"You know what happened the last time your father tried to build a relationship with this company." Came the soft yet deadly insistent voice of his assistant, now CEO of Stark Industries. She sounded wary, like a mother unconvinced of her teenager's social circle. But he knew what needed to be done and as he finally looked up at her, he was liking what his jumbo screen high definition television done to her face. It accentuated every caress of shadow and lines of her visage so that every last tan freckle was visible. She was a beauty in every way, and he was only disappointed in himself that he had not realized it sooner. Make that incensed, as he watched her tuck a wayward red lock of hair out of her face when she caught him staring too long. "Ahem." She gave a dainty little cough, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Well, Pepper, for one; I am not my father." He said with slight scorn. "And two; now that we are taking Stark Industries into a new direction, away from the Military Industrial Complex, it's only fitting that we broaden our horizons with affiliates who are for…peace." The man said, pausing at the word he made a mockery of before.
Pepper's doe brown eyes grew large with sincerity towards his words. He knew she loved it when he acted like a grown up, full of responsibility and accountability. He was doing things he had never done before which mainly included the righting of his wrongs.
"Tony, I'm just…" She trailed off, trying to find the right words to say. He face now laced with concern. "…well, taking on Wayne Enterprises is a big step, especially when we're trying to regain everything; I mean with the trade investments and marketing-"
"Pepper, stop." Tony said calmly as her words jumbled together in a blur, sounding garbled. He knew the stress she was going through now that she was in the highest ranking position second to his own. With all the trouble, which was borderline danger, his ex-partner had and the whip toting Russian caused (only he, Pepper, Rhodey, and the SHIELD knew the real story) he understood her dilemma. Yet the great destruction to most of what he created and what his father made before him was cause and effect around the city. This created a buzz around town and all over the world, many believed that Tony Stark the man, and the company were done for. "Everything will be taken care of. I promise." He said drawing closer to the screen so she could see the truth in his eyes. Yet he need not have bothered because those were the only words she need to hear. Her bright eyes shone with great relief and tenderness for him.
"I know. I know." She chuckled lightly; clearly embarrassed about her constantly worrying nature. She then smiled dreamily at him and he could not help but do the same. Pepper was a wonderful woman. She was now definitely a constant reminder of why he is doing what he does now. Protecting people. They stayed that way for a moment longer before she went on to something else that did not concern the company. He could see the stack of papers in her hands, files which were meant to be kept secret, yet he had left them carelessly on her desk. He wanted to keep nothing of his life from her. As one of the only two people he loved, she needed to know everything he was up to.
"Are you going to try to…make contact with him?" the red head asked, trying hard to mask her complaints about the issue in question.
Tony nodded wordlessly, stroking a hand through his thick dark hair. "I need to. If we can apply his skills and what he knows, I think it would be a major benefit to the team."
"I hope you know what you're doing." She said with very little doubt so he knew she clearly believed in him.
"Thanks, Pepper." He smiled mildly before shutting off the screen as one of his many beautiful flight attendants came to his side.
"We are preparing to land in Gotham International Airport, sir. Please, take your seat." She smiled; her pearly white teeth were like chick-lits. Tony smiled back, noticing her face was almost superficial. She reminded him of a Barbie doll, something totally opposite of his lovely assistant. And as he took his seat, fastening himself in with the seatbelt, he gazed down at papers strewn about the serving table in front of him. He then focused hard on a single picture of a man; tall with semi dark brown hair and the most intense blue eyes Tony had ever seen. This man was too handsome. His jaw line was perfectly chiseled almost in a point as sharp as the narrow nose in the middle of his face. His build was neatly contained in the soft pin stripe suit he wore along with the solid color tie. He was so perfect that Tony got the strangest urge to ravish him; to strip the cloth from the man and make him…
Dirty.
The man allowed his thoughts to boil over before taking them down to a nice simmer in the back burner of his mind. He knew his meeting with Bruce Wayne, head of Wayne Enterprises would begin in two hours after he landed. So until then, his desires would have to be sedated, and if Bruce was willing, then it would only be a little while. And that's what made it worth the wait.
O0o0o00o00o00oo00o00o00o0oo0
Bruce sat begrudgingly in the expansive conference room overlooking the grandest parts of Gotham's cities. It was daytime, almost half past noon, and just feeling the sun's warm rays pierce the solid glass and caress his back was just enough to make him even more uptight. He was cranky because he was tired. Plain and simple. He wanted nothing more than to crawl up on the very table before him and lay on it, using his suit jacket as a cover. It was clear to Alfred that his nightly stints as Batman were getting to him as they always had. Yet with the whole thing with Rachel, Harvey, and the cursed Joker was enough to bring anyone to face their weaknesses. Bruce certainly had. He had destroyed a man and lost the love of his life to the very madness he tried to protect people from.
Bruce gulped, his head was throbbing now and his throat seemed parched as if he swallowed balls of cotton whole. He leaned back in his wheeled chair as he gripped the armrests until his hand grew clammy and sweaty; his knuckles were bare white from the strength of the grasp. His stomach churned with unforgiving fervor. He could feel the thin sheen of sweat caressing his brow. 'It'll stop soon.' Bruce chanted to himself mentally. 'You can control it.' The weight of the anxiety was torturing him. It was the mentioning of those very names that were enough to send him under. He had to stop it before he would begin to shudder like a kitten in the rain.
He opened his eyes, hearing the flood of colleagues rush through the doors, eager to begin the meeting. He forced himself to greet them with a smile. He even stood to shake their hands, asking if they had enjoyed their lunch. If Bruce could, he would have given himself a pat on the back. The wave of panic and anxiety passed quickly as the men readily began talking business in which he half paid attention to. And they all knew he was not going to care what was going on because everything that was Wayne Enterprises was now in Lucius Fox's capable hands as well as the sub divisions under him. Bruce slowly began to drift off, drowning out the men's deep voices and entertained himself with thoughts of Alfred, who was probably tidying up the penthouse by now or enjoying his own lunch with his homebrewed English tea, watching BBC news.
And that is when the office doors had opened again with a slight bang, bringing everyone to the entrance's attention. Standing in the doorway was three men, two of which were the size of NFL linebackers. The man in the middle who oozed riches walked in with his men close behind him. Bruce quickly took in the man's state of dress, his suit was a subtle black which became a dark cobalt blue in the trick of the sunlight. The pale grey tie that adorned his neck was sleek as it dipped into his suit jacket which was closed with its polished buttons like glittering onyx gems catching the light. Bruce's quick sweep traveled to the man's prominent face. He had dark hair, almost black, and with a finely cut beard to match. His eyes large were black pools; they were like looking into the darkness of the earth but were illuminated by the sunlight, making them appear a lighter shade of brown. The strange guest smiled genuinely, as if trying to show himself friendly as the two linebackers gazed on intimidatingly. Bruce's eyes widened at the brightness of that smile. He could see the deep lines of the man's face, feeling the smile reach the man's eyes, creating tiny crinkles in the corners of his eyelids. And then the other man seemed so familiar. Like he had known him for however long.
"Gentleman, now I know this man needs no introduction," Lucius began kindly, moving to the figure's side, taking his hand in his own and shaking firmly. "Mr. Tony Stark has come with offers of the most high-tech trade layouts for our mutual companies to do business, in which Mr. Wayne and I have agreed to conduct with Stark Industries. Mr. Stark and Mr. Wayne will be discussing the terms of that agreement in a private setting." The black man tilted his head towards Bruce, who stood up once more, going hesitantly to Tony's side, taking his hand and shaking it.
"Ironman in the flesh, everyone." Bruce smiled in acknowledgement as Tony's name left Lucius's lips, allowing everyone to applaud the man. He knew all that he could know about Tony Stark, and also he had subtly followed Ironman's every move. It was not that he was a fanatic like so many others had become, buying everything and just about anything with the Ironman face pasted on. He had watched Ironman's escapades to see if there was anything he could learn from the manned machine. He knew Stark was a technological genius yet there seemed to be the lack of something Bruce could not put his finger on. He smiled widely at Tony, shaking his hand and cleverly masking his slight awe of the other man.
Tony stared Bruce in the eye as he took his hand in his own. He could feel the man's hands were soft yet some of the pads of his fingers were calloused. Bruce did not seem like the type to work with his hands. He had figured the other man, even with his prestigious college education, to be a carefree, airhead, playboy billionaire; as so many other people had labeled him. Tony could feel the same as he knew people gave him similar labels. However, his mainly were things like 'jerk' or 'dick', and those were the nicer ones. He then felt a cheap thrill as he imagined what would callous the man's hands like that. His loins prayed that Bruce had a garage full of beautiful, sleek foreign and domestic luxury cars he like to dismantle and put back together again. Reluctantly, Tony released the other man's hand as he began to get awkward stares from the other men and even Bruce, himself.
"So, our business venture awaits." Tony said with a shining white smile.
"Yes,"came Bruce's meager reply as he silently dismissed himself and Tony from the meeting, letting Lucius take over once more.
O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0
Tony and Bruce made their way to the elevator doors of Wayne Tower, they were on the twenty-second floor, so it would be a long ride; one Tony's libido would enjoy. The more he could stare at the other man's physique the better. He kept undressing Bruce with his eyes, over and over as the elevator car road up to their floor slowly. Tony had no problem going for the fairer sex, but there was something about men that drew him in. He had sexually conquered most of the world's gorgeous top models that soon, fucking women turned into a game. And like most things, he grew bored of it. So he turned to men, and it did not take him long at all to find a healthy young male to welcome to his bed. Hell, the men seemed more eager, even daring in the sheets than the women had slept with. He had tried things he had never before experienced, taking him to other planes of blissful sexual euphoria. He stared at Bruce's back, focusing in on the slight strip of skin on his neck revealed by the collar of his suit, and he wondered if the other man would be willing to-
"Mr. Stark?" came Bruce's voice simultaneous to the elevator giving a slight dinging sound as the its doors opened.
The sounds broke Tony's subconscious thoughts and he followed the other man inside the lavish box car. It was clear glass reinforced by cool grey steel and the working people could see the east side of the large city they so carefully served. Philanthropy was what Wanye Enterprises were about. Tony had read the company's profile on their website. Miraculously a third of the company's revenue went to numerous city charities as well as the international ones; something Thomas and Martha Wayne, Bruce's parents, had done for years. Tony truly admired that. He had remembered meeting them at some socialite powwow when he was a child, only a little bit older than Bruce. He also remembered how Thomas had refused his father's ideas of trading and investing in one another's companies. The Waynes clearly were against the Stark way of generating profits through weapons technology. Weapons were for war and war had torn apart so many countries the Wayne's donated generously to. His father was so drunk on that night eons ago for he was not a man to be rejected. And if Tony had know what embarrassment meant at the time he was sure he would have felt that. He knew his mother was.
Bruce did not talk the whole way down, and they were only on the sixteenth floor. And just as Tony was about to speak, just to make friendly conversation, the doors had opened to reveal more people flooding on board the elevator. Bruce respectively moved aside towards Tony as he greeted his workers with a slight smile.
"Hold the elevator, please!" said a distressed voice coming around the corner, and a woman in a wheelchair with a stack of manila folders on her lap maneuvered her way inside. This caused more moving about to make room for her and soon Tony was in a corner with Bruce standing in front of him. Tony thanked God for this wonderful blessing because the other man was now fully pressed against him; back to chest and ass to groin. It was hard for Tony to hide his excitement, knowing that he wanted to have Bruce like this when they were alone, behind closed doors. However, with this many people inside the elevator with them he was unsure if he could even discreetly cop a feel of Bruce's behind. And more importantly, he still didn't know if the man ran that way. There had been no smoldering looks or lingering touches, or even a few heavily laced innuendos. Bruce gave him nothing to work with.
'I'll just have to speed things along then,' Tony thought brazenly as they went down to the next floor where a couple more people got on board, making everyone fit as close as sardines in a can. He leaned into the back of the other man's neck, letting his breath warm the slight strip of skin there. Bruce was a couple inches taller than him but it posed no problem for Tony. Although he couldn't see the other man's face he gauged his reactions by the hand clenching and unclenching at his side. When Tony's breathe was upon his skin, Bruce would clench his hand into a fist. Now whether that fist was meant to punch him in the face as soon as they got off the elevator, Tony didn't know. He had hoped that this was Bruce's way of saying, 'Is he really doing this to me or am I just imagining it? Anyways, I kinda like it.'
'Yeah,' Tony thought snidely, 'Bruce Wayne would totally enjoy some sexual harassment from his future business partners.' Even though he was feeling a bit sarcastic, he didn't relent on this treatment of Bruce's sensory perception.
Bruce couldn't help but feel some comfort in the tight enclosed space of the elevators. He sadly compared it to the Cave he had underground in the Southeast wing of the former Wayne Manor. He could remember the coldness of it. He loved the darkness of it. And sometimes the lonliness of it. The elevator that he and Tony road on was similar to his Cave, yet the boxcar kept something of the high contrast. For one, the sun was out, and the elevator was a clear as glass could be. Also it was warm and bright and more people just kept coming on until everyone was touching elbows. Wayne Tower was built for traveling worker efficiency, hence the six elevators on the main floor. He wondered if his workers scheduled their lunches at the same time because the people traffic at this hour was ridiculous. Bruce remembered to make a note to himself that any meeting that he was supposed to be present in from now on would be via Skype or something.
He greeted the workers that came through the elevator doors, watching them as they looked down at the floor or elsewhere to avert his gaze. And for some reason Bruce liked it that way because he couldn't help but feel embarrassed that he was pressed back against Tony Stark. He knew he was majorly entering the other man's personal space. He wanted to offer apology for this matter of no space in a small space, just to let the other man know that this didn't happen all the time. But Bruce found that he didn't care enough, and by not giving an apology to Stark would not necessarily be a deal breaker. So they road on in silence, with Bruce making a fist and relaxing it. It was a strategy he used to calm his nerves lest another panic attack comes around. He focused straight ahead at the small read numbers that flashed on black bar above the elevator doors, descending in order as they made their way to the main floor. And when they got to the fourteenth floor is when he felt it. It rolled about the back of his neck, moist and hot, giving a certain sensation Bruce hadn't felt in a very long time. He gulped, and subconsciously leaned back into the feeling. He knew it was Stark breathing against him, he found it strange that the man breathed through his mouth and not his nose. He didn't believe the man was doing this on purpose…or was he?
Tony felt a sharp twinge of triumph as he felt Bruce press up more against him. So he decided to push his little game one step further. He then pressed back against Bruce, using the length of the glass wall to support him. He made sure the other man could feel the tell tale bulge in his designer pants as he rubbed against Bruce's ass. And the slight hitch in the man's breathing was all Tony needed in confirmation. He knew that he just upped his chances of nailing the billionaire in the sheets. And just like that he stopped his ministrations, and gave Bruce the last few inches of space he could conjure up. He would make Bruce work for it, that is if the man wanted more of what they just had.
The other man turned his head, glancing at Tony almost questionable. It was odd that this was happening in the first place in a elevator full of people and it was even more surprising that Bruce did not want the man to stop. When he felt the hardness of, what he believed to be Tony's erection, he felt something he hadn't felt for a while. Desire. And it was funny because the last time Bruce had checked his preferable traits, he figured he was straight. And he also knew that Tony Stark was a man. A man who was basically dry humping him with a clueless audience surrounding them. And what's more is that Bruce liked it. Really liked it and he didn't want Tony to stop which was what the man had done precisely. Fuck.
Tony smirked as he watched confusion cast over Bruce's flushed face when he turned to meet his dark eyes. Tony didn't say a word as he looked at the other man. He wanted to let Bruce try to figure out his agenda and if the handsome prince of Gotham couldn't make out his intentions, they were made clear by the tent in his pants. And with them finally reaching the main floor of the building, people exited the elevator until they were the only passengers left. Bruce went out after he paused, almost as if he was considering the option Tony was giving him. Tony followed, a smirk never leaving his face.
O0o0o0o0oo0oo00o0
Once he exited Wayne Tower with Tony Stark in tow, Bruce smiled at the familiar face of Alfred as the old Englishman held open the door of the lustrous black limousine "Hello, Alfred." He greeted as he gracefully slid inside the car.
"Master Bruce, Mr. Stark." Alfred acknowledged with a smile of his own. Tony smiled back, briefly shaking the hand of the older gentleman. He reminded Tony of his own electronic servant, Jarvis. He didn't miss the English A.I. system he created, knowing that accessing Jarvis was only a few key codes away. He got in the luxury vehicle feeling the smoothness of the leather, and just by touch he knew it was made of the finest cover the Italians had to offer. He wondered if the entire car was forigen, there hadn't been any definitive markers that said otherwise. Maybe Bruce was the type of person who wanted to go out undetected. Which was the exact opposite of Tony, himself. He always wanted to make an entrance, he never hidden himself from the world. He even kept that notion true by telling the world he was Ironman. He looked at Bruce, finding the silence a bit unnerving. Didn't the man want to do business? Did he want to know anything about Tony's adventures of parading the skies as Ironman? Did Bruce want to have sex on these very leather seats? Tony, never having a loss of words to say, was a bit speechless. He definitely didn't want to make the same mistakes his father had done when he was trying to generate business with the Waynes.
Bruce looked at Tony out of his periphery; he could gauge the man's facial expression of boredom. He knew he had to play the role of the ever so charming billionaire, even if it was towards another wealthy socialite. He then smiled at Tony, putting the exchange inside the elevator out of his mind, hoping Tony would do the same. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, I've been trying to think of the right words to say to a man of your unique stature."
"Is that so?" Tony said, crossing his legs and laying his folded hands upon his lap. "What, do you want to talk business or-" pleasure was the word on his lips before the other man interrupted him.
"Well, I just find it fascinating that I have Ironman sitting right in front of me and I'm being a bad host." Bruce's face was almost in a child like pout.
'Cute.' Tony thought but he couldn't tell if Bruce was being genuine or not because he never really knew the man now. Sure they had played together when they were children but that was for only ten minutes before Thomas Wayne escorted his family personally to the door. "Well, I'm only Ironman when I have the suit on; now I'm just another civilian tourist wanting to see the wonderful things Gotham has to offer."
"Hm, I do hope you stay in Gotham long enough for our plans to be completed." Bruce lied. He didn't need Ironman or Tony Stark in his city as long as he was Bruce Wayne and Batman. He wondered if the man knew who he really was and as if the other man could read his mind, he said, "I'll stay as long as you need me, but I definitely won't go until I get a glimpse of the infamous caped crusader." Tony laughed.
"I hear he's a hard man to find. The police have been after him ever since he first started his little game of vigilante justice." Bruce said nonchalantly, "But the media has hounded Gotham's Police Department for not being constant in the search, they just book the criminals he catches and they're the ones getting paid for it. The taxpayers are especially unhappy."
Tony laughed again. "I wonder if they can put the Batman on payroll."
Bruce chuckled lightly, nodding his head. "But Gotham's been pretty good lately. I don't watch much news so I don't know how effective the Batman's been cleaning up the streets.
"I'd like to believe that you actually care, but you can buy protection other people can't afford. It's not easy taking money from a billionaire; you may have bodyguards the size of dump trucks, ready to take on a bullet for you. But to rob an average citizen at gunpoint, it's a cakewalk for the criminal. They have no one to protect them." Tony said mildly. "And just thinking about people getting hurt from the weapons my company made…I knew I had to change direction. I knew I could use a machine I made to protect myself to protect them."
Bruce grew slightly annoyed as he thought of his parents being gunned down by some worthless addict. He suspected that Tony didn't know that about his life and he didn't care to explain. "Well, Mr. Stark, not everyone can be a superhero saving lives. You do what you can with what you have." Bruce said, his brows furrowed lightly.
"Yes, I see your city leaves the saving to the notorious Batman." Tony said, starting to find Bruce's annoyance mildly attractive. "It's just nice to know that some of us are actually making a difference."
"I see you're a man to make quick judgment and no less rude." The other man said deftly, as the car came to a stop.
Tony blinked twice, remembering why he was here; to make good with the Waynes. He didn't need to insult Bruce, maybe the man was an airhead, an innocent descendant of old money, someone not affected by the dirty dealings of criminals and evil people. He had hoped that Bruce wouldn't have to go through what he went through to change his view on life. Bruce gave to charity, and as indirect as it was to throw money at people who needed help at least it was something. Tony began to feel bad, which took a lot to make himself feel that way. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."
Bruce nodded slowly, avoiding Tony's kind eyes. "No harm done. I've read the papers…about you being over there in that god forsaken country for three months. I think that's enough to change anybody on how they feel about the world."
Tony smiled wryly as he became flooded with memories of that horrid desert. "Yeah…"
Suddenly the limo door opened and he and Bruce exited the car. They were now standing outside a large building housing luxury apartments. "I thought it would be good to talk business in comfort. I own these penthouse apartments."
"No Wayne Manor tour?" Tony asked, following Bruce inside the building.
"Ah, no, it caught fire and burned to ashes." The other man said softly as he moved towards the elevator. He mentally shuddered at the memory of Ras Al Ghul.
"Damn. What happened?" Tony questioned, astonished that Bruce was so aloof towards the matter. As far as he knew, Wayne Manor had stood its ground for centuries.
"I tried making a fire in the fireplace using lighter fluid. I can't say I wasn't a little bit intoxicated." Bruce smiled, looking bashful.
Tony nodded, he understood the damage of alcohol and its influences of one who was capable of shooting things with concentrated bursts of energy. "Your parents must've had a heart attack." He laughed, boarding the elevator with Bruce. "They stay here too?"
The brown haired man paused before hitting the button to the top floor and stared at the glowing dial for a while then he said, "They're dead, Tony."
'Bruce Wayne killed his parents because he was drunk and started a fire.' Those words were in the other man's head flowing like a mantra chant. Well, that was enough to make him not drink anymore. But he had a nice little hip flask he bought before he left Malibu, and it was filled to the brim with delicious scotch whiskey.
Tony's silence made Bruce turn to face him, he could see the paleness in his face and then it dawned on him that he hadn't chose his words carefully. "Um, they didn't die in the fire. What I meant was that…well, when I was nine a man tried robbing my mother and father at gunpoint when we left a theatre. I was with them when they were killed…"
Fuck. Tony 's insides were twisting with guilt as he recalled what he had said to the man earlier. About gunmen not going after the rich and preying instead on the middle class, if not poorer. Shit, and this is why he fully deserved media labels such as 'jerk' and 'dick'. He felt downright awful now. And well, that was enough for him to remember not to speak unless spoken to.
Bruce seemed to sense the other man's discomfort because he hesitantly patted him on the shoulder. "Its fine, you didn't know."
"But I should have…I mean, I had Jarvis look up everything about Wayne Enterprises just so I wouldn't make a fool out of myself and my company if I knew nothing about you. How clever of him to leave out that your parents were dead."
The other man shook his head, walking off the elevator once they reached their stop, he paused again in the middle of the suite floor hallway. "Gotham's archives, hard copies and electronic, are kept secure from other invading networks. This city protects its people. And, well, most of the executives at Wayne Enterprises thought that listing my mother and father the victims of murder by one of Gotham's own was too damaging, seeing how my family has lived here for centuries and built this city from the ground up. So don't be too hard on your man when he couldn't find something that didn't exist in the first place." Bruce smiled softly as he thought of his parents, he couldn't help the twinge of sadness he felt the created a slight ache in his heart. He had lost everyone he cared about-Bruce froze the thought in mid sentence. He was not going to induce himself into an anxiety attack. How did he let it get this bad? He would not give the question a second thought. He was going to take his mind off things that he was intentionally hurting himself with and those were his own memories. He then turned quickly to Tony, putting on a false smile.
"You know, how about we forget about business for the rest of the day. We can go out to dinner, probably get to know one another better."
"Or we can skip everything and you can just show me the bedroom." Tony said slyly, giving the man a wide grin. Pushing everything he just said wrong to Bruce to the back of his own mind. He would show Bruce that he was the great Tony Stark; that he was the even greater Ironman. He wanted to make the man like him. And coming onto to Bruce strongly was the way he was going to do it. It was the Tony Stark way.
Bruce gave an aloof smile at the not even remotely subtle attempt Tony made. So he knew where the other man wanted to go but Bruce didn't know if he wanted the same thing. Sure he had enjoyed Tony's toying with him but that did not mean he was a go for launch under the man's sheets. But he didn't know how to respond to the comment. He was so used to being hit on by flashy women, not flashy men but luckily for him, Tony kept talking.
"Okay, let's save that for later, and just have dinner and a movie. My treat."
A/N: this is a rewritten version of the story I posted before, please read and review.