Title: A Marriage of Convenience
Fandom: Marvel
Pairing: Bruce Banner/Tony Stark
Categories/Genres: Romance, Drama, Slow Burn, Fluff, Friendship, Fake Relationship
Length: Epic (43972 words)
Warnings: N/A

Author on LJ: enigmatic_blue
Author Website: enigmaticblue

Summary:

Scenes from two lives, intertwining. Also, what the title says.

Review:

Haters can say what they like about overused tropes, that they're boring and repetitive and, well, overused, but by god, there's a reason that these tropes get used so often and that's because they're great. And honestly, who doesn't love a marriage of convenience that grows into a love match?

Aside from General Thaddeus Ross, that is.

A Marriage of Convenience fills a bit of a niche in the Marvel movie fandom in that it actually addresses Ross' pursuit of Bruce, proposing a unique solution to a problem that seems to have been generally swept under the rug. To be honest, I'd utterly forgotten about Ross myself long before the Avengers movie, so thoroughly had the Hulk movies faded from my mind. So when enigmaticblue approaches the issue and brings the whole of the Avengers into the plot, I was pleased to see an old loose end tied up.

The premise itself seems a bit silly, that Bruce getting hitched to Tony will make him too visible to get kidnapped by Ross. enigmaticblue plays it off well enough, presenting a few logical arguments, but not shying away from mentioning that everyone thinks Tony's insane for suggesting it. But the story quickly turns away from the convenient aspect of the marriage itself, delving into the relationship that develops between Tony and Bruce within the context of their faked marriage.

That relationship forms the core of the fic as the two move from friendly affection to something more, each becoming more invested in the other's safety, happiness, and, (Tony being Tony), sexual gratification. The camaraderie and protectiveness of the other Avengers fills out the rest of the story, and their dedication to protecting their own is heartwarming and almost familial.

If you're looking for some rough-and-tumble Avengers-style action, maybe give this one a pass. But if you're in the mood for slow-burn warm and fuzzies and domestic Science Boyfriends, you'll want to give this one a shot.

A Marriage of Convenience

Our Epic/Super-Epic theme week has come to an end and we would love to hear from you. Do you have any favorite stories that are longer than 40k? We'd love it if you'd share with us!

• Recced stories can feature any pairing as long as they match the theme. Fan art, podfic, and fan vid recs are also welcome.


• You don't need to write a review (unless you want to). All you need to include are title, author, and a link to the story.


• Fic or media as a single file are preferred, if available.


• If you'd like to use our reccing template, you can find it under the cut.

( Totally Optional Rec Template )

Previous Readers' Recs topics can be found here.