ slip. Actually, that was worse. Swearing and taking the lord’s name in vain? She would have made me swallow the suds.”

Bruce understood all too well when family was just far too complicated, and you really didn't want to talk about it with anyone. He nodded and gave Tony a gentle smile. "Well, we can worry about that later. We have a dinner date to get to right now," he pointed out, hoping that they could keep the topic of conversation on happier things for once. They'd had enough nightmares lately that he was afraid he'd lose his mind if he didn't manage to relax for a while.

He wasn't surprised when Tony had no idea where they were even going, and even less surprised when Tony went with his first impulse and they entered the tiny pizzeria. Even though a lot of people knew he was a part of the Avengers, Bruce was used to fear when he first entered a place, and for people to avoid him as if one bump would set him off; he was pleasantly surprised at the friendly greeting, though he blushed when the man actually called them 'heroes'.

"Don't think I'll ever get used to that," he murmured as they found a place to sit, and a bubbly young woman came to their table to take their drink order. Bruce just ordered water for himself.

He laughed at the mental picture Tony presented. "Now that is a picture of Tony Stark that I'm thinking not many people have; coughing up soap suds," he said, still chuckling about it. "Does it work? I might take it up to discourage your public dirty talk," he added teasingly, leaning forward on the table a bit.

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

The thought of Tony behaving himself in any way, especially when he had been specifically told to do so, was downright laughable, and he proved as much by laughing at the look that Bruce gave him and flashing him a toothy grin. “You know you love it.” He joked, pressing his lips to his temple. The former playboy had never been shy about public affections, and being with Bruce may have slowed him down a bit because of how shy the doctor could be, but it didn’t mean that he would by any means behave completely.

Tony gave up pulling Bruce and took the few steps to close the gap between them with a sigh. He ran his fingers through his own hair and let his eyes linger on the ground for a moment before looking up to meet Bruce’s gaze. “My mother’s gone, but…” He shook his head and let his hand drag down his face. He hadn’t actually discussed any of this with anyone yet, which meant he hadn’t actually spoken the words out loud, and now that he was he was realizing just how absolutely insane it sounded. But when Howard had first showed up, Tony had only questioned it for a moment. It was just like him to do something like fake his own death and go into hiding with SHIELD.

Tony sighed again and the brave face he’d been forcing on himself began to falter for the first time. He looked up to Bruce and gave him a tight, halfhearted smile. “How about we go somewhere and sit down and I’ll explain then? It’s cold, I’m hungry, and I really don’t feel like telling the whole city’s homeless population my dad’s business. If you want the full story, or at least as much as I got, because the man still doesn’t trust me enough to tell me everything, apparently, I’m sorry to say that you’re going to have to indulge me.”

Bruce chuckled and blushed just a little, but he certainly didn't deny it. Of all the people he ever would have pictured himself with, even before the accident, someone as flamboyant and outgoing as Tony Stark wouldn't have even seemed to be the most remote option. But now here he was, with Tony showering him with affection on a busy public street, and...no. He didn't mind in the least.

He gave Tony a sympathetic look and nodded before leaning in and kissing him firmly. "Okay. I'm sorry, don't worry about it," he said, kicking himself for prodding at something that Tony was obviously uncomfortable with. He started walking again, tugging Tony along gently. "Let's go eat, forget about everything for a while. Sound good?"

It sure sounded good to him, at least. He ignored the grumbled complaints of the Other Guy and continued down the street, idly eying the storefronts and people they passed. "Where are we heading, anyway?" he asked, looking back over at Tony and arching an eyebrow.

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

“Just because I have acknowledged the fact that there are heavenly beings doesn’t mean that I have to accept the whole bunch of malarkey for fact, boss.” Tony retorted, giving him a small wink and a smile. He didn’t care who showed up at his door, he was calling complete and total bullshit on the whole religion thing. And it was a good thing he did, because if he accepted the fact that there might possibly be a higher being, he didn’t have a very good opinion of the big man upstairs, so it was better than he just didn’t have any faith to give.

Tony chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “Possibly. But on what grounds, huh? Other than the fact that I was the cause of 34 out of the 37 fires in the kitchen last month? You used that one last time, no repeats.” He shot with a smirk. He knew that he was complete and total horse shit in the kitchen, and he was definitely a bit bias, but who was Bruce to call him out on that? Totally unfair, if you asked Tony. As they walked, Tony awkwardly twisted his leg to kick Bruce in the seat of his pants playfully. “You need to learn to take a compliment, good sir.”

When Bruce stopped, Tony sighed softly and tried to tug the other man forward. The smells of the food growing nearer were driving him insane and he wanted to eat. Plus the fact that he really didn’t feel like discussing his father well, ever. Especially after he’d found out he’d been lied to for the past twenty something years and he was just finding himself able to jump over that hurdle. But he wasn’t surprised that Bruce wanted an explanation, because hell, he would have too, and this wasn’t something that should have just been brushed off, but that was what Tony did best, thanks to the man in question. He dropped his gaze and gave Bruce’s hand another tug, forcing a smile onto his face. “Yeah, he… SHIELD had him on a mission in Italy or some shit and he couldn’t say anything because he was undercover. Now that that’s all said and done, talked about and discussed, let’s get back to the subject at hand: food.”

"Have to admit, judging by your interactions so far, I'm not really seeing the whole heavenly host in a very good light," Bruce muttered, running his fingers through his hair. After seeing everything that Cas had gone through, being an angel or even being in heaven at all didn't seem like that great of a deal.

Bruce jumped at the kick, giving Tony a look that clearly told him to behave himself in public, damnit. Like that was going to happen, though; Bruce had become used to being somewhat of a public spectacle for very different reasons than he was used to. "No, you just have been living on caffeine, booze, and nuked microwave meals for years before I started making you eat actual food," he said, giving Tony a nudge with his elbow. "So anything actually cooked with fresh ingredients is going to taste decent to you."

Bruce didn't let himself be moved at first. He frowned and squeezed Tony's hand. "Tony, that's...what about your mother? I mean, the...the car crash..." he said, shaking his head slowly. None of this made any sense.

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

“Crazies aren’t anything new. Religion?” Tony pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head to disguise his identity a bit from the people walking down the still somewhat crowded streets. “That’s a whole new bucket of crazy. I’ll stick with the loonies and the drunkards, thanks.”

Tony’s eyebrows raised in surprise as though he’d never considered that to be an option before. “I mean, I suppose, but what fun would that be?” He replied, the only hint that he was at all joking the slight smirk on his lips as he looked at Bruce. He liked the spotlight from time to time and he quite enjoyed giving the press something to report on from time to time, even though they could be a pain in the ass.

“Lies. Everything you make it fucking fantastic.” He told him, wondering why he had this sudden interest in holidays. The only thing that he could figure out was that it was because he finally had someone to spend them with for the first time since his mother’s passing. Tony’s face dropped as that thought sat with him for a moment. His mother’s death, not his parents. He had recently discovered that his father had never died and had been working with SHIELD the whole time, which was something he was still trying to get used to. “I didn’t happen to tell you that my father’s… not dead, did I?”

Bruce gave Tony a look of disbelief. "You have an angel living one floor below you, regrowing his wings for goodness sake, and you're still calling religion crazy?" he asked teasingly, trying to suppress the irritated growl in the back of his mind. The Other Guy didn't like the busy streets and neon lights, and Bruce couldn't say he disagreed.

"And not everything I make is fantastic. You're simply biased," he pointed out, grabbing Tony's hand from his pocket and intertwining their fingers. Even that simple bit of closeness was enough to calm him a bit.

But when Tony mentioned that last part, Bruce came to a sudden stop, his grip tightening on Tony's hand as he stared at the engineer in silent shock. He pivoted to look at Tony, getting a good look at his face to make sure this wasn't some kind of joke. "What? Wait, what?" he said, his voice tight with concern.

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

Tony pursed his lips and nodded solemnly at Amber when Bruce mentioned him clamming up. “Yes, ma’am, I’m afraid the Doc is right. It’d be better to stay away from him if you like this one on one time.” He told her with a pout of his own, which she snapped a photo of. “But he does have some interesting stories, let me tell you. The next time you see me and I’ve had a few too many, ask me about his junior year with the peanutbutter.”

He couldn’t help but laugh as he was swatted and he rose his hand in defense, even though he knew he probably deserved it. “Hey, I was trying to get the poor girl a picture worth somethin’. It was either that or stripped down right then and there. I thought the first option seemed a bit less likely for Jolly Green to make an appearance.” He defended himself with a grin, leaning in to steal a quick kiss, but not removing his hand because he was quite comfortable with it where it was.

The thought of some kind of home cooked feast made Tony bring a hand to his stomach and let out low groan. He hadn’t even had turkey on Thanksgiving since his mother had died and before now he’d never thought about starting the tradition up again. Why would he have? He couldn’t cook, didn’t have any family, or much to be truly thankful for. The way he saw it, everything he had he’d worked for, so the only thing he had to be thankful for was himself. “That sounds absolutely fucking fantastic. I would offer my assistance but…. well, we both know where that would go…”

"Now don't you start getting them onto Castiel's case. Can you imagine how that would go?" Bruce said, raising an eyebrow at Tony. "He'd probably tell them the truth. And you know, I'm not sure which would be worse for your reputation, being associated with a crazy guy who thinks he's an angel, or being associated with an actual angel," he added with a laugh.

He returned the kiss happily, earning a few curious glances from other people on the street, but he really couldn't have cared less. "You don't have to keep them in business, you know. She'll go bother some singer or something if you don't give her material," he said with a smile, still not used to ending up on the cover of anything other than a scientific journal.

Bruce was already trying to think of everything he could make for Thanksgiving. It seemed like a good idea. He could even take a full meal up to Castiel; had the angel ever even celebrated Thanksgiving? Probably not. "Well, I'll do my best to throw something together. Can't promise it will be 'fucking fantastic' though."

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

“People’ll be tripping over themselves to be taught by the blood thirsty Professor Banner. You’re such an obvious choice, though, for a murderer with your tendency to skin small animals and hatred of the government.” Tony joked, giving him a nudge with his elbow to assure him he was joking, even though it was already obvious. Bruce was the farthest thing from a murderer that Tony had ever met, even if he did turn into a giant rage monster.

His face dropped and he looked at Bruce with his jaw ajar. “What? Yeah, there is lots of sight seeing. It’s called the incredibly domesticated Tony Stark in the one place he never thought he would see himself: married.” He told him, his faux surprise dropping to form a small smirk. “We can sight see if you want, though. You just aren’t allowed to wear pants. It’s my only stipulation.”

When they walked outside, Tony flashed the girl his actual award winning smile for a few of the quick candids before making a few less than attractive faces for both his own and her amusement, as well as the amusement of those on the Internet who would no doubt see them. It didn’t bother him, though, because he found the faces amusing rather than embarrassing. “Have I not been adventurous enough for you folks lately?” He asked with a laugh, to which the photographer smirked and nodded. ‘You can say that. You’ve been pretty quiet lately. A few of my superiors are starting to get worried. If I didn’t see you by the end of this weekend they said they were going to send ‘get well’ flowers to the tower. We can’t have one of our biggest moneymakers croaking out on us, now.’

Tony laughed and shrugged in response, actually quite amused by the fact that the paparazzi had noticed his absence from the spotlight as of late. “What can I say? When you’ve got this guy holding the leash, you don’t really want to push and pull too much, I suppose.” He replied, giving the girl a wink. That was complete and total bullshit. Tony was always pushing Bruce’s limits, and had been since the moment he’d met him.

“What, Cassie? Oh, he’s just an old college buddy of Bruce’s that we agreed to put up for the holiday season. He lost his family recently and we didn’t think it’d be good for him to be alone around the holidays.” Tony told her offhandedly with a shrug, hoping it would be left alone. He didn’t feel like explaining about how he had saved an angel from another realm while he was this hungry. He leaned in and kissed Bruce firmly, a grin on his face despite being pressed against his, and pulling at his bottom lip dramatically when he pulled away, Amber snapping shot after shot of the couple. “So your family doesn’t starve. And if it gets to that point, leave a note at reception and I’ll be sure to make sure you guys get at least a Thanksgiving.”

As he started to walk away, Tony gave Bruce’s ass a distinct smack, letting his hand linger a little longer than necessary before sliding his hand into his ass pocket to rest comfortably as they walked. “Speaking of Thanksgiving, do we actually plan on having food of some sort? I normally order a large pizza and a fifth of whiskey and spend my day in the lab, but I guess in the name of new traditions and all…” He inquired, and his stomach growled loudly at just the thought of a delectable feast such as that.

Bruce gave Tony a look. "Oh, please, like could in any way control your crazy antics. You do as you please whether I'm in on it or not," he said with a laugh, grateful that it was just one of their usual paparazzi out here and not someone who would write up crazy stuff. Amber was one of the few who were respectful and polite, while still trying to get 'a scoop'.

He nodded in agreement when Tony mentioned Castiel, and Amber got that look in her eye. She leaned forward, her magazine dropping. "A college buddy, huh? No chance of snagging him for a chat? He's got to have a ton of dirt on him," she said, and Bruce laughed.

"He's been through a lot lately, Amber. Pass the message along your coworkers that he's not to be bothered or Tony here will be clamming up for months," he threatened, and she gave them a pout but let them go on, though Bruce gave Tony a smack at the overt PDA.

"Knock it off, you," he said, shaking his head and feeling himself blush. "And I can cook for Thanksgiving, if you want."

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

“Oh, sure, then you’d only have every news channel and every stock analyst in the country at your door interrogating you about the state of your company’s affairs. Oh, and asking if your estate will be charging me with your murder,” Bruce said, laughing softly and moving his hands to place them over Tony’s. “And it’s not that I’m easily persuaded, it’s that I know that you’re going to do what you want anyway, so fighting it seems to just be delaying the inevitable,” he added teasingly.

He smiled at Tony, kissing his forehead. “Sounds good to me. And you know, we hadn’t planned where we’re going for the honeymoon yet. Unless you’ll be too busy,” he pointed out, knowing that Tony would laugh at that one. Tony could take time off whenever he wanted, because he was Tony Stark. Meanwhile, Bruce was just pleased that the wedding was happening over his 3 week Christmas vacation from the university.

He nearly stumbled when Tony started walking him backwards out of the elevator, though. “You know, you won’t be getting any food if I fall over and your head crushes my esophagus,” he said, jabbing Tony in the side playfully and then tugging him up into a kiss. “Behave. There’s always paparazzi out here. They remind me of buzzards, waiting for scraps.”

“You act like that’s even close to the worst thing I’ve done to put board members, stock holders, members of the press, or Pepper on edge about the company. And of course we’re going to press charges. But don’t worry, it’s just so we get the insurance issue taken care of. We have some damn fine lawyers that have gotten me out of worse situations that will be working in your favor.” Tony joked, taking one of Bruce’s hands into his own a little awkwardly due to the way they were situated. He pressed his lips to the doctor’s temple and smirked against him at his explanation as to why he never really bothered to put up a fight. “You’re a smart man, Dr. Banner. I knew I liked that brain of yours.” The word ‘honeymoon’ made him realize that they weren’t too far from the wedding, and he wasn’t sure how he felt. His stomach twisted into a knot and for the first time since he’d proposed, he felt nervous even when face to face with Bruce. He had had doubts before, but they always seemed to fade away when he was in the presence of his fiance. But not this time because he was starting to wonder if he was dragging Bruce into something that was no good for him. He wanted nothing but the best for the man in his arms, and he was starting to doubt that Tony Stark fell into that category. But he forced himself to push those thoughts down and buried his face in his shoulder, not wanting Bruce to notice his discomfort. “Baby, I’m never too busy for you. Especially when it involves you being naked the majority of the time.” He smirked, placing a few light kisses to his back. Tony laughed and loosened his grip on the physicist, allowing him more freedom to move at his own free will. “Lies, I have a great recovery time and I can be down the street having sushi in ten to twelve minutes and be done by the time you come round.” He joked before kissing him back, letting his arms drop and taking one of Bruce’s hands into his own as they made their way out towards the open air and closer to the food that his stomach was currently crying out for. “Alright, alright. I’ll sit on my hands and won’t talk to strangers if it’ll make you feel better.”

#p: bruce and clint #thread: do you have the time

"Oh, well, as long as I'll just be working with a murder charge and not a murder conviction," Bruce said, rolling his eyes at Tony and squeezing his hand with a laugh. "I mean, that would make me the most badass professor on the campus, right? Unless the Other Guy already gets me that title."

He raised an eyebrow at Tony, giving him a mischievous look. "Who says I'm staying naked for most of the honeymoon? Might be some interesting sights to see around there," he joked, returning the kiss happily. He took Tony's hand as they walked out into the night air, and one of the usual paparazzi was outside reading a magazine; luckily, one of the more polite ones.

"Hey Amber," he said to her, and she smiled and waved, snapping a couple pictures.

"Hey Dr. Banner! Been a while! You're gonna get me a pay cut if you two don't start pulling some antics," she called out with a smirk. "And Tony, what's up with the mysterious stranger staying in your private levels, huh?"

Bruce snorted, knowing that she was talking about Castiel, but that was a subject that they definitely weren't going to try and broach with the press. "Just a friend visiting," he said, and she pouted at them.

Tony...

Why was I able to send eleven, no scratch that, thirteen text messages during your walk home? You walk far too slow for my own good…

I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to be hurrying. Is something wrong?

If you had read the texts, you would have known that it was an emergency.

I somehow managed… to lose my pants. I need help finding them asap or else I’m just going to go into this board meeting without any.

You had them cancel all your meetings for the next two days because of your suit project. Also, you losing your pants is not uncommon nor is it an emergency. Can you wait long enough for me to shower?

#snarkysnarkstark

Tony...

Why have I gotten eleven text messages from you in the time it took me to walk home from the university?

Why was I able to send eleven, no scratch that, thirteen text messages during your walk home? You walk far too slow for my own good…

I wasn't aware that I was supposed to be hurrying. Is something wrong?

#snarkysnarkstark

Tony...

Why have I gotten eleven text messages from you in the time it took me to walk home from the university?

#snarkysnarkstark

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

“That’s why I like you. You work as my people deflector. I’m going to start this whole thing where I start faking signs of radiation poisoning and hopefully after the honeymoon people will figure I’ve spent enough time with you to leave me the hell alone.” Tony joked with a smirk, glad that he had found someone who didn’t actually take offense to the way he poked fun. That was what he loved most about their relationship; this. Bruce understood that he was in fact joking when he said things like that. Most people didn’t seem to get his dry sense of humor and found him to be an asshole because of it. But not Bruce.

“That’s another thing I like about you. You’re easily persuaded.” Tony said, running his hands up and down the physicist’s sides and breathing in the comforting scent and relaxing into him.

But when Bruce mentioned a vacation, his body tensed for a moment at the thought. The thought of leaving the comfort of the tower was a little unnerving at first, but as he thought about it, a vacation that went well might have made things better. Time alone with Bruce without the stress of the workload he had weighing on his shoulders actually sounded like it might do them both some good. “No wooded areas, no animals, no places with religious ties historically or currently, the only swimming I will be doing is going to be in water so chlorinated it makes my eyes bleed, we stay in well populated areas with no children. At all. Anywhere. If we can both agree to those terms, we might be able to work something out.”

The elevator dinged and Tony let out a whiny groan, not wanting to give this up, and he began walking Bruce backwards with his face still resting comfortably in the crook of his neck. “Food. I don’t care what, I’m just about four seconds away from resorting to cannibalism, so you need to make a decision quickly,” he told him with a smirk, nibbling at the base of his neck playfully.

"Oh, sure, then you'd only have every news channel and every stock analyst in the country at your door interrogating you about the state of your company's affairs. Oh, and asking if your estate will be charging me with your murder," Bruce said, laughing softly and moving his hands to place them over Tony's. "And it's not that I'm easily persuaded, it's that I know that you're going to do what you want anyway, so fighting it seems to just be delaying the inevitable," he added teasingly.

He smiled at Tony, kissing his forehead. "Sounds good to me. And you know, we hadn't planned where we're going for the honeymoon yet. Unless you'll be too busy," he pointed out, knowing that Tony would laugh at that one. Tony could take time off whenever he wanted, because he was Tony Stark. Meanwhile, Bruce was just pleased that the wedding was happening over his 3 week Christmas vacation from the university.

He nearly stumbled when Tony started walking him backwards out of the elevator, though. "You know, you won't be getting any food if I fall over and your head crushes my esophagus," he said, jabbing Tony in the side playfully and then tugging him up into a kiss. "Behave. There's always paparazzi out here. They remind me of buzzards, waiting for scraps."

“I beg to differ, good sir. People would want my notes just because they’re mine. People would want yours because of the actual information on them. That is, if they could read them. Bernie, the guy dumpster diving for loose napkins, got ahold of a pair of my underwear one time and they went for more than the rough draft of my college thesis with all my annotations. I was a little offended, to tell you the truth.” Tony laughed, though he was being completely serious. He loved the attention he got from people and the way women everywhere seemed to swoon for him, but there were times when his actual genius was ignored and it was a little irritating. His brain was just as firm and worthy of appreciation as his ass. Tony chuckled and looked down to Bruce with a small grin. “That’s quite possibly the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me. If money can’t buy me time with you, what’s your price, because I have not been getting nearly enough you time lately and I think it might be fun to change that.” He told him, leaning in to steal another quick kiss before entering the elevator.

Tony leaned back against the sleek walls once inside and watched Bruce with a slight smirk on his face, just watching him. He really had missed these times together and he was so glad that they were able to have them still after all that had happened. He felt that maybe this was proof that they would be okay, no matter how much Tony liked to look at the dark side of the situation when he thought on it.

Wrapping his arms around the physicist and pulling him close, Tony held him to his chest for a few moments, just hugging him and soaking up the loving closeness that he missed so much. He trailed his hand up his back and then intertwined his fingers in the hair at the back of his head, just stroking it and threading his fingers through it absently. “Miss you…” He muttered against his neck where his face was now buried comfortably.

"Look at it this way, at least people aren't afraid they're going to drop dead of radiation poisoning if they so much as touch your belongings," Bruce joked, always willing to poke some fun at himself; he'd gotten a good laugh out of a news commentator who was trying to push a petition to have Geiger Counters installed near Stark Tower to make sure the city wasn't being contaminated by his mere presence. "And all you have to do is ask. Somehow, I just can't seem to say no to you," he added, returning the kiss.

He wrapped his arms around Tony and held his close, willing the elevator to take its time in getting to the destination. "Miss you too. Beginning to think we should try to take a real vacation. Using a plane instead of a car, anyway," he said, smirking as he tilted his head back into the touch. No more camping for them. Or road trips, for that matter; at least not for a while.

And to think, little more than a year ago he would have heard the word 'vacation' and probably not even recognized it. Of course, back then he was still in India, not having met Tony yet, or working at the university. His grip tightened possessively on Tony, suddenly glad that he'd gone along with SHIELD that day, went with Natasha back to the Helicarrier. It seemed like forever ago now.

Tony narrowed his eyes playfully at the suggestion of swearing on his suit. He wouldn’t be able to do such a thing because while Bruce was the only person who could get him to agree to not drink without it causing a fight of some sort, it didn’t mean that Tony would have enough self control to obey his request for the entire remainder of the night. “It’s pretty bad when you’re /asking me/ to drink coffee.” He commented with a laugh, a small smile on his face as Bruce kissed his hand.

“Because you still refuse to change your ways. I will bring you into this century one day, Banner. It will be a glorious day, too.” He told him seriously, using the pen he’d been fiddling with in his hand to point at him and then poke his chest lightly. “It’s too slow and I can barely read my own writing half the time if I’m in one of my moods or I’ve bad too much coffee. And then you have to transfer them online if anyone wants them… way, way too much work.”

Tony listened to Bruce and tossed the pen in the air, watching it flip in the air as it spun. “Yeah, if they install that thing without your revisions, I won’t step foot on that thing again. I like my life, contrary to popular belief. Have you thought about some sort of padding so that it won’t explode from being tossed around in battle? If you design out of vibranium, it’ll soak up all of the vibrations that would normally set it off.” He suggested. He looked to Bruce and his eyebrows raised slowly and a small grin played on his lips. “So you’re now auctioning your time off? I would have donated a significant amount of money to the university off a while ago.”

“I’m sorry, who said anything about faking? I was saying you’re good at hiding the fact that you are insane. Deep down, I think you’re almost as big of a loon as I am. No wonder we get on so well.” Tong laughed, intertwining his fingers with Bruce’s as they made their way towards the elevator. “And just who do you think you’re talking to Mr…” He looked down at his watch really quick. “Forty minutes late, leaving your poor, poor fiancé sitting on the couch with a bunch of Guidos with bad hair. I am hungry because someone kept me waiting, so yes, I suppose that yes, I am asking you to dinner.” He leaned in and kissed Bruce before stepping into the elevator.”

"Well, I would ask you to drink water or tea, but I'm hopeful, not delusional," Bruce said with a chuckle, turning off the computer screen and trying to stop thinking about the generator. He'd been at a bit of a wall anyway; perhaps a break would do both of them some good.

"Luckily for me, no one wants my old notes and scribbles. Yours, on the other hand, would probably sell for thousands of dollars on Ebay," he pointed out, playfully swatting the pen away from his chest. "Hell, anything you've touched suddenly becomes a priceless artifact. Just ask the guy who digs in the dumpsters out back."

It was nice to get back to some semblance of normal, just taunting each other and getting lost in lab work. Even if they did have a recovering, mute angel upstairs, it was still nice to get back to this kind of playful comraderie. "Yes, but vibranium would triple their costs, considering the rarity of it. They're trying to save money, Tony, not come up with an earth shattering technology like some people around here," he said, leaning back against the table. "And you'll never have to pay for my time. Not with money, anyway," he added with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes and let Tony pull him toward the elevator, not bothering to ask where they were going- he was sure Tony had a plan, judging by the way he was walking. "You poor thing. Only 900 channels to watch, and the only thing on is your show about the orange oompa-loompas," he teased with a laugh, returning the kiss and squeezing Tony's hand as they stepped on the elevator.

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

Tony hadn’t been paying much attention to the amount he’d been drinking lately, but that was because if he did, it probably would have made him sick, and by some miracle not with alcohol poisoning. But it was the only way he knew how to deal with the issues he was having, so he coddled the bottle and pretended not to notice the dangerously large collection of empties scattered around the tower. “Maybe a little bit.” He said, holding his hand out in front of his eye and almost, but not, pinching his fingers together. It was either grow less sober or grow more angry as the wait for Bruce went on, so he felt like he had made the proper decision. “Alright, alright, coffee only for the rest of the night. Scout’s honor.”

Tony snagged Bruce’s notes after he had stacked them so nicely, causing the other papers to become a skewed mess, and watched as he moved to save his work, taking in as much of the information as he could with him moving so quickly. “How do you even read these notes after you write them?” He asked, squinting and holding the notebook closer to his face to decipher the nearly illegible doctor scrawl. “You know what would make it easier on you? Moving out of the 18th century and entering this stuff into a database like a normal human being.”

He tossed the notebook and payed no attention as it flopped onto the desk, the breeze it caused sending a few other stray papers drifting to the floor. “There’s no way that thing is gonna last for long in an outage if it’s supposed to run the entire Helicarrier for any amount of time at all. They’ll need at least four of them and if my math is right, and it always is, that’ll almost double the cash they’re handing out now. You’re onto something, though. Is that bastardized arc reactor tech I see? Because I approve.”

When Bruce plucked the beaker from his hands, he had figured that it was because he didn’t trust the childish engineer holding such a concoction, but the last thing he expected him to do was drink it. “What are y-” Tony stopped and the concern on his face faded into a knowing smirk. “I get it. I get it now. You are so fucked in the head people actually think you’re sane. … The plan is perfect. Why did I not think of that?” He commented, shaking his head and giving a laugh. Anyone else may have freaked out and scolded him for doing something like that when Bruce had to have known what he was thinking, but he couldn’t be mad when he would have done the same thing (and had also been known to replace random lab objects for cups when an actual cup was so far away).

Tony managed to snag Bruce’s hand after he had removed his lab attire (which Tony was still unsure if he approved of, because he thought his man looked damn fine in his science gear) and tugged him closer to him so he didn’t have to move his ass from the table. “If I don’t get food in my stomach soon I may end up on the Avengers hit list, so I don’t care what happens as long as it involves the consumption of… anything. It doesn’t even have to be cooked. I always doubt it when people say that they could eat a horse, but if I stumbled across one right now I would be more than willing to test that theory.” He said as he hopped off the table and started off towards the door.

Bruce grabbed Tony's hand with a smirk. "You were never a boy scout. I should ask you to swear on your suit, then I might actually believe you," he pointed out, though he'd never actually ask Tony to swear anything on his suit, because that was kind of absurd. "But really, I mean it. Stick with coffee for a while, you'll feel a lot better. Promise," he added after a few moments, kissing the back of Tony's hand.

Of course, mere seconds later he was letting go to reach down and gather the papers that Tony had scattered to the floor. "You know, I can't count how many times you've complained about that, and you still can't restrain yourself," he teased, carefully placing the pages of notes back on the desk in a neat pile. "You should try writing it out sometime. Makes you think about it more...clearly."

He sighed and looked down at the diagram he'd been working with, tapping one finger by a series of scrawled equations. "That's what I told him. In order to get the productivity in the space and budget they have now, they would have to concentrate the nuclear components to an incredibly unstable level. One degree flux in temperature, one rough landing, and they're going to have a bigger problem on their hands than energy costs. Namely, a meltdown that could contaminate everything for miles. He wants me to see if it can feasibly be stabilized, and I told him not with current technology, but he told me to work on it for a while and see if I can't come up with something. I...would've said no, but he had SHIELD make a sizable donation to the university in return for my help, whether or not it's successful."

He laughed and let Tony pull him in close. "So, you accuse me of faking insanity, then ask me to dinner? I see how this works," he said, squeezing Tony's hand and giving him a quick kiss. "Let's go, then. As amusing as it would be to watch you have a fist fight with a horse, I don't want to clean up the lab afterward."

Do You Have the Time (Bruce and Tony)

Tony chuckled as Bruce started to realize that he had managed to work past their date. “I see how it is. Always second to science. But I’ve come to accept it, don’t worry.” He joked, running his hand up and down his side in an attempt to soothe the fretting scientist. He knew how it felt to get caught up in his work, so he didn’t actually blame him and he knew it had nothing to do with him choosing one or the other, but to not give him shit over it would just be unstarkly.

Tony ran his hand up to take Bruce’s chin in his hand and ran his thumb over his jaw as he looked at him with a slight smirk. “Don’t worry about it, Bambi, you’re fine. It gave me time to become one with my inner self and catch up on Jersey Shore.” He told him, joking about the inner self thing (he’d actually taken the time to have a few drinks, which he figured was the same thing), but sadly not the Jersey Shore part. He kissed Bruce back, glad to finally have some of the contact that had been promised to him almost an hour ago, and nodded. “Alright, make it snappy, I’m starving. I was going to go ahead and order some take out during your extended absence, but I decided to wait because if you managed to miss our arrangement by this much, something tells me you forgot about dinner, too, and could probably use some fuel in your system. Call it psychic intuition.”

Moving away from Bruce so he could properly begin putting everything away (something the engineer couldn’t fully wrap his head around no matter how much he tried), Tony lifted himself up onto the edge of the lab table and began picking up various objects, studying them, and putting back down only to be replaced by something else. “Generator?” He asked casually after seeing the things that Bruce had been working with, holding a beaker of what was either a harmless chemical mixture or one that could kill you if you wafted a little too closely up into the light to examine it a little better. ‘Yep, definitely deadly,’ he deduced to himself after seeing the particles floating in the liquid death. Suddenly he was glad that he had opted not to sniff the contents to try and figure it out.

Bruce returned the kiss, then pulled away and raised an eyebrow at Tony. "Have you been drinking again?" he asked, obviously worried- he'd never seen Tony drink so much as in these last couple of weeks, and he was feeling rather helpless about it. He didn't want to be pushy about it, but he was beginning to get concerned. "Try some coffee instead. And less Jersey Shore," he said, trying to joke it off with a nervous laugh.

He let the simulation finish running and slid it to the separate partition he was keeping SHIELD work on, stacking up his paperwork carefully- and half expecting Tony to make fun of him yet again for still scrawling out notes and equations by hand. It was practically a tradition by now, when Tony found hand-written notes all over Bruce's area of the lab.

"SHIELD is looking for something less expensive to run, but...I'm not sure of the stability of their design. Fury's giving me some time to test all the variables before he decides on final plans," he explained, raising an eyebrow as Tony inspected the beaker. He plucked the beaker from Tony's hands and took a sip of the contents, giving Tony a look.

"So I was too lazy to go get a clean cup. Sue me," he said with a shrug, setting his tea-in-a-beaker aside with a smirk and shaking his head. Sometimes Tony could overthink things way too much. He tugged his lab coat off, and finally set his glasses aside. "So, what's the plan?"