Disclaimer: I own nothing except the situational concepts. Trust me, if I owned Bruce and Tony, you would know...
Warnings: None in this chapter.
Author's Note: This isn't really a coherent story so much as snapshots of Tony and Bruce's life together after the movie, and the events I think would/would love to see transpire. If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment! Who knows, it may very well become a chapter.
Bubble Wrap
That night, Bruce's dreams were full of destruction; Betty's face recoiling in fear as he changed in front of her, faint memories of buildings being crushed, of bullets flying at him and yet not piercing his skin - they swirled through his mind until he screamed, waking himself in a panicked frenzy. It took him a good ten minutes to realize he was in Stark Tower, in the guest room Tony had offered to Bruce as long as he stayed. Bruce's sweaty limbs shivered a few times, fear still present inside of him. A few calming breaths later, and he was sitting up, cradling his head in his arms and holding back sobs. He had learned long ago how to control the anger that sprouted from such dreams, but they never went away. He was constantly haunted by them, the faces of all those who had been unfortunate enough to stand in the Hulk's way, and while he could control the change, he could not control the guilt.
"Dr. Banner, Sir," JARVIS' voice snapped Bruce from his thoughts, who instinctively looked up, even though he knew that wasn't where JARVIS was, "Would you like me to inform Mr. Stark of-"
"No." Bruce said flatly, standing and making his way to the small fridge in the corner of the room. Unsurprisingly, the contents consisted mainly of alcoholic beverages, some of which Bruce did not recognize. Thankfully, however, there was a single bottle of water in the back, which Bruce gulped down greedily.
"Dr. Banner, Mr. Stark was very adamant on being alerted to any changes in your condition."
"Then why are you asking me for permission?"
"Mr. Stark gets rather..." The pause in JARVIS' voice sounded far too human to Bruce, too contemplative, "...aggressive when he is disturbed from sleep. I thought you may wish to tell him yourself in the afternoon."
It was only then that Bruce looked at the clock to read the numbers - ten o'clock in the morning.
"Tony did not retire from his work shop until early morning," JARVIS continued, answering Bruce's unspoken question, "and I assume he will not wake for several hours."
"Um..." Bruce didn't quite know how to respond. His head was still fuzzy, and quite frankly, he didn't want Tony knowing about his nightmares.
"Sir, if you do not inform him, I will. I cannot bypass my programming and ignore a direct order."
Sighing, Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Very well," Bruce muttered, "I promise I'll tell him."
"Thank you, Dr. Banner."
x
He had yet to grow accustomed to how wonderful it was having access to a hot meal every day. Even after two weeks of living here, with Tony, Bruce was still delightedly surprised when eggs and bacon sizzled in front of him the moment he entered the kitchen. He still ate too much, sometimes, his body bewitched into thinking that this meal may very well be his last for the next week, as it usually was when he was on the run. Bruce was indulging himself in this feeling so much that he did not notice Tony enter the room until the man sat down next to him, coffee cup already half empty.
"...Morning." Bruce offered, feebly. That seemed to get Tony's attention, because the man paused between his guzzling of hot liquid.
"Afternoon, Big Guy. JARVIS tells me you've been having a hard time sleeping." Tony said, cutting right to the point, "You look like shit, no offence. What's up?"
A prod to Bruce's ribs; Bruce was used to that by now.
"I..." Bruce took in a breath, not wanting to get Tony involved, but remembering and honouring his promise with the strangely human AI, "I've been having nightmares. It's not a big deal-"
Tony stared at Bruce in disbelief, setting down his coffee.
"Not a big deal?" he asked, "Brucie, I've had nightmares before. I know the type that make you look like... well, that."
He gestured half-heartedly to all of Bruce, who just raised an eyebrow, looking unamused.
"No offense, Tony, but I don't want to talk about it."
"Fine." Tony shrugged, "But I have a lovely little science experiment for you, then."
Tony was standing, staring at Bruce with dark eyes before downing the rest of his coffee and grabbing Bruce's arm.
"Come on, Big Guy. Think of it as a present."
x
Bruce stared, bewildered, at the sheet of bubble wrap in Tony's arms, watching Tony's eyes glimmer with his classic smirk.
"Bubble wrap?" Bruce asked, "What could that possibly...?"
Tony rolled his eyes, placing his hands on the wrap and pushing, eliciting a loud "Pop!"
"Don't tell me it's not fun." He said, eyebrows raised in a way that thoroughly encouraged Bruce to contradict him. Bruce just rolled his eyes.
"Don't mock it until you try it, Brucie. Seriously." Tony's grin was getting annoying now, and Bruce tried to laugh it off.
"Look, Tony, I know you're a genius, I've seen it, so cut it out with the jokes."
"I'm not joking!" Tony tried, pouting slightly in a way that suggested otherwise, "Try it for me, Bruce? Here - It's fun! ... In a mind-numbing way."
Bruce rolled his eyes when Tony forced the giant sheet of bubble wrap on him, noticing the way Tony studied him.
"... think of it as an experiment of mine."
"What are the rules of the experiment?" Bruce sighed, playing along.
"Whenever you wake up from a nightmare, pop a few bubbles. See if it makes you feel better... then come tell me about it so we can get drunk and forget it together. Deal?"
Bruce couldn't help but let a small laugh out, rolling his eyes yet again before shaking Tony's outstretched hand and muttering, "Deal."
x
That night, Bruce's dreams were full of destruction. When he woke, screaming and trembling with guilt, he noticed something on his bedside table. After taking a few calming breaths, he took the bubble wrap in his hands, staring at it incredulously. As though wanting to disobey his mind, his fingers found their places on the wrap and pressed down, eliciting a familiar "Pop!" He paused, then did it again. Tony's smirk played in his mind, the smile he knew he would get when he admitted he had used the pathetic stuff.
Bruce smiled. Maybe Tony was on to something after all.