WHO: Tony Stark, Bruce Banner WHEN: Bendy Time; after Tony’s horror plot. WHERE: His room WHAT: Cuddling, tbh WARNINGS: Not really.
That — that had not been fun. Getting out of the tight spot that he’d been in while stuck in the creepy kidnapper house with Mona was — well. It hadn’t been fun. It’d been rough and the pounding in his head and the ache in his bones hadn’t exactly helped him out any. The repulsor watch on his wrist on the other hand, had quite a lot. Seriously. He was making everything with biometric locks from now on.
Escaping had been an ordeal, but he was pleased to have found his clothes and belongings on his way out of the hell house, and then had, after parting ways with Mona once they’d reached the hotel, slowly trekked his way from the elevator back to his own room. Once he’d shuffled directly into his bedroom, he was bizarrely bemused at finding Bruce lounging on his bed, the cat in his lap looking like nothing was even remotely wrong with the world — which was not even close to being the case. Tony couldn’t help at all the laugh that bubbled out of him over that one. ---
Bruce had had a short day, given that his experiment had finished early and he’d canceled his class this afternoon because they had a final coming up they should all be studying for. He was kind like that. Plus, it was entirely too cold to be out late today. Instead, Bruce took himself home to wait for Tony to get there. Hot chocolate would definitely be in order tonight, and cuddling. The wind was bitter and Bruce knew Tony would be suffering from it, even if he’d refuse to admit it.
When he heard the door, Bruce assumed it was Tony’s new roommate that he’d only glimpsed. However, the footsteps came right to the door, and it sounded like Tony’s dress shoes. Good, they were both off at a decent hour. It would give the more time to hang out. He didn’t immediately look up from his electronic journal article, wanting to finish the last sentence of the article he was reading.
It was when Tony started laughing, in a high pitched strange way that he looked up. What he saw was alarming as hell and he immediately looked around for imminent threat. “What happened? Are you injured?” Bruce got up, eyes doing a quick flash to green with his concern and alarm at the situation. ----
Tony waved away Bruce’s concern, no matter how well-meaning it was, and weaved around him a little unsteadily until he was seated on the bed, body feeling heavy and tired. Adrenaline would do that, he supposed. “This place happened,” he said, a little snappishly, even though he was well aware it was unfair toward Bruce — but sometimes he couldn’t help which way his emotions went. It was just how he was under stress.
“I’m fine. Nothing a tylenol and a nap won’t fix, anyway.” Which was was fairly certain was true. He still wasn’t completely sure how he’d gotten into the situation he’d found himself in, but he didn’t think there’d be any lasting effects from it other than some well deserved paranoia.
—
Bruce was unimpressed by Tony’s reaction to the situation. That was not an answer. He stood in front of Tony, but crouched down instead of hovering. “I’m glad you’re home safe.” Starting with that might help ease some of the distress he could see in Tony’s eyes, since he knew he wouldn’t get far without a bit of cajoling.
“But you look injured. Can I give you a look over? Get you cleaned and bandaged then you take that nap?” Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it initially looked? Bruce tried to hold onto that thought. He needed to be calm, and the other guy and him both weren’t pleased by the thought of Tony being injured. ---
No, it wasn’t an answer, but it was the best that Bruce was getting because even Tony wasn’t fully sure, and he’d been the one who’d lived through it. Kidnapping. There were never any good ways in which to describe how completely terrible it was. Tony would know. “Thanks,” he replied, sort of warmed by Bruce’s approach to calming his nerves.
He blinked a little distantly before pulling his wits together and focusing his full attention on Bruce again. “Yeah,” he agreed after a beat. “That’s fine.” He rolled up his sleeves with slow fingers in order to show off the mess of dried blood on his arm from where he’d tugged out the IV he’d originally found there upon waking. “Maybe start there.” —
Good, Tony was orienting and looking at him. That was something. He was mostly with Bruce it seemed, though whatever had happened was obviously rattling to him. Rolling up his sleeve showed a mess of blood but with a clinical eye Bruce could tell it was mostly from the vein and not from a cut. Probably an IV or someone trying to draw blood.
That knowledge sent a cold chill down his spine. An IV could mean he’d been given anything, or someone stealing his blood also could mean a lot of terrible things.
“How about we move this to the bathroom so we can wash this up more easily?” Bruce stayed crouched down, not wanting to appear threatening at all. He’d get up and encourage Tony towards the bathroom if he actually stood. “That from an IV or blood draw gone wrong?” He asked, conversationally, trying so very hard to stay calm. If Tony got captured and experimented on then Bruce thought he might lose it a bit after he got Tony patched up. That was thoughts for later though, for now, calm. ---
“Do I get to take a bath for my efforts?” Tony countered in question, because the thought very much appealed to him. Washing off what had just happened seemed like a wildly good idea and now that he’d proposed it, he wanted nothing more. And maybe Bruce would join him. Not for anything wild just… just because. Even if the bathtub was a bit small.
He stood either way, because no point in making a mess of the bed, even if they did have plans for replacing the thing soon. “It’s — an IV. I tore it out.” A pause. “Like in a bad horror movie.” He, stupidly, had not thought to question what had been in the IV or if anyone had taken anything before that. It seemed like something he didn’t really want to consider though, and so pushed the idea firmly from his mind. —
“Of course. I provide full service here.” A bath would be good. It’d get Tony naked and make him easier to look over for injuries. “We’ll get you washed up then bandage whatever needs it.” That would work best for everything. Then Bruce could give Tony some hot chocolate and put him to bed. He’d hold off on weed or pain killers since he had no idea what had been in the IV. The thought of that made the other guy twitchy, right at the edge of Bruce’s mind, but he pushed it away.
Not helpful.
Bruce straightened and put a hand lightly on the small of Tony’s back, afraid he’d be dizzy if he’d just ripped whatever drugs were going into his system out not that long ago. “Come on, I’ll even wash your back for you, do your hair. It’ll be relaxing.” ---
“Full service,” Tony repeated, sounding vaguely amused even if it was a little strained. “Well, I’m not looking for a happy ending or anything, so keep it in your pants.” A hair washing sounded like the absolute nicest thing of all — hell, maybe it would even help with the way his head was sort of still low-key pounding. That’d be nice.
“M’going,” he murmured, heading toward the bathroom and wondering if he should be annoyed by the hand Bruce was keeping on his back. He’d just wandered his way home, it wasn’t like he was going to keel over or anything. “I’m fine,” he repeated, just for the sake of Bruce’s own nerves. —
“Yeah, I sort of figured that out with the whole needing being bandaged up, given hot cocoa and put to bed part.” Bruce honestly was not as sex obsessed as Tony seemed to think he was. Just because a guy liked something didn’t mean he didn’t know there was a time and a place for it. Bruce kept pace with Tony and watched him like a hawk for any wobbles or other outward signs of a head injury or other problem.
“How about you give me an inventory of injuries as you strip out of your clothes and I’ll get the water nice and warmed up for us and get the medical supplies out.” He still had his duffle bag packed under the sink since he’d had it in Hanna’s room for that fiasco. “I’ll even go get you some warm pajamas to put on after we’re all done. I know you secretly like the fleece pants the best.” Even if they were ridiculous looking and Bruce half wondered if they came from the women’s department. ---
Tony didn’t really think that Bruce was obsessed. It was just easy to joke about in order to keep his mind off of other things, was all. He certainly wasn’t accusing Bruce of being one track minded, if he was being honest. If anything, Tony was probably less well behaved in that area. “Hot cocoa?” He asked, a little vaguely because he didn’t at all remember that part of the conversation, but it didn’t necessarily sound like a bad thing.
“Because they’re the warmest,” Tony said, refusing to be ashamed of his fleece pants obsession or which department he had purchased them in. Look, it wasn’t like he was tall, he could fit clothes from most any place and make them look good. Anyway, he started by pulling his shirt off, not even bothering with the buttons before yanking it over is head. “It’s all just bumps and scratches,” he said, although maybe that was some understatement. He knew there wasn’t anything pressing so much as messy to look at. “Got a bit of a knot on my head, though.” Better to say so now than to let Bruce find it upon hair washing. —
“Yeah. That had been my plan before you arrived. Making us both hot cocoa in the pan, like we were kids. It’s so cold, it sounded like a nice idea. I figured you’d like it better than you know, my tea you’re not fond of.” Bruce was glad that Tony was seemingly more oriented and with it now. Maybe the shock was starting to wear off? That could be good or bad.
“Head injury?” Bruce said, sobering instantly at that news. “Come here and let me check that first.” Before they even got in the tub because if it was bad Bruce was taking him to the hospital. No if, ands, or butts. Tony’s brain was incredible and couldn’t be risked. He wished they were at the tower where he’d be able to do so much better than a pen light and feeling around the area.
“How hard were you hit? Did you lose consciousness at all?” He asked as he fished the penlight out of his bag. ---
Bruce’s sobering made Tony deflate a little, shoulders tilting downward as the other man apparently started getting really serious about everything. Not that he hadn’t been already, but more so now. He could have done without it - might have preferred to keep on talking about hot chocolate and maybe getting to tease Bruce about his weird tea habits. That was always a good time.
“Uhh,” he said, a little blankly, thinking it over before dutifully settling himself down on the lid of the toilet seat in order to allow Bruce to have a proper look at his head from a better angle. “I mean, I woke up at some point, so I’m going to assume yes.” He frowned, trying to recall. “I think I was in a car accident.” It was all a bit hazy, and Tony never quite liked not knowing details so it was equally frustrating. —
“A car accident?” Bruce said, frowning more. “Did you leave somewhere you were receiving medical treatment?” Now Bruce was honestly confused and more concerned. If Tony tore out an IV and left somewhere due to being disoriented from a head injury then he definitely needed to go back to the hospital.
“Start at the beginning. What happened leading to you getting a head injury and then where were you and what happened after you woke up?” He started gingerly feeling along Tony’s skull through his thick hair, dismayed when he found crusty blood in it. Not good at all. He spread the hair away from the injury gently, trying to see how bad it was. ---
Hey, it wasn’t very fair that Bruce wanted to keep questioning him on things that even Tony wasn’t very clear about. Tony hissed a little and bent forward just a little in order to avoid the way Bruce was poking at his head. “Ow,” he said, with just as much honesty as sass — he couldn’t help feeling a little defensive, here. “Excuse you there,” he went on, grumpy. “And no, I did not leave somewhere where I was being treated for — well, no. That’s not true. I did, but only because they were crazy nurses who decided I was a cool prize to keep forever. It wasn’t a hospital it was just — a creepy house.” Which wasn’t exactly starting at the beginning, but it wasn’t like Tony wasn’t a bit scattered about it, too. —
“Sorry.” Bruce stopped panicking a little when Tony confirmed that it wasn’t an actual hospital he’d escaped from. The head wound had bled a bit, and was a little swollen, but it wasn’t particularly bad looking. Tony’s pupils were equal and reactive, and he was oriented. He’d walked evenly and appeared able to balance fine. As far as he could tell without more machinery, Tony was ‘okay’ enough for the moment.
“Your brain is one of your best parts, I had to make sure it wasn’t leaking out your ears or something.” Bruce tried for light again, even if it fell a bit flat. Crazy nurses in a creepy house sounded bad, but at least it wasn’t mad scientists or non-consensual open heart surgery. So, not as bad as it could be by a lot. Since Tony was naked, Bruce took a moment to look his front over. There was a nasty bruise over a kidney that would need looking at perhaps and a few deep scratches he might dermabond together, but mostly Tony’s assessment seemed true.
“Anything hurting in particular besides your head?” ---
Tony hummed vaguely in response to the apology - a bit too frazzled to want to take the time to think about and admit that Bruce had nothing to be apologizing for. He rubbed a little at the back of his neck and shifted a little in order to look up at Bruce. “Flattery will get you everywhere,” he said, even if none of their comments were really working in terms of levity.
“And — not enough to bother with, no. Like I said, nothing some painkillers and a nap couldn’t fix.” Tony had, in general, a pretty damned high pain threshold, considering the last ten years of his life, give or take. So this, as uncomfortable as it was (or would prove to be in the morning more likely), it also wasn’t anything that Tony thought important or painful enough to write home about. “I’m going to have to demand that bath soon, though. Sitting naked on cold ceramic is bullshit, Bruce.” ---
“Okay.” That pain killers probably weren’t going to be a thing he continued keeping to himself. IVs and head injuries, yeah, probably no nap either. “Stand up and let me have a look at your back side then bath, hot cocoa, and possibly bed.” He wasn’t sure about sleeping with the head injury, they’d have to wait and see. He’d left the water on and the bathroom was getting steamy so he needed to look Tony over before it was harder to see.
“And some very careful hairwashing too, thrown into the mix.” Since that was part of this as well. ---
The possibly bed comment hinted at Bruce being a complete buzzkill in a little while. but Tony ignored it in the hopes that maybe his mind was exaggerating about things. Best to not even begin guessing what he was or was not going to be getting in the next half hour or so.
Instead he stood, glad to be off the cold toilet seat and just a little bit closer to the warm water in the bath. “Think my back is fine,” he said, twisting a little like maybe he’d be able to see, too. But nothing back there really felt badly, so there was that. —
Bruce looked Tony over, letting his hands lightly run over Tony’s back, along his spine, and over his hips. He had to agree, nothing looked bad over here and mostly he seemed to have taken all his damage to his front besides his head. Maybe he was secured on his back? That’d explain some of this. Again, the other guy was very unhappy with that train of thought so he pushed it away.
Kneeling down he ran his hands along first one leg then the other, thighs along sides of knees down to ankles but everything looked in working order. At least no injuries there. “Okay, it all looks good if none of that hurt. Get in the water and see how it feels, I’ll get undressed.” He’d let Tony have a minute to warm up and deal with it stinging along his cuts before throwing himself as another factor to deal with in the mix.
At least this was a whole lot less awkward since they were having sex to be naked in the shower together. That was something. ---
It really was something. Possibly, Tony figured, it was one of the only positives to this place. Everything else was fucked up on multiple levels.
He’d managed not squirming or getting annoyed when Bruce took his sweet time checking out every angle of him before sighing in general relief when he was given the all good for getting in the bath. It’d sting a bit, he knew, but it’d be worth it just for the hot water — it’d do his muscles well to relax a bit, he knew.
Tony did his best to not hiss when he inched his way down to sitting in the water and then took a moment to adjust to the heat before relaxing a little. “Jesus,” he sighed. “Much better.” Then he glanced over at Bruce, eyebrows raised slightly. —
Bruce was busy getting undressed to his boxers. He didn’t think there was really room for in the bath proper, but he did intend to wash Tony and take good care of him. He’d get a shower after he had Tony installed in bed with Toast, a quick one. When he turned, dress socks and underwear the only things left on he quirked an eyebrow in question.
“Everything okay? You have any preference for what shampoo we use on your hair or do you want to wash first?” ---
“Everything’s fine,” Tony reassured, because well, he’d just wanted to look, was all. That and do some quick mental math about how Bruce would be fitting in this tub with him. It’d be tight and there wouldn’t be a lot of moving after that, but they could manage. “Just waiting. Patiently. And I think I’d rather wash first.” The shampooing would be the nice part that he got to look forward to at the end. —
“Okay.” Bruce took his socks off and then left his underwear on just in case Tony thought he really wasn’t being serious about no funny business. Grabbing a washcloth from the rack, he came over and knelt down beside the tub. A quiet grunt escaped him, his knees displeased at how cold and hard the tile was under them. Then he leaned in to give Tony a quick kiss on the cheek, not wanting to take any liberties with him upset. He grabbed the soap and started “I’ll be as gentle as I can be, but do you want to do the hurt parts yourself and me handle your back that’s okay?” ---
That gave Tony some amount of pause — and he clearly needed a moment to reconsider what was going on here as opposed to what he had thought was going to happen. “Yeah,” he said after a beat, reaching for one of the wash cloths and pulling it down into the water to wet it. “I can do that.” It was probably a better idea, since Tony would best know when things started hurting too much to continue poking at them.
“You’re not getting in?” —
Considering possible answers, Bruce lathered up the washcloth in his hand. “Do you want me to?” He’d sort of assumed that Tony wasn’t interested in being that close to him at the moment. Back and hair washing was one thing, this felt like another. “It’s a little small. I can if you want, but I was afraid I’d hurt you. I know you’re more banged up than you appear at the moment.” He definitely didn’t want to hurt Tony, especially not when he was already injured. ---
Just because Tony wasn’t interested in sex currently (for obvious reasons) didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in touch. There was a distinct difference, and he was well aware that Bruce knew it as well as he did. Maybe it was just a step too far in whatever relationship it was that they didn’t really have. But right now, Tony wasn’t sure he cared.
“I wouldn’t mind it,” he responded carefully, scooting forward a little in the tub until his legs were bent at the knee. It’d either give Bruce room to wash his back, or slip into the tub. Whichever he felt best about. “You’re not going to hurt me, doesn’t matter how beat up I am.” —
Biting back his first response, ‘are you sure’, Bruce stood up and shucked off his boxers. Very carefully he got into the tub, not wanting to slosh water over the rim and make a mess or bump into Tony. Settling, he touched Tony’s shoulder blade. “Alright. You’re going to have to practically sit in my lap for this so let me wash your back and get you rinsed then you can get in close and I’ll do your hair. Deal?”
If Tony had reservations about the whole thing he could make up an excuse here but really, if they were both going to be in the small tub that’s about how it’d have to work. ---
Which was fine — because Tony had no current reservations. In fact, if nothing else, he was just happy about the way the water level rose, going up higher until it was soothing the aches in his sides and stomach just that much better. He leaned forward a little more, which wasn’t necessarily a fun feeling, but would be worth it later, he figured. “Deal,” he agreed quietly, lulled into a more calm feeling by the warmth and the knowledge he was somewhere familiar with someone safe.
—
Tony was so tense when Bruce started washing his back, he worried he was in more pain than he was letting on. There was a good way to ask about that at least. “You want a back rub after this or just to lay still and rest? You’re all stiff and bowed up like Toast when she sees a dog out the window.” They’d had a good time laughing at Toast’s violent reaction to hearing dogs out the opened window, how she’d react ready to hiss and defend her territory against animals much larger than herself. ---
If nothing else, Tony would give the little kitten that much — she was spirited. He suspected he’d like her even if she was, but it was just another reason to be fond. He smiled a little even as he tilted his head forward a bit more, just letting himself feel the rub of the cloth against his back, the way it slid soapy and warm. It wasn’t bad, honestly. It didn’t hurt but for that fact that he just kind of hurt. “Probably just going to lay still for a while,” he said after some thought. He was tired, straight down to the bone. The idea of being kept up longer than necessary for any reason at all seemed unfortunate.
—
Bruce nodded to himself mostly since Tony couldn’t see him. “Okay. Resting is good. I’m not sure if I should let you sleep or not, though. Do you feel concussed? I know you know what that feels like.” Bruce slowly washed the back of Tony’s arms when he finished his back, being careful with them since he knew there were scratches on the fronts of them.
“Back’s all clean, scoot back and let me do your hair?” ---
The sad part was, Tony did pretty much know what that felt like. At least sort of well enough to be able to identify it after the fact. Being concussed always brought with it some confusion and disorientation. And while Tony knew that earlier in the day he hadn’t been doing so great on that front, he wasn’t feeling any effects like that currently. “I don’t think so,” he said after a moment. “I mean, you said it yourself, my brain isn’t leaking out of my ear so I’m going to go with the odds of it being low.” Even if that hadn’t been the case, he’d have lied for the chance at a nap.
He scooted back as directed, leaning more on Bruce than was probably strictly necessary. But it was kind of nice, no matter how cramped their current space was. —
Having a lapful of Tony pressed against him helped settle some of the other guys restlessness in Bruce’s mind. It was like saying see, he’s okay, even though this stuff happened. Wrapping his arms carefully around Tony and holding him close a minute, Bruce gave him another kiss against his hair this time. “You sure you’re okay enough?” He held Tony a minute not wanting to move. ---
“Been through worse,” Tony responded after a beat, letting his eyes slide closed for a moment, in order to enjoy the extra warmth that was Bruce Banner in close proximity. It was nice. Safe. Comfortable. Some of the reasons he liked for the other man to share a bed with him here in this place.
He tilted his head back until it was rested in the crook of Bruce’s neck and relaxed just a bit more. His muscles were going to hurt no matter what — it was best to get to this part when the water was still hot. “I’m fine. This is good.” —
“I’m glad. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Bruce told Tony quietly since there was no way they could actually see one another like this. He could have made a fuss to try to get Tony to the hospital but if he really did feel mostly okay then he probably was at the moment. He’d make sure to wake him up every hour and check on his head injury, but he was probably unconscious more from drugs if an IV was in play than the head injury itself.
“You know, the other guy has a lot of things he wants to say to the people who hurt you. Maybe you can draw us a map to them when you’ve had a nap.” Bruce let Tony lay back against him if that’s what he wanted. It was comforting to Bruce too, reassuring. ---
“Neither do I,” Tony reassured, and even if it was deflecting a bit, it wasn’t like it wasn’t true. Tony was a lot of things, but recklessly suicidal wasn’t one of them anymore. He rested his hands on top of Bruce’s because it was comfortable to do so, because he wanted to say that he liked the touching they were doing currently without having to put it into words.
“The other guy doesn’t have to worry about it,” Tony said after a moment. “I dealt with it, and they won’t be a problem anymore. Sorry Big Guy.” —
“Mmm. That’s too bad. It would be good to work out some pent up energy on people who deserved it.” Bruce let it go at that though. If Tony said he’d handled the threat, then he’d handled it. Good to know they weren’t around anymore, even if the other guy wasn’t exactly thrilled with that answer. Killing innocent people bothered Bruce a lot, but taking out people who’d kidnapped his friend was another matter entirely.
“Is your office or lab compromised?” ---
“Sorry to disappoint,” Tony said, and did not for a moment sound sorry. He (and Mona) had done what they’d had to, and that was all there was to it. No sense in feeling bad for people who would have continued doing terrible things to other people. Best to just end it, really. Tony’d learned that lesson a while back now.
“SI is fine. Why?” —
“You didn’t say where you got taken from. I was concerned.” At least Tony wouldn’t have to feel exposed at his company. That was something. Besides, Bruce had thought they had a pretty decent security staff when he’d went to help out with the party before. He’d expect Tony to have good security at least.
“If you want company on the way to the office I don’t have anything pressing in the morning.” ---
“From the car,” Tony said, frowning a bit because even now it wasn’t easy to remember. He just knew it didn’t have anything to do with work. It might not have even really had anything to do with him beyond circumstance. No matter how odd an idea that was to wrap his brain around.
“Anyway. It’s — I don’t need that. I can take care of myself, Bruce.” This, here in the bath — all that. That was fine. But Tony didn’t need to be escorted to work. —
“I know.” Knowing that Tony could take care of himself in his suit was a lot different than him being without it. Bruce worried but he’d try to reign it in for now. Everything in Salem seemed dangerous at one time or another. It was insane how much seemed capable of going wrong here. Even Bruce wasn’t certain he himself was safe all the time and that was definitely a new feeling.
“What if I just want to see the new thing you’re working on in person, the one you keep telling me about?” ---
“Then I’d accuse you of picking a rather suspect time for it,” Tony said, and while his tone was meant to be biting, it only came out tired. He wasn’t going to argue about this right now, it didn’t seem worth it to rile either of them up. Instead, he shifted slightly, restless. “You promised a hair washing,” he prompted. —
“I did indeed promise hair washing. You’ll have to sit up again for that, because while I am rather flexible, my arms won’t bend the right way to make this work the way you’re laying.” Bruce teased Tony gently with it. He was willing to let the going with him tomorrow drop for now. He might try to do something more with it in the morning, he’d see how bad Tony looked then. ---
“Yeah, yeah, I’m moving.” But just because Tony said he was, didn’t mean that he didn’t stay exactly where he’d been for a few more minutes, just taking the time to just breathe and enjoy the way that he sort of fit in Bruce’s lap even in this small space.
Finally though, he sat forward again, twisted just a little (more than that would be an ouch and a no) in order to offer Bruce a smile. “Good?” ---
“Yeah, good.” Bruce leaned forward to kiss the edge of that little smile, grateful to see Tony looking more like himself even if his face was bruised and scratched a bit. He squirted some shampoo out into his hand and worked up a bit of lather before carefully starting to wash it, avoiding the area that was injured.
He paid close attention to the tension in Tony’s shoulders to see what he liked, the water softly lapping against the sides of the tub as they each moved a bit. ---
“Mmmph,” Tony sighed out, eyes closing and head tilting back a bit more as Bruce did some truly magical work with his fingers. It was excellent. Even when Bruce’s fingers got dangerously close to the spot that was giving him some good amount of pain, he couldn’t bring himself to be bothered or alarmed. “Is there anyway that I could just pay you to do this on a permanent basis?” ---
“Hmm…. hair washing for trade.” Bruce said it thoughtfully as he continued gently massaging Tony’s scalp, the shampoo smelling clean and fresh between them. The lather was nice, but made him a little nervous about Tony’s injury. He was vigilant to not get too close to it, however. “I think perhaps I’d be willing to trade either shoulder and neck rubs for me, or you learning to brew my tea well and you doing that for me in trade sometimes at night. Either of those options for you?” It wasn’t that Bruce wouldn’t have just done it anyway for Tony when he asked. But he thought offering a trade might make it easier to accept without it feeling weird for either of them. ---
“I think I could manage both, just for the sake of variety.” Tony agreed lazily — because back rubs were easy but tea was apparently a process that didn’t just involve throwing a bag into some hot water, but instead magic. But he’d learn, because Bruce would appreciate it. And because it did seem like a fair trade.
He sighed again, relaxing further into the touch. “This is good. Really.” He’d needed it, probably.
—
“Not driving a hard bargain. Now I know you got hit in the head,” Bruce said attempting to make light of things, before leaning forward and kissing Tony’s shoulder before relaxing back again. “I didn’t know you liked it so much. I like taking baths and showers together. Being warm, wet, and slippery is always nice.” It was also very intimate, to do what they were doing, without any sexual connotation. Bruce craved that kind of intimacy, he’d felt a bit starved he’d been without it so long. It was entirely different than one night stands with strangers and he would take as much as Tony would give him.
“Hopefully your roommate won’t complain too much when we end up making noise.” ---
“Harr harr,” Tony said dryly, even though he did lift his hand to gingerly touch the spot on his head that had been previously hit. It definitely stung still, but he figured if it was bleeding, Bruce would have said so. “I do. Like this, that is. It’s -- y’know. Nice, I guess. I mean, it’d be nicer in a jacuzzi with spray jets, but I guess we can’t have everything.” And wasn’t that weird?
He snorted at the thought. “Can I be honest? I don’t even know who my roommate is anymore. The Master up and disappeared and I’m pretty sure I saw someone else around but I also might have not?” Tony tended to pay a lot less attention when running on zero sleep for several days straight. His newest roommate could have been an elephant and he’d never know. ---
“True. But somehow you know a jacuzzi here would have some kind of STI associated with it. So the bathtub is the probably the safest, even if it’s the smallest as well.” Which Bruce was really only half joking with that. Really though, knowing that Tony liked being intimate together was nice as well. It was a good thing not to talk about in detail, as well though.
“It’s a girl named Lapis Lazuli. I talked to her on nets. I don’t know anything else about her, she sounded very strange. I don’t think she’s from earth. However, I still haven’t really seen her here so maybe she’s like the Doctor and rarely sleeps? But also doesn’t stay in the room.” The best of both worlds, really. ---
“Here in the hotel maybe,” Tony agreed with a bit of a pout. Still. Maybe he could have one put into SI somewhere. His own personal bathroom with all the perks he wanted. That’d be nice. And not even especially eccentric for someone with his reputation. He could pull it off.
“Lapis Lazuli? Like the… blue stone? Huh.” Leave it to Bruce to be friendlier with Tony’s roommates than Tony himself. It was no attempt at slighting on Tony’s end, mind, he was just busy and forgot about pleasantries fairly often. “It’s sort of weird that aliens have become old hat,” he murmured and then after another beat, shrugged it off. Because really, it was true. “Tired now.” —
“Yeah, like the blue stone.” Bruce had thought that was a bizarre name too but really, so much was strange here it wasn’t that remarkable in the grand scheme of things. He nodded at Tony’s words. “Okay, let’s get you stood up and rinsed off then I’ll put antibiotic ointment on you. But we can do that in bed if you would prefer since your backside is mostly fine.” Bruce understood being exhausted and wanting to lay down after a rough go. He would try to do what he could to make Tony feel safe and warm at the moment.
“You want some help up? I think I already made your brain mush with the hair washing.” Bruce was going to help Tony up regardless, he could easily get dizzy with the bump on his head and the hot water they’d been sitting in. ---
Right. Tony might be more interested in the stone thing, but for the fact that he’d spent the last day or so kidnapped by creepy nurses, so. Really. Perspective. “Okay mom.” Which maybe was a little too snarky but he was feeling a little defensive about maybe needing help with that sort of thing in the first place. “We can do it wherever. Although the bathroom is warmer.” And warmer was better, really.
He took the help up as necessary, and it was probably a good thing. He wasn’t dizzy exactly, but it wasn’t easy to get up in a bath crammed with two grown men either. “Just a quick rinse. Wouldn’t want my brain to melt out my ears or anything.” —
Bruce helped Tony rinse off and steadied him getting out of the tub. Applying ointment and taking extra care with all of his hurts took up a bit of time since it was important to Bruce to do a thorough inventory of things while also being as gentle as he could be. Tony looked like he might doze off during it but he stayed with Bruce. After evaluating his head injury again, Bruce decided that yes, he’d let Tony have some over the counter pain killers and they’d see how it would go. Ibuprofen seemed the smartest so that’s what he got, and then Bruce left him alone to rest in bed and wait for it to kick in while Bruce got himself and the bathroom cleaned up. After that, he took care of Toast while he waited for the milk to warm up on the stove for proper hot chocolate, he thought Tony would appreciate it even if he’d laughed about it earlier.
Once he had a little tray set up and his cat following at his feet he returned to the bedroom, opening the door quietly. Peering in, Bruce didn’t want to wake Tony though he wanted to check his mental function so he would if need be. Toast, however, had no such compunctions and she climbed up the side of the bed and promptly pranced over to stand on Tony and start kneading him at the first convenient spot she found.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Bruce asked it quietly as he shut the door behind him and headed over to the bed with his tray of cocoa. ---
Tony, who had previously been somewhere between napping and checking his email (look, it was a thing), sort of jerked more awake when Toast made herself known on the bed. She demanded attention like no other, and he was completely unable to deny the little ball of fluff. Settling his tablet to the side, he picked Toast up only to deposit her a little more carefully on his lower stomach. “A-okay,” he responded easily to Bruce’s line of questioning. “And look at you, all cleaned up nice.” And he’d come bearing gifts. How utterly domestic. Tony could find no reason to complain. ---
Bruce sat the tray on the side table. “I have hot cocoa, my mom’s recipe so no complaining about it.” He teased as he leaned down to kiss Tony on the forehead. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. I see Toast wants to give you a bit of doctorin’ as well.” Bruce chuckled and too his own mug of cocoa and went to the other side of the bed. Placing it down he stripped down to his boxers and tshirt and got in under the covers with Tony. He was as careful as possible not to jostle Tony in the process.
Relaxing against his pillows, he picked up his cocoa to sip. It was good, he was pleased with how it’d turned out. ---
“I’d never,” Tony said, in a tone that was clearly just playing at being affronted. He took a mug anyway, moving carefully more because there was a cat laying on his chest now than because it hurt to do anything else. “Toast just wants to steal my body warmth,” he corrected. “And she’ll only stay on me until the better option comes around, the little traitor.” But then, he couldn’t blame the cat for that - even Tony tried stealing Bruce’s warmth in bed.
He sipped the drink (which was amazing, and could only have been made better with the inclusion of coffee, but Tony refrained from saying so because he was no fool) and watched Bruce undress down to comfortable. “Thanks.” ---
“Mmm. You two share that trait. Which, speaking of-” When Bruce situated himself he lifted an arm wondering if Tony wanted to cuddle up to him or if he was too sore to do so. He’d give him the offer either way. He was a little surprised with the thanks but warmed all the same. That Tony appreciated his efforts meant maybe more to Bruce than he’d expected. He pressed a kiss to the uninjured side of Tony’s head, which was thankfully the one closest to him.
“Always happy to help my friends.” ---
The open invitation for further warmth (and cuddling, as a byproduct) was enough to get Tony scooting over on the bed - less wary of moving the cat but more wary of not spilling his cocoa all over them. That’d be a damn waste of a good drink and a good bath.
Still, he eventually was leaned up against Bruce, silently warmed over the little kiss about as much as Bruce’s actual temperature. “Good to know. I’ll be sure to take complete advantage later on.” ---
Bruce chuckled, settling his arm around, liking Tony having him in close. This peacefulness, the little bit of sanctuary they’d carved out here meant a lot to him. That someone had kidnapped and hurt Tony still made him angry but that wasn’t particularly useful. Tony was here and safe now. That was the most important part. “I think I can manage if you try. I’m not so worried. I am the one mooching off your room and getting free kitten sitting services.”
Speaking of his baby, Bruce sat his mug on the side table and reached over to give her some scritches. She mewed and leaned into them. “She’s been a good girl.” He pressed another kiss to the side of Tony’s head. “This is nice. I know this place is awful, but I’m glad we get these little moments in between it.” It made it bearable. Plus, well, this was the most at home Bruce had felt in more years than he cared to count. ---
“Who said anything about free services? You owe me a shit ton of back pay, buddy.” Even as he said it though, Tony only snuggled up closer until his head was mostly rested on the curve of Bruce’s armpit. He held onto his mug with both hands and snorted in vague amusement.
“You know,” he said slowly. “Everyone says it’s bad, this place - and in some ways, yeah. True.” Like, of course Tony missed his own home and his endless supplies of cash and his work space and his bots (he missed those the most). But the climate here between his teammates was no different than back home — hell, actually, it was probably better here. At least Steve and him were… well. Trying, sort of. And Bruce was here at all. Thor too. So. “I don’t know. It’s not completely awful.” If nothing else, it was a good distraction from the train wreck that was his usual life. —
“Pfft. I tell ya what. I’ll pay that if you pay me for my cooking and laundry services.” Since Tony really was a bit helpless without money to insulate him from the realities of life. It was sort of incredible to see how insulated Tony had truly made himself. Probably it was good that Tony had a reason to actually interact with modern daily life now, even if Tony wouldn’t see it that way. Bruce realized that money was insulating, but never as much as he did now that he’d seen Tony try to cope with being broke when they got here.
Pressing another kiss to Tony’s head, Bruce smiled. He took a sip of cocoa before replying. “I’m glad I have you here. It’s...I hadn’t realized how lonely I’d become.” It was a lot of honesty to drop but well, Tony had almost died today. Bruce felt like if he couldn’t say it now, when could he? To make it a little less weird, he squeezed Tony gently to him. “I mean, the regular sex isn’t a hardship either.” ---
Even with steady money coming in, Tony was still struggling in that regard. It was aggravating to have to watch what he was spending, to budget for things he needed and to refrain from making any outlandish decisions. Rebuilding his company and himself was harder work than most people would probably give him credit for. But FRIDAY wasn’t free, it took a lot of components to keep an AI as large as her running smoothly in more than just a phone. And the Iron Man? Millions of dollars worth of production. Which was why making a new one was so infuriatingly slow going. So, really, that was a lot to deal with - enough where he was fine letting someone else cook and do the laundry. Even if he’d never had to do it before - well. He was sure he would have figured it out if he’d actually had to. He wasn’t a certified genius for nothing. “That doesn’t count,” he said with a sniff. “You offered.”
Then he sobered slightly, glancing down at his mug. “No. I get what you mean. It’s nicer to have a friendly face around and all.” Maybe all his previous solitary had been his own fault, but Tony’d been pretty lonely, himself. “The sex is kind of a hardship though.” Even he thought that was bad. He was going to blame it on the head wound. —
“I did.” Truth was, Bruce didn’t really mind taking care of Tony. Not in those little ways. He did owe the guy for letting him live there in his tower for years without charging him rent or making him feel like he was beholden for the privilege. Instead Tony had offered friendship and Bruce had desperately needed it, both then and now. He was incredibly grateful for what Tony had given him and they were just bantering about who owed who at the moment.
“I hadn’t realized that I’d missed this as much as I have. It’s different. Someone who knows me.” Who knew what Bruce was, and still wanted to be close anyway. That meant a lot, more than he could ever articulate even if he’d wanted to try. Chucking, Bruce nudged Tony gently. “Well, nothing will be hard tonight so you can get a break from your excessive efforts that’s been expected of you. I hadn’t realized your age was getting to you so much.” Because one good turn deserved another. ---
Tony got that, he did. Neither of them were particularly people who made themselves knowable. Not really. They both worked in different ways, mind - but ultimately, they were similar in this regard. There weren’t a ton of people who really knew them, the real them. So it was nice to have someone in this strange, foreign place that they didn’t have to hide or pretend around. A gift, really. “Yeah,” he said after a moment’s thought before sipping at his cocoa again. He wasn’t going to try talking about it either. But he got it.
“You know,” he murmured, tone mock icy, “That’s very rude, and hurtful. I’m hurt here, Bruce, and there you go making fun of my age. I ought to make you sleep on the couch and think about what you’ve done, here.” —
“Mmm. If I sleep on the sofa then who will keep you and Toast warm tonight? Will you both end up sleeping on the sofa with me?” It was entirely too small for any of that. But it was a funny mental image, the three of them huddled together on it. “I mean, I guess I can bring you some hot water bottles, but what real purpose would that serve?” Bruce said it like they were truly discussing a problem they needed to solve.
Shifting to actually give Tony a kiss on his cheek, Bruce grinned against it a moment before pulling back. “I think I’ll stay right here. It’s cozier.” ---
Tony made a face, all scrunched up and comical, and it was completely wasted on the room, since Bruce couldn’t see it. Still, he felt better making it than not. “Fine,” he allowed, turning his head until his forehead was properly rested on Bruce’s chest. “You can stay.”