Tony isn't leaning back. He's not pulling away unless Bruce makes him--and he hopes that Bruce won't actually make him. What he really wants to do right then is lean in and give him another kiss. He wants to suck on his lips, tease him, press his tongue inside Bruce's mouth and taste him inside and out. And he wets his own lips, still leaning in close, unashamed of his own desires. After all, it's not like he can hide them.

"Because," he answers. It's a Tony kind of answer, because he knows the answer is never simple and never going to be simple. Sometimes the answer you give has to be simpler than the reality. "Because I want to. I need to do this."

Need. That's what it is. Tony needs to help Bruce because he can't help himself. They are a lot alike. Both brilliant in ways, both challenged. But where Tony got the glory and fame, Bruce was cheated out of his victory by pure luck. Something in Tony recognizes that and simply can't accept it. They're the same, and he needs to set this right. For both of them.

Maybe there's another way to say that. He knows there is, really, but he can't bring himself to say the words. Brown eyes drop their gaze to Bruce's unmarred chest. Why? Why does his heart beat a little faster when he sees him? Tony knows why, but even if he admitted to it, he isn't sure Bruce would believe him.