Brain: *grabs frantically at three-day weekend* "YOU! WILL FINISH! THIS! CHAPTER!"

Apologies for the long wait, folks. I hope this update is worth it!

Chapter Eight: Living Larger than Life

"Passports?"

"Check."

"Birth certificates?"

"Check?"

"Other…miscellaneous paperwork of varying assorted kinds?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Pedantic, but check."

Bruce smiled bashfully. "Then we are ready to conduct a wedding. I still wish it didn't have to happen like this."

"I know…but we can do something bigger in a few months. Once we get Shanta and Anish adopted. Not everyone would have been able to come, anyway."

"True." Bruce still didn't look entirely convinced.

Natasha was an utterly pragmatic soul, but even she was disappointed that their first official wedding was going to be thousands of miles from those they cared about. Still, they were left with little choice at this point. India needed them legally married for the adoption to proceed. So, they would be married.

"We can at least put on a good show for the kids." she said quietly. "Shanta is really excited. She to put flowers in her hair."

Bruce smiled. "She would want flowers in her hair no matter what."

"Anish keeps trying to help me pick out an outfit. He says you like my green sari best."

Bruce turned an interesting shade of pink. "…Anish is a very observant kid."

"Ahhh, so you do think it makes me look hot."

"I j-just think it's a nice outfit! It's bright an' happy! You usually wear black, or plain things."

"I suppose I do." Natasha mused.

"…it also brings out your eyes." Bruce whispered.

Now it was Natasha's turn to blush the interesting shade of pink.

"Stop it, dork."

Bruce crossed his arms with a giddy smile. "Make me."

Smirking, Natasha leaned closer and kissed him soundly. "That should work."

Bruce couldn't speak for the next half minute.

"If you need me, lover boy, I'll be changing into that sari. Would you mind getting the kids ready?"

Bruce nodded dumbly, not taking in a single word.

Natasha sashayed into the main bedroom, giving a flirty wave as she disappeared behind the door.

Bruce shook himself. "God, you're pathetic, Banner…"

It was a short, quiet ceremony. No fuss; no confetti. Just a lot of paperwork.

Natasha kept smoothing the end of her sari between her fingers as the registry office worker reviewed the required documents. Bruce just looked quietly solemn.

This was everything he had been dreaming of for a long time. But it also meant far more than just the two of them binding themselves to each other.

Now, whatever happens to me, Nat is there, too. That's comforting…and terrifying.

Ever since Hulk had come into the picture, Bruce had always kept himself at least one arm's length away from people. Just in case. He had prepared himself to run at a moment's notice.

But now, that was no longer an option.

If he were honest with himself, it hadn't been an option for a long time.

Chandra, along with two other volunteers from Hope Center, stood quietly behind them, making up the required three witnesses to a marriage. Shanta and Anish stood beside them on either side, both dressed in their best clothes and wriggling happily.

Natasha breathed a sigh of relief when the worker pronounced all their documents correct.

"Is there anything you wish to say to each other before you sign the forms?" he asked.

Bruce swallowed. "We both have vows to say to each other."

"Then you may say them now."

Natasha shot him a tiny, scared smile. "Is this ladies first?"

Bruce shook his head. "Not this time, Tasha." He quietly got down on one knee and fumbled for a small box in his pocket. He opened it, revealing a slim, silver band set with an opal.

"I know you're supposed to do this before the wedding," he said sheepishly, "but things have been a little mixed up ever since we first met. So I figured I'd better give this to you now, before anything else happens." He carefully slid the ring on her finger.

For once in her life, Natasha Romanoff had absolutely nothing to say.

"The first time we met, you were scared of me." Bruce continued. "With good reason, at the time. I was angry and bitter, in more ways than one. We both know what that's like. We both are better at hiding and lying than at being honest and sticking around. We both care too much, so we keep people at a distance. But you…I could never keep you at a distance. Every time I turned around, you were always there."

Natasha gave a soft little laugh at that.

"I'd never dream of trying to control you." Bruce continued. "You're a free person. But I promise to give you all the parts of me that I can, if you'll do the same. I will give you the freedom to be weak, if you let me…and I will let you be strong for me. I'll protect you from what I can, and help you run from what I can't. I promise to honor you to everyone, and if we fight, to keep it private. And I promise that no matter what comes, no matter the trouble…I won't run from you. Ever."

A lesser woman would have been crying. Natasha wasn't sure how she was still so calm. It felt like an out-of-body experience. Still, she managed to open her mouth and say the words she had planned for days.

"Bruce Banner…you are the world's biggest dork. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but you decided to be mine." she swallowed. "And I will never stop being grateful for that. Thank you. To you…I promise all that I am. The best of me, and the worst. I promise to watch your back, in this crazy world of ours, to protect you, to encourage you. To never let you forget the kind of man you really are."

She looked at Shanta and Anish, who were watching with wide eyes.

"I never thought I'd get a family of my own. I don't think you did either. We both thought that was for other people, luckier people. But I can't imagine a better man to raise these kids with. For better or worse…for anything at all, I choose you. Let's run with it."

Bruce was outwardly stoic but Natasha could read the emotion building in his eyes.

"Let's run with it." he echoed. "Definitely run with it."

They sealed the vows with a kiss and both signed the marriage document.

"We will have your marriage certificate ready in a week." said the clerk, surreptitiously wiping a tear from his eye.

"Ma, Baba, you marry!" Shanta cried happily, flinging herself at Natasha like a firecracker.

"Con…con-gra-tu-la-tions." Anish said, slowly pronouncing the English word.

"Thanks, bud." Bruce said, ruffling his hair. "I'm glad you two could see this."

Chandra turned to Bruce with a smug smile on her face. "I knew the two of you would eventually work things out. Congratulations."

Bruce ducked his head. "Thanks…thanks for everything. You've helped us navigate so many loopholes and paperwork and finding things…"

Chandra scoffed. "Please. That was my pleasure. This world has enough suffering. If I can work to end it, even for a few, then I have done my duty."

Shanta was bouncing around Natasha excitedly. "Ma, Ma, Baba make you cry!"

"No, he…" Natasha started, before realizing that her eyes were indeed a bit wet. Just a bit. "Fine, he did. He'll pay for it later."

The last bit was more meant for Bruce, who caught the words and blushed bright red. "Tasha!"

"Yes?" Natasha said, the picture of innocence.

"…never mind. I don't even want to know."

"We should get going, then." Chandra said, glancing at her phone. "It's nearly time for your wedding feast. Amita, are the girls ready?"

Amita, who was one of the housemothers at Hope Center, appeared to be looking through messages as well. "Yes, Jeena called me from the office telephone. They have the dining hall set up."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Bruce said, hands in the air. "What wedding feast? You never said anything about a wedding feast!"

Chandra merely smiled. "My dear Dr. Banner, you are in India. There is always a wedding feast. Even for two loner Americans that never draw attention to themselves."

"But I, we…we didn't…" Bruce looked helplessly at Natasha.

Natasha just shrugged. "We said we'd roll with it, remember? Besides, I dunno about you, but we've got two hungry kids to feed, and I wasn't about to cook dinner on my wedding day."

Bruce groaned, but saw that he was clearly outnumbered in this decision.

"Fine. We roll with it."

Indian wedding feasts were nothing to sneeze at, and Hope Center had done their very best to put on a lavish spread.

Anish's eyes were very round. "There's so much food…"

"Going to try and eat all of it?" Natasha teased.

Anish looked shiftily around the room. "…one from each table?"

"Go for it!"

Shanta, meanwhile, was eyeing the sweets. Bruce took her hand gently.

"Lunch first, noyoner moni. Eat the good food so your body gets strong."

Shanta looked up with big, pleading eyes. "Baba, it is happy day!"

It only took about five seconds for Bruce to cave. "Fine. But only this once. And you still have to eat curry."

"Yes, Baba!" Shanta happily skipped away to the sweets table. Bruce turned away so he was not technically culpable for how many things she took.

Natasha smirked. "She has you enslaved already."

"She's had me enslaved from day one…much like her mother."

"The great Doctor Banner, so easily compromised."

Bruce shrugged and took his wife's hand. "What can I say? I never had good spy training. And you are the best spy."

"I hope to be good at other things." Natasha purred into his ear.

Bruce turned bright red. "Tasha! Wait till the kids are asleep!"

Natasha burst out laughing. "You-you-your face! Fine! I'll behave! But only in public."

Bruce sighed. "This is going to be a long day…"

It was, indeed, a long day. But the days following seemed to pass in a slow, blissful haze.

That Saturday morning, Bruce awoke to his phone loudly trilling.

Natasha moaned and rolled over next to him. "Wassat?"

"Dunno…skype?" Bruce grabbed the phone and blinked at it blearily. "Tony?"

Natasha leaned over at that. Sure enough, the skype image pulsing on the phone was none other than one Anthony Edward Stark.

"The hell?" she muttered. "He hasn't called in weeks. He's been busy training that Spider-kid."

"Peter." Bruce corrected automatically. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Sighing wearily, he hit the 'talk' button.

"Bruce! Hey!"

Natasha bared her teeth at the camera. "Tony what the hell gives you the right to be so peppy this morning?"

"I can be whatever I like at whatever hour of the day, Agent Romanoff. And I thought you were a morning person."

"It's Romanoff-Banner, actually." Natasha said, a bit more coolly than she meant to.

Tony blinked. "You guys actually tied the knot?"

"Legally." Bruce clarified. "We'll have a wedding in the States, but we had to do this for…"

"For the adoption, yeah, yeah. But you didn't think I would fly to India to see my Science Bro and…Spy Sister get married?"

"Spy Sister?!" Natasha muttered. "Stark, are you on something?"

"Well, I'm currently experiencing massive jet lag because oh guess what?!" Tony flipped the phone dramatically so that the camera showed a very…familiar looking street scene. "I am in India."

Bruce gaped. "Tony, how…?"

"Business." Tony said shortly. "But it's not so pressing I can't take a day with you two. And meet my adorable niece and nephew. You don't send enough pictures, you know. Pepper asked me to complain."

"Do you know where we live already, or do we have to actually give you the address?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms in mock offense.

Tony faked a gasp of shock. "Natasha! As if I can't figure out where my own friends live!"

"So where are we?" Bruce asked, crossing his arms.

"You're going to tell me, aren't you?"

Natasha snorted. "I thought you would have figured out through some strange surveillance app, Stark."

"I could, but that would be creepy. Now chop-chop, I'm filled to the brim with espresso and I don't want to fall asleep for at least twelve hours."

Bruce rolled his eyes and gave him the address. "Do you want any actual food when you get here?"

Tony sobered for a moment. "Eh, show me what you got when I get here. I'm not so hungry. Too much travel upsets my stomach. I'll see you in a few."

Bruce nodded. "No problem. We'll get the kids up."

As they hung up on Skype, Natasha groaned a bit. "You do realize this means we actually have to get out of bed?"

"We probably should, you know." Bruce replied wickedly. "After this last week."

Natasha's response was to hit him with a pillow and stalk out of the room.

Bruce continued smirking as he straightened his glasses.

Worth it.

Anish sat at the kitchen table and played with the hem of his t-shirt.

It wasn't every day that you met a billionaire, after all.

Ma and Baba weren't worried, so he knew he didn't have to be, but there was still a strange feeling in his stomach that kept him from eating breakfast.

What if he doesn't like me? What if he doesn't think Ma and Baba should adopt us?

He could sense that Shanta was equally as excited and nervous. She was playing with her breakfast instead of eating, too.

Natasha caught his eye. "Don't be scared, Anish." she whispered. "Tony's like a frog. Far more scared of you than you are of it."

Shanta frowned. "Frogs are loud, Ma. They scare me at night."

"Tony's loud, too." Bruce said, chuckling. "But you'll love him, and he'll love you. I promise."

Anish nodded, still feeling scared. But he started to eat breakfast.

About twenty minutes later, a loud knock sounded on their apartment door. Bruce hurried to open it.

"Tony!" he cried happily.

Tony whipped off his trademark sunglasses and grinned. "Bruce! How's married life?"

Bruce grinned back. "Can't complain. How's engaged life? Is Pepper handling the wedding planning?"

Tony snorted. "Is that even a question? The most I do is say 'yes, dear' and maybe look at flower arrangements."

Natasha came to the door. "I'll tell her to show you a red tux and see if you pay attention."

"I do have some standards!" Tony exclaimed.

"So you say." Natasha gave him a brief hug. "It's good to see you, Tony."

"Ah, well…I couldn't live with myself if I didn't see my newest niece and nephew. Speaking of which, where are they?"

"In the kitchen." Bruce said, leading them in that direction.

Both kids were standing when they entered. Shanta was standing slightly behind Anish and both kids had wide eyes.

Tony gave them an awkward smile and wave. "Hi, guys."

"Hello." Anish whispered. Shanta peeked around him.

"Ma, sē ki āmādēra cācā?"

Natasha smiled. "Hyām̐, sē'i. Āpani āliṅgana karatē pārēna."

At that, Shanta surged forward and shyly threw her arms around Tony's waist.

For a moment, neither moved. Then, Tony slowly hugged her back.

"Hey, kid. Nice to meet you."

Shanta looked up at him. "Like you, Uncle Tony."

"Well…I like you, too. You're Shanta, right?"

"Yes! And Anish!" Shanta pointed back at her brother with her head. Anish took another step forward.

"Anish is interested in science." Bruce said helpfully.

"Oh, really." Tony replied, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you'd like to see my lab back in the States, huh kid?"

Anisha nodded, eyes huge. "Y-yes, sir. Baba says it is very big. And shiny."

"What kind of science you like? Machines, chemicals, human experiments?"

Anish glanced briefly at Bruce. His English was progressing fast, but these were words a bit beyond him. Bruce translated into Bengali as best he could.

"Oh! I like machines. I like to build."

Tony clapped his arm dramatically to his chest. "A boy after my own heart! Who do I need to pay off to get this kid to the States faster?"

"Tony, we're not bribing the government." Natasha said, arms crossed. "I've considered it multiple times, but I'd like to do something in my life by the books."

"I mean, you married Bruce legally, didn't you?" Tony quipped. "Now you can return to questionable legality."

"I think we'll do this the right way." Bruce said. "The paperwork isn't taking too long of a time. It helps when you're a respected scientist and someone with government connections."

"Fine, fine. Just let me know if you want any oil to grease the system. So, where's the best place around here for me to firmly establish myself as the fun uncle?"

Natasha shrugged. "They like going the mall. It's got a play place and a food court and plenty of shops."

"Tasha, Tasha…malls in Asia do tend to be fabulous but isn't there anything a bit more…thrilling?"

Tony had a smirk on his face that Bruce recognized. It was his patented 'I have a secret' look.

"Tony, did you buy tickets somewhere?" he asked.

Tony slyly held out his phone, showing a confirmation email for five tickets.

"Nicco Park…" Natasha read. "Isn't that the amusement park in Jheel Meel?"

"What is amusement park?" Shanta asked, trying to see Tony's phone.

Tony faked a gasp. "That's it, we're going now! I have to educate this one on the joys of bumper cars and gondolas in the sky!"

Natasha sighed, knowing there was no way out of this now. But she couldn't even pretend to be annoyed. This would be the perfect chance for bonding.

"Anish, Shanta, get a book. It's going to be a long taxi ride."

"Oh, no need." Tony said. "I rented a limo."

"Limo?" Anish questioned. "Like in movies?"

"Exactly like in movies!"

"Tony, please tell me you didn't drive a limo down here…." Bruce said, panicking slightly.

"No, no, it's at the hotel. And if we hurry, we can make a full day at the park still."

Bruce shrugged helplessly. "I'll go get a taxi."

Somewhere between the bumper cars and water spray fountains, Tony Stark decided two important things.

The first was that Bruce and Natasha had made a very good decision to adopt.

The second was that maybe, just maybe, he wanted kids after all.

You admit it, finally, you damned hypocrite.

After a childhood growing up with a workaholic father and chronically busy-to-fill-the-void mother, young Tony Stark had sworn up and down that children were not in his future. Why risk repeating the mistakes of the past, especially when he was so prone to failure at other things.

But then, one by one, his closest friends had started turning up with children. He'd started finding children for himself (even though he'd never admit it to anyone but Pepper).

And now, a tiny Indian girl was clamoring to ride a roller coaster with him.

"Please Uncle Tony? I sit you?"

Tony couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, uh, you can sit with me, kiddo. God, you've got heartbreaker eyes."

Shanta looked confused. "Heart-break-er?"

"He means you use your eyes to get what you want." Natasha said.

Shanta batted her eyelashes. "It work?"

"Every damn time." Bruce muttered.

"Bruce! Language!" Tony cried. "Have you fallen out of line since Cap's not around to keep law and order?"

"Steve swears more than you people give him credit for." Natasha said. "Just not around Christy."

"Can I ride with Uncle Tony on that?" Anish asked, pointing at the Tea Cups.

Tony clapped his hands together in glee. "Uh, yes, and then I can teach you all about the wonders of centrifugal force and how to make things go faster."

Anish clearly didn't understand 'centrifugal' but the idea of the famous tech wizard teaching him anything lit up his face like a candle.

"Yes, please, Uncle Tony!"

As they sat down in their seats on the roller coaster, Tony could sense Shanta mentally realizing she had bitten off more than she could chew.

"Scared?" he asked, putting his hand over hers.

Shanta glanced over and nodded slightly. "I…I fall. I can fall."

Tony nodded back thoughtfully.

"You could. Or you could fly."

Internally, he rolled his eyes. Wow, real original, Stark. What internet meme did you crib that from?

"I fly?"

"…you don't know. But you gotta try, sometimes."

Strangely, that seemed to work. Shanta gave a solemn little head jerk and squeezed his hand. "I fly."

A moment later, the ride started.

And Shanta learned that sometimes, taking risks meant that you could indeed fly.

"Thanks again for this, Tony." Bruce said quietly that night. Both kids were fast asleep in the back of the limo, sprawled across Natasha.

"I didn't think it was possible for Anish to smile that big." Natasha added. "I think 'centrifugal' is his new favorite word."

"Glad to have created another future contributor to science." Tony said. "And for what it's worth, you found some great kids."

Bruce sighed. "More like they found us. I don't know how we got this lucky. You take enough pictures for Pepper?"

"More than enough. She'll be buying onesies behind my back and researching baby names now."

"Another Stark in the world." Natasha mused. "I don't know whether to run in terror or rejoice. How's Peter, by the way?"

"He's…good. Antsy. Wants to 'be more than a friendly neighborhood Spiderman'." Tony gave a sad chuckle. "Kid doesn't know what he's wishing for."

"He hasn't seen firsthand all the hells we've made and been in." Bruce said gently. "No wonder he still sees it like a big adventure. But he's not some little kid, and he does have powers. Don't write him off just because you can't protect him from everything. You shouldn't have pulled him in to Leipzig, but he's one of us now. He needs to know that."

From the look on Tony's face, Bruce could tell he was hitting the nail on the head.

"What about you two?" he asked. "Have you told these guys everything?"

"They know some of the stories. I think Anish has a pretty good guess. But that's a conversation that will need to come soon. I don't want them left out of everything."

Natasha sighed. "They don't need to know it all, Bruce."

"Not every sordid detail. But they need to be able to trust us, and that means we need to be as honest with them as their age can handle."

Natasha nodded reluctantly.

"They won't run off, Nat." Tony said, uncharacteristically serious.

"…but they might be angry."

"But they'll trust you." Tony gave a bittersweet smile. "Better an honest screw up than a liar in a mask."

Looking down at Shanta, who was cuddling into her chest, at Anish's rising and falling chest, and at Bruce's earnest eyes, Natasha finally found the strength to whisper:

"I guess I have had enough of masks."

"Ma, sē ki āmādēra cācā?": "Mom, is he our uncle?"

"Hyām̐, sē'i. Āpani āliṅgana karatē pārēna.": "Yes, and you can hug him."

Next chapter includes sparring, skyping Uncle Clint, and a visit from Tooth Fairy Bruce. It shall arrive when I find a moment between students, lesson plans, and many, many meetings. Thank you for sticking with me in the meantime.

If all goes well, I plan to begin my Infinity War and Endgame phase stories sometime around Christmas. This story only has about two more chapters to go, with perhaps an Epilogue. My sincere thanks to all the feedback I've received thus far.