Alice: This is a quick, short story about how Natasha and Bruce ended up developing feelings for each other in Age of Ultron.

Emily: I really liked their romance in the movie, but I was kind of angry that it came out of nowhere. When did she develop feelings for him? Why did she? What happened while the team was taking down HYDRA?

Alice: So I decided to write something. It should be around three to five chapters.

Emily: Here's the first chapter!

Title: Beauty and the Beast

Summary: Pre-Age of Ultron. "Love is for children." When Natasha joined the Avengers, she never expected to do something as silly as fall in love.

Pairings: Bruce x Natasha.

Chapter 1

Their first meeting did not go as planned. Natasha Romanoff considered herself a strategist and liked being prepared for any situation. When Coulson informed her she would be recruiting Bruce Banner, she immediately planned out anything that could go wrong and how she would handle the situation. During the actual meeting, she had been pleased when everything had gone her way until he exploded in pure rage. Instinctively pulling out her gun, she remembered all of the escape routes and the backup she hired to ensure he would be taken down if the Hulk came out. Her heart beat fast and hard in her chest, and she knew in that moment she truly feared the Hulk.

Yet the big guy didn't show.

Instead Bruce innocently raised his hands and admitted he wondered what she would do. He tricked her, and she did not appreciate the action.

Ever since, their relationship had been distant at best. When the Avengers parted, she knew she wouldn't miss him in the slightest. Eventually the Avengers had to meet up again to take down HYDRA, and she had to share the same space with Bruce Banner once again.

The first interaction was not particularly interesting.

"Hi."

"Hi."

And that was basically it.

It wasn't as if she hated the man, but she didn't care about him either. She focused more on the beast inside and what that thing could do. It caused a damper on their potential friendship, but she didn't mind. After all, spying on Tony Stark caused slight tension between them, and she never bothered trying to fix it. What was done was done.

It wasn't until the aftermath of their first battle when she took notice of the man and not the monster.

They had infiltrated a HYDRA base, and they quickly took down all the members within. The mission was a success, and it resulted in the Avengers throwing a small party as a result. Each member could not stop smiling that day except for one. It took her a bit to notice Banner was missing from the celebrations. At first, she thought nothing of it, and she continued to have fun for the rest of the night.

She found Banner the next morning brewing coffee in the kitchen.

Out of all the Avengers, Natasha and Banner were the only ones who woke up early in the morning. Normally they never spoke to each other, but curiosity got the better of her. When she began brewing her own cup of coffee, she turned to Banner, who was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. "I didn't see you at the party yesterday," she casually commented.

He stiffened slightly, and Natasha took immediate notice of it. "I was tired," he mumbled. "Figured I could use some sleep."

"At seven?" She raised an eyebrow. "That's a little early, Banner."

He shrugged and that concluded the conversation. It didn't quell her curiosity though. From the corner of her eye, Natasha observed him, taking in his rugged form and the bags under his eye. Contrary to what he said, he did not sleep the previous night, and Natasha could easily tell. Something was bothering him, and it was preventing him from celebrating. Perhaps his hatred of the Hulk had not dwindled down as much as the team had hoped.

Shrugging, she decided not to think of it anymore and went back to her usual morning routine.

When they attacked another HYDRA base, the soldiers were prepared for the Avengers. It was longer and bloodier, which tired out the Avengers rather quickly. Once it was over, the team met up by the door of the base, and Tony instantly noticed something wrong. "Where's Bruce?" He frowned, searching the circle of heroes as though the man would suddenly appear.

The team frowned and glanced around, just noticing their missing member. "Do you think the Hulk ran off?" Steve asked, his body tense. The team stiffened at the notion. If the Hulk found civilization, there was no telling the destruction he could bring. Steve ordered them to split up and find Bruce or the Hulk. Tony and Clint checked inside the base while Thor flew over the area in case the Hulk had run off. Steve and Natasha checked the forest surrounding the base.

Surprisingly, it was Natasha who found him.

He was naked, and he was staring at one of the fallen HYDRA soldiers. She sighed in mild annoyance. He had them worried for nothing? Slowly she approached him, careful not to anger him in case the Hulk decided to make an appearance. Even after working with the monster, she was still weary of him. "Bruce?" she asked softly.

He didn't answer, but his hands were moving quickly.

"Bruce?" she said again but louder. "Bruce, we have to go."

"How old do you think he is?"

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows. Ignoring every instinct telling her to be careful, she walked up to him and leaned over. "What does it matter?" she shrugged, taking in the young features of the enemy. "He's HYDRA."

"He's a teenager."

Natasha frowned. "Guilt will get you nowhere," she informed. "He was an enemy, and we took him down. He may be young, but he was old enough to make a decision to join HYDRA."

Bruce's fists were clenched, and it took all of her willpower not to take a couple steps back. "What if he had no money and they paid him to do this?" he asked angrily. "What if they forced him to join? What if they lied to him about it being HYDRA?"

"Bruce, it doesn't matter," she pushed. "We took down a HYDRA base. Why can't you be happy about that?"

"Because of all the dead people surrounding it," Bruce countered. "People that wouldn't be dead if it wasn't for me!"

"We would have killed them without you." She didn't know if that would be comforting to him, but at least it would ease the guilt he felt.

"Then can you do that next time?" His tone changed. It was more pleading than anger. "I don't like this. I don't like seeing the faces of the people the other guy killed. I'm not a soldier, and I'm not a killer."

She sighed, running a hand through her red hair. "No, you're not. You're an Avenger and being an Avenger means getting your hands dirty. You may not like it, but the world will appreciate it. Now come on. We need to get back to the rest of the team."

Bruce sighed, taking one final glance at the young boy. "Can we bury him?" he mumbled, already knowing the answer.

"How would we do that?"

"I don't know, but I want to do something. I don't want to just leave him here… he's just a kid."

She took a deep breath to calm herself before nodding. If this helped him sleep at night, she supposed it wouldn't hurt. It's not like they had anywhere they needed to be in the next ten minutes. Standing up, she searched the ground beneath her for any twigs or leaves. She collected some of the bigger ones and began carefully covering the dead body with them. Once Bruce saw what she was doing, he stood up and followed her lead. He seemed to forget about his nudity or didn't care enough to cover himself around her.

It took fifteen minutes for them to make a proper gravesite, and it made Bruce smile sadly when they finished. The two walked back to the base together in silence, all while Natasha stole multiple glances at the man. His feet were bleeding, and judging by the amount, it had first started when he was making the grave. He must have been incredibly guilty to continue collecting branches instead of going to the base for clothes and shoes.

Lost in her thoughts, she almost blushed when Bruce glanced back at her, and she quickly looked away. She was rarely caught staring. He confused her though. Why feel guilty when he did what he had to do? They were HYDRA. It didn't matter if they were thirteen or thirty; they had to be taken down.

She paused at her own thoughts. Didn't she think the same things when she was an assassin? Had she truly not changed at all since then?

They met up with the other Avengers, and Tony instantly rushed to Bruce's side, cracking jokes to mask the worry he had felt. Steve gave him some clothes and shoes, which he hurriedly put on. Clint slowly approached her, a question in his eyes. She subtly shook her head, and his gaze shifted to the rest of the Avengers.

They didn't have a party that night, but they did all sit on the couch to drink a couple beers. All except for Bruce, who Tony claimed went to bed early.

The next morning was similar to all the others. Natasha strutted into the kitchen where Bruce was already sitting with his coffee and newspaper. Instead of walking right past him, she studied him for a moment. "Good morning," she spoke.

He slowly placed the paper down and stared at her in confusion. He really couldn't mask any of his emotions yet somehow he managed to trick her. It frustrated her to no end. "Good morning," he nodded his head.

"How'd you sleep?" She asked as she walked towards the coffee maker.

"Good." A lie, and a bad one at that.

"That's good." She gave him a small smile before taking a sip of her coffee. He nodded his head and turned back to the newspaper, not bothering to make conversation. She figured he trust her just as much as she trusted him. The rest of the morning was spent in silence until the rest of the Avengers woke up and crowded the kitchen. Tony sat next to Bruce and chatted about the progress they're making on their new project. Instead of ignoring the two, like she usually did, she watched them closely.

As Tony spoke, Bruce's body became more and more relaxed. His expressions were less guarded, and he even smiled at some of the billionaire's comments. Was this the reason the Hulk saved Tony when he fell from the wormhole? Because Bruce liked Tony? Was the monster that connected with the man? Perhaps that's why the Hulk fought with them instead of against them. Bruce found allegiance with the Avengers, and the beast inside respected that. But if Bruce detested the idea of killing someone, why did the Hulk not respect that? Did the Avengers mean more to Bruce than his peaceful tactics?

There was a complexity behind this man, and Natasha itched to discover what it was.

Like any other day, the Avengers eventually parted after breakfast. Clint and Natasha went to train together, but he could tell there was something on her mind. Instead of asking about it, he waited patiently for her to bring it up. Once they were done sparring, she walked over to grab a water bottle and a towel to wipe the sweat off her forehead. Sitting down cross-legged, she waited for him to follow her lead until they were both leaning against the wall, panting heavily.

"Clint?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever feel guilty?" she asked.

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Do you ever feel guilty about the people we kill?" she clarified.

"No. Do you?"

"No." She answered honestly. "Should we?"

"I don't think so. They made their choice to join HYDRA, so they should face the consequences," he repeated her sentiment. "If we spared them out of guilt, we wouldn't get anything done."

She nodded. While she agreed with his words, something still felt off in her chest. It wasn't guilt. She hadn't felt that in a long time. It was sorrow at her lack of empathy. If she felt no remorse towards the people she killed, did that make her different from people like Loki? She sighed. She didn't want to think like this, but Bruce's actions opened her eyes. He may have a monster inside him, but at least he hated the thing. While her demons were more metaphorical than literal, she still accepted them with open arms.

Maybe Bruce and his Hulk weren't the monsters on the team.

The Avengers were called later that week to destroy another HYDRA base. It was another blood fest, and Bruce disappeared once again. When the team wanted to look for him, Natasha stepped in and offered to carry the clothes. "I think I know where he is," she had told them before walking off in the woods. She followed the bodies until they lead to Bruce, who was once again trying to build a grave for another one of the fallen soldiers. This forest offered far less twigs and leaves though, and she could tell he was having trouble. "Bruce?" she called out.

He turned to her, once again unashamed by his naked body. "He's even younger than the last one," he whispered, eyes filled with sorrow.

She nodded and stretched out her arm, offering the clothes. "You can't save everyone," she informed him as he approached her. "You have to live with it."

"There's a difference between not saving someone and killing them," he murmured as he pulled his pants on.

"Have you talked to Tony about this?" she asked.

"He wouldn't understand. No one would."

She crossed her arms before admitting, "I think I do."

He raised an eyebrow, an amused smile coming to his lips. "You? You've been telling me this whole time that HYDRA is HYDRA no matter what."

"I may not feel guilty but I wish I did," she admitted, staring directly at him. "I wish I was human enough to feel some sort of shame for the lives I took, but I don't. I've been killing since I was a kid, and I couldn't afford that. I wish I could be more like you."

It was strange telling him something so personal, but she knew he needed to hear it. Perhaps she needed to tell someone as well. Bruce's eyes softened, and he sighed. "You don't want to be like me. You don't want to be afraid of what you could do… of what you could become."

She snorted. "You think you're the only one afraid of yourself? I may not have a beast ready to pop out whenever I'm angry, but that doesn't mean I don't have my own demons keeping me up at night."

"You can't sleep either?" His eyes widened, and his expression changed. He took comfort in what she said. She had to stop herself from reacting. Is her lack of sleep really what he took from that statement? Most people would focus on her demons or how she admitted she feared herself sometimes. Bruce truly was unlike anyone she'd ever met.

"Sometimes. It gets better after a while." She stated, and suddenly that look was gone, replaced with something darker. It was as though all the respect she had just earned from him was wiped out, and she didn't know how she felt about that.

"I don't want it to get better," he whispered. "Because the moment I can sleep at night, that's the moment I'll become comfortable with killing. I can't have that."

He walked past her, accidentally bumping into her shoulder. She frowned but didn't bother following him. Sighing, she glanced at the body that was only partly covered. She still couldn't predict the behaviors and mannerisms of Bruce Banner. In a way, no progress had been made since that first meeting.

For the first time, that immensely bothered her, and she was determined to do something about it.

Alice: What did you think? I'm trying to keep both of them in character, so if it's OOC, just let me know!

Emily: Thanks for reading!

Alice: Enjoy the rest of your day!