...Certain As The Sun, Rising In The East...

Her hands are burning from the warmth of the mug. Stark leans over her shoulder, "No sugar Natasha."

"I know. And thanks for talking."

He nods, "Well, just don't tell him I said anything."

"Of course not. I mean, I'm sure there's more you didn't tell me."

"Oh please, there's more he refuses to tell me. Watch it Nat!"

She returns the kettle, "I've got it, relax."

Barton enters the small kitchen, "Stark? Romanoff?"

She looks over her shoulder, "Hi Barton."

He glances around the room, "What are you guys doing?"

"Making tea." Stark gives a weak smile before turning to Natasha.

He raises an eyebrow, "Seriously?"

No answer.

"Um, I left my arrows on your bed. Can you snag them for me?"

Natasha brushes past him, "Sure Clint. Go wait on the bridge, I'll be right there."

He follows her with his eyes as she heads down the hall, "What did she tell you Tony?"

Stark crosses his arms wanting to stay out of it, "Nothing important."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

He can bearly fit himself in the tight space, holding the door open with his foot. He mulls over what little Steve had told him. Maybe she was right, maybe they weren't so different after all. And he had been so mean to her! His finger slips, throbbing from the heat of the mug.

Ugh! He hated the smell of coffee! He turns to head down the hallway with his small note. His head bowed low as he whispers, 'Just open the door, just say thank you, just move on.'

His body collides with that red-haired Russian woman. She stutters, "Oh Bruce, I'm sorry."

He trembles, "I'm sorry Natasha."

She looks up, getting a good wiff from off his cup; he doesn't drink coffee.

She can tell he's got a smirk, though his head is bowed low.

Natasha clasps the tea with both hands, "I'm sorry Bruce, I didn't realize you'd been through that much. I guess I got a little impatient with you before."

He looks up, shocked at her comment. He knows where she heard it all, "Stark told you everything?"

She shakes her head 'no', "Only the minor details."

He bites his upper lip before releasing a nervous chuckle, "I didn't realize you were telling the truth. About, you know, being mistreated, manipulated."

Her eyes widen, "Who told you that?"

"Does it matter?"

She lowers her head, moving her forefinger up and down, "Not really."

He smiles, repeating her from an earilier event she thought he'd neve remember, "Not too many people understand what it's like to live with regret, to feel alone or different."

She looks up. She can't hide a half-smile, "I guess, me battling with my past, is the way you fight with yourself."

He looks down. He didn't get that far in the SHIELD video of their little moment. Even at that, the memories didn't feel accurate. He hands her her cup, "Orimi?"

She lowers an eyebrow, "Thank you. I brought you tea."

He reaches in his pocket, "And, this is for you."

She takes her small envelope as he takes his cup from her hands, "Thanks, for everything."

Natasha blows on her cup, "I promised Barton I'd head back to the bridge. Coming?"

He brushes his hand threw his hair, "No, I have to get to the lab with Stark. Fury's landing this thing within an hour according to Rogers."

"Rogers? You were talking with Rogers?" She can't help but laugh.

His tension vanished once he saw her smile. For once in his life, not caring about anything else in the world. Her delicate features had to be one in a million. Clint was lucky to have her.

He lowers his head as his lock falls from it's place. She looks up at him, brushing it gently to the side, "Bruce, you alright?"

He smiles, "Why?"

"Your trembling again."

She caught him off guard; Did she have to say it?

He has to ask, no matter how stupid it sounds. No matter what her responce is, he has to know; "Natasha, do you feel it?"

She plays dumb, "Feel, what?"

He shakes his head, he must've sounded so stupid. His voice lowers to the sweetest tone she's ever heard, "Foreget it Miss Romanoff." He smiles as he heads down the hallway.

Her head lowers looking into her mug, then back at the envelope. She felt it, that strange buzz whenever he looked at her. He was brave for bringing that up, but she was not about to admit it.

-Arrows! I've get to get Clint's arrows.-