Disclaimer: Don't, and never will own. Maybe in my wildest dreams, but those don't count.
Warnings: Foul language (dur), m/m SLASH. If it's not your thing, the back button is in the top left hand corner of your browser. Kindly use it. Violence. Mentions of suicide, self-harm, non-con.
A/N: Ah-right. Chapter one. Let's get this fuckin' ball rolling :)
[Chapter 1]
The team walked onto the bridge of the aircraft carrier as it took off from the Atlantic ocean.
"Since you've already been debriefed, I will leave you to your work," Fury announced.
The assembled heroes nodded, Bruce noting that Tony was nowhere to be found. "I guess I'll...uh...head to the lab then," the scientist muttered.
Even though they'd all been living together for quite a few months - Tony had convinced Bruce to stay for a month and he hadn't exactly been keen on letting him leave - he was still nervous around them. He could see the wariness and pity in his team mate's eyes. All except for Tony's. The brilliantly aggravating man still poked him, annoyed him, and kept trying to get him to relax. Not only that, but Tony was the only one who would raise his voice or show his temper around him.
Breaking free from his thoughts, Bruce looked through the window of the lab. The first thing he noticed was the broken glass littering the floor. Second was a very frustrated and angry Tony pacing back and forth while running a hand through unkempt hair. The dark haired man's posture was rigid with emotion. Banner opened the door silently, and the billionaire didn't notice his best friend standing behind him until he spoke, "What's wrong?"
Stark jumped and turned so quickly he stumbled backwards. Bruce caught his arm before he crashed into the glass laden table behind him, "Woah... I didn't mean to startle you."
"No, don't worry," the mask was back in place, and Tony was smiling back at him, "They didn't give you a hard time did they?"
Bruce shook his head, "Not at all. They just kind of... left me alone. But clearly something got to you."
The smile faltered slightly, and when it returned it wasn't as strong, "Don't worry about it. We should get to work finding this thing."
"Why do you even bother lying to me? I know you well enough to tell when you're not okay, Tony."
"Could we just drop it, Banner?" the genius turned as his eyes flashed in subdued anger, "We're here to work, not be a support group."
Sensing he was treading dangerous waters, the other scientist just held up his hands in surrender and nodded, "Yeah of course. Sorry," Bruce gave a small smile, "What have we got so far?"
Tony suppressed a growl as he replied, his voice short and clipped, "Not nearly enough."
Bruce frowned slightly, and looked back to his screens, "So..." he began slowly, after a moment's silence, "we're assuming this.. this artifact, or whatever it is, has the same energy signature as the Tesseract, correct?"
The billionaire grunted in reply.
"If that's the case, we should be using the same method to find it, correct?"
Tony shrugged, "I'm running the old algorithm as we speak, but it hasn't turned anything up yet. I modified it to accommodate for a variance in the wavelength as well. At this point, I think we just have to wait and see."
A sigh escaped the other scientist's lips, "More waiting, huh?"
Chocolate brown eyes narrowed as they looked at him, a swamp of murky and unknown emotion swirling in their depths. Before Bruce could ponder it further however, the door to the lab opened with a slight swoosh and Natasha Romanoff stepped through.
"How's it going?"
Tony's eyes flashed for a second before he regained his composure. Bruce gave him a sideways glance, and filed it away in the section of his memory he kept for things to ask Tony about. If the agent noticed anything, she didn't give any hint of it. In the end, Stark shrugged and replied, "We don't have anything yet. We'll let you know when we have something."
Natasha nodded, "Well, if there's anything SHIELD can do –"
"Actually," the red head's gaze swung towards the physicist, "What else can you tell us about this star we're looking for?"
"I wish I could... But we only know as much as you. Clint and I were away on an unrelated mission, so we were just debriefed."
Bruce sighed, Of course. But there has to be something else, there always is when SHIELD is involved.
Natasha, seeing that neither men before her were going to talk anymore, turned on her heel and walked back out.
"Well," Bruce began again, "There's not much more that we can do until we have more information. So, why don't you tell me what's on your mind, Tony."
His friend glowered at him, "What's the point? Talking doesn't change what happened. What's done is done."
The doctor looked slightly perplexed, "Is it about Pepper?"
Tony scoffed, "That... that's nothing. Nothing at all."
Taken aback, Bruce's eyes widened and he looked away. The swish of the automatic door signalled Tony's exit, and he sighed, resting his face in his hands. It was going to be a long mission.