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

[hiyou9]

So, um, this is basically the sweetest/most amazing thing ever and you should continue it. And yeah.

[ichixshiro14]

Yeah soooo....I'm your new biggest fan

Edited June 5, 2012 by ichixshiro14

[DogLover]

I'm trying for a coherent response here, but all I'm getting is a lot of emoticons. Especially this one... :drool: Yup.

More? Soon? Please?

[Garnet]

Wejhfjghf you guys are all lovely and wonderful ;u; Thank you so much for continued feedback! It definitely keeps my mojo up for working on the next parts.

Speaking of which, your wish is my command~!

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

Having Pepper around was nice. She was as much a workaholic as he or Bruce, although in an entirely different (and probably more responsible) fashion, so it was something of a treat when they both had cleared their schedules to spend some time together. Even if he hadn't exactly cleared his willingly, Tony could at least take advantage of the unplanned downtime and milk his girlfriend for every ounce of sympathy he could. Pepper mostly just rolled her eyes, but went along with his most inane requests anyway. Just because she'd never seen him sick, she'd said, but that he'd better not make a habit of this.

Right.

Still, for the better part of the following day, he only saw Bruce in passing, and spent most of the time consumed in self-pity and a sea of crumpled tissues.

"You know, I think the worst of it is passed," Pepper observed as she sank onto the bed beside him and tested his brow. He was getting used to his sort of contact, and wasn't about to complain at the coolness of her soft touch. "You can probably get up and move around a bit." She leaned in to press a kiss to where her hand had been, then wrinkled her nose slightly. "Or at least take a shower, you smell like metal and sweat."

"Thanks, love you too," Tony drawled, but made no effort to shoot to his feet. "I think I've actually lost the use of my legs. This is polio, I'm pretty sure."

"Pretty sure it's not," Pepper countered with a long-suffering sigh. Showered or not, she rested her temple gently against his, probably debating a new tactic for getting him up out of bed. Tony let her mull on it while he enjoyed the contact, though he crinkled his own nose at the strawberry blonde hair now dangling in his face.

"Heh..."

"Hm?" Pepper straightened up curiously, then leaned back just as he tucked himself into an upraised arm.

"Heh-ISSCHoo!" He sneezed sharply to one side. "See? I'm still dy---h'ih'sschoo! Uggh. Dyig."

"That does seem to be persistent," Pepper admitted with a frown. He rolled over to muffle the remainder of the fit half against a handful of tissues, and half into the pillows, and so only heard her sigh. "Alright, one more cup of tea, but then you're on your own, mister."

"Hah'issch-oo!" Was all he could manage in response.

One cup of tea turned into lunch and then a long nap late into the afternoon, but finally Tony felt a little more human and less like an arc reactor-powered slime mold. By early evening, he managed to rouse himself for a shower and a trip beyond the confines of his bedroom. He wasn't particularly hungry, but found himself wandering towards the kitchen anyway. Well, one of them. There were several in the tower, or at least several locations that could boast a kitchen with some tweaking, but for the time being it didn't make much sense to spread out too much. He sniffled as he went, holding back of a hand beneath his nose and ruefully wishing he'd brought along the tissue box. Also, where had Pepper gone?

Even through his lingering congestion he could scent the bitter roast of brewing coffee, though, and followed the pungent aroma until he half-stumbled upon the kitchen's other occupant.

"Hey," Bruce murmured in surprise, with a cup of coffee in hand and looking rumpled and guarded as ever, like he was perpetually paranoid of being caught somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. Tony, on the other hand, was still pleased even weeks later to see that he hadn't run off during the night to resume his life of self-exile.

Tony took a breath to reply, then darted his gaze aside in annoyance as flicker of nasal irritation took precedence. His eyes watered, and he put a hand up just in time to catch a reflexive, "Heh-ISSH'oo!"

"Yeah, you sound much better," Bruce hummed. He snagged a square of paper towel from the nearby roll and pressed it upon him.

"Hh--IFSHH! Uggh, yeah. Feel like a new man," Tony grumbled around a short, discreet blow into the roughly textured paper. "Is that decaf?" He nodded to the pot of coffee Bruce had apparently just put on.

His friend smiled apologetically. "Yeah, sorry. Only thing I can drink."

Tony presumed that had nothing to do with a sensitive stomach or keeping him awake at night. "Eh, better than nothing," he sighed, pitching the paper towels into the trash and then pouring out a cup of the dark brew. He looked over Bruce as the other man settled back down at the table to pick at a half-eaten omelette. He blinked. "You cooked?"

"Hah, no. Pepper did. Said she was fussing at me on your behalf."

"Aww, isn't she the best? I make a better omelette though."

Bruce smiled genuinely as he chased a few forkfuls around the plate, but didn't actually take a bite. "She is. And I'll tell her you said that, about the omelettes," he added with a shy smirk.

"Yeeeah no thanks, I get in enough trouble without your help," Tony said with a chuckle. Pepper was long used to putting up with his impulsive decisions, but he was glad at least that she'd seemed receptive to the 'stray' that Tony had brought home in the form of an awkwardly withdrawn middle-aged academic who sometimes just turned into a three ton rage monster incapable of reason. No big deal. Of course she didn't trust him to quite the same degree that Tony did, and still gave him uncertain looks if he ventured outside the range of calm, subdued emotion, but at least she did it while his back was turned. Otherwise, they seemed to get on famously.

He leaned one hip against the counter and mulled over a few sips of coffee, lazily enjoying the exchange of light banter and comfortable silence. Bruce appeared to be zoning out as well, looking generally sleepless and dazed. Moreso than usual, actually, and a little flushed as well. Tony narrowed his eyes with sudden, suspicious interest upon noting the flare of white clasped in free hand, a crumpled bundle of tissue.

As if on cue, the fork clicked down onto the plate, and Bruce turned from the table and into the little wad of tissue.

"H-MPHSSH!" He sneezed with tightly muffled restraint, drawing a frown of concern and dismay from Tony. "Ugh, excu-- heh'MPHsshh! Sorry."

Tony drummed his fingertips ponderously against the ceramic of the coffee mug. "So how's that not-getting-sick thing working out for you?"

"Pretty well," Bruce sniffed. He pointed to a fluffy calico cat sitting on the back of a nearby sofa, looking inordinately pleased with herself. Tony did a slight double take. Where the hell had that come from?

"Huh, thought I roped all of these little monsters off from the upper levels." Tony scowled as he padded over to the calico and picked her up into the crook of one arm. She purred happily and rubbed her face against the hard edge of his arc reactor.

"Well, they are cats," Bruce admitted with a good-natured shrug. "So wherever they're not allowed to go..." He hesitated, expression crumpling, and then ducked to one side again. "H'CHSSH-u! 'Scuse. Pretty sure they're trans-dimensional."

"Right, or," Tony said, hoisting the feline up to look her in the eye. "You put this cat here as a clever plant so I couldn't call you out on being sick." The calico licked the bridge of his nose.

Bruce gave him a flat look as he dabbed the tissue wearily beneath his nostrils. Sniff. "Yeah, damn. You caught me."

"Ah-huh. I knew it." Tony gave him a drawling smirk. "You gonna be okay?"

Both men seemed to understand the more serious inquiry behind that. Bruce waved him off lightly. "Yeah, I-I'm... sorry, hang o-- ht--CHSHH'uh!" He sniffed and sighed, looking a little woozy. "I'm good."

Tony shrugged. Bruce knew his own body and emotional limits best, so he didn't second guess. "Alright, I'm gonna go..." He held the cat up slightly. "Relocate the wild predator here, and see if I can get some work done before I have to drug myself again." He sniffled a little himself for emphasis.

Bruce chuckled. "Yeah, beware those soldering irons. I'll join you later, maybe."

Tony nodded and headed for the door. Halfway out, he hesitated and glanced back as his friend suddenly dissolved into a brief set of rough, unpleasant-sounding coughs. He started to comment, but the fit passed soon after, and so with a mental sigh Tony resigned himself not to worry about it. At least, not yet.

By some miracle, he managed to get in a few good hours of tinkering and blueprinting without interruption or his cold catching up to him. Being up and about seemed to be good for both his congestion and his mindset, although eventually he did start to slow down and yawn in between notes. Bruce never had joined him, but there were plenty of labs in the tower and they often worked on separate projects anyway, only involving the other when an educated second opinion was desired. Tony didn't think much of the matter, nor did he protest when Pepper lured him upstairs to flop on the couch in front of a movie or two.

He wasn't actively paying attention to whatever crappy Netflix film she'd selected, but he did enjoy sprawling lazily across the sofa with his head in her lap and her nails sifting through his hair. If he had to be sick, this was admittedly a very nice way to do it.

Although, he could live without some of the side effects. He'd been ignoring a coy, feathering tickle in the back of his nose for a few minutes now, but no amount of noserubbing seemed to dismiss it. He was far too comfortable to move, but all the same he'd never hear the end of it if he sneezed on his CEO. With a groan, he started to sit up, but Pepper switched her hand from his hair to his shoulder and fixed him gently in place.

"Potts," he groaned in warning, crushing the backs of his fingers against his nose. "C'mon, I'm...I'm gonna..."

"So go ahead," she said, and handed over a tissue from the box near her opposite side. She'd been passing them along all night without apparent dismay. "Jeez, you ask me to go rooting around inside your chest cavity and then get all shy about--"

Tony folded the tissue tightly beneath his nose and seized in place. "Hah-ESSCH'OO! -- hih'essschoo!"

"Bless you..."

"Oh, you know I'm not do- ...done-- heh'iissch-oo! ISSCHoo! Heh...!" He motioned frantically for another tissue, which she provided. "Heht-ISSHOO!!"

With a groan, he turned away from her as much as he could without drastically changing position, and cleared his nose into a third dutifully passed tissue. "Ugggh wow." Sniff! "That was... yeah. Sorry."

"Bless you," Pepper repeated softly, though there was a smile pulling at one corner of her mouth. "And you don't have to apologize, Bruce is rubbing off on you," she teased.

"You're complaining?"

"Hah, no," she admitted, then leaned over and carefully kissed the flushed tip of his nose. He scrunched it immediately at the prickling sensation, but relaxed when it passed. "Anyway, I kind of like your fits. It's cute."

"Cute," he repeated thoughtfully. He turned over to relax on his back, and enjoy the coolness of her palm settling on his brow. He sniffed. "Alright, I can live with that."

He was just making himself comfortable and preparing to slip back into a half-doze when all at once JARVIS popped a wireframe screen up nearby.

"Sir, pardon the interruption but I feel it best to inform you of some disturbance from Dr. Banner's apartments..."

Tony sat up immediately, with no protest from Pepper this time. He frowned. "What do you mean... disturbance?" That couldn't possibly bode well.

"I'm registering high stress levels, verbal distress, an alarmingly high body temperature..."

"A fever? What a liar, I knew he was sick," Tony grimaced, climbing to his feet. When he glanced to Pepper, however, most of the color appeared to have drained from her face. "Hey...?"

She cleared her throat. "I... should I call someone?"

He blinked. "Call someo--" He scowled as he caught on belatedly. "Oh, no. No, not anyone. It's fine, I'll go check on him."

"Tony..."

"Potts," he forced a smile for her, more concerned for the state of his friend than the state of his tower. And if he stopped to think about the fact that he'd... well, had that thought at all, he might have shorted a fuse himself. "It's fine, he's good. At this. In general. Most of the time. Anyway if the Other Guy was planning a visit he'd have shown up by now," he lied, already headed for the lift.

Pepper made protesting sounds, but she was accustomed enough to his behavior to know it was futile. He did, however, pause briefly on the way downstairs to snag a Mark VII band from the case and fit it over his wrist.

"JARVIS, stand by. Just... in case."

[pinknose]

LOOOOOOVE!! That's really all there is to say on the matter. Mmhmm.

[Dye]

HHHNNNNGGGHHHH OH

sghlkjhgkfjhgklahjkjd

i'm not even coherent any more ekjaksgdfklga

sneaky Banner <3

[Spoo]

COHERENCE? WHAT IS COHERENCE.

Guhhhhh. Alright, now that I've finished making pterodactyl noises, I can actually type out something legible. Everything about this story flows exceptionally well. It's sooo believable. ANDANDAND...! Now we get to deal with Brucey-bear. Gosh, poor thing!

Don't EVER stop, okay? NEVER.

[VividBubbles!]

Bruce! That liar. Well, you did it again. You totally blew my mind. Just, ugh. Tony and Bruce both sick? Seriously, you're awesome. Absolutely and undeniably awesome. And so is your writing. Update soon I hope?

BYE!

[SterlingSilver]

OMG FJDSIOFJSDIO:SJIGFOEWHJIUEW*HGIOGJ:IWJGWEK"GJWEOIJGEW

WHAT IS THIS MASTERY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE THAT I AM SEEING?!

OMG GARNET~

*throws sparkles in your honor*

*dies from overexposure to awesome*

[hiyou9]

CLIFFHANGER. Oh, my Lord. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease continue

[Jorm]

BRB picturing Banner and Stark passed out in bed together with terrible head colds. This is your fault, all you're fault.

[snuffles]

WOW! This is simply... I can't... WHAT?... HEY is that floating thing my brain???

[DogLover]

Oh, yeah, Banner. Of course you don't get sick. LIAR! Yay!

Grr...cliffies... JK JK, they're okay. As long as you Update soon

[ID2006]

Love this and cant wait for Tony caretaking... yum. Me loves stark/banner fluff.

[sprinkles287]

mmmm So adorable. I love these two.

[serotonin]

agdsnalns;kgwe;k

a'sldfkjadsf

wleefj

<3

[Dusty15]

I'm sorry. HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THIS?! Um...Garnet...you're gonna have to scoop me off the floor here soon. This is perfection!

You've got their banter down to a science (haha see what I did there?) and I just adore your writing. This bit cracked me up: "He batted him away with the strength of a half-dead kitten." Brilliant.

[SweaterWeather]

OH MY GAAAWD. Tony? Then Banner!?!?! My sexy middle-aged super science buddies sense with colds is tingling like mad right now. Like, im pretty sure my brain is having a seizure. You are UNMATCHED in your writing skizzles Garnet. Eagerly awaiting more!

[Garnet]

Makhdfjh I love you guuuuys you make me feel far too good about this dumb little story. So glad it's being well-received! love hearing what parts in particular stood out to you 8D

Here's another slightly longer a bit. A little light on the sneezing, but I shall amend that with fluff and dumb in the next part. Enjoy, and thanks for reading!

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

He questioned and knocked and bitched at Bruce's door for a good thirty seconds before losing his patience and ordering JARVIS to spring the lock. Bruce had overridden it, to his vague annoyance, but it took no more than a moment or two to work out the encryption. The door popped open shortly following, and Tony strode into the guest room.

"Seriously, Banner, you should know better than to try and lock me out of my own syste-- oh."

Yeah, his lab partner was... definitely sick.

The dimly-lit room revealed Bruce tangled near the edge of the huge guestbed. Already on the slighter side in terms of height, he was almost lost in the rumpled fabric, caught somewhere between waking and dreams and between man and monster. His hands tightened at the sheets white-knuckled, and he occasionally twisted in the feverish grip of some hallucination or nightmare.

Not good. Not good not good not good.

The word 'deploy' lingered on the tip of his tongue, but didn't quite make it out. Instead, he set his jaw as Bruce turned in his delirium with a low, savage groan, a sound neither human nor animal could quite produce. In three quick strides Tony was at his bedside, a hand going for his shoulder.

"Banner, wake up. Just a dream," he started out firmly, but warily. Normal people woken up with a start might lash out in surprise, but this...could have significantly more dangerous consequences. He squeezed the other man's arm and shook him gently. "Hey, c'mon." When there was no response but a tightening of brows and turn away from the touch, he shook a little harder. "Hey!"

At once, Bruce jerked awake with a sharp inhale through his teeth. His eyes snapped open, pupils blown and ringed by brilliant, unnatural green that seemed almost incandescent in the gloom.

Oh, he was so dead.

Tony withdrew his hand and took a reflexive step back, lips parted to call for back-up in the form of his suit, but Bruce still seemed to be actively fighting for control. His hands came up to press his palms over his eyes, and he rolled over with that same monsterish growl, struggling against the beast. Whatever horrific thing he'd been dreaming about, the Other Guy apparently hadn't gotten the memo that they were in the clear now. That, or judging by the sea of crumpled tissues in the trashcan nearby, he'd gotten fed up with the sickness and was attempting to cull it with the superior form.

Superiorly terrifying. However, Tony braced himself and sat abruptly back down on the edge of the bed. This was his friend, and if he was being honest with himself, one of the very few he had. Diffusing situations was hardly his forte so much as creating them, but this had worked the last time...

"Bruce... Bruce, c'mere, look at me," he begged, reaching for the other man's wrists and then immediately changing his mind. Too much like restraints. He went for the upper arms instead, and almost recoiled in surprise at the amount of heat pouring off the other man. What kind of crazy gamma voodoo fever was he running? "Hey, you're safe. Right here, Stark Tower remember? Holy hell, you're burning up, pal. Calm down, we'll get you cooled off."

He had no idea what he was babbling about, but just kept talking with the hope of his voice striking a familiar chord enough to waylay the transformation. Or at least prevent too much damage if it happened anyway.

It... didn't appear to be doing much good. The seams of the old t-shirt Bruce was wearing began to swell and tear with shifting muscle mass, and the bed creaked with increasing weight. Tony swallowed, and tried a last desperate tactic. He pulled the writhing man's hands down quickly to meet his gaze, seeking out not the man but the beast inside.

"C'mon Big Guy, or uhh... what do you like, Hulk? It's gonna be fine, okay? Just a fever," he hoped, "It'll pass, I promise. I'll keep an eye on him. No need to put in an appearance. "

He had no idea if Bruce actually considered him a separate personality or if he just used it as something of a bitter in-joke. Even then, arguing with the Hulk now would be like trying to approach a wounded animal, but by some miracle it actually seemed to be working. He went completely rigid beneath Tony's mantling shape for a long moment, breath held. And then suddenly, slack again as he pushed the Other Guy back past whatever mental blast door he kept him locked behind. The green extinguished from his eyes like a candle being blown out, replaced with a sheen of fever tears.

"...Tony?"

The billionaire exhaled a relieved sigh and sagged shamelessly in place until his brow met Bruce's chest. It rose and fell with ragged breath.

"Wow, you ah. Even had me worried for a minute there, Banner," he admitted, then straightened as the other man moved to sit up suddenly.

"I'm s-so sorry, I don't..." He swallowed and wiped the back of a hand against his eyes. Maybe those weren't fever tears.

"Hey, no harm no foul."

"Big foul!" Bruce protested in horror. He made as if to climb off the bed, distressed. "God, I... I should go."

Tony blinked and sniffled a little, rubbing at his nose. "Go where?"

"I don't know. Away. That can't happen, this is too dangerous."

"Yeah, because you wandering the streets of Manhattan like this is way safer. Honestly, you pick the worst time to finally try and bolt."

Bruce made a face, but he was still clearly quite delirious, and swaying where he sat. "Tony, if you hadn't been here..."

"Well, I was," Tony scowled. "And I'm not going anywhere. All the more reason for you to stay put." He planted the palm of a hand flat against Bruce's chest and pushed him back into a reclined position.

Bruce still kind of looked like he wanted to cry, which was doing weird things to Tony's non-existent empathy reserves. He sighed and moved the hand to his shoulder, squeezing gently.

"If you think I'm going to kick you to the curb for being sick and cranky, you're out of your damned mind. Hell, I'd say the tower is probably the best place to be losing your cool, there's hardly anyone here and it's not like I can't pay for the damages." That didn't look to be reassuring Bruce at all, but Tony held up a hand to stay his protests. "I know, I'm just saying. Better than some hotel. And if you haven't noticed, I like having you here. I mean, Pepper does too. So don't do that emotional distance thing, because we both know that sucks."

The other man went quiet at that, which Tony took for acceptance.

"We good? Or do I need to get down on one knee and produce a ring, here?"

That got a weak laugh, finally. Tony gave a half-cocked smile.

"I'd call you either nuts or oblivious, but you're... really not bothered by this...him, are you?" Bruce asked at last, hesitantly, as he reached aside for a tissue box half-crushed in the midst of their thrashing.

Tony shrugged. "Eh, I'm not gonna knock back brews with the Hulk, but that whole saving me from an interstellar freefall thing might have me a little biased. And no, I'm not saying it wasn't an isolated incident but. Kinda proves a point either way."

Bruce turned to his opposite side, cupping the fresh handful of tissues tightly to his face, and sneezed.

"Hh--MPHshh'uh!" Tony watched the rise and shudder of his shoulders with another deep breath, before purging it into a second, "Heh--WHFHSHH!"

He flopped back, sniffling and wiping with a mumbled apology, but retained that vaguely dazed look. Tony waited for another sneeze, but when it didn't come, he waved a hand experimentally in front of the other man's face. Bruce started slightly, blinking out of the brief reverie.

"W-what?"

"You're way gone," Tony observed, then tested his brow with one hand, the way he and Pepper had been touching his own for the past couple of days. He frowned. "Jeez, Banner, you're on fire. Did you take anything?"

Bruce shook his head, then winced even at the slight motion. "It's usually good to let..." He closed his eyes in dread anticipation and cupped a hand over his mouth. "Heh--MHSSHuu!" Sniff. "Excuse....good to let fevers run their course but it's been pretty high for a while, I think, so..." He sniffed and shuddered in apparent misery that he was too exhausted to bother hiding.

"Tylenol?" A nod. "Okay, stay put." He fixed his friend with a glare. "I mean it."

Bruce no longer appeared much inclined to protest, so Tony left him lying there as he stepped out of the room. He was gone only long enough to fetch a things-- ice water, Tylenol, a new box of tissues and a dampened washcloth among them. When he returned, Bruce seemed just barely conscious, but he did turn enough to look over the sundries with an impressed murmur.

"Didn't peg you for having an appreciable bedside manner..."

"Yeah, I have no idea what I'm doing," Tony shrugged as he shook out a couple of pills and passed them along with the water. "I'm just taking cues from you and Pepper. Drink."

Bruce obliged, swallowing the pills and then dutifully draining the glass until he at least pulled away to breathe. He passed it back, and Tony refilled it. Opened a new box of tissues. Stood with arms folded in contemplation.

"What else?"

Bruce wadded a tissue weakly beneath his nose, holding off the beginnings of a sneeze. "N-nothing, I'm good. Thanks, Tony. Sorry to be a bother, if this interrupted you and Pepper..."

"What, watching whatever crap is on Netflix? I think she's had about enough of me and my runny nose anyway," he smirked. "Okay, shove over."

Bruce blinked. "What?"

"You. Over. Move," Tony rolled his eyes as he kicked off his shoes. "Come on, we're both grown men secure in our sexuality."

"You're---" He blinked again, paused, and then turned away with a shuddering breath. "Heh-h--MMPFHSHH! Uh. Excuse me." Sniff! "You're staying?"

"What, you thought I was gonna leave you alone down here to be sick all by yourself?"

"Um." Bruce crinkled his nose again but rubbed it slowly into submission against the back of one hand. "It's what I'm used to."

"Yeah, well, me too, but I've discovered misery is way better with company. Strange, they could make a saying out of that or something," he smirked, then plopped down onto the edge of the bed. It was already huge, but Bruce moved over a few feet towards its center, and Tony stretched himself out shamelessly beside him. "Good?"

Bruce nodded, but kept a safe little space of distance between them. For now.

"Okay then. JARVIS, put me through upstairs for a second."

Pepper answered through video on the little screen that popped up. "Everything okay down there?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Tony answered. Bruce tried to discreetly lean away from the range of the viewscreen, but Tony hauled him back over, so he flinched and gave Pepper a small, apologetic wave. "I'm gonna hang out down here for a while and try on my nurse outfit for a while, though."

His assistant-turned-CEO-turned-girlfriend looked surprised for a moment, then sympathetic. "Aw, Bruce, you got it too?"

"So it seems. Sorry I'm, uh, borrowing him."

Pepper just grinned lightly. "I have a feeling it wasn't your idea. Don't worry, I can't complain when he's acting like a responsible and sensitive adult."

"Okay, I am still sitting right here," Tony put in dryly. "And when am I ever responsible?"

"With increasing frequency," Pepper mused.

"Hm, gonna have to work on that." He scrunched his nose slightly and pressed a thumb and forefinger to the tip to hold off the irritating sensation. He didn't relish another sneeze in front of her, and hastily reached up in preparation to close the window. "Okay! Good talk, Potts, I'll see you later, hope you don't get this, etcetera. Gotta go."

She sighed but blew him a kiss. "Feel better, guys."

The feed closed just as Bruce handed him a tissue. Tony furled it desperately towards his face. "Heh--IHFSSH!" He hid the quiver of nostrils behind it, too, as he waited out a second. "H-hh! ...-IKSSH-oo! Ugh."

A quick blow relieved the threat of another half-dozen or so. At least with a cold he usually had tissues on hand to stifle the fits from the endless, spastic stream he otherwise endured if a sneeze came on him randomly.

"How're you feeling?" Bruce murmured, looking aside at him. Tony smiled grimly.

"Oh, awesome. You?"

The doctor sniffed softly from behind one hand. "Great."

"Good," he chuckled and draped an arm across the pillows. "This oughtta be fun..."

Edited June 7, 2012 by Garnet

[Spoo]

Ohjeez. This is gonna be a loooong post.

Alright, first off?

*INCOHERENT SQUAWKING NOISES*

Now that that's out of the way, I can be a bit more logical. *Adjusts glasses*

The idea of a "crazy gamma voodoo fever" is just...GUH! Bruce totally seems the type to get awful, God forsaken temperatures that make the Other Guy uncomfortable. So I really, REALLY loved that. Likealotokay. And just, the overall almost!transformation was so intense. Having Tony talk him down from it was perfect. GUH.

This line right here:

The green extinguished from his eyes like a candle being blown out, replaced with a sheen of fever tears.

...So haunting and beautiful, Gar. I was momentarily breathless.

But moving aside from that, can we just say MAN CUDDLES? alksdfas;dfsdf! I love how confident and sure Tony was about it, and Bruce being all awkward turtle. Pfffft...how they're both secure in their sexuality. Haaaah!

Bruce tried to discreetly lean away from the range of the viewscreen, but Tony hauled him back over, so he flinched and gave Pepper a small, apologetic wave.

Tony has no shame. NONE WHATSOEVER. He's like: "This guy? Yup. He's my science boyfriend. We're keeping him, Pepper."

*Siiiiigh* Favorite Avengers fic everrrrrrrr.

[Dye]

Above comment is truth.

And again

I am incoherent puddle

on the floor

oh god dkgjfagdfjhsdfhf

[Lexi]

Can i please have sex with this story? Pleeeeeeeaaase?

[pinknose]

Cue loving sigh. D'awwww~

I cannot possibly say anything that has not already been said. Just... love. This. So. Much.

[hiyou9]

I didn't think it was possible to love this more...but I was so wrong. THIS IS SO PERFECT AND AMAZING AND GAH. And Pepper should get sick and they can all be sick and cute and stuff together.

[VividBubbles!]

Awwwwwww!!! Two straight guys sharing a bed? How much better can this get? Mmmmmm, can't wait for more!!!

BYE!

Edited June 8, 2012 by Bubbles!