Whelp, second character. I didn't get Natasha down as well as I'd like, but that was my first shot at writing her. Tony I know is out of character, but as someone who knows from experience, seventy hours of sleeplessness does horrible, horrible things to a person's mind.

Is it weird that I can see the two as a pairing now?

Disclaimer: Not mine.

.

Bruce finds Tony sleeping on the couch in front of the TV a little past midnight the day before he has a press conference. The remote's on the end table and ABC7 plays on the screen, some story about red squids found off the coast of Key West, updates on the weather written at the bottom of the screen. And he knows from experience that if his friend stays asleep on that couch, they'll all hear about the soreness of some part of his body in the morning. And when he pushes his glasses up his nose and makes a move to shake the man awake, he does it with good intentions.

What he doesn't expect is for him to freak out as he wakes up, and Bruce feels a fist connect with his shoulder as Tony tumbles to the floor at his feet. He takes a step back and his friend scrambles into sitting position, scared and out of place with his eyes all unfocused and he knows what that face means. He kneels down in front of him because he isn't moving and Tony's looking past him not at him but winces when he snaps his fingers in front of his eyes.

Some of the terror fades away to get mingled in confusion and says, "W-where am I?"

Oh, just great. He represses a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Stark Tower," he answers and there's slight recognition but not much. "You know, you've been living here for the past half a year? Other Avengers here for about a months and half? Do you have any idea what I'm talking about?"

"I guess," he says and shuts his eyes. "Bruce, Natasha, Steve, um -"

"Clint and Thor," he finishes and feels oddly flattered that his name came first. "Remember?"

His eyes open again and he looks around the room before suddenly flinching. "Oh, Jesus."

He grabs him by the shoulders and Tony's gaze focuses on his face as he tries to remember what Betty did to him. "Just look at me," he says and wonders if he really looks like him and how this ended up happening to him anyway. Or why no one gave him the heads up. "What's your full name?"

"Anthony Edward Stark."

"Where are you?"

"Stark Tower."

"What team are you part of?"

"That Avengers."

"Who -"

"I think I'm okay."

Before Bruce can protest, he stands and though it's obvious he's trying to act like there's nothing wrong, he fails terrible. That's what he gets for not wearing pants with pockets. As he stands too, he says, "Am I allowed to ask what that was about?"

Tony, in his typical way, pretends not to hear him. "I'm thirsty," he says. "Are you thirsty? 'Cause I'm going to get a drink."

"You know," he answers, "mixing mental disorders and alcohol isn't such a smart idea."

It would've been nice to know that one his friends had PTSD. To see it written on the file he was given on the to the ship, to have one of the other Avengers tell him - just something to let him know because teammates should be aware of one another's damages for safety reasons. His needs no hiding because it's there, Clint and Natasha's files say they show signs of certain things, and Steve was a man out of time, so issues came with the territory. Tony, though - Tony not so much. His personality doesn't fit the profile of someone with psychological misalignment much beyond a possible alcohol problem. "Mental disorder?" he says. "Who said anything about a mental disorder? I'm just tired, that's all. You know, I think I'm just going to -"

"Have you seen a psychiatrist?" he says, cutting him off. "Because I know what flashbacks are."

But he's already to holding himself the way he normally does and if Bruce hadn't talked him through it, he might think he just imagined it. Tony says, "I don't know what you're talking about. Can't fault a guy on being a little slow waking up, you know? And since you woke me up, I'm going to take the opportunity to not kill my neck, so I'll see you in the morning."

"Look, Tony," he says, hands together in front of him because he feels uncomfortable in this new knowledge and recognizes it as a way to create distance, something he's been doing for years, "if you really don't want to talk to a professional, you can talk to one of us. Or your other friends."

In answer, he gets an exasperated look and wonders if this is what Pepper feels like when she tries to talk business with him. "Seriously, Bruce," he says, "there's nothing wrong with me. I think you're just ti -"

"Hey, don't pin this back on me." He feels a quiver and realizes he's about an inch away from a personality flip. Tony seems to realize it too, because he doesn't answer. After taking a moment to calm down himself, he adds, "Listen, I know that you're stubborn and you probably don't want to hear this, but if you aren't going to get help for yourself, then at least get it for us. I mean, what if you have a flashback in the middle of a fight? It's a hazard -"

He knows this comes out wrong even before Tony interrupts him. "I'm a hazard," he says. "You - Jesus. This is going nowhere. I'm heading to bed, and you probably should too."

Though he might be smart with math and science and anything intellectual, Bruce is woefully unaware of how to deal with the problems of other people, and runs out of words as Tony rushes out, leaving him in the dark room with the soft glow of the television as his light.

.

Jeez, this was harder than Natasha (who, according to reviews, I apparently did well on). I think it's just because Hulk was so damn awkward in the movie for me.

Anecdote time!: So, I was in the movie theater on a Friday night, surrounded by girls fangirling over his adorable social inept-ness. It couldn't quite figure out why it was making me so uncomfortable until halfway through the movie...when I realized he looked astoundingly like my uncle. Like, almost exactly. And because of all the fangirling, I had a bit of troubling understanding most of the dialogue in his scenes until the second time I saw it. Same thing happened with pretty much of all the other Avengers too, but this just had the added level of wtf.

So, now that my little anecdote is done, reviews are appreciated! And thanks for all the other ones!