the monster within → b . banner

[31] I Do, Though

"Mommy, can I ask you something?" Marie asked the next evening. I looked down at her, and then I crouched down to her level.

"Of course sweetheart. You can ask me anything." I said. We had the house to ourselves, since Bruce met up with Tony for this big project. I didn't ask questions, since I figured that Bruce didn't even know. As smart as he is, not even Bruce could con info out of Tony Stark.

"Are you and Daddy going to get married?" She asked. 

"I don't know. Why?" I asked her. She looked at the ground and drew circles along the kitchen tile, while twiddling her thumbs. 

"It's just that, my other mommy and daddy weren't married either. And, I thought that if you and Daddy got married, maybe you wouldn't be separated." She said, still looking down. 

"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry. I honestly don't know if Daddy and I will get married. But, know that Daddy and I love each other very much, and we may fight a lot, but we won't leave you, ever." I said, seting my hands on her shoulders. She hugged me, and I hugged her back. She pulled away, and she left the room to go play. I stood again and walked to the kitchen sink. I started washing dishes, and I could hear Marie in the next room. I sighed, thinking about what Marie said. Now that I think about it, I do want to marry Bruce. He's just so perfect. I was so lost in thought that I didn't hear the door open, shut, and I didn't take notice of the sound of footsteps. 

"I'm home." Bruce said from behind me. I jumped slightly, and he chuckled.

"I can see that. Have fun?" I asked, turning around to face him. He set his hands on the counter on either side of me, trapping me there. He kissed my forehead, and we smiled at each other.

"It was alright." He said after looking like he was searching for the word.

"Only alright? It wasn't buckets of fun?" I asked, teasing him. He chuckled, and Marie came racing in.

"Daddy! You're home!" She giggled, clinging to his legs. He bent down, picked her up, and held her in one arm. She kissed his cheek, and he kissed hers right back.

"Hey Princess. How were you for Mommy?" He asked.

"I was an angel. Right Mommy?" She asked. I smiled and nodded, and Marie laughed.

"Daddy, I asked Mommy this, but I want to ask you, too. Will you and Mommy ever get married?" She asked. Bruce kind of froze, but he smiled nonetheless. He set her down, and she looked up at him.

"Princess, I'm not entirely sure." He says, and she nods. Marie left the room, and I could tell she wasn't exactly happy with his answer. He ran a hand through his hair, and I walked past Bruce and out of the room, since the atmosphere was getting awkward. I went up to the Crow's Nest, which used to be Dad's Man Cave. I walked up the steps to the room, and I sat on one of the couches. I then looked up, and I saw a sliding glass door that lead out to the small porch. I stood again, and I walked over to the door. I unlocked it, opened the door, and stepped out onto the porch. I shut the door, and I leaned against the rail. A breeze blew my hair back a tiny bit, and I heard the door open again. I turned and saw Bruce, and he was closing the door behind him. He walked over to me and stood beside me, and he seemed kind of uneasy.

"Are you alright?" I asked him, and he just looked out towards the sunset.

"To be honest, I don't even know. Marie kind of jumped us with that question." He sighed, and I set my hand on his shoulder.

"She only asked because her parents weren't married, and she told me that she thought that if we got married, we wouldn't be separated." I said softly. 

"Really?" He asked me, his voice equally soft. I nodded, and he turned to face me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and we watched the sun slowly set.

"Would you marry me, given the option? You'd have to love me, and the monster within." He said, and he looked down at me.

"I do, though. I always will. We've both been through crazy shit, and we've lived to tell the tales. And hasn't Hulk become a bit easier to handle?" I asked, and he smiled at the ground shyly.

"Ever since you and that friend of yours came around, yea. Things have been easier." He said, and I smiled. 

"But, you would marry me?" He asked.

"Of course I would. I love you." I said. After I said that, Bruce leaned down and kissed me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I gripped his arms gently, and he moved his hands to my hips. As we kissed, he removed one of his hands and lifted my left hand from his arm. I felt something cold being slipped onto my ring finger, and the first thing I thought was 'No Fucking Way'. We pulled away from each other, and I looked down at my hand. A beautiful ring with a gorgeous purple stone in the center was on my finger. Bruce tilted my head up again, and I smiled at him.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"Well, you said you would marry me, didn't you? I decided I would ask you now instead of next week." He said.

"Like Tony said." I said, crosing my arms and smirking at him.

"Yea, he was in on it." Bruce said, rubbing the back of his neck. I rolled my eyes and looked at the ring again.

"Pepper helped me pick it out. She said you'd love it."

"And I do." I whispered, tear filling my eyes. Bruce pulled me into a hug, and I kissed his cheek.

"Think Marie will be happy?" He asked.

"Thrilled." I replied, kissing him again. He set his hands on my hips again, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. We pulled each other closer, and another breeze blew my hair around. We pulled away from each other, and Bruce looked at me, a serious look on his face.

"Just, nothing fancy." He said.

"I didn't want fancy. I just want happy, and nice." I said, and he relaxed. We hugged each other tightly before going back inside, and Marie was downstairs, waiting for us. She walked over to us and Bruce scooped her up. She squealed as Bruce kissed her cheek.

"Sweetie, we have great news." Bruce said, and Marie eyes lit up.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Mommy and I are getting married." Bruce said, and Marie grinned. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, and Bruce pulled me into the hug as well.

"We're announcing the engagement in two weeks, to the others." I whispered, and he chuckled.