Chapter Text
This battle had been a long one.
It had been nearly twenty four hours since the hostile alien army had landed.
Tony was exhausted. Hell, they were all exhausted, probably nobody more so then Dr. Banner though.
Captain America had been adamant about the team working in rotation, especially after the armies of three separate governments had finally stopped dragging their feet and decided to join the fray. Yet, while the rest of the team enjoyed the short reprieve every few hours or so, the Hulk had battled the entire time. Tony, Clint, Steve, Thor, and Natasha had all tried to reign the Hulk in but it was useless. Once Bruce flipped the switch it was nearly impossible to un-flip it.
The only thing they could do was simply wait until the Hulk ran out of steam, which impressively took an entire day.
When the battle was over, the Hulk had smashed a crater sized hole into the ground. When the dust settled, Tony could see that the Hulk had transformed back into Bruce. His black curls were plastered to his pale forehead due to sweat. The torn reminiscent of what had once been pants hung loosely around his jetted hip bones. Even from here he could count Bruce’s ribs through his skin.
Thai take out would put meat back on his bones, Tony reassured himself.
Tony lifted his face-plate and smiled at the disheveled Dr. Banner but his smile quickly faltered.
Something was wrong.
Bruce suddenly stumbled forward and fell. He landed on all fours. An agonized, half-strangled cry escaped his lips. A second later his back arched and then he vomited until he dry-heaved.
Tony rushed forward, ignoring the protest of his own aching muscles. Bruce was trying to push himself back onto his feet; again he stumbled forward and fell. He tried again and again till Tony had crunched in front of him, looking into his dark brown eyes, which were glazed and unfocused.
“Hey big guy take it easy.” Tony soothed. “The fights over. We won.”
Bruce made no indication that he had heard Tony, instead he was about to make another ill-fated attempt to gain his feet.
“Bruce stop!” Tony yelled. He grabbed Bruce’s shoulders and shook him.
Bruce blinked several times. Slowly, too slowly, in Tony’s opinion. Bruce’s eyes focused on his face. “Tony?”
“It’s me bud.”
“Oh God,” Bruce slumped against Tony. He buried his head in the cold, hard metal shoulder of Tony's armored suit. “It hurts.” His whole body was shaking uncontrollably.
“What hurts?” Tony asked alarmed. He knew that Bruce’s transformations were always an ordeal that left him exhausted and little more than sore; but the shy Doctor had never complained before.
Tony pulled back and looked for signs of any obvious wounds. He found none. As far as he knew, the Hulk was indestructible, so there was no way any injury could have been carried over to Bruce. That wasn't possible, was it?
“It hurts.” Bruce repeated in pure agony.
Tony was desperate now. He wrapped his arms around Bruce and pulled him closer.
“Cap, we need a medical team down here ASAP.” Tony yelled over the intercom.
“They’re on their way.” Steve voice answered back through his earpiece a split second later.
“Don’t let Ross take me.” Bruce pleaded. His voice muffled by Tony’s shoulder. “Don’t let him lock me up in that tiny room with all the straps and those machines. There is no night or day there, or warmth. It’s always bright and cold.” He shivered.
“They are almost there.” Steve’s voice carried over the intercom.
“I can’t go through it again. I can’t—I won’t—“Bruce was openly weeping now. He managed to pull away from Tony. He started to inch away on his hands and knees before Tony could gather him in his arms again.
“No one is taking you.” Tony reassured him. “I won’t let them.”
"Tony, how is he?" Steve asked in Tony's ear.
"No obvious sign of injury. He is delirious. He thinks I'm going to hand him over to Ross." Tony replied. His overwhelming concern gave his voice a sharp edge.
Bruce struggled weakly against Tony’s hold.
“Bruce, Ross isn't going to take you. That bastard will never touch you again.” Tony said in a serious and firm tone, “I won't let anyone hurt you. I’m going to be at your side the whole time. I
won’t leave you.”
“Promise?” Bruce asked brokenly.
“I swear.” Tony reassured him.
Bruce visibly relaxed then. His weeping ebbed away and the tremors racking his body decreased. Tony soon realized that Bruce’s breath had evened out. He had fallen unconscious, cradled in Tony’s arms.
Tony’s heart was breaking. Bruce had never talked about his past, he actually shied away from the subject whenever it was touched upon. Sure, Tony had read his file, but a document could never really convey all the pain and horror Dr. Banner must have suffered at the hands of General Ross.
God knew, Tony’s own time spent as a prisoner still haunted him.
The medical team arrived shortly after that. They took Bruce and strapped him to a stretcher. They checked his heart, blood pressure, and hooked up an I.V to his arm. The entire time they worked on Bruce, Tony never left his side.