The funny thing about being Tony Stark is that I'm really great at playing things off when things go awry. When Pepper left, I just kept working as if nothing had happened. When the Chitauri attacked, I maintained my composure and ended up saving everyone without batting an eye. However, I couldn't find a way to uphold my demeanor when I said my farewells to the most captivating human being I had ever managed to encounter in my forty-three years of existence.

The military saw him as a potential threat to mankind and/or a subject of study. S.H.I.E.L.D. saw him as a scientist whose areas of expertise contrasted mine, if not emphasized them. The Avengers saw him as a kind-hearted genius who put up a great façade as a controlled human being. Me? I found him simply as a colleague and brilliant individual who had stumbled so haphazardly into my life as he eventually did my heart. It seems that he had just as quickly escaped.

…maybe I should backtrack.

With the Avengers initiative in full swing, the group came to a consensus that remaining in one central location (with the exception of Thor who maintained his post in Asgard while visiting occasionally) would be beneficial for us and I made no hesitation in allowing everyone to move into Stark Tower. S.H.I.E.L.D. had given Dr. Bruce Banner and me copious amounts of assignments to keep us in the ten floors of R&D labs I had, sometimes days at a time. Luckily, not only was his knowledge abundant, but he had a sense of humor that made my behavior that typically drew people away instead keep him close by. While many hours were spent in the lab working, another several we were just conversing about matters that no one else understood about us individually. For once, I found someone who would listen to my babbling but not be humbled by my extravagant existence.

Bruce never really left the tower for anything; the crowded streets (and everything else) made him extremely claustrophobic and, while he was capable of preventing incidents, he was scared to push himself to the limit – not that I can blame him at all. Aside from the occasional mission, Bruce was either in the lab or in his quarters, directly below my penthouse. I assume it was rough being as reclusive as he was with only one real companion (at least I'd like to think that's how he considered me), but he showed no signs of longing for much else. Everyone, including myself, assumed he was content until the night he oh-so casually mentioned wishing to return to Calcutta during dinner with the group.

As soon as the words fell from his mouth, the room became dead silent. Finally, after a few moments, I managed to summon the question "…why?" from my mouth.

He looked at me, then everyone else, earnestly. "I can't take this anymore. Day by day, I dawdle with the technology present and lock myself up with no real contribution—"

"Bullshit!" I cut him off. "You and I are constantly working for S.H.I.E.L.D. to protect everyone—"

"Which I have enjoyed very much, Tony, but 'the other guy' continues to brood under these stressful conditions. The people I had helped still need someone and there are constantly people dying while I waste my potential where it's not nearly as needed!" he continued. "At least in Calcutta I could walk outside without the swarms of people asking why I destroyed Manhattan, at least when I was under stress it was manageable and for a good cause!"

At this point, the table grew silent. Frustrated dealing with the fact my best friend had made up his mind and that I couldn't change it, I left to my floor and remained in my room for the rest of the night.

I stayed up there for two days, blocking all access for anyone to come in or contact me. In retrospect, it was probably the closest I've ever come to transforming into a teenage girl, but I couldn't find any other way to cope. I stayed at the top of the tower, played Sabbath loud enough for the entire tower to hear, drank my entire bar dry, and attempted to fathom a life without Dr. Banner by my side and why I just couldn't let him go. Even when Pepper left, I still carried on with my work and showed no visible sign of depression, despite losing one of the greatest friends I had ever found. The second night, JARVIS informed me that Bruce was insistent to see me and I reluctantly let him up.

He walked into my living room and I admit I had probably looked better before - unshaven, wearing the same shirt from the nights prior, clearly unshowered, eyes red and swollen from lack of sleep and surplus of tearful fits. Bruce, however, looked the exact opposite in one of his many purple button-ups and grey trousers with his hair only slightly messy, though that was commonplace. This was rather strange, though, at ten o'clock on a Friday night for him as he was usually disheveled from work with bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep and a five o'clock shadow that suited him well. I gave him a questioning look and he countered with a sad smile. "Director Fury has granted permission for my departure. Romanov has insisted everyone go out for drinks tonight since Rogers is leaving tomorrow on duty and my departure date is Monday." He looked me in the eye, sitting on the couch adjacent to the one I was sprawled across. "I'd invite you to come along but it looks like you've had your fill," he smirked.

I shrugged. "I've felt worse thanks to college and Afghanistan."

Bruce chuckled. "I just came up to let you know when I'm leaving in case there was anything else you needed my assistance on."

"Nothing outstanding, I wouldn't really know since I haven't checked since Wednesday." I ran my fingers through my dirty hair.

His gaze fell to the floor. "Look, I'm sorry I was so sudden about all this. It hadn't really occurred to me how much I needed to leave until quite recently and I didn't want to upset you—"

"Yeah, well you did," I interrupted. "And as your partner and comrade, I can't permit you to leave—"

"—Well, that's not up to you, is it?" he snapped. We both grew silent as I sat up and looked him dead in the eyes. I bit my lip and began to say something when he continued. "And there's nothing you can say or do to change my mind. Tony, I'm not happy here. You're the only person who I've let into my personal life this much since I returned, I'd expect you to understand this more than anyone else…"

It was my turn to stare at the floor, head hung low as I realized he was right. "I just don't think I could ever prepare for this…"

He got up and sat next to me, placing his arm around me in a half-hug. "I know, Tony. But until I've made peace with myself I can't keep pretending I'm okay here."

I laid my head on his shoulder, my forehead touching the crook of his neck. This was the closest he had ever let me come and I was grateful he hadn't pushed me away, something he would have done with anyone else. His scent was fresh, clean, and slightly musky yet I smelled no cologne on him. This was the first time I'd ever taken it in and I was almost envious of the women he had been with before who got to absorb his scent countless times. For a second, I wondered if that was what everything of his smelled of and I made a mental note to investigate this later on. I shut my eyes, savoring the feeling and praying to whatever God there was (if he existed) to make this moment last forever. Finally, I spoke. "How are you getting to Calcutta?"

"Fury's arranged the flight—"

"JARVIS, arrange for the use of the jet to Calcutta on Monday at noon," I commanded my AI. I was having nothing but the best for one of my closest friends, even if that meant one last lap of luxury on the way to a third world country.

"Right away, Sir," JARVIS responded.

Bruce pulled away from me. "You know you don't have to do that—"

I interrupted once again "I know but I don't care. I know you're uncomfortable in the helecarrier and the only person who should be seeing you off certainly isn't a group of heartless military zombies waiting for you to snap."

He nodded reluctantly. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

I shrugged. "It's what friends are for."

"Sir, Miss Romanov has requested you and Dr. Banner's presence immediately."

"Shit, the get-together," Bruce mumbled.

I grinned. "I thought you hated going out in New York City."

He smiled, hand on my shoulder. "I'd definitely be more comfortable if you came along."

I looked at Bruce incredulously. "Of course you would." I sighed. "JARVIS, inform Natasha we'll be down in fifteen minutes."

The rest of the night was rather uneventful. I showered, trimmed my beard, and put on one of my many Armani suits before joining Banner and everyone else downstairs. We reserved the entire VIP lounge at a club close by so no one but us could bother Bruce. We drank, reminisced, watched Clint and Natasha dance and commented on how oblivious they were to the sexual chemistry they held, and overall enjoyed ourselves. Despite it all, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Bruce across the table from me. A few hours later, Bruce decided he'd had enough alcohol and was too tired to stay out anymore and announced he was heading home. I joined him, not wanting to end the night just yet.

We returned to Stark Tower and decided to pull an all-nighter in my penthouse watching old horror movies and making fun of the scientific inaccuracy. However, Bruce seemed to fail to comprehend the concept of an all-nighter and was knocked out before the first casualty in Evil Dead, sprawled across the couch as I sat on the plush rug in front of it. I turned and recognized his blissful form with his eyes shut and expression serene, a rather rare occurrence.

Normally, people tend to look rather odd when asleep, but not Bruce. His mouth curled a little upwards in a sheepish grin, the same grin he would give when complimented on his work or when I said something incredibly stupid – not a snarky expression, but almost an "are you serious?" kind of form. It was almost soothing, knowing this man could find peace somehow amidst the constant stress of holding back the monster within; the monster who had saved my life.

It commonly stumbled into my mind that this "mindless beast" (as Loki put it) had somehow managed to set aside his destruction and chaos to seize my freefalling form and revive me from unconsciousness with an almighty roar. Bruce frequently noted how much of a curse this ginormous green rage monster was, ignoring the fact that I never would have survived the fall had he not existed. Heh, I guess you'd say he was my savior with a hamartia, my Byronic hero.

At the same time, it left my mind to wander about the motive behind such a kind act from such a rage-fueled creature. A small part of my mind wondered if Bruce's good side had come out for a moment, or maybe (just maybe) his affection toward me had rubbed off on the Hulk himself. Then I would shake it off as a stupid idea, since Bruce and I were both heterosexual males who, while capable of compassion, were not affectionate toward each other (because, let's face it, that's pretty gay).

Then again, Bruce hadn't really mentioned any attraction toward females in our two years of friendship…but that's beside the point. However, I couldn't help but smile even when I caught myself staring at the man asleep on my couch for an extended amount of time. Somewhere inside my chest, I felt an ache sweep across as I attempted to visualize life without this wonderful person in my life. He was a genius with the kind heart I lacked and a sense of humor great enough to tolerate my antics, and therefore my best friend.

I sighed, noting the fact it was just a little past two in the morning and that I hadn't slept in two days and that I would probably benefit from it. I got up and grabbed a blanket from the couch next to me and proceeded to lay it upon the sleeping form facing me. As I turned, I felt a hand graze mine and I looked to behold Bruce's unconscious self yearning for me, it seemed.

While I hesitated for a moment, I decided I didn't give a shit how gay we'd look, I was cuddling with my best friend because I'm Tony Stark and I do whatever the hell I please. I turned off the lights and crawled atop Bruce, laying my head on his chest and falling asleep with his arms wrapped around me.

The next two days passed like seconds and before I knew it we were thousands of feet above the Indian Ocean after seventeen hours of flight, a mere hour or two from our destination. We spent the long flight discussing various matters from good memories to the newest modifications to Stark Tower to how to persuade Captain Rogers to lose that godforsaken spangly suit – anything but the fact we'd have to depart from each other sooner than I could ever wish. I took the opportunity to absorb his presence, his smile, the feeling deep within me that only conversing with him seemed to bring. Those beaming brown eyes that stared into mine made it feel, even if only for the moment, that we were back in the lab jabbering on about miniscule matters.

However, soon enough, I felt the cabin pressure change along with the altitude and we were landed on a runway in Calcutta. As the jet refueled, I walked alongside Banner down the steps onto the runway for what felt like a somber eternity. Then, time stood still as we stood before each other, looking into each other's eyes and exchanging sad smiles.

"…well, Tony, you've got a plane to catch. The world needs saving and you forgot to pack an Iron Man suit."

I chuckled. "I've got the mk7 stowed in the fuselage, in case the 'other guy' decided to grace me with his presence."

Bruce smirked. "You've always maintained faith in my self-control capability."

"Well, I am a genius."

He gave me that sheepish smile that had recently begun to make my heart flutter like a teenage girl's before wrapping his arms around me in a warm embrace that I shamelessly welcomed. We pulled our heads back from each other's shoulders and looked at each other and suddenly the urge to kiss him was everpresent in my head as our faces were mere inches from each other and my eyes lowered to Bruce's soft-looking lips.

Bruce was the one to lift his head and pull away. "You'd better get going, you've got a long flight ahead of you…"

"…indeed," I noted apathetically.

"Really, I could have gone alone. You didn't have to join me."

"Actually, I kind of did."

He nodded, understanding that I came along with him more for myself than anything else. "That's beside the point. I've gotta head to town, I'm really jetlagged."

"Yep," I noted equally as apathetically. If I could have, I would have stayed there forever with Dr. Banner, but I finally understood that this wasn't necessarily something he wanted, but needed. "I guess I'll see you soon, then…"

Bruce smiled one last time. "Save my room for me, Stark. At least make sure Romanov and Barton don't step foot near it."

I grinned. "I gave them their own floor for that specific reason. Just…" I hesitated. "Just don't hold back whatever you came here to do. You're so incredibly smart and passionate and, if you're gonna stay here, make sure everyone here benefits from it like I know you want them to."

He nodded. "Goodbye, Tony," he said, voice faltering as he reached for my hand and shook it, our hands lingering together a few moments longer, before heading to the car on the runway that would take him into town.

"…goodbye," I said almost too quietly for even myself to hear and I climbed the stairs back onto the Stark jet. As I took my place back onto the couch in the fuselage, I noticed that Bruce left his jacket on the arm of it where he'd been sitting. The entire flight back, I found myself asleep with my nose buried within it.