It was difficult for Bruce to accept anyone saying nice things about him. It didn't feel like it could be right, even if they were sincere. He believed Tony, because Tony showed that he meant what he said by following up wth actions proving it. He remembered the confession with the scepter. Here was a group of strangers, and it'd been a long time since people looked at him. He was on the spot and raw and vulnerable. No one understood then the lengths he had gone to, to remove the threat of the Hulk, and how far low he went. How far low he was then. He had nothing but pain left in him.

The Avengers gave him the chance to try and save people again. That was what his drive was, once upon a time. Make discoveries for human kind, help make the world better through science. His mistake was working for the government. He knew their reasons probably didn't sync up with his, but Betty asked him. "I miss it, the passion for making the world better, when I was young and thought it was possible." The world chewed up gentle people like Bruce Banner and spit them out worse.

Bruce leaned his head down to rest his cheek on Tony's had, feeling so secure. "I'm not surprised. He will try to get me until the day he dies. He believes I belong to him, that I'm not a person, I'm property." That kind of thinking, dehumanizing others, let him justify whatever he wanted to do. Torture, murder, mad science, cruelty. "Property wasn't supposed to marry his daughter, mingle with the humans." He used to dream of being accepted by Ross, his son-in-law, that if he was good enough, he would deserve it. It was a very sad thing, overall.

"You're the best friend I could ever ask for." He slid his hand into Tony's and squeezed it. Then changed gears back to the game." Umm, just to get ahead of it, truth again. I dread to think of dares you could come up with."