Lonely Days
Bruce always wanted time to himself. Or so he thought. His partner's constant badgering was always having him wish for just a DAY of peace and quiet. And when he finally got it, he remembered too much of his time on the run. Time alone. He was suddenly thinking about every mistake. Every regret. Every angry, terrifying, green, blackout.
Currently looking through a microscope at some not easily obtained green blood, Bruce pulled away and sat back in his chair, staring up at the bland white ceiling of his lab in Stark Tower. He thought about stepping outside and getting some air, but then realized he was starting to feel very weary, and thus glanced the clock. It was 4am, and he'd gone twenty hours with no sleep. Cracking a window and collapsing into bed sounded like a much better idea.
Minutes later he was taking off his shirt in his own room and throwing it to the floor. Groggily he sat on the edge of his bed, thinking about taking his pants off or not. He huffed in annoyance and decided he should or he'd wake up tangled in them. Slipping out of them and into a pair of red boxers, he finally collapsed to sleep. But sadly the change of location didn't keep his mind from wondering. Taking his glasses off (which were placed atop his head so he could look easily through the microscope) and putting them on the night stand, he threw his pillow over his head with a sigh as he suddenly wondered what Tony was doing on his business trip. He was probably still asleep as it was only an hour ahead of Bruce's own time where he was.
Frustrated at thoughts of Tony keeping him awake, he asked, "JARVIS, can you play the 'Jazzscapes' album please?"
"Again, sir?"
"Just do it please." Bruce said with slight embarrassment in his voice and a groan.
"Very well."
The CD was a 'gag-gift' from Tony for his birthday about three months ago, and even though he didn't think anything of it then except for a laugh and sweet gesture that Tony used it as a reminder from the day they met, Bruce found himself listening to it frequently when Tony was gone. And as the soothing trumpet followed by piano and cymbals began to play over the speakers, Bruce did start to feel more relaxed as he exhaled a sigh and tried to sleep once more.
But sleep wasn't coming easily, and Bruce wasn't sure why he couldn't pass out when he was so tired. Five songs in and he wasn't even drowsy. By the time he asked for the CD to be played again, it was 6am. Pulling the covers tightly around himself, he tried to focus harder on the melodies instead of his haunting thoughts. But every now and then a more energetic part would remind him of a tiny thing. Like balloons popping. And that had him thinking of guns, and tanks, and explosions, and blood, screams of pain and fear- Bruce suddenly sat upright as the realization that he was actually asleep and dreaming sunk in. Or should he say nightmare. They were always the same. Those beautiful, happy memories warped and twisted like his body when a painful transformation was forced from him. A cold sweat covered him from head to toe; he threw the blanket off himself as he clung desperately to his ring hanging loosely around his neck with one hand, and clutched his bed sheets under him with the other in a fist that was turning a dangerous shade of green.
"Breathe, Bruce... Just breathe..." Inhaling and exhaling slowly, Bruce regained control easy enough, but he still felt so alone. Times like this, the two weeks Tony had been away felt like years.
Rubbing his eyes and glancing at the darkly tinted windows imitating night, Bruce looked around the room. As if confirming he was still where he was when he went to sleep, and not in a locked cell or strapped to a metal table.
He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his arms on top. "JARVIS... can you play it one more time?"
No reply. No music.
"JARVIS?"
"Nope. Try again."
"T-Tony?!" Bruce felt a warmth suddenly rise in his chest and wondered why he didn't hear the phone ring.
"One and only." The billionaire replied with a stifled yawn. "Really early. You need something? Didn't blow anything up did you?"
The artificial intelligence had called him. 'Bless you, JARVIS.' Bruce thought before replying to Tony, "No, I um... everything's fine. Couldn't sleep, missed you. Hope I didn't wake you up..."
Bruce could almost hear his fiancé smile as he said in a warm tone, "I miss you too. And no, I was just getting up anyway. Had my eight hour nap before a five hour nap while I get talked at about things I already know about my own company."
"Sounds thrilling."
"Oh don't you know it."
"I should probably let you go, huh?"
"As much as I'm against doing the logical thing, sounds like my ride's here, so yeah. Tell you what though, I'll call you after words and bore you with all the details of the meeting."
Bruce laughed softly as his was starting to mellow out again, "I'm looking forward to it."
"A'right, then. Meantime, go back to sleep. Sounds like you've been pulling the insomniac routine again."
"Maybe." Bruce tried to reply as casually as possible as he slid back under the covers and rested his head atop his pillow.
"Good night, Bruce. Love you big guy."
"Bye, Tony... love... you... too..."
The call ended, and JARVIS started playing the 'Jazzscapes' album once again, but it didn't matter. Bruce was peacefully out with his last word to his love.
Oh lawd that was cheesy. Humblest apologies. I used my own lack of sleep to write this. Hope you found it somewhat amusing.
Fun but short story, I actually do love jazz (the title for this I even got from my own actual 'Jazzscapes' CD, which was awesomely fitting). Have before I got into Avengers. Then hearing the "smooth jazz and bongo drums" line in the trailer for the first time. I was thrilled. Don't know what inspired me to make Bruce an actual fan though. T'was random, but it worked to my angsty advantage.
(Rings part 2 coming soon!)