A/N: Sorry it's a day later than expected. Your reviews are the biggest booster, thank you all so much. Hope you like the update! :)
Title based off of Amy Grant's, 'Every Heartbeat'. I picked it when I heard these lines:
...You're not asking for the world
I'm not asking for perfection.
Just a love that's well designed
For passing the test of time...
Every heartbeat bears your name
Loud and clear they stake my claim
Ask anyone and they'll tell you it's true
Every heartbeat belongs to you.
*Chapter Warning* for language and adult conversation.
. . . . . . .
RFK22: Aw. Ivan's got to see some good in Banner right? Yes, wait until Natasha finds out...it won't be pretty that's for sure.
Irishbrneyes: You're right. Why do Daddy's expect perfection? We're all human, nobody's perfect. Thanks for sharing that with me.
ecotiger: Thank you! I'm glad you were surprised. Hope you like the update. :D
Nova Fearnewood: Haha, getting intense here. Ivan needs to take a chill pill. Keep those fingers crossed for Pepper! btw, I feel the same way about your stories. I'm always like, "OMG Update! I must read it now!"
Eclaire Stones: Thanks for reviewing! This chapter shall answer your question. :)
Pikatainment c.c: LOL Thank you so much! I really appreciate your review. Hope you like the new chapter.
Natasha waves half sarcastically when he drives off with Maria, snickering over the look on his face;
"Bye Clint."
He glances over his shoulder, determined to have the last word, "Behave."
Maria flips her hair over her shoulder, addressing Bruce who stands behind Romanoff;
"Take care Dr. Banner."
He leans over to whisper in the ear of the red-head, waiting until they drive off before saying anything;
"Barton's interested in Agent Hill?"
She smirks, turning around to face him, "Define 'interested'."
"As in a, 'getting to know you' sort of way."
"You're funny. Clint's not like you Vrach." Natasha scoffs before plucking a flower while she leads him down her usual path.
He tugs at the back of his neck, watching the gentle breeze run through her hair;
"Is, that a compliment?"
She smirks, slowly placing one foot directly in front of the other, while she plucks the petals of her flower, one by one;
"Just another one of my observations,' she pauses, waiting until he's walking beside her, 'So, stop me if I'm getting into things I shouldn't, but can I ask you a few things?"
He nods, "Yeah, no problem. I uh, have a few things to talk to you about anyways. And you can stop me if I make you uncomfortable."
"Alright, um. You first."
Bruce feels himself jump when she takes his hand into hers. He clutches her fingers with a gentle grip;
"Ladies first Natasha."
"Okay um, well...it's silly actually."
He smirks when he hears her innocent giggle;
"No, I want to hear it."
"Well, how do you feel about cats?"
He tries not to laugh, "Cats? Their um...unique. Why are you asking?"
"Because...I was thinking of getting myself a pet, maybe next month, and I wanted to make sure you don't mind."
"Why would I mind? You're just going to have to ask the landlord."
She wrinkles her nose, "Yeah,and Tony's got a lot on his mind right now...I guess it'll have to wait a little longer."
"Any um, particular reason you want a cat so badly?"
"I had one growing up...well, actually it was a stray. But I remember I really liked having her around. I mean, I wouldn't mind a dog either, but a German Shepherd or a Retriever of some sort. I'm not sure yet. Point is I want a pet,' she shrugs with a chuckle, 'I guess I have time to think it over and decide what I want. Anyways, you're turn Vrach."
"Hm, okay. I notice your father calls you by your real name, I was just wondering if you had a preference."
"I like 'Natasha'. 'Natalia' just brings back red room memories I don't have the heart to tell Ivan about. It just felt better to make the change once I got out of there and to try and put all those negative memories behind me. And while we're on the subject of names, any particular reason you go by your middle name? 'Robert's' nice."
His head lowers, trying to smirk and muffle the memory;
"Um...my, father was the only one who ever called me that...Well, when it wasn't something I can't repeat."
"And your mother?"
"Mom always called me 'Bruce', at least, for as far back as I can remember."
She smiles, resting her head on his shoulder;
"I like 'Bruce'."
He smirks, kissing the top of her head before she continues;
"Your turn?"
"Alright. Natasha, I know this sounds a little strange, but, how do you feel about marriage? In general! As far as commitment is concerned- I'm not saying anything, I just- I'm just curious."
She lefts her head up, eyes focused on the pavement. The same question twice in one day? She could've sworn it was a sign;
"I uh- I think, that, if two people really love each other and have a strong desire to be with one another for the rest of their lives then, it's something to consider. You?"
He nods, "Same thought. As long as their ready for it."
She shrugs, "So, what do you think the couple would need to be successful?"
"I-uh...well love, loyalty, they would need to communicate often, to be responsible...What do you think?"
"It seems like you covered the good ones. They would also need to be self-sacrificing. Considerate, kind, patient with one another. Ready to resolve any arguments quickly. Spend quality time with their mate."
His head lowers with a smile, "If I didn't know better I'd think you memorized a script."
Natasha nudges him with her side;
"Anyway! How's Ivan treating you?"
He shakes his head, running a hand through his hair;
"A lot better than I'm used to."
"Did Papa say anything to you about heading off this weekend? He's got something to take care of."
He lifts his eyes upwards, "No."
"Well he is. So you can breathe a little."
"He's not that bad."
"He can be."
Natasha grips his bicep with her opposite arm, squeezing his hand tighter. He presses his forehead against hers. She hums to herself, missing his constant hugs and kisses since her father moved in.
Bruce gently lifts her chin, running a hand over her shoulder while he kisses her slowly. Her eyes close hand over his chest to feel for a heart beat. Natasha lowers her head when he stops, returning his forehead to hers;
"You okay Natasha?"
She glances upwards, hazel-green orbs focused on him;
"Bruce, how badly do you want a family?"
He sighs, picking up on the way her facial expression never changes. He knew how badly he wanted children and how much it plagued Romanoff that she could never have any.
Banner gives her a smirk, brushing her cheek with his thumb;
"A couple is considered a 'family' too you know."
Her eyes shift from off of him, leaning into his gentle hand;
"I just, know how much you love children and, I know that's something I...can't give you."
He watches her clench her lips together, eyes filling before he's able to brush her stray tear;
"Natasha, please don't cry. Having you in my life is a lot more than I could've ever hoped for. You're still my everything. You're all I really want Miss Romanoff, I just hope you feel the same way."
"Of course I do."
Her eyes close when he lifts her chin up towards his, supporting the back of her head when he presses his mouth over hers. She wraps her arms around his neck to pull him closer.
Bruce lets her burry her face in his shoulder, brushing the back of her head while she breathes hard to hold back the tears. His opposite hand rubs her lower back, practically whispering;
"I love you Natasha. I'll always be here for you, I promise."
She inhales that comforting scent from off his jacket, feeling a tender hand rub over her neck;
"I love you Vrach."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pepper shuts her passenger door, head low when she subconsciously lays a hand over her mid-section. She holds her head with her opposite hand, too focused on her own dizzy spell to notice Tony staring from the driver's seat;
"Pep? You alright?"
She stammers, dropping her hands to her lap while she rubs over her knees;
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sort of hungry actually."
He smirks, "Alright, where we headed? Steakhouse, seafood, what do you want."
She lowers her eyebrows, eyes on the floor, "Tacos?"
Stark gives her a look, "Tacos? Seriously..."
Pepper shrugs, "What? I feel like having tacos."
"Since when?"
"Since...now."
He sits back in his chair, arms crossed;
"Are you serious?"
She lowers her head, studying her nails;
"You act like I asked for squid or something...actually you know what I really want right now?"
He lifts an eyebrow, "I'm listening."
"Pickles."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"I thought you said you hated pickles?"
"Well, I'm feeling pickles."
"And tacos..."
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes."
He tilts his head, "So, I'm taking to the supermarket..."
"Yes."
His eyes widen, raising the volume on his radio;
"You're scaring me Pep."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Let me just send a quick text to Clint, let him know we walk back on our own."
He nods with his head over hers, rested on his shoulder. Her feet are up on the bench, leaning into her friend with his arm wrapped around her lower back.
Natasha chuckles, showing him a picture Barton sent to her;
"Look, Clint took Maria out for lunch. It's a picture of a picture. Do you know where that is?"
He smirks, shaking his head 'no'. She swipes her finger, enlarging the image;
"Budapest, Hungary."
"You, have no intention of sharing any details of that little mission do you?"
She smirks, refusing to give him a verbal response. His sarcastic tone is evident, even though it's a legitimate question;
"And while we're on the topic, how come you never tell me what goes on when you take on those week long missions to...wherever."
Natasha shrugs, slipping her phone back into her pocket;
"Well...um. Because most of the time it's the same-...crap different day."
"And other times..."
"It's, too gruesome for me to want to recall."
"Natasha I know I've said this before, but you don't have to say 'yes' to Fury all the time."
She smirks, "I know."
He nods, dropping it once he realizes he got his point across. Romanoff crosses her legs, rubbing her opposite knee against his;
"So, it's my turn right?"
"Yep." His eyes stay alert, focused on her contact.
"How do you feel about taking a trip with me to Russia some time in the future?"
He shrugs, "Maybe."
She gently lays a hand over his lower thigh;
"Because I have relatives, well, relatives of Alexei I haven't seen in a while."
Natasha feels him tense when her hand travels barely an inch upwards. She looks up to offer eye contact, only to see his head turned in the opposite direction with his eyes closed tight. She removes her hand from off his leg, regretting making contact he clearly was not ready for;
"Bruce? You know I'm not going to hurt you right?"
He nods, nervous smirk over his face. The physicist seems to relax when she brushes the side of his head, running her gentle fingertips through his hair.
He shifts in his position remembering he hasn't answered her, reestablishing eye contact for a brief moment before refocusing downward. He removes his hand from off of her, resting his elbows over his knees clasping his hands to wring at his fingers;
"Yes I know."
She smirks, rubbing over the back of his neck, "Can I ask you something?"
"Stealing my turn?"
"Can I?"
"Yes I'm listening."
"Um, how do you feel about, lovemaking?"
He blushes a bright red, refocusing on her hazel-green eyes;
"That is an interesting question."
"Do you have an interesting answer?"
"Natasha, you can back out of this whenever you want..."
She leans forward;
"-Before you say another word, I don't want to hear about 'the other guy'. I want to know how you feel, personally."
He stammers, hands over his mouth with his eyes closed;
"I don't know how I feel about it...I mean I just don't trust him."
"I don't mean to pry, and, stop me if you're uncomfortable but, you obviously found some way to keep the hulk at bay when you were with Betty."
He scoffs, "Yeah, after years worth of tranquilizers...Long story short I had been separated from the hulk for a while that's the only reason worked."
She reaches over to take his hand, "Bruce, what if we went really slow. I promised I'll be gentle and patient."
Bruce huffs out a nervous laugh, shaking his head while he considers her offer. He didn't have the heart to tell her how he really felt, remembering how he disliked intimate contact in general. How Betty used to get upset when he'd keep his eyes closed the whole time, hide his face in a pillow, or grip onto the sheets until his knuckles turned white.
Still, Natasha promised to be gentle and patient. And Romanoff was different from Betty, he'd like to believe Natasha wouldn't hurt him the way she did, unintentional or not. And of course, he couldn't ignore his own feelings for the girl, subconsciously running just a little stronger than they ever had for Elizabeth Ross. The fact that she seemed willing to consider him and listen to his opinions on the matter made her offer worth considering;
"Honestly Natasha, I'm a little nervous. What if he hurts you?"
"That's why we'll go really slow. I'm not afraid of him Vrach, I know he's not going to hurt me."
"It's possible-"
"-However improbable."
"You trust him?"
"I trust you. You're the only one I want to be with Bruce, hulk or no hulk."
"And you wouldn't mind going really slow?"
She nods, "Will you think about it? For the future of course, when you're ready."
"I'll think about it."
Romanoff gives him a smile, trying to maintain eye contact. He returns her sweet expression, rubbing a thumb over her fingers before kissing the back of her hand.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Brucey!' Tony dashes by, reaching out to grab his friend by the shoulder, 'Tiffany's closes at 7:00 I've got two hours."
Banner rolls his eyes, giving him a look, "And why do I have to come with you?!"
"Because I'm not walking around with thousands of dollars in my back pocket without a bodyguard!"
Natasha snickers from behind them, arms crossed. The hadn't been home for more than a minute before Stark showed up, and Romanoff wasn't surprised.
Bruce glances over his shoulder, throwing on his jacket before walking over to her to kiss her cheek;
"I'm sorry Natasha, I'll be right back."
She brushes the lock from above his eye, "No problem."
Tony gives him a look once they step outside, hoping into his convertible;
"You know, I'm starting to get sick of watching you two dance around each other. I'm not suggesting marriage, but you've got to get to second base Banner."
His brown eyes widen, "Well, her father's driving me nuts."
Tony gives him a look, slipping on his sunglasses;
"Oh, that bad huh? What's his problem?"
"Doesn't think I'm good enough for Natasha."
Stark's eyes narrow, raising his voice without any restraint;
"Oh please!"
"A little louder Tony, they couldn't hear you in Jersey."
"Listen, you're both almost impossible to read but if I know one thing about you two it's that your crazy for each other. Don't let grumpy get in the way."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"What's this Pepper?"
Potts hands the envelope to her friend;
"He wants to take me to London. London Natasha! I can't get on a plane right now!"
Romanoff takes up the papers, analyzing the hotel;
"Did you tell him yet?"
She sighs, hands over her face, "No. We spent the entire day at the children's hospital...I thought it would make it easier but...he knows something's up but I know he's not expecting this."
"Maybe you should find another way to tell him."
"Like?"
"Pepper my little spice! How are you feeling?"
She blushes a bright red, jumping up from her chair, "Hi Tony."
He smirks planting a kiss on her cheek. Romanoff mouths from behind him, eyes wide, 'Tell him!'
She sighs, eyes closing, "Tony? Can um, can we talk for a moment?"
Natasha gives her nod of approval before slipping from the room, colliding with her friend;
"Oh my gosh! Bruce I'm sorry."
He smirks, chuckling over the look on her face, "Natasha it's fine."
She nods, "Um, are you hungry? I was wondering if you wanted to go out someplace."
Bruce tugs at his fingers, "If you want, that's fine. I um, I actually made something for you, if you wanted to stay in, but it's up to you."
Her eyes widen, biting her lower lip to hide her smile, "Really? You did that for me?"
"I, it's nothing big."
"That was, really sweet of you."
He shrugs, blushing when she kisses his cheek, "Thank you Vrach."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stark leans on the barricade of his balcony, rambling on while she swallows hard, trying not to tremble;
"I mean of course Bermuda's nice too, I just thought you'd prefer London. I know you've been talking about it for a while."
She nods, brushing a stray hair behind her ear, "It's, a nice thought um. Tony. I-"
"You love me. You're speechless. You're acting extremely strange since I rolled out of bed and said 'good morning'. What's going on?"
"Nothing, nothing's wrong Tony, I'm just, not feeling like myself."
"Clearly,' he smirks, looking into those pretty blue eyes of hers, 'What's wrong Pepper? I don't like seeing you, all down...and...sick."
"Tony, I-"
Her head lowers, tears in her eyes when she inhales a shuddering breath. His head lowers, finger underneath her chin, "Hey, don't cry. Talk to me Pep. Virginia, you can tell me."
She stammers, bottom lip quiver when she brushes her shoulder;
"Tony, Tony I, I think I'm pregnant."
His eyes widen, hands frozen on her shoulders when she repeats it in a tender whisper;
"You're, what?"
Her head lowers, "I'm sorry Tony, I should've told you sooner, but I just found out."
His eyes shift down towards her belly before reestablishing eye contact, "And it's mine?"
She feels like screaming at him, restraining herself to keep the peace, "Of course."
Pepper, brushes a stray tear from her cheek, heart pounding when he removes his hands from off of her. She feels a lump in her throat, ready to burst into tears when he turns away from her;
"Please don't be mad. We can talk about it..."
She wraps her arms around herself, waiting for him to storm back into the tower. Her eyes widen when her turns around, small box within his palm. She exhales a sigh of pure relief when she chuckles;
"You know, I was saving this for London, but...I guess flying isn't too safe when you're pregnant. Um Virginia, I uh, I should've done this a long time ago, I'm no good at this emotional stuff but um...Virginia Potts?"
Pepper throws her hands over her mouth when he gets down on one knee, smile over her face when he softens his tone;
"Will you marry me?"
She can feel the tears swelling, nodding her head until he scoops her into his arms;
"Yes Tony."
He smirks, holding her close enough to give her a passionate kiss;
"I love you Pepper."
She bites her lip when he lets her go, blushing when he slips the ring on her finger;
"Nat said it was your favorite."
Potts gives him a look, feeling his thumb brush a stray tear from her cheek;
"I had a feeling about that little trip."
He smirks, kneeling back down, stopping to rub her belly. She snickers when he looks back up at her;
"You, want to keep it, right?"
She bites her lip, nodding her head 'yes', "Of course I do."
He smiles, planting a kiss over her abdomen, hardly large enough to be considered a bump;
"Can we tell the others?"
"If you want."
She runs her fingers through his hair, giggling when he mumbles;
"You're going to be an amazing mom."