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One of the few things that Bruce looks forward to in his life is being relaxed. When your other half is a creature that thrives on rage, you tend to attempt more relaxing activities than the average person. Bruce Banner has tried green tea, yoga, xanax, incense, and a lot of medicinal marijuana- however the quickest way to get him to calm down is through a long bath.
Something about the smell of body wash and the feeling of water scalding his skin just makes his muscles loosen and his mind declutter. A happy, hazy states that he’s in now as he drags his navy blue towel through his dripping hair.
He tosses the towel in a hamper on the way out of the bathroom, and heads into the cool air of his bedroom. His husband is sitting on the edge of the bed, knee bouncing as he flicks through TV channels. “Anything good on?” Bruce asks, leaning down to give a chaste kiss on his lips.
Thor returns the kiss with a pleased hum, “Not really, thought perhaps I’d watch some cartoons.”
“Okay,” Bruce grabs a book off of his dresser, lifts back the comforter on their bed and slides in. “You know I don’t mind what you put on.” He really means that, whenever he gets into his reading, there’s no taking him out of it. Similar to his lab work, except instead of the pressure to perform science-y things, he can just enjoy good (and sometimes hilariously bad) fiction.
He feels so at peace like this, skin still warm from the bath while his body is buried in bed and his head is buried in a book.
“Can we talk?”
And then suddenly, the peace is over.
“Um, of course.”
Thor has a nervous look on his face, and Bruce feels a bit of dread thinking about how much he doesn’t want this conversation to be about Adam. Thor spends a majority of his time volunteering at the Natural History museum, giving tours to young school children of the astronomy exhibits. The head of the astronomy department, is a very handsome man named Adam Greene. And honestly, Bruce is tired of hearing about him.
He and Thor initially became friends out of convenience, but after spending many lunches with each other, he actually took a liking to the man. Maybe it’s because Adam is one of the few people he knows that he doesn’t share a trauma with, which is a bit refreshing. Too many of his friends bring up painful memories.
So, Thor talks about him a lot, how kind and intelligent that he is. Which Bruce doesn’t really mind because Thor has a new friend, and he’s excited about him, and it’s not like Adam Green will ever go away, so he might as well get used to hearing his name. But, sometimes it can be a little bit annoying.
Which is why he’s mentally crossing his fingers that this “talk” will be about something other than Adam and the aspects of his life that make him better than Bruce.
Thor scrunches his face up, lips parting a few times before he finally speaks, “How do you feel about children?”
Bruce blinks, “I don’t?”
Thor gives an unconvinced half grunt, “You must feel some way, do they… do they spark joy for you?”
“Certainly not joy,” Bruce snorts, pushing up the nose of his glasses. “I’m mostly indifferent to them- I don’t know any other kids except Peter, really. And he’s always been great...M’ starting to think he’s an exception to the ‘crazy teen’ thing.”
A shaky sigh releases from Thor’s lips, “W-what about babies? Do you like babies?”
Bruce gives the pages of his book a frown, “As long as I don’t have to hold them.”
“ Oh .”
“What’s with the sudden interest in kids?” Bruce pauses from his reading to look up, “Is it the museum? Sweetheart, you can take a break whenever you need. I understand how frustrating it can be dealing with snotty noses all day.”
Thor offers a half smile at the concern, only to have his face scrunch up moments later as he huffs, “N-no, it’s not that.”
Bruce closes the book entirely, scooting a bit closer to his husband. “What’s wrong?”
Thor inhales slowly, exhaling even slower before he tells him, “I want to have a baby.”
Oh.
Okay, Thor wants to have a baby.
Bruce blinks, taking a moment to think about what he’s said.
Adoption agencies have a set list of criteria for potential parents and strict rules that need to be followed. A lot of perfectly normal couples don’t get accepted, and even if they did, they have to wait months and months before they can meet their kid.
That’s just for normal people.
Bruce knows agencies will be a little bit more than hesitant to give a newborn to a man that can become a monster, and he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to deal with being the reason that Thor doesn’t get this.
Still, he asks, “You want to adopt a kid?”
Thor shakes his head, “No, I want it to be natural.” He pauses, realizing his slip of words. “Not that adoption isn’t natural , but I'd prefer the process to be more personal.”
Thor wants someone else to carry their baby?
Almost instantly, Bruce feels anxiety thinking about having to meet and trust a stranger to do this huge thing for them. If the surrogate knows about his other half, they’ll only judge and be wary of his control for their entire pregnancy, and he really doesn’t want to have to deal with that.
Okay, so, it’ll have to be someone they know. The pickings are slim, and he wishes it can be Nat because it’d just be easier, but she’s out because of obvious reasons. Given the way things ended between Thor and Jane, she would probably discuss it with him before ultimately saying no, and he wouldn’t blame her at all.
Thor isn’t even close enough to Wanda to ask, but he guesses it won’t hurt to try?
Regardless of who’s doing the carrying, all Bruce cares about is that the baby won’t share any of his DNA. Thor is a literal god and perfect in every way, he doesn’t need Hulk genes ruining his child’s life.
“Did you have someone in mind?” Bruce asks, almost choking on his next words, “As a...a surrogate?”
Thor directs his attention to his hands, playing with his fingers for a moment before he moves on to picking at the calluses on his palms.
Meanwhile, Bruce’s mind is using the silence to swarm with the worst possible answers to his question. Did Thor already decide on someone? Is it someone that Bruce hates?
Oh god , is it someone who makes Bruce uncomfortable ?
“I’ll carry the baby.”
Bruce’s mind stops it’s swarm, just as his body stops all motion. “ What ?”
“While I’m primarily known as the god of thunder, I am also the god of fertility.” Thor begins, arms crossed tight over his chest. “Technically, I can bear children if I want...and, I want.”
Holy shit.
Bruce unfreezes to push up his falling glasses,“ What ?”
Thor’s only response is a noise that crosses between a cough and a laugh.
“W-why’ve you never mentioned this before?” Bruce exclaims with wide eyes, “Have I been able to get you pregnant this entire time?”
All he can think about is how often Thor bottoms when they have sex, and how they haven’t used protection in over seven years. Maybe things would’ve been different if he’d know his husband could’ve gotten pregnant .
“No, no!” Thor rushes, “At my will, a uterus begins to form over time.”
“I- I don’t think that I understand.” Bruce mutters, pulling the corner of his book page down to mark his place. “You currently have a uterus, right now ?”
Thor gives a short nod.
“Well…” His face is curled into a frown, “All of a sudden you just d-decided that you wanted children?”
His husband jerks his head back, blonde brows furrowed deeply causing a crease in his forehead. “I’ve always wanted children.”
Here’s where the disconnect begins.
Bruce Banner has never wanted children. Maybe once or twice he’s thought about them, but not really . Honestly, he’s only ever been with one person long enough to even entertain the idea of a child. And that didn’t end well.
“Sure, but, why do you want them now ?” He doesn’t intend for the words to come out so bitterly, but of course, they do, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Because I do , Bruce. I spend most of my days with children, and in this time I’ve gotten to see how wonderful they are. I had forgotten all of the joy that the children of Asgard gave me, and I want it back, for good.” Thor has straightened his posture a bit, arms crossing over his chest. “Haven’t we been married long enough to start thinking about it?”
“Okay, Thor, yes, it’s an alright time to start thinking about it. Thinking , but- it seems like you already have your mind set on this.”
“Would that be so terrible, if I do?”
“Yes, because-” Bruce cuts off his exclamation with a frustrated groan. However, it’s clear that his poor attempt at restraint is pointless.
The angry expression on Thor’s face has fallen completely, now looking at him with confused eyes and parted lips; he knows exactly what Bruce wanted to say. “You’re telling me that you don’t want to have kids?”
Bruce’s chest begins to ache. Typical, whenever he’s forced to deny Thor of something he truly wants. Honestly, the man is more spoiled than anyone else he’s ever met, which he only has himself to blame, because he can never say no.
Normally, Thor’s impulsive behavior drives him to do crazy things without consulting his husband at all, which Bruce doesn’t mind because, his husband can do whatever he wants (as long as he’s safe ). However, when Thor gets the forethought to ask Bruce for something, he can almost guarantee that the answer will be yes.
“Hey, don’t you think an apartment Uptown will suit us better?”
“Bruce, I found her sniffing at our dumpster, can we please keep her?”
“My love, how do you feel about my friend Adam coming over?”
Regardless of the question, the answer is the same.
Except, sometimes, it’s not.
“Bruce, I want a baby.”
Sometimes he’s forced to say, “No.”
“Ever?” He can’t look at Thor, because if he looks at him for too long, he’ll be compelled to say yes. Like he always does.
“Baby.” Bruce begins with a sigh, “This is the first time you’ve-”
Thor doesn’t listen to the rest of what he has to say, instead standing up from their bed and covering his mouth, a look of panic in his eyes. In moments he’s bursting through their bathroom, and seconds after that, the sound of vomiting echoes throughout their silent room.
On any other day, Bruce would be worriedly running behind his husband, checking to make sure he was okay and kissing his forehead. But now Bruce just feels like it’s not his place, like he doesn’t deserve to comfort him after hurting him so badly.
As soon as the conversation began, he knew it would end with Thor upset. He doesn't hate the idea of having kids with Thor, it just scares him. Brian Banner was an evil man with anger in his heart, and somehow he ended up passing that anger on to Bruce.
And he’s terrified because he knows that he won’t be able to live with himself if he hurt his own child, if he did even an ounce of what his father did to him.
Another screech of vomit sounds, and this time, it can’t be ignored. The brown haired man walks over to their bathroom, and leans against the open doorway. “Are you okay?” Thor is slouched against the toilet bowl, lips parted, and a bit of sweat beading on his forehead.
“Leave me alone.” He rasps, kicking out his foot to slam the door shut.
Bruce’s hand comes up before the door closes on him, and he takes a step into the bathroom, “I’m not leaving you alone, Thor.” He replies in a sigh. “You’re sick, I- I just wanna help you.”
“Bruce, I am not joking. Go the fuck awa -” Thor pushes up more vomit into the toilet, and when he’s finished there’s a deep, intense crease in his forehead. Eventually, soft tears begin to fall from the man’s eyes, they roll down his cheeks and he sucks in the sad liquid that runs past his lips. Bruce sits down next to him on the bathroom floor, a similar frown on his face and tears threatening to spill as well.
“I’m sorry.” He looks over at his crying husband, “I’m so sorry.” Thor shoots him a bitter look in the midst of his sadness, and Bruce’s chest starts to ache even worse than before.
“I hate that I made you cry.” He scoots closer to Thor, cups his face, and wipes away a tear that rolls down his cheek. “Please don’t cry.”
It’s hard for him to take seeing him cry. Seeing Thor Odinson cry, his strongest Avenger, over something that he can’t give him. “Babe, there’s still a possibility that the gamma radiation completely kills all chances of me having a kid.”
Thor sniffles a little, then finally replies to him, “That’s exactly what I thought.”
Bruce’s hands tense, “What do you mean?”
Thor spends a moment looking at him, fear prominent in his eyes before he takes a long breath and mumbles, “I’m pregnant.”
“Pregnant,” Bruce repeats with a hard blink, “How?”
Thor reels his head back, “We fucked and then you ca-”
“I understand that part, I’m talking about your uterus!”
He uses the back of his hand to wipe away the small traces of vomit before speaking, “Spending time among all those children must have caused it to form without me noticing.”
Bruce wants to do something other than stare stupidly at his partner, but the only thing going through his brain is- fuck fuck fuck fUCK FUCK FUCK! “Fuck.” he exhales, breaking eye contact.
“Seriously?” Thor seethes between clenched teeth, using his arm to push himself up and away from the bowl of the toilet.
Bruce’s eyes grow wide, “N-no, not!- I didn’t mean it in that way.” He moves to stand up next to Thor, but the man is already walking out of the bathroom. “Thor!” Bruce exclaims, struggling to his feet. He turns behind him to flush the toilet before exiting after his husband.
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Thor snaps, throwing his arms into the air. “Tell me what you’re sorry for.”
Bruce opens and closes his mouth, then sighs. He crosses his arms over his chest and avoids the burning gaze of Thor.
“Exactly! You’re not sorry, you just don't want me to be upset with you because you’re being so selfish .” Thor exclaims, taking a step toward him.
“I’m selfish? You’re selfish! I’ve never denied you of anything , Thor, you’re probably the most kept man in New York. But the minute- the fucking moment , that I- I decide to tell you no, you get upset with me!” Bruce is fuming, fists tightly by his sides.
“We’re not talking about a car here, this is a child.” Thor huffs, “And since when is this about me and not about you?”
“Since you decided not to mention your ability to bear children, Thor.” Bruce exhales, “How could you keep that from me? H-how could you-”
“Maybe because I knew you’d have a fucking meltdown , like right now.”
“Oh, I’m having a meltdown? That’s rich, coming from the toddler who throws tantrums when things don’t go his way.”
“I threw one tantrum, one time!” Thor argues, crossing his arms.
“It was definitely more than one time.”
“Well, guess what? Soon you’ll have to deal with two toddlers.” A cold chuckle passes Thor’s lips, “Because you being too damaged to start a family doesn’t change the fact that I’m having your baby.”
Silence seems to ring throughout the room.
Bruce pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and begins to lightly gnaw at it. “Right,” he surrenders.
Thor’s face falls, morphing into a look of sadness. He opens his mouth to say something- an apology, maybe, but nothing comes out. Instead he crosses his arms over his body, tilting his head down to stare at his bare feet.
“I can’t even look at you right now.” Bruce admits, turning his body away as his brown eyes begin to blur with tears.
Thor shakes his head, stalking over to their closet and pulling a pair of shoes onto his bare feet. “I should go.” He stands up straight only to pull a coat off a hanger, and casts one more look at Bruce.
His husband is hunched into himself, slightly shaking and from what Thor can tell, the tips of his ears turning green.
Thor forces himself to walk out of the door.
…
“Oh, babe.” Valkyrie sighs, moments after opening her front door. “Didn’t go well?” her body moves to give Thor access to her home, a sympathetic frown on her face.
Thor enters with a shake of his head, pulling his jacket off and hanging it on the coat rack he gave her as a housewarming gift (she used to just throw her things on the floor). “Should’ve seen the look on his face, Val.” Thor rasps, “Looked as if it were the end of the world.”
Brunnhilde sucks her teeth, “Bruce is just being stubborn. He’ll come around, he always does.”
Yes, Bruce always comes around, something he had no problem mentioning in the middle of their argument. Stubborn behavior only seems to occur when he’s being asked to do things that benefit himself. Thor doesn’t even know how long he spent convincing Bruce that you need to eat at least three meals a day. It never really crossed his mind before, but whatever he wants Bruce to do, he does it .
Of course, Thor never thought his behavior was a problem, and Bruce never made it seem like it was a problem- until now.
“He doesn’t want children.” Thor doesn’t know if he’s telling this to Valkyrie or himself, but it hurts either way.
Brun turns around to look at him with a furrowed brow, “What? When did he tell you that ?”
Thor plops down onto the couch, “A minute before he discovered the pregnancy, maybe.”
“Dude!” She slaps his shoulder, “You’re supposed to talk about kids before you get pregnant, even I know that.”
“I know, but it feels like we’ve only just caught our breath. And, I just assumed we were on the same page.” Children have always been important to him, but in the aftermath of the war, it was more important that he and Bruce find a way to recover.
When Thor was the prince of Asgard, a big part of his responsibilities were making himself well known among his people and their children.
Before he’d lost his way due to arrogance, children were invited to the castle and read stories by their future king. Loki would often join him, sometimes to turn into animals that were mentioned in the story and add forgotten details, but mostly he’d turn into snakes and try to frighten them. And although his arrogance has died over the years, the pride Thor took in the bonds that he made with the children of his home, will never falter.
Even when he was child, he and Sigyn would imagine being married together with a big Asgardian family of seven children. Aaric, Ama, Brand, Darby, Gimle, Kirk, and Riodhr - named mostly by Sigyn, but only because Thor was terrible at coming up with names (she still teases him for his addition of Gimle ).
Now, Odin was never in the running for Galaxy’s Best Father, but he still loved his sons and daughter, and he tried to do what he thought was best for them. The areas where his father lacked, Thor is determined to thrive in.
Bruce not wanting that, breaks his heart.
“What’re you thinking?” Brun questions softly, guiding him away from his racing mind.
Thor takes a deep breath, vision of his brown skinned friend beginning to blur as tears fill his eyes. “I love him. More than anything or anyone, and it-it kills me that I’ve hurt him because I didn’t mean to, and I just want him t-to be as happy.” He shakes his head, “But if he really doesn’t want our child, I don’t know what I’ll-” his voice cracks as another wave of tears fall down his face. “I just want him to be happy.”
Brunnhilde sits down next to him on the couch, a sigh escaping her lips as she wraps her arm around her taller friend’s shoulders.”You need to talk to him, Thor. Next time you get angry with each other, you can’t just say things to hurt him, you have to actually try to reach a solution.”
“I know.” He groans, wiping a stray tear away from his cheek, “I’m just afraid.”
The brown skinned woman next to him smiles, “Trust me, if facing your problems were easy, everyone on Earth would be fully functioning and have a lot less baggage.”
Thor smiles back at her. Brun has always been a good friend to him, regardless of their rocky start. She’s supported him since she found out about the pregnancy, sensing that there was something weird about him and then he pretty much had to confess.
It was different with Loki, though.
When Thor looked down at that positive test, the next thing he knew he was on a plane to California. It was easy enough to explain to Bruce, that he missed his brother and wanted to catch up with him. Those things are true of course, but they weren’t the reason his hands were shaking the entire plane ride.
Loki was certainly surprised to see him, meaning he was more than a little annoyed that Thor didn’t bother even sending a text before he showed up on his doorstep. Still, he didn’t think it was too strange, they’ve done weirder things to each other. They’d only be talking for ten minutes before Thor told him.
“I’m pregnant.”
It was the first time Thor said it out loud, and the words felt so strange on his tongue.
“Oh?” An arched eyebrow, and then, “Okay.” And that's probably the best reaction Thor could’ve hoped for from his brother.
Almost losing your only family left really opened their eyes to how much they honestly loved and cared about each other. Loki still acts like a prick, and at times Thor can be arrogant, but they accept each other in ways they didn’t before.
He didn’t say much else about it, other than that he expected kids to come a lot sooner in their relationship. Thor didn’t have much to say to that, but he never thought the reason for that was because Bruce didn’t want kids at all .
It was really comforting, talking to his brother, and if he weren’t on the other side of the country, he’d probably be on his doorstep again.
The sound of a text notification snaps him out of the memory, and when he looks back to Brun, she’s staring at her screen with a small smile.
“What? Is that Bruce?” Thor sits up, leaning over to get a peek at her screen.
Brun turns the phone around to face him.
Bruce
Hey, please tell Thor that I love him more than anything and that he can come home when he’s ready.
Thor feels a wave of relief crash over him. Bruce isn’t mad anymore. Bruce isn’t mad, which means he can still talk and try to resolve this shitty situation.
…
Bruce paces across their bedroom for ten minutes, angry, mind racing, and ready to cry all in one. Reeling with thoughts and worries for a moment, then back to normal.
Thor is pregnant.
Thor, his husband, is pregnant.
Bruce impregnated his husband, Thor.
Holy shit.
Thor was going to have a baby, a real life baby that would be born and grow and be able to speak and walk and- and it would be half of Bruce.
Which means that there’s a very large possibility that some of the Hulk will be passed onto the child. He’s already ruined this baby’s life and he hasn’t even met it yet. Bruce flexes his fingers, willing away the green hue that's begun to spread across his knuckles.
He can’t do this.
Finally, he leaves their bedroom and stomps into the kitchen. He slows down only to pour a cup of cold coffee into a Hulk themed mug that Thor got him for Christmas. After taking a sip, he’s disappointed to find that it tastes like shit, but not surprised. His husband made it this morning, with no tact as usual.
Bruce usually makes it, but sometimes Thor likes to be sweet and try too. He’s gotten a lot better at it over the years, but there’s still something about it that’s just off . Bruce can remember the first time too, Thor poured the cup and waited with anticipation for Bruce to take the first sip. It was difficult to hide his grimace, but he managed and Thor had no idea his taste buds were in agony. Bruce thanked him and then he smiled, and then they kissed, and all thoughts of all shitty coffee and his agony drifted away.
Bruce takes another sip. He really misses him.
They haven’t ever really been a couple who gets into fights or petty arguments. Tony always liked to tease about how they were robot husbands, but Bruce feels like maybe that’s a projection of the bitterness in his own marriage. Sometimes they argue over serious things, but Bruce never lets himself get angry enough for the Hulk to come out.
Although he hasn’t hurt Thor since Sakaar, and he never will again, he still gets worried. Most of the time, he has a tight grip on the other side of himself. Hulk and he understand each other, they’re friends now. They’ve been through enough shit now and Hulk wouldn’t hurt Thor either, they both love him.
But fuck, a baby?
A fucking baby, that can get him mad and trigger something awful happening?
He can’t do this. Not as if he hasn’t thought about it before.
With Betty, when things were more simple and he wasn’t worried for his life, and the only thing that mattered was that he was in love. She wanted kids, so he wanted them too, and they talked about living in their future home away from society and all of their kids. Bruce only wanted one, but Betty was so ambitious- she joked about how she’d never stop having children.
And now she’s dead.
Holy shit, he can’t do this. Not that he wants to, anyway.
Kids don’t always make things better, he’s seen that firsthand with Tony and Steve. They adopted Peter in hopes that it would fix the shitty things between them, and the sweet boy just made it worse. After they got divorced, Peter started to come over more often. He loves having him, and they spend a lot of time together in his lab. Bruce likes to show him experiments and listen to his ideas.
Sometimes they talk and Peter cries, other times they don’t talk at all.
Bruce doesn't want that for a potential child, and he doesn’t know what he’d do if he weren’t with Thor, especially if they’d be leaving behind someone who’ll have to suffer the consequences of their split.
There’s no way he can do this.
His father was a cruel man, that’s something that he can never forget. The image of him slapping around his mother is ingrained in Bruce’s mind, the feeling of those hands on his body will forever be burned into his skin. Those are the values that he’s left with.
Bruce doesn’t know how to be a good man, how to be a good father. There’s no one that can tell him the right things to do, and he’s terrified. Holy shit, he’s terrified.
As the minutes pass by and Thor still has yet to come home, Bruce takes another bath to calm his nerves and settle the flickerings of green on his irises. The water is scalding again, but he doesn’t mind. It feels like a tiny price to pay for the pain he inflicted on the man that he loves. Between the tub and the sink hangs a framed photo of the two of them. Bruce is sitting on Thor’s shoulders, looking rather apprehensive at the position, but excited nonetheless.
He thought it was kinda weird to put photos in the bathroom, but Thor told him that on Asgard it’s always good to have multiple shrines to your loved ones, even ones in strange places.
Bruce smiles at the memory.
A lot of good in his life has been influenced by his husband. He sleeps more, eats at regular hours, and doesn’t nearly kill himself over his work anymore- sometimes he even asks for help. When he gets migraines, Thor likes to rub his hands and when he has panic attacks, Thor brings him water and helps him breathe.
Being in love is nice.
Strange too, because Bruce never thought anyone would love him post Hulk. The idea of someone accepting every part of him just seemed impossible. Yet, that’s what Thor does.
When they first met, Bruce didn’t care too much for him. Obviously, it was fascinating as an atheist to meet and fight alongside an actual god, but other than that they barely spoke. Even as they started to become friends, they never got too close. It wasn’t until Ragnarok that they actually got to know each other, to care about each other. Bruce learned a lot about Thor while they searched for a new Asgardian home, his limits and triggers, and how hard it was for him to sleep.
He knew in his mind that he would fight for Thor again, and again, and again. And then realized that fighting for someone is a lot like loving them.
Every moment between them made him feel like he was on fire. Their hands would linger on each other through casual encounters and Bruce’s stomach would erupt with butterflies. He was terrified of ruining their friendship, of being rejected and alone again, but his fear was no match for his desire.
After months of pining, Bruce made the best mistake of his life and kissed him.
Bruce may always say yes, but Thor has never given him a reason to say no. Thor takes care of him, and he takes care of Thor, because that’s the way things work when you love someone.
And he does, love him.
Bruce loves Thor so much that he can’t imagine a life without him in it. And anyone who thinks that a baby would make him change his mind is crazy.
He can do this.
Because he tried with one person, but she wasn’t the right person. And Thor just is , and their life is so perfect and simple , both of them can sleep at night and their main concern is what they’re eating for dinner every night. And maybe after this kid, he’ll want more, maybe he’ll fall in love with the idea of raising children with Thor.
He can do this.
Because children can be good, he’s seen that firsthand with Tony and Steve. Adopting Peter didn’t fix their marriage, but it was probably the best thing they’ve done for themselves. Tony is at his happiest when he’s with his son and it certainly shows. Peter is this wonderful, amazing kid who’s also a genius, and kind , and funny. He knows that Steve is terribly proud of the way his son turned out- Bruce wants to feel that pride too.
There’s no way he’s not doing this.
Because fuck his father and anyone else who makes him feel like he can't! Bruce doesn’t know how to be a good father, but neither does Thor. They’ll learn together , helping each other and figuring things out from poorly written parenting books. He’s going to be a better father than his ever was.
Bruce can do this because he won’t be doing it alone.
When he gets out of the bathtub, the first thing he does is grab his phone off of their bed. There’s only one place his husband will be right now.
He texts Valkyrie.
Bruce
Hey, please tell Thor that I love him more than anything and that he can come home when he’s ready.
…
As Thor enters his home, the first thing he notices is the smell of food. He puts his house keys in a bowl beside their front door, and takes another step inside. The kitchen shows no signs of being cooked in, completely spotless and honestly cleaner then when he left.
He sighs at the realization that his husband stress cleaned.
Walking into the dining room, he sees that the table has been set for two, Chinese takeout on their fancy plates and a bottle of wine in the middle of the table.
“Hey.” A deep voice rumbles from behind him.
He turns around.
Bruce is standing with his hands clasped behind his back and hesitant smile on his face, “You're home.”
“I am.” Thor replies in a hard tone, trying his best to remember how angry he felt an hour ago, how much he wanted Bruce to feel guilty about his reaction to the pregnancy. However as he looks at his husband again, he realizes that Bruce was probably doing that on his own.
The emotions that had been brewing are slightly harder to hold onto now.
“I ordered, um-” He steps toward Thor, then scoots past him to gesture to the dinner table. “I- food.” Sweat shines on his forehead while his weight shifts from each of his feet and his fingers fidget with a nervousness that Thor’s grown fond of.
He smiles at the sight, “I can see that.” Then instantly curses himself for being so soft.
Bruce stands awkwardly for a moment before he speaks. “I’m sorry, I
“I’m so sorry, baby.” Bruce blurts after an awkward moment of silence. “I’m a selfish idiot, and I-I’m sorry, and I love you.”
Thor sighs, “I love you too-”
“N-no, I gotta get this all out. It’s like vomit, I’m not gonna feel better until it’s all gone.” He takes a breath.
“When I told you that I didn’t want kids, it was partly the truth, but it was also a lie. I don’t know, they’ve never been something I thought that we needed, so I just wrongly assumed that you felt the same way. And I’m sure there are a multitude of reasons for me to be against taking this step with you, but it all boils down to my fear.” Bruce chews on his lower lip, “I’m really scared, baby. I can’t stop thinking about if the baby is born like me . If I happen to pass on the worst part of myself, and the baby has to suffer for the rest of their life. I’m just a big, selfish coward who’s so so terrified of fucking up.”
Thor feels his heart wrench, “Me too.” He rushes out.
“I know that, now.” Bruce tells him with an anxious laugh, “B-but I also know that things are a lot less scary when I’m doing them with you .” His brown eyes begin to well with tears, “I want to do this.”
Thor doesn’t know what to say, joy hits his body and clogs his brains so he’s a bit far from forming coherent sentences. Instead he manages, “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Bruce confirms, nodding his head. “I can’t promise that I’ll be perfect, but I’m gonna try my best.”
And suddenly, it’s like Thor can breathe again. He takes his husband’s hand, “That’s all I can ask for.” Then he frowns, “I was an asshole, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did, it was mean and unfair and-and I really should've told you about my occasional uterus, but sometimes I forget about it because I don’t use it, but- nonetheless, I’m sorry. I love you.”
“It’s okay.” Bruce grins, “I love you.”
A few moments pass where they just look into each other's eyes before they lean in for a kiss. Lips connected in joy, excitement, and love.
“We’re having a baby.” Thor smiles when they pull away from each other. Bruce peppers sweet kisses all over his face and neck, “We are.”
Then, he pulls away with a tiny smirk on his face. “You wanna go make another one?”
“Later.” Thor denies with a quiet giggle, “You ordered me one of my favorite meals, I want to enjoy it.”
Bruce looks at him with a dopey smile, “Okay, let’s have dinner.”
Everything isn’t perfect, but as they eat together in a happy silence, all they can think about is how soon they’ll have a product of their love. And that’s more than enough.