The argument had been pointless, but she had gotten too zealous. Only he could make her zealous, and arguing, jokingly, had always been a favorite past time. But she went too far now.

"At least I'm not a monster!"

She regret it the instant she said it, but she didn't even think of the possibility of him getting angry. She thought about how much that must of hurt him. Of course, Natasha instantly remembered the possibility of him getting angry when he looked to her with bright green eyes.

"Bruce?" she breathed, and she got a growl in response. His skin discolored, gaining a green tint. Against all her screaming instincts, she came closer.

"Stay…..away….." he managed between labored breaths. She ignored that too.

"Bruce, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it." Natasha rushed out. "You are not a monster." Something that could have been a choked laugh bubbled out of his throat. "You're not." She repeated. She paused. "I am though." His breathing slowed but his tinted eyes and skin stayed put. Natasha continued, "You know that SHIELD found me. It was what happened before that created the monster inside me. I didn't care who I killed. And I killed a lot. That's the difference between us. You're not a monster, because you have no control over the people you hurt, but I did. Yet, I killed on purpose. Good people. I've killed priests, and volunteer workers, and people who adopted children. Good people." His skin returned to it's normal tint, "I am a monster."

"No you're not." His voice was quiet, but controlled. "You were young. That was the way you were taught. You didn't know any better because that was the way you were taught." Bruce shook his head, and finally the transformation was stopped, eyes returning to their usual brown. Natasha released a quiet exhale.

"It still happened." Now that she didn't have to, she truly did not want to continue this line of conversation.

"Yes. But the fact that you realized. You realized what you were doing was wrong, even though you had never learned anything that supported that. You are not a monster. You're the opposite." Bruce swallowed nervously, while Natasha just stared at him. After a few silent, awkward moments, she turned to leave the room.

"Thank you." She said so quietly that she wasn't even certain he heard. When she reached the doorway, she knew he had.

"Thank you."

R & R. This is the first drabble for a prompt. I have another (unrelated, yet similar) drabble for the prompt as well. Check out my profile.