Title: 'Cause I'm Fake at the Seams.

Summary: Bruce and Tony love each other, but when there's a bump in the relationship that may not be enough to keep them together.

Warnings: Angst. No happy ending.

Disclaimer: I don't owe The Dark Knight trilogy, Iron Man or any of its characters. Sadly.

OoOoO

It was late by the time Bruce climbed the many stairs in the Manor, brushing his slightly damp hair away from his forehead. He showered down in the cave after returning from patrol, washing the grime and sweat away before sliding into a pair of clean and comfortable sweatpants and a t-shirt.

Even though he assured Alfred he was uninjured when he called to the cave to tell him he was turning in for the night, the older man had been waiting for him when he arrived. Bruce managed to send him upstairs once the butler verified he was telling the truth, but he stayed behind to work on his report for the night. That had been a little over an hour ago, and since he had to show up later today at Wayne Enterprises for the board's quarterly meeting, he was ready to fall face-first onto his bed for a couple of hours of blissful sleep.

The billionaire blinked, stopping on his tracks just after taking a step into the bedroom. The light from the fireplace was illuminating the lone figure lounging on the sofa settled on a corner of the room.

"Hey," Bruce called softly, his lips curling into a fond smile as he walked toward him.

"Hey yourself." Tony took a sip from his tumbler. "How was patrol?"

"It was quiet tonight." Bruce leaned forward to kiss the corner of Tony's lips before sitting at his side with a soft sigh. "I didn't know you were coming to Gotham."

"Wasn't planning to. It just kind of happened." Tony turned his head in his direction, dark eyes meeting his. "Hope I'm not in the way."

"Of course not. I was just surprised." He leaned back on the sofa. "Alfred didn't tell me you were waiting for me either."

"I asked him not to." Bruce lifted an eyebrow in inquiry as Tony drank the rest of his drink. "We need to talk."

The younger man said nothing for a moment, hazel eyes traveling across Tony's face. He wanted to ask him if they could talk later, but there was something in Tony's gaze that stopped him. Maybe there was more to that last look Alfred sent him than the butler's usual disapproval of his terrible sleeping habits and poor self-care.

"Okay," He replied wearily, turning his body slightly to face him better.

Tony wet his lips, fingers busy tapping on the tumbler between his hands. "I- I don't think this is working anymore."

He drew in a sharp breath. It hurt- like he had always known it would, but it wasn't surprising. Not really.

Bruce couldn't say he had been waiting for this exact moment, but it was something that had always been there in the back of his mind. The certainty that this wouldn't, couldn't last. That Tony wouldn't stay happy with this- with him for long. That once the thrill or the novelty, or whatever had pushed Tony to pursue a relationship with him had passed, the eccentric billionaire would tire of the plain and boring person he was behind his many masks.

Things between them lasted longer than he had expected, even. Bruce wasn't sure if he was grateful for that or not. Not now.

He made sure not to let any of that show on his face. Bruce made sure to keep his expression blank as he stared back. The least he could do was avoid making a scene, for both their sakes.

"Alright."

"That's it?" Tony asked with a sharp glare.

Bruce forced himself to meet his eyes. "What do you want me to say?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe what any fucking sane person would say. Ask if there's a way to fix things. Or at least fucking ask why."

"Would it make a difference?"

"Right. Of course. Why bother even trying to fix something you don't give a fuck about, huh? Maybe that's the fucking problem, Wayne!" Tony was out of his seat then, turning his back on him as he took a few steps away.

"What is," Bruce said flatly. If Tony wanted to end things between them he wouldn't try to change his mind, but there was no way in hell he was going let him put the blame on him.

Tony turned around with a glare. "You. You and the fact you can't be fucking bothered to care about this relationship."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's a tough one, but let's see," Tony snarled, putting on an overdone thoughtful expression. "Maybe, just maybe, I'm talking about the fact I just told you I'm done with this and you're acting as if I just made a comment about the weather. No, wait. Not even that. You actually give a damn about the weather, right?"

He clenched his jaw. "I'm not going to beg you to stay when you obviously want to leave."

"What? That's not what I'm saying, damn it!"

"Then what?"

"I'm talking about the fact you can't even fucking ask why!" Tony growled.

"Why would I ask that when I already know the answer."

"Do you now?" Tony asked softly.

Bruce was taken aback by the change in tone but forced himself to say the words out loud after a moment of silence. "Do you really think I want to hear how bored you are? Or how we had a good run, it was fun, but maybe you need something more exciting for a change?"

Tony opened his mouth but had to close it without saying a word. He sat down again. "Seriously? That's what you think this is about?"

"Isn't it?"

"Of course is not!" The older billionaire clenched his jaw. "Do you honestly think I would have stayed this long if, as you say, I was bored?"

Bruce averted his eyes. That made sense, yes. Tony would never settle for something he didn't want or like, but he had no idea what else would have caused this. There had been no major changes in the last weeks, or even the last months to explain this. Maybe that was the problem.

"I'm not saying you weren't interested before, but things have obviously changed now."

"Have they?"

"I don't know," Bruce admitted softly.

Tony nodded. "Good. Now, are you gonna ask why?"

"Why are you breaking up with me, Tony?" He asked, using the fake, lighter tone he used in public, and even forcing his lips to curl into what he was sure looked more like a snarl than a smile.

"Because I got tired of being your dirty little secret, Brucie! That's why!" Tony shouted with an equally fake smile.

"What? That's not- We talked about that," Bruce countered, brows furrowed together. "We both agreed it was best to keep our relationship private."

"Yep. Yep, we did. I guess I just missed the part where we said that was going to be a permanent thing."

Bruce had nothing to say to that.

"You know, back when we first talked about this, I thought I understood why you were doing it. I thought it was because of me and my reputation. That you weren't sure if I was serious about us, and you wanted to be cautious and avoid being seen as just another notch on my bedpost, and I was okay with that, you know," Tony admitted with a self-deprecating smile. "I deserved it for all the crap I pulled over the years, but now I don't think that's quite it."

Tony was partially right, of course. Bruce's insistence to keep their relationship under wraps was because he didn't want to deal with the public fallout if things didn't work between them, but he had to admit at least to himself that there was more to it than that.

"Why is it so important to you that everybody knows?"

He shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? I'm not talking about turning this into a media circus or anything like that. I'm saying I got tired of hiding from fucking everyone! I want to be able to kiss you or even just hold your fucking hand without having to worry someone will see us. Hell, you don't even let me stay in the Manor often. Is that too much to ask for?

"Are you ashamed of me? Is that it?" Tony asked in a quiet voice, looking down at his hands.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Then why?" Bruce remained silent. "Is it about coming out? I mean, I get that things are far from ideal with all the bigotry and shit, but this isn't the 70s. And, let's be honest, with all the scandals you've been involved in I doubt a lot of people are gonna be all that surprised if you tell them you're bi. You aren't exactly what anyone would consider a role model anyway."

"I- It's not like that," Bruce said but didn't explain further. He wasn't sure he had the words to do it.

Tony waited, but when there was no other response he sighed. "Look, I'm not going to force you to do anything, that's not my thing, but I'm not okay with this either. I can't keep hiding. I don't want to do it and I don't fucking have to, alright? So if that's not something you can accept and agree to, then I guess we're done.

"It's your choice. I'm putting all of my cards on the table here."

"I'm- I don't..." Bruce trailed off with a helpless look, his eyes never leaving Tony's face as he struggled to form a coherent sentence. He could feel his heart hammering like crazy against his rib cage, and yet he couldn't find the words to explain. Couldn't utter the words that would fix this.

Tony nodded sharply and averted his eyes. "Alright. I get it. I'll just, get out of here then."

Bruce stayed frozen in place, watching as the other man walked away without a backward glance, unable to articulate the words to call him back.

OoOoO

a/n: Yeah, Bruce is an idiot for just letting Tony walk away, but there's a few things he needs to work through by himself before he can make things work with Tony again. Actually, this was supposed to have a second part that deals with what happens after Bruce gets his shit together and goes after Tony and they make up, but I didn't get very far with it (which is the reason I hadn't posted this yet). It's still in my drafts, but it's not very likely I will be doing anything with it so this is all there is for this story. Sorry! I hope you enjoyed it anyway and please do let me know your thoughts!

Title form the song Swans by Unkle Bob.

This is unbetaed and I'm not a native speaker, so please feel free to point out any mistake you may find.