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Bruce starred out at the water, not bothering to ask any of the locals on the beach where he was. If he knew where he was, he’d know how far he was from New York, and if he knew that…
No, Bruce thought. You’re not going back. You had a chance, Banner, and you ruined it. You don’t get… whatever that was. People who care. People who matter. You shouldn’t have bothered.
Why had he bothered?
For one thing, Tony didn’t take no for an answer.
“I’m just saying, suns getting real low. You should stay ‘til tomorrow.”
“It’s as bad an idea as it was this morning.” Bruce had replied. He couldn’t figure out why Tony kept bringing it up.
“Is it?” Tony asked. “Don’t know if you noticed, Banner, but you just saved the world. And my life.”
“The Other Guy all did that,” Bruce said.
“Wasn’t he the one you were worried about?” It was the first time Bruce saw Tony look totally sincere.
He’d had a point. “One night,” Bruce had said. Some prodding convinced him to stay the next night. The thinly-veiled-begging/promise of some new equipment convinced him to stay the rest of the week. Tony admitting he didn’t want to be in the tower alone meant Bruce wasn’t going anywhere.
“Aren’t you the one with the girlfriend who’d probably love to stay with you?” Bruce had asked jokingly one night.
“Pepper’s got a company to run. She doesn’t need me bothering her.”
“I’m pretty sure the point of being in a relationship with someone is that you don’t bother them,” Bruce said. “Especially if it’s something like this.”
“Like what? I just don’t like being the only one in a tower taller then 432 Park, no biggy.”
Of course, it was. By the end of the month Tony had moved to Malibu with Pepper, and Bruce was back on the move.
Bruce had gotten all the way to Bolivia when Tony showed up in his house one night.
“How’d you know where I was?” Bruce had asked.
“SHIELD is down,” Tony said, probably not totally registering Bruce’s question, wanting to get it out before anything else was was said.
“That doesn’t answer my question. If anything that makes it stranger that you found me.” If you weren’t Tony Stark, that is.
“SHIELD lost you. Never said I did.”
“That’d be a bad thing coming from anyone but you.”
“Good thing it’s me then.” Tony was smiling. So was Bruce.
He took a seat next to Tony. “So did you come to tell me about what happened to SHIELD?”
“And to tell you your moving back to the tower.”
“Probably not the safest plan.” Bruce said it because it would always be true, not because he didn’t want to go back.
“And with SHIELD gone, your not safe,” Tony said. The look in his eye reminded Bruce of when he’d first convinced him to stay at the tower.
“My safety is never the issue,” Bruce said. “I don’t get hurt.”
Tony paused. “You wouldn’t be running if you didn’t get hurt,” he said finally.
Bruce quickly shifted the conversation away from himself. “Are you still going to be in Malibu?”
“Would it change you answer if I was?” Tony smirked.
Bruce shot Tony a sly look. “I just don’t want to be the only one in a tower taller then 432 Park.”
Tony laughed. “Don’t worry, Banner, you won’t be.”
It worked for a while. Tony and Bruce were always at the tower, and the rest of the team stayed from time to time. Bruce was still doing good, but he wasn’t doing on his own. Tony helped him with any research he did, and Bruce did the same for Tony. He got to know the rest of the team. He had people in his life he genuinely trusted for the first time since Betty.
Then Ultron happened. The Maximoffs happened. The Hulk happened. Bruce was reminded why he’d thought being on the team was a bad idea in the first place. He hated being right.
Bruce sighed, looking up at the clouds. Wherever he was, it was about to rain, and he couldn’t sleep on the beach. He took one last look at the ocean.
He wondered if Tony was looking at it too.