You Fell Asleep/Candyland

[starkravingmad]

He doesn't hold it against Bruce. The flight back to New York from where ever shithole part of the world he'd been staying in had to be a long one. That doesn't mean that he won't be giving the other man hell for the indecent for many years to come. It just feels nice to finally have someone around that at least somewhat understands how his brain works. To have someone he completely and openly trusts. Someone that he can open up too.

He's tried to develop that with his other teammates, but Steve is Steve. Steve keeps expecting to be dealing with Howard. Night and Day. He can't be what the good Captain wants. Then there is Natasha who is scary as hell when she wants to be. He can't see the two of them freely hanging out like buds do. That only leaves one more..

Clint's great, but Clint is still SHIELD. It means that he isn't around all that much for fun time. The guy isn't stupid. Tony in no way thinks that. It's just that he can't exactly do the kind of things that Tony does.

"Are you all rested up now? Not going to fall asleep on me in the elevator, are you?"

His voice is teasing as he speaks, no real malicious in his tone. Tony is too goddamn happy to see him for that. He's been going through a private hell with AA and then the whole public TMZ thing, but suddenly the world doesn't burn that much anymore.

"So...Candyland? I did promise you."

Comments

[green_science_guy]

A tired laugh escaped the other man, the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes. He's indeed it had been a long trip back to the people he now called friends. Thirty two hours and several busses to actually find a functional airport. In the end it was worth it. Not sleeping a wink on the tiny airplanes was worth it.

"Just need a coffee pot of coffee and I'll be my awake self again." He replied, a smile finding his face. He did need to clean up that was for sure. He hadn't shaved for a... Well he couldn't remember the last time really.

He had called Tony only after he had landed and caught a cab over to surprise his friend.

[starkravingmad]

"Coffee I can do."

There was a pot of it downstairs in his workshop. That much he knew. The time it was made and if it would rot out Bruce's gut when he tried to drink it, well that would be left out to chance. He had some earlier this morning. He'd spiced it up with half a can of red-bull of course, fix the taste just a little bit and help keep his drinking habit away.

"You don't expect good coffee, do you? Because then we might have a problem..."

The elevator door slid open, Tony wrapping his arm around the other man's shoulders and guiding him into the metal box. No nervousness. No worry. Just an over grown child showing off his toys to his friend at a sleep over.

[green_science_guy]

"Not at all. I haven't had coffee for months, anything would taste like good coffee at this point." He admitted following his friend. He didn't have the heart to tell him even with the coffee he would crash in maybe two hours.

"So, what did I miss?"

[starkravingmad]

“You mean the short version of what you feel asleep listening too upstairs….”

There’s that teasing. Bruce can expect to see a lot more of it or at least hear it. The hand still hovers on the other scientist’s shoulders. Tony isn’t about to let him go because he’s not sure if this is a hallucination or something else that his head has come up with. It’s possible. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened though the last time had been shortly after his parents death and he had been near the point of alcohol poisoning before his mother had arrived to talk to him.

Not drunk this time so this had to be real…

“Well…Cap’s off doing something or another for SHIELD. We’re not supposed to know that, but we do. Clint is around here somewhere or at least he was unless Fury rang his bell. Natasha is with Steve.”

There was more to tell, but Tony didn’t want to throw his problems on to Bruce. That had been one of the reasons he had taken the Mandarin on his own.

“I think something might be going on, but I want to keep my balls so …let’s keep that hush hush. Our little secret.”

[green_science_guy]

"It was a long cramped flight I apologies, again." He said smiling. He could tell something was up. The fact that he wasn't letting go was a good hint.

"You always like to know what shield is up to don't you? No wonder fury always gives you the one eyed Death stare."

Bruce looked at him. He had missed Clint as well, he had missed all the team though. He would never admit some more than others.

"My lips are sealed."

[starkravingmad]

The elevator ride felt slow or at least much slower than it normally felt while going down twenty something floors. Perhaps it was the fact that this particular ride was filled without the normal rock music that Tony kept on standby for whenever he was in a 'working' mood. Rock music. Loud banging drums and screaming. It just didn't seem like something that would fit Bruce's tastes.

"...so I don't have a suit at the moment. Kind of a blew the up, but that's a different tell and something you already know. At least a working suit anyway and now that you're back..."

Tony turned to him, looking at him eye to eye.

"Do you wanna give me a hand?"

[green_science_guy]

Bruce had a puzzle look in his eyes at that statement. He had spent so long without contact to the work his friend lived in.

"Do you mind if I ask... Why? Not that I wouldn't help you Tony I'm just curious."

His question was polite as always, not demanding the answer from the other man.

[starkravingmad]

"What 'why'?"

There were several ways Tony could take that question though the engineer had a pretty good idea what Bruce actually wanted.

"Why I want your help or why I blew them up?"

Two questions with two very simple answers though the second one seemed moot point now that Pepper was back in her condo in California and he was halfway around the country. Skype conversations weren't the best way to mend a relationship that was literally falling apart at the seams. One that had more than likely already ended and he just didn't want to admit it to himself.

"Um. There's the fact that you're a genius like me...one of your best qualities mind you. As for the second why....well why do we do anything? For a girl."

[green_science_guy]

Those were both good reasons really, he couldn't argue about those.

"I'll gladly help but clearly I've missed a lot of events. I had no connection to... Anything."

Bruce took off his glaces, cleaning and fidgeting with them in his usual way.

"But again I'm more than happy to work with you tony."

[starkravingmad]

"Yeah well...that's what you get for being...where was it that you disappeared to again?"

He didn't give Bruce enough time to answer as he led the other man out of the elevator and down the corridor. They paused just in front of a set of glass doors just long enough for Tony to key in his access code.

"You'll have your own, you know...well you do have your own. I took the liberty of ordering some new toys for you while you were away on ...your whatever."

[green_science_guy]

He blinked at him, he had tried to answer he did but it was again like tony.

"You didn't have to tony really. But thank you."