You had never been afraid to talk to your husband before, even when he was green and raging and four times your size. To you, Hulk was just a bigger, slightly less cuddly version of Bruce, but he was still yours, and now that you were standing in the doorway of the lab with a request that was more of a revelation, you almost preferred to be talking to his alter ego. At least with Big Green, you knew what reaction you would be more likely to get.

As you waited to tell Bruce that the team was back home, your nerves were getting the best of you; you had brought a visitor from your clean-up mission in Sokovia, a girl of no more than four years old who had been orphaned in your fight with Ultron. She pulled at your heart from the first second that you had found her, and you couldn't leave her there to be tugged and dragged through government processes and foster homes that would give her no stability. It was your doing that had taken her family from her, and beyond the responsibility you felt, you had connected with her in a way that you never expected.

It was no secret to the team that Bruce couldn't have children of his own, and because of that bit of open knowledge, Tony was the one who had convinced you to bring her here today. It was the first time that your friend had given you genuine advice on something this serious, and to make it even more irresistible, he had already started to plan out the new arrival's room the second the jet had landed. Tony was so certain that Bruce would be on board with this, that you never stopped to consider any other option until you saw him again with your own eyes.

"That's Bwuce?"

"It sure is," you smiled nervously down to the little girl standing at your side. "But you know what, he looks a little busy, so maybe we should wait-"

"Hey, you're home early," Bruce interrupted once he saw you, waving you down from the far side of the lab, "Tony didn't think you'd be back for another week." He quickly crossed the open space, pulling you into a hug that made you release the girl's hand, and giving you a kiss that left you blushing from not only the rush of it but the fact that you were being watched. You broke from his hold as soon as your mind came back to you and took a step back to draw his attention away.

"Honey, this is Olivia," you said gently, "she's from Sokovia. She's going to be staying with us for a little while. Her parents...they, um...they..."

Bruce didn't miss a beat, realizing what you wanted to say but not in front of her. It wasn't that the little one didn't know, because there was no way for her not to, but there was no use in reopening that pain if you didn't have to. He knelt down in front of her, taking off his glasses and quickly dropping them into his lab coat pocket before taking her small hand in his own. "Well, hello, sweetheart. It's nice to meet you. I'm Bruce."

"I'm 'Livia."

"So I've heard, it's very nice to meet you. How long will you be staying with us?"

"(Y/N) said that if I can behave and if she asks weally nicely, maybe fowever," she answered matter-of-fact. "She said that you might want to be my new mommy and daddy."

"S-she...she...she said what?"

"Maybe (Y/N) shouldn't have said anything," you blurted out, pulling Olivia back and towards the door as your fear continued to build. "Tell you what, sweetie, Tony is waiting out here for you so he can show you where the kitchen is and so you can pick out your favorite ice cream. Does that sound good?"

"It sure does!"

You glanced back to see your husband still kneeling down and staring at where Olivia had been standing, frozen in place as the gears in his mind raced to process what he had just heard. As soon as the door opened, Tony was there, just as promised, and you couldn't get him to take her away fast enough. "This might be a while," you whispered, "keep her busy, okay?"

"Is he not taking it well?"

"I don't know why I let you convince me that he would," you hissed between clenched teeth, trying to be quiet, but holding a barely passable smile for Olivia as to not scare her.

Tony simply took her hand and gave you a smirk, looking past you and into the lab as Bruce finally pushed himself up to stand. The doctor looked pale and shaken, but he also looked like if you didn't get back in there fast, he would break the door down to get to you. "I convinced you because I'm right. Just give him a minute to let it sink in."

As Tony walked away, you knew that as soon as you turned around to look at your husband, the conversation would have to begin; it was a conversation that you had been thrust into, created by your own doing, but now that it was upon you, you wanted it to just be forgotten. You weren't joking when you thought that you'd rather bring this to the Hulk rather than Bruce, because you truly had no idea what the man on the other side of the door was going to say to you. Being astute at panic and overthinking, you took a mere second or two to decide that he would be so mad about how you had blindsided him that he would be waiting to tell you that it was over, and how dare you, and you'd be left alone with a fate that you deserved. Bruce was the kindest, gentlest man you had ever met, but with his 'I'm always angry' persona lurking beneath the surface, you expected that one of these days, that side would win out.

But this had to happen, and there was no way of escaping what you had started. You turned to hear whatever Bruce was waiting to say, nowhere near ready for any of it, and when you found him standing inches away rather than on the other side of the barrier that had kept you safe, you sucked in a breath of surprise, taking a step back that he stopped with a tight grip on your arms so that you wouldn't stumble.

"Bruce, I'm sorry," you began, pleadingly, "I should have talked to you first, before I brought her here. Before I brought her to see you. I'll work with Tony to have her placed with a foster family right away, I'm sorry, I screwed this up-"

"(Y/N), breathe," he cut in softly, "it's okay. I'm not mad."

"You're not? You should be."

"No, of course I'm not, I was just surprised. Can you blame me? All I've been thinking about for the last week was how much I missed you and how I couldn't wait for you to get back, and I barely had a chance to give you a proper welcome before you shut me down."

"I know...I'm sorry."

When you hung your head, almost shamefully, Bruce couldn't stand to see that look on your face. He had always taken great pride in being the one who could make you smile and laugh in pretty much any situation, and this would be no different. He took the final step forward and took your hands, making you finally draw your gaze back to him so that he could have your full attention for what he was about to say.

"Don't be sorry, (Y/N), it's okay. It's just not how I had envisioned the moment would go when I met our daughter, that's all. I only hope that she'll give me another chance to do it right."