The Core (page 2)
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Tony
Tony knew better than to be truly shocked by Pepper leaving him. They had argued after he almost killed himself in a space portal above the Stark Tower, which was only the beginning of their problems. In between arguments, things had been good, but it wasn’t going to last.
He had thought they might be more mature about it instead of shouting at each other. He had also hoped Pepper wouldn’t be crying. Well, she wasn’t, literally, but there were tears in her eyes and Tony knew he had put every single one of them there.
Their relationship shouldn’t be in vain. If he lost Pepper - personally, not from his entire life because she still had the job as CEO she was holding onto - he should make the most of it. He should make it mean something. Lose one thing, gain another. Someone may have called it positive thinking.
With her still mad at Tony, he knew he had no business in SI related matters, although she may have appreciated him showing interest in his company. Of course said interest could also have been seen as a way to worm his way back into her life, without directly apologizing, and Tony didn’t want to make that impression.
He loved her, but he knew it was unfair to put her through this time and time again. Tony wasn’t above throwing away his life and she shouldn’t have to live with that.
Tony’s obvious choice for coping was Iron Man. Putting on the suit, becoming the embodiment of strength and confidence. As soon as the mask snapped into place the first time after their break-up, Tony knew what he was going to do - and he would keep doing it for as long as he could.
- - -
“You should shower,” Bruce commented.
“I’ve designed the suit for prolonged usage. I don’t need a shower for another… 86 hours at least,” Tony calculated. “In fact, I think I can push the shower away for another hundred hours, although there are certain other things I might have to do when the 86-hour mark comes by.”
Bruce just hummed something that didn’t sound like approval or understanding. “I would like to see more of you these days,” the scientist commented then.
“I’m right here.”
“No,” Bruce shook his head, stood up, walked over, then jabbed a finger at his shoulder. “Iron Man is right here. I have no idea where the hell Tony is.”
“I like it when you get all snappy with me,” Tony grinned. His face-plate was up so it was as good as him being there, but he had a small voice shouting in the back of his mind which translated what Bruce was actually saying. He opted to ignore it for now. There were things he needed to do, and while there were no big missions anywhere, there were always criminal to catch. Iron Man could throw himself at that when the bigger perps were in hiding.
“Take off the suit,” Bruce insisted. He was no longer hiding beneath the excuse of a shower or a change of clothes.
“I have things I need to do.”
“Let the cops handle that.”
Tony shot him a look. “Don’t you think they would like a day off?”
“Frankly, you cause more trouble than it’s worth,” Bruce deadpanned.
“I’ve really started minimizing the damages. You could take a few pointers.” He regretted that as soon as he said it, but Bruce’s face showed no indication that he had taken the jab to heart. Didn’t mean he hadn’t, but at least he had the grace not to blow up at the comment.
“You have to take the suit off at some point,” Bruce reminded him. “You need to sleep. You can’t live the rest of your life as Iron Man.”
“Sure I can,” Tony replied, standing straight, snapping the faceplate down and turning towards the door.
- - -
Thor looked around the main floor of Tony’s Malibu home. He had never been there before but he liked the place already.
Music was blasting, lights flashing, people dancing and drinking in celebration of an occasion he was not aware of as of yet. There was food, too - some of those small bites the Midgardians seemed to enjoy at their feasts. That was something Thor didn’t comprehend but he was happy to learn more.
Beside him Steve and Bruce looked less thrilled. “Where is he? Can you see him?” Bruce asked.
“Not yet,” Steve shouted over the music.
“We should go find him,” Thor agreed and strode inside, still in full armor which immediately gained him attention. He grinned, looking at beautiful women and men who approached him, some bold enough to touch and grind against him. For a brief moment he felt like he should gainsay them such freedom, thinking of Jane, but she had been distracted lately with her work and Thor with his so they had barely had time to see each other. He felt a spark of loneliness and the familiarity of another body next to his raised his spirits.
“Goldilocks!” someone shouted and he looked over to find Tony. Being a head taller than anyone else in the room helped him to navigate over and greet his fellow Avenger.
“What is the reason behind this celebration?” he asked.
“No reason,” Tony smiled. He had that easy, wide smile on his face which suggested he had drunk too much already. “Just have fun, enjoy it.”
“Bruce and Steve are looking for you,” Thor remembered.
Tony’s expression went sour so fast it was as if he hadn’t really smiled at all. “Yeah? I better… go see what they want.” He moved to the side and Thor grasped his arm to stop him. Tony started slightly then took a step back. “What?”
“You will not find them if you go in that direction,” Thor said pleasantly.
“It’s my place, I’m sure I’ll bump into them at some point,” Tony gave him a quick smile. “Did I ever tell you that you have quite a grip?” he added then. “We should… test it some time.”
“I am always happy to spar with you,” Thor grinned.
“Spar… Yeah… Look, I have to -”
“Disappear?” Steve’s voice cut in.
“I sent you guys an invitation to join the party,” Tony shot back in defense.
“After you had been hiding in your suit for almost a week,” Steve leaned closer.
“I wasn’t hiding. Testing new features was more like it - and fighting crime. You know, superhero stuff?”
Steve glared, reaching out to grasp Tony’s other arm - the one Thor wasn’t holding. “We need to talk.”
“After the party,” Tony insisted.
“Now,” Steve snapped.
“I have people over.”
“It’s either them or us, Tony. Your call.”
Tony’s features froze and Thor felt like cutting in; he didn’t understand how their visit had suddenly turned into an argument when the mood was so fine.
“That’s unfair, even for you,” Tony narrowed his eyes. “At least I didn’t throw this party at the Tower.”
“The terms are the same. Either you straighten out, right now, or we’re going to walk out of your home and out of your life - just like Ms. Potts did.”
Thor felt the arm beneath his fingers tighten. Tony stood his ground, staring back at Steve, as if waging war between their minds.
“What’s it gonna be?” Steve asked after the song in the background had changed to another.
“This is my life,” Tony started.
Steve dropped his hand and motioned Thor to do the same. “We’re going. Enjoy your party.” He turned to walk away and Thor assumed he was meant to follow. They barely took a step before Tony’s voice reached them:
“Wait. Okay, I’ll… Give me a minute to get everyone out.”
Steve didn’t smile or look satisfied. He merely stood there, arms crossed over his chest as the lights came on, the music stopped and the people left with odd looks thrown at the Avengers and grumbled comments flying between them. Bruce joined the two of them, looking around nervously, then glanced over to where Tony was filling another glass with amber liquid, his hand not as steady as usual. In the aftermath of the music and the mass of people, the house seemed hushed and empty.
“You know this needs to end, right?” Steve spoke up.
“Yeah,” Tony said then threw back his drink, all at once.
- - -
When you battled anime porn clichés you knew you were doing it right - or very wrong.
That’s what Tony thought when the large creature with tentacles pulled itself ashore at Keyport Harbor in New Jersey. It wasn’t a giant octopus and it wasn’t going back into the water so the Avengers were called in. The thing, whatever it was, tore buildings and vehicles apart, sending the cavalry running for cover after tossing said torn structures and vehicles after them. That was the sight Tony was met with when arriving at the scene and it might have been comical if lives weren’t actually in danger.
And then it was his own life on the line, apparently, when the tentacles got a hold of his suit and the suction cups were sticky, holding him in place, completely unaffected by the repulsor burns Tony tried to cause.
“Guys?” Tony called out to the others through the comm. The last he had seen, the Hulk was trying to grab the tentacles but they were too slippery on the non-suction side for his hands to get a hold. “I think this thing is… Okay, its breaking my suit. Get me out of here.”
“We’re working on it,” was Steve’s reply.
Tony wondered what he was supposed to do while they ‘worked on it’.
“Sir, the armor’s integrity is being compromised,” J.A.R.V.I.S. informed him just as Tony felt something crack.
“It’s going to rape me,” Tony sighed. He really shouldn’t have been so calm about it.
“It’s not going to rape you,” Steve reassured.
“I didn’t know you were still listening.”
“You left the comm line open.”
“Well, now that you are listening, how about preventing me from getting raped by a huge tentacle thing?” Tony snapped. “It’s tearing my suit. I think I can feel it…” Something was dripping down his leg and it wasn’t oil from the suit.
“Hold on,” Steve told him and what else was Tony supposed to do?
The slippery sensation turned into a faint burn and alarms began to stab his eyes all over the Heads Up Display. He winced, struggling again, firing the thrusters with all he had left then groaned as he felt something tear near his hip. The tentacle around his chest was pressing down harder, making breathing too much of a challenge. “J.A.R.V.I.S., fire up the Unibeam. I don’t care if we don’t have enough juice left; I’m going to roast this thing if it’s the last thing I do.”
He felt it, all along his chest cavity, when the Unibeam blasted out. It threw him back in the tentacles’ grip, the creature letting out a satisfying screech, and then Thor was there with Mjolnir, gripping Iron Man, striking at the creature and Tony was too close to passing out from lack of air to actually give him a hand.
The next time Tony was actually aware of his surroundings, the Hulk was kicking a twitching mass of tentacles and Captain America was looking skeptically at his shield, which was covered in slime.
“Friend Tony,” Thor’s face appeared in front of him. He didn’t look half bad. Where had he been during half the battle when Tony was almost crushed to death? A tap against his helmet followed and Tony tried to swat him away in annoyance but then released the helmet and pulled it off.
He took a breath of air and immediately regretted it; the thing reeked.
“Are you okay?” Steve asked.
“Pristine,” Tony winced. He didn’t want to know what he would find when he took off the armor. “Please tell me its dead?” he looked over at the now unmoving mass of slime and tentacles.
“Hulk tear tentacles a new one,” Hulk huffed as he turned to them.
Tony laughed, unable not to, then cut himself short as new places started to ache. “How about I meet you back at the Tower?”
“Sir, there may not be enough power left to sustain flight back to the Stark Tower,” J.A.R.V.I.S. informed through his earpiece.
Tony sighed and closed his eyes. “Did you bring the Quinjet?”
“No,” Steve replied. “I came on my bike, Thor flew and the Hulk… well, ran.”
The Hulk grinned widely. It was entirely possible his leg muscles bulged.
“Can someone give me a lift?” Tony asked them.
And that was how he got a ride home under the Hulk’s protective arm, which probably gave him a few more bruises to remember the trip by.
Once at the Tower, Tony kept swearing and gasping as he took off the armor then gingerly touched the sorest spots while debating whether to undress the rest of the way. He knew he had to, eventually, but he could pretend for a while longer that there weren’t slime burns on his hip and bruises all over his body.
Bruce came down to the armory before he was done debating, which was a swift transformation for him. He was already dressed and looking more alive than was fair. “Do you want to go see a doctor?” he asked.
“No,” Tony rolled his eyes.
“Then strip and let me see so that I can decide whether you need one,” Bruce ordered, taking a seat in a saddle chair to the side and pushed it closer to Tony’s current location.
Tony thought about protesting then stripped off the top of the undersuit. Bruce moved closer still, into his space, snapping on latex gloves. Where he had found those was anyone’s guess. “Are your hands cold?” Tony teased then hissed as Bruce pressed on a few bruises on his chest and sides then moved down to his hip. Without ceremony or apology Bruce tugged down on the lower half of the undersuit, exposing more of the burnt area - and Tony’s skin - until he stood there with most of his ass exposed, the bunched-up clothing still covering some of his groin.
Bruce actually took a sample from the remaining slime before beginning to treat him. Tony squirmed only a little, allowing himself to be lulled into a better place under the gentle yet firm ministration. Bruce might not be a real doctor but he played one very convincingly.
He didn’t realize it right then, standing there aching, waiting for it to be over, but it was all going to begin with Bruce - like so many things in Tony’s life after meeting the guy on the Helicarrier: “If I didn’t know better, I would say you’re enjoying this,” the scientist mused while dabbing something on the burnt area on his hip.
“Then maybe you should get to know me better,” Tony replied dryly, not asking what exactly Bruce thought he was enjoying. The pain? Standing half-naked in front of him?
The scientist looked at him through his glasses, stopping for a moment. Just as quickly he went back to work, covering the injured area with dressings and taping them in place. It would make moving really awkward until Tony tore them off. “When you shower, try not to get the dressings wet.”
“Yes, Doctor,” Tony rolled his eyes.
“I mean it,” Bruce told him, voice harder. “I can always send you to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s medical.”
Tony narrowed his eyes at the man then shrugged. “Fine. Do I get pain pills?”
“If you need them and promise not to drink.”
Which was as good as no pills, then.
Tony sighed. “You’re a cruel man.”
“I am when I need to be.”
“I won’t even guess what that means,” Tony looked him in the eye, the joke dying somewhere between them.
Bruce’s lips barely twitched. “It’s better that way, seeing as you were almost raped by tentacles and all.”
“Who told you about that?” Tony narrowed his eyes. He knew the Hulk didn’t listen to their comms even if they tried to make him put one on. It usually got lost in the first few minutes of smashing.
Bruce smiled. “I have my sources.” His eyes moved upwards, just slightly, and Tony felt a little betrayed.
“J.A.R.V.I.S.”
“He simply provided me with information about your injuries,” Bruce shrugged it off, “with a small additional note of your mental state. He seemed fairly certain you wouldn’t be traumatized by this experience, seeing how your sexual preferences go.”
“Really? He told you that?”
“Indeed I did, sir. You’ve always encouraged me to be helpful when Dr. Banner needs my assistance.”
“Did he need help unlocking the secrets of my sex life?” Tony raised an eyebrow.
“If there are any secrets, sir,” the AI replied, sounding doubtful.
“You’re getting a reprogramming,” Tony threatened under his breath then looked at Bruce and shrugged. “Who doesn’t enjoy a little slippery tentacle action every now and then?” he challenged.
“I’ve never thought about it,” Bruce retorted.
“I have a few amazing hentai clips in my collection,” Tony offered.
“I’m sure you do.”
The genius narrowed his eyes, trying to read Bruce’s current mood. “You have something you want to say?” he asked.
“Indeed,” Bruce agreed, taking off the gloves. “The rest of the team talked upstairs before I came down. You’re becoming erratic and it’s not good for anyone - least of all you. Since Pepper left, you’ve been courting disaster in every way you can, and today you rushed an enemy before the rest of us even got there.”
“You were slow and that thing was wreaking havoc. I wasn’t just going to circle around until you deigned to show up!” Tony snapped back, not liking where this was going. Had they elected for Bruce to give him The Talk? Just because Bruce was his favorite didn’t mean he liked being patronized. Not at his age.
“You could have gotten killed,” Bruce pressed on, unrelenting and unaffected by Tony’s tone.
“How’s that different from any other day?”
Bruce’s hand, which had been absently inspecting yet another bruise, suddenly closed over his skin, his thumb pressing painfully near one of the slime burns, making Tony tense and stand rigid, waiting for the waves of pain to stop washing over that area of skin. The other man was staring at him, eyes hard, and if Tony’s earlier jab had been a physical thing, Bruce would have probably shoved it back down his throat, literally. “Stop trying to throw your life away,” he finally ground out.
Tony was certain Bruce had never talked to him like that; people who threatened Bruce and made him uncomfortable, sure, but he had never dropped all of the warmth from his voice so suddenly when talking to Tony. If he didn’t know Bruce so well, he might have thought he was going to Hulk out, but that wasn’t it. Bruce was perfectly in control - so much in control that he dared to take things a step further, show a level of anger and frustration without a fear of inviting the other guy to the surface.
“I’m not -” Tony started.
“You are!” Bruce actually shouted, his grip intensifying on Tony’s hip, making him jump slightly. No green in his eyes, just… “Ever since you handed your arc reactor over to the people who took us, we’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I knew it had happened when Pepper left but Steve wanted to wait it out, to see if you would pull through on your own.”
He made it sound like Tony was a patient in critical condition, teetering on the verge of death in a hospital.
“I’m done,” Bruce finished.
“Done?” Tony felt fear grip him. Was Bruce going to leave? He looked down at the other man who still sat in the chair, his hand still clutching Tony’s skin. There would be marks after he let go but Tony would carry them gladly as long as the other man was still around, feeling sheepish and guilty for putting them there. That’s how Bruce always was: apologetic when he hurt someone, instead of deliberately causing pain like he was now.
“Done waiting for you to figure it out, to get your life in order.” Bruce’s eyes narrowed slightly and a smile played on his lips, devoid of actual humor. “Before I came down, Steve said you might benefit more from an old-fashioned spanking.”
That was a mental image Tony would never admit he actually had, but there it was; Cap in full uniform, bending him over whatever, wherever…
“He also said he didn’t mean it, right after,” Bruce brutally crushed Tony’s fantasy under his words, “but I think there was a hint of truth in his statement.”
“I’m always willing to go for a consensual adult spanking,” Tony grinned, hoping they were past the creepy moment where Bruce was going to… well, Tony wasn’t sure what that was anymore, but he wanted Bruce to go back to his mellow, introvert self that was afraid of any little display of anger.
“Exactly,” came Bruce’s replied, surprisingly, and Tony wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Drop the act, Tony,” the other man ordered, steel in his voice. The grin disappeared from Tony’s face as fast as it had appeared and he felt vulnerable, standing there still exposed to Bruce and not knowing where this discussion was going. That was often the case with Bruce, his mind filled with sheer brilliance that rivaled and even surpassed Tony’s at times, which made their lab time one unexpected rollercoaster. Now, though, they were navigating strange waters and calculating Bruce’s next move was even harder.
“I know what you need,” Bruce went on when Tony offered him only stupefied silence. “Control and structure. A safe outlet. Tell me, when was the last time you felt truly safe?”
Tony opened his mouth to protest but then shut it, glaring at Bruce instead. “Safety doesn’t come first in what we do,” he finally answered, not even bothering to comment on the other things Bruce had listed. If they were going to start in about daddy issues, Bruce should know better because in that arena Tony was actually going to lose to the other man.
“Do you feel safe with me?” Bruce prodded.
Tony considered it. He could just say ‘yeah, sure’ and shrug it off, but he had a feeling this was cutting a little deeper than the mask they all put on to manage from day to day. “Not right now,” he admitted. With Bruce’s current behavior, he didn’t exactly feel comfortable.
The hand clutching his hip relaxed slightly, easing the stretch on the skin and making the burns ache all over again. Tony tried not to catch his breath, attempting to inhale instead, calm and deep.
“Good,” Bruce admitted. “I don’t want you to lie. Honesty is… important between people who should trust each other, I’m beginning to realize.” His hand slipped around Tony’s body, across his flank and further back. When it stopped Tony actually had to tell his brain Bruce wasn’t just cupping his naked ass cheek, that it was just a… thing. A very strange thing because there was no way Bruce didn’t know where his hand was currently resting but Tony couldn’t call out his bluff in case this was just some bizarre test of his self-control.
“I want to help you,” Bruce brought Tony’s brain back to action from where it had frozen at the sensation of the intimate touch. “The Avengers are still needed and we have to be able to work as a team. A close-knit group of people who can trust each other.”
“Did Cap say that?” Tony guessed, just to show he was still capable of speech.
“Yes, actually,” the other man nodded. “He offered to make the first move, to come down and do this, but I said you would be more receptive if it were me the first time.”
“First… time?” Tony frowned. “I’m not following.”
“When you almost killed yourself to save us,” Bruce explained, patient, with a bit more warmth in his voice, “we realized the team - the four of us at least - had to evolve into something more than what we currently were. If you were willing to die for us, we had to re-evaluate our own commitment to the team and each other.”
“I still don’t get it,” Tony confessed and it bugged him endlessly that he didn’t understand what was going on.
“We all need an outlet. You’ve told me to start strutting for how many months now?”
That was a joke, Tony was sure of that, but he didn’t dare laugh.
Bruce’s fingers moved, curling into his flesh again, consciously or unconsciously pulling Tony’s ass cheek aside. It allowed cooler air to blow onto the sensitive skin the minimal movement exposed. “I could boast that I have the best self-control out of us all. That’s why I called dibs on you.” His fingers squeezed harder and Tony knew he wasn’t imagining it anymore. None of it was accidental; Bruce was in perfect control of every little movement, of every word coming out of his mouth and Tony’s cock hardened against the material of the undersuit, caught up in it.
“I would extend that control over you, Tony, and give you what I think you need, deep down,” Bruce said, his voice as careful as a whisper in a lover’s ear, slamming Tony in the gut although Bruce did nothing but move his lips.
The most natural thing at that point would have been to fall on his knees but Bruce’s hand was still on his ass and Tony didn’t want to dislodge the connection should that break this magical moment. Was Bruce saying what he thought he was saying? He was pretty sure because the sexual undertones were right there - plus the hand on his ass. Which only reminded him that Bruce had talked this over with the others and -
“You talked about this with Steve and Thor?” Tony asked.
“Yes,” Bruce replied almost conversationally.
“And… Steve offered to come down here, instead of you?”
“He did.”
“Okay, just to be clear - I don’t want anyone to say something non-consensual happened because we didn’t clear up the possible double meaning of every word you just said to me -”
That’s when Bruce’s hand shifted, yet again, and one very firm, very real, very bold finger traced the rim off his asshole and there was nothing unclear about that. “I know you want this,” Bruce stated.
Tony tried not to let out an embarrassing whine in return. “I do?”
“Yes,” Bruce smiled. A sweet, achingly beautiful smile, just as bashful as the day they first met and Tony suddenly wondered if Bruce had envisioned them like this back then. His cock jerked in the confines of the clothing and he hadn’t felt this sensitive - this receptive - in years.
The finger traced closer, the aim perfect, just a hint of a push and the teasing touch turned to full-blown pleasure as it began to breach him, so very slowly before almost accidentally slipping inside when his sphincter yielded suddenly.
“Just say ‘yes’, Tony,” Bruce breathed out the words, one hand still relaxed in his own lap as if nothing at all was going on.
“Yes,” Tony parroted yet fully aware of it, of every inclination of the syllable.
Bruce smiled again then stood up, the change in height changing the angle of his hand and thus the digit inside Tony. “Good boy,” the other man praised then kissed him, swallowing any and all of Tony’s protestations of being called a ‘boy’ at his age. The kiss was surprisingly chaste yet Tony had imagined it for so long he didn’t really care. He did care, however, that Bruce withdrew his finger as they kissed, as well as his entire hand from his backside.
“I thought I just agreed to have sex with you - and potentially the rest of the team,” Tony complained, pulling back from Bruce’s lips.
“You did,” Bruce confirmed his logic.
“Then how come you’re stopping?”
“Is he always this impatient?” Bruce asked, making Tony frown at his choice of words.
“I’m afraid so, Dr. Banner,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. “Are you ready to begin?”
“Very much so,” Bruce sighed then absently palmed his crotch, which almost had Tony dropping his jaw at how casual it was.
“I’m confused,” Tony admitted. “J.A.R.V.I.S., what’s up with the master conspiracy with Bruce?”
“Dr. Banner has enlisted my help. He assured me it will be for your own good and enjoyment, and allowing me to oversee the proceedings also helps me to determine if you are, at any time, at risk. Furthermore, Dr. Banner has certain limitations due to the toxicity in his blood and that sets certain perimeters that cannot be safely crossed at this time. Please step over to the platform, sir,” the AI concluded.
Tony stared at Bruce who was just standing there, touching himself through his pants, waiting for J.A.R.V.I.S. to finish. “You enlisted my AI to… to…” He motioned around the room vaguely since he was a little uncertain what was going on right now.
“Step onto the platform,” Bruce repeated J.A.R.V.I.S.’s instructions.
Tony glanced back at the slightly raised area where he usually put on the Iron Man armor. He had just gotten out of it and the suit was damaged so there was no reason to put it back on. He looked suspiciously at Bruce then took a few steps back, hands falling to the undersuit still pooled around his hips.
“Leave that on,” Bruce ordered.
Tony took a small step up then stood on the platform, his cock still hard with anticipation although he wasn’t certain what to expect anymore.
The mechanical arms began to emerge from the ceiling and the floor, making Tony frown. At his feet the platform came to life, beginning the assembly of the armor.
“Sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. prompted and Tony stepped into the boots, which closed around his feet and calves, snug and familiar. “Raise your arms, please,” J.A.R.V.I.S. instructed as the mechanical parts moved into position on either side slightly above of him.
Tony didn’t want to admit yet again that he wasn’t following so he did as he was told. The mechanical parts opened up, slipping on the gauntlets and part of the forearm pieces, then suddenly froze and locked down. Tony looked from side to side then attempted to move, but his arms were locked above him, firmly in place.
His eyes flew forward, meeting Bruce’s intense stare. Suddenly Tony saw a plan forming and tried to move his feet but found them solidly locked into the platform which had now powered down. The next time he looked, Bruce was smiling.
“Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S.”
“He’s all yours, Dr. Banner,” the AI replied and Tony pondered if J.A.R.V.I.S. even understood the concept. Probably. He was quite smart these days and after following Tony’s sex life for years, J.A.R.V.I.S. should have developed a pretty good idea of how this worked.
Bruce moved closer, as if inspecting Tony. He stepped up to the platform, stopping right in front of him, his clothed chest almost touching Tony’s bare one. “There’s only one rule I’m going to enforce,” Bruce stated. “You come only when I do.”
Tony was glad the machine was holding him up because his knees might have jerked embarrassingly at the words. “Okay,” he replied, quite casually. “So, how are we doing this thing?” he asked then.
Bruce gave him a brief smile, eyes sharp behind his glasses, the lenses catching the light from the arc reactor. While he held Tony’s eyes, one of his hands moved down, giving Tony’s cock a tug through the undersuit then pulled the material lower, releasing the hard flesh. The fingers traced him briefly, traveling up and down the side of his cock without a detour to the tip, then stole down to the base, curling around his balls and pulling them free of the clothing as well.
Tony tried to arch his hips at the touch but he could only move so much with his limbs caught in the unyielding grip of the armor assembly platform. Bruce’s fingers had returned to their idle caresses along his straining flesh, teasing instead of providing any real relief, winding him up tighter. Tony clenched his jaw, trying to find a rhythm for his breaths. After all, it wouldn’t do to come prematurely. Not just because Bruce had told him not to, but because he had pride.
Bruce’s other hand had fallen back to his own crotch, fondling his cock through his pants. It was criminal that he was still wearing all his clothes.
“I would help you undress but I’m a little tied up at the moment,” Tony quipped.
“If you don’t have anything worthwhile to say, don’t speak,” Bruce retorted.
Tony pursed his lips. “That’s kind of rude.”
Bruce raised an eyebrow at him and his fingers pinched the head of Tony’s cock, making him hiss and buck his hips but that was all he could do. Tears pricked his eyes.
“Asshole,” Tony ground out after a bit.
Bruce’s fingers resumed touching the rest of his shaft, jerking him almost softly in small movements. “You don’t think I’m capable of shutting you up, Tony?”
He thought it over. Of course Bruce was capable, there was no doubt about that. Tony wasn’t exactly in a position to protest or fight back. “Sorry,” he finally muttered.
“Better,” Bruce informed him and kept on going, slow and infuriating, the touch becoming almost numbing after a moment. That’s when he changed the pace, the angle, and Tony arched towards him, thighs shivering slightly at how good it was. Bruce kept going, twisting his hand a bit at every up-stroke, making Tony’s toes curl. He was so close, so very close, the tingling starting and traveling from the very base of his spine -
Bruce’s hand fell away, leaving Tony dismayed for a moment. He blinked at the other man, hips shifting but there was no friction available, no help to take him across the finish line.
“You have a short memory,” Bruce mused. “Maybe I should make you write it down a few hundred times.”
Tony blinked, then remembered and flushed slightly.
“That’s right,” Bruce nodded, looking so disappointed. He wasn’t even touching himself anymore, as if Tony’s failure robbed him of the ability to feel good.
“I’ll do better next time. I could even help you,” he promised.
“You don’t think I’m capable of taking care of myself?” Bruce asked, voice a notch lower. He stepped up, almost leaning his body against Tony’s. “You don’t think I’m man enough to get myself off? Is that it, Tony?”
“No,” Tony gulped. There was no green in the brown eyes but Bruce sure sounded like there could be.
“Do I need your help?” Bruce pressed, almost in a growl.
“No, you don’t. I’m sorry,” Tony blurted out.
Bruce blinked and it was all gone. It was terrifying. “Why is it you only ever apologize during sex? Well, I guess it’s a sign that you’re actually able to do it instead of becoming physically ill.” He tapped a finger against Tony’s hips, on top of the dressed burns, making the small touch sting all over the injured area. “Shall we try this again?”
“Yes,” Tony nodded. “Please.” No one could say Tony Stark wasn’t a fast learner when he needed to be; when Bruce’s hand fell back on his cock, Tony made sure to watch the other man, to see how far he was and then try and hold himself back. Bruce hadn’t taken off his pants yet, hadn’t even opened them, which was driving Tony nuts. Sure, Bruce touched himself; Tony could see the outline of his hard cock, the way his fingers rubbed against it, but that was it.
When he started getting near his peak again, Tony tried regulating his breathing, to push it away, but Bruce wasn’t slowing down, wasn’t showing a sign of being aware that Tony was close. “You need to stop,” Tony finally said, shivering. “I’m too close.”
Bruce smiled and stilled his hand, giving the head of Tony’s cock a lazy rub of his thumb which made Tony groan, arch and wish he could just let it go. He was sweating, his breathing harder to control and as he wound down again, he thought of how bad - and how good - it would feel when Bruce started to build it up again.
While he waited, Bruce touched himself, standing right there, looking at Tony.
“Let me see you,” Tony begged.
“All in good time,” Bruce promised.
“You’re ruining your pants,” Tony attempted to sway him.
Bruce actually laughed then composed himself and looked at Tony. “You said you would help me,” he recalled.
Tony nodded enthusiastically.
“Would you touch me?”
“Yes.”
“With your hands?”
“Hands, mouth, whatever you want.”
“You do understand my blood is toxic and that might well carry over to other biofluids?”
Tony looked, imagining he saw a slight damp spot on the material of the pants. He wanted to say he would still do it but after hearing Bruce earlier, about how his attempt to save the other Avengers had turned into this strange method of keeping him safe, he guessed it would be the wrong thing to say.
“You would let me rub the front of my pants all over your face,” Bruce suddenly spoke up, voice laden with a dark timbre. Tony’s cock jerked at the words. “You would look up at me with those big, wide eyes and take anything I decided to give you. And that’s the problem; I would love to stuff my cock down your throat, Tony, but one of us has to be in control, to have a clear mind - to be objective. And it’s never going to be you.”
He most certainly wasn’t going to have a clear mind about anything when Bruce was going to bring him off with his voice alone. However, the vocal seduction seemed to have an effect on them both because Bruce’s hand suddenly moved to the top of his pants, tugging the button and zipper open with practiced speed that indicated he was used to doing it a lot. Tony knew his reasons for that were usually more… green.
Tony knew his eyes were probably ridiculously wide as he stared at Bruce’s hand working, shoving down his underwear to release his cock, which was flushed and wet with excitement. It was perhaps good Tony was tied and unable to move because he might have lunged at the flesh and that would have ended in destruction and rebuilding of most of his Tower, surely. It was a bit ridiculous because Tony had never been that hungry for cock in his life, but this was Bruce and there was no way in any reality, this or otherwise, where he wasn’t going to want a piece of him.
Bruce pressed closer again, fisting his own flesh, pulling at it, aiming at the bunched up material of Tony’s undersuit, rubbing the head against it. His breath hitched slightly and he brought his other hand to Tony’s cock again, much harder this time, the finesse long gone. He jerked them both with determination, the grip a bit firmer than what Tony used on himself but that only heightened his pleasure and he jerked in his bonds, trying to reach forward. He didn’t quite get to Bruce’s face, nibbling at his ear instead, breathing hotly against his cheek, and damn, Bruce did that twisty thing with his hand again and then brought a finger to Tony’s slit, turned the digit sideways, just an edge of nail against the small opening and he felt the other man jerk against him, groaning and pressing against his thigh.
Tony didn’t quite feel the wetness but he knew it was there.
“You can come now,” Bruce breathed out and the sting on the tender head of his cock pushed Tony over the edge, making him shout out in relief, shooting his load all over Bruce’s hand.
He was still panting and shaking when Bruce covered his mouth and there was nothing chaste about this kiss. It left Tony’s lips as bruised as his entire body felt in the aftermath of a hard battle.
Bruce collected himself, straightening his shirt and then reached out for a clean paper towel, cleaning himself carefully and then catching most of his cum from Tony’s undersuit. “Make sure to clean that properly,” he noted and threw the paper aside, placing his cock back inside his pants and doing them up as if nothing had happened. “J.A.R.V.I.S., we’re done.”
“Very good, Dr. Banner,” the AI replied and the platform whirred back to life, letting Tony go and leaving him to collapse on his knees, feeling a little lightheaded. Bruce helped him up, actually tugging the undersuit off the rest of the way before taking him to the elevator which would take Tony straight to his room.
“Remember, don’t get the dressings wet,” Bruce reminded him and Tony just leaned against the elevator wall, naked and sweaty, staring owlishly at the door as it closed.
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