Chapter 8 Vital Communication
Standard Disclaimer Applies; AN: still the same night, folks, it's almost over; any product named herein does not belong to the author (Maker's Mark, et al).
Tony left Bruce in the bedroom and went to the kitchen.
"JARVIS, we stocked this place with alcohol, right?", he asked the ever present AI.
"It should be in the third cabinet to the right, from the stove, sir," was the crisp reply. Tony nodded and went directly there. He opened the cabinet door and found a bottle of Maker's Mark.
'That'll do', he thought, taking it and a pair of tumblers down. He also rooted around for the coffee pot and hauled it out onto the counter. Hiding in the back of the freezer was a bag of dark roast beans. Tony was surprised to find two coffee grinders, but luckily grabbed the one that didn't have a dusty film on the inside of the lid*. He refilled the kettle off the stove, and started it heating when the coffee began perking.
He checked the clock, 12am. He and Pepper had been out at the dinner for only a few hours before being called back. Tony hoped Bruce would let him help with this problem and choose not to bolt when he learned of the military sniffing around. At that moment, they weren't sure WHY the military had been in Stark Tower that day. That was what Pepper was working on.
The coffee finished brewing just as the kettle began to whistle, forcing Tony from his thoughts. He turned off the stovetop burner and moved the kettle, then fixed himself a cup of coffee. He left the bourbon alone. Sipping from the mug he'd made, Tony turned to lean on the counter and waited for Bruce to make an appearance, and he became lost in thoughts of improving safety.
While Stark puttered domestically around his kitchen, Bruce was in the bathroom, trying to shore up his raw, shattered nerves and find a way to buoy up his rapidly waning strength. Quick changes like he'd just had took almost every ounce of strength and endurance he possessed and just flushed it from his system.
He sat, trembling, on the lidded toilet, just breathing. The Hulk rumbled in the back of his mind. 'Run?' came clearly from that quarter. "I don't think so. Not yet," Bruce whispered out loud. 'Don't want to run' Hulk grumbled.
"I know, but if we aren't safe, or can't keep these people safe."
'Understand. Tell Tin Man?' "Yes"
'Everything?' and the Hulk was worriedly cautious. Bruce shared that, "Maybe". Hulk had to be satisfied with that. They needed someone to trust, tired of being alone. But was Tony that person? Their friendship was probably too new to tell. Bruce sighed, scrubbing his hands through his sweat soaked hair. He wanted a shower, but realized he'd only be delaying Tony's rest if he took it before talking to the man. He stood up and shucked off the torn pants only to step into the new ones, grateful to go commando because of his 'rage monster'. He turned on the cold water tap and splashed water on his stubble covered cheeks. He peered at his image in the mirror, seeing the tired, old loneliness staring back. Briefly his eyes lightened, fading from chocolate, to honey, to hazel, a reminder he was never truly alone. When his eyes faded back, he felt comfortable enough to leave the bathroom.
Joining Tony in the kitchen, he puttered long enough to test the water in the kettle and make tea. He then nudged Tony out of the kitchen and back to the living room where they sat on an opposite ends of the couch. Bruce sipped at his mug, letting the tea soothe the both of them. Tony sat and carefully avoided staring. Bruce sighed, setting his mug on the coffee table. He turned to face Tony.
"This isn't easy," he started, "Trust isn't, I mean." His hands clenched together, fingers knotted, knuckles white.
Tony snorted a laugh. "I know from trust issues," he replied cockily. Bruce didn't react. He stared into a middle distance lost in thought. Tony stared at his friend's face, noticing the worry etched there. He would remove that worry if he could. Such a genius brain as Banner had, should lead as carefree a life as he himself led. Or tried to anyway. But how to convince the man?
Bruce looked at Tony, trying to formulate the right way to tell him about the nightmares, and thus, his past.
"This was..." he paused, breathing slowly, and deeply, his nostrils flaring. Tony was captivated by the slow movement of Bruce's bare chest expanding and contracting, the curly thatch of chest hair catching most of his attention. 'Damn, stop that, Stark. Bad timing, if I do say so. Pepper would skewer me', the thoughts rattled him. Bruce doesn't notice his uncomfortable shifting.
Bruce tries again, rubbing a hand over his face and into his hair. "Whatever happened downstairs triggered nightmares. Stuff out of my past. The Other Guy, he's...we've not been treated well," Bruce trails off on that last part. For all he knows, some of the details of the experiments are in his SHIELD file. Tony's eyes widen a fraction.
"Experiments?", he whispers, barely breathing. Bruce just nods. Tony's capacity for memorization is good, so yes, the experiments were in his file.
"Damn" is an explosive sound from Tony as he collapses in on himself. At first, that information felt so far away. As if they had occurred to someone else. Then he'd met Banner, and all that information slammed to the forefront of his mind and gained a singular clarity on par with his memories of the cave. Bruce can't look at Tony now, wondering how badly altered the whole affair is. He shifts, uncomfortable in the new silence that stretches between them.
Tony finishes his coffee, pushes the empty mug onto the coffee table and scrubs through his hair, thinking. "How much do you know about how I got the arc reactor?", he asks. It never appeared in the papers, just that he'd gone missing for three months and been found. Bruce can only shake his head, denying any knowledge.
"When I went missing in Afghanistan. Was demonstrating the Jericho system when the convoy was attacked," Tony started explaining, his voice quiet. It had Bruce concentrating on Tony, watching his lips form the words. Tony's face was closed off, eyes pinched from tension.
"I was held by the Ten Rings for three months. It was their attack, with MY weapons," Tony stopped, closing his eyes against the flood of memories. He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.
Bruce suddenly got up, startling the other man. But he only went back to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of Maker's Mark. He left the tumblers on the counter. On his way back, he opened the bottle, striping the wax off the top quickly and efficiently.
"I think we could use this," he said, pouring half a mug's worth into Tony's, then the same into his. Tony grimaced, knowing he was right, but Pepper'd kill him for showing up drunk in the morning.
"JARVIS, where's Pepper?", Tony quietly asked his AI.
"She has gone to bed, sir," was the equally quiet reply. Tony nodded, picking up his mug and swallowing half the amount in one go. It burned, it always did. But it never helped. Not even during the palladium days. Bruce just sipped at his, knowing his metabolism would burn through it faster, than a normal man's metabolism.
"What happened?", Bruce prompted, after several minutes had passed.
Tony refilled his mug, topping it off this time, trying to find a little liquid courage before answering. After a couple more swallows of the whiskey, he answered the physicist.
"The attack injured me. Badly as it turns out." Bruce nodded. The arc reactor's schematics made that plain.
"I had help, but the first time. The first time, I was hooked up to a car battery for power," Tony lost himself in his memories. Waking up to Yinsen, the exposed wires trailing from the gaping hole in his chest. The torture, fear, and adrenaline as constant companions with the desert heat and shouting, angry captors.
Bruce watched Tony, who sat in the corner of the couch, trying to wage yet another battle with his demons. The handsome face twitched occasionally from whatever memory flitted through his head. Bruce dropped his gaze, focusing on the mug half full of whiskey in his hand.
"Seems we both have demons," he whispered, taking a deep swallow of the Maker's Mark. His low baritone made Tony jump a bit, breaking through the memories for just a moment.
"Yeah. Sucks, doesn't it? Two amazing guys like us?", Tony quipped, coming back to himself a little bit.
Bruce huffed a laughed, not really meaning it. "If you say so."
"So enough doom and gloom," Tony forced some cheerfulness into his voice. "Want to go over those schematics?"
Bruce look at this genius engineer for a moment. "Maybe, but food is a bigger priority after transforming. Big Guy takes a lot out of me," he admitted. That got Tony's attention. Science, real science on the Hulk, was a guaranteed grabber for him.
"Do you know anything about what those truly do to you? Not what the Army did, that's all crap," Tony was getting excited. While going on about his armor was a passion, having a "new toy" to "play" with was always more fun.
"Heh, no. Getting control of the transformations was more of a priority than knowing the details of how hard they were on me," Bruce said, a bit of a laugh filtering through his words.
Tony suddenly slapped a hand onto a thigh, "Dammit!"
Bruce nearly came out of his skin at the sudden change in his friend.
"What?", he stuttered, trying to stop his racing heart. Luckily the Hulk remained disinterested.
"JARVIS can record most things for biometrics, but I don't currently have a lab set up for anything in-depth," Tony bemoaned.
"Which is a good idea!", Bruce insisted, putting his mug back on the table, alcohol largely ignored.
"How so?", Tony demanded, turning to face the other scientist.
"The whole 'lab rat' thing, Tony. If the Other Guy thought there was a problem..." he left the implied threat hanging.
"Is that all? Pfft," Tony dismissed Bruce's valid concerns.
"Your lack of sense on this doesn't mean I'll agree. First," Bruce ticked off his points with his fingers, "the Hulk is a BIG problem. Second," another finger, "no lab. Third," another finger, "We need safety protocols. And last but not least, can we just get past this first?" He didn't mean to sound whiny on that part, but he was starting to get hungry at that point, it was affecting his thought processes.
Tony grinned, "Fine, fine. But you'll see. I can meet each of those problems, easily. We can deal with the last, first. Want to go out?"
Bruce shook his head, but agreed in theory that Tony would be able to deal with most of the problems.
"Is there a good diner around here?", Bruce asked him, revealing their desire for greasy food.
"Diner food, huh? JARVIS?", Tony deflected the question.
"Map index shows a 24 hour diner about 5 miles from the Tower, Dr Banner, if that will suffice?" JARVIS answered.
"Too far to walk at this hour," Bruce muttered, considering the kitchen behind him.
"Who said anything about walking? Finish getting dressed, Doctor, and we'll go," Tony waved a hand at him, prompting Bruce to get up and find a clean shirt and a pair of shoes.
Before they left Bruce's apartment, Tony grasped the other scientist's arm, their eyes met.
"Look, Pepper and I, we're looking into this. Security found holes, we're patching them," Tony said, trying to convey how earnest he was. Bruce watched his face carefully, looking for signs that Tony might be hiding something.
"A few employees had unauthorized visitors from the military, and it appears they may know you're staying here," Tony went on. Bruce flinched, ready to withdraw, except for Tony's tight grip on his arm.
"Bruce, I swear, they cannot get you from here. But you have to trust me, okay?", Tony wanted Banner to stay, to get him to relax and enjoy life again.
"Tony," Bruce wanted to tell Stark it would be a futile effort, and that it never worked out for anyone in the long run. But the earnestness in the other man's face, coupled with the full on warmth in his eyes just held hard to Bruce like someone had handcuffed him in place. He sighed, and knew the Hulk would prefer to stay where there was even a slim chance at safety than running for it and taking their chances in the greater world.
Tony looked at him, brown eyes full of hope and dreams.
"Tony, I can only promise to give it a try. General Ross does not give up, ever. We will have to work on some measures to keep tabs on me, the Other Guy and everyone safe," Bruce finally told him, twisting out of Tony's grip enough to take his hand to emphasize his points.
Tony's heart did a bit of a flip when Bruce's thick, strong fingers closed around his own longer, thinner ones. Bruce didn't notice the mild stutter in Tony's pulse as it leapt forward like a racehorse from the starting gate.
"Okay," Tony smiles. For once, it's a real one, not one of his 'devil may care' trademark smirks, or one of the fake, plastic smiles he used for the media. And this one warms both Bruce and Hulk, all the way to the very core of their heart.
* - Foodies use coffee grinders to grind whole spices, as well as coffee beans. It plain makes sense to maintain 2 of them to not co-mingle the flavors!