Bruce's eyes fluttered open at the feeling of Tony's lips on his neck and combined with the warmth of the sun on the bed it made him moan. Tony slid his leg up over his own, pressing it up into his crotch, feeling Tony's own dick half hard against his hip. He turned his head, seeking out Tony's lips with his own, kissing him lazily as Tony's hand slipped beneath the sheets, pulling at him playfully.

As much as he wanted to push him away, do his rounds, get ready for this afternoon, Tony's attention eased the anxiety festering in his gut. After a year Betty finally convinced him to bring Tony to dinner. Unfortunately it was Thanksgiving dinner and her parents would be there and he was kind of freaking out. It made it feel like he and Tony were a thing and they just...

They really didn't talk about it. Unannounced he would come to stay for a couple days, maybe a week and a half, every few months. It was like being permanently stuck in the honeymoon phase, the little bit of time they got together. Bruce would go about his job, coming back to Tony relaxing in his trailer between rounds, falling into bed with him until they were so hungry they had to eat, never discussing anything but what happened between them in those metal-reinforced walls.

Bruce wasn't stupid – he saw the tabloids. Pictures of Tony caught making out with models, in clubs with whole bottles in his hand, publicly falling apart as his COO managed the company beneath him. But Bruce didn't care. Tony was never meant to be his. What they had together when they had it was good. He didn't question that. They both knew Bruce had his own demons.

"Ready for round two?" Tony murmured, biting at Bruce's lower lip, clearly unconcerned with Bruce's reply.

"I need to do rounds, take a shower," Bruce answered, rolling into Tony's body and tucking his head up under his chin.

"I'm excited," Tony said, poking a finger into his hip and making Bruce jump, knocking Tony's chin and his teeth together.

"You deserved that," Bruce muttered as he resettled himself against Tony, snuggling in closer as Tony laughed.

"Seriously," Tony replied, running a hand down his back, though Bruce doubted that very much.

Tony had plenty of things to entertain him in his life – a family dinner with his adoptive family could not be very high on his list. Plus it just... it felt like such a violation of what they had. Okay, it had been nearly a year, but they didn't do stuff like this. Introducing him to his family? There would be questions. Questions without answers. It was just going to be weird.

"I'm not going to embarrass you – intentionally, anyway," Tony teased and Bruce rolled his eyes, pushing him away to stand and pull on some pants to go do his rounds.

"I'm more concerned about how I'm going to explain 'here's my plus one, Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries,'" Bruce said as he pulled a shirt over his head. "I mean Betty knows but..."

"Maybe they won't recognize me?" Tony offered, stretching on the bed in a way that Bruce knew was intentionally enticing.

"Oh please." Bruce rolled his eyes. "You're on the cover of like every magazine at the grocery check-out. Not to mention the news."

Tony grimaced and looked away. It came a little too close to discussing the things they never discussed and Bruce instantly regretted it, throwing a pillow at him to lighten the mood.

"Just means I get to see you all the time," he mused, leaning over the bed and kissing at the little smile on Tony's lips.

"You lucky bastard," Tony replied as Bruce pulled away and he picked up the pillow and pushed it into his face one more time for good measure before leaving to the sound of Tony's laughter.

He did his rounds – thankful that it was the fall and there weren't many campers – and returned to Tony getting out of the shower, toweling himself off. They kissed for a minute as Bruce took over the shower and Tony did... whatever he did... to his hair. Bruce was convinced he used foundation or something too sometimes – but he had yet to catch Tony in the act of putting it on.

Although Bruce thought Tony looked fucking great naked with bedhead and stubble, he had to admit he looked pretty good with his hair done, dressed in a tight pair of jeans with a big belt and a classy grey ribbed sweater turtleneck Bruce was pretty sure was custom tailored. He felt a little faux pas next to him an overly large, mostly brown fair isle sweater Betty had gotten him for Christmas many years ago but he didn't care – it was his favorite. And anyway, they were just going to Betty's. But sometimes the contrast in their lives juxtaposed in ridiculous little ways that made Bruce uncomfortable, and Tony's sports car sitting in his lot as they climbed into the Jeep didn't help.

But then they were on the highway and Tony was reclining his seat, singing along with the radio half-heartedly, asking annoyingly innocuous questions about his family, and – in the few moments in between that he was quiet – stealing unsubtle glances at Bruce from the corner of his eye. He couldn't imagine going on a road trip with him. It was unbelievable to Bruce that Tony managed to travel the whole country by himself back when he was a paranormal investigator.

He managed to contain a laugh. It was a thing he knew forever – life was ridiculous and inexplicable. But the way he met Tony? Looking back on it now, how could he ever explain it?

Tony reached his arm across the seat, stroking his fingers along the back of Bruce's neck as they pulled off the highway. It did nothing for his anxiety but it was nice, that kind of casual intimacy, knowing that he was there.

When he pulled up to Betty's quaint little house he parked in the road, giving her parents the space to leave if they wanted, and ignoring Tony and the quick kiss he wanted to give him completely as he stepped out of the car. But Tony didn't seem too miffed, more amused than anything, and he followed behind Bruce to the door, taking everything in.

Betty's house had become familiar to him now, he visited almost every other weekend these days, but he still knocked, asking to be invited in.

Leonard opened the door with a grin as Jude came running through the house, screaming Bruce's name in the high-pitched excitement of a three year old and he could just make out Tony's laughter behind him as Bruce bent down to welcome him into his arms. But as soon as Jude got a glimpse of Tony behind him he grew shy and buried his face on Bruce's shoulder.

"That's Tony," Bruce told him softly before looking up at Leonard. "Leonard – Tony. And Tony, Leonard," he introduced and they shook hands.

"Great to finally meet you," Leonard said with a genuine smile and if Tony being a CEO intimidated him, he sure didn't show it. "It's freezing out here – come in, come in!"

They walked in, being lead to the kitchen where Karen and Betty were in a full on fuss over the turkey and whether it was done or not. Betty pushed back her hair from her face, unable yet to tie it back into a ponytail but close, looking up to see them walking in. Immediately her face lit up with a huge grin and she stepped around the butcherblock covered in side dishes to lean up and plant a light kiss on Bruce's cheek and ruffle Jude's hair where he was still tucked up against Bruce's neck.

"And you must be Tony," Betty greeted as she turned, one hand on her very pregnant stomach as she reached for his with the other.

"So nice to finally meet you," Tony replied as he took her hand, squeezing it warmly with that handsome little half-smile he did that was sincere and endearing before turning to Karen. "And Bruce's mom? Can I call you Bruce's mom? I'm still a little kid at heart."

From all the stories Bruce had told Tony he knew that there was nothing Karen wanted more than for Bruce to accept her as his mother – even though she had never tried to replace her. It was a sure fire way to win her over instantly, though.

"You can call me whatever you want," Karen replied, clearly overcome with emotion, hesitating for a minute before wrapping him in a very unexpected hug that Tony tried not to repel from, much to Bruce's amusement.

"Just don't call her mashed potatoes lumpy," Leonard warned as Karen removed herself from Tony and Betty hit her husband with a potholder.

"Thad is impossible to please," Karen said, rolling her eyes. "Though maybe Tony is the same way – you probably eat gourmet every day."

Tony laughed. Bruce could tell he was in full-fledged entertainer mode, but it was soft around the edges and he hoped Tony was actually comfortable – or that he would be.

"It's a lot more Chinese take out than you would expect," he answered with an embarrassed grin. "And this? Smells amazing. Plus, if you're the one who taught Bruce here how to cook..." Tony elbowed Bruce in the ribs as Karen blushed slightly.

"Bwuce," Jude whispered quite loudly and Bruce turned his attention back to his nephew as Tony continued to compliment his cooking. "I wanna eat."

"Well, if someone would admit that the turkey was done..." Betty cast an accusatory glance at Karen, who hovered back to the oven to glance in through the window.

"It has to get to 165 for at least a minute or two and –" Karen started, only to be mostly ignored by the others as she re-explained the finer details of cooking a turkey.

"Hand Jude to Leo and go say hi to dad," Betty directed with a smile as she turned back to listen to her mom.

Bruce did as instructed and Tony followed him out to the screened in porch where Thad was smoking a cigar. He slid open the door and stepped out, Thad turning his head just slightly to eye them both, nodding a little. As eagerly as Karen wanted Bruce to accept them as his parents, Thad was equally as apathetic. Not that Bruce particularly cared – ultimately he did more for Bruce than anyone else ever had in his life. Except for maybe Tony, by erasing those video files and keeping his secret.

"This is Tony Stark," Bruce said, turning from Thad to Tony. "Tony – Thaddeus Ross."

"Nice cigars," Tony complimented quickly, running his fingers over the labels where they rested in the humidor on the patio table.

"You would know," Thad replied, as indifferent as always. "Want one? Bruce never developed a taste for them."

Bruce wasn't sure if that was an insult or not but he let it drop, watching as Tony stared at the box, clearly craving one.

"Maybe after dinner," Tony finally answered. "I think it's almost done."

Thad snorted. "Is that what they told you?"

For a minute they stood there, Bruce growing more and more uncomfortable with every second, not knowing what to say until Thad spoke up.

"CEO, huh?"

For a minute he and Tony exchanged minor conversation about business and the stock market and Bruce was seriously relieved when Betty came to retrieve them.

Although Bruce felt so anxious he could hardly eat, Tony clearly had no such problem and joked with Karen about never getting a home cooked meal as he loaded his plate.

"You know, Bruce never cooks for us," Betty mused with a hand brushing Bruce's shoulder as she handed Jude his plate.

"Does he have to?" Tony asked, making a hand motion across the table as he knocked his foot into Bruce's beneath it. "You ladies seem to have it under control."

"But I cooked for you for two months," Bruce replied in shock, ignoring Tony as he watched Betty walk around the table to her seat across from him.

"You made peanut butter sandwiches and mac n cheese for two months," Betty corrected with a grin. "Not that I blame you, being a mom is hard."

"I did have two children to deal with, you'll know what that's like soon," Bruce teased as she laughed.

"When is the baby due?" Tony asked over a forkful of potatoes.

"The day after New Years," Betty smiled coyly. "So if you have no other plans and she's on time..."

"I'll bring the champagne," Tony volunteered and though it was a nice thought, Bruce doubted very much that it was any more than that.

Still, Tony grinned at him as he took a bite – a real, big, genuine grin – and Bruce hated the way his heart seized. Fucking Tony. He hated how damn in love with him he really was. It was easier to pretend they were just inconvenient fuckbuddies. Clearly, meeting his family was a supremely poor decision. This all felt entirely too close.

For a while they talked about the baby and the nursery and potential names and Tony was perfectly charming the whole time. And he complimented the food and "snuck" Jude more mashed potatoes and olives behind Bruce's back and laughed at all Betty's high school stories about Bruce. It was just so damn easy to have him there. He fit right in.

Eventually Betty requested Bruce help her in the kitchen with dessert as Karen got up to pour Thad and Tony some brandy and as soon as they were behind the closed door Betty was punching him in the shoulder and grinning like crazy.

"What do you mean, 'just friends?'" she hissed, pulling the pumpkin roll from the fridge.

Bruce didn't say anything, just gave her a look and grabbed the dessert plates from the cupboard.

"He's so in love with you dad probably sees it," she continued as she sliced the roll and Bruce cringed.

They had intentionally not told Thad that there was any involvement between the two of them, though they had filled in the far more perceptive Karen, because it just didn't seem worth the potential chastising. There were certain lectures Bruce found he was far too old for.

"I told you –"

"Move to New York with him Bruce," Betty interrupted, her eyes pleading. "The way he looks at you – it's like no one else in the whole world matters. And you're not much better. Whatever you say, I can tell you're in love."

"I can't," Bruce replied firmly, opening the silverware drawer and pulling out a handful of forks.

"And why not?" Betty argued, a hand on her hip as she set down the pastry knife, looking ready for a fight, but Bruce ignored her.

"What we have is good because it's not all the time," Bruce replied instead, setting the forks down on the plates and looking her in the eyes. "I don't need to be in his personal life all the time to care for him – in fact, it's better that I'm not. He hates everything in New York – that's why he keeps coming back to me."

It was cold but it was realistic. Maybe Tony did care for him beyond that, maybe he did love him, but the fact of the matter was if he rushed off to New York with him eventually he would just be one more thing dragging him down every day and Bruce never wanted to be that. Not to mention how miserable he would be living with the constant fear of his monster.

Betty sighed and pushed the hair out of her face again, clearly disappointed in him. She opened her mouth to speak, then made a face of shock, leaning over the butcherblock with a hand pressed to her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Bruce asked, concerned, knowing how worried the doctors where when she got pregnant, unhappy about the short amount of time between such a traumatic physical experience and well, another traumatic physical experience.

"Yeah," she managed after a minute, taking a breath and trying to straighten out. "She just shifted on a nerve and started kicking like crazy. She doesn't have much space in there! Jude was never this active."

"Come on," Bruce said, picking up the plates and an apple pie sitting on the counter. "Let's go sit down."

Tony immediately looked up at him when they walked back in, smiling, completely shifting his focus from Leonard who was still in the middle of his speaking, and Bruce thought about what Betty said, his heart pounding and his face going hot involuntarily. He set down the pie and handed Tony a plate, meeting his dreamy eyes, looking wistful and totally in love and Bruce couldn't help the way that made him feel.

Bruce never wished for more than what they had – there was no point in it. But... he also never let himself think too hard about it. He didn't need Betty interfering and making things harder than they had to be.

"We've got pumpkin roll or apple pie," Betty said as she sat down and Tony grinned, setting down his tumbler with interest.

"Or both?"

Karen laughed, clearly pleased with Tony's appetite and his appreciation. "How do you even have room?"

"I'll make room," Tony assured her as Bruce handed Jude a piece of pumpkin roll and then took Tony's plate with a piece of pie already on it and added some pumpkin roll for him as well.

The rest of the evening was nice, Tony going out with Thad to smoke a cigar on the porch, Karen and Betty taking Jude up for a bath, leaving Bruce and Leonard to bitch about work as they cleaned up the kitchen for the ladies. They got beers when they were done, heading into the living room, but Karen was on the stairs, motioning to them and grabbing Bruce by the arm when they were close enough.

"Jude wants you to put him to bed," she said with a smile. "If that's okay?"

Bruce chuckled, shooting a pleased glance at Leonard to make sure it was okay with him, getting a nod of approval from his brother-in-law.

"Of course," Bruce answered, handing his beer to Leonard to hold on to and Karen followed him to the stairs.

"I'm so happy for you," she said quietly, hugging him tightly for a moment. "Tony is such a nice guy. I always hoped you would find someone who appreciated you."

Bruce felt incredibly embarrassed but he gave her a quick squeeze, knowing she meant well. As much as he struggled with her replacing his mother, she was good to him. She had always been good to him. He would always be his mother's son, but he was her son, too.

"I always had you and Betty," he offered quietly, heading up the stairs before she could say anything else, greeting Betty in Jude's room.

"I'm sorry, he just –" Betty started but Bruce just smiled as Jude came up and hugged his legs.

"Don't worry about it," Bruce interrupted. "Just try and save Tony from Thad at some point."

Betty laughed and agreed, leaving them as Bruce leaned down to pick up Jude to the enthusiastic cries of "Airplane! Airplane!"

Bruce spun him around and around, flopping him into bed and tickling him mercilessly until he couldn't breathe. When he looked at Jude, red-faced and ecstatic, wet hair from his bath stuck to his forehead, Bruce was just so happy he was going to be getting a sister. It would change his life – in the best way.

He read their favorite – The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And then a few more, for good measure – and because he was the uncle and allowed to spoil him. Jude was yawning and bleary-eyed by the time Bruce stood to pull the cord on the light and bend over to switch on his night light next to the bed.

"I love you," Bruce finally managed, bending down to kiss his forehead.

"I wuv you, Bwuce," Jude replied, closing his eyes, and Bruce could hardly contain the smile that broke out over his face. It was worth it. Everything he had been through had been worth it.

Quietly he stepped out, startled to find Tony there in the hallway, watching him at an angle through the open door. Bruce gave him a look, questioning, but Tony just drew him in by the waist, pulling him to him, kissing him thoroughly, tenderly. Tony tasted like cigars and brandy and pie and Bruce was still smiling, everything he loved, everyone he loved all here, wrapped up together, and though he had been nervous it was perfect. Perfect.

And frankly, if he had to settle for being alone most of his life, he was okay with that just to have a few perfect moments like this.

"I love you, Bwuce," Tony teased in a whisper, drawing back just slightly, eyes sparkling in the dark.

It was the first time in a year since he'd uttered those desperate words through the door, falling into Bruce's ear where it was pressed up against it, and his heart clenched in exactly the same way to hear it again – words he never thought he would hear, words he never thought he deserved.

"I love you, too," he whispered back, closing his eyes and kissing Tony again. It only took a moment to whisper those four words, but it was perfect.