The Avengers Collaborative Drabble Thread

[Teh Ninjin]

You guys liked my Steve? ;m;

I should write as him more often.

Edited June 18, 2012 by Teh Ninjin

[Prongs]

Yes you should!!!!!!! This should be a scene in Avengers 2 hshdksksjxnxa

Just putting that out there. <3

[Always]

ds;lfjs All of these are amazing! Also, Spoo and Teh Ninjin, loved the surprise Tony at the end.

[ClassicsForever]

Oh! In my head, Photic!Cap is officially canon! Nice job!

[confetishcake]

Everyone's stories are so lovely!

I was reading "Thor; Son of Asgard" and this sorta popped into my head. The comic is about our Asgardian hero's when they're a bit younger.

I kinda imagined the two brothers getting stranded in this ice cave while on some wacky adventure

I'm super shy about posting this but here goes Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I tried!

The walls of the ice cavern were weeping. In the dim light shadows danced and twisted about, each a different hue of jade. Loki remarked to himself silently on the odd beauty of it, how the sway of the fire was stark and bright against the blue walls. In truth his own exhaustion made the dark seem mesmerizing and as he sat with his chin on his knees, eyeing the fire to keep it lit, he became acutely aware of the ice melting from his eyelashes.

A chorus of coughing snapped him from his trance, and he glanced over to where his brother lay coiled in furs. A shock of blonde hair sprawled over the ice, and Loki reached out to twirl a lock between his fingers. Thor rolled over, blinking.

"I should take the second wadtch." He croaked, sitting up. The young man held his head and sniffed thickly, wiping a thin trickle of wetness from underneath his nose with his palm. Loki sighed. "Don't be foolish."

"I'b fide." Thor insisted, "It would be modst unfair if I didn't ledt you sle.." Loki watched his brothers expression become distant. It was with dim fascination that he watched Thors eyes glaze over with a blue sheen reflected from the walls. His nostrils quivered just slightly, and as he reared his head back to gasp, Loki eyed the wet gleam that threatened to drip from his nose. "Sle.. he... HEP'dchuu! ... hu... HUPSH'UU!...sndkk..." He sniffed, rubbing his hand under his nostrils and blinking shyly.

Loki made a show of rolling his eyes and Thor sunk back down into the furs with a sullen, watery look. The Trickster leaned over and patted Thor gently on the head. "Sif and Balder will find us," he said. "Or The Allfather. Rest, lest you get worse."

Thor curled on his side, frowning into the flames. Loki could not help but smile at his proud brothers disheveled state. It was nice, despite his exhaustion, to be the stronger of the brothers for a change. The one who looked over the other. Thor's eyes fluttered, his nostrils twitched and he brought up one one of the furs to his face, sneezing a forceful, "HESHUU! Hh... HUB-SHUU!" Loki watched his poor brothers teary look of discomfort as he attempted a congested bout of sniffling. Loki sighed, producing a cloth pouch in which he'd stored some dry food. He splayed the dried meat and nuts onto the ice at his side and handed Thor the fabric. "Here, you great fool." Loki chided. "Blow your nose. Your pathetic snorting is getting on my nerves."

Thor took it shyly and buried himself into the furs, blowing with a heavy, satisfying gurgle . There was silence again, only broken by the crackle and spit of the fire. Loki watched the sparks drift up and melt into the dark.

"Brother?" Thor said, his tired voice more clear.

"Mm."

"I'm sorry... for being like this..."

Loki smiled and watched the flames. "Go back to sleep."

[Garnet]

Omg Don't be shy about that, it's lovely! HNNGH I love those spellings for Thor, how precious/hot. And I love Loki being all UGH EYEROLL grudging but genuine affection. Thank you for share!

[Prongs]

Aiiieeee that was cute!!!!!!! I love me some nice sneezy Thor, especially when accompanied by an annoyed-but-actually-concerned Loki <3333

[Dye]

I love reading all these again~

Pshnoimnotbumpingmyownthreadintheprescenceofnewavengersfanspshwhywouldidothat

Imeanreally

[Parksborn]

These are all very lovely... <3

Maybe I'll do something for this thread, too?

[Dye]

That'd be great!

_{I will personally end my tablet for disconnecting me from you just now just letting you know that wasn't my fault. >^<}

[Parksborn]

That'd be great!

_{I will personally end my tablet for disconnecting me from you just now just letting you know that wasn't my fault. >^<}

That was you? If you're still up for it later, or when you're not busy, send me a message through Tumblr with a time that's good for you to RP again. That is if you want to, I don't want it to feel like I'm pushing or anything...

[Dye]

Sounds good! Ah-- I don't know your Tumblr. ;^; But I'm up for RPing from now until... well, 11, UK time. Then I can continue on my Tablet, but I don't trust it that much.

EDIT: I FOUND YOUR TUMBLRRRRR~~ <33 *commence epic fangirl squeal*

Edited July 11, 2012 by Daisoku

[serotonin]

first with the feedbacks~

Garnet - hnnng Clint! I totally wasn't into Hawkeye at first but then the next time I was like well hello there! so hmm yes this was verrrry nice thinking about his explosive sneezes. annnd all the delicious sensory details.

Mercury - ahaha the thunder references! Alllso I'm loving the sounds you picked for him, especially the smothered sneezes... jumbled consonants, be still my heart And their banter feels very in-character. Well done you for making me kind of like Thor!

ickydog2006 - You can never have enough science buddies! Or sneezy!Stark in general... and not going to lie, I totally love how you can tell he's really sick in this drabble. d'aww Tony.

Spoo/Teh Ninjin - OH MY GOD PHOTIC CAP by which I mean 'hooray, a totally legit method to make him sneeze' asd;lkfjawegj! How much do I love you both and this lovely doctor situation well let me tell you a whole damn lot! Also may I say the first sneeze and all the delicious word images surrounding it -- especially "Every muscle rippled and flexed, tensing as he sneezed viciously into his hands." -- I about died from lust. Gorrrgeous sounds, I love Steve with the sort of sigh ending <3 And amused/understanding Bruce so adorbs!

Cake - D'aww, this is so sweet! I love thinking about them being younger when they have more of a camaraderie going on Especially I like Loki being all 'gosh sigh whatever.'

and now for the drabbling~

For once, Tony is actually in bed, with Steve, in the morning. He's in bed because he hasn't left it from where he melted post frankly fantastic sex. He's less sure why he's awake at this hour -- maybe the coffee he had just before Steve found him in the lab is finally kicking in, or maybe JARVIS has spontaneously advanced enough to wake him subliminally for a meeting he probably has today. Or the most likely possibility Tony thinks, as the cogs and gears crank up to speed, is the shaft of sunlight sliding across the bed. Steve, as Tony knows, likes to get up in the morning and Steve would be someone who likes waking up naturally by light.

Tony rolls over a bit, propping himself up on a elbow, legs still tangled with Steve's, who looks to be still asleep. But as Tony watches, the sunlight moves across Steve's face, illuminating the dark golden eyelashes brushing against the curve of his cheek. Steve stirs at the warmth on his face, chin lifting to present his face like a blossoming flower. His eyes open slowly, then slam shut as his lips part. The bridge of his nose crinkles and his nostrils flare. They stay suspended there for a second or two, trembling slightly, then flare impossibly wider.

"hah-ESSSCHHuhh!"

The sound is strong, explosive, brief in the still air of the bedroom. Tony regrets that he's not still pressed against Steve's chest, able to feel Steve's muscles flexing and his body quaking. Steve's lips are still parted and his brow is still scrunched in that helpless 'I need to sneeze' look that sends another flash of arousal up Tony's spine, hot and quicksilver. Tony slithers a little closer, as much as he can in this position, and recieves an impression of muscles tensed in anticipation. Steve's ribcage barely brushes Tony's shoulder with a gasping, lingering inhale.

"hhh--h'EHHHHTSCH'uhh! ....eht-IIISCCCHH'ue!"

Tony focuses on the second sneeze, able to do so since he knows it's coming. He bites his lip to silence a low groan at how desperate and drawn out it sounds. The third one carries a note of congestion to his listening ears and he can't stop the shiver that runs through him at the suggestion of mist on the bare skin of his shoulders. The silence hangs for a few seconds before he manages to offer a dry, "Bless you," swallowing compulsively after.

"Sorry," Steve apologizes, baby blues open and looking right at Tony, who can just hear the blush in his voice. "That happens to me sometimes when I wake up in the morning, or when I go outside."

Photic, the word dances through Tony's brain, turning a couple cartwheels and a back handspring for kicks.

That had been a few months ago and Tony hadn't quite gotten around to telling Steve about this particular quirk of his yet. Actually, he hadn't decided if he was going to say anything at all. But he was pretty sure Steve was going to notice after this morning's case, which only they had been called for -- something about Natasha and Clint being normal humans and better avoid Hulk just in case, but Iron Man had air filters, right?

Because of course Captain America would be allergic to sex pollen.

-----

Three cheers for the existence photic!Cap ^__^ Annnd I love having one partner with the fetish so there's that. Sorry about being a bit of a tease, but the next bit's not quite worked out in the brainbox annnd it'll likely get a bit adult. *whistles*

[Dye]

Aaaaaahhhhh!! <3333 Beauuuutiful, I'm loving all this fetish!Tony recently! <33

And Photic!Cap is THE BEST I CANNOT EVEN SDKGJ;LDFGJKSFJGL;KJSFHS

LOVE YOU

[Parksborn]

Three cheers for the existence photic!Cap ^__^ Annnd I love having one partner with the fetish so there's that. Sorry about being a bit of a tease, but the next bit's not quite worked out in the brainbox annnd it'll likely get a bit adult. *whistles*

Yay! Someone else has written sneezekink!Tony! ASDFGHJKLASDFFFFF. I honestly thought I was alone in writing that.

And there's a next part? HNNG.

OkayI'lljustsithereandwaitverypolitely.

[Garnet]

@serotonin - MMMnhngh dat Cap. Wonderful sounds, I too am very much liking photic!Cap and plan to add my dirty fingers to the trend soon, I think.

But first! Spoo showed me this screencap from Iron Man last night, and while I remember the scene and know it's not in a fetishy context, we still giggled like idiots. And then I wrote a tiny drabble for it. ENJOY.

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

Pepper had long ago stopped trying to keep track of when Tony slept, and parted with how much only a little more reluctantly. There was a time before the Avengers, where if she could shepherd him around to conferences and demos on time and sober, that was good enough. There was less of that handholding now, of course, but she still wasn't any more surprised to see him up at the crack of dawn than if he'd dragged himself out at noon. Even when she and Bruce and Tony all comfortably shared a bed, they were none of them creatures of habit or predictability.

Still, he'd been there an hour ago with her, so when Tony lurched into the kitchen to lay his head on her shoulder, she knew he'd just gotten up rather than pulled another all-nighter. Pepper was a little flattered he'd come to see her first thing instead of the robots. They did have perfectly good coffee maker in every lab. Then she wondered if being pleased by that was a little sad in and of itself. She shrugged it off.

"Good morning," she greeted, sliding a hand back to run through his hair. He was showered and dressed, but apparently still in the mood to be lazy. Her paperwork could wait, Pepper decided.

"Hi," he offered, yawning against her shoulder before he tilted his head approvingly into her touch. He peered at the coffee she'd just been about to pour. "Where's mine?"

"I'll make it," Pepper consoled, but took a moment for a long, indulgent sip of her own first. "Sit."

"I like it when you're bossy." Tony kissed the back of her neck and complied, flopping down at the table and going to work dissecting the paper. When she looked back at him, he shot a hopeful glance towards the stove.

"Dream on," she chuckled, and turned to grind fresh beans. "Bruce said he'd make breakfast when he gets back from the market."

"Ooh," he sighed indulgently, as if already imagining the spread. "That's worth waiting for." Considering his legendary impatience, that was saying something.

Pepper was inclined to agree, however. She went back to enjoying the early morning quiet, absent of even Tony's constant stream of chatter and snark before he'd had his first injection of caffeine. The heady scent of strong coffee was soon permeating the kitchen, and she was half-asleep on her feet when a sudden eruption from behind jolted her back to full consciousness.

"H'kngghsst!"

Pepper turned in surprise to see Tony straightening back up from where he'd sneezed aside into one arm. He blinked, but didn't so much as sniff while she squinted at him and waited out the three or four or fifteen others that usually followed. When they didn't come, she arched a brow.

"Bless you?"

Tony shrugged and smiled as if to say 'who the hell knows?', then went back to the paper.

Bewildered but not quite suspicious, Pepper poured out the rocket fuel that he passed for coffee into a clean mug, then circled around the table. She set it down beside him with a click, and flicked a glance to his face to see if he'd even registered her movements. The whim proved fortuitous, as she became aware of an approaching sneeze seemingly before he did. Eyelashes fluttered and lips parted, but without missing a beat Pepper reached over to pinch the bridge of his nose, just as he drew a preparatory 'h--hh--!' of breath.

"Not on the paper," she scolded. "I still want to read that when you're done."

Tony held the pose hesitantly for a few seconds, nose tic-ing with gentle irritation beneath her thumb and forefinger. She moved them down a little, squeezing just above the tip until he relaxed with a sigh and uprolled his eyes to her. Damn his ability to look cute in the strangest of circumstances. When she let go, he gave his features a quick, wrinkling twitch, then flashed a half-formed smirk.

"Thanks. Didn't even feel that coming -- what are you, a sneeze whisperer?"

"More like a Stark whisperer," she smirked and wandered back to retrieve her own coffee. She had a mind to sit across from him and enjoy the tiny slice of domesticity before their lives went careening into the usual breakneck schedule of the day. As soon as her fingers curled around the cup, however, she sighed to hear another catch of breath behind her.

"Heh'ISSHooo!"

"Bless you."

Tony peeked at her apologetically over the top edge of the paper, which had apparently taken the brunt of the sneeze. She couldn't quite figure out if he'd done that on purpose or not, but recovered a stack of napkins while she was up.

"H'isschoo! -- iitsschoo!"

Well, at least that sounded a little more like himself. She passed him the napkins, gratified when he freed one hand to take them without complaint, and then exasperated in the next when he scrunched his nose and pitched forward with another sneeze. "HISSCHoo!" He got the handful of makeshift tissue up a moment later to clear his nose and preempt the rest of the fit. Too late for the newspaper, she feared.

"Bless," Pepper sighed again, long-suffering but affectionate, and sat down with her coffee. "If that was the entertainment section, you're in big trouble, mister," she held a hand out towards him expectantly.

Tony glanced down at the newspaper once he'd balled the napkins and sniffed himself back into control. "Business."

"Alright, you live."

He passed her the comics instead, and all was forgiven.

[Renny]

Aww. Adorable. I want to smother Tony and Pepper into little bits of love.

I feel like a big cuddle monster Hulk. That was so cute. <3

[Prongs]

HOLY POO.

I just can't. This is great. I'm really loving all this Avegerfic. I am squealing like an excited baby.

[Parksborn]

...What just happened? Let's try that again:

Steve eyed Tony's sleeping form in a sideways gaze for a moment, before deciding to try it for himself. He scooted slightly closer to him, before swinging a leg over him, straddling the other man's hips. “Mmm... Steve, stop,” he mumbled, throwing his arm over his eyes. Steve just grinned, and bowed slightly forward. He frowned for a moment before nodding resolutely. He ran his fingernail around Tony's nostril, the other man's eyes fluttering open. “What'cha doing there, tiger?” he asked, a smirk on his own face.

Steve's brows furrowed, pink tongue poking out of the side of his mouth. “Hush,” he mutters, continuing his tickling. ...That didn't seem to be doing anything.

“Not gonna work,” Tony said, grinning as Steve leaned back, huffing and frowning.

“Really?” he asks, disappointed, frowning, eyebrows pulled up.

“You're so adorable... But, yes, really,” Tony said, giving a short nod. He smiled flirtatiously, and motioned for Steve to come back down. “C'mere,” he says, grin still in place. Steve bows back down, and Tony's hand latches behind his head before he realizes that he's been tricked. He runs a gentle nail up and down the blonde's septum, denies him the right to pull back, and continues to scratch and tickle until he's put Steve on the brink, so very, very close but not quite there.

“Hiihh... Tony,” Steve whines, eyes clenched shut, breath hitching with no real promised release.

“Ask for it,” Tony says lowly, arousal deepening his voice. “'Tony, will you please.' Say it.”

“Tony—heehh—will you please,” Steve begs, eyes watering slightly. That's all Tony needs, and then he's moving to straddle Steve while fumbling for a tissue, and twisting it hastily, because damn him if he doesn't just love to shove things up that pretty little nose of his. And he asked for it.

Steve's breaths come in short puffs, skittering hot across Tony's excitement-heated skin. He bites his lower lip as Tony slowly inserts the inducing tool up his quivering right nostril. “Heh-iihhh--!” His breath hitches, and then he's thrown into a fit. “Hehh... Ep'tchuu! Ah-ahh... Tchoo! Heh'shew! Iiihh... Heeh--! Ehh-SHEW!”

Tony lets out a shuddering breath he didn't know he'd been holding as the spray settles on his bare chest and abdomen, and all the way up his right arm. He removes the tissue, and takes a fresh one to clean his partner up. “Messy,” he breathes, wiping it away.

“Mmm,” Steve hums, panting lightly from the fit.

“You're the best,” Tony tells him as he tosses the used tissues on the floor, breath tickling the other man's ear.

“Only for you,” Steve whispers back, and hugs Tony to his chest gently. “I love you.”

“Yes, of course you do. Who wouldn't?” Tony says, smile content and resting gently on his face.

“Can name a few.”

“Yeah? Please, do share with the class.” Steve looks contemplative for a moment.

“Uhm...”

“I thought so.”

“...Conceited much?”

“Love you, too.”

[Parksborn]

WHYWHYWHY. Sorry if I'm spamming you guys, but I think my computer is spazzing. ONE MORE TIME:

Steve eyed Tony's sleeping form in a sideways gaze for a moment, before deciding to try it for himself. He scooted slightly closer to him, before swinging a leg over him, straddling the other man's hips. “Mmm... Steve, stop,” he mumbled, throwing his arm over his eyes. Steve just grinned, and bowed slightly forward. He frowned for a moment before nodding resolutely. He ran his fingernail around Tony's nostril, the other man's eyes fluttering open. “What'cha doing there, tiger?” he asked, a smirk on his own face.

Steve's brows furrowed, pink tongue poking out of the side of his mouth. “Hush,” he mutters, continuing his tickling. ...That didn't seem to be doing anything.

“Not gonna work,” Tony said, grinning as Steve leaned back, huffing and frowning.

“Really?” he asks, disappointed, frowning, eyebrows pulled up.

“You're so adorable... But, yes, really,” Tony said, giving a short nod. He smiled flirtatiously, and motioned for Steve to come back down. “C'mere,” he says, grin still in place. Steve bows back down, and Tony's hand latches behind his head before he realizes that he's been tricked. He runs a gentle nail up and down the blonde's septum, denies him the right to pull back, and continues to scratch and tickle until he's put Steve on the brink, so very, very close but not quite there.

“Hiihh... Tony,” Steve whines, eyes clenched shut, breath hitching with no real promised release.

“Ask for it,” Tony says lowly, arousal deepening his voice. “'Tony, will you please.' Say it.”

“Tony—heehh—will you please,” Steve begs, eyes watering slightly. That's all Tony needs, and then he's moving to straddle Steve while fumbling for a tissue, and twisting it hastily, because damn him if he doesn't just love to shove things up that pretty little nose of his. And he asked for it.

Steve's breaths come in short puffs, skittering hot across Tony's excitement-heated skin. He bites his lower lip as Tony slowly inserts the inducing tool up his quivering right nostril. “Heh-iihhh--!” His breath hitches, and then he's thrown into a fit. “Hehh... Ep'tchuu! Ah-ahh... Tchoo! Heh'shew! Iiihh... Heeh--! Ehh-SHEW!”

Tony lets out a shuddering breath he didn't know he'd been holding as the spray settles on his bare chest and abdomen, and all the way up his right arm. He removes the tissue, and takes a fresh one to clean his partner up. “Messy,” he breathes, wiping it away.

“Mmm,” Steve hums, panting lightly from the fit.

“You're the best,” Tony tells him as he tosses the used tissues on the floor, breath tickling the other man's ear.

“Only for you,” Steve whispers back, and hugs Tony to his chest gently. “I love you.”

“Yes, of course you do. Who wouldn't?” Tony says, smile content and resting gently on his face.

“Can name a few.”

“Yeah? Please, do share with the class.” Steve looks contemplative for a moment.

“Uhm...”

“I thought so.”

“...Conceited much?”

“Love you, too.”

[fraggle]

Hawkeye

Love that man. Love anyone who writes him, anyone?!

[Garnet]

There's one on Page 1, fraggle :q Also I wrote a couple of longer fics, one in the stories section and one in the adult stories section with him.

BUT I DEMAND MORE.

[NameTaken]

Damn you all, if this isn't a gorgeous thread. I reaaallllyyyy need to watch Avengers now.

And hey, I'm as greedy as Garnet over here, more please?

[Zane]

There's one on Page 1, fraggle :q Also I wrote a couple of longer fics, one in the stories section and one in the adult stories section with him.

BUT I DEMAND MORE.

*runs over to the adult section* CLINT!!!! :drool: Hawkeye is my favorite Avenger!! I so hope there are more fics about him. please? *puppy dog eyes*

[Garnet]

I was going to write another Avenger fic, but I'm lacking ideas that aren't repetitive, so instead I'm just going to plow through what I haven't done from Dove and Natto's drabble prompts. Enjoy!

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

94 – Photo

"I hate this part," Bruce muttered as he looked out over the crowd of paparazzi waiting beyond the glass doors of the lobby.

"Yeah," Tony agreed with a shrug. "But the rest of it was worth it, right?"

"Oh, definitely."

After years of being on the run, keeping his head down and never staying in one place more than a few weeks, Bruce had been both surprised and flattered at being invited back into the scientific community. He suspected it had a good deal to do with Tony, but he'd sworn up and down and on his grandmother's grave that he had nothing to do with the matter, so much as S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Initiative probably did. Either way, Bruce approached the matter with guarded caution, whereas Tony tended to dive into things headfirst, and had taken it as an excuse to drag him around to very notable conferences, most of them on clean energy. It was still a little strange interacting with people who wanted to, as Tony so eloquently put it, 'make love to his brain' but still shied away from too tight a handshake, expecting green at any moment. Very strange.

Not that Bruce was complaining. Far from it.

Still, where Tony Stark went, the press followed. Well, and probably him too, at this point. The Initiative had made popular faces of them all. Even if the Hulk was tentatively on the media's good side for the time being, though, it still made Bruce twitchy, and he leered back from the door. "Sure we can't escape out the back?"

"There'll be twice as many out there," Tony said, then swiped a hand beneath his nose and made an irritated face. Bruce cocked an eyebrow.

"Still?"

"I stared at the light in the bathroom for, like, ten minutes. Nothing," Tony groused. He'd been complaining (whining) about a stuck sneeze for the better part of an hour now, and Bruce was torn between concern that he was getting sick, and amusement at the relatively harmless plight. Maybe he had some sadist in him after all.

"Don't sneeze on any reporters." Pause. "On second thought, do just that."

Tony grinned. "Oh I would love to. Okay, c'mon, we'll do this quick, like ripping off a band-aid," he said, hooking a hand discreetly in Bruce's arm and shepherding him quickly towards the front doors and the cars waiting beyond. Bruce sighed, put his head down, and tried to ignore the anxious growling of the Other Guy in the back of his mind.

Tony did, in fact, sneeze on a reporter, and while certainly probably maybe unintentional, it also certainly probably maybe was hilarious enough to distract Bruce from the clamor of light and sound trying to crowd too close.

"No comment, no co-- hey Andrews, you look good -- no, nothing about the Avengers, hey we're kind of in a hurry can you move it along, tha... thank..."

His free hand cut suddenly towards his face, just in time to catch an ill-timed but relieved "heh-ISSHoo!" Bruce could feel the shudder of him close at his shoulder as he drew another breath and threw his head down sharply for a repeat. "HzZSSCH-oo! -snff! Wow, sorry sweetheart," Tony laughed abruptly at a nearby female reported who'd jumped back a little, giving them some berth. "Get any on you? Yeah? You can bill me. Aw look, here's our ride, sorry!"

Once they were safely removed from the flashbulb snap of cameras and questions, Bruce laughed at him openly. "Bless you."

"Ugh, thanks. If that shows up on TMZ, I'm gonna be pissed," Tony sniffed, giving his nose a quick and shameless rub against Bruce's shoulder even as he snaked an arm around his waist.

"Please, you've been on there under much worse circumstances."

Tony's no-doubt snarky reply was lost to a mumble against his coat.

The next day, after puttering about in the lab for a solid sixteen hours, a welcome message from Pepper popped up as they were collapsing onto an unoccupied sofa with take-out. She updated them on the shareholders she'd been woo-ing across the country, told Tony to make sure Bruce slept, told Bruce to make sure Tony ate, and then sent a picture plucked from some cheap tabloids that morning.

"By the way, Tony, this is my favorite shot of you yet. I'm going to blow it up and hang it in my office."

Bruce dissolved into laughter all over again while Tony groaned at the paparazzi snapshot of himself, nose wrinkled in an exquisite mid-sneeze face. A pretty blonde reporter nearby was frozen in a recoil of mixed surprise and disgust.

"Nice, Potts. I'll have it framed just for you."