Bruce Banner (live_green) wrote in carpediem_rp, @ 2015-10-04 16:16:00 |
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Entry tags: | character: bruce banner, character: tony stark, thread: complete |
Who: Tony and Bruce
When: October 2, around midnight
Where: Hallway by the Hufflepuff common room and then Bruce's office
What: Boggarts
Rating/Warnings: Minor cussing
Status: Closed/Completed
It was nearly midnight on a friday, but Bruce was still wide awake. It had been almost a week since he had the scare of his life. He could handle something happening to him, but to think that his daughter was almost taken from him was too much to think about. He could not sleep at night. He might get a couple hours in the early morning, but for the most part he was wide awake. He usually patrolled around Hufflepuff common room just to make sure nothing happened. There was also reports of boggarts going around and as a teacher it was his duty to make sure that those beings were gone from the school.
He had his wand out, light coming from the tip of it, as the lights in the corridor were dim. There was a small closet at the end of the hall that he was going to check out. It was tiny so a boggart would likely be hiding in it. He needed to have nerves of steel to face this creature. He was already worn out so he didn’t want to have to live through an attack for long. Coming to the door he took a deep breath. He knew what he feared most in the world. “We can do this. It is just a projection of our minds. It is not real.” Slowly he opened up the door.
A large wolf like figure came growling out of the small closet. Bruce recognized it at once. It was him as werewolf. That was not so scary and as he was about to cast a spell he hear his daughter’s voice. Looking over he saw his daughter in a nightgown with her hair pulled back. “Daddy, why are you out here so late?” He didn’t even get to speak before the wolf like figure was running at his daughter and attacking. It was too easy to believe this was happening. It was something that he worried about constantly.
“Riddikulus.” He tried yelling as his daughter’s screams filled his ears. He was the only one to hear this, everyone else was tucked in their bed for the night. He tried it again and the figure on the ground changed. This time his wolf self was attack Tony and not Sadie. He was frozen there for a moment before he was trying again. He couldn’t think of anything funny to make the image before him go away.
Tony had been doing weekly dinners with his son, and he wanted to increase contact, though he was strangely unsure how to do that. The meal was the night before and so he figured he could discuss it with Bruce and see what his friend thought. He headed from his own office (much later than he realized) to his friend's. He didn't make it there before he heard Bruce yelling and hurried to try and solve what was going on.
He saw Bruce first, and suddenly he got a full-on look of Bruce as a werewolf leaping toward him. It wasn't something he expected, much less planned for, and he expected it less when the form morphed into his father. A slight frown crossed his face, though clearly what he was seeing was a boggart, and he could dispel that easily. He looked his father in the face and half-snarled "Ridikkulus," watching as the man changed again. He laughed and the boggart dispelled, leaving him to look over at Bruce. "Made a new friend?"
Bruce was still in shock as a real Tony came running into view. The boggart went running at him before it changed into Tony’s father. Bruce was still too shocked to even think about why it had changed into this father before the boggart was dispelled by a blast from Tony’s wand. He just stood looking at the ground where the boggart had been turning both of the people that he loved the most into what he was. Only Tony’s voice brought him back from the thoughts.
“Trying to make sure the students are safe.” He said, straightening up and putting his wand away before walking out of the dead end corridor. When he got close to Tony he scooted against the wall as not to touch him. He was still too freaked out by what he had saw. Had Tony saw it? He he realized Bruce’s true feelings? “What are you doing out at this time of night? I thought the normal people were in bed by now.” Yes Tony had a metal in his chest, but to Bruce he was still normal, he was not a werewolf. He was not a freak of nature that could kill his family each month.
Tony shrugged faintly as he watched Bruce skirt him, turning to start walking with the other man toward... Whatever. He didn't have a destination in mind at this point. Just away from where the boggart had been. It was nice to see that no matter how many years passed his had never changed. He hoped it wasn't something that would, since that would make it a whole lot harder to detect.
"Didn't feel like sleeping. I'm better at night." It was true. He had always functioned better after most people were asleep, and the fact that he only taught third years and above made it easier to work with that schedule.
“That is my line.” Bruce said. They were walking in the general direction of his office, but he didn’t feel like being closed in with Tony somewhere. He might do something stupid that he would regret in the morning. “So how your father son time going?” He needed to get as far from this boggart business as he could.
He was still not over what had just happened so he fell into silence as they walked. Maybe it was time that he removed himself from society. He could still write to make money and send some to Sadie. He knew his daughter would not like being stuck at her mom’s all the time but she would be safer. Tony would probably get over it quicker, maybe. Bruce would have to sell his house and move. Maybe to the mountains. Somewhere where Tony would not go.
A flicker of a frown crossed Tony's face at Bruce's words and he shook his head slightly. It wasn't something he wanted to think about but honestly he knew he had been recently more than normal, trying as hard as he could to be better than his own father had been. He was interested in Adrian, asked him questions and tried to learn about him. He hoped the boy saw that.
They proceeded in silence to Bruce's office, each man clearly in their own heads at this point in time.
By the time they had gotten to Bruce’s office Bruce was completely convinced that he would resign from his post and leave his life behind. He had also completely forgotten that Tony was with him. Opening up his door he started to his desk to write the letter before he finally noticed his friend. “Oh...” He blinked and ran a hand through his hair. “I had forgotten.” Sitting down in his chair he took his glasses off and rubbed at his eyes. This night had gone on for too long and it was just past midnight.
“Fuck.” He breathed. Bruce rarely cussed, he saw it as not intelligent but even he had moments that he needed to let out his anguish in the appropriate form.
Tony raised an eyebrow and looked at Bruce closer. He clearly hadn't been sleeping. Fortunately for Tony his own schedule allowed him to function a lot better than most on no sleep. "Did Jarvis drop off the medication?" Because that would help, he was sure. At least it would be something for a night or two.
His eyebrow raised a bit more at the muttered curse and he frowned, shaking his head. "I'll get him to go now if he hasn't yet."
It was not just the sleep, which was probably enough to make anyone crazy, but it was just what he had seen that was weighing on his mind. "I have the pills, I have just not taken them yet." He had his head in one of his hands, his eyes closed.
"If I disappeared tomorrow what would you do?" He was pretty sure what Sadie would do, but now Tony had a son that he could focus more one, less on a friend that didn't feel like living at the moment. Maybe if he had been sleeping he could rationalize the episode with the boggart and see it for what it was, part of his imagination. They had so much to worry about with the boggart and death eaters, they could deal with one less wolf around.
Tony gave Bruce an incredulous look at the first statement, and it only increased with the question. "Probably hunt you down for leaving me here to teach alone?" Because honestly he was only there because Bruce had wanted to teach. It wasn't his idea of an exciting life.
"You need to get some sleep. You're clearly overly exhausted if you can't dispel a boggart." Because Bruce had never had problems with defensive spells any more than Tony had. They'd both lived in a time where it was vital to have those skills, after all.
“I am being serious.” Bruce said, finally looked up at Tony. “Maybe that is what needs to be done. There is enough going on with out an extra wolf running around.” He still could not get the image of his daughter being attacked. “Maybe I am too tired.” And the fear that he had been feeling was creating more grey in his hair.
“Haven’t you ever been afraid of me? I can almost feel Sadie’s fear on the day of the full moon and why should she not be scare when her father could turn on her and kill her. Or worse, turn her into what I am.” She didn’t want anyone else to be a monster like he was.
"So am I." Tony examined his friend for a moment, quieter than normal. "The headmaster wouldn't have brought you here if you weren't the best." And also because it was a way to ensure Tony stayed in many ways. He seated himself on one of the tables, ignoring the papers that had been in the way.
"No. I haven't." Tony didn't fear much, and the fact that Bruce was religious with his wolfsbane potion didn't hurt either. "Plus, fuck it. If you bite me, it happens. I'm still Tony Stark, and as long as I take the proper potions I can keep things going perfectly fine."
That was true. Even though there were more wolves then was necessary they were all the best of their fields. Bruce was good at what he did, very good. He was even good at inspiring the younger generation and he loved to teach. Finally he put his glasses back on, but he was not looking at Tony really, just looking off.
“I don’t want it to happen, Tony. I care too much for you...and for Sadie to ever do something like that.” If he ever did he would probably end his life. They should not have to deal with something like that. Bruce was use to it. “Would you remember to take the potions?” Bruce took his potions like clockwork, he would not leave anything to chance.
"How often do I forget anything?" Because for all that he tended to be an ass and came off as immature and undisciplined, he was who he was for a reason, and he succeeded as much as he did for a reason as well. He understood Bruce's worry, but the fact was that they were much safer here with him than anywhere else.
"So you would risk instead going someplace you don't know where a muggle could happen upon you." Because that was what would be more likely to happen if Bruce left. Here he was contained as a wolf. In the wild? Much less so.
Bruce looked over at him. Tony was more responsible than most gave him credit for and even Bruce forgot that sometimes. “Still I don’t want it to ever to come to that. Ever.” Tony meant more to Bruce then he would ever know. Ten years of slowly falling for your best friend would do that to you.
“I can make sure that the new house I build has a dungeon like room in the basement. I can take all the precautions, Tony.” His home now had the same measures put into place. He never wanted to get out during the full moon. “You make it seem like I don’t know how dangerous it would be, but you forget there are students here. A lot more targets.”
"And I'm telling you it doesn't matter. You're not leaving. That's it." Because people didn't tell Tony no. It just was one of those things that didn't happen, no matter what. His eyes flicked around the room for a moment and he shrugged. "You're not leaving, and that's it."
Bruce raised a brow. He was not in the mood in the mood to argue, but he still felt he was right. “Careful, Tony. Your heart is showing.” With that he yawned and scratched his hair. They were both tired and needed to sleep before he said anything that might leave a rift between them. Pulling open a desk drawer he found the bottle of pills that Jarvis had brought to him the day before. “Maybe you should take one too.”
Tony raised a brow at him and shook his head. "You should have learned by now. I don't actually have one. Take a pill. I've got some work to do tonight for the week." He would probably linger around for a bit until he was sure Bruce was asleep though. It just felt like the right thing to do now.
“I don’t believe that.” Bruce said, opening the bottle up and picking one out. “You have a heart, even if emotions come from the brain.” He popped it into his mouth and dry swallowed it. Getting up he made his way through to his small room attached to his office.