Ready, Fire, Aim!

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony relaxed slightly, though he was still wary of any doctors. Especially needles.. But Bruce said they would be okay. "I'll hold you to that. Well-" he flexed his hands, unable to physically hold him "-maybe not." He chuckled again, shifting positions.

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

"It's okay, I understand what you're getting at," he murmured. Bruce reached out tentatively, unsure if he should or not, but after a moment he placed a hand gently on Tony's leg, rubbing it lightly. "You'll be fine." The hitch in his voice showed how little faith he held in his own words.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony smiled at Bruce once again, seemingly accepting the touch. "I know, I told myself so," he said, inclining his head towards the corner. There was no one there in actuality of course, but his overloaded mind had hallucinated himself. After all , he felt responsible for his own 'death'. 'You can't blame me for being cynical,' the hallucination remarked.

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

Bruce's gaze followed Tony's to the corner of the room, and he tilted his head curiously, before he realized that the engineer was probably seeing something that wasn't there. "Is someone else here with us?" he inquired softly, his eyes stinging.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

"I am," Tony replied matter of factly, as though it was completely obvious. "Can't you see him? It's me! Except I'm in two places at once. Sort of." The hallucination snorted and shook his head. 'Youre crazy, that's what you are. You knew this would happen Stark.'

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

Bruce blinked a bit, eyes shifting between the empty corner and Tony, before he shook his head. "No...no one else is there, Tony. It's just you and me in here right now," he sighed. He pat his leg, closing his eyes for a moment. "What is...what are you saying, telling yourself, I mean?"

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony wrinkled his nose, displeased that Bruce wanted to talk to the other him. Wasn't he good enough? The touch made him feel better, so he begrudgingly relented and explained, "He's annoyed. Keeps telling me I'm better than this and I should've held it together, whatever that means." He huffed, sticking his tongue out at himself. Maybe the hallucination was his last scrap of sanity, desperately holding on and trying to fight through the muddled haze of his mind. 'You should've controlled yourself,' he snapped unhappily. "Are you calling me a television?" Tony huffed back.

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

Tony's reply made his chest constrict, and he took a deep breath. Even now, it seemed that the engineer hated and blamed himself. Well, at least there seemed to be a small shred of sanity left inside him, however deep it may be. Maybe there was still a chance of Tony regaining his sanity. Another inhale. Another exhale. He needed to keep calm, for both Tony's sake, and his own. "Would you...like me to leave you alone?" He seemed to be having quite the conversation with himself.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony's head snapped towards him so fast it was surprising that he didn't hurt himself. "No! I mean, no.. I don't wanna talk to him," he pleaded. The hallucination clicked his tongue and left, apparently deeming his original couldn't be reasoned with. Meanwhile Tony looked up at Bruce sadly. "It's okay if you want to go. I guess I'm not being a very good host."

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

The sad, pleading look in Tony's eyes caused Bruce's heart to squeeze, and he gazed down to the engineer, expression just as dejected. How could he say no to that? "I'll stay if you want, Tony. I promise," he said, voice cracking slightly. The smile he offered was more of a grimace.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony's face brightened as Bruce promised to stay. "Thank you, its really quiet in here and I don't want to listen to that," he mumbled, secretly wishing the man would touch him again. That was a nice feeling. "Do you want to sit down?" He asked, trying to move his legs and then remembering he was tied up. "Uh.. Oh! Pull up that chair, hopefully it won't bite you."

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

The physicist nodded and pulled up the chair beside Tony, and his arms instinctively moved to wrap protectively over his torso as he lowered himself down into it. "Hopefully not..." he agreed quietly. He rubbed his arm, eyes shifting out of focus as he contemplated what he was going to do now. What would come of his and Tony's relationship now? If he were to revert back to his real age and regain all of his memories, could he even be with Tony now that he...now that he was like this? He had seemingly broken him beyond repair, and had mere hours ago thought he was going to die right there in front of him. How could he live with himself with those memories, knowing that he had done this to Tony? Especially when he recovered his memories. He just didn't know what he was going to do, and he doubted that Tony would be offering up any suggestions any time soon.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony observed Bruce quietly without his knowledge, seeing as the doctor was zoned out. He looked very troubled, and very sad. He had an inkling that it was his fault, though he was a little shaky on the details. Maybe he didn't like being around sick people- he knew he was sick, his other self told him so. "I can go away, if it would make you happy," he said, looking at Bruce with a sad sympathy. "I really want you to be happy. And you don't look happy."

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

Bruce blinked a few times, snapping out of his thoughts, and he focused his gaze on Tony, his features perplexed. "What...oh, n-no I don't want you to...no, I just...I'm having a rough time right now, is all. S'nothing to worry about. Promise," he muttered, forcing his lips into a half smile in hopes of reassuring him. He was rarely ever truly happy, so there was little point in leaving Tony here alone if he wanted him here. He doubted it would make much of a difference. Tony would still be broken, regardless of if he left.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony blinked several times, trying to decide if Bruce was telling the truth. He did seem to be having a tough time, that was for sure. "It's okay," he said sympathetically, giving Bruce a small but genuine smile. "You don't have to think about that now, 'cause you're with me." He thought maybe the man could use a hug, for hugs were very comforting gestures, but he was stuck. "Hey, Bruce.. Can you free me?" He asked hopefully. "I won't hurt you again," he promised. He just assumed Bruce had been upset that he hit him, not that he tried to kill himself. But he wasn't going to try to off himself again.

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

The genuine empathy that Tony seemed to have for him, and the way that he seemed to want to comfort him, caused Bruce's heart to flutter against his ribs and his eyes to sting. His lips twitched into a real, albeit small smile. Tony really cared...He supposed that was something.

At his question, the doctor sat up a little straighter, and he eyed the engineer carefully. He had forgotten about the persistent throb of his nose until Tony mentioned it. "I don't...I-I don't think that's a good idea. You might hurt yourself, or someone else by accident," he murmured, voice small but full of resolve. He hated this, especially when Tony was looking up at him like that.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony sighed softly, looking away but deciding not to push it any farther. "It's okay," he said quietly, looking back up at Bruce. "But.. Can you come down here then? I wanna give you something," he requested, putting forth his infamous puppy eyes. He really only wanted to give him a hug. He'd feel better too. "Please?"

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

Bruce had difficulty resisting that look. Always had been, and always will be, memories or not. He tentatively lowered himself down to his bedside and after a moment's hesitation, eyes on Tony's restraints, asked, "If I...took these off you, just the wrist ones, for a little while, do you promise to put them back on later?"

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony's eyes went wide and he nodded quickly. Yes, he'd do just that, whatever Bruce wanted so long as he got to give Bruce that hug. "Yes, I promise. Please," he added, looking immensely relieved. Oh, the scientist would be so happy after his hug!

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

After another moment's consideration, Bruce unlatched the restraints around Tony's wrists, hoping that nothing would go wrong because of it. He had no idea just how loose the engineer's screws were up there, or how much damage he would cause because of his less than stable mental state. Either way, he couldn't resist the hopeful, pleading tone of his voice. It was far too much for him to handle right now.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony sat up slowly and rubbed his wrists, making a face. The restraints rubbed them slightly raw. Then he looked at Bruce and smiled, reaching for him and wrapping the man in a big hug. That was so much better. "Thank you," he mumbled happily.

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

Bruce closed his eye as he accepted the hug, taking a few deep breaths to keep himself calm. Tony felt solid and warm and familiar, and if he concentrating on tuning out everything else, he could imagine, just for a brief moment, that this had never happened. That Tony had never tried to... He shivered and tightened the embrace, seeking something he could latch onto.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony gave a little sigh as he was hugged back, content to lay his head on Bruce's shoulder with a happy hum. "All you needed was a hug," he informed the man, not letting go quite yet. He wanted him as happy as possible. "It's not so loud in my head when I hug you," he added after a moment. His mind was utterly scrambled, and he could constantly hear a slight buzz like it was full of bees, but when Bruce was there with him everything settled down.

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

Bruce's heart squeezed painfully, and he fought back burning tears that threatened to spill. He needed someway to try and fix this, someway to make Tony whole. He needed to make himself whole again. The doctor raised a hand to place it on the nape of Tony's neck, holding the engineer close as he murmured, "I'm glad."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Seeing as Tony was facing away from Bruce's face, he didn't see the sadness welling there and figured he was doing a good job. The hand on his neck felt really good- all skin contact felt good actually. He may have been criminally insane, but he was still tactile. For a long time, he was silent, just enjoying the hug. Then he asked, "Can I see Nox later?" He missed his cat.