Title: Lady Tremaine

Author: sorion

Fandom: Iron Man / Batman

Pairing: Tony/Bruce

Genre: slash, action

Rating: PG

A/N: Set a while after "Who Da Man?"

Lady Tremaine

Dick Grayson sat quietly next to the large bed in the dim room and worriedly shifted in his seat, tapped his lips with a nervous finger and watched as Lucius Fox ran a scanner over the unconscious man lying under the covers.

Two months since he had found a new home in this house. And something he had almost considered to call family, until tonight.
Now, he was begging that he would get the time to see the eyes open, again and tell the man that he did want to stay, that he wanted to find family, again.

His eyes flickered to Lucius' when the other man straightened from scanning.

Lucius smiled warmly at the young man. "Don't look so worried." He turned off the device. "No fracture or splintering or nerve damage in the shoulder. Just two broken ribs and three cracked."

Dick released the breath he had been holding. Still, he eyed the scanner, sceptically. "You sure that thing is reliable? Shouldn't he be in hospital?"

Lucius just smiled benignly. "As I'm sure you're aware of by now, he avoids hospitals whenever possible. He can't have anyone make connections between his injuries and... other things."

Yes, Dick was well aware. He had seen it, tonight. And if he hadn't been there in time… "He shouldn't do things like that on his own," he mumbled.

Lucius huffed, amused and went to wrap Bruce's ribs. "You're not the first and very likely not the last to say this."

Dick quirked his lips. "It's a miracle he let you dope him up."

"I've learned that it's all a matter of timing with him…" Lucius chuckled.

Dick snorted. "That was clever," he admitted.

The door opened and Alfred came in, joining the other two men and looking relieved.

"Did you manage to reach him?" Lucius asked, right away.

Alfred nodded. "He said he had been watching the news and is already at the front gates, as he put it."

"Good," said Lucius, just as Dick frowned and asked, "Who?"

Lucius looked up from bandaging Bruce and turned to Alfred. "He hasn't been told, yet?"

Alfred cleared his throat. "Apparently, Master Bruce was of the opinion that Master Dick should be informed with all parties present."

"What parties?" Dick wanted to know. He didn't like being left in the dark. Especially now that he knew that there were several dark corners in Bruce's life, already.

Alfred sighed. "Did Master Bruce ever mention… a certain someone in his life?"

Dick shrugged. "He mentioned a girlfriend, once. One from out of town."

Lucius finished the bandage and straightened. "I kind of doubt that those were his exact words." His little smile was back in place.

Alfred cleared his throat and inconspicuously changed the topic. "How is Master Bruce doing?" he quickly asked Lucius.

Dick rolled his eyes and let the other two men talk. It was obvious that they wouldn't answer his question. And if Bruce wanted to wait to tell him about some woman, that was his business. It couldn't be all that interesting, anyway.
He kept his eyes on Bruce who for all the world looked like he was sleeping peacefully and wasn't doped up on painkillers that Lucius had managed to talk him into in a weak moment.

.

It was quiet in the room apart from the two men murmuring, so Dick heard the little click of the door opening, right away and turned his head, and… his eyes widened. That was... No way. No way in hell was Tony Stark just wandering into the bedroom of Bruce Wayne. No. Way.
"Oh, my God," escaped him, before he could stop it.

The man who had entered briefly looked at him, then turned to the two tending to Bruce. "Lucius, Alfred," he nodded at both men in greeting. "How is he?" He himself looked out of breath, maybe a bit frazzled and definitely worried, shaking Alfred's hand.

Lucius stood, immediately and held out his hand, as well. "Tony."

Dick's eyes wandered from one of the men to the others and back, again, putting the words from before into the right place and slowly, piece by piece, the puzzle made sense. He refrained from saying 'Oh, my God', again.
So much for the girlfriend.
Dick listened to Lucius explain, once again, what the situation was, and that Bruce would be fine.

Tony took a hold of the scanner that Lucius had used and nodded. "How the hell did you get him to take the painkiller for a dislocated shoulder and broken ribs? Much less enough to knock him out?" He sounded impressed, and he most certainly approved of the medication.

Dick stood and decided to pipe up, too. He didn't feel like being a bystander. After all, he was the one who had gotten Bruce out of this one.
"We waited with asking until after we set the shoulder. Like, right after."

Tony turned to him. Yes, he was most certainly tired, but he smirked at that and his eyes twinkled. "Smart move."

Dick remained still and returned the assessing look, calmly. For a second, he wondered which of the two of them was the intruder.
Tony didn't belong in Gotham, and Dick was only just invited into this house, two months ago. Two months, during which Bruce had left for a couple of days, twice, assumingly visiting his… lover.
Dick wondered if he ever really would belong.

Finally, Tony broke the silence. "I hear you saved his hide, today."

Dick swallowed. "He would have gotten out," he said, quickly. "But with worse injuries," he couldn't help but add with a smug little smile.

Tony returned the smile, tiredly. "Kid, do me a favour," he started, looking serious. "If he's ever in over his head but too stubborn to realise it, tell me?" He held Dick's eyes firmly with his own. "Please?"

Dick felt weirdly honoured that he was asked for that favour. "I will."
Then he remembered something and like before eyed the scanner in Tony's hand. Now that he knew what to look for, he recognised the Stark Industries logo on it. "Do you trust your little trinket?"

Tony raised an eyebrow and looked at his scanner and then back at Dick. "You mean, do I trust my little trinket with his life and health?"

Dick nodded.

"Yes, I do."

For a second or two, Dick hesitated. Then he nodded. "Good enough for me."

That seemed to satisfy both men, while the other two watched them with almost fatherly pride... and perhaps more than a tad relief.

.

"Tony…?" The tired and hoarse voice got everyone's attention in the quiet and sombre room.

Tony was at the bedside, right away, gingerly sitting down. He took the uninjured left hand in his. "Hey."

Tired eyes with dilated pupils tried to focus on the man leaning closer. Bruce managed a half-smile. "Not so much fun from that side of the fence, is it?" he mumbled.

Tony huffed and leaned in for a soft kiss.

Dick averted his eyes. That was not something he wanted to see, even if he didn't really mind seeing Bruce Wayne relax enough to smile at someone so… well… lovingly.
Bruce's comment also explained why the man had disappeared very suddenly, that one time. There had been something on the news about an incident with the Iron Man and some explosives, Dick now remembered.

Dick peeked to see if it was safe to look, again. Tony was brushing a finger over Bruce's forehead, just looking at him. Tony didn't appear like someone who had almost been blown to kingdom come, a mere two weeks earlier.

Bruce turned his head and looked at Dick, blinking slowly. "Thank you." With that, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, again.

"Oh, man," Tony commented and smirked at Dick. "He's so out of it. Or you'd have gotten the lecture about how the situation was under control and you should have stayed the hell away."

Dick snorted. "Yeah, right."

Tony chuckled. He wouldn't be surprised if the young man still got that lecture, tomorrow.

Alfred cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should let Master Bruce rest, now."

Lucius already picked up his coat and Dick nodded.

Tony on the other hand sent Alfred a dark look from where he still sat on the bed. "I'm not going anywhere."

"And I wouldn't have suggested anything of the likes, Master Anthony." He put the scanner on the bedside table and smiled at Tony. "It is my experience that his sleep is more restful in your calming presence."

That made Dick snort and Tony smile ruefully. If there was one thing he was not, it was a 'calming presence'. But it seemed to work on Bruce, anyway.

Lucius leaned closer to Tony. "I'll check in on him, tomorrow. Just to make sure."

Tony pulled a face. "He's not going to be happy that everyone's making a fuss over his shoulder and ribs." He rolled his eyes. "As soon as he's clear in the head, he'll nag me for flying over for nothing."

"That may be," Lucius agreed. "But I remember the look on his face a minute ago when he saw you with his guard down."

"Yeah…" Tony agreed, amused. "Grumpy bugger is worth it."

Lucius patted him on the shoulder and left. And, apparently happy with how things were turning out, Alfred ushered Dick out of the room.

The young man turned for one last glimpse into the room and saw Tony taking off his shoes and heard him murmur something, lowly, for the sleeping man alone.
"So," he said to Alfred when the door was closed. "Two superheroes under one roof, huh?"

"I think tonight, young Master Grayson, it is three."

Dick smiled widely. That sounded nice. He could get used to that.

*

The next morning, Dick sneaked 'downstairs'. He of course already knew what he'd find there, and after the night before, nobody would stop him from going to the cave, anymore. He knew that.
Still, it didn't stop him from sneaking.

Dick also knew that today, there would be something down there that hadn't been there one day earlier.

The lights came on when he went down the steps, and he saw it, right away. Standing in the corner in its own booth, as if it had always had a spot there.
It was disassembled, but the parts were attached in a way that it was obvious what it was.

Dick slowly inched closer with wide eyes. He reached out a hand and ran it over the cold red and gold metal

"Wow," he breathed.

.

It took him a while before he stopped staring and went back upstairs to find Alfred in the kitchen. He never did have the time to get used to being waited on, never mind in a dining room or the likes. He much preferred the more personal setting, there.

The older man looked up, his small knowing smile in place, again. "It is quite impressive, isn't it?"

Dick nodded. "I wonder what it would be like to fly that thing."

Alfred smirked at him, handing him a coffee. "You might want to get used to the idea of having him around before you ask him to fly his suit, young Master."

Dick snorted. "Like he'd let me."

"It is probably a bit early…" Alfred agreed.

Dick smiled, then frowned. "There's something weird about the suit though."

"Oh?" Alfred busied himself making breakfast.

"I read a bit about arc reactor technology. Nothing much, just the basics…" He frowned more. "And I thought the suit was being powered by one. At least it looked like it on all the pictures on the news. But down there... there wasn't one in the suit."

"Ah…" Alfred said, seeing where this was going.

"That's because it's right here," said Tony behind them, standing in the doorway. Other than the night before, he was only wearing jeans and a t-shirt, whereas the last time Dick saw him, he'd had a sweater over the shirt.

Dick stared at the blue-ish glow through the thin white shirt. "I guess with a ride like that, it's safer to keep the car keys with you," he blurted out.

Tony grinned. "Especially since I hear you like to hitch a ride when the keys are in it." He raised an eyebrow.

"The bat mobile doesn't have keys."

Tony laughed and sat down at the table. "Can I get one of those?" he asked Alfred, pointing at the coffee.

"In a moment, Master Anthony."

Tony groaned. "It won't change a thing if I keep telling you to stop calling me that, will it?"

Alfred just smiled at him.

This made Dick laugh. It looked like Tony would be fun to have around the house. It wasn't like there was no darkness surrounding Tony Stark – because there obviously was – but it was a different shade, and Tony was a more light person. If there was no light, he made it. Inserted straight into his chest if he had to.
"How is Bruce?" he asked after a moment.

Tony accepted the cup he received from Alfred. "Your daddy's still asleep."

Dick rolled his eyes and then looked away. "He's not my dad."

"But he offered, right?" Tony went on.

Dick peeked up at him from a downturned face.

"I know he did. I was gonna come over this weekend, and he would have done the proper introduction and all that shit."

Dick's jaw set. "Just because he offered for me to stay here that doesn't mean…"

"He offered an adoption, kid, not a room for rent."

Dick still looked at him darkly. "Still doesn't make him my dad." His dad had just died, for fuck's sake!

Tony immediately understood and back-tracked. Even if just a little. "Relax. I'm just teasing you." He smirked. "I get to do that, since I'm gonna be your evil stepmother."

The laugh burst out of Dick before he could stop it. "Got the ring ready and everything?"

Tony smirked. "Maybe…"

"Then you wouldn't tell me just like that."

Tony chuckled and sipped his coffee. "Smart boy."

If Dick was being honest with himself (and possibly other people present), he had never really thought about accepting the offer. It had sounded like an act of charity. And he didn't do charity. He was raised to being able to take care of himself.
Then again, he was also raised as a part of a family, and maybe, just maybe, Bruce was able to give him that again.
"Do you think… I would have to take his name?" he asked, his voice sounding small.

"Naw." Tony waved him off. "The Wayne family is more than a name." He looked up and grinned widely at Alfred. "Isn't that right?"

He received a smile in return. "Absolutely, Master Anthony."

"Besides," Tony turned back to Dick, "you already have a perfectly fine name, don't you?"

Dick smiled. He liked this guy.

*

Bruce woke up, turned to his side and immediately wished he hadn't. His right side hurt like crazy, from the ribs to the shoulder.
That he had woken more or less painlessly suggested that a) there was still quite some painkiller in his system and b) he had gotten enough rest. A lot more rest than he would have allowed himself, had certain people not decided to take that choice from him.

He vaguely remembered waking up to beloved dark eyes and a worried expression, and had he not been oh so very happy the moment he saw him, he'd have hit himself for allowing the weakness while knowing damn well what an attachment like that could do to a person. But seeing as he did remember, all he could do, really, was concede properly and just accept the facts.
He smiled ruefully.

He fought his way out of bed, slowly, careful not to jar his shoulder that was neatly strapped close to his wrapped chest. He put on a bathrobe over his sweat-pants, only slipping his left arm in and made his way downstairs.

It was quiet, and he only heard voices when he passed by the library. He walked closer and listened through the half-open door.

"You do that," Tony said inside, "and I'll have your king in five moves."

Bruce smiled.

Tony went on: "Think about it, and tell me how I would do that."

It was quiet for a long time. Then, "Oh, hell."

"That's right." Tony chuckled. "Now, try another possible move and think it through for at least five more."

Bruce's smile widened. He would have thought Tony would play babysitter with some trinket or other not with chess, but it seemed like Tony had no problems doing that, either, while he had the upper hand.

.

Tony was drinking his second coffee and watched Dick's fingers move over the board in imagined moves, frowning in concentration.
Suddenly, Tony blinked, raised his eyes a bit and his lip twitched.
"Aren't you supposed to be resting, sweetie?" he asked without turning around to the sound he had heard behind him.

"What?" Dick looked up confused and saw Bruce enter the room. "Oh, hey, Bruce. How're you feeling?"

Bruce nodded at him. "I'm good."

Tony snorted, got up and turned around. "Yeah, right. Don't play coy, cupcake. I know it hurts like a bitch."

Bruce rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile a bit at his lover coming towards him. "It's the shoulder and some ribs, Tony. We've both had worse, and I'm fine."

Tony stopped right in front of him. "And that's the only reason I'm not kicking you right back upstairs." Ignoring Bruce's slightly hesitant look, he raised a hand and ran it over his cheek, smiling.

Bruce still couldn't believe just how good it felt to have this man here. It wasn't even just a reaction to having been banged up a little; he just wanted Tony with him.
He opened his mouth, but it took an embarrassingly long time for him to say, "Thank you for coming." With that, he leaned in and kissed him.

When the kiss didn't end after a long moment, but instead just went on, a voice interrupted them.

"I don't need to see this. I'm supposed to concentrate, here."

The two men laughed into their kiss – though Bruce's laugh was a bit restrained, since it sent jolts through his ribs as it was.

Tony framed Bruce's face and whispered lowly enough so that only he could hear, "Love you." He gave him another small kiss.

"Love you right back." Bruce didn't exactly say it particularly loudly, but he didn't bother keeping it low enough just for Tony, either, making Tony look both pleased and happy.
"So," he said, now clearly addressing both the other men in the room. "You two seem to be getting along."

"Yeah, you know me," Tony said, smirking. "I'm good with kids."

"That's because you're one yourself," Bruce replied right away, just as Dick rolled his eyes, crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

Tony grinned at him and kissed him, again. "Have a seat." He pulled out a chair for Bruce and even pushed it closer to the chess table once he was seated, then he sat down himself.

Bruce raised an eyebrow at him.

"I can do gentleman. Sometimes. If the target is worth it." He winked.

Bruce bit back a laugh. "That line is so cheesy…"

"It is not!"

"It is so. You're just…" Bruce shook his head in exasperated amusement.

Dick didn't have the restraint to keep back his laugh at that display. "You're both kids," he declared. He had never seen Bruce like this. Not even close.

Bruce rubbed his face, smiling at Tony. "I think I'm still pumped up on meds."

Tony snorted. "You only wish you could blame this on the drugs, honey." He turned to Dick and leaned closer over the table. "That's what he did when we first met. Blamed it all on the alcohol." He swivelled his head around to look at Bruce. "Isn't that right, cupcake? As if." He turned back to Dick. "He couldn't get enough of me."

Dick was way too amused at the antics to be disturbed by mental images he could have gone without. Bruce was always so composed; it was fun to see him loosen his tight grip on his control because he obviously felt at ease with the people with him.

Bruce couldn't stop smiling. He was almost sure that some drugs might have been at fault, but maybe Tony was right and it was just him. Smug bastard. Smug, beautiful, cheeky, loveable, gorgeous bastard. God, he had missed him.
That didn't mean he'd just sit by and listen. "You were the one who chased me from the moment he knew I was in that room, Tony." Now, the smugness was firmly on his face.

Tony froze in the middle of some gesture to Dick and turned to Bruce. His eyes and smile widened. "You saw me." It was not a question.

"You zeroed in on me. It was kinda hard to miss."

Tony laughed, delighted. "Oh, you cheeky little fucker." He stood from his seat to lean over and kiss Bruce, firmly. "I would marry you on the spot, but then again I know you'd say no." He chuckled and kissed the sitting man, again.

"You could always try asking," Bruce said when Tony pulled back. And he could not for the life of him believe he had just said that.
Bruce knew that Tony liked to play with him a little, make him lose his composure… but Bruce liked to play with Tony just as much. The only problem was that Tony usually came undone in a way that was not suitable for an audience.

And Tony proved Bruce right. His face turned serious within the blink of an eye. "I love you to pieces, you know that, right?"

"That is…" Bruce nodded, "… very convenient, yes."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Even though you're a real stuck-up ass, sometimes."

Bruce laughed a bit, used his good hand to pull Tony into a kiss. "Shut up."

Dick decided that shielding his eyes from the goings-on with his hand was a good idea. They would hopefully sooner rather than later remember that he was still in the room. Or, well, he could just sneak out and leave them to it.

The knock on the open door reminded the kissing men that there were other people on the planet.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, but Commissioner Gordon would like a word with Master Bruce," Alfred said, the Commissioner already at his side.

Gordon nodded awkwardly at the men inside. "Gentlemen."

Dick giggled, Bruce tried his hardest not to blush or look too much like he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and Tony sat back down, keeping his arm on the back of his chair and his upper body turned towards the door.

Tony, unsurprisingly, was the one to break the silence. "I had nothing to do with that mess of yours downtown, yesterday," he declared.

Gordon slowly walked closer, as Alfred closed the door again behind himself. "You're Tony Stark," Gordon said, looking surprised and trying to process that piece of information.

"Yeah," Tony confirmed. "Listen, it's not like I wouldn't have helped the bat, but I only got here later, after I'd heard that Bruce got into a robbery." He shrugged and sent Bruce a small smile. "Also…" he continued, turning to Gordon, again, "Batman doesn't like me strutting around in his territory, as he put it."

"You were robbed?" Gordon asked Bruce, immediately.

"Uhm. Yes." Bruce rubbed his shoulder for emphasis. "Please have a seat," he offered, pointing to the fourth chair around the small table and by that gaining some time to get his (fake) story straight.

Gordon sat down.

Bruce explained what he hoped sounded plausible. "There were two masked men. I think they were part of what I saw on the news, earlier."

Tony smiled widely at him and then at Gordon. "He took on those two thugs all on his own. I told him to take up on some martial arts, just, you know… to make sure he's not that easy a target when this," he pointed from himself to Bruce, "gets out."

Gordon nodded. "A good choice. It would make him a target for a number of people."

"More than he already is, you mean?" Tony said, his voice losing some of its cheerful tone. "Too rich and famous for his own good, that one."

Bruce sighed. "I wasn't the one who got himself kidnapped in Afghanistan, Tony."

Tony pulled a face. "Couldn't very well expect that my closest friend would try to have me killed, could I?"

"No." Bruce averted his eyes. "Sorry."

Tony shook his head and smiled again. "Cheer up, darling. Tell him how you got away."

Bruce looked relieved for a moment. He knew well that reminding Tony of those events was uncalled for, and that they were better left alone. "Well, I… managed to knock one of them out, the other got my shoulder and…" he gesticulated with his good arm, "… I threw him against a wall."

Tony grinned. "He totally knocked out both of them," he stated, proudly.

"Then I hid in a corner when I saw more of them and called Alfred, because I couldn't drive with one hand." He tilted his head at Tony. "The hiding part was particularly heroic."

Tony and Dick laughed.

Bruce turned to Gordon. "I think I caught a glimpse of Batman, but I could have imagined that."

Gordon nodded. "He was there, so it's possible."

Tony cleared his throat. "I saw a whole lot of those masked idiots on TV, this morning. Since most of them got caught, I guess Batman did alright without me."

"Uh, yes," Gordon said. "It appears he had help, though, this time."

"Oh, really?" Tony said gleefully. "Did the grumpy bugger finally get himself a Batgirl?"

Dick completely cracked up at that, and Bruce couldn't hold back a (painful) laugh, either.

Gordon chuckled. "No, people who saw it seem to believe that it was a man."

Tony shrugged. "Whatever floats his boat, right, Bruce?"

"Tony…" Bruce said in a mock-threatening voice.

"Maybe I should get someone for myself," Tony said, now really getting into it. "You could be my Iron Maiden."

"Stop making me laugh, it hurts," Bruce said between said laughs.

Gordon cleared his throat, still amused. "I guess that answers the question I came here for. I really just needed to know about your car at the scene."

Bruce blinked. Oh, hell. He had completely forgotten about the car. That was almost unforgivably neglectful of him. "I… yes. I'm terribly sorry, I must have forgotten." He schooled his features into a harmless mask.

"Was it in a no parking area?" Tony asked, smiling benignly.

Gordon snorted. "No, but we needed to make sure that the owner is unharmed. Would it be convenient for you to come by the station for a statement when you're not in too much pain, later?"

"It all went incredibly fast, I'm not sure if I can be of much help," Bruce answered.

"No matter," Gordon said and stood. "If questions arise I will have to contact you, but I believe we have everything we need, for now." He nodded at all people present. "You will have to send someone to pick up your car, though. We removed it from the scene."

"Of course."

"Have a nice day, gentlemen."

"Commissioner…" Bruce stopped him, before he could leave. "The nature of… Tony's and my relationship is not yet common knowledge. I'd be grateful if it would stay that way until we've decided on how to break it to the public."

Gordon's lip twitched, and he opened the door. "Your secret is safe with me," he assured him and left.

For a moment, all three men stared at the closed door.

"Correct me if I'm wrong…" Tony started. "But didn't that sound like a not so subtle hint?"

Bruce contemplated that. He had known Gordon for a long time, now, but… Huh. He actually didn't know. "Not sure. He's… hard to read and always keeps things close to his chest."
He caught Tony's eyes with his and other more personal questions took the place of that one, quickly.

Dick looked from one to the other and back a few times. "Uh…" He cleared his throat. "Would it be okay if I took a bike for a spin?"

Bruce blinked, startled. "What?" He shook his head to clear it. "Sure. Go ahead. Just don't be too long…" He nodded his head towards Tony. "I think maybe we should talk some more. I mean, he's here, and there are some open questions on whether or not you want to stay and…" Man. He was really bad at the whole family thing.

"Not a problem," Dick let them know, already heading towards the door.
He turned around, walked the last few steps backwards and added: "But I thought I should disappear for a few hours, since my future evil stepmother has a… question… to ask you."

Dick smirked, winked at the two men staring at him with slack jaws and left, laughing.

.

FIN

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