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Title: Torn Between the Light and Dark. [2/3]

Summary: Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne may be friends now, but they had a bit of a rough start. It was all Howard's fault.

Warnings: References to child neglect and emotional abuse of one young Tony Stark. Sequel of the previous chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dark Knight Trilogy, Iron Man, or any of its characters. Sadly.

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Tony craned his neck the look at the Wayne estate as soon as he got out of the car. It was very different from his parents' mansion; for one thing, this place was a lot bigger and looked quite old, almost like a castle or even a palace. The building itself looked nice and well taken care of, with its tall towers and large windows. Still, Tony didn't think he'll like to live here.

As nice and big as it was, it looked too much like a mausoleum to really be seen as a home, not to mention how long they had to drive to get here (even after getting past the gate). It was ridiculous! The place was completely away from any civilization, the nearest neighbors at least a mile away.

"Anthony," Howard called.

Tony ducked his head a little and followed his father. They walked toward the front doors of the mansion where a tall man with graying hair and dressed in an impeccable suit of crisp white and black was standing.

"Good afternoon, Mister Stark," The servant greeted his father with a bow before turning toward him. "Young Mister Stark."

The boy smiled a little. The old man reminded him a little of Jarvis. He even had the same accent.

They stepped through the dark mahogany double doors, and Tony couldn't stop himself from looking around; taking on the dark wood panels on the walls, the ornate chandelier gleaming above their heads and vases glowing on its mahogany stands. He had to admit it looked a lot cozier inside, but still too old-looking for his liking. He wrinkled his nose a little. Even the scarce furniture looked antique.

"Master Wayne is expecting you. This way, please."

Walking beside his father, Tony alternated between watching around the place and looking at the butler's very straight back as he walked before them. He led them through a wide hallway, stopping in front of a dark door to the right. He knocked politely and pulled the door open after a moment.

"Mr. Stark is here to see you, sir."

Tony didn't hear what was said on the other side, but the butler opened the door further, motioning for them to step inside. His father didn't offer the butler a second glance, but Tony nodded in his direction before entering.

Thomas walked around his desk and came to stand before Howard, offering his hand with a cordial smile. "Howard, it's been a long time."

"That it has, Thomas," Howard replied with a firm handshake.

Thomas turned in the boy's direction with a smile. "And who do we have here?"

"Thomas, this is my son, Anthony."

The taller man was looking down at him, his smile turning warm and loose, and a hand held out for him to shake. Tony held his gaze and took the hand, imitating his father's handshake.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Anthony. Thank you, Alfred." Thomas added once he let go of the boy's hand, looking back at the butler with a nod.

Alfred gave a small bow before retiring, closing the door behind him.

"I trust you have been well, Howard?" Thomas asked, motioning for both Starks to take a seat.

"Good. Busy as usual with the company, but good. And yourself?" Howard asked politely.

"I have been well, too. Thank you for asking." Thomas replied before turning back to the elder Stark and offering drinks. Howard accepted a scotch while Tony thanked him, but refused to ask for anything. "Martha and I took Bruce to Scotland for the first time last month and he loved it there."

Tony watched out of the corner of his eye the smile on Wayne's face. He frowned.

Howard nodded politely. "Europe is an important market and I have some business with companies there, but I'm focusing on deals with the government of our own country at the moment."

"And you seem to be doing a great job with that, from what I've heard," Thomas added with a wry twitch of lips.

That was all the prompting Howard needed to launch on a recount of some of the more lucrative deals he had closed on weapon manufacture.

Tony sat very straight on one of the chairs of Wayne's study, feet planted on the ground and hands resting on his lap. So far, he was pretty sure was doing a good job looking like he was paying attention to his father's lecture, all the while keeping the bored look out of his face and holding back a couple of yawns. He had heard it all before, after all.

Unlike the chairs in his father's office that were hard and uncomfortable, the chairs here were soft and warm- not that Tony was enjoying them all that much. Not while he was wearing a suit. God, how he hated suits. And ties too. The making of suits for someone that wasn't at least twenty should be illegal.

He clasped his hands tightly together to stop from tugging at the collar of his impeccable dress shirt. He knew how much his father hated when he did that.

There was a pause in the conversation, and it was then that he noticed Wayne's brown eyes had shifted to him. Tony resisted the urge to straighten up in his seat even more-if that was even possible-or squirm. He met the man's gaze straight on instead, just like his father had taught him. Starks didn't back down. They never looked away.

Thomas gave him a small, friendly smile. "My son Bruce is in the library down the hall right now. He's a few years younger than you, but you can go with him if you want while your father and I talk."

The boy risked a glance at his father's face. His lips were turned down in a frown and his eyes hard. He was clearly not happy with Wayne's suggestion, even if the only reason he had brought Tony along was that he expected him to somehow stop Wayne's kid from disrupting this meeting like he had done the last time with a hurt arm and tears running down his face.

He remembered hearing his father complain for days about Wayne begin a spineless pushover and his lack of professionalism, as well as his pathetic spoiled brat.

Tony wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea either; spend time babysitting a little kid didn't sound like fun-not that staying here did either-but he knew it would be easier for him to prevent an interruption if he was with the kid. And, he didn't want to disappoint his father, just as much as he didn't want him to be mad at him.

His father knew all of that too, of course, but that didn't mean he was happy letting Wayne force his hand like that. Even at such an insignificant detail. Howard Stark would never agree to something he hadn't been previously consulted about, much less when it involved something-or someone-he owned, like his son.

That and Wayne made the mistake of talking to Tony directly instead of making the suggestion to his father. He said nothing, sitting very still.

"Thank you for the offer, Thomas, but I'll prefer it if my son stayed."

Thomas looked at Howard then, his eyes flickering back to Tony for a second before going back to the other man. "Isn't he a bit young to participate in a business discussion?"

"Tony will be taking over Stark Industries soon in the future, Thomas. He should be learning already how things are handled firsthand." Howard dismissed easily, bringing the tumbler in his right hand to his lips and taking a gulp of the amber liquid.

Tony started to bit his lip before remembering he wasn't supposed to do that. He settled for biting the inside of his cheek instead, watching a look of surprise cross Wayne's face. He very deliberately did not look in his father's direction.

"Of course," Thomas said quietly, shifting his eyes back to the dark-haired boy, a gentle expression on his face. "But wouldn't it be boring for you to stay here with us?"

He held back a wince. Wayne obviously didn't know Howard very well if he was still addressing him and not his father.

"He's a bright young man, Thomas," Howard replied, even before Tony could open his mouth to answer (it was impolite to ignore a question), even if Tony hadn't planned to say anything that could go against his father's words anyway. "Business matters as important as this should not be boring to him. Am I right, Anthony?"

"Yes, Father."

Thomas lifted an eyebrow ever so slightly, looking from Howard to the small boy at his side with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Of course. I did not mean to imply otherwise. He certainly looks like an extremely smart young man," Thomas sent a smile in Tony's direction before looking back at Howard. "And I must admit I made the suggestion thinking about my son too. Bruce can be shy around other kids, but I thought a quiet meeting could be easier for him."

"You shouldn't coddle him too much," Howard advised with a shake of his head. "Kid needs to learn who to handle people. He will be doing business with those same children once he takes over Wayne Enterprises."

Thomas' smile turned slightly strained. "I don't believe I'm coddling him. Besides, it will be a long time before Bruce needs to worry about the company."

The look on Howard's face showed he didn't agree with that, but he said nothing else.

Tony kept his gaze fixed somewhere behind Wayne's left shoulder, looking at the large bookcase placed behind the desk while he struggled not to fidget. He didn't like the turn this conversation had taken.

"You can go if you want, Anthony," Howard said, breaking the silence.

Tony's head snapped up, eyes immediately going to his father's face to search for any clue that told him what he wanted him to do. He could feel his heartbeat accelerate when he found nothing; not a twitch or any sign. He swallowed hard before turning to Wayne who was watching him. He needed to make a decision quickly.

"I- Okay. I think I would like to go. Please."

"Very well." Howard's tone gave no indication whether he made the right decision or not. "I will fill you in on the discussion on our way back."

Tony nodded, holding back a grimace at his father's words. He didn't mind getting involved in the company. In fact, he could spend hours touring around the R&D department watching the new stuff they were coming up with and even longer talking with some of the scientists and engineers working there. Boring and long business discussions were another thing entirely.

"Come one," Thomas told him, standing up from his chair and walking around the desk. "I'll have Alfred show you to the library."

With one last look at his father, Tony stood up from his chair.

The large hand that came to rest on Tony's shoulder made him tense up. Rather than take his hand away Thomas squeeze lightly, feeling the small shoulders loosen up before guiding the boy toward the door. Wayne pulled the door open and called out to the butler.

Tony blinked as the man that received them at the door appeared seemingly out of nowhere just seconds after Wayne called him. It was almost as if he had been just around the corner waiting to be called.

"Yes, Master Wayne?"

"Is Bruce still in the library, Alfred?"

"Yes, sir."

Thomas nodded. "Can you show Anthony the way there, please?"

"Of course, sir," Alfred replied with a bow before turning to the boy. "If you come with me, young sir."

"Uh, yeah." Tony received a nod from Wayne when he looked up at him, so he turned to do as he was told.

He swallowed hard as he walked away from the study. He really hoped whatever deal his father came to speak to Wayne about went well. Tony wasn't looking forward to seeing just how angrier he would be if things didn't go his way.

There was nothing he could do about that, though. The only thing he could do was make sure the Wayne kid stayed away like his father wanted. He'd better not mess that up.

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a/n: So, yeah. Things got a bit out of hand here, so a third chapter was needed to cover the actual first meeting between Tony and Bruce. It was interesting to write both dads and show a little glimpse of the contrasts between them, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter too. Also, I think it's fair to point out I know next to nothing about Howard Stark, so I hope the characterization wasn't total crap. And, even if it was, any critique or advice would be appreciated.

Thank you for reading, and for the kudos and comments. :D