p • r • e • s • s • u • r • e

Untitled

"I don't want this, please don't do this..."

Bruce's eyes darken.

"It's alright, Tony. He's dead."

"I don't want you to do this, please don't do this..." He falls off the bed as he scrambles to escape Bruce, falling to the stone floor with a thunk.

"Tony, breathe. You're in the tower, you're safe. I'm here. He's dead. It's four-thirty in the afternoon."

The engineer stops flailing wildly and seems to calm down. His eyes are wandering, searching. They close.

"You okay?"

"Mmm."

Bruce joins him on the floor.

"What triggered it?"

"Just...it's for your own good."

"Oh. Yeah, that did sound a little supervillainy when I said it."

They sit in a comfortable silence, words burning like fresh cut onions on Bruce's tongue.

"If you don't mind...who was it? Did I...did I know them?"

Tony shudders.

"I'm sorry, that was-that was stupid, you don't have to talk."

"No, it's ok. You deserve to know-this may be a recurring problem."

"Oh."

"It was...it was one of my father's colleagues. Four-star general. They'd had a few drinks, and dad let it spill that he was going to send me to conversion therapy. I'm-I'm bi, by the way."

Tony swallows back a lump of bile, and something stirs in Bruce's chest.

"So he met me, and conversion therapy is pricey, so..."

He laughs dryly.

"So he thought he'd save us the expense. 'Thought if he beat the shit out of me and...and fucked me to tears, my father wouldn't have to deal with...with the press, mainly."

"Tony...I'm so sorry."

"Yeah. I mean, I like it pretty rough, don't get me wrong," he teases, eyes glittering at Bruce mischievously.

"But uhm...but not like that. Never like that."

Bruce didn't know how to respond to that. What commiserations could possibly be enough?

"God Tony, I'm so sorry. How did your dad get away with snuffin' him?"

"What?"

"Well, you said he was dead. If I were your father, I would've killed the bastard in a heartbeat."

Tony laughs a little.

"No, no. He died of a heart attack in '92."

"Oh. That's....a frustrating lack of closur-"

"I bombed his grave." Tony blurts.

"Oh. Wait a minute, I remember that. That was you?"

The engineer smiles.

"The one and only."

"They said it was an act of terrorism! There was-I-how in the fuck are you not in prison right now?"

"I have my ways. Besides, word got around to the people who mattered, so no one really missed him. It didn't help that he was an asshole to everybody."

"People found out?"

"Yeah."

"I'm so sorry..."