"We should really get some breakfast, Tony."
The end of Bruce's sentence was met with a low hum prompted by Tony's lips at his throat. He tightened his arm around Tony's bare back and very seriously considered giving up on his conquest for food, but then his stomach grumbled at him again and he squirmed under the weight of his boyfriend's body on top of him.
"Why?" Tony mumbled against Bruce's skin, "I've already had my most important meal of the day—ow." He swatted Bruce's hand away when the other man pinched his shoulder, and retaliated with a childish nip to Bruce's neck.
"Because," Bruce began, rolling over to press Tony's back against the rumpled sheets, "we've literally spend the entire week either working or having sex. Or both at the same time. And despite the fact that this is the most sexually satisfied I've been in twenty years, a man needs to eat."
Tony sighed as Bruce pushed him into the bed, his eyes roaming from Bruce's bedraggled hair down to the lazy smile that curled his lips. His insides danced at the triumph that came from Bruce's blunt statement about his satisfaction, and he couldn't deny that he was just about on the same level.
At the same time, Tony didn't want to ruin the utter bliss he was feeling by thinking about how he'd mostly been using their ridiculous amount of sex to distract himself from Pepper. Not that he wasn't enjoying every moment he'd spent with Bruce that week—he was, immensely—but that tidbit of information was still constantly scratching at the back of his mind.
"Fine," Tony finally drawled in reply, leaning in to kiss Bruce one more time before he forced himself to roll out of the bed. He found his boxers laying a few feet away on the floor and pulled them on before he turned to look back at his boyfriend. "Let's eat, then."
Bruce looked over his shoulder after he pulled his shirt on, and scoffed amusedly at Tony's state of undress. "You do remember that Steve and Nat are bunking over here until their next mission, right?"
"Yeah, and? It's my house. They're lucky I even put my underwear back on."
"Mhmm, and last time I checked, this tower had a big A on the front of it, and you said that 'this is anyone's home whenever they need it to be.'" Bruce picked up Tony's shirt and tossed it over at him. "Your house, technically, is in Malibu. Have a little decency for the group home, Tony."
"Maybe we should go to Malibu, then," Tony said, giving up his side of the fight and pulling his clothes on. "Then we can walk around naked without the threat of indecency." He ambled towards the door and held his hand out for Bruce.
Bruce chuckled as he finished fastening the last few buttons on his shirt, taking Tony's hand as soon as he was at least somewhat presentable. He almost made a comment about how it would be silly for them to run away to Malibu now, when Tony was about to be a new father in a few short months, but he stopped himself when he realized that if Tony hadn't said even a word about that in a week then it probably wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "I'll give it some thought," he said after another second, twining their fingers as they made their way down to the kitchen.
When they reached the kitchen, Tony headed straight for the coffee pot after throwing a brief 'hi' in Steve and Natasha's direction. The two of them were seated opposite each other at the table, papers scattered all in front of them even though they appeared to be taking a break from it all. "So where are they shipping you off to this time?" he asked, turning around while the pot began to brew.
Natasha looked up at the engineer with a smug smile. "That's—"
"Classified. Yeah, kinda figured that. Jarvis, where are they off to?"
"SHIELD thought you might try that," Steve cut in, the expression on his face almost giving Natasha a run for her money. "The text on these pages is encrypted with some kind of code that makes it impossible for even the most high-tech of your AIs to read. Nice try, Stark."
"The fuck? Who even came up with that?" Tony scoffed after a confirmation from Jarvis. "Why didn't I come up with that? That's a moneymaker right there."
"Because you don't have enough of that already," Bruce teased, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge before wandering over to lean against the counter beside Tony. "When are they sending you out?" he asked, looking towards the two seated at the table.
"Next Tuesday," Natasha replied, "but I think the better question is where have you two been for the past five days?"
"Working." The reply came simultaneously from the both of them, and Bruce attempted to hide his smile behind a sip of water.
"I think we all know what that really means." The comment was accompanied by the click of heels that could only belong to one person, and heads turned to find Pepper walking into the room, dressed and clearly on her way to work. She cast a smile at the occupants of the room, and once her gaze found Tony she may have let it linger for a moment too long before she blinked. "Mind if I get some of that coffee you're protecting?"
Tony also stared back at her a little too long, almost feeling some kind of exhilaration in the stolen moment until he remembered that there were other people in the room. "Yeah, go ahead," he replied, ignoring how painfully awkward the interaction must have looked to the others. He stepped aside to let Pepper reach the coffee pot, ending up pressed against Bruce's side in the process. For the next minute or so, the only sounds in the room were the rustling of papers and the clink of a spoon in a mug as Pepper stirred her coffee until she caught a smile on Steve's face in the corner of her eye, and she glanced at him questioningly.
"I didn't know you were pregnant," Steve said, his smile widening slightly until he noticed Pepper's hesitation and felt the sudden urge to backpedal. "I mean, unless you're—I didn't mean to assume, I just noticed that—"
"Just quit while you're ahead, Cap," Natasha muttered, masking her amusement behind the packet of papers she was flipping through.
"No, no, it's fine," Pepper replied after the initial surprise had worn off, and she laughed quietly, almost nervously. "I guess it's more noticeable than I thought it was," she explained, "baby's due in November."
"Oh." The warm smile returned to Steve's face. "Congratulations, then. Who's the lucky guy?"
This time, Pepper's hesitation had less to do with being caught off guard and more do with if she was even comfortable answering. If Tony hadn't been there, she probably would have just said it—but he was there, right beside her, and they were both still clearly too conflicted about what had happened the last time they say each other to be taking questions about their imminent parenthood. So instead she just glanced at him for long enough that Steve would get the idea, and looked away a split second after Tony met her eyes. "I should get to work," she said, pausing to take a sip of her coffee. "It was nice to see you two again." She smiled at Steve and Natasha one last time before she made her way out of the kitchen, exhaling a slightly shaky sigh once she was out of earshot.
"Was it something I said?" Steve asked after a beat of silence, brow furrowed.
"No," Tony said quickly, trying to end that topic of conversation as soon as possible, "our kid's just a bit of a touchy topic right now." Before anyone could comment on his use of the word our, he gulped down the last bit of his coffee and set the mug in the sink. "Anyway, I've gotta get down to the shop. I don't trust Dum-E to check on my stuff without setting it on fire." He looked towards Bruce when he felt the man's hand on his back, and paused. "Wanna do lunch or something today?"
"I'd like to, but I have plans, actually." Bruce smiled apologetically. "With Pepper."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you and Pep go out on lunch dates?"
"Since we became friends a long time ago. You jealous?" Bruce teased, but dropped it as soon as Tony cracked a forced smile. "How about dinner, then? I should be done in the lab by six at the latest."
"Okay. Sure. Dinner it is." Tony took a second to lean in and kiss his boyfriend, keeping the contact short yet sweet until he pulled back to mumble a quiet "see you tonight" against his lips before all but fleeing the room.
Tony had slithered away so quickly that Bruce didn't bother with saying goodbye, and instead just stifled a sigh and turned back to the two still at the table. He took in the pensive expressions on both their faces, and rather than trying to explain, just shrugged and hoped he looked like he was just as confused as they were.
"You have to understand that we have a number of blacklisted stockholders. It's a short list, but your close relations to Hammer Industries puts you near the top. My hands are tied."
There was something oddly mesmerizing about watching Pepper Potts effortlessly shut someone down, Bruce thought as he stood quietly in the doorway of her office. She'd told him to meet her at one o'clock for lunch, and it was now nearing one-fifteen, but she was obviously a little tied up and Bruce didn't mind watching, anyway.
"Yes, I'm the CEO of the company, and no, that doesn't mean I'm going to break protocol for you. There's nothing that I can or will do for you unless you agree to improve your business practice, so until then, have a lovely day." Pepper hung up the phone and sighed exasperatedly, pushing a hand through her hair before she leaned back in her chair and looked towards Bruce. "Sorry. I really didn't think that was going to take so long."
"That's fine." Bruce smiled. "It's an honor to watch the master work."
"You flatter me. Truly," Pepper teased in return, leaving her desk as it was when she got up just because she knew organizing it would take another ten minutes, and Bruce had been standing there long enough already. "Did you have any ideas for lunch?" she asked, grabbing her jacket before she gestured for Bruce to follow her out the door.
"Nothing in particular," Bruce replied, content to let Pepper lead the way to the elevator. "I figured I might let you pick, in case you were, you know… craving anything specific." He smirked, watching the floor numbers decrease as they sank towards the bottom.
Pepper blinked, a little smile curling her lips when she noticed the smug smirk on Bruce's face. "Pregnancy jokes, very funny," she replied, the words sarcastic but still vaguely amused. "There's a bunch of cafes down the street, how about we take a walk down there and I'll tell you when the hormones flare up?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." As soon as they'd made it outside, Bruce offered her his arm, and she linked their elbows without hesitation. It was easy, casual, like the rest of their friendship—even if Bruce was still somewhat surprised that she actually trusted him. (According to Tony, earning Pepper Potts' trust was not an easy task, and not many people had conquered it. He had to admit that at times he was even a little giddy that she'd chosen him to be let into that small circle, now more than ever.)
"So how's work?" Bruce asked as they walked. That was a question he'd always kind of hated; it just felt like surface talk, impersonal, but he supposed with Pepper it didn't really matter. "That phone call sounded a little rough."
"I suppose it was," Pepper replied indifferently. Her eyes scanned the shops and cafes that lined the city streets, and eventually she gestured towards one that seemed decent. Bruce nodded, so they made their way into the door and towards a table. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with plenty of times, though. We generally try to cut ties with any person or company that's tried to kill Tony or myself," she explained with a wry smile.
"Well, that seems like a good way to practice business," Bruce replied, laughing a little bit at Pepper's blunt explanation. The conversation paused so they could order their food, and it was only a few minutes until it was ready and they were able to get comfortable.
"So," Pepper started after she'd swallowed a bite of her sandwich, "if I ask you about work, will the ridiculous surface talk be over with so you can say what's really on your mind?" She looked up at Bruce across the table, a knowing smile on her lips.
"Oh, Pepper," Bruce chastised teasingly, "you know the details of my experiments and test results don't make for interesting conversation."
"That is a true statement. Spill it, Doctor."
Bruce chuckled quietly at her reply before he looked down into his coffee. He lifted the cup to his lips to take a sip, trying to figure out how he wanted to word this. "About this morning," he started, and he could see Pepper visibly stiffen a little bit. "What was that?"
"What about it?" Pepper asked indifferently. "Was it weird?" She was never really one to play dumb unless the situation called for it, and when it did, Pepper was very good at it. It was an acquired skill after too many years in the dog-eat-dog world of business that she lived in every day.
"A little bit." Bruce's lips quirked into a slightly nervous smile. "I was just—Tony told me that you two were talking again, or at least trying to. This morning just seemed a bit… uncomfortable?" He looked back down after he finished speaking. "I'm not trying to be intrusive, I just… want to be sure that everything is alright."
Pepper exhaled a quiet sigh from her nose. She had to do her best to appear as calm as she could manage right now, because as far as she knew (and hoped), Tony hadn't said anything to Bruce about what happened in the workshop, and any indication of the awkwardness that Bruce had clearly seen that morning might give it away. "Everything's okay," she replied, leaning back in her chair, "or at least as okay as it can be for now. We're still working it out. It's taking a little longer than I'd like, honestly."
"I think that's to be expected," Bruce said. He'd relaxed a bit once she replied, but he was still just the tiniest bit wary of her answer. "This isn't exactly the easiest—or most normal—situation to have to deal with."
"Don't need to tell me twice," Pepper muttered, but quickly composed herself after the rather cynical tone of her comment. "I know. I just wish we'd made a little more progress by now, that's all. I mean, I'm already more than halfway through this pregnancy. I actually have my 24-week ultrasound coming up, and I'd kind of like him to be there, I think it's something he should see, but…" She shrugged slightly and shook her head, looking back down at the table. "I just don't know if he'd be ready to do that yet. I don't want to push him." She absently slid her palm over her belly, feeling her daughter start to kick just as she always did when her mother felt the beginnings of any kind of stress. Pepper didn't necessarily think she was stressed, but clearly her baby knew better.
"You're still going to ask him, though?" Bruce questioned, raising an eyebrow. Pepper wasn't one to back down from any kind of challenge, especially not one presented by Tony.
"Of course I'm going to ask him," Pepper replied, as if it should have been obvious (in hindsight, Bruce supposed it was). "I'm just about ninety-eight percent sure of what his answer will be."
"There's still a whole two percent there. Don't get too far ahead of yourself." Bruce smiled. "I'll tell you what, though. If you ask him and he says no, just tell me and… I'll go with you," he said casually. "I mean, if—if you're comfortable with that, of course." His little smile had faded when he stumbled over his words, but he offered it up again when he noticed the surprise drawn across Pepper's expression. He certainly hoped he hadn't overstepped.
Pepper didn't know what to say. Part of her was shocked that Bruce had even offered in the first place, and the other part was stuck looking for a way to express her gratitude. It wasn't as if Bruce had any kind of conventional attachment to the child—honestly, if this was a normal situation with normal people, and if Bruce wasn't the kind and seemingly passive man that he was, Pepper could see how he could hate everything about this. But he didn't, for whatever reason, and he'd actually just offered to go see her unborn baby with her when it was likely that the kid's actual father wouldn't.
She still hadn't decided which part of her was right. Probably the latter.
"You would do that?" she asked, and Bruce nodded like it was just an everyday kind of favor. "Thank you, Bruce."
"Anything you need," Bruce said warmly just after he'd finished the last of his meal. "24 weeks is a pretty big deal, I mean, you should have someone there with you." Really, he just hated having to watch her go through this alone. He couldn't possibly imagine how hard it must have been when she found out, alone, or when she had to go through so many weeks of hiding it, alone, until she found the courage to tell someone. Bruce knew all too well about being alone during the hardest things in life, and wanted to help her as much as he could without overstepping his boundaries (meaning with both her and Tony).
Instead of saying anything further about it, because it seemed a little excessive to thank him multiple times, Pepper just smiled gratefully in return. Had she been sitting closer, she almost would have considered taking his hand, but then she realized that she'd been staring at him for probably a moment too long and forced herself to blink.
"You know, Doctor," Pepper started after she noticed that Bruce caught her looking, and she swept her slight embarrassment under the rug for now. "Just because the specifics of your test results and experiments don't make for interesting conversation doesn't mean the project itself doesn't. Tell me about what's keeping you holed up in that lab for so long."
She watched a beaming smile spread across Bruce's face, and she was more than glad to put the spotlight back on him for now. He definitely deserved it.