Although Tony had indeed been correct in that he had asked a nurse to write down Thing 1 for the older twin and Thing 2 for the younger, that is not what their names were on their birth certificate. Tony and Natasha agreed to name their older daughter Anastasia Marie and their younger daughter Katerina Elizaveta, and nicknamed them Anya and Katya.
Natasha rolled over in bed and awoke abruptly. For a moment, she felt disoriented and blinked as she sat up. Tony stood over in front of the bassinet the twins were sharing, talking softly to them as they fussed. Because of their premature birth, they'd had to stay in the NICU for about a week but they quickly demonstrated that despite their early arrival and small size they were healthy. The delay in taking them home had actually worked out well because it gave them a head start in cleaning and doing repairs on the mansion.
"Oh, look, Mommy's awake," he said, grinning over at Natasha. "Anya, you get to hang out with me while Mommy feeds Katya first." He carefully passed his younger daughter over to Natasha.
Natasha smiled and sat up to breastfeed Katya. Although it was far too early to discern true personalities, it did seem that Katya was milder than her twin. At any rate, she was less noisy and demanding… perhaps Anya took after Tony. The thought amused her and brought a smile to her lips.
Tony gently held Anya and spoke to her, managing to soothe her fussing. "Tash… I've been thinking."
"Hmm?" she asked, looking up from Katya to glance over at him. "About what?" Her gaze clouded with concerns. "No nightmares?"
"What? Oh, no," he said, shaking his head. "That's not why I was up. I mean, I have my normal trouble sleeping and I might peek in on the lab later but I figure that's actually a good thing. Because I get to be awake anyway and help you take care of them, you know? But no, what I was actually thinking about was… if you wanted to go back to work, I'll stay home with them. Once they can drink your milk from a bottle, I mean."
Natasha stared at him in surprise. "You want to be… like a stay at home father?"
He smiled sheepishly. "Something like that. I can do a lot of my work from home and if I have consults we can swap out but… I know you miss the field work. And plus, I don't want to be like my dad. I want to be there for our girls and I want them to know now – not decades later – that I love them."
She was silent, because it was true. She loved her daughters and wanted to be a good mother… but she did miss her work.
Tony tickled Anya's little foot. "We don't live in the Dark Ages. It's not like you have to stay home. And well, there's some perks to have married a billionaire, right?"
"Some," she agreed with a little smirk. It softened to a genuine smile. "Let's see how the next couple months go and then… if I still want to work, we'll figure out the arrangements."
He smiled at her, and she felt an overwhelming sense of love for him welling up inside her. Even with his hair sticking up in crazy spikes and wearing a pair of old pajama pants she couldn't convince him to get rid of, he was still incredibly handsome.
"I love you," she blurted out, and he looked surprised. He knew she loved him, but she didn't say it frequently and he didn't mind. He still knew how she felt.
"I love you too, Tash," he said tenderly, going to sit next to her and cradling Anya in his arms. He leaned over to kiss his wife. "Hey, baby?"
"Yes?" she asked after returning the kiss.
"How much time… total… will you think I have to share your boobs with the girls?" he asked idly.
Natasha stared at him blankly, and then her lips twitched.
Well, it was nice to know some things never changed.
Author's Note: One again, thank you to those who have been following this story and this series! I read each of your comments and appreciate all of the feedback. I don't think this will be last story of Mr. and Mrs. Stark, though I'm not sure when the next one out will be - hopefully something for the holidays! :)
