A/N:

RFK22: Clint needs a getaway...thanks for reviewing my friend! :D

Irishbrneyes: Aww. You and your husband sound so cute together. :) I love hearing things like that, minus the...hashing out problems in a public place of course haha. Bruce and Tasha working it out horizontally?...To be continued. :) Me too, I love the friendship between Banner and Stark. Thank you so much for your support!

Nova Fearnewood: LOL yes I have heard that song by Black Sabbath. And Thank You sooo much!

La Madone: Aw Thanks! Thanks for always reviewing! :)

Natasha smirks at her father's comment, leaving a cup of coffee on the table for him;

"It wasn't that big of a deal. I've been through worse Papa."

He nods, laying down the paper. His eyes shift up to the red-head in front of him, slightly shocked over how put together she was at 7 in the morning.

Natasha barely paid attention to his analyzing, busy watching the clock and waiting for Bruce to come down the stairs. She had Morning Side on her mind, still trying to figure out how to keep Ivan out of the loop.

She glances over when she hears him comment;

"That top is a little tight."

Natasha glances downwards;

"It's not that tight."

He shrugs, sipping his coffee;

"Wherever you're going later, you're not leaving like that."

She smirks, 'yessing' him all morning;

"Okay Papa."

"What time did you and the Banner boy get home last night?"

"And 7:30, 8:00, why?"

He shakes his head 'no', before going back to his coffee;

"I was just, wondering. When does he, um, turn into...that thing?"

Natasha runs a hand through her hair, careful about her words;

"Um, the Hulk? When he feels threatened."

"Some sort of defense mechanism?"

"Yeah kind of."

Ivan crosses his arms, foot propped on the chair next to him;

"So if, you're on a mission, and you're enemy is attacking enough to make him feel 'threatened,' he'd change? Right then and there?"

"Well...' she sighs, nervously leaning forward on the table, 'It only happens when his pulse rate gets too high. Sometimes we can calm him back down before he gets to that point. And you know what Papa, the green guy's not so bad."

He nods without a word. She tugs the back of her neck;

"I mean, sometimes Bruce needs to let loose for a little while just for his own sanity and so, when I let him explode, I get along great with the Hulk...you'll catch on."

"And, Bruce respects you Natalia?"

"Do I have patience for a guy who doesn't?"

He smirks over her feisty attitude;

"I have to ask Malyshka. I was hoping...you'd meet someone like Alexei."

She rolls her eyes nervously, heading over to the oven;

"I knew you were going to bring him up. And don't compare him to Dr. Banner. They're two completely different people Ivan."

"Okay, okay, but you know where I'm coming from."

She sighs, "I know, but please don't talk about him in front of my team. Bruce is the only one who knows about it and I'd like to keep it that way."

"I don't blame you. And you trust him enough to do that?"

Natasha shrugs, taking her raspberry danishes out to cool down;

"He trusts me with stuff no one knows about. He's a good guy Papa. Just, try to get to know him-"

"Little Red?"

Natasha grinds her teeth when she hears his voice, tossing her knife in the sink before giving him a sing-song;

"What..."

Ivan snickers, sipping his coffee while Tony rants from behind him;

"I need to talk to you for a minute."

"I'm coming...breevok."

Petrovich gives her a smile when she passes, quietly waiting at the table. He checks the clock, contorting his mouth when his eyes rove about the living in room eager to sit the physicist down for a friendly chat.

He gives Steve a friendly smile watching the captain traipse in a half hour later;

"Morning Mr. Petrovich. How are you Sir?"

"Oh fine and yourself?"

He leans over to let Thor sneak past, shaking his pancake mix;

"Great thank you."

The demigod rustles through the cabinets, checking his last container of pop tarts;

"Patriotic one, it would appear I am out of sustenance."

Rogers gives a sigh, "Don't panic Thor, I'm making pancakes this morning."

He smirks, parking himself beside Ivan, "Glorious news my friend. For I have become, as you say, 'hungry'."

Ivan lifts an eyebrow at his comment, hearing Pepper behind him;

"Hi Steve, where's Tony?"

He points, "Talking to Natasha."

Potts squeezes herself between the chair and Rogers, groaning while she clutches her stomach. Thor contorts his mouth sympathetically;

"Are you well Lady Potts?"

She nods, "I'm alright, just a little nauseas that's all. Is Bruce up yet?"

Steve shrugs moving Romanoff's breakfast from his workspace;

"Probably not. He was in the lab all night with Stark."

Pepper sighs, running a hand through her hair, "They kept you up?"

"Not really. Aside from the mini explosion I didn't hear a thing."

"Oh, he told me about that. I'm sorry Steve."

"No big deal. I'm used to it."

Ivan sits back in his chair with his arms crossed, "Does that happen often?"

Thor chuckles, "Metal man and the large green angry one always linger with one another at absurd hours of the night on the highest floor of the mansion, attempting to create things of the scientific nature."

Ivan nods, earing his 'daughter's' mouth running when she storms back into the room. She sounds exasperated, snatching up her keys before clarifying;

"Come on Pepper! We're going out for breakfast."

She lifts her eyebrows, "Why?"

Natasha shrugs, "I don't know, do you want to get out for a little while?"

"Just the two of us?"

Romanoff lifts her eyes up towards the clock, eager to finish her project with Pepper and get back to her Vrach. Her eyes shift around the room, watching Tony waltz back into the room with the biggest smile on his face before answering his CEO;

"Yes why. We really haven't done anything together. And it'll be quick because I have something else to take care of."

Potts gives a nod, ready to take her up on the offer. She hands her the keys before heading towards the elevator;

"You can start the car Pepper I'll be right out."

Tony tugs on his cheeks dramatically, giving her evil looks when she repeats herself;

"I'll be right out!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

She knocks on his door, giving him a friendly smile when he holds the door open with his foot;

"Hi Natasha."

She smirks, reaching her hand up to run her hand through his hair. His loose curls are still damp from his shower, but much tamer than they had been last night. Natasha shakes her head without a word, watching his brown eyes shift up towards her while he finishes rolling up his sleeves to their normal length;

"Tony asked me to take Pepper to 'Tiffany's' this morning."

"Oh."

She watches him gnaw at his cheek, taking up the glasses from his front pocket to clean them with the bottom of her shirt; "Is that okay Vrach?"

"Yeah...it's fine-"

He looks up at her perfect green eyes, caught off guard when she points to a button on his top;

"You're one off."

Bruce sighs, realizing he needs to start over before ramming his hands into his pocket to avoid any wringing;

"We can talk later, right?"

She smirks, replacing his corrective lenses to his front pocket, "Of course."

He nods, pressing his head against his door, "You look, um, all done up."

Natasha crosses her arms, "Thanks. Why do you look like a tornado hit."

Bruce lifts his shoulders, "Nerves...? I still have to ask your father about-"

"You don't have to. Clint said he'd go with us so we wouldn't have to tell him anything."

"You asked him already...-"

"Persuaded. I told him he could bring Maria if he wanted so this way they can go their way and we can talk like you wanted. Okay Vrach?"

"Alright..."

"When I get back, Potts will jump out and I'll wait outside for you and Clint. Maria's going to meet him there."

"I'll ask Tony to watch your father so Barton and I can sneak out the back door."

"Works for me."

He nods, chills running down his spine out of nervousness, "Okay. Natasha?"

"Yes..." She starts at the bottom, shifting one button at a time so they line up correctly.

"Um, I asked Tony about staying last night."

"And?"

"He said we could."

Her tongue rolls over her upper teeth, halfway done readjusting his attire, "We."

"I'm sorry Natasha, I didn't mean-"

She lays a finger over his mouth, "No, I'm glad you did. Thank you."

"Um...you're welcome...so you're going to 'Tiffany's' with Pepper?"

She nods, reaching her head up to kiss him 'goodbye', "I'll be right back. Love you."

"Call me when you're coming home?"

"You want me to?"

He nods, "If you could."

Natasha widens her eyes after checking her phone, "Bruce, I seriously don't have your phone number. How did that happen?"

He smirks, waiting for his to turn on, "Because we're always together...which isn't a bad thing, actually. Right?"

"Not at all Vrach."

Bruce tugs at his hair, "Um, Morning Side is okay for later? You can pick, honestly I'll take you anywhere as long as we can talk. And it doesn't have to be long, especially if your father's going to get twitchy."

"Of course Vrach. And Ivan is nothing to be afraid of. What's your number moya lyubov?"

Stark nudges his friend, pointing to the image on his phone, "Little Red sent me a pic, wanna see it?"

Bruce looks over the rim of his glasses, snickering at her message underneath. Tony makes a face;

"What?"

"I can't repeat it." He scrolls down, pointing to the words.

"Ha! Oh that's priceless!"

Clint leans over, feeling left out for the most of the evening;

"What? You guys finally speaking English again?"

Tony hands him his phone, "Look, Nat's sending me messages and pictures of crap Pepper likes."

"Can I see it?"

"Yeah here."

Barton snickers, nudging Bruce's shoulder, "Pay attention buddy, you're next!"

Tony nods, chuckling over the comment, "Seriously Greeny, you should ask her to pick out something for herself."

Bruce refuses to smile, swiping his finger across the screen in pure nervousnes;

"I'm- We're not ready for that."

Clint just narrows his eyes, leaning his elbow on Banner's shoulder, "What, are you kidding me? She tells me everything, trust me. The instant you pop the question she'll knock you to the ground...in a good way! And what about you Mr. Millionaire? What if Pep says 'no'?"

"Please! Whose gonna say no to this beautiful face? I've NEVER been rejected by anyone okay!"

"You're so confident! Why don't you share some of that with Banner...

"So he can finally 'get it on' with the red-head?"

"Well, 'Tasha would love it...hey, you alright Bruce? We're just kidding."

Tony chuckles, "Not really! Come on, tell me you don't want to get married, get laid, have kids-"

Bruce sighs, still overly serious, "Drop it Tony."

He leans forward, "Buddy?"

Barton rolls a thumb over a muscle on his back, "Easy doc, you're all tense."

"Um...Brucey? You okay?"

"No thanks for asking."

Barton twirls his tongue, moving his fingers in an attempt to keep him calm, "You better shut up Stark...Bruce you want to vent?"

He shakes his head 'no', closing his eyes to breathe. He holds his head, feeling dizzy out of nowhere.

Ivan knocks on the open door, seeing the two-some huddled around the physicist, "You alright Bruce?"

He panics, eyes vague and ready to run when he mumbles, "Oh god..."

Tony lays a hand on his shoulder, turning his friend around gently so that he can face him, "Breathe. You're alright...trust me I know the feeling-"

"-No you don't." His eyes shut tight with his head lowering, half-way between either transforming or another anxiety attack. Tony could try to be empathetic all he wanted, he didn't know what it felt like to be overwhelmed with emotions that constantly needed to be repressed whether he wanted to or not, to lose a spouse, or a child. To constantly feel like he was under a microscope, feeling like Natasha deserved a lot more than he could offer...no, Tony didn't know that feeling.

Bruce mumbles, heading for the door with Stark two steps behind him, "I need air."