What If Tony Stark Was The Villain

Part 11 - Solution?

Natasha sighs and throws her stuff away as she enters S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the disappointment clear in her face. She rests her hands on a table and lets her head fall in front between her shoulders. It's been a couple of weeks and apparently the search isn't going well.

"Hey" Tony moves towards her slowly.

"Hey" she replies quietly.

"How did it go?" he asks.

"How do you think?" she asks sharply.

"I'm sorry" he throws his hands in the air and rests his back against the same table, next to her.

"Sorry, I shouldn't burst out on you" she apologizes softly.

"It's okay. What's next now?" he asks and turns to his side to look at her.

"I have no idea, all these interrogations haven't helped at all. Are you sure you don't remember anything else that might help?" she desperately asks him.

"Sorry, Nat. I've told you everything I can remember" he sighs and rests his hand on her lower back.

She nods and breathes in and out slowly. Tony tries to comfort her by carefully brushing her back, maybe a little more sensually than usual. They've kept in touch all this time, the one time they slept together in his house was definitely not the only one.

"Are you going to be in town the next few days?" he tilts his head closer to her and asks carefully.

"I think so, yes" she nods.

"Will I see you at all?" his eyes go lower from her eyes to her lips.

"Yes, we'll talk" she finally shows him a glimpse of a smile.

He's grown to love that smile a lot these past days. He gets a special kind of satisfaction watching her smile deviously for him. That's exactly why his proud smile as a reply is dirtier than ever and makes her smirk even more.

"Tony? Nat?" they hear a voice which they both recognize instantly.

After all, the calmness and questioning in his voice are very familiar. They pull away from one another and Natasha is the one to move towards him first.

"Bruce!" she says and hugs him.

He still seems confused but he hugs Natasha back, tighter and tighter by the second. Tony looks at them and gulps nervously, his feelings mixed. When they're done with the hug they look at Tony. Bruce doesn't really know to react, he knows that he hasn't reached out to Tony after all that happened and that he's upset about it.

"Hey, Tony" Bruce softly says.

"Hey" Tony replies sternly.

"Can we talk?" he asks.

Natasha takes a step back and looks at them both. Tony's eyes are staring at her, hoping for some kind of comfort. She questions him with her eyes and when he finally nods, Natasha leaves. Bruce awkwardly folds his arms as he finds the words to speak.

"I'm sorry for not reaching out sooner, what happened was terrible" he apologizes.

"Yeah, you should have" Tony shakes his head.

"I couldn't show up here with the accords threatening me" he explains.

"You could've called" Tony says sternly.

"I know, I'm really sorry" Bruce sighs.

"I have a solution to my accords problem now and I truly want to make up for what I've done" he continues.

"What solution?" Tony's intrigued.

"I'm working on a serum to reverse the Gamma Radiation and get rid of the Hulk problem once and for all. That way, I won't be considered a vigilante anymore" his voice quiet and careful.

"Really? How's that going?" the scientist in him can't let that go easily.

"I can show you everything in the lab" Bruce offers.

"Please do" Tony agrees and both men leave the room.

They walk together in the elevator and press the button to the lab floor. They stay in silence for the first few seconds but then Bruce breaks it.

"So, you and Natasha? When did that happen?" he asks.

"It happened randomly, a couple of weeks ago. I obviously couldn't find and ask you for your permission" Tony looks straight at him.

"My permission? We're all adults, Tony. You don't need my permission to get together. After all, me and Natasha have been over for a long time now" he smiles nervously.

"It's all good then, right?" Tony asks.

"Right. I'm happy to see you moving on" Bruce pats his shoulder nicely.

"I am not moving on" Tony replies aggressively and throws Bruce's arm away from him.

"I love her, I still love her. Nothing and no one will make me move on from Pepper" he breathes in and out more sharply.

"I know, I know. I didn't mean otherwise" Bruce realizes the tension and replies calmly.

"Good" Tony calms down.

They step out of the elevator and walk to the lab. They use their codes to access it and then Tony patiently waits as Bruce sets up everything needed for the demonstration. As soon as the first screens load, Tony steps in front of them and carefully looks at the information and the formulas.

"Is that really possible?" Tony questions.

"I can't be 100% sure but I was hoping that with your help I'd at least increase my chances of surviving this" Bruce confesses.

"Let me look at it more" he gets into his professional self.

The more he looked at Bruce's work the more into it he got. It was a true scientific piece of art. There are risks, of course, but Tony doesn't exactly fear them. After all, he's just as mad at Bruce as he is at the rest of the Avengers. At least if the Hulk is gone he won't have to kill who he once considered one of his best friends.

"If you do this all in once the chances aren't looking good. I advise you do this with doses" Tony suggests.

"I thought the same thing. I can start with the doses as soon as we go over everything together if you want to help" Bruce is hoping that his relationship with Tony will slowly get back to where it was.

"I will help you, Bruce. Trust me, there's nothing I want more than to help you get rid of the Hulk" he smiles at him, making Bruce feel a little more comfort.

"Thank you, buddy" he smiles back and they immediately get to work.