Title: Protect My Heart

Author: Erik-in-CT

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer or Marvel Comics, and not myself.

Saturday came quickly for Bella. It seemed as if her first week at Stark Industries had flown by in a blur. But she was having so much fun with the work. Over the last few days, she had finally been able to really step in and help with the research that she had been studying under Dr. Riva. She felt as if she was actually somewhere she belonged, which was quite a novel feeling for her. She always felt out of place, whether it had been at her old home in Phoenix, or at her new home in Forks. But here in Los Angeles, working with people who understood her newfound love of computers and technology, she felt as if she were truly at home for the first time. And her surprising friendship with Tony himself was growing in ways she couldn't believe.

Every morning of the week, he had met her outside of her door in the morning, walking with her to the computer lab. Sometimes he would hang out and watch as they worked, sometimes he would say goodbye at the door and run off to some important task he had to do. And he would always be there again when it was time to call it a night. They would spend the evenings at her apartment, playing with codes and programs and eating take out until she was too tired to continue. He would say goodnight and leave, but there was not another repeat of that first surprising night when he had dumped her on her bed and kissed her, though by the electricity in the air around them, it felt as if he had wanted to.

Saturday afternoon found her in Tony's workshop once more, having been picked up by him that morning and invited up to spend the day with him. And there was no way she was going to refuse such an offer. She didn't want to spend the weekend alone, and Tony was the only friend she had down here after all. She was watching as he tinkered with the Iron Man armor, assisting where she could by handing him tools as he needed them, and refilling his coffee mug once in awhile. And she was having the time of her life.

"Hey Tony," she said after awhile of watching him work. "I don't know about you superheros, but us mere mortals need to eat lunch sometime." But he didn't seem to have heard her, engrossed as he was in the work. She understood that, she had been there herself sometimes. With a sigh and a shake of her head, she hopped down from the tabletop she had been sitting on. "I'm gonna go scrounge through your kitchen." A muffled "yeah sure," was the response she got from him as he played with the wires under the torso of the armor.

Tony's kitchen was a gourmet chef's dream. Anything that could ever be needed was at hand and ready to be used. Either Tony himself did a fair amount of cooking, or he had someone do it for him, as the cabinets and refridgerator were all well stocked. Searching through everything, she quickly found the makings of a decent lunch. Cooking was one thing she really enjoyed, and half an hour later she had put together a good homestyle meal of chicken fried steak with all the right fixings. Setting places on the dining room table adjacent to the kitchen, she popped back down the stairs to the workshop, finding Tony exactly where she had left him.

Smiling, she moved over to him, tapping his shoulder to get his attention. "Hey Tony, lunch is ready upstairs."

"Hmm, what?" Tony said as he turned to look at her, his eye moving from the hand that still rested on his shoulder up to her face.

"Lunch, upstairs, now." Bella said with a laugh as she drew her hand back. As if on cue, she could actually hear his stomach rumbling. Hiding a grin, she pointed. "See?"

"Oh yeah," he said as he glanced back at the suit before setting his tool down. "Sometimes I forget about it when I'm working."

"Well it's a good thing you have me here to take care of you then," she said as she turned and began heading back upstairs.

"I may have to keep you around then," he said from close behind her. For a moment her heart fluttered, and she found herself stumbling backwards as her foot missed a step...and then found herself securely in Tony's arms for the second time that week. Her face turned scarlet as she looked up at him. "You missed a step," he said with a laugh, not setting her down as he continued up the rest of the stairs.

"No kidding Sherlock," she mumbled.

Edward sat with his back pressed against the low wall outside of the Malibu home where Bella had been most of the day. His mind churned with the painful thoughts of the only woman he had ever loved. The long months he had been away, he had held the hope in his dead heart that she might one day be his again. It had been one of the few things that had kept him going, despite his determination to remain distant from her. She deserved the chance at a normal life, a life that he couldn't give her. But now that she seemed to be finding that life, he found that he had to fight with himself to keep from trying to take her back into his arms and giving her everything she had asked of him, if it would make her his again.

His lips turned down as he heard the sound of Bella and Tony laughing together from inside of the house. Had she ever sounded that free and happy when she was with him? He didn't think so. She had always been awkward, nervous, wondering when the dream of their relationship would end. And it had, the bubble had burst violently at his own hands. And now she had a new dream.

Anthony Stark...Iron Man. Of course she wouldn't find someone "normal" to be with. Vampire, superhero millionaire...how could one person end up with such unlikely relationships so easily?

It had only been a handful of hours, but he found that he couldn't sit there any longer. He couldn't bear to hear what he had been hearing. He would go out into the hills surrounding the city and hunt for now. She had her "superhero" to protect her for now. Standing up, he glanced back at the house once more, silently promising himself that he would return before dark, to make sure she was alright. Then he ran.

Tony glanced up from the rewiring in the suit he had been working on and watched with a bemused expression as Bella played with the holotable he had in his workshop. She was trying to figure out a puzzle game that Jarvis had developed for the interface, and she wasn't having too much luck with it. Even he found it difficult at times. He would often turn it on and take a crack at it when he found himself stuck on some other problem. It helped to clear his mind for a few minutes and give him a fresh start. He chuckled to himself when he heard her mumble under her breath as she miscalculated a move in the game and wound up starting over.

Moving behind Bella, he reached around her and moved one of the holographic pieces with a flick of his wrist. "That'll help," he said as she turned her head to look back at him. As blue eyes caught brown eyes, the only thought that made its way past his mind was the richness of dark chocolate. Before he could think of anything else, he had leaned his head down and pressed his lips against hers for the second time. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't for her to turn in his half-embrace and return the pressure of his kiss. He pulled his arm back, circling it around her waist and holding her as he pulled away from the kiss. For a moment, her eyes remained closed, and he wondered at the dreamy look on her face. Then they fluttered open, and she smiled up at him.

"I think that does help, thanks," she said. "Though I might need another to make sure." She leaned up into his arms, initiating the contact herself, and he could feel her heartbeat pounding in her chest as her body was pressed up against his. Taking the lead, he tightened his arm around her and deepened the kiss, thrilling at her acceptance and the soft moan that came from her. After a few heartbeats, he released her, delighted to find her breath was coming in soft gasps.

"Stay the night her with me, Bella?"

Author's Note:

Go Tony! lol Will Bella stay with him? Find out next week! Ok, yes, I know that in the Iron Man movie, Tony's (RDJ's) eyes are brown. But they're supposed to be blue. So don't jump on me about it. lol

I have an art piece that goes with this chapter. I'll post a link to it with the next chapter, so make sure you check the AN for it next time!

I seem to be making Edward very broody and...emo. lol But he just seems that way to me.

Please read and review! Y'all are the best!