For has_a_hulk
The hardest thing about taking Tony up on his offer to stay was realizing how much he actually did want to stay. It was hard leaving Betty, and god, he misses her, but at least he could say there was some noble reason for leaving her and slipping off into obscurity. Now? In this situation? He knows even if he runs away again, it'll all just be pretend; it'll never feel as freeing as it did before, and he doesn't like the idea of being a bug in a glass while pretending to be a bug in the wild. And besides -- what's the point, this time? If he plays along with SHIELD, they'll keep him safe. Probably. And if not, then he has a superhero friend who can help him kick ass, right?
A superhero friend who doesn't look at him with fear. Who isn't afraid to censor himself around Bruce. Who doesn't want Bruce to censor himself, either. The fascination he picks up from Tony is a little off-putting sometimes; it's weird to think someone might be fetishizing the other guy. Not that that's what he thinks Tony's doing, but he's still trying to place exactly what that gleam in Tony's eyes is all about. Is it for the other guy (more likely) or for Bruce himself (yeah right)?
Bruce would like to say that it doesn't matter if he stays or if he goes, that it all comes down to how long of a leash SHIELD has him on, but it's that desire to figure out what Tony's about that has him agreeing to his offer to hang around Stark Tower. It isn't about the R&D department or the frankly ridiculously shiny floors or the state-of-the-art freaking everything; it's about Tony, the man who'd offer this to Bruce, who would take a nuke kind of literally for the whole planet, and who is also vaguely a jerk.
They're still in the living room, Bruce with his backpack held in front of him in both hands like he's hiding himself from the fact that everything in this room probably costs more than Bruce's entire living expenses for the past year. He'd felt small and out of place on the helicarrier, but at least he'd had a job to do. Now his job mostly seems to be... house guest, and he's not qualified.
"Is this one of those rooms where you're not allowed to touch anything? Or if I spill tomato juice, do you have like three extras of that sofa in a warehouse somewhere?"
A superhero friend who doesn't look at him with fear. Who isn't afraid to censor himself around Bruce. Who doesn't want Bruce to censor himself, either. The fascination he picks up from Tony is a little off-putting sometimes; it's weird to think someone might be fetishizing the other guy. Not that that's what he thinks Tony's doing, but he's still trying to place exactly what that gleam in Tony's eyes is all about. Is it for the other guy (more likely) or for Bruce himself (yeah right)?
Bruce would like to say that it doesn't matter if he stays or if he goes, that it all comes down to how long of a leash SHIELD has him on, but it's that desire to figure out what Tony's about that has him agreeing to his offer to hang around Stark Tower. It isn't about the R&D department or the frankly ridiculously shiny floors or the state-of-the-art freaking everything; it's about Tony, the man who'd offer this to Bruce, who would take a nuke kind of literally for the whole planet, and who is also vaguely a jerk.
They're still in the living room, Bruce with his backpack held in front of him in both hands like he's hiding himself from the fact that everything in this room probably costs more than Bruce's entire living expenses for the past year. He'd felt small and out of place on the helicarrier, but at least he'd had a job to do. Now his job mostly seems to be... house guest, and he's not qualified.
"Is this one of those rooms where you're not allowed to touch anything? Or if I spill tomato juice, do you have like three extras of that sofa in a warehouse somewhere?"