Chapter 4 for you. Maybe some feedback soon? Oh, as usual, I don't own anything.
One of the wheels on his chair squeaked, Bruce noticed as he brushed dirt from the grooves in the Kevlar he was holding. It wasn't a really bothersome squeak, though. It didn't squeak when he sat reading reports and planning routes. It didn't even squeak when he turned suddenly to change tasks. *Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak* It did, however, whenever someone rolled back and forth. Repetitively. *Squeak, squeak, squeak*
It seemed that it's annoying factor was compounded by the lax way it's roller rode in it, pizza in hand, deviously curious expression, and the hint of glee upon launching into a new leg propelled roll. *Squeak, squeak, squeak*
Was it worth taking apart and oiling it? No. Bruce believed that most annoyances could be fixed with a well aimed….*squeak squeak*…well timed….*squeak, squeak, squ-* kick.
"Wah!" Tony cried out as he face-planted into the cold concrete floor, having been ejected from the rolling chair. "What did you do that for?" He asked incredulously as he wallowed in pain, clutching his now bleeding nose. He was overacting, of course, but it was for effect. It worked.
"I didn't think you'd land on your face….hero reflexes?" Bruce apologized, offering the downed male a hand. The humor he had felt died instantly when he noticed the torrential blood pour from Tony's nose.
"Ugh….'m not Batman, you know." Tony grabbed Bruce's hand with his least bloody hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.
"Hold on." Bruce went to the first aid storage and grabbed as much absorbent material as possible. Guilt rolled in his gut as he handed the gauze to the bleeding male.
"Thanks." Tony said, dabbing at the blood as he tilted his head forward. He was sure it came out sounding more like 'danks'.
"Is that going to be enough?" Bruce cringed as he watched the gauze rapidly growing more red.
"Yeah, I think it's slowing down. I don't think it's broken." The older murmured through the wad of gauze he was holding. His eyes were watering steadily as they usually would with any nose injury.
"I'm sorry…really." Bruce said quietly. Why was it that everyone ended up hurt by him one way or another?
"Ah, don't worry about it. I probably deserved it." Tony waved him off as he went to the sink to wash the blood off his hands. As he could practically see a cloud of gloom enveloping the younger male, he learned Dealing with Bruce 101: Lesson 1.…he feels guilty about everything, don't add to it. [Or is lesson one that his parents are DEEAAAAAD?]
"You haven't done anything to warrant a face bashing..." The blue eyed billionaire followed him, examining the damage with a frown.
"Bruce. I've had much worse." The older male gestured to his Arc. Bruce didn't look convinced. He sighed. "Fine. This means I get to ride in the Batmobile."
"Fair enough." Bruce agreed, though it didn't do much to make his guilt go away. He shook his head. "Planning to stay late?"
"Well….I hadn't thought much about it." Tony admitted. "I kinda left home without thinking about anything. I even left my phone. I just wanted to see you as soon as possible."
"Well, you definitely made it fast." Bruce had gone back to cleaning up the Bat suit. "But that doesn't answer the question."
"…I want to stay." Tony said after a moment. "If you'll let me."
"Why wouldn't I?" Bruce looked up from what he was doing for a moment. "We've still got to talk."
"I said I was sorry-" Tony began but Bruce held up a hand.
"Not that. I'm not mad about that. Look where you are: with me." He set the Kevlar aside, turning to give his full attention. "I never answered your question. Why I told you I was Batman."
"Oh yeah. You said it was a long story or something." The older male nodded in remembrance.
"It is a long story but if you plan to stick around I suppose we've got time." Bruce glanced at his watch. "It's 2:30, so we've got around five hours until nightfall."
"Right, so that means-" Tony was cut off by a Bruce's phone ringing.
"Just a second." The younger male said apologetically. He glanced at the caller I.D. and raised an eyebrow before answering. "Wayne….just a moment." He held out the phone. "It's for you. Your….assistant."
"Er….hello?" Tony hesitated before answering. He cringed immediately and held the phone away from his head. Bruce smirked at him before returning to finish getting his things ready for patrol.
"What exactly made you think that gallivanting off unexpectedly was a good idea? Hello! You're a CEO!" The voice on the line was clearly audible to both males. "You can't just not tell anyone that you're leaving! If it weren't for Jarvis I'd have no clue that you weren't dead. Taking off in your suit and not coming back? Seriously? Did you even think about the deal with Kuboshi Robotics you were supposed to cut today?" She had paused, waiting on an answer.
"…no." Tony admitted. "How'd that go?"
"He settled in our favor. But that's not the point! You are supposed to tell me when you randomly leave on a 'retreat'!"
"I was pretty sure you didn't want to talk to me." Tony replied, beginning to pace.
"You know that I hold professionalism in high regard." She said coolly.
"Yeah, well, you know that I can't seem to find that dividing line." He said, leaning on the logistics table and letting his eyes slide shut. "Besides, I wanted to give you space. I'm sure you're having difficulty processing my, uh, taste in partners."
"No, quite the opposite. When should I expect you back?" She asked.
"Waitwiatwait. Did you just inadvertently say you thought it was hot that I might be macking guys?" Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Did you just use the word 'macking'? Ugh….when should I expect you back?" She paused, then added. "So I can clear your schedule until then."
"Uh…well, I don't know. You know me and schedules hardly ever jive plus you never answered my ques-hey!" Tony jumped as the phone was plucked from his fingers.
"He'll be back Monday morning. Have a nice day." Bruce said simply, and hit the end button.
"Did you just….hang up on her?" Tony stared at him.
"Did you just use the word 'macking'?" Blue eyes shone with amusement. What is he, a teenager?
"Er…yeah? What? Age is a number." Tony stuck his tongue out. Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"Riiiight. Well, I'm hungry, let's get some real food." The younger male said, and headed for the lift that would take them to the surface.
"Pizza was real food." Tony replied, catching up a second later.
"No, pizza is fast food. I want an actual meal. Which means you'll need some better clothes." Bruce said. "Weren't you wearing a dress shirt and pant's yesterday?"
"Yeah, but no jacket or tie." Tony pointed out.
"Surely I've got one you can borrow." The younger male hit the lift button. "It's not like you're that much smaller than me."
-O-
It was around 4:00 when they made it to the restaurant. They had taken the Lamborghini at Tony's request (demand). He was in a sour mood, thanks to the discovery that he was indeed 'that much smaller' than Bruce, if the loose fitting of his jacket was any indication. That, and his tie was blue. Blue. That was about as un-Iron Man as it got. He pouted.
"You look fine." Bruce said to the sulking male in the passenger seat. Tony glared at him disbelievingly. "Well, bring clothes next time."
"…yeah." Tony said after a moment. The mention of a 'next time' was enough to put him in a good mood again, even sneaking a grope of the younger male's backside as he handed the keys off to the valet. It earned him a glare, to which he smiled innocently in response.
Of course, Bruce was analyzing. How would it impact their reputations to be seen as an item? Negatively, he was sure. Just another thing to deal with. If it wasn't his secret identity being revealed, it would be the media backlash over his sexuality. He sighed and pushed those thoughts away, opting to at least attempt to enjoy his evening before patrol.
"I don't know if I can handle you for a whole weekend." He said, throwing his companion a mocking smile as they entered the establishment.
"Well, you brought it on yourself." Tony smirked at him. "I still can't believe you hung up on her."
"You can call her back if you want." Bruce said before he told the hostess who he was. She nodded and led them into the maze of tables.
"No thanks." Tony held his hands up in defense. He'd much rather spend the weekend here.
"Bruce!" A brunette sitting with a blonde haired male waved at them.
"Rachel, what a surprise." Bruce smiled at her. Oh boy….this is really the last thing I need.
"Yeah, what a surprise." She replied. "I'm sure you know Harvey Dent. And who's this?"
"Tony Stark. Nice to meet you." Tony nodded to both of them.
"Iron Man?" Harvey raised an eyebrow.
"Sometimes." The tanned billionaire replied with a smile.
"Rachel and I were just talking about who we call heroes. It'd be interesting to hear what one has to say on the subject." Harvey said with a smile.
"Well, I don't know about that. I might be biased." Tony smiled charmingly in return. He was good at entertaining people who he didn't intend to tell anything significant. It was a skill he honed from loads of charities and interviews.
Rachel kept her eyes locked on Bruce as the other two spoke. The blue eyed billionaire spared a glance to the talking duo to break the eye contact.
"Why don't you and Mr. Stark join us?" She offered, after a moment.
"Oh, sure. Let's put some tables together." Bruce said, without missing a beat, and gestured to their host that they were sitting there.
-O-
"Well, that was interesting." Tony said, shrugging off the over-sized jacket as he slid into the passenger seat of the Lamborghini. He had noticed the progressive change in the younger male's attitude through the evening.
"I suppose." Bruce said. He was grateful that the Friday evening traffic was better than most nights and it only took 10 minutes to get back to the garage.
"You're amazing, talking about all of that." Tony shook his head as he climbed out of the car and followed Bruce to the elevator. He could tell something was up but he was attempting to lighten the mood.
"Some of us have self control." The younger male said, shooting a discouraging glance at the other. It clearly read: Drop it.
"Hm." Tony nodded as the younger male pressed the top button. Time for a different tactic. "So…Rachel's been your friend for a long time, huh?"
"Yes, since I was a kid." Bruce nodded. He knew where this was going. "There was….tension between us, okay?"
"Well….I can't say anything about that can I?" Tony said after a moment. "You've let me off the hook so I'm not going to hold anything against you. I mean, look at whose company you're keeping right now: mine."
"Hm…I'm glad you're so accepting." Bruce said quietly. The doors of the elevator opened at the penthouse level and he stalked out.
"You….don't think I'm being honest." Tony frowned slightly, following the younger male.
"I didn't say that." Bruce said, tossing off his nicer clothes in favor of some more 'damageable' clothes.
"I've got a brain, you know." Tony said. He was leaning on the kitchen counter, perplexed, as he waited on the younger male to finish changing.
"I've got to patrol." Bruce said, stalking back towards the door.
"Oh…okay?" Tony offered. He couldn't come up with a possible scenario to make the situation any better other than to remain silent.
"I'll be back…sometime." The brooding young male said, and without a backwards glance he exited.
Tony watched the door close and frowned. This, he was not used to. Usually, he was surrounded by shallow and easy to read people. It was like a formula to interact with them. Input this, get this result. Bruce, however, was a complex person. It might take him a while, but he'd figure out how to deal with the younger male's moodiness. He had ditched the trophy girl, flown over 2000 miles, interrupted a Bat patrol, had his face busted open and had dinner with someone who could only be an ex. There was no way he was going to give up that easily.
Thanks for reading. Review please? Tell me if you've got any requests, suggestions, etc.! :3