Chapter Text
"Easy. Don't stress yourself..."
Tony heaved himself out of the wheelchair the hospital required him to exit in.
Bruce stood behind him, placing a hand on his back in worry.
"Really Bruce, you're going to talk about not stressing?" Tony said, raising an eyebrow.
Bruce paused and adjusted his glasses on his face. "Just try to take it easy. Please."
"Well if you're going to beg-"
Tony carefully made his way into the passenger seat of their car, making a big show of gently sitting down.
"I'm not begging for my sake. We have four children..."
"Who have been doing fantastic with their Papa for the past week."
"No, they haven't Tony. They hated it!"
Tony paused and looked at him. "Do you really believe that?"
"No- Yes- Well maybe I do but, I have a good reason. The kids were absolutely miserable, I was absolutely miserable. If you ever get sick again, I'll kill you."
"You won't kill me."
"...you're right I won't....But, I will rip my hair out!"
Bruce shut Tony's door and walked over to the drivers side, getting in.
"Why do you always insist to drive yourself when we can have people do it?"
"I am more then capable of driving."
"You amaze me."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Bruce said, backing out of the parking lot and turning his attention to the road.
"You should. So, Steve's at the house?"
"Yeah, Bucky and him offered to watch the kids while I went to get you."
"That was nice of them. Remind me to ask them about us watching Grace while they go out."
"Will do."
They drove in silence for a while, Bruce trying to focus his attention on the road. However, that was proving to be difficult.
Everything was difficult lately. A couple of times Bruce really thought he was on the verge of snapping at everybody and locking himself away but, he has responsibilities and obligations that wouldn't allow him to do that.
Bruce just needed to keep his head up and stay calm. Tony was coming home, perfectly healthy, and the sun was starting to come out behind the clouds. Things were going to turn around for the better, he just needed to wait it through.
"Bruce..." Tony turned to look at him with concerned eyes. "Are you okay? I know things have been hard lately."
"I'm fine."
"Just fine?"
Bruce groaned and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "I'm doing great...."
"Really because, we've been sitting in the driveway for five minutes."
He looked up and yes, they were in fact in the driveway.
"I just wanted to look at the house for a while."
Tony rolled his eyes and opened the door, stepping out of the vehicle.
Bruce followed him into the house, making sure that he didn't fall or stumble.
As soon as they opened the door they were both greeted by the smiling faces of four kids, three of their own and one of Steves.
Steve and Bucky were right behind them, Steve holding Sophia.
Bruce walked over and retrieved his youngest daughter back from Steve.
"I want another one..." Steve said, still cooing at Sophia in Bruces arms.
"You might want to tell your husband that." Bruce told him, letting out a chuckle.
Steve nodded and grinned.
"Daddy!" The girls yelled, hugging Tony's legs.
Tony crouched down so he could be at eye level with the twins. He tightly embraced them and smiled. "Hey girls!"
"You were gone for ages!" Rebecca exclaimed, juggling him tighter.
"It was only a week. I've gone on business trips longer then that."
"It's not the same."
"She's right Dad, it's totally not the same." Peter piped up.
Tony stood and hugged Peter giving him a couple pats on the back.
He pulled back and smiled at him. "I hope you all were listening to your Papa while I was gone." He said, looking at all of his kids.
Peter, Rebecca, and Maria all looked at each other guilty.
"We'll talk about this later." Tony said, giving them all a pointed stare. "Go throw on some pajamas and pick out a movie. Papa and I will be there in a minute."
They all nodded and made their way out of the room to go get changed.
Tony walked over to Bruce and grabbed Sophia from him, placing her on his hip. "I've got her. Can you go start the popcorn?"
Bruce nodded and turned towards Steve and Bucky. "Thanks again for watching the kids, let us know if you ever need a babysitter for Grace."
"Yeah, maybe you guys need some adult time." Tony said, looking at both of the men and then at their daughter.
"We might take you up on that offer in a couple of weeks." Bucky said, chuckling.
Steves face turned bright red. "C'mon, let them have some family time."
Bucky grabbed Grace's hand and made his way to the door, giving Tony one last grin. "It's nice seeing you back on your feet Tony."
"Thanks Buck." Tony said, watching him exit.
Steve stayed in the room and turned towards Tony. "Hey is Bruce okay?"
"Why? What's going on?" Tony asked, scrunching his brow.
"Nothing, just Peter mentioned how Bruce has been- off- lately."
"He's probably just tired. He'll be out like a light before the movie even starts." Tony said, laughing. "Thanks again for watching the kids."
"No problem, call us if you need anything else." Steve said, walking out the door and closing it behind him.
Tony turned and started making his way towards the kitchen, talking to Sophia. "Well, it looks like you've been keeping your Papa up lately, huh?"
He leaned down and kissed the top of her forehead smiling.
"You should be sitting down." Bruce remarked, his back turned away from him.
"I will in a second. I just wanted to see you."
"Well you've seen me. Now you can go sit down in the living room and relax."
"Bruce, I'm fine. A couple of minutes of standing won't kill me."
"Tony!" Bruce snapped, turning back at him. "You just got back from the hospital, the doctor said to rest so, rest please."
Tony stared at Bruce in silence before, making his way to the living room with Sophia.
"What movie have you guys decided on?" He asked, sitting on the couch and propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of it.
"We want to watch Wreck it Ralph but, Peter wants to watch Toy Story!" Maria told him, moving to the seat on his right.
Rebecca moved next to her, dragging a blanket and laying it on the both of them.
"We watched Wreck it Ralph last week." Peter stated, from his spot on one of the arm chairs.
"Okay so decide on something other then Wreck it Ralph or Toy Story." Tony told them. "How about Hercules? Everybody loves Hercules."
"I'm okay with that." Maria responded, while nodding her head.
Rebecca and Peter nodded too, smiling.
"It's settled then." Bruce said, walking out with a bowl of popcorn in hand.
He placed it onto the table, away from Tony's feet and sat down on the left side of his husband.
"JARVIS put on Hercules." Tony said to the AI.
"Excellent choice sir." JARVIS replied, putting on the movie.
"Thank you JARVIS!" Rebecca yelled towards the ceiling.
"You're welcome."
When the movie started and the kids were all focused on the opening number, singing along and laughing, Bruce leaned in towards Tony and whispered. "I'm sorry for snapping at you.."
He kept his eyes toward the screen, not wanting to look Tony in the eyes. If he looked him in the eyes then Tony would know something was wrong.
"It happens." Tony whispered back.
He adjusted the sleeping baby on his chest so she was on his right side and not near his surgical wound.
Bruce leaned his head onto Tony's shoulder and let his body relax. For the first time that week things seemed some-what normal.
"Are you sure everything's okay?" Tony asked.
"Yeah, I think I'm just a little run down is all. Sophia's teeth have been keeping her up and she only just started calming down a little."
"That's what I told Steve. He asked me earlier if you were doing all right and I told him you were tired."
Tony shifted so, he could get his arm around Bruce's shoulders. He brought his hand up towards Bruce's hair and gently started running his fingers through the curls.
"Tomorrow's Saturday so, you could sleep in." He told him.
Bruce hummed in response before mumbling "I think tomorrow will be a late start for everybody."
He stifled a yawn in his fist and allowed his eyes to close.
About half way through the movie Tony turned to whisper an inappropriate comment about the movie and was met with the face of a sleeping Bruce.
Bruce's mouth was slightly agape and he was letting out deep breathes. It was the most relaxed Bruce had been in weeks.
Tony smiled at his husband before, turning back towards the screen.
~•~
Tony woke up mid Saturday morning to the sight of a still sleeping Bruce.
Late the night before, after the movie, Tony woke Bruce up and brought him to bed. They both fell asleep before their heads could even reach the pillows.
Tony slowly got out of bed as to not wake up Bruce and made his way to the kitchen.
The kids were still sleeping, all of them staying up way past their bedtimes the night before.
It was already ten o'clock and the house was still silent, a first for the Stark household.
Tony sat down at the kitchen table and had JARVIS start a pot of coffee.
He pulled out his Stark phone and let himself mindlessly scroll through different emails and notifications, catching up on this weeks news and gossip.
There was always some sort of rumor being spread about him or any member of his family. Most of the time it was simple things he could let slide or something he could address at a press conference, this week was no different.
Pepper already had a press conference lined up for the end of next week for him to relay certain health information and to pit any rumors or concerns to rest.
Just as he was about to send a text out to Pepper about the conference, JARVIS' voice interrupted.
"Sir, there is an incoming call coming from the home phone, shall I reroute it to the speakers?"
"No, reroute it to my cell."
"Of coarse Sir."
Tony groaned and answered the call on his cellphone, expecting it to be a work related matter. "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Mr. Stark?" The voice of an older women asked.
The person sounded familiar yet, Tony couldn't quite think of where he'd heard it before.
"Which one?"
"Either one will suffice."
"In that case,yes you are speaking to Mr. Stark."
"Which one?"
Tony sighed, already getting aggravated by the conversation.
It was technically still morning and he still didn't have his coffee.
"This is Tony."
"Ah hello, Mr. Stark. This is Rebecca and Maria's teacher, Mrs. Johnson."
That's why it sounded familiar.
"Is there a problem with the girls?"
"Yes actually there is. They have both been doing poorly in class recently and when I asked what was the matter they shared their concerns for there Papa." The teacher said, sounding somewhat disgusted on the last word.
"I think you mean their Dad and I'm fine now so there shouldn't be anymore issues."
"No I meant what I said. They are both concerned with Roberts well being."
"Bruce. He goes by Bruce."
"Bruce's well being." She paused and sighed before continuing. "I know he had some certain issues back when I taught Peter and I just wanted to make sure that he is still in the right mental state for parenting."
"He's perfectly fine." Tony replied, attempting to hold his tongue.
"Well from what I've heard from the girls he's been agitated. Is Robert still on anger management pills?"
"I don't think my husband's personal matters are any of your business." Tony spat.
"No but, the children are. I personally believe two men aren't qualified to raise a child, that goes for Mr. Rogers and Barnes as well. If Robert is going back to his old tendencies without being properly medicated then that gives me all the more reason to inform child services."
"Listen here Johnson, you do not want to start a war with me because, I will win."
"Is that a threat Mr. Stark?"
"No, that's a promise." Tony told her. "You try to mess with my family and I'll make it so you'll never find another teaching gig in this country again. You'll have to ship your ass to Zimbabwe if you want a job that isn't flipping burgers."
Tony hung up the phone and sighed, placing it back onto the counter.
Just as he was about to finally get up and get a cup of coffee. The sounds of the baby echoed through out the kitchen from the speakers.
He got up and made the arduous feat that was climbing the stairs and walked into the nursery to see Bruce was already up with Sophia.
"Good morning." Bruce greeted whilst finishing changing the baby's diaper.
"We need to talk Bruce."
Bruce looked at him in confusion, picking up their now changed daughter. "What's going on?"
"I don't know, why don't you tell me."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I just got off the phone with the twins bitch of a teacher-"
"There are little ears in the room." Bruce reminded him.
"-and apparently the girls are concerned because, you've been agitated lately."
"Cranky is a better word for it."
Tony walked over to Bruce and grabbed Sophia, bringing her over to the play pen in the corner of the room.
He walked back over to Bruce and looked him in the eyes. "Is it something we should be concerned about?"
"No Tony, I'm not having anger management problems." Bruce said. "I was tired and the kids weren't listening, I was cranky. The girls probably aren't used to seeing me like that."
"You'll tell me if something's happening, right?"
Brice went quiet for a moment, trying to find the right words.
His body eventually made the decision for him because, he collapsed into Tony's chest, letting out a heart wrenching sob.
"I don't know what to do anymore.." He whispered, letting his tears dampen Tony's shirt.
Tony rubbed soothing circles into his back. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know what to do with myself anymore. I'm d-disgusting, I can't handle it."
"Oh no, this isn't about your weight, is it?"
Bruce started crying even harder, answering Tony's question wordlessly.
Tony pulled him closer, resting his chin on top of Bruce's head. "We've talked about this Bruce. There is nothing wrong with your weight. I'm not going to lie, you've gotten a little chunky but, that's what happens when you get older. Bruce the same things happening to me, you're not alone."
Tony gave Bruce a peck on the forehead before, continuing. "You are not by any means, overweight. You're just a little chunkier, completely healthy, if you don't believe me we can set up an appointment and ask the doctor."
"I believe you..." Bruce mumbled.
"Good. Your weight shouldn't even bother you, you could be on that reality show My 600 Pound Life and I'd still find you sexy as hell. More cushion for the pushin'" Tony said, winking. "You're my husband Bruce and nothing's going to change the fact that I love very atom of you."
Tony lifted up Bruce's chin, giving him a long and tender kiss.
"Better?"
"A little." Bruce admitted.
"Good because, if I need to get you a therapist or something, I will. Just say the word."
"I think I can manage without one." Bruce replied, chuckling.
"I think you can too. You're not mentally ill, just scared."
Bruce nodded, resting his head back onto Tony's chest and allowing himself to smile a little st the warmth.
"Everything okay in here?" Peter asked, poking his head into the doorway.
"What your parents can't miss each other?" Tony replied sarcastically.
"You guys are weird." Peter laughed and shook his head.
"Well that makes you genetically half weird because, you came from me. You are heir of Stark Industries."
"Don't remind me."
Peter walked off, shaking his head.
"We should probably go downstairs and start breakfast. The girls will be up soon." Bruce said, nuzzling closer to Tony.
Tony wrapped his arms around Bruce's waist again and brought his head down to rest in the crook of Bruce's neck. "Yeah... We should."
The two stood there for a couple of more minutes, relishing each others company before Bruce pulled back and walked over to Sophia who was still playing with her toys.
He picked her up and balanced her on his hip before, walking towards the door.
"I'll start a bottle and you wake Becca and Maria up?" Bruce asked.
"Can do." Tony said. "Oh and Bruce?"
"Yeah?"
"Remind me to speak to the school about the girls transferring teachers."