I hold the menu in my hands, looking down at each section of my brunch choices—salad, fried chicken, turkey club. This outdoor cafe has become Nat and I's new favorite spot to chat without all the boys around. They're so jealous of our little girls club—Tony questions the topic of our conversations every single time we come back. Anyone who knows Tony knows the man can't stand being out of the loop. Of course we never tell him—even if all we talked about was what fighting techniques Nat plans on teaching me soon.

"Please tell me you aren't getting something small and cheap. I can tell by the look on your face that you're going back and forth. Just get whatever you want. It's my turn to pay." Nat says as she puts her menu down. She rolls her eyes at me and grabs her glass of water, taking a sip.

"Oh hush, Nat. Don't act like you don't do the same damn thing every time it's my turn to pay." I shake my head, chuckling under my breath.

The cool breeze blows the hair out of my face and gives some relief to my hot skin. It's extra toasty today—a thin layer of sweat rests on my forehead. I grab a napkin in front of me and dab at the sweaty skin above my eyes. Nat smirks, shrugging as she moves her own hair out of her eyes—the breeze continues to blow softly.

The waiter comes to our table, placing our Mamosa's in between us. "Here you go ladies."  He says before rushing off to another table.

"Thank God." I declare, immediately pulling my glass to my lips.

"Thank God is right—we're gonna need a lot more of this in order to satisfy the enormous expectations Tony will have for this birthday party we're planning for him." Nat raises her brows, taking a decently long sip of her Mamosa.

"Enormous expectations? He doesn't even know we're planning him a party." I furrow my brows.

"He knows." Nat presses her lips together, her facial expression suggesting defeat.

"You told him?" 

"No—he expects it. He knows someone is doing it. He has expectations. Trust me." She insists.

I shake my head, laughing lightly. "He's such a jackass."

Nat nods. "The biggest jackass I know."

The waiter comes back after a moment and takes our order. I decide to go with a club sandwich, fries to pair with it. Nat orders broccoli cheddar soup, with a flatbread sandwich.

"So—tell me about you and Bruce. Are things okay?" She raises her glass to her lips.

I sigh.

"Uh oh." She raises a brow, her eyes widening a bit.

"No—nothing bad, I just...I just worry about him. Especially lately. I still feel pretty guilty about what happened with Grant—when we went behind Bruce's back. I can sense a little bit of distrust, now." I explain.

"That's fairly normal, he'll come around. I wouldn't worry about that too much. He knows why we did what we did." Nat tries to reassure me. She pauses for a moment, "He loves the hell out of you. It's nice."

I tilt my head, curious with her choice of words. I sense a reasoning behind it but I'm not sure if I want to question that.

"It's refreshing. I've never had that." She frowns slightly.

And there it is. My chest hurts. I feel a little guilt.

"It is refreshing. I've never had it either until now. I feel the same way. I don't think I've ever...felt this deeply about someone before. I feel like, I don't know..." I trail off, smiling slightly in thought.

"No, what—tell me!" Nat pushes with excitement.

I pause, an uncontrollable grin forming across my lips.

"I love him in like an epic, hand prints forever on my soul, kind of way." I admit, I feel my cheeks getting warm.

"Oh for the love of god—." Nat rolls her eyes, "—this is so cute I might hurl."

I laugh, "Shut up! You made me."

It isn't long before the waiter comes to our table, placing our plates in front of us. I immediately grab my sandwich. I'm starved.

"Thank you." Nat gives the water a brief smile of thanks.

"Of course, Natasha." He remarks. I don't think much of it, but Nat immediately furrows her brows in confusion. She gives me a look, I catch on.

How does he know her name? We're frequent here but not with this guy. He walks away.

"How did he know my name?" She questions, picking up the spoon for her soup.

"Maybe someone in the back told him?" I shrug, taking a bite out of my sandwich.

~Tony Stark P.O.V.~

Bruce stands across from me, his back towards the large screen just behind him. I watch the numbers as they grow and shrink depending on which serum I add to Grant's mutated blood cells. I try to focus on them but my anxiety is trying to distract me—so, I do what I do best when I'm anxious. Change the subject.

"So—." I start.

"Great, here we go—what is it now?" Bruce groans, interrupting me before I even get the chance to begin my sentence.

I laugh under my breath, "Ouch. I just wanted to ask how you and Anson are doing?"

"How are you and Pepper doing?" He dodges the question by answering mine with another.

I raise a brow, halting everything I'm doing. I sense some attitude there. Some tension, maybe?

"Well—Pepper and I are great. I think I'm gonna marry her soon. Pop the question. Recent events have...shown me life is too damn short and I love the woman with everything I have. Our jobs have the habit of taking our already short time on this weird ass planet and making the risk of it being even shorter much higher." I explain. I grab the stool behind me and pull it up to the lab table, plopping down onto it. I cross my arms, wanting to have a conversation.

Bruce looks up from his microscope, taking his glasses off as he catches my drift. "Wow, Tony. Really? That's fantastic. Honestly. When are you thinking you're gonna do this?" He asks.

"On my birthday. At my party." I suggest.

"You're having a party?" He pulls another stool up to the lab table and sits on it across from me.

"A surprise one. Nat and Ari are planning it."

"Really? How did you figure that out? She hasn't mentioned it to me. Are you sure?" He laughs slightly.

"Oh I'm sure, trust me. That's why they went on their little lunch date earlier than usual today. I heard them whispering about it before they left. I thought they were supposed to be these like, super secret spies but they really aren't good at keeping secrets." I explain, briefly glancing at the screen behind Bruce again—checking the numbers.

"Honestly I'm more surprised that you're willing to give some of the attention to Pepper during your surprise birthday party." Bruce chuckles as he teases me.

I roll my eyes before winking, "the attention will still be on me."

Bruce shakes his head, laughing under his breath while he moves the microscope closer to him.

"But what about you? You think you'll pop the question to Anson any time soon? I mean—I'm just curious if you've thought about it." I pry.

Bruce stops in his movements, looking down at the microscope as he lets out a short sigh.

"You know—I don't know, actually. I'm not sure if it's the best idea." His voice is quiet.

"Why the hell not? You love the girl more than life itself. I've never seen you this way with anyone, since I've known you. I've never seen you this connected, this understood. She accepts you for every part of you." I assure him.

"And that's why I'm not so sure. She...deserves more than me Tony and you know that. I love her, I really do. I love her more than I've ever loved anybody, I think. But the problem is...I can't give her what she deserves. I don't know if I see a future down the line, when this season of our lives is over. That's it—this is just a season for her. But this is my life, forever. She'll move on eventually, to the next season—have a family. I can't give that to her." He frowns, looking at me only for a moment before looking down again. Shame lingers in his voice.

I pause for a moment, trying to think about how I want to respond. I hear him, I really do. But I don't...I don't agree, really. There has to be a way. We will find a way to help him, so that this won't be forever.

"Bruce—I hear you. I do. But...I disagree." I shrug.

"How?" He asks, making eye contact with me again.

"What have we been doing for almost a year now? Fighting to find a cure, maybe not even a cure, but something to help you. To change your odds. We've already come decently close with the serum. I mean, you got laid without hulking out didn't you?" I raise a brow, letting out a small laugh.

Bruce shakes his head, cracking a small smile but it fades quickly. "You know it's far more than that, Tony. It's a lot more than just getting laid. You really think I could ever have a family with her? Kids? There's no way. The risk of passing my mutated DNA onto them—it's inhumane. You know what I've dealt with for years with this...this curse. It wouldn't be fair. I could never do that." He argues.

"I just don't think you should give up on that idea when we are working every day to find a fix for you. How do you even know a family is what she wants? She knows what comes with being with you, the risks and all. And yet she still loves you like a crazy person. She fights for you. She stands by you no matter what. In my opinion, you couldn't ask for more than that. Let her love you. Let yourself be happy. Stop with this 'I don't deserve shit' mentality because it's stupid and toxic and untrue." I argue back. I stand up from my stool, taking a deep breath. I study his eyes, noticing them falling into thought. I know he's listening to me, and I know my words are making some sort of impact.

"You know what we need?" I yawn.

"What?"

"A break. And a drink. Why don't you come down to the bar with me and we'll have a beer or something." I suggest, crossing my arms again as I wait for his response.

He pauses, thinking for a moment before he turns to check the screen.

"I guess one couldn't hurt." He gives in, standing up from his stool.

I clap once, throwing my hands in the air with excitement, "That's right! Let's go."

~Arielle P.O.V.~

Nat and I walk back into the Avengers/S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. I turn to her and whisper, "You make some calls for decor, I'm gonna get a training session in with Steve and we'll meet back up tonight to go over the game plan for tomorrow."

Nat nods, smiling as she blows me a kiss. "You got it." She heads towards her room. I start to head toward mine to change into my gym clothes but the song "Kill of the Night" by Gin Wigmore plays loudly near the bar area downstairs. The only reason I recognize the song is because it's one of Tony's favorites. I head down the steps to see what he must be up to.

"Hello?" I call out. I reach the bottom of the steps, peering across the room to see Tony and Bruce, drinks in each of their hands. Tony stands behind the bar, pouring himself a glass of bourbon while Bruce plays it safe with a single beer.

"What do we have here?" I smirk, making my way over to Bruce. His eyes widen when he sees me, and he raises an arm for me to rest in.

"Oh, just two billionaire geniuses having a drink and taking some time away from lab reports." Tony tilts his head, smirking proudly.

"Uhhhh there's only one billionaire sitting here, Stark." Bruce chuckles. I lean into him, and he wraps his arm around me tightly. He kisses the side of my head, and I can smell the alcohol in his breath. I close my eyes, grinning as his kiss gives me the warm and fuzzies. Tony turns the music down a bit.

"How was lunch?" Bruce asks.

I sit on the bar stool beside him. "Pretty nice, actually. Had a good chat with Nat, per usual. You guys find anything with the serum testing today?"

Tony groans, "unfortunately, not yet." He grabs a glass and puts it in front of me—pouring myself some bourbon.

"It's a little early for bourbon, don't you think?" I raise a brow at him.

He narrows his eyes. "You're gonna need it after I fill you in on what I've got planned for us later."

Fantastic. This should be good.