Bless You

A ScienceBro fic (Tony/Bruce)

"Tony, what are you doing out there?" Bruce called out the door, willing the rain to stop. It didn't. Tony didn't even seem to hear him. Bruce pulled his jacket closer around him and, ducking his head to shield it from the downpour, ran to stand beside Tony.

"Stark, you really should come inside, you'll catch a cold standing out here like this." Tony turned to face him, a wry smile curving his lips. His nose was a little red, his lips close to blue.

"You and I both know, Dr Banner, that you don't catch a cold from actually being cold." He replied. Bruce was about to come back with a witty comment, but he was interrupted.

"Wa-a-a-ACHOO!"

The sudden outburst caused Bruce to jump, almost falling over the guardrail.

"God, Tony. Come inside and I'll make you some soup." Tony didn't argue as Bruce pulled him inside, pushing him gently onto the couch.

"Bruce-" Achoo, "This really isn't-" Achoo, "Necessary." Achoo.

Despite his vocal spoken protests, he lay back on the couch and allowed Bruce to cover him with a blanket.

"Tony, if you don't like it then stop standing out in the rain with hardly any cloths on." Bruce chided. Tony was wearing nothing but a light t-shirt and his fitted jeans, which had gotten thoroughly soaked while he was standing in the rain.

"You know what, Doc? You're right. I'll stop standing in the rain as long as you promise to stop acting so careful around here; around me. I mean, the others I can understand. They don't trust you as much as I do. Heck, you don't trust you as much as I do-" Bruce had heard this speech from Tony many times in the months after Loki's attack on New York. It always ended with Bruce having to leave on account of Tony making him feel bad. It didn't help that Tony was always drunk when this happened, which made him twice as difficult.

"Stark, can we not have this conversation right now? I think you might be developing hypothermia." Bruce had taken Tony's temperature and was turning up the heat, making sure the room wasn't too cold.

"No. You know, Bruce, You always avoid answering my questions. You always avoid talking to me if you can. And now you're just taking care of me? No. You don't get to do that. I am the only one who actually treats you like a normal person; because I trust you. You always just shake it off, like it doesn't happen, but it does. Bruce, I Trust you. Why can't you just accept that and let me in?" Tony's questioning had finally gotten through to Bruce, because he sat down on the floor next to Tony and sighed, placing his head in his hands.

"Tony, you can't possibly understand the-"

"Don't tell me I won't understand it. I'm a genius. Not understanding is not an excuse." Tony interrupted. Bruce stood up and walked away, leaving Tony alone in the large room.

Tony sat there, silently fuming at how Bruce always just left, mid-conversation. Whenever Stark bought up anything like this, Bruce would hurry off to be anywhere else but near Tony.

"Blew it again, Stark. Great job." He mumbled under his breath, feeling slightly depressed; And very cold. He was still dripping wet, and now the couch was soaking up all the water. Of course, the only reason he stood outside like that was so that Bruce would come out of the lab and talk to him. Dr Banner had spent almost every waking hour in that lab. Tony was beginning to feel a little under appreciated by the scientist, who he not only built a room for, but an entire floor; all dedicated to Dr Banner and the Hulks personal needs.

"Well, at least he's still talking to me." He mused. He hadn't heard Bruce come in, but more sensed that he wasn't alone anymore.

Bruce walked in, carrying a change of clothes in one arm and a hot water bottle in the other.

"Here, put these on." He said, handing Tony the clothes before quickly feeling his forehead. His temperature had risen and he sneezed again, coughing violently.

"God, Tony. Why would you stand out in the rain like that? I thought you were smarter than that." Great, Now he was insulting Starks intelligence.

"I am smarter. I got you to talk to me, didn't I?" Bruce shook his head. He placed the hot water bottle on the couch beside Tony and stood up straight, moving toward the bar and pouring himself a drink.

"Stark, you could have just come and talked to me." Bruce said quietly. Tony stood up warily, feeling light headed. Bruce ran to catch him as he lost his footing and started to fall.

"But would you have really talked to me? Would you have listened?" Tony said quietly in Bruce's ear as the other man caught him. Bruce stood there, holding Tony upright, thinking about what he'd said.

"Let's just get you out of those wet clothes, Tony." Bruce said calmly, grabbing the shirt of the top of the pile and shoving it at Tony, who had become even less balanced and was slanting to the side.

Bruce sat Tony back on the couch and started pulling the wet t-shirt over the other man's head. Tony struggled, however, and Bruce realized his attempts were futile.

"Look, Tony, if you don't get your wet clothes off and get into some dry ones, you'll get hypothermia. I don't want to be responsible for you ending up in hospital, or worse." Bruce didn't say it. He knew Tony heard him.

Tony appeared to be sleeping, but it was just a side effect of the cold. His body was shutting itself down in order to keep the vital organs warm. It didn't help that the mini-arc reactor in his chest had turned a worrying shade of green.

"Tony?..." Bruce tried, but the other man was already unconscious.

"Dammit Tony." Bruce cursed under his breath. He forgot about any previous preservations and knelt on the ground beside where Tony was on the couch, shaking the other man lightly.

Tony regained consciousness slightly and Bruce smiled thankfully.

"Tony? Thank God. Can you hear me?" He questioned worriedly. Tony nodded slightly, reaching for the other man's hands, which had ended up on his face.

"Ok, Tony. We need to get you warm. Can you get your wet clothes off?" Bruce asked. Tony nodded again; taking his hands from Bruce's to rest on his own belt buckle. Before Tony got his belt undone, Bruce had removed the other man's shirt, and was now staring worriedly at the colour of the glowing light emanating from Tony's chest.

He put the fresh shirt around Tony's torso and did up most of the buttons, leaving enough undone so he could monitor the arc reactor. He then did the same with a jacket, zipping it up to the same place.

Tony had gotten no further with his pants and Bruce knew that time was crucial. He placed his hands on the other man's hips and started pulling down his pants. If Tony weren't so sick, he'd probably be enjoying this.

"I know a way to stay warm, Doc." Tony murmured quietly. Bruce looked up in time for Tony to catch his face in a surprisingly vice-like grip, pulling him closer, his lips just close enough that Bruce could feel the other man's breath.

"Tony, I-" Bruce tried to move away, but Tony held his face firmly.

"Bruce, I can't make this any clearer. I Trust you. You know what? I might even love you. So shut the hell up and kiss me you sexy scientist, preferably before-"

Tony didn't have time to finish his sentence. Bruce had smashed their lips together forcefully, before Tony took control of the kiss and made it more gentle.

Tony pulled away first, feeling an itch in the back of his nose.

"ACHOO!" He sneezed. Bruce kissed him again and Tony's lips curled up into a smile.

"You could have just said Bless You."