Bruce has obviously heard of Tony Stark, you’d have to live under a rock to not know who Stark is, but he never really expected to be his student. He walks into class with an easy confidence and perches in a seat in the back of the room like he always did. Selina thought it was dramatic but he preferred sitting back here. It meant he got a good view of everyone in the room and not too much attention was drawn to himself. Of course being the son of billionaires always drew attention but this way he drew a little less. Stark notices him right away and his eyes do a quick roam of Bruce’s body and books, sizing him up. It was almost funny considering Stark was almost five years younger than him but then Bruce knew that age wasn’t exactly the best indicator of ability. Whatever Stark sees he doesn’t say anything as he walks across to a tall black man sitting at the front of the room.
It takes a second to realize that Tony must be talking to James Rhodes, his best friend. Selina once told him he had the perception of a particularly stupid chicken but he thought he did alright. He did well enough in his ability to play the fool that Selina was convinced more than she wasn’t. She knew something else was there underneath the surface otherwise she wouldn’t waste her time with the supposed playboy but he knew she wasn’t always able to put her finger on it. Surprising considering how gifted Selina was at reading people.
As the rest of the students filter in Bruce tries to imagine what kind of teaching style Tony Stark would have. He was well aware of his reputation and he was curious to see if he treated teaching like he did everything else he did. Bruce had to admit that if Stark spent all his time making cheap jokes and flaking out he’d have an easy Thursday though the class would also be completely useless. Stark surprises him though because once he gets to the front of the room and starts talking his lecture was surprisingly engaging. Stark obviously knew what he was talking about and he had a clear passion for his subject. Plus that joking nature of his didn’t drop so while he went through the syllabus and all the expectations of the course he didn’t make it boring. Maybe he’d like this class more than he anticipated.
When they’re released from class Bruce expects no hassle but Tony calls him back and he goes, curious to see what this was about. “You’re Bruce Wayne,” he says and Bruce has to laugh.
“You know your faces,” he says. Usually people didn’t really recognize him much outside of Gotham, he was usually just the faceless person whose parents ran a very profitable company, but Tony was in his business. It made sense for him to know Bruce’s face as well as his name.
Tony smiles in a way that people might recognize as warm but he can see that it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Seems a little ironic that the son of my father’s company’s biggest competitor is in my class,” he says.
Bruce laughs outright at that. “I’m not looking for your company secrets, I just wanted to learn about nanotechnology and you happened to be teaching the course. Nothing nefarious in that.” He hadn’t even known who was teaching the course when he signed up for it though he would have signed on faster if he knew. Maybe their parents were in competition but Bruce knew a good opportunity to learn when he saw one so he wasn’t about to drop the class.
His admission seems to lighten Tony’s mood some and this time when he smiles it’s less of a show. “You’re going to hate it, no one likes this class once they realize that I’m not an easy marker despite my fun loving nature,” he says.
“Maybe, maybe not. I’ve never done badly in a class before though so I’m sure I’ll learn,” he says with confidence. It wasn’t that he was extremely intelligent- not like Stark anyways- but he was very good at training himself to memorize information and he disliked mistakes. The two traits in combination made him smart but because he worked at it. Selina liked to tell him this was more of an inborn thing, she couldn’t do what he could when it came to memorizing information for example, but Bruce disagreed. If he didn’t work hard he wouldn’t be nearly as smart as he was, and Selina memorized information much better than he did, she just didn’t memorize the same things. Sometimes he thought she underestimated her intelligence but then she’d do something impressive and give herself full credit for it so maybe she was just toying with him like a cat would with a mouse. It was one of her favorite games, after all.
“You better hope so because I’ve heard about your reputation, the one with the teachers, and I’ve got high expectations. Fair warning that means I’ll be harder on you,” he says.
Bruce raises an eyebrow, “why is that?”
“Because the rest of the people in this class are likely just looking for a credit or they’re here because the course is required- I already know they’ll put in what they’re getting out of this class. Students like you though, the ones that actually try and apply themselves, well. I like you guys because you make my life interesting and I also know you’ll get more out of this if I push you. When students try I give them harder expectations because I know they’ll meet them. So don’t disappoint me,” he says. With that added expectation Tony leaves the room and Bruce shakes his head, wondering how that just happened.
*
Selina laughs, “you have a crush on your professor,” she tells him a few weeks after his first class.
Bruce rolls his eyes, “liking someone’s class because they’re passionate and knowledgeable about the subject they’re teaching in not a crush. Besides, I’m a grown man, I’m too old to have crushes,” he reasons. There was nothing wrong with talking about the way Tony was clearly invested in his work; it translated to goo teaching even if the class didn’t like to agree. Once they got their first assignments back they hadn’t been impressed to learn that Tony wasn’t an easy marker at all. Bruce, despite Tony’s warnings, got an A on the project though there was still a note to see Tony after class. A it turned out he thought Bruce’s idea was good enough to talk to his parents about looking into it. That, and to work on his math some. Bruce appreciated that Tony was that invested in his students- it was hardly a crush.
“Brucie, you just spent the last twenty minutes waxing poetic about your nanotech prof. you have a crush,” Harley tells him, flicking some of her blonde hair over his shoulder. He missed hanging out with Lucius; he never did this to him.
“I spent twenty minutes giving the class a good review, that’s completely different,” he says.
Harley just laughs with Selina though, “Bruce, I’m getting a PhD in psychiatry. I know a crush when I see one,” Harley says. She pushes her large, horn-rimmed glasses up her nose a little and raises an eyebrow at him like she was daring him to try her. Maybe he wasn’t as knowledgeable as she was on psychological matters but he knew what a crush was. He’s been through the fourth grade. This was simple admiration of Tony’s teaching.
“And I know you,” Selina adds, “I know that you don’t care usually care to have off topic conversations with your professors. Something else drew you into a conversation with Stark that wasn’t his class,” she says. She’s giving him this shrewd look like she’s trying to figure him out and he resents it. There was nothing to figure out.
“He’s knowledgeable on the subject of industrialization and technology, it’s perfectly reasonable to debate with him on what the greatest technological invention of all time was. That’s on topic with what he teaches,” Bruce says primly. Maybe not on topic with the class Bruce was taking but Tony had spent three hours lecturing about nanotechnology, it was acceptable to move on to something else.
“What’d he say was the best modern invention?” Harley asks, leaning forward with interest. Selina does too, obviously curious.
“Indoor plumbing,” Bruce says, “in part because of obvious reasons but also because the way we disposed of waste often left human cites cesspools that encouraged disease and sanitary issues.”
Selina and Harley nod in approval, “what did you argue for?” Selina asks.
He sighs, “the printing press. Which, in my defense, had drastic affects on the population’s literacy, which also had huge affects on how we do… well everything. It was also important,” he says even though he knows neither will agree with him. Tony’s argument was more logical and no one wanted to encounter street feces. They’ve all had nasty encounters with defecation in the streets, especially Selina, and he didn’t think any of them ever wanted to deal with that again.
Harley shakes her head, “I can’t believe you argued for books over the lack of street turds,” she says. Selina snorts and starts laughing, also shaking her head at Bruce.
*
When Bruce Wayne showed up in his class Tony hardly expected anything particularly interesting from it. He quickly learned that the rumors about him being an over achiever were true, and he also learned that Bruce enjoyed interesting debates and conversations but that was really no different than Rhodey. What tipped the scales from mildly intriguing to interesting was a trip he took to a bar with Hope and Pepper.
Hope was annoyed of her heavy math course load this semester and Pepper had vowed that she would fling herself out a window if she had to write one more god damn paper about business ethics. Tony was mostly done his PhD thesis anyways so he figured going with them drinking wouldn’t be a problem. Plus he didn’t have either one of them for students so there weren’t any weird ethical dilemmas there. Drinking with students was weird as hell anyways, mostly because half his students were older than him. Actually almost all of them were.
“Who’s the hot blonde?” Hope asks Tony, looking over his shoulder. Pepper lifts her head from where it was hovering over her tequila shot to see what Hope was talking about and nods in approval. Tony turns around and finds an attractive blonde with large black, horn rimmed glasses headed in their direction for certain but he had no idea who she was.
“No clue. Any ideas who she’s going to hit on?” Tony asks. He wasn’t sure what it was about Hope and Pepper but women who were attracted to them seemed to have zero shyness in telling them this.
“Ten bucks says Pepper,” Hope says, “she seems like the type that would like red heads.”
“Ten bucks says she isn’t going to hit on any of us,” Pepper says, throwing out a real plot twist there.
“I’ll take that bet,” Tony says, liking that it was different. Hope rolls her eyes but agrees to the bet also.
“What’cha betting on?” the blonde asks as she gets to them.
“Who you’re going to hit on, but Pepper here,” Tony gestures to Pepper, “has made a bet that you won’t hit on any of us. So what’s it going to be, honey?” he asks.
The blonde looks amused, “looks like your red head friend is right. I’m sure you remember Bruce Wayne?” she says, a slight curve to her lips.
Tony raises an eyebrow, surprised at this. “I do. Is he particularly relevant right now?” he asks.
The blonde just smiles wider, “of course he is. You know he has a crush on you right?” she asks and Tony starts laughing.
“Seriously? Playboy Bruce Wayne is hot for teacher? That’s a headline if I’ve ever seen one,” he says, snickering.
“I know right? And he’s so stupid, he doesn’t even know yet,” she says and Tony starts laughing harder. Pepper and Hope start laughing too, bending over the table they were pulled up to.
“Oh we know how that is,” Pepper says, “this one is ridiculous. We once had to inform him that he was in love with his best friend. No worries now though, it turns out Tony didn’t know the difference between platonic and romantic love so he’s free for Wayne.” She gives the blonde a confident, knowing smile that Tony gets is supposed to communicate something but he doesn’t know what it is. The blonde seems to get it though.
That’s about when a stunning woman with long, dark black hair, tanned skin, and striking green eyes approaches just to make things more interesting. “I’m sure your ethics are skewed given your involvement in making weapons, I’m sure you’d have no problems dating a student,” she says out of nowhere. A friend of Bruce’s Tony guessed. He had to wonder if he knew they were here.
“Uh, I totally would. I like my job,” he says. “Also I’ve been trying to convince my father to do something with clean energy for years now but he refuses to listen to reason.” Probably because this was accompanied by the suggestion to stop selling weapons but still. It was both a smart business move and the right thing to do; he had no idea why his father was so resistant after Afghanistan. They both almost died, they should do something good with the lives they were lucky enough to not lose. But no, Howard was a douche.
“Came on a little strong there, Selina. Jeeze, leave the psychology to the expert!” the blonde says.
“Then leave men to the expert,” Selina shoots back.
“What are you two doing!” a new voice- Bruce- adds. “Please tell me they aren’t hitting on you for me,” he says in a panicky tone. His blue eyes were comically wide as he assessed the situation at hand.
“They are. Apparently you’re into morally dubious relationships,” Tony tells him. “If you’re interested in teachers though I’d recommend just role playing. It’s a lot less dangerous to the teacher’s position.”
Bruce shakes his head, “I can’t believe you two! I told you that I wasn’t interested, I just think that Tony is knowledgeable and I like our conversations,” he says primly.
“You think Lucius is knowledgeable and you like your conversations with him but you don’t sit there for hours gushing about the guy,” the blonde says.
“You also don’t notice what Lucius wears,” Selina adds.
Tony raises an eyebrow, “you notice what I wear?” he asks, surprised.
“You’re well-dressed. Everyone notices what you wear,” Bruce says in his own defense, nose in the air. The blonde and Selina eye his AD/DC shirt and scraggly jeans and give Bruce a dubious look. “Well when he’s in class,” he adds.
“I wore this to class yesterday,” Tony points out, “I wear this shirt all the time to class.” Hope and Pepper start snickering and Bruce looks a little embarrassed.
“He obviously has a crush on you,” Selina says. “You should date, he’s a catch.”
“He is,” the blonde adds. “If I didn’t have a girlfriend I’d snatch him up. Actually maybe I should do it anyways, Ivy’s not too possessive,” she says, contemplating her options.
“No thanks,” Bruce quickly throws out and the blonde looks disappointed.
“It’s because he likes this one,” Selina says to the blonde. “So, you up for going on a date with him or no?” she asks, eyebrows rising.
“You don’t have to answer that,” Bruce says fast, maybe to save himself from certain rejection. The encounter does, however, make Bruce that much more interesting.
*
Lunch was now a regular thing with Bruce. It started accidentally when Bruce had questions about an assignment but Tony was so damn hungry he was eyeing up the chalk with temptation so he told Bruce to walk and talk. Now it was a regular thing because Bruce always had something new to talk about every week.
This week it was cats versus dogs. “I’d have to vote cats, Selina would skin me if I chose dogs,” he says, shaking his head.
“Selina, that’s the dark haired friend of yours, right?” Tony asks for clarification. Bruce nods and he continues, “so she’s a cat fan, huh? Can’t say I blame her. I love the little buggars and don’t see why everyone assumes their evil. I mean people cite that they’ll eat you when you die but if you leave a human alone with another dead human long enough they’ll eat you too. People still love their mothers even if they’d absolutely eat them if they were starving,” Tony says, waving his fork around. For all the effort his parents put into him eating ‘properly’ none of it ever stuck. He ate however the hell he felt like.
Bruce, Tony has noticed, did not share this habit. He ate in all the ways those crappy goddamn charms schools taught them to and he even kept his posture too. Tony didn’t bother with any of that crap because it was all pointless stuff for appearances. “Selina is a cat fan, yes. I used to like dogs but then one ate one of my favorite pairs of shoes and I just can’t trust them. Cats might have their faults but they won’t eat your shoes,” he says, shaking his head.
Tony snorts and starts laughing. “Seriously? That’s why you prefer cats? Because your friend does and because a dog ate your shoes once? That’s absurd. I like dogs well enough, they’re cute and they wag their tails, but I’ll never have time for one. Cats are easier and they don’t take up your whole bed and they don’t smell. Dogs might be adorable but they also stink.” Case and point: Scott’s toy poodle. That dog was so ugly it was cute again but it perpetually smelled like wet dog and ass. Or Clint’s half blind dog Lucky. He was cute as hell but he always had a funky smell to him. Tony and Pepper’s shared cat? She might shit in a box but she smelled like baby powder.
“I liked those shoes,” Bruce mumbles, cutting the meat on his plate almost delicately.
“Rhodey prefers dogs because he’s not quite right,” Tony says. To add insult to injury he specifically liked small breeds. Who the hell liked small breeds? Rhodey Tony guessed.
“Harley is a plant person but that might be because she’s dating a botanist. Ivy brings all her plants home with her,” Bruce says.
“I have a friend who’s a spider person,” Tony tells him. Natasha was goddamn terrifying though so maybe that’s why she liked those eight-legged devils.
“That friend needs to go to some therapy appointments with Harley because she’s got some psychological problems she needs to work out,” Bruce says, looking appropriately disturbed by Nat’s spiders.
“Rhodey said that people like her should be deleted but he also loathes bugs of any kind. I have several videos of him coming across spiders and shrieking. It’s almost funny if not for the genuine panic that follows.” He probably had a genuine mental health issue there but Rhodey’s response of running the hell away from the bug was sufficient enough to sustain him.
Bruce laughs, “deleted?” he asks, shaking his head.
“Rhodey is weird,” Tony says in place of a real explanation.
*
Bruce hated these stupid functions that his parents dragged him to but he went because he loved them. Sometimes he’d consider saying no but then he’d remember the time they almost died that night after they left the theater and he couldn’t possibly say no after that. They were only trying to do what was best for him, even if that meant all but forcing him to network at these stupid parties.
Thankfully though he spots Tony Stark at the bar with some whiskey. He had passed Tony’s class easily, achieving the second highest grade in the class. The top grade went to Rhodes and unlike everyone else in the class Bruce believed he earned it. Tony would never give his friend a better grade just because they knew each other, it wasn’t in his nature. Nor was it in Rhodey’s nature to accept a grade he didn’t believe he earned. The rest of the class was bitter about it though and Bruce thought they were mostly being immature.
Still, he missed the weekly lunch dates with Tony given that their schedules were now totally different. “Tony,” he says as he wanders up. Tony turns and looks at him, smiling and perking up a little as he approaches. “I take it you find this party as thrilling as I do?”
Tony snorts, “oh yeah. Super thrilling. Did you notice that Kent teamed up with Everhart? We’re doomed,” he says, waving a hand around.
“So we are. Do you think we’re actually supposed to do things at these parties or are we only supposed to pretend like we’re doing something?” he asks, falling back into the old habit of phrasing questions to Tony to get his take on them.
“The only thing people do at these parties is throw their money around and pretend like they’re actually fixing the world,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. The argument was so similar to Selina’s opinions that for a moment Bruce was shocked.
“You aren’t wrong. Basic research into these charities often tells you that they’re more interested in the bottom line that they make, not the interest of whatever it is they’re supporting. What is it this time? I didn’t pay much attention,” he says honestly.
“Eco friendly stuff this time. Is anyone here going to point out the irony of the CEOs of oil companies supporting eco friendly anything? Because I feel like that’s not going to happen and I’ll only get yelled at if I do it,” he says, shaking his head.
Eco friendly things, Ivy would approve. She had a near fanatical obsession with plants but Bruce supposed she was psychologically interesting enough to keep Harley attached. Usually she was quite flighty, like Selina. “I doubt anyone will point that out. Sometimes I feel like these things are just to play games instead of having a real function,” he says, shaking his head.
“You should fit right in then,” Tony says and Bruce looks at him in shock. “What? You think I don’t notice the way you eat all prim and proper, and how you speak, and how neat and organized you are and all that. I know what being an annoying twenty-something playboy is like and I can guarantee that we aren’t half as organized as you. So what do you get out of playing that role?”
Tony’s eyes are shrewd and calculating and Bruce knows this is no passing observation. This was a collection of observations that he’s collected over a long period of time. Lunch, Bruce figures, was where he gathered all this. He’s surprised though because even Selina had trouble picking those details out and Tony clearly knew something was going on.
So Bruce considers his options for a moment before he decides, ultimately, to tell the truth for once. “You play this role too, don’t think I don’t notice how smart you are, how easily you notice things others don’t. But this is easier, isn’t it? Humans like to stick people in boxes no matter how many people whine about labels limiting people- it’s what we do. When people see me they already think I’m a spoiled, rich party boy. Two out of the three things might be right, but it’s easier to let people think they’ve got you pegged,” he says.
“Because it’s easier to do that than risk them seeing the real you and realizing that they don’t much like whatever box you fit in either,” Tony says softly, oddly echoing Bruce’s own feelings. It makes him feel surprisingly uncomfortable to hear that out loud. “It’s also useful for business. People underestimate me all the time based on nothing but rumors and my age. It doesn’t really end well for them,” he says.
So Bruce knew. Tony wasn’t abundantly involved in his parents’ company but when he was the results were always spectacular. “That too,” Bruce says, “but mostly that first bit. Sometimes I feel like this suit is some kind of costume I wear to fool people into thinking I’m someone or something I’m not.” Like Selina and her harsh attitude. She’s had a tough life and she put up a good front but she was scared she’d go back the life Bruce found her in living on the streets pickpocketing to survive. Bruce had caught her trying to steal his wallet and instead of turning her in he took her in. His mom liked to joke that he took in strays.
It was how he ended up friends with Harley too. Her ex was one abusive piece of work and she hardly had the time or money to make sure he stayed away from her but Bruce did. He couldn’t just leave her in her condition. What kind of monster could possibly do such a thing? Harley used her quirkiness as a shield now, distracting people long enough with her bizarre personality that she could psychoanalyze them, figure out how they tick before they figured her out and used it against her. He supposes it wasn’t surprising that he chose those two as friends; he felt the same way they did except he was blessed with a charmed life.
Tony huffs out a laugh, “oh I definitely know I’m playing a role here. I never really was comfortable with my reputation but once you’re known for something it’s hard to take it back. And I figured fuck it, if people wanted to think of me as a womanizing asshole than that’s what I’ll be. People didn’t seem intent on looking past that anyways, even when I grew out of that part of my life a long time ago.”
Bruce nods. “Afghanistan,” he says, remembering the incident well. Tony and his father had had a close call, one that was orchestrated by his father’s business partner if he remembered correctly.
“It was sad that it took that to realize I was a shit person but what’s done is done. So what about you, what made you so different from all the other rich twenty somethings we’re forced to spend time with? Aside from obvious intelligence and being freakishly organized,” Tony says, half smiling.
“When I was ten my parents were attacked. My mom was almost shot for her pearls and I guess it left its mark. Before then it never occurred to me that I had an expiry date, and I especially never thought my parents would ever die. It was a hard incident to forget,” he says. Sometimes he was tempted by the life he could have, the one of luxury and leisure and not caring about anyone but himself but then he’d remember that moment. All the money and power in the world didn’t buy him immortality; it just meant he was lucky to not have to scrape the bottom of the barrel like Selina has. He figured if he had all this money and influence he might as well swing it around to help people, it worked for Harley. And for Selina.
“That’ll do it. It’s hard having your bubble burst like that,” Tony says.
Bruce nods because he certainly knew that from experience even if his experience happened long before Tony’s. The result was the same.
*
Bruce learns that, like himself, Tony has a habit of collecting strays and nursing them back to health. While not all of his friends were people he’s helped- Hope for example was quite rich and certainly not in need of assistance- but others, like Rhodey, needed his help sometimes. Rhodey was more than smart enough to get into college on a full scholarship but being smart didn’t pay the bills so Tony did. Or Clint, who shared a history of circus work with Selina, who had also spent time in a circus as a child, but needed some help as an adult. Even Steve and Bucky needed help sometimes though Bruce learns that the very much disliked admitting that.
He also learns that Tony was a stray that needed adopting himself so he takes it upon himself to try his best to help Tony out. At first he doesn’t notice Bruce’s increased amount of time spent with him, or the way he tried to integrate Tony into his friend group, or any of the other things Bruce does to try and give Tony some more stability in his life but he does eventually figure it out.
“What are you playing at, Wayne?” he asks one day, giving Bruce suspicious looks.
“Remember when we had agreed that sometimes playing the life of the pampered rich boy felt like more of a show than a real identity?” he asks and Tony nods, “well I thought I’d show you how I prefer to spend my time.”
Tony raises an eyebrow, “you prefer to spend your time trying to befriend other random billionaires and former teachers?” he asks incredulously.
Bruce laughs, “no, I prefer to spend my time helping people when they’re in rough places. You help people all the time but you need a little more help yourself,” he says. His friends certainly did their best but sometimes they were too busy to notice that Tony got sad, too sad, and then he was happy but it was too happy. Manic. Harley provided the term to him when he described Tony’s behavior.
“I’m not a baby bird, you can’t nurse me to health until I can fly the coop,” Tony points out.
“No you aren’t, but none of the people either of us help were lacking for self sufficiency. All the people we know are survivors and so are we in our own ways; we’re just in far luckier positions financially. But money can only buy you so much and it’s clear money hasn’t bought you emotional security,” he says. Selina and Harley would be proud; he was getting good at this reading people thing if Tony’s being stunned was any indication.
“So what exactly do you plan on doing that Rhodey and Pepper haven’t? Because no offense but they’ve both tried with me and I’ve known them longer,” he points out.
They had and Bruce highly doubted he’d ever know Tony better than those two knew him. He wasn’t about to start a competition between them either though. “Relate to you on a level they can’t because they’ve never been in a position of such wealth and privilege and still had problems. Like I said, money can buy you a lot but it doesn’t make your life perfect. People who aren’t in that position act like it does because most of their problems are financial. To them money does by happiness. Less so when you already have the money and you still can’t make things click.” It was so strange to him after watching Selina’s reactions in particular to Bruce’s sudden presence in her life. Money changed her entire world in a way that it could never change Bruce’s. Bruce has always had security in a way Selina hasn’t so his insecurities were based on totally different things. It was a strange situation to watch. It was also a situation that most had no idea how to deal with because most people couldn’t relate to his and Tony’s position.
Tony knows this too because he nods, “yeah. Yeah I guess they can’t really do that, can they? I don’t think they mean to but sometimes they act like having all this money means I can’t have problems.”
“Probably because they’re keenly aware that without your presence they would be in worse places in their lives. And they’re keenly aware that if you go away they’ll be in places they might not want to be in financially. To them money solves their problems, for most of the population it does. Being able to pay rent, buy food, pay for healthcare, schooling, and any number of things is a blessing most of the population can’t afford to take lightly. But when you have money your problems stem from other areas, like the potential loss of a parent for example, or not knowing who likes you or your bank account, or a long history of abuse,” he says. The first two were issues they’ve both dealt with but the last one was Tony’s issue alone. His parents were fantastic, they’ve always loved him with everything they had and they’ve never even thought of being cruel to him. Tony’s weren’t so nice, or at least his father wasn’t. He made too many blasé comments for Howard Stark to be a good man.
That, and Harley knew the symptoms of an abusive relationship like the back of her hand through lived experience and through years of schooling. She’d noticed things about Tony that Bruce hadn’t, and that Selina had noticed but hadn’t had an explanation for. To make matters worse money couldn’t solve Tony’s problem, actually money probably did more to trap him in it. Tony might try his best to fight back with Howard but he had more money and power than Tony so he wasn’t likely to win. It had to be a difficult position to be in, one that Bruce was happy to not be in himself. Selina and Harley probably knew more about Tony’s position in that way than Bruce did, but he related more to being rich with problems still. He figured it would go a long way in having Tony open up about his problems instead of feeling guilty for having them when he had everything he could ever ask for and then some.
After a long time Tony nods, “I guess that’s true. You’re good at this you know, talking to people. Maybe you should take Harley’s classes,” he says and Bruce laughs.
“I wasn’t always good at this. I had good intentions of course but I was so out of touch with the reality most people lived that I honestly had no idea how to do anything effective. Selina was gracious enough to help me out.” She was gracious about it at all actually, there was a lot of eye rolling and ‘are you kidding me?’ statements but the criticism was well deserved if harsh. But she did give him a no-bars-hold view of what being on the streets actually looked like, and she clued him in to a number of other things too. It had been shocking to him to realize how lucky he really was, but he often had the same problems Tony did as far as perception though. Being rich bought him so much, more than he’d ever need, but it didn’t erase all of his problems. It just solved all his other issues, leaving him to focus on everything else buzzing in his mind.
*
To say Howard was pissed was an understatement. Tony had expected it but it still left him feeling small and worthless even when he knew he didn’t do anything wrong. All he did was befriend Bruce because he was smart and Tony was curious, the fact that it ended up a little more was an accident and he had no idea why Howard was so livid. Bruce has never once shown an interest in SI or Tony’s inventions outside of things he’s already made. There was no problem with this but it didn’t stop him from feeling like there was.
“I get it you know,” Harley says. “They’re good at that hmm, making you feel bad for doing things that aren’t even wrong?”
“Unfortunately,” he mumbles. “How’d you get past that? I know I haven’t done anything wrong but it still feels like I did.”
Harley shrugs, “I never really did get past it. Sometimes I’m still like that, apologetic and guilty when I know I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s not logical but that’s what being steeped in abuse for years will do to your mind. But having good friends help because you know that someone loves you still, and also Selina is fun to party with,” she says.
Tony grins, “so I’ve heard. Bruce has come into class looking pretty haggard,” he says. It never seemed to affect his performance so it didn’t matter much to Tony.
“Bruce is a total wimp,” Harley says, “he can barely handle a few shots.” Something told Tony that Selina and Halrey’s version of ‘a few shots’ was different than the average but the idea of Bruce being unable to hold his liquor was amusing enough that he didn’t care.
“Screw your dad though,” Harley says, “you should totally talk Selina into kicking his ass. She could totally do it.”
When he gets to Bruce’s she actually offers but Tony doesn’t take her up on it much to everyone’s disappointment.
*
Bruce has assured him a half a dozen times that his parents wouldn’t hate him but after Howard’s reaction he had a hard time believing it. When Thomas and Martha Wayne show up, a little late thanks to traffic, to visit their son there is no hostility on either of their faces. At first Tony is suspicious but then Martha asks him about school and teaching and Thomas makes a joke about hitting his head off walls if the students gave him shoddy work and he relaxes a little. Mostly because there was always one person in the class that was so bad at the subject that Tony could practically feel his eyes bleeding as he read said student’s answers. Sometimes he’d just get drunk and then mark things to he laughs instead of cries. Harley, who was a TA, agreed that that was the best method of dealing with students who really should have a different major.
Just because Martha and Thomas seem to react well doesn’t mean he processes it easily. All through dinner he half expected one or both of them to start yelling and apparently they noticed because Martha and Thomas finally exchange a look. “Are you alright?” Thomas asks, “because you’ve been jumpy all night. We don’t bite you know.”
“Uh, yeah I’m fine,” he says because it’s technically true.
“Howard didn’t react well when he found out about us, he must be expecting you to react the way he had,” Bruce says in a tone that indicates exactly what he thought of that.
Bruce’s parents just looks confused though, “react badly how? What is there to react badly to?” Martha asks, genuinely confused.
Tony snorts, “Bruce is a guy, a business rival, too old, you name it he said it. Most of it didn’t make any sense.” There was just a lot of yelling and Tony plotting his escape.
Martha’s eyebrows draw together, “too old? What does he think Bruce is, a middle aged man? He’s what, barely five years older than you and you’re a grown man, how was that a concern?”
“I think he was grasping at straws honestly,” Tony says.
“Sounds to me like he’s as much of a prick in private as he is in public,” Thomas says, “no offense,” he adds to Tony.
“None taken. I would have given a whole list of words that were way meaner than that.” His friends certainly had anyways and Hope had experience with crappy fathers. Her list of nasty words was by far the most creative and the most hilarious.
“Well it certainly sounds like he deserves them,” Martha mumbles, taking a sip of her water. The subject changes after that but Tony relaxes at least. He also discovers that the sense of humor totally missed Bruce, who was way too serious for his own good. Harley and Selina gave him a hard time about it and now that Tony knew how hilarious his parents were he was hopping on that train immediately.
When they eventually take off Bruce smiles at Tony, “I told you they wouldn’t hate you. Unlike your father my parents aren’t awful.”
“Clearly,” Tony says in a dry tone. “But thank you, I appreciate it.”
*
While Natasha and Selina were playing a game of ‘rock, paper, scissors’ to see who got to beat up Howard for disowning Tony he considered what exactly he wanted to do from here. Thomas has immediately offered him a job at Wayne Enterprises because, and this was a quote, ‘if your twat father can’t see your value I’m happy to poach you’. Tony couldn’t help but laugh at that, especially when Bruce’s eyes tripled in size at the use of the word ‘twat’. It was like the guy had no idea his parents used swear words sometimes and that was funnier than Thomas’ comment. He had told Thomas that he was going to think on it though because he didn’t want to do something hasty like join Howard’s competition out of nothing but revenge. He’d probably regret it if he did because it was entirely possible he’d hate his job in three years, not because he had any qualms about screwing Howard over.
“Damnit,” Natasha swears as Selina grins, obviously victorious. Rhodey glares at the two of them because he had lost in the round table of ‘rock, paper, scissors’ a long time ago. Harley was also disappointed that she had lost even if she had lasted through Tony’s entire friend group minus Hope, whom she lost to. But then Hope lost to Nat and that left her and Selina.
“I can’t believe I won, I only wanted to beat a guy up. No offense Tony,” she adds to him.
He shrugs, “it’s fine, it’s not like we’ve known each other long. Also no one gets to beat up Howard, you’re not going to jail because he’s an asshole to me,” he says.
“We’re going to ignore everything Tony just said and do a retrial because Howard’s face is mine to punch, Selina doesn’t deserve this because she’s not properly invested,” Rhodey says, looking upset with the results.
“Selina, you can’t just beat men up,” Bruce says in the same tone Tony suspected he would use if he were scolding a child. Which was hilarious.
Selina rolls her eyes though, “I beat up women too, I don’t care who you are,” she says in her own defense.
“That’s true,” Harley throws in. “You guys should take her to a bar sometime, she can locate the biggest jerk in that place within seconds and then bam, fight. Very entertaining, ten out of ten.” Bruce looks downright horrified as Harley nods and grins in obvious approval of this hobby.
“Selina!” Bruce says.
She shrugs, “not everyone has to have your moral code Bruce. Some of us just do what needs to be done.”
“Okay who cares about Bruce, lets get back to punching Howard I’ve known Tony the longest I feel like I should automatically win,” Rhodey says.
Tony shakes his head and smiles, at least happy that Rhodey cared about him even if he didn’t think he should do something stupid like punch Howard out. Even if Tony really really wanted to see him do it. Bruce disapproves of the whole debate because he thought they were all better than violence but everyone decided to just ignore Bruce minus Tony.
“Thanks, by the way, for taking me in,” he says. It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go really.
Bruce shrugs, “you needed it,” is all he says, like that’s explanation enough. But then this is Bruce, of course that was all he needed.