Work Text:
Tony rapidly typed in different numbers into the computer simulation, cursing under his breath when the little 3D figure turned red, and frantically entered a few new amounts. He watched, brows furrowed and jaw clenched, as the simulation ran the new tests, each failing drastically. A soft whimper came from behind him, and Tony spun around instantly.
He strode over to the cot, gently calming the sweaty, pale man lying there. Bruce whimpered again, but still leaned into Tony’s touch when he wiped his face with a damp washcloth, and that gave Tony a little bit of hope back. He hadn’t completely succumbed to the poison yet, despite Ross’ latest attempt on his life.
Tony shook his head angrily, unable to get the image of Hulk taking fifteen darts to the chest and abdomen, filled to the brim with that damn poison. At first it had seemed like Hulk could shake it off - and then he’d frozen and Tony would never forget how scared his big, green counterpart had looked. The next instant, Hulk had been screaming, scratching at his chest, before shrinking back into Bruce and falling into an unconscious heap. Tony had leapt into action, quickly mowing down the rest of Ross’ soldiers as he flew over to scoop his boyfriend up and retreat.
It had been six hours since, and Bruce’s state was only deteriorating. He’d run thousands of simulations, but Bruce had always been the more qualified scientist of the two of them. Hot tears stung the corners of his eyes, and Tony angrily wiped them away, focusing back on the computer. His fingers flew over the keyboard, eyes darting back and forth across the screen in an effort to find the one key part that would result in the antidote. ‘I’ve done it once, I can do it again,’ Tony thought firmly. Glancing over his shoulder at Bruce again, his resolve hardened further at the sight of his significant other unconscious and in pain. ‘I have to.’
Before he knew it, another two hours had passed, about a hundred more simulations run in between comforting Bruce and keeping him cool. Despite his best efforts however, Bruce had stopped responding to his voice little more than an hour ago. Time was running out, and Tony was only getting more desperate.
Pulling at his hair in frustration, the sharp twinge keeping the fatigue away another few moments, Tony glared at the computer screen in front of him. He put in the next set of numbers, looking back at Bruce again as he let the simulation run through them. A sudden beeping startled him, and he whirled back towards the screen to see the little figure lit up in green.
Having watched failure after failure, Tony could only gape in shock for a few moments before stumbling into action. Sending the successful test to JARVIS to complete and make into the antidote, Tony stumbled over to Bruce and fell into the chair beside his cot. Reaching out, Tony brushed the hair out of Bruce’s face, gently toying with the damp curls.
He stayed there, lost in thought, playing with Bruce’s hair until JARVIS announced, “Sir, the antidote complete.”
Tony lost time yet again, somehow getting out of his chair and preparing the antidote to inject into Bruce’s arm, coming back to himself as he was doing just that. Taking the needle out, Tony placed a band-aid over the small puncture mark. Pressing a kiss onto Bruce’s cheek, Tony had to blink back tears of relief when Bruce turned into the touch again, his fast metabolism already moving the antidote through his system.
Lifting himself onto the cot, arranging Bruce so that his head lay in his lap, Tony wiped tears out of his eyes. “Glad to have you back honey.”