The Things We Carry With Us

Bruce is admittedly a sucker for kids, which he’s pretty sure SHIELD knows, considering how they’d lured him to the edge of the city. He would have been a little more cautious if an adult had asked for his help, but a little girl begging for help? That short circuited his hard-won caution and got him moving.

Right where SHIELD wants him.

He’s not happy about being manipulated like that, and he doesn’t like being lied to. Bruce can sense Romanoff’s uneasiness from the beginning, and her fear, and he uses it to his advantage, forcing her to show her hand when she pulls the gun she’d hidden and orders the SHIELD agents surrounding the shack to stand down.

“Just you and me,” Bruce says quietly, watching her closely. She’s still afraid, and maybe a little surprised that he’d turned the tables on her. “If this really is a potential global catastrophe, I can’t be the only person you’re calling in.”

Natasha’s expression is still wary. “No, you’re not.”

Honesty, at last, Bruce thinks. “Who else?” he asks. He could guess, but he wants her to tell him.

“Steve Rogers and Tony Stark,” she admits.

“The Steve Rogers,” Bruce asks, letting a little of his incredulity show. “He’s dead.”

“They found his body in the ice a few months ago and thawed him out,” Natasha replies, and she seems to be relaxing a bit. “The serum—”

She stops, and Bruce smiles ruefully. “I probably shouldn’t be surprised,” he says.

He doesn’t ask about Tony because he doesn’t dare give SHIELD any more ammunition than they already have, and he has no idea whether SHIELD knows about their previous relationship. Besides, Tony’s life is something of an open book; Bruce has been following the press on him, devouring all the news he can get his hands on.

The truth is, knowing Tony will be there nearly makes Bruce refuse, even though he wants to see Tony with a desperate longing he’s grown used to ignoring. But it’s been six years since Bruce has talked to him, and Bruce knows that Tony probably thinks he’s dead.

He’s allowed Tony to believe he was dead.

But at the same time, knowing Tony will be there is about the only reason Bruce does agree to go. First, because no matter how pissed off Tony is at Bruce, he’s certain that Tony won’t let Fury keep Bruce prisoner for long. And second, SHIELD has found him—has apparently never lost him—so Bruce obviously can’t hide forever.

He doesn’t want to hide forever, not really. He wants to see Tony again; he wants to see his family.

Bruce has spent the last couple of years trying to make up for the destruction he’s caused in some small way, but he’s never going to make amends if he doesn’t face the damage he’d done when he disappeared.

Maybe he’ll have to go on the run again after this latest crisis, but if SHIELD knows where he is anyway, there’s no reason to keep up the pretense of his death.

“I’ll go,” Bruce finally says.

Natasha doesn’t look all that happy about his capitulation, maybe because she’s going to have to spend more time with him. “Thank you, Dr. Banner.”

Bruce nods. “When do we leave?”

“Is there anything you need to pick up?”

Bruce shrugs. “I try to carry everything with me.”

Natasha speaks into the same communicator she’d used earlier. “Dr. Banner is with me. Bring the car around.”

“How is this going to work?” Bruce asks as he follows her out of the shack and to a waiting Jeep. “I help you track this object, and then I can leave?”

“That’s how it works,” Natasha replies, her voice even.

He thinks she might be glad to see the back of him when this is over, which makes sense. That’s the trouble with the Other Guy—people want to control him, to use him, but that’s not a possibility.

Bruce should know. It’s taken him years to find a fragile control, and he’s barely got a handle on it now. Being around a bunch of SHIELD agents is going to put him on edge, being around Tony again is going to test his control, and he just has to hope it’s worth it.

They make the trip to the airport in silence, and Bruce doesn’t try to make conversation. He feels a little guilty for scaring her, even though he doesn’t regret it, since he knows that was the only way to get the truth out of her.

The plane is a step up from a military transport, and Bruce tips his head back and tries to nap. He’s too keyed up to do more than close his eyes and breathe deeply, trying to forget that he’s in a pressurized metal canister 30,000 feet above the ground.

He can’t sleep, but he does fall into a meditative state, although he can’t clear his mind. Instead, he goes back to a pleasant memory, one that’s well worn with time and much revisiting.

He’s sixteen again, and visiting Tony in Malibu at the beginning of his summer break, before he starts at Culver. The sun is hot on the back of his neck above his rash guard, and he’s watching Tony paddle out on his board.

“Bruce! Get your ass in gear!” Tony yells, and Bruce realizes that he’d been staring at Tony.

Bruce grabs his board and begins paddling out, and Tony’s waiting for him, sitting astride his board, swaying with the motion of the waves. “Watch how it’s done, Brucie,” he says. “Next wave is mine.”

The next wave is a good one, and Tony hops up on his board to catch it. Bruce watches admiringly as Tony rides the wave, crouching low.

They’ve been surfing together four times now, and Bruce is just beginning to get the hang of it. He’s never going to be good, but he likes it. He likes being with Tony, and he likes watching Tony catch a wave. He likes the way Tony looks at him when he manages not to wipe out—and even when he does.

Bruce catches the next wave, and he rides it into the shore, thrilled at the rush and the victory.

“You’ve been holding out on me!” Tony shouts when Bruce comes back to shore. “That was fucking awesome!”

And Tony throws his arms around Bruce, wrestling him down onto the sand.

Bruce tries not to think about Europe too often, because it’s too hard to remember what they’d had, and what he’d lost. But those times they’d been together before Europe are without shadow.

Bruce pulls those memories out a lot.

He’s pulled out of his reverie when the plane touches down, and Natasha says, “I think Captain Rogers should be arriving shortly. I’ll meet him, and then show you both inside.”

Bruce doesn’t know Natasha well, but at least he does know her. He doesn’t trust any of the other SHIELD agents, though.

“Yeah, okay,” Bruce agrees, because he can’t do anything else.

“I’ll have someone take care of your bag,” Natasha promises.

Bruce nods. “Thanks.”

He’s left on the deck, with people in uniform everywhere, and no sign of Tony, which just ratchets up his anxiety that much further. Flight crews in jumpsuits and headsets pass him, and he stumbles out of the way, trying to look inconspicuous, although that’s hard to do when he’s not wearing a uniform.

“Dr. Banner!”

Bruce hadn’t given much thought to meeting Steve Rogers because he’d been too focused on seeing Tony again, but now he’s faced with the reality of what the serum could do if it worked correctly, or if Bruce had started with the right materials.

Seeing Rogers in person, Bruce can see how he falls short.

Bruce has no idea what to call the man, so he says, “Oh, yeah, hi. They told me you’d be coming.”

Rogers wears a pleasant smile as he shakes Bruce’s hand. “Word is you can find the cube.”

Bruce is getting a little tired of people pretending the Other Guy isn’t there, or that they don’t care. “Is that the only word?”

“Only one I care about,” Steve says in a way that tells Bruce he means it. Or thinks he does—Rogers hasn’t seen the Other Guy yet.

Bruce can’t help but feel resentful. Not only had the serum worked on Steve, not only is he tall and gorgeous, but he’s nice. Bruce can’t even hate the guy.

He just has to remember that Rogers has spent the last seventy years on ice, and he has to find the future a little disorienting. And birthdate notwithstanding, he’s still pretty damn young.

And he’s a soldier, who’s comfortable surrounded by SHIELD agents. They really couldn’t be more different if they tried.

Bruce is still waiting for the other shoe to drop, especially once they get on the bridge, and there are guards on the door. But Fury assures him that he can disappear again once this is all over, and they set him up in a really nice lab with the kind of cutting edge equipment he hasn’t seen in years.

He doesn’t ask when Tony will arrive. Knowing Tony, he’ll make an entrance, and Bruce has work to do. He’d best get to it.

~~~~~

Tony can do nothing but stare at the video of the Hulk—and Bruce—and he has to force himself to look at the other files.

He manages to keep up pretenses with Pepper, bantering lightheartedly and making plans for the future, at least until she leaves, and then he delves into the files, starting with the tesseract.

He saves Bruce for last, pulling up his picture and the video of the green creature Bruce apparently turns into, the pieces clicking into place.

He’d done that errand for Coulson, thinking that whatever they’d given Blonsky had killed Bruce, but apparently it had transformed him. Or allowed him to transform.

Tony enlarges Bruce’s photo, cataloging the changes he sees. Bruce has more gray in his hair, and he looks more weathered, but he still looks good.

As Tony reads through the file, a clear picture begins to emerge. By all rights, Bruce should be dead, Tony had been right about that. Exposure to that much radiation would have killed anybody else, but in Bruce it had triggered a transformation. He’d put Betty Ross in the hospital, and had caused massive property damage and injuries during pretty much every subsequent transformation.

Up until recently, when SHIELD managed to get the Army off Bruce’s trail, he’d been running almost constantly. And Bruce, for whatever reason, hadn’t contacted Tony.

Tony runs a hand through his hair, thinking about the last words they’d spoken to each other. He’s angry, but also relieved, and more than a little depressed.

Did Bruce not think that Tony would protect him? Had he thought Tony would turn him over to the Army? Or was it just Bruce’s attempt to protect Tony from himself?

Whatever Bruce’s reasons for staying away, and for hiding out all these years, Tony will find out soon enough.

SHIELD is pulling Bruce in to help find the tesseract, and Tony has a perfectly legitimate reason to be in the same room as Bruce for the first time in more than twenty years.

Still, it’s probably a good idea not to let on to how well they know each other. SHIELD is still unaware of his relationship with Bruce, and the Army certainly doesn’t know about their connection. If Bruce needs a place to run in the future, Tony will make sure Bruce comes to him, rather than going to ground.

Tony has a better chance of helping him if they keep their secret.

But he has every intention of finding a quiet corner to read Bruce the riot act as soon as possible.

As much as he’d like to head straight for the helicarrier, he has other things to do first, like become an expert on thermonuclear astrophysics so he has some chance of keeping up with Bruce. And he already has some ideas on how to find Loki.

Tony has something to prove to SHIELD, and he’s going to demonstrate that they can’t do without him.

In retrospect, fighting with Thor was maybe not the best idea, but he’s a little on edge from the prospect of seeing Bruce again. He feels wired and anxious, and when he steps onto the bridge, he’s careful not to do more than briefly glance at Bruce.

He probably oversells it, but he’s Tony Stark, and people expect him to be loud and obnoxious. No one is paying attention to the bug he places on the computer, and Tony can distract everyone—particularly the room full of SHIELD agents—with the science behind the cube.

Bruce is pacing in the back of the room, fidgeting with the glasses in his hand, his shoulders hunched, like he’s preparing for a blow. He won’t really look at Tony.

“Am I the only one who did the reading?” Tony asks, trying to draw Bruce out.

They’ve always spoken the same language, after all.

“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Rogers asks.

Still pacing, Bruce says, “He’d have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin to break through the Coulomb barrier.”

And now Tony can address Bruce head on. “Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect.”

Tony can see Bruce’s body language change completely, his shoulders going down and back, a little bit of that old arrogance coming back into his voice. Bruce is back on his own territory—and he and Bruce had first connected over a shared love of science.

“Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet,” Bruce replies.

Tony grins and holds out a hand. “Finally, someone who speaks English.”

“Is that what just happened?” Rogers mutters.

Bruce’s hand is rougher than Tony remembers, and his grip is firm, even though his palm is a little sweaty. Tony realizes that Bruce is more nervous than he appears, and he’s eyeing Tony with trepidation, like he’s not sure where Tony’s going with this.

“It’s good to meet you, Dr. Banner,” Tony says, knowing Bruce will pick up the cue. “Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled, and I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

Tony had proofed Bruce’s equations on that paper years ago, and he wants to get it right out in the open that he knows about the Hulk and he doesn’t care.

Bruce immediately looks away, unable to meet Tony’s eyes. “Thanks.”

“Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube,” Fury says. “I was hoping you might join him.”

Tony glances at Bruce, who quirks an eyebrow. Tony can still read him like a book, and it’s clear that Bruce doesn’t trust that Fury won’t try to keep him.

Rogers says something about Loki’s scepter working like a Hydra weapon, and Fury is somewhat dismissive of the idea.

Tony just wants to get off the bridge and get Bruce alone, somewhere away from prying eyes. Rogers’ pleasure at actually getting a pop culture reference is creating another delay, and Tony rolls his eyes.

“Shall we play, doctor?” Tony asks, wanting to move things along, keeping things formal to maintain a little distance.

Bruce sweeps a hand toward the door. “This way, sir.”

Tony has planned ahead. He’d looked at the blueprints, and he’d mapped out a room where they won’t be observed.

Okay, so it’s a janitorial closet—which they have even on the helicarrier—and that’s a little too on the nose, but it will get the job done.

Tony makes sure they’re alone in the hallway, and then he grabs Bruce’s arm and manhandles him into the closet. Once they’re alone, Tony drops all pretenses. “You fucking asshole,” he snarls. “I thought you were dead!”

Bruce’s shoulders hunch. “I’m sorry.”

“Not good enough,” Tony snaps. “You couldn’t have sent a postcard? Do you know what you did to me? To Elaine and Jen? Because I know they still think you’re dead.”

Bruce’s jaw works. “It was safer.”

“I would have helped you,” Tony says. “You and me, Bruce. Always.”

Bruce finally meets his eyes. “We were kids when we made that promise.”

“So what?” Tony demands, poking him in the chest. “You think I didn’t mean it?”

“I didn’t want you hurt!” Bruce bursts out. “I put Betty in the hospital. That was the first thing I did. Do you have any idea what it would do to me if I did the same to you? If you didn’t make it?”

Tony sighs, the anger draining right out of him, and he hauls Bruce into a hug. “You know, you can be a real idiot for such a smart guy.”

Bruce hangs on tightly. “I’m sorry. After what happened, what I said, and—”

“Shut up,” Tony replies. “Same rules apply. I don’t trust Fury, and I know you don’t either. If you have to run again, I want to leave this route open.”

“I figured that’s what you were going for.” Bruce’s voice is muffled against Tony’s jacket. “Either that, or you were so pissed off that you were never going to speak to me again.”

“Impossible, since I just got you back,” Tony says, pulling back to look Bruce in the eye. “Promise me, no more disappearing, not on me.”

Bruce hesitates. “Tony…”

“Promise me,” Tony insists. “Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out together.”

Bruce sighs. “I promise.” And then he rests his forehead against Tony’s shoulder. “You’re right about not trusting Fury. That room he put Loki in? He built that for the Other Guy.”

Tony grimaces at the thought of Bruce in a cage, and he squeezes the back of Bruce’s neck. “If he tries anything at all, I’ll break you out, okay?”

“Thanks,” Bruce murmurs. “We’d better get to the lab before someone misses us.”

Tony takes a deep breath and steps back. “You’re right. You good?”

Bruce’s smile is a little more genuine this time around. “Better than I’ve been in a long time.”

“Good. Let’s get to work,” Tony says, already plotting ways to keep Bruce around.

~~~~~

For a minute there, when Tony stepped onto the bridge, Bruce had been certain that Tony was going to completely ignore him, and that he might be pissed off enough never to forgive him.

And then Tony lobbed that softball, and shook his hand, and Bruce knew that Tony was just keeping up the pretense that they were meeting for the first time.

Just like that, they’re on the same wavelength again, in tune like they hadn’t been in years, and Bruce thinks that he might still get to have this—he might, after everything, have Tony’s friendship.

Bruce is just grateful to have that much, because he still feels as though all the air has gone out of the room when Tony enters. And it’s not just sexual attraction, although that’s present, because it’s always been there, but Tony has always spoken Bruce’s language. Bruce had been afraid he’d fucked that up along with everything else in his life.

It’s a relief when Tony shoves him into a closet to yell at him; it’s a surprise when Tony lets out a breath and pulls Bruce in for a hug.

No one has touched Bruce like that, in kindness, for years. He has to work to get the words out around the lump in his throat.

“Look, get started without me,” Tony says when they get to the lab. “I’m going to change into something more comfortable, okay?”

Bruce nods. “Yeah, sure.”

Tony claps him on the shoulder. “Back in a few.”

Bruce had forgotten how tactile Tony is. “I’ll just get started then.”

Loki’s scepter is sitting on a table in the middle of the lab, and Bruce starts readying his equipment. He’s enjoying it more now that Tony is here, and they’ve gotten past their reunion. For the first time in years, Bruce has someone in his corner.

If Fury tries to put him in a cage, there’s someone to get him out.

Tony wanders into the lab with a SHIELD agent who’s loaded down with equipment. “Oh, good. Let’s get to the bottom of this staff, shall we?”

Bruce falls into a rhythm with Tony immediately, the kind of rhythm they’d had when they were teenagers at summer camp.

“You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime,” Tony says. “Top ten floors, all R&D, you’d love it. It’s Candyland.”

Bruce wants to—oh, how he wants to, especially since every objection he had in the past is gone. Stark Industries doesn’t make weapons now, and Bruce has given up any claim he had to moral superiority.

That doesn’t make it a good idea.

“Thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of broke—Harlem,” Bruce replies.

He knows there are security cameras in the lab, and it’s safer to assume they’re being watched, so at least part of this exchange is for an audience.

Bruce knows what Tony is really asking—for Bruce to stay—and Bruce feels the need to remind him of why it’s a bad idea all around.

“Well, I promise a stress-free environment,” Tony replies, crossing behind him. “No tension, no surprises.”

Bruce probably should have been expecting it, but people who know what he is tend to avoid doing things like poking him in the side with an electric probe.

Come to think of it, Bruce probably deserves it—but more than that, it feels good to have someone around who doesn’t walk on eggshells around Bruce.

Still, it hurts, but he gets Tony’s point when he asks, “You really have a lid on it, don’t you?”

Because that is Tony’s point. Bruce doesn’t have to stay away to protect Tony if he has the Other Guy under control, and Bruce wouldn’t put it past Tony to track him down now and just keep poking at him, either literally or metaphorically.

Rogers isn’t impressed by Tony’s cavalier attitude, though, and he snaps at Tony as he enters the lab—and in such a way as to make it very clear that whatever Rogers had said earlier, he’s worried about the Other Guy making an appearance.

Bruce could have told Rogers that his attitude would just make Tony push back that much harder. Like the rest of the world, Rogers looks at Tony and sees a sarcastic asshole, someone who will poke a sleeping bear just because he can, just to see what will happen.

But thirty minutes ago, Tony had given Bruce his first hug in years. Thirty years ago, Tony had held him in the aftermath of a nightmare.

Rogers doesn’t know Tony—and Bruce suspects that Tony would like to keep it that way.

He’s well aware of Tony’s complicated relationship with Captain America, even if Rogers isn’t.

Tony’s actually pretty nice—at least for him—as he tries to introduce the concept that Fury and SHIELD might not have been entirely honest. Rogers is having none of it, though, and when he and Tony start swiping at each other again, looking to hit below the belt, Bruce steps in, using Rogers’ first name deliberately.

“Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?” Bruce prompts.

Rogers’ jaw tightens. “Just find the cube,” he orders as he stalks out.

“That’s the guy my dad never shut up about?” Tony asks. “Maybe they should have left him on ice.”

“He’s not wrong about Loki,” Bruce says diplomatically. “The guy does have the jump on us.”

Tony’s dismissive, but Bruce can’t help but feel that there’s more at work here, and more to Loki’s plan than just the tesseract, even if Tony doesn’t think so.

“And maybe you’ll suit up with the rest of us,” Tony says.

Bruce decides to disabuse Tony of that notion right quick. “I don’t get a suit of armor,” he objects. “I’m exposed, like a nerve. It’s a nightmare.”

“You know, I’ve had a cluster of shrapnel trying every second to crawl into my heart,” Tony replies and taps the arc reactor. “This stops it. This little circle of light. It’s part of me. It’s not just armor. It’s a terrible privilege.”

Bruce realizes that this feels like the beginning of an argument, or maybe a continuation of their discussion earlier—Tony’s invitation to come to Stark Tower, and Bruce objecting. Just like Tony asking why Bruce hadn’t contacted him, and Bruce reminding him that he’s a danger to everyone around him.

He also feels like Tony’s sharing a truth, that he is Iron Man, and not just a suit of armor.

“It’s different,” Bruce reminds him, because he feels as though it needs to be said. “You can control it.”

“Because I learned how,” Tony insists.

Bruce shakes his head and turns back to the data. “It’s still different.”

Tony clears the screen with a gesture. “Hey, I read all about your ‘accident,’” he says, and Bruce can hear the scare quotes around those words. “That much gamma radiation should have killed you.”

There’s a part of Bruce that wants to say that it had killed him, that he’s no longer the person he was six years ago. He feels a crushing bitterness. “Are you saying that the Hulk,” he catches himself, laughs. “That the Other Guy saved me for something? That’s nice. That’s a nice sentiment. Saved me for what?”

Tony gives him a meaningful look. “I don’t know. Let’s find out.”

“You might not enjoy that,” Bruce warns.

“And you just might,” Tony counters.

Bruce goes back to the data, Tony’s words echoing in his mind. He wishes he could believe Tony, that maybe he’d survived for some reason, that the last six years—the pain and devastation he’d caused—hadn’t been for nothing.

He can’t say he’s sorry to have lived long enough to see Tony again, though, even if that’s a selfish thought.

“It’s easy for you,” Bruce finally says. “You can’t know what it’s like.”

“So, tell me,” Tony invites. “Your file says it’s stress, or maybe anger.”

Bruce shrugs. “I used to think it was my heart rate, but that’s just a symptom. Most of the time, I have a handle on it.”

“When don’t you have a handle on it?” Tony asks. “Because you could have lost it when I hit you with the prod.”

“I knew I wasn’t in danger with you,” Bruce replies, meeting Tony’s eyes through the data board. “I’m safe with you.”

He doesn’t say that he’s always been safe with Tony, but he thinks Tony gets the message.

“Then there’s no reason not to stick around when all this is over,” Tony replies, using Bruce’s admission to his advantage, which Bruce should have expected.

Bruce shakes his head. “Ask me again after you meet the Other Guy. If you still want me around, we can talk.”

“You’ve got it,” Tony replies readily. “Trust me, Banner. The offer is going to stay open for as long as it takes.”

“Talk to me later,” Bruce insists again. “Then we’ll see.”

He’s not sure what he wants to happen, honestly. He’s not sure he could take Tony’s rejection, but at the same time, he thinks it might be better if he didn’t stick around afterward.

No matter how much he wants to.

~~~~~

Tony is a little disappointed when Bruce turns him down, or at least puts his acceptance on hold, but he knows he’ll wear Bruce down eventually, especially after the most recent reminder of how good things are when he’s with Tony.

Because things are good—it’s just like old times, with them working through the night, bouncing ideas and data back and forth, checking on Jarvis’ progress on occasion.

Bruce asks about Jarvis, and Tony realizes that they haven’t met, so he rambles on about his AI for a while, although he doesn’t give away all his secrets. There are things he doesn’t want to risk SHIELD finding out, and it’s good to leave a little mystery, just to give Bruce another reason to stick around.

The sun is coming up when they start to narrow in on the cube’s location, and Jarvis is close to unlocking all of SHIELD’s secret files. Tony is tired, but he and Bruce have been mainlining coffee, and he’s still feeling buzzed just from Bruce’s presence.

So, of course, Fury has to go and ruin everything.

“What are you doing, Mr. Stark?” Fury demands.

“Uh, kind of wondering the same thing about you,” Tony counters, knowing he just has to buy a few minutes and they can confront Fury with the evidence of what they’ve found in SHIELD’s files.

“You’re supposed to be locating the tesseract,” Fury replies.

Bruce has clearly relaxed a bit after the hours spent in Tony’s company, and doing science, because he says with perfect confidence, “We are. The model’s locked, and we’re sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we’ll have the location within half a mile.”

Tony smirks. “And you’ll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss.” The files Jarvis has unlocked populate his monitor. “What is Phase 2?”

He’s startled when Rogers tosses some kind of weapon on the lab table. “Phase 2 is SHIELD using the cube to make weapons.” He glances at Tony. “Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow.”

“Rogers, we gathered everything related to the tesseract. This does not mean that we’re—” Fury speaks, and Tony has no trouble spotting a lie.

He turns the monitor to face Fury. “I’m sorry, Nick. What were you lying?”

Rogers says, “I was wrong, Director. The world hasn’t changed a bit.”

But Tony’s attention is elsewhere, because he can feel Bruce’s anger like a living thing. Tony has borne the brunt of Bruce’s anger before, but he’s beginning to understand that it’s different now.

And when Thor and Natasha enter the room, Tony can feel the uptick in tension.

“Did you know about this?” Bruce demands.

Tony suddenly gets it—SHIELD is building weapons, and Bruce has always drawn a hard line in the sand at that. The Army had told Bruce he’d be protecting soldiers with his project, which is the only reason Bruce had agreed.

Bruce has less patience than most for being lied to, especially about something like this.

“You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?” Natasha asks.

“I was in Kolkata,” Bruce says, his tone sharp and sarcastic. “I was pretty well removed.”

“Loki’s manipulating you,” Natasha counters.

That’s the wrong thing to say. If Bruce is demanding the truth, he’s not going to be satisfied until he gets it.

“And you’ve been doing what exactly?” Bruce asks.

Tony starts moving towards Bruce, both so he can intervene if necessary, and because he wants to make his allegiances clear.

“You didn’t come here because I batted my eyelashes,” Natasha says, rising to the bait.

“Yes, and I’m not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I’d like to know why SHIELD is using the tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction.” Bruce is definitely getting worked up, and while Tony wouldn’t mind seeing Bruce’s greener half, he’s also pretty sure that it would be a really bad idea to set the Hulk loose on the helicarrier.

Fury is the one to answer the question, pointing at Thor. “Because of him.”

Thor frowns. “Me?”

So far, Tony hasn’t been real impressed with Thor’s intelligence, and he hasn’t seen anything to suggest otherwise. He doesn’t pay a lot of attention to Fury and Thor’s exchange—it’s all, “Blah, blah, you made us build weapons, blah, blah threat”—which is basically the same argument for every arms race in the history of the world.

Tony should know; he’d participated in that argument more times than he can count.

What Tony is interested in is Bruce, who is definitely not impressed with Fury’s explanation or excuse. He seems to be hanging onto his temper by his fingernails, so Tony figures he should probably say something.

“Nuclear deterrent, because that always calms everything right down.”

“Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?”

Then Tony is distracted by the ensuing argument when Rogers snaps, and he’s drawn in despite himself. He feels amped up, and angry, ready to punch someone.

“You speak of control, yet you court chaos,” Thor rumbles.

Bruce’s voice—or rather, the tension in Bruce’s voice—snaps Tony to attention. “It’s his M.O., isn’t it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, we’re a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We’re—we’re a time bomb.”

Fury goes very still. “You need to step away, doctor.”

“He’s right, though,” Tony inserts, compelled to defend Bruce. “You brought us in, and yet you didn’t give us all the information we need.”

“Maybe Dr. Banner should take a break,” Rogers suggests.

Tony is beginning to feel hemmed in, and he knows what that probably means for Bruce. “I think you should all back off. We were doing just fine in here before you all showed up to pick a fight.”

“I was the one to pick a fight?” Rogers challenges. “You’re just a big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?”

Tony glares. “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”

“I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. Yeah, I’ve seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.”

Rogers’ words cut deep because they have the ring of truth, echoing questions that Tony has entertained himself in the dead of night.

“Stop,” Bruce snarls. Tony turns to face Bruce, who does not look well. If Tony’s not mistaken, there’s a green cast to his skin. “You don’t know him. You don’t get to insult him.”

The room goes very silent, and Fury says, “Agent Romanoff, why don’t you escort Dr. Banner back to his—”

“Where?” Bruce snaps. “You rented my room.”

Tony winces, knowing he and Bruce are handing Fury a lot of ammunition that can be used against them. There’s no way that Fury and Romanoff won’t figure out that he and Bruce are a little more than instant BFFs.

Fury holds up his hands in a pacifying gesture that Tony knows is going to do absolutely fuck-all. “The cell was just in case—”

“In case you needed to kill me, but you can’t! I know! I tried!” Bruce shouts. Tony stiffens, hearing the raw pain in Bruce’s voice, and he is definitely not looking at Tony. “I got low. I didn’t see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the Other Guy spit it out! So, I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!”

He’s staring at Romanoff when he says it, and she looks scared, but Tony decides he has a more immediate problem, now that his brain is actually working again.

He has no desire to see Bruce shot, and he has caught on to the fact that Romanoff and Fury have loosened their weapons in their holsters. Given what Bruce had just said, Tony’s pretty sure that’s just going to piss the Hulk off even more.

“Bruce,” Tony says, keeping his voice low, and moving slowly. “Hey. We’re okay here, right?”

Bruce stares at him, a little wild-eyed.

“Stark!” Fury calls sharply.

“Shut the fuck up,” Tony snaps. “You’ve done enough damage. Bruce, you need to put the scepter down. It’s fucking with your head.”

Bruce glances down, looking sick, and he drops it on the table like he’s been burned just as the computer beeps. He won’t look at Tony as he approaches the computer. “Sorry, kids. You won’t get to see my little party trick after all.”

“Have you located the tesseract?” Thor asks.

Tony is torn between staying and making sure Bruce is okay and getting the hell out of Dodge. If he’s not mistaken, at least some of Bruce’s anger had come from Rogers taking potshots at Tony.

In the end, though, the tesseract is more important. “I can get there faster.”

“We should all go,” Rogers protests.

“The tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it,” Thor protests.

Tony thinks that maybe they should argue about the end destination of the cube after they get it back, and he heads for the door.

Rogers gets in his way. “You’re not going alone!”

Tony has never been inclined to take orders at the best of times, and this is definitely not the best of times. “You gonna stop me?”

“Put on the suit, let’s find out,” Rogers replies, getting right up into Tony’s face.

“I’m not afraid to hit an old man,” Tony snaps.

“Put on the suit!”

“Tony!” Bruce shouts, and that’s all the warning Tony has.

He and Rogers are thrown across the room, and Rogers helps him up and out of the decimated lab. “Put on the suit!”

This time, Tony doesn’t argue. “Yeah, sure.”

He wants to check on Bruce, to figure out what happened to him, but he can feel the lurch of the helicarrier deck under his feet, and he knows that if they don’t stop the attack, they’re going to have a lot more dead bodies on their hands.

And if Bruce can survive a bullet to the head, chances are he doesn’t have much to fear. Tony will have to worry about him later.

It’s a good thing he can compartmentalize.

~~~~~

Bruce wakes up in rubble, naked, and he really wishes this were a new thing. He has no idea how much time has passed, or what he’d done in the meantime, but he has the sense that it had been bad.

He can just barely remember Natasha promising him that she would get him out of this, and he would walk away. She’d promised on her life.

Bruce can’t remember if he’d hurt her. He hopes he hadn’t. She hadn’t deserved it. She hadn’t deserved to be scared like that, either. In retrospect, he’d played right into Loki’s hands, and maybe he would have been able to keep it under control if a bomb hadn’t gone off under his feet.

He glances up at the large hole in the ceiling, and looks around him, wondering how he’s going to find clothing and shoes—and where he might go next. He spots a security guard standing on the edge of the pile of rubble.

“You fell out of the sky,” he observes. He’s a thin, weathered man in a dark blue uniform.

“Did I hurt anybody?” Bruce asks.

He shrugs. “There’s nobody around here to get hurt. You did scare the hell out of some pigeons, though.”

Bruce rubs his forehead. “Lucky,” he mutters.

“Or just good aim,” the guard counters. “You were awake when you fell.”

“You saw?”

“The whole thing, right through the ceiling.” He sounds almost cheerful about it. “Big and green and buck ass nude. Here…” He throws Bruce a pile of clothing. “I didn’t think those would fit you until you shrunk down to a regular size fella.”

Bruce has been surprised by human kindness in the past, but this guy’s ready acceptance shocks him. “Thank you,” he manages.

The man waits until Bruce at least has his pants on before he asks, “Are you an alien?”

“What?”

“From outer space, an alien,” he adds.

Bruce can’t blame him for thinking that, but he says, “No.”

“Well, then, son, you’ve got a condition,” the man says.

Bruce snorts and pulls on the rest of his clothes, thankful that the fit is decent enough to get by. He’s thinking about where he needs to go from here.

“So, which is it?” the security guard asks as Bruce buttons his shirt.

“Huh?”

“Are you a big guy that’s sometimes little, or are you a little guy that sometimes blows up large?”

“You know, I’m not even sure,” Bruce admits.

The security guard smiles. “You got somewhere to be?”

Bruce remembers the data that had popped up. “Yeah, Stark Tower. Or—no.”

Tony will be there, he thinks. Facing whatever Loki decides to throw at him, and Bruce can’t let him down again. “Yeah,” Bruce says. “I have to get to Stark Tower.”

“Well, I’d expect some confusion from someone whose body is all over the place,” he says, leading the way out of the warehouse. “You can borrow my ride.”

Bruce stares at the motorcycle. “Are you sure?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he says philosophically. “Good luck.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Bruce says. “For everything.”

The motorcycle turns out to be the perfect mode of transport, and Bruce goes as fast as he’s able. He can see something in the sky above Stark Tower, but he’s far enough away that he can’t make out details.

Bruce dodges through traffic, and after about thirty minutes, the roads clear out completely, mostly because it looks like everybody is trying to get out of the city. Some people have already abandoned their cars and started walking.

He navigates the bike through stopped cars, and then, once he gets into the city, through burning rubble. Bruce can see the hole that the tesseract has punched in the sky above Stark Tower, and the alien ships coming through. He hears explosions and screams, and he can’t help but think that this is the first time he’s been on this side of a disaster.

He’s usually green by now.

Bruce goes with his gut, heading for Stark Tower, which looks to be the epicenter of destruction, but he’s still a little surprised when he rides up and finds the entire team present, other than Tony, including Agent Barton, whose picture he’d seen.

He’s none too sure of his welcome, and he parks the bike and strides up to them. “So, this all looks horrible.”

Natasha quirks an eyebrow. “I’ve seen worse.”

“Sorry,” Bruce says sincerely.

She almost smiles. “No, it’s okay. We could use a little worse.”

“Stark, we got him,” Rogers says. “Just like you said.”

Bruce feels a warm glow in his chest, feeling Tony’s belief in him. He’s not on coms, so he can’t hear Tony’s reply, but Natasha says, “I don’t see how that’s a party.”

He turns and sees one of the large alien ships, like some kind of fucked up centipede, approaching rapidly.

“Dr. Banner, now might be a good time to get angry,” Rogers says.

Bruce glances over his shoulder, feeling a strange sense of acceptance. “That’s my secret, Cap. I’m always angry.”

And then he gives in to the anger, welcoming the transformation instead of fighting it for the first time ever, and it’s different.

He still feels raw, still feels like a passenger in his own mind, but it’s easier to accept. The Other Guy follows Cap’s orders and smashes the alien threat, and then, in the end, he catches Iron Man as he tumbles through the rift in the sky.

And when Bruce wakes up this time, he’s on a couch, the cushions a little hard and scratchy, and there’s something covering him.

He blinks slowly, trying to remember why he’s here, and Tony crouches in front of him. “Hey, there you are.”

Bruce rubs his eyes. “How long have I been out? What happened?”

“Thor, Rogers, Barton, and Romanoff are delivering Loki to SHIELD. I thought I’d stay with you to make sure you got something to wear,” Tony replies. He’s out of his armor, and wearing the same casual clothing he’d changed into on the helicarrier.

Bruce clutches the fabric covering him. “And this?”

“Thor’s cape,” Tony replies. “He said he could do without it, and he was most impressed with your greener half. You made quite the impression with Loki.”

Bruce winces. “I didn’t kill anybody, did I?”

“Left a dent in my floor, which I will be asking you to make up for by working for me for ungodly sums of money,” Tony says cheerfully. “But the Hulk limited the destruction to the Chitauri and Loki. Maybe a few buildings, but it was all in a good cause, and no one is going to be able to tell what was the Hulk and what was the alien army.”

Bruce just closes his eyes, because he’s used to the idea of having done serious property damage, but it still makes him a little sick.

“Hey, blame Loki,” Tony insists, putting a hand on the side of Bruce’s face, his thumb brushing Bruce’s cheek. “If he hadn’t tried to take over the world, we never would have needed the Other Guy, and you would still be in Kolkata.” Tony pauses. “Strike that. I wouldn’t have known you were alive, and I wouldn’t have the chance to blackmail you into working for Stark Industries.”

Bruce smiles, in spite of himself. “You don’t need to blackmail me. I know I can trust you not to trick me into making weapons.”

“Never,” Tony promises. “Bruce, the offer is still open. The offer is always going to be open, and I like the Other Guy. He saved my life, quite literally.”

Bruce opens his mouth to reply, and Tony holds up a hand. “Just think about it. Tell me tomorrow. Right now, you need clothing so that you can get shawarma with the rest of us when the others get back. Okay?”

“I don’t have any other clothes,” Bruce protests.

Tony raises an eyebrow. “You don’t have any clothing here. I know you better than that. You at least have a clean shirt.”

“That one actually got ripped to shreds,” Bruce admits.

“Okay, time to raid my closet, then,” Tony announces cheerfully.

Bruce has enough of his pants left after his transformation to feel comfortable leaving Thor’s cloak—or is it a cape?—on the couch. Tony picks a careful path through broken glass, back to an area of the Penthouse that has to be the living quarters. They pass a few doors, but the double doors at the end of the hallway clearly grant access to the master bedroom.

From there, Tony leads the way to a closet so large that Bruce can only stare. “You never had this many clothes when we were kids.”

“I still don’t have that many clothes I wear,” Tony says defensively. “It’s the suits and tuxes that take the most space. If I could be in the workshop full time, it wouldn’t be necessary. Do you have any preferences?”

Bruce feels a little strange at the idea of wearing Tony’s clothes, but he doesn’t have a lot of options right now. “Anything you don’t mind parting with.”

“Not helpful,” Tony says. “Fine, I’ll pick something.”

And that might actually be weirder, because not only is Bruce wearing Tony’s clothes, he’s also letting Tony pick them out.

“Tony,” Bruce begins in a half-hearted protest.

Tony glances at him. “You need clothes, and I have them. Don’t make this weird.”

Bruce huffs out a laugh. “You’ve said that before.”

“And you didn’t make it weird, and now here we are,” Tony says with a grin, grabbing a pair of pants and a black shirt. “Those should do well enough for now. I’ll make sure you have some other things for the next few days, at least until you can get your own.”

Bruce is tired, and he’s grown used to accepting the kindness of strangers, at least when it’s offered. Tony isn’t a stranger, though, and that almost makes it worse. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Tony says. “Do you want to get cleaned up first? You might have time for a quick shower.”

Bruce really wants a hot shower, but he knows that once he gets clean, the only thing he’s going to want to do is face plant in bed. His best bet is to drag on clothing and just keep moving.

“No,” he says, pulling Tony’s shirt on over his head. “Let’s just get through this. If I stop, I’m not going to be able to move again.”

They meet the others in the lobby, and it’s clear that they’re all exhausted, so Bruce doesn’t have to make conversation, and the shawarma place is only a couple of blocks away. Tony hands over a wad of cash to the owner, and a few minutes later, their table is covered in red plastic baskets, filled with stuffed sandwiches and thick-cut fries.

Rogers is so tired he rests his head on his closed fist, and Barton has one foot propped up on Natasha’s chair. Thor is devouring his food without so much as looking at anybody else, and Bruce occasionally snatches a fry from Tony’s plate.

He’s pretty sure that Natasha has figured out that he and Tony have known each other for more than a couple of days, but Bruce doesn’t really care at this point. If SHIELD knows, or if they figure it out, they do.

“Does everybody have somewhere to stay?” Tony asks when they’ve cleared their plates.

“I will be staying close to my brother,” Thor says. “I plan to keep watch.”

“I’m going home,” Steve announces wearily. “I think we’re supposed to have a debriefing tomorrow.”

Natasha straightens slightly. “Agent Barton and I are expected back at HQ.”

“Bruce?” Tony prompts. “You want to bunk over at my place?”

Bruce blinks. He’s close to falling asleep over his food, and he has to work to focus. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Thanks. That would be great.”

Barton snickers, and Natasha knocks his foot off her chair. “We should go,” she announces.

Bruce wonders if she’ll ever forgive him for scaring her as he had—or maybe she has forgiven him, but he doubts that she’ll ever feel comfortable in his presence.

Maybe she shouldn’t; no one should. It’s just that Tony is the only one crazy enough to try.

But Natasha pulls him aside as they leave. “I’ll bring your bag for you tomorrow, Dr. Banner.”

Bruce nods. “Look, about what happened—”

“Don’t.” Her expression is almost sympathetic. “I knew what I was getting myself into. I promise, I will do my best to be completely honest in the future.”

It feels like a pact. “That means a lot.”

“It should,” Natasha says, and she might almost be smiling.

Bruce glances over her shoulder at Barton, who’s lounging against a SHIELD-issue SUV. He hasn’t met the man, not really, but he knows what it’s like to not be in control of your own body. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Probably less okay when he hears about Coulson,” Natasha admits.

Bruce blinks. “Wait, I don’t—no one told me.”

“We’ve been a little preoccupied,” Natasha says. “And I want to get Clint somewhere safe before I dump that on him. Besides, the Other Guy did a number on Loki.”

Bruce suspects that Natasha has figured out that the Other Guy is always a threat, but that there are situations when he can be used. The promise of potentially being able to control the outcome, or at least having a roadmap, is probably immensely comforting to someone like her.

Bruce wishes he could be so sanguine.

Tony slings an arm over his shoulders as they start back toward the Tower on foot. There are already SHIELD crews on the street, cleaning up rubble and other things best not looked at too closely.

“I don’t know about you, but I could sleep for a week,” Tony announces.

“At least a few days,” Bruce agrees. “Thanks for dinner, by the way. I was hungry.”

Tony grins. “Smashing things will work up an appetite.”

“And a need to sleep for a week,” Bruce admits. “Are you okay?”

Tony freezes when the question is asked. “I beg your pardon?”

Bruce sighs. “I remember enough this time, okay? I have a vague idea of what happened.”

“You saved my life,” Tony replies. “Like I said. What I didn’t say is that I was dead. I should be dead, and I’m not.”

Bruce thinks about that for a moment. “It’s disconcerting, huh?”

“I’d say you have no idea, but I’m pretty sure you do,” Tony says. “Look, Pepper isn’t going to be able to get back into the city until tomorrow, or maybe later, depending on if they let any planes land in the New York City area, which isn’t guaranteed.”

Bruce nods. “Okay.”

“Okay, what?” Tony asks.

“Okay to whatever you need from me,” Bruce replies. “Within reason.”

He can hear Tony’s sigh of relief. “You’ll stay with me tonight?”

“Tony, you made me a job offer,” Bruce says quietly. “You’re my best friend, and I haven’t seen you in years. If you wanted to just watch Star Wars all night, I’d somehow force myself to stay awake for it.”

“Even without the sex?” Tony asks.

Bruce shakes his head. “Don’t get me wrong, the sex was amazing, but that’s not what I wanted from you.”

“So you were in it for my devilish good looks?” Tony teases.

Bruce snorts. “Please. You were no more than cute as a teenager.”

“Excuse you!” Tony protests, and Bruce knows that he’s managed to distract Tony from his doldrums. “Like you can talk.”

“Oh, everyone loves me for my brain,” Bruce agrees. “And in spite of my incredible anger management problems.”

Tony opens his mouth, and then shuts it with a snap. Bruce suspects he’d been about to make an ill-timed declaration of love, considering that Pepper is coming back, and they’re no longer together. “I’m not ready to let you out of my sight yet,” he admits.

“Your bed is huge,” Bruce points out. “You won’t know I’m there.”

“That kind of defeats the purpose.”

“Then I’ll talk to you until you go to sleep, and if you wake up, you’ll know where to find me,” Bruce replies.

Tony had done the same for him on a couple of occasions, making nearly the same promise.

They’re in the elevator at Stark Tower by now, and they’re alone, so Tony pulls Bruce close, as handsy as he’d been when they were kids. “Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Bruce says, leaning into Tony’s touch, trying not to think about how long it’s been. “I still owe you for the clothes.”

“We’ll call it even,” Tony replies, pressing his cheek to Bruce’s. “It’s not like I can wear all of them, anyway.”

They get ready for bed in silence, and Bruce is reminded once again of the time they’d spent together as teenagers, first at MIT, and then at Bruce’s aunt’s place, and Tony’s parents’ when they’d gotten ready for bed side-by-side. They’d jostled each other at the sink, and slept within arm’s reach.

Bruce isn’t willing to sleep with someone else while naked, so he borrows a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. The room is dark, although the arc reactor shines through Tony’s thin tank top, and Bruce rolls to face him.

He likes seeing it, like a nightlight. He’s just about asleep when Tony says, “You awake?”

Bruce blinks. “Yeah.”

“What you said on the helicarrier,” Tony says.

Bruce winces. He should have known that Tony would ask him about that. “Yeah.”

“When was it?”

Bruce rubs his eyes. “Tony, let’s not do this now.”

“When are we going to do it, then?” Tony asks. “Please.”

Bruce closes his eyes. “It was when you’d been gone for two months in Afghanistan. They said you weren’t going to come home.”

Tony makes a pained noise. “Bruce…”

“I didn’t want to live in a world you weren’t in,” Bruce says, because he figures that if he’s in for a penny, he might as well be in for a pound. “Like I said, I couldn’t see a way out.”

Tony rolls over, closing the distance between them until his hand lands on Bruce’s arm, squeezing tightly. “And after? Why didn’t you tell me? Did you not trust me to help you?”

Bruce really doesn’t want to have this conversation, now or ever, but he owes Tony the truth. “I couldn’t risk hurting you, that was part of it.”

“And after I announced I was Iron Man?” Tony presses. “Hard to hurt me when I’m in the suit.”

“I fucked up,” Bruce admits. “I went ahead with testing even though it was a bad idea. I bought Ross’ lies that it wasn’t a weapons program. And then I couldn’t handle it. You were out saving the world, and I was wallowing in my misery. I figured the best thing I could do was stay out of your way and follow your example, helping people.”

There’s a long silence, and Tony finally sighs. “I think we’ve both learned a very important lesson from all of this.”

Bruce lets out a bitter laugh. “What’s that?”

“Two geniuses are always better than one.”

Bruce can’t help the grin that forms. “Look, I know I don’t have any right to ask you for this—”

“Ask me for whatever you want,” Tony says grandly. “You saved my life.”

“Does that mean you’re going to let me off the hook for disappearing on you?” Bruce asks.

Tony snorts. “Forgiven, but never forgotten. What do you need?”

“I have to see my aunt,” Bruce says. “Will you go with me? She probably still likes you.”

Tony chuckles. “Oh, she loves me. I send her flowers. Regularly.”

Bruce groans. “So?”

“Jen is here in New York, you know,” Tony says. “We could fly Elaine out here.”

Bruce sits up quickly, dislodging Tony’s hand. “Jen’s here? I have to—”

“Relax,” Tony says, tugging Bruce back down. “This is what I have Jarvis for, remember? He’s tracking Jen and Elaine, and it just so happens Jen is out of town on business right now. But the press is going to be around when we see Thor and his asshole brother off tomorrow, which means your face is going to be in the news.”

Bruce buries his head in his pillow. “Fuck me.”

“I’m taken, but thanks for the offer,” Tony quips. “I’ve got you covered, although I would suggest calling them tomorrow before we meet the others. And yes, I will either fly Elaine out here, or I’ll fly you and Jen out to her.”

Bruce feels Tony rub his back, and he lets out a breath. “Thanks—for looking out for them, too.”

“I’ve got you, man,” Tony says softly. “Hey, come on. I’ve got you. It’s you and me, Big Guy.”

“Always,” Bruce says, completing the promise.

And they fall asleep like that, with Tony’s hand on Bruce’s back, and Bruce hearing someone breathing next to him.

~~~~~

Tony wakes with a start, sitting up with a gasp, trying to catch his breath.

“Hey.”

He suddenly remembers that Bruce is in bed with him. “Did I wake you?”

“Something woke you,” Bruce counters. “You want to talk about it?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“Then let’s get up,” Bruce says. “Come on. How are you feeling?”

Tony moans. “I can’t move.”

Bruce actually laughs at him, which just proves that he’s an asshole. “I’ll help.”

He does help, rolling out of bed and coming around to Tony’s side, moving at Tony’s pace, until Tony’s on his feet. Tony feels bruised all over, and it takes some effort to get moving, but Bruce shows an infinite patience.

“How come you aren’t sore?” Tony asks.

Bruce shrugs off the question. “I never am the day after, as long as I can get some sleep or food fairly quickly.”

“And if you don’t?” Tony asks, distracted from his own stiffness by the pursuit of information, as always.

Bruce shakes his head. “It just takes longer.”

Tony makes a mental note to ensure that Bruce has what he needs after a transformation. He’s not sure how he’s going to do that, particularly if Bruce doesn’t cooperate, but he’ll think of something.

He always does.

Neither of them bother to dress immediately, stumbling out into the main room in search of coffee, remembering at the last moment that there’s broken glass still on the floor.

“Shit,” Tony says succinctly. “I should probably get someone in here to deal with that.”

“There has to be coffee in one of the labs, right?” Bruce asks philosophically, and Tony probably shouldn’t be surprised that Bruce knows Tony well enough to expect as much.

They retreat to the bedroom only to put shoes on—they still wear the same size, which is handy, since Bruce doesn’t have any spare pairs—and then take the elevator down a couple of floors where Bruce starts a pot of coffee.

Once it’s brewing, Bruce looks around. “You were right.”

“I’m always right,” Tony says automatically. “But be specific.”

Bruce laughs. “It’s Candyland.”

“Oh, that, yes, of course,” Tony says. “And it can all be yours. Or at least partially yours. I’m happy to set aside a lab and stock it with whatever you want.”

It’s probably too much, but Tony is feeling a little desperate to keep Bruce with him. Bruce has made no move to leave, and had asked for Tony to be with him when he contacts Elaine and Jen, but that doesn’t mean he won’t disappear at some point.

“I get to set my own agenda,” Bruce says quietly. “I want to focus on humanitarian projects. I’ll let you have the patents if you promise to make any breakthroughs available to the people who really need them.”

“Yes,” Tony agrees. “Of course. You’ll retain control of any patents.”

Bruce shoots him a look. “That’s incredibly generous. I’d say your bias was showing if I didn’t know better.”

“I’m working in clean energy,” Tony replies. “Stark Industries is working with intelli-crops, and other areas. What do you want to do, Bruce? Name it, and I’ll make sure you have the resources you need to get it done.”

Bruce stares down at his cup of coffee. “I want to build something, Tony, to make up for all the destruction I’ve caused.”

“Yeah,” Tony agrees. “I get that.”

Bruce glances up, clearly startled, and then he smiles. “Yeah, I guess you would.”

Tony has no idea what might have happened next if Jarvis hadn’t interrupted them. “Sir, Miss Potts is calling. Shall I put her through?”

Tony had spoken to her briefly while waiting for Bruce to wake up the day before, just to reassure her that he was alive and in one piece.

He clears his throat and says, “Yeah, go ahead.”

“Tony? How are you? Are you sure you’re okay?” Pepper asks.

“We—I’m fine,” Tony assures her. “How soon will you be back?”

“Tonight,” Pepper replies. “We couldn’t get clearance to land until then.”

“You were probably lucky to get it at all,” Tony replies. “At least in the next few days. Are you okay?”

“Fine,” she says quickly. “What about the others? Phil and Natasha?”

“Natasha is fine,” Tony replies. “Phil—Phil didn’t make it. I’m sorry, Pepper.”

Pepper makes a pained noise. “I see. I’ll be there this evening.”

“I’ll meet you at the airport,” Tony promises, because he feels as though he ought to prepare Pepper for coming back to find that they have a houseguest. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

“How is the Tower?” she asks, probably because she believes she’ll get a straight answer out of him about the building even if he shades the truth as to his physical well being.

“Some minor cosmetic damage, but nothing too bad,” Tony assures her. “Nothing like the rest of Manhattan.”

“I’m already putting together a few proposals for how we might aid in the rebuilding efforts,” she says. “It only makes sense.”

Tony smiles. “I knew I could count on you, Pep.”

“Always,” she says archly, but there’s a catch in her voice.

Tony hasn’t exactly been entirely honest with her about what had happened, about the nuke or the hole in space or very nearly dying. He’ll have to tell her eventually, of course, but he’s saving it for when he sees her in person.

Right about the time when he tells her that he’s hiring one Dr. Bruce Banner.

“We’re wrapping up the Avengers business this morning,” Tony says. “And we’ve got a houseguest.”

“One of the Avengers, I assume,” Pepper says.

“That’s right,” Tony agrees. “I’ll tell you all about it when you get in.”

Her voice trembles a bit. “Five o’clock, Tony. Don’t be late.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Tony says.

“I saw the news footage,” Pepper says. “Whoever caught you—tell him thank you.”

Tony has no idea how anyone got video of the Hulk catching him, let alone how it made the evening news. “I will,” he promises, neglecting to mention that Bruce is standing right there.

The call ends, and he turns to look at Bruce, who appears very uncomfortable. “I don’t have to stay.”

“Bruce,” Tony murmurs. “Please don’t make me ask again. You can get your own place if you want, if that will make you comfortable, but stay here until you do.”

Bruce shifts uneasily. “I don’t want to be in the way.”

“You heard Pepper,” Tony replies. “She’s going to love you. She already likes you.”

“How much are you going to tell her?” Bruce asks.

Tony sighs. “I’ll tell her enough. She’s observant, you know? And we try to be honest with each other these days.”

Bruce nods. “Is me being here going to be a problem?”

“You’re my best friend,” Tony says simply. “That’s the important thing.”

“Don’t forget the fact that I saved your life,” Bruce says with a tentative smile. “Tell me if I’m in the way.”

“You won’t be, but I will.” Tony drinks the rest of his coffee and straightens. “We’d better get ready. I think we’re due at SHIELD HQ in an hour or so.”

Tony dresses carefully, knowing there will be press when they send off Thor and Loki—and really, there would be press just because Tony is there, but the glare of the spotlight will be even brighter now. And Bruce hasn’t had a lot of positive interactions with the press, so Tony picks out something for him, too.

His clothes fit Bruce well enough, and Bruce looks both cheerful and nonthreatening in yellow and gray. Tony goes with gray and purple, which won’t clash with Bruce.

And if Bruce looks really good in yellow—that’s no skin off Tony’s nose.

They wouldn’t have to do this in public, but Tony understands that sending Thor and Loki back to Asgard with the tesseract is a big “fuck you” to the World Security Council. Loki is bound and gagged, and Tony pauses to wonder where SHIELD had come up with the equipment.

Either Thor had brought his own, created his own, or someone at SHIELD is really kinky.

Given the look on Loki’s face he’s not entirely unhappy with the situation, and that makes Tony wonder what Loki’s planning, but in a few moments, Loki won’t be their problem, and Tony figures that’s worth celebrating.

They stand in a loose circle around Thor and Loki, but they don’t say much. Thor nods to them, holding one end of the container with the tesseract inside. After a moment’s hesitation, Loki takes the other end, and with a twist of Thor’s wrist, they’re enveloped in light and then they’re gone.

Bruce joins Natasha and Barton at the car they’re using to collect his bag, and Rogers approaches Tony. “It was a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Stark.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Tony replies with a smirk. “I was a pain in the ass.”

Rogers smiles at that. “Maybe, but we got the job done. You got the job done.”

Tony shrugs, a little surprised at the praise. “Take care of yourself, Cap. Let me know if you need anything.”

“You too,” Rogers replies. “Same goes for Banner.”

Bruce puts his bag in Tony’s car and climbs into the passenger seat. “I need to call my aunt before my face is all over the news.”

“You definitely do,” Tony says. “Once we get back to the Tower, I’ll let you have your privacy.”

“You don’t have to,” Bruce says quietly. “You could stay.”

Tony glances over at him. “You sure?”

Bruce winces. “Considering that she’s probably going to yell at me, I wouldn’t mind having the support.”

Tony decides not to point out that Elaine has every reason to be angry, because Bruce knows that already. He’s already made his point, and he thinks Bruce needs his support more than his anger right now.

Since the Penthouse is still a mess, they go to one of the labs, and Tony hands Bruce his cell phone. “She still has the same number.”

Bruce nods, and then quickly dials the number, rubbing his free hand on his pant leg.

Tony busies himself in another corner of the lab, close enough to be there for Bruce, but not crowding him.

“No, it’s not Tony, it’s me,” Bruce says. “It’s Bruce.”

Tony keeps an ear open, although he can only hear Bruce’s side of the conversation.

“No, I’m sorry,” Bruce is saying. “There was an accident, and it was too dangerous.”

“Yes, I’m with Tony. No, he didn’t know.”

“All over. I couldn’t risk staying in one place.”

“No, I don’t have to hide anymore. I’m staying with Tony right now. Yeah, I’m going to work for Stark Industries …Yeah, just like old times… And Jen?”

“Okay, that’s good,” Bruce says. “Yeah, sure. He’s right here.”

Tony takes the phone that Bruce holds out and says, “Hi, Elaine.”

“Did you know about this?” Elaine demands. Apparently, she hadn’t believed Bruce, and probably with good reason. He and Bruce had covered for each other in the past.

“I just found out that he was alive a couple of days ago,” Tony admits.

“And you didn’t call me immediately?” she asks sharply.

Tony winces. “We were a little busy saving the world.”

She sniffs. “I do get text messages now, Tony. Are you keeping an eye on him?”

“You know it,” Tony promises. “Pepper will be back tonight. I can send the jet to you, or I can send Bruce your way.”

She sighs. “Jen’s heading back to the city just as soon as she can, so I’d rather come to you. Besides, I haven’t seen you in years, and I’d like to be sure that you’re both in one piece.”

“We are,” Tony promises. “We’re okay. Bruce saved my life, you know.”

Elaine laughs, although she sounds a little teary. “You boys always did look out for each other.”

“Will you come?” Tony asks.

“Of course I will,” Elaine replies. “I’ll start packing.”

He smiles. “I’ll make sure you have somewhere to stay.”

“Put Bruce back on?”

“Sure,” Tony replies, handing the phone back to Bruce.

Bruce turns away, speaking in low tones so that Tony can only hear low murmurs. When he hangs up and turns to look at Tony, his eyes look suspiciously moist. “I have to call Jen, too.”

“You okay?”

Bruce shrugs, and his jaw works. “Yeah.”

“We all missed you, Bruce,” Tony says gently.

Bruce scrubs his hands over his face. “Yeah, I’m getting that.”

“Call your cousin,” Tony advises.

“She’s going to yell at me, too.”

“And then we’ll have a drink and do some science until I have to meet Pepper,” Tony replies, clapping him on the shoulder.

This time, Tony gives Bruce his privacy, and when he returns with a beer for Bruce and a glass of Scotch for himself, Bruce is slumped on a stool, the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes.

“Shake it off,” Tony advises. “They’ll forgive you.”

Bruce nods and takes a long drink of beer. “I need a distraction.”

“It just so happens that I have one,” Tony replies. “How would you like to see the plans for the arc reactor up close?”

“I didn’t think you let anyone see those,” Bruce replies.

“I don’t,” Tony replies. “You’re not ‘anyone.’”

Bruce’s smile turns shy. “Thanks.”

“Let’s get to work,” Tony says.

They jump from the arc reactor to working on one of Bruce’s proposals to clean up polluted water supplies, humming right along until Jarvis announces, “You wished to be reminded of Miss Potts’ arrival, sir.”

“Already?” Tony asks, and glances at the clock. “You okay here by yourself?”

Bruce gives him a sardonic look. “I think I’ll be fine on my own for a little while anyway, Tony.”

“Just make sure you’re here when I get back,” Tony replies. “I want you to meet Pepper.”

He doesn’t allow his nerves to show until he’s in the car, his hands gripping the wheel tightly. Tony has had precisely two relationships that made it past the one-month mark. Mostly, he’d stuck with one-night stands or long weekends after Bruce; Pepper is the only other person he’s ever loved.

Tony really wants them to get along. He wants them to like each other.

He’s not sure what he’ll do if they don’t.

He has his nerves under control by the time he reaches the airport, and he parks and goes to meet Pepper, timing it so that she’s just getting off the plane when he strolls up to the private hangar.

“Tony!” she calls, moving down the stairs much faster than most could in five-inch heels.

Tony wraps his arms around her, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around, in spite of his sore muscles.

Pepper kisses him deeply and then presses her forehead against his. “You’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” he promises. “Are you?”

She pulls back and sniffs. “You tried to call, and I didn’t pick up. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tony insists. “There’s nothing I could have said then that I can’t say now.”

“Like what?” Pepper asks.

“I love you,” Tony says.

Pepper pulls back. “Tony, just how close was this?”

Tony swallows. “I was lucky Bruce was there.”

“Is that—the Hulk?” Pepper asks.

“When he’s not green,” Tony confirms. “Come on. Let someone else get your baggage. I’ll take the long way home, and we’ll talk.”

Pepper slides into the passenger seat when they reach the car, and asks, “What aren’t you telling me?”

Tony starts the car and waits until they’re on the road before he says, “Did I ever tell you about the time my dad shipped me off to science camp when I was fourteen?”

Pepper frowns. “No, and I’m not sure what that has to do with you nearly dying.”

“My roommate was Bruce Banner,” Tony says. “Every year, there was a competition, and we won handily. He was the smartest guy there, other than yours truly.”

Pepper is sharp, and it doesn’t take her long to figure it out. “You’ve known the Hulk for thirty years?”

“He wasn’t always the Hulk,” Tony says. “And Bruce calls him the Other Guy.”

“Why didn’t you ever talk about him?” Pepper asks. “I didn’t think you had any friends other than Rhodey.”

Tony hesitates. “We were really close when we were teenagers. When my parents died, I called Bruce. Obadiah—he thought we were too close.”

“I see,” Pepper murmurs. “Were you?”

Tony clutches the steering wheel. He’s never had this conversation before. With as many women as he’d slept with—and sometimes more than one at a time—Bruce is the only man.

It’s the first coming out speech Tony’s given.

“Obadiah wasn’t wrong about that,” Tony admits.

Pepper frowns. “He told you that a gay man couldn’t lead Stark Industries.”

Tony shrugs. “And he wasn’t wrong. It would have been difficult, and Bruce still had to get his Ph.D. We stayed friends, but we kept it quiet. And then he had his accident, and I thought he was dead for the last six years.”

“Does this change anything, knowing he’s alive?” Pepper asks.

Tony glances over at her. “I love you. We both moved on, Pep. All this means is that I got my best friend back. I’d really like it if you guys got along.”

He can’t read her expression, and he has no idea what she’s thinking, and then she says simply, “He’s your friend, Tony, and he saved your life. That’s all I need to know.”

“He’s a good guy who got dealt a bad hand, Pep,” Tony replies. “It could have been me, you know? And his aunt was like a second mom to me.”

Pepper frowns. “Elaine Walters?”

Tony glances at her. “How did you know?”

“You had me send flowers a few times,” Pepper says with a smile. “I did a little research and realized she’d been married to the Los Angeles County Sheriff. You sent a couple of bouquets to her daughter, too.”

“She’s like a sister to me,” Tony insists.

Pepper puts a hand over his. “Will I get to meet them, too?”

“Jen lives in New York,” Tony says. “I’m flying Elaine in.”

“Is Bruce going to stick around for a while?” Pepper asks lightly.

Tony shrugs. “He’s going to work for Stark Industries, but I think he’ll make his home base New York. Once the remodeling process is underway, I thought we’d head back to Malibu.”

Pepper glances at him. “Are you sure? I thought you’d want to stay in New York for a while.”

Tony shudders. He can’t imagine staying in New York now, when every glance at the sky reminds him of the tear in space, of a starry, silent expanse, and imminent death.

“No, I don’t think so,” Tony says quietly. “I want to go home.”

“Of course,” Pepper agrees readily, and Tony wonders what she sees when she looks at him. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is,” Tony says. “But we can give it some time.”

Pepper sighs. “This was too close.”

Tony doesn’t reply, letting his silence speak for him, where normally he would protest that he was fine, that he’d had it, that there was never any danger.

He’d been close to death more than a few times, but he already knows that this had been different. This had been Tony lying down on the wire with no way out.

And in the end, Tony hadn’t been the one to save himself; no, that had been Bruce.

He’s holding Pepper’s hand when they step out of the elevator, and he’s a little surprised to see that someone has cleared up the broken glass and put plastic up over the windows.

Bruce is in the kitchen area, foil containers spread out over the bar. “I ordered dinner. I hope that’s okay.”

“I’m starving,” Pepper replies. “You must be Bruce.”

Bruce approaches warily, holding out a hand. “And you must be the famous Pepper. Tony’s talked about you a lot.”

“Good things, I hope,” Pepper replies, shaking his hand.

“Nothing but good things,” Bruce confirms. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, too.” Pepper smiles at him, and Tony can see her determination. Bruce is Tony’s oldest friend, and so they’ll both try to get along.

Tony’s grateful, but he also feels as though his past and present are colliding. It’s strange, and it leaves him off-kilter.

But he’s grateful, because it appears as though he won’t have to choose between them, at least not now.

~~~~~

Bruce likes Pepper a lot, actually, and he’s grateful for it. That makes it easier to be happy for Tony, and to remember that Bruce can’t offer him much at this point.

Pepper is kind and intelligent, and she’s a good listener, and she wants to know about science camp, and the winter break Tony had mostly spent with Bruce and his family, and how they’d surfed together.

Bruce realizes that there’s no one in Tony’s life who has known him as long as Bruce has, and he doesn’t mind telling her stories about those days. They skip over their European vacation entirely, which is probably for the best, but she doesn’t seem to notice.

It’s late when Bruce says, “I think I’m going to bed. Sleep well, you two.”

“It was a real pleasure to meet you, Bruce,” Pepper says. “And thank you.”

Bruce shrugs. “I didn’t do all that much.”

Pepper gives him a look.

Bruce smiles. “You’re welcome.”

“That’s better,” Pepper replies.

Bruce meets Tony’s eyes, and Tony doesn’t even hesitate to grab Bruce in for a hug, clapping him on the back. “Thanks, buddy.”

“Sleep well,” Bruce replies.

He doesn’t, really. He lies awake for hours, unable to turn his mind off, thinking about meeting Jen and Elaine the next day. They don’t hate him, he knows that. They’re family, and they love him, but he’s hurt them terribly.

And Bruce knows he’d fucked up. He’d known he was hurting them at the time, and he’d still stayed away. He’d just thought they’d be better off without him. He still thinks that, but he’s realized it’s only fair to let them make the decision.

They might decide Bruce is more trouble than he’s worth; he’s been waiting for them to figure that out for years now.

Eventually, he gives up, and heads down to the lab. He has more than a few ideas to improve the standard of living in the areas of the world where he’d been living where clean water is an issue, as is communicable disease. Bruce figures he can get a head start on them.

Somehow, he’s not surprised to see Tony in the lab they’d been using, a large, holographic arc reactor in front of him.

“You’re still awake.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Tony says absently. “Also, pot meet kettle.”

“Do you want some help?” Bruce offers.

Tony dismisses the projection with a wave of his hand. “Right now? No. I want a new project. I want something so fantastical, people will think it’s magic.”

“Personal force field?” Bruce suggests. “Teleporter? Light sabers?”

“Light sabers!” Tony leaps on the suggestion immediately. “Yes. Let’s do that.”

They work late into the night, and Bruce reminds himself that the science has more applications than just a real world prototype of a nerd’s toy.

“Go to bed,” Bruce advises eventually. “It’s either really late, or really early, and you should get some sleep if you can.”

Tony looks at him. “Every time I close my eyes, I see that hole in space. It’s a nightmare.”

Bruce feels a spike of sympathy. “Tony, you can’t just not sleep.”

“Tell that to my brain,” Tony counters. “I’d rather be working here with you.”

Bruce doesn’t want to go to bed either, so he shrugs. “If you want to keep going, I won’t stop you.”

Pepper finds them like that the next morning. “Were you two up all night?”

“Science to do,” Tony replies absently.

“This may come as a shock, but you’re still a mere mortal, and humans need sleep,” Pepper replies.

Bruce doesn’t look up from his equations. “She has a point, Tony.”

“You’re also not sleeping,” Tony points out.

Bruce raises an eyebrow. “I’m also not entirely human.”

“Human enough to need sleep,” Tony counters.

Bruce shrugs. “I’m sure my aunt will nag me into a good night’s sleep.” He’s equally certain that he won’t sleep well until after he’s seen them again.

“Are you sure Elaine won’t stay in a hotel?” Tony asks.

“She’s happy to stay with Jen,” Bruce replies. “Especially since Jen’s place was well away from the path of destruction.”

“I guess that’s one good reason to live out in Queens,” Tony says. “When is she getting back in?”

“She rented a car, so she’s driving in,” Bruce replies.

“I can let you borrow a car, or I can send you with a driver,” Tony offers. “I thought we might get dinner together tomorrow night, if it’s okay with Pepper.”

Bruce had almost forgotten Pepper’s presence. “I think that can be arranged,” she agrees. “I’m looking forward to it. Tony? We need to talk about renovations for the Penthouse.”

“I’ll see you both later,” Bruce says, resolving to stay out of the way for the rest of the day. He doesn’t want to ruin things for Tony, or wear out his welcome too quickly.

He still remembers how Obadiah had responded to his presence, and he wants to avoid a repeat performance with Pepper.

The equipment in Tony’s lab is state of the art, and it’s easy to distract himself and focus on a few projects, at least until it comes time to leave. When he returns to the guest room, he finds more clean clothes hanging in the closet and a couple of pairs of shoes. His bag is at the end of the bed, and there are toiletries in the bathroom of a better quality than Bruce usually gets.

He probably ought to get used to the creature comforts, since it appears that he’ll be staying for a while.

Maybe Bruce would think about leaving, particularly if he felt he was in the way, but he’d already accepted Tony’s offer of a job, and Stark Industries has a lot of locations. He could stay here in New York and find his own place, or go to California, or go to one of the other locations.

But he thinks he’d rather stay in New York, where Jen is usually located. Maybe his aunt would agree to move here.

Bruce pulls on a clean blue dress shirt and black slacks, both of which fit better than anything he’d worn in ages. He’s used to buying second-hand clothing that no one else wants, in a size that’s just a little too big.

But he feels the need to dress with care, knowing that will assuage some of his aunt’s worries if he looks like he’s doing okay. It’s all still second-hand, but much nicer than anything Bruce finds in the shops.

He slides into the backseat of the car that Tony arranged, and feels the pull of the jacket across his shoulders as he settles in.

Bruce closes his eyes, his weariness pulling at him, and he half-dozes on the drive to the airport. Tony has arranged for the car to be at Bruce’s disposal while Elaine is in town.

The driver takes him to the private hangar where the Stark Industries jet lands, and Bruce wakes up, rubbing his eyes and climbing out of the car. The jet has just taxied into place, and one of the attendants deploys the stairs

His aunt looks a little older, her hair completely gray now, turning to silver, with more lines around her eyes and mouth, but her face creases in delight as she catches sight of him.

“Bruce!”

She’s in fashionable jeans and a pastel blouse, looking fresh as a daisy, and she moves down the stairs with a spryness that belies her years, wrapping her arms around Bruce, holding him fiercely.

“I’m sorry,” he says into her hair. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m just so glad you’re okay,” his aunt replies. She pulls back to search his face. “You look good.” She touches his hair. “Although you’re going silver.”

Bruce manages a smile. “I am. It’s good to see you.”

“Swear to me that you won’t disappear again,” Aunt Elaine insists.

“I already promised Tony the same thing,” Bruce says. “I think it’s safe for me to stay now.”

“And you couldn’t have sent a postcard?” his aunt asks, slapping him on the chest. “I’m not an idiot. You could have let me know in some kind of code.”

To his aunt, Bruce feels as though he can speak the truth. “I was afraid.”

“I saw the news,” she replies. “I know what happens when you get upset, and I still love you. You are my child in every way that matters. And if you ever disappear on me again, I will hunt you down, and you will not like what happens.”

Bruce has missed her, and he hugs her again, pressing his forehead against the top of her head. “I won’t.”

“Well, I know that Tony won’t let you,” his aunt says. “He’s a good boy.”

Bruce laughs to hear anyone refer to Tony as a boy. “He is.”

“Come on, let’s meet your cousin,” she says, patting him on the shoulder.

Jen had promised to meet them at her apartment, and she’s standing outside on the stoop, looking exactly like her mother, but a few inches taller.

“You’re still an asshole,” Jen announces as soon as they stop out of the hired car.

“I know,” Bruce agrees. “I’m sorry.”

Jen rolls her eyes. “Enough of that. Just don’t do it again.”

“Promise,” Bruce says.

“Good enough,” Jen announces. “Get over here, you jerk.”

She hugs him tightly, and Bruce had forgotten this, had forgotten how it felt to have someone hug him, to pull him close, to give a fuck about him.

“No disappearing,” Bruce promises, unprompted. “I’ll likely be staying here in New York, depending on where Stark Industries can use me.”

“As long as I have your phone number,” Jen replies. “And I will bug you.”

“From you, I don’t consider it being a nuisance,” Bruce assures her.

Jen grins. “Well, if you two don’t mind, I thought we’d hit the Chinese restaurant down the street.”

It’s a hole in the wall, but the food is good, fresh and authentic, and he appreciates the opportunity to get caught up. Jen talks about her new job at the New York law firm, and Aunt Elaine talks about her volunteering at various schools and libraries, helping to teach children to read, and Bruce sits back and listens, happy to be with his family again.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” Jen asks as they get to the end of their dinner.

Bruce shakes his head. “You don’t have room for me.”

“There’s a spot on the floor,” Jen says. “I think I have an air mattress somewhere, or maybe a sleeping bag.”

Bruce is about to refuse, but then he remembers that Tony will be sleeping with Pepper tonight, and he won’t need Bruce. He thinks it might be easier to sleep with his family close by. “Sure,” he says. “I’ll just call Tony and let him know not to expect me.”

“Is he still dating Pepper Potts?” Jen asks.

Bruce nods. “She seems nice.”

“You met her, then?” Elaine asks.

Bruce feels as though there’s an undercurrent to the questions. “They seem to be a good match. I’m sure she was happy to get back to find Tony in one piece.”

Aunt Elaine makes a face. “From the news footage, that was a near thing.”

“Closer than I want to consider,” Bruce replies. “Tony said he’s looking forward to seeing the two of you tomorrow for dinner.”

His aunt smiles. “Good. I haven’t seen Tony in ages. I’d like to see that he’s in one piece for myself. Will we meet Miss Potts?”

“That’s the plan,” Bruce confirms.

His aunt reaches across the table to grip Bruce’s hand. “Be honest, Bruce. Are you okay?”

Bruce thinks that he’s been asked that question more often, and more sincerely, in the last few days than in the last five years. “I’m good now,” Bruce says. “Great, even.”

~~~~~

Tony really wants this to work. Bruce has spent the last day with his family, which is as it should be, but he already misses having Bruce around.

Quite frankly, this does not bode well for his future, because he fully expects that Bruce will stay in New York while he goes back to Malibu, and Tony doesn’t want to give him up.

Still, Tony knows that Bruce is only a phone call away, and he doesn’t plan on letting the lines of communication close.

Out of necessity, Tony gets reservations at a little Italian place in Astoria, well out of the path of destruction. They bend over backwards to accommodate him, probably hoping that the press and the destruction in Manhattan will increase their profits.

That, and the presence of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, and the chance to have him talk up their food.

They meet at the Tower, since Bruce needs to get changed first, and Tony fidgets as he waits for their arrival.

“Are you nervous?” Pepper asks.

Tony pours himself a drink. “No, why would I be?”

“Because they’re the closest thing to family you have?”

“Other than you,” Tony points out.

Pepper raises her eyebrows. “Other than me. And Bruce.”

“They’re family because Bruce is family,” Tony says, and then the elevator slides open.

Elaine is wearing a classy blue dress and jacket combo, looking absolutely stunning for a woman her age. Jen is in a red dress and heels, and Tony hasn’t seen her in a long time, but it’s clear that she’s grown up well.

In contrast, Bruce looks rumpled and a little sheepish. “I’m just going to change,” he announces, nodding at Pepper before he disappears.

Elaine doesn’t hesitate, just walks up to Tony and pulls him into a long hug. “It’s ages since I’ve seen you. You stayed away too long!”

Tony winces. “Sorry. I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy to visit?” she scolds. “You live just around the corner, at least while you’re in Malibu. I expect to see you more often, Tony.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replies, without a trace of sarcasm. “I will do my best to show up more often.”

“And drag my nephew along with you,” Elaine orders. “He’s been hiding far too long.”

Tony lets her pull him into another hug. “Promise.”

“Good,” she says. “Now, introduce me to your lovely girlfriend.”

“Not before he says hello to me,” Jen protests, hugging Tony. “I have to say hello to my honorary big brother.”

“You look amazing,” Tony says.

“Thank you,” Jen says primly. “You can introduce me to that Captain Rogers if you want to make up for the long silence.”

Tony coughs. “I’m not touching that request with a ten foot pole,” he says, pulling back. “Jen, Elaine, Pepper Potts. Pepper, my honorary aunt and cousin, Elaine and Jennifer Walters.”

He watches as they greet each other, exchanging compliments, but it feels strange to see them together. Tony has stayed in touch with Bruce’s family over the years, and he’s been grateful to them. They’d been family after his parents had died, and had stayed in touch even while Bruce had been gone.

But Tony’s social circle seems to be growing exponentially, and he’s not sure how he feels about that. More people he cares about means more people to break his heart, and more potential complications.

Still, Bruce is back in his life, and he’s not sorry to see Elaine and Jen again. Tony refuses to complain about that.

“Tony has sent flowers every Mother’s Day that Bruce was gone,” Elaine is saying. “Such a lovely gesture.”

Pepper gives Tony a look that clearly telegraphs how unimpressed she is with Tony’s ability to remember Mother’s Day when he can’t remember Pepper’s birthday. The difference is that Pepper knows to use Tony’s money to get something for herself, when anything Tony would buy would be inadequate. Elaine won’t remember to buy flowers for herself, and he’d felt the need to send flowers in Bruce’s stead.

“He showed me up at least once,” Jen says. “Although, to be fair, I was in the middle of a very high profile case at the time.”

Elaine pats Jen on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I know very well that Tony asked his artificial butler to remember for him.”

Pepper laughs, as does Jen, and Tony has to admit that it’s true enough. “Okay, yes,” he admits. “But it still got done, which I think is the important thing.”

“And Jarvis didn’t remind you of my birthday?” Pepper counters.

Tony offers his most charming smile. “I thought you might be happier with something you bought yourself.”

“True,” Pepper agrees.

“Hey,” Bruce says, wearing one of the suits and dress shirts that Tony had put in his closet. Bruce looks good in saturated colors, and he looks sharp in burgundy and black, although he’d dispensed with the tie, and the top two buttons of his shirt are undone. “Sorry.”

“You look wonderful,” Elaine says, tugging on one of the lapels of his jacket.

Bruce holds out an arm. “Shall we go?”

They take a limo to the restaurant, and as Tony had asked, there’s a quiet table set aside in the corner, lit by candles and dim lamps. A quiet word with their waitress means that the wine keeps flowing, and they start out with some of the house specialties as starters—fried calamari, salad caprese, and bruschetta.

Dinner is served family style, with fresh pasta and sauce in huge bowls and baskets of bread, dripping with garlic butter.

The only time Tony has ever had a family dinner quite like this were the infrequent occasions he stayed with Bruce, but it feels good to have everyone there.

Conversation flows, and everyone stays away from the events of the last few days out of mutual accord. They stick to humorous stories—strange clients and cases for Jen, funny things kids say from Elaine, travel stories from Bruce and Pepper. Tony offers little, just happy to listen.

No one has room for dessert, and the rest of their food is boxed up.

“How long are you staying?” Tony asks Elaine.

She shrugs. “I’m not sure. A few days at least, but if Bruce is going to stay in New York—I don’t know. I might think of relocating.”

“Do,” Jen urges. “If Bruce is going to be here, what’s keeping you in California?”

“I do own my own house,” Elaine says with asperity. “There’s something to be said for equity.”

“So, rent it out,” Bruce suggests. “You can still own it. I have to look for a place anyway.”

“There’s room in the Tower, and if that doesn’t suit you, there’s a brownstone my parents owned,” Tony offers. “I’d be happy to let you rent it.”

Elaine frowns. “You don’t have to do that, Tony.”

“I’d be happy knowing someone I care about would be in it,” Tony says. “It needs some renovation, so just let me know what you want to do.”

Bruce gives him a suspicious look, and Tony knows he’s going to hear about it later.

His parents had owned a lot of properties, though, most of which had been sold off, including the mansion on Long Island. There’s still the brownstone in New York City, and a couple of other properties, and he likes the idea of family being in that house.

“Well, if you’re sure,” Elaine says slowly. “I don’t want you to say that just because you feel it’s necessary.”

“Do I ever do anything expected?” Tony counters. “I’d be honored.”

Elaine smiles at him. “You’re a good man, Tony.”

Her approval means more than Tony can say. “Thank you.”

“I’m right, which is the most important thing,” Elaine announces. “Now, in deference to my advanced years, I’m going to have to cut this short.”

Elaine hugs Pepper, Tony, and Bruce in turn, since they’re going to separate locations. She tells Tony, “Just because you’re some intergalactic hero now, doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. I expect to hear from you regularly, you hear?”

“I hear,” Tony replies, hugging her tightly. “Thank you.”

“Nonsense,” she says. “I’ll stop by your new building tomorrow for a full tour.”

Tony hugs Jen, too, and she says, “Keep Bruce around, okay? He’ll stay for you.”

He doesn’t think that’s entirely true, but he says, “I’ll do my best. Good luck in court.”

“I don’t need luck,” she replies. “I’m that good.”

And then he’s in the limo with Bruce and Pepper, and Bruce looks flushed and happy. “Thanks, Tony. That was—that was amazing.”

“It was good to see them again,” Tony replies. “Pep? Did you have a good time?”

“Your aunt and cousin are absolutely lovely,” Pepper says to Bruce. “I plan to have coffee with Jen soon.”

Bruce smiles. “I missed them.”

And Tony feels as though he’d been able to give Bruce something, to give him something good, that no one else would have been able to give him.

“So did I,” Tony admits.

Bruce gives him a knowing look. “Thank you.”

And the rest of the world drops away, and it’s just him and Bruce until Pepper grabs Tony’s hand and brings him back to the present.

“Thank you both,” Bruce says. “I appreciate you humoring me tonight, Pepper.”

“It was really my pleasure,” Pepper replies.

And for the first time in a long time, Tony thinks that he might be able to have his cake and eat it, too.