Tony was fuming; it wasn't just the incident with the blond slut that had him chomping at the bit, even a week later. It was his own inherent inability to admit, even to himself, that he was jealous, because Tony-fucking-Stark was not the jealous type. Bruce Banner was not his boyfriend, his lover or even a friend with benefits. There was no logical reason for Tony to be jealous; Banner could very well date whoever the hell he wanted, no matter how much it grated Tony's nerves and made him want to blow things up.
He was ashamed of the way he had been acting toward everyone, especially Bruce, and damn it all if he could make himself stop. It was an instinct, to push away everyone close to him when he wanted them near the most. He just...didn't know any other way to express how inherently wrong it had felt to watch someone else flirt with the man he already thought of as the only one for him. After things had fallen apart with Pepper (they had parted amicably, both realizing that their union was one doomed to failure because Pepper couldn't deal with him being Iron Man, and Tony wasn't about to quit) he had thought he would just whore around for the rest of his life, because there was no one else he really wanted to be with.
And then Bruce, shy, bashful, brown eyed Bruce had plummeted into his life, saved him from certain death, and somehow managed to worm his way into the cold-powered Arc reactor that was Tony's heart. The billionaire knew he wanted Bruce, knew he wasn't afraid of the green rage monster he turned into, knew he was the only person that could put up with Tony's bullshit as well as Pepper could, but for the life of him, he didn't know how he would go about seducing the good doctor, or even if his advances would be welcome.
If there was one thing Tony Stark hated, it was feeling helpless.
With a sharp, fierce growl, Tony threw the circuit board he was handling so hard it smashed into about a hundred pieces -a real feat, seeing as it was made of titanium and copper- and put his hands over his eyes and sighed heavily.
"Bruce, I can't take it anymore. I want... I want to be with you. Like, date you. Be science boyfriends...you know...and have anniversaries and make science and maybe have test tube babies and-"
"Sir, Doctor Banner left half an hour ago," JARVIS interrupted softly and Tony's head whipped up and sure enough, Bruce's work station was abandoned, notes and microscope deserted.
"Well, where is he?" Tony snapped in irritation.
"I don't know, sir. He packed his suitcase and exited the building twenty five minutes ago. I do not believe he planned on returning, as he took all of his possessions."
"What?!" Tony exclaimed, the knowledge that Bruce had just packed up and left without even so much as an "adieux" hitting him like a fist in the gut.
"Doctor Banner packed his su-"
"I heard what you said JARVIS!" Tony snarled, and he was up and pacing like a madman in the large laboratory. "Hack the city camera feeds; I want to know where he is and where he's heading, now!"
"Of course, sir," JARVIS replied in his cool, British accent, just a hint of worry leaking into the AI's voice.
Tony ignored the sound, the thought that he should reprogram JARVIS to get rid of that pesky emotion in the AI's voice shoved to the back of his mind as he donned his suit and blasted into the sky, headless of the damage he caused the plexiglass window he charged through.
Bruce sighed, smiling at the woman who was currently drawing out the contents of his bank account -everything that SHIELD had paid him in the eleven months he had been working as a super hero for them- and wondered if he could get a flight out of the country that day. He didn't want to linger in New York any longer than necessary now that he knew he was no longer wanted. He might be tempted to go say goodbye to one of his teammates -former teammates, he reminded himself harshly- and he just didn't want to go through that right now. He would write them, when he was away and settled in a small village somewhere, tell them how much they had each meant to him and how he had enjoyed their company.
But now, the wounds were still too fresh, too sharp in what he had thought was a deadened heart, and he couldn't face any of them, especially not Tony.
He took the stack of bills the teller handed him with a smile, and pocketed it. It was a little less than ten thousand dollars, enough for him to be set for almost a year in one of the third world countries he favored. He busied his mind with thoughts of how he would help whatever town he decided on, going through a list of countries that were in need at the moment as he walked down the street.
So absorbed was he in his thoughts of rebuilding his life that he didn't notice the tell-tale whistle of the Ironman suit until it had landed directly in front of him, cracking the cement slightly and leaving a small crater. Before Bruce could process what was happening, he had been swept up, bridal style, and they were in the air.
"Tony, what the hell?" Bruce exclaimed, his heart monitor beeping like a possessed demon. Bruce closed his eyes, trying desperately trying to keep a hold on his anger. This was okay. He had been in the air with Tony before. Tony wasn't going to drop him...he hoped.
"I could ask you the same thing," Tony snarled, his faceplate going back with an ominous snap. "You were just gonna walk out of the Tower without even a "Hey bro, this is lame I'm going back to the middle of fucking nowhere?"
Bruce flushed, his heart calming a bit as Tony landed atop a random building, dumping him on the ground unceremoniously, looking angry enough to pound Bruce into a bloody pulp.
"It's not like that," Bruce offered weakly, after a long pause in which Tony paced, his suit clanking obnoxiously, and Bruce's heart monitor beeped in the backround, a reminder of what would happen if he lost his temper.
"Then what was it like?" the billionaire bit out. "Tell me, because I really would like to know why the man I thought was my best friend would just walk out on me like we were nothing more than acquaintances."
Bruce bit his lower lip, the accusation hitting home, and he couldn't look Tony in the eye. "I...I thought I had overstayed my welcome." he muttered eventually. Tony let out a snort.
"Really, Bruce? Really? After all we've been through? After all the times I've told you that you're always welcome in my home?" the Ironman barked. "I don't buy that shit. Tell me why!"
Bruce flinched at the hurt he heard in his friends voice and an overwhelming sense of guilt flooded him, effectively dampening his anger. "I thought...with the way you've been acting...that you...that you hated me..." he whispered, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to hold in the guilt and sadness that was trying to manifest itself.
"Hate you? Hate you?!" Tony screeched and Bruce flinched, closing his eyes and biting his lip. There was a long, tense silence that grated harshly on the doctors nerves. It stretched on and on, into an interminable moment that seemed like the very essence of Hell, and he wanted to open his eyes and look at Tony, say something, anything, just to break that damnable science.
And then there were cold, metallic arms around his waist and Tony's hair was tickling his nose and he was putting his arms around the cold metal torso.
"I could never hate you Bruce," Tony murmured.
And Bruce believed it.
A/N: Thanks so much for your reviews! I've been on a scienceboyfriends kick, and I like angsty Bruce and dumb Tony so expect a lot of that. Reviews are like crack, so please give me my fix!
