Strongest Avenger

by JimberlyShipper

This is a Stanner oneshot. It was mostly written after I saw Infinity War. It takes place in between Ragnarok and Infinity ny and Bruce work things out and start a relationship. Peter is biologically Tony's son, so it's a tad AU. And past Thorki and Thundershield is mentioned. Could be triggering for those who are survivors of sexual abuse. Otherwise, all fluff.

Disclaimer: The characters of the MCU do not belong to me. This is a Stanner fic that takes place between Ragnorak and Infinity War. Bruce goes to see Tony and they talk about their feelings. This idea's been nigglng at me since I saw Ragnorak. Oh, and Peter is actually Tony's kid, so it's a tad AU. Just a oneshot, pretty sure. Maybe a twoshot if I deal with the feels from Infinity War.

Strongest Avenger
By Julia

Bruce Banner was on his way to Tony Stark's place in New York. He had just spent two years as the Hulk. That wasn't something that he'd planned on. He'd lost touch with everyone. He hated that, although he had just helped out Thor. And that was why he was going to see Tony. He realized how Tony felt about him, and Bruce was tired of hiding how he felt. He felt the same for Tony. There had been so many times when he'd almost told him. Bruce had never had feelings for a man before Tony. He had freaked out, but not because Tony was also a man. Because he was afraid that he would hurt Tony. But he also knew that Tony accepted him for who he truly was. And Bruce had never forgotten the look on Tony's face when Bruce had spoke of his suicide.

It obviously hadn't worked, but the look on Tony's face, it had gotten to Bruce. Bruce had often thought it was because Tony had been in that position before. Bruce also felt that Tony had started to fall in love with him then, and Bruce just hadn't noticed. He felt so stupid. The cab he was in pulled up to Tony's place and after praying, got out and went up to the door. His heart was pounding a mile a minute. He had no idea what he was going to say. He should have thought that out ahead of time. Bruce rung the bell, and bit his lip.

Peter Parker heard the doorbell, and went to get it. He opened it, and saw an older guy. He had seen him before he was the Hulk! Peter gasped. Finally he spoke. "You must want to see my dad." He brushed his hand through his brown hair. Peter watched his face, he seemed confused. Why, he didn't know, but he stepped back to let him in anyway. "He's been upset lately, I don't know why. He won't tell me." Peter knew Tony had had a fight with Captain America, he just didn't know what it had been about. Peter wasn't surprised, Tony was a taciturn man.

It was kind of amazing, the kid had to mean Tony. Since when did Tony have a kid? Although knowing Tony's past, he wasn't surprised a bit. Bruce stepped inside. Bruce followed him to the living room, Tony was laying on the couch, and Bruce was surprised, he looked 40 pounds lighter than the last time Bruce had seen him. Bruce had to admit, he was worried for him, Tony hadn't needed to lose weight. Bruce moved to sit on the armchair by the couch. Tony set his brown eyes on him then, and Bruce looked back at him. He reached out and took Tony's frail hand, lacing their fingers together tightly. "Tony, what's going on?"

Blinking at Bruce, Tony wasn't sure what to say. He looked at his son. "Leave us to talk, okay? I appreciate it. You can go order whatever you want for us for dinner, okay?" Tony met Peter's eyes for a long few seconds, and Peter nodded and left the room. Tony turned back to Bruce. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you for two years." His tone was hurt, and he knew that kind of wasn't fair. Tony knew Bruce had just been trying to get through his own issues. Tony could understand that. He brushed his hand through his hair, which was getting longer. He kept his gaze on Bruce. He was actually glad that Bruce was here.

Hating the tone in Tony's voice, Bruce squeezed his fingers again. Bruce knew that his news and feelings weren't as important as what Tony was going through, whatever it was. "I'm sorry, Tony. That I haven't been here. You know that I didn't mean to just abandon you. I'm… I haven't exactly got any memories about the last two years. I was… I was the Hulk for those two years." Bruce saw Tony's eyebrows widen. "If I'd had a choice, I'd have called you. I have some things to tell you. But I don't… if you need to talk, then you can do that first."

Tony felt his eyes brush with tears. He wiped his eyes with his free hand. They had always been able to talk about things. Tony took a deep breath, and met Bruce's eyes. He said, "I found out some news, and I'm not talking to Rogers right now." Tony wiped tears off his cheek again. "Bucky Barnes was the one who killed my parents." It was said a bit stone coldly. He didn't know how he was ever going to forgive Steve for knowing and not telling him. "Steve knew, he knew and he never said a word." Tony sounded hurt when he said that, and he swallowed past the lump in his throat.

Bruce didn't know what to say. He squeezed Tony's hand again. "I'm sorry, hon. I can't even fathom how that must have felt." He told him, his free hand brushing through his gray hair. He'd let it go, hadn't had to change it while he'd been the Hulk. Bruce reached out and brushed his fingers across Tony's face, wiping away his tears. Bruce leaned over then, and pressed his lips to the other man's, he wasn't sure why he'd done it, but Tony was kissing him back. Bruce cupped Tony's jaw and kissed him deeper, until they both couldn't breathe. Bruce looked into Tony's eyes. "I love you, Tony Stark. You are the best thing to ever happen to me. You've accepted me when no one else has. And you don't ever judge me. You don't.. You are an egotistical ass sometimes, but you are an amazing person, Tony. You are. I don't know that I agree about me being the strongest Avenger…" With this, Tony smiled through his tears. Bruce wiped some of them away. Bruce stroked the back of Tony's hand with his thumb. "So you keep me grounded, Tony. Maybe if I'd been with you, maybe I wouldn't have been the Hulk for two years. But then again, I bet I wouldn't have worn your tight jeans." This made Tony's eyes widen, a smile playing on his lips. Bruce smiled a small smile. "You…. please tell me that you feel the same."

A distraction from his anguish about his parents. Tony leaned out and kissed Bruce again, sucking on Bruce's bottom lip. A shiver rocked Tony's body. When he pulled back, he looked into his eyes. "I do feel the same way you do. I have since we first met. I just didn't know how to tell you. I… Pepper and I broke up a lot longer before I said that we did. I didn't… I was trying so hard not to hurt her. And I knew that I was in love with you. You are who I want to be with. Bruce, I love you because you think I'm a good person. I know that I'm not. But the fact that you think so, it just makes me love you more." He moved, sitting up so Bruce could join him on the couch. Tony moved to cuddle up with him, wrapping a thin but muscular arm around Bruce's waist, and laid his head on Bruce's chest. "You have no idea how much you being here right now means to me. I've been hurting so much lately. I can't… I know that I'm not taking care of myself like I should." This was said with a bit of guilt. "I'm sure that Peter is so worried. I only found out a few weeks ago that he's mine. His mother had him and never told me. I had sort of be coincidence found out he had his Spiderman powers."

Bruce wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulders. "I… I wish I'd been here for you. I'm sorry. I so am. Tony, you've had to deal with all of this by yourself. You shouldn't have been left like that." Bruce knew that he could never make up for that. He stroked Tony's arm. "You are going to gain the weight you've lost back. I am going to make sure of it. You can't let yourself get this thin anymore. It's dangerous. And you've got Peter to take care of. And i can't watch you do this to yourself. Please, you have to promise me that you're going to start eating." Bruce knew Tony. He was this thin because he was living on Scotch. It was just the truth.

A sigh left him. Tony knew he couldn't be angry at Bruce for trying to keep him safe. Tony buried his face in Bruce's chest. A sob left him, his shoulders shaking. Bruce was so warm, and Tony was so cold. He didn't know why he was crying. "You're right, I know you are, even if I don't want to admit it. I'll try and eat. I know that I'm too thin." It was true, and Tony knew that he had to come to terms with what he found out. He didn't care about his father being killed. Not in the long run. But his mother had been his savior for his whole life up until then. Tony knew that his mother would accept him as he was, and that did give him some comfort in all of this.

Bruce rubbed Tony's rail thin back. "You know that I will be here for you." There was so much more to tell him, what had happened at Ragnarok. "There's more that I need to tell you. Some stuff that went down." Bruce knew that Tony mostly wasn't ready to hear it, even if it might be a distraction from his own problems. Bruce lifted Tony's face so he could look into it. "You… I don't know what was going on in the past two years of my life because the other guy was in charge. I'm not trying to say my problems are bigger than yours. You know that, I just, you should be grateful you know."

That last bit Tony didn't need explained. Hr knew Bruce meant that at least Tony had been mentally aware of where he'd been. Tony kept his eyes on Bruce's. "You… you know that I don't care if you can't…. Okay. Hold on. You know that I love you no matter what. That includes the other guy." Tony had always found Bruce sexy. Ever since he'd laid eyes on him. Tony felt bad that he'd had to dump Pepper. She just hadn't been where his heart was anymore. Bruce had been where his heart was. Tony sighed. "You have no idea how lucky I am that you showed up. I need help with getting through this shit. Even if I hate admitting it."

Now was the wrong time for sex, but Bruce wanted to. Tony was letting him in so easily. No one had ever had with Bruce, not really. And if they had, they were dead. "Okay. I know that, babe." The endearment fell off his lips easily. "I… okay. Can I tell you? I think Thor and Loki used to bang before Thor hooked up with Steve." This was met with a surprised look, and Bruce smiled and chuckled. "Yeah. I mean, Thor so didn't cheat on Steve, but there was a definite they used to bone tension with them." Bruce launched into the story of how Asgard was destroyed and Bruce had been fighting as the Hulk for two years for the Grand Master. "And they have this sister, Hela. She and Odin had this huge fight tons of years ago, and when he died, she had kind of escaped. Thor was, it was hard for him to deal with." Bruce couldn't imagine finding out that everything you'd believed in your whole life was a lie. Although, apparently Tony did. Bruce let Tony run his fingers through Bruce's hair. "I know you can relate to what Thor is going through. Since you got news about your life you can't handle and I can't relate. I will be there for you. Thor… he and Loki are pretty much on a talk when we have to kind of thing. I don't know for sure what they talked about, but they were so standoffish with each other by the time the battle was done. And… I can't be the Hulk anymore. I don't know if I can change back."

This is when Peter ducked in with the four pizzas he'd ordered. Tony knew why he'd gotten four. He was trying to bring Tony's weight back up. Tony looked at Bruce, cracking open one of the Cokes. "You can't shift?" He asked, and Bruce nodded. "Okay. So, that doesn't mean that I don't want to be with you. I love you more than anyone I've ever been with." Tony looked to his son then. In the last time he'd seen Bruce, Tony had gotten custody of Peter. He still saw his aunt, but Tony hadn't been able to deal with someone else bringing up his kid, even if he'd not known Peter had been his. "Bruce and I, we're going to be starting a relationship now. You're a great kid, and I know you'll show him respect. I just, you don't have to take care of me all by yourself anymore." Tony watched Peter's face as he spoke. "You know what I'm going through, sort of. You never knew who your real parents were, you only thought you did. You don't have a hard time dealing, and that's good for you. I can't make you take it any way than how you want to." Tony put some pizza on his paper plate. "I just want you to try and be as respectful to Bruce as you can. He and I are so… I love him, and I have for a very long time now. He's going to be my boyfriend, and I hope you can accept that."

Peter blinked at his father, he knew that his dad was gay. He'd been able to tell as soon as he'd met him. Peter folded up a meat lovers slice and then took a bite, looking at Tony, and then Bruce. "I don't know what Bruce went through with Thor, but I did know you were gay, Dad." Peter still got to see his aunt May, but he had to admit, it was great to get to know his dad. Peter's parents had died a long time ago, and Peter really hated his mom now that she'd never told him who his dad was. And Peter had found some things pertaining to his birth, and she'd known all along. Peter had been so angry at first with May, but it hadn't been her place to tell.

Sharing a look with Bruce, Tony knew that that was Peter's way of saying that he was okay and he'd be respectful for Bruce. Tony nodded and squeezed his son's arm. "You have no idea how much that means to me, kiddo." Tony piled more pizza on his plate and took another sip of his Coke. This was going better than he had ever expected. They were quiet most of the rest of the meal, just eating. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence though. It was just quiet. Tony had to start getting past what his friend had done to him, and what Barnes had done. It was just so fucking hard to do. It had changed his entire life and his world view, and he loathed it. It had been so hard to hear, he was still having nightmares.

Two weeks later

Tonight might be the night. Bruce was cooking dinner for them. Peter and Tony had had to go for some parent teacher thing and then Peter was spending the night with May. This Tony didn't know about, it was a surprise. Bruce wanted to make sure that he and Tony had some time alone. Tony was already looking less thin, and Bruce was hoping that he'd want to have sex. Bruce loved Tony so much, and the last two weeks had been amazing, if not a bit difficult for Tony to deal with, his issues still in hand. There were also new issues that he'd let Bruce in on.

As he was putting the chicken in the oven, Bruce let his mind think about what Tony had told him. After the whole thing had gone down with Steve and Barnes, Tony had been partying hard, and he'd picked up the wrong guy, and he'd been raped. According to Tony, it had been his first guy. Bruce couldn't believe that it had happened to Tony and it had been his guy v card. Bruce himself was losing it to Tony tonight if it went down. Bruce didn't want to force him to feel any obligation. He moved to take the pot of boiling potatoes of the burner so he could mash them. Bruce was glad that things were going mostly okay for once. That hadn't ever been the case.

Meanwhile, Tony and Peter were on the way home. Peter was doing great in school. Tony knew there was something Peter was holding back and he was worried about what it was. Tony didn't like it when he had to be worried about Peter. It made him sick to his stomach. Tony and Peter had ordered a town car, and it was speeding back to Stark Manor. It wasn't far now, they'd been traveling for half an hour. Tony cast his brown eyes on his son. "You're doing great in school. I am so proud of you. But what aren't you telling me? I know that it's something. You think I don't know when you're hiding something? Peter, I worry that you when you do this."

All he was doing was trying to help Bruce. Peter didn't want to give away the surprise. The town car driver had his orders already, to take Peter to May's on the way back home. Peter didn't want Tony to worry, but he couldn't tell him what Bruce had planned. Peter bit his lip. "Dad, I'm not hiding anything from you. You don't have to be worried about me. I'm going to go and stay with Aunt May for the night. I'm not hiding some big bad secret." This was said with not a trace of irony, because it was completely true. Peter toyed with the ends of the flannel shirt he was wearing. He hadn't had the clothes clean he'd wanted to wear in time. Tony had looked great, as always. Peter felt fashionably a mess next to him.

"Why tonight of all nights?" Tony asked. He wanted to be able to celebrate Peter's great grades with Peter. Tony brushed his hand across his newly cut hair. It wasn't super short, just shorter. "Peter, I was thinking we'd order some pizza, and I already got some ice cream and Hershey's syrup and whipped cream." Tony had wanted to be prepared for whatever had gone down. He wasn't usually a plan route. Tony kept his gaze on Peter as they stopped outside May's building. "You are doing so great, and I've already lost so much time with you."

Sighing, Peter looked at him. He didn't know what to say to him, and he knew that his dad would be so happy once he got home. "Dad, we can celebrate tomorrow. I just want to chill with Aunt May tonight. Please, Dad. Don't be upset. I don't want to hurt you and I'm not up to anything." Peter grabbed the overnight bag that had been in the car already. It had been arranged by Bruce. "Just, go home, Dad. You'll be glad that you did. I'll be home by tomorrow." Peter got out of the car and headed up to the building and went inside. He knew that Tony would cool down on things once he got home. Peter just hoped that he wouldn't turn Bruce down.

Tony watched his son go inside May's building. Something was going on, Peter didn't just decide he was going to spend the night at May's. Things had been off with them for awhile, he'd only just recently started talking to her again. Tony was glad about that, because he knew Peter had only stopped because he'd thought May should have told him his true parentage. In the end, Tony knew Peter had made the right move. It hadn't been May's place to tell him. Tony got away Peter was so angry at his mother. And now she was gone and Peter couldn't yell at her for not ever telling him. They pulled away from the curb and went on to Stark Manor. Tony was now onto pondering what Bruce had planned. Bruce was why Peter was staying at May's. Tony pulled out his phone, to text Bruce. You know I hate surprises. He didn't add anything, this was just to see if Bruce wanted to fess up. Tony would make sure to tell him Peter hadn't given away anything. Tony wasn't trying to get his son into trouble. Things had been great lately and he wasn't going to make things start going bad if he didn't have to. Tony waited, and a text finally did come through. I know, but why are you telling me right now? Tony bit his lip as his fingers moved to reply. B/c you've got something planned and I'm worried. Tony just hoped whatever it was, it wasn't sex.

Staring at the text message, Bruce just knew somehow that Peter hadn't spilled the beans. Tony was smart and he'd put two and two together. Bruce sighed and took the chicken out to flip the pieces to get evenly cooked. Then he texted back. Tony, I promise you, this is a good surprise. When what he received back was 'okay', Bruce wondered what was going through Tony's mind. He knew that Tony had gone through a lot since Bruce had seen him last, and it was hard to wrap his brain around. Bruce had put the mashed potatoes underneath a cozy to keep in the warmth. Bruce was setting the table when Tony called out that he was home. He called back, "In the kitchen, babe!" Bruce put out some cups of ice for the Cokes Tony was trying to not drink and Bruce was trying to support him. He knew how hard it was for Tony to do, especially with all of the things she was dealing with. Bruce was okay with him smoking weed though, and Tony did. Mostly to help him sleep, but Bruce was sure it helped with his issues too. Bruce dabbled now and then himself. It did help ease pain that he didn't even really know that he had. Bruce looked up as Tony came in, and Bruce went to give him a kiss.

Smelling the air, Tony kissed Bruce back and then stepped back a little. Tony looked at Bruce. "I smell chicken, and mashed potatoes. You…. are you trying a bit accusatory. Even if he knew that wasn't necessarily fair. Bruce just wanted to be close to him. Tony couldn't fault him for that. Tony brushed his hand through his hair. "I can't be faulting you for wanting to take our relationship to the next level, but I told you what I went through. You… I don't know that I'm ready for us to take that step. You know that I wish that I was. Because I love you. I do. You know that. And this was sweet of you."

Bruce stepped closer, and wrapped around Tony's neck. He looked into those eyes that reminded him of melted chocolate. "You know that I love you too, Tony. More than anyone. I do want us to take our relationship to the next level. But if you aren't ready, it's okay. I just wanted us to have a night to ourselves. I made sure May was okay with Peter staying over, and she was. Peter was okay too. Please don't be angry, okay? Let's just enjoy our time together. I wouldn't ever put pressure on you to do anything." Bruce kissed him then, sucking on Tony's bottom lip. Tony kissed back, Bruce feeling a shiver down to his toes, It was like that every time he kissed Tony, and he hoped it was for Tony.

Tony kissed him back, feeling it all over his body. He loved Bruce, he did. Tony pulled away to breathe. "I do know all of that." He agreed, a bit reluctantly.. Tony sighed and let a small smile play on his lips. "Okay… I won't make a big deal. Let's just eat." Tony said, his eyes meeting Bruce's. They looked at each other for a long moment, and there was so much that was said in that look. Tony moved to get the Cokes and Bruce put the food on the table. Tony loved when Bruce cooked for him, and he was sure that Bruce had been using that to his advantage.

Dishing up the food, Bruce wondered if they were ever going to talk about Tony's feelings. He really felt like this was a subject they weren't going to bring up again. Bruce wanted to help Tony deal with things. He knew that he didn't have personal experience, but he still wanted Tony to let him in. Bruce felt like if they didn't he and Tony would grow apart. Bruce didn't want that. But he also didn't want to upset Tony any more than he already had. So he decided to ask about how the meeting had gone. "So, how was the meeting? What did they say about Peter?" He knew that Tony had been prepared for anything.

This caused Tony to smile. "He's doing great. I'm so proud of him. He's so smart. That kid is going to be in a great college when he's ready." Tony hadn't ever been so proud in his whole life. Especially since he was still harboring guilty feelings about hurting Steve Rogers, but as he was also still ticked about it, so the guilt wasn't as pronounced. Tony was also proud that Peter had given them some alone time. That was sweet of the boy. May had raised him right. Tony watched Bruce put plates on the table. He still was having trouble getting past the Bruce wanted them to have sex. Tony couldn't stop thinking about that slim body naked.

Feeling his boyfriend's eyes on him, Bruce wasn't at all sure it was the making love he proposed, but he was hoping. Bruce finished with filling their plates, sat down. "You going to tell me what's going on? I will keep bugging you about it if you don't tell me." Bruce knew that Tony would believe that Bruce was tenacious. He kept going till he got what he wanted. Bruce knew Tony was the same, that's why they got along so well. Bruce cut into his chicken as he watched Tony toy with the napkin next to his plate. Bruce waited patiently, he knew his boyfriend would give up eventually. And at a few more seconds and Tony was talking. Bruce waited for him to get out what he was struggling with, his words were stilted.

Tony did indeed remember what he'd said. He didn't know how to start what he'd been thinking. "I know that I said I didn't want to, but I don't know… seeing you… I got this vision of what you might look like in a naked situation. It just got me thinking. I am definitely scared, but I also love you and I want to be close to you." He just didn't think that he could have sex tonight. "Bruce, I love you. More than anything in this world. But things… I know you know that I was attacked. I'm still dealing with that. I know it's not you, but I just can't. I'm… I'm not ready." Tony wanted to be though.

Bruce reached out and tilted Tony's face so that he could kiss him deeply. "I love you. It's okay, sweetheart. You don't have to be ready." He changed the subject. "So, are you going to get a new tux for Rogers and Thor's wedding?" He asked, watching Tony's eyes widen. "Yeah, last night. Steve texted me earlier, with a pic." Bruce brushed his hand across his napkin and was inwardly in awe of how savvy with tech things for a man who was 100 years old. "I got one, it's olive green." Bruce hadn't been able to ignore the irony. And he knew that he couldn't be the 'other guy' anymore, so it was very tongue in cheek. Tony smirked at him, and Bruce knew that Tony was appreciating the irony of it.

It felt so amazing, having this dinner together. Tony ate some of the delicious dinner that Bruce had fixed for them. Tony knew that things were going to be okay. Maybe one day he and Rogers could make up. One day he'd be ready to sleep with his boyfriend. Tony's eyes met Bruce's, and he hoped that he was right about all of that. He reached out to take Bruce's hand. He didn't say a word, they just stared at each other. Tony knew in that minute, that it was going to be okay. Tony's heart (which he felt was too small) swelled with love for Bruce. In that moment, he knew they'd have each other forever.