Fic for penknife: Being There | Gen | PG-13
Title: Being There
Author: jedimasterstar
Recipient: penknife
Rating: PG-13 (FRT)
Universe: Movie
Pairing/Characters: Bruce Banner, Tony Stark
Word Count: 1,075
Disclaimer: I do not any Bruce or Tony or anything dealing with the Avengers
Summary: Bruce begins to see a side of Tony that he did not know existed. He wants to help, but will Tony let him?
Notes: I saw that you liked character study as well as Bruce seeing the vulnerable side of Tony - as well as gen fic; so I decided to do that. This is unbeta’ed, but I hope you enjoy!
He had been living with Tony Stark for three months and Bruce Banner still could not figure the man out. Ever since Tony invited him to stay with him until he figured out what he wanted to do, the older man had been studying the billionaire as discreetly as possible. He was not having much luck.
What Bruce did know was that Tony was a man of multiple faces and that he goes between them with ease. One was the public face - the flashy playboy that could get anything he wanted with a smile. The other was the one that Bruce normally saw when working in the lab - the seriousness that showed on Tony’s face when he was concentrating on something. The other faces usually just pass too quickly for anyone to notice. But the one that was becoming much more noticeable lately was the…oh, he does not know how to describe it. It was the face of one who was more relaxed, more happy. And from what Pepper told him once, this was the first time in a long time that Tony Stark had genuinely been happy. However, the face was now showing on the billionaire’s face seems to be that of fear, as if he was afraid of something. But of what, Bruce could not even fathom guessing.
It was not until the power went out temporarily in the Tower that Bruce knew that something was wrong. The power was only out for a minute or two; but it was long enough for Tony to start having a panic attack. Luckily for him, both he and Bruce were in the lab at the time and the older man sprung into action, grabbing Tony and pushing him down into a chair and saying, “Deep breathes, Tony. You need to breathe deeply.” It took a couple of minutes, but soon the billionaire calmed down - he was still breathing heavily but it was getting better. “You want to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” replied Tony.
Bruce was not convinced. “Bullshit,” he said. “You freaked when the power went out. Are you scared of the dark?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Tony again repeated as he tried to get stand up. Bruce let it go at the moment. He did not want to push Tony into talking if he did not want to.
***
The next episode happened a few days later during a mission. Tony got trapped in a sinking ship that was filling with water faster than anyone was anticipating. They managed to get him out; but by that point Tony was almost catatonic. It took the doctors, nurses, as well as the rest of the Avengers a few days to snap him out of it. People tried to get him to talk about it; however, Tony refused to say anything.
It was not until a couple of days after he was released that he finally said something about it. Bruce was working with him in the lab when he noticed Tony staring at the screen, a blank look on his face. Walking over to him, Bruce gently said, “Tony?” The man did not respond. The older man then shook him gently and repeated, “Tony.”
The younger man snapped out of it, turning to stare at Bruce. “What’s up?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same thing,” replied Bruce. “You were just standing there looking at the screen while not looking at it.”
Tony sighed. “Thinking too much,” he said.
“Is it about what has happened recently?”
Tony nodded. “There are too many memories trying to creep back up recently. No matter how hard I try, they just keep coming back,” he replied.
Bruce gave him a sympathetic look. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“You probably already know.”
The older man shook his head. “The others might. I make it a point not to snoop. If you want to tell me, that’s fine. If not, that’s fine too. Not going to push you into it,” he said.
Tony gave a small smile. “What do you know about what happened to me in Afghanistan?” he asked as he sat down.
Taking a seat across from him, Bruce replied, “Not much. Only that you were captured by terrorists and built that mini arc reactor to keep that shrapnel from your heart.”
“They kept me in a cave,” said the billionaire. “They water-boarded me, beat me up, and kept me literally in the dark most of the time. They wanted me to cooperate. But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. After seeing that terrorists were using my equipment to kill innocent people, I just could not do what they asked.”
“Which was when you decided to build the suit.”
“Mark I. Big, clunky, way to silvery. But it worked. Now…”
“Now you’re afraid of the dark, aquaphobic, and have serious trust issues,” said Bruce.
Tony nodded. “Obadiah betrayed me. He wanted me dead in order to take over the company. He was one of the few people I trusted. But when he tried to kill me...”
“Trusting anyone became hard,” ended Bruce. He sighed. No wonder Tony was the way he was. He had been hurt too many times that everyone seems to be the same to him. “I won’t tell anyone what you just said. But promise me that you won’t keep this all bottled up. If you need anyone to talk to, just talk to me.”
Tony smiled again, this time a bit bigger. “Thanks, Bruce. I’ll remember that,” he said. He then went quiet after that, getting up to return to his work; but Bruce thought that this was a good thing.
***
A few weeks later, Tony again had a panic attack, this time in front of everyone. Knowing what was happening, Bruce got him to sit down and calm down. “What the hell was that all about?” asked Clint after the billionaire calmed down a bit.
Bruce shook his head. “Can’t say,” he replied. “Only Tony can answer that.” But he knew that Tony would not, not yet anyway. Natasha gave him a knowing look. She must know what it was about, probably had been debriefed on it. Bruce, however, turned his attention back to Tony and smiled when he saw the look of gratitude in the other man’s eyes. Things may be looking up for them and their friendship. It was just going to be a waiting game.
Author: jedimasterstar
Recipient: penknife
Rating: PG-13 (FRT)
Universe: Movie
Pairing/Characters: Bruce Banner, Tony Stark
Word Count: 1,075
Disclaimer: I do not any Bruce or Tony or anything dealing with the Avengers
Summary: Bruce begins to see a side of Tony that he did not know existed. He wants to help, but will Tony let him?
Notes: I saw that you liked character study as well as Bruce seeing the vulnerable side of Tony - as well as gen fic; so I decided to do that. This is unbeta’ed, but I hope you enjoy!
He had been living with Tony Stark for three months and Bruce Banner still could not figure the man out. Ever since Tony invited him to stay with him until he figured out what he wanted to do, the older man had been studying the billionaire as discreetly as possible. He was not having much luck.
What Bruce did know was that Tony was a man of multiple faces and that he goes between them with ease. One was the public face - the flashy playboy that could get anything he wanted with a smile. The other was the one that Bruce normally saw when working in the lab - the seriousness that showed on Tony’s face when he was concentrating on something. The other faces usually just pass too quickly for anyone to notice. But the one that was becoming much more noticeable lately was the…oh, he does not know how to describe it. It was the face of one who was more relaxed, more happy. And from what Pepper told him once, this was the first time in a long time that Tony Stark had genuinely been happy. However, the face was now showing on the billionaire’s face seems to be that of fear, as if he was afraid of something. But of what, Bruce could not even fathom guessing.
It was not until the power went out temporarily in the Tower that Bruce knew that something was wrong. The power was only out for a minute or two; but it was long enough for Tony to start having a panic attack. Luckily for him, both he and Bruce were in the lab at the time and the older man sprung into action, grabbing Tony and pushing him down into a chair and saying, “Deep breathes, Tony. You need to breathe deeply.” It took a couple of minutes, but soon the billionaire calmed down - he was still breathing heavily but it was getting better. “You want to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” replied Tony.
Bruce was not convinced. “Bullshit,” he said. “You freaked when the power went out. Are you scared of the dark?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Tony again repeated as he tried to get stand up. Bruce let it go at the moment. He did not want to push Tony into talking if he did not want to.
***
The next episode happened a few days later during a mission. Tony got trapped in a sinking ship that was filling with water faster than anyone was anticipating. They managed to get him out; but by that point Tony was almost catatonic. It took the doctors, nurses, as well as the rest of the Avengers a few days to snap him out of it. People tried to get him to talk about it; however, Tony refused to say anything.
It was not until a couple of days after he was released that he finally said something about it. Bruce was working with him in the lab when he noticed Tony staring at the screen, a blank look on his face. Walking over to him, Bruce gently said, “Tony?” The man did not respond. The older man then shook him gently and repeated, “Tony.”
The younger man snapped out of it, turning to stare at Bruce. “What’s up?” he asked.
“I could ask you the same thing,” replied Bruce. “You were just standing there looking at the screen while not looking at it.”
Tony sighed. “Thinking too much,” he said.
“Is it about what has happened recently?”
Tony nodded. “There are too many memories trying to creep back up recently. No matter how hard I try, they just keep coming back,” he replied.
Bruce gave him a sympathetic look. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“You probably already know.”
The older man shook his head. “The others might. I make it a point not to snoop. If you want to tell me, that’s fine. If not, that’s fine too. Not going to push you into it,” he said.
Tony gave a small smile. “What do you know about what happened to me in Afghanistan?” he asked as he sat down.
Taking a seat across from him, Bruce replied, “Not much. Only that you were captured by terrorists and built that mini arc reactor to keep that shrapnel from your heart.”
“They kept me in a cave,” said the billionaire. “They water-boarded me, beat me up, and kept me literally in the dark most of the time. They wanted me to cooperate. But I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. After seeing that terrorists were using my equipment to kill innocent people, I just could not do what they asked.”
“Which was when you decided to build the suit.”
“Mark I. Big, clunky, way to silvery. But it worked. Now…”
“Now you’re afraid of the dark, aquaphobic, and have serious trust issues,” said Bruce.
Tony nodded. “Obadiah betrayed me. He wanted me dead in order to take over the company. He was one of the few people I trusted. But when he tried to kill me...”
“Trusting anyone became hard,” ended Bruce. He sighed. No wonder Tony was the way he was. He had been hurt too many times that everyone seems to be the same to him. “I won’t tell anyone what you just said. But promise me that you won’t keep this all bottled up. If you need anyone to talk to, just talk to me.”
Tony smiled again, this time a bit bigger. “Thanks, Bruce. I’ll remember that,” he said. He then went quiet after that, getting up to return to his work; but Bruce thought that this was a good thing.
***
A few weeks later, Tony again had a panic attack, this time in front of everyone. Knowing what was happening, Bruce got him to sit down and calm down. “What the hell was that all about?” asked Clint after the billionaire calmed down a bit.
Bruce shook his head. “Can’t say,” he replied. “Only Tony can answer that.” But he knew that Tony would not, not yet anyway. Natasha gave him a knowing look. She must know what it was about, probably had been debriefed on it. Bruce, however, turned his attention back to Tony and smiled when he saw the look of gratitude in the other man’s eyes. Things may be looking up for them and their friendship. It was just going to be a waiting game.