Love and Pain, an avengers fanfic

Love & Pain

Disclaimer:
I own nothing but Shaelynn Stark.

Rating:
T (just to be safe)

Genre:
Romance/Angst

Pairing:
ScienceHusbands (Tony Stark/Bruce Banner)

Lyrics Used:
Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana "I Miss You"

Author's Note:
So, this idea just kind of came to me while I was working on my Stanner video "Loving Him Was Red" on YouTube and decided to run with it. It kind of fits in with my "The Family Business" universe but is really sort of written to stand alone. Really, the only thing that makes it fit into that universe is the fact that Tony has a daughter named Shaelynn. And, this may or may not be a one-shot. We'll see what kind of response it gets.

Tony was working on a new suit design in his lab when he looked up as the doors slid open to reveal his boyfriend, Dr. Bruce Banner, walking in with a mildly concerned look on his face. "Hey, Tony. Got a minute?" He asked, casually, attracting the billionaire's attention.

"For Dr. Bruce Banner..." He began, pausing as he closed out of his computer files before turning to face his lover as he added with a cocky smile. "I have all day." The good doctor couldn't resist smiling at his boyfriend's witty charm. But, the smile quickly faded as he returned to the reason he had come.

"I was just wondering..." He began cautiously. "You haven't talked to Shaelynn, today, have you?" He asked. "I mean, I hadn't seen or heard from her all day and when I asked JARVIS where she was, he told me she was-" Bruce began to elaborate why he was concerned for Tony's daughter when the billionaire cut him off.

"Let me guess." He interjected with a heavy sigh. "She's holed up in her lab and not allowing anyone else in." He finished the doctor's thoughts for him. As many times as he's done this in the past, it still never ceased to amaze the soft-spoken doctor how Tony always seemed to know exactly what was on his mind. "Am I right?" He added, somewhat cockily. Although, the cocky tone in his voice and smirk on his face seemed somewhat forced.

"Well...yeah..." Bruce conceded with a light sigh. In the time he had known Tony and Shaelynn, the young brunette had become the closest thing Bruce knew he would ever have to a daughter of his own and he loved her as if she were his own. So, naturally, this behavior worried him considerably.

"It's not surprising." Tony replied with a slight shrug. Why is he being so blasé about this? Bruce wondered, more than a little frustrated with his lover. "She always does this. Besides it's..." Tony's voice trailed off as he turned to check the date on his computer. "August eleventh. Makes perfect sense, really."

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'makes perfect sense'?" Bruce asked, confusion and frustration lacing his every syllable. "I'm sorry, but, on what plane of existence does that make even the least bit of 'perfect sense'?" He asked. Clearly, he was missing a key variable in this equation.

"Like I said, Bruce, it's August eleventh." Tony reiterated as he sighed sadly before elaborating. "Today marks the two-year-anniversary of the day her best friend was murdered." In all honesty, Tony hated the day every bit as much as his daughter did. He just did a better job of hiding it. "This is how she always copes whenever she's upset about something. She always holes herself up in her lab and refuses anyone else entry until she's composed herself enough to be around people. It's her way of telling people 'just back off and give me some space'. She'll come around when she's ready."

"Murdered?" Bruce breathed. He was truly floored. Of all the possible responses he had imagined...That certainly hadn't been one of them. How could I not know about this? He wondered briefly. "Tony, I-I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"It's okay, Bruce." The billionaire stated simply, trying to reassure his shell-shocked lover. "It wasn't your fault-and, it certainly wasn't the Other Guy's fault, either!" He added, firmly, before motioning Bruce over to him. When the doctor complied, Tony took hold of both of his hands and gently pulled him down onto his lap. With a heavy sigh, he proceeded to tell Bruce the story of what August eleventh meant to himself and his daughter. "It's kind of a long story..." He forewarned.

Gazing down at his lover with concern written in deep earth brown eyes, Bruce gently urged Tony to continue. "That's all right. For Tony Stark, I have all day." He replied, joking to try to lighten the mood. Tony just snorted softly with a very faint trace of a smile ghosting his lips. But, that smile quickly evaoprated when Tony spoke again.

"Well, see...When Shae was in third grade, she met this new girl in her class. Her name was Brittany Linton." He began, trying to cover all the essential details so Bruce could get the full story. "They were best friends right from the word 'go'-completely inseparable. Hell, Britt was just as much a daughter to me as Shae is." And, it was the truth. As much as Brittany and Shaelynn loved each other like sisters, Tony loved Brittany as a daughter just much as he loved Shaelynn. "But...things started to change between them while they were in high school." He sighed, lightly before continuing. "Brittany got involved with this...asshat, Zachary McGowen." Bruce's eyes widened, momentarily, in shock as Tony spoke McGowen's name with a level of disgust he had never previously heard the billionaire use. "Shae and I never could pinpoint exactly what it was, but, we always knew something was...off...about McGowen. Then, shortly after they all graduated high school, McGowen talked Brittany into moving in with him. When they moved in together...That was it. It was like Brittany had just...completely disappeared off the face of the Earth. She stopped answering calls...texts...e-mails...voice-mails...Hell, Shae even tried getting in touch with her on MySpace to no avail...She was just...gone...And, even I couldn't find her, anywhere." Bruce could see that Tony was clearly upset by the story he was telling. He wanted to tell him to stop-that he didn't wanna make Tony relive all this terrible tragedy-but, decided against interrupting the billionaire and instead just let him finish. "That was when Shae and I went to Phillip-Brittany's father-and, even he didn't know how to get in touch with Britt. So, Shae and I eventually gave up." Tony then fell silent as he cast his gaze down toward the floor. When he looked back up at Bruce, the doctor saw tears shining in Tony's rich dark brown eyes as his voice trembled when he spoke again. "Then, two years ago, today...She was dead." Bruce tried to comfort Tony with a gentle squeeze of his hand as his boyfriend finished his story. "Bruce, he went into their bedroom while she was sleeping and he put a fucking bullet in her head!"

In that moment, Bruce watched as every single wall Tony had ever built around himself crumbled to the ground and the tears flowed freely while choked sobs wracked his entire body. Bruce couldn't take seeing Tony suffer any longer as he rose to his feet, pulling his lover up with him and pulled Tony into his arms, holding him close as the sobs gradually slowed to a stop. Once Tony was finally calm again, Bruce gently took his love's face into his hands as he spoke softly. "Tony, I-I don't even know what to say. 'I'm sorry' just doesn't seem like it's enough. But, I need you to know that I truly am sorry for what you and Shaelynn have been through. I can't even begin to imagine..." Bruce's voice gently trailed off as he truly was at a loss for words.

After taking a moment to compose himself, Tony replied. "It's okay, Bruce, don't worry about it. I know exactly what you mean and I appreciate you being there for me." And, Bruce believed him.

"I just wish there was something I could do for Shaelynn." Bruce replied, dejectedly. He meant it. He truly did want to try to provide some form of comfort. But, that was a little difficult to do at the moment as she was quite literally not allowing anyone to get any where near her.

Tony knew that Bruce was sincere. He knew how desperately Bruce wanted to help...well, everyone, really. The good doctor always had pension for helping those around him and it made him feel somewhat defeated whenever he felt as though he failed to help someone. Pulling his lover into another embrace, Tony simply replied. "It's okay, Bruce. Just give Shae her space. I promise you, she'll come around. You can be there for her, then. Just let her come to you-in her own time-whenever she's ready."

So, yeah, that's it for now. Leave me a review if you want to see more or even if you just wanna let me know your thoughts on this angsty little piece of fluff. I live for feedback. Good or bad. It's like a drug. Seriously. Anyone know of a good Feedback-a-holics Anonymous program?