SHIELD HELLICARRIER
10:05 AM
Tony eyed the room critically from behind his specially made darker than dark sunglasses. The Avengers (-Thor) sat silently around the conference table. His new friends (only friends -besides Pepper and Rhodey- if I'm being completely honest with myself… which I rarely am) were gathered in the main SHIELD meeting room looking apprehensively at anything besides each other…
Except Brucey. Bruce was sitting back calmly studying all of them. When he caught Tony looking at him (How could he tell I was looking at him behind these glasses?), he shook his head slightly in disapproval, and Tony heaved an inward sigh. Even science bros can be very different.
Well, Tony thought, it might be less about being different and more about dragging myself in over half an hour late with a hangover and still rumpled clothes.
Not that Bruce looks that much better. (Well… he actually looks really good…) Minus the hangover and being so late. The slight stubble on his broad, square jaw and adorable (did I just think adorable? No! I don't think adorable! I'm not a teenage girl with a crush!) creased brow testified to the fact he probably hadn't gone to sleep yet. He, however, most likely spent his night in one of the labs, not with one of America's top models, He smirked to himself. Although… I'd much rather have spent the night with Bruce… preferably not in the lab… No! Stop that right now Tony! You. Do. Not. Have. A. Crush. On. Your. Best. Friend… besides, YOU might be bi… but he's probably straight… but maybe he isn't… No! Stop thinking that! But oh. My. God. He just ran a hand through that crazy messed up head of his. How sexy is that? Ok… You might have a crush but STOP. THINKING. ABOUT. IT!
He yawned and ran a hand through his own messy hair. Who calls meetings at 9:30 anyways? Certainly NOT Stark Industries. Oh no. Pep knows better than to count on me first thing in the morning… He wondered idly if SHIELD would approve of Pepper scheduling the rest of the Avengers' interactions for a more appropriate time. After noon definitely. Gives me plenty of time for me and Bruce in the morning… I said STOP that!
He was lazily running through the probabilities of Director Eyepatch allowing that, when he realized that even though everyone was now here (-Thor of course, but you couldn't really count on Shakespeare in the Park to make it to such trivial things as team meetings) no one was talking. The room, though with 6 people in it, was nearly completely silent.
Tony Stark didn't hate a lot of things, but one thing he couldn't stand was extended periods of silence. Even if he had a killer headache.Ugh… why didn't I stay in with Bruce last night? We could've done science-y things and… well… nothing else… wait… yeah. That's why I went out. Because I spend all my time with Bruce NOT having sex. I'll have to fix that… not right now. Meeting right now. Wait… silence right now… AHHHH! He rubbed his own stubbled jaw and counted silently to 10. His breathing shallowed slightly as a panic attack bubbled at the back of his mind. Finally he couldn't stand it anymore…
"So… DC, you've flashed the Bat Signal and you've got us…" he tilted his glasses down and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "now what are you gonna do with us?"
Bruce chuckled silently to himself as everyone's heads snapped up from their own little worlds and spun round to face Tony, who was grinning snarkily underneath his glasses. Bruce however saw beneath that familiar mask down to the barely noticeable tensing of his shoulders, the slight paling of his cheeks, and the whitened knuckles of just unclenched fists now resting on the table.
Congratulations Tony, Bruce thought with a mental hat tip, 2 whole minutes. A new record. Bruce understood Tony's need for noise. To always be, or have someone, talking or to always have his music blaring; they were both ways for him to drown out his own thoughts. His memories.
Bruce understood because, before his… incident, he did the same thing. Silence brought on memories of his mother… and… his… father… But now the Hulk was always in the back of his mind; an angry, but comforting, growl when there was no external noise to distract his thoughts.
He hadn't needed the Hulk's distractions for a while now though. Tony had wheedled him into visiting Stark Tower properly after the Loki incident. And when Tony "learned" about him not having a place to stay (besides the SHIELD hellicarrier- which he wasn't exactly too eager to return to then anyways) he'd been given his own floor… and access to everywhere in the Tower. He'd only planned to stay a few days… but a few days stretched into a week… which stretched into a few weeks… and was now rounding on 5 months. 5 months of spending nearly every waking moment with Tony working (and listening to his music… or more frequently, him)… or when Pepper (who was still Tony's friend and still stayed at the tower managing his life despite them having broken up less than 2 weeks after the Loki incident) had to march into whatever lab they were in that day and drag them out to eat, bathe, sleep… anything normal people would do. She'd even had JARVIS lock them out of any labs for days at a time. This had practically forced him and Tony to talk and hang out outside of a strictly scientific atmosphere.
Bruce had been sure that when Tony talked to him not about science, he wouldn't like him. How could they be more different? But, as it turned out, he and Tony had a lot more in common than he originally thought. They never ran out of things to talk about. Well, Tony talked mostly and Bruce would throw in a comment, an opinion or a well placed joke and kept the conversation alive. But sometimes, when it got on a topic he was interested in… he could match Tony for talking without stopping.
Throughout their several Pepper imposed exiles from the labs, they had gone through a lot of Tony's extensive movie collection, from some of their favorite classics to some newer ones that Bruce had missed when he had been on the run. Tony had even opted to stay in most nights with Bruce instead of going to a party and coming home with a woman on his arm. Of course, every now and then (like last night) he did just that. He always tried to get Bruce to come with him, but he always politely declined opting to work, or even sometimes sleep. After once walking into their shared kitchen and "interrupting" Tony and his "date," Bruce made sure to have JARVIS alert him when Tony came home with someone and if they were in an… "inconvenient"… spot. Tony had just laughed about it the next day, but, Bruce noticed afterward, he seemed to try to stay out of places he knew Bruce might wander into.
And their friendship had seemed to cement itself after one night when Tony had literally crashed on the couch in the lab instead of dragging himself to his room and Bruce had been too deep in an experiment to even think about sleep, and Bruce had been let into Tony's other side. He had already caught glimpses of it: in the way he would pause before replying to certain things; the way he would take longer, deeper drinks some nights; the way he held himself when talking to anyone besides Pepper and, surprisingly, Bruce too. But that night he had witnessed one of Tony's nightmares. Bruce didn't notice at first, but when Tony started whimpering, he had looked over. Tony was curled into himself, hands clawing at his chest… at the Arc Reactor, his face twisting in pain and fear, and his whimpers quickly escalating to yells and crying. Bruce had frozen for a moment but his feet seemed to understand he needed to be on the other side of the room and had dragged him there before he even realized what was going on. He had woken Tony then: knelt beside the couch, grabbed Tony's arms to keep him from tearing up his own chest and had JARVIS blast Black Sabbath. Tony woke trembling and completely vulnerable and immediately latched onto Bruce. Arms flung over him and head buried into his wide shoulder, he shook and sobbed. Bruce had wrapped his own arms around his friend's back, supporting his quivering form and firmly ignoring the flutter in his own chest as theirs were pressed together.
Tony had eventually calmed down. His body relaxed, his sobs subsided, and his breathing evened out. He had held onto Bruce for a few moments more, causing that annoying flutter in his chest that he got around Tony to flare up again, then pulled away. Bruce stood and cautiously studied Tony's face. Tony laughed nervously, "Sorry you had to see that, Big Guy." He shakily stood and Bruce had reached out again and steadied him (Stupid flutter). "Thanks," Tony mumbled. Bruce frowned slightly, Tony never mumbled.
As he had walked (stumbled) a few steps away from Bruce and the couch, Bruce finally spoke, "Where are you going?"
Tony didn't turn back as he answered, "Kitchen."
"I'll come with you." Bruce had followed Tony concernedly as they made their way to the kitchen. Tony immediately went for the bar.
As he pulled out a bottle of scotch, Bruce stepped forward and grabbed the bottle away from him, "No."
Tony had looked up surprised. Bruce was too, though he didn't let Tony see it. He might have rolled his eyes at Tony's drinking before, even said something about it once, but he had never actually taken away his drink. Well, a couple times when Tony had been so sloshed he was surprised he was still conscious, but never when Tony had still been sober. "What?" he asked shocked.
Bruce eyed him, concern written all over his face, "I said no drinking. And, before you protest… as your doctor, I have every right to do that."
"When'd you become my doctor?" Tony asked incredulously.
Bruce had sighed, set the scotch well away from Tony, and ran a tired hand through his hair, "After your impromptu visit to space. When you refused to go to a hospital, and I had to construct a medical bay in one of your labs. If you recall, you officially appointed me your doctor then."
Tony had stood in the kitchen, eyes squinted in thought, for a full minute before he had sighed and thrown his hands up. "You're right," he grumbled. He had flopped himself into a bar stool cradling his head in his arms before muffledly asking Bruce, "Well doctor, riddle me this: if I can't drink, what am I supposed to do now that I'm not going back to sleep?"
Bruce had sighed and sank into the chair beside him, "You talk."
Tony's head jerked up and he had just stared at Bruce. "You… want to… hear it?"
Bruce nodded, "You're my friend Tony. And, as your friend, I can't just let something like that slide. If you talk to someone, it helps. It really does."
Tony had eyed him with something Bruce couldn't identify, before dropping his head onto the table and covering it with his arms, "Does it? Because the doctors Pep forced me to see… after… they told me that, but none of them seemed confident on it."
Bruce had exhaled roughly and rubbed his stubbled jaw, "Yeah, it does, when you tell it to someone you trust. And I can be confidant on it because… well because it helped me."
"Really?" Tony had sounded interested from beneath his arms, "You talked to someone about being the Hulk?"
"No…" Bruce had sighed again. "This was before the Hulk even existed."
Tony had stayed silent for long enough that Bruce started to think he might have fallen asleep when he spoke again, "Oh… I'm sorry I brought that up… I mean… I've read your file… I just didn't… connect that… sorry."
"It's fine. And anyways, this isn't the night to talk about my past. We were talking about your nightmare."
Tony had sighed again but brought himself out from under his arms, "Fine I'll talk, but I need something to drink… even if it's non-alcoholic…" Bruce automatically stood, grabbed a glass from the counter and headed for the sink to get him some water when Tony cried out, "No! I mean… Anything but water… Please."
Bruce had nodded and turned back to the other man who looked more shaken now, "Is tea alright?"
Tony wearily nodded and Bruce grabbed a kettle, "You can start talking while I make this." Tony nodded again and placing his face into his hands, he started. Started at the weapons demonstration. By the time the tea was ready, he was at the cave, waking up with a car battery the only thing keeping him alive. His hands were shaking so badly, he could barely hold his cup and Bruce had to keep his hands over Tony's for the first couple of sips so he didn't spill it. Bruce sat patiently beside Tony as he illustrated him and Yinsen making the Reactor, and carefully maneuvered him to the couch in the living room when he started shaking again as Yinsen died. He had leaned against Bruce's shoulder as he described Obie's betrayal… and by the time he got to the Palladium poisoning and SHIELD scrapping the Avengers Initiative, he was laying across the couch, head on Bruce's lap, eyes already drifting closed, and words slurring sleepily.
As he had finally closed his eyes, Bruce looked down at the man who trusted him enough to share that and who wasn't even scared to fall asleep on him. His heart fluttered again. He did NOT think of Tony that way. Anyways… with the Hulk… it wouldn't be possible for him…
He had felt the Hulk rise a couple times that night but he had simply seemed interested in Tony's story. Now, as he rubbed his eyes tiredly and Tony mumbled in his sleep, the Hulk rose again. Bruce was too tired to squash him down now, hopefully he wouldn't smash Tony…
But instead of trying to come out, he simply looked through Bruce's eyes down at Tony. Then, almost conversationally, he grumbled inside of Bruce's head, Tin Man brave. Tin Man trust puny Bruce… Trust Hulk. Tin Man friend. Hulk not smash friend. Bruce was startled to say the least. This was the first time the Hulk had spoken to him. He didn't know the Hulk could do that. The Hulk snorted inside his head, Of course Hulk can. Hulk can do anything.
But… but why now ?
You not pushing now. You always afraid. You always push Hulk away. Tin Man don't push Hulk away, Hulk sounded reproachful.
I…I'm… sorry… Hulk.
…Hulk sorry too. When Hulk come out, people scared, people shoot, so Hulk smash… Cuz of Hulk people scared of you too. Hulk make Bruce scared too. Hulk smash things and Bruce run. You protect Hulk, even if you is afraid of Hulk.
Well… Hulk… I'll be sure to talk to you more often. And let you out more. As long as you know what you can smash and can't… by the way, Tin Man's name is Tony…
Hulk laughed quietly, Hulk like Tony. Tony not scared of Bruce… Tony nice to Bruce. Make Bruce happy. Hulk will listen to him when Bruce let Hulk out… Hulk… even let Bruce see when Hulk out.
Thank you Hulk…
Hulk leave. Puny Bruce needs sleep now.
Goodnight Hulk.
Goodnight puny Bruce
Bruce had felt the Hulk slide into the back of his mind and had rested one arm on Tony's shoulders. Tony snuggled into him, seeking warmth in his sleep and Bruce smiled, content.
Now that same rumble brought him out of thought and back into the present, alerting him to the fact Fury was now through dealing with Tony, Poor Tony with his adorable rumpled clothes and dark glasses, and was actually starting the meeting. Thanks Big Guy, he thought to the Hulk. He could almost hear the Hulk's loud laugh in his ears before he turned most of his attention back to Director Fury.
Tony sighed. Here he was, being called into a mandatory meeting at 9:30 (he didn't get there till 10... But still! He was there!) and it was to discuss… paperwork. "Because," Fury growled as he looked pointedly at him, "it has come to my attention that SOME of you still haven't turned in paperwork for the New York incident, and that was 5 months ago! And SOME of you who DID turn in paperwork," this time he swiveled to glare at Hawk-Ass, "It is SO woefully inadequate… I find it hard to believe you were even awake when it was written. Only two of you," pointed looks to Spangles (Stupid Capsicle) and Spider-Bite (Scary AND a suck up?! Not fair!), "seem to have any clue what happened. And only one of you," Fury turned to look at Bruce (Hey! Bruce is mine to look at! Keep your creepy spy eye away! Okay… I have it bad… damn it! Why did I have to fall for Bruce? Craptastic.) "has an excuse to NOT file paperwork." Brucey looked down guiltily (Hey! Stop making Bruce guilty!) and a blush crept up his neck and heated his cheeks (sigh… you're adorable Bruce! And oh. My. God. STOP running your hands through your hair!)
"Ummm…" Bruce mumbled (Sigh) "Actually… I've kind of… well…" (It's okay Brucey! I love shy, nerdy guys…)
"Well what?" Fury glared. (Stop that Eyepatch!)
"Well… I've talked to the Hulk…" Bruce glanced at Tony who smirked back (oh yeah! Hulk likes me! Total softy too, once he isn't scared. And when he de-Hulkifies and Bruce isn't wearing clothes… Mmmmmm…). Bruce blushed as he looked at Tony and quickly glanced back to Fury (Why'd he get embarrassed? He couldn't know what I was thinking… no. He blushed cuz he saw me smile at him? Hmmm…") "And well… he's more sentient than we thought. Over the past couple months, I've gotten to know him and he wants to tell you that he's 'sorry for smashing puny sky fortress' and that he 'wants to help with…' " Bruce let out a startled laugh making Tony's heart flutter (sigh….). "Well, he says since I can't remember the…" another laugh and more fluttering, "the 'Puny God incident' that he would help with 'puny paperwork.' " Silence. Bruce speaks up again, mirth barely contained, "And he'd like to let you all know that he nothing as puny as paper could defeat him… but he grudgingly asks for someone's instruction in writing it down."
"Why don't you just show him how?" (Shut up Featherhead!)
Before Bruce could answer Fury grinned (Oh shit. That's never good… well not good for me anyways…), "No, Agent Barton… I like this idea. Tonight, you will all meet here and fill out the paperwork."
"Ummm…" Bruce hesitates (sigh… can't I just kiss you Bruce?) "Hulk would actually prefer it if he didn't have to come back to the 'sky fortress.' He hasn't forgotten the plane you know. That shot at him." Bruce glared at Fury (Oh my fucking GOD Bruce! Be angry more often without turning green!) "Oh," Bruce looked at Natasha, "And he wants to say that he was frightened… and the reason he attacked you… well, attacked because you were there… but chased you down was because… well because you weren't nice to me."
Natasha laughed, "Because I wasn't nice to you?" (stop laughing at my Brucey scary Spider!)
Bruce grinned too, (You're forgiven Spider) "Yeah. He was protecting me. Somewhat. The only way he knew how."
"Okay… well, if Hulk doesn't want the paperwork done here? Where?" Fury was looking even more agitated.
Bruce glanced at Tony and nervously licked his lips (… did the reactor just stop? No? because it felt like it did… I'm… Jesus… I'm fucking in LOVE! AHHHH!) "Well, if it's alright with Tony of course, he'd prefer to have it at the Tower." Tony nodded numbly. (I'm in love? When did this happen? I mean… I was attractedto him since like… well since I met him… I mean sexy scientist? But when, over the last 5 months did I fall in love?… cuz I might have just realized it… but I've been in love for a while… hmmmm….)
Fury grinned, "That's good too, Dr. Banner, I'm making it your job to make sure Tony attends and fills out his paperwork along with the Hulk." Bruce nodded, and Fury spun to glare at Hawkeye, "And it is Agent Romanoff's job to make sure YOU fill out yours."
Hawkeye glanced over to his partner who was casually filing her nails… with a dagger. He gulped, "No problem sir."
Fury glanced over to Captain Rogers, "And Rogers?"
"Yes sir?" he sat up straighter.
"Since Romanoff will be busy watching over Barton, you will have to look over Stark's and Hulk's."
"Yes sir."
Fury glanced around the room: Romanoff was smiling sweetly at Barton, almost made a shudder run down HIS spine; Stark was sitting like something had stunned him, good, he's not talking; Dr. Banner was looking worriedly at Stark, and for a second his eyes flashed green; and Rogers was sitting up straight, waiting to be dismissed. Like a fucking kindergarten. He sighed, "Avengers Dismissed." He strode out of the room; glad that he wouldn't have to be there tonight to watch after them…
