A/N: Eeek... This is me finally attempting a Science Boyfriends story *Looks nervous and hides behind her fugly couch* I think I've danced around it for long enough and decided to plunge in head first... Sooooo please be gentle, it's been a while.

Warnings: Mild Slash (Although nothing too dramatic), bad language, bad humor, bad science, epic amounts of teasing, Clueless!Tony, Embarrassed!Bruce

Disclaimer: I own nothing not even any shame.*Glares at useless lawyers*

Dedication: For Ecokitty (On DevArt) who's art constantly makes me smile.

For Science!

Read All About It.

The day where everything changed started out normal enough... Well as normal as things got for the Avengers.

It had been a quite a quiet week for the team, no mad scientists, no super villains and no crazed space aliens being led by demi-god's had threatened the earth so they were all enjoying the down time.

Some more than others.

It was nearing eleven thirty when Tony sashayed into the living area nursing a slight hangover and a serious case of cotton mouth; not that anyone would be able to tell, he'd had years of practice of hiding his ills and as long as nobody was too loud he'd...

"Good morrow my friends!"

Thor boomed as he strode in a collection of newspapers bunched under his arms and a smile so bright the billionaire wanted to repulsor it off.

It was too fucking early for that kind of enthusiasm.

Finally making it to the coffee machine and starting it up Tony watched the scene before him unfold. The demi-god had stalked across the communal area sat himself down next to Clint (who was stuffing his face) and handed the papers to Natasha before commandeering the box of pop-tarts the archer was helping himself to. The assassins merely nodded in thanks and opened up the first folded paper glancing at the headline and Tony could have sworn that she smirked. Hawkeye apparently also caught the expression as he shot the red-head a quizzical look and raised an eyebrow in question.

Natasha locked eyes with Tony and there was definitely a smirk this time as she passed the newspaper to Clint and the billionaire tried to force down the slight shudder of fear at that look.

It usually meant something fucking awful was about to go down.

His concentration was broken as Clint's began to splutter, caught halfway between choking and hysterical laughter. Thor quickly jumped to his friend's aid and pounded the smaller man on the back; almost sending the archer face first into the coffee table but it seemed to do the trick as the piece of pop-tart shot out onto smooth wooden surface.

"Ew... Fucking gross, I'm gonna have to get that de-contaminated now... Can't be catching bird flu from you tweety-pie." Tony half-teased, making a mental note to save that bit of footage for future blackmail.

However instead of quipping back like he usually did Clint took one look at the billionaire and burst into laughter so maniacal it would have put a whole room of super-villains to shame; to say Tony was alarmed was an understatement... He was fucking terrified.

It also didn't help that Natasha still had that look on her face.

Y'know... The creepy one where she's gleefully imagining your imminent demise in increasingly creative and violent ways.

Yeah, that one.

It took a few minutes to reign in his fear; masking it expertly by taking slow controlled sips of his coffee and finally the annoyance hit home. This was his house, no one was going to mock him in his own fucking house.

"I swear to the coffee gods I will rip the happy right out of your soul Barton... Just what the fuck is so funny?" He snapped, eyes narrowing into a glare.

Clint managed to tone down his laughter enough so he could speak still with a shit-eating grin firmly affixed to his face.

"Oh nothing much lover-boy." His voice was casual but there was an undertone of demonic glee laced through it.

Lover-boy?

Tony grit his teeth and took a deep steadying breath like Bruce had shown him (in a very impromptu yoga session when the lab had kind of exploded and trapped them inside; seriously who knew the guy was that flexible) and asked the question that was on everybody's lips (well should have been, it was his question.)

"What. The. Ever-loving. Fuck Hawktard? Lover-boy!?"

The archer went to reply but relented with a pout as Natasha shook her head 'the look' still on her face. The assassin raised an eyebrow and tossed the newspaper she'd commandeered from Clint to the billionaire with such speed and deadly accuracy that Tony fumbled to catch it. He looked down at the folded paper in his hands and with all the pomp and swagger expected of him he opened it out with a dramatic shake before perusing the front page headline.

Stark's New Squeeze! Romance blooms on the battlefield?

Oh shit...Oh holy fucking shit!

Below the headline was a candid shot of Iron Man helping a (thankfully partially clothed) post-Hulk Bruce down the street. Tony felt dread curl in his stomach.

Is romance blooming for Tony Stark again?

According to our sources it is.

The notorious playboy famed for his indiscriminate dalliances and flirtatious ways has shied away from the romantic spotlight since his break up with Stark Industries head honcho Virginia 'Pepper' Potts but apparently no more. Sources have linked him with a mysterious man 'pictured above' who apparently has ties with the team known as the Avengers although his exact involvement is unknown.

Witnesses at the scene of the team's latest incident reported that the two men seemed very close on an almost intimate level and that Stark seemed content and happy in the mystery man's presence who had apparently been caught in the cross-fire.

One passer-by was quoted.

"You could just see it between them, there was something deeper than mere acquaintance there. The level of care and concern was adorable."

So is this a new leaf for the former CEO? Or will this be another brief encounter like all those before him?

Continued on page 6...

It was at that moment something completely miraculous happened; Tony Stark was rendered speechless.

He couldn't do anything other than gape at the article while his brain tried (and failed) to process what he was reading.

They thought...

They thought that he and Bruce were together.

Like together, together.

What. The. Fuck?

Now the (very) small part of Tony's brain that contained his rational thinking was fighting against the torrent of mental expletives to say that; yes he and Bruce shared a close friendship and yes people that didn't know them personally might misinterpreted their relationship but that small tiny voice was quickly drowned out by the irrational thought of Holy fuck they think I'm banging Bruce and when he sees this he is going to murder me because I've totally blown his cover, hide the body and then run ohfuckohfuckohfuck and the internal wave of panic this induced.

It still didn't help that the Spy-kids were still watching him trying to gauge his reaction.

Fucking Assholes.

"Trying to catch flies are we Stark?" Clint teased putting his feet up on the coffee table only to have them shoved off by Natasha a second later.

Finally realizing that his mouth was still wide open the billionaire hastily shut it and flipped the smug archer an offensive hand gesture before stalking from the room. He needed to talk to someone neutral, someone who knew his ways but was aware of Bruce and his 'situation.'

With a groan he figured out just who he'd described.

He needed Pepper.

And boy wasn't she going to be pleased to see him.

Back in living area the two assassins just smirked at one another.

"I give it until evening." Natasha said simply.

Hawkeye just grabbed another pop-tart and continued to smirk, he knew better than to bet against the Black Widow.

Tony had been quite correct in his assumption that Pepper wasn't going to be happy to see him. The heels of doom tapped impatiently on the polished floor as blue eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Tony..." She growled "You better have a damned good reason why you just dragged me out of a board of directors meeting!"

Um... Oops.

"Weeeelll..." He started.

The tapping increased and the billionaire sweat-dropped.

"Uh..."

Pepper's eyebrow began to twitch.

"Um... ThepapersgotaphotoofmeandBruceafterabattleandtheth inkwe'retogetherandIdon'tknowwhattodo."

There was a moment where the CEO looked completely and utterly baffled as she worked through the Tony-babble, then understanding dawned and she burst into hysterical laughter. Tony tried not to look offended and folded his arms across his chest, it really wasn't that funny was it?

"Oh... Oh God Tony..." Pepper was beside herself with amusement.

"Come on Pep's... I really need your help with this."

No he was not whining; he was Tony fucking Stark he didn't do whining, nope, no siree bob definitely a no whining zone. The red-head continued to laugh like hyena clutching at her sides through the expensive designer suit and the billionaire glowered like a three year old.

"Peeeeeeeep's..." Tony winced

Ouch. That came out more high pitched than I intended, minus ten manliness points there Stark.

Finally the banshee formerly known as Pepper lowered her cackle to a quiet chuckle with the odd hiccup.

"So the papers think you're with Bruce, what's the problem? You never usually care about this kind of stuff."

Tony shot her an incredulous look.

"I don't care about what they're saying. I'm worried Bruce is going to murder me for blowing his cover and then run away again."

An auburn brow rose and Tony knew to tone down the dramatics.

"Okay, okay maybe not murder but he's gonna be pissed and then freak out and go into 'I'm putting everyone in danger mode' and run away again and he shouldn't have to just because I messed up."

He sucked in a breath and let his shoulders slump slightly and Pepper felt her amusement fade entirely, it wasn't often this 'other' side of Tony reared its head and it made the CEO smile softly.

"Tony, you haven't messed up. It's wasn't you who took that photograph and I'm sure Dr. Banner won't blame you for it. However in regards to the 'him leaving' problem all I can say is that at the end of the day it's his choice Tony and you have to respect that."

She hated to be the bearer of bad news but she found that being blunt was the best way to deal with the errant Mr. Stark.

"But I don't want him to go..."

The slightly lost edge to Tony's voice had Pepper wincing slightly but it fired up her curiosity and that in turn lead to her next question.

"Why do you want him stay so badly? I mean I know you respect his intelligence and input but there are these things called telephones Tony, you'd still be in contact... Why do you want him here?"

She wasn't against Tony's adamant desire to have the other man stay; in fact she was all for it. Bruce had been a great ally in helping to manage the billionaire's more destructive tendencies, especially during their break-up and she would eternally be grateful for that. But she needed to know what was going through Tony's head and whether or not he realized why he was so insistent on the physicist staying.

For the second time this day the miraculous happened; Tony was rendered speechless. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't come up with a sufficient answer to Pepper's question. She had raised a valid point; he could easily remain in contact with Bruce should he chose to leave but the very thought of that made his chest ache oddly and left a bitter taste in his mouth. He looked helplessly at Pepper mouthing wordlessly and trying to form a coherent sentence but after a few minutes he just gave up, shaking his head.

"I don't know why... I just do."

Pepper sighed softly that gentle smile still on her face, slowly she moved forward and placed a hand on his shoulder looking into his eyes.

"Then maybe it's something to think about when you go and talk to him, which I would do now before another one of those jokers beats you to it and turns this into a situation."

The billionaire's jaw clenched and there was an unconscious flicker of his eyes that betrayed his nervousness but almost as soon as they'd appeared they'd vanished and the billionaire was back to his usual cocky self.

"That's a good point Pep's! The last thing I need is for bird-brain and Captain no-sense-of-tact to take control of this, I'd rather not have to redecorate the lab again and blood is such annoyance to wash of the lab desks."

The CEO just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest as she brushed past him on the way to the door.

"Well excuse me then Mr. Stark I have a meeting to salvage."

Once outside the office she leaned against the door and shook her head in amused exasperation, honestly for someone supposedly so intelligent Tony really could be dense sometimes.

"Good luck Bruce, you're going to need it." She muttered to herself before stalking off down the corridor with the intent on making a few old fogies wet themselves in fear in order to relieve some frustration.

By the time Tony reached the lab all the bravado he'd shown in front of Pepper had promptly vanished and it wasn't something he was used to. He really, really hated not being in full control of a situation especially one where the outcome actually meant a (small) something to him. But Pepper had been right, (damn that infernal woman) he was the one who needed to sort this out before it escalated beyond all control.

He didn't bother knocking and just strode in trying to look more confident than he felt and without warning plonked himself on top of the desk Bruce was working at, legs swinging like a three year old.

"What's up Doc?"

There was a small groan as Bruce looked up, a look of exasperation on his face.

"Not much Bugs, so if you'll kindly remove yourself from my workstation I'd be very much obliged."

Tony felt a grin stretch across his face at the reply, knowing that the politeness was only a carefully constructed front to hide the snark and sarcasm that lingered just beneath the surface. Bruce could act the mild-mannered professor all he wanted but Tony knew the truth and he took great pleasure in drawing the other man out of his shell.

"Uh... I think you'll find it's my workstation Dr. Sassypants but hey I'm a nice guy and I'll oblige you just this once."

He jumped down from the counter arms raised like a gymnast and shot a cheeky wink at the physicist, which earned him a rare, genuine laugh from the other man.

He really needs to laugh more, it's kinda cute and it suits him.

There was a brief moment of confusion as the billionaire tried to figure out just where the hell that particular thought had come from but it was instantly pushed to one side as he focused once again on the task at hand. Honestly what had he been so afraid of? This was Bruce and while admittedly he did have some breathtaking anger management issues he was generally a pretty laid back guy as long as he wasn't feeling threatened or uncomfortable (something he admittedly was kind of proud of because it took a lot for the other man to feel comfortable.)

"So Brer Rabbit are you here for a reason?"

Suddenly the fear was back in full force and Tony felt his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth.

"Er..."

Bruce cocked an eyebrow a small frown marring his features.

"Tony... What's wrong?"

There was a hint of worry in his question and it made Tony's heart beat hard behind the arc reactor. Damn, now he'd made the physicist worry and he hadn't wanted that.

He blatantly ignored the little voice in his head that asked 'since when do you care if you make people worry?'

"Um... Welp..." He started lamely, popping the p "This showed up on the front page today."

He handed Bruce the paper hoping that he wasn't handing the other man an excuse to just up and run. Tony watched as the other man read down the article a myriad of different emotions flickering across his face and the billionaire felt his heart sink.

"So... They think...?" Bruce asked quietly.

"Uh... Yeah, kinda."

There was a moment of silence between the two of them and then the physicist began to laugh again but it was nothing like the genuine laugh of before, it was a low dark chuckle completely devoid of any real humor and Tony felt himself shudder.

"Bruce...?"

Bruce looked up a strained smile on his face and an empty look in his eyes.

"I should have known this wouldn't last..."

The billionaire felt his heart squeeze tightly as his worst fears began to unfold before his eyes.

Nononono! This is Not. Happening.

Unaware of Tony's inner turmoil the physicist continued to mumble under his breath.

"I should get out of here before things get any worse and your reputation gets dragged even further through the mud."

Wait. One. Cotton-Picking. Minute.

Bruce thought that Tony wanted him to leave.

Bruce thought that Tony wanted him to leave because of his reputation.

Of all the ridiculous things to leave over this was the one he went with? The billionaire couldn't quite wrap his head around the other man's logic, it made absolutely no sense to him. The idea of being linked to Bruce wasn't something that was repulsive to him, he'd just been caught off guard by it and let's be brutally honest here he'd been linked to worse people. And he actually liked Bruce a lot more than...Most... Of... Suddenly Pepper's insistent question came back to him and he felt his eyes widen as the answer pretty much slapped him in the face.

Oh holy Jesus fucking Christ.

He was smitten.

Tony's heart simultaneously stopped and tried to beat through his chest as the pieces fell into place.

Actually giving a fuck about his well-being? Check!

Always seeking out and monopolizing his time? Check!

Getting pissed and dare he say jealous when other people monopolized his time? Check!

Randomly finding things about him cute or attractive and not getting why? Check!

Honestly of all the times to have a fucking epiphany this had to be the absolute worse. How had he not noticed his more than friendly interest in his friend before now? He was the God-damned king of 'more than friendly' relations, back in his wild days he had more than friendly relations at least five times a week and quite often with different people (not something that he was particularly proud of nowadays). He should have seen this coming from a mile away. But no, Bruce had gotten under his skin in that quiet way of his probably not even realizing that he was doing it.

It made Tony want to bang his head against the wall.

While this brief sojourn into the realms of disbelief was occurring the physicist was continuing to ramble on whilst hastily gathering the few belongings he had. It wasn't until he pushed back the metal lab stool, the screech of metal upon tile grating across the lab and snapping the billionaire from his daze. He took one look at the ready to leave Bruce and frowned.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Bruce sighed in exasperation, clutching the small satchel to his chest like it were a precious treasure.

"Away. I just went over this with you Tony, were you not listening to me at all?"

Tony grinned with more bravado than he actually felt.

"Of course I was Doc, but could y'know refresh my memory a bit?"

The other man closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You. Are. Impossible, you do know that right?"

"But you love me for it."

If Tony hadn't been watching the other man so closely he would have missed it but for the briefest of moments Bruce definitely had a broken look in his eyes as he flinched. However the next minute his usual calm indifference was back and it made the billionaire almost doubt that he'd seen anything at all.

Well that was odd.

"Tony... I don't want you to get hurt or ridiculed because of me, if you want any semblance of this friendship to survive I have to leave before something happens."

Tony felt irritation bubble in his chest, did Bruce really think that he was that shallow? He shook the thought from his head instantly knowing that wasn't the case, the other scientist knew him better than that.

"What if I don't want a 'semblance of this friendship'...?"

As soon as the words left his mouth the billionaire mentally face-palmed, that wasn't how he'd intended that to come out and it appeared that the good Doctor had taken it the wrong way as well. He wasn't even attempting to mask the broken look on his face and without even a word he strode toward the lab door.

Tony knew he had to act fast and he barreled across the room and grabbed hold of Bruce's arm spinning him around.

"I didn't mean that the way it came out."

Brown eyes flecked with green narrowed.

"It's okay Tony, I get it. You don't have to pretend you're okay with what they insinuated, I mean you're Tony Stark... "

The 'you could have anyone you wanted friend or otherwise' went unspoken.

Tony felt his jaw twitch, honestly Bruce's self-confidence could go to fucking hell. How could he not see how awesome and amazing he was? He was the Hulk for fucks sake, never mind one of the most brilliant, kind, funny and oh dear god he had it bad. If it wasn't so ridiculously embarrassing it would be hilarious. But back to point at hand Bruce was a good man, he shouldn't make himself a social pariah just because he thought he would hurt someone. Hell everyone hurt someone at one time or another it was fucking human nature.

"What does being Tony Stark have to do with anything!?" Tony snapped with more venom than he intended.

The physicist flinched again and looked away.

"You know exactly what it means, you're the face of the Avengers. An embarrassment to you is an embarrassment to the team." He replied, voice low.

The billionaire wanted to scream in frustration. Why. Didn't. He. Just. Get. A. Clue?

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Who said I was embarrassed?"

He grabbed hold of Bruce's shirt a smirk on his face and pulled the other man closer crashing their lips together.

There was a moment where Bruce didn't react and then as if a light had been switched on in his brain he was all over Tony, mouth demanding against the billionaire's own. And gods did Tony love it, it was so primal and instinctive and damned fucking better than anything he had experienced in a while.

Then as suddenly as the physicist had responded he pulled away panting, a wild, fearful look in his eyes.

"What the fuck was that Tony?!"

It was rare for Bruce to swear and Tony could see him trembling slightly, fighting for control.

"That, Bruce, was a kiss and a damned good one I might add, didn't know you had it in you big guy."

Bruce just stared wide eyed at his friend.

"W-why?"

The billionaire ran a nervous hand through his hair and tried to formulate the words that would get his point across without making him sound like a teenage girl with a crush.

"Because certain situations have recently been brought to my attention and it appears I've been suffering from a healthy dose of denial. This…" He pointed to the discarded newspaper "Has opened my eyes to what was apparently obvious to everyone else."

The physicist continued to stare caught between the urge to flee and the morbid curiosity to hear more from Tony. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to find his voice but it wouldn't come no matter how hard he tried. This situation was completely surreal, there was no way, no freaking way that Tony could like him like that.

He just kissed you moron.

Shut up logic.

Telling me to shut up isn't going to change the fact he kissed you and what's more you kissed back.

Shit, he had.

Bruce had tried very, very hard to ignore the feelings that he'd begun to develop for his rather eccentric friend but as soon as those lips had touched his own rational had flown out the window and he'd just reacted.

This was so bad.

This was so colossally bad.

He had to get out of there before he made any more stupid mistakes.

"Bruce, talk to me…"

Tony's hand had moved to his forearm and was shaking him gently trying to gain his attention.

"Shit, please don't tell me I broke you…"

Green flecked brown eyes stared into the dark orbs before him and as much as Bruce wanted to he couldn't pull away.

"You can't… This is impossible." His voice was strained and choked out around the lump in his throat.

Tony grinned. "'Fraid not Brucey boy, it appears I'm quite smitten here and why is it impossible?"

The physicist couldn't answer and Tony finally found his confidence and moved forward again, capturing his lips in a soft embrace before backing away.

"See, not impossible at all."

Finally Bruce found his voice and pushed the billionaire away.

"Tony, you can't… I can't… This is wrong, so wrong. It doesn't matter what you feel… what I feel. This. Can. Not. Happen, it's too dangerous."

The billionaire frowned and crossed his arms across his chest even in light of the revelation Bruce had just presented to him.

"You. Are. Not. Dangerous. At least no more dangerous than the rest of us. You have control, how many times do I have to tell you this?! And the Hulk is not something to be afraid of."

The bi-colored eyes dropped to the floor, he wanted to believe Tony so much but...

Go. Be happy.

The gruff voice in the back of his head startled Bruce out of his self-depreciating thoughts and he could feel his mental house guest push further, prodding him forward. Was the Hulk giving him, this, his blessing?

Tony special, not afraid make both Hulk and Banner happy.

The physicist felt his jaw drop in complete shock for a brief second and then slowly a smile spread across his face.

Okay.

There was a grumble of agreement in the back of his mind and before Tony had chance to realize something had changed he had been accosted by the other man and toppled to the floor.

"So I'll take this as a 'Let's give this a chance' then?"

Bruce nodded "The Hulk was quite insistent, he apparently thinks you'll be good for us although I can't for the life of me figure out why."

"Hey! I'm an upstanding member of society, people love me." Tony whined in response.

He pouted childishly causing Bruce to laugh and clutch more tightly to the man beside him.

"Sure thing Tony."

"I'm a philanthropist, it comes with the territory."

"Whatever you say."

"Bruce, you're mean."

"So I've been tol…."

The rest of the sentence was cut off as Tony once again kissed the other man senseless. Sure they still had a lot to talk about but this was a promising start and fuck anyone who thought otherwise.

~End~

A/N: Holy shit! That totally went on longer than I intended…So yeah officially scared about posting this one so please ease my nerves and leave some love/ hate/ indifference *Hides behind couch and whimpers*