This is really nothing more than some Bruce/Tony/Pepper fluff. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers.
When Tony smelled the scent of cookies baking, the scent that woke him from his sleep, his first thought was, Pepper's back already? On the few rare occasions when there would be freshly-baked cookies in Stark Tower, they were always because of Pepper. However, she was off in Japan and not expected back for another two days, so the source of the cookies was a mystery.
Tony's second thought was that his bed was empty, so the predictable third thought was, Where's Bruce? Tony had fallen asleep wrapped up in his boyfriend's arms, and to wake up alone was a strange feeling. Two months ago, Tony and Pepper had made the offer to Bruce that he join their relationship. A month and a half ago, he had finally agreed to it. It hadn't taken long for the three of them to begin sharing a bed, and since then, Tony almost always woke up with at least one of them lying next to him. Even though Bruce often woke up before Tony, he normally stayed in bed until Tony got up, or at least remained in the room. Tony had gotten used to that. This change in his routine was not welcome.
"JARVIS!" Tony called, flopping out of bed and stumbling towards his robe. Getting dressed this early - ugh, the first number on the clock was a seven - was not an option, but considering Tony had gone to sleep in nothing but a pair of boxers, a robe was probably a good idea, just in case.
"Yes, sir?" JARVIS replied. Tony yanked his robe on and went over to his door.
"Where's Bruce?"
"In the kitchen, sir," JARVIS replied. Tony frowned.
"Why?"
"Dr. Banner has asked me not to tell you, sir," JARVIS replied. "He says it is a surprise."
"Does it have anything to do with the smell of cookies?" Tony asked, beginning to put the pieces together.
"Perhaps," JARVIS replied evasively. Tony grinned as he made his way down to the kitchen, fully expecting there to be a freshly-baked batch of cookies waiting for him with his adorable boyfriend next to them, possibly (hopefully) covered in flour and chocolate.
He wasn't exactly wrong, but he wasn't exactly right either.
Tony did find a freshly-baked batch of cookies in the kitchen. He also found Bruce and Pepper giggling, Pepper with a bit of flour on her nose and Bruce with a bit on his lips from trying to kiss it off. "I thought you were in Japan!" Tony blurted out immediately. Both turned to face him.
"Good morning," Bruce said, smiling easily. "Cookie?"
"But…" Tony looked at Pepper. "You are supposed to be halfway across the world at a business conference!"
"That's what we wanted you to think," Pepper replied with a smile of her own. "It's a surprise."
"It's not someone's birthday, is it?" Tony asked, desperately counting back the days. Pepper laughed.
"No, it's not. Bruce and I just wanted to do something nice for you, since you do so many nice things for us."
"Oh." The idea struck Tony as slightly novel, but he liked it. "That's a good idea."
"I knew you'd think so," Bruce replied. He slid into the little breakfast nook in the corner of the Stark Tower kitchen. Tony slid in after him, and then Pepper after him. "Now eat a cookie."
Tony did.
The cookie was absolutely delicious, but it wasn't quite as good as sitting between two people Tony knew loved him more than anything else in the world.
(That didn't stop Tony from eating almost half the batch of cookies by himself.)