Disclaimer: Marvel owns these awesome characters. If you see a name you don't know, I made them up so they are mine.

Author's Note: Thank you, thank you for all the wonderful reviews you have taken the time to write! I truly appreciate it and I am so happy that others either love T-squared as much as I do, or that began to see them as a couple possibility because of this story. :) I have recently started an internship to finish my PhD so I don't know how much time I am going to have for writing. I think Fire and Ice has reached its conclusion with their marriage, but there is a lot left to be written about their married life so if I do have time to write short stories about that, I will upload them in a sequel to Fire and Ice.


Epilogue

10 years later…

The waiter, new and somewhat inexperienced, had become flustered immediately among being told that he would be waiting on two VIPs. Only one of them had shown up so far, and he approached the private table out on the balcony with a mixture of awe and trepidation. The beautiful woman sat there, dark red curls loose past her shoulders and the strapless black dress leaving little to the imagination. He might have been tempted to sneak a peek at her breasts, except the deadly look in her cold green eyes gave him pause.

There was also the fact that this was the Natasha Stark, and everyone knew that she could kill you with one hand, in high heels and a dress without breaking a sweat or smudging her makeup. They didn't call her the most dangerous woman in the world for nothing.

"Can I get you anything, Mrs. Stark?" He was proud that he managed to speak steadily, and tried to resist the urge to wipe his sweating palms on his pants. The pictures of her really didn't do her seductive beauty justice.

Natasha glanced up at the eager beaver standing before her. Her gaze flicked to his nametag – Jason – and she shook her head. "No, thank you." On the table, next to the still neatly wrapped silverware, was a sleek Starkphone that she was idly toying with as she waited. She noticed his curious look and smiled faintly.

This model was one Tony had recently designed and if the public was lucky, they might get a version of it. Or they may not; he was always designing things but some of those inventions stayed within the family. She couldn't complain, though. As likely as he was to walk off in mid-sentence to go down to work in the lab when an idea struck him, he always made time for them.

Jason nodded politely and was about to say something but then he looked past her, over her head, his eyes getting bigger.

She wondered briefly what he saw but then she heard an all-too familiar whooshing sound and smiled when there was a noisy metallic thud behind her.

"You're late," she informed her husband without turning around.

"I know," he responded, his voice distorted by the helmet. It was followed by the whirring sound as his suit began to disassemble off of him. "I'm sorry, baby. I lost track of time in the lab at HQ with Bruce until Jarvis starting yelling at me."

"Jarvis never yells." Natasha was amused by his exaggeration. She felt a warm hand on her bare upper back and she sighed in pleasure at his touch, turning her head to look up at him.

Tony, impeccably dressed as always in a black suit and burgundy shirt, looked slightly sheepish. She let him squirm for a few moments longer, letting him wonder if she was displeased with him, and then she smiled.

"And neither do I. It's all right. I'm just glad you're here."

Tony leaned down to kiss her. "Wouldn't miss my anniversary dinner, Tash." He glanced at the kid that was still gawking at them. "You can get the champagne now."

"Right away, sir." Jason turned and walked quickly inside.

"I think he wanted to ask for your autograph," Natasha teased him as Tony took his seat across from her.

"No, I think he wanted to look at your boobs. Can't say I blame them. They're even bigger now than they were before you had the kids."

"Tony!" She laughed, shaking her head at him.

"What?" He looked at her innocently. "I'm merely making an objective observation, my dear."

"How very scientific of you."

"I try." He grinned.

Jason brought back the champagne, carefully opening it up and pouring each a glass. They placed their orders and Tony's expression made it clear that he wanted Jason to scram so he could enjoy privacy with his wife.

"Do you think Happy will be all right looking after the kids?" Natasha asked, her graceful fingers stroking the stem of the glass.

"Sure. Pepper is one speed dial away for backup. What's the worst that can happen?"

Natasha raised her eyebrows at him. "Ah, how soon we forget the incident with the homemade blender."

"That was… unfortunate," he conceded. "But that's why it helps to have a mutant we can call up to use her telekinesis. The Drakes are great sports about helping out…"

"Yes, Steve and I made a good choice in recruiting Eliza despite her… questionable parentage." She smirked and laughed. "That damn blender exploding food everywhere. Anya is just like you. God, I don't even want to think about how bad she would be if she didn't have Katya around."

He smiled fondly, picturing their 6-year-old twin girls. They were tiny and beautiful, with dark red hair and big brown eyes. When he and Natasha had first married, she hadn't been certain if she'd wanted to have children. He hadn't felt strongly about it either way, happy just to have Natasha, but when the twins had been born premature he'd been sick with worry for them – and for her. His girls had become his world, and so had his son when he was born two years ago. Misha had dark hair and blue-green eyes, his physical features favoring Tony and he had an odd sense of pride about that. He knew that genetics were a roll of the dice but he still was pleased his daughters resembled their mother and his son resembled him. It was unlikely that they would have another child, and he treasured his family.

"Did Misha cry when you left?" he asked.

"No. He was busy putting together whatever you two were last working on. He just asked if we'd be back tonight and I told him yes. I told Happy they could all watch Despicable Me after dinner and not to let Anya con him into staying up later."

Tony nodded. If one went out on an assignment, the other one would stay home with the children. It was easy enough to arrange that with Steve being not only the Avengers leader but also a family friend, and Tony being the current director of S.H.I.E.L.D. while Fury took care of personal matters.

"You're really good with Misha…. With all the kids," she commented.

He looked down at the tablecloth, feeling unusually vulnerable. "I want them to know that I love them. To never doubt it... the way I did. I found out my father loved me but much, much too late. I thought he was cold and that his work mattered more than I did. Work is… I need it, I need to keep my mind and my hands busy but I need you and the kids more. I need them to understand that they are the most important things to me, you and them."

"They know," she said softly. "They love you so much, Tony. You've always been a big part of their lives. To stay home with them and allow me to go back to work…"

He smiled at her. "Hey, I loved doing that with the girls. It was easy enough to be a stay at home father to them. And Maks."

She laughed at the mention of their Russian Blue cat that had been a gift from him to her their first Christmas as a married couple. Trust Tony to find a cat that was highly intelligent and could be trained. Somehow Maks always ended up in the bedroom, sleeping atop Tony's head on the pillow but Tony never seemed to mind.

"And it's the same with Misha. Well, it's easier because there's only one of him. He's not as demanding as Anya is. Katya is so easygoing, it's hard to believe they're identical twins sometimes."

"Like I said. Anya's just like you." Natasha smirked.

"I sure hope not. In some aspects…"

"Like the naked youtube videos?" she asked. "Or the other embarrassing things there's photographic and/or audio and video evidence of you doing?"

Tony cringed. He wasn't ashamed and still thought the things he'd done were funny or worthwhile, but the thought of his daughters doing the same filled him with unspeakable horror.

"They're my babies," he groaned. "Can't they just stay babies?"

She smiled, but there was a wistful look in her eyes. "If only they could, hm? Now we sound old."

"We are old."

"Speak for yourself, sugar daddy."

Tony burst out laughing. It was a running joke between them that he was the sugar daddy and she was the trophy wife, because of their age difference, his wealth, and her beauty. He poured them each more champagne and lifted his glass in a toast.

"To our 10th anniversary, and to you, Tash, for having put up with me all these years."

She clinked her glass against his. "To 10 happy years together. I love you, Tony."

"I love you, too." He smiled, sipping at his glass.

Dinner passed comfortably, and they both declined dessert in order to get back to their family. Happy met them at the door, looking proud of himself.

"Nothing exploded or broke this time!" he reported.

Tony laughed. "Glad to hear that. Thanks for watching them."

"No problem, Tony. Have a good night. And happy anniversary!"

"Thank you, Happy. Goodnight!" Natasha called after him.

Tony went upstairs with his wife, going first into the nursery. Their son was sleeping in his toddler bed, one arm wrapped around an Iron Man plushie. Misha's little mouth was slightly open and he let out tiny snores. Natasha grinned and mouthed something to Tony, who made hand gestures adamantly denying that he snored. They each kissed him, careful not to awaken him, and then went next door to the room the twins shared.

The girls had their own beds but more often than not, ended up in one bed cuddled up against each other. Anya had a lavender bunny plushie and Katya had a matching pink one. Katya slept on when her parents kissed her, but Anya's dark eyes fluttered open when she felt them kissing her forehead.

"Mommy? Daddy?" she asked sleepily.

"Yeah, princess," Tony whispered her tenderly. "It's just us. Go back to sleep, don't want to wake your sister."

She gave him a drowsy smile. "Love you, Daddy," she said, closing her eyes and falling back to sleep.

Tony felt his heart ache with love for her, for all of his children. He looked up at Natasha, his emotions mirrored in her eyes. He cradled Natasha's face in his hands and kissed her gently, pulling her into his arms and eventually leading her to the master bedroom.

Ten years, three kids, countless memories, and many more to come – he had finally become a man who truly did have everything.