The smell of a strong cup of coffee wakes Natasha from her deep sleep, comfortable in one of Banner's gray t-shirts.
She tugs the bottom hem, opposite hand caught in her red hair as she stumbles into their kitchen;
"You made breakfast?"
He offers her a smile and slips a stack of two waffles in her direction;
"Your coffee is done."
Romanoff sleepily pets Alex's head and sits on the barstool at their kitchen island. She taps the marble countertop with her almond fingernails, humming contently over his sweet kiss.
He smells like his shampoo and shaving cream. Her eyes locate a few hickeys currently situated on the left side of his jugular; a deep purple bruise in the middle. It'll fade by the evening with all of his healing perks, but she's proud of it nevertheless.
Natasha takes up her fork and stabs at her meal, "Are you going to eat with me?"
"I have an early start but, I'll sit for a bit. You really knocked out last night. Are you okay?"
She nods, "Yeah. You seem exhausted but you won't sleep. How much of that anti-hulk serum did you pump yourself up with?"
It's not her favorite thing in the world and if he could avoid it all together she'd feel much better. Because the drug is Bruce's safety net, she typically leaves him alone about it.
Bruce settles beside her with a shrug, Alex's head laying in his knee as his tail thumps in a furious rhythm up against the stool;
"My usual dose."
"You overreact when it comes to the hulk and the amount of radiation encompassing your DNA."
"I don't."
She answers softly, "We have these nights together that are incredible because you make me feel so loved and so safe. And then you hold me, and the self-inflicted punctures on your arm…I just want to make you feel good. You should feel safe with me."
"I do. Tasha, I love you so much. You're the only person I've ever felt this safe with-."
Natasha snorts to suppress her building anger for far more than what's being addressed, "So you shoot yourself up with something that could kill you or hurt Hulk if the dosage is off by a percentage."
"Okay,' he laughs a bit and holds firm eye contact, 'You see how you're freaking out about me?"
"I'm not freaking out."
"This is why I flip over your post mission stabbings."
"I'm not talking about work."
She needs to, she won't.
He tugs at his hair, "What about that fresh scar on your rib cage you won't fill me in on?"
"Bruce."
He sighs and takes a moment before answering in the hopes of diffusing a fire that's building up between them, "Look. I'm trying to be careful, that's all. I'm not putting up some emotional wall, I'm not trying to hurt myself. I can't throw caution to the wind when it comes to you and our…intimate encounters…because of the hulk so please stop asking me to."
They've argued about his serum multiple times before and with all of his modifications to appease the redhead there's no point in arguing further.
Natasha forces a bite of waffle to remain in her mouth, excessively chewy for her taste. He catches her action and swaps her plate with another;
"Sorry, this one has the eggs."
"Oh', she takes a bite, '…that's better."
Bruce acknowledges Alex poking at his knee for more scratches and mumbles with his eyes on Natasha;
"I'm sorry."
She chews her food.
His eyebrows lower when she doesn't respond, "Tasha?"
Natasha reaches for one of his hands and intertwines their fingers and changes the topic, "Did Izabella tell you she wants to go vegan?"
He sighs more heavily, "She mentioned it. I didn't think she was serious."
Banner takes his tension out by stretching Alex's ear.
The dog melts.
Natasha snickers to herself, "If you got a carrot tattooed on your ass, she'd want one to match. Have you noticed that she's wearing a bit more purple?"
"Because it's her favorite color...?"
Natasha smirks sarcastically, "No. It's your favorite color. I'd polish off your dancing shoes in case she invites you to father-daughter dinner at school."
"That's not a thing."
"It might be."
His thumb tenderly brushed her palm, "Are you jealous? That she likes me more?"
Natasha twists her fork, biting the prongs, "Are you jealous that Garrett calls me 'Auntie' but you're still 'Dr. Banner'."
"The second Clint and Laura adopted Garrett I knew that kid would bond with you…that was a give in."
"Violet likes me better."
"And Riley. And Amelia. Why can't I have one kid like me more?"
"Because Izabella used to be my best friend. Now she's bonded with you ever since her move to New York. Clearly she's your favorite too," she takes one final bite.
"Hey, hey! No favorites. Kids pick up on that. We learned this...the hard way."
She leaves her plate in the sink and brushes off her hands. Her hips find his as she straddles over him comfortably.
Bruce runs his hands lazily up and down her back with a half moan over her kiss;
"I should go before Tony kills me."
Natasha purrs, her arms around his neck, "You've still got serum on your veins. Are we really going to waste that?"
He laughs, "You have a mission. Where is it anyways?"
"It's for a drug lord in Mexico. I'll be gone for two days max."
His eyes stay on her, brushing her hair behind her ear, "I love you."
She holds her forehead against his and tugs at his curls with a smirk, "Two days will go by real fast."
"Yeah I know. Be safe. Is this an 'off the grid'?"
"Yeah."
He nods in an attempt to be supportive and wraps his arms around her tightly.
"Anna!"
Tony scrambles, currently being screamed at by Pepper as the twosome search the floor.
Bruce enters cautiously, hand on the door as he watches.
Tony explains first, "Bruce! I lost Antonia."
His eyes widen, "You what…"
Pepper is in a panic, sitting on her heels, "He left her alone! On the ground! I'm shaking, Antonia?!"
Stark grumbles, crawling on the ground to check underneath the desks, "It's not my fault!"
"It is! You're so irresponsible with her sometimes!"
"She runs when I turn around!"
"She's a year and a half, of course she runs!"
A loud thunk makes the group pause in their diligently searching the lab, immediate silence to follow. Tony scrambles to the cabinet first and locate his daughter playing with the office supplies inside of it. The young toddler is way too proud of herself, oblivious as to why her dad scoops her up so lovingly and plants a million kisses on her cheek.
"Daddy!," she giggles.
Bruce shakes his head, reaching over Tony's shoulder to address the in her hands and carefully takes it away. He knows it's only a matter of time before the paper clip inevitably ends up in her mouth.
Pepper holds her heart, "Oh my baby. My poor baby, do you want 'mommy'?"
Tony protests, "No! It's my time with her."
"Daddy!" Anna reaches for his face.
"See? She loves me. Who is your favorite person Anna?!"
"Unc's!" She points, hysterically laughing.
Bruce is offering a goofy face that makes her laugh and quickly lowers his head due to the icy stare in Tony's eyes.
"Unc's, unc's,' Stark mimics, 'Can you say 'Bruce'? Can you say 'Bruce you're being a turd, get back to work'?"
Pepper shakes her head, "There's no way I'm leaving her with you, it's a three hour meeting-."
"She got into one cabinet, Pep,' Tony groans, 'It's not the end of the world. All the toxic ones are locked, no harm done."
"Tony."
"Go tug on them yourself."
"You'll keep the door closed?"
"Yes. It's okay, just go to your business meeting, I've got her. Trust me with my daughter, please!"
"Alright,' she sighs, rubbing Antonia's back, 'I'm sorry, I just worry."
He sighs next, hugging Pepper from the side, "Yeah me too. But I've got her, okay? I promise I've got her."
"Alright,' she kisses her husband and her daughter next, 'She has a pink gown upstairs for the gala later."
Tony nuzzles her small cheek, "Perfect. We'll be sure to share a chocolate ice cream as soon as she's dressed and ready."
"Ugh, no. Maybe Natasha can help watch her tonight?"
Bruce barely looks up as he puts on his glasses, recalling the big event he and Tony are presenting at later, "...she's on a mission."
Tony pauses, his eyes narrow, "Again? Really?"
"For how long," Pepper asks suspiciously whether or not she means to be.
"Natasha told me two days."
"So seventeen…," Tony mumbles to his wife who seems to be restraining her inner thoughts.
Bruce shrugs it off.
Pepper scratches her head and eyes her daughter, "You're going to look like a mess if daddy has to get you ready."
Tony rolls his eyes, "Again! Trust me with my daughter! I can put a bow in her hair."
Pepper laughs, "Alright, alright! I love you, both of you."
Antonia blows her mom a kiss, squirming to be free. Tony shifts his daughter up over his shoulders to make her laugh, mumbling once Pepper leaves;
"You realize this is the third Project Reveal that Natasha's missed-."
Bruce shakes his head, "I barely remember you mentioning this one, it's not her fault."
"How?! This is your project. It's your O.G 'Golightly' on steroids that she helped with. Is she mad at you? There's something in the air today-,' he gasps, 'Wait! Did you finally tell her about Betty's doppelgänger that you made out with back in-."
"No I didn't!"
"Are you two having issues?"
"Tasha's happy. We're fine. We're great. Let's just focus on dimension research-."
"For Betty-."
"For us to help Izabella with her abilities," Bruce tiredly corrects for the hundredth time.
Tony reaches for and throws Banner's buzzing phone in his direction, "Head's up."
He catches it, reading the name of an agent currently supervising the meta kids;
"Tony? I've gotta take this."
"Center stuff?"
"Yeah-."
"Another adoption?"
"Don't touch my program," he answers and slips into his section of the lab, shutting the door to his private office.
Stark releases his daughter to play on the ground with a toddler proof robot he's created for her.
"O'af," she squeals.
Tony laughs, "Ha! I love you, I do. But I already made her pink against my wishes. So no, you're not naming it Olaf."
"O'af."
She has him wrapped around her tiny pinky finger. Whatever Antonia wants, she gets.
"Okay, you're cute…Fine! You win," he caves, crouching to watch her play with his creation, 'Obedient Laidback Artificial…Figure."
He loves her to pieces and he'd do anything for his little girl...even agreeing to naming her personal artificial intelligence the dreaded 'Olaf' if it makes her happy.