Chapter Text
Bruce lifted a hand to hold onto the railing as the subway tilted to the left, his eyes not leaving his book as he read through the practice situation that would more than likely be on the bar exam .
Is A liable for conspiracy to commit larceny? Explain, applying only common law, but do not analyze B’s liability, do not apply the Model Penal Code, and do not analyze A’s liability for any other crime.
Bruce hmm’d , brain already providing multiple arguments for cross proving that A is definitely liable for conspiracy due to the premeditated nature of the crime.
As he was diving further into his explanation of the hypothetical situation, there was a tap to his shoulder that pulled him from his musings.
Bruce glanced over in the direction of the touch and saw a handsome, dark skinned man smiling softly at him. Bruce thought he may have seen him before, but wasn’t entirely too sure.
He snapped his book closed and tucked it under his arm, free hand moving up to yank the earbud from the ear facing the stranger.
“Yes?” He asked, curious to find out what the man wanted.
The man grinned, displaying perfectly straight, white teeth, making him even more attractive. Bruce did an obvious up and down scope of the man, taking in his well put together appearance.
“I see you reading your law books everyday and wanted to introduce myself,” the man said, confidence clear in his tone. He offered a hand out to Bruce for a handshake, which Bruce accepted, taking note of the well manicured nails and soft skin. “I’m Elijah, what’s your name, gorgeous?”
Bruce felt his face heat up slightly at the compliment from such an attractive man, he offered his own small smile. “Bruce.”
“Nice to meet you, Bruce,” Elijah said to which Bruce gave a nod; the man continued. “I’d like to take you on a date this weekend.”
The man still hadn’t let go of his hand and for that Bruce blushed a little harder. As often as Darcy told him he was too hot to be single, dating just wasn’t something Bruce had time for.
Bruce laughed softly and gave the man another small smile. “I’m flattered, really. And you’re extremely handsome, but I’m a full time student in my last semester of law school and I have a five year old son. It wouldn’t be fair to start something when I have no extra time.”
The man’s smile did not dim as he brought Bruce’s hand up to his lips and placed a light kiss on the shorter man’s knuckles. “I know you just let me down gently, but your honesty makes me want to keep trying.”
Bruce chuckled and leaned up on his tiptoes to gift the man a light kiss on the cheek just as the subway announced it had arrived at Bruce’s stop. “That’s certainly your prerogative; this is my stop.”
Elijah continued to smile as he slowly let Bruce’s hand go.
“Until next time,” he said simply and Bruce nodded and moved closer to the door.
He turned back right as the doors slid open and smirked. “Until next time.”
***
“Well, look who’s back from the dead.”
Bruce’s head snapped up from his law book, shock and alarm coursing through his body at the familiar voice.
He locked eyes with Tony Stark as the man leaned against his apartment door, arms crossed and expression angry.
Bruce’s feet stopped moving as he stared at the man he once considered his best friend.
He hadn’t seen him in almost six years, not from lack of effort on Tony’s part. Two weeks before the end of their summer internship at Asgard Corporation, Bruce completely disappeared from the life he had built.
Shame and despair caused him to flee and cut all ties he had with that world.
Tony called and texted an infinite amount of times the first two months following his departure and even went to his old apartment a few times, as his previous landlord informed him.
Eventually Bruce canceled his phone number all together and switched companies, not providing the new number to anyone for quite some time.
“Tony, what- how-“ Bruce struggled to articulate his thoughts, shocked at seeing a face he resigned to never laying eyes on again.
The man sneered and pushed away from the door. “I’m great Bruce, the past six years have been totally awesome. Except, y’know, my best friend ditched me and completely vanished from the face of the fucking Earth.”
Bruce’s heart clenched painfully, knowing the amount of hurt Tony must still be harboring for him to be openly contemptuous towards him. He couldn’t tell him exactly why he had disappeared but he also couldn’t just leave things as they were. Bruce gulped at the intense glare being sent his way and resolved to at least invite Tony in to keep his neighbors from hearing their conversation.
“I-I, um,” Bruce motioned to the door and Tony took a step back so he could unlock the door.
“You can come in,” Bruce said softly as he pushed the door open and walked inside.
Bruce tossed his keys into the entryway bowl and stepped further into the apartment to lay down his book and messenger bag. He heard the door click close and Tony’s footsteps following him.
Once he emptied his hands of his school belongings and shucked off his jacket, laying it on the back of the couch, he turned back to face Tony with an unbelievably guilty expression.
They stood in uncomfortable silence for a long stretch of time, Bruce not knowing what to say and Tony not knowing what to say first.
Bruce cleared his throat, hands wringing the hem of his shirt. “Would you, um, like some tea?”
Tony, who was gazing around the apartment with confusion, eventually looked to Bruce, expression unreadable.
“Sure,” he said tightly and then moved to take a seat at the island while Bruce walked towards the stove of his open kitchen.
Bruce put the kettle on and cranked on the heat of the eye, resting his hands on the counter and allowing his head to drop.
“What are you doing here, Tony?” He asked softly, not having the courage to turn and face the man right at this moment.
He listened as the bar stool scraped light against the wooden floor of the kitchen and the slight shuffling of Tony getting comfortable in the seat.
“Your name came up during one of my father’s business meetings. A lawyer, Trevor Langan, shared that you’re one of his brightest and most promising students,” Tony said, tone even as he didn’t bother to answer Bruce’s question.
Bruce huffed and turned around to finally face his ex-best friend. “But why are you here , Anthony?”
The man raised an eyebrow, not bothered by the other man first-naming him just as he hadn’t been in the past. He rested his head on his palm, staring intently at Bruce.
“I may have hacked into Columbia’s files and got your address,” Tony admitted, though no shame was found in his voice. “I stopped looking for you a year after you disappeared and suddenly you’re a promising student at the best law school in New York.”
Bruce allowed himself to be grateful for the fact that Tony restrained himself from physically using air quotations as he would have done, without missing a beat, six years ago.
“And funnily enough, you don’t have any current employment history,” The man continued, fiddling with the salt shaker on the island. “Looked into that too.”
The shorter male flinched in surprise as the kettle whistled loudly behind him. He turned to remove it from the eye and grabbed two mugs from the carousel. Bruce moved around the kitchen quietly, not answering the question Tony was asking without actually voicing the words.
He deposited the mugs and tea bag-filled canister on the island, and returned with the kettle, filling their mugs to the top before bringing the kettle back to the stove.
Without speaking Bruce fixed his tea and kept his eyes down to avoid Tony’s gaze. Soon enough Tony followed suit, steeping a tea bag into his steaming water and dropped a sugar cube into the mug. He picked up the spoon Bruce placed near his mug and stirred his tea.
“Honey? Milk?” Bruce offered awkwardly, not liking the additional sweetness in his own tea so he usually never took the items out.
“No, thanks.”
They lapsed into silence again, Bruce leaning against the far end of the island and Tony sitting stiffly on the middle bar stool.
Bruce didn’t know what to do. He wanted to offer the man some kind of explanation, but knew he couldn’t do that without revealing the entirety of the situation. Tony needed to leave before his son made it home from school with his nanny and Bruce wasn’t sure how to accomplish that.
“How much does this spot run you? Five thousand? Six thousand monthly?”
Bruce clenched his jaw, tightening the hold on his mug at Tony’s flippant tone.
“I mean, you don’t have a job but, like I said, you go to the best law school in the state and you live in this nice ass apartment.”
Bruce took a deep breath to try and avoid losing his temper with Tony. He fully understood that the man was upset with him and instead of repeatedly asking why Bruce left him, he’s choosing to pick at the man in hopes of making Bruce feel just as bad as he did.
“Is it drugs? I mean, with an innocent little face like yours no one would think you were moving weight.” Tony laughed a cruel laugh and sat his mug down, not even having taken a sip. “Or is it prostitution? The whole blushing virgin routine would definitely rake in the cash.”
“Fucking stop it, Tony,” Bruce snarled and looked up to glare at the other man, refusing to let him continue to make such baseless accusations and assault his character any further.
“ You fucking stop it, Bruce.” Tony barked, harshly slapping a palm against the island. “How the fuck do you afford all of this and where in the hell have you been?!”
Bruce’s mug made a loud thump against the marble island and he brought his hands up to cover his face and stop himself from engaging in a screaming match with Tony.
Bruce forced a few deep breaths and counted backwards from twenty to calm his raging heart beat.
When he was sure he wouldn’t flat out lose it and start swearing and calling Tony out of his name, he removed his hands from his face and looked at the other male with a blank expression.
“I can’t-“
“Can’t or won’t, Bruce?” Tony interrupted, looking furious and ready to get up and stomp out of Bruce’s life, to hell with getting an explanation.
And Bruce honestly contemplated letting him just to stop this confrontation from continuing.
He opened his mouth to tell the man that he didn’t have to answer any inquiries and wouldn’t be questioned any further when he heard a key twisting in the lock of his front door, moments before the cheerful voice of his son sounded throughout the silent apartment.
“Daddy, I’m home! Darcy got me a churro but I’m not supposed to tell you!”
He heard the telltale sound of the boy’s jacket, bookbag and shoes being tossed carelessly in the entryway.
Moments later a small body bounded full speed into Bruce, wrapping short arms around his waist.
“I missed you, daddy!”
All anger at Tony instantly evaporated and was replaced with intense love and affection for his little boy. Bruce laughed and hauled his son up for a cuddle.
“I missed you too, monkey,” His son nuzzled into Bruce’s neck, arms and legs moving to circle his father, resembling the animal he was nicknamed after.
He smiled softly at Darcy as she leaned against the wall of the kitchen and she smirked back, eyebrows asking who the other man in the kitchen was. Bruce rolled his eyes and mouthed later , before giving his son attention.
“Did you have a good day at school, sweet boy?” He asked, dropping kisses onto the messy brunet locs.
The boy pulled back, grinning at his daddy. “Yeah, we finger painted and I learned all my letters and we had chicken nuggets for lunch and I went on the swing at recess and and -“
Bruce chuckled, his son’s enthusiasm for school always made him ecstatic.”Breath, Theo.”
The boy opened his mouth wide to suck in a deep breath and then finally took notice of the stranger sitting shell shocked in his kitchen.
Theo’s eyes widened and he smiled his hundred-watt smile. The young boy was always happy to make a new friend and didn’t have a shy bone in his body. He waved excitedly at Tony. “Hi! I’m Theodore James Banner and I’m five!”
Tony’s mouth opened and closed a few times, struggling to understand the situation. “H-hiya, kid. I’m Tony.”
“How many are you, Mr. Tony?” The boy inquired, hanging off his father to get a better look at Tony.
“ How old are you, Theo.” Bruce corrected softly, turning to sit the boy on the counter so he didn’t topple out of his arms.
“How old are you, Mr. Tony?” Theo repeated impatiently, already exasperated with having to repeat himself, as he wiggled on his knees.
“I’m twenty-seven, kid.” Tony answered awkwardly, wide eyes trying to catch Bruce’s gaze for an explanation.
“I can count that many!” Theo assures him and barely sucked in a breath before he began demonstrating his counting abilities. “One, two, three, four, five - that’s how many I am! - six, seven -“
Bruce snorted, scooping up his hyperactive son and attacking his cheeks with kisses. The boy allowed himself to be distracted by his silly daddy and erupted in squeals. “That tickles, daddy!”
The man held his little boy in a cradle, ceasing his kiss attack. “You can count for Mr. Tony later, why don’t you go play with Darcy while daddy talks with his friend?”
“We can play superheros,” Darcy supplied as she pushed off of the wall, understanding that Bruce needed a moment with this man without the ramblings of his sugar-stuffed kid.
“Only if I can be Captain America this time, Darcy!” The boy demanded, wiggling in his father’s arms. Bruce lowered the squirming boy to the ground, ruffling his hair.
“Oldest gets to pick first,” Darcy teased, making her way to the boy’s room, sparing Tony a polite nod.
“Not if I get there first!” He screamed and then tore out of the kitchen behind his nanny.
Bruce looked after his little boy for a few moments, a soft smile on his face as he thought of how blessed he was to have Theo in his life.
“What the fu - heck, Bruce?” Tony hissed, barely able to stop the curse from slipping past his lips and cases a panicked glance down the hallway to ensure Theo wasn’t within earshot.
Bruce sighed, knowing there was no way to get around this now, and made his way to occupy the stool next to Tony.
“My son, Theo.” Bruce said, reaching across the island to slide his forgotten tea to him.
Tony gapped at his friend and then blindly reached for his own tea, just for something to do. He needed to process this, the last time he saw Bruce the man definitely didn’t look pregnant. But … Jesus Christ, he needed a drink.
The boy’s blue eyes looked extremely familiar and it only takes Tony a few seconds to piece together why that is.
“He looks like -“ Tony started, treading lightly because what the fuck.
“He’s Thor’s son,” Bruce shares reluctantly, the phrase sounding foreign to his ears, which makes sense since this is the first time it has passed his lips.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Tony mumbled and took a big gulp of his tea to try and keep it together. The lemongrass and ginger flavored water did nothing for his racing mind.
He looked over at Bruce, the man having already been watching Tony’s reaction calmly as he sipped his own tea. Tony offered a small smile. Now that it was clear he hadn’t been the reason for Bruce’s disappearance, the man wasn’t nearly as upset - if at all. “Got anything stronger than tea?”
Bruce snorted, gently placing his cup down to get up and grab the bottle of Jack Daniel’s from the cabinet above the sink along with two shot glasses.
“God, you and fucking whiskey are inseparable.” Tony grinned, glad that some parts of the man he was friends with hadn’t changed in the slightest.
Once they got the taste of liquor in their systems (Bruce’s one shot versus Tony’s four), the billionaire started with his tentative questions.
“Does Thor know?”
“No,” Bruce admitted softly, back to nursing his tea. “I never got the chance to tell him.”
Tony’s brows furred, not understanding how that could be. The last he’d seen of his friend and Thor, they’d been happily involved, taking every opportunity to fuck each other’s brains out.
On and off the clock , Tony’s memory supplied, recalling how he’d walked in on them more than once while delivering documents to the man in charge.
“I-“ Bruce broke off with a heavy sigh, expression miserable. “When I found out I went to his penthouse to tell him; security wouldn’t even let me in.”
“What , why?” Tony demanded, anger on the rise for his friend.
Bruce shrugged, eyes trained on his rapidly cooling tea. “Heimdall came to me in the office where they held me and said Thor didn’t want to even see me , said he was committed to marrying Jane and didn’t want me to come around anymore.”
Bruce swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, knowing all too well how easily he cried just thinking about this memory, nevermind speaking it out loud. He took a drink of his tea before continuing.
“He told me Thor’s number was being changed at that exact moment and he wanted our affair to stay in the past.”
The word tasted bitter on his tongue, cheapening the relationship he and Thor shared. Or the relationship he thought they shared.
“Heimdall shoved a check in my hand, with more zeros than I thought I’d see in my lifetime , and threatened legal action if I ever showed up at Thor’s home or business again.”
Bruce laughed a humorless laugh, feeling just as worthless and pathetic as he had the day security escorted him out, faces indifferent to his gut-wrenching sobs.
Tony’s heart clenched in sympathy for his friend, never having thought in a million years that the man Bruce was so in love with would do something so hateful.
Bruce took a few deep breaths, blinking the tears away before they dared to fall. He took another long drink of his tea, just from habit at this point and continued. “My parents wanted nothing to do with me after I told them I was pregnant and they straight up hated me when I told them I didn’t even know who the father was.”
“So I ran. I took the check and left everything behind.”
Tony got up from his chair and enveloped the hunched man in a fierce hug. Bruce stiffened in surprise, having expected Tony to react similarly to how his parents had. But soon relaxed into the hug, even turning in the embrace to hug the man back.
Tony didn’t think it was appropriate to remind Bruce that Thor was divorced now and should be pulling his weight with this whole parenthood thing.
“I’m sorry I left you,” he whispered brokenly, tears finally escaping his eyes. “I wanted to call you so many times, but I was so fucking embarrassed , Tony.”
Tony pulled out of the hug, eyes shining with his own tears. He glared at Bruce before speaking firmly. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. That dick stain is a piece of shit and I never should have pushed you to pursue him. God, I’m so sorry, Bruce.”
The billionaire pulled his best friend back into a tight hug, letting the younger man’s tears soak through the shoulder of his dress shirt. He continued whispering apologies and promises about how Bruce wasn’t ever getting rid of him again.
The pair embraced for quite some time, breaking apart only when they heard Theo’s shrieking battlecry in the other room.
They both burst into laughter, letting the serious and emotional situation evaporate.
Bruce reached for a napkin on the island and dabbed at his now puffy eyes and red nose. “So what now?”
Tony raised an eyebrow and turned on his heels. “Now I solidify my place as World’s Best Uncle .”
Bruce snorted, watching his best friend happily strut down the hallway.
God, he missed that idiot.
***
Having Tony back in his life was a breath of fresh air. They’d quickly fallen back into their dynamic from the past, Tony being an annoying, impulsive brat and Bruce being the voice of reason.
“No, Anthony. You cannot fire him because you do not like his choice of tie,” Bruce told the man firmly over the phone, stirring the pasta he was making for dinner.
“Cancel it, Tony! Send it back,” Bruce hissed into the mic of his earbuds as he walked to his case law lecture. “Theo does not need a pony!”
“I don’t care if you own the jet and have a villa on the beachfront,” Bruce groaned, tossing his pen onto the stack of notes he was studying after putting Theo to bed. “I cannot just take off for a week with my kid and go to The Bahamas.”
A pleasant surprise was that Tony had been dating the same man for the last six years. Bruce immediately recognized the man as the same person who literally carried Bruce up to the stage to sing, at Tony’s request.
Steve Rogers was the perfect balance for his impulsive best friend. The man was an English professor at NYU and shared a place with Tony. Where Tony was quick to act, Steve thought things through. Tony’s inability to boil water went perfectly with Steve’s extensive knowledge in the kitchen. If Tony was peanut butter, Steve was jelly. Bruce couldn’t help the genuine friendship he and Steve formed within the first month of being reintroduced and they quickly formed an alliance against Tony when the man was in one of his moods.
And Theo absolutely adored his uncles, having become very used to seeing one if not both at least every other day. Steve was his favorite out of the three of them, being the only one tall enough to give acceptable shoulder rides. Theo always loves sitting atop the tall man’s shoulders and often whined when he had to get down.
Tony took to uncle-hood like a duck to water, quickly familiarizing the young boy with all of the classics - AC/DC was a crowd favorite and prompted Theo to request guitar lessons.
The new additions to their little family were good for both Banners.
Oh, God .
Scratch that, Bruce takes everything he just said back.
“Anthony, I’m going to murder you,” Bruce hissed into the phone, pacing the kitchen after sending Theodore to his room.
“Well, hello to you too, pumpkin-pie,” Tony greeted, not at all concerned with the threat.
Bruce slapped a hand against the marble island in irritation. “What have you been teaching Theo?”
The other line was silent for a brief moment, as if Tony was trying to figure out which life lesson Bruce was mad about, which sent Bruce’s irritation through the fucking roof.
“Okay,” The billionaire cleared his throat and spoke with a sheepish tone. “Whatever you think I did… I probably did do it.”
Bruce rubbed at his temples for a few seconds trying to calm the pulsing in his head. He snatched up the disciplinary note that had been slid into Theo’s take home folder.
“Theo got himself sent to the office today, Anthony. I’ll read this verbatim . ‘Theodore was told he would receive three minutes on the swing during recess, as the play set was heavily sought after today and all the children wanted a turn. Once his three minutes were up, Miss. Romanoff informed him that his time had come to an end. Theodore refused to leave the swing and told his teacher: My uncle Tony is a billionaire, I don’t have to share’.”
Tony’s full-belly laughter sounded off on the other line. “That’s my boy!”
Bruce felt a smile tug at his lips, but was determined not to let Tony off the hook too easily.
“I’m telling Steve,” he announced, taking pleasure in the abrupt halt of laughter.
“No!” Tony screeched, sounding genuinely panicked. “He won’t do that thing with his tongue-“
Bruce promptly hung up.
God, his best friend was too much.
***
“I’m gonna fucking deck that motherfucker,” Tony viciously mumbled to his boyfriend as they were led to their table for the Mentoring USA charity gala.
He hadn’t even wanted to come to this stupid shit, content with writing a check and sticking it in the mail. But no , he just had to be dating a teacher who genuinely loved children and wanted to show his support by attending this stuffy party.
What Tony failed to realize until he walked in the door, was that this very charity was overseen by the same motherfucker who abandoned his best friend and made him a single parent at twenty years old.
Tony had been ready to throw down right then and there, eyes scanning the sea of faces for the only one he wanted to kick in. But, his rational other half quickly reminded him how much Bruce would not appreciate Tony getting thrown into jail - or worse pummeled by Thor.
Which, okay, yeah, the dude is stupid ripped, but Jesus sacrificed his body for a good reason and damnit, Tony would too.
Well, no. If that motherfucker even lifted a finger to the billionaire, Tony’s ripped blond would fuck Thor’s shit up.
The thought immediately sent a wave of arousal through Tony and he leaned up to whisper all the nasty things he wanted to do with his boyfriend when they got home. The flushed neck of his man showed exactly how much he’d like that.
“You will not start an altercation with Thor,” Steve said in a firm tone, leading them further into the ballroom to mingle. Well, Steve was going to mingle, Tony was going to cling to the man and see just how many inappropriate touches he could get away with.
Under the watchful eye of Steve, Tony was kept at least ten feet away from Thor the majority of the evening. When they were escorted back to their seats to start the dinner portion of the night Tony was able to slip away ‘to go to the bathroom’, which he actually did need to pee.
And who does he run into when he walks out of the stall?
Thor bitch-ass Odinson.
“Good evening, Mr. Stark.” The man greeted, a polite smile on his face as he moved to walk past Tony.
“Suck a dick,” Tony hissed at his back, thinking it was said low enough to not be picked up by the blond tank.
It was not.
A shocked Thor quickly spun on his heels to face Tony, polite smile having been replaced with a tense expression.
“Have I offended you?” He asked through clenched teeth, hands flexing at his side.
Tony briefly toyed with the idea of laughing it off and sprinting out of the bathroom to the protection of his boyfriend. But fuck that.
Tony glared right at the man. “Yeah, you have offended me, Goldilocks.”
Thor took three large steps into Tony’s space, purposefully towering over the billionaire. The intensity of icy blue eyes was almost enough to make Tony cower, but he held his ground.
“My name is Thor, it would behoove you to remember that, Mr. Stark,” the man growled.
Tony took a step back, giving the giant his own glare. “I’m not scared of some spineless prick who doesn’t even have the decency to break up with someone himself.”
Thor gave him an incredulous look as some of the tension in his body relaxed, apparently deciding that Tony wasn’t a threat.
Which was so rude.
“We’ve never engaged in such a relationship, Mr. Stark,” he said and then had the nerve to laugh in Tony’s face.
Unfortunately, when Tony gets angry his mouth takes on a mind of its own.
“I’d never fuck a low-life like you,” he spat at the man, happy the jerk’s eyes narrowed in anger at his words. “I’m talking about Bruce .”
And the second the words left his mouth, he desperately wanted to take them back. He watched helplessly as realization crossed the blond’s face and then the glare was back. “You know nothing about the ending of my relationship with Bruce Banner. Mind your tongue.”
Tony took a step closer to the man, hoping all 5’10 of him managed to be somewhat intimidating. He reached out to poke roughly at the firm chest. “I know you sent your bodyguard to break up with him and then threw some hush money at him like he was some fucking prostitute!”
Thor’s anger slowly melted to confusion, which in turn confused Tony. Did this motherfucker not have the ability to comprehend the language he was speaking? Tony spoke five languages and was more than willing to cuss him out in each and every one.
“Bruce broke up with me, ” the man said, voice straining with emotion. “I don’t know anything about hush money.”
Oh, he thinks Tony’s a goddamn idiot. Game recognize game.
Tony chuckled, folded his arms and gave the man an unimpressed look. “You had Heimdall threaten him, give him a multi-million dollar check, and then escort him out of your building. Ringing a bell, Point Break?”
Thor’s face went through a myriad of emotions, none of which sitting well with Tony. Either this guy should break into acting or he actually didn’t know what the hell Tony was talking about.
Please let him be acting, Tony thought desperately.
“I have to go,” Thor mumbled, distraction clear as he stumbled out of the bathroom, leaving Tony to glance around aimlessly, unsure of what to do now. Usually he was the one storming off after an argument, the last word always had to be his.
“Yeah, you better run!” He called out in the now empty bathroom and popped his collar.
“I fucking showed him,” he mumbled, moving over to wash his hands and quickly get back to Steve.
“You were gone a while,” Steve commented upon his return, cutting into his steak.
Tony forced a laugh, not wanting to inform Steve of the very big, possibly catastrophic, fuck up he just made. “Long line, my love.”
Steve hmmm ’d, but let the subject drop. “I ordered your steak medium rare, and your potatoes without chives.”
Tony grinned, always falling a little more in love when Steve did small things like this, showing how well he’d come to know Tony.
The billionaire leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, babe.”
Steve flashed him a grin of his own, making the butterflies in Tony’s stomach act up.
Oh, he was so in love with this man.
They tucked in just as the host for the evening sauntered up to the podium to briefly announce the speaker for the night.
Tony scowled at the thought of having to listen to Thor’s fake ass talk about how charitable he was when Tony knew the truth. The praise from the host grated on Tony’s nerve with every lie that passed his lips. Why couldn’t anyone else see Thor for the fraud he was? If he wasn’t sure that Steve would yell at him, Tony would hop on stage and expose Thor right this second.
“Enough with my rambling, please welcome Thor Odinson.”
The ballroom clapped politely at the introduction, all except Tony who viciously ripped the sliver of meat off of his fork with his teeth, gaining an eye roll from his boyfriend who then went back to his own food.
The ballroom applause faded out in scattered sections as the host stood on the stage, Thor not in sight.
“Thor Odinson ,” the host repeated again, nervousness apparent.
Tony paused, keeping his eyes to his plate as he swallowed the mouthful of meat. He didn’t need to look up to know Steve was looking at him.
“Mr. Odinson, please come to the stage.”
Tony bit his lip, eyes squeezed shut as gossip-filled whispered spread through the ballroom.
Thor just went to another bathroom because he was scared of Tony. Yeah, that’s it. He'll come rushing up to the stage in a second with apologises for his tardiness.
Maybe like five seconds.
Tony slowly counted down to one-Mississippi in his head.
Twice.
No sign of Thor.
Oh, God. Bruce might actually murder him. Oh, God.
He chanced a glance at Steve; the man was calmly cutting his steak and then popped a slice of meat into his mouth. He chewed slowly, thoroughly pulverizing the meat before swallowing and dabbing his mouth with his napkin.
“Fix it,” he said simply, not looking at Tony as he forked some mashed potatoes into his mouth and chewed slowly.
“What makes you think I did something?” Tony hissed, indignation clear in his tone as he sat his cutlery down and straightened up to fold his arms.
Steve did not look at him as he began cutting another sliver of meat. “ Fix it.”
Tony groaned and pushed away from the table, grabbing his cellphone. “ Okay , fine, jeez.”
***
Bruce was cuddling his sweet boy on the couch as they watched The Emperor's New Groove, a Banner household favorite. Theo had watched the movie more than enough times to recite the dialogue from start to finish and Bruce found it utterly adorable when his little voice would change to match the different characters.
“Pull the lever, Kronk,” he said in a nasally imitation of Yzma. “Wrong lever!”
Bruce grinned as his son dissolved into giggles as Yzma fell through a trapdoor, the appeal of the movie never going away. Theo burrowed further into his father as he continued to recite the movie’s dialogue.
“Why do we even have that lever?” The boy demanded, still imitating Yzma. “Get out of my way!”
Bruce sunk more into the couch, always loving these calm moments with his baby. Tonight they’d decided on a Disney movie marathon with pizza for dinner and fruit for dessert.
And tomorrow? Bruce planned on surprising his son with a trip to the zoo. Following the little hiccup at school, Bruce sat his sweet boy down and explained that even though uncle Tony said those kinds of things, it did not mean that Theo could repeat them at school. He made sure to stress the importance of following the rules at school and respecting his teachers. The boy apologized for his behavior and was a perfect angel the entire week that followed.
And thus, the trip to the zoo.
The doorbell rang just as Yzma and Kronk began plotting on how to get rid of Kuzco, sending Theo into an excited frenzy.
Theo shot up to jump on the couch, chanting in earnest. “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!”
Bruce snorted, unfolding himself from the couch to feed the Pizza God. He made sure to caution his son against jumping too high and to avoid falling off the couch and breaking his neck, the only response he got was louder chanting.
Bruce made his way to the entryway, hoping he remembered to put his wallet in the entryway bowl so he could quickly pay the delivery person. He paused briefly when his phone began screeching AC/DC’s Back in Black, signaling that Tony was calling him.
“Theo, answer dad’s phone, it’s uncle Tony!” He called over his shoulder and he continued into the entryway.
He chuckled softly when he heard his son enthusiastically answer the call with a “when are you coming over, uncle Tony”.
He spotted the leather wallet Tony randomly gifted him while demanding he replace his old one with the shiny, expensive new one laying in the entryway Important Stuff bowl and snatched it up.
He pulled the door open as he flipped his wallet open to give him access to the cash inside. “Hey, sorry for the wait, how much was it, again?”
Bruce was thumbing through the various bills in his wallet, thinking the total was somewhere around twenty-five dollars.
“Bruce,” a soft voice said, causing the man’s head to snap up from the familiarity.
Expressive brown eyes met cerulean blue ones for the first time in six years. Flashes of intimate memories and stolen moments vividly assaulted him. Sneaky kisses and lusty groans in the elevator; breathy moans and passionate climaxes tangled in silk sheets.
Heartbreak and tears painting the New York streets.
Bruce’s heart stopped in his chest, the arm holding his wallet falling limp at his side. He stared in shock at the father of his child , unable to process the situation at this moment . He vaguely heard little bare feet padding towards him, brain refusing to send warnings to his body.
“Uncle Tony wants to talk,” His son said from where he stopped at his hip, Bruce’s cellphone outstretched for his father to take. “He said it’s super important.”
The small boy gazed up at the person at the door; twin sets of blue eyes met. The boy looked at the stranger who certainly did not have pizza in his hands and frowned. “Hey, where’s my pizza!”
Bruce snapped out of his stupor, immediately slamming the door closed and locking it before Thor could begin to question him, then plucked the phone from his confused son’s hands.
“Tony, what did you do?!” He hissed into the phone, panic skyrocketing as his doorbell began ringing.
“Who’s that man?” Theo demanded, looking suspiciously at his dad.
“I can explain!” Tony promised.
Bruce felt faint.
***
Bruce groaned when he regained consciousness the next morning, yesterday’s events slamming to the forefront of his mind, making the hangover ten times worse.
Once he finished berating Tony in child-friendly terms he promptly hung up on the sputtering man and shooed his son into the living room, gaining a glare from his mini-me.
The boy went reluctantly only because his favorite scene of the movie was coming up.
The doorbell had been ringing non-stop and was accompanied by insistent knocking. Bruce’s heart hadn’t stopped beating furiously since the brief reunion he and Thor shared.
The man’s desperate pleas travelled to his ears, drastically muffled by the thickness of his front door. He begged for Bruce to open the door and talk to him; demanded to know why the little boy had the same eyes as him.
Bruce leaned against the wall, trying desperately to keep his tears from falling, not understanding why Tony would do this to him.
To Theo.
When Bruce was finally able to get a grip, he told Thor firmly that he needed to leave now or the police would be called. He shakily pulled up his phone and dialed the number, one hundred percent willing to press the green call button if his directions weren’t followed. The doorbell and the knocking ceased, as did Thor’s pleas, and soon the only sound that could be heard was Theo’s movie in the background.
Bruce waited a full five minutes, hand clutching his phone and stared at the door; praying that Thor really left and wouldn’t return.
He jumped in shock when the doorbell rang again, only this time it was accompanied by an unknown voice informing him his pizza was here. Bruce opened the door slowly, poking his head out to look to the left and right, ensuring that Thor wasn’t lurking. The pizza deliverer looked at him with a confused expression, which Bruce did not care about or comment on as he shoved a couple bills in the teen’s hand, grabbed his pizza and quickly closed the door without so much as a thank you.
He was extremely grateful that his son was distracted by the pizza and movie, avoiding any uncomfortable questions that Bruce knew he wouldn’t be able to answer.
Once Theo was stuffed and dozing off in his own bed, Bruce got thoroughly reacquainted with Jack Daniels, tossing back shots faster than he could refill the glass. After ignoring four of Tony’s phone calls and nine of his texts, Bruce eventually shut his phone off all together and wallowed in his despair, drinking until he blacked out.
“Oh, God,” he moaned, slumped against the kitchen island as he nursed a glass of water and laid his head against the cold marble to help sooth his pounding head.
When he remembered to turn his phone back on, Bruce squeezed his eyes shut in pain as the phone chimed over and over; his missed call notifications and texts hurried to make themselves known.
He ignored every single one with Tony’s name attached to it, scrolling to open the single text from Steve.
My boyfriend is an idiot, but he means well. Take your time - hope you’re both OK.
- S
He quickly shot the man a response, ensuring they were both fine and would be going to the zoo today. Bruce was going to swallow the maximum amount of headache pills the bottle said he could and down a cup of coffee before starting on his and Theo’s breakfast.
Thor could go to hell.