Time • [T.S x reader]

Chapter 8;

That night Tony had taken you back to your hotel. No words were spoken between the two of you in fear that something might happen. You would apologise to Zak tomorrow morning, and everything would be okay, you hoped.

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You were already in the lab the next morning. Tony was there as always, joined by someone else. You weren't entirely sure who he was, but he was, for sure, a scientist. He had curls on the top of his head, small rectangle glasses and a long white lab coat. He looked nice and approachable this morning. Whereas Tony did not.

Tony's face wore a look of disgust. He was probably hungover from last night and couldn't hack his drink. He did, however, smile when you walked through the lab doors, so it was definitely that hangover that was killing him.

"God, you look like death this morning." You said, putting your bag down on the table and looking over to the mystery man who was wearing a small shy smile on his face.

"I'm not used to drinking so much anymore, I'm not as young as I used to be." Tony replied.

"And never getting any younger, might I add."

"Oo the sass from this girl, can you believe this Banner?"

You caught the air in your throat and did a double take up at the scientist. Bruce Banner. The Hulk. The big green guy who had so much anger in him, people wouldn't dare be near him. You never quite imagined what the big green guy looked like as a normal person. You assumed he would hold the same temperament.

"B-Bruce Banner? The Bruce Banner."

"With his 7 PHD's and everything." Tony walked over to Bruce and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, that's me. I'm sorry to disappoint." Bruce spoke softly, the rasp in his voice was interesting.

"Disappoint? God no, you could never Mr Banner!"

You were now in your element. Completely forgetting about what happened last night and the way Tony had spoken to you, the way he looked at you and they way he made you feel by just doing so.

Now, you were in a room with the two most clever people to ever grace the earth and you were in their presence. They wanted to help you with your invention. You couldn't believe it.

"This is extraordinary. I have come across a lot of things in my time but never something like this, created by one person and in a back garden of all places." Bruce said, flipping the hologram of your invention in the air. You had let Tony keep it for safe keeping.

"I have always wanted to mess with time. Not in a bad way but just see if it's possible." You shrug.

"Don't be so nonchalant, Tony really picked an amazing candidate." Bruce replied, looking up at you.

You moved your eyes over to Tony who was looking at with a smirk, still looking like he'd been hit by a train from the night before, but he was still handsome. His messy brown hair falling over his face, not brushed or preened to perfection but comfortable. He looked comfy in his joggers, two t-shirts and trainers.

"You are working with Zak too, right?" Your brows knitting together.

Tony hums, his face dropping a little, but not too noticeably, "Yeah."

"And he is fantastic." You look towards Bruce and Bruce smiles.

"I wouldn't say, he's 'fantastic'." Tony replied, walking over to you and putting his fingers up in quotations.

"Oh, but he is! He's probably just a little nervous to show you what's capable of, that's all." You were still going to defend your friend. No matter what had gone down last night, which was really nothing.

"If you say so, Sweetheart. He is really not that great, I might drop him."

Tony was starting to properly annoy you. He really knew which buttons to press, even after only knowing you for a short while. He seemed to know what would make the most peeved off with him. As if, he was doing this on purpose. However, you believed he wasn't. Was he acting jealous? There was no way that Tony Stark was jealous of a friendship between you and Zak.

"You don't have to be so condescending all the time. There is such a thing as being nice to people."

"You wound me!" He put his hand to his heart and sighed, "I am nice to you."

"Oh, and I am forever in your debt, Tony." You said, rolling your eyes.

Bruce stood at the table that was separating the two of you. Wanting to look up and say something, but this wasn't his fight, so he remained looking at the hologram.

"Thank you, Madam."

"Do you ever just – "You stopped, putting your hands through your hair, "Just give him a chance."

"If you stop seeing him, I will." Tony blurted out.

"What?"

"I said," He begins walking around the table towards you. A now awkward Bruce stands there, watching the whole thing, "If you stop seeing him – I will." Tony stopped in front of you.

"What? Why? Why would I do that?" You shook your head, keeping eye contact with him. His whole presence had changed. He was serious and protective. For no reason, you thought, "Why do you care who I hang out with? You are only my boss. What I do out of hours, and who I am with is none of your business!" You almost shouted.

"When you work for me, you are my business." He tone was even and cool, not a sense of him being irritated ran through it.

Then you heard Bruce cough, "Erm guys sorry to er interrupt but," And then he pointed at the hologram which made you both look at it.

A flash of purple swam around the middle of the hologram, "What is that?" You said, pushing past Tony.

"I'm not sure, I'm thinking some extra-terrestrial activity is trying to figure the same thing out as us." Bruce said, trying to wrap his brain around it.

"Aliens? How would they know this is here?"

"My guess is they don't know it's here, but they can feel the energy forming around it." Bruce explained.

"What would they want with a time travel device?" You asked.

Tony spoke up, "Maybe the very same reason why we are interested in it."

Before you could speak, Bruce sensed you didn't understand and spoke, "Time is something we know very little of. We know that people can travel in time but never knew how. Until now."

It suddenly dawned on you, "You are saying that I – "

Tony cut you off, "That you are the mother of time. You created it. It's your baby. Everything that has happened around us, is you."

"You are special." Bruce nodded.

"But you could also be in danger because of it." Tony piped up again.

"Danger? Like how much danger?"

"Like people from other universes may come to try and find you – danger." Tony sat back down next to you.

"Oh well," you thought about it for a second and really let it sink in, "Well it's a good thing I have iron man on my side."