Bruce lets out a heavy exhale as his body sags in relief when he finally manages to sneak out of the building unnoticed. After having his hand shaken by dozens of people whose names he can't remember, he needs some time to recharge his batteries if he's going to keep making small talk for another couple of hours. He walks a few feet forward, intending to sit on one of the chairs on the blessedly empty patio, but he spots a familiar figure down by the edge of the property. Natasha is leaning on the fence, looking at the small forest which backs onto the property. He knows she chose that spot purposefully — the sightline from the back door of the building was obscured by various pieces of furniture and decorative trees, meaning no one would spot her if they peeked out the door — but he figures she might not mind some company from a teammate.
"Hey, there you are," he says once he's close enough for her to hear him. He suspects she'd heard him well before he'd opted to say anything; he'd learned she was perceptive that way, almost eerily so. "People are looking for you," he adds when she turns to meet his gaze.
"Shhh," she shushes him and then waves at him to join her.
"So, you're doing what out here? Hiding out?" he asks as he mimics her pose, putting his weight on one leg, and leaning his forearms on the top of the fence.
"Obviously," she replies with a playful roll of her eyes. "We've reached the 'CEOs and other executives are just drunk enough to try getting handsy with the women' portion of the evening," she explains with an irritated expression. "And I'm pretty sure a few broken hands and wrists would ruin the evening," she adds with a smirk before taking a sip of her drink.
"Are they really that bad?" he asks with a glance back at the building. Nat shoots him a look that tells him it was a stupid question, and he replies with a sheepish smile. Yeah, should've known better, he thinks. "Aw jeez. Sorry, Nat."
He hated these kinds of events, too, though for different reasons. He wasn't generally a big fan of people, instead preferring to stay home or work in the lab with fellow scientists, and he especially didn't like the kind of folks that tended to be invited to these events, who would splash loads of cash around just because they could. But the fundraisers and events were usually for a good cause that he couldn't say no to, so he got used to being mobbed with attention like the rest of the team. Unfortunately, based on what she'd said, it seemed like Nat had to put up with more shit than they did. He feels a rumble of grumpiness inside his head — Hulk apparently didn't like that idea either. The Big Guy had begun growing fond of Natasha, despite their initial meeting being less than ideal. Bruce wasn't sure if it was because he was growing fond of Nat too or if Hulk had just taken a liking to her.
Her expression softens to a smile. "Not your fault, but thank you."
He tilts his head, weighing his response before he decides to go for honesty. "Is it always like that for you at these things?"
She shifts her weight onto her other leg before she answers. "No, not always. Sometimes they just like to drop hints that they don't approve of me."
"Why not?" he asks with a frown. Sure, misogyny was frustratingly prevalent, especially among this type of social circle, but surely they wouldn't be that bold about it.
"I'm Russian," she offers simply. Bruce feels shock ripple through him at that. He hadn't imagined that kind of prejudice still existed among the men who ran internationally known companies. "That mistrust runs deep for a lot of these executives who lived through the Cold War. Plus, I'm a woman with no qualms about calling out bullshit."
"And they're threatened by that," he surmises.
"Bingo," she says a bit sourly, before finishing off the last of her drink.
He shakes his head and blows out a frustrated breath with an apology threaded through it. "I'm sorry they're assholes."
She offers another small smile. "Still not your fault, but thank you again."
He spots her empty glass and wonders if he can maybe help ease the evening's frustrations for her. She might want another drink but likely isn't keen to wade through the throngs of people. "You want a refill?" he offers.
Her smile curls on her lips further, and her expression shifts as though she's genuinely surprised by the offer. "Yeah, that'd be great."
"Vodka?" he guesses, not having noticed what she'd been previously drinking.
"Whiskey," she corrects. It's Bruce's turn to be surprised, and his eyes widen fractionally. "Didn't want to give Tony the satisfaction of the stereotype," she explains with an amused smirk.
He shakes his head and chuckles. "You got it. Neat?"
"I'm impressed," she says while nodding and handing over her empty glass.
"I'll be right back," he promises.
He makes quick work of wading through the crowd toward the bar and orders another drink for her, but before he can make his way outside again, Pepper finds him.
"Hey, Bruce," she says with a warm smile. Her expression shifts to sympathy as she continues speaking, "I know you hate these things almost as much as Steve does, but it's not too bad, is it?"
"No, no, it's fine," he replies politely, trying to reassure her. She's always been very kind to him, and he remembers Tony mentioning she had handled a lot of the planning for this fundraiser.
She smiles knowingly, and he realizes she'd seen right through his lie. "Have you seen Natasha? I wanted to catch up with her."
"I, uh, no. Not since, uh, not since we got here. I'm sure she's around here somewhere," Bruce says clumsily, looking around to hopefully add authenticity to his lie.
Pepper is thankfully too polite to call him out and instead says, "Well, if you do see her, tell her I still owe her a drink," she says dryly and then fixes him with a look to match the tone.
"I will," he says with a nod and a slightly guilty expression. He waits until Pepper disappears into the crowd before slipping out the door and heading back to Natasha's hiding spot.
"As requested," he says while handing over the glass.
She takes it and sniffs appreciatively. "Ah, my hero," she croons theatrically.
"Pepper's looking for you. She says she owes you a drink."
Natasha chuckles. "Oh, that's right she does. She promised to let me taste some of the latest vintages from Tony's vineyard."
"He owns a vineyard?"
She snorts in amusement. "You're surprised by this?"
"Yeah, guess I shouldn't be," he concedes. His gaze drifts out to the forest in front of them, and he spots fireflies beginning to appear, drifting seemingly aimlessly on the edge of the tree line. "Oh, wow."
"Yeah, I spotted a couple earlier when I first came out here and was hoping there'd be more," she replies.
"I can't even remember the last time I saw fireflies," he says, glancing over to look at her. Her expression softens, and he wonders if there's something more there. It wasn't often that she let her guard down like this, after all.
"I saw them a few times on ops for SHIELD. Never really had the time to appreciate them though," she replies, still looking at the floating, pulsing lights.
"Let me guess, too busy dodging bullets?"
Her lips curl into an amused smile as she turns and meets his gaze. "Something like that," she answers before taking a sip from her drink.
They lapse into a comfortable, companionable silence, each enjoying the growing number of fireflies floating around.
"It's nice, isn't it?" she says after a minute. Bruce looks at her with a slight furrow in his brow, a silent request for her to elaborate. "It's peaceful," she offers with a gesture to the fireflies. "After the chaos of New York and all the media coverage, and everyone in there," she gestures with a thumb back to the building behind them, "wanting to get their time in with us, to cash in on our apparent celebrity, this...quiet. It's nice."
It's perhaps the most she's ever said to him outside of their first meeting, and certainly more words of substance from her than he's ever heard. Her tone is gentle and a far cry from her usual no-nonsense and viciously quick-witted tones. "Yeah," he agrees. "It is."
And he realizes she's right. It is nice to have a moment to enjoy something beautiful. He appreciated Tony and his efforts to include him in new projects and offer him lab space at the Tower, but it could sometimes be a bit much... especially after spending so many years somewhat isolated and avoiding large crowds. So this moment, standing with someone who seemed to understand the need for quiet and the desire to stay away from the celebrity status they'd unknowingly gained, was peaceful.
"Hey, Bruce," Nat says once the video call establishes.
"Hey, Nat," he says with a smile. She looks tired. Exhausted, even, and he wonders if she's sleeping at all. She hadn't been getting much sleep when he'd left the Compound for this little getaway to focus on solving the Hulk problem, and he isn't inclined to think anything had changed. She was driven and focused on finding a way to bring everybody back. It was, in his opinion, a fruitless endeavour. They'd turned over every stone, tapped every source, chased every hint of a possible lead, and had nothing to show for their efforts. But she wouldn't give up, despite the mounting evidence that there was no way to bring everyone back.
"Everything okay?" He can see concern threaded in a slight furrowing of her brow. It's a fair reaction since it wasn't often he called, and it was even rarer that he'd do so on a video call.
"Yeah, fine," he dismisses. "Just thought I'd give you a call and check in."
He sees the doubt in her expression and knows she's seen right through his poor attempt at nonchalance. But then, he'd known that would happen anyway. With how perceptive Nat was, it was always a matter of whether she'd let it slide or call him out. These days, it was fifty-fifty.
"Uh-huh," she says slowly, arching an eyebrow in a silent calling of his bullshit. "How's Mexico?"
"Great, it's great. Tony outdid himself with this place. We even built a bar."
She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, it's got a real, uh, tropical vibe to it."
"Well, that's appropriate I guess."
"Yeah, guess so."
"How's the project going?"
He nods immediately as a small smile spreads. "Good. I'm making really good progress. I think I'm close."
"Yeah? That's good."
"Yeah," he agrees.
They lapse into an awkward silence for a moment until she sighs lightly. "Bruce, what's up?" she says, apparently deciding to stop letting him dance around the subject.
He shakes his head. "Nothing, honestly. I just saw something earlier and it reminded me of you. And that made me realize I hadn't checked in with you in a while." It's not a lie, he hadn't checked in with her in at least six weeks, and he had been reminded of her earlier that night. Selfishly, he hadn't thought of any of them for most of that time. He'd been so focused on his work that he'd fallen into a pattern of eating, working, sleeping, and then starting that sequence all over again.
She sighs again, though more heavily this time. "Rhodey talk to you?"
"No, but if you think that he did, that tells me things aren't great for you."
She scowls at him momentarily, but he sees physical and emotional exhaustion take over the thin anger quickly. It's startling how rundown she looks because Nat has always been so…put together.
"Hey, why don't you come visit?" he suggests.
"I don't have time for a vacation, Bruce."
"Then don't think of it as a vacation. Think of it as a mental health break. You need to step away from all that for a bit, Nat."
"Some of us have to keep doing this, Bruce. Not all of us can disappear for months on end."
It's a jab, he knows, but it lacks the usual venom. It's bitter, but it's not angry. "That's fair," he agrees. "But you could work from here. Tony's got me set up with a full lab. I'm sure we could get your systems hooked up easily enough."
She shakes her head. "I don't think me going to Tony's island is such a good idea. Don't think he'd appreciate it."
"I thought you two patched things up."
"That's a strong descriptor. Made unstable peace is probably a better description."
Bruce sighs. "He cares, Nat. I don't know everything that happened, but he was hurt with the whole—"
"I know," she interrupts and then sighs softly. "It's just gonna take time, I think. So, what made you think of me?"
"Fireflies," he answers. "There's a whole bunch of 'em out tonight, and I remembered you said you liked them once."
She smiles, and he can see glimmers of genuine joy this time. "Are they still out?"
He nods. "Yeah, hang on a second," he says, getting up from the couch and heading to the door. He slides it open and then taps the screen of his phone to flip to the front-facing camera. He holds it steady for a moment before he pans over the scene slowly, showing Nat the sight that had nearly taken his breath away earlier and prompted the thought of her to rise.
"Oh wow," she says, awe clear in her voice. Her tone is breathy like she's blown away by the sight, and Bruce spots the wide eyes in her expression. "There's so many of them," she adds as a small smile curls on her lips. It's the least burdened that she's looked in years.
"Yeah, I've seen a few here and there the last while, but nothing like this," he says. "Pretty cool, right?"
"Totally," she agrees. "You remembered I liked them, huh?"
"Yeah. You said so that night we all went to the fundraiser for the foundation, the one in the woods, far outside the city. You made a joke about it being the beginning of a horror movie."
Her smile widens further, and just for a moment, it reaches her eyes. "Yeah, the old farmhouse that wasn't quite so old on the inside."
He chuckled. "Yeah, when we pulled up, I couldn't believe Tony would agree to attend an event in a place like that, let alone host one. Then we walked inside and it was like a whole new building."
"Yeah, they did some serious renovations, that's for sure."
"You were outside hiding from the CEOs because you said it was late enough and they were just drunk enough to start trying to get handsy." She chuckles, mostly mirthlessly, but he swears he can hear some amusement. "And then the fireflies came out and we just watched them for a while."
She nods. "Simpler times, huh?"
"Yeah," he agrees. Then he flips the camera back around so Nat can see him again. "No bullshit this time, Nat. How are you doing?"
Bruce watches as her shoulders sag slightly, and he thinks she's decided to give him a halfway truthful answer. "Same as yesterday, and the day before that," she says in a tone laced with resignation, bitterness, and exhaustion. "Seems like everything started a downhill slide somewhere along the way, and we just couldn't figure shit out to stop it."
He scrutinizes her, finding the exhaustion even more apparent now than it had been at the start of the call.
He struggles to find a response to her words, but she bails him out. "It's okay, Bruce. You don't have to say anything. I've gotta go though. I'm expecting a call from Rocket and Nebula in a bit and I have some data I have to go through first."
It's a bit flimsy as far as excuses go, but he knows it's more for him than it is for her. "Right, yeah, of course," he says. "I'll leave you to it."
"Thanks," she says with a nod and a small, somewhat forced smile. "And thanks for the trip down memory lane," she adds, her smile this time leaning a little more into being genuine.
He smiles, happy he brought her at least a brief moment of joy. "You're welcome. And my offer stands for you to visit."
"I'll take it under advisement," she says, cracking another small smile. "Bye, Bruce."
"Bye, Nat," he manages to get in before the call ends.
He stares at the phone for another moment before he turns the screen off and puts it down on a nearby table. He looks out the sliding door again at the still visible fireflies and thinks of that night all those years ago. He wonders if she'll ever experience that sort of peace again but then pushes the thought to the back of his mind and instead decides to let himself reminisce about those simpler times.
Bruce's chapter is perhaps a bit overdue. I tend to avoid writing his character...it's quite intimidating for me! That being said...as always, any and all comments are appreciated. ❤️
(Also - let me know if you have any thoughts for any other characters for this one; I think we're getting toward the end of this fic!)