Turnabout - (parts 5/5 + epilogue) - Finished 6/13/2012

[Garnet]

You guys amaze me with the positive response to my derpy little Bannerfic ;u; Had quite a few people request Tony as well, and now that I've done my 'homework' and watched some more of the movies, I'm prepared to tackle Mr. Snark Stark.

This maaaay end up with me torturing both of them or others as well, depending on how long my interest holds out. But here's the first bit, anyway!

As with the first, you can read it with slash-goggles or not.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Ready to admit it yet?"

Tony Stark jerked awake from a doze he wasn't aware he'd fallen into. The world was a smear of lights and muffled sound, and it took longer to blink it back into focus than he would care to admit. The purple-ish blur standing beside him he could assume to be his lab partner of the last couple months.

"Admit what?" He sighed groggily, grinding the heels of his palms against his eyes. Better, but now his head hurt twice as much and there were a thousand little flecks of light shimmering in his vision.

"That you're sick."

"Who's sick?" Tony dismissed flippantly, half-ignoring the other man's comments as he shook himself mostly awake and tried to recompose in his head what he'd been working on before apparently nodding off. He reached for the coil of solder and accompanying iron before he was quite aware of what he'd been using them for. There was a half-composed circuitboard in front of him, that seemed a logical start.

"You are," Bruce replied patiently. He beat Tony to the solder and held the the spool of wire out of reach, putting a premature end to Tony's plans. Whatever they were.

"Nah, I'm fine, just sleep-deprived. You know, the usual," Tony attempted his typical banter as he snatched for the solder. His reflexes were still logy from the impromptu nap, or at least that's what he told himself when he missed by a mile. Bruce took a step back, but he didn't have the energy to chase after him, instead settling on a pathetic look. It was meant to be playful, but suddenly the misery was realized as he snapped the same hand back to his mouth to contain a series of short coughs. What the hell.

"You must be, your wit is failing you."

Tony considered that for a moment, lungs burning from the brief exertion, then flashed a crooked smile. "So you admit I'm witty..."

"Oh yes, it's scintillating," Bruce agreed. He set the solder aside, then plucked lightly at the shoulder seam of the taller man's shirt. "Come on, at least go take a real nap."

Tony frowned and shrugged him off, then scooted his stool aside for good measure. He flicked open a nearby drawer and recovered a fresh coil of solder, resisting the urge to give Bruce a smug look in the process. "Really, I'm fine. What was I out, five minutes? I'm..." His brow furrowed deeply for a moment, honing in on a vague flicker of irritation in the back of his sinuses. It was not boding well in combination with the exhaustion and unpleasant compulsion to cough, but he wasn't about to admit that. Not even to Bruce, and especially not to Pepper. He recalled her making similar concerned noises at him over the phone earlier, worrying that his voice sounded thicker than usual. "....fine. I'm fine."

"Right. And you'll be fine right up until you pass out on a soldering iron and lose an eye," Bruce drawled around a sigh. He furled his arms and gave Tony a slow, measured look over the rims of his glasses. Damn that look.

"Hey, there's an idea. Think I could build an arc reactor even smaller? It could power a little optic camera," Tony misdirected the line of conversation, holding the point of the iron up near his eye indicatively. Or maybe threateningly, if Bruce didn't back off. "I could go full-on robot."

Bruce sighed and relented. He drew a phone from a back pocket, though, which drew Tony's attention immediately. Bruce didn't talk to anyone. Hell, he'd been surprised, albeit pleasantly so, that he'd managed to distract the doctor into staying with him even this long. He imagined it had something to do with treating the other man as a person or a rehabilitation project at worst, not merely an experiment to be poked and prodded at. At least not without some friendly banter to lighten the mood as he did so. But still, Bruce didn't... text. Did he?

"What are you doing?"

"Texting Pepper. I imagine she's better at wrangling you than I am..."

Tony's eyes widened as he set down the soldering iron and made a sudden grab for the phone. "What? No! Jeez, Banner, that's fighting dirty. Don't send that, I'm going. Nap. See? Here I go." He slid off the stool for emphasis, and sighed in relief when Bruce lowered the phone.

"Glad we could come to an agreement," Bruce smiled sardonically, and Tony had some barb waiting on his tongue in retort, but he hesitated with brow creased again.

"Yeah, if...wh-- h-hang on," he muttered, glad he could at least get that much out before his breath caught and warped. He'd already told JARVIS to dim the lights in the laboratory as much as he could stand, but they were still blindingly bright to him, and any errant glance was making that latent prickle of irritation in his sinuses flare up.

That was... surely all it was.

Crushing a fist beneath his nose, the engineer took a long step away from his companion and hunched his shoulders tightly.

"Tony? Are you--"

"Hkh-ischoo!!" It wasn't exactly a full stifle, but it was as damned close to it as he would allow himself to get. "Hk--ISSHoo!!" Damnit, why couldn't he ever just stop at one... "Heh-! ISCHH!! Uuuhghh." He trailed off into a groan when the immediate reflex faded enough to be rubbed into submission. He brushed a thumb over his mustache with faint chagrin, then lowered the hand. "Sorry, that's... I'm good. Dust. All the renovations, gets in the air ducts."

JARVIS chose this opportunity to speak up, in its usual flat AI voice.

"Air quality is at an optimum, sir, thanks to the conversions installed last mo--"

"Mute," Tony interrupted in annoyance, still slowly scrubbing his knuckles against his nose and glowering... at whatever. Maybe at Bruce, even though he liked the guy. A lot. It was safe to say that Tony Stark tolerated most people. Even those he pretended to like usually only got the good graces of his affection for a night at a time before they were kicked to the curb. But he did like his... lab partner, team mate, friend. Whatever. At the moment, though, he wished he'd stop looking at him in that vaguely self-satisfied and yet apologetic way. Half the time he wanted to hug the guy, and the other half he wanted to punch him.

Then again, he was pretty sure that was how most people felt about himself, too. Maybe with a slightly bigger emphasis on the punching.

"Bless you," Bruce offered with a frown. "Tony, seriously, you're not a robot and everyone gets sick."

"I'm not sick," he insisted, but he did unplug the soldering iron and stash his wireframed notes away. "And if I was, it wouldn't matter. I've worked through worse." Much, much worse he reminded himself with a bitter grimace.

"Sir, you have been operating at seventy percent of your optimum capacity and efficiency for the past two days," JARVIS piped up, to his annoyance.

"Wh-- didn't I mute you? Hush! Silencio! What, are you two in cahoots now?" He gestured to Bruce impatiently.

"Sir, you did change my protocols to allow Dr. Banner full override permissions in the event of---"

"It's okay, JARVIS," Bruce interrupted this time, waving in a generalized dismissive gesture before returning his attention to Tony. "I can believe you've worked under worse conditions. Well, I know you have. But there's no reason to be stupid about it now," he said bluntly. Typically the other man possessed or... at least exercised more tact than the 'billionaire playboy philanthropist' did, but cutting to the chase evidently signaled that he meant business.

Tony took a breath either in preparation to protest or acquiesce, he hadn't quite decided, then pulled a helplessly irritated expression as his body decided 'neither' was the best option. Instead, he wrenched his nose into a fist again and angled himself away. "hept--ihkschoo!" That one hurt, enough to make his head spin and fail at squelching the next one quite so successfully. "Heh--ISSHHH-uh! Uuuhhnn."

He didn't know if the groan was part of the sneeze or vice versa, but he did feel the world reeling wildly off-kilter in the aftermath, and reached to steady himself against the workbench. Bruce caught him first, hands solidly grasping him by the shoulders. He resisted the urge to lean gratefully into the touch, and then amused himself with the thought. How many people would choose Bruce Banner as a shoulder to lean on? He was pretty sure the guy who periodically flipped his shit and turned into a city-destroying monster was supposed to be the less stable of them here, and yet...

"Easy. Bless you. Are you done being a stubborn ass?"

"For the moment," Tony sighed in defeat, and let his friend straighten him up and touch the back of a hand to his forehead. "What's the prognosis, doc?" He sighed with weak humor, but was pleased when Bruce flashed him a trademark crooked smirk of his own, mouth pulled wryly to one side.

"I think you'll live. Do I need to escort you to bed or can I trust you to not get distracted?" Bruce prompted with an arched brow.

Tony pulled a slight face. "I'm sure JARVIS will nanny at me if I get too far off track," he sighed, but allowed Bruce to turn him towards the door the door. "Hey, you've been up almost as long as I have. Not... that I'm sick, " he narrowed his eyes. "...not that sick, anyway. But you should get some rest too, if you don't want to catch it."

Bruce blinked, but managed to look a bit embarrassed at being called out as well. "Yeah, I'll um. Take that under advisement. See you in a bit." He gave Tony's shoulder a brief squeeze, as if in reassurance, and then a little nudge.

Had it been anyone else, he would have snarked and pissed and moaned in protest, but the gesture only made Tony feel strangely warm. Comforted? He rewarded Bruce's efforts with compliance at last, nodding as he half walked and half stumbled in the direction of the lift. "Okay. In a bit."

Edited June 14, 2012 by Garnet

[SapphireSong]

UWAAAAH!!!! That. Was. HOTTT!!!!! :'D I love it, you have their characters perfectly right!! And it's so well-written and interesting, too! Please more?

[Dye]

Garnet you are a beautiful woman

all

of

the

feels

_fortonystark

SCIENCE BROS!

umiwouldlikemoreifthatisokaywithyouokay?okayi'lljustwaitherethen <3

okay.

[Spoo]

YES. YES. ALL OF MY YESSSS! Garnet, my dear, you write my favorite Avengers pairing so WELL! God, Tony's dialogue is spot-on.

I died with this:

"Wh-- didn't I mute you? Hush! Silencio! What, are you two in cahoots now?"

GOD SO PERFECT! I can't wait to see where this goes. *Coos at Tony*

[pinknose]

*sighs longingly* Beautiful as always. Just b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. PLEASE continue this.

[VoOs]

Love. Just... insane amounts of love. Stark is easily one of the sexiest characters on screen, and you write him so perfectly. *purrs* Stubborn bastard. <3 <3 <3

[confetishcake]

My nights been made... Loved it!

[queenie]

Um.... I vote yes, on this fic.

[iety]

This makes me so happy I'm gonna roll around on top of it. Writing Tony properly is a difficult task and you've done it here so well :'D not to mention his precious attempts to deny he's sick. Fingers crossed that your interest holds out! <3

[ichixshiro14]

Gahhhh I love this pairing, thanks for sharing! I can't wait for an update

[VividBubbles!]

Mmmmmm I've been waiting for someone to write a Tony fic. Can't wait to see what you have in store for my favorite billionaire genius next! Update soon!

BYE!

[serotonin]

Second time in a row I wander onto the forums and lo! a fic that is absolutely delicious and exactly what I was hoping to find I love the Tony voice and diction, it feels spot-on to me, as do the spellings you chose. And may I also say the fact that he sneezes in multiples -- unf. So much sexy, thank you for writing!

[ID2006]

Yay!!!! Finally a stark fic, and even written by you. I feel honored. Plus I love my slash goggles.

[Anonymouse]

OMG yes. My two favorite characters from the Avengers. I loved their interactions in the movie, all the good-natured jabbing and whatnot.

I love RDJ but for some reason I'm not enamoured with Stark as everyone else, probably because I'm too busy obsessing over cartoon people. But a Garnet-written Stark sneezefic? YES PLEASE.

Damnit, why couldn't he ever just stop at one...

WHY IS THAT SENTENCE SO SEXY AUGHH

Tony took a breath either in preparation to protest or acquiesce, he hadn't quite decided, then pulled a helplessly irritated expression as his body decided 'neither' was the best option.

...

Yes Banner, please catch it.

Absolutely cannot wait for more. The dialogue was spot freaking on. And those sneeze spellings... So perfect.

[ID2006]

This is definitely my favorite pairing. Votes you go slashy with this.

[hiyou9]

Ahhhh! I LOVE this! You should definitely continue

[Garnet]

You are all FAR too amazing to me aaaa ;u; I wish I could respond to every comment here omg?! Perhaps I will try soon, but until then have another bit! You can probably see where this is going. I stole the circulation/body temperature thing as a suggestion from Spoo, also My science bromance buddy.

Some mild slash implications here, plus bonus Pepper because she's great and I can't ignore her. Enjoy!

------------------------------------------

This time, he had no idea how long he'd been out before a soft chime came intruding into the outermost edges of his Nyquil coma. For better or worse, JARVIS is the first voice that he can make out, in its typical soft-spoken tone.

"Dr. Banner at the door, sir."

Tony groaned and buried his face back into the sweat-damp pillow. "Let him in."

It was force of habit that he locked his doors most nights, even if he knew it was only he and Bruce and Pepper in the tower most of the time. Occasionally he would try and outsmart his paranoia, be comfortable in his own home, but then his chest would ache and he thought of Stane and just decided it was better safe than sorry anyway.

Bruce was just... Bruce, though, so he didn't bother to rouse himself into something presentable. Sleep-mussed hair and a plain black undershirt he'd worn to bed would have to suffice, even the dark material of that unable to smother the bright glow of the arc reactor. As Bruce padded into the room, JARVIS flicked on the lights on low.

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd still be out."

"What time is it?" Tony groaned, then rolled slowly, painfully over to blink into the dimly lit interior of his own expansive bedroom. "What year is it?"

"Almost eight. You crashed for a good six hours," Bruce said, then set a steaming mug of something down on the end table. He seemed ever-conscious about Tony's tic for being handed things, politely avoiding it whenever possible, and thus far Tony had elected not to tell him that he'd be perfectly alright with Bruce passing him things, just as he was with Pepper. He did fumble to catch the fresh box of tissues the other man tossed at him, though. Ugh, bless his heart.

"No kidding? Well, the wonders of-... of doxyla... mine... heh'ISSHHoo!" He sneezed almost before he could finish his quip, directing the reflex helplessly against the back of one hand. Six hours without 'release' was apparently his limit, and of course he had to have a witness to the entire affair. The other hand groped over the box of tissues in an attempt to open it. "Hk-isschoo! H'isschoo!"

With a patient sigh, Bruce took the box from him and tore it neatly open. He gathered a small stack of tissues and pushed them into Tony's hand. "That's kind of what these are for, Stark."

"Bad timi--issch'oo!" He would have laughed at the absurdity of it if he could stop sneezing, or if the room would stop veering wildly every time he wrenched his eyes shut. At least the bundle of tissues were blessedly soft as he fitted them tightly to his nose for the final, "Huh-ISHHmff!" A low, throbbing groan followed as he flopped backwards against the pillows. "Wow."

"No kidding," Bruce observed, sounding mildly impressed by the fit himself. He pretended to be inspecting the interior of the bedroom with vague interest as Tony cleaned himself up. "You okay?"

"Define... okay," Tony mumbled, unable to come up with any more clever repartee than that. He jumped a little when his lab partner's hand found his forehead once more. Bruce hadn't really been one for physical contact of any kind, understandably, though he'd warmed up considerably in the past few weeks. Still, this was a little unusual. "You keep doing that."

"Sorry. It's just... you look feverish but feel cool every time," Bruce frowned.

"Oh, yeah, I'm... that's..." He tapped a fingertip lazily over the casing of his arc reactor, producing a satisfying 'tnk' sound in response. "Keeps me alive, but I haven't quite tweaked the circulation to satisfaction yet. I'm usually a couple degrees below 'normal' temperature." Bruce looked inquisitive at this anomaly, but before he could question it, Tony's hummingbird attention span was moving back to the mug still steaming on the sidetable. "What'd you bring?"

"Just some tea. You sounded like you were hacking up a lung earlier."

Tony made a slight face. "You and my missing body parts. Come on, Bruce, do I really strike you as a tea drinker?"

The other man only smiled, unfazed by the cranky complaints as he furled his arms over his chest. "I had you pegged for a... quadruple espresso man, judging by how deep I had to dig to find that," he nodded to the mug. "But just work with me on this. Anyway I dumped enough honey in it to gag a bear."

Tony had planned to drink it anyway after he was done whining, just because it was a nice gesture and far be it from him to make Bruce feel unwelcome or extraneous. But that bit of information did spur him to take the mug into his hands and try a cautious sip. It was sweet, but not revoltingly so, and admittedly went down a little easier than a bitter mouthful of black coffee would have. "It's good," he murmured in pleasant surprise. "It's all... good. This is really nice, Banner, thanks."

Bruce furrowed his brows slightly. "It's just tea and tissues, Tony, I'm sure you're used to more pampering than this."

Tony shrugged and mulled over another sip of tea. "Only if I arrange for it. Which I... don't? If I'm sick. I mean it's usually just me... and recently just me and Pepper. So." He found his usual repartee failing him whenever he tried to explain things more candidly than he was used to. Fortunately, Bruce got it. He'd knew that he would -- the physicist was no stranger to the concept of social isolation himself, albeit for entirely different reasons.

"I get it. Nice to have people do it without being paid, or without even being asked, yeah?"

Tony nodded wearily, relieved. "Exactly. Makes more sense when you say it," he said, and took another sip. The steam still curling off the hot drink was opening up his sinuses a little, but it was also having the less pleasant side effect of tickling his nose. He blinked uncertainly for a second, as if trying to decide whether he should set the drink aside or...

"Heh--ISSH'uh!"

Great, he couldn't even complete a thought without interrupting himself with this nonse--

"Hkt--issschoo! Heht'schoo!! Ah, hell," he trailed off with a hiss of pain rather than his customary groan, as a scalding drop of tea sloshed onto his hand.

"Bless you," Bruce offered, then reached over to take the tea from Tony just as he seized with another, more congested 'heh-ksscch!'

With his hands free, Tony managed to scramble a few tissues from the box and fold them over his nose again, blowing hastily to cull the verging fit. He wiped self-consciously at his goatee in the aftermath and sighed. "Sorry, I'm a mess." Why the hell was he apologizing? Tony Stark didn't apologize to anyone. Except...

"Hey, it's fine. Makes two of us."

Tony might have snarked at Bruce for his self-deprecating humor, in a better mood. As it was, he flashed the other man a crooked smile in response. "Speaking of which, much as I appreciate the pampering, you really are going to catch this if you hang around in here letting me sneeze on you."

Bruce mirrored the half-smile and shrugged a little. "It's fine, really. I don't get sick."

Tony narrowed his eyes immediately, curious and suspicious. "Oh, now who's in denial?"

Bruce ducked his head in acknowledgment, then ran a hand back through his hair, chuckling. "Yeah, well. I'm serious. Haven't had so much as a sniffle since..." He made a vague gesture that Tony took to mean his gamma radiation poisoning.

He gave a low whistle of surprise. "Lucky you, then."

Bruce gave him a look, but Tony only shrugged and held his hands out palm-up. Bruce knew how he felt about the Other Guy, he wasn't about the beat a dead horse reassuring him. Besides, actions tended to speak louder than words with Bruce, and so far Tony seemed to be doing alright if the guy was bringing him tea and feeling his forehead and making concerned gestures at a simple headcold.

"What? I'm serious! All I got was some pretty glowy lights, I'll take disease immunity any day," Tony grinned, but the comment had redirected his partner in crime--or was it heroism-- to the dull blue luminescence coming from his chest cavity.

"Saves you from ever needing a night light," Bruce suggested with a smile. It was a subtle dig at Tony's flamboyance too, probably, to which he only chuckled and made himself comfortable against the pillows again.

"I'm used to it, I guess. I could make a faceplate for it but... I'm sticking as close to the creator's design as I can, kind of fond of it," he admitted, going quiet for a moment at the thought of Yinsen. Bruce was giving him that curious look again, but he didn't ask, at least not now. Wise enough, as Tony was hardly in the mood or mindset to get into all of that anyway.

"Can I...?" The doctor had a hand half-raised in request, momentarily blindsiding Tony into a dumb blink.

"I... uh, sure. Of course. Hey, go nuts. I mean, not literally. But yeah."

Bruce rolled his eyes at the slight jibe, then carefully seated himself at the edge of the bed when Tony scooted over to give him room. He drew the undershirt up and over his head altogether to give his companion an unimpeded view of the little technological marvel that was keeping him alive. Bruce had made a few polite inquiries about it here and there, when the subject had come up, but this was the first time he'd ever actually requested a firsthand look at the device, and Tony was hardly shy about sharing.

Well. Maybe a little shy. He had Stane to thank for that, but he schooled himself into staying as still as possible as Bruce touched his glasses back into place and leaned in for a better look, the soft cerulean glow diffused over his features.

"That's... really amazing," his fellow scientist murmured with genuine intellectual approval. One of the many nice things about having the guy around -- he appreciated things like this exactly as much as Tony did, if not moreso for the novelty of them. He crept a hand towards the device, then hesitated. "Are you sure...?"

"I know," Tony agreed smugly, then sniffled and waved the anxiety off. "And yes, really. Seriously, just don't go yanking the thing out and we're good."

Bruce hesitated another moment, then cautiously traced a hand over the device. His fingertips were rough, far too calloused for a nuclear physicist, and oddly warm even with regard for Tony's own low temperatures. Not that he was complaining. In fact, he let his eyes sink shut in an odd moment of genuine trust as his friend inspected the reactor with infinite care. He circled the rim of it curiously, where metal met skin, then followed the bizarre patterns of scarring spiraling outwards into bare flesh, somewhere between a circuitboard and fractal patterning. It was here, of course, that this queerly... intimate moment that his sinuses set up that hot, infuriating itch again, and Tony interrupted him with a short inhale.

Bruce took it as protest and flinched away automatically, like a kicked puppy. "I'm sorry, I didn't me--"

"No, it's fine. It's not you...I have to..." His contorting features probably spoke for themselves as Tony pressed a hand hard beneath his nose and grabbed for the tissues with the other. By some miracle, he managed to actually get a few into his grip this time before he completely lost control. "Heh--! ISSCH'hh! Hek-isshmf!" It was... more than a little embarrassing, as ever, but what could he do? Nothing, apparently, save lower the tissues, fold them over, and then return them to his nose just as he was grimacing in preparation for the next.

"Heht-ISSHHoo!! Hht-shoo!"

"Bless," Bruce murmured. He'd edged back a little, probably more to give Tony some space than out of disgust if his mildly bemused expression was any indication. "You know, you don't have quite as... dramatic a sneeze as I'd expected."

"You don't call this dramati--ih--ihht-sshoo! Dramatic?"

"Impressive, yes. But not exactly... loud and overblown," Bruce admitted with that typical smile, hands furled patiently in his lap.

"Yeah...well? Of all the ways to draw attention, I'd rather it not be like thi-hih---- hihtt-sschoo! HEH'ISHU!" He finished the fit hard enough to make his throat burn and his head pound. If he groaned, it barely came out as more than a cracking sigh.

"That's more like it," Bruce murmured, then stood and fixed Tony's blankets back over his waist, a curiously domestic gesture. "You want some ibuprofen? You're looking a little..." He made a wiggling gesture.

"I am kind of..." Tony agreed, repeating the gesture with a weak smile. "In the bathroom, medicine cabinet." If his companion was going to fuss, he would at least put him to good work.

Bruce nodded and took an empty glass from the table, then disappeared into the adjoining washroom. He returned a few minutes later with a pair of little orange pills and a glass of blessedly cool water. Tony eagerly swallowed down both, but slouched back down feeling about as cranky and sick as before. Mentally, though. Well. He'd probably be a lot crankier without company here.

"Okay, champ, I think you're done," Bruce teased gently, ruffling a hand through Tony's short, dark hair. He batted him away with the strength of a half-dead kitten. "Get some more rest, I'll check back in on you tomorrow morning."

All Tony could manage in response was a mumbling 'm'kay' around a yawn, watching through half-closed eyes as Bruce ducked back out and, hopefully, towards his own bed. Hm.

When he dropped off, he didn't remember dreaming. That was a welcome respite, considering the nightmares that plagued him regularly from the various tangles he'd ended up in. In his subconscious, it was rarely his own safety on the line, though, and Tony was almost more disturbed for it. Still, he'd been enjoying the blank void when hours later, he felt the bed beside him shift and sink again, as if with the weight of another individual.

There was a momentary flash of panic and PTSD, his whole body tightening and his brain muddling through a haze of dreams and waking confusion.

"Nngh, Bruce?"

A decidedly feminine laugh was his response, accompanied by a slim arm wrapping around his chest. Pepper. Tony went slack with a sigh.

"Gosh, I hope not. Does he usually climb into your bed at night like this?"

Even half-conscious, he managed to pull his mouth into a wry smile. "Nah, he hasn't taken my hints yet."

She chuckled and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. Sweet succor. "Well, maybe he'll come around," she teased back.

"Thought you were out of town for a few more days?"

"They closed the deal early," she murmured against him. "Bruce said you were sick."

He narrowed his eyes and turned slightly to find her face in the gloom, unlit even by his arc reactor as she was cuddled against his back. "That's not why you came back, though...?"

She laughed again. "No, he just mentioned in when I came in. Why, did he threaten?"

Tony pulled a face and dropped back onto his side. "Something like that."

"Aww," Pepper sighed, and he could hear rather than see her smile as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Don't worry, I'm not going to go alerting the tabloids that even the great Iron Man gets colds."

He resisted the urge to snort in response, instead settling for a sulking sniffle. "Yeah, well. Doc says I'll live. Speaking of which, he wasn't asleep by the time you got in?"

She seemed to think about that, then made a noise to the negative. "Why?"

Tony rolled his eyes to himself. "He's just a giant hypocrite, and at this rate is going to catch this, superhuman immunity or not."

Pepper squeezed his hand lazily. "Well, that's very... altruistic of you? To be concerned. But nothing to do about it now. Go back to sleep, I'm sure he'll be fine."

Hoping she was right, Tony sighed and closed his eyes in compliance, drifting off peacefully with a familiar presence at his back

Edited June 4, 2012 by Garnet

[Spoo]

I truly love everything about this. The interactions between Bruce and Tony are so sweet, yet also "bro"-ish. Hehe. And gah! Pepper! I'm a big ball of FEELS right now.

...Oh,andTony'ssneezingisreallynice.

[SterlingSilver]

OH GOOD GOD GARNET~!

I CAN'T

I CAN'T

YOU HAVE KILLED ME x'DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

..... QwQ.. I just-.. I love this.. I love this so much.. I flipped out so bad when I realized what I was about to read xDDD

I love you x'DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

The characterization is unnnnnnnggggggg... hnngg.. IT'S THE BEST THING EVER QwQ

[queenie]

Is it repeating myself if I say YES YES YES MORE EXACTLY LIKE THAT?

[VividBubbles!]

Mmmmmm, Tony and Pepper sitting in a tree. I really love this so far and I seriously am dying for your next update! I hope it's soon!!!

BYE!

[Dye]

Sfhdgfmjhksjm,xnsv,bdmvjsa,fndfbjsahdkjshfhjbdsf

ALL OF THE FEELS, GARNET! ALL OF THE FEEEEEEEEEELS! <3333333

Seriously, this is just beautiful.

[ID2006]

The only thing you're missing is the ability to write as fast as i can read

[MusicaDiabolos]

Sooooooo amazing! Maybe you could add some allergic Banner to this? They might think its a cold, but then gradually realize its impossible...

[Jorm]

Mmph! Garnet, the things you do to me! *swoons* I'm enjoying this even more than I expected to and that's saying something since I expected to enjoy it a whole lot. You've hit the perfect level with the Banner/Stark bromance being totally believable and still just suggestive enough to leave the slash door open at the same time. And completely adorkable of course. And I love that you included Pepper as well, because, well, Pepper is awesome. They're all awesome. YOU'RE awesome! I'm gonna go back and read this again so I can giggle and drool more.