You guuuuuuuuuuys. ILU. You are my sunshine. I am gobsmacked and thrilled at the response to this. Thank you all so, so much.
Not mine. It's a national tragedy.
Him that is Them
White. White everywhere. A sound like rushing water in his ears, and they are drowning, drowning
The white swirls and rushes through him (them) and sweeps him (them) away, down into the tunnel and
They are both screaming
They are both undone, both stripped and skinned and laid bare
They are both
Screaming, and
There is a quiet moment between two men late at night in a laboratory and they carefully hand each other the keys to their souls
There is a kitten made of stone and it is a present, the first one he has ever given
There is a nightmare and a song, and it makes the bad things go away
There is a breakfast and a confession that breaks them open, and he hands pieces of himself to these people and hopes they will not lose them
There is guilt and balloons and paint
There is guilt and quantum physics and tea
There is a fight that is not a fight and Thor laughs, loud and bright and joyous, Thor is old but his scars lie close to the surface and his failures are draped proudly around him like a cloak (he wears his hard-won wisdom like a crown - no, Shouty Long-Hair is not so bad)
There is a fight that is not a fight, and Tony drinks and swears and removes the blinkers from his blind, unseeing eyes, shows him the truth and he cannot face it (he hides and runs and buries his head in the sand)
There is a shower, and NOT a stupid bath, because he hates stupid baths, and Steve is a man made of stars who badgers and fusses publicly and worries privately about their happiness because they are his to protect, everything is his to protect (their leader, their Captain, their Team Dad)
There is a man and he is cruel and Mummy cries and then she dies and he is alone with the monsters, both inside and outside his head
There is a woman who understands them so well that it scares her, and Natasha's understanding cuts deep as knives (her words are as heavy as trust and she is red as blood and black as secrets and pale as forgiveness)
There are bubbles and he likes them and hands in his hair and no-one smells like fear and the only one screaming is himself
There are paintings that are mirror images and he falls apart in his own arms and screams at his own hands and rips at his own soul and rails at his own actions and he hates it and he loves it and he can do nothing but accept it
There are experiments and he is happy and he has a secret too, a secret best good experiment, and they will not be alone (they have never been alone)
There is a fight that is a fight, they smash at each other with words and he is numb and he is stupid and they are angry
There is Tony and he is special, and he talks to them both, he tries and tries to see where their ragged and torn edges match up, where they were ripped apart, and Tony was ripped apart too (Tony has been cut open so that the light inside him shines for everyone to see and he is special, Tony is special)
There is a gun that is not a gun, and Banner is hurt, hurt, hurt because he always hurts himself, he has always had such a talent for self-destruction
There is a man who lies for them easily with a fearless grin in his eyes and stubborn loyalty in his words and sarcasm crowding behind his teeth and Clint never misses his target (he knows, too, what it is to be turned inside out, he calls them Jade Doc Jaws Bruce)
There is a Rule for mistakes and a Rule for smash and a Rule for sorry
There is a kiss like a brand on his mouth, greedy and claiming and possessive
There is a kiss like a benediction on his forehead, and he is loved, he is good
There is Robert Bruce Banner; a genius, a failure, a collapsed star, a man
There is the Incredible Hulk; a monster, a mountain, a maelstrom, a child
There is Him that is Them
There is a collision and a supernova
There are two and they are the same
There is a great black darkness rushing to meet them -
Tony
The interior of that weird shield thing glowed like a star as ropes of jagged light smashed into it, crackling through the ceiling and bathing the dome. It was too bright to look at, and Tony closed the visor of his suit and tried not to panic.
He'd be fine. Bruce would be fine. Hulk would be...
"Enough," he croaked, "Thor, quit it, that's enough!"
Thor lowered the hammer and ended the flickering lightning, his face grave. He had punched a hole in the roof that was smouldering gently around the edges, and it would no doubt mature into a fully-grown fire if they didn't do something about it and soon.
Tony wasn't really in the mood.
"Do you think we should go and..." Thor began, and there was such uncertainty in his normally assured deep tones that Tony winced involuntarily.
"He'll..." he stopped. "Wait. Can you see anything?"
Thor turned back to the dome, which was still crackling with energy both green and white. Normally Tony thought this sort of thing was awesomely sexy. Fancy and dangerous energy source, on-the-fly science, poke it with a stick stuff? Hummina. This time? Maybe... not. This time, Tony was willing to leave well enough alone.
"Is it leaving?" Thor's brow wrinkled. "Where might the power go?"
"He's absorbing it," Tony said, and his mouth was so damned dry. "He has to. He lost... He figured it out, we had it all wrong. It's the gamma in his blood. He needed to get back to pre-Stingray levels."
"Ah," Thor nodded sagely. Then he paused. "I do not understand."
Tony patted his brawny shoulder. "That's okay," he managed. "I'll understand it for both of us."
The glow was dimming with agonising slowness, and Tony had to force himself to stay put. He couldn't see into the dome thing yet, and what the fuck was that made of? It wasn't a radiation shield because the rads hadn't been halted by it in the slightest. If Hulk and Bruce hadn't been sponging it up the whole damned world could have been subjected to it, thanks to solar winds and atmospheric pressures. Still, rads or no, that stuff had just successfully contained the physical explosion. He had to get a sample of that shit. Impervious crystalline armour, here we come.
Transparent armour might be a bit too daring a fashion choice, though.
Wait. No such thing. Yeah.
Hulk and Bruce. Were they even alive? The absorption levels on his HUD suggested they were, but the anxiety made Tony turn to Thor and demand, "Hey, you've got God-eyes or whatever. Can you see anything?"
"I am no Heimdall," Thor said. "I cannot see what lies within any more than you can."
"Someone needs something looked at?" Clint's voice rang out, and the three other members of their team rushed in. "That's my gig. So what are we – holy fuck is the Doc in there?!"
Tony swallowed, and nodded.
"Both the Doctor and the Hulk are within," Thor said quietly. "Bruce was grievously wounded."
"He could have recovered from that," said Tony from a zillion billion miles away, and his chest was full of fucking metal, that was why it was so damned heavy and why his ribs felt like they were caving in and shredding his lungs. "But not the radiation. Not without Hulk."
"Radiation?" Steve jerked. "Are we safe?"
Tony laughed and wow, he sounded like shit. The levels danced before him on his HUD. "Yeah. He's absorbing it all." He smiled even though no-one except JARVIS could see it. "Hulk's a gamma battery."
Bruce... isn't.
"You've put them back together," Natasha said slowly.
"He made the choice. They both did."
"Fuck me, that's not a choice I ever want to make," said Clint in a low tone, and turned to the glowing dome. "So I'm looking at that?"
"You're looking at that," Tony confirmed. Look hard, Birdbrain. Find him.
Clint took a few steps backwards and his eyes narrowed as they focused on the dome. Then he blew out a breath. "I can make out something."
"I can't see squat in that thing," Steve said, squinting.
Clint raised an eyebrow. "Cap. Hawkeye. Hawk. Eye. Nice to meet you."
Steve sighed. "All right, I get the message. Thor, Tony, the sit rep out there is that Ross refuses to leave without Banner."
"Asshole," Tony muttered. "But he didn't attack."
"We convinced him to sit this one out," Natasha said. "He's cordoning off the street, though. I think he's planning to pick up Bruce once he de-greens."
"Hold it, you got that knee-jerk military discharge to hold back? How'd you manage that?"
"We were very convincing," she said grimly.
"Actually, we delivered a bit of a verbal smackdown," Clint said, still peering at the slowly-dimming light. "You would've enjoyed it. Steve got pissed, and you know how military types react when Steve gets pissed. Flags start spontaneously bursting into flame, bald eagles start crying, everything in a uniform gets an Shame-erection..."
"Clint," Steve growled. "This is serious."
"See? Can't you hear their little tears falling – wait," Clint straightened a little. "I can see something - a head."
Tony's head whipped back to the dome. The light was fading faster now, but the afterimages left him blind and even the suit's sensors were no help. "Can you tell if it's Hulk or Bruce?"
"Just that it has a head."
"Well, is it big or small?" Tony said impatiently.
Clint scowled. "You wanna do this? No? Shut up and let me look."
"The Hulk can take more than this," Steve said reassuringly as he pushed his cowl back and regarded the dome. Despite his words and tone, his face was worried. "They'll be okay."
I hope, I hope, I hope.
"Will Hulk be lucid?" Natasha asked.
Tony gave a half-hearted shrug. "He came back to himself the minute he touched Bruce. It was... he was..."
Angry. Painful. Funny. Heartbreaking. Wonderful. Tragic. Incredible. All those things that belonged to Hulk; that made him Hulk.
Natasha looked at him as though she could see his face under the mask. "Oh," she said, and her usually hard eyes softened slightly. "Oh, Tony. You figured it out."
Fuck. Spies and assassins and living with creepy people who knew everything, goddamn it, he was starting up a petition to have them all shipped out to their own little hyper vigilant colony where they could stab necks with needles and analyse each other to their suspicious little hearts' content.
"No thanks to you," he said, and glared at the dome (and not at Natasha, because he wasn't an idiot).
"Well, you weren't exactly subtle," Clint put in.
"I noticed," said Steve, sounding a little proud of himself even under the circumstances.
Aw, man, Steve too? Well, at least Thor hadn't noticed.
"Is it customary to speak of such things on Earth?" Thor said, his face uncertain. "Your television programs and movies have led me to believe that there would be misunderstandings and ah, shen... shenanigans, and that others with more sense were not encouraged to intervene."
Clint made a strangled noise in his throat. "Um. No. That's just to enhance the drama," he said.
"Oh." Thor scowled. "Your entertainment is highly misleading."
"I hate you all with a deep and deadly loathing," Tony told them, and folded his arms.
He continued to glare at the dome for a few beats, and then Steve's heavy hand dropped onto his armoured shoulder. "It's all right, Tony," he said, and yes, good; Captain Comfort could tell him it was going to be all right 24/7. He felt like he was wound up tighter than Clint's bowstring. He was practically thrumming with tension.
Bruce. Come on, you beautiful bastard, what are you waiting for, an audience?
"Tony," Clint said, and nudged him. "The Doc's a tough guy. He'll be fine."
He ignored that, and took a short, shaky breath. "Can you see anything now?"
Clint turned back to the dome. Then his eyes narrowed a little. "Wait."
At that moment, a massive green fist broke through the barrier with a shattering crack, sending shards of transparent material everywhere. Gotta get me some of that, thought part of Tony's mind.
The rest of him was mesmerised by the sight of the Hulk smashing his way out of the bomb-chamber, light spilling around his bulky, colossal body. He brushed the shards off his arms and stood slowly, unfolding himself to his full, towering height.
"Hulk?" asked Tony, and he unsnapped the mask and took a wobbly step forwards. "Hulk, you all right? Is Bruce..."
The Hulk breathed in deeply, massive chest rising and falling steadily. His eyes closed with a deliberate finality even as a small frown crossed his lips.
"Hulkster?" Tony urged, and something small and spiky scrabbled at the inside of his throat. "Hulk..."
Waiting. He'd never been good with waiting. And there was a pulse in his blood that kept in time with the constant mantra of Bruce Bruce Bruce echoing in his head, and this had been a really long day.
Hulk's eyes opened, and a wistful look briefly passed over his face. Then he met Tony's frantic gaze.
"Is Bruce okay? Is he there?" Wow, desperate much, Stark? "Did it work?"
"Bruce," said the Hulk, and smiled his savage smile.
Then he tapped the side of his head with a great finger.
"He's in there? He's back?" Tony couldn't find his breath, and Hulk's grinning face was blurring in and out of focus. "He's okay?"
Hulk shook out his heavy shoulders, a loose and languid movement. Then he tipped his head back as he closed his eyes again for a moment, breathing slowly.
"Bruce good," he rumbled, and opened his eyes.
"Wait, did he..." Clint blurted.
"He did," Natasha said softly. "They did."
Hulk huffed shortly, before dropping into his normal half-crouch and knuckling towards them. He seemed somehow... greener than before. More vibrant. Whole.
"Can you... can you show me?" Tony asked, his chest squeezing tightly, and he took another step forward as Hulk reached them. The giant huffed down at Tony, and touched the armour with a fond, gentle forefinger.
Then his green eyes twinkled with a hint of brown, and he grunted.
"Is Junior's turn to drive. Squirrel should stop worrying about Moose."
A stunned noise burst out of him, rattling his ribs and stealing his breath. He felt like he was deflating as he gabbled, "Moose. You... oh my god. You're okay. You're okay. Thank fuck you're okay. Moose and squirr – Jesus, you're fucking adorable."
Hulk gave him a weary sort of look that was one hundred percent Bruce Banner, and sighed like a bellows. "Language, Tony."
"Whatever you say," Tony said, and his grin was threatening to split his skin, and damn it, he should have kept the mask down because god knows what his face was right now.
"He's fine," said Steve in relief.
Hulk rumbled in agreement. "Nothing hurts Hulk."
"No, I meant-"
"Big head small talky man," Hulk interrupted, and his face set into hard, unyielding lines. "What happen now?"
"He's on the helicarrier," said Tony, still grinning like a lunatic. "You did it. Hill and Fury put him in a null-chamber where he can't hurt anyone."
"Will get out," Hulk predicted darkly, and Steve gaped at him.
"What, wait? Hang on, is the Hulk is hearing Bruce?"
"Right..." Clint said, and tapped his thigh absently as he gazed up at the ceiling, his face quizzical. "So, our lives are fucking insane, show of hands?"
All hands rose – even Hulk's. His eyes flashed brown again. "Need both hands up. And feet," he added rather sourly.
"Seconded," said Tony, and gulped. "Evidence is stacking up, you guys. He's awake. They're both awake. What the fuck."
"Aye," Thor said, and rubbed his forehead. "Odin's blood. I despair of ever understanding your Midgardian science."
"Don't knock it til you've tried it, Goldilocks," Tony said, and then he smirked as the relief bubbled up through him like clear cool water. "Oh wait. You're hammering Jane Foster, never mind."
"Be careful, my friend," Thor muttered, and Clint sniggered.
"That madman isn't getting out anytime soon," said Steve, and he rested his hand on Hulk's huge, corded arm. "You stopped him. You saved the world."
Hulk grinned. "Hulk's job."
"So one crisis down, one to go," Clint said, and gave the giant a disbelieving, crooked grin. "Must be a Thursday."
"Right. We need to get him past Ross," Natasha said.
At that name, Hulk growled low and long. Tony patted his hand gingerly. "Calm down big guy, and tell the little guy to quit panicking in there," he muttered, and Hulk shifted a little between his feet as he frowned. It was a Hulk-frown, not a Bruce-frown; his face was drawn down into childish anger rather than the harsh and determined lines of only seconds before. The difference was astounding.
"Not picnicking," he groused petulantly, and Tony stifled a (well, what no doubt would have been a somewhat hysterical) laugh. So they weren't totally integrated. Still, whatever they were now, it was going to be fun.
"People. Ross is still in situ, and he won't wait forever," Natasha said, and held out her hands as if to say, how do you convince a moron?
Hulk bared his teeth soundlessly, and his muscles bunched under Tony's metal-clad hands. "Hulk smash Ross!"
"Actually," Tony said, and tilted his head. "You think you could put Bruce on the line?"
Hulk raised his eyebrows. "Need Bruce? Bruce awake. Bruce watching."
Oooh, interesting. "But Ross wants to shoot at you. Not Bruce. Maybe we could smuggle him past that douchenozzle, but you're just a bit conspicuous, Big Guy."
Hulk shrugged. "No. Ross knows both Bruce and Hulk. Hulk not so easy to shoot."
"Holy fuck, he is razor-sharp now," said Clint, looking up at him in surprise. "Can he access Bruce's memories, do you think?"
Hulk grinned, his blunt teeth glinting. "Yes. No different. All Hulk's now."
Then he straightened and his rough brow creased in thought. His tongue absently wetted his lips in such a perfectly Bruce manner that Tony could only stare at him, dumbfounded. "Bruce has idea."
"Before we go anywhere," Tony said, still staring at him, "there is something that absolutely has to happen."
It only took a second to throw his hands around the thick neck and collapse into those massive, warm, waiting arms. They closed around him and the Hulk (plus one) held him tight.
"Let's not do that again, okay?" Tony muttered against his chest.
Then the Earth's Mightiest Heroes were piling onto their heavy hitter with shouts and exclamations and bellows of relief, because they were selfish and greedy party poopers who wanted in on Tony's awesome Hulk Hug. Clint gently tapped Hulk's fist with his own. Natasha carefully took a platter-sized hand in hers, before looking up at him with shining eyes set in her customary expressionless face. Steve was affectionately scruffing at the green and black curls, and Thor had an arm draped carelessly over mammoth shoulders. Hulk laughed aloud like a contented earthquake.
"Team," he said.
Maria
"General Ross, you have been told to stand down!" Maria Hill said, eyeing the man with distaste. Even though SHIELD had worked with this man during the Hulk's early years, he hadn't ever been one to listen to others' advice. Privately, she could admit that she rather disliked him.
"You don't know what you're up against, young lady," Ross said contemptuously, leaning against a truly ugly-looking experimental tank. Behind him, two dozen men were lined up and four hummers in camouflage readied their missiles. "Minute the Hulk comes out of that building, you're gonna be begging me to save your asses. Let's save some time here. Get back onto your pretty little plane and we'll take care of it for you."
Oh yes, she disliked him, and that was why.
"Sir, we know exactly what the Hulk is capable of," she said levelly, and lifted her gun to aim it steadily between the idiot's eyes. "You have your orders."
"I don't take orders from some antique in a unitard," Ross sneered. Some of his men shifted uneasily.
Hmm.
"I'm sorry, did you just call Captain America an antique in a unitard?" she said, sweet as acid.
The men glanced at each other.
"All right, but you know what I mean. That is not a military chain of command, Deputy Hill," he said, leaning on her name and title until it sounded derisive. "No goddamned Captain tells me what to do."
"Then let me confirm that order, Sir," she barked, and nodded to the contingent of agents with her. Morse shouted a couple of words, and every gun was levelled at Ross with an ominous clacking noise. "You are to stand down, I repeat, stand down. This is a SHIELD salvage mission, and you are a known trigger for our specialist consultant."
"Specialist...!" Ross threw his head and laughed. "Does that milksop know that you call him that? Does the beast even comprehend it?" He shook his head slowly as he gave her a wide grin. "Deputy, only thing that monster understands is force. You got a taste of that, didn't you? Had a little... mishap, on that flying rig of yours?"
"That was an isolated incident," she began, but Ross interrupted her.
"Don't be a fool, girl."
"You will address me as Hill or Deputy Director," she said coolly. "It was an isolated incident. The Hulk has been a valuable and indispensable member of the Avengers ever since."
"And how long until the next isolated incident?" Ross spread his arms, indicating the debris from Hulk's rampage through New York. "Oh, how 'bout that then."
"Again, Sir, this is a mission and you are jeopardising it!" she said, frustrated with the pomposity and arrogance of the man. She'd rather deal with Tony Stark that this blinkered, blinded idiot.
"Did the mission statement include wholesale property damage and loss of life?"
"Oh, fuck you, Sir," she said before she could censor herself. "He didn't kill anyone."
"What about next time?" he said, and leaned forward as he gave her a pointed look. "You should get that thing away from the real heroes and experts; put it where it can't be a threat. I can do that for you. Banner's no specialist consultant, damn it, the man's a weakling and a wimp, and the Hulk is a lit fuse just waiting to blow this city sky high. You know I'm right."
"You won't be getting him, green or not," said Maria sternly. "One last time, General. Stand. Down."
"Shame," he said, and lit a cigar. "Was hoping not to have to fight you lot as well. Still, I should've known you wouldn't see sen-"
"Sir!" one of Ross' men yelped, and Maria whirled to see a flash of green in the warehouse doorway. Her agents immediately lifted their weapons out of firing position, holstering them and standing at rest.
"GET THAT THING LOADED!" Ross roared. Maria lifted her hand to her earpiece.
"This is Hill," she said tersely. "General Ross is refusing to follow orders. He is executing offensive action against the Hulk in order to bring it into custody, do you copy?"
The Black Widow's voice crackled over the line. "Don't worry, Deputy. We've got this."
She could hear the grin in Hawkeye's voice as he added, "Hulk is aaaaall over it." A pause, and then Clint said, "Hey, what are you wearing?"
She hung up on him.
Another flash of green at the door brought her gun up once more, and in the corner of her eye she saw Ross' smirk and longed to punch it off his face. She forced her arm to come down and her heartbeat to slow, even as the Hulk ducked his head under the doorway and eased his way onto the street.
Iron Man was limp in his arms.
"Hold your fire!" Ross said, and frustration clanged in every syllable. "Wait til he puts the man down!"
Hulk glanced over at him once, and his face flickered with hatred and resentment. And yet he didn't attack. He walked forward, his footsteps creating dull tremors, until he was standing directly before that experimental tank prototype.
"Human shield?" Maria whispered into her comm.
"Wait for it." Clint said, sounding rather gleeful.
Hulk gazed around at the assembled military might, and his shoulders seemed to slump slightly. Then he reached out with one hand, took hold of the tank's cannon, and wrenched sharply until it was pointing directly at the sky.
Well, that took care of that, she supposed.
The Hulk snorted scornfully at the now-useless tank, and sat heavily in the centre of the road. He hefted the body in his arms once.
Ross' eyes darted to her, and then he waved a hand. His troops began to move in on the quietly sitting giant.
"Hey Maria?" Clint's voice crackled over the comm. "Now might be a really good time to surround those guys."
"Where are you?" she hissed, even as she gave the signal.
"Stealing their jeeps," Natasha said, amusement lilting her voice.
"Ah."
The men were nearly on the Hulk, though he had made no move to attack them. The nearest of Ross' command were trembling violently, the guns in their hands visibly shaking. Hulk ignored them all, holding the Iron Man suit gently.
"Now!" Ross barked, and then Hulk looked up, and grinned.
With a sputtering roar, Iron Man's repulsors lit and he launched faster than the eye could see from the Hulk's arms. He span around the seated green figure in a whirlwind of red and gold, and in his wake the hapless troops shouted and swore, shaking their stinging fingers.
The gleaming battle suit came to a halt above the Hulk's head, and with a clatter, the guns the troops had been holding fell down into Hulk's outstretched hand, where they were casually crushed into a ball of twisted metal. "Don't pick on my friends," came Tony Stark's mechanised voice.
All right, the guy was a pain in the ass but he could occasionally be somewhat impressive.
Ross seethed for half a second, before turning to the hummers. "Missiles, fire when ready!" he growled at them.
"Sir, are you sure you want me to do that?" came a familiar voice. Hill shared a look with Morse, who was laughing aloud even as she trained her gun on the disarmed soldiers.
"Just fire, damn you!" Ross shouted.
"You're the boss," said Hawkeye, appearing from the top of a humvee. His bow sang.
The tank exploded.
Maria lifted a hand to shield her face, only to find that a huge gust of wind was already sucking the air out of the area and stifling the flames. She squinted up into the night sky to see Thor atop a nearby building, his hammer whirling madly.
Clint bowed, grinning like a fool. "And that, right there, is why you shouldn't make fun of my bow and arrows."
Ross' eyes bulged and he looked on the verge of apoplexy.
"I really wouldn't, son," said a quiet voice, and Ross span on his heel at the sound, only to nearly collide with the chest of Captain America. "Wouldn't want to have to fight this antique, after all."
Ross made an inarticulate sound of outrage, and reached for his walkie-talkie.
"Missing something, worm?" Natasha said, holding it by a finger as she lounged behind the wheel of a humvee.
Ross turned, his face stained red with anger. His men were on their knees, their hands behind their heads while SHIELD agents trained their weapons on them. His artillery was out of reach or out of commission. And the Hulk hadn't thrown a single punch.
His furious glare landed on the monster, who was still sitting quite peacefully on the ground. His eyes were tinted brown, and he looked to be somewhat grimly amused.
"Ross," Hulk said, and huffed disdainfully.
"You...!" Ross snarled, and lifted his gun. He fired two rounds at the Hulk and they bounced off harmlessly, though one of his men fell screaming as a bullet passed through his leg.
"General, you will cease fire now!" Maria snapped, and began to move towards the clearly unhinged man, nodding Sitwell towards the injured one.
Ross was close to speechless. "You...!" he raged, and Hulk rolled his eyes.
"Hulk," he affirmed, and the unspoken 'duh' was clearly heard by everyone. Morse actually let out a shocked chuckle.
"Ah-ah-ah, no closer there, Walrus-face," said Iron Man warningly, his hand outstretched. "No more shooting of innocent civilians."
"All Ross ever do is shoot," Hulk muttered.
"You... it... this is... got to be under..." Ross spluttered, and Maria moved into intercept position behind him on silent feet, her gun level with the man's grey head
Hulk met her eyes, and she'd never understood the phrase 'blood running cold' before – but holy crap, the Hulk met her eyes and it froze solid in her veins. Then he winked.
What.
"General Ross," she said, suddenly off-balance and trying to hide it, "you will come with me into SHIELD custody to answer for this fiasco, for the blatant refusal to follow orders, for the endangerment of civilian lives and for the premeditated kidnapping and imprisonment of a SHIELD consultant."
Ross turned to her. "You think that'll stop me?" he spat.
A hand tapped him on the shoulder. The General turned once more, and Bruce Banner punched him squarely in the mouth. He went down like a sack of potatoes.
"Maybe that will," said Banner with some (understandable) satisfaction, and then massaged his hand. "Ow."
"Doctor..." Maria said, before breaking off and shaking her head helplessly. "Good to see you safe."
"Deputy Hill. Nice to be safe," he said politely. Then he looked down at the puddle of fabric at his feet. "Um. Please excuse the pants."
"Excused," she said faintly.
"I like that look on you," said Stark as he landed beside Banner, his faceplate flipping up. "You have a heartbreaking little ass, did you know?"
The Doctor rubbed his forehead, and was it her imagination or did his eyes flicker to green for a second? "I'll break yours in a moment."
"You're welcome to break my ass any time you want." Stark leered. Banner groaned, hiding a twitching smile.
"You're impossible," he muttered.
"You love it."
Banner looked up, and his eyes were hazel. "Yeah," he said heavily. "We do."
Then they wrapped each other in such a swift and tight embrace that Maria could clearly hear the thwack of Banner's hands against the metal of Stark's suit.
A little too much information. Still. Nick would want to know.
Shit, had they even created a fraternisation policy for the Initiative?
She frogmarched the cuffed and woozy General 'Thunderbolt' Ross over to Morse, and she and Sitwell loaded up the bird to take the men to the helicarrier. From there they would be processed, Ross' supply and funding examined, and the prisoners transferred to the appropriate authorities.
She looked back at where Thor was thoughtfully draping his cloak over Banner, and the Black Widow was actually smiling. Clint was saying something, his hands moving quickly and his expression smug, and Rogers was watching the others with such a peaceful look on his face that it hurt.
In the centre, Banner laughed quietly at something Stark said, before moving towards her with the red cloak pulled tightly around him. He looked rather ridiculously small in it, a little boy playing dress-up in his father's clothes. "Deputy, sorry. One thing?"
She turned at the doors of her bird and raised her eyebrows.
"What will happen with them? Sterns and Ross?"
"At this point?" She heaved a sigh. "We have no idea. We're still processing everything that's happened. You've had a busy day, Doctor."
"And I'd like it to be over now," he said, and his tongue darted out to swipe his lips nervously. "Thanks for taking care of them."
"You're welcome." She paused, studying his expression. Mistrust. A little fear. Defiance. Worry. Well, with his history, of course you'd be a little cynical regarding the motives of a military organisation. "You know, you're a SHIELD asset," she said.
His brow creased a little. "I heard."
Hulk had heard that, not Banner. She wasn't sure where that line was drawn anymore. "I won't insult you by telling you to trust us," she said and heard his snort. "But we're not going to use this to blackmail you into anything, or to foster some sort of obligation in you. Fury trusts you. You're one of the Avengers."
His lips quirked. "Sure am."
"SHIELD looks after its own, Doctor," she said, and turned to walk up the ramp into the bird. "I'll expect a report sometime tomorrow. Take your time."
God, the paperwork was going to be hell on this one.
Bruce (Hulk)
Thor's cape was heavier than it looked, and it wasn't nearly enough to keep out the chill as Tony flew them back to Avengers Tower. The edge of it kept flapping about. Bruce was acutely aware that a random passerby below with decent night vision and binoculars could be treated to a fantastic view of his ass.
Tony set them down on the platform, keeping one hand against his shoulderblades to steady him against the strong winds that buffeted the Tower at that altitude. He clutched at the material around him and scurried into the building as quickly as possible. Tony followed, the suit folding down around him to return to an innocuous-looking briefcase.
It was heavenly to move without pain for the first time in weeks and Bruce couldn't help but stretch out his legs a little and shake his arms. So good.
Food now?
In a minute, Bruce told Hulk. He had to get clean first. He was still covered in random streaks of his own blood, not to mention the grime of a warehouse floor and what felt like an entire bucket of sweat. Shower first, then food.
"Hey," Tony said gently. "All right there?"
Bruce let out a soft, huffing laugh. "Just... getting used to some... new things."
"Your eyes went green."
"Really?"
"Yep." Tony popped the 'p' a little, tilting his head as he stowed the briefcase into a technical-looking chute. "Hulk's went brown too. I think he was listening to you."
"Huh." Bruce glanced over at the mirrored surface behind the bar. What do you want to eat?
Don't care. Hungry.
Sure enough, his eyes flared green. Hmm. That could be inconvenient.
"That is so badass," Tony said, envy dripping in every word.
"Comes with a few drawbacks I could name."
"And looks fucking badass, did I mention badass? I'm sure I mentioned badass."
"So invent yourself some contacts, smart guy," Bruce retorted. Tony gave him a bright, fierce look before taking his chin in one hand and kissing him hard.
"Damn I love it when you're sassy," he murmured, before sauntering towards the bar.
The feeling that welled up within him was rusty and strange from disuse. Romantic affection, his logical side supplied. Tony is special, Hulk added, and Bruce rubbed a hand through his hair as he observed Tony digging in cupboards and pulling out glasses and a bottle.
Yes, he said to Hulk. Yes, he is.
"Soooo," Tony said, and he poured out some scotch into two glasses, handing one to Bruce and plunking himself down on one of his tall stools. "Are you two all right with Humpty being put back together? Sterns didn't really leave you much of a choice, after all."
"I..." Bruce stopped, and took the stool next to him. "I don't know. We haven't worked anything out yet."
Hulk wants food.
"Except that Hulk's hungry," Bruce added and rolled his eyes. "He's getting pretty insistent about it."
"Maybe he can come out for dinner then?"
"If he likes," Bruce said, and took a hesitant sip of the drink. Uncertainty washed through both halves of him. They were entering new territory now. Would every change be negotiated? Would there be set times for Hulk, set times for Bruce? Who would sleep, who would eat, who would bathe?
Bruce can do all the baths.
Oh, thanks.
Bruce welcome. He could practically see Hulk's bestial smile. It even tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"You'll figure it out," Tony said, and his confidence was so bulletproof that Bruce straightened slightly despite himself. "You two are, what, integrated now? Is that the term?"
"No, I don't think so," Bruce said. "We're not sharing everything, after all. He's still Hulk, and I'm still Bruce. We're not a totally merged mental entity, and we're not a physical amalgamation either."
"Wonder what that'd look like? Sort of a pale-green Thor?"
"...I refuse to think about that."
"That'd be so awesome."
"No it wouldn't. Anyway, we're not totally like we were before either. I can change faster, I think. We can share thoughts. And I can hear him perfectly."
Tony nearly spat out his drink. "In your head?"
"Yeah."
"Okay," Tony said blankly. "Wow."
Bruce smiled, though he could feel that it was twisted as hell. "I know."
"So when you're both awake..."
"No, there's no both in that now," Bruce said thoughtfully, swirling the glass before taking another sip. Ungh, god, he wasn't a huge fan of scotch. Too many bad memories. "I'm awake, that's all there is to it. Which me is driving doesn't matter. But we can let each other watch. It looks like we can also let each other, uh, comment?"
"Driving?"
"Best metaphor I can think of," he said wryly. "Hulk seems to be a bit of a backseat driver."
"Well, he would be. Bet he thinks the same about you. So one's the driver and the other one... what, watches and comments? It's like metaphysical Youtube."
"Except the comments are vastly more intelligent," Bruce said, raising his eyebrows. Tony snickered.
Bruce looked down at his glass and at the cape still clutched around his bloody, dirty body. His skin prickled. "Look, not that I don't like this because I do, but I need a shower."
Tony perked up. "Can I watch too? Because watching's the new thing and all."
Bruce pinched his nose even as Hulk laughed deep within. "Sure, why not," he said eventually. "Nothing you haven't seen, and anyway I just flashed every single rooftop in Manhattan."
"I warn you," Tony said, pointing to him with the glass, "I'm the jealous type."
"No you're not," Bruce said, and grinned at him. "And you're the one who brought up Youtube."
Tony gave a minute shrug and grinned back. "Okay, I'm not, but you're still not getting out of my sight," he said and tugged Bruce's arm until he slid off the stool. His fingers clutched at the crook of his elbow, slipping through the fabric of the cape. "Hey, have I showed off my bathroom to you yet? No? Oh god, it is so bad it's glorious and you're going to hate it because you're Mister Austerity, but you know what? You got kidnapped and tortured and nearly died; you can shut up about it for a day. Seriously, it is decadent with a capital D, like, fall of the Roman Empire type stuff."
"Tony, I'm okay," Bruce said, stopping and putting the half-empty glass down. His fingers laced over Tony's long, nimble ones and squeezed. "I'm here."
Tony's jaw rippled, and his free hand suddenly grasped the back of Bruce's neck. "You nearly died," he grated.
"We do that," Bruce said. "We're the Avengers. We can't go a month without someone coming back from the dead trailing clouds of glory."
"Just..." Tony bit out, and his hand tightened on Bruce's neck before smoothing out the hair at his nape. "No, don't fucking joke about it," he said, voice low and rough. "You nearly fucking died."
Hulk moved behind his eyes, and Bruce lowered his briefly-green gaze. "Yeah. I know."
"Don't," Tony hissed.
Taking in a breath, Bruce lifted his hand and hesitantly traced the sharp edges of Tony's goatee. "I can't promise that," he said quietly, "any more than you can. We do what we do, Tony."
Tony dropped his head onto Bruce's shoulder. They stood still for a moment, and Bruce allowed his hands to move to the small of Tony's back where his spine curved inwards.
"Radiation poisoning," Tony said and his voice wavered and cracked. "How fucking ironic."
Thinking back to the horrible lassitude in his mind, Bruce couldn't help but say, "actually, my leg and the separation from Hulk were far worse than that."
"Shut up," Tony hissed, and pressed his forehead against Bruce's so hard it would leave a red mark on his skin. "Shut up. You stupid, brave, beautiful, masochistic jerk."
"I'm masochistic?" Bruce had to say in disbelief. "Tony, you've been atoning for years. You wear your hair shirts under your goddamned skin!"
Tony shook his head, and kissed him again. "So do you," he murmured.
Warm, so warm and there and real, mouth hungry and insistent and greedy and Tony is special.
"God, aren't we a pair," whispered Bruce against those lips.
"Not like you figured it out either," Tony said a trifle sulkily. He tasted like scotch and fear.
"What?"
"Everyone knew," Tony said and rested his head against his forehead once more. "We may need to hand in our Genius cards."
"Everyone?" Bruce blurted. Christ, how embarrassing.
"Well, they knew about me. Not sure about you. You hold your cards pretty close, Bruciekins."
"Can we dispense with the pet names?"
Tony smirked. "Never."
"I hate you."
"I luuh," Tony said, and then he sucked in a breath. "I hate you too. I hate you so, so damned much."
Bruce drew back a little, his eyes widening. "You..."
"Nope."
"Tony."
"Shut up, I didn't say anything, shut up, shut up now," he said harshly, and kissed him again as though he would disappear by morning.
Head spinning, Bruce lifted his hand and touched the long line of Tony's throat, the glow of the reactor pulsing under his black shirt. "God," he said faintly.
"I also answer to Tony."
"You're such a dick," he said, and a massive formless happiness was crowding through him, so huge and all-encompassing that he was slightly afraid of it.
Everything was different. Everything was changed, and Bruce didn't do happiness. He wasn't good at being happy.
He'd learn.
Good, Hulk rumbled, pleased.
"Come on," he said. "Show me this pleasure palace you call a bathroom."
Tony muffled a laugh against the cape over Bruce's collarbone, and then he straightened. "Yeah," he said, a little husky. "Yeah. This way."
Sooo. *twiddles fingers* Wondering if I should up the rating and add smut to this. Thoughts?
Hulk loves your reviews (so do IIIIIII!)
