Haven
A.N.: Set post-CATWS. For Hulkwidow prompt weeks hosted by hulkwidownet on tumblr. Week One: Domesticity.
She knows she shouldn't be doing this. She knows she should be laying low, probably even leaving the country the second she walked out of that press conference. Natasha knows that she should be anywhere else except where she is; anywhere except being two seconds away from walking through the doors of the Avengers Tower. But, she can't help it. It's as if her legs have developed a mind of their own and brought her here against her conscious will. Or maybe this is where her subconscious thinks she needs to be, and her body was simply complying to those wishes. Either way, now that she was there she might as well take advantage of it, so she lets herself in only to be greeted by JARVIS barely a second after she passed the entrance.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Romanoff.", the AI's voice fills the room.
"Afternoon, JARVIS."
"Any way I can be of assistance?", he asks.
Natasha's instinct is to decline and make a beeline to her room. Maybe she could rest, eat something and pack before leaving. Yes, that could be a good plan. A plan that definitely made sense and would be the best course of action she could take. But, somehow instead of replying with a simple "no", the words that leave Natasha's mouth are: "Where can I find Bruce?"
She doesn't know why she asked that. She doesn't seem to know a lot of things recently; who she is, who she wants to be, who she trusts, who trusts her.. It annoys her to say the least, but right now she can't make herself go and search for answers to all those questions. Although she is apparently in search of Bruce Banner.
Natasha can't really say she's spoken to the doctor much; in between her constant missions and Bruce's late nights with Tony, she's barely even seen him. On the few occasions that she was able to speak with him, though, Natasha has found out that Bruce was still in desperate search of a way to keep the Hulk in check. Even Tony was helping him out, and Natasha vaguely remembers that the doctor mentioned something about improvements to the Iron Man suits - which Tony had apparently began working on again - that would give them the possibly ability of knocking the Hulk out. Natasha found the idea interesting, and she hoped that the duo have made progress with their project; even if Natasha was of the opinion that violence couldn't be the only way to reach the Hulk. But, to each their own.
"Dr. Banner is in the kitchen.", JARVIS replies, pulling Natasha out of her thoughts. "Do you want me to tell him of your visit?"
Natasha shakes her head. "That wouldn't be necessary. Thank you, JARVIS."
"Enjoy your stay, Ms. Romanoff."
Natasha makes a quick stop to her bedroom to change her clothes before she ends up going to the kitchen. She's not sure if she really want any company right now - not after all the shit that has happened - but she knows the doctor might be of the same opinion, for he often prefers solitude to the company of others, so she thinks that maybe his company won't seem as intrusive.
As expected, Bruce is sitting at the kitchen table, a half-full carton of take-out Thai (or was it Chinese?) food in front of him that was probably cold already, as all the doctor's attention was currently on his tablet. Natasha doesn't find that surprising at all.
She makes some noise in order for him to notice her arrival and not be frightened, and he looks at her with a welcoming smile on his face. Something about it makes her want to return the gesture, so she does. It feels nice. "Good to see you, Natasha.", he says, putting his tablet down on the table. "There should be some leftovers in the fridge."
Natasha nods, opening the fridge and grabbing herself something to eat. Closing it, she picks up some utensils and takes a seat opposite of Bruce at the table. The doctor continues eating his food as well - probably having just remembered that he did come to have some lunch - and they sit in silence for a few moments.
"Now, I don't want you to take this the wrong way..", Bruce begins, and Natasha looks up at him with a quirked eyebrow, urging him to continue. "But I'm a bit surprised that you've decided to come here."
Natasha nods. "Honestly, so am I.", she replies and Bruce leans back on his chair. "I could say that I'm surprised to find you here, Doc.", she says and Bruce nods his head to the side. "After I leaked those files, I thought you'd be making your way back to Calcutta without a second thought."
Bruce shrugs his shoulders, taking off his glasses. "Can't say I didn't think about it. It was certainly an appealing thought, but I came to the conclusion that - if someone really wanted to find me - they'd be able to do that whether I remain here or go backpacking through Europe."
"I should probably apologise.", she says, taking another bite of her meal. "I put all of your history out in the open."
"You put yours out, too.", Bruce replies instantly. "It was a brave decision, one which I admire that you made."
"I bet all that made for an interesting read, huh?", she asks, looking down at her food. For some reason, she doesn't want to see what look he has in his eyes as she mentions her past. Natasha doesn't want to see disappointment, or pity, but above it all she didn't want to see him doubting her. She didn't want to see that she didn't have his trust - not that she did much to earn it, but still. Trust was something she started giving great value to, and knowing that only few of her fellow Avengers trusted her with their lives - maybe only Clint and Steve (he just recently) - wasn't a wound she wanted to add salt on.
"I wouldn't know.", Bruce says and his words surprise her. Natasha lifts her head and looks at him carefully, but there's only sincerity in his features. "I haven't read it."
"You haven't?"
Bruce shakes his head. "It's none of my business.", he replies. "I didn't know you before. I know you now, and I trust the person you are. And I believe that, when you want to, you will tell me about your past yourself.", Bruce says.
"Thank you.", she says, because she can't really think of what else to say in this situation. Although, upon further thought, Natasha would be lying if she said Bruce's confession came as a surprise to her. If anything, she found herself thinking that of course Bruce would do something as kind as not reading her files even if they were a Google search away. Of course he would. It's Bruce.
And that's when she realises why she came here. Why she wasn't already packed and halfway across the Atlantic right now, but instead sitting at Stark's kitchen which Pepper probably decorated and eating leftover Shawarma most likely from yesterday's dinner that Bruce and Tony had, talking to the man sat opposite her.
"Pierce asked me if I was ready for the world to know who I truly am. But all I gave them were my covers. I don't know who I am, and I want to figure that out.", she says, and Bruce gives her a reassuring smile. "I came here because this is where I want to feel safe. I want to have an identity, I want to have a home. I want to have more than a handful of people who trust me, and who I trust.", Natasha pauses, and leans back into her chair, her shoulders falling a bit in relief of finally getting certain things off her chest. "I hope I'll get to accomplish that."
Opposite of her, Bruce nods. "I know you will, Natasha.", he says. "I'm sure of it.", Bruce then gets up and Natasha thinks he might've decided to get back to his work, but instead he just walks to her. Lightly, he puts a hand on her shoulder - the one the Winter Soldier shot - and she can see that he's eyeing with a careful gaze. "I could check this out for you, if you'd like. Although I'm sure it's healing nicely.", he says and moves his hand from her shoulder to the chair she's leaning against.
Natasha finds herself missing the touch and the sense of comfort it brought, along with another feeling she couldn't quite place.
"But first.", Bruce says, moving towards the kitchen counter, and opening the cupboards. "How about some tea?", he asks. "Or are you more of a coffee person?"
The kindness in his voice makes Natasha reciprocate his smile. "Tea would be great.", she replies and he goes back to looking through the cupboards for the tea.
Natasha takes a deep breath and lets herself take in the warm feeling of the room. Taking a look around, she finds herself thinking that she could see herself having a life here - even if that meant having Tony in close proximity.
As Bruce begins a new conversation, Natasha is certain that she could definitely get used to this domestic lifestyle. It definitely had its perks.