Bruce was regularly on the precipice of a mental or existential breakdown. This place didn't help that. It gave him more things to question and be curious, about the nature of who they are, what they may be. For the first time he was Bruce Banner again, sans dangerous side, and unfortunately baggage and anxieties didn't go away. Worrying about being enough for other people was part of the package. He had nothing else to offer anyone but his mind and friendship, and only one of those things he was good at.
"Jealousy is a thing for me. To a lesser extent than how it works for other people. Betty's married, and I'm happy for her, but I'm jealous of the life he gets to have with her. If Nat finds love, I'll feel the same way, even if we were never really anything. Happy and sad at the same time." It came more from loss than anything, from regret and what he might have had but didn't deserve. He is slightly amused. "Of course you had a list. That's what couples do now, right? We joked about ours all those years ago, Steve was on hers, how awkward would that be now?" That was when Steve was dead as far as they knew, so it was a joke list. Neither of them would ever stray.
Bruce frowns at Tony, using his free hand to run fingers through his hair affectionately. "It sounds like you want me to be angry at you. Is that what you want? Someone to yell at you?" He was going to worry about people getting sick of him no matter what, it was how his brain worked. There was no cure to low self-esteem. "I'm not a yeller. I don't like any of this. It upsets me. I think I've explained parts of why. I think you're doing the wrong thing. But you're a grown man who is going to do what you want, and I'm a grown man who will have to suck it up." It was simple in that way. Bruce would put it out of his mind. Out of sight out of mind. "Just warn me if I'm going to be kicked out of our bed any time soon. I can sleep in the schoolhouse." Yep it was their bed. No sense in pretending otherwise.
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"Jealousy is a thing for me. To a lesser extent than how it works for other people. Betty's married, and I'm happy for her, but I'm jealous of the life he gets to have with her. If Nat finds love, I'll feel the same way, even if we were never really anything. Happy and sad at the same time." It came more from loss than anything, from regret and what he might have had but didn't deserve. He is slightly amused. "Of course you had a list. That's what couples do now, right? We joked about ours all those years ago, Steve was on hers, how awkward would that be now?" That was when Steve was dead as far as they knew, so it was a joke list. Neither of them would ever stray.
Bruce frowns at Tony, using his free hand to run fingers through his hair affectionately. "It sounds like you want me to be angry at you. Is that what you want? Someone to yell at you?" He was going to worry about people getting sick of him no matter what, it was how his brain worked. There was no cure to low self-esteem. "I'm not a yeller. I don't like any of this. It upsets me. I think I've explained parts of why. I think you're doing the wrong thing. But you're a grown man who is going to do what you want, and I'm a grown man who will have to suck it up." It was simple in that way. Bruce would put it out of his mind. Out of sight out of mind. "Just warn me if I'm going to be kicked out of our bed any time soon. I can sleep in the schoolhouse." Yep it was their bed. No sense in pretending otherwise.