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The first time Bruce met Tony, a warmth that he usually associated with an impending, though brief, meeting with the Other Guy spread through him at once, like wildfire. It was the warmth of something thrilling, adrenaline-filled, and all-encompassing taking him over. Tony Stark just had that effect, it seemed. Bruce was left breathless; Tony was like a storm, blowing in and ruining everything, yet, somehow, everything was more beautiful when he was there, and, when he was gone, there was something huge missing. Hurricane Tony, come to destroy Bruce’s life.
Tony insists that he did not destroy Bruce’s life, thank you very much, but he instead made it much better. Bruce is inclined to agree, though Clint often says he is blinded by lust. Bruce has never been blinded by anything besides rage and gamma radiation, and lust is no match for a man of science. That is not to say, of course, that they do not have an intimate relationship. But that is beside the point.
Tony made all the cold corners of Bruce’s body and mind and heart seem warm and bright. He filled them in with his charm and his secrets and his whispered promises. It was something astounding and deeply personal, and Bruce would not trade it for the world. And, to think, he almost did not even see Tony; he almost passed right by that day, as he did to the rest of the world, resting on everyone’s peripherals. Luckily, though, Bruce saw the real Tony, and, in that moment, their collective heart began.