Title: After the War

Characters/Pairings: Bruce Banner / Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, 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: 15 / T

Chapter 10

Bruce eventually managed to doze off again and this time without the un-settling vision of Tony in his bed; he'd only been asleep for an hour or so when the sound of his mobile vibrating against the wooden surface of his bedside table woke him.

Bruce quickly located his glasses and slipped them on lopsidedly; he sat up and called to JARVIS to turn on the lights. Squinting against the brightness, Bruce reached for his phone and opened the text message he'd received; he was expecting it to be important – from Steve or Clint, perhaps even Fury himself, but he quickly realised that he should have known the only person to text him in the middle of the night would be one very bored genius. Even when confined to a hospital bed Tony could still managed to be a right pain!

"I'm bored, what are you doing?"

Bruce groaned – what the hell did Stark think he was doing at this hour?! He decided that he wasn't going to respond, giving Tony the attention he wanted wasn't necessarily always a good thing, and so set the phone down, slipped off his glasses and snuggled back under the covers calling to JARVIS to turn off the lights as he did so.

However, Tony didn't seem ready to give up just yet and after ignoring a barrage of text messages Bruce knew Tony wasn't planning on letting up until he answered him. Bruce once again sat up, pulled on his glasses and picked up his phone:

"Bruce? Are you asleep or just ignoring me?"

"What are you doing? Come and visit me."

"BANNER?!"

Bruce patiently typed out a reply, telling Tony that he had been asleep and that he couldn't possibly visit him at this time of night … besides even if he wanted to Steve was hardly going to let him.

"Sneak out, come on Banner are you a man or a mouse?" Tony coaxed in response.

Bruce couldn't deny that he was tempted; he wanted nothing more than to leave the house and walk freely wherever he liked but he knew if word got to Fury of a midnight escapade then he'd be locked up in a cell for sure or worse ... Bruce quickly pushed that thought out of his head and text Tony telling him he couldn't take the risk, for himself and other people. As much as he hated having to be chaperoned everywhere it was comforting to know there was someone to take "The Other Guy" down if need be.

Tony didn't reply for a few minutes and Bruce suspected he was sulking, perhaps he wouldn't reply at all; he waited a few more moments before giving up and turning in for the night once again. Bruce buried his face in the Black Sabbath t-shirt that nestled between his two pillows; he felt bad for Tony and knew it must be awful for him to be stuck in hospital, especially for a man so used to being constantly on the go, constantly tinkering, constantly thinking. He must be lonely too with so few visitors when he was used to people fawning all over him: woman, men … everyone who believed the persona Tony had created for himself. Bruce was quite sure if he didn't know the real Tony, the brilliant Tony, he'd positively detest him because of his egotistic, playboy public persona. It irritated him greatly when Tony acted that way around him, although he knew it was un-intentional … almost like he'd played the part for so long that he'd forgotten how to be himself. Bruce always saw through him and could snap Tony out of it by reminding him that he wasn't on display anymore – not when they were alone at least. These moments were becoming rarer; Tony trusted him now, he could talk to him and be himself without fear because they were just the same at their core.

"I understand, visit soon though I miss you."

Bruce stared at the message he wasn't expecting from Tony and his eyes lingered on three words in particular: "I miss you" he read over and over. Was it true? Did Tony really mean it? Well if he did he just meant that he missed teasing him, missed bossing him about and bouncing ideas off him – that was all it could possibly mean Bruce told himself.

The next time Bruce did visit the hospital was a couple of days, and a few interrupted night's sleep, later. Bruce had wanted to go sooner but Steve has insisted on staying at the mansion to supervise the final repairs – he wanted the place looking just right before Tony returned. Bruce had asked for Clint to accompany him but Clint seemed reluctant to be his sole supervisor given that Natasha and Thor were unavailable – even he had to admit Hawkeye wasn't a match for the Hulk alone!

Bruce was therefore confined to the house and spent a great deal of his time in Tony's workshop cleaning up his ruined suit – he wasn't sure why, because he was sure Tony would start work on a new suit the moment he got home, but being down in the workshop with the Iron Man suit was better than being stuck in his bedroom and he felt a little closer to Tony as he stared into the eyes of the face shield.

Bruce was surprised when he entered Tony's hospital room to find it empty aside from a nurse changing the sheets. 'Excuse me, I'm here to visit Mr. Stark?' Bruce asked clearing his throat nervously; he'd worked himself up in anticipation of seeing his friend and finding the room empty had caused a feeling of panic to rise up within him – where were those kind eyes? That reassuring blue light?

Bruce's anxiety settled when the nurse explained that Tony had been taking for physiotherapy and that he was welcome to wait for him to return; Bruce quickly excused himself and headed out of the room – he needed to see Tony with his own two eyes before he could relax. Bruce passed Steve who was at a nearby vending machine but said nothing as he passed; he was too busy looking at the ward signs searching for the right department.

'Wait up Bruce!' Steve called rushing after him, almost spilling hot coffee down himself; he tossed the polystyrene cup in the nearest bin and broke into job to catch up with the determined scientist marching on ahead of him. 'What's the matter?' he asked finally catching up.

Bruce quickly explained where he was going and stopped when he reached the right part of the hospital; he peered into the port hole of the first door of a long corridor and saw only a waiting room.

'Let's sit down, Tony will be out soon.' Steve coaxed a little alarmed by how riled up his friend seemed.

Bruce shook his head, marched down the corridor and peered in the next porthole – only to find a small room for storage of wheelchairs and crutches. Bruce continued on down the corridor checking each room until he found the one he was looking for.

'You shouldn't go in.' Steve said but Bruce ignored him. 'Bruce!' Steve hissed following Tony into the room where they found several pieces of gym equipment – a rowing machine, treadmill and several exercise bikes none of which were occupied.

Bruce was reassured when he saw his friend at the far end of the room – he was out of bed which that had to be a good sign surely?

However, after a closer look Bruce's feeling of reassuring started to die. Tony was walking precariously down a small walkway using two beams for support with a nurse at his side coaxing him along and a doctor at one end scribbling down notes on a clipboard. Bruce was shocked at how pale Tony looked and noticed that he was covered in sweat and panting with effort as he worked his way to the end of the walkway.

'I didn't realise it was this bad.' Bruce said feeling incredibly guilty; he knew the Hulk had crushed one of Tony's legs but thought the suit had protected most of him. However, it was quite clear that Tony could hardly walk and it was all because of him. 'I …' he stammered hating himself for what he'd done to his friend. Bruce glanced at Steve and saw betrayal in his features - he quickly worked out that he, Tony, Pepper ... everyone ... had been keeping the true extend of Tony's injuries from him. Bruce gritted his teeth as anger pumped through his body at the thought of everyone running around behind his back, trying to appease him, scared of setting him off and the fact Tony had been involved hurt, he thought Tony was the one person who could always honest with him - perhaps he wasn't been able to see through him after all.

'Come on let's wait outside for him to finish.' Steve said putting his hand on Bruce's elbow.

Bruce shook him free. 'Don't touch me.' he snapped glaring at Steve over his shoulder, his eyes flashing a dangerous colour of green. Bruce looked down and saw his clenched hands shaking and felt his breaths deepen. 'Sorry … I didn't mean …' he tried to say between rasps as he tried to force himself to calm down. 'Steve … get me out of here now.' he stammered.

'Bruce?'

Bruce and Steve looked over to see that Tony had spotted them; he smiled broadly but the rest of his face looked exhausted. Tony's smile faltered when he saw what was happening - he could see Bruce was losing control. 'Bruce listen to me ... look at me.' Tony called knowing he had to stop this before it spiralled out of control; he grabbed a pair of crutches and limped toward Bruce despite the doctor and nurse's protest.

Bruce backed away from Tony; he couldn't look him in the eyes - he was angry that he'd lied but he was also angry with "The Other Guy" and himself for letting this happen in the first place. 'Steve get me out of here ... do something ...' Bruce muttered leaning back against the wall for support; he could feel the Hulk fighting to break free and this only caused him to panic "The Other Guy" could not be allowed free, not here, not now … not with Tony in the room.