Natasha followed Steve down the corridor, her steely expression masking a tumultuous blend of emotions, frothing and roiling just below the surface, like waves during a storm. She had met back up with Steve after about an hour of pacing her room and laying on top of her bed, trying to get some rest like Steve had recommended. But she knew she wouldn't be able to relax until this matter with Bruce was finally settled. Other people might like to put things off, procrastinating over tough issues, but Natasha rather thought in these sort of situations it was better to treat it like removing a band aid; one swift, clean pull.

She wished she had spent the last hour with Rebecca, rather than by herself. It killed her to leave her in the terminal like that without even saying goodbye. And she couldn't bear to turn around and see the hurt look on her face that she knew was there. But she had to. As soon as Maria had told them about Bruce's return, the steels shutters slammed down around her mind and heart and she went into what she liked to call survival mode. When she felt a heavy strain on her emotions, survival mode kicked in swiftly, forcing her to deal with whatever the issue was in a calculated and logical fashion. It was something she developed within herself as a young girl.

She learned long ago that emotions were easier to handle when they were temporarily put on ice.

But now, as she walked with Steve, she was beginning to realize that she had made a mistake. Instead of spending that time alone, brooding, she should have taken comfort in Rebecca's presence. She could feel her concerned gaze on her earlier, and she knew she wanted her to tell her what was going on. Rebecca was the most understanding and compassionate person she had ever met. It would have been nothing to tell her how she was feeling. As easy as falling for her had been. As easy as breathing. Sometimes, most times actually, no matter how she was feeling beforehand, she felt completely better after talking with Rebecca about whatever was on her mind. Her smile, her light touch, the warmth of her eyes; the mere act of being with her was a balm for whatever ailed her.

Natasha grimaced to herself. She replayed the last miserable hour in her mind, imagining how much better it would have been if she hadn't had shut Rebecca out. For the first time in her life, Natasha felt that she had made the wrong decision in thinking that she was stronger by herself. When the two of them were together, it was like an alchemic reaction; and it felt as if pure sunlight was being injected into her marrow. Well, it was too late now. She would just have to get it over with and then find Rebecca afterwards and apologize and try to make it up to her, if she would let her.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked softly, interrupting her thoughts.

"I'm fine," she responded.

Steve nodded but didn't press the issue. That was one of her favorite things about Steve. Unlike Clint, who would hound her about things until it was all out in the open, Steve knew when she wanted something to be left alone.

They continued down the hallway until they found Maria waiting for them outside a previously unoccupied room. She nodded to them and opened the door, and the three of them walked in.

Natasha half expected Bruce to still be sleeping when they walked in, but to her surprise he was awake. He had turned the only chair in the room backwards, and was sitting on it with his elbows resting on the top of the back of the chair, facing them. He looked terrible. He was completely disheveled; his dark hair rumpled, and his eyes were red, with dark circles under them giving him the look of a man who hadn't slept for days. One corner of his shirt was left untucked. He didn't even seem to notice. Natasha had witnessed men who had been on the verge of death or insanity numerous times. There had been countless times in her own life when she had been on the edge of that same precipice herself. Bruce had that look about him now. It made her heart go out to him, despite everything else that lay between them.

He looked at the three of them facing him and smiled wryly. "Hello Steve. Natasha. Maria thought it was necessary to bring in the cavalry I guess. Do I honestly look that scary right now?"

Maria crossed her arms. "Why don't you tell us?" she asked him.

Natasha did a cursory glance around the room. Bed, single chair, small dresser. It looked like someone had removed the other chairs that were in there, leaving just the one for Bruce. She wasn't sure if it had been Maria or just another Shield agent. It certainly hadn't been Steve, as it wasn't his style. Leaving just one chair was an intimidation technique that left the person sitting at a direct disadvantage, made them feel that the others in the room were 'above' them, literally and figuratively. She had seen it done before, many times. Didn't mean she liked it. She leaned against the wall, her arms behind her, in a calm and relaxed posture that she hoped would ease Bruce's anxiety level. Despite, well...everything, the last thing she wanted was for him to freak out.

Steve asked, "How are you feeling, Bruce? We've all been pretty worried about you since you took off."

He held his hands up. "I'm completely in control of myself, if that's what you're after."

Steve shook his head. "That's not what I meant. You're our teammate and our friend, and we have been worried about you, not in your level of control."

Bruce took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes resignedly, as if to dispel some of his weariness. "I'm exhausted, Steve, to be completely honest. But it isn't anything a day or so of rest won't cure." He slipped his glasses back on and cleared his throat. "So down to business. I'm back."

"Yes, we gathered that much," Maria said. "More importantly however is where did you go and why?"

"For god's sake Maria, give the man a minute. He just got back, let him explain it at his own pace," Steve said.

"All I'm saying," Maria said, bristling, "is that he owes us some kind of an explanation."

"Damn straight he does," Natasha said.

Bruce nodded. "You're right. I do owe everyone at least that." He sighed and paused a moment. "I left about six months ago, as you all know. As to why I left, well, those are my reasons." His eyes flickered to Natasha as he continued. "After the jet crashed in the ocean, I ended up near the island Manuae, and from there made my way over to Tahiti."

Natasha couldn't help herself. "I hear it's a magical place."

Steve looked at her, confused, while Maria shot her a warning glance from behind his back.

Bruce looked confused also. "Well, I suppose so. It was certainly beautiful. But I wasn't there as a tourist, as you can imagine. I hadn't much strength left after the crash and all the swimming the big guy had to do to get me to civilization. But luckily for me, I was able to regroup and recover my strength, and while I did, I spent some time with the islanders, gaining their trust, their respect. And once they began to talk to me more, they confided in me recent stories of things that had been...troubling them."

"How did you get them to trust you so quickly?" Natasha wondered.

Bruce hesitated. "When I...came out of the water, I was still...the other guy. All those people on the coastline, they saw the Hulk coming out of the water, like some angry, green, behemoth. I was exhausted, lost my strength quickly, and became myself again rather quickly after that. But it didn't erase what some of those people saw." He smiled gently. "And instead of them thinking I was a monster, they thought I was...special, godlike." He laughed bitterly. "And they were obviously wrong, of course, but it was enough for them to trust me faster than they would a normal person." He looked up at them. "Do you know what that's like? To know that you're a monster, and yet have someone look to you as if you're not?"

His eyes met Natasha's before flickering away. Natasha closed her eyes and thought of Rebecca. Of the way the woman seemed to accept her, dark past and all, without any hesitation. Her heart warmed. She suddenly realized how important that was, that sort of redemption. She knew exactly what Bruce meant.

"You're not a monster, Bruce," Steve said softly.

He scoffed.

"What sort of things had been troubling the villagers?" asked Maria, getting them back on track.

Bruce ran his hand through his hair. "Stories of a darkness spreading over in south Asia. Some of their people had been going missing recently, lost in the night."

"How do you mean, lost in the night?" Steve asked.

"Jets and helicopters coming under the cover of darkness, kidnapping people. Using major stealth tech. And they're not just taking random people. The ones reported missing were people who were high up in the religious community. Mages, seers; people who demonstrated some level of heightened senses."

Maria interjected, "What have the authorities been doing about all of this?"

"According to my sources, the villagers pleas for investigations and justice have fallen on deaf ears. Their police forces are either already overtaxed or they just don't have enough resources."

"Or they're being paid off by whoever is behind all this," Natasha mused.

Bruce nodded. "That was my thought too. Interestingly enough, one of the villagers saw a name printed on one of the jets during one of the incidents. It was Yuji, which is Chinese for Monsoon."

Steve and Maria exchanged a look.

"What?" Bruce asked. "Does that mean something that I don't know about?"

Maria said, "Monsoon is a genetics company based in Nepal. They showed up on our radar about three weeks ago, when they were linked in the disappearance of several people scattered across various countries. We have reason to believe they are associated with Hydra."

Bruce's shoulders slumped. He looked even more exhausted than before. "That's what I was afraid of."

Maria looked at Steve and Natasha. "I'll gather all the intel we have about this company and then it looks like we will probably be sending a team to Nepal. We're going to need to get to the bottom of this, and quickly." She looked back at Bruce. "Thank you Bruce, and...it's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back, I think," he replied wearily, a slight smile hovering on the edge of his lips.

"It's good to have the team back together, Bruce," Steve said, clasping him firmly on the shoulder. "Anything you need just let me know. Now take a few days and get some rest."

Steve and Maria walked out, Steve closing the door behind him, giving Natasha a slight nod that seemed to say, you got this, as he did so.

Bruce looked at her, really looked at her, for the first time since he had gotten back.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" he asked drily.

"Oh, I don't know," Natasha replied nonchalantly. "You managed to steal a Quinjet, crash it in the ocean, and went AWOL for six months, and Maria didn't even so much as raise her voice at you. I'd say you got off pretty easy."

"That's not what I mean, Natasha, and you know it," he said softly. "I meant...I'm in trouble with you."

Natasha sighed. She had brooded and worried over talking to him again, after the way he took off with no warning, and yet now that she had the opportunity she realized she wasn't hurt by the situation any longer. She had moved on. All the anxiety and tension she had building up from worrying about this verbal exchange slowly seeped out of her. She had wanted to confront him for so long about how he had made her felt when he left, and now...it just didn't seem important any longer.

"Bruce," she started, "you're not in trouble with me. I'm not you're boss, or your wife, or anyone you should feel like you have to answer to. If you wanted to disappear for a while, I understand. Believe me, more than anyone I understand what that feels like."

"I still owe you an explanation," he said quietly. "I was overwhelmed Natasha. I don't have any other way to describe it other than I was overwhelmed. Everything that had happened in that city I tore apart, the Sokovia incident, what the press was saying, what was going on with us...it was just too much."

"And how do you think that made me feel?" she countered. "I confessed things to you, shared things with you, and then you up and take off. It seemed like you were flat out rejecting me."

He nodded sadly. "It was cowardly of me. And for that, I am sorry, Natasha. Truly."

"It wasn't cowardly. You hit your limit and couldn't take anymore. You needed to get your head together. And you needed to clear the demons off your back. I understand." She smiled softly. "But I appreciate the apology."

He continued, "I was a mess in my head, Nat. Angry, confused, scared. All I could think to do was leave. But it wasn't because of you," he said, "that I left. I know it must have felt that way. But I want you to know that it wasn't because of you."

"I know that now," Natasha said honestly. "I didn't at the time, but I do now."

He looked at her more closely, puzzled. "You've changed."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh?"

"I was honestly expecting you to start beating on me as soon as Hill and Rogers left," Bruce said, smiling nervously.

Natasha grinned. "Well, I got over you a while ago, Banner. I guess you could say I'm able to put things in perspective better now. And besides, once an Avenger, always an Avenger. You'll always be my teammate and my friend."

He stared at her quietly for a moment before saying, "You're seeing someone, aren't you?"

Her eyes widened. "Is it that obvious?"

He laughed softly. "I suppose so. I mean, you seem...happier than you did before. More at peace. With yourself." He looked at her pointedly. "Are you?"

She thought of the way she felt when Rebecca shyly slipped her hand in hers, like she couldn't believe she was real. She thought of the way she felt before she met her; alone, unworthy of being cared for, of being loved. And little by little, day by day, this incredible girl showed her that some things were worth fighting for, worth living for. For the first time in her life she felt as if she might deserve a small slice of happiness. The chance at a better life.

"Yes," she said simply.

"Does he work at Shield?" Bruce asked amiably. "Will I be meeting him sometime in the near future?"

"She doesn't work for Shield, no," Natasha said, relishing the look of surprise on her companion's face at the pronoun used. "She's a writer, staying at the compound while she works on a book about us. She's all about building a good public image for the team. I imagine she'd be thrilled to meet you."

"Ah, right," he said, still working through his surprise. "I'd be glad to talk with her."

"Great," she said as she stood up and headed toward the door. "And Bruce?"

"Yes?"

She smiled. "I'm glad you're back."

He sat there for a few minutes after she left, completely amazed and relieved that he had made it through the conversation without getting his head chewed off, wondering what kind of person could have influenced Natasha this much.

I have a lot of catching up to do," he thought ruefully.

...

Her heart a million times lighter, Natasha headed down to the mess hall for dinner. The conversation with Bruce had left her slightly drained and incredibly hungry. And more than anything else, she wanted to see Rebecca. She walked in and spied Clint and Wanda sitting together at a table by the windows. She pulled up a seat in between them and kicked Clint's legs out of the way so she could stretch out.

"Did you see Banner?" he asked her.

"Yep."

"And how'd that go?" he said causally.

"Really well, actually," she said. "You would be surprised, I think."

"Well that's a relief," he said, smiling.

"Where's Becks?" she asked, looking around, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Wanda and Clint exchange a meaningful look.

"What's going on?" she asked, feeling her stomach drop.

Wanda replied, "I knocked on her door earlier and she said that she was not feeling hungry."

Clint cleared his throat. "She might be... a little upset about the whole you and Bruce thing."

Natasha closed her eyes and counted to ten. "And how does she know about that, Barton?"

"I told her," he admitted. "Which I wouldn't have had to do if you had just been honest with her from the beginning, instead of blowing her off this afternoon. She came to me because she was worried about you, so I told her the truth. Which should have come from you and not me.

"You're right," Natasha said.

"I...I am?" Clint asked incredulously. Even Wanda looked surprised.

"Yes. I should have talked to her before doing anything else."

"She's a real sweetheart," Clint said slowly. "You know how much she takes things to heart. I tried to tell her that things were over with you and Bruce, but...I think you better go talk to her. I think her feelings might be really hurt."

Natasha stood up. "Thanks Barton, I'm going to go check on her." She left the mess hall, heading in the direction of the wing where Rebecca's quarters were.

"For as long as I live, I'll never understand women, " Clint lamented.

Wanda stuck her tongue out at him.

~*~ To be continued...