Bruce found himself stalling his chat with Tony as he stood under the shower head, allowing for hot droplets to pelt his aching muscles. After his shower, he changed the bandages around his feet, swearing under his breath as the cuts stung. Tending to his stomach came next, and Bruce was very well aware that he was avoiding Tony at every possible cost. As he finished chewing a mouthful of bagel, he aimlessly glanced up at the ceiling. "Jarvis?"

There was a pause before he received a response. "How may I be of assistance?"

"I…" He coughed to clear his throat. "Is Tony awake?"

"No, he is not."

Bruce was saved, for the moment. "Was, uh…Was last night bad?"

"All damage was kept to one contained area," JARVIS informed. "I have already filed for replacement machinery and assistance in fixing the floor."

"Machinery…" Bruce faintly recalled heading to the lab after waking from his nightmare. "What… How much did I break?" he asked in a shaky voice. Bruce knew that even one of Tony's monitors was far out of his budget.

JARVIS was quiet as if he was contemplating a lie to tell the good doctor. "Everything of physical value has seen better days," the program confessed.

Bruce buried his fingers in his hair with a loud groan.

"Though all data has been saved," JARVIS promised. "And can be easily transferred into our new system."

"Kinda concerned about the money…" Bruce sulked.

"Mr. Stark has already paid for everything."

Bruce glanced up at the ceiling. "He's… Is he mad?"

"He wasn't in his best state of mind last night, Dr. Banner."

"So he's mad…"

"Last night's blame falls entirely on Mr. Stark," JARVIS assured.

That hardly made Bruce feel better. He still went Hulk on the guy…

"Would you like video proof?" the automated butler offered.

Bruce shook his head, quick to turn the program down. "No. No, really, no."

"Shall I wake Mr. Stark for you?"

Bruce shook his head. "I'll just see him later. I can handle this on my own, Jarvis," he promised. Bruce slumped back in his chair, his stomach suddenly full after eating only a third of his bagel. He felt a growing need to step out and clear his head. The more he dwelled on his latest incident, the more suffocated he felt in Tony's home.

Bruce settled on a walk around the block. He was beginning to regret not leaving with Natasha. She would've made him feel better by assuring him that Tony was the bad guy in the situation. That much was true, but Bruce knew he was the real monster. If he could only control himself… He cursed under his breath as thoughts of his father crept in. Brian Banner was able to see that his only son was a monster long before the Hulk came into the picture.

"You never should've been born," he would say, and "Your mother nearly died giving birth to you."

Those comments always made Bruce wonder why he deserved to live in the first place.

"You were born to do something great. Maybe cure cancer." That was what Betty once told him. Now he had Natasha feeding him hopeful words. Everyone falls… Bruce felt he'd be better off just staying down. He stopped at the nearest café for a coffee and hoped that the caffeine would lighten his mood. It didn't. Bruce trudged back home in hopes that sleep would help. Sleep, however, took a backseat when Tony called his phone. Bruce thought about not answering-talking face to face with his friend would've been ideal for their predicament. A fourth round of ringing left him guilty and forced him to answer the call with a soft "Tony."

"Jarv said you went out."

Bruce couldn't read his deadpan tone, so he automatically pictured Tony as angry. "I did."

"When you coming back?"

Bruce was quiet.

"Come back and we'll talk," Tony ordered.

Bruce said nothing.

"I know I really fucked up," Tony admitted.

He hesitated. "We both did."

Tony snorted. "I was rough on you, buddy."

Bruce shook his head. "I'll be there soon."

"Find me in the lounge."

The first thing Bruce noticed was a glass missing in his partner's hand.

Tony heard the scientist enter the room and he motioned him over to the couch he was sitting on.

Bruce approached, head bowed like a guilty child's. He took a seat across from Tony, allowing for the coffee table between them to act as a barrier. "I'd like to say I can pay you back for your stuff, Tony, bu-"

Tony raised a finger to stop him. "It's all being replaced."

"I…" Bruce was hesitant to ask his next question. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Tony narrowed his eyes. "You're something, you know that?"

His harsh tone made Bruce's chest constrict.

"How is it that I'm at fault and you're apologizing?"

Bruce's fingers fidgeted in his lap. "I could've killed you."

"Because I brought up daddy issues." He noticed Bruce cringe. "Look, Banner, I'm not the guy to admit when he's in the wrong." His dark eyes watched Bruce shift in his seat. "But last night… My dad was shit, but your old man…" Bruce began shaking his head and he stopped. "You and me…It's not gonna happen again."

"I wouldn't set that in stone," Bruce muttered.

"We can," Tony urged. "Last night was rough for me. First rough night in a while. Pep—"

"Tony, don't." Bruce didn't want any excuses. "Last night was proof that I can't stay."

"You've never gone into beast mode when I was hammered before. It was a onetime deal."

"You can't know that for sure." Bruce bolted from his seat, his final decision crystal clear. "I'd really like to be alone, Tony. Please respect that…" He hurried towards the exit while Tony watched from his couch.

"He'll be back." Tony knew he would. Even if Bruce tried to hide, he had means of finding him…

Leaving was Bruce's best option. He was paranoid that continuing his conversation with Tony would set him off. Bruce no longer trusted himself around him, especially alone. After aimlessly walking down the busy afternoon streets, he noticed that his brain was subconsciously piloting him past territory he was briefly acquainted with. Bruce stopped in his tracks as he rounded the corner that led to Natasha's apartment building. He felt himself slipping into a routine of running to Natasha with his tail between his legs. His fists clenched at his sides as he took off in the opposite direction. No more, he promised himself.

Natasha had just finished dinner and was busy enjoying "girl time" with Liho as they relaxed in front of the TV. Her phone began to buzz at her side with Tony's name printed across the screen. She was quick to answer it, her thoughts jumping straight to the worst case scenario. "What happened?" she demanded.

Tony answered in a confused tone. "Nothing…" There was a pause as Tony registered the evident worry in Natasha's voice. "He's not with you…?"

Natasha held her breath. Bruce wasn't with Tony, and Tony didn't know where he was… "He left?"

"Shit… I figured he'd mosey over to you…"

"Why did he leave in the first place?" Natasha asked.

"Pissed at me," Tony shrugged.

"He was upset," she corrected. "You said something to him, didn't you?"

"I apologized," Tony snorted. "But our Banner's such a saint that he blames himself for last night…"

A thought crossed Natasha's mind, a possible lead to where he was hiding. "I'll call you back soon."

"You know where he's at?"

Natasha pursed her lips. "A vague idea…"

The sky was painted with vibrant oranges and red as Natasha trudged past a lonely row of gravestones. Looking ahead, she spotted a dark silhouette, still as a statue. Natasha's steps were quiet as she neared the figure's side. "Bruce…"

He stood unmoving, but the corner of his lip slightly raised. "You found me."

"Went off on a hunch," she answered.

Bruce nodded, his fingers laced reverently as he eyed the slab of stone at his feet.

"Stark was worried," she added, eyes fixed on his face.

"He won't have to worry anymore," Bruce softly promised.

"Let's walk back together," Natasha suggested.

Bruce's stare met hers as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I can't stay there, Natasha."

Her stare instantly hardened. "Tell me where you're going, then." She saw no bag at his side. She wondered if he even had his wallet on him.

"That wouldn't be very safe," he informed with a fake grin. "The other guy and I aren't safe, Natasha."

"And we're working to solve that," she sternly corrected. "You're an Avenger now. There's no running from that."

His eyes lowered and he drew a sigh. "I'd like a break…Away from all of that…"

"That's a lie."

Bruce's dark orbs pleaded with Natasha's as he met her angry glare. "I'd like some time alone. Just me… and the other guy…"

"Fury will find you, Bruce. You can't just run away like this…"

Leave it to cowardly Bruce Banner to run away…"Then do me a favour?" he shyly requested. "Keep this between us...?"

The silence became deafening as Natasha took a long moment to watch the pain in his eyes grow. Whenever she felt stressed, she needed to get away. Never permanently-just a temporary break, completely off the grid. With that in mind, she nodded her head in agreement. "I'll talk to Fury…let him know that you needed a vacation."

Bruce uttered a hushed "thank you."

"One condition."

Bruce knew he wasn't going to like her ultimatum. He was more curious as to whether he would uphold said condition.

"You come back after a month."

He didn't say nor do anything in reply; he simply gave her an empty stare.

"Travel, clear your head… Just promise me that you'll come back to your apartment before Stark rents it out to some other science dork."

A gut feeling told Bruce that he wouldn't keep her promise.

"I'll send you a letter when your month is up. Then it's straight back to doing whatever you and Stark do all day… Don't make me come get you. S.H.I.E.L.D. will have eyes out for you, Bruce."

He turned his back to her and slowly walked away. "Keep Fury at bay… Please."

Natasha narrowed her eyes.

He stopped and turned to give her one final smile. "Thank you. Honestly, thank you." His smile fell as her betrayed glare remained glued to his face. Bruce slowly exhaled and let his tired feet drag him away.

"Fucking sent him away. Goddamn." Tony's hand was instinctively reaching for one of the bottles behind the bar, but thoughts of his missing friend told him he shouldn't touch anything strong.

"He needs time to himself," Natasha warned. "I gave him a month."

Tony wanted to slap the woman upside the head. "You gave him a month?! The hell didn't you stop him, Romanoff?!" he shouted.

Natasha mentally rolled her eyes over his unnecessarily dramatic reaction. "He needs to clear his head. It's good for him, Stark." She folded her arms across her chest with a scowl.

"I can't tell if you're his mommy or his wife." Tony threw it all to hell as he grabbed the closest bottle of brandy and a glass.

"I'm his friend," Natasha deadpanned. "And I know what's good for him."

Tony slammed the container of brandy down, forcing the glass' contents to violently slosh. "Didn't you hear the man say he tried killing himself? He's suicidal, Romanoff!"

Natasha let her arms fall to her sides. "He won't kill himself."

Tony's stomach churned as he imagined his friend holding a gun to his mouth. "You don't know that…" His palms smacked the countertop as he lowered his head in defeat.

Natasha had never felt sorry for the billionaire, not once, until now. "You didn't trigger anything, Stark," she gently assured.

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "I'm the final straw."

"Tony…"

"First Betty, then the General mess… Now I pushed him with the daddy issues…"

"He'll be fine."

Tony beat the side of his fist against the counter. "Like hell he'll be 'fine.' Jarvis, track his readings!" he barked.

"No!" Natasha hissed. "This is for his own good. Give the guy some space!"

"You get some space, Romanoff!" Tony snapped at her with a pointed finger. "Fuck off and leave him to me!"

Natasha raised her hand, fully prepared to smack him, but something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She froze and turned her head. Tony quickly parroted the action.

Bruce's fingers were tightly laced as he allowed himself into the lounge. "Even if I'm gone, I still manage to cause trouble…"

"Son of a bitch," Tony breathed. "Where the hell—"

Bruce shook his head. "Thought I'd pick up some things… Jarvis, uh, told me you were arguing…about me."

"You were really gonna leave," Tony muttered in disbelief.

Bruce pursed his lips and nodded. "For a few weeks, yes."

"Where to?" Tony prodded.

The scientist shrugged. "Wherever the next available flight took me."

Tony shook his head as he approached his partner. "You're staying."

"Tony," Bruce sighed in defeat.

"I'll leave," he quickly offered. "Take the Tower. We'll share Jarvis, just-"

"Tony!" Bruce whined. "I-I'm not taking your home! This is your home."

Tony stood his ground, refusing to take no for an answer. "I have Malibu, Banner," he warned. "You've got nothing."

Natasha raised a brow, amused by the seemingly selfish man's desire to help a friend out. She had a newfound respect for Tony, one that probably wouldn't last long, but it was nice seeing the guy with a change of heart.

"Pep and I have issues that need fixing. She needs Malibu time. And I do, too."

Bruce continued to stubbornly shake his head.

"You need time away from me, is all."

"That's not it," Bruce swore.

Tony grabbed Bruce's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "It is. Don't lie…Now," he added before Bruce could protest. "Go to your lab and play while I go pack." Tony gave his partner's shoulder a firm pat before walking off.

Bruce blinked as the inventor left, his brain fighting to process their arrangement.

Natasha laughed once Tony was out of earshot. "That just made things a hell of a lot easier."

Bruce turned his gaze to the floor.

"You were having second guesses, weren't you?" A smile crept across her lips.

Bruce rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn't."

"Then why'd you come back here?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I needed some things. Clothes, my wallet…"

"I mean why listen to Jarvis and come up here?" she pressed. "Why not just ignore Jarvis and let Stark and I tear each other apart?"

Bruce lifted his head to meet her stare. "I can't let that happen. You're teammates."

Natasha drew close to him and smiled. "Leave it to a fellow teammate to keep things in line." She brushed past him and felt Bruce's eyes follow.

"I… I'm still leaving," he announced.

Natasha kept on walking. "Are you?"

Bruce watched her leave and bowed his head. He would sleep on it.

But deep down, he knew he was going to stay.