This was going to be an Iron Man fanfiction, but it turned out into something like this.
It's cute and funny, involving Bruce and Tony (I love their friendship relation) and Pepper and Tony's son.
Read and review, let me know what you think about this. ^_^
The despair on Tony's face was visible miles away, walking around the workshop, rocking his baby son as he cried for what it seemed hours now.
"Sir, Dr. Banner is at the door."
"Let him in, Jarvis."
Bruce entered the house and looked around. If Tony didn't come to greet him then he'd be at his workshop downstairs. He dropped his bag on the floor, as he had just arrived from Jordan where he had helping in humanitarian deeds, and made his way downstairs.
He had been on Tony's building quite a few times now, ever since the Avengers' mission. It was indeed a 'candy land' as Tony told him. As he knew Bruce was back from Jordan he called him to meet him there since he had been working on some stuff he wanted to show him.
Bruce hadn't even entered the workshop and he could already see through the glass door, Tony's desperation and tiredness, and mostly, he could listen to his son crying out loud.
Tony walked to the door and opened it for him. Bruce's eyes widened when he got to listen on full volume the intensity of the baby's cry. Tony sighed and greeted his friend.
"Hey. Arrived a little late."
"Yeah. There was some trouble at the airport."
Tony held his son by the armpits, looking him in the eyes, saying. "Coulson, anything you want, you have it. Just please hush now. Please."
"How long has he been crying?" Bruce asked, looking and picking up stuff around.
"Well, let me see. It was the year of 1999…" Tony sarcastically said which Bruce ignored.
"Being honest, I think I'd be crying too if you were holding me like that!" Bruce joked. This time it was Tony who ignored him.
Tony didn't know how to hold his son anymore. He couldn't understand if he was just cranky because he couldn't fall asleep or if he was feeling colicky. Coulson had been crying for about twenty minutes, but it seemed like hours for Tony. It was the first time he was alone with his four-months-old son for that long. He stays alone with him for some hours, but he had never been on his own for a full weekend. Pepper had flown to Washington on a business trip and Tony was left all alone, calling her almost every hour for each and every petty doubt. But Pepper didn't mind it at all; Tony was committed in being a good father, and she did like to know how her little boy is doing. After all, it was her first time being away from him for so long.
"Maybe it's the diaper."
"Changed it like ten minutes ago." Tony answered as he continued to rock the baby on his arms and a quick flashback came to his mind which made him grimace again as he remembered the vision and smell of that diaper.
"Maybe he's hungry." Bruce hinted.
"Nope, not hunger either. I fed him the bottle."
"Then maybe he's just colicky."
"Brilliant deduction, Dr. Banner. Haven't realized it yet!"
"I'm just gonna ignore that and ask you, what is it that you wanted to show me?"
"Over there," Tony pointed. "some prototypes of water purification systems. Smaller, easier for transport and more efficient too. This one," Tony walked to the iPad and with a few touches he turned his projections into 3D models. "can be applied on the gears of a well. Oh, and this," Tony showed another sample drawing. "A briefcase for carrying medical supplies that can sterilize medical tools."
"It all seems very nice. How much are you planning on selling these?"
"Selling? I'm a philanthropist. I'm planning on giving them. People need this." Bruce smiled; if half the world knew the big heart that Tony really has. "But right now I just really want Coulson Banner Stark to hush because I don't know what else to do. Maybe we should call mommy, right?"
As Tony swirled over his heels Coulson stopped crying but he felt something warm running down his arm. He looked down at himself, seeing pasty milk on his shoulder.
"Hold him." Tony said to Bruce, handing the baby at him, after checking that Coulson's clothes weren't dirty. "I'm gonna change my shirt."
Tony ran upstairs leaving Bruce awkwardly and somehow apprehensive holding Coulson. Once he was on his arms, he didn't appreciate it much, realizing it wasn't it his father, so he started whimpering.
"You've gotta a good pair of lungs, kiddo." Bruce let out on a sigh, as Coulson burst into a cry again.
He sat him on his lap, holding him by the armpits, yet his fingertips were carefully holding the back of the baby's head so it wouldn't fall back. Bruce started to trot his legs and Coulson gradually shushed, and even giggled.
"Okay," He mumbled as he pulled Coulson closer to his body, holding him more properly. Bruce got up and started walking around, looking for something. "Jarvis, do you know where's little Stark's pacifier?"
"It's somewhere around here, Dr."
The man sighed and started looking around. He eventually found it, a blue pacifier, that he put on the baby's mouth and he immediately accepted it. As Tony delayed on the change of shirts, Bruce continued to walk around, rocking the baby so deliciously that caused him to lay his head on Bruce's shoulder and slowly shut his eyes.
"Brucie!" Tony proclaimed in a low voice, still excitedly enough. "You're a baby whisperer!"
"I'd love to take that compliment but I think he's just falling asleep because he feels better now." The other man said quietly.
"Once he falls asleep, I put him on his crib and then we can take a look on the prototypes."
"You're gonna leave him alone in the bedroom upstairs?"
Tony glared him, affirming. "The bedroom is hyper secure and I have a baby monitor. If anything happens, I'm upstairs in seconds. I'm not a reckless father."
"Ok, ok, I didn't say that. I was just… You've proved to be amazing as a father."
"Being a father is my fulltime job now."
After a while Coulson was soundly asleep on Bruce's arms. Tony led him upstairs where he helped him laying him on the crib. The two watched attentively as the baby took a deeper breath.
"You did a good job putting to sleep, Dr."
"You did a good job too. And so did Pepper. The kid is precious."
As they were making their way downstairs, a question itched Dr. Banner and it compelled him ask it. "I understand naming him Coulson, but why did you put my surname as his middle name?"
"Pepper and I couldn't agree on a middle name that fitted his first name."
"And then again, why my last name?"
"I've never had friends that lasted long and the ones I had stabbed me in the back. You're a good man, Dr. and you're a dear friend of mine."
Bruce smiled as he nodded his head and followed after Tony. He no longer would talk about it, he knew it. His attention was now focused on his toys, and Bruce couldn't deny that he was willing to be geeky along with him. But at least he got to know the truth about Coulson's middle name and Tony got that one chance to tell him.