Authors Notes: This is it! It's finally done! Thank you for staying with me to the end and for commenting, favoriting, and alerting! I've never finished a fic this long so I feel really accomplished! I hope you enjoy it!

I do not own these characters.

May 17, 2025

Tony stood outside of Bruce's apartment. Well, stood in the parking lot, inside of his car, looking up at the penthouse. After years and years of not seeing him, after wondering whether or not he was dead or alive, after searching high and low for the world's most elusive man, he had found him. And for once, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to see him.

He took it in baby steps.

He was outside of the car.

He locked the car.

he walked to the front of the complex.

He stepped into the complex.

He walked up to the receptionist desk.

He asked where Dr. Bruce Banner was.

She wrote down a room.

He went to the elevator.

He went to the fifth floor.

He walked down the hallway.

He found the correct apartment.

And then he froze with his hand about to bang on the door.

It's eleven p.m. He'd been driving for five hours. He was exhausted. Looked like a mess. Probably hadn't slept in a week. Okay, maybe more. Planning this whole trip was tiring. But he wanted it perfect, even if he was nervous that Bruce would just kick him out or leave himself or just not be happy to see Tony. But god damn it, it was Bruce's birthday. Tony didn't want to miss it.

Shaking, he lightly rapped on the door. The second his hand touched the door, it opened. To his surprise, it wasn't Bruce. It was a young woman who looked like a house keeper.

"May I help you?" She said as she wheeled a cart out from the door. She looked like she was just leaving.

"Um… is Bruce Banner here?"

"Mr. Banner lives here, but he isn't home at the moment. He doesn't come home until very late." She said. She looked at Tony in a peculiar way. "You look very familiar…"

"Well, I'm Tony Stark." He said. That usually didn't work as well as it used to when his company wasn't bankrupt and he actually owned it and ran it, but lately people don't recognize him. "Look… do you think you could let me in?"

She looked at him a little bit more.

"Sure… go right ahead…" her face seemed to look like she recognized him, yet still slightly confused. He didn't think about it too much.

"Thank you. Really." He wasn't sure how well it was that a house keeper was letting someone she didn't know into someone's house without their permission, but he didn't care, seeing as that was his key into Bruce's apartment.

God, Tony was tired.

He walked around the apartment a little bit. It was average sized. A small living room with a couch and TV, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The living room had a table with some decoration on it, and the Tony realized why the house keeper let him in.

There was only three pictures on the table, and Tony assumed they were the only pictures in the apartment, and they were of him and Bruce.

She didn't recognize Tony because he was Tony. She recognized him as being the only person Bruce had pictures of.

It really meant a lot to Tony.

He walked back to Bruce's bedroom. It was plane. One large bed, a dresser, and an end table.

The bed looked so soft… Tony was so tired… he decided on his own that Bruce wouldn't mind him taking a nap. At least until he got back.

He took of his shoes, got under the covers and made himself comfortable.

Bruce walked into his new apartment around midnight. He set down his things in the living room, and then was slightly startled.

His bedroom door was open, and he almost swore he heard a faint snoring coming from inside.

This better not be who I think it is…

He slowly and quietly walked to his room and looked inside. Sure enough, Tony Stark was sound asleep in his bed.

It was actually quite a nice picture.

Tony looked so calm while he was sleeping…

Everything that Bruce had told himself to keep himself away from Tony was forgotten at this sight.

He quietly took off his shoes and climbed into the bed with Tony.

He could tell the movement stirred Tony slightly awake.

"Bruce…?" Tony said sleepily.

Bruce shifted around until he found a spot he was comfortable in. He stopped when he was on his side, facing Tony.

"Yeah. I'm here." he whispered.

He could see the slight worry in Tony's tired face.

"You… you probably want me to leave-"

"No." Bruce said, wrapping his arm around him and pulling him closer. "Stay here. Don't leave."

Tony let himself be wrapped up in Bruce. He lied his head on his shoulder and smiled.

"If that's what you want."

"And for the record," Bruce said, smiling to himself as he started to stroke Tony's hair, "that's my side of the bed."

The End