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It somehow becomes their tradition long before any of the other team members move into the tower.
After every Avenger battle, Tony waits. He waits for Bruce to come back down from his, what Tony has termed, Hulk-high. He's there waiting with a new set of clothes and a warm smile.
Hulk waits too. He doesn't usually venture too far and he waits for Tony to come find him. He waits for Tony to come wait for the other other guy.
This is their unspoken waiting game, neither having any idea who started it. Or why Hulk is so willing to participate for that matter - although Tony has his theories if Bruce would only really listen.
Then again, Hulk doesn't always participate. Sometimes he runs.
The first time it happens, Bruce wakes up alone on a beach in Florida at 2 a.m. and he's surprised to discover that his immediate thought is, "I've got to get back to Stark Tower" instead of his usual, "oh god no, not again" reaction. And the first time it happens, he's surprised to learn, by way of Good Morning America no less, that Tony has initiated a worldwide search for him, stopping just short of "Lost Puppy" signs with Bruce's face plastered on them.
"I would have come back, Tony," Bruce says as he sits across from him on Stark's private jet - the one that had touched down in Florida almost before Bruce could even hang up the phone he'd used to call Tony. "And what if this happens again?"
"Same deal," Tony answers as if it's the most obvious truth in the world.
"That seems..." Bruce pauses, both men mentally searching through a list of possible words that could maybe finish that statement. Right. The one word their lists have in common is right, but they don't know it. "Impractical," Bruce finishes. "Because I will come back, Tony. Honest. Just next time give me a chance to before you start putting up billboards," he jokes and they both laugh, but both hope it doesn't happen again.
Of course, it does. Bruce isn't quite sure at first why Hulk runs or what triggers it when so many other times he stays. Then, on one occasion, Bruce recalls the details of Hulk's fearful flight and from there on out Tony helps with the puzzle by recounting details of the battles. There seems to be a pattern in the data, painting a picture of Bruce's and Hulk's shared psych and the special residence his teammates have seemingly taken up there.
Clint runs out of arrows and Hulk barely covers him from an incoming attack in time. And he runs. Thor demonstrates he's not quite as immortal as they all like to believe by staying down longer than usual. And he runs. Steve crashes on his cycle and it's a much more fiery explosion and terrifying experience than even Captain America cares to think about. And he runs. Natasha's flung against a wall like a ragdoll. And he runs.
And then Tony waits.
He waits as close to the door as he reasonably can. He waits for J.A.R.V.I.S. to inform him of the incoming call. He waits for Bruce's voice asking, always much too uncertainly, if he can come pick him up. And he doesn't really care if Bruce is at the North Pole lobbying for better healthcare and union rights for elves or if he's in Asgard schooling Thor's "advanced" people with everything hiding in that brilliant mind of his. He will pick him up anywhere. He just has to wait for the inevitable call.
Then, one time, the inevitable call doesn't come.
By this time, Tony and Bruce are no longer the only ones living in the Tower. So Tony isn't alone to wait it out. The waiting is shared with the other members of the team. Only, they never seem as worried as he is and it maddens him more than it probably should.
Steve's reassuring, "He's never not come back yet, Tony" - makes him mad.
Thor's well-intended, "Perhaps Dr. Banner has need of a short holiday away from us all" - makes him mad.
Clint's insensitive, "Or maybe he decided he's just not that into you" - makes him see so much red that Tony briefly, but firmly believes he himself will hulk out: a big, red hulk that will first smash Clint and then use his new hulk senses to find his friend.
Natasha's strangely trusting, "Fury would have told us by now if Ross had taken him" when he asks her to call the Director - makes him mad.
They're all just being sensible, or in Clint's case just plain rude. And it makes him mad.
It's 70 hours and 17 minutes of waiting and being mad later when J.A.R.V.I.S. ends the mad, waiting game by announcing he has finally located Dr. Banner. And it's quite a testament to just how smart the A.I. is, as he had been cycling through every satellite feed, news story, and database on the planet simultaneously in search of the physicist. And Tony's reminded of why he prefers technology to people. Well, most people.
"I guess this is better than the lab. Yeah, I can see why you wouldn't want to come back." Tony's nonchalant voice soon after interrupts Bruce's thoughts. The physicist is in the middle of paying for mangoes in a small, outdoor marketplace on a Caribbean island. Bruce stiffens, but doesn't turn away from what he's doing until he's finished. He hands over some money, smiles at the man, and tells him to keep the change in his own language as well as thanks him for no reason other than it seems the right thing to do. "How many languages do you know?" Tony asks him cheekily and Bruce finally turns around with a nervous smile and awkwardly hands him one of the mangoes he's just bought. Is it a peace offering? Neither is sure.
Tony takes the mango and they walk towards the nearby beach in relative silence or small talk. Bruce mentions a few times how good the mango is and Tony gives him a concerned glance before guessing correctly that this is Bruce's first taste of food since waking up in a new place. Then he makes a comment about going back and buying the entire market so Bruce can eat properly, that metabolism of his and all, but of course Bruce won't hear of it. He would much rather Tony buy the market and then distribute the items to all of the other people who need it more than he does. Tony never can argue with humanitarian-Bruce.
"Done deal," Tony says casually and they keep walking.
The silence then returns and goes on for a while longer. It should be awkward and yet they can't help, but feel it's also familiar. They know that they'll get to the inevitable subject of Bruce's actions eventually, but there's no rush. There's just two mismatched friends enjoying each other's company and enjoying the warm breeze as if this was always the plan.
"I'm beginning to think you have a thing for beaches, Doctor," Tony finally speaks again and Bruce shakes his head a little at the comment. It's true that more than once he's called Tony from a place near a beach. But the more pessimistic voice inside him wonders if it's because a small part of Hulk wants to drown too. "You really could have just told me. I would have dragged you to Malibu instead. Avengers Mansion has a nice ring to it, don't you think? New York has enough heroes as it is anyway. Bubble hasn't burst in California yet. Seems like a good business move." Bruce chortles.
"Avengers Mansion does have a nice ring actually. How's the team by the way?" The question resounds with the feeling of his having been away from them for several months, not a few days.
"You missed Clint and Natasha trying to explain to Steve nightclubs aren't what they used to be. But I had J.A.R.V.I.S. save the footage of his reaction." Bruce tries to stifle a laugh at Steve's expense, but he's never been very good at it. "Oh, and you almost missed me hulking out and smashing Clint. I'm fairly certain I would have been a red hulk, probably because red suits me. Shame it didn't happen. You and I could go on the road at Christmas time and make a fortune. Hulk For The Holidays, copyright pending."
"Wha- Geez. What did he do?" Bruce can barely manage through his outright laughter at this point, face in hand as visions of sugar plum hulks dance in his head.
"He had the audacity to suggest you're not into me."
"The nerve," Bruce deadpans, but his hand falls and his eyes grow distant.
"Right? Everybody's into me. Of course, I might have almost believed him there for a second. Like I said, I was close to hulking out so my brain was short circuiting a little bit."
"Tony..." Bruce's tone is both gentle and pleading as he stops walking and turns away from the millionaire. Jokes are forgotten and the inevitable subject can no longer be avoided.
"I know you said to give you a chance. I tried waiting, honestly I did. But-"
"I had no intention of coming back this time." Tony flinches at the straightforward confession.
"So Clint is right after all. That hurts on multiple levels." Bruce rolls his eyes a little, but realizes it's merely Tony's way of dealing with things and turns back towards him.
"He's right sometimes. But not about this," Bruce offers. "You know why Hulk ran, Tony. I do too. I clearly remembered this time."
"Uh, yeah. Because I got hurt. Same as all the other times you ran. I'm, you know, flattered that you thought my being injured was a bigger deal than the others, but..." His sentence trails and he ends instead with an incredulous shrug.
"No, no, that's not it." Bruce shakes his head fervently, a small flicker of green in his eyes. "It was different this time and you know it. You didn't just get hurt, Tony. The Hulk hurt you." There's more silence between them and a long, sad glance before Bruce's eyes falter completely. "Whether it was his fault or not, the Hulk could have crushed you. That's not something I can let happen again. You had your suit. What if it had been Clint or Natasha? Steve even? What if it happens again and you don't have your suit? Just because I want to, it doesn't mean I can keep pretending like there's no inadvertent threat he can still pose. It's better to just call it a day now, Tony."
"Sometimes it still blows my mind how incredibly stupid you can be for someone so incredibly smart."
"Thank you?" Bruce raises his palms as he meets Tony's eyes again.
"What I'm saying is, it's not your fault what happened. It's not Hulk's. We are literally all liabilities here, Bruce. So stop with the pity party already. You don't think Clint wakes up in a cold sweat sometimes thinking about what he did under Loki's influence? You don't think Thor thinks about all the messes he's inadvertently caused because of his family drama? Natasha's ledger is dripping apparently. With who even knows what. Steve... I'm sure he's got something he's not proud of somewhere underneath all that red, white and blue. I mean, he made the call to close the portal not knowing if I'd make it out in time. That's maybe something, right?" He shrugs. "And then there's me... I am one fried arc reactor away from letting you all down permanently."
"Don't say that," Bruce chastises hoarsely, closing his eyes as he does.
"Sorry, buddy, I have to. It's a grim picture, but you said it yourself once. We're a time bomb. And either we're going to keep cutting wires together as a team until we get the ticking to stop or we're going to blow up and who knows which of us will survive if we do."
"I will. I'll survive," Bruce says through gritted teeth. "I'll survive and then I'll wake up and the madness will finally consume me. Don't you get it?" Bruce's gaze is hard and his face broken as he furrows his brow. "The madness is already there waiting for me, no matter how or when it finally happens. Until the Hulk lets me go, if that's even on the table... Losing you, losing the team, losing everything is inevitable. But this way maybe there's still a little chance...it won't... Just let me go now. Before it can hurt any worse." The color drains from Tony's face.
"That's what Pepper said," he confesses. "That night we... When she... Yeah, I guess I am selfish. You're right. You're absolutely right. So was she. I'll, uh, I'll just go take care of that purchase real quick and then we can call it a day like you said." Tony then places his hand firmly on Bruce's shoulder. "But if you ever, ever need anything, I still want you to call. Got it?" Bruce only nods weakly and they part ways shortly after.
Another 72 or so hours later, Tony gets a call. There's a long, familiar sigh.
"It's no use, Tony. Can you maybe... Uh, can you..."
"On my way now."
Their waiting game reconvenes.