Work Text:
Bruce reached the perimeter of the compound, he had to admit it looked impressive. Much larger and spacious than the Avengers' Tower but much less austentatious. Approaching the main gate he was unsure how he would gain access but hopefully there would be a guard of some kind that might recognise him. Was he still even classified as one of the Avengers? He supposed Steve wouldn't have instructed him to meet them here if he couldn't get in.
Closer inspection revealed no one was around and that only the large sealed entrance barred his entrance. A whirring sound alerted him to the presence of a tiny camera which was pointing directly at him.
"Welcome, Bruce Banner," a female robotic voice announced signaling the gates to open.
Well, that certainly made this situation much easier. Bruce was thankful Tony had been so diligent in keeping his clearance up to date. Tony must have really had believed he was coming back after all.
Bruce entered through the gate before stopping and back tracking several steps.
"Uh, which way to residential?"
He followed the AI's directions until he entered through a lobby into what appeared to be a spacious modern living room. It looked almost like a regular house interior if not for the ridiculous compound he could see beyond the windows.
"Uh, hello?' Bruce called out. "Jarvis, but... not Jarvis?" He knew that Tony would have some form of AI running the place still.
"Good evening Doctor Banner, you may call me FRIDAY. How can I assist you?"
"A shower and some fresh clothes?" He asked hesitantly.
"Of course, I'll direct you to your living quarters."
"My living quarters?" Bruce asked, astonished.
"Mr Stark made sure to prepare adequate space for you upon your return."
Bruce nodded, trying his best to keep composed. Tony had been prepared, waiting for his return, all this time and now already they had been separated again.
Finally after a sort walk guided by Friday, Bruce arrived at a set of wooden doors. Pushing one open the lights inside turned on automatically revealing a lush, beautiful modern apartment. The room was split level, a small workstation clearly visible on the upper balcony, overlooking what appeared to be a lounge and kitchen area. Off to one side was the bedroom entrance, inside which he found a large made up bed with attached bathroom and walk-in robe. Bruce had lived entire houses smaller than this.
"Friday, is this space really all for me?" Bruce asked as he moved through the apartment.
"Negative, Doctor Banner, it is a shared space with Mr Stark."
"Tony lives here?"
"Yes Doctor, he had some of your old possessions moved here from the tower. You will find your clothes in one of the wardrobes."
Wasting no time Bruce rushed to the bedroom and entered the walk in wardrobe at the back of the room. It was almost as big as the bedroom itself and after searching through several racks filled with Tony's clothes, sure enough towards the back he found a selection of his own clothes. Some were old shirts he recognised and others were brand new and all neatly folded.
He reached for one of his old familiar shirts but stopped. Instead he turned back to the wardrobe that was holding Tony's t-shirts, running his hand across the various designs he selected one, then found matching shoes and pants, ones that weren't so tight this time, and a jacket. He laid the clothes out on the bed before returning to the bathroom. Discarding the now tattered suit given to him by the wizards he climbed inside the shower.
Slowly as the scoulding water poured over him he ran his hand along the marble wall of the alcove. It was smooth and featureless, not like the bizarre architecture of Sakaar or the industrial interior of their spaceship.
Less than a day ago he had been in space with Thor and Brunnhilde and now he didn't even know where they were, yet here he was showering on earth. Tony's shower, in the apartment he had made for the both of them, except Tony wasn't here, now he was the one in space. Why was he taking a shower? He should be out looking for them, any of them! How could he do this, how could he be so selfish.
He found himself shaking, becoming angry. Angry at Thanos for causing these events, at the Hulk for refusing to help him in the fight earlier, at Tony for leaving right after they had been reunited and lastly at himself for being unable to protect Brunhilde or Thor when they needed him most.
He didn't know how to deal with the anger, usually the Hulk took it from him and turned it into power, but the Hulk wasn't here so instead consumed by his rage, he began to scream. He could feel his skin burning green as patches of his body attempted to transform but at the edge of taking control the Hulk backed off.Scared.
"No!" Bruce yelled. "We are not scared, we are angry!"
But all he could hear in his head was the Hulk's protests and refusal to take over.
Bruce gave one final shout of anger before giving up, sobbing. As the tears left his body so did the rage, instead turning to sadness. He could barely feel them though as the hot water of the shower washed them away.
"Doctor Banner," Friday’s voice sounded in an oddly calming way. "James Rhodes is present within the compound. Do you require me to call him for assistance?"
"No," Bruce mumbled. "But thank you for the concern." Bruce tilted his head back so that the water was no longer washing over his face. "Does Rhodes know I'm here?"
"No sir, he has not yet been alerted to your presence. But I am more than happy to inform him if that is what you require."
"No," Bruce responded automatically. "I'm sure he has enough to deal with at the moment." Bruce would makes his presence known to Rhodey soon enough and there really wasn’t anything Bruce would be able to help with until Steve arrived with their next plan of action.
Dragging himself out of the shower he dried off with a soft, refreshing towel before wrapping it around his waist and moving into the bedroom, flopping down onto the bed. The sheets felt soft and clean, another surreal feeling now that he knew it had been years since he had slept in his own bed.
Staring up at the ceiling his thoughts returned to Brunnhilde and Thor, were they okay? Perhaps coming back to save Thor had been the wrong decision, should he have gone with Brunnhilde to protect what remained of the Asgardians like Thor had instructed? If he couldn't transform into the Hulk anymore than what good was he here on Earth? And weirdly enough if he was still in space he'd be closer to Tony than he was here on Earth.
Now here he was curled up on what should have been his and Tony's bed, completely alone with not even the Hulk for company. He felt like he could just fall asleep for days, perhaps he would wake up and it would all have been a dream. Tony might crawl into the bed behind him and wrap his arms around Bruce's waist. It was so comfortable and thoughts of Tony combined with the lingering scent of his cologne meant that Bruce could stay here for hours. He supposed the others would be back for a while still, why not spend the time resting and rejuvenating himself for the inevitable fight to come. But he knew he couldn't, there was too much to be done if he was going to stand any chance of fighting Thanos without Tony or Thor's help.
He forced himself up, changing into his preselected outfit before investigating the rest of the apartment. He opened the fridge and finding nothing of interest moved on to the freezer. There it was, a tub of Hulk themed ice cream, just as the wizard had mentioned. There was also several cartons of the Stark themed hazelnut flavor too, of course Tony would stock his own personally themed ice cream. Retrieving a spoon Bruce took the Hulk carton with him up to the workshop that overlooked the apartment.
Bruce shook his head, amazed that Tony had found a way to get a workstation this close to the bedroom, at least now that meant he wouldn't have to try and drag Tony very far to bed after he had spent too many hours working. Well, that was if he ever saw Tony again.
No he pushed those thoughts away. He had managed to make it back here, Tony would be more than capable of doing the same.
Absentmindedly eating the ice cream Bruce surveyed Tony's many personal projects that he had been working on. There was a lot of work regarding nano bot technology.
"Friday?" Bruce called out, still re-adjusting himself to use of the new AI.
"Yes, Doctor Banner?"
"Was Tony working on any projects that may be of use to me against Thanos?"
"I believe one project will interest you." The holo screens in front of Bruce lit up revealing blueprints of a familiar machine.
"Hulkbuster!" Bruce exclaimed pulling up a stool so he could examine the modifications and upgrades Tony had been installing.
"Mr Stark has been analysing footage of your last fight in order to make improvements." Friday informed in. Another holo screen lit up revealing the footage from the Hulk and Tony's fight in Johannesburg. It felt like a lifetime ago, the Hulk under the influence of the Wanda's magic while Tony did everything he could to sedate him.
Bruce winced while watching the footage, he still felt horrible for all the pain he had caused that day but after seeing the damage Thano's had done today, he didn't feel as bad.
"See," Bruce said to himself, but mainly to the Hulk. "That's what I need right now!" But the Hulk merely retreated further away at hearing this. Bruce shook his head and returned his focus to the blueprints sticking a large chunk of ice cream into his mouth. "Friday is this model ready to go?" he asked after finally swallowing.
"Nearly. There were still several systems that were not completed by Mr Stark."
"Then we had better get to work," Bruce announced. "I want this thing ready to go by the time Steve arrives. If the Hulk won't come out to play then I'll do it myself."
Then for the first time in what felt like forever, Bruce begun working.
***
"Doctor Banner?" Friday’s voice called out. "Doctor Banner!"
The robot had to call out several times before it caught his attention. Bruce was so deeply focused on the Hulkbuster plans that he was oblivious to everything around him, oh yes, he remembered what this felt like. Pulling his head up off the deck he rubbed his bleary eyes while searching for wherever his glasses had fallen to, taking care not to knock over the several empty ice cream containers that now littered the desktop.
"Captain Rogers and several of the other Avengers have just arrived on the landing zone," Friday informed him.
Bruce nodded. "This is as complete as it's going to be without Tony here. Finish the last minute touches and have it ready to go as soon as possible."
"Of course Doctor Banner."
Stretching as he stood Bruce made his way down from the workstation to the apartment. He was unsure how the others would react seeing him after all this time. Had they had as much faith in his return as Tony? Would they be angry at him for being away for so long? What would they say if they found out he couldn't turn into the Hulk right now? Questions raced through his mind as he made his way through the complex with Friday’s directions.