A/N. Hiya :) I couldn't leave you guys with a cliff-hanger like, so here's a short chapter to make up for it where there is no cliff-hanger at the end. Also, it turns out i made a mistake. Graham is actually 22 not 23. Clint and Steve are both 23 though and Tania is turning 25 on the 16th of January. I'll go back and fix the ages later but I just thought I'd let you know in here. Enjoy! :D

CHAPTER XVIII

Tania stared at the little velvet box in Steve's T-shirt drawer for what felt like hours. She was boring holes into it with her mind as if using x-ray vision to see what was inside. She had the immediate urge to take and open it but she refused. If Steve was going to propose, she needed to be surprised. Or at least, act like it.

But… marriage? Tania slowly closed the drawer, eyeing the velvet until the very last second and then it was gone. She took a deep breath which quickly escalated to hyperventilating. MARRIAGE? Was she ready for such a big step? They'd only been dating for a six months! (Okay, nine if you counted the three they spend in the forties). How long had he had this ring? When did he plan on doing it-? Oh. Wow. Her birthday. Or their anniversary. But most likely her birthday. That was… that was soon.

She found herself lowering until she sat on the bed, staring blankly into space as the mattress dipped under her weight. "Oh my God…" she whispered. Steve was going to PROPOSE. As in, "will you marry me?" This was HUGE. It was the biggest commitment she'd ever have in her life. What if she messed it up? What if something went wrong? What would the paparazzi think? Okay scratch that last one. No one cares.

But MARRIAGE? What… this was just… so sudden! He was going to pop the question in nine days! Holy… She fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling blankly. "Wife," she tried the word out on her tongue. Of course she'd said the word before, but it sounded different when she applied the term to herself. "Husband," she tried next. It was so foreign. To call Steve her husband… woah. She suddenly felt really old.

Gosh… marriage. What? She was… she was… getting married. That was if she said yes. Will I say yes? Oh don't be ridiculous, of course I will. I love him. We should get married. Wait, how does that work? What if I'm not ready? What if we're going at this too fast? What if the wedding goes horribly wrong? What if… I'm not ready? Didn't I say that already? Whatever. Am I ready for this? It's a huge commitment. Not that I'm not committed to Steve one hundred percent, I just… it's so final. So formal. It will be legal. People will be calling us husband and wife. Life partners. And what comes after marriage? KIDS.

Oh my God I can't even think about that right now. Let's just focus on the wedding thing. Wait, no. Before the wedding comes the proposal. Right. Let's focus on that. I'm going to say yes right? … right?

She found herself completely, internally conflicted. She loved Steve with all her heart but she wasn't sure she was ready for marriage. After practically organizing the entire Banner wedding, Tania had a pretty good idea of how they worked. Now they were bonded together by something almost tangible: rings and a signed piece of paper.

Could Tania totally give herself to Steve? Of course. Did she want to get married yet? … Now that's the million dollar question. There were quite a few things she wanted to do before getting married, like travel, explore, learn, be free while she still could. But couldn't she do all that stuff after marriage?

But it wouldn't be the same. How? I have no idea. I just… "I'm not ready…" she breathed. Oh dear Lord, she was going to break Steve's heart. "No, no! I can fix this," she said aloud, rolling over onto her stomach before lowering her legs to the ground and standing up. She quickly replaced the T-shirt into his drawer on top of the ring that was taunting her to look and quickly slammed it shut.

"Jarvis, lights please."

The room was dimmed until it was pitch black as she hopped into bed and curled up under the sheets. Just because I'm not ready, doesn't mean we have to get married right after getting engaged. That's still a long way's away. Planning a wedding takes months, sometimes years. So… I can accept his proposal. Yeah, I can do that. I just… want to postpone the wedding a little longer. Yeah. That works.

She closed her eyes.

Sometime later, Tania groaned and shifted in the bed, waking from her slumber. "Sorry, did I wake you?" a voice whispered in her ear.

Her eyes snapped open and struggled to adjust to the lack of light. "Steve?" He grinned from his position next to her on the bed. "Steve!" She rolled over towards him and pressed her lips to his.

He chuckled and pulled away only slightly. "Miss me?"

"Always." She attacked his mouth again. Oh it felt so good. She hadn't realized how much she missed every single aspect of him, how she cherished all of it, until her skin sizzled where his bare hands brushed against her and how the embers flashed behind her eyelids and burned in her core. Her toes curled and she craved the heat and the warmth he radiated.

Her tongue shot into his mouth and he was already reciprocating, as if anticipating her actions. His hands snaked around her waist and pulled her closer, bringing her flush against his chest as her fingers tangled in his hair.

With a gasp, she pulled back and remembered the ring. Steve began kissing her neck and throat down her collarbone and lower. She moaned. "Mmmm… Steve…" He didn't stop. "I- we…" she wanted to talk about it. At least know what his thoughts were on it, maybe get a few hints as to how he was going to propose. But his hands weaving under clothes had her arching and breathless and she couldn't continue.

"Talk later," he mumbled before her shirt came off. He threw it behind him and kissed her passionately again. "Missed you too much," he grumbled breathily into her mouth.

She hummed in response and removed Steve's shirt from over his head, where he tossed it to the side. "Whatever you say, Captain."

That sealed the deal.

Tania awoke sans nightmares or dreams at all and yawned. The first thing she became aware of was Steve's arm locked protectively around her waist, held tightly as if he was loath to let her go. She hummed and snuggled deeper into his chest. It was extremely pleasurable and special and she just wanted to live in this moment forever. It was just too perfect in her now extremely hectic life.

As if sensing that she was awake, Steve fluttered his eyes and shifted, removing his arm to stretch before replacing it back the way it was. She chuckled and rolled over so that she faced him. "Good morning Dear."

"Good morning Darling."

"How was the flight?"

"Tony wouldn't shut up for the entire eight hours and then some. It was also extremely boring."

"I can imagine that."

"But from what I've heard, it doesn't seem to be too boring here."

"That's one way to put it."

He smiled at her, gently stroking his thumb back and forth over her hip bone. "Shall we go have breakfast?"

Her stomach grumbled and he laughed at the timing. She laughed along with him. "You said it."

As they got dressed on opposite sides of the room, Tania couldn't help but be acutely aware of every time Steve opened a drawer. Her heart was speed up and she would start blushing. She had to calm that down if this proposal was going to be a surprise.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump. "Ready?" Steve asked.

She nodded and hastily buttoned up her pink blouse. "Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I be?" He was talking about the clothes, not the marriage you MORON! She chastised herself.

He raised an eyebrow but didn't question it as they headed for the dining room. It was an entirely new room separate from the eating space they used to always have breakfast in. Tony and Pepper had arranged because with Betty and Graham moving in, they didn't have enough room at their table for eight. So they bought a huge circle table and placed it in the new dining room. It was mahogany and polished perfectly, surrounded by a dozen black leather chairs. Hanging from the extremely high ceiling was an extremely large and overly intricate chandelier that Pepper had fallen in love with despite Tony's protests about how ugly it was.

When Stania reached the dining room, they were shocked to find that the only person there was Felicity. She sat with her back to them, her legs kicked up onto the table and crossed at the ankles with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a cell phone pressed to her ear in the other. Her talking was loud and obnoxious and her laugh was even worse.

Tania turned to Steve and mouthed, "Coffee shop?"

He nodded and mouthed back, "Coffee shop."

After their little breakfast date, Tania sought out Pepper who was hiding in her office. She knocked on the glass wall and the red head looked up. She smiled at her before holding up a finger to tell her to wait for a moment while she finished something. Tania nodded and waited, shifting from foot to foot anxiously.

She needed to tell someone about the ring. It was driving her INSANE not being able to mention. Pepper was the perfect person to confide in. They were like sisters. Who better to tell secrets to?

After Pepper hung up her phone call on her blue tooth (probably to Mr. Green of Arrow Incorporated), she waved the brunette inside. Tania obeyed and entered the office once the door lifted automatically and sat down in the chair opposite her boss across the desk.

"What can I do for you?" the CEO asked.

"Well," Tania began twisting her ring around her finger multiple times, as she tended to do when she was nervous. "Um, you see… last night, I was missing Steve. Like, a lot. And… um… I went through his dresser to see if I could find his T-shirt to wear like you do and… well… I found a ring."

Pause. Pepper gasped. "An engagement ring?!"

"Well, it was technically a box that I found but it was definitely a jewellery box. It was the exact size to carry a ring."

"Oh my Gosh, that's amazing news! Does Steve know you found it?"

She shook her head. "No, he doesn't know. I'm assuming he's going to propose on my birthday."

"Wow, you lucky girl!"

"Thing is, I… I don't want to get married just yet."

"Really?"

"Really. I don't think I'm ready. I haven't even thought about marriage yet and we've only really been dating not even six months! Don't you think we might be rushing things?"

"Hm, well, maybe a little bit. But I'm sure Steve would understand if you told him that you just aren't ready yet. Just don't forget to add that you want to someday. You do want to get married someday… right?"

Tania nodded her head vigorously. "Of course! I've always wanted my dream wedding. I just didn't think it would happen so soon…"

"So you're going to reject his proposal?"

"No. I'm going to accept it I'm just… not going to get married for a while."

"But what if Steve wants to get married soon? You have to take into account what he wants too."

"You're right, as usual. But how is there a compromise for this?"

"Well, when do you think you'll be ready?"

"I don't know? After at least a year of dating? I'd say that's pretty reasonable."

Pepper nodded her head and hummed. "Okay. So pick a date and see if he's okay with that. Try and find some middle ground."

"Alright, I… I can do that."

"Good. I can't believe you're getting married!"

"Pepper…" Tania said exasperatedly.

"Well it's true! I mean, first Bruce and Betty who proposed on the spot. And now you and Steve, who've been dating for six months! I feel like the shortest relationships are the ones to get married first nowadays. Well doesn't that make me feel a little old."

"Well you are forty."

"Shut up," Pepper mumbled through her giggles.

"I'm just saying," Tania teased while shrugging her shoulders. "I know Tony will propose one day though. I just know it."

"Thanks, but I'm getting kind of impatient."

"Don't worry. I'm sure it'll be soon."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. I mean, first Bruce and Betty, then Steve and I, you two are surely next since Clint and Natasha said that they don't think marriage would work in their line of… well, work. And Jane and Thor are taking things super slow and Graham is single right now."

A smile started to form on Pepper's face. "I did catch the bouquet at the wedding last week."

"See! There you go. You're the next one to get married, even if I'm going to be the next one getting proposed to."

"I guess you're right. But I thought you didn't believe in that kind of luck?"

"I don't. But you never know right? Gotta put in all the variables."

"Well alright, if you say so. Remember to try to let Steve down easy."

"Oh, I won't forget."

"Good. Now, would you mind helping me sort these files?" Pepper pressed her palm to her white desk and lifted it, conjuring a holographic image of her desktop screen. "All these documents need to be categorized into the proper departments and merged the matching ones of Arrow's."

"No problem," Tania reassured before smiling and scooting closer to her friend's desk. "Where do I start?"