Work Text:
It was quite early in the morning when Bruce stepped out of the elevator leading to the communal floor. He had found himself craving for hot chocolate, although he couldn’t figure out why. He figured today would be as good of a day as any to try Tony’s hospitality, so he asked Jarvis where he could find some. Now here he was, standing in the hallway, his quest for hot chocolate thwarted by the not quite quiet exchange happening between the owner of the building, and his CEO.
“Tony.” Pepper was chastising in her exasperated tone. “Just admit it. You’re scare. Of him—”
Bruce froze. Unconsciously, he stepped into the shadow, careful to angle his body out of sight. Thank god for Tony’s silent elevators, because it seemed that the pair didn’t hear him enter the floor.
“—of his reaction. He may just look like a harmless rumpled professor, but deep down, you’re scared he will hurt you, even if you are Tony Fucking Stark.”
There was a clink of glass being set down on the table, then a quiet, pained “Pepper.. god, why do you always have to be right?”
There it was. To be honest, Bruce was waiting for it; he’s always waiting for this, because this is what he gets. This is what he deserves. Who is he kidding, thinking he was worth anyone’s hospitality? All thoughts about hot chocolate left his mind as he quickly made his way back to the elevator. But not before a sharp sob left him.
-
After all the attempts on his life, Tony’s sense were pretty well tuned, so he heard the loud intake of breath come from the otherwise silent floor. But just to make sure, he turn to Pepper.
“Pepper did you—”
She cut him off with a quick nod. “Yeah, I did. And with our luck, it was probably who we think it was.”
Groaning, Tony pulled his legs up in his chair, and threw his head down into his hands. “Ugh. Jarvis? Can you just clarify and confirm for us?”
“Doctor Banner just recently left this floor.”
“Oh shit.” More groans came from Tony in his crouched position. He did an amazing job sounding as if he were in actual physical pain.
“Indeed, sir. May I suggest you make your way to his floor. He seems quite upset.”
“Right..” He turned to Pepper for support.
“Don’t fuck this up,” she told him, plainly. He gave her a weak smile that said “I already did.”
For a moment, she became sympathetic, breaking her no-nonsense stance. She came over, and she tugged him up from his stool, giving him a firm hug. Then changing her face back to a stern expression, she ordered “Go fix it, then. It’s what you do, right? He can’t be that upset that The Great Tony Stark likes him.”
God, he loved Pepper. She always knew what to say. “Yeah. Yeah, thanks; you’re right. He can’t be that mad at me. I mean, I gave him his own lab. State of the art. All the nice toys. That’s enough to make up for it, right? Jesus, what would I do without you?”
The redhead just smirked, and snarked “Just Pepper is fine, Mr. Stark.” which brought chuckle from the engineer, and continued more seriously with “That’s not what I mean, Tony. Think about how happy you were when you found someone who spoke English like you did. He’s bound to be happy he found someone like that, too. But enough chitchat. Go to him!”
-
“Bruce! I know for a fact you’re in here! Jarvis told me.”
Sighing, Bruce unlocked the bathroom and walked out, facing Tony as he entered his bedroom. “Hi, Tony. You’re in my room.”
“Good observation, Doctor Obvious. Haha, get it? Since you’re a doctor?” Tony let out a strained huff that was suppose to pass for a laugh. Bruce supposed he was nervous, too. It wasn’t every day that you get to kick out a “giant green rage monster,” right?
Bruce sighed again, and let his face fall into a soft smile. It wasn’t Tony’s fault, after all. “I get it, Tony. And I get the other thing, too. It’s okay.”
Tony visibly deflated, and Bruce couldn’t help but feel a little bit more hurt that Tony wasn’t fighting back more.
“Oh good, okay, that solves a lot—”
“I’ll just—”
“—so it’ll be okay if I—”
“—pack a bag or something—”
“—and kiss you..”
“—and leave..”
The inventor’s eyes grew wide with shock. “LEAVE??” He practically shouted. “Wait, no, why would you leave, Banner, what the hell— explain yourself!”
“Explain myself?!” Bruce cried back, hurt, and suddenly, it was like all his emotions uncapped. “What do you mean, explain myself?” Bruce shouted back, “You clearly want me to leave; you were talking to Pepper and she said you were scared of me. I thought I’d just help you along and leave, with some of my dignity intact if that’s alright, thank you!”
And then Bruce did the only think he thought logical after his outburst. Embarrassed, he ran back into his bathroom, and locked the door. A few tense minutes passed, and nothing happened. But then, incredibly, Tony began to laugh, actual guffaws that the billionaire had the sense to at least try to stifle, but were clear enough to Bruce’s ears. Embarrassed and hurt, Bruce sat on the toilet and willed himself not to cried, or open the door. He would not cave into curiosity, especial not after how Tony treated him. And he definitely did not want to know what Tony was mumbling to himself, not at all.
-
“Oh god, I really screwed this one up. Pep’s gonna kill me. But I’ll fix it, okay. I’m sorry, Bruce, but you got it wrong. Jarvis, activate the screen in Bruce’s bathroom mirror, and showed him what actually happened. Before and after he eavesdropped on Pepper and me. Tell him I’ll be in the workshop afterward?”
“Duly noted, sir. May I also wish you the best of luck.”
Thanks, J. I’m just gonna wait this one out, yeah?”
“That may be the best way to proceed, given the circumstances.”
-
In the end, it only took Bruce 30 minutes to show up in Tony’s workshop. It took less than a minute for him to grab Tony, and spin him around so he was facing the physicist. Understandably, Tony was a confused by his actions, and a bit panicked.
“Hey, Bruce, buddy, I’m sorry if you’re angry, but can we just talk it out and not—”
Bruce didn’t give him a chance to finish, as he pulled Tony close and kissed him hard. All of Tony’s complains stopped in an instant, as he responded, his hands wandering up to tangle in Bruce’s hair as Bruce moved his down to settle them on Tony’s hips.
When they pulled a part, Tony said cheekily “Now that that’s settled, do you still want your cup of hot chocolate?”