BRUCE/TONY - School AU (Hints of Pepper/Tony, Darcy/Loki and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Clint/Natasha)
PROMPT FROM AVENGERSKINK MEME:
Bruce and Tony are Actual Lab Partners in their physics class. Bruce is awkward about it at first, because Tony is the legendary rich kid who throws parties and whom everyone loves, but Tony is possibly even more awkward about it, since he's had a raging nerdcrush on Bruce since he figured out how smart the dude is.
Then they figure out how well they get on and, well, do science. And possibly make out.
( Click here for original prompt location)
Part 1
There is certain demographic that make up a private school, and the dividing line is deep and painfully obvious. There are the kids who have paid to come, and the ones who had to work for it. Tony Stark was in the first category, but even if he hadn’t been able to pay for it, he would’ve never had to work for it. However, the fact that he was able to pay for it was probably the main reason why Stark could slouch back in his chair, with dark bags under his eyes and a smug grin stretching his mouth that broadcast exactly what he’d been doing the night before.
Predictably, the room was abuzz with the latest development in high school politics that always seemed to occur at one of Tony Stark’s notorious parties. From his seat in the right centre, by the window, Bruce could have learnt all he need to know and more about the latest gossip. He choose to track the flight paths of pigeons, instead. There was, he felt, a remarkable similarity between the apparently chaotic path that the buffeting wind forced upon a bird and being the world of teenage drama.
The teacher, Miss Lewis, arrived ten minutes late, but smiled and started the lesson as if she hadn’t, which, as someone whispered nearby, probably meant she’d met the maths teacher on her way here. As soon as he’d stepped foot into the school, there had been a school-wide consensus that Mr Laufeyson was dangerous. (Apparently, there had also been a female-wide consensus that he was the sexiest man on the planet. The English accent may have helped.)
“…according to expected grade.” Bruce glanced back from the window as discontented whispers whipped around the room and realised the blackboard was topped with the title: PAIRED ASSIGNMENT.
Oh.
“Melissa, you’re with Jacob. Bruce, with Tony. Clint, Natasha…” Bruce’s eyes flicked over to Tony who was still slouching in his chair, watching as he aimed a what-can-you-do shrug at Pepper Potts who rolled her eyes and mouthed that she hadn’t wanted to work with him anyway. Tony didn’t believe her and the row was still on-going even as everyone began to shift seats to their new partners. Bruce sighed. It wasn’t that he’d expected Tony Stark to move for him, Tony Stark always let others do the moving, it was more that he was loathed to lose his seat by the window.
“Hey.” Tony jumped a little in surprise, and glanced away from the staring competition he was currently engaged in. It was easy to see why the school populace were so convinced that Tony and Pepper were practically engaged.
“Oh, hey, didn’t see you there. You’re pretty sneaky, aren’t you?” Tony narrowed his eyes at him, “Like a ninja, you’re not a ninja, are you?”
“Err… no.” Bruce was already beginning to feel a headache starting. He sat down, placing his book bag on the desk.
“So you’re…?”
Bruce stared at him, not entirely sure how to respond. They had been in the same class for pretty much everything since freshman year. “Bruce Banner. We’re meant to be partners.”
A flicker of something, recognition maybe, slipped across Tony’s face, but it was gone before Bruce had time to properly catalogue it. “Banner, you were the guy working on gamma-radiation at the science fair, that was you?”
“That was two years ago.” Bruce replied, surprised the boy remembered it.
“I thought you were one of the seniors.” Bruce shifted uncomfortably under Tony’s narrow-eyed scrutiny.
“No… Freshman… like you.” Tony had built a robot that year, one that could run. Huge robotic corporations were only just beginning to develop robots like it now. If the judges had been able, they’d have given Tony 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
“You didn’t do anything last year, why?”
Bruce frowned, he didn’t appreciate people, who two seconds ago didn’t even know who he was, digging into his life, “I didn’t feel like it. Does it matter?”
“I was just asking.” Tony muttered and crossed his arms petulantly. Bruce sighed, it was perhaps not a brilliant idea to piss off the guy he was meant to be working with for the next few days.
“I was just busy, is all. Had other things going on.”
Tony looked over at him slyly, apparently as quick to forgive as he was to anger, “girl?”
“No.” Yes. “Sheets.” Bruce pointed out, nodding to Pepper, who was holding out a pile of paper.
“You take them, I don’t like taking things.”
Pepper rolled her eyes, “Grow up, Tony.”
“Never.” He stuck out his tongue.
“Fine.” Pepper sighed and leant over, her chair angled precariously, to push the paper onto the desk.
“Thank you.” Bruce said when it became obvious that Tony wouldn’t. Pepper smiled back, revealing small dimples that were partially-hidden by a curtain of copper-blonde hair.
“You’re welcome.”
“So, this is the assignment?” Tony interrupted loudly, picking up the papers and straightening them by banging them on the table, effectively breaking Bruce’s eye line to Pepper, “Looks dull.” He passed them to Bruce, sniffing dismissively. Bruce rolled his eyes at the display, taking a sheet and passing the others along. It wasn’t as if Tony had anything to worry about; he was the genius, billionaire school-darling. Bruce was hardly competition.
Bruce looked down at the assignment instead. He was forced to agree with Tony’s assessment, though he still jotted down a few formulas in the margins as Miss Lewis called for everyone’s attention. By the time she’d finished explaining the basics of the assignment, the marking system and the various penalties, Bruce had already solved every question, complete with diagrams. Beside him, Tony shifted a little in his seat, and Bruce’s eyes flicked towards the movement involuntarily.
Tony was staring down at the equations scrawled across the sheet with an unreadable expression and when he caught Bruce’s gaze, he jerked his eyes away almost guiltily. However, before Bruce could attempt to interpret the action, Miss Lewis appeared beside their desk. She noted the assignment sheet with a suppressed smiled and asked them to stay behind after class. “You’re not in trouble,” she assured them, “I just need to discuss a few things with you.”
A few minutes later, when the bell rang, Bruce watched everyone escape the classroom with a modicum of envy as his stomach growled its impatience. Tony was a little more vocal in his dislike, moaning theatrically to anyone who would listen - which, unfortunately, was most people. The politics of their high school, Bruce decided, was definitely a monarchy and Tony Stark was their undisputed, “divinely-ordained” King.
Eventually, the last sycophant trailed out of the room and Miss Lewis crossed over to them, more sheets held in her hands. She didn’t even bother trying to pass them to Tony. “Hopefully you’ll find these a bit more of a challenge.” She grinned and followed everyone else out of the room to the canteen. An odd, awkward silence fell over the two boys as one fiddled with his pen and the other rubbed futilely at a piece of desk graffiti. Bruce’s stomach rumbled into the void.
“Err…”
“Hungry?” Tony asked with a grin and Bruce fought the urge to roll his eyes.
“What gave me away?”
“I know a great shawarma place, we could, you know, grab a bite and go over this.” He picked up their new assignment, holding out like a peace offering, “if you want, no big if you’ve got plans.” He tried to shrug nonchalantly and Bruce was faced with the surprising, intriguing realisation that Tony Stark was self-conscious. It was certainly worth investigating.
“No, no plans. Sounds good.” Bruce said with a shrug, “you’re paying though.”
Tony laughed in surprise, “wouldn’t have thought otherwise,” he replied as he pulled out his phone. “Jarvis, hey, could you bring the car round to the school gates. We’re dining out.” He winked at Bruce. “Ok, see you in five.”
“Just one question,” Bruce said as he slid down from his stool.
“Yeah?”
“What’s shawarma?”
***
Sorry if there are any typos, I kind of rushed this out when I most definitely should have been doing revision....