"Sir."
"Jarvis. If I open my eyes and there is not a ray of sunshine coming through that window, I am going to fry your motherboard." He groaned into his pillow, feeling Pepper shift next to him.

"Sir, I believe you should get to Dr. Banner's quarters." Jarvis pressed, unaffected.
"Dr. Banner?"
That woke him up.
"Indeed, sir. My readings show that he has a heightened heart rate. Nearing 190bpm."
Oh, that was the bad number.
Tony flung the blankets from his body and leaped from the bed, bolting out the door as Pepper sat up with concern.
"Did you wake up Birdbrain?" He demanded as he slid around the corner at a run. If the Hulk made a sudden appearance, the specialized tranquilizers SHIELD had developed for some of Barton's arrows would be a big help.
"Of course, sir." Was the response as Tony threw open the door.
And there he saw Bruce, curled up and shaking on the floor near his bed, breathing harshly.
"Hey, big man." Tony tried when he didn't acknowledge him "What's going-"
"LEAVE!"
He winced. That was definitely more Hulk sounding than it was Banner. He stepped closer, sinking to his knees beside him
"N'ah, not quite yet." He kept his voice soft, and extended a hand to touch his back, surprised at how firm and tight the muscles were. Definitely not a good sign. "Breathe, Brucie." He muttered gently, replacing the hand with an arm as he pulled him to his side.
Dr. Banner made a harsh sound, Tony wasn't sure what it was or what it meant, but he slid his other arm around him too, shifting to hug the smaller man to his chest. "Everything's alright," he continued "No one's here, no one's going to get you, it's just you and me." Bruce clutched at his upper arm with a surprising amount of force, and Tony leaned his head down to the curly mop of hair, resting it there. "I gotcha, Bruce."
The sound that was then made was nothing short of pathetic, and it pulled roughly at his heartstrings. It was something akin to a whimper, and it made Tony tighten his arms around him "Shhhh, shhh, you're okay," he soothed, rubbing one of his arms as he spoke.
It then occured to him that he had no idea why he was in this situation. What had nearly brought the Other Guy out? Tony glanced around the room, hoping to find some kind of clue. There was nothing. Everything looked normal. The sparsly decorated room was just the same as it always was. The yoga mat was rolled up in the corner, unlit candles and incense perched on top of his dresser, and a worn pair of shoes was hidden halfway beneath his bed... Nothing was out of place, nothing was wrong, so what had set him off?
The man in his arms was slowly relaxing, breathing evening out, and the crushing grip on Tony's arm was lessening. All good signs. "Good job, big guy." He praised gently, giving him a squeeze. Bruce gave a tiny nod in answer, and finally let go of him.
Tony carefully removed his arms, and the doctor stayed leaned against him for a moment before straightening up, and rubbing his face with his hands. He looked exhausted.
"Thanks..." Bruce mumbled after a period of silence that Tony found himself unwilling to break. He waved a hand dismissively and leaned back on his hands "Anytime. Jarvis woke me up and told me that my science buddy was in trouble. Not like I could've gone back to bed."
That earned him a small smile, but Tony's grin soon faded.
"What happened?"
Bruce glanced up from his hands and then slowly lowered them, suddenly not looking at Tony "I had a nightmare." He admitted lamely.
"A nightmare? Must've been a doozy."
"My mom died."
He wasn't sure if it was the bluntness of the statement itself, or the tone in which it was said, but Tony found himself only able to stare.
"It happened a long time ago, and I haven't had this dream in awhile. But it was just... her dying."
Tony's head shook. He knew full well the feeling of losing a parent, and he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't prone to the periodic nightmare of the car crash that left him orphaned.
"... I saw it happen." Bruce added quietly. That made Tony frown. He knew that Bruce had been raised by his aunt and uncle, that his mother had passed away and his father had been locked up in some kind of mental institution, but that was as far as any conversation pretaining to his youth had gone. And it was then that he saw the tears in the other man's eyes.
"Bruce..."
The look on the doctor's face was heart breaking, and before Tony knew what he was doing, he had pulled the smaller man into a hug. It was impulsive, like most things he does, but it felt right in a way that he couldn't quite explain. Then Bruce put his arms around Tony and returned the gesture, and the motion felt... complete. Despite the situation, Tony felt himself smile a little, and pulled the man closer, leaning his head against Bruce's.
"Well, looks like everything's okay in here."
If something had been within reach, Tony was fairly certain he would have thrown it at Clint Barton, because his words made the small doctor pull away.
"Yes, I'm sorry." He said quietly, taking note of the nocked arrow in the agent's favorite bow.
Barton nodded, flashed a thumbs up, and trudged back down the hall. Tony let his arms fall completely away from Bruce as the man stood. "Thank you for coming. I'm okay now."
Tony frowned and watched the other man as he slid back into his bed "Hey, Bruce-"
"You can go back to bed."
At first he was offended by how dismissive the comment was. He had practically put his life on the line! If Banner had actually turned, he would've been the first thing Hulk would've run into, and that was never a good thing to be. But one more look at the world-weary doctor made the feelings evaporate almost instantly.
Bruce had once told him that turning into Hulk didn't hurt unless he fought it. And by God had Bruce just fought it. He was hurting, undoubtedly sore, and Jarvis had probably woken up everyone in the tower in case Hulk got out of hand. For lack of a better word, the doctor was embarassed. Embarassed and aching in a way Tony doubted he'd ever really understand. And he wanted to be alone.
"Sounds like a plan," Tony stated mildly as he stood, dusting off his sweatpants as he headed for the door. There might've been more to be said, but Tony let it go as he gently shut the other man's door.
'Tomorrow, I'll make up for this.' He thought to himself as he slid back into bed. Pepper shifted closer to him, putting her head on his shoulder as she tugged up the blankets to smother the light from his reactor. "I take it everything went well?"
"My tower doesn't need to be rebuilt, I'd say it went well." Tony said with a one-shouldered shrug. He wasn't looking at Pepper as he spoke, but he supposed that wasn't a bad thing because she was already falling asleep.
And after awhile Tony did too, after quietly asking Jarvis if Bruce had first.