Ready, Fire, Aim!

[Sweet_Wyvern]

This was either a trick or actually happening, but either way Tony didn't care. Walking back in, he took a seat at the lab table, defeat in the slump of his shoulders and indifference in his face. "That'd be me, I guess. I'm fine with him being how he is now, but he claims there's something wrong with me. He keeps trying to fix it. I keep telling him I'm fine," he explained in a monotone.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

David, the name he had decidedly adopted for himself, narrowed his eyes a bit, noting the slump of the engineer's shoulders and the dulled look to his normally bright, passionate eyes. "Are you sure of that? You don't seem the same as last time we met. You seem...much more disheartened. I do not blame Banner for believing something to be wrong," he concluded a matter-of-factly.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony arched a brow at the man, which was about the range of his expressions. "I'm surprised you care, considering what you said last time. But you're wrong. I'm perfectly fine," he stated, examining a piece of Bruce's notes and almost unconsciously fixing an error.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

David shook his head, a cold smile edging to the surface as he circled around Tony, peering over his shoulder at the notes he was editing. "I am merely stating an observation of mine, Anthony, nothing more. Although I applaud your new found emotionless outlook on life, I do acknowledge that such a thing would indeed hurt Banner, and even the Hulk. I also believe that if the version of you I came to meet before, the one who saw it fit to scream in my face and throw a tantrum out of the passion and love he holds for his husband, would not approve of such a change in personality. You were not meant to be this way, Stark. Whether or not you find the strength or the will to revert back to your normal self, if entirely up to you."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

"So glad I have your approval," Tony remarked dryly, though the sarcasm fell flat- literally. There was no more joking edge to his words. Oh, how David thought himself high and mighty. But clearly he cared about how Bruce and Hulk felt, otherwise he wouldn't have said something. Tony may have been emotionally wrecked, but he wasn't brain dead. "Given that you are an emotionless entity yourself, I don't think you have the right to pass that judgement. This is who I am. I'm just tired."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

David's brow rose at the tone in Tony's voice, but he didn't comment on it. He began to riffle among the pile of papers and he began to make mental calculations and adjustments, mind sharp and focused without the lagging effects that anxiety, worry, and anger that Banner often experienced. As if as an afterthought, he muttered, "I know you far better than you believe me to, Stark. I have long since accessed Banner's memories of you. You are a man of passion, just as the Hulk is a beast of it; you aspire, innovate, move onward toward a better, brighter tomorrow. You have heart. This," he gestured vaguely in the engineer's direction, "this is not who you are. I may not hold the emotions that most do, but I realize that the life I have chosen to live is not for everyone, you included. Banner needs you, Anthony. He will need you when he reverts back to his normal age, and his repressed memories are restored to him."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony looked at David unflinchingly, sitting through the accusation. Well, he couldn't deny it anymore, there was something wrong with him. But he didn't want to go back to that place, where love could be demolished with anguish. This place was numb, it shielded him from pain and guilt. He could see Bruce's hurt and not feel a thing. He was just alone. "Yeah? Well I needed him too, and look where that got me. I'm sorry I can't be what he needs me to be. Didn't you hear? It's my job to disappoint people," he muttered, getting up and shuffling to the elevator.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

"I very much doubt that to be true," David opined, watching Tony's retreating form for a moment. He briefly considered something, mulling over his next words. Banner and Hulk needed this man, even if he himself did not. All three were connected, and each choice the other made affected the others in some way or form. He needed to make an attempt at fixing this.

 

"You sound like an echo of Banner, you know," he remarked in that same matter-of-fact tone. "The way you deem yourself a disappointment, think yourself unable to provide enough for your partner. Banner believes himself to be a burden, a disappointment to you, for not holding the memories he requires to love you the way he once did. It is not his fault, but I know he feels this way, just as I know that a part of you believes this to be true as well. This is where your problem lies, Stark. You are both shattered, broken beings, but together you form something akin to whole. You need one another, and when one side begins to give, the other must compensate in order to keep both of you together. Simple. If both of you would cease with these illogical, lowly perceptions of yourselves, then both of you would be able to see that you are indeed more than enough for one another. Give it time, Anthony. His memories will return to them, and with that, reprieve from this loneliness I know you are suffering from."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony stopped in front of the elevator and watched it open and close again, listening to David talk without moving. Of course all of it was true, but it just didn't matter. He was right, they completed each other, but without Bruce there to complete him he was falling fast. "I'm not a machine, despite what this-" he turned and tapped the reactor, "-might say. What do you want me to do? Fix all of my psychological problems with the flip of a switch? I can't just adjust myself, just like Bruce can't just get rid of you and Hulk. Call me when that changes," he shot back, moving into the elevator. The logical spin David was putting on it wasn't working, he needed comfort and reassurance, not this.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

"JARVIS, belay elevator," David instructed in clipped tones, and he slipped past the lift doors just before they closed to stand beside Tony, his hands clasped in front of him as they began their ascent. He regarded the engineer carefully, knowing just how fragile the man was, and how only a handful of misplaced words might set off a chain reaction of...less than desirable outcomes. "You could start by believing you are enough for him, Anthony. The mind is a fragile thing, I know this more than most, sharing it with so many others, and it must be cared for. Negative thoughts feed into negative actions, and this low self-esteem of yours will not help in your recovery. Pull yourself away from this, Stark, away from this numbness you're feeling, and allow Banner to console you. I know he will try, just as I know he has done so in the past. He cannot help you if you are unwilling to accept it."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony's upper lip twitched ever so slightly, as though he was close to snarling. There was an emotion starting to permeate the fog, and it was quickly identifying itself as anger. "What, and let myself be in pain? Be there for Bruce with normal emotions while I get to suffer the backlash? You think I don't want to go back to that peaceful time? It doesn't exist anymore. We'll always have problems, there's no point anymore."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

"So you would be willing to allow Banner to suffer the brunt of the pain, to despise himself and believe himself to be the cause of all of this? Correct me if I'm wrong, Stark, but is that not the very opposite of what someone in love would do for their partner?" David questioned with the slightest hint of accusation in his tone. He had an idea, but he wasn't sure how it would affect the engineer exactly. Reasonably, it would do what he needed it to. He forced a smile, the action seemingly redundant and unnecessary to him, and shifted his gaze to the metal doors rather than Tony. "I suppose you were correct before, Stark. Banner deserves better. Obviously he needs someone who's willing to be there for him, to help to find a cure, or simply wait out the months with him so he may regain his memories."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony wasn't sure when it happened, but something inside of him snapped again. That numb mist was burned away by rage, all consuming flames that were practically visible as an orange ring surfaced around his irises. Without even thinking his fist was flying towards David's face, breathing and pulse rising. "Don't tell me I didn't love him!" He snarled, "don't tell me that I didn't offer everything to him!"

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

His hypothesis was correct, then. This had been the reaction he had been searching for. David decisively chose not to move away as he saw Tony swing his fist toward him, knowing that Tony needed to get out some of the pent up rage inside him, and a second later he could hear the sickening crunch as his noise as broken by the engineer's knuckles. He slammed against the wall of the elevator and held his hand beneath his nostrils as toxic blood began to poor down his chin. There was no risk of the Hulk taking control, as he held no emotions for Tony to trigger. "Then prove your love for him, Stark. Show him that you still want him in your life before your relationship, as well as your sanity, crumble completely."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony screamed and tried to hit him again, missing and slamming his fist into the wall. "Sanity? What sanity?" He cried, skin prickling with the itch of sweat. His eyes fastened on the blood dripping down Bruce's face, coating his lips and chin in red. "You want my ing love? You want to know what I'd do for Bruce?" He seized the man by the shirt collar and yanked him forward, forcing a rough kiss on him, toxic blood and all. When he pulled away, they remained a hair's breadth apart. "I'd die for him.."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

David gave a muffled gasp in protest, knowing that ingesting any amount of his blood would kill the engineer, but it was already too late. He stared at the man above him with pure incomprehension, eyes wide and brow furrowed. "W-Why would you do that? Don't you...I-I thought that you loved him. This...this will kill him," he breathed, mind whirring as it worked to find logic Tony's actions.

 

((I AM IN ****ING SHOCK GODDAMMIT HOW IS HE EVEN GOING TO LIVE THROUGH THIS))

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony chuckled as he let go and stumbled backwards, leaning against the corners of the walls as his legs began to fail him. He could already feel it burning- it worked fast he supposed. Apparently he had five minutes- thank you Jarvis. "You said it yourself, I'm not good enough for him. He's a good guy, he'll.. He'll find someone who can be better for him. Not a broken mess. But you were right about me not being able to live without him," he wheezed, sliding down the wall until he was slumped in the corner. Now there was nothing for it but to wait.

 

(Heheh, I've been studying the almighty Joss Whedon. Lolno but yay for plot twists! I wanna see what you do before I drop hints about how to possibly save him )

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

"JARVIS, open elevator doors and summon a medical team immediately," David ordered snappily, before he hastily wiped the blood from his face onto the sleeve of his lab coat. He approached Tony with that same confusion etched onto his features. "You do know how Betty died, don't you? Gamma exposure, Stark. This..." He shakes his head. Banner would never forgive himself when he regained his memories. He would be crushed before then, but after... "You just signed his death warrant." There was no way the physicist would allow himself to live after something like this.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony drew another wheezy breath, laughing despite the burn in his blood and further proving that he'd lost it. "Sorry he had to get hurt, but this is for the best. If he dies.. Then we were meant to be together I guess. And we will be," he said, clouded eyes traveling over David's hazy form. "What's that line? Stay golden Ponyboy? Something like that. You get the point, minus the painting yourself gold or whatever the hell the author meant. You have to take care of him now, okay? Make sure he brushes his teeth, an apple a day, that sort of stuff." Now he was just rambling.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

David studied him with the closest thing to a sad expression he could muster. It was clear that his attempts to help Banner had only seemed to break Tony further. It was clear that the engineer had lost his mind, and David had given him the final push to get him there. This was not what he had wanted. "Perhaps allowing Banner to see what you have done will instill some sense into you before you die, Stark. Just know that I am sorry." He knew those words were hollow, but they were all he could offer. With a gasp, Bruce shifted forward, and his first reaction was to clutch uselessly at the sharp pain that radiated from the center of his face. Then he saw the blood. "T-Tony...?"

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Blinking owlishly, Tony gave the figure above him a crooked grin. "Hi Bruce," he croaked, seizing up for a moment before his body went limp again. Maybe the EXTREMIS was fighting it.. That would explain why it was taking so long. It wouldn't be enough though. "The other other guy says hi. Not hulk, the other dude.. I didn't catch his name," he mumbled, still smiling deliriously up at him.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce stared down to the billionaire with wide, startled eyes. "What happened?! What did you..." His voice cracked and if he hadn't already been sitting, he would've surely collapsed. The delirious grin, the crimson that stained his lips, and the unhinged quality that the engineer emitted caused his heart to squeeze painfully. "W-Why?" he whispered, his shoulders trembling.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony closed his eyes and chuckled again, though it became a groan as the burning sensation intensified. "You don't get it, Bruce. You deserve so much better than me- that other guy knows it, I know it. You won't have to feel bad about me again, I'm just removing myself from the equation. You need someone who's just as golden as you are. I'm just a big mess. But I love you," he explained with a weak smile.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that of course he was good enough, that he needed him to stay, but he couldn't. He didn't have access to the memories of them coming together, of them slowly falling for one another, of their time on the run, and of the struggles they went through. He didn't remember any of it, yet somehow the notion of loving Tony simply felt right. Tony had been his caretaker, his mentor, his best friend through all of this. He couldn't just leave him now, especially not like this. Not like the way Betty had left him. "You c-can't leave me, p-please," he whispered shakily, "I break everything I touch...not you. I can't break you, T-Tony, I c-can't. I n-need you."

Edited January 22, 2014 by lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony reached for Bruce's hand and took it, though he could barely grip, let alone move. " 's too late. 'M sorry Bruce, I was broken before you got here," he managed, starting to seize up again. Damn, that hurt. But it hurt to see Bruce in so much pain too. Sirs, Jarvis chimed, may I suggest Loki's wedding gift?