Behind His Quiet Lies: Part Six
By: Villain's Vindication
Bruce woke up and immediately knew it wasn't a good day. He had a headache and his body was still exhausted from the physical exertion of walking around Central Park the night before. Bruce shuffled out of bed into his wheelchair, which he had come to hate as the representation of his failure, and wheeled into the kitchen, which he also hated.
Okay, maybe he didn't hate the kitchen, but he sure felt like it right now.
He levered himself up into one of the bar stools that lined the counter, while attempting to keep his breathing even. He focused on the martial arts technique the fighter in Brazil taught him, but his heart rate had already skyrocketed to over 180 bpm. The news was playing on the plasma screen at the other end of the room. Currently they were reporting on the most resent disaster attributed to the mutant Magneto.
He hated Magneto.
Coffee. He just needed coffee and then everything would be alright. Just get the coffee.
He reached across the counter to pour a cup from the already filled coffee maker.
And promptly spilled the hot drink everywhere.
"UGHHHHH!"
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
Tony folded his pillow over his ears and rolled over, "nooooo, five more minutes JARVIS?"
BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!
"JARVIS?" Tony rolled back over towards the sound, finally realizing it wasn't his normal alarm.
A greenish Bruce stood in this doorway.
"Uhh..."
"You have to get out! Get OUT!" Bruce fell to his knees, his shirt ripping from his rapidly expanding muscles.
"What happened?"
"OUT!"
"You know this is my house Bruce. I can come and go as I please, and just because you've had a bad morning-"
"HULK SMASH!"
"What? No!" Tony scrambled out of bed in a frenzy as it fell into the newly renovated hole in the floor, "Hulk come on. This is my bedroom!" A vaguely guilty look flickered over the creatures green features. But Tony barely had time to see it before the Hulk was walking up towards him and picking him up.
"What? What are you- Hulk!" and Tony stark definitely did not scream like a little girl as he was carried bridal style straight out his window and down forty stories. Tony had no idea where they were going, everything was moving so fast. Damn, he had never realized just how fast the Hulk was.
After some disorienting moments of leaping, crashing, and falling bricks, Tony found himself set upon his feet. His hair was wild from the ride, he was sure. And that, combined with the fact that he wore nothing more than his boxers and an open robe, plus the Hulk stood behind him, he was sure he was a sight to behold. Everyone in the street and in the restaurant in front of them froze with their mouths hanging wide open. The waitress standing by the window dropped the two mugs she held and they shattered on the floor.
"Hulk want coffee."
Tony blinked, "you can't be serious."
The Hulk crossed his arms and glared at Stark, making everyone else finally snap out of their shock at seeing the two Avengers at run off. "Coffee now."
Tony waddled into the Starbucks, the whole situation more than surreal. The man behind the counter was the only one who hadn't run off. And Tony was suitably impressed, "um... I guess I'll have a Trenta decaf coffee for the Big Guy and... hmn... I'll have a Tall Americano." The cashiers nodded slowly, his eyes wide enough to pop out of his skull, "sure dude. It's... uh... on the house." Tony was grateful since he didn't really have time to grab his wallet before liftoff as it were.
He waited to get the drinks and then brought them out to where the Hulk had sat taking up the entire sidewalk. A smile broke out on the Hulk's face when he handed him the massive coffee. Tony plopped down next to him on the cracked ground to drink his own but found that he couldn't due to the nearly hysterical laughter that was building in his chest.
He looked over at the Hulk easily downing the scalding liquid and couldn't hold it back any longer. Hulk stopped and looked at him as he laughed so hard he couldn't breathe.
Who would have ever guessed something like this could ever happen?
Nothing in his life would ever be dull with Banner around, and Tony found he didn't mind in the least. He hadn't had this much fun waking up so early in... well... ever.
"Good morning, Bruce," the robed man tilted his coffee towards the Hulk in a mock toast.
The Hulk just looked at him confusedly.
And Tony just kept laughing.
Bruce hadn't been so embarrassed in as long as he could remember. "I am so sorry Tony." The doctor's face was bright red but the Other Guy wasn't under threat of returning after having his fun that morning. "I'll help you rebuild that floor I promise."
Tony was laughing again, "are you kidding? That was awesome! It might not be the way I want to begin every morning, but a free roller coaster ride is welcome whenever you feel the need Brucey."
Bruce shook his head in disbelief and fell back into his wheelchair. Tony had somehow convinced the Other Guy to bring him back to the tower, so now they were back in the kitchen where the whole fiasco had started. Tony was cleaning up the spilled coffee from before. "How can you not be angry?"
Tony's laughing died down to a quiet smile, "what can I say? I just can't seem to ever stay mad at you."
Bruce bit his lip nervously, "you mean for everything? For all that mess before?" Tony nodded and threw the dripping wet towels in the garbage. He walked around the counter to Banner and ruffled the guy's hair, "of course I forgive you. Didn't I say that before?"
"You weren't really saying anything before," Bruce mumbled.
"Well I'm saying it now then.," Tony's hand slipped down to cup Bruce's scared cheek, pulling his chin up so that the doctor would meet his eyes. "I'm sorry too, about everything that happened. Please just... just promise you wont try anything like that again. I know it must be hard. It's not really something I understand, but you're strong Bruce. You're too strong to let something like that control you. So just promise me okay?"
Banner nodded, his blush still burning his face but now for a different reason, "yeah, I promise." They stayed like that for awhile just looking at one another. And Tony knew that, for once, Bruce was telling him the truth.
Bruce's breath stuttered across the inside of Tony's wrist and he realized he had been holding onto the other man's face much longer than was appropriate. But Bruce wasn't pushing him away...
Bruce cleared his throat and shifted away finally, clearly discomfited. He wasn't a complete idiot. He had noticed the smoldering looks Tony sent his way on occasion, but the other man was walking sex on legs so he hadn't thought much of it. But this was... this was... something.
It was weird. They were both guys weren't they? This isn't how male friendships were supposed to work.
They were supposed to be safe and normal and not cause his heart monitor to start going off again just because Tony touched his face. He swore he could even feel his hair turning red when he registered the familiar beeping sound. Tony was chuckling at him again. He knew he was being made fun of, but with Tony it was okay.
Everything was okay.
Weird, but okay.
AN: hope that wasn't too crackish, I just couldn't help myself ;-)