starkingenuity | After The Suits

"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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From:

starkingenuity

And of saving Tony?

"Fine," the man in question mutters. "No touching. That's one way to keep people from molesting you though if you end up in prison." And he'll shut up now, he promises.

Tony rubs at his eyes and presses his lips together. No more talking. Lots more sleeping. And then, fix Pepper.

Two geniuses on the case give her like a 100% greater chance of becoming less Dragon Woman and more Pepper. Right? He can only hope.

He ought to also hope, though, that his sleeping form's encroachment on Bruce's space, where it is warm, doesn't end up with him turning into pate.

From:

aggravated

...Not a comforting thought, Stark. Bruce makes such a face in response to that.

Bruce doesn't immediately sleep. Tony might be used to sleep beside another person, but Bruce isn't by any means. He listens to Tony's breathing slowly even out into sleep, listens to the house settle around him.

He remembers that, Tony. It's something that's kept him up very late at night, haunted his thoughts. Why did the Hulk save Tony Stark?

His other half had acted faster than him. The control... the control had changed on that day, a willing change he allowed fully. He watched. He could see, little bits and pieces. Information came to him instead of total darkness.

And the Hulk had saved Tony's life. It was one of the only times Bruce had ever seen the Hulk actually think about someone other than himself, or someone he wanted to maim. The other had been Betty...

So, why?

The question haunts him as he falls asleep beside Tony.

From:

starkingenuity

Two hours into it, ass pressing to Bruce's hip and body curled up around the pillow, the nightmares start. Everything from being thrown out the window to taking the nuke into space to Bruce leaving the Tower to Pepper in pain has him sweating and yelling.

It's hard to wake up when something like this has you, no matter how much, or how badly, you want to wake up.

From:

aggravated

It's definitely enough to wake Bruce. His eyes snap open, staring up at the ceiling, and his heart gives a sickening thump before he remembers where he is. Tony's Tower in New York. ...Tony.

Stark.

Bruce sits up and looks over, eyes widening at the sight. A sheen of sweat on Tony's brow, crying out. Damn. He had guessed the nightmares must have been bad to keep Tony from sleeping but this?

"Stark!" He hesitates, then puts a hand on the other's shoulder, trying to shake him awake. "Stark-- Tony! Wake up!"

Edited Date: 2013-05-04 05:40 pm (UTC)

From:

starkingenuity

There are no suits to come to his aid this time and Bruce will not be half ripped from bed because of Tony's panic attacks. He's about to get a chest full of teary eyed Tony Stark who is having entirely too much trouble catching his breath and whose vision keeps going blurry. He tends to hide this from Pepper. She might panic too and no one needs that.

From:

aggravated

Probably for the better as any suit that came after Bruce would end up a pile of shattered parts - along with the bedroom. There's an unconscious reaction to put his arms around Tony before he really thinks about it, but then he's got a Tony pressed against his chest.

"Stark. Stark, you're safe." What do people normally say when something like this happens? "You're safe." His voice goes softer, even though his own heart rate's up, body stiff.

From:

starkingenuity

"I'm going crazy, Banner," Tony says, hardly able to breathe. He wants to get away, to push back, to get the hell out of the room. Or to burrow more tightly into Bruce's chest. "I'm going completely-- We saved the day. Everything's all right, but it's not ending. It's never ending and--"

He can't stop shaking either, that's the worst part. He's so light headed too that he's sure he's having a heart attack, even when he knows he isn't.

"JARVIS, scan--"

"I already have, sir. This is yet another panic attack.."

From:

aggravated

"JARVIS, how many has he had? How frequently?" Bruce has never dealt this closely with someone else having a panic attack, but nuture wins over his broken nature. He bends his head down and murmurs quietly, "you're waiting for the next time, because you know it'll come. And your brain keeps.. replaying the same things that happened over and over."

From:

starkingenuity

JARVIS' answer of every other day as an average gets a grunting, low moan from Tony as he grips Bruce's shirt. At the very least, his brain is calming down. And his heart is slowing. He's not dying.

No. But he might die of embarrassment. Tony pulls himself away and stands. He can't sleep. Sleep is for the weak.

He can sleep when he's dead.

From:

aggravated

That's not happening. Bruce forces himself up and pointedly stands between Tony and the door. "Tony Stark. You can't do this to yourself. You need help... You'll kill yourself by the inches by not sleeping."

From:

starkingenuity

"Use my full name if you want to be my mother, Bruce," Tony says gently and wipes at his eyes. "Anthony Edward Stark! Do not turn your father's vintage cars into RC racers!"

That might have happened twice. Or three times. He chances a smile.

From:

aggravated

"You might actually listen to me if I was your mother," Bruce mutters, running a hand back through his hair to force the curls from his face. He sees that smile and doesn't even know what to do with it. Tony's as much of a liar as he is, just with different emotions.

"Sit." A point to the bed. "Please."

From:

starkingenuity

Sit. He's not a dog. Banner is definitely not the boss of him. And yet-- he's too tired too stand. Too distraught. So he sighs into his hands as he does as he's told and then turns his eyes up towards the other man.

"What do you think I can do about this?"

From:

aggravated

No, but he's concerned, and turning right into Stark's doctor. He's far from a therapist, as he said to Tony, but he's trying.

He rubs his nose, trying to think quickly about this. Finally, he grabs a chair from across the room and brings it over, plopping it in front of Tony. "We start small and work up from there. I doubt you're the type to be keen on drugs, and honestly, I wouldn't prescribe them for someone like you anyway. ...Tell me about the nightmares."

From:

starkingenuity

Wait. "Wait. Someone like me?" Excuse you Banner. Actually, he does understand what Bruce means. Drugs mess with your head. Tony needs his brain as intact as possible and anything that might calm him could hurt him too.

So. Talking. He's good at that. And for whatever reason, he does feel as if he has this connection with Bruce. So why not?

"I... The worm hole. Almost always. And this place. The deck."

From:

aggravated

Exactly that kind of 'someone like me'. Something that would take away some of Tony's control, what little Bruce believes Tony thinks he has left. Bruce licks his lips as he listens, thinking about what to say in response. This, all in all, is about the worst thing for him to be trying as he's terrible at talking about emotional things.

"You survived the wormhole." Your heart stopped, I think. "But you remember it all up until the fall?"

From:

starkingenuity

"Obviously," Tony mutters, though it isn't Bruce's fault that he's snappy. Some things just don't ever get better and this sort of feels like it's one of those things. "I remember the armor losing power. The pressure making me pass out. And then I remember you--" Right. "Your big green cousin roaring in my face."

From:

aggravated

"You saved millions of people," Bruce whispers, then looks up at Tony. "You saved all of us." But he knows Tony knows that. So he looks away for a heart beat or three, then says more quietly, just able to be heard, "Do you know what happened between those two points, Stark?"

He doesn't even wait. The words come from a place he isn't even sure he wants exposed, but they come. "The Other Guy made his first selfless choice, and acted on it. He saw you falling, and he caught you, and took the blow when you both hit the ground. And even more than that..."

He trails off, fingers flexing hard in his lap, feeling his stomach churn. He's never said this to anyone, at all. "I think you scared him."

From:

starkingenuity

Tony's eyes stare at the spot on the carpet between Bruce's feet before he looks up at him slowly, startled but not so sure on what he's suppose to do with that information. His throat feels dry though.

"Caught me." No one's mentioned that and it's been a whole fucking year? C'mon, that would have made his day. And his Christmas. And made it worth every single gray hair he's allowed to grow in since.

"The Hulk caught me."

From:

aggravated

Maybe, Bruce decides, it will help with the nightmares to connect the dots between beginning and end. "Caught you, in mid-air, ricocheted off a building, and body slammed the ground, protecting you in his arms." It happens to be one of the few clear memories he has of that fight.

From:

starkingenuity

Maybe. Tony's not really sure what to do with the information but it does make him smile, eyes bright as he lifts his chin in amusement towards Bruce. "I didn't know you two cared," he says, though it doesn't seem to matter to him which of the two did it. They're the same and they're not. They're part of each other.

"Thanks," he says softly, half smirking. "No, really. I wouldn't have make it without you."

From:

aggravated

Bruce gives a small smile in return, but one honestly felt. It wasn't because of him; the Other Guy liked Tony, for some reason. It doesn't immediately occur to him maybe because he enjoys being around Tony, for some reason.

"Is there anything at all you've noticed that helps you sleep? You said being with someone, but... that doesn't help beyond getting to sleep, if I'm right?"

From:

starkingenuity

Everyone enjoys being around Tony. Even the people that swear up and down that he's a selflish prick whom they all hate. He never buys that. "Being exhausted so I pass out on the floor helps me sleep," Tony tells Bruce in amusement. Not what he means. "Also, drunken stupors. Wanna tie one on with me?"

From:

aggravated

Tie one on with him? Bruce gives him a look of confusion about that before shaking his head. "I don't drink. Do you really need me to explain what would happen if I got drunk?"

Bruce rubs his brow, thinking. "There are a few things we could try, if you're actually willing to try them and not just mock them. Things like... massage, hypnosis, different kinds of white noise..."

From:

starkingenuity

"You'd be mellow? Oh, are you an angry drunk?" He's a prick. He's never gonna stop being a prick. It's just one of those things. Tony stands up again and gives Bruce a small sigh. "Unless it's in your top ten to give me a massage, Banner."

But hypnosis-- Maybe he shouldn't think about it. He doesn't need Bruce unlocking anything weird or traumatic from his childhood.