Tony holds his daughter as the twosome look out the window. He's eager to show Antonia the New York skyline, explain how he flies over daily to protect the city, and fights with the Avengers.
Pepper laughs as she sits up from her hospital bed, "Alright, give her to me."
He sits in the chair beside the girls, head resting on a palm when Steve knocks and enters with a small white box;
"Good morning Stark. I brought breakfast."
"We got some earlier from Brucie but thanks," Tony mumbles.
Steve looks around, "…are they still here?"
Tony shrugs and brushes at his pants, comfortable in their luxury suite, "They were. Do we need a search party or to bail them out of jail?"
Pepper brushes her head, "Oh my gosh, leave them alone. They stayed with us until midnight last night and got here at 6 this morning!"
Tony groans, leaning to kiss Pepper's cheek and stand up to pace, "Maybe we should start a hunt."
Clint's ears perk up over the word, tugging at his sweater upon entering the room uninvited and without knocking; "We're going hunting? When?"
Tony points and lowers his head back into his forearms, "I'm looking for the Banners, you dingbat. Do you want to hunt for a hulk?"
Barton turns outward with a thumb pointed toward the door with a wide eyed stare, "Clearly none of you have been in the parking lot recently."
"Ehem," Natasha pushes the door open, coughing as she runs a hand down to flatten her top.
Bruce closes the door behind them and moves to adjust his collar nonchalantly as the couple casually reenter Stark's hospital room, eager to take a place up against the wall.
Tony looks up, "Oh good! You're back."
"Where were you?" Clint narrows his focus toward Natasha who shrugs as they share the knowing glance.
She blushes and looks downward, fighting a grin as she runs her fingers through her hair;
"We were in the car. Took a quick nap."
Clint scoffs, "Really?! You have a nice bed at home- ow! Nat! You hit me!"
Natasha speaks up over her friend with an abrupt cut off, "When can you go home Pepper?"
The tired mom shrugs, "Hopefully soon. I could sleep for the next 8 days straight."
"We'll. Just let us know what you need baby wise. We'll kidnap her for a night or two."
"We will?" Banner asks in a daze, still adjusting his hair, "I mean we will. Sure."
The redhead crosses her arms, "Who's handling the press."
Pepper drops her head back in pure exhaustion.
Tony lifts his focus, "Well...I was gonna show her off real quick and zip off with Happy."
His wife shakes her head, "I thought we agreed not to do that."
He nods, "Okay. Rhodey went to my meeting this morning so my bestie can't damage control."
Natasha nods toward Banner, "Steve and I can make a general statement on health and gender. Let you two run away."
Pepper nods immediately, "Yes please."
"Clint and I can help load up the car...?" Bruce offers. Barton nods quietly.
A nurse interrupts with a smile as she makes her way through the crowd, "Good news Mrs. Stark! You are all set to go."
Tony smirks and glances toward their baby with a hand over Pepper's, "Perfect. Let the mission: 'Get Antonia Home' Begin!"
Natasha waits by the door with the Captain as the others sneak out the back.
Speaking up in front of a community of newspapers, videographers and the general public remains one of Natasha's most hated jobs. But for her friends, she takes a swallow and reaches to open the front door on her end.
Steve waits quietly on his side, equally uncomfortable though he struggles far more to hide it.
The spy nudges him with an elbow, used to distracting a nervous focus;
"You ready?"
He offers a friendly grin and tugs his side open first, "After you."
She leads him out, met by flashing cameras as she fixes a firm and forced smile;
"The Starks want to offer their sincere gratitude for all of your interest and support of their newborn. Antonia Vivian Stark is perfectly healthy and Pepper is doing great."
A kind-hearted innocent Steve leans into a squeaking mic, "We'll take- woah- we'll take a few questions."
The hands begin to raise so Steve chooses the first, a new reporter up in front with her blonde hair up in a high ponytail. Natasha answers abruptly and selects the next.
They continue to alternate as they answer questions about the company, the couple and the newborn with neither one of them confident enough in the spotlight. As time goes on the questions change, focusing on the Avengers initiative and questions regarding their most recent battles. Natasha gradually stops answering, consenting to give Steve the mic for most of those responses. As her confidence shrinks, Steve's grows, taking an extra moment to reassure and entertain the mob.
Alex barks excitedly over everyone arriving home, restrained only by Rhodes who has beaten them to the tower. Natasha bends down immediately to calm her dog in the common room. He cries as he licks her face. She rubs at his ears;
"Yes, I know baby, I missed you too."
"Let's introduce him to Anna," Tony suggests as Pepper moves to refuse.
Stark crouches with his newborn in arm, tentatively permitting Alex to sniff at a distance. Pepper looks on with her fingertips over her lips.
Clint watches as he shrugs off his jacket, busy texting on his device;
"What do you think Alex? Do you like your new squeak toy?"
"Barton," Natasha scolds.
The dog wags his tail as she holds his collar, stretching his neck out to get as close as possible.
Tony nods, watching Antonia blink in his arms, "What do you think Antonia? Is he fun? You can ride on his back like Aunt Nat rides the hulk. Ooh! You gotta meet Uncle Hulk next."
"Maybe when she's thirty we lock him in a hulk-proof fully Vibranium cage. She can watch through the glass. And hey, I'll be dead by then so she won't need to ever know about him," Bruce shrugs off his jacket, currently searching the table for his missing eye glasses.
"We've talked about this," Natasha tilts her head with a sharp call, unamused by his dark humor.
"Let him go," Tony addresses Natasha's hold over the shepherd, curious to introduce the twosome restraint free. The dog circles carefully, crouching down to mimic Natasha. He extends a tongue and softly licks at Antonia's blanket as if he knows to be gentle.
Steve crosses his arms, "I would not have expected that."
"Dogs know. I never doubted you buddy,' Tony reaches to pet his head, 'Good boy."
Pepper holds her head with a priority on making it to her pillow, "You can all do whatever you want, I'm going to bed. Clint? Are you staying?"
He shrugs, currently splitting his time between his secret cabin and the tower, "If that's chill."
"It's chill," she repeats and lifts her small bag, aided by Tony.
Natasha crosses her arms, letting the puppy find his bone as they take their own path up to their apartment. Bruce follows with his hands still searching his pockets, the emptied elevator making its way up to their floor.
She taps his elbow with her own, "You can't find your glasses."
He refuses to answer, fixating on the last place he had them, "No. And that's three hundred dollars I wasn't counting on spending this month if I can't find them."
Her eyes roll over his budgeting, "And, what else are we using our savings account for?"
Bruce laughs through his words, fumbling through despite how absurdly ridiculous he sounds;
"Antonia's college fund."
Natasha's hand turns the key, holding the door for Alex. Bruce reaches to take her place and permit the redhead in first;
"Right. Because a day old child of a millionaire needs to worry about college."
"A house of our own?"
"In New York? Are we making more than I think we are?"
She shrugs, "I mean. You could ask Tony for a raise."
"While we're on the subject, I do need my glasses for work tomorrow, so if this is some game of yours…," his eyes scan the table as his voice trails off, the living room, and up over their tall bookshelf.
Natasha contorts her mouth and reaches for two mugs above the cabinet, "I vaguely recall seeing them in your front pocket while we were in the car. Where's your backup pair?"
He glares. She nods and fills in the gaps.
After a brief battle with Thor last week, the demigod successfully knocked them off Banner's face with an aggressive pat on the back.
She mumbles and flips on her kettle, "Tea?"
"No thanks. You're making coffee for yourself?"
"Cider." She settles in the chair beside him, reaching an upturned palm out toward the doctor, "Any interest in, potentially, going to Venice?"
Her tentative question and the way she holds his hand tells Bruce it's for a mission. He hums, ever impossible for Natasha to read.
She brushes her thumb against his, "We don't need the hulk."
He leans forward with pleading eyes, "And, when do we get our time?"
Natasha bites her lip, uninterested in dealing with a question she doesn't necessarily have an answer for. She smirks to herself, "Fury offered to let us run away for December or January. Nothing is set just yet-."
"I'm not trying to complain."
"-I know."
He nods and lets it go. With a slight knee bounce he forces himself to stop, shifting to reach and kiss her cheek;
"I'm going to the lab for a bit."
Her head rocks to the side as his lips find hers in a soft peck. She rests an elbow over the back of the chair. He's avoiding. She mumbles, "So, Venice?"
Bruce stands and moves toward the door, "Maybe. I just need to find pet daycare for Alex."
"Ask Thor. Isn't he coming back tomorrow?"
"Who knows. He's trying to propose to Jane," Bruce cringes, his hands working to roll up his sleeves, "It's not gonna go well."
Natasha touches a finger to her lower lip, "I'll figure Alex out. I want you to come with me. Steve and Tony are both obsessed with our dog so daycare should be easy."
He chuckles over her impatience, "I'll find care for Alex."
"Okay, fine. Then I need to figure out whether I need to go or not," with a heavy sigh over his need to take care of their family. She reaches for her cup and stands at her whistling kettle.
He tests her mood apologetically, having her back turned in his direction feels like a negative thing, "I love you."
"...Okay."
Bruce catches her drift and bites at his cheek, clasping his fingers while she continues about her business. He nods and makes up his mind to settle back at the table, picking up on her nonverbal discontent with his initial plan to disappear for the night.
Natasha then picks up on his tension, turning to meet his eyes with hers peering over her mug;
"You're not going to the lab?"
Banner's head tilts downward slightly, only serving to make his dark eyes wider;
"You don't seem to be okay with that."
Natasha shrugs, "Were you going to the lab because you wanted to work, even though you're blind at the moment, or because you're starting your December blues early this year."
"Huh? My what?"
She ignores, pushing ahead with her own remarks, "I had an offer. I was going to propose we continue our car encounter with your sedate-the-hulk injection. But you seem more blue than green, so if your lab is more entertaining than I am, by all means go run off."
"Uh, really? Wait. You want- why? I'm not that-. I hate..-never mind."
"Hate what," she pauses, leaving her mug on the countertop.
"Hate...myself. Forget it."
"Okay. Bruce, listen. I don't hate you. I want to adore you,' she crouches, lays her hands over his knees and asks with a tilted smile, 'What is it?"
He looks up helplessly, suddenly afraid to touch her, "You want to be with me...Why? I'm not that interesting."
Natasha sighs heavily over his eighteenth self deprecating remark for the night. She reaches for the sides of his face to hold him steady and to peer intently into his eyes;
"Bruce Banner. Vrach. I married you."
"So?" He scoffs almost coldly and eyes her lips, breathless over how close she's positioning herself. His voice drifts to a sarcastic whisper, "You get bored of everything…I'm next on your- 'bored of' list…"
"Miliy moy,' Natasha reaches to work her lips against his, separating only to share her half joke, 'I'm going to buy us a parrot. And every morning when we wake up, he will go through daily affirmations to remind you that you are loved, wanted, and important."
He's unimpressed, a hand over her arm when his expression remains somewhat vacant. She knows what Bruce is looking for and she's stubborn to give it.
Natasha pecks his lower lip in a softer kiss, working to lose her snark and to allow herself to be completely raw. He's uninterested in repetition, he wants a sincere reassurance she finally gives;
"I love you, Bruce. I will never get bored of you. I promise."
Romanoff is still unsure if it is enough until he softly guides her into his chest, hugging the back of her head. She nuzzles against him, shutting her eyes to listen for a steady heartbeat.