Title: After the War

Characters/Pairings: Bruce Banner (Hulk)/Tony Stark (Iron Man), Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers (Captain America), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Thor and others.

Summary: In the aftermath of the attack on New York, Tony finds himself with an unexpected house guest.

Warnings: MxM pairing, angst, violence, swearing, smut.

Rating: M

Chapter 2

'Dr Banner.' JARVIS said as Bruce's bedroom was suddenly flooded with light which the AI switched on. 'Dr Banner I am sorry to wake you sir.'

Bruce groaned as he rolled over and buried his head in his pillow; he'd just been about to drop off to sleep when the AI had rudely roused him.

'Dr Banner?'

'Yes?!' Bruce snapped sitting up, his eyes flashing green but through gripping the bed coves and biting down on his bottom lip Bruce managed to squash "The Other Guy" who he could feel about to take over.

'Mr Stark is currently feeling unwell; perhaps you could check on him?'

Bruce flopped back down on the bed and closed his eyes, Stark deserved exactly what was coming to him he thought. However, Bruce knew that he couldn't just leave Tony; part of JARVIS's programming involved him looking out for Tony and given the risk the AI had taken by waking him so abruptly it meant Tony was either passed out or dangerously close to choking on his own vomit. Bruce hauled himself out of bed. 'Where is he?' he asked the AI as he pulled on his dressing gown and stuffed his feet into his slippers.

Bruce lazily followed JARVIS's instructions as to Tony's whereabouts and soon found the billionaire, head down in the toilet of his en-suite throwing his guts up – at least he'd managed to make it there in time Bruce thought knowing Tony was probably very practised at this. 'Tony …' Bruce sighed shaking his head.

Happy that Tony wasn't about to choke or pass out at any moment, Bruce fetched a glass of water from the kitchen. When he returned to the bathroom, Tony was sitting up but practically hugging the toilet bowl … but at least he wasn't being sick any more, that had to be a good sign. 'Feel better?' Bruce asked handing Tony the glass of water which he gratefully accepted. Tony just shrugged in reply. Bruce flushed the toilet, threw some cleaner down it before flushing it again. He washed his hands and then rinsed a cloth under the cold tap before offering it to Tony who used it to mop his sweaty brow. Tony seemed a little embarrassed by the state he was in – a sure sign that he was sobering up. 'I said you drink too much.' Bruce teased playfully, ruffling Tony's dark hair as he passed him. 'Have a quick shower, it will make you feel better – I'll get you some clean clothes.'

Tony nodded, hauled himself off the floor and began to strip off his clothes, handing them to Bruce as he did so. Tony wasn't embarrassed about showing his body, despite the scars and the arc reactor glowing brightly in his chest – Dr Banner had seen it all before when he'd patched him up on the battlefield, whilst "The Other Guy" wasn't around causing havoc of course.

Bruce left Tony remaining only in his boxer shorts and closed the door of the bathroom as he left; he threw the clothes straight into the wash and then returned to Tony's bedroom to find him some clean pyjamas; the sound of the shower running from the en-suite reassured him that Tony wasn't still being ill and he marvelled in the fact that he'd actually listened to him for once. Bruce searched the billionaire's extensive wardrobe and aside from a silk pair of pyjamas in an alarming shade of red he was sure Tony hadn't bought himself, more likely a gift from Pepper, he found no other suitable nightwear.

Deciding the red pyjamas were a bad idea if indeed they were a gift from Pepper, Bruce dug out a clean t-shirt and decided that and his boxers would have to do for the night. Did Tony usually sleep nude? Bruce found himself wondering … and then he found himself wondering why he was wondering such a thing!

Bruce sat down on the edge of the bed as he waited for Tony to finish in the shower; he wanted to make sure his friend was alright before he went back to bed … and just in case Tony wanted to talk he wanted to be there. Tony was cocky, overconfident and downright rude sometimes but he was also brilliant, completely mad and very very troubled, something Bruce certainly could relate to!

Tony appeared from the bathroom smelling strongly of cologne which Bruce suspected he'd used generously in an attempt to mask the small of sickness that still clung to the inside of his nose and throat.

Tony was surprised but relieved to see Bruce had waited for him. 'I'm sorry …' he croaked, his throat raw. Tony always found apologies difficult and rarely made them even if he was in the wrong but he didn't want things to be that way with Bruce, his only real friend in the world at the moment. After three months of living under the same roof, Dr Banner knew more about him than anyone else – even Pepper. "Pepper ..." he thought sighing sadly as he pulled on the clean t-shirt Bruce offered to him, even after all this time of them being apart she still had a massive influence on his life.

'You don't have to apologise; I may not be a "proper doctor" as you say but I've seen plenty of people over do it on the alcohol and regret it.'

'I meant about before …' Tony said sitting down heavily on the bed, drying his hair with a towel before tossing it carelessly on the floor.

Bruce tutted, picked up the towel and returned it to the bathroom, hanging it on the heater to dry. When he returned, Tony was lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling; the AI had automatically dimmed the light so that he and Bruce were in semi darkness. 'You're right about Pepper … I should talk about it.' he said opening one eye to check Bruce was still there, which he was hovering nervously in the bathroom doorway.

Wanting him to continue, Bruce sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down at Tony, pleased that he had finally given in and accepted that he could be right for a change. 'Do you want to start now?' he asked.

Tony rolled onto his side and asked JARVIS to cut the lights completely which the AI did at once. Bruce got up to leave, clearly Tony hadn't meant talking about it tonight. Just as he reached the door Tony spoke again which caused Bruce to stop.

'She could never understand what it's like … not like you or Steve or Clint … any of them even Fury.' Tony sighed through closed eyes. Bruce gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed again. Tony must have felt his weight or the dip in the mattress before he continued. 'Things were different between us ever since New York, ever since I went through that wormhole.'

Bruce didn't reply, but he hummed under his breath slightly so that Tony knew he was listening.

'She was angry … she knew how close I came to dying out there in space, and she knew I'd made that choice. She was angry I made that choice. I tried to explain that there was no other way; that's when I think it cracked – our relationship – from that moment it was never the same. She couldn't trust me to take that risk again, she couldn't cope knowing that one day I might not come back. She started to resent Iron Man and soon that resentment bled into everything between us.'

Tony sighed dramatically; he rolled over and looked up at Banner who remained sitting him gazing thoughtfully at the wall opposite as he listened to Tony talk. 'You mentioned moving on …I don't think this is the sort of life that allows for that, for a long term relationship, it's just too much.' he said with a shake of his head. 'I'd be asking too much.'

Bruce sighed sadly and knew that the same went not only for Tony but for himself, all of the Avengers really. It particularly rang true with Bruce who had the added pressure of having to keep "The Other Guy" at bay; how could he expect to get close to anyone? To have a relationship of any kind with Bruce also meant accepting the "The Other Guy" and that wasn't something he found agreed with most people, it wasn't something he himself had come to terms with just yet either.

Bruce glanced at Tony. 'So are you going back to being the billionaire playboy the press love you to be then?' he asked knowing that this persona wasn't the real Tony Stark.

Tony sighed and closed his eyes once more. 'No.' was all he said.

Bruce decided this time he really should head to bed, but as he got up Tony reached out and grabbed his arm. 'Stay?' he asked, his eyes opening and staring up at Bruce. Luckily, Tony's move wasn't a quick lunge otherwise "The Other Guy" might have had something to say in the matter. Tony didn't really give Bruce much of a chance to protest as he pulled him down onto the bed and wrapped his arms around Bruce's chest, sighing into his shoulder. 'Just for one night.'

Bruce could feel the thrum of the arc reactor and its cold metal outer surface pressing into his back but it didn't feel uncomfortable, in fact he found it rather comforting to know that machine that kept the shrapnel away from Tony's heart, the machine that kept him alive, was still working.

Bruce found himself dozing off, his breaths matching the rhythm of the arc reactor. Soon he fell asleep bathed in soft blue light and with Stark snoring in his ear.

When dawn broke Bruce slowly opened his eyes and stretched out his arms; he smiled after experiencing one of his best nights sleep in a long while. Bruce uncurled himself from around the warm body he'd not yet registered in his sleepy haze and his hand drifted down his chest and into his boxers, grasping the aching harness he found within. Not unaccustomed to such a thing of a morning, Bruce rolled onto his back lazily fondled himself. However, movement in the bed next to him suddenly caused his brain to wake up and he realised that it was Tony he'd slept curled around practically nose to nose with. The shock and the harsh reality of the still prominent hardness between his legs was enough to have him leap out of bed in a fright. Breathing heavily, Bruce recalled the events of the previous night and of how he'd come to find himself in Tony's bed but it wasn't enough to calm himself down. Bruce placed a hand on the wall of Tony's bedroom, bracing himself as his breaths grew deeper and chestier. It felt like a panic attack was overcoming him but Bruce knew the signs – "The Other Guy" had been kept at bay too long, he was awake, angry and wanted out.

Bruce's now bright green eyes darted over Tony who was still sound asleep; he opened his mouth to shout to him, to tell him to run but the words did not come. Bruce felt himself slipping away, felt the monster taking over and tried again to shout but all that came was a Hulk roar that ripped through the bedroom as "The Other Guy" finally took control.