The Not So Silent Hill

[starkingenuity]

[Continued from: here]

Staring at the little house, Tony was noteably unimpressed. The child and other half of a god (however loosely you wanted to use the term) really ought to have not been so...small. He was expecting more, and the way he stood with his hip out and arms crossed proved it. They'd take a quinjet to the nearest open field and one of Tony's smaller cars after that, loaded into the back of the plane after he'd ripped out a few seats.

With Extremis stable enough to exist in several now fire-breathing and extra strong mice rampaging through specially designed cages to contain them, JARVIS' databases and hacking ability getting them the information they needed to arrive here, and Alessa more or less content with the nurse she and Banner picked out, this had been the next logical step. Even so, he expected it to be a little more difficult.

Wearing a black t-shirt and dark jeans that only accentuated his somewhat femininely proportioned hips and backside, Tony Stark was still Tony Stark and flashiness and he went hand in hand.

Like a brand name.

It didn't help that the yellow convertible was parked across the street, in direct contention with the overall look and feel of the neighbor around it.

"You can knock." He wasn't too keen on touching things other people did.

Comments

[starkingenuity]

Tony had the deep pockets to spoil the young girl with and taking her shopping actually sounded really amusing. He looked up from his seat on the floor and winked at Banner. "We'll get you something nice too. Something without patches over the elbows?" The teasing and the work felt good, natural, normal. They really needed to work together more, he decided, and was about to say so until he realized that they likely had. Loki had simply stolen the memories from him.

And that...that made him pretty damn sad.

Turning back to the job at hand, he finished up with his weld and pushed the red tinted safety glasses down around his neck.

"I think that should do it." His hip jutted out as he crossed thick arms over his chest.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

The corners of Bruce's mouth twitched. "I suppose we don't really have any clothes that would fit me, either." He didn't comment on whether or not Tony had tried getting him nicer clothes before. He didn't mention how Tony tried to spoil him, and Bruce always resisted, since he already felt guilty for allowing Tony to take on the majority of their living expenses.

He wasn't sure how much information Tony wanted to hear about the relationship he forgot. How much would make him sad, and how little would make him deprived?

Bruce didn't think about it. He instead gave the shields experimental pushes, even though he had no doubt that Tony had welded them perfectly. After all, Tony had no problem being careless with his own safety, but there were other people at stake now.

"Maybe we should let her sleep a little longer. It's going to be hard on her, even in the best case scenario."

[starkingenuity]

Bruce was better off keeping it to himself. Every time something new slipped, Tony was faced with the realization that he was missing out on so very much. It wouldn't always be like that, he hoped, but for now, staying partially ignorant was likely the best course of action.

As he watched Banner run his tests, Tony went to go through some of the things he had packed. Swim suits, given. Jeans, fine. Shirts... More his style than Bruce's.

"You know," he said over the intercom once they had decided that letting Alessa sleep for as long as she needed was the best way to go about this, "You'd fit into my clothing." Bruce was more or less his size. "And I have no idea what you have in your bug out bag... I'm going to guess stretch pants and a bong."

Oh that never got old!

"When you're done, come up here. We don't have a lot of food here but there's some dehydrated fruit and I can make some cocktails."

[honeyibrokeharlem]

"I don't drink. Bad things happen when I drink." Unlike Tony, Bruce was not a fun drunk. He was an angry, violent drunk, just like his father. He rarely drank before the accident, and afterwards, he put a complete moratorium on any kind of alcohol.

It wasn't a huge loss. He didn't like himself when he drank anyway.

He finished his tests, stuffing his hands in his pockets and chewing the inside of his cheek as he surveyed the lab, resisting the urge to re-check everything all over again. That was just anxiety talking, not actual safety measures. He knew they had done everything they could.

"When was the last time you inspected your fire extinguishers?"

He doubted there was anything wrong with them, but he was worried. The last time he had conducted an experiment on a human subject without proper safety measures, things ended poorly, and he didn't want Alessa to suffer what he suffered every day. She had had more than her fair share of suffering.

[starkingenuity]

"I'll make yours virgin. Club soda doesn't go bad, right?" He also found a massive stash of twinkies which, honestly, disturbed him. Puttering around in his bedroom and the kitchen while Bruce mildly panicked was more Tony's speed. Or at least, he decided it was as he brushed off the frost from a can of pineapple juice that said it wasn't going to expire until next month.

Talk about cutting things close!

"If you want me to run extinguisher tests, get under cover after you spread a tarp on the control station. We can have J fire them off in succession just to make sure the nozzles aren't clogged. I'm showing full CO2 tanks, though. Must have never had a blow out here." The way he said it was suggestive of his track record on his inventing.

Not all of the scars across his skin were inflicted by outside forces after all.

He was his own worst enemy.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

"I'll do that after cocktails," Bruce decided, clasping his hands and running his thumb over his knuckles, chewing the inside of his cheek and glancing out of the window repeatedly. He was always a little jumpy when he was in a new place that he didn't yet have the lay of yet. He liked knowing places inside and out. It gave him more hiding places.

He was anxious. He could admit it. It had been a rough couple days, and he didn't want it to get rougher.

"Do you have eyes on New York? Somehow, I don't think HYDRA is just going to give up if they find out we're not home."

[starkingenuity]

"You worry worse than a TV mom," Tony said, half under his breath. His own mother certainly had not been much of a worrier. Tony couldn't remember much of what he had seen of Bruce's in Silent Hill. He decided to stick with the fictional version, therefore. His eyes scanned the water on the second floor of the house even as Bruce did it below him.

JARVIS could pull up anything here that he could at the Tower. The question was not could he, it was should he. Tony didn't want the distraction.

He rubbed a hand over the lower part of his face, biting the side of his lip, before he answered. "Let's worry about New York when we're done with Alessa." One thing at a time. Tony doctored his own cocktail to be a little less potent than usual and carried both of them down the stairs.

He took a moment to watch the way Bruce moved before he called attention to his presence.

"If we're in trouble, if they track us, J will let us know. Come here. Have this. And let's fast forward to 'later.'"

[honeyibrokeharlem]

Bruce did his best to not wring his hands. Anxiety was pressing like an anvil on his chest. He didn't realize how difficult projects involving human experimentation would be for him.

He looked to Tony, turning his glasses over and over in his hands, before relenting. He shoved his glasses back on his nose and took the offered cocktail.

"Later sounds good."

But he couldn't put himself in the mood on his own. He was thinking about everything that could go wrong. Alessa hurt, the Hulk out, Tony hurt, all the things he was scared of. He still remembered waking up after his very first incident to see that he'd put Betty in the ICU. He remembered every time he woke up with blood all over him, no matter how the incidents compounded. What would Alessa do if she were in a similar situation? Would she shrug and label it another misfortune to add to her collection? Would she ever hate herself the way he hated himself? Would she ever try to die the way he did?

He doubted it. Alessa was not the type to self-destruct the way he did.

He took a not-quite-steady sip of his cocktail. Alcohol would have been nice, actually, but the risks far outweighed the rewards.

[starkingenuity]

Tony could pretty much see the gears turning around and around inside of Bruce Banner's head as he fidgeted and wrung his hands and nearly missed his mouth with the glass. Tony let him finish his sip and then reached over to relieve him of the drink. "Everything will be fine," he said, knowing he wasn't going to be believed, and gave Bruce a taste of alcohol, albeit only on his own lips.

He set both glasses down and drew Bruce with him out of the kitchen and to the deck where the salt air could whip around their clothing and through Bruce's hair and offer him a chance to be soothed.

Tony had a good feeling about all of this, actually. He really did. Alessa would be stronger than before, but they were both good influences on her and she'd get to experience life as a semi-normal little girl with people that weren't afraid of her or wanted to use her.

"Put your arms around me," Tony said, looking into Bruce's eyes. "Let's just have a moment or two before we save a little girl."

[honeyibrokeharlem]

Bruce could taste the alcohol and pineapple on Tony's mouth. His stubble was rough, though probably not as rough as his own. The salt whipped his lengthening hair around his ears. Tony had such brown eyes, framed with long lashes and crow's feet. The mark of their age and all the smiles Tony had given through life.

He slipped his arms around Tony's waist. He wanted to tell him he loved him, that he always would even if Tony forgot all about him. The words died in his throat. He didn't have the confidence to let them out. It would be too much, too fast.

Bruce leaned forward instead and tasted the alcohol and pineapple again.

[starkingenuity]

There was no immediate interruption. No one to tell them to pay more attention to their arrival. No one to bother them about a city to save or people to check up on. There would be time for that soon enough, surely. Alessa stayed blissfully asleep for the time being as Tony pressed Bruce between himself and the stucco.

Maybe it wasn't the intention, but the setting was exceptionally romantic, the intent was even more so. Oh, Tony wasn't ready for this love business.

And yet, he was totally was. The pressure of his mouth on Bruce's wasn't exactly the deciding factor, but the subtle way his body folded into the other man's felt electric. He did his best to keep his hands to himself, but the crash of waves on the ocean and the hot breath against his cheek were working against him.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

Bruce could hear the waves, the gentle creak of the house settling, his own heart beating in his ears. Every kiss felt simultaneously a reassurance and a warning. What he thought he had lost, what he could still lose.

They had never gone on a proper date. The thought flitted in his head, strange and out of place. They had never gone through traditional courtship proceedings. They had had a tumble in the bed sheets, a sojourning into the darkest depths of his own trauma, and then they were living together and raising a child. This felt closer to a date, traditional, kissing while overlooking the beach.

It was nice, in its own way.

His hands slipped under the hem of Tony's shirt, tracing his abdomen and the curve of his back. He wanted to feel his warmth, alive and real and wanting.

[starkingenuity]

Tony didn't do dating. If that was something Bruce wanted, Bruce would have to drop hints. Or get JARVIS to drop hints. Either way, Tony wasn't likely to think about it himself. He went for big, grand, superficial gestures without meaning to do so. This relationship would be no different. Sometimes you just had to go with what you were given.

The hand up his back was bliss and Tony eagerly replied with a few light strokes of his own. He was still somewhat amazed at his extremely attractive he found Bruce. Wonders could happen outside of the box most people put themselves in.

It had taken less time to get over the fact that he was dating Bruce Banner than it might have to say he and Natasha were a thing. It just made sense. And now that he saw it?

Well, what could he do? It was impossible not to see it now.

A leg between Bruce's allowed them to be closer still and Tony guided Bruce's leg up... Well, as if he were the woman. Somethings might have to change for this to work, but at least Tony was sincere?

[honeyibrokeharlem]

Bruce didn't need dating. He was happy with what they had. Still, the romance was nice. It made for a change of pace in between all the homicidal small children and extraterrestrial crises.

He smiled into the kiss. No one could deny that Tony was attractive, even with age beginning to streak gray in his hair. That wasn't what Bruce grabbed for, though--he had seen many attractive people in his time. It was the way Tony made him smile. The way they could spend hours talking about projects, and then laugh together because it was two in the morning and they forgot to have dinner.

When Tony's hand tried to bring his leg up, Bruce had to catch himself on the wall, parting their kiss with a short laugh. "Tony, you're going to make me fall over." Perhaps leggy blondes were able to balance themselves between Tony and a wall, but Bruce was around the same size as Tony and would probably topple down.

[starkingenuity]

"I'll catch you," he said immediately like some debonair suitor. It was a little too funny even for him and he grinned widely as he put his arms around Bruce to steady him. "We could always move this to the bedroom," he murmured, only to narrow his eyes slightly. "Uh... After I get the sheets cleaned up."

Well, it had been while since he was here, all right? Dust accumulated even if people weren't around to fill the rooms. He took another kiss as if for payment and finally let Bruce go. Well. For a few moments at least.

Dark eyes drifted up and over the other man before he let the corner of his lips tilt upwards.

He felt giddy. Was that normal?

"Sometimes I hate being an adult. There's too many things to take care of yourself." And really, until a few weeks ago, he'd had Pepper to do the rest.

[honeyibrokeharlem]

"And then we'll both fall down." Bruce couldn't help but smile at the thought of Tony trying to catch a man his own size. The smile grew at the thought of going to the bedroom. No, they couldn't actually complete anything, but that didn't mean they couldn't have some fun. And after all the recent stress, Bruce really would like to give Tony a treat.

A soft chuckle made it out at Tony's complaint. Bruce never smiled and laughed as much when he wasn't around Tony. He reached out and ran his thumb along the man's lower lip, feeling the contrast between stubble and mouth.

"Tony, since when are you an adult?"

[starkingenuity]

The scoff was mostly for show and followed immediately by a kiss to the pad of Bruce's thumb before Tony threw an arm around his shoulder and led him back into the house. Their drinks, evidently, were forgotten and likely would continue to be until Bruce found them again surrounded by all sorts of flying insects intent to get more drunk then either of the original owners of the glasses.

"I became an adult when I got a kid and a boyfriend," Tony said seriously, laughter still in his eyes. It could well be the first time that he'd called Bruce any sort of title but there it was. It hardly mattered at the moment if he understood their origins or had memories of many times fooling around behind closed doors.

The fact remained that Bruce was his boyfriend and Tony was not at all ashamed of such a thing in the slightest.

"Even if Lessy's the oldest, I think it's time she can take on the mantle of the spoiled Stark kid for awhile."

[honeyibrokeharlem]

Boyfriend. It sounded pretty young for two men in their forties, but he liked it. He liked being called something.

Bruce looped his arm around Tony's waist, resting his head on the man's shoulder. One of the things he had been worried about was that Tony would eventually find him embarrassing. A brilliant, rich media icon, known for his charm and escapades with women, suddenly going out with a rumpled old man with a laundry list of issues. The media had a field day.

But Tony never cared, so Bruce didn't either.

"I think Alessa's been lacking in the spoiled department." He thought about it a lot. All the ways he wanted to fix that somehow. Dressing her up, braiding her hair, reading her stories, teaching her science, showing her how to cook, showering her in gifts--so much pain couldn't be erased, but maybe they could balance it out. "Between the two of us, I think we can work on that."

[starkingenuity]

"With swords." Because hello, that and ships were the coolest things you could get a seven year old, right? Tony was expecting to get laughed at. He was counting on it. And when Bruce complied, it made him feel warm inside. Like this was how it was all suppose to be, even if he couldn't remember offering Alessa weapons or flying ships in Asgard at all. That didn't matter. Nothing did save for these moments.

And yes, those moments included having Bruce teach him how to run sheets through the laundry because no, he'd never done it in his life and no, he had no idea what laundry detergent even was. He'd proposed shampoo at first.

Yes. Shampoo.

And he was being serious. "JARVIS is usually wired in to this stuff," he complained. "Why didn't I install bluetooth into these machines?"

[honeyibrokeharlem]

Bruce sometimes had to wonder how in the hell Tony had ever survived this long.

"Because you barely ever come here. Come on, you should know how to do this." Bruce pulled open a compartment in the washer, tapping it emphatically.

"This is where you put laundry detergent. Not shampoo, not conditioner, not any kind of hair product. Not even dish detergent. Laundry detergent." He should not have had to explain this to a genius. He opened up the laundry detergent and poured a cap in before shutting the compartment. "Then we can put in the sheets."

Yes. Yes, he was going to walk Tony through the whole thing. The man needed to learn how to take care of himself without a boyfriend or a hyper-competent assistant.

[starkingenuity]

Tony conceded that laundry detergent made the most sense to do laundry with but he still didn't care for how it measured out or what rinse cycles meant to appropriate softeners. The man might be a genius, but he still couldn't remember his social security number, his cell phone number, or some of the passwords to various emails.

He had other things to worry about and there just wasn't room for extra digits! He'd told Pepper that before, but her exasperation was usually anger induced. Bruce's... Well, he liked seeing him flustered.

If Tony would remember how to run a laundry machine in the future was still on the table but he seemed somewhat impressed by Bruce's handling of the situation and dutifully followed the proper steps to get their sheets clean for what was bound to be a terribly exhausting evening.

He'd had little time to let it sink in that he was going to get to share the night with Bruce (it felt a little bit like the sleep overs he never had). No sooner had the buzzer on the washer gone off than JARVIS informed them that their charge was waking.

It was now or never, Tony decided, and lightly touched Bruce's cheek. "Go time. Stop worrying. We're going to be amazing. Well, I am at least. But you'll be up there too."

[honeyibrokeharlem]

"I never stop worrying. Haven't you figured that out yet?" But Bruce leaned forward and gave Tony a soft peck on the lips. "I'll go get Alessa. You go find a spot with a view."

After all, once everything got moving, Bruce wanted Tony watching from his bedroom, not from inside the lab.

Alessa was still groggy when Bruce got to her room. He gently picked her up and held her against his chest, resting her chin on his shoulder. "We're going to give you Extremis, Alessa."

She made a soft noise of assent, a real one with her real throat, her eyelashes tickling his neck. She was so fragile and tiny in his arms.

He took her down to the lab, laying her carefully down on a medical table before strapping her in. "Okay. Are you comfortable?"

"Yes, Bruce. You can take a deep breath." She didn't even bother making a projection. The voice came from nowhere, bouncing off the walls. "You're too anxious."

[starkingenuity]

"That's what I keep saying," Tony chimed in, appearing on a floating 'screen' by the wall. "He can't help himself. Let him worry," he laughed. This was a dangerous thing, he knew, and joking very likely was the only way to dissolve some of the tension. He wished he could be there but... It was too dangerous.

Instead, he checked over Bruce's calculations (because it was always a good idea to have someone else check your work) and set JARVIS on the final analysis of the serum they had perfected back in New York. Who knew what sort of affect it could have had if it was jumbled too much in the transport?

Luckily for everyone involved, the base pairs looked good and nothing had shifted too much. It looked wholly stable.

"I want you behind that blast door as soon as you give her the injection series. And tie her down. It's not going to be too pleasant but once the chain reaction starts there's nothing else to do."

[honeyibrokeharlem]

"I'll be careful." Bruce more than anyone knew the dangers associated with him getting hurt. "Alessa, this is probably going to be very painful, but I know you can handle it."

"I'll be fine." Alessa closed her eyes. Bruce made sure all the straps keeping her held down were secure, then impulsively leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"I know you will be."

She didn't know what to do with the kiss. Bruce and Tony both seemed to like kissing her far more than she was used to. But she didn't have time to sort it out in her head, because Bruce was already finding her veins. Then he positioned all the apparatus meant to inject her.

"Starting the series now." The machines whirred to life, and needles began pushing themselves into Alessa's veins, her muscles, her limbs. She didn't even wince.

"I'm right here." Bruce retreated behind the blast shields, a chilling calm settling over him now that the process was underway. The room was warm. It was getting warmer.

[starkingenuity]

Tony pushed his chair with his feet over to the left to stare at the temperature output. JARVIS wasn't wrong with the climb but he double checked it anyway. "Banner, shut the door," he muttered to himself, watching Bruce rush across the room. He could see Alessa's body actually giving off heat, waves rising from her skin.

Tony's worry was as palpable as the climbing temperature. He leaned forward, hands clasped, and pressed his lips against the curve of his forefinger.

"I need bio signs," he told the AI and a moment later they flashed on the screen. Heart rate up. The rate of his synapses firing were up even more. Tony felt his mouth go high. This was different than their clinical tests on the rats.

This was...this was going to split her open.

He was on his feet a moment later. "BANNER! You have to get out of the lab completely! Meet me by the quinjet hangar!"