Two years.

It has been two years, and Tony Stark did not hear a single word from either Bruce nor Thor. The God was said to be back in Asgard, but Bruce? Or rather, the Hulk? 

None of the team had heard from either of them. And everyone silently missed them, a slight, untouchable feeling, yet existent emptiness. The team could never be complete without the two. You could add more people, make another person welcome into the Tower, but it would never be the right piece to the puzzle.

And Tony worked in his lab, now having a kid mucking about in it with him, but there was no Bruce Banner, no shy scientist, no Science Bro, it was never the same when working on a new project. And Tony was surprised that he even realized that Bruce wasn't there, the team were surprised to realize that they felt that two people from their boy band were missing. Because it wasn't a very long  friendship back in the day of Ultron. 

It was a Wednesday. The last day of Peter's "suspension". The teen was in the common room playing some video game with Clint, while Rhodey and Tony were intently cheering on. Natasha, Steve and Sam were sitting round the table, resting after their gym session, in which they were probably doing their usual "let's kick each other's asses" routine (Tony made it clear that he did not want to have anything to do with these sessions.)

Bruce arrived unexpectedly. FRIDAY didn't even warn Tony, or give any signal whatsoever about anyone standing awkwardly in the reception hall, the receptionist eyeing him carefully. 

"Hello? How may I help you?" the receptionist asked, looking at Bruce questioningly. The scientist turned quickly towards the direction of the voice, looking startled upon seeing the lady by the desk. 

"Oh, yes, i'm Doctor Bruce Banner, I've come to see Tony Stark." Bruce said, hoping that this receptionist will recognize him. After ten seconds of intent staring, in which Bruce was trying hard to act casual, while playing with his sleeve, the receptionist smiled knowingly.

"FRIDAY, tell Mr. Stark that he has a very important visitor." 

"Already done. Dr. Banner the code to the lift is 6757." 

Bruce typed in the code, and walked in, feeling an uneasy sensation in his stomach. He literally knew nothing about the team, or what has been going on for the past two years. He only knew one thing. Threat was imminent, and the whole universe was at stake, and the Earth's Mightiest Heroes needed to be informed, because Thanos was coming. 

The lift doors opened, and Bruce was instantly greeted with the familiar faces of his past team. Natasha (oh my God, she's blonde), Steve (seriously, a beard, you've got to be kidding me), Clint and Sam (as always), Rhodey (bionic legs, what the hell happened?!), Bruce's eyes stayed a little longer on Tony, who's facial expression was of a mixture of shock, happiness and worry. The momentary silence was broken by a mug falling to the ground, smashing against the floor, spilling across the carpet.

"DR. BANNER?!" a child's voice shouted. Bruce turned instantly to the new addition to the group. A teenager stood covered in apple juice, looking awestruck, mouth hanging open in amazement. All eyes turned to look at the boy. "OH MY GOD! I'm such a fan of yours, sir! Your work on gamma radiation-"

"Peter-" Tony said. Peter shut up instantly, but the shocked look stayed in place. 

"Hi, guys." Bruce greeted everyone shyly, "long time no see hey."

"Bruceee- bear!" Tony shouted, hugging the man tightly, "WHERE IN THIS BLOODY UNIVERSE HAVE YOU BEEN?!". One by the one they greeted each other, glad to see the scientist alive and safe. Relief spread across their faces, glad to see the missing Avenger alive and well. Everybody wanted to hear from Bruce, about where Thor was, how was life going on in space? Where was he for the past two years? And Bruce, not being on his home planet, wanted to know exactly what happened on Earth, why did Nat decide to be blonde? Why Steve had a beard? Why Rhodey had bionic legs? And what the hell were Sokovia Accords? AND WHAT WAS A KID DOING HERE?!

"Who is that? I'm missing something huge, right?" Bruce asked, looking towards Peter, who was blushing slightly. Tony swung an arm round the teen.

"That's my adopted son, Peter." Tony said proudly. Bruce froze on his spot.

"Wait, what?! Tones, you have a son now?! How long have I been away for?!" Bruce exclaimed. Rhodey sat Bruce down.

"I'm Peter Parker or Spider-Man." Peter said shyly, smiling meekly.

"Spider-Man? As in the guy the newspapers write about?" Bruce asked. Peter beamed at the comment, nodding his head.

"How long have you been on Earth, Bruce?" Nat asked.

"Two days." Bruce bit the inside of his cheek, his face turning cold. Everyone felt the sudden change. The one big question: What was Bruce hiding?

"I have something to tell you guys, and it's serious. It has been haunting us since the attack on New York, and it's dangerous." Bruce said, going back to fidgeting with his sleeve. He looked back up into the faces of his fellow Avengers, all serious now. 

"Pete, go to your room." Tony said. The boy faced Tony, shocked.

"What?! I have every right to be here!" Peter exclaimed, feeling very much embarrassed in front of Bruce Banner, who he has been a fan of ever since he got interested in Science. 

"This is serious, Peter. Spider-Man is out of this one." Tony said, sighing heavily.

"I'm more than capable to fight with you guys! I can't just sit out an attack on New York!" Peter shouted angrily.

"Peter-"

"What? Why can't I listen?! Why don't you trust me?!" Peter shouted. Tony stood up furiously, Peter as well. 

"Yes, exactly, Peter! You're sixteen years old, I can't afford to loose you, or keep an eye on you every time we go out to fight, because this is dangerous! I need to trust you to stay at home and to not sneak off to help us! This can be dangerous, very dangerous, and I need to know that I can trust you with this kind of information. And for now, no, Peter, you cannot listen to this conversation." Tony said, on the verge of bursting. Peter looked furiously, wanting to find the words to shout back, show Tony that he is capable of fighting. Why couldn't Tony trust him? Didn't he prove himself?

Peter marched off, hitting Tony on the shoulder as he walked past and into the lift, telling FRIDAY to take him to the floor above. He jogged to his room, and slammed the door. 

"So moving on-" Tony started, but by the look Bruce gave him, he couldn't continue, "why are you smiling, Bruce?"

"You said adopted, right?"Bruce asked, Tony turned to him, alarmed, "are you sure he isn't biologically your son?" 

"What the hell, Bruce." Tony looked at the team, who were nodding knowingly.

"I mean-"

"He kinda-"

"Acts similar."

Tony just shook his head in amusement. 

"So- what's going on in the universe?"

"Thanos."

(A/N:) I watched Infinity War yesterday... and I have to say... THIS WAS HEART-BREAKING! I cried and cried and cried, and then I felt empty. I couldn't comprehend what just happened. If you haven't yet watched it, I highly, HIGHLY recommend it, I mean, seriously, what's there to recommend, you are all here for a reason, right?!

I have a really good idea for the future of this story, it's going to be linked to Infinity War, only obviously having Peter as Tony's son. I'll probably start having spoilers in my chapters in the chapter after the next one, just to make sure you guys watched it! I don't want to post any spoilers, but I think that in around two weeks time you'll all have seen it!

I hope you liked this chapter, if you want to chat about Infinity War, write to me! And guys please, no spoilers!