Ready, Fire, Aim!

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony took his time to chew up his bacon and swallow it, licking grease from his lips before answering. "Well I thought it. Y'know, in my mind. We're connected, that's all. And at the risk of having a relapse, I'm going to shut up and eat my bacon now," he declared, falling silent after the joke. He had little issue making a joke about any of his past grievances, even his recent mental breakdown, though it did sober him up quite a bit, and he knew Bruce didn't like it.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce frowned slightly, but rather than snap or ask Tony to stop, he merely flicked the burner to low, and closed the space between them. He placed a hand on the nape of Tony's neck and placed a quick peck to his forehead. "That's not going to happen. Not if I can help it, okay? You'll be fine," he promised, before he swiftly turned his back to him and returned to his cooking.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony gazed up at him, brown eyes meeting brown eyes. It was hard not to trust Bruce, he had the personality and face for it. "I know. I won't let it either," he said softly, watching the man's back as he cooked. No, he was fine. He still had to call the doctor once every two weeks, but he was pretty much fine, it was just a precaution.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce nodded in approval, and after a few moments he turned to present the plate of eggs and bacon to Tony. "Alright, soup's on," he smirked. He grabbed his own mug of coffee and swung around the bar and plopped down into the seat beside Tony.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

"My hero," Tony hummed, presenting him with a quick kiss on the cheek before tearing into his eggs. As usual, they were perfect. Which also made him think about his gift for Bruce later that week. Pepper didn't really need to go shopping, he'd begged her to take Bruce out of the house so that he could plan. However, he did need Steve's help. Hopefully everything would end up spectacular.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce nudged him playfully with his elbow and smiled before he dug into his eggs, which weren't too bad. He finished quickly, though, and began to clean up his mess, deciding that he might as well do the few dishes that lingered in the sink. "I was going to take a quick shower before we headed out. You're welcome to join me," he stated in an offhand comment, eyes still lowered as he scrubbed grease off of the frying pan.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony finished scarfing like a deranged animal and stood, finishing his coffee and exchanging his dirty dishes for a rag so that he could help Bruce dry them and put them away. His hands stilled at the offer, a slight grin splitting his face. "We won't need five minutes," he said very calmly, then resumed drying.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

A small smirk tugged the physicist's lips, and with a flick of his wrist, he terminated the stream of water and handed Tony the final dish. "I'm ready when you are," Bruce assured, still working to remain nonchalant, and he began to wander in the direction of the bathroom.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony all but crammed the plate into the cabinet, chasing after Bruce with a giddy look on his face. "I know you aren't starting without me," he called, leaving a trail of clothes behind him as he stripped carelessly.

 

(Skip? Do you want to do the museum part or skip to Pep/Bruce Steve/Tony)

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

(Uh, yeah we can skip to the latter. I'm curious about Bruce's present now and what Steve could possibly have to do with it. Plus SHOPPING WITH BRUCE AND PEPPER!)

[Sweet_Wyvern]

(WHOOSH!)

 

Pepper arrived around eleven sharp, dressed in a short blue dress with a green belt and tall heels that weren't necessary on her. Tony was miraculously dressed at this 'ungodly' hour, there to see them off. "Good morning," she greeted as she entered.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce waved from the bar as he sipped his coffee, and he offered the C.E.O. a wide smile. "Morning Pepper," he greeted. He himself was wearing slacks and his favorite purple button down, as per usual.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Pepper flashed him a smile, coming to the counter and leaning against it. "Good morning Bruce. I hope you don't mind me stealing you away for the afternoon," she greeted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "What if I mind?" Tony interjected. "You always mind so it doesn't count," she responded with a light smirk.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce chuckled in agreement with Pepper and set down his mug. "Don't mind at all, actually. I've been meaning to get out of the tower anyway. The museum was great, but I've been cooped up for far too long," he replied with a slight shrug. "So are we ready to go, then?"

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Straightening, Pepper nodded and gave Tony a smile that held zero pity. "Sure are, I'll have him back when were done," she agreed, gesturing for Bruce to join her. The engineer just grumbled in response, silently praising his acting abilities. For once, it benefited him to be a ham.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce trailed behind Pepper, happy to allow her to take the lead on this. He rarely ever went shopping, and it was nearly always out of necessity rather than recreation as this occasion clearly was. He made a quick stop beside Tony gave him a quick peck, before he resumed his walk and promptly left with the strawberry blonde.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony watched them go, waiting for a minute to make sure they were really gone. Then he leaned against the counter and connected to Steve's phone. "You'd better pick up Rogers," he muttered under his breath.

 

"Thank you for agreeing to come with me," Pepper said once they made it in the elevator. "I'm just looking for things to furnish my office, but we can go clothes shopping too. I'm sure Tony would enjoy watching you model clothes."'

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Steve paused in his jog when he heard his phone ring, and he hastily pressed it to his ear. "Tony? What is it? This isn't the best time right now," he huffed, slightly winded despite his enhanced abilities.

 

Bruce smiled and nodded, figuring that Tony might very much enjoy something like that. "Alright, but I have to ask: why did you want my help? Not that I mind of course, but office supplies? This isn't exactly my field of expertise here."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony began rummaging around in the kitchen, searching for something or other. This was definitely not his area of expertise. "Hey Cap! Look, I need a favor. I know you're probably busy, but its Bruce's birthday tomorrow, so I was gonna have a surprise for him today. Y'know, catch him off guard.. Not the point. I need your help."

 

"Furniture," Pepper corrected, walking out towards Happy with the car and kissing the driver's cheek as she got in. "I just thought it might be nice to chat. We don't see each other under normal circumstances, so it seemed wise to break the loop of bad luck," she said with a shrug. "Was I interrupting something?"

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Steve shifted awkwardly on his feet and decided that he had time for a breather, prompting him to find a nearby bench to stretch (because, yes, stretching helped deliver oxygen to the rest of your body and you weren't supposed to sit after running). "Of course, what do you need me to do?" he replied. Of course he'd want to help plan something for Bruce. He was a team member and a friend.

 

Bruce chuckled and slid into the back seat alongside Pepper. He nodded in understanding, accepting her sound reply. "No, I didn't really have any plans for this week, so when Tony mentioned you wanted to take me out, I figured why not."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony scratched his head as he stared at what looked to be a stick with a perpendicular circle on it, full of holes, trying to decide what it was. He honestly had no freaking clue. "Well.. I wanted to cook something for him, y'know? A nice dinner, some dessert- and if I try to do it on my own, the penthouse kitchen will smell like burnt-everything for weeks." Tony didn't often ask for help, but here he knew he needed it.

 

"Well good, I'm glad," Pepper replied, smoothing down her dress over her legs. "I'm sure he'll be in the workshop the whole time, won't even notice you're gone. Until he forgets to eat that is," she chuckled. Those were not fun days, when she had to drag him out every three days just to force him to eat.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Steve couldn't help but smirk a bit, knowing of Tony's rather infamous kitchen skills. "Sure, I can help with that. I'm not exactly the best cook, but I can certainly do me best...What were we planning on making?"

 

Bruce nodded and leaned back in his seat, understanding perfectly what she meant. "Oh I know how he gets. I'm just a bit better than him when it comes to getting absorbed into his work, but I've managed to keep him alive and relatively healthy for this long," he half-joked. Well, more or less, anyway.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

"Eh.. Well, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure he likes fish, so I was thinking about something in that department, and I wanted to design some themed cookies- y'know, Doctor Who, Star Trek, that stuff," Tony replied, raking a hand through his hair.

 

Pepper smiled in understanding. "I know. You're good for him, and him for you in a lot of ways," she replied, gazing out the window. No, their relationship would've burned out if she hadn't.. Cheated, more or less. But he'd been okay with it.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Steve shook his head with an amused smile. "I'm not so sure about the fish, but I think the cookies is a good idea. Very science-y." He and Bruce weren't all that close, but he knew that he would find Tony's gesture touching, even if none of the food was edible. Hopefully he'd be able to help with that.

 

"Yeah, he is..." Bruce agreed with a sigh, feeling oddly sentimental. Most of the time he wasn't all that sure he was a positive influence on Tony's life, but then he remembered how the engineer had crumbled when he was missing his memories. He was doing his best to help him, at any rate.

 

(Sorry I haven't been on much lately. Personal stuff.)

[Sweet_Wyvern]

"Then maybe just the cookies. I'd rather not majorly screw up," Tony decided, shutting the refrigerator. "When can you get here? I'm ordering groceries and looking up recipes- I don't know which kinds he likes," Tony rambled.

 

Pepper said nothing else, allowing them to sink into silence. Luckily they weren't far from the department store, and soon they were pulling up to the curb. "Well, lets go find some furniture."