Chapter Summary: In which Tony enters the depressive parts of bipolar disorder and Bruce barely talks.

The rest of the day went swimmingly.

Peter quickly bonded with Bruce, both geeking out on different types of webs and web shooters, causing Tony to fondly smile.

The lab was still in shambles, but, like most things in his life, the engineer had a backup. Slightly smaller, yes, but it was still probably one of the best in the world.

Life was just lovely for the two scientists. Both of them ignored the looming threat of alcohol withdrawal affecting Tony, and whatever the hell is going on with Bruce's body.

Pepper sent a quick email, stating that she had to stay a few extra days in California, and Tony didn't continue reading far enough to know why. Besides, Friday knows, so worst comes to worst, he'll just ask his AI.

Tony,

I'll be out next week trying to clean up a bit of the press coverage about the past month. I'll be home soon though, so try not to get yourself killed along the way. If you have any inputs about stock, please tell me before the next day. Tell Bruce that I look forward to seeing him.

Virginia Potts, CEO

Now that Bruce is taking up a possibly permanent residence in the Tower, sleep schedules have greatly improved. Vision has even taken it upon himself to not be up and about at God-Knows o'clock in an effort to help Tony learn that night = sleep time.

Both of the scientists never get too much sleep though. Not by a long shot.

Tony's nightmares and insomnia keep him awake, and Bruce's constant anxiety make it hard for him to feel comfortable enough to close an eye, let alone both. As far as he's concerned, he's even closer to Ross than he was in India. Of course, he's also safer than when he was in Gujarat, but try telling his brain that.

The engineer's been on an almost non-stop complaining train about his stomach, or head, to which he is condemned to bed rest. He's hallucinated twice, but Bruce assured a worried Rhodes and Vision that hallucinations occur after alcohol withdrawal, and could continue for up to weeks.

"JARVIS, turn off the lights to a glow. No, just down fifty percent. Help my fucking headache maybe."

Instead, Friday answers, "Boss, I am Friday. Reducing lights. Would you like me to tell Doctor Banner or Colonel Rhodes about your headache?"

"Fri? But I heard JARVIS a second ago."

"I'm afraid not, Boss. May I have permission to alert one of the people in the building?"

Tony gives a glare to one of Friday's cameras. "What? No. Absolutely not. It's just a light pounding of a jackhammer behind my eyes. Nothing out of the ordinary."

A few times Bruce wakes up feeling terribly sick, but then feels better within the hour. Other times he's gotten dizzy spells, clutching the nearest object in hopes of staying upright. All was well until his worst one, when he ended up on the floor. The good doctor gives an excuse of not eating lately. Somehow, Rhodey, who had been conversing with him at the time, bought the excuse.

"How are the legs, Colonel?"

Rhodes chuckles, "Bruce, we're living in the same building. You can call me James, or at least just Rhodes. And pretty good today, thanks for asking."

Bruce hides a blush of embarrassment underneath his curls. "Oh. Okay. And that's good to hear. I know that Tony was trying to build a new pair of braces, because those ones were, quote, 'Primitive beasts that need to be changed'."

Rhodes fondly smiles and says, "Typical Tony. I'll make sure to tell him that these ones are just fine."

Bruce moves to nod, but the action throws his mind off track, and he's overcome with a spout of dizziness. With his depth perception out of whack, the biologist completely misses the counter top and he nearly face plants on the kitchen floor.

Luckily, Rhodes is there to catch him right before his forehead gets a new friend.

"Bruce?" The Colonel worriedly inquires, helping him sit up on the floor.

"Uhg. Sorry. I'm okay now. I don't know what that was." Bruce says, and it's not even a lie.

Rhodes doesn't believe it though, and calls, "Friday, get Tony out here."

Out of fear for his science bro's forehead, Tony nearly baby proofs all of the Tower. Luckily, Rhodes has a rational conversation and stops him from doing so.

Peter came back on Saturday, because his Aunt was out working yet another job, and he had nothing better to do. For hours, the three of them tried to clean up the lab, and salvaged a few inventions. Unfortunately, there was still most of the lab, which was completely destroyed.

Tony spent the entire time attempting to use electromagnets to clean up, which took longer to do than actually clean up.

Peter spent every other second picking up a part of an invention, asking what it used to do, and exclaiming, "Cool!"

"A gun that can determine the melting point of any object! That's awesome!".

Bruce spent his time on a guilt train en route to Guilt Town. The engineer noticed it though, and would occasionally pick something up and mutter about how he needed to get rid of it anyway. Bruce appreciated the effort.

One night Tony makes it apparent that he's not going to let Bruce sleep until he checks on his arms for infections, despite Bruce's protests. Unfortunately, the doctor isn't a stranger to sleep deprivation, so hours and hours pass onto the night and early morning.

Eventually he makes an agreement with his friend: He'll let Tony check his arms as long as he too, goes to bed. Unsurprisingly, the engineer rebuttals, saying how he wasn't tired, and got extra sleep the previous night. It's a Mexican Standoff of sorts between two of the most stubborn people in the word, until Rhodes sees them still up and yells at them both.

Arms are checked and heads hit pillows not long after that. The Colonel just has a way with words.

When Pepper comes home, she spends her time pampering Bruce and telling Tony that he doesn't take good enough care of himself.

Between Rhodes and Pepper, Bruce has gotten the best hospitality in probably his entire life.

At first Bruce doesn't know how to handle it, but then he realizes that this is what it might be like to have a family. It's… Strange. It's very strange.

Before he knows it, the doctor even has a nice schedule going on, and it's a hell of a lot healthier than when he was in Asia. He's had a couple of close calls, hands absolutely itching for a blade in between his fingers, but he really doesn't want to lose Tony's trust.

Unfortunately, the 'close calls' become reality.

The week in itself was stressful, involving Pepper and Rhodes leaving in and out of the tower on a daily basis. Tony had spent all of his available workshop time attempting to clean out the old one, and create a new one. Bruce sometimes helps, but he gets the feeling that he's doing more harm than good in that regard. He did buy Dum-E a new fire extinguisher, so that's something.

He bought it online, of course. Going outside was not something the biologist was ready for. After living in the rural parts of Gujarat for so long, he was not ready to jump out into New York.

That's how the hellish day started though, thinking about Manhattan.

Too many people, too many buildings, too many cars, too many everything. Bruce had thought about what would happen if the Hulk got out of the Tower.

For one, Thaddeus Ross would definitely find him, and the past two years of anonymity would've been for nothing. And then Hulk would wreak havoc on everything and anything around him.

Things would be destroyed, people would be killed, families would be ripped apart.

Escaping his thoughts for a moment, Bruce takes a few deep breaths, attempting to avoid a panic attack.

Part of him wanted to go to Tony; he could always make things better. But the other part of him felt guilty for even thinking about bothering the man while he had his limmited lab time. He knew that Tony loved his lab more than anything else.

Pepper was out somewhere, dealing with stocks, and Rhodes was at PT, walking more comfortably every single day. The tower felt empty, even though mutely he knew that there was still another man and his 'bots a few floors below.

So he would deal with this problem himself.

Bruce takes the elevator up to his floor, even though it's nearly empty. He's made a bit of a home in a bedroom, but the rest of his floor looks like an empty apartment.

He all but slinks to his room, eyes jittery and hands shaking. Every four seconds without fail, he looks behind his shoulder to make sure no one is following him. Fearfully, he shrugs out of his favorite jacket, and tosses it on the bed.

The panicked doctor then takes a glass lamp and easily smashes it against the ground.

Within seconds he's relishing the feeling of blood pooling and falling off of the thin skin of his arms.

Over the years, Bruce has learned what triggers the Hulk. He's a peculiar being, to say the least. Sudden pain will almost immediately trigger the Hulk, but slow, building pain is manageable. Especially if the biologist knows when it's coming.

The injured man backs himself into a corner and curls on himself, half regretting what he did, and half wanting to cut himself more.

And he has absolutely no idea how he'll hide this from Tony or how he'll tell Tony.

Luckily for him, Friday has got that part covered.

The virtuous AI, watching the entire ordeal silently, has already alerted her creator.

The engineer makes it up to Bruce's floor in record time, dropping whatever piece of equipment he was holding onto in his lab. Friday told him that Bruce was in his room, but at first glance anyone could miss him. Somehow shrinking into a smaller size, Bruce wedged himself between the corner of his room and his nightstand.

His frame was shaking, and his arms were wrapped around his legs, which were pulled up against his chest. If his head wasn't buried in his knees, Tony could see the tears streaming down his face in regret and embarrassment.

"Bruce?" Tony asks, announcing his presence, "Bruce, hey, it's me," He says gently, as if talking to a startled animal.

The other man makes no move to indicate he heard Tony, except possibly curling up in an even tighter ball.

"Hey, Brucie," The engineer soothes, crouching down to his level, avoiding the glass on the ground. "I'm gonna go come sit next to you okay?" Again, Bruce makes no move to show that he understands the man. But when Tony scoots up next to him the doctor leans into him, still silently crying.

Tony lets Bruce lean on him for a minute or two, before muttering, "Brucie, I need to know what happened, okay?" He knows the general gist from Friday, but he also needs to hear it from Bruce as well.

Unfortunately, Bruce doesn't have the same idea. He faintly shakes his head and pulls his arms into his legs even harsher, elicing a wince.

"Bruce, I'm not going to be mad, okay? I'm worried about you. I don't want anything bad to happen, but I need to know how bad it is this time, yeah?"

Much to the scientist's dismay, Bruce still doesn't make any move, with his head buried in his arms.

Tony thinks for a moment, then grabs the jacket from the bed, without jostling his friend too much. He then pushes the jacket on his friend, and slowly drags him off of the floor.

Bruce's arms fall to his sides, and his pants are revealed to be stained with fresh blood, presumably from his new cuts. Now that he's standing up, Tony can get the jacket on the shoulders of Bruce, but he won't let him stick in his arms in the sleeves

Rather than taking him back to the med bay, where Bruce spent his first two days almost exclusively, Tony brings him to his floor instead.

Because of Pepper's sternness, there's a heavily stocked first-aid kit in Tony's room, so he fetches that after setting Bruce on his bed. The entire time, Bruce stays silent and doesn't even try to protest being dragged somewhere else in the tower.

Tony mutters soothing words for him, but it does little to assuage either of their fears.

Shortly after, Bruce starts his chorus of "I'm sorry"s, to which Tony starts his own of "It's okay"s. Half the time Tony doesn't even know why it comes out of his mouth. There's really no reason for it too. Saying "It's okay" isn't going to solve any problem, just like saying "I'm sorry" isn't going to stop Bruce from being cut.

"Okay, Brucie," Tony starts, after tossing the gauze back in the kit. "We're not doing to silent treatment anymore, okay? I'm going to give the low down, and you're gonna listen."

Bruce nods, finally able to slip his arms back into his beloved jacket.

"Bruce," Tony says, voice tired.

"Okay." The biologist answers, internally cringing at his voice, hoarse from continuously saying "I'm sorry".

Tony sits down on the bed next to his friend and says, "Alright, here's what gonna happen. You're either going to tell me what is going on with your head, or you're going to tell a professional. I imagine you'd rather tell me, and if we're being honest, I'd rather we not bring a psychiatrist into this building, because God knows that they'd take one look at me and freak."

Bruce gives a small smile, even though both of them know it's the truth.

"So," Tony starts, drawing out the word, "Talk to me or call in the pros?"

Looking down and fiddling with the hem of the suit jacket Bruce nods, and moves to get off the bed until Tony stops him.

"Nope. Use your words Brucie Bear." Tony sighs, giving a stern look.

Breathing out, Bruce says, "I'll talk with you." So quietly Tony could've missed it.

Feeling triumphant, Tony pats his friend's knees and announces, "Perfect, now-"

"But," Bruce adds, shyly looking up, "Only if you talk to me about your problems." Bruce didn't have seven Doctorites for nothing.

The engineer gives Bruce a trademark smile, until he actually sees his friend.

Bruce looks defeated.

It's the only word Tony can think of that describes his science buddy.

He just looks defeated. Like he doesn't even want to try anymore, like he's too tired to try anymore. As if even breathing takes too much effort.

Tony's smile falls in slow motion, like a movie.

Bruce sees it fall, and he quickly ducks his head and gets of the room, barely short from running. He spends the rest of the day in his room, ignoring the world around him.

Despite Rhodes' and Pepper's best efforts, neither of them eat that even.

Everyone is a bit on edge since that night, even though two of the people in the building have no clue what went on.

Vision had since left, saying something along the lines of needing to talk with Wanda.

Tony didn't bother to try and stop him.

The world started to roll in slow motion for him. Having limited hours in the lab no longer seemed like the worst thing in the world- he could barely even tinker for that long anymore. He ate even less, if that's possible, and slept through the morning. More often than not, Rhodes would find him on a couch, laying down with a blanket lazily draped over his body.

Since his last stunt, Bruce has reduced himself to something close to a mute, only talking quietly in short sentences. The cuffs on the rattled jacket are destroyed even further, sleeves inches shorter than how they were years ago.

Sometimes Tony and Bruce share a quiet conversation, usually about science, never about each other and never about anything related to the Avengers, or lack thereof.

Finally Pepper gets so fed up that she finds the best therapist money can buy and forces Tony and Bruce to talk to her.

As expected, Tony acts like a bastard the entire time, and even hits on her in an effort to get her to leave. He offers large sums of money to her, a private estate, anything she could ever want, just to get her to leave.

Of course, Pepper picks the best, and she doesn't leave. So Tony slowly, slowly starts to peel off events from his life. He's still on easy going memories, but it's quite the step up from laying on the couch all day.

The woman- Dr Reeves somehow comes in every four days without fail, even when the billionaire bribes her with copious amounts of money. Tony decides he likes her enough that he'll stop.

Bruce on the other hand, flat out refused to see her the first week. Despite him, Tony, and Friday scrounging up every bit history and evidence on her, Bruce doesn't trust easy.

Too many close calls with Ross, and Hydra, and SHIELD, for that matter, that honest people come few and sparse.

One day, he decides to meet with her- but nothing else. So for the full hour Bruce sits in silence, picking at his fingers or pulling at the threads on his clothes. Dr Reeves seems to find this normal behavior, so she talks about her own family and life for the hour to gain trust.

She has two sons: one in highschool and one in college, and a husband that was shipped to Afghanistan and never came back. Dr Reeves had skin cancer when she was in her late twenties, but they caught it early, so she had (obviously) survived. She loves cats, but both of her sons are allergic, so instead she often visits shelters to get her daily dose of kitten in. And on general principle she loves animals, so she has a dog.

Between hearing about her life and Tony's acceptance to her, one session Bruce quietly vocally admits that he also loves animals, and had always wanted a dog as a kid. She doesn't seem surprised at the words, or pushes anything further, making Bruce very grateful.

And suddenly it's been a week since Bruce's incident, and everything seems to be going okay. A very shy 'okay', but an 'okay' nonetheless.

Vision writes, and talks of him and Wanda in some sort of an understanding. He doesn't write about Steve or Bucky, still mindful of the engineer's fragile mind.

Pepper goes out on business for a few days in Chicago, and Rhodey gets even more comfortable in his braces.

Yesterday, the sun rose, and then it fell back into the sky.

Same as today.

And it will be the same as tomorrow, for the engineer.

The world turns so slowly on its axis, that Tony begins to worry. Then he realizes it's only his own brain that's running slowly. The thought makes the billionaire groan in bed.

He took his meds, but he still can't sleep. Tony has Friday dim the harsh red glare of his clock, but thirty minutes pass and he's still wide awake.

Some people count sheep. Tony goes through every wikipedia article that he's read.

And suddenly, the world begins to spin at full force again.

The genius sits straight up in bed, before quickly making his way to the kitchen, because Rhodey banned lab time this late at night.

"Fri, wake up Brucie and tell him to get down here."

"Sure, boss."

"Oh, and tell him that I'm not hurt or anything. Don't need any unnecessary stress, do we?" Tony adds, walking in small circles because he just can't sit still.

"I will certainly relay the message." Friday replies, voice quiet, because she's learned all by herself that when it's dark out it's quiet out. Smart girl. Robot. Computer. Thing?

A few minutes later, Bruce comes into the kitchen, hair nearly sticking straight up. "Tony?" He questions, rubbing a hand over his tired face.

"Bruce, Brucie Bear! I know what's wrong with you!"

"What?" Bruce asks, noting how it's way to late (early?) for this.

Tony quickly leads him to a chair and sits down next to him. "So I've been thinking of why the hell you've been getting dizzy and that weird thin blood thing, right?"

"Uh," Bruce mutters in an exhausted agreement.

"Right. So, I've been doing some thinking, and-"

Bruce interrupts, "Tony, it's nearly midnight. Why'd you need to tell me now?"

Tony turns his head to glance at the microwave clock. "Oh," He notes, as if he's just realizing the time. "Well, it's important news regarding your health, so I figured, you know, earlier would be considered better?"

Bruce sighs and murmurs, "Just next time wait for the sun?"

"Oh, yeah. 'Course. Anyway, so I've deduced why you've been getting all of these symptoms."

"Okay?" Bruce prompts, impulsively pulling at his cuticles.

Tony notices it and pulls his hand away, "Hey now, that's not necessary." Bruce gives a face, but doesn't push his hand out of Tony's grasp.

"You're sick."

"Uh, what?"

"Sick. You are sick."

"You woke me up at midnight to tell me that I'm sick?" Bruce asks, with an incredulous look, as if he doesn't actually believe this is happening.

Tony nods vigorously. "Yeah, but not like a flu sick. Well, sort of like a flu sick." Expecting Bruce to ask a question, Tony pauses, but it never comes. "How long had the symptoms been occurring since before you went to Alaska?"

"Uh, non existent, I think. I was sort of dizzy at the hospital in Fairbanks, but nothing in Gujarat." The biologist answers, wracking his brain.

Tony looks almost giddy when he questions, "Right, right, so at the hospital what happened?"

Because of the dimmed lights, the engineer can't see Bruce pale a bit. "Uh, nothing much. A doctor stitched, uh, stitched me, and then a nurse brought me to a r-room- why is this important?" Bruce uses his non captured hand to pull the threads of his jacket, which he seems to be constantly wearing.

"Okay, yeah, but I mean details. Did they give you an IV or something? Or a shot or any meds or something?" Tony asks, pulling Bruce's other hand away too.

Bruce thinks for a second until he pales so bad Tony thinks he's about to faint. "Oh God, they, they, the nurse, she, uh, she gave me a shot in, in both of my arms, because of, because of the, uh, the, uh," Bruce starts, breathing picking up.

Tony gently asks, "Because of the stitches?"

The doctor nods. "Yeah, because of the stitches. General anaesthetic, because of the stitches, because of the pain," Bruce rambles, until Tony stops him.

"Bruce, hey, Bruce, look at me," Fearful brown eyes meet his own. "Okay, I need you to calm down a bit, yeah?"

In turn, Bruce shakes his head, and now he's close to hyperventilating. Tony squeezes his hands and soothingly says, "It's okay now. You're here, at the Tower, not at that hospital, okay? Whatever happened there happened, but it can't happen here. So now I need you to breathe with me,"

The smaller man doesn't reply, but he does make an effort to slow his breathing with Tony. The engineer gives a few empathetic words, and waits a few minutes before asking, "Bruce, I need you to try and remember, even though you don't want to. When she injected you with the 'anaesthetic' did it feel like one? You know how they work with you right? As long as you're not angry and green, you still get the numbing effect, right?"

Bruce just nods.

"Did it feel like you were injected with anaesthetic?"

Instead of replying, Bruce stares straight ahead, completely unmoving.

"Bruce?" Tony asks, taking a glance where he was looking, only to find the familiarity of the wall. "Bruce, hey, just give me a nod or a shake, or anything, really,"

Bruce's hands shake in Tony's, but he still doesn't make any other move.

"Did it feel numbing?" The engineer tries one last time, saying it so softly that he's sure even Friday didn't pick up on it.

Then, slowly, Bruce shakes his head and mutters, "No."

A/N: Hey sorry for the late update, but I got really injured this past week. I don't want to go into details (besides, you guys didn't come here for the a/n's), but it's certainly not the best. I'm still able to type (mostly), but there are days where I just don't have the mobility to.

So I'd like to apologize in advance about any future late updates without warning.

And although your comments can't make my body heal, it makes me smile like a toddler getting a new toy!
Thanks for understanding 3