Tony Stark | MCUstarkingenuityAugust 9 2012, 13:03:57 UTC
Flash!
He'd been ready for it. He'd counted down to it. Eyes closed, goggles on, hand in front of those. Extra protection. Tony might be a thrill seeker, but he's not an idiot.
Perhaps he should have realized, however, and factored in, his ability to be distracted at the worst possible moment.
Jarvis's message from Pepper caught him off guard and as he was about to tell the AI to have her leave a message for him, off went the experimental device and--
Shit.
His eyes had been open.
Tony stands in pure whiteness for a moments, hand on his work station, before he grumbles. The light is making him feel sick to his stomach and, on his side, he tries not to retch.
Bruce had been braced for the experiment, so when he gets the all clear, he glances around for Tony, and he scowls. Okay, maybe he shouldn't be blaming Tony, but things have been... different... and Bruce is maybe a little bit crankier. He gets to his knees beside Tony, touching his arm gently.
"Keep this up and you're going to have a Hulk of your very own," he chides, but it's a serious worry. "Are you okay?"
Tony's first instinct is to battle off those intruding hands, but he knows who they are and he knows what they want. Banner wouldn't hurt him. Well. He might. But he isn't. Of that, Tony is remarkably certain.
He ends up grabbing some part of the other man -- upper arm from the feel of it -- and shakes his head.
Bruce's touch to Tony's arm becomes less comforting and more steadying. He definitely isn't interested in hurting Tony; of the thoughts that run through his head, most of them are very seriously worried and one of them is a break-the-tension question of whether or not Tony could make himself bionic eyes. Probably not the time to ask that one.
"At all? Nothing? No... spots, or shapes, or cloudy outlines?" He's hoping maybe Tony's exaggerating here. Or maybe it's temporary, just until his eyes recover from the bright light of the device.
He turns away from the other man and blinks, straining to see passed this endless flow of milky liquid.
"And more white and... " Tony manages to force a swallow though, his heart pounding furious in his chest. "I've a scanner. Get me there. And Jarvis, do not tell Pepper."
Bruce guides Tony's arm around his shoulders, and he slips his arm around his back so he can help him get to his feet. He has no idea how unsteady Tony might be, but at least he's talking sense. And if he doesn't want to tell Pepper, then Tony's clearly thinking or hoping it's temporary. Bruce doesn't want to confirm or deny. He really couldn't say.
Oh... Yup. Sure does. His expression turns grim for a second, but he keeps Tony close to him and starts for his room. He pulls Tony to the side, sidestepping the end of a table, and he stops them long enough to roll a chair out of their way.
"Well, I'm thinking of banning you from science, so you'll have plenty of time to go pick out some aftershave." He's teasing. Mostly. Seriously, Tony!
No one can ban him from science in his own house! He gives Bruce's shoulder the most defeated of looks before a dizzy spell hits him and he has to cling to the other man's arm. "If you ask me, this is really your fault, Banner. You're a distraction."
He hasn't forgotten what happened last week. And though he and Bruce have been functioning pretty damn well since that fiasco, Tony hasn't exactly been dulling down his flirts.
It's almost as if he's a masochist. These accidents might even prove it.
Bruce knows precisely what Tony's talking about, but that doesn't mean he isn't trying to play coy or ignorant about it. Isn't that a dead end? Didn't they establish that it's not going to work out? Far better to stay away from that than play into it. But Tony keeps flirting with him, and now Bruce knows he means it, and he doesn't know what he's supposed to do with that.
"Was I distracting you by how closely I was following safety protocols? I can see how that might be fascinating to you, with it being so strange and unfamiliar."
"You really have no idea how sexy safety protocols are when you're wearing that yellow shirt. Okay, there's the bed, just-- Great, thanks." Tony can climb up into it on his own, thanks. He even manages to find the pillow before nearly crawling off the other end at an angle.
Maybe he needs more hands on attention? Maybe he needs to stop ending experiments in bed with Bruce.
"The scanner-- Jarvis, shine a light on the drawer it's in?"
"As you wish, sir. Dr. Banner, you'll find his medical scanner here. Under the magazines."
Definitely they need to stop ending experiments in bed, but Bruce isn't going to run out on him just because things are awkward, so yes -- he'll get more hands-on attention. He rounds the bed and plants his hands on Tony's shoulders, firmly directing him to lay back.
"Don't move, okay? With your luck today you'll roll off and break your arm." He's just going to ignore the sexy comment.
He retrieves the scanner, shuffling around the magazines, and sits on the edge of the bed beside Tony.
"Why do you have a medical scanner in your bedroom?" He looks over it before he figures out how to switch it on, and he holds it over Tony's eyes. He doesn't really know how to work it, but he assumes it... scans.
"Many very interesting and medically relevant things happen in this room, Bruce." He's even waggling his eyebrows at the wall. "There's a built in heart monitor in that too."
What? Tony's gone for over a week without anything more than his hand. He hasn't even been completely immersed in a project either, just a lot of little things to try and keep Bruce engaged and to keep him from leaving.
He's seen that packed duffle bag.
They don't work. They'll never work.
But Tony like to fix things that don't work. And he doesn't believe in 'can't.'
It's true that Bruce is primed and ready to leave. Staying in one place for very long just isn't something he's used to doing, and he knows that this thing they have going? It won't last. So why stick around? He just can't get up the nerve to leave, though; plus he'd have to shake off SHIELD, no matter how much Fury claims he's earned a vacation.
And maybe he's not ready to leave Tony yet. But that's a dangerous thing to feel.
"Mm," he hums, noncommittal, and he watches the scanner... scan. "I'm not sure I find the idea of your bedroom being half a clinic that enticing." The scanner beeps and Bruce lets out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Good news, it's not permanent. Bad news, you're looking at a day or two before your vision's back completely. Probably you'll have some light sensitivity after that for a few days, so I prescribe sunglasses, which give you the bonus of looking cool at all times."
"It's a good thing that I have so many sunglasses then. Hm. I'm going to need some help then for the next day or three. What are you up to, Bruce?"
Tony's not sure if he should joke any more. He might just skip out of town at this rate. Tony can't exactly stop him if he can't exactly see him, right?
There's no way Bruce would abandon Tony now... and that was curious word choice. Leaving Tony does seem like abandonment, even when he is able to see, and that's a step up from just skipping out. Maybe that's why he's still here. The fingers around his wrist seem like a need for reassurance, so Bruce reaches down to squeeze Tony's shoulder again.
"My schedule's completely booked. I have to be the seeing eye dog for my best friend who's suddenly blind, so I guess you're out of luck."
It sounds too fond to really be sarcastic, and his fingers brush tenderly against his shoulder before he realizes he should... go. Not far, but just get up for a second to regroup. He pulls away, but is sure to shuffle his feet on the carpet, so Tony can hopefully at least hear where he is. He's just putting the scanner back.
It's while he's up that he realizes Tony's joke is pretty accurate. It's going to be a long few days.
"We should get you a cane. A really badass one, and you can hit my security detail with it. Totally on accident."
He'd been ready for it. He'd counted down to it. Eyes closed, goggles on, hand in front of those. Extra protection. Tony might be a thrill seeker, but he's not an idiot.
Perhaps he should have realized, however, and factored in, his ability to be distracted at the worst possible moment.
Jarvis's message from Pepper caught him off guard and as he was about to tell the AI to have her leave a message for him, off went the experimental device and--
Shit.
His eyes had been open.
Tony stands in pure whiteness for a moments, hand on his work station, before he grumbles. The light is making him feel sick to his stomach and, on his side, he tries not to retch.
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Bruce had been braced for the experiment, so when he gets the all clear, he glances around for Tony, and he scowls. Okay, maybe he shouldn't be blaming Tony, but things have been... different... and Bruce is maybe a little bit crankier. He gets to his knees beside Tony, touching his arm gently.
"Keep this up and you're going to have a Hulk of your very own," he chides, but it's a serious worry. "Are you okay?"
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He ends up grabbing some part of the other man -- upper arm from the feel of it -- and shakes his head.
"Can't see."
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Bruce's touch to Tony's arm becomes less comforting and more steadying. He definitely isn't interested in hurting Tony; of the thoughts that run through his head, most of them are very seriously worried and one of them is a break-the-tension question of whether or not Tony could make himself bionic eyes. Probably not the time to ask that one.
"At all? Nothing? No... spots, or shapes, or cloudy outlines?" He's hoping maybe Tony's exaggerating here. Or maybe it's temporary, just until his eyes recover from the bright light of the device.
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He turns away from the other man and blinks, straining to see passed this endless flow of milky liquid.
"And more white and... " Tony manages to force a swallow though, his heart pounding furious in his chest. "I've a scanner. Get me there. And Jarvis, do not tell Pepper."
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"How do you feel otherwise?"
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Tony grins but it's at where he expects Bruce's face to be and his eyes remain unfocused and blinking steadily.
"Otherwise. Nausea. A little light headed. My ears are ringing. It's it my bedroom. Remember the way, right?"
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"Well, I'm thinking of banning you from science, so you'll have plenty of time to go pick out some aftershave." He's teasing. Mostly. Seriously, Tony!
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He hasn't forgotten what happened last week. And though he and Bruce have been functioning pretty damn well since that fiasco, Tony hasn't exactly been dulling down his flirts.
It's almost as if he's a masochist. These accidents might even prove it.
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"Was I distracting you by how closely I was following safety protocols? I can see how that might be fascinating to you, with it being so strange and unfamiliar."
Reply
Maybe he needs more hands on attention? Maybe he needs to stop ending experiments in bed with Bruce.
"The scanner-- Jarvis, shine a light on the drawer it's in?"
"As you wish, sir. Dr. Banner, you'll find his medical scanner here. Under the magazines."
Reply
"Don't move, okay? With your luck today you'll roll off and break your arm." He's just going to ignore the sexy comment.
He retrieves the scanner, shuffling around the magazines, and sits on the edge of the bed beside Tony.
"Why do you have a medical scanner in your bedroom?" He looks over it before he figures out how to switch it on, and he holds it over Tony's eyes. He doesn't really know how to work it, but he assumes it... scans.
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What? Tony's gone for over a week without anything more than his hand. He hasn't even been completely immersed in a project either, just a lot of little things to try and keep Bruce engaged and to keep him from leaving.
He's seen that packed duffle bag.
They don't work. They'll never work.
But Tony like to fix things that don't work. And he doesn't believe in 'can't.'
Reply
And maybe he's not ready to leave Tony yet. But that's a dangerous thing to feel.
"Mm," he hums, noncommittal, and he watches the scanner... scan. "I'm not sure I find the idea of your bedroom being half a clinic that enticing." The scanner beeps and Bruce lets out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Good news, it's not permanent. Bad news, you're looking at a day or two before your vision's back completely. Probably you'll have some light sensitivity after that for a few days, so I prescribe sunglasses, which give you the bonus of looking cool at all times."
Reply
Tony's not sure if he should joke any more. He might just skip out of town at this rate. Tony can't exactly stop him if he can't exactly see him, right?
His fingers wrap around the other man's wrist.
"You can brush my hair, undress me anywhere?"
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"My schedule's completely booked. I have to be the seeing eye dog for my best friend who's suddenly blind, so I guess you're out of luck."
It sounds too fond to really be sarcastic, and his fingers brush tenderly against his shoulder before he realizes he should... go. Not far, but just get up for a second to regroup. He pulls away, but is sure to shuffle his feet on the carpet, so Tony can hopefully at least hear where he is. He's just putting the scanner back.
It's while he's up that he realizes Tony's joke is pretty accurate. It's going to be a long few days.
"We should get you a cane. A really badass one, and you can hit my security detail with it. Totally on accident."
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