One day you have to stop running from the world.

A/N: Ah…yeah I was going to make it action…but then I realized we needed to quickly resolve a couple of things before that. Action will come soon!

Chapter 13

Bruce was walking through the Tower in a daze. He was still replaying Natasha's kiss from last night in his head.

"Someone looks happy…" Tony said cheekily as he watched Bruce walk into the Avengers common room. Bruce shook himself out of his daze and scowled at his friend.

"Don't say it Tony…" Bruce said warningly. The mischievously glint in Tony's eyes exploded.

"She kissed you didn't she?" Tony said in shock. Bruce went bright red. "She did! She did! How long was it?" Tony said excitedly. Bruce's blushed deepened to unimaginable proportions.

"Ah…" he said hesitantly. Tony paused.

"Wait so you didn't make out?" Tony asked blankly. Bruce couldn't respond even if he wanted to. "Was it even on the lips?" Tony asked grasping for straws. Bruce's red face said no lies. "She kissed you on the cheek didn't she?" Tony finally said in a doomed voice.

"Yeah…" Bruce said looking away. Tony sighed and shook his head. They were pathetic.

'Bruce…you have horrible reactions to girls," Tony said frankly. Bruce's blush was not going away anytime soon. He glared at Tony.

"What did she do after that?" Tony asked with a sigh. Bruce paused. He was so shocked he didn't even realize something...

"Oh my god she totally ditched me," he said in realization. Someone was late. Tony patted the frozen doctor on the back.

"A kiss on the cheek and she ditched you – bravo Banner. Bravo," Tony said dryly.

"That was a fail in normal relationships right?" Bruce said staring at his hands.

"Yup," Tony said without missing a beat.

"How about in Natasha language?" he asked quietly. Tony smiled – now Bruce was thinking.

"That's like a home run," Tony said before he messed up Bruce's already chaotic hair.

"HEY!" Bruce shouted as his hands shot up to fix his hair.

"Now you really look like a mad scientist in love!" Tony cackled before he ran away.

The death glare on Bruce's face rivaled that of Natasha Romanoff's. And that was scary thought.

Meanwhile in another part of Avengers Tower.

Clint walked into the shooting range and found Natasha staring at her gun with a weird look on her face. Natasha never stopped to think during training. She suddenly looked up and locked eyes with him. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed a light pink creeping up her neck. A look of understanding crossed his face. Oh this was going to be fun. Natasha narrowed her eyes.

Clint suggestively stared at Natasha.

Natasha death stared at Clint.

The weird dark vibes coming off of her were telling him he was trending in dark waters.

"Say it and you die," she growled. Clint's eye twitched. He was thinking about. He was still thinking about it. He was going to keep thinking about it until he said it.

"NATASHA AND BRUCE SITTING IN A TREE K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" he shouted before he dived out the door.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO SAY IT YOU BASTARD!" Natasha screamed as she ran after the fleeing archer. It was so worth it he thought as he ran for his life.

A few hours later.

Tony and Bruce were walking through SHIELD after a very uncomfortable meeting with Fury - he still hasn't forgiven them for hijacking his organization.

Something was bugging Bruce. It was bugging him a lot.

"Tony...how do you know if you're gay?" Bruce asked suddenly. Tony paused - that was not a question he thought he would ever have to answer. Especially coming from Bruce Banner. The ultimate antisocial being on earth. He didn't even try to meet new people. The only girl he was even remotely interested in was on their freaking team.

"Gay? When did this phase start? Man I thought you were asexual before Red came along..." Tony said incredulously. Bruce laughed nervously.

"Um...I never thought I was...but there was this one agent..." Bruce started to say but the embarrassment made him choke on his words.

"What's his name...?" Tony said narrowing his eyes. He would have to do a serious background check on this new potential love interest. He would never admit it to anyone in a million years - but Red was the only person (man or woman) who Tony even remotely approves of having Bruce Banner's love. And even then it was begrudgingly because the connection between them was palpable.

Who the hell could have caught Bruce Banner's attention when he had someone like Red?

"I don't know...I sort of bolted before I could ask..." he said warily. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Of course you would Bruce," he said shaking his head. Bruce scowled and was about to respond when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Tony slowed down and gave his best friend a confused look. He turned to see what he was staring at - more importantly who he was staring at. Bruce suddenly started hyperventilating.

"NOT AGAIN!" Bruce shouted in horror before he promptly dropped his notes and ran down the hall.

"Who are you running fro-?" Tony froze as he noticed a redheaded man talking with Clint down the hall. Was this the man Bruce was unwillingly crushing on? He took a closer look.

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he fell to the ground laughing hysterically. Clint and Natasha gave the insane man a weird look.

"What just happened...?" Natasha asked slowly. Clint looked over her shoulder and noticed the doctor skirt around the corner at the end of the hall and burst out laughing himself. Now both Avengers were leaning against the wall dying from laughter. Natasha looked very confusion.

"Why am I surrounded by insanity?" she asked staring up at the ceiling.

Tony wiped the tears from his eyes and crawled after the very emotionally confused doctor. He rounded the corner and shook his head at the man about to run out the door. He promptly grabbed Bruce by the back of his shirt and pulled him back inside.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Bruce said desperately. Tony sighed. Idiot.

"Bruce. Calm down. That man is not a man," Tony said holding onto his best friend's collar and not letting him escape. This was too much - he thinks he might die the next time Bruce looked like a tomato because of his confused feelings for their resident cross-dresser.

"Oh my god...he's from another world like Thor?" Bruce said in horror. Tony paused...he really shouldn't...but...

"Yes. yes agent Romano is an alien from a world not too far away from Asgard," Tony said gravely. Bruce paled.

"But...but..." he stuttered. Tony patted him on the back.

"I heard he likes mysterious men with dark pasts and quirky habits," Tony continued to fuel Bruce's horror. The man was too much.

"But I don't want to be gay with any species!" Bruce cried desperately.

"Then you know what you have to do right?" he said seriously. Bruce froze.

"What?" he asked nervously. The evil glint in Tony's eyes was too much.

"You should go kiss him and get it out if your system," Tony said like it was obvious. He would pay good money to see the look on Red's face if Bruce did that.

Bruce promptly collapsed against the wall beside him in shock. He would never be the same again.

"Tony Stark what the hell are you doing to Bruce?" a familiar deep voice said from behind them.

Bruce paled and turned ghostly white.

Tony looked like he was about to piss himself from holding in the laughter.

"Bruce...you look sick again are you okay?" the voice said worriedly. Bruce banged his head against the wall and refused to turn around. When a hand touched his shoulder he nearly died.

Oh my god he was touching him!

"Bruce...?" the voice said anxiously.

"Try talking to him in your normal voice without the voice alteration," Tony said in an amused tone.

"Why? What's the difference?" the voice said as it suddenly sounded very different. Bruce stopped trembling.

"Bruce if you don't tell me what's wrong I will drag your ass down to medical whether you hulk out or not," Natasha Romanoff's voice hissed from behind him. It was music to his ears...but what the heck is going on?

He slowly turned around and stared at what clearly appeared to be a man.

"What's it going to be?" she asked narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. Bruce's brain just short-circuited.

Huh?

Bruce froze.

"Natasha...?" he said in shock. The redhead gave him a wary look.

"Why are you looking at me like that Bruce?" she asked slowly. He had the biggest relieved expression on his face and hope shining in his eyes. So he wasn't gay after all! However the relief promptly disappeared when he realized who exactly was the object of his affections. Oh my god.

He promptly fainted.

Natasha stared at him in panic.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked glancing at Tony. He was going blue in the face. These men were driving her crazy.

"Don't worry - he just had the mother of all realizations," Tony said waving her concern away as he crouched down and threw one of Bruce's arms over his shoulder and dragged him to his feet.

"I'll take him home. Have fun on your mission Red," he said as he started dragging the poor confused scientist home. Natasha stared at the two idiots for several seconds before she slowly shook her head.

"This is the last time I'm dressing as a man. Not even for a mission," she muttered as she walked away. Weird things always seemed to happen when she was talking to agents at SHIELD. They all had similar reactions to Bruce. Ugh. Men.

A/N: That was one way to force Bruce to see his feelings…now let the freaking out begin...while they're on a dangerous Avengers mission. Hehe.