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.

Comments

[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?"

[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."

[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."

[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?"

[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."

[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."

[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."

[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.

[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."

[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?"

[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?"

[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..."

[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.

[aggravated]

"We could hire someone to give you one," Bruce points out. "I know a little bit about hypnosis, and I'd have to read up a touch on it, but I'm willing to try. And the white noise will make it so you... there isn't complete silence."

[starkingenuity]

"A touch? Is that part of this hypnosis thing to get me to let you touch me?" Protesting too much? Very, very likely. Tony wants this topic thrown out. It's not that it exactly bothers him, but it's starting to make him uncomfortable. And when he gets uncomfortable, he calls children pussys. It's bad, Bruce. It's really bad.

[aggravated]

Long look. "I won't be touching you at all, so you can take that little thought out of your mind. But Tony, this is important. It's about your health. Your brain will start to do worse and worse things to you without sleep."

[starkingenuity]

"You're really not going to let this go," Tony mutters, even though he knows why. They're friends. Tony can count the number of friends he has on one hand without bothering to use his thumb unless he wants to count something he created.

If he gets worse, Pepper might never get better. And that, really, is what he should be focusing on.

"Listen, I'll let you massage me all you want as soon as you get enough rest to check on my girlfriend, all right? Please, Bruce."

[aggravated]

"No, I'm not." He points at Tony, but doesn't quite meet his eyes. "Remember, your health? Affects Pepper's. Getting you both healthy, together, is important."

A faint smile. "I got an hour or two. I'll be fine for a little while. I'd rather get the gist of what's going on with Pepper."

[starkingenuity]

Bruce Banner, you mean the world to him. He might not ever say it, but he feels it. You're that important to him sometimes. He pats Bruce on the back and nods.

"I'll show you her readings. And then we can try some hypnosis. Maybe you can talk me into sleeping a little."

[aggravated]

"Lead the way. I want to see what's happened, and every piece of information you have. Can you load it onto a tablet? That way I can keep an eye on you while you sleep, if we can get you that far." Bruce stands up finally.

[starkingenuity]

"Is the sky blue? Don't get sciencey on me, Banner," Tony says with a laugh before he takes Bruce down to R&D. Pepper's on several monitors sleeping away. JARVIS is monitoring her vitals. Tony keeps her sedated, mostly at her insistence, and though he's made some progress on stabilizing Extremis into her, it's nothing either of them are comfortable with.

At least her temperature is running stable for the moment. It spiked two days ago and Tony almost thought the worst.

[aggravated]

Bruce goes silent as he stares at the vitals, his brows pinched together, focused. His only movement, other than a blink, is the very slow tap of a finger on the desk top. An incredible raise in temperature - even greater than his, but her body is handling it. He doesn't like the idea of her being sedated - but more intriguing is that a sedative works.

So he starts speaking without looking away. "Exact physical changes you've seen. Personality changes. What happens immediately before the spikes?"

[starkingenuity]

"She gets worked up," Tony says, drink in hand because let's face it, he's got scotch stashed just about everywhere. "Not agitated, and not like she's just been doing a lot of cardio either. I mean...she gets excited." Banner, you make one double entandre about that--

Tony waits for it, but Bruce is a good guy. He's not going to make a sex joke here about Tony's potentially explosive girlfriend!

"It's like when my battle HUD kicks in."

[aggravated]

Where did Tony even get that drink? Bruce spots it from the corner of his eye. Not the concern, at the moment, though he's sure the alcohol doesn't help with the sleeping issues. "Excited how? Is it a physical excitement, or an emotional one?"

The last bit is interesting, and Bruce comes to a certain realization. He vaguely remembers hearing a touch about the suits being gone.

Is part of the sleeplessness... because Tony feels vulnerable without the suit ready to go? Bruce is sure of it.

[starkingenuity]

It's absolutely the case. He talks about the armors as if he still has them. And, in a way, he does. Just a prototype of course, but it's working on his left leg. The rest will just take some help. He doesn't trust JARVIS with the rest. And even if he could--

Well, that's something completely different. Something he's not going to tell Bruce, or anyone, about.

Tony needs the armor, but not as a cocoon. He needs it as something greater than himself. Literally apart of himself.

"Mental. Something just triggers it. Sort of like a rush of adrenaline. I need to a few more days to become an expert in it."