A/N: I really loved this one. Not sure why (although it might have something to do with my own affinity for rain).

Prompt: "We're in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?"

Enjoy!

The towel smacks his face when he stands up.

"I figured that you would want to dry yourself off."

Natasha's standing at the top of a ridge, looking down at him with an expression that's a cross between amused and wry on her face. Her suit's deactivated, the glowing blue from her Widow's Bite not making an appearance. It quickly becomes apparent why - the rain is already starting to soak the towel she's thrown at him.

"Aren't you freezing?" he asks her, climbing up the ridge and almost slipping in the mud. Her hair is plastered to her head, so she must've been in the downpour for a while. Natasha shrugs, apparently unbothered, and leads the way as they head back to where the quinjet must be. Bruce gives up on trying to dry his hair and wraps the towel around himself; it's quickly becoming useless.

"How far are we from the others?"

"Quite a bit away," Natasha answers. "The Big Guy kind of… took off after the battle was over. Steve freaked out, but he just wanted to play in the rain."

"…okay." Bruce tries to remember if he jumped around in any puddles and can summon a vague feeling of happiness. That's new. "You found him pretty quick."

"Oh, no, I was along for the ride."

He looks at her, but she doesn't seem annoyed; her customary smirk is in place. The first time she attempted her insane cowboy maneuver he was about two seconds away from shouting at her after he changed back, but no amount of dissuasion can change the fact that the Hulk seems to view Natasha as his permanent battle partner. They work well together.

Natasha's looking at him, like she knows what he's thinking. "It was cute."

"Cute," he repeats.

"Yeah. I had to jump into one of the puddles before he was satisfied, but it was nice to see you enjoying yourself."

Natasha jumping around in puddles is definitely something that Bruce can't see, but for some reason Bruce is a little disappointed that he missed it. He's shivering now, the rain soaking completely through the towel, until Natasha slips an arm around his waist and pulls him into her side. Against his better judgment, he feels himself relaxing; she feels like a furnace.

"I didn't even have to use the lullaby this time," she says. "After a while he sort of just flopped over and changed back. Maybe we should have Thor make it rain every time we need a Code Green."

"I don't think that's how it works."

He feels Natasha shrug. "No harm in asking."

Curiosity gets the better of him. "Do you like the rain?"

"It's better than snow."

"That's not what I asked."

Natasha's quiet for a moment. "I've never really thought about it," she answers after a moment of silence. "Weather was always a detail that I factored into missions. It was never about enjoyment. I… I do like that it's refreshing. I like the smell, I think."

"Petrichor," Bruce murmurs, half-smiling. "Tony hates it, he's used to Malibu weather. I like to sit in the penthouse and stare out the window while it's storming." It occurs to him that that might be why the Other Guy likes it so much, but he doesn't voice that thought aloud.

He looks over at Natasha when she doesn't say anything. Her face is pensive, like she's trying to make a decision, and after a moment she sticks her tongue out to catch some droplets on her tongue.

"Yeah," she says, smiling. "I think I can like rain."