Fiji was a very beautiful place–at least he thought so. It reminded him much of the Caribbean, with sun, a wild night life, and strikingly clear waters. Only a few people had given him strange looks when the Avengers jet had careened into a cluster of trees, and the natives had all been quite welcoming, going even as far as to give him clothes and promise not to call in the American government (once he told them he knew Iron Man).
Bruce was relaxed now, but in no way was he at peace. His nightly dose of terrifying dreams had dwindled down to a very manageable once or twice every two weeks. He tried not to watch TV–the capital city Suva had a limited channel selection and he was very set on avoiding any sort of world news.
His phone vibrates.
Tony, reads the upside-down screen. Bruce sets down his juice, peeling the plastic case off and removing the battery. He will have to deal with it later if sand gets in the fixtures.
"Declining me again, Bruce? I thought we were friends."
Bruce takes a sip through the hot pink curly straw. "It's about time you showed up. Friends need space every once in a while."
Tony walks up next to him, leaning against the rails of the beach house. "Agreed, but I think a year is pushing it a little. You could've at least returned my calls. A guy gets lonely,"
"I knew what you wanted."
"And what's that?"
"You wanted me to come back."
"Of course I did."
The white shirt with green palm trees always blinds him when he looks down. "God Tony, this is the whole reason I unfriended you. I just want...peace."
"You can't run from your problems forever." Tony turns serious almost immediately.
Bruce takes another sip, mulling over the idea that his friend could be bipolar. He stands, nudging his sunglasses and walking off the patio to stand in the sand. Tony reluctantly follows.
"I need to retire, Tony. Somehow I always manage to kill more people than I save."
"You think you're the only one? Before I started this whole hero thing, I had killed so many and I had no idea. And even with the Avengers–I still kill but this time I know, and that makes everything worse."
Bruce squints. "I know it's not only me. I'm probably just being selfish, trying to save my own screwed up brain. There's a million people that would want to be me. But you see, the difference between me and all of you is that I can't keep going. I lose sleep over it. I just can't...ignore it all and finish the job."
Grains of sand collide with his nose. Tony bobbles on his feet, burying his hands in his suit pockets.
"Alright," The billionaire nods slowly. "we can make this work. I can–I can get some guys out here to build you something, and I can wire money through your account–"
Bruce laughs, setting a hand on his shoulder. "I was just wanting to know if you were alright with this,"
Tony nods. "Yeah. I'm just gonna need to get used to things. And, I'm going to Skype you a lot, so don't decline or I'm flying out here."
"You're the best,"
"I know."
"What about Nat?"
"Oh," Tony winks. "I'm sure she can find you. Spiders can find their way into very tiny places."
"Are you mocking my beach house?"
"Beach cottage."
They walk back, and Bruce doesn't even mind when Tony treads sand onto his rugs.
-
Post AOU.
