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[ Finding out that Pepper's stocks in Stark Industries have been transferred to him - and because she'd been running it, he can only assume that it's the lion's share - and that that means she's presumably gone is not the way he wants to start the day. But it is what it is and there's nothing he can do about it.

He's wearing the suit, though the helmet's off, and the expression on his face is as professionally detached as the matter-of-fact tone of his voice when he speaks. ]

It's come to my attention that Pepper Potts may no longer be in residence in the city.

[ That covers that and he's not lingering on it. If he does, he'll wonder what that means, if some piece of her has gone back to the world she remembers or if she's dead and her body is being recycled or whatever it is they do with clones when they're gone. It isn't something he needs to worry about right now. Not in front of an audience. So he moves right along to business. ]

I've been informed that per her request, her interests in Stark Industries have been transferred to me. For those of you don't know, I'm Tony Stark, and if you work for SI, it means you're working for me.

[ May whatever aliens people consider gods help them all. ]

If you do, I want to know who you are and what you do for the company. If you don't, and you want to, talk to me.

And be prepared for change. It's coming.

[ What that change is, he doesn't know yet. But once he finds out what the company's been doing, he'll figure out the right path for it to take under his leadership. And this time, it's going to be a damn sight better than the last time he was at the helm. ]

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Hey.

[His voice firms, sharpens.]

What is it that's bothering you?

[There's something underneath this that's upsetting him, more than just a general malaise at everything that he's undergone. While that's considerable, Bruce feels like there must be something contributing more than the rest.]

I've felt like a ghost ever since I got here.

[ A little chuckle, slightly too high, creeps up the back of his throat. ]

And now I am one. I'm a clone and a ghost. How fucked up is that? And my alternate reality girlfriend has been throwing Tonys at the Tony-shaped hole in her life and now there are too many and they're all wrong in the first place.

[ And now he sounds like he's cracking up. Groaning, he just covers his face with his hand. It works for ostriches in the sand. Maybe it will work for him. ]

[He goes silent and listens to this, expression impassive but patient, open. Honestly, he doesn't know what had gone on between Tony and Pepper. He'd never spoken to her about it, and Tony had never brought it up; he also hasn't touched on his distress over the cloning since his arrival, and out of respect, Bruce hasn't pried into it. Tony had let him keep his silence on everything he'd seen in Death, and he'd returned it.

It seems like he does want to open up right now, though. And Bruce remembers how, out on the turtle head, he'd taken a chance and overtly stated that he didn't think he was a freak. Something Bruce never felt helped him all that much to hear, but seemed to have helped Tony.]

I have all the memories you do now, [he says abruptly.] And I've met all the... Tonys that have been here. You're the one that I think of first when I hear that name. Even before-- the one at home.

[Bruce shakes his head, wondering if he's accomplishing anything or just speaking to himself. He doesn't know how to do this comforting thing. He's too out of practice, however good his intentions.]

I don't know, maybe that doesn't mean anything.

[ It’s like an unexpected anchor in storm, one that he grabs onto before he realizes that he’s doing it and only slowly comes to realizes that he’s holding onto something. That his head’s above water now and he’s no longer drowning in it.

Ever so slowly, he drops the hand he has pressed against his face. Admissions like this from Bruce are about as rare as a double blue moon and for that reason, he can’t take them lightly. ]

You sure you’re not just saying that because I’m letting you see my reactor?

[ It’s a lame attempt at a joke, but it harkens back to that conversation on the turtle’s head, subtle hint that, just as he had then, he’s listening to what he’s saying instead of brushing it off. ]

Or are you trying to discourage me from haunting you at night? Because I'm probably going to do that anyway now that I know where you live.

Edited 2013-10-08 00:45 (UTC)

[It's the hand gesture more than anything that tells him he must've gotten through, Tony letting him see his face again instead of that instinctive effort to conceal that Bruce knows all too well. That's twice that his suspicion has worked-- though it's counter-intuitive to Bruce, Tony wants direct assurance of his opinion of him. His, specifically, it seems like. It takes three times to make a pattern, but Bruce is feeling pretty confident that the pattern will be confirmed, and it's something of a relief to finally have a handle on how to help who has become his closest friend.

The fake joking about serious topics he already knew how to do.] I haven't seen it yet, [he answers, quirking an eyebrow and relaxing slightly that he seems to have averted a crisis.

With a hint of dryness,] You're already going to haunt me during the day since I work for you now. At least let me get some sleep.

Yeah, no, my poltergeist contract clearly states four nightly hauntings. I can give you three nights off though.

[ Crisis averted, he warms to the joke, going so far as to make a thoughtful frown. ]

And an alternating Saturday.

[ And because he can't leave well enough alone, he adds; ]

I didn't miss your thinly veiled hint for a peepshow. Is that a thing? Do you need a little preview? A tantalizing hint of titanium casing to raise anticipation?

[That gets an exasperated look, but he's also relaxing further. If Tony can make stupid jokes equating seeing the arc reactor to a strip tease, he must be feeling better.

It really hadn't even been that hard. Bruce hadn't had to make more than one statement slightly outside of his comfort zone, but it hadn't been onerous. He'd honestly forgotten that when you're legitimately close with someone, you don't have to bend over backwards to know how to make them happy.

He's still not going along with even a vaguely sexual overtone to the situation, though.]

That wasn't a thinly veiled hint. I don't need to-- It's not-- [He stops, recovers himself by rolling his eyes.] Whenever you want to, Tony, I'll take a look at it.

[He does want to see it, but it's hardly imperative, and he's not about to push him on it.]

[ Is he flustered? Is that tripping up of his speech because he’s flustered? Or exasperated? It could be exasperation. Tony isn’t overly selective, he’s happy to induce any emotion that doesn’t lead to violence or tears. ]

All right. I’ll draw up some schematics since I don’t have a replacement for you to get your hands on. I mean, I could take it out for a few minutes, but…

[ But he doesn’t really want to chance dying again. ]

It should only take me a few days. Oh, and I’ll need to bring the suit. JARVIS gets a little tetchy whenever he can’t be present when I’m messing around with it. I guess it’s a thing. He likes to keep an eye on it.

[ Because once he hadn’t and Tony’s surrogate father had nearly killed him. ]

Edited 2013-10-08 01:41 (UTC)

[It's a little flustered. Mostly exasperated, but Bruce isn't entirely composed when he gets hit on, however joking and not serious it is. He has so much difficulty thinking of himself in a sexual context that whenever it comes up, he either has to ignore it, or he starts stumbling over himself. Like here.

Schematics. Much better.]

No, don't take it out, [he refuses immediately, sounding somewhat like he thinks Tony is crazy for suggesting it.] This is just-- academic curiosity. There's no need to take risks. A replacement is fine.

And JARVIS can come. I keep thinking you should upload him to the servers at SI... or however that works. [Since the old one had vanished with the previous Tony, let's say that for simplicity's sake. Bruce really had been thinking that, but with Tony balking at even stepping food inside, hadn't bothered to suggest it.]

[ That sounds like a good idea. It had been out of the question before, when he’d been avoiding the place, but if he’s going to be spending time there for real now, if he’s going to be working there, he needs better access to JARVIS than just simply the suit. ]

That’s a good idea. I could do that. Maybe overhaul the system, set him up in my area, wherever that is, and your lab. If you want him.

[ It occurs to him that he really ought to ask first. Then it occurs to him that he’s treating JARVIS like one of Bruce’s friends. And that fills him with the kind of happy thrill he hasn’t felt at all After. ]

You can say no. He’s a nag. I understand he’s a handful.

[Bruce has a hard time with this whole friendship thing, but he could reasonably consider JARVIS a friend. An ally, definitely, which is maybe even rarer for him.

He returns dryly,] He only nags you because you need it. I'm not worried. You can put JARVIS in my lab.

[He can see the convenience, and really sees no reason not to.]

[ The request itself is unprecedented. Even at home, JARVIS has been safely ensconced in his house and his suit. He was never at Stark Industries. Never anywhere that anyone else could have a sort of unlimited access to him. It's the best protection Tony could offer him, and to grant Bruce this is a demonstration of trust more than even explaining the inner workings of the arc reactor. That's just his life. This is JARVIS', and he guards that far more obsessively than he guards his own.

It's also a subtle hint that Tony intends to spend too much time loitering around Bruce's lab. ]

All right, I'll talk it over with him. Make sure he doesn't have any objections. And then I need to code a firewall to keep prying eyes out of his code... This may take some time. I'll let you know when I'm done so he doesn't scare the hell out of you. He'll do it. He's a jerk like that.

[Unaware of the change that this would be, Bruce is ignorant of any underlying message here. He merely accepts the decision, as he would a decision to the contrary. He'd never infringe on someone else's ability to choose for themselves, especially not someone he actually respected.

He also doesn't question that Tony would talk it over with JARVIS instead of imposing a unilateral direction.]

He wouldn't scare me, [he says mildly.] A firewall's a good idea. I've been keeping anything sensitive on the... laptop you upgraded from home. It can't connect to the network so it's-- as long as I know where it is, it's safe.

But if you're coming back to the company then we'll need a firewall. [So they can share files, obviously, since they'll be working on projects together.]

Do you just want your own dedicated server?

[ Keeping sensitive information on a laptop's great and all, but the hard drive's only so big. And unless he's misremembering details, that thing looks like it's about 10 years old. He can keep fixing it if it breaks, but for the sake of everyone's sanity, he'd really rather just get the guy his own server. ]

I can encrypt it. Put JARVIS on information-minding duty. Nobody'd get into it you didn't want in it. In addition to the firewall, I mean. That's a prerequisite for anything.

[Bruce would never say no to more privacy. Theoretically, he should trust Tony enough to share servers with him unilaterally. In practice, his paranoid habits are too ingrained, and though he has no illusions that Tony won't be able to access whatever he wants to on something he's set up himself, the pretense is nice.]

That's... probably the best option. Thanks, Tony. [It's honest gratitude, for a lot more than just a server.]

[ Nosy though he admittedly is, he won't just casually peruse the server he sets aside for Bruce. Unless he's asked to check it, or something happens and Bruce is in trouble, he'll steer clear of it and give him the privacy he deserves to have. ]

No problem.

[ The only thing he thinks warrants a thanks is the offer of the personal server, so that's how he takes it. ]

I'll work on it tomorrow. Have it up and running in no time.

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