https://youtu.be/Jtauh8GcxBY

Sequel to Mr. Brightside 

I fell by the wayside like everyone else

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, but I was just kidding myself
Our every moment, I start to replace
'Cause now that they're gone, all I hear are the words that I needed to say

When you hurt under the surface
Like troubled water running cold
Well, time can heal, but this won't

Bruce had been gone for exactly three months, twelve days, and seventeen minutes when he finally called to let the team know that he was okay. He knew that Tony would be able to pinpoint his location in seconds if he were to ever let the Hulk run free again since the night he left, so he did everything in his power to keep that from happening. He wanted to know that he could hide away in plain sight; to blend in when he never could before. To disappear from sight to where you had no way to see him. Because he definitely didn't want to see you.

It was unfair of him to leave like he did, and he knew it. Bruce had ruminated for hours on end, trying to think of what to say and how to apologize, but what he didn't know was how to simply hear the sound of your voice on the other end of the phone without retreating forever just to hide away from the pain and mortification of how he had handled this. Hell, Tony knew before you did, and by some miracle, the man who historically spoke before he thought had kept it a secret all this time. Looking back, Bruce wasn't sure anymore if that was a good thing, or if it would've just been best to rip the bandage away and let the whole situation just bleed out.

Bruce also wasn't sure if what he was about to do was a good idea.

"Hey, (Y/N)," he greeted quietly, an almost meek character carrying his voice, "how have you been?"

"I've been better," you shrugged, carefully taking a seat opposite of him in a booth of a restaurant that sat at a mid-point between the tower and the upstate Avengers facility. You sighed and looked around the small diner, noting the décor that attempted to give it a sense of nostalgia, but the kitsch of what was meant to be the treasures of an antique hunt looked more like a hasty garage sale run. "How did you find this place? Can't say I've ever heard of it."

Bruce then realized that he hadn't taken the time for himself to really look at the surroundings he had chosen for such an important meeting. He immediately berated himself silently for the oversight. This wasn't the place to handle something so delicate, so personal, so...intimate. He should've chosen better but now it was too late and he had to keep moving forward before he made a run for his life instead.

"Uh, I can't say that I have either," he admitted. "I just drove until this caught my eye." His gaze finally found its way back to yours and a small smile curled at the corners of his lips, "clearly my eyes are broken if I thought this was okay."

"I won't hold your sense of taste against you, don't worry."

"Thanks, I appreciate the charity. So..." he paused, shifting in his seat a bit, "how's Tony?"

"He's good."

"Good."

"Right," you sighed heavily, "but you knew that already since you've talked to him before you ever called me. So, let's have it. Not a word for months, and out of nowhere, we're in the middle of nowhere, making small talk about nothing. What's going on, Bruce? Why the change of heart? We thought you were gone."

"Tony called me."

"Yeah, we've established that. Is it the only reason?"

"Come on, (Y/N)," he groaned. He put his elbows up on the table and took his head into his hands. You weren't sure if he was hiding his face out of embarrassment or frustration, or what, but the emanating pain he seemed to be in was hard to keep from taking it on yourself. "You know why."

"After so long, it's still that hard to say out loud?"

You may as well have slapped him across the face for the look he was now giving you, his hands dropping away and slamming onto the table top with more power than he meant to use. Bruce looked around the room quickly, his gaze lowering as soon as he turned back to you, his voice and energy softening to match his remorse. He felt that if anyone were to look at him now, they would see right through him and who he really was beyond the façade of Dr. Banner. He'd rather they see the Hulk at his worst rather than what he was carrying in this moment. "(Y/N), I don't think I'll ever say it. If I do...it just makes it real. I can't blame it on anything other than my own ineptitude at self-control."

"Bruce, you're the Hulk. You are the most in-control person I know."

"Right," he scoffed, "not when it comes to...t-to you."

So, before you go
Was there something I could've said to make your heart beat better?
If only I'd have known you had a storm to weather
So, before you go
Was there something I could've said to make it all stop hurting?
It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless
So, before you go

It never used to be this way, the difficult, arduous task of talking to Bruce. From the day when Tony had introduced you to each other, as you moved into the tower after the reconstruction was done to repair the damage the Chitauri had left behind. That felt like forever ago, and you'd known each other for years now. You knew more about each other than anyone else; well, anyone other than Tony, who knew everything about everyone whether they liked it or not. It was a matter of security, or so he claimed. You knew that he just loved the gossip a bit too much and the guise of 'my tower, my business' was just too simple to use.

You had spent many late nights in the lab, waiting for your genius boyfriend to finally let things go when he was taking too long, and it left you with plenty of free time to share in your misery with Banner. It wasn't unheard of for him to stay even after all of his work was done; at the time you thought he was simply being kind, and that it was a growing mutual respect and friendship with each conversation. Maybe it was, but now the entirety of your relationship was being seen from a completely different perspective.

"You always know the right thing to say."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a quick drink?"

"I can't sleep, are you up for a movie?"

"Is Tony going to be gone long? We can grab dinner if you don't want to be alone."

"You're too good to me, (Y/N)."

"I don't deserve you."

Maybe they weren't all moments laden with ulterior motives, but they were hard to see any other way now. Since the day he left so abruptly, when you thought it would be forever, you had replayed your past interactions over and over in your mind, near the point of obsession now. As the man sat before you, almost meek and his voice so low that you feared missing his thoughts, your own were racing.

Was never the right time, whenever you called
Went little by little by little until there was nothing at all
Our every moment, I start to replay
But all I can think about is seeing that look on your face

When you hurt under the surface
Like troubled water running cold
Well, some can heal, but this won't

"Okay, Banner, you're the genius at the table, so what do we do?"

"I don't know."

"Bruce," you sighed, "you didn't come out of hiding just to tell me things I already knew, only to take off again and not figure this out. I don't care what Tony said to you or how he convinced you to be here. We both know that if you didn't want to be here, you wouldn't be." You took a shot and reached out for his hand, but he quickly pulled it away as if your touch would scorch him.

"I really don't know, (Y/N). But you see, that's the problem. I don't know what to do because I'm sitting here for one reason. Only one, and it's because you're sitting there," he pointed at you harshly. "Tony didn't get me out of hiding, you did, and that's why I don't know what else to do but to stay gone. I thought that maybe once we were here and talking, I'd realize that I could do it and get it locked down. That I could come back. But all this did was make it painfully clear that I'll never be able to. It's not fair."

"It's not fair to who?"

"Tony."

"What about what's fair to you?" you pressed, leaning closer to him as your voice rose. "Or to me? You can't live your life hidden away, Bruce. No matter what's going on between us, you don't deserve that."

"You might change your tune if you knew what's going on in my head right now."

He had all but given up at even attempting to make eye contact with you now, and it wasn't lost on you. You scooted yourself to the edge of your seat, getting as close to him as you could. If he wasn't going to look up, then you'd take advantage of it just to keep the conversation as private as possible. "Anything you care to share?"

"In public? No."

"In private, then?"

"Ha! Definitely not."

Your imagination could be a real bastard, that's for sure, and you were relieved that he had yet to look up at you; you didn't want him to feel judged, though you were having a difficult time stopping yourself from doing it. When Bruce did finally look up, after several minutes of painful, asphyxiating silence, you were now the one forcing your gaze away. As if by a gifted miracle, your phone buzzed in your pocket several times, urging you to give it attention.

Is he talking to you? You guys okay?

"That's him, isn't it?" Bruce smiled softly to himself, knowing he was right without having to wait for your words to verify it. "Yeah, I can tell from your reaction. Let him know that he's got nothing to worry about, I still have my manners, and I'm way over here."

Not really.

You rushed the reply and put your phone back, determined to leave it no matter how many times Tony might try again. This required your full attention; Bruce deserved your full attention even if he didn't believe it himself. "He wanted to know if you're okay. He's worried about you, not what you might do. We both know you better than that, Bruce."

"You can reassure him that I'm okay," he nodded, taking one last drink from his coffee, "and that I have to go. I know that this wasn't the conversation you were looking for, but I can't go back there, (Y/N). I'm sorry."

"I know."

"So, then what are you doing here?"

"I didn't want you to be alone."

So, before you go
Was there something I could've said to make your heart beat better?
If only I'd have known you had a storm to weather
So, before you go
Was there something I could've said to make it all stop hurting?
It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless
So, before you go