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Tony's fingers flew across the keypad of the tablet in his arms, barely managing to finish typing one word before he was yelling out another command for JARVIS, hopping over wires and cables as he ran through the lab.
He was really starting to regret not backing up his files sooner.
But, if he was being honest, he hadn't thought this day would come as soon as it did. He’d thought about the day in question, sure. Discussed it, chatted about it, even helped plan some of it in late-night lab sessions - when the lights had dimmed low and the small hours of the morning were just starting to dawn. Bruce had talked at length about it, and Tony had encouraged him because that’s what they did. Tony wanted to see him happy. He wanted to see him reach out and claim something for himself.
He wanted Bruce to have his own slice of happiness, so it definitely wasn’t out of shock per say that he’d forgotten to prepare his lab. He'd spent the majority of the past few months prompting this, actually. Evening after evening hinting and hoping towards today, small glances and winks cast across Stark tower at parties and meetings whenever he caught Bruce alone with the demi-god in question.
And somehow, somehow, it still caught him off guard.
"Tony, you know I love and support you in almost everything you do,"
Pepper's familiar dealing-with-Tony voice rang out from the doorway, her eyes narrowing as they landed on him, smeared with grease, fingers pounding against keyboards like his life depended on it.
"But what in the hell are you doing?"
"It's today, Pep." Tony ran up the few steps towards Pepper, planting a kiss on her cheek before whirling around to pull a USB-drive from a sparking wall.
"I've gotta back up my files. There's about 100 projects going on and I can't lose a piece of them."
"Right. You set a schedule for short-circuiting all the servers in the building. Very considerate."
"No, Pep, listen." He paused, breath coming heavy through his nose, turning to Pepper with wide eyes, sparking with something akin to glee.
"Bruce is proposing today. And if my calculations are correct, Thor is gonna cry. And if he cries, my tech is fried."
Housing the resident thunder-god in his building did have its perks. No shelf was too high to reach, he had access to the ultimate door-stop (although it did feel a little strange using something that was forged in the heart of a star to keep his lab door open, but if it works, it works), and thanks to a neat little trick he and Thor had been working on all it took was the tap of a finger against his smartphone to charge the battery up.
However, as with any flatting situation, there were some...unpredictable elements.
He’d expected a little static, of course. Anyone who hung around Thor long enough knew that the demi-god carried a permanent charge with him at all times - but what he didn’t account for was the way in which this could manifest.
For instance, when Bruce kissed Thor for the first time at a post-battle party, immediately plunging them all into darkness when the lightbulbs promptly exploded. Or during a movie night, when Bruce’s fingers were wound into the blonde locks of Thor’s hair, braiding and touching and the demi-god was all but purring - Tony’s power banks could barely contain all of the excess energy.
They’d tried solutions. A miniature lightning rod, tucked into Thor’s pocket or pinned into his hair like an elaborate piece of jewellery. Candle-lit dinners around anniversary times, insulated table mats, power-cord bracelets. And for the smaller things, it worked. Sad movies no longer resulted in a miniature maelstrom, games of mario kart didn’t end up with half the block losing power.
But for the important things, such as today, there really was no material on earth or anywhere else that was going to prevent the massive power surge.
Because if their first kiss had been bad
Oh boy.
Tony sighed in momentary relief as another project was saved, and another backup uploaded.
“Look, Pep, you gotta help me out here. I don’t know how much time I have left. Bruce walked in here 15 minutes ago, downed a pot of coffee and then walked right back out.”
He turned, batting his eyelids in what he hoped was an appealing gesture.
“Please?”
“Fine, fine. But you owe me. No weird dancing at their wedding.”
“I can’t make that promise.”
A crack of thunder resounded above them, and Tony froze in place - the lab silent aside from the faint beeping of machinery, still powering through commands.
That had to mean something, right? Maybe Thor saw this coming - maybe he was proposing at the same time. His eyes swivelled to the fluorescent lights, still blaring, still humming. Still firmly un-exploded.
He let out a slow breath of air, a small smile crossing his face.
“I think we’re goo-”
Tony really didn’t know what he was expecting.
Thor, of all people, was not going to be able to hold it together around Bruce Banner. The man wrote poetry about him, for pete’s sake. There hadn’t been a battle gone by where he hadn’t found Thor cuddled up by the Hulk’s side, or with Bruce tucked firmly between his arms - staring up at the giant or down at the scientist with the same expression of wonder on his face, as if he was seeing the stars themselves for the very first time.
In short, when the lights exploded and his systems went dark, he really should’ve seen this coming.
There was laughter coming from upstairs. Bruce was saying something, the aftermath of a smile still tinging his voice, and Tony felt his own throat getting that little bit tighter.
A few sparks, he decided, was entirely worth it to see those two happy. He could stand to lose a few calculations, a few nights of power, here and there. For the people upstairs, who were no doubt going to have the most insufferably loving wedding-vows written this side of the universe, he could sit through just about anything.