So you know how I said I had plans. Here's the thing, although I have finally come to the conclusion that I can and probably should tell her my feelings. The real problem is

How?

I can't really go and set a table for two because we eat together everyday anyway. There isn't any subtle way to confess feelings in this cave. No movies, no restaurants, no parks, no amusement parks, no fairs, no cars, no mountains, no hiking, no card games, really we don't have anything.

So in reality the only way to do this and start a relationship of sorts, or at least get these feelings known was really me just going out and saying

'Hey man, I'm in love with you.'

So my plans on going forth and doing this kept being pushed back, and canceled, and just avoided as a whole. Turns out it didn't matter because Isabella had been going through some feelings as well. More so than I ever could have ever thought, and I would have done something about it earlier if I had known. So he-who-must-not-be-named did a lot of damage. Like chitauri, sokovia, and the airport fight mixed together kind of damage and then some. Leaving Isabella to pay for all of the damages all by herself, like a hurt animal at the side of the road everyone ignores. But I'm not ignoring it anymore, because now I can see just how beat up she really was from the remains that this guy left on her. So feelings were way harder on the way too inexperienced in the field being Isabells, then the very well experienced me and even I was a bit torn up about Pepper until I actually did meet the college girl.

It happened two weeks after Loki had last visited. she started showing the signs of being in love. And she wasn't in love with Loki or the dead beat boyfriend anymore. So in the equation there was me. Here was how I figured it out, by the fact that she showed all the symptoms which I am making up as the signs of being in love being customed to the sweet beautiful Swan herself.

WAYS YOU KNOW SHE LIKES YOU

-way more blushing than normal, and thats a lot for her

- stuttering again (sigh)

-Avoidance

-More nervousness than usual

-quietness

-Faster heartbeat while in said individuals vicinity.

See the last one may seem creepy stalkerish, but really its not so. When I put Isabellas arc reactor in it was brand new. It was made out of an old stove. So I payed attention to the beating of her heart to take care to make sure that nothing would happen. Her heart was almost as gentle as mine and I had to keep my head up for Palladium posioning.

Anyways though honestly I had worked with enough young women in my life, and, well, I was me. I recognized the signs of infatuation at this point. All of them. All od the little modest, humble ones were showing in Isabella. Everyone of them and even though she's good at hiding this kind of stuff, I was good at finding them.

Which is why it was strange that I was so in love with her myself that I didn't notice any of them when they popped up. So back on the story, Isabella still went into deep times of thought, some tenser than others. It was her coping mechanism for basically everything which was how I figured it out. I had been in my little workshop too long, because even though I was used to that, now I had someone else to make sure was okay. Isabella tended to have bits of not okay-ness if left alone too long in her thoughts. So when I decided I was also a bit down and i went to my corner for ten hours straight it probably wasn't the best idea. When I came into the bedroom she was laying there staring at the wall eyes wide, shoulders tense, and obvious is some complicated potentially bad part of her mind.

So I went over and I put my hand on her shoulder, making her flinch from the unexpected touch.

"Isabella" I said softly, it was like when she was in her deep thoughts but something was off different than it usually would be. Her eyes were still pretty wide when her glance went to mine. She just kept staring so intently it got me even more concerned. I sat down next to her brushing her hair out of her face which was getting long.

"Whats, whats wrong?" I asked gently.

Then in a slow motion her Eve's Adam apple bopped and I watched it as it did, and her breathing got weird, and her heart did this weird jumpy thing.

"I think I might have feelings for you."

My heart starting doing this weird jumpy thing, my palms and forehead got sweaty, I felt jittery, tired yet so alive because... What?

"What?" I asked her in disbelief, because all this time and finally she drops the penny.

But her eyes filled with fear and I knew I screwed up because she got up and starting walking away.

"Wait" I was suddenly filling with fear because I've been ready to do what she just did and my reaction was horrible.

I reached out and grabbed her wrist gently, not wanting to ever be too rough with her.

She looked at me "Are you. Are you in love with me."

Then she just stared at me again eyes wide, shoulders really tense, and heartbeat going crazier,and my palm was still sweaty on her wrist. I got my answer from just that, and she tried to pull away.

"Listen Isabella, its okay if you feel that way. Because I do too."

She looked at me a bit shocked and shook her head "It would never work."

"Why?" I asked, "is it Iron Man, baby that wouldn't interfere if we don't make it. Is it the fact that I'm a billionaire. Am I too smart, too old. Do I scare you. Is it because of the drinking and.

"Anthony I don't care about any of that, even though you should probably stop drinking."

"Then why, why can't I love you." Finally saying what I'd been wanting to for months.

"Because I know how you are with girls. How you do things with them, which is fine but I can't."

I was confused "What do I mean because I have a feeling you aren't talking about the sex."

"I meant everything. The holding hands, the kissing, the dates. I don't know how to do those things. Edward did them all wrong and he ruined me, I don't know how to be with normal people or how to do relationships." She said stressing it all, and I could see tears in her eyes.

"Princess I don't care about doucheward okay. We don't have to do the holding hands, or the kissing, or even the dates. Just" I took a moment to breathe.

"Just let me love you like I've wanted to for months now." I confessed what I wanted what I truly wanted. More than anything in the world more than iron man, my inventions, Pepper, the company, Steve, the accords. More than my whole life.

"I don't know what to do with my feelings though, I haven't really done anything like this before."

I nodded my head "Thats fine we'll learn together or something like that."

"What about Edward?"

I held her hands looking at her deeply now because really, we never talked about him much ever.

"What about him?"

"He's going to cause a lot of problems." She said like it was the most obvious things in the world

Expecting this I just went with all the scenarios I had dreamed up on my own.

"We can fix those problems together."

She looked at me like I was insane, "He really messed me up, like train wreck. What we had was a weird dysfunctional relationship that didn't work like a relationship should."

"I guessed it was that much."

After that Isabella didn't really seem like she had any more arguments, but her shoulders were stiff and her eyes were wide."

I brought her down to my level and got closer to my face, "Isabella, baby, I love you. I don't care about doucheward, or how inexperienced you might be. I've loved you for months now, we can figure this out together. I know it won't be perfect because to begin with we are still stuck in this cave for god knows how long."

We both laughed a bit me getting what I wanted, the atmosphere lighting up.

"So we'll face whatever comes our way in or out of this cave."

Then side by side we sat in actually kind of peaceful silence keeping each other warm.

"Tony," She said softly "I love you too."

I smiled starting to feel a little giddy "I love you so much."

Then I pecked her on the cheek.

I could practically hear all the rumors that would come up if we ever got out of this cave.

I ignored those because the sounds of Loki cheering and giggling was louder than anything.