starkingenuity | Radioactive

"Eating more." She gets to her feet and paces. "More active. Training, a lot. I sleep a lot too. I don't know how normal or not normal any of this is." The ones that helped engineer it were dead - one by Pepper's 'talent's with a Tony assist, and the other but Aldrich himself.

"Increased metabolism, severely so." A soft smile for Pepper, looking up to her. "The same as me. Do yourself a favor, and make sure you actually do sleep. Your body will pay for every hour you deny it."

Pepper opens her mouth to reply, but as if on cue, she gives a jaw-cracking yawn that might indicate it had been a while since she had napped.

"I see what you mean. I'll make a note of it."

"Easier to work with it than to have your body just suddenly give out." Bruce sounds as if he's speaking from experience - he is.

He stands up, feeling a touch more at ease after their conversation. It's an odd thought to realize he's told her a few details about his condition than he's ever told anyone, but a worthy cause to donate the information to.

"Ms. Potts," he starts, then tries to figure out how to say what he wants. Finally, a little smile comes. "Don't hesitate to ask me anything."

"You're right." Fighting it...didn't work. Bruce would know, wouldn't he.

"Thank you, Bruce. I really appreciate all of your help. I'm sure Tony does too." He gives a pointed look at what's probably a hidden camera. "And he will express it, in his own way."

Bruce follows her very pointed look away, and his brows rose. "...tell me you're not serious," he mutters, guessing exactly what is going on. "Stark, if there's a camera in my room, I am going to remove it by force if it isn't off."

Pepper just smiles. It's Tony. He's...Tony.

"Do you mind terribly if I take a quick nap?" She's exhausted sudeu, and needs a moment or two to think. She glances up, eyes fixing on the little device.

"Tony, you can come back now."

Bruce looks to Pepper with a small frown, but nods. "Sorry, I shouldn't have kept you awake. I'll see you later." With another flick of his eyes to the camera, he heads out of Pepper's room.

Okay, to be fair, Banner, you already knew about the cameras in Pepper's room because how else was he suppose to monitor her exactly?

As for your room... They can talk about that later.

Tony's a little bit too hard at work destroying on of Pepper's watches. He gave it to her for one of the birthdays he missed years ago and since that means she picked it out herself, he knows she'll think it's fashionable enough to wear.

Might wanna plog your ears if you're coming in here though, Bruce. He's got some Black Sabbath piping in loud.

How does Tony work like this?! Bruce has his hands over his ears as he comes in. "JARVIS! Please reduce the volume!" He calls out as he comes closer to Tony. Now he has a plan.

"Hey, I was listening to that," Tony says with a smirk and pushes up on his goggles as he holds the watch out to Bruce. "Going to equip it with Bluetooth too. She'll like it. Hands free communication with yours truly. I was thinking about adding the same titanium iron matrix I use for my suit's heat conductors--" Well. "Former suit's heat conductors."

Speaking of all of that... "I don't appreciate being spied on, Stark," Bruce says unhappily, giving the other man a look. "There had better not be any cameras in my room. I mean it. I /will/ leave."

"No one's spying," Tony mutters. "I showed you the monitors before we even went in."

But okay, yeah, he was spying. It's what he does, okay? Keep your panties on.

"But thanks. You know, for putting in a good word with me. I'll wear a full body oven mitt at this point if she wants." He's kind of touch starved.

"I'm serious, what I told her." Bruce sits down, rubbing his brow slowly. Tony, you have no idea what being touch-starved really is. "I'm guessing you thought the watch idea was a good one, then?"

He looks down at his own watch, thinking about that he started needing the heart monitor again. It woke him when he was having nightmares.

Tony has gotten use to getting a touch whenever he wants, Banner. You've had awhile to deal with your loneliness. It's not the same. He knows that. He knows that very well.

But tony is also a very selfish man. And he's his own most important person. Right after Pepper.

"Great idea. Want me to tune up yours too?"

He could probably use another nap.

"My watch is in good working order," Bruce informs Tony, taking in Tony with a glance before informing him, "and you aren't. Go back upstairs and try and get some sleep. Please, for Pepper's sake."

Tony's eyes narrow and he gazes up at Bruce as if he has three heads. "I'm actually all set on my nightmare quota. And Pep needs this, I'll be done in a few hours."

"Pepper's lived without that watch for some time now, but if you start to develop psychosis and mental instability," already there, in Bruce's opinion, "from a severe lack of sleep, what good does that do for her? Your brain works better on some decent sleep, and-" he thinks quickly, "I'll stay by you. If I see any sign of a nightmare, I'll wake you."

Bruce, Bruce, Bruce. "Another few hours isn't going to cause me to develop psychosis!" He promises! Cross his heart, hope to-- But that look... "Fine. I don't need you to watch me sleep. Little creepy, Banner."

Bruce just raises a pointed brow at Tony. "Says the man who asked me to sleep with him. I plan to get some work done while you sleep, and I'll be there next to you. I assumed, considering your request, that was a pretty fair alternative."

Trying to work with you and your decided psychosis, Tony.

"Oh, well if you make it sound dirty--" As long as they can joke, there's really no danger in Tony losing face. Not that Bruce judges him. He'd really just rather help Pepper out here. A glance towards Bruce and Tony is out of his seat, metal down on the workbench. "C'mon then, slugger. Let's get cozy."

"And you wonder why those incisions weren't healing," Bruce mumbles to himself, remembering a little flicker of Tony's words. Something about an incision.

He follows Tony back up to the bedroom and holds up a hand. "Get into clean clothes. You'll sleep better."

"Thanks, Dad." He doesn't look at Bruce. The mention of the incisions-- Okay, keep it cool, Stark. Bruce has to find out sometime if you want him to help with the rest.

He gets changed in the bathroom, a pair of soft gray sleeping pants and a black tank top accompanying him into bed. One that Pepper has not been in in...too long. Tony doesn't like this room any more. Nothing particularly bad happened here, but he can still hear the glass break when he closes his eyes.

It's about this point Bruce notices something he probably should have already. In fact, he looks down right confused for a moment before getting up and actually walking to meet Tony before he sits down, and outright, but lightly, pokes him in the chest.

No glass. No arc reactor.

"Do we need to have a talk about personal space?" Tony asks, eyes still closed as Bruce presses his fingers against the scar tissue under the bandage in his chest. It doesn't hurt anymore, surgery had been kind to him. One more and he'll look good as three years ago too. Ah, plastic surgery!

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