After The Suits

[starkingenuity]

"And so then I told General Ross that I was a virgin, but he took my hand and told me he'd be gentle." And...nothing. Tony thinks about throwing his shoe at Banner's head, but that probably wouldn't go over well and then he'd be missing a shoe. He liked this pair too. Pepper got it for him after he threw the last at the Vice President's head. "Banner." Nothing. "Banner, I'm going to come over there and give you the wettest, most amazing kiss--"

"Sir, might I remind you of Ms. Pott's condition?" JARVIS chimes in.

Tony has to concur. You don't cheat on your power powered girlfriend.

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[starkingenuity]

"That's what you get for leaving in the first place," Tony says, frowning as he rolls his head towards Bruce and then sits up. Oh, he's getting old. He can feel it. All of his bones feel the strain as he moves to his feet and stands over Banner with his arms crossed. "If you would have just stayed put, you'd have been bright eyed, bushy tailed--"

And with him over the last few months. But noooo. Banner had to selfishly go and help the world's poor and needy. How annoyingly noble.

"How about breakfast? And then bed. No. Shower, and then bed. Curry really sticks to you, huh, because your jacket--"

[aggravated]

"I had business to finish up there," Bruce protests, frowning hard at Tony. "If I like see into the future and know bad things were coming, I would hve stayed but may I remind you, you sent me on a private jet back there?"

He rubs his face and stands up, meeting Tony's eyes. "...I'm sorry I left because of you, but not sorry what I had to do to finish what I started. And a shower would be amazing right about now- what? I haven't had curry in 72 hours or more how could you smell that?" Maybe he's grown use to the smell.

[starkingenuity]

"You left because you had things to do," Tony grunts. He's not going to have this heart to heart, all right? Okay, he technically all ready did but Bruce wasn't listening to any of it so it's not like it really mattered. Funny how good it feels to get something off your chest and how awful too.

The pun is absolutely intended. Everything's gone so boringly status quo since Clean Slate and the removal of the reactor from his chest.

Sure, the suits had seemed like cocoons but now he sort of feels like his inspiration is just...gone.

"I think curry might have mixed with your blood. Messing around with radiation again? Do you freak out into various Indian spice levels? Oh, I need to change the detector. JARVIS--"

"Already on it, sir."

[aggravated]

A brow lifts at that. "The detector? What detector?" Bruce frowns at the idea he reeks of curry; with his nose he should have been able to pick it up. "Let me get a shower and then we can eat, okay? I want to hear more about what happened once I can appreciate it."

Damn it stop guilt tripping him, Tony.

[starkingenuity]

"It's nothing." He's just being a douche. You smell fine.

Still, it seems to have worked. Bruce will go shower, wake himself up, and Tony can show him what he's working on. They can get back to it, you know, because Tony hardly has any distractions any more. Okay, yes, he has Pepper to worry about, but the Extremis seems to be sitting well right now and his experiments take time.

"Meet me down in the kitchen in half an hour. Had you things set on fire, there's some new clothes waiting for you. Usual room. Nice view. Remember we're eighty floors up so don't worry about swinging your junk around again, okay? Pigeons don't care."

[aggravated]

"You set my stuff on fire." Really, Tony? Bruce runs a hand over his face and just sighs- then flushes red at the last part. "I don't plan on flashing the pigeons, thank you. I won't miss having a bad razor to shave with, however..."

He looks to Tony and gives a smile that's just a lift at the corner of his lips, then heads up for his shower.

Good to his word, he comes back down not too long later freshly showered, shaven, and in clothes that actually fit him. "...Tony this outfit alone costs more than I think I spent on supplies in a year." A little nervous. And it's all a bit tighter than he's used to.

[starkingenuity]

He kind of had to guess on the size. Bruce and he are about the same, give or take half an inch here or there (like in the inseam!) and while he's use to having guests and visitors scanned, he hadn't really been in his right mind after New York.

It's sort of a wonder that he's even been able to come back here, but where else is he suppose to tool around now that his Malibu home is gone? London? Japan? Call him old fashioned but he likes the States and Long Island isn't an option at the moment.

Besides, he's not really in his right mind now either.

He dumps entirely too much alcohol into his coffee and motions Bruce over to the table. "I don't want to see that on eBay later."

[aggravated]

Bruce knows a thing or two about not being in the right mind. He might not be any kind of therapist, but he can understand and sympathize. (When he's not ready to fall asleep.)

The joke, if it is one, still makes him chuckle. "I'll resist the urge." His eyes watch the bottle of alcohol but he says nothing, for now. Instead he sits down, watching Tony. "It feels strange, being back here." For good, for now. A new doctor was in place in his small clinic in Calcutta and now... Here he is.

[starkingenuity]

"It really does," Tony says, mostly to his own wrist. The headaches haven't gone away and that's probably due to the fact that he still can't sleep and that he's refused to get the microsensors he implanted into his skin removed.

Even if the Mk 42 is gone now.

And he's more or less promised Pepper that his Iron Man suit building days are over.

Except--

They're not. But some secrets are best left somewhere else and not with Banner who would seriously be pissed off if he knew what Tony is doing to himself now.

"I keep looking up and expecting--" It's still a sore subject. "Coffee?"

[aggravated]

He would be pissed about the piss poor way Tony is treating himself, not the suits. Tony couldn't get away from the suits any more than he could from physics; its a part of who they are.

His eyes track Tony's eyes to his wrist and wonders about it (something he missed hen he passed out?) before he shakes his head. "You know I don't drink caffeine."

Then, more gently, "expecting what?"

[starkingenuity]

"We have decaf, Banner. This isn't India," he says, though there's more of a smile on his lips than usual when he's berating someone. "Or green tea if you're still on the girly drink kick."

It's only recently that Tony's climbed back off of the wagon, and he likes to think that he did it with dignity. More or less. He spins the chair away from the table and puts on the kettle. Yes, the rest of his home works on robotics and he still uses a kettle for Bruce.

And time for a subject change. "Cure anything interesting lately?"

[aggravated]

It's one of the small things that Bruce appreciates deeply. It was thanks to Tony he learned how to brew the man's favorite coffee using little more than the beans, water, and a Bunsen burner.

"There was an outbreak I think I have an idea on a possible cure, but I needed a decent lab to work on it." And now he's here. He watches Tony, knowing the other is hiding something. He also hasn't been around the man long enough to push enough, for now, to push.

[starkingenuity]

"Your lab is just how you left it," Tony starts, back to Bruce, before he pauses and glances over his shoulder. "Oh, well. Okay, not exactly. Using it for gene therapy for--"

Ah.

Why didn't he think to include Bruce on this, exactly? How stupid-- "This is hard for me to ask, okay, so you have to say yes. Could you let me a hand with something? You know, after your done with your cure? Or...before. We should probably do this first."

[aggravated]

What??

Bruce looks hard at Tony - why is the man dabbling in gene therapy, one of his areas of interest? "What have you been up to, Stark?" From Tony's tone, this is something quite serious. Food, already, is out of his mind.

[starkingenuity]

"Before you freak out, I didn't do anything. Well I did a little. Elevator, remember?" Elevator. Was he really that boring? He even went into detail about Happy's mullet okay? All for Bruce's benefit!

He rubs a hand down his face and then sits back at the table from his friend, pushing over a bowl of blemish free and utterly perfect fruit.

"There was kind of an accident."

[aggravated]

That sinking feeling is rapidly going further down hill. Bruce takes a piece of fruit but just gives Tony a dry look. "How about you just tell me instead of acting like a five year old that broke a plate? What did you do, Tony?"

Looking over the other with deep concern in his eyes.

[starkingenuity]

Tony doesn't look at Bruce which is the first sign of really bad things are happening, okay? He fidgets with his coffee cup. And then he pounds it down. "Well, my house fell into the ocean. Pepper got kidnapped. I blew up all of my armors. And now she can sort of breathe fire when she's pissed off."

[aggravated]

What?

Why does everything Tony just say not make sense about ten seconds in? "...okay. Lets start a bit over. House fell in the ocean. I heard about that on the news. It's part of why I came back," admitting that before he realizes what it admits, "but... What happened to Pepper?? And you BLEW up your armors?! On purpose?" Absolutely gob smacked.

[starkingenuity]

Okay, no fruit for you. Tony pushes the bowl aside and tells Bruce everything...important. The panic attacks? Left those out. The kid too. And the bit with Happy-- He doesn't have to explain the whys of things right now, just the hows.

And while he likes to talk himself up on having flown the armor around unmanned-- Not. The. Time.

"So she's...you know. Sort of like you? Only she turns red and melty."

[aggravated]

In his mind, Bruce cursed. "Where is she now? I need to get a look at this myself? How has she been acting? Do we hve a sample of these chemicals they put into her?" Bruce is already standing up, ready to go. Forget sleepiness and hunger, this is more important.

[starkingenuity]

"Asleep." Probably true. She sleeps a lot. Sleeps or trains. It's like that stuff they pumped her with is forcing both on her. As Bruce stands, Tony reaches out to grab his arm.

"Please. Bruce. Please. After you've gotten some sleep. She won't die."

Hopefully. Possibly. That's not how it works, right? He wishes he knew. She's been refusing to sleep next to him just in case she accidentally sets him on fire.

[aggravated]

Bruce tenses at the grab to his arm, looking down to Tony's hand sharply before looking back to his face. People didn't just... touch him, yet here is Tony doing just that. It's enough to make him start out of his state of mind. He takes a breath and pull his arm away. "Okay. I'll wait until she and I are both awake."

It feels like Tony's hand is still on his skin. Is that normal?

[starkingenuity]

Nothing is ever normal when it comes to Tony Stark. He looks tired himself and that should be an indication as to the state of his mind. "Don't take this the wrong way, Banner-- But I'm coming to bed with you."

Yep. It's a little hard not to take it a certain way, but there it is.

[aggravated]

How is it even possible to not take that the wrong way? Bruce's expression changes to suggest Tony's suddenly grown two heads. "Excuse me, you're what?" Bruce asks, more to make sure he actually heard what he did.

[starkingenuity]

Allow Tony to roll his eyes starting... Now. "I can't sleep," he says. "Not without someone there." He doesn't care what Bruce might think about that. Tony's been sleeping with a pillow covered DUM-E. surely this is better? And c'mon. He trusts Bruce not to mention any of this.