Epilogue:
"Hey, Doc."
The air was hot and the thin fabric of his linen shirt clung to his sides with sweat. The sweet hum of insects surrounded them, a welcome change to the hum of cars and machinery. Bruce's body stilled at her voice, but he stayed facing away. The twisting and clenching of his hands in the cloth he held was the only indication of his sudden tension.
"You came," he said, too carefully, and hot anxiety flooded Natasha's stomach. What if he hadn't meant it? What if it was a mistake, a test, something else? Even a trick or a trap? She hadn't thought, she had just run to him. She thought she would probably always run to him, whether he wanted her to or not.
"You push it, I come," she stated flatly, letting him lead what would come next.
Finally, slowly, he turned to face her. His warm, brown eyes, filled with wonder and astonishment, pushed a breath out of her she didn't realize she had been holding. With the harsh sound of her exhalation he suddenly crumpled, sitting heavily on the edge of the table behind him and ducking his head. She took two steps forward, still giving him space, but close enough that she could reach out and press her palm to his cheek if she thought he would let her.
"Well, I panicked," he gave a little shrug and quirked that little half smile at her that she had missed so much – the one that was half-humor and half-apology. He was always apologizing.
She smiled back. "What did you panic about?"
He didn't answer, just looked at her gently, taking in the curve of her face, frowning at the harsh red line peeking out from the collar of her shirt where Sam had caught her with a wing in training just a few days ago. It felt a million miles away.
She took in the new lines on his face, new streaks of grey in his perpetually rumpled hair. He looked older, but also, somehow, freer. There was something gone now, settled. He looked tired, but at peace.
"I missed you," he finally muttered out and she found the strength to reach out and slip her fingers over his hand where it rested on his leg.
"Me too."
His hand clenched around hers and for a long moment they just stared at each other. There was no tension or awkwardness, just 8 months of that dull ache of missing each other to banish.
Eventually Bruce gave an uncomfortable cough, tightening his grip on her fingers, he stood so they were face to face and spoke quietly. "I know I said we could...run...together, but I -ah- hmmm." Natasha smiled encouragingly and waited for him to continue. "I'm trying something a little new here."
"What are you trying?" she asked gently.
"I'm trying...staying."
"You tried that once before. I remember." She quirked her flirty smile at him. "I was there."
"I know. I, uh, I like you there. When I...when I stay."
"Are you asking me to stay here with you Bruce?"
"Uh, yeah, you know, this is, if you want..?"
She couldn't help but laugh, a real full laugh and he startled, but she couldn't stop. She'd just flown 4,000 miles in a heartbeat to be with a man she'd only kissed once and he thought she might not want to stay.
"Yes," she finally said, smiling sweetly, eyes alight with laughter. "I'll stay. With you. If staying's a plan, as long as you like."
He finally smiled back, his eyes crinkling, leaning deep into her space until there were only inches between them. "Will they need us back?" he asked.
"Maybe. Probably," she answered truthfully. "You don't have to go, if they do."
"I will. If they need me." His answer was simple and honest. "But for now..."
"Now, we stay."
His lips finally pressed against hers and she tipped up to meet them. This kiss was different. There was still an urgency born of waiting and anticipation, but without the pressure of death, without inevitable loss hanging over them they were able to find a sweetness and a softness for the first time. She thought back to Darcy's wisdom spoken so long ago and had a fleeting hope that after their first apocalypse-induced kiss, they too had found a place of peace.
XXX
Natasha drifted into consciousness, half-aware of an electronic buzzing by her head. The buzzing didn't sound again, however, so she let herself float in that place in between sleep and awake. Bruce's comforting shape lay next to her, his deep, slow breaths luring her back into sleep.
The room was hot, a lone fan barely making a dent in the sweat that clung to their bodies, but it was also fresh, the open window to her left bringing in the smell of dirt and summer rain. Six weeks had passed without notice or acknowledgment from either. They spent their time together, or helping in the village. Bruce traded medical support for food and lodging and Nat did what she could, when she could, but mostly, she was just with Bruce.
The only thing that connected her back to the Avengers was the small flip phone she kept on her at all times. It could only receive messages from one other phone, but it could do so anywhere in the world. It had appeared in a beat-up package with no fewer than eleven re-routing stickers stuck to it, four days after she had found Bruce.
Knowing Steve he hadn't told anyone else where she had gone and she was grateful for that. A slip of paper was caught between the top and bottom of the phone and it had fallen out when she opened the otherwise empty envelope.
"Take a vacation. -S" was all it had said.
Six weeks had passed and the only thing that had come through on the phone were two pictures – one of the Little Guy, fast asleep and curled up inside War Machine's helmet, and one of the whole team (sans Steve who was presumably holding the camera) battle-weary and dirty, but alive and well after a touch-and-go mission. The news of the explosion in Amsterdam and the Avengers' involvement had made it all the way to their secluded corner of the world and Natasha was grateful to Steve for letting her know that everyone, even her kitten, was doing okay.
Despite the lack of contact Nat kept the phone on her at all times, just in case. The only way she could justify being away from the tower, leaving everything to Steve, was knowing that if they needed her, all they had to do was ask.
She sighed as she came fully awake, registering what had snapped her out of sleep in the first place. She half sat up and picked up the phone, flipping it open.
There was one message flashing on the screen and this time it was different. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until she opened it and deflated with relief. There was an image of a plane ticket attached to the text and no message.
But just one plane ticket – and it had her name on it.
Bruce rolled over and tucked his face into her neck, giving her a soft kiss and earning a smile in return.
"Steve?" he asked.
"Yeah." She flipped the phone shut, burrowing into Bruce's arms and breathing in the scent of him. She knew he could hear it in her voice that this time it wasn't a cute cat picture. She didn't know how long it would be this time before they saw each other again.
"Where are we going?" he asked, a slight waver in his voice revealing his tension, even though his arms were soft around her, his heartbeat calm.
"Just me," she replied, and almost imperceptibly some of the tension eased away. Not all of it, but some.
Bruce bent forward and kissed the top of her head, holding her tight. "Okay, where are you going?"
Nat hadn't had a lot of peaceful moments in her life, but if she could use one word to describe the last six weeks, it would be that. And maybe that's all they would get – six peaceful weeks, once a year, maybe less. But she would keep coming back, back to wherever he wanted to stay next, keep hoping that the messages that sucked her into violence and fear and death would only have one ticket attached.
She had three hours of peace left before she had to head out and she was going to make them count. Pressing her lips against his she slipped her arms around his back, running her fingernails along the skin she found there until he hummed with pleasure.
"Lagos," she answered against his lips, tossing the phone aside and rolling them over with a brilliant smile.
You could do a lot with three hours of peace.
You made it to the end! Thank you so much for reading!