Challenge Block
Stacked With: Hogwarts; BAON; FPC; T3
Individual Challenges: In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux; SHIELD MC (x2); Metahuman MC
Representations: Bruce Banner; Natasha Romanoff; Avengers all living in the tower
Bonus Challenges: Found Family; Nontraditional; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp)
Tertiary Bonus Challenges: Terse; Terrarium
Prompts: Bruce Banner (auction); Veil (365 words); You've Got a Friend in Me (Insane Prompts)
Word count: 372
Fandom: Marvel

Candlelight flickered in the darkened room. The smell of lavender filled the air and the only sound was that of calm breathing. Bruce sat in the middle with his legs crossed and his wrists lightly resting on his knees. There was a quiet knock at the door, and he cracked open an eye to see Natasha entering with a steaming cup of green tea.

He smiled gratefully at her, expecting her to leave as she normally did. She sank down in front of him instead. He didn't know why she had started bringing him tea when he meditated but he was thankful that she had. The warmth of the tea was sometimes more soothing than the meditation and scent of lavender essential oil. The greater the veil of calm he put over the anger always bubbling away in him was, the better.

"There was a time I thought I could never wash out the red in my ledger," Natasha said after a few moments of silence.

Bruce said nothing. He knew some of Natasha's feelings about her previous life before SHIELD from her interrogation of Loki and snippets of conversation heard around the tower. He wasn't sure why she was bringing it up now.

"I thought I could only add to it and I made my peace with that. Then Clint decided to save me instead of killing me. But being in SHIELD does not remove the habits and instincts that have been ingrained in me for the entirety of my life."

"Why are you telling me this?" Bruce asked softly.

Natasha smiled wryly at him. "We all have demons. Yours, mine, and even Clint's? Ours are a bit more lethal when they're allowed out." She stood up gracefully and went to the door. Before stepping out, she said, "Hulk may be big and green, but that doesn't make him any more or less scary than my knife skills operating of their own accord."

The door clicked shut quietly as she slipped out. Bruce looked after her, mind whirring as it processed her words. Eventually, he picked up the cup of green tea and sipped at it before returning to his meditation, the conversation still stewing in the back of his mind.