"God dammit," Tony muttered to himself, flinging the tool onto the counter in frustration. Although he had tried to concentrate so hard, he just couldn't. His mind was all over the place, following any tangent it came across. And, apparently, all of these tangents were about Bruce.

Leaning forward to prop his elbows against the counter, he ran his fingers through his brown hair, which had been mussed a while ago from the constant thinking. And when he thought hard, his hands somehow found their way into his hair.

"You probably don't see it," Brielle had said, "but he stares into your eyes too."

Was she right? That question kept resurfacing in his thoughts, very determined to be answered. Was she just thinking she saw him staring, too excited about the idea to notice that it was all her imagination? But, she was a smart kid; she was a Stark. There might be something there.

And what would happen if there was something? Would he just acknowledge it, and go on with life like normal? Still stay married to Pepper, still have Bruce as his science partner? Or would their relationship progress into something more? And what would happen to Pepper?

His mind was wandering in circles, and it was beginning to give him a migraine.

Inhaling deeply, he picked back up the tool, determined to accomplish something today. He couldn't let his emotions get in the way of his work, especially since Bruce would eventually come in.

Shaking his head, Tony wondered what he was going to do. The thought of going on like normal, like nothing had happened, was impossible for him. If he could barely function when Bruce wasn't in the room, he couldn't imagine how it would be when Bruce was actually there. There would be no hope for focus.

Just as he was beginning to work again, he heard the door slide open from behind him, and he cringed. There was nobody other than Pepper and Brielle—but Pepper would've been given away by her heals, and Brielle was a very loud—who was allowed immediate access, unless it was Bruce. And, just based on the way the footsteps sounded, it was him.

Since when had he memorized the sound of Bruce's footsteps?

Pretending to not hear him, Tony kept his back to the footsteps, until Bruce said, "Hey."

The awkward tone to his voice made the genius instantly turn before he realized what he was doing. "Hey!" came out of his mouth, startling him at how enthusiastic it sounded. "What's up Bruce? Get enough sleep?"

His face didn't lighten up as much as it normally did; that's how Tony knew something was wrong. And his mental alert system went off as Bruce said, "Tony, we need to talk."

He could feel his face falling at the hesitant tone in Bruce's voice, and this time, he had to force his mouth to move. "Talk about what?"

"Brielle talked to me—"

"Dammit!" Tony hissed, his voice loud as he spun around, unable to face Bruce any longer. He could feel his face going bright red and his eyes stinging with embarrassment and frustration. All he could think was, You're not handling this well at all.

A sigh came from behind him, and he heard Bruce ask, "Tony?"

"What?" he asked, his voice tight. Quit freaking out. Quit freaking out.

"Tony, can you talk to me?"

Tony spun around, opening his mouth to speak. "What do you want me to—"

Lips were on his, and—for a moment—he froze, completely surprise as Bruce kissed him. But, once he got over the initial Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god stage, he kissed him back, letting his eyes slide closed as everything became relief. His arms circled around Bruce's torso, and he felt Bruce's hands touch his neck, holding him as close as possible.

When Bruce finally released him—but refused to remove his hands—he immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Tony, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I shouldn't have done that. I just… Brielle said… Oh my god, what is Pepper going to—"

"Shut up," Tony's voice somehow said, cutting him off with a kiss. He felt Bruce melt into it, and everything was Tony and Bruce and them.

Well, until the lab doors slid open.

"Tony—" Pepper's voice cut off, surprised.

Instantly, Bruce and Tony split apart, Bruce blushing a brilliant red and Tony just barely blushing. In fact, he felt more proud than embarrassed; now that Bruce had finally kissed him, after all of these years, he couldn't feel anything else but excitement.

Even though Brielle had said that Pepper approved of him and Bruce—which wasn't such a huge surprise, because she was such a romantic—he hadn't expected for her to be grinning ridiculously. "Well," she said, looking absolutely delighted, "that was a nice surprise to pop in on."

"Sorry," Bruce said, but she shook her head, still grinning.

"Seriously, Bruce, don't apologize. I'm really surprised it hadn't happened earlier."

Of course; Pepper would be the only person Tony knew who would be completely enthusiastic about this.

"What did you need, Pepper?" Hopefully the look he was giving her would give her a hint that he wanted her out.

Luckily, Pepper got it immediately. Nodding, she said, "Well, I was going to come in here and ask if you've seen Brielle."

"Wasn't she with you?" Bruce asked, his hand reaching over while he was talking and taking Tony's. Perhaps Pepper's approval was making him braver. Either way, Tony couldn't help but grin enthusiastically at the contact with the scientist.

"About that…" she said, looking down at the floor. "I put her in the tub to give her a bath, and I turned my back to get something, and she just disappeared."

"Disappeared?" both asked in unison.

Tony was just beginning to open his mouth to ask if Pepper had checked Brielle's bedroom when there was a noise from underneath one of the desks. A noise that sounded suspiciously like a giggle. The billionaire rolled his eyes, Bruce smirked, and Pepper squatted down on her knees, looking under the table. "Brielle," she said, her voice dead serious. "Come out from under the desk." Sure enough, out crawled the naked little girl, her face lit up with a giddy smile.

"Daddy finally kissed Uncle Bruce!" she announced, her voice delighted.

"I know," Pepper said, her voice completely encompassing the stern mother tone. "Next time, don't sneak out of the bathroom when I'm trying to give you a bath. Got it?"

"Got it," Brielle repeated. She obviously didn't mean it.

Tony scowled, squeezing Bruce's hand as he asked, "How did you get in here without using the doors?"

Her grin mimicking that of her father's mischievous look, she answered, "I just followed Uncle Bruce in to not have the door open again."

Bruce and Tony laughed, while Pepper tried to cover up her grin. "She's definitely her father's daughter," Bruce mused, leaning over to press a kiss to Tony's cheek. Tony beamed, and Brielle squealed like a little fangirl.

"Okay, that's it," Pepper said, realizing that Tony and Bruce probably wanted to be alone. "Brielle, you are definitely in need of a bath now."

Tony and Bruce watched as Pepper carried Brielle out, listening to Brielle try to argue with her mother while they both smiled. As soon as the doors slid shut, Bruce told him, "You definitely raised that kid well."

"Yup!" he nodded, smirking as he realized that—without his beautiful daughter—he and Bruce wouldn't be here. "She's pretty amazing," he agreed, turning to Bruce with an expression that looked much like Brielle's. "Now, where were we?"

The End