Work Text:
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Tony told himself he was going to talk to Bruce about this. Eventually. "I'm fine, Big Guy."
Hulk tucked his face tighter to the neck of Tony's armor and huffed several times. "No like sticky smell."
"Sticky? You mean...no, no, you've never complained about me being sweaty before..." Tony resisted the urge to smack himself on the forehead. "My cologne. It's new. That's what you're calling sticky." Tony tried to lean his head further to the side. "I'll remember, okay? Are we done now, Big Guy? I want to get out of the armor so we can go eat."
Hulk took one more long sniff and sat Tony back down. "Puny Bruce turn or Hulk turn?"
Tony tried to remember which one it had been last time. "Uhm. Just a second. Let me check." He flicked his face plate down. "Agent, which are we on Bruce or Big Green?"
"It is Dr. Banner's turn for dinner, Stark."
"Awesome." Tony flipped the face plate back up. "It's Bruce's turn, Big Guy."
Hulk sighed. "Spaceman take off suit?"
"Uh, yeah." Tony pointed to the mobile de-armoring truck down the block. "You want to watch it work?"
Hulk nodded and Tony took Hulk's offered hand to walk down to the truck. He walked the de-armoring walkway and watched Hulk stare at it all whirr. Hulk smiled when Tony pulled the under armor shirt off and put one one of his favorite band shirts.
"Is that better?"
Hulk crouched down and pressed his face to Tony's back, sniffing at his armpit.
"Woah, okay, Big Guy." Tony craned his neck to see if he was going to have to explain this newer behavior to the rest of the team. "Is this because of that battle with me stuck on my back? I'm alright, you know."
Hulk straightened up. "Hulk know." He smiled and pointed to the curb. "Sit?"
Tony bit his tongue so he wouldn't tell Hulk he couldn't tell the structural integrity of things when he wasn't in the suit. "Yep. You can sit."
Hulk sat and closed his eyes.
Tony braced Bruce as he listed to one side. "Hungry?"
Bruce blinked and rubbed at his eyes. "Did I hurt anyone?"
"You really need a new question to ask when you come back, Bruce-y."
Bruce leaned into him and Tony could have sworn the man sniffed at his neck. "Don't call me that."
Tony smiled. "Sure thing. I think it is Thor's turn to pick the place. You sure you don't want to swap days with Hulk?"
Bruce huffed. "No. Thor's last pick wasn't so bad."
"That place would deep fry anything."
"It isn't like any of us really need to watch our cholesterol."
Tony rolled his eyes as he nodded. "I see your point. Let's go see what we get today."
****
The next time it happened Tony was proud of himself for remembering to leave off his colognes. "Okay, okay. Woah! No turning me over, Big Guy."
Hulk turned him back upright and glared at him. "Smell blood."
Tony patted Hulk's arm that was holding him. "I'm alright. It is just the left knee joint got knocked against me and I've got a scrap. It isn't bad. I promise."
Hulk pressed his face to Tony's neck and sniffed. "Smell blood."
Tony looked over Hulk's shoulder to Clint staring at them. "A little help?"
Clint shrugged as he shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you, Tony."
Cap touched Hulk's elbow. "Hulk, if you put Tony down we'll get him to take off the armor and you can see he isn't bleeding."
Hulk pulled Tony in closer. "Smell blood."
Cap looked helplessly to Agent.
"Hey, Big Guy, see, there?" Tony pointed at Phil. "Agent can tell us if I'm going to die from a little knee scrap. How about you let him look me over?"
Hulk looked from Tony to Phil and back. "Agent fix Spaceman."
Phil quirked an eyebrow at Tony as he moved closer. "I'll take a look at him, Mr. Hulk." Phil leaned in close. "You're an idiot, Stark."
Tony smiled. "Just tell him I need to take the armor off."
Phil rolled his eyes. "He already knows that." Coulson leaned back and looked up at the Hulk. "Mr. Hulk, I can't see the blood because of Mr. Stark's suit. The de-armoring truck is around the corner. Would you mind escorting Mr. Stark there?"
Hulk frowned. "What is escort?"
Tony wished it was a dire enough situation to pop his emergency release and drop the suit right there. It'd be a pain to fix the suit if he did though. "Escort, in this case, means walk with the person you are escorting." He smiled widely as Natasha smiling behind her hand. "It can mean dirty things though."
Cap frowned. "Tony."
Hulk snorted and carried Tony as he followed Phil.
"You can put me down!"
"No." Hulk smiled at Clint as they turned the corner, Tony was certain of it.
****
Tony frowned up at Hulk. "I'm fine, see?" He pointed at the little scrap on his leg. "Just a little blood. We can go eat."
Hulk kept staring at the scrap. "Fix."
Tony looked to Phil. "What do I tell him?"
Phil shrugged. "I have no idea."
Tony grabbed at Hulk's wrist as he picked him up again. "Look, Big Guy. I don't mind the sniffing or the need to check me over, or whatever, but warn a guy before you just lift him off the ground, okay?"
"Sniffing?" Phil moved around them to look Tony in the eye. "This has happened before?"
Tony made what-can-you-do motions with his hands. "I think that one battle where I did the dead cockroach impression bothered him."
"Three months?" Phil pinched the bridge of his nose. "Stark, you really need to mention these things."
"It's fine. He's just a worrywart."
Phil glared. "He's a nine foot tall mass of muscle that can worrywart things to bits."
Hulk sat Tony down. "What worrywart? Hulk is worrywart?"
Tony patted Hulk's hand. "It just means you worry a lot. Which, Big Guy, I have to tell you, you totally worry. A lot."
Hulk frowned and looked to Phil. "Fix blood smell so Hulk no worrywart?"
Phil glanced at Stark. "Oh." Phil pulled the first aid kit from the nearest cupboard. "Stark if he has made worrywart the word for worry I will never allow you to live it down."
Tony smiled and then hissed as Phil put an disinfectant wipe against the scrap.
Hulk shoved his face down close to the injured knee. "Spaceman?"
Tony forced a smile. "I'm fine. It just stings a little."
Hulk took a deep sniff and then snorted hard as he jerked back. "Yuck."
Phil changed to a clean sterile bandage. "The yuck smell will go away in a few minutes."
Hulk kept making a disgusted face until the lingering smell of disinfectant finally disappeared. "Spaceman all fixed?"
Tony frowned. "Fixed as it gets right now. You ready to give us Bruce back? We've got to drive to the place for dinner. You're tough on the shocks, Big Guy."
Hulk pressed his face to Tony's neck and took another sniff before sitting down and closing his eyes.
Tony grabbed Phil's sleeve as Bruce transformed back. "Don't you dare tell him."
Phil frowned and then nodded. "Alright."
****
Bruce ducked his head and leaned closer to Tony. "Why is Steve staring at me?"
Tony patted him on the arm. "He's just jealous of your bedroom hair."
Bruce gave Tony a look as he sat back up. He took another bite of his fajita. "You are such a lair."
Tony smiled at him. "Sometimes."
Bruce held his breathe as a server took a tray with guacamole past them. Clint cocked an eyebrow at him and Bruce shrugged, not wanting to explain that the smell was too powerful for him.
Tony leaned into Bruce's side and Bruce turned his head just enough to catch a whiff of Tony's scent.
****