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“Safety first,” Bruce muttered, trying to remember who had talked him into this.
Oh yes, it was none other than the person in front of him, Tony Stark, who had gone on and on about Science Bros, Bruce. Access to all my labs, Bruce. Unlimited funding, Bruce. Tony fucking Stark who was also currently standing in the middle of his lab, stark naked.
It wasn't that Bruce was embarrassed by or opposed to the act of err... letting it all hang loose and enjoying the breeze. He frequently woke up in random places without clothes on after hulking out but this was just plain ridiculous.
And was the mixture in the beaker Tony was glaring at vibrating at its own accord?
Tony did not give any indication of having heard him, so Bruce sighed again and headed to one of the cabinets at a corner of the lab, pulling out a lab coat.
“Seriously, Tony, you’re in a lab. Even if you don’t wear gloves or safety goggles, at least wear some clothes,” said Bruce.
“It’s not a problem,” replied Tony. “I’ve always worked like this. Nobody ever minded”.
“Pepper and Colonel Rhodes rarely come to your personal lab but you’ve got more house mates now, Tony”.
“We’re all guys here, Bruce,” Tony said absently before frowning. “Besides, Natasha wouldn’t mind. I think”.
“Wait till I tell her that you referred to her as a guy,” Bruce smiled.
“I would prefer that you don’t do that,” Tony shuddered but finally deigned to pull on the lab coat. “Pass me that thermometer, will you?”
It took less than a week for everyone living in Avengers Tower to realize that it was an ingrained habit of Tony’s to walk around the residential floors naked.
“It just means that he feels safe and comfortable around all of you,” Pepper said serenely when Bruce asked her about it. “Just ask him to put something on if you feel awkward”.
If Bruce wasn't mistaken, there was also a touch of schadenfreude in Pepper's voice but it was probably better to pretend he had not noticed. They both turned to look at Tony standing on the balcony, who seemed to be busy yelling at someone over the phone, complete with dramatic hand signals and much flailing of various body parts.
“It’s not so much about awkwardness these days,” Bruce explained. “This habit of his? It’s infecting the other members of the team”.
“Natasha must be enjoying herself,” Pepper laughed. “Jarvis, remind me to drop by the communal floor more often”.
“Of course, Ms Potts,” Jarvis replied with an undercurrent of amusement.
So when Bruce walked into the kitchen later to see a naked Clint rooting in the refrigerator and giving him a good view of the tattoo on his tailbone, all he did was groan quietly and move towards the toaster.
“Hey Bruce,” Clint said cheerily without turning to look at him. “Do you know whether we have any more milk? I need it to wash down these cookies”.
Bruce was pleasantly surprised to have caught Natasha at breakfast time when he bumped into her in the elevator on the way to the kitchen in the communal floor and they indulged in easy banter on coffee versus tea and white bread versus whole grain bread.
It wasn’t a surprise to see Steve standing over the stove, but they jumped slightly when he said “I don’t think you should sit there, Natasha”.
Natasha, who had grabbed a cup of coffee and was about to slide onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table, frowned. “What’s wrong, Steve?”
“Nothing life threatening,” Steve replied. “Apart from the fact that Tony had just been sitting there. You might want to consider putting a towel over the seat first”.
At exactly the same time, Tony ambled in and sat down on the chair they had been talking about.
“Speak for yourself, Steve,” Natasha said finally, after giving both of them a speculative once-over. “You’re making breakfast for us without any clothes on. At least put on an apron to protect from oil splatters”.
“Don’t be a party pooper,” Tony yawned, waving at Bruce. “Just sit down and enjoy the view”.
“That’s so wrong coming from you”.
Pepper made it a point to clear her schedule once every fortnight for the routine girls’ night out which usually included whoever was able to make it from the roster of herself, Natasha, Maria, Jane and Darcy. This time, she was pleased to note, all of them had appeared.
Darcy was just telling them about a cute guy she kept running into at her usual coffee place when Thor came in carrying carton of sake and wearing well, nothing.
Pepper and Darcy choked on their sushi and gaped, while Maria and Natasha grinned and openly ogled him.
“Thor,” Jane said, flustered. “Why are you not wearing anything?”
“Just keeping up with the traditions of my shield brothers, my lady,” Thor replied casually as Tony sheepishly walked in wearing a vague approximation of a muumuu, with Bruce behind him.
“Is that a muumuu, Stark?” said Jane, sounding confused as she stood, motioned to Thor to place the sake on a low table, and started shooing the men out of the room.
“Hi all. Ignore us. Just dropping by to drag Thor over to our movie night,” Tony shrugged. “No worries. We’ll be leaving now. Love you, Pep”.
“Put some clothes on, Thor,” Jane bellowed over Tony’s voice. “And you, Stark, you look terrible in that”.
“Thanks, Jane, could I have that in writing too?” said Bruce encouragingly.
“I think I now understand why you agreed so easily to move into the tower, Natasha,” Maria said, reaching over to smack her on the thigh.
“Don’t let them fool you,” Natasha scoffed, picking up another piece of sushi. “It’s like living with a bunch of teenage boys”.
Bruce used only three machines in the much too well equipped gym in the tower- the treadmill, the elliptical trainer and the rowing machine. However, there was a spot in front of the windows which he liked for his yoga sessions and he was running through the poses in his head as he stepped into the gym before realizing that Natasha was in his spot.
She wasn’t naked, which was a relief, but judging by the temperature, she was doing bikram yoga. And she was wearing a bikini.
She smiled when she caught sight of him. “I’m decent. Sort of”.
Bruce decided that focusing on her face was the best course of action as he set up his yoga mat a few feet away from her. “You’re behaving better than the others, at least”.
“I noticed that you’ve started walking around the tower half naked, Doctor”.
“Hilarious. I mean, yes, well, it’s... hot?” Bruce replied. He did not mean to make it sound like a question. “You were walking around in a negligee and bunny slippers last night. Talk about juxtaposition”.
Natasha merely smirked. “Let’s go out for hot chocolate once we’re done”.
---
It’s official, Bruce sighed to himself. He was easily corruptible. He walked past Clint and Steve, who were standing in front of the television and debating whether to start watching Arrow or The Flash first (Three seasons, Steve).
“Nice boxers, Bruce,” Clint said breezily (Hah).
“I have no idea what I can compliment you on when you’re not wearing a thing, so I think I’ll just thank you, Clint,” said Bruce.
“You could say that I have a nice butt,” Clint replied happily as Steve snorted.
“Forget the idiots over there and come join us,” Tony hollered from where he was sitting on the sofa. “Natasha’s agreed to paint my fingernails”.
Bruce stared at Natasha (The traitor), who was in yet another bikini, as she merely lifted a brow in reply.
“Fine,” he announced, sitting down next to Thor. “Do you have purple nail polish?”