An alarm sounded throughout the facility and Natasha jumped, every nerve in her body suddenly standing at attention.

"What's that?" She asked, her body tense.

"It's an alert coming straight from the government. I had it hooked up a few weeks ago, but we've never actually had to use it," he explained, already in motion. "It means trouble."

"Avengers Assemble!" Steve's voice came over an invisible intercom.

"That's our cue to suit up," Tony said, taking her by the arm and ushering her into the armory set up below his workshop.

"What are you doing?" Natasha wondered. "I thought you don't need anything external to activate your suit anymore?"

"Not my suit, sweetheart. Yours," he said, gesturing to a shapely metallic form.

She stared at the sleek black armor with gold trim and a red hourglass painted in the center of the chest. She recognized a higher-tech version of her widow's bite stingers around the wrist gauntlets. "My- my suit?" She stuttered, open-mouthed. "But I said no when you offered to make me one…"

"Talk later, there's no time now," Tony said, briefly showing her how to activate the suit.

She gasped from inside the armored shell.

"Relax," he murmured softly. "And don't forget to lean forward."

Before she could ask another question, they were soaring hand in hand out of a retracting exit and then they were airborne as they entered the ensuing battle outside, a mere few miles away from the complex.

"Cap?" Iron Man's deeper voice asked as they landed.

"Set your targets on the hooded guys with the fake muscles," Steve instructed over their earpieces.

An arrow whizzed by her right side and a red light flashed close by and just like that, Natasha was dancing a familiar routine in unfamiliar shoes.

Tony uttered soft instructions as he fought off intruders, his voice a soothing and comforting presence in her earpiece and she soon found that piloting the suit was mostly intuitive as it adapted easily to her movements.

She felt a rush of adrenaline as her fists connected with an enemy, just as swift and agile in hand to hand as she'd ever been. To her delight, her usual choices in weaponry were present, hidden in secret compartments built especially for her assets.

She found herself smiling along to the usual team banter as they chattered over their earpieces, grinning at Tony's witty sarcasm and Steve's retorting jabs.

Soon the battle was won and the enemy retreated. Steve split up the team, sending Falcon, Hawkeye and War Machine to pursue more information on where the new threat had come from while Iron Man, Scarlet Witch and Vision were sent back to the compound to continue finding a way home for Natasha.

"Not too shabby, right?" Tony said once they were back in the armory.

"No," She said in awe as they powered down. "It's actually kind of… perfect. What do I call it?"

"Iron Widow."

"Of course."

"Well, I wanted to call it Iron Maiden, but you were vehemently opposed."

She grinned. "No offense, but I can see why."

"So, you said I offered you a suit before? Why did you turn it down?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, I just…. I told you I didn't need any extra tech. That I could handle myself, just like I always have and not everyone needs fancy toys."

He nodded his head as if he understood. "Then what happened?" He asked. She could feel him studying her closely even though she wasn't looking directly at him.

"Then you made some sarcastic sexual comment, we had a screaming match for about a minute and we both stalked off angry."

"Mmmmm."

She glanced at him. "I guess we understand each other better here."

"Well, it wasn't always that way. You were resistant the first time I offered you a suit."

She waited for him to continue, watching as he idly passed his hand over his goatee as he spoke to her. "How did you get me to accept?"

"It was a birthday present, shortly after we started dating. You'd already refused it before, but I thought if I could get it just right, you'd eventually say yes and then I could protect you." Somehow, he'd gotten closer without her realizing it and he gently stroked the end s of her hair in between his thumb and forefinger.

"I can protect myself, you know," she said, her voice nearly a whisper and her throat feeling tight.

"I know," he murmured. "But I still want to protect you too."

She smiled, her face so close to his that she could practically lean her forehead against his if she just tilted her head up slightly. "I know you do. Even back home. The Tony I know wants to protect everyone. It's one of the things I admire about you the most."

"I will get you home, Tasha," he whispered.

She closed her eyes, goosebumps going up her arms when she felt his breath on her face. "I know," she whispered back.

He placed a hand under her chin, gently tilting her head back and she opened her eyes, wide and steady on his soft gaze.

"We'd better get back to work, right?" She asked, her voice hoarse.

"Right," he agreed.

XXXXX

"And you don't know what kind of blast you created that would have brought her here?" Tony's voice was even as he asked the question, his eyes firm on Wanda as she shook her head.

"We don't have any way of knowing what state the version of me where she comes from is at in terms of understanding the kind of power I have and how to control it."

Tony's eyes then turned towards Natasha, who had been watching the level exchange with something like disbelief on her face as she gazed from one to another with wide, round eyes and mouth slightly open.

She shook herself to the present when she realized both were expecting an answer. "You're still fairly new to controlling your powers," she said. "Not a hundred percent confident, but we've been working on that together."

Wanda offered her a soft smile and squeezed her hand sympathetically. "We will figure this out," she told her gently.

By that point, Tony had turned back to his virtual work station and was moving quickly in a world of his own, calculating and recalculating data with the help of his A.I. and Natasha couldn't help smiling inwardly as a warm feeling washed over her. This was a man she knew up close in both realities and had every confidence in.

"I'm not worried," she said.

"Still, I think it's time we start getting ready for the party tomorrow," Wanda said quietly.

Natasha froze for a moment before taking her gaze away from Tony and focusing on Wanda. "Oh, I-I'm not so sure it's a good idea," she replied with a slight frown.

"Oh, Nat," Rhodey spoke up, moving in to stand closer to her. "You have to go. I don't think you realize the amount of time, effort, energy and heart he's put into throwing this party for you. Not to mention the expense," he urged.

Wanda nodded in agreement, her eyes insistent but encouraging.

Natasha turned her gaze from their urgent expressions back to Tony, who was hard at work and very much in the zone, completely oblivious to their hushed conversation.

She thought back to how comforting and understanding he'd been since she'd arrived in this same territory that was both familiar and foreign, thought on how tirelessly he'd been working to set things right in both worlds and thought about how even now, he was utterly relentless in his pursuit while still graciously hosting her in his home as if she was in fact the wife he'd been devoted to all along.

"You're right," she said out loud, her eyes still focused on Tony, who was now simultaneously on the phone and the computer. His gaze briefly met hers and he smiled softly. "I'll go to the party tomorrow."