It was never supposed to happen this way, I was never one to believe in love. Our first meeting had been hard enough, I'd been sent to abduct him, essentially. I'd been frightened of him then, and nearly every time we had talked since. It wasn't until the mission in Florence that I'd finally been able to push aside what I'd been feeling, but that had opened a whole new set of emotions I'd never known I had. We've had to do several more missions together since then, neither of us speaking of what had happened. Until now, anyway.
As if reading my mind, he spoke. "So... About Italy..." I glanced up at his soft brown eyes and saw questioning uncertainty in them. Was he asking what had happened, or what I thought about it? "What about Italy..?" I decided playing dumb would be the easiest way to avoid letting my emotions betray me. Nobody needed to know I'd actually grown fond of someone. "Natalia, you know what I mean." He sounded exhausted, making me almost give up my charade. "It's a beautiful place. Nobody can deny that." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his mouth set into a frown. He didn't speak for several minutes. "...Well aside from that. Our mission, Natalia, I want to talk about tha-" "There's nothing to say." I interjected. I was afraid that if he continued, one of us would mention the kiss. I started to walk away, but he grabbed my hand. "Natalia, stop. Let me finish for once, would you?" I didn't pull away and he took it as compliance. "We both know what happened in Florence, and I'd like to talk about it." So, he remembered..?
I turned to look at him, taking in his slightly disheveled brown hair and nervous expression. I felt my heart skip a beat, thankful that my expression didn't waver as well. "Well, talk.." I said simply. He sighed deeply and let go of my hand, running his own through his hair. "Well, I don't know where to begin. You.. I mean I... One of us... Kissed the other... In Florence..." He sighed again. "Bruce Banner, at a loss for words?" I try to direct the focus to him in a feeble attempt to mask the strange sound in my own traitorous voice. He looks at me for an uncomfortable amount of time and I begin to squirm. "Well... We kissed one another in Florence, then you completely blow me off after... I just want to know that you're okay." I weigh my options before I speak. "Bruce, we're a team, of course I'm okay." I watch him closely, wondering how he'll react. "Well, see, I haven't been able to stop thinking of that.. I was wondering if you'd had the same problem." I shook my head too quickly, he obviously knew something was up.
"Natalia, you're a terrible liar." He smirked. I was a master trickster, known for my ability to trick enemies into telling me anything I wanted to know. He knew it would hit hard if he said that. "That isn't true, Bruce. I'm fantastic at lying." I realized right after I'd said it that I'd just implicated myself for lying to him. His smile told me everything he didn't say. He knew it had been in my mind too, he knew I'd been thinking of him the way he was thinking of me. I decided to try and lessen the embarrassment by explaining myself. "It's kind of hard not to think of someone who saved your life." I look at the floor. "You didn't save my life, and I'm still thinking of you." He stated. I shrugged slightly. Why didn't I just give up and admit it? It would be easier than this situation, where I was stuck trying to rationalize emotions into some sort of honor thing.
"Okay, Natalia. Let me make this easy for you. I didn't just save you because you're my teammate. You know the other guy won't just save anybody... I like you. Okay? A lot. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop playing games with me and just talk to me about this." Before I even realized what I was saying, I'd started speaking. "I like you a lot too..." The moment I caught what I'd said, it was too late.
I moved to leave the room quickly before I damaged myself worse when he caught my hand again. He pulled me back quickly and a dash of fear passed through me. What had I done? Was he mad at me? No, that wasn't it. He would have phased if he was angry. Within a matter of seconds he had me pressed into the wall, his lips against my own. I unconsciously responded by kissing him back, lost in the moment that stretched into minutes.
It wasn't until we heard someone clear their throat that he pulled back, and I was able to open my eyes, seeing the whole team behind him. Fury looked... Well... Furious. Tony looked jealous. Thor and Captain seemed entertained by the whole thing. Clint seemed almost unfazed, as if he'd suspected this would happen. He always could read me the best...
After nearly an hour of Fury and Bruce discussing the matter and everyone else forcing me to explain to them, we were released from the 'meeting' we'd been called in for. Bruce steered me off towards the flight deck almost immediately. "Natalia, I know you like me. You know I know." I shift nervously. "Yes, well.. The team..." He isn't satisfied with my answer. "They're well aware, and everything is fine. I know you're worried about the other guy but as you've seen... I'm pretty good at containing that. Besides it seems like he fancies you too... Just..." "Give you a chance?" I ask him. "Exactly. Just... One chance is all I ask."
I find myself drinking in his beautiful brown eyes, the brown hair, his slight five o'clock shadow, and completely melting. All the years I'd spent trying to keep ice around myself and he'd managed to shatter it with one hit. I reached forward, taking his hand in my own. "One chance..." I say, smiling up at him.
-THREE YEARS LATER-
Bruce and I have been together since that day, three years ago now. I look down at my dress, sitting in nervous silence as Pepper makes the final adjustments to it. "You're almost done." She says in a chipper manner. "Are you nervous?" She adds as an after thought. I look at myself in the mirror. I've never thought I looked better than I do right now. "Of course I'm nervous... It isn't everyday you get married after all."
I press a hand to my stomach. I desperately want to tell her I'm more nervous about the child than the wedding. I knew I loved Bruce, as he loved me. No matter how nervous we both were for this wedding, it was overshadowed by our growing fear over our child. My worry was that the child would grow up like me, full of cold walls and misleading actions. He was concerned that the child might have his... Split personality problem. If our child had inherited both his "other guy" and my personality, well... We would have to deal with that when it came.
As the clock struck noon, I began my walk down the isle. Bruce smiled at me from the alter, watching me as I approached. The vows seemed to pass quickly, and in no time at all I heard the priest saying we were man and wife. As we kissed, I could hear our friends clapping and whistling from the pews. The reception was beautiful, full of roses and shimmering crystal. We honeymooned in Florence, it seemed fitting for us. And we never missed a chance to say "I love you."
-FIVE YEARS LATER-
Our child is now nearly five years old. She's a beautiful, happy, healthy child. Bruce had chosen her name, Sydney, and I was happy with it as well. To this date, the only things she seemed to inherit from either of use would be his intelligence and my physical abilities. She had my face, his eyes, her hair was streaked with red and brown. She is the smartest girl of her age, and we couldn't be prouder.
We still do missions, Pepper helps babysit while we're away. I don't regret anything I've ever done in my life, it all brought me here, to Bruce and Sydney, to my friends and co-workers, to the life I've built for myself.
Every once in a while Bruce will turn on music that the teenagers of today listen to. Some songs stick out, others fade into the background while we go about our daily lives. I've noticed he tends to turn it up during one song, by some band named Mayday Parade. To The End...? I remember the lyrics best, because he likes to sing it to me. "I'll be by your side until the end."
-ELEVEN YEARS LATER-
I'm sixteen now, today is my parent's funeral. They had been sent out on a mission, days away from retirement, and been killed in an explosion caused by Thanos. The officials who came to talk to me showed me their files, they'd been found lying next to one another, holding hands.
I've decided to pick up their legacy. I'm now the youngest member of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. They train me in hand to hand and guns, saying they were mother's specialties. I wish she could see me now. I'll avenge them, I tell myself everyday. I'll make Thanos suffer, and feel the way they felt.
If I can't protect my parents, you can be damned sure I'll avenge them.