Chapter Text
Bruce still remembers that day, that night when he met that man. He remembers how, a month later, he found out he was pregnant, and how, eight months after that, he had his little boy.
At the time, he had hoped that his baby would inherit his own features, just to avoid questions about the father. But apparently, that man's genes had been much stronger than his.
And yes, the child had turned out exactly the way Bruce had hoped he wouldn't.
Blond, blue-eyed, and big as a tree.
Even so, Bruce could see himself reflected in his son's personality. He truly meant it when he said they were quite alike in that regard. They were both shy, easily embarrassed, rather curious, capable, and smart.
But that little boy was also physically strong, and brave as a lion.
Theo.
His precious, beloved Theo.
The boy might not have been planned, but Bruce loved him as though he had been waiting for him his entire life. His life before Theo hadn't been bad at all, but he had always felt like there was a small empty space inside him, something that needed to be filled.
And now, that space was filled.
He remembered that night. That man.
Thor.
Yes, Thor was a name rather similar to his son's, and Bruce had done that on purpose.
He remembered being in that bar in downtown New York, a busy, crowded place that seemed to be alive twenty-four hours a day. Tony and Natasha had been with him. They were there to celebrate Bruce's new doctorate and Tony's latest invention.
That night had passed in a blur of shots and laughter, and Bruce couldn't even remember whether he had danced at some point. But he did remember seeing him from across the room, surrounded by men just as broad and muscular as he was.
And he remembered exactly the look Thor had given him.
An hour later, they were kissing in a corner, surrounded by other people who were doing the same. One thing led to another, and they ended up at Bruce's house.
The next morning, Bruce remembered having breakfast with Thor. They had connected surprisingly quickly, although after that day, he never saw him again.
And now he had a son with him.
He remembered telling his two friends the news, and he certainly remembered Tony fainting.
According to Bruce, everything was fine. Nothing was wrong.
But somewhere in his heart, there was still that small, sharp ache from never having had the chance to take things any further—or at least see Thor again. Maybe, if they had taken things further, he could have told him about the baby.
But hey, Theo wasn't much of a baby anymore.
Almost five years had passed, and Theo was turning four today.
His godfather, Tony, had personally taken charge of organizing his birthday party, with Pepper and Happy helping him. Bruce had told him more than once that he could easily afford to throw Theo a simple birthday party without all the fuss.
But he had to admit that the man had spoiled the little boy with huge, extravagant parties. Now Theo dreamed every night about the giant inflatable slide Tony had promised him.
But while Bruce thought it would simply be another day—a slightly more important one than the others—it was actually going to be the complete opposite.
Two days earlier
"You know, I distinctly remember telling you that my brother could take care of things like this."
"Lord Thor is unavailable."
"I don't care. I'm not going down to that smelly world."
Loki immediately left the room, already planning to search all of Asgard for his brother and force him to take care of the mission himself.
After all, Thor owed him one. For five years, Loki had been the one going down to Earth because of Thor's ridiculous excuses.
Fortunately for Loki, his brother wasn't nearly as busy as Heimdall had claimed.
After hurrying through half the castle, Loki found Thor sitting on the railing of the stone terrace, staring out at the town below.
For a few seconds, Loki said nothing. There was something strange about his brother's posture, a tension he couldn't quite place. Thor noticed him standing nearby, but he didn't say anything either, waiting for Loki to speak first.
"Why don't you want to go down?"
"From here? Meh. I'm comfortable."
"To Midgard."
Loki noticed the immediate change in Thor.
"Uh... What are you talking about? I... I mean, if I want to, I can. I don't... You know, I don't have a problem with it."
"Then why don't you go?"
"When have I ever refused?" Thor asked nervously.
"The last five years."
"Oh."
"Look, I don't care if you had some sort of problem down there, but I'm tired of going. And if you don't have anything else to do—which, from what I can see, you don't—then you might as well go yourself."
Loki left the terrace without another word, leaving Thor alone with a fierce battle raging inside his head.
He wasn't ready.
He didn't want to.
He couldn't.
It had been five years since he had met that small man—small, at least compared to him—since they had shared that night together at the younger man's house, and since Thor had last set foot on Midgard.
He had decided not to return because he had felt himself falling completely in love, something he had mentally forbidden himself from experiencing ever since Jane.
And he was afraid that if he returned, he would have the terrible luck of running into Bruce and being unable to form a single coherent sentence, making himself look like an idiot.
Or perhaps he was simply overthinking everything, and Bruce didn't even remember him.
But Thor remembered every moment, every detail of that night, and of the following morning as well.
That day, he had come to Midgard because he remembered it was his friend Steve's birthday. A few years earlier, he had met Steve during a mission he had been sent on to prevent the destruction of an entire city by a bunch of simple robots.
That night, he had gone to a large bar in New York with Steve and his friends. Thor remembered drinking everything they offered him as if it were water, because the alcohol on Earth was nothing compared to Asgardian alcohol.
He had spent the entire night enjoying Clint and Bucky's surprisingly low tolerance.
And he remembered exactly when he locked eyes with that handsome, curly-haired man.
He remembered exactly what Bruce had been wearing that night: gray dress pants, black shoes, and a purple shirt. Purple seemed to suit him perfectly.
Steve had encouraged him to go over and talk to him.
And once Thor did, he couldn't bring himself to walk away.
They talked for an hour, until the alcohol began to affect Bruce and they started kissing in a corner.
And they ended up at Bruce's house.
In his hundreds of years of life, Thor had to admit that he had slept with more women than he could count on both hands, and his experience certainly showed.
But never with a man.
And he had never enjoyed himself with a woman as much as he had with Bruce.
God, it had felt incredible.
Two hours later, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
The next morning, Thor was the first to wake up, and, being the affectionate man he was after a night like that, he made breakfast for Bruce.
Their conversation that morning was easy and pleasant. They were able to get to know each other better, more calmly, without loud music and dozens of people surrounding them.
They talked about Bruce's work, science, and doctorates.
Thor decided not to talk about himself.
Then it was time to leave.
The goodbye was strange. Neither of them asked for the other's number. Neither promised to see the other again, or even asked where the other was from.
Nothing.
Just goodbye.
And Thor left.
For good.
Until today.
"Why the hell do I have to come? As if I don't have enough to deal with up there."
Apparently, there was a strange wizard going around turning humans into ashes—literally ashes.
And Thor wasn't the only one trying to stop him.
"Thor!"
"Steve!"
"Man, you finally showed up. It's been years."
They greeted each other with a handshake and a half-hug.
"I know. I've been pretty busy. What's going on?"
"His name is Readzear. He's been making people disappear. According to him, they're the most sinful people."
"There's never a shortage of madmen who want to exterminate everyone."
The case was complicated.
Whenever Readzear appeared to commit one of his crimes, he was only there for a few seconds. Once he accomplished his goal, he simply vanished, leaving no trace behind.
You might be wondering... why would they want to stop him if he was only eliminating "sinners"?
You might assume he meant criminals.
But the man had a very different idea of what a "sinner" was.
"We found a pattern among the missing people," Nick Fury said.
Steve and Thor had been taken to the S.H.I.E.L.D. building, where Thor was welcomed as one of their own.
"And?" Steve asked impatiently.
"Single mothers and fathers."
"What?"
Thor's response was almost automatic.
His entire life, he had fought enemies both strong and weak, enemies who at least had some sort of serious reason for what they were doing.
This seemed like a joke.
"I don't understand."
"He has been making women who raise their children alone disappear. Men, too."
"Why?"
"He hasn't explained himself clearly during his appearances. But we need to move quickly and protect these people and their children."
A danger alert sounded on several phones throughout New York City.
Bruce, still asleep with Theo in his arms, began to stir as the alarming noise echoed through the room.
When he opened his eyes, he quickly grabbed his phone and looked at the screen.
DANGER ALERT
STAY WHERE YOU ARE
A RESCUE TEAM WILL COME FOR YOU
Rescue team?
Bruce didn't understand what was happening, but he knew he had to get his son ready and change clothes.
"Dad?"
Little Theo was still lying in the large bed, slowly opening his eyes despite how heavy his eyelids felt.
He watched as his father hurried from one side of the room to the other.
"Sweetheart, get up. Can you go wash up in the bathroom?"
"What's happening?"
Bruce made time to sit on the edge of the bed and look into his son's eyes. He put on his best reassuring expression and gently held the boy by the arms.
"We have to leave quickly. Just do what I tell you, okay, prince?"
Theo nodded slightly and climbed out of bed, walking toward the bathroom before closing the door behind him.
Bruce quickly called Tony. When he didn't answer, he called Natasha instead, and she picked up after a while.
"Brucie, what's going on this early?"
"Did you get the alert?"
"What alert?"
Bruce's concern grew.
"The alert on the phone. The danger alert."
"Um... no, Bruce. Nothing came through on my phone... Is everything okay?"
Bruce walked over to the television and turned it on, switching to the news.
"Bruce?"
"I-I'll see you, Nat."
"Wait, Br—"
He ended the call and stood still for a few seconds, staring at the television.
A new enemy was attacking New York City, and he was targeting specific people.
Single parents?
"What the hell?"
"Did you say 'hell'?"
Bruce startled when he saw his son standing beside him.
"Theo! Don't repeat that word. Come on, let's get you dressed."
Within a few minutes, they were both ready.
Bruce sighed when he heard the loud knocking on the door. He grabbed Theo's little hand and kept him behind him as he approached the door.
When he opened it, he found two men dressed in black, carrying equipment that looked like police gear. They both looked concerned, and Bruce immediately realized that something was seriously wrong.
"Bruce Banner, come with us. Bring your son."
Bruce picked his little boy up and followed the men down the stairs as quickly as he could.
He felt Theo tense up the moment they left the building and saw the huge crowd gathered outside, boarding large, strange-looking aircraft.
Theo became even more frightened when he saw so many children crying, with many of the adults looking almost as distressed.
"Dad?"
"What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"Why are we here?"
"We're going for a little trip, Theo. Everything will be okay."
"IT'S TIME TO BOARD!"
"Where are we going?"
Theo couldn't help staring at the aircraft in fascination.
"It's a surprise."
It was a surprise for Bruce, too.
Suddenly, Bruce and Theo turned around at the same time when they heard the exaggerated crying of a boy around Theo's age.
A young man who looked about twenty-five, with platinum-blond hair and an average build, was trying to calm him down.
Bruce noticed the dark circles beneath the man's eyes, the exhaustion in his voice, and his irritation, which Bruce assumed was because of his son.
The boy ran around in circles, screaming and crying, attracting quite a bit of attention.
The two men looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.
Bruce was grateful that his own son had been born relatively calm, although Theo could sometimes be quite rough when he got excited.
But he had never, ever thrown a tantrum like that.
As the minutes passed, everyone was aboard the aircraft and being directed toward different rest areas. They were basically living rooms, simple and sparsely furnished.
Bruce and Theo sat on a large couch surrounded by dozens of other people.
Bruce took the opportunity to pull out his phone and try calling Tony again.
Two rings were enough for Bruce to hear Tony's agitated, nervous voice.
"BRUCE?! Oh God, thank goodness you called! I saw the news. Where are you? Do you need me to send Happy to get you? And Theo?"
"Tony, calm down. I'm fine... I'm on... a ship, I think. I don't know. Theo's perfectly fine. We're together."
"A ship?... Oh, yeah. I just saw it fly past."
"I don't really understand what's happening."
Bruce held his son a little tighter.
"I told you we needed to move out of New York. Something is always happening here. Where the hell did some guy with such a twisted sense of morality come from? And why is he targeting you?"
"I don't know. Listen... I have to go."
And he hung up.
A few men entered the room, and all the parents looked at them with confusion, anger, fear, and even hope.
"We're taking you somewhere safe. Until we resolve this situation, you'll be under our protection."
"But where are we going?"
"What will happen to us?"
"My son needs his medication."
"Where are we going to sleep?"
"Listen, once we arrive, we'll answer all your questions. But for now, just wait."
Bruce lowered his gaze to the floor and sighed tiredly.
"That guy should make the people who abandoned their children disappear, not those of us who take care of them."
Bruce turned around and once again found himself face-to-face with the platinum-blond young man. He still looked irritated, but at least his son was sitting quietly this time.
"What?"
"I said that guy is an idiot."
Bruce covered Theo's ears, but the boy had already heard him and let out a genuine giggle at the word.
"Hey! Why would you say something like that in front of the kids?"
"Mateo doesn't care what I say. He never listens to me anyway..."
The young man looked Bruce up and down, then, after a few seconds, extended his hand toward him.
"Pietro."
"Bruce... and Theo."
Bruce shook his hand and tried to smile genuinely.
"Wow! You have the new Captain America figure!"
Theo jumped off the large couch and approached Mateo, who was sitting on Pietro's lap.
"That's right," Mateo replied proudly as he climbed down. "Do you want to play? I also brought Thor."
Thor.
Sometimes Bruce forgot that he had had a child with a superhero.
A god, too.
"Can I, Dad?"
"Of course, sweetheart," Bruce replied with a smile.
Both children ran to the other side of the room, and little by little, more children joined them to play.
"How old is he?" Pietro asked, referring to Theo.
"He turns four in two days. What about Mateo?"
"He turned five last month. That day, his father sent him a ridiculous birthday card, and the card only said, 'Happy birthday, Marcos.' I almost crossed the entire city to go find that brute."
Bruce and Pietro laughed softly.
"Theo's father? If you don't mind me asking."
"You want to know who he is?"
"Ohh, is he famous?"
"More famous than I'd like. Although neither of them knows the other exists."
"Oh, that's even worse. I wouldn't be able to guess. I might be able to figure it out if I looked closely, though, since he doesn't look anything like you."
Bruce laughed loudly.
"I know. Physically, he's basically identical to his father. But up here..." He pointed to his head. "Let's just say he takes after his mom."
Before Pietro could respond, they felt a slight impact run through the entire ship.
They tried not to panic and simply chose to assume that they had finally arrived wherever they were supposed to be.