Pretty as a Purl
by Liliththestormgoddess
Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, or Marvel comics.
Sub-Summary: Natasha knitted when dreams haunted her. She knitted when she was scared. She had started to knit to deal with her fear for Clint, and now she's knitting to deal with her fear for the Avengers. And that's what really scared her.
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has read/reviewed/favourited so far! You guys are awesome, and I'm glad you like this. Now, I feel slightly awkward asking, but is anyone an artist? Yes, I am asking for fanart. I will love you forever. PM me!
Bruce Banner
Natasha coldly watched as the smoke from her gun wafted away in small, circular patterns. Her blood was buzzing with adrenaline and barely contained anger, and the scent of gunpowder in the air tickled her nose and made her heart beat faster.
Throwing a look of disdain towards the men at her feet with bullet holes between their eyes, she touched a finger to her communicator. "This is Black Widow. Targets are down." Her voice cut through the air like steel.
Rogers' reply came back, and the tightness in his voice could have been due to Natasha's intensity or due to the crisis at hand. "Copy that. We're headed for the jet. We've got Banner."
"I'm on my way." She spun on her heel and walked nonchalantly back.
SHIELD wouldn't be happy that she had gotten rid of the men, but she was beyond caring. They had harmed Dr. Banner. No one touched Dr. Banner. In fact, no one messed with any of the Avengers without receiving retribution.
She arrived at the jet the same time as the rest of the team, Steve carrying the unconscious form of Dr. Banner in his arms. Natasha stonily watched as Steve carefully gave Bruce over to the medics, who began to take his vitals and hook him up to machines. His face was pale and gaunt and bruises covered his body. It had been almost three days. Who knew what the bastards had done to him?
Natasha's fingers itched for her Widow Stings. She knew that those men had died too quickly. She should have killed them slower.
Natasha and the good doctor had managed to find common ground after their initial meeting. He had apologized so profusely for his actions aboard the helicarrier and Natasha knew he was genuinely sorry. She liked him from the start; it was just hard to get over the fact that he had scared her so severely. The Black Widow didn't scare. She did the scaring.
But Bruce was a nice guy, albeit shy and quiet. She would talk to him when he was consulting for situations, and after a while, she began to get over her instinctual fear. She would seek him out just to say hello. And then she began to have conversations with him. And lo and behold, the man had a sense of humour too. Natasha enjoyed his company.
She might even admit that they were friends.
The Black Widow didn't have many friends. Before SHIELD, she had none. After SHIELD, she could include Barton and Coulson as friends. And after the alien invasion, she had begun to include the rest of the Avengers as friends. Because she did not count many among her confidences, she protected them with ferocity. So when she learned that someone had kidnapped Banner, she swore up and down that they would pay.
Now, she stood in front of his room in the medical wing with the rest of the team, listening to the doctor discuss Banner's health.
"He has a lot of tranquilizers in his system. That amount would kill a normal man, but even so, we're worried about their affect on Dr. Banner's heart. He's having some trouble breathing so we've hooked him up to a ventilator. There's a nasty cut on his head; we're shaving the area and stitching it up, but we think he may also have a concussion. We'll know more when he wakes up."
Natasha didn't bother staying to hear Stark grill the doctor. She headed for her room. She had begun to feel a tremor in her hands.
It was almost two in the morning when Natasha slipped into Bruce's room. They'd taken him off the ventilator and he was breathing deeply on his own now. Natasha thought there had never been a more beautiful sound. She stood there, just watching for a few moments, before laying the hat she had knitted on his bedside table.
Suddenly, Bruce stirred. His eyes fluttered and his body shifted uncomfortably. He let out a soft moan before his eyes opened fully and focused on her. "Nat-asha?" he asked.
"Hi Bruce," she whispered, sitting on the end of his bed.
He frowned and groggily rolled his head, taking in his surroundings. "Wha-"
"You're at a SHIELD hospital. You're going to be fine," she assured him.
He let out a grunt and looked back at her. "You guys found me." He licked his lips.
Natasha smiled for the first time in the last three days. "Of course." She gently patted his knee. "Now you need to sleep." She got up and headed to the door.
"Natasha?" he called. She turned back around. Bruce gestured towards the hat sitting on the table. "Is that for me?" he asked.
If it hadn't been so dark Bruce might have been able to claim he saw the Black Widow blush. "They had to shave your hair," she said, her voice thick. "I figured your head might be cold."
Bruce's lip twitched, but he reached over and grabbed the hat. "You're right, it is." He pulled it snugly over his head. "Thank you."
Natasha stared at him a moment longer before leaving.
The next morning, Clint couldn't help but grin at the sight of Banner in his moss-green toque.
