[ Tony is also someone who he doesn't feel good when he's out of sightline, especially not now with the Thor and Nat situation weighing on his mind. After their years apart, and those few weeks when he thought he was dead out in space, Bruce is a bit clingy, but at the same time he tries his best not to be, because his primary goal is usually not to annoy people. Still, he relaxes when he can put his eyes on Tony and breathes easier with him awake and around. It wasn't that long of a time, but around here, a month or two can be a lifetime.
He watches him carefully as he comes to the work table. There was a time when he was so in tune with Tony that he could guess where he was at by the way he hung his head or tapped his screen too many times. So basically, it is easy to worry him, and he brings one of said snacks over to offer it to Tony. An echo of the first gesture that bound them together.]
Well, the Hulk didn't kill anyone this time, so the penance is mostly for property damage. [The annoying thing these days is that the Hulk doesn't have to hurt people to haunt Bruce during the day. This time he didn't do anything. The next time who knows, if something seems threatening.] One good lesson is that the Chroma drain here will make him turn back if Nat can't get him to. Theoretically.
[That is unless the Hulk finds a way to sustain himself for longer periods of time. It's not outside of the realm of possibility. He made it a month. Really at this point Bruce is thinking himself into circles of paranoia with no end in sight. It's not even at the top of his mind of the most troubling things haunting him these days.] I'm having trouble shutting my brain down with all of these question marks. [Tony would understand that. They like answers. There are no easy answers here. And since Bruce has inhuman endurance even as himself, sleep can be put off for time.
He shakes his head and waves a hand.] Honestly it's just the usual. I'm more worried about you. Are you having any after-effects?
Property damage. [Tony stares off into the ether.] Know how that goes.
[As he listens to Bruce, his hand sneaks into the offered snack bag without really looking at it -- a relaxed habit borne of spending so much time occupying space with another person. His hand moves toward his mouth before it pauses mid-motion.]
"Just the usual"? [He raises a brow and makes a little gesture with the snack.] Come on, bud -- you're going to have to try harder than that to segue this conversation from your problems to mine.
[A beat. His voice softens] No physical after-effects. Memories are kinda fuzzy from the month before I got put on ice, but they're coming back in pieces. FRIDAY tells me I'm passing the cognitive tests with flying colors, which, [he raises his eyes,] brings us back to you. Like -- I know the percentage differential between how many times you've gone Big Green while awake, versus how many times while asleep, and -- guess what? There's a statistically significant outcome that says -- go home and get some rest.
[He tosses the snack into his mouth to emphasize his point. After a second, he scrunches his face to one side and stares at the bag.]
Pretzels? I thought we were friends, Bruce. [He presses a hand to his chest.] Friends.
[Bruce doesn't like the focus on his own issues; it's much easier and more comfortable for other people to take priority. There's also the fact he's been holding a few key things back from Tony. He's gone through enough. He doesn't need mine on top of his. Tony is one of his pressure points, the person who made him believe he could come back into the land of the living and not waste away in misery and loneliness. There's a lot unsaid.
He listens to Tony's summary and raises an eyebrow.] Memories are fuzzy. What do you remember? The meeting? I still have all the notes obviously you can see. [He has his booklet, which has been very helpful to others apparently which satisfies him. Bruce may not have been able to functionally help their situation yet, so any little bit helps.] Do you remember Loki pretending to be Steve? [He gives a faint half-smile to that. Obnoxious, yes, but a little humorous.
It's all a stalling tactic.] More pretzels for me then. [And yes he skipped right over the sleep part, which they both know, and he rubs at his eyes.]
I'm on a new project. On top of the others. I'm ... trying to find a way to tether people here. So no one just disappears. [Thor is an example, but it is really all about Nat. Thor is going back to a life, she is not. He can't handle it.] And I .... [This is complicated and he has complicated feelings about it.] Until some things are worked out, if we have a voluntary choice, I'm staying here. [Yes, on the trapped sex planet, willinglly.]
I do seem to recall that. [Tony returns Bruce's half-smile with one of his own. Despite his complaint, his hand dives back into the pretzel bag to grab another piece and toss it in his mouth.] I'll take those notes, though -- I could think I remember things, but then...
[He trails off at the mention of "a new project" and listens with bated breath for what Bruce may have been cooking up while he was gone (and while Bruce was Bruce, anyway). He makes a quick guess so he can be smug if he's right -- maybe a study on the transference of Chroma through cells, if maybe the thing the Lunatians think (or claim) to be an energy source is actually something biological, maybe even some kind of parasite--
Wait. What?]
Whoa, whoa there, you -- why? [Tony's resentment of this place has increased with each second he's been forced to stay here, an ugly, gradual growth that's metastasized to full-blown hatred. The idea that someone would want to stay here, someone he cares about--]
Listen, man. [He raises an arm to grip his shoulder.] You know it's no safer for you here than it is back home. Sure, they might consider you a threat to national security, but here? You're a prisoner. Like -- an indentured prisoner, you...
I managed to get my little booklet going, and I'm still adding to it. I was adding more to the demichroma section, since it's not talked about as much. [Chroma being the obvious product for much of their behavior and also why they've been kidnapped here in the first place, but there are other ways to make 'money' so to speak. Plus he's interested in cracking open the demichroma and seeing what's inside on a molecular level too. Whatever will potentially give him an angle on this, he wants.
Bruce knows the second he says it out loud that Tony's going to need an answer. And that he wants to give that answer even if it is painful for everyone. He spoke to Steve about it when he took over the gym, but there's no end to the grief and fear that hounds him now. It's Tony. There was a time he would tell him anything, do anything for him, and that hasn't really changed. He just swallows through the immediate strain in his throat, clearing it.]
Tony. [Bruce shakes his head and puts his hand on top of Tony's on his shoulder.] Maybe you ... this might have gotten fuzzy with your other memories. I didn't tell you, but Nat and I were really obvious at the meeting. [He had his reasons not to admit how deliriously happy he was, being with the woman he loved. Like the fact Tony couldn't be with his.] We're together. But the thing is ....
[It's hard to say. It's hard to think and feel, but somehow saying it is more difficult than he expected. He moves away from Tony to shakily take a seat. He has to just spit it out, it's the only way.] We needed all the stones to bring everyone back in the future, and it worked, but Nat had to trade her life for one of them. [The words tumble out as quickly as possible, like he can't wait to get rid of them.] She's gone. [His voice breaks and he looks down at the floor.] This is it for her.
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industries) wrote2019-05-15 09:19 pm
no subject
He watches him carefully as he comes to the work table. There was a time when he was so in tune with Tony that he could guess where he was at by the way he hung his head or tapped his screen too many times. So basically, it is easy to worry him, and he brings one of said snacks over to offer it to Tony. An echo of the first gesture that bound them together.]
Well, the Hulk didn't kill anyone this time, so the penance is mostly for property damage. [The annoying thing these days is that the Hulk doesn't have to hurt people to haunt Bruce during the day. This time he didn't do anything. The next time who knows, if something seems threatening.] One good lesson is that the Chroma drain here will make him turn back if Nat can't get him to. Theoretically.
[That is unless the Hulk finds a way to sustain himself for longer periods of time. It's not outside of the realm of possibility. He made it a month. Really at this point Bruce is thinking himself into circles of paranoia with no end in sight. It's not even at the top of his mind of the most troubling things haunting him these days.] I'm having trouble shutting my brain down with all of these question marks. [Tony would understand that. They like answers. There are no easy answers here. And since Bruce has inhuman endurance even as himself, sleep can be put off for time.
He shakes his head and waves a hand.] Honestly it's just the usual. I'm more worried about you. Are you having any after-effects?
no subject
[As he listens to Bruce, his hand sneaks into the offered snack bag without really looking at it -- a relaxed habit borne of spending so much time occupying space with another person. His hand moves toward his mouth before it pauses mid-motion.]
"Just the usual"? [He raises a brow and makes a little gesture with the snack.] Come on, bud -- you're going to have to try harder than that to segue this conversation from your problems to mine.
[A beat. His voice softens] No physical after-effects. Memories are kinda fuzzy from the month before I got put on ice, but they're coming back in pieces. FRIDAY tells me I'm passing the cognitive tests with flying colors, which, [he raises his eyes,] brings us back to you. Like -- I know the percentage differential between how many times you've gone Big Green while awake, versus how many times while asleep, and -- guess what? There's a statistically significant outcome that says -- go home and get some rest.
[He tosses the snack into his mouth to emphasize his point. After a second, he scrunches his face to one side and stares at the bag.]
Pretzels? I thought we were friends, Bruce. [He presses a hand to his chest.] Friends.
no subject
He listens to Tony's summary and raises an eyebrow.] Memories are fuzzy. What do you remember? The meeting? I still have all the notes obviously you can see. [He has his booklet, which has been very helpful to others apparently which satisfies him. Bruce may not have been able to functionally help their situation yet, so any little bit helps.] Do you remember Loki pretending to be Steve? [He gives a faint half-smile to that. Obnoxious, yes, but a little humorous.
It's all a stalling tactic.] More pretzels for me then. [And yes he skipped right over the sleep part, which they both know, and he rubs at his eyes.]
I'm on a new project. On top of the others. I'm ... trying to find a way to tether people here. So no one just disappears. [Thor is an example, but it is really all about Nat. Thor is going back to a life, she is not. He can't handle it.] And I .... [This is complicated and he has complicated feelings about it.] Until some things are worked out, if we have a voluntary choice, I'm staying here. [Yes, on the trapped sex planet, willinglly.]
no subject
[He trails off at the mention of "a new project" and listens with bated breath for what Bruce may have been cooking up while he was gone (and while Bruce was Bruce, anyway). He makes a quick guess so he can be smug if he's right -- maybe a study on the transference of Chroma through cells, if maybe the thing the Lunatians think (or claim) to be an energy source is actually something biological, maybe even some kind of parasite--
Wait. What?]
Whoa, whoa there, you -- why? [Tony's resentment of this place has increased with each second he's been forced to stay here, an ugly, gradual growth that's metastasized to full-blown hatred. The idea that someone would want to stay here, someone he cares about--]
Listen, man. [He raises an arm to grip his shoulder.] You know it's no safer for you here than it is back home. Sure, they might consider you a threat to national security, but here? You're a prisoner. Like -- an indentured prisoner, you...
[He trails off. Narrows his eyes.]
Who exactly do you want to 'tether'?
no subject
Bruce knows the second he says it out loud that Tony's going to need an answer. And that he wants to give that answer even if it is painful for everyone. He spoke to Steve about it when he took over the gym, but there's no end to the grief and fear that hounds him now. It's Tony. There was a time he would tell him anything, do anything for him, and that hasn't really changed. He just swallows through the immediate strain in his throat, clearing it.]
Tony. [Bruce shakes his head and puts his hand on top of Tony's on his shoulder.] Maybe you ... this might have gotten fuzzy with your other memories. I didn't tell you, but Nat and I were really obvious at the meeting. [He had his reasons not to admit how deliriously happy he was, being with the woman he loved. Like the fact Tony couldn't be with his.] We're together. But the thing is ....
[It's hard to say. It's hard to think and feel, but somehow saying it is more difficult than he expected. He moves away from Tony to shakily take a seat. He has to just spit it out, it's the only way.] We needed all the stones to bring everyone back in the future, and it worked, but Nat had to trade her life for one of them. [The words tumble out as quickly as possible, like he can't wait to get rid of them.] She's gone. [His voice breaks and he looks down at the floor.] This is it for her.