Heart ? Iron Man 1+2

"Come to Italy with me."

Bella snapped her book shut with a deeply annoyed sigh. She glared up at Tony as he leaned over the glass table to place a hand on her knee.

"Please?" He smiled.

She let her head drop back against the couch. "Tony, I can't," She grumbled. Bella squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to shy away from Tony's puppy eyes. The cushion dipped beside her and his fingertips worked into her hair.

"Why not?" He asked in a whisper. Bella glanced over to the door just begging for Pepper to come in with a distraction from the conversation. "It's only for a few days."

She shot him a pointed look. "Not everyone's job is to protect the world from random psychos that are trying to take over the world," she argued. Tony drew his lower lip into his mouth. He was still fighting this losing battle even though he knew that's exactly what is was: a losing battle. "I have to be available if the hospital needs me. It comes with being a doctor. I may be on call but I still have to be there."

"Yeah, I know." He laced his fingers through hers, squeezing tightly. "It was worth a try though."

"You're not guilting me into this." Bella caught the pleading look he sent her way for the second time and her resolve wavered. "Damn puppy eyes. Alright, look, if you can figure out a way for me to still be at the hospital when they need me without actually being there then I'll consider it."

Tony whooped, pumping his fist in the air. "Yes!" He grinned and jumped to his feet, his mind already going a million miles per minute on different options. Bella laughed and shook her head at him.

"No phones in the O.R. So don't even bring up a FaceTime or Skype call," she said. Bella flipped her book back open, scanning over the page until she found her place before flicking her eyes up to meet his slightly dejected ones.

"An A.I.?"

Bella opened her mouth to shoot it down only to tilt her head, her brows raising an inch. A thoughtful look crossed over her face making Tony begin to think he'd finally won before she squashed it. "It's possible but I've never seen it done in my hospital. It's something that you would have to set up with the department." She shrugged and went back to her book.

"And if they agree?" Tony asked, sounding a bit more hopeful. She sighed through her nose looking up at him through her lashes.

"Then I suppose I'll go to Italy with you," she said. Tony brightened instantly, dropping back into his seat beside her. Bella gave him a look before quickly poking holes in his plan to keep her away from work for the weekend. "You have to know that, no matter where we're at, if I get a call I have to take it. I may technically be on vacation but I'm still on call."

His face fell and Bella couldn't help the small smile that crossed her lips. She knew he was going to attempt to keep her as busy as possible while they were away but she had just poked too many holes in the plan for it to work. She could understand why he was planning to do it anyways though. He believed he didn't have much time left and wanted to spend as much time with his loved ones as possible before the inevitable.

It made her heart hurt that he was thinking more about the things he wanted to do before death rather than the surgery that could save his life.

Bella's brown eyes flashed back up to his face from her book catching the annoyed look on his face. "Don't get pouty on me, I still let you get your way," she teased pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Catching her jaw as she pulled away, Tony drew her back to smother her face in a mass of butterfly soft kisses before crashing their lips together. "Missed this," he mumbled, pulling back to catch his breath.

"Oh shush," she breathed.

Bella took Happy's hand as she got out of the car, her dress scrubbing against her thighs irritatingly. She offered him a smile of thanks and smoothed down her dress before being blinded by the camera flashes from every angle.

"M'lady," Tony smirked, offering her his arm playfully. She scrunched her nose laughingly and pushed his shoulder but took his arm anyways. He straightened up, leading her into the restaurant with a bright 'paparazzi worthy' smile plastered across his face.

Bella copied his smile up until her eyes met Peppers. The strawberry blonde stood beside Natalie with a frown across her brows and a downturned lilt to her lips. "We're screwed," she said in a high pitched voice as she dropped her gaze to the ground.

"Relax," Tony spoke through his teeth, still smiling. "I'll handle it."

They kept the smiles up until they reached the two women where they let them drop for the genuine thing.

"When did this happen?" Pepper asked gesturing to the redhead offhandedly as she started a conversation with Bella. A very tense conversation but a conversation nonetheless.

It was warmer in Italy, more humid than Malibu. The colors and the culture were beautiful and it made Natalie seem just a little less intimidating to Bella. Even just the ability to talk to the woman made the brunette doctor waves more confident in bringing up what she'd dug up about her.

Tony tossed an arm over Bella's shoulders, turning her back to the front for pictures. "Look here, right there. Stop acting constipated. Don't flare your nostrils," the billionaire said through his teeth, directing each comment toward Pepper. The woman silently shot a short lived glare his way before following what he said and giving the camera a sweet smile.

"You two are so predictable," she sighed moving through the people that were packed thick in the building.

"That's the amazing thing," Tony grinned letting his arm drop from around Bella's shoulders to allow her to move through the crowd. She sent a smile up at him before dropping into step with Natalie.

The redhead offered her a polite nod and dove into her new job: being an assistant.