A/N: Thank you for reviewing! There IS adult content in this chapter but I tried to make it as tasteful as possible.

For those of you who were PMing me about the story I'm writing about Steve and Beth, I have posted the first two chapters and the story is called "Behind Blue Eyes".

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.


Chapter 22: Paradise

Natasha POV

"This is your pilot speaking, please fasten your seatbelts as we begin our descent."

I clutched Bruce's hand as the plane jolted. There was a storm going on and the plane was shaking as we descended onto the private runway. I wasn't handling the turbulence well and Bruce held my hand throughout the duration of the flight.

Bruce and I had changed before we left, he changed into a more comfortable dress shirt and his Converse sneakers, I changed into a comfortable cream colored dress with a slight plunging neckline and a different pair of ballet flats.

Bruce kissed my hair and whispered,

"Mrs. Banner, all I want to do is take you to the mansion, close the door, and stay wrapped in the sheets with you for three weeks."

"Mm that sounds wonderful. Although I do want to enjoy the beach."

He kissed me again and murmured,

"Of course."

I clutched Bruce's hand tighter as our jet landed.

"Dr. and Mrs. Banner, we hope you enjoyed your flight, please enjoy your Honeymoon.", said the pilot as we disembarked in the pouring rain.

Well, I did hear somewhere that rain on your wedding day is good luck.

It was raining cats and dogs, so I suppose Bruce and I would have immensely good luck.

After Bruce carried me through the front door of the lavish mansion, he went to turn on an inside light, but the room was illuminated for the briefest of seconds with a bright flash of lightning. I felt a jolt of fear roll down my spine.

"Bruce?"

"Right here…", he whispered from behind me as the lights came on and provided a dim yet steady glow.

"Natasha, we have to get out of these wet clothes before we get sick.", he murmured into my ear.

"Okay…", I practically purred back as he kissed my collarbone and unzipped my dress, tossing it on the floor.

"Come on Mrs. Banner, let's get upstairs."


Bruce POV

I ran my fingers through Natasha's hair and tugged gently, causing her to moan.

"Bruce…."

We rolled onto the bed as I kissed and bit her neck, no doubt leaving marks on her pale skin.

"Oh God…", she moaned.

I pulled myself away from her and tossed the rest of our clothes aside, pulling off my glasses and placing them on the nightstand.

Natasha rolled onto her back as I climbed on top of her, careful not to crush her, and began to kiss down her chest. She tugged at my hair and I let out a low growl against her skin.

She began to grind her hips against mine as she purred into my ear.

"Bruce…please…"

I complied with her request and kissed her neck once more before I pressed my hips against hers and my thoughts became incomprehensible as she moaned my name again.

I kissed her lips and she bit my lower lip.

I moaned her name and she tugged on my hair again.

Our tongues wrestled for dominance and I tangled my fingers in her hair.

"Natasha… The things I'd to do to you…", I murmured as I broke the kiss and pressed my cheek against hers.

"Then what are you waiting for? Show me….", she purred back, biting my ear softly.

I smirked against her neck.

Challenge Accepted.

Half an hour later, after the most incredible experience of our lives, we came down off of cloud nine and Natasha snuggled up against me.

"Bruce?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

I held my wife close and drifted off.

"Bruce, come here, I need to show you something."

I found myself in the front hall of a house and saw the pictures on the wall going up the stairs. They were photos of mainly Natasha and I, but I glanced into the living room and framed photos of the other Avengers sat on the mantelpiece. This was the home that belonged to Natasha and I, the one I had always wanted.

"Bruce, come upstairs, I have someone that I want you to meet."

I walked up the stairs and down the hall towards the sound of Natasha's voice.

I walked into a sunny room and saw that it was a nursery. Natasha sat in a rocking chair by the window and she smiled contentedly at me.

She was holding a bundle in her arms and rocking it gently.

She looked at me again, grinned, and said,

"Come on Bruce..."

I hesitantly walked over to her side and she gazed up at me.

"I wanted you to meet our son, I gave birth while you and the rest of the Avengers were saving the world and now that you're back, I think you should definitely meet him."

She stood up and held out the small bundle to me and I took it carefully.

The moment I first held my son was the moment my life was made complete.

I couldn't help it and I broke down in tears.

"Natasha…He's so beautiful…"

"I hope you don't mind it that I named him."

"What's his name?", I asked.

"Brandon Robert Banner", she replied.

"It's perfect."

I opened my eyes and saw sunlight streaming in between the curtains.

Natasha was still sleeping with her head on my chest and I inhaled her lingering perfume, surprised that the rain hadn't washed it away.

Natasha stirred and looked at me before yawning,

"Good morning Bruce."

"Good morning Natasha."

She moved so she was laying on her side and facing me.

"Did you sleep well?", I asked, holding her hand and running my thumb over the cool metal of her wedding and engagement rings.

"Of course I did, I had my husband beside me the whole time.", she smiled and kissed my forehead.

"Do you want to get up?"

She nodded.

"I also want to take a shower, I slept in my makeup from yesterday."

She got up and stole my shirt off the floor, covering herself.

She walked into the bathroom and called out to me.

"Bruce?"

"Yes?"

"It's impolite to keep a lady waiting.", she said and I heard the desire in her voice.

"Yes dear…", I smirked as I cast the covers off of myself to follow my wife.


Natasha POV

After breakfast, Bruce and I decided to go and check out the scenery. We walked along the beach and enjoyed our breathtaking surroundings.

"I had a dream last night…", Bruce said softly as we walked on the beach, hand in hand.

"What was it about?". I asked.

"It was about the baby."

"What happened?"

He told me all about the house, the nursery, and how he felt when he held his son for the first time.

"Is that all?", I asked when he was done.

"Yes. I want to know what you want."

"What do you mean?", I asked.

"Do you want a son or a daughter?"

I laughed.

"It's not really up to me."

"I know that, but I was just curious."

I thought for a while.

"Hmm, I think I'd want a daughter. A little girl who would have the happy childhood that I never had. I would want to do mother-daughter things with her like shopping, baking, and teaching her things like how to shoot a gun.", I pulled Bruce into a hug, "But the most important thing for her wouldn't be martial arts or science, it would be having a man as kind and loving as you for her father."

Bruce kissed me and said,

"And a woman as intelligent and fearless as you for her mother."

I put my head on his chest.

"You know I'm not fearless."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Losing you."

Bruce tipped my chin upwards and his brown eyes searched my gaze.

"What makes you think that I'm going anywhere? You know I'll never leave you."

"I know."

"Then why are you afraid?"

"I have no idea."

He kissed me and said,

"Come on, let's see the sights."

And so we did.

We spent the next two weeks doing things like going sightseeing, swimming, and getting tangled up in the sheets. Bruce only Hulked out once because he could only keep the Hulk penned up for so long. Thank God that Tony had put an armory, lab, and a Hulk unit in every one of his houses.

During the last week of our honeymoon, we decided to go out on Tony's boat for a day.

We left the house at sunrise, took the boat out of the marina and sailed into the open ocean. It was a beautiful morning off of Bermuda and we sailed along the coast for a while before deciding to have some lunch.

Bruce's phone rang just as we dropped the anchor.

"Hello?", he answered.

"Hello, Director Fury.", he said.

The smile slipped off his face and he glanced at me.

"Of course you can trust me, I'm her husband and a member of the team. How about I put Natasha on since this information is clearly her business?"

"Okay.", he handed the phone to me and I answered it.

"Yes Fury?"

"Agent Romanoff?"

"It's Agent Banner now."

"Sorry, old habit. Anyway, we found something that we thought you ought to know."

"Well, what is it?"

"It's about Ivan Petrovich."

My eyes shot open.

Ivan was the first person who had treated me like a human and not a weapon after I had been brainwashed by the Red Room. He was the closest I had ever come to having a father and he helped me gain a shred of humanity. He had disappeared nearly eleven years ago and, according to the research I did when I joined SHIELD, he had died about nine years ago.

"What about him? He's been dead for a while.", I asked.

"Well that's where you're wrong. Ivan Petrovich is very much alive, he was being held as a prisoner in Belgium by some division of the Red Room, which has been eliminated. He managed to escape and now he's seeking help from SHIELD."

"Why…what does he need help with?", I asked, sitting down on the deck.

"Locating you. All he wants is to find you and see how you're doing. We've already checked his records and he's clean. We've also told him that you're alive but we didn't say any more than that."

"How is he?", I asked as Bruce sat down next to me and mouthed the words, "Is everything okay?", as I nodded.

"He's doing well, he was suffering from malnutrition when we got to him and now he's getting his strength back. He's asking about you a lot but we wanted to ask your explicit permission before we disclosed any information."

I choked back tears and said,

"Can you put him on the phone?"

"I'll put the call through to his room."

"Thanks Fury."

"No problem Agent Banner."

I waited a few moments until a man with a thick Russian accent answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ivan?", I asked hesitantly.

"Yes? May I ask who's speaking?"

"It's me…Natasha Romanoff.", I replied, using my maiden name because he didn't know I was married.

"Natasha? My daughter?", he asked in Russian.

"Yes father. I cannot wait until I get back to see you again after so long… I thought you were dead."

"Natasha, I can't believe I found you again. How are you?"

"I'm fine, better than fine actually, and you?"

Ivan laughed and replied,

"I'm alive, my daughter is well, the food is good, and I'm gaining strength, so I can't complain."

"I'll see you again very soon. I have someone I want you to meet, a lot of people actually."

"I have met Mr. and Mrs. Stark along with your friends Clint and Serena, I have yet to meet the others. Where are you now?"

"I'm in Bermuda on vacation."

"It's beautiful there, isn't it?"

"Yes and I'm enjoying the sunny weather."

"We have much to talk about when you return. I won't bother you any more while you're on vacation, so I'll be looking forward to seeing you soon. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"Alright father. I'll talk to you later. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, my daughter.", he said before hanging up the phone.

I gave Bruce his phone back and Bruce asked,

"Wow, is everything okay?"

"Yes.", I nodded. "Ivan is alive!", I shouted as I stood up and hugged Bruce.

"Isn't Ivan your father-figure?"

"Yes, I thought he was dead, but he's alive and well. I can't wait to see him again."

"I wonder what he'll think of me, after all, I'm technically his son-in-law."

My good mood went out the window in a heartbeat as I sat down again.

Ivan was always overprotective of me, I hope the sight of me married and pregnant didn't give him a heart attack or worse, cause him to get mad at Bruce.

The last time he saw me, I was a teenager and a cold-blooded assassin.

The very idea of me becoming a wife and mother was unheard of.

That was the Natasha that Ivan remembered.

"Oh dear…", I muttered.


A/N: What did you think? Please Review!