Hulk and Puppy; Chapter 1: The Virus
Story Info
Title: Hulk and Puppy
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers (MCU)
Genre: Drama
Rating: M / FRM
Characters: Bruce Banner (Hulk), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., Pepper Potts, James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Steve Rogers (Captain America), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Tony’s bots (DUM-E and U).
Pairings: Bruce/Tony (implied/past Tony/OFC)
Summary: In the past year and a half, Tony had been infected by an alien werewolf, got lost in space, returned home and was reunited with his friends and teammates. His life should have gone back to normal but the world seemed obsessed with his new hairier, feral side instead, and it didn’t help that the Hulk kept calling him ‘Puppy’ and wanting to pet him. If only that were the least of his problems.
Complete. Sequel to “ Broken Howl”.
Warnings: Sexual content (M/M, very mild/borderline/not-really-bestiality), canonical violence, language, vaguely implied death (including death of a child).
Disclaimer: Iron Man, Avengers and Marvel Cinematic Universe, including characters and everything else, belong to Marvel, Marvel Studios, Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Kenneth Branagh, Joe Johnston, Louis Leterrier, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Universal Pictures. In short: I own nothing; this is pure fiction created to entertain likeminded fans for no profit whatsoever.
Beta: Mythra (mythras-fire)
Feedback: Warmly welcomed.
About Hulk and Puppy: A representation of my Hulk & Puppy related feels that I got from the original story - and to address some of the half-answered questions said story may have raised…
I present to you, a sequel to “ Broken Howl”.
Have more werewolf!Tony, Bruce and Tony feels, a painful transformation, and Tony finding his new place in life and in the midst of his team.
Chapters and statuses: Below you see the writing process of the story’s chapters. If there is no text after the chapter’s title, then it is finished and checked. Possible updates shall be marked after the title.
Chapter 1: The Virus
Chapter 2: The Intimacy
Chapter 3: The Transformation
Chapter 4: The Pack
~ ~ ~
Chapter 1: The Virus
“Replay.”
A minute pause before the video shifted back to the beginning was enough for Tony to shift in his seat; he tightened his half-curled position in the chair and started to idly bite his fingers, eyes trained on the screen.
He didn’t recall having attacked the chemist’s lab in as much detail as the video showed. They were supposed to have come unnoticed and unexpectedly, but something must have gone wrong because the moment Iron Man took down the bolted door, a tank full of some very strong acid broke right above him.
On screen, it was hard to tell how badly he had started inside the suit.
The communications track attached to the video did, however, capture the first exclamation of pain as the acid burned through a section of the suit at the armpit, and that was when everything went to hell.
Tony remembered the pain, burning and lingering no matter how he moved - no matter how he brushed at it once he got free of the armor.
In less than five seconds he was losing it, his body changing, grunts of pain transforming into snarls. He barely remembered that…
The armor was still standing; it would have withstood the acid save for the joints that needed to be reinforced in future models. However, Tony’s exit from it had left it vulnerable, allowing the acid to trickle inside, frying all the surfaces it came in contact with.
Off-screen, there could be heard a commotion rising. The camera view expanded, showing Cap’s shield flying across the room, embedding itself into a console, sparks flying in all directions. A well-placed arrow flashed across the room, embedding itself into the controls, switching off the main power and leaving the room awash in the sickening, greenish lights of the emergency power back-up generator.
“Tony?” Cap’s voice called out.
“I think he’s gone,” Hawkeye retorted, a hint of nervousness in his tone.
“Go after the chemist,” their leader ordered.
“Widow’s on it,” the archer replied. “We need to make Stark chill or he might cross the magical line from half-beast to full wolf mode -”
“Puppy’s in pain!” a roar cut them both off as the Hulk tore his way through a wall.
Tony’s half-changed form wheeled around to face the green monster, a snarl escaping his throat. It made him feel uncomfortable as he watched, like he wasn’t viewing himself at all, but he was forced to accept that that was the case. It wasn’t the first time Tony had felt dissociative, for one reason or another, but this was definitely the worst; he didn’t even look like himself. If not for the arc reactor, it would have been so easy to pretend…
“Good Puppy,” the Hulk rumbled, slowing down to a walk after his violent entrance into the room. “Hulk help Puppy.”
Instead of accepting the unnatural kindness in the Hulk’s voice, the half-wolf attacked. Tony supposed he could remember, distantly, how much the lingering burn of the acid had still hurt, not to mention the fumes in the air that must have burned all the way from his nose to his lungs when he inhaled.
The Hulk grunted as Tony lunged for him, claws digging into the arm the rage monster lifted instinctively to protect himself. Instead of swatting him aside or tearing him off, the Hulk merely scowled as if trying to ignore the pain - then grunted again as Tony’s unnaturally sharp teeth dug into his flesh.
Tony had fought beside the Hulk for years, and never before had he seen anyone get away with so much without getting smashed in some way. A trickle of green-tinted blood was starting to make its way down the Hulk’s arm and still the rage monster was unmoving, not trying to shake loose or growling and punching Tony away.
What he did, eventually, was place his free hand on Tony’s neck in what was unmistakably a caress.
“Stop biting Hulk,” Hulk requested. “Hulk hurts.”
Tony snarled, then stilled as the Hulk caressed down his rigid back, all the way down to the waistband of his pants where the tail had pushed its way insistently to freedom. The big green hand drew back up - only to start another gentle journey from Tony’s neck to his tailbone.
The inhumanly bulging muscles of Tony’s upper body were perfectly visible through the form-fitting shirt he had worn beneath the armor - which was already burned, melted and torn from acid and clawed hands that then tried to scratch away the hurt. All that made it easy to spot that at the fourth stroke of the Hulk’s hand, the tension began to drain from Tony’s body; he slowly relinquished his hold on the arm he was clinging to, muscles shrinking, the excess body hair disappearing.
Once Tony was no longer trying to mangle his arm, the Hulk adjusted his hold, pulling Tony up against his chest like he might with a pet, continuing to rub his back until the wolf had completely withdrawn, leaving a disoriented looking Tony Stark in his arms.
“Sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. notified him, “Dr. Banner is on his way downstairs.”
Tony nodded distractedly. He didn’t remember this moment clearly; too many chemicals must have been pumping through his body to make sense of the soft crooning noises the Hulk was letting out.
“How many times have you watched that?” Bruce’s voice asked from behind him. He had come in quietly, and if not for his AI’s notification, Tony might have been startled.
“Second time,” Tony stated.
“Really?”
“I’ve been busy,” Tony deflected the obvious distrust in Bruce’s voice, inching around on the chair to look at him. “I have an armor that needs repairing - or at least needs to be analyzed; I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble to rebuild it,” he mused, placing his thumb at his lips again, thoughtfully nibbling at it.
“Don’t bite your fingers,” Bruce told him like he might a child. “I have results from the acid test if you want to see them,” he added.
“Thanks,” Tony nodded and watched Bruce place a small external hard drive on one of the desks.
In a corner, Dummy and You activated, rolling over to come see if they could be of assistance. It was sad how out of sorts the bots were even now, but Tony supposed that abruptly abandoning them for a year hadn’t actually been in their best interest. They were a little too eager to help him now that he was back, as if being gone had been their fault.
“I should take some blood samples,” Bruce went on, and immediately the bots shot in two directions to get supplies - but not before first bumping into each other in their hurry. “I’m worried that you may have come into contact with the other guy’s blood,” Bruce added.
“You don’t say,” Tony rolled his eyes and re-adjusted his position in the chair. It was a big, cushy chair, and he rather liked it. He had brought it down from the living room after he discovered he had a new-found affection for it and its cup-like shape that allowed him to curl up in it…
Dummy came rolling back with test tubes while You brought a box of gauze. Bruce accepted them gracefully, thanking the bots, having been a witness to their overly attentive behavior since Tony got back home. At least in the beginning Tony had liked the distraction the bots provided; now he wasn’t sure who needed the distraction and from what.
“I don’t feel sick,” Tony ventured to say as Bruce fetched the rest of the tools and then brought a saddle chair over to Tony’s new favorite chair and sat down to organize the supplies on a side table.
“That’s a good sign,” Bruce agreed. “I’m not sure if you remember but I took a sample from you as soon as we got back… You were pretty out of it.” He gave Tony a tiny look of concern.
“I got burnt with acid that ate its way through my armor,” Tony replied. “It hurt, I freaked out - and then I bit the Hulk.”
“He didn’t mind,” Bruce replied, and Tony wondered how often Bruce had watched the video from their latest mission.
“We need to talk about that,” Tony stated, extending his arm a second before Bruce could ask for it, receiving one of those small, thankful smiles Bruce reserved for people who cooperated with his over-cautious nature.
“The other guy likes you,” Bruce shrugged one shoulder as he searched for the vein, then deftly pushed the needle through the skin.
Tony kept back the hiss of pain, watching his blood being drained into a tube. If he looked at it, he would feel calmer. Things that hurt and he couldn’t see… not such a good combination when he could ‘wolf out’ in response to them.
He hated Clint for implanting that term into his brain because Tony was so not cool with it.
“The big guy liked me well enough before all this,” Tony agreed. “But he never would have let me hurt him like that without trying to stop it.”
Bruce didn’t nod or reply, simply frowning a bit as he held his hands steady then switched the tube out for another.
“What if I had actually hurt him?” Tony pressed.
“I don’t think you can - or, rather, the wolf,” Bruce argued, meeting his gaze briefly before lowering it back to the task at hand. He changed the tube for a third before continuing: “So far we’ve figured out that the werewolf virus is potent enough to infect an Asgardian and survive the levels of gamma radiation in my blood.”
It had been such a downer to learn that gamma radiation could not be used to rid Tony of the virus in his system. However, they were exploring the possibility of a gamma treatment for someone who had been recently infected but not yet carrying a fully matured virus in their system, and those tests were showing promising results - albeit with undesired side effects because they had not yet found a healthy dose of gamma radiation that would still be potent enough to battle the virus.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t hurt the big guy,” Tony defended his opinion.
Bruce removed the third tube, pulled out the needle and pressed gauze to the wound to stem the flow of blood. He even taped the gauze in place although Tony healed a lot faster these days. “The other guy’s tough,” the scientist said as he secured the samples, labeled them, then stored them for the time being before getting rid of the other tools. Dummy helpfully dragged over a hazardous waste bin, although it had resided only ten feet away from them.
“Don’t underestimate the damage the wolf can do,” Tony warned his lover.
“Tony,” Bruce said, his voice holding a hint of warning. “Enough. You and I both know we’re not talking about physical damage here. Right?” he demanded.
“Right…” Tony muttered and lowered his gaze. His ears lay flat in submission - which was his first hint that he was losing control again.
“Oh, Tony…” Bruce murmured and reached over with both hands, caressing his newly-transformed wolf ears. “Don’t do that. Look at me,” he urged.
“I would rather not,” Tony replied softly.
“Okay. As long as you don’t roll onto your back on the floor.”
Tony dared a small glance at the other man. “I did that once.”
“It was embarrassing.”
“I was…”
“I know,” Bruce cut him off, softly, lovingly, and kept caressing his ears, urging Tony to lean towards him in his seat. “I cannot say this for certain, but what I’ve seen and heard… The other guy likes you - likes Puppy.”
“We are not calling it that!” Tony exclaimed.
“I am,” Bruce admitted, blushing a little. “In my head, anyway.”
Tony glared at him suspiciously, wondering if Bruce was trolling him, or if he really was serious. It might be one of the few things he and the Hulk willingly had in common, and while that was a great thing, Tony would have rather started with something else.
“Anyway,” Bruce went on, still scratching Tony behind the ears, which made delicious shivers run down his back. “I think the other guy knows what’s happening to you. I think he comprehends that even when you get scared and angry, you don’t really mean it - even when you bite him,” he added. “Like you said: had it been anyone else, he would have reacted very differently.”
Tony couldn’t help but notice that Bruce appeared content with this fact. Perhaps for him, after all the years of fearing that the beast within him would hurt the people he loved, he was now in a place where he was actually confident that the Hulk was not going to tear Tony to pieces.
It truly begged the question of how many times he had watched the video from the chemist’s lab.
“Get to work,” Tony finally stated. “Those samples are not going to test themselves.”
“No, but I can help with that, sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. volunteered.
Tony tried glaring at his AI, positive that J.A.R.V.I.S. caught the expression.
Bruce chuckled. “What will you do?” he asked as he rolled his chair over to where he had put the blood samples and stuck one tube inside the analyzer.
“I think I’ll just curl up here and take a nap,” Tony decided and yawned. He may have napped a little on the flight over, but transformations were hard on his body, especially ones that weren’t completely voluntary; they played on the limits of what his body could take, and a nap before a long night’s sleep was just what he needed.
So, while Bruce worked and murmured results to J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony got into a perfectly natural, totally non-canine position on his chair, amazed that he could curl up like that and not feel like his arc reactor was going to stop his inner organs from functioning. He was drifting off when he heard one of the bots moving closer - then felt a blanket being placed on top of his body.
Warm and comfortable, with Bruce’s smell mixing with the familiar, safe odors of his workshop, he fell into an easy sleep.
to be continued…
Title: Hulk and Puppy
Author: Del Rion (delrion.mail (at) gmail.com)
Fandom: The Avengers (MCU)
Genre: Drama
Rating: M / FRM
Characters: Bruce Banner (Hulk), Tony Stark (Iron Man). Also: Clint Barton (Hawkeye), J.A.R.V.I.S., Pepper Potts, James “Rhodey” Rhodes (War Machine), Steve Rogers (Captain America), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor, Tony’s bots (DUM-E and U).
Pairings: Bruce/Tony (implied/past Tony/OFC)
Summary: In the past year and a half, Tony had been infected by an alien werewolf, got lost in space, returned home and was reunited with his friends and teammates. His life should have gone back to normal but the world seemed obsessed with his new hairier, feral side instead, and it didn’t help that the Hulk kept calling him ‘Puppy’ and wanting to pet him. If only that were the least of his problems.
Complete. Sequel to “ Broken Howl”.
Warnings: Sexual content (M/M, very mild/borderline/not-really-bestiality), canonical violence, language, vaguely implied death (including death of a child).
Disclaimer: Iron Man, Avengers and Marvel Cinematic Universe, including characters and everything else, belong to Marvel, Marvel Studios, Jon Favreau, Joss Whedon, Kenneth Branagh, Joe Johnston, Louis Leterrier, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Universal Pictures. In short: I own nothing; this is pure fiction created to entertain likeminded fans for no profit whatsoever.
Beta: Mythra (mythras-fire)
Feedback: Warmly welcomed.
About Hulk and Puppy: A representation of my Hulk & Puppy related feels that I got from the original story - and to address some of the half-answered questions said story may have raised…
I present to you, a sequel to “ Broken Howl”.
Have more werewolf!Tony, Bruce and Tony feels, a painful transformation, and Tony finding his new place in life and in the midst of his team.
Chapters and statuses: Below you see the writing process of the story’s chapters. If there is no text after the chapter’s title, then it is finished and checked. Possible updates shall be marked after the title.
Chapter 1: The Virus
Chapter 2: The Intimacy
Chapter 3: The Transformation
Chapter 4: The Pack
~ ~ ~
Chapter 1: The Virus
“Replay.”
A minute pause before the video shifted back to the beginning was enough for Tony to shift in his seat; he tightened his half-curled position in the chair and started to idly bite his fingers, eyes trained on the screen.
He didn’t recall having attacked the chemist’s lab in as much detail as the video showed. They were supposed to have come unnoticed and unexpectedly, but something must have gone wrong because the moment Iron Man took down the bolted door, a tank full of some very strong acid broke right above him.
On screen, it was hard to tell how badly he had started inside the suit.
The communications track attached to the video did, however, capture the first exclamation of pain as the acid burned through a section of the suit at the armpit, and that was when everything went to hell.
Tony remembered the pain, burning and lingering no matter how he moved - no matter how he brushed at it once he got free of the armor.
In less than five seconds he was losing it, his body changing, grunts of pain transforming into snarls. He barely remembered that…
The armor was still standing; it would have withstood the acid save for the joints that needed to be reinforced in future models. However, Tony’s exit from it had left it vulnerable, allowing the acid to trickle inside, frying all the surfaces it came in contact with.
Off-screen, there could be heard a commotion rising. The camera view expanded, showing Cap’s shield flying across the room, embedding itself into a console, sparks flying in all directions. A well-placed arrow flashed across the room, embedding itself into the controls, switching off the main power and leaving the room awash in the sickening, greenish lights of the emergency power back-up generator.
“Tony?” Cap’s voice called out.
“I think he’s gone,” Hawkeye retorted, a hint of nervousness in his tone.
“Go after the chemist,” their leader ordered.
“Widow’s on it,” the archer replied. “We need to make Stark chill or he might cross the magical line from half-beast to full wolf mode -”
“Puppy’s in pain!” a roar cut them both off as the Hulk tore his way through a wall.
Tony’s half-changed form wheeled around to face the green monster, a snarl escaping his throat. It made him feel uncomfortable as he watched, like he wasn’t viewing himself at all, but he was forced to accept that that was the case. It wasn’t the first time Tony had felt dissociative, for one reason or another, but this was definitely the worst; he didn’t even look like himself. If not for the arc reactor, it would have been so easy to pretend…
“Good Puppy,” the Hulk rumbled, slowing down to a walk after his violent entrance into the room. “Hulk help Puppy.”
Instead of accepting the unnatural kindness in the Hulk’s voice, the half-wolf attacked. Tony supposed he could remember, distantly, how much the lingering burn of the acid had still hurt, not to mention the fumes in the air that must have burned all the way from his nose to his lungs when he inhaled.
The Hulk grunted as Tony lunged for him, claws digging into the arm the rage monster lifted instinctively to protect himself. Instead of swatting him aside or tearing him off, the Hulk merely scowled as if trying to ignore the pain - then grunted again as Tony’s unnaturally sharp teeth dug into his flesh.
Tony had fought beside the Hulk for years, and never before had he seen anyone get away with so much without getting smashed in some way. A trickle of green-tinted blood was starting to make its way down the Hulk’s arm and still the rage monster was unmoving, not trying to shake loose or growling and punching Tony away.
What he did, eventually, was place his free hand on Tony’s neck in what was unmistakably a caress.
“Stop biting Hulk,” Hulk requested. “Hulk hurts.”
Tony snarled, then stilled as the Hulk caressed down his rigid back, all the way down to the waistband of his pants where the tail had pushed its way insistently to freedom. The big green hand drew back up - only to start another gentle journey from Tony’s neck to his tailbone.
The inhumanly bulging muscles of Tony’s upper body were perfectly visible through the form-fitting shirt he had worn beneath the armor - which was already burned, melted and torn from acid and clawed hands that then tried to scratch away the hurt. All that made it easy to spot that at the fourth stroke of the Hulk’s hand, the tension began to drain from Tony’s body; he slowly relinquished his hold on the arm he was clinging to, muscles shrinking, the excess body hair disappearing.
Once Tony was no longer trying to mangle his arm, the Hulk adjusted his hold, pulling Tony up against his chest like he might with a pet, continuing to rub his back until the wolf had completely withdrawn, leaving a disoriented looking Tony Stark in his arms.
“Sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. notified him, “Dr. Banner is on his way downstairs.”
Tony nodded distractedly. He didn’t remember this moment clearly; too many chemicals must have been pumping through his body to make sense of the soft crooning noises the Hulk was letting out.
“How many times have you watched that?” Bruce’s voice asked from behind him. He had come in quietly, and if not for his AI’s notification, Tony might have been startled.
“Second time,” Tony stated.
“Really?”
“I’ve been busy,” Tony deflected the obvious distrust in Bruce’s voice, inching around on the chair to look at him. “I have an armor that needs repairing - or at least needs to be analyzed; I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble to rebuild it,” he mused, placing his thumb at his lips again, thoughtfully nibbling at it.
“Don’t bite your fingers,” Bruce told him like he might a child. “I have results from the acid test if you want to see them,” he added.
“Thanks,” Tony nodded and watched Bruce place a small external hard drive on one of the desks.
In a corner, Dummy and You activated, rolling over to come see if they could be of assistance. It was sad how out of sorts the bots were even now, but Tony supposed that abruptly abandoning them for a year hadn’t actually been in their best interest. They were a little too eager to help him now that he was back, as if being gone had been their fault.
“I should take some blood samples,” Bruce went on, and immediately the bots shot in two directions to get supplies - but not before first bumping into each other in their hurry. “I’m worried that you may have come into contact with the other guy’s blood,” Bruce added.
“You don’t say,” Tony rolled his eyes and re-adjusted his position in the chair. It was a big, cushy chair, and he rather liked it. He had brought it down from the living room after he discovered he had a new-found affection for it and its cup-like shape that allowed him to curl up in it…
Dummy came rolling back with test tubes while You brought a box of gauze. Bruce accepted them gracefully, thanking the bots, having been a witness to their overly attentive behavior since Tony got back home. At least in the beginning Tony had liked the distraction the bots provided; now he wasn’t sure who needed the distraction and from what.
“I don’t feel sick,” Tony ventured to say as Bruce fetched the rest of the tools and then brought a saddle chair over to Tony’s new favorite chair and sat down to organize the supplies on a side table.
“That’s a good sign,” Bruce agreed. “I’m not sure if you remember but I took a sample from you as soon as we got back… You were pretty out of it.” He gave Tony a tiny look of concern.
“I got burnt with acid that ate its way through my armor,” Tony replied. “It hurt, I freaked out - and then I bit the Hulk.”
“He didn’t mind,” Bruce replied, and Tony wondered how often Bruce had watched the video from their latest mission.
“We need to talk about that,” Tony stated, extending his arm a second before Bruce could ask for it, receiving one of those small, thankful smiles Bruce reserved for people who cooperated with his over-cautious nature.
“The other guy likes you,” Bruce shrugged one shoulder as he searched for the vein, then deftly pushed the needle through the skin.
Tony kept back the hiss of pain, watching his blood being drained into a tube. If he looked at it, he would feel calmer. Things that hurt and he couldn’t see… not such a good combination when he could ‘wolf out’ in response to them.
He hated Clint for implanting that term into his brain because Tony was so not cool with it.
“The big guy liked me well enough before all this,” Tony agreed. “But he never would have let me hurt him like that without trying to stop it.”
Bruce didn’t nod or reply, simply frowning a bit as he held his hands steady then switched the tube out for another.
“What if I had actually hurt him?” Tony pressed.
“I don’t think you can - or, rather, the wolf,” Bruce argued, meeting his gaze briefly before lowering it back to the task at hand. He changed the tube for a third before continuing: “So far we’ve figured out that the werewolf virus is potent enough to infect an Asgardian and survive the levels of gamma radiation in my blood.”
It had been such a downer to learn that gamma radiation could not be used to rid Tony of the virus in his system. However, they were exploring the possibility of a gamma treatment for someone who had been recently infected but not yet carrying a fully matured virus in their system, and those tests were showing promising results - albeit with undesired side effects because they had not yet found a healthy dose of gamma radiation that would still be potent enough to battle the virus.
“That doesn’t mean I can’t hurt the big guy,” Tony defended his opinion.
Bruce removed the third tube, pulled out the needle and pressed gauze to the wound to stem the flow of blood. He even taped the gauze in place although Tony healed a lot faster these days. “The other guy’s tough,” the scientist said as he secured the samples, labeled them, then stored them for the time being before getting rid of the other tools. Dummy helpfully dragged over a hazardous waste bin, although it had resided only ten feet away from them.
“Don’t underestimate the damage the wolf can do,” Tony warned his lover.
“Tony,” Bruce said, his voice holding a hint of warning. “Enough. You and I both know we’re not talking about physical damage here. Right?” he demanded.
“Right…” Tony muttered and lowered his gaze. His ears lay flat in submission - which was his first hint that he was losing control again.
“Oh, Tony…” Bruce murmured and reached over with both hands, caressing his newly-transformed wolf ears. “Don’t do that. Look at me,” he urged.
“I would rather not,” Tony replied softly.
“Okay. As long as you don’t roll onto your back on the floor.”
Tony dared a small glance at the other man. “I did that once.”
“It was embarrassing.”
“I was…”
“I know,” Bruce cut him off, softly, lovingly, and kept caressing his ears, urging Tony to lean towards him in his seat. “I cannot say this for certain, but what I’ve seen and heard… The other guy likes you - likes Puppy.”
“We are not calling it that!” Tony exclaimed.
“I am,” Bruce admitted, blushing a little. “In my head, anyway.”
Tony glared at him suspiciously, wondering if Bruce was trolling him, or if he really was serious. It might be one of the few things he and the Hulk willingly had in common, and while that was a great thing, Tony would have rather started with something else.
“Anyway,” Bruce went on, still scratching Tony behind the ears, which made delicious shivers run down his back. “I think the other guy knows what’s happening to you. I think he comprehends that even when you get scared and angry, you don’t really mean it - even when you bite him,” he added. “Like you said: had it been anyone else, he would have reacted very differently.”
Tony couldn’t help but notice that Bruce appeared content with this fact. Perhaps for him, after all the years of fearing that the beast within him would hurt the people he loved, he was now in a place where he was actually confident that the Hulk was not going to tear Tony to pieces.
It truly begged the question of how many times he had watched the video from the chemist’s lab.
“Get to work,” Tony finally stated. “Those samples are not going to test themselves.”
“No, but I can help with that, sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. volunteered.
Tony tried glaring at his AI, positive that J.A.R.V.I.S. caught the expression.
Bruce chuckled. “What will you do?” he asked as he rolled his chair over to where he had put the blood samples and stuck one tube inside the analyzer.
“I think I’ll just curl up here and take a nap,” Tony decided and yawned. He may have napped a little on the flight over, but transformations were hard on his body, especially ones that weren’t completely voluntary; they played on the limits of what his body could take, and a nap before a long night’s sleep was just what he needed.
So, while Bruce worked and murmured results to J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony got into a perfectly natural, totally non-canine position on his chair, amazed that he could curl up like that and not feel like his arc reactor was going to stop his inner organs from functioning. He was drifting off when he heard one of the bots moving closer - then felt a blanket being placed on top of his body.
Warm and comfortable, with Bruce’s smell mixing with the familiar, safe odors of his workshop, he fell into an easy sleep.
to be continued…