Tic Attack (Tourette's Pt2)
Bruce woke up to banging. He woke further to realize the bed was shaking violently and loud grunting filled the room. He jumped awake to find Tony in the midst of a nightmare. “Tones, wake up, come on baby,” Bruce pleaded, shaking the genius.
He fought to pull Tony’s body away from the headboard, where his head was throwing itself back and smashing against the wood. Tony’s arms fought against him, curling and throwing themselves unnaturally. “Jarvis, lights!”
Light filled the room and that was when he noticed the blood covering Tony’s pillow and the headboard. “Shit, Jarvis, get Steve. Get someone, please,” Bruce said frantically.
“B-b-bruss?” Tony slurred, his eyes opening.
“It’s okay baby, i’m here, i’m here,” Bruce said, still fighting to control Tony’s violent movements.
“Wha’ happen?” Tony grunted. Looking at Tony’s face, Bruce noticed the bruises that were starting to form, indicating the man’s tics had him punching himself. His eye was turning blue and his cheek had a large red bruise that was quickly dulling.
“You had a nightmare, baby,” Bruce explained. He finally got himself behind Tony and was trying to restrain the genius.
“Oh. Shitty, shitty, shit, shit!” Tony shouted involuntarily. “Language capsicle! Language! Language!” His fist broke out of Bruce’s hold and punched his face again. “Owie owie owie!”
Bruce grabbed the billionaire’s arm and hugged it to Tony’s chest. “Try to relax, baby, you’re okay.”
“Fuck you, fuck me. That’s what she said,” Tony shouted. “Language, Stark!” Suddenly, Tony threw his head back, smashing into Bruce’s face. “I’m sorry, Bruce. I’m so sorry!” Tony cried.
Bruce fought to not shout out in pain. Luckily, several members of the team showed up at their door. “What’s happening?” Steve asked, eyes wide.
“Tic Attack,” Bruce informed, feeling a bit of blood run from his nose.
Steve approached the bed, hovering unsurely. “What should we do?”
“His head is bleeding, can someone get a towel and a med kit?” Bruce grunted.
Natasha nodded and ran off in search of the requested items.
“Bruce, your nose is bleeding,” Clint pointed out.
Bruce sighed. “Yes, it’s not broken, it’s just a nosebleed.” Bruce tilted his head as Tony’s head jerked back again.
“Sorry, asshole. You’re an asshole, Stark,” Tony ranted uncontrollably.
“It’s okay, baby, just try to relax,” Bruce said softly. “I’m right here, okay?” Tony’s fist broke free from Bruce’s grasps again and he started punching himself. “Steve!”
Steve jumped and restrained Tony’s hands. When his legs kicked out, Bruce wrapped his own around Tony’s, pinning him down. Still, the billionaire’s body shook. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he shouted. “B-b-b-bruce,” Tony strained.
“You gotta stop hurting yourself, baby,” Bruce said worriedly.
“Tryna,” Tony slurred as his body jerked.
“I know you are, I know,” the scientist sighed. Luckily, Natasha burst into the room with a towel and the med kit. “I’m gonna lay you down, okay Tones?”
“I wanna get laid, f-f-fuck,” Tony shouted.
Steve helped lower Tony onto the bed from his sitting position and Bruce moved from behind him. As soon as they let go of Tony’s arms, they started beating against his chest. Clint moved forward from where he was staring in shock to help pull Tony's hands away.
When Bruce was free, he grabbed the med kit and started taking out supplies. As soon as he neared Tony with the antiseptic, the genius smacked it out of his hands. “S-s-sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Bruce said. He walked across the room and picked up the bottle. When he returned, he moved out of the way just in time for Tony to try to smack the bottle out of his hands again. “Can you guys restrain him, please?”
Steve and Clint looked conflicted. “I feel bad about pinning him down,” Steve admitted.
Bruce sighed. “I know, but he’s hurting himself and I need to bandage the cut on his head. Please just hold him for a minute.” He was already emotionally exhausted and the day hadn’t even started. But luckily, the men followed his instructions.
It took Bruce multiple tries to clean and examine the cut on the back of Tony’s head since the genius’ tics had him throwing his head out of reach every time the scientist got near. After almost 10 minutes though, Bruce was able to clean and bandage the cut on Tony’s head. When he finished, the two men let Tony loose.
Now free, the billionaire’s body shook and twisted. His hands trembled, curling as far as possible, and his mouth made continuous clicking noises. His head was thrown back, thankfully on a soft pillow, and his legs kicked out not unlike a seizure.
Bruce sighed, staring at Tony sadly. He then remembered the others in the room. “Do you guys mind leaving? I’m sure Tony would appreciate not being stared at like a zoo animal.” He didn’t mean for it to come out so harshly, but he was too burnt out to sugar coat anything.
Luckily, the group nodded and exited the room. “Let us know if you need anything,” Steve said as he walked out.
Bruce nodded and turned back to Tony on the bed. He ran over when he saw Tony violently scratching at his arm. “Tones,” he sighed, grabbing the billionaire's arms.
“Sorry Mr.Potato head,” Tony said in a british accent.
Bruce frowned, rolling his eyes. “If I let you go, will you try not to scratch yourself?”
“S-sh-sh-shit, fuckity fuck,” Tony shouted before nodding. “I’ll try.”
Bruce let go slowly and nodded approvingly when Tony’s arms fidgeted, but did not scratch. He took the reprieve to run over to the closet and pull out a bin of Tony’s tourette’s supplies. He was able to get a padded helmet over Tony’s head after a few tries, and that alone allowed him to take a breath.
He dug out wrist braces and strapped them onto Tony. During his tic attacks, his wrists would curl inward, making his hands useless the next day due to pain. The wrist braces acted as splints. On top of them, he put mittens on Tony’s hands in case he scratched. “How’s that baby?” Bruce asked.
“Thank-thank-thank you Brucie,” Tony said, smiling lopsidedly with his eye twitching frantically.
It was about an hour before Tony’s tic attack had calmed down. He laid panting in the bed, spooned by Bruce. His mitten continued to rub against his chest and his eye twitched every so often, but he was quiet in Bruce’s arms, letting the man hold him.