Bruce wasn't sure if he believed him or not. He believed that Tony believed that, and he was impulsive, emotional, loyal. It would put everyone at risk and beyond that. But it wasn't what he would have chosen for any of them. He shook his head slowly and, turned toward him, so he could look in his eyes. "I love you, Tony." He'd only said those words to two other people, his mother and Betty, and it fit in with the sheer importance of who they all were to him. He knew they weren't really the types of words friends always just threw at each other, because it was typically understood or unspoken, and that had been true for them.
"I know you don't want to hear this, but what Steve did for Barnes? I would do for you. Do I think Steve should have trusted you? Yeah, I do. If he told you everything when he found out, it would've given you time to cope and you would have helped him." Bruce had no doubts about that. If anything, given all the facts, understanding what was going on, might have given him more incentive. And it would have built stronger trust between the two of them. "But it's the person he loves above all others on the line. Not everyone's strong enough to make good decisions when blinded by that kind of loyalty, or that kind of fear. I'm not saying you should or could forgive him, because he did the wrong thing, and he hurt you. Maybe you can understand why though. We all do stupid things for the people we love." He made Ultron. Exhibit 1.
He knew it wasn't what Tony wanted to hear, probably, and when they first met, he would've been afraid to talk back to him. He was always afraid of the loss of something he cared about, so he played it safe at first. Now? They'd gone through hell. It seemed pointless to avoid real conversations. "We had some almosts too. Wanda killed Vision, and he turned back time to take it right out of his head like it was nothing. Thor put an axe through his chest, but not through his head, so he could still use the stones and win. This wasn't your fault, it isn't solely on your shoulders, we all failed. I don't want you thinking that you're the only one responsible."
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"I know you don't want to hear this, but what Steve did for Barnes? I would do for you. Do I think Steve should have trusted you? Yeah, I do. If he told you everything when he found out, it would've given you time to cope and you would have helped him." Bruce had no doubts about that. If anything, given all the facts, understanding what was going on, might have given him more incentive. And it would have built stronger trust between the two of them. "But it's the person he loves above all others on the line. Not everyone's strong enough to make good decisions when blinded by that kind of loyalty, or that kind of fear. I'm not saying you should or could forgive him, because he did the wrong thing, and he hurt you. Maybe you can understand why though. We all do stupid things for the people we love." He made Ultron. Exhibit 1.
He knew it wasn't what Tony wanted to hear, probably, and when they first met, he would've been afraid to talk back to him. He was always afraid of the loss of something he cared about, so he played it safe at first. Now? They'd gone through hell. It seemed pointless to avoid real conversations. "We had some almosts too. Wanda killed Vision, and he turned back time to take it right out of his head like it was nothing. Thor put an axe through his chest, but not through his head, so he could still use the stones and win. This wasn't your fault, it isn't solely on your shoulders, we all failed. I don't want you thinking that you're the only one responsible."