Mordred's Lullaby

We're All Broken

After saying goodbye to his new friends after Thor leaves Earth with Loki Bruce heads to the Strange family farm to live with the woman he loves and he gets to see first hand every place that holds good and bad memories for her INCLUDING the Asylum.... which she does not take him into.... and thanks to that he feels closer to her than ever before before they moved into the farmhouse he had told Mordred that "Stark thinks you're right that the Hulk saved my life"  to which she replies "well you might not be happy about that but I am"  he smiles then kisses her lips then makes love to her much to his own surprise for he's never started it before but he loved the fact that he was becoming "braver" and it was all thanks to her.... and yes he even let the Hulk "have his turn" making love to her as well and just like every other time it happened she fell asleep and woke up in their arms.... Bruce takes Mordred with him when he goes to visit with Tony at the Avengers Tower and ends up playing therapist to his new friend Stark being the massive flirt he is immediately tries it on Mordred and finds out that she's not as easy as the others "she's HOT!"  Tony whispers to Bruce who chuckles nervously Pepper who was walking into the room slaps the back of Tony's head which makes the man turn and stare at her with a "what did I do/say!?!" expression on his face Mordred spends a little time with Pepper who kind of reminded her of her sister and she got along with quite well then she (Mordred) joined Bruce who's eyes seem to beg her to stay with him as Tony uses him as his own personal therapist.... which isn't his degree even if his "title" is Doctor....  "we create our own demons who said that? what does that even mean? doesn't matter, I said it cause he said it so now he was famous and that's basically get said by two well known guys I don't, uh...."  Tony says to Bruce who was trying to listen and not fall asleep as Mordred gently massages his tight shoulders Tony sighs and says "I'm gonna start again let's track this from the beginning"  Bruce actually does end up falling asleep while Tony tells his story but Mordred stays awake and for the most part pretends to listen.... it's a long story.... "and so, as Christmas morning began, my journey had reached its end you start with something pure, something exciting then, come the mistakes the compromises we create our own demons but then I thought to myself, "why stop there?" of course, there are people who say progress is dangerous, but I'll bet none of those idiots ever had to live with a chestful of shrapnel and now, neither will I let me tell you, that was the best sleep I'd had in years"  Tony says when he hopefully finally reaches the end of his story Mordred chuckles softly Tony smiles then says "so, if I were to wrap this up, tie it with a bow, or whatever.... I guess I'd say my armor, it was never a distraction, or a hobby it was a cocoon and now, I'm a changed man you can take away my house, all my tricks and toys one thing you can't take away.... I am Iron Man you know, and thank you by the way for listening plus, something about just getting it off my chest, and putting it out there in the atmosphere, instead of holding this in.... I mean, this is what gets people sick, you know wow, I had no idea you were such a good listener to be able to share all my intimate thoughts and my experiences with someone, it just cuts the weight of it in half you know, it's like a snake swallowing its own tail everything comes full circle and the fact that you've been able to -help me process.... are you with me?"  Tony says as he looks over and sees Bruce wake up from his long nap Mordred looks down at Bruce and smiles as he says  "sorry.... I was, yeah we were at, uh...."  Tony asks "are you actively napping?"  Bruce stammers as he replies "I was.... I.... I drifted"  Tony asks "where did I lose you?"  Bruce replies "elevator in Switzerland"  Mordred chuckles softly as Tony says "so, you heard none of it?"  Mordred replies as she gently squeezes Bruce's shoulders "might have been my fault, I'm kinda surprised Hulk stayed calm throughout the whole thing though he hates long speeches "  Bruce smiles at her then tells Tony "I'm sorry I'm not that kind of doctor I'm not a therapist it's not my training"  Tony looks at Mordred then asks "what do you think?!"  she replies "I think you put too much weight on your shoulders which pushes you down too deep into that dark abyss you made yourself at home in, you blame yourself for things that were beyond your control as for the suits in a manner of perspective that is the part of you that made you a hero especially after you told the world you were Iron Man, my brother is a arrogant neurosurgeon with a picky palate of his own for he only chooses the "unique" clients the ones who actually make him think it all through not the ones he'd claim he could do in his sleep, he loves a "good puzzle" it keeps his brilliant mind um.... stabilized I guess or perhaps stimulated would be a better word, if it's too easy he becomes bored too quickly and for a Strange that's a bad thing to be!"  she replies Bruce chuckles "perhaps thanks to the fact that you are Iron Man you at times forget that you're human and are completely capable of breaking down and losing yourself being two people can be tough and it's possible that you may forget which one of them you truly are especially since they're both the same person and yet different in everyone elses eyes after all you do love attention a little too much!"  she adds Bruce looks up at her and Tony chuckles at the last bit "we're all broken in some way and it isn't always easy to put ourselves together your main problem was you tried to do just that for too long yes you have J.A.R.V.I.S. but did you actually listen to him?! especially when you knew he was right remember he may just be a AI but he went through it too and he probably knows you better than anyone ever could even Pepper.... when it comes to most things anyway for he sees more of you than even she ever could though in a way it is understandable why you didn't completely listen to him after all you probably wouldn't have asked for Bruce's help if J.A.R.V.I.S. was the only one you needed to help you though it's possible that because he knows you so well you made the decision to not listen to him you smart people do tend to be stubborn and think you know everything even though there are plenty you still have no clue about"  she says both men look at her she chuckles with a smile and shakes her head....