Chapter Text
It was getting late. Bruce stretched, his spine making quiet clicks as he moved. He had been down in the lab for too long, really, but he liked working in the hours around midnight, when nobody else was around. The Avengers Tower was the best home he’d ever had, warm and loving and full of laughter, but he was used to having time alone to think. Late nights in the quiet of his own lab, watching the mesmerising division of cells through a microscope, allowed him that time to be quiet and centred in his own mind, without distractions. The Hulk seemed to like it too, in his own way; Bruce could feel him rumbling contentedly at the back of his mind on occasions, as he scanned for danger and found none. Neither he nor Bruce had ever been used to feeling safe; this was new for both of them.
He looked up from his microscope as footsteps sounded in the hallway outside the lab. Bruce smiled as the door swung open; however much he liked his solitude, having friends was also a new and welcome experience. Tony in particular was a joy to be around; from the very beginning he had been utterly unafraid of Bruce, in a way nobody had been since his transformation, and he had welcomed him into his home and his life without hesitation. Bruce knew he could never thank him enough for that, and he also knew that Tony would never let him if he tried. Still, he was always glad to see him, even if it meant putting his experiments aside for the night whilst Tony chattered about his latest inventions.
‘Hey, Tony. How’s –’ Bruce broke off as Tony stepped out of the shadows. He had never seen his friend looking like this, even in the darkest moments of their battle with the Chitauri. Tony’s face was ashen, dark shadows like bruises around his eyes, and as he stepped into the light Bruce could see that his hands were shaking.
‘What is it? Tony, what’s happened?’ Bruce turned away from the desk, his experiment forgotten. Tony took another step towards him, and Bruce could hear his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.
‘Pepper – she – Pepper left me.’ Tony’s voice was rough with pain. ‘She said she couldn’t do it any more, all the press and SHIELD and everything, she wants a proper family and a normal life and I can’t –’ His voice broke on the last word, and the rest of his sentence was lost in a short, choked sob. He pressed his fingers against his lips, as if he were trying to physically hold back his grief. Tears spilled over his lower lashes and fell down his pale cheeks, and he looked up with dark, desperate eyes. ‘Bruce,’ he choked out, and Bruce took two steps towards him and wrapped him in his arms, holding on tight as Tony began to sob against his chest.
‘Come on. Tony, come over here, sit down.’ Bruce guided him over to the low couch where he sometimes slept if he had an experiment to watch overnight, holding him close against his shoulder. Tony clung to him, hands fisted in his shirt, his body shaking with deep, tearing sobs. Bruce rested one hand on his hair, his thumb tracing small circles at the nape of Tony’s neck as he whispered soft reassurances into his hair. Tony leaned into his embrace, his breath coming in short, desperate gasps, his tears soaking into Bruce’s shirt over his collarbone. Bruce simply held him, waiting out the storm as the minutes ticked by on the clock above the door. Somewhere in the lab, a tinny alarm sounded, a warning that the temperature in his incubator had risen too high to sustain the cells for the experiment he had been working on, but Bruce ignored it, carding his fingers gently through Tony’s hair. At last, Tony’s sobs subsided, and he looked up, his lashes dark and spiky and his face wet with tears.
‘Will it always be like this?’ His voice was rough and choked, and Bruce brushed the tears away from his face with gentle fingers as he went on. ‘When I love someone, really love them, will they always end up leaving? Obie, and Yinsen, and now Pepper….’
‘And Rhodey? He hasn’t gone anywhere, has he?’ Bruce’s voice was firm, and Tony hesitated before shaking his head, watching him with dark eyes. ‘And Clint and Tasha, and Thor and Steve – and me? We’re not leaving you, Tony. I promise. Not ever.’
Tony let out a shaky sigh, leaning against Bruce’s shoulder, and Bruce wrapped his arms around him, holding him for a long moment before going on. ‘You want to stay here with me tonight? We don’t have to go upstairs if you don’t want to; there’s room on the couch for both of us.’
‘Can I?’ Tony’s voice was quieter and more uncertain than Bruce had ever heard it.
‘Of course. Whenever you need to. Come on, let’s lie down. Get some rest.’ Bruce dragged a blanket from the back of the couch, pulling it over them both as Tony settled beside him, his head resting on Bruce’s shoulder, his fingers clenched tightly in his shirt. Bruce ran a gentle hand over his hair before settling with his arm draped protectively over Tony, holding him close against his chest. ‘JARVIS, can you get the lights?’
‘Certainly, sir.’ The lights faded and went out, leaving the room lit only by the soft blue glow of Tony’s arc reactor, half hidden against Bruce’s chest. There was a brief hesitation, and then JARVIS spoke again, his tone soft. ‘And, sir? I will not be going away either. You have my word.’
Tony let out a shuddering sigh. ‘Thanks, JARVIS.’ His voice broke a little as he spoke, and he turned his face into Bruce’s chest, his shoulders shaking. Bruce ran his hand softly between his shoulderblades, letting him cry in his arms. There would be time to talk in the morning, and for all the days after that. Bruce had promised not to leave, and for the first time since walking through the doors of the Avengers Tower, he knew that was a promise he was going to keep.