Hello again everyone!*waves* I'm swinging by real quickly to post this, but I will be back later today with more time to reply to reviews and other PMs. Anyway, enjoy and remember any comment, criticism or correction will be appreciated.

I don't owe The Dark Knight trilogy, Iron Man, The Avengers, or any of its characters, sadly.

OoOoO

Chapter I: The Phone Call.

"Hello."

There was a pause at the other end of the line. "Wow. Is billionaire Bruce Wayne answering his own phone like any peasant?"

Bruce snorted, adjusting the phone between his shoulder and ear. "I knew it was you, otherwise it would have gone straight to voicemail."

"Why Brucie, such an awful, awful way to say I'm special," Tony replied, leaning back in his chair. "Okay, but just how much did you piss Alfie off that he let you answer your phone in spite of the lack of decorum."

"I think you're confusing me with yourself," Bruce pulled toward him a clean sheet of paper and jotted down a note in it. "And Alfred isn't home."

Tony took a moment to peer at the clock. He was well known for losing track of time when he was working on something, so it was better to check. And yep, it was late. Too late for nice old butlers to be out and about in gloomy Gotham. "Really? It's almost midnight. He got a hot date?"

Bruce snorted, twiddling the pen between his fingers. "He's in England visiting his family. I finally convinced him to take some much needed vacation time."

"Wait. What? Alfie has family? Like ancestral, blood-related family?"

"He doesn't see or speak with them very often, but yes, he does have family there."

He knew Alfie had family other than Bruce. Of course he did. But, Tony hadn't expected him to be visiting them right now. Just like he hadn't expected Bruce to be in so late. It was the perfect time for the Bat to be roaming the snowy and dirty streets of his beloved city.

But this actually was so, so much better. Made things a hell of a lot easier for him.

"How long is he gonna be gone?"

"A week is the longest I was able to make him agree to," Bruce leaned back in his chair, looking wearily the paperwork piled on the mahogany desk in his study. He trusted Lucius to lead the company, but that didn't mean he didn't want to know every detail of what was going on in the family business.

Lucius and him took most of the major decisions together, but he didn't always have the time to take a deeper look into the company's more mundane activities. The holiday season was a great time to catch up; read reports from each of the different branches of the company rather than a couple of reports encompassing it all, and make sure everything was as it was supposed to.

That did not make it any less boring, though.

"Hmm. And what are you gonna do?"

Bruce rolled his eyes, lifting a hand to hold the phone. "He's only gone for a week, Tony. I think I can survive that long without him."

"You sure?"

"Of course. He left yesterday and I'm still here, aren't I? The only real issue is cooking, but I don't have to do it. I can just eat out or order something. Or I can even eat in the tower's cafeteria."

Bruce reached for his cup, taking a sip of the warm beverage. Thank God he knew how to make coffee, or else he would have never allowed Alfred leave the Manor. Never.

Tony hummed softly, tapping his fingers against the desk. "So, he's going to spend Christmas in England, then."

"Of course," He replied after a pause. "That's why I insisted he traveled now. It's been too long since he spent the holidays with his family."

"What about you?"

"Well, there are at least a couple of parties I'm still expected to make an apparition at," He said with a long-suffering sigh. "But, on the other hand, the annual Christmas party at the Manor is out of the question without Alfred to oversee everything, so I guess that will be my gift."

Tony rolled his eyes, even if he knew Bruce couldn't see him. "Okay, but I was actually talking about you, Bruce Thomas Wayne, aka the Bat, not the idiotic buffoon you parade as around your city."

"I feel obliged to point out that idiotic buffoon acts uncannily like you, Mr. Stark," Bruce said dryly.

"You know what I meant. I wasn't talking about the gloriously fun bits, but about the part where you have to pretend to be a brainless moron pretty much all the time."

Bruce paused. Even though Tony had been amused by the antics of his public persona on more than one occasion, his annoyance any time he was physically present when he acted like an "idiotic buffoon" was not exactly subtle. Not that Bruce himself enjoyed acting like that, of course, but it was necessary.

"I will be patrolling, obviously. And if there isn't anything big going down I'll finish early and have a quiet night in."

"Okay, it's settled. You're coming with me."

"Excuse me,"

"You're coming to Malibu with me, cupcake. It's been too long since we spend Christmas together."

The line stayed silent for a moment.

"I thought you said you invited your team for dinner."

"Yep, I did."

"Then I don't think I should intrude."

"Oh, please. It's my damn party, so I can invite anyone I fucking want to, okay? Besides, it's a dinner party, sweetcheeks, not a SHIELD top-secret briefing or some shit like that." Tony countered. "Come, you cannot miss the chance to mingle with Mr. Stripes and Stars. And you've got to meet Banner. The man's a genius and I should know about that, considering I'm one too."

"Yes. And I'm sure it would be a delightful time for everyone, being in the same room when all I talk about is polo and the latest gossip." Bruce said bitterly.

"Well, you don't have to act like an idiot if you don't want to," Was Tony's instant answer.

"Tony-"

"What? I'm not saying you should show up with the cowl and cape. Just that you can tone the dumb act a bit."

Bruce pressed his lips together, looking down at his clenched fist. He relaxed his fingers slowly.

"I don't think it's a good idea."

Tony made an irritated noise. "Stop being such a party pooper. Pepper and JARVIS are going to be here too-"

"Wait. You didn't invite Rodney?"

"Of course I did, Brucie-bear, but he declined." Tony tipped his head back to look at the workshop's ceiling. "He's having dinner with the in-laws this year."

Bruce blinked. He couldn't honestly say he and Rodney were the best of friends, but they did get along pretty well, and Tony sometimes liked to talk about him. Lately, he had taken up to call him to rant whenever Rodney didn't go along with whatever crazy plans Tony came up with because he was spending time with his girlfriend.

"I didn't know things between them were serious."

"Yeah, well, there aren't wedding plans yet, so I wouldn't say it's serious," Tony dismissed, before adding, "And stop trying to sidetrack me."

"I wasn't-"

"Like I was saying, Pepper and JARVIS are going to be here as well. You like Pepper and JARVIS."

"I do, but-"

"It's settled then. Are you flying here or do you want me to pick you up?" Tony's tone left no room for arguments- if the person at the other end of the line were anyone other than the fucking Bat.

"I didn't agree," And there it was. The fucking Bat. But, Tony wouldn't be where he was today if he couldn't handle a bit of a challenge.

"Oh, but you were going to say yes. I know you, but most importantly, you know me. So, want me to fly to Gotham to pick you up?"

Bruce looked one more time at the paperwork on his desk. He wasn't opposed to the idea of spending the holidays with Tony; in fact, he quite liked the idea of that. It was the fact they weren't going to be alone that was the problem. And while Bruce had nothing against the Avengers, he wasn't really comfortable with the idea of being in the same room with them for more than a couple of minutes, even if Tony and Pepper were going to be present too.

Not that any of that mattered now that Tony had come up with the idea. There was no way he was going to leave him get out of this.

He heaved yet another sigh. "No. No, that's not necessary. I'll tell Jessica to take care of it."

Tony smirked at the resigned tone in the other man's voice. "You sure, honey? 'Cause I can get JARVIS to arrange it."

"I'm sure."

"Mmm. You do know JARVIS wouldn't have any troubles letting me know if you don't make the arrangements. Right? I can simply fly there in my suit to scoop you up and take you with me in the last minute, so don't try me, Mr. Wayne."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Bruce said dryly.

"Great to see we understand each other, cupcake."

OoOoO

a/n: Yes, I finally craved and I'm going to have Bruce meet the Avengers. The next chapter is almost finished so it will be posted before the year ends.

And yes, I'm baaack! Finally! After almost a year of absence. But rather than celebrate that by myself, I'll like to offer a sincere apology to those who had been expecting updates of any or all of my fics during the whole year. I can only say that I didn't plan to be away for so long, but nevertheless I'm still sorry for leaving without a word. And I want to make clear now that I have not abandoned any of my stories, and would in fact be having updates for them in the following weeks/months, as well as a few new one-shots too. I'm planning to resume a more normal rhythm after the Holidays, but considering this fic it's about Christmas, I couldn't very well not post it already.

Thank you very much to those who have stick around waiting still for updates. Seriously, I can't apologize enough. And, those who already give up, I understand completely, but I still hope you'll give the next chapters a chance once they pop up.

Lastly, this is unbetaed so please feel free to point out any mistake you find.