Natasha ran out of the kitchen quickly and sped around the corner heading to the half bath close by. Before she could make it there, a tall disheveled looking Bruce Banner accidentally bumped into her causing her to fall backwards.
"Wooah," she yelped as she tried to regain her balance, stumbling backwards.
"Natasha! I'm so sorry!" Bruce called out, grabbing her hand quickly before she fell to the ground.
"Wo-wooah!" Natasha cried out again as she was pulled toward Bruce and away from the hard ground. His grip was firm, and he had a surprisingly strong pull for looking as small as he was, compared to when he was the massive muscular green Hulk. Natasha breathed a sigh of relief. "Th-Thank you, Bruce." She said awkwardly.
"No problem, I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going." He said, adjusting his silver framed glasses looking up at her. In his left hand he held a small book, and a bunch of papers with mathematical signs and equations. In his right hand, he was still holding on to her arm. "Oh, sorry." He said as he dropped her arm. He noticed that her face was slightly red, and she looked bothered. "Hey, are you okay?"
She nodded slowly "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," she hesitated, "I was just leaving the kitchen." She shrugged nonchalantly.
"In such a hurry?" he asked suspiciously. He glanced down and noticed she was wearing something entirely new that he had never seen on her before. He cocked his head to the side confused. "Hey, new outfit?" he gestured.
Natasha blushed, "Yeah. It is." She smiled. "Thanks for noticing. I don't normally dress this way. I thought I would… try it." She said smiling sheepishly.
He smiled, "Well, I think you look fantastic." He said breathlessly. His grip loosened on his book and papers, and they went flying all around to the floor. "Oh, shoot." He cursed as he bent down to quickly pick them up.
"Oh, let me help you." Natasha said as she squatted down delicately forgetting she was wearing a skirt, exposing some skin and under garment in the process. Bruce, on his hands and knees on the floor, reached toward a paper near Natasha. As he looked up to grab it, he inadvertently noticed Natasha's black lace panties. He quickly jerked his head away and grabbed his paper blindly and added it to his pile. His pulse jumped and he blushed bright red.
"Uh, Natasha?" he said as he kept his gaze away.
"Hmm?" she responded, looking up at him delicately looking away. Quickly realizing she was wearing a skirt, and was possibly exposing herself, she bolted up as quick as she could manage in her stiletto heels. Her cheeks were a heated pink. "I'm sorry! I completely forgot… Um… I'm just gonna go…" she said as she sped off and headed up the stairs quickly.
Bruce stayed crouched on the floor smiling and shaking his head. He laughed to himself and stood up slowly. His heart was racing, and he had to calm himself down. He grabbed the pile that Natasha had started collecting and shuffled them together and headed to the kitchen to talk with Tony.
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Natasha stopped mid-way up the stairs to catch her breath. "This is why I don't wear skirts" She sighed and put her hand to her forehead. She was still blushed, and her mind was racing with millions of thoughts. She quickly walked to her room and lightly closed the door. She sat down on her bed gently and let her body fall backwards. She sighed and laid there for a few minutes, replaying her interaction with Bruce in her head repeatedly. How could I not remember I was in a skirt? She shook her head reprimanding herself.
Natasha was starting to become more attracted to Bruce with every interaction they had, besides this one. When she was "voluntold" by Nick Fury to meet Bruce in Kolkata, India she had been told many things about him that were unnerving, but she had begun to learn that they were untrue. Although the Hulk was surely intimidating and highly dangerous, something about him resonated with her. She felt that she could trust Bruce- he had such kind intelligent eyes.
She thought back to the first time she had seen Bruce. His shaggy dark curly hair, his muscular facial structure and bold chin. She adored how he looked with a 5 o'clock shadow after shaving. From what she could tell, Bruce was hairy all over. He had dark black hair covering his arms, legs, even his chest. She had learned from walking in on him half-dressed once.
She shivered. There was something about Bruce that made Natasha feel weak and vulnerable, but in a good mushy way. Natasha hadn't had these feelings for anyone for a long time. There was one problem with getting close to Bruce, besides the fact that she was reluctant to get close to anyone; The Hulk. To pursue a friendship with Bruce would mean to accept the Hulk at some point as well. After all, the Hulk is just another part of Bruce himself, whether he liked it, understood it, or not
She rolled over to her stomach and propped herself u, placed her elbows on the bed and placed her chin on her hands. She looked dreamily out the window; that same urge resurfacing to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Martha could help her, and she could show everyone that there's a different side of her, that she was layered. She had trouble with allowing people to experience who she really is.
"I could do it." She told herself. "There's nothing I can't do." She said confidently. "But this is not me." She sighed getting up to look at herself in a full-length swivel mirror. She tugged at the corduroy dark orange skirt, and the long-sleeved turtleneck sweater. The high heeled stiletto boots were probably the only thing on that were her style, but not with everything else. She did like how everyone had reacted to her outfit choice though.
It had been many years since she had such an overwhelmingly positive response to her appearance. Natasha dropped her head down on her soft airy comforter. She thought back to when she would go out in elegant evening wear and would be approached by dozens of eligible men. Of course, most of those nights she was simply doing her job; being a lethally trained spy. She paused and looked at herself in the mirror- really looked. Her pink full pouted lips, her almond shaped green eyes. She knew she was beautiful- but deadly. Since she was a little girl she had been trained for the unthinkable. She was always on guard; always ready for a fight.
But what she wasn't ready for was the knot in her stomach that had formed when Steve had kissed her. For the intense nervous sensation that she felt when she was around Bruce. What she's been wanting for many years in the back of her mind. Always putting it on the back burner and letting work take over. She wanted a family. She wanted to meet someone that she could love and could love her. Flaws, break downs, anxiety, the walls that she had up that she was too afraid to let anyone knock down. Lest she fall deeply in love with them and be truly happy. She needed someone who was patient. Someone who was broken too. That's probably why I'm so drawn to Bruce she thought. He has his monsters just like I have my demons.
She decided that she was too much in her own head and threw her clothes off to put on her normal attire. She put on a soft gray tee and jeans. Comfortable clothing that wouldn't draw too much attention- it wasn't eye-catching, and she would blend in. That's all she wanted to do today; blend in. She reached for a pair of white converse and headed out of her room once again feeling less confident and bold. She slowly walked down the staircase and headed to the kitchen. She decided that she would begin her late start to the day with some breakfast and coffee, and then head out to the market.
She knew that she may be disappointing everyone by going back to her basic clothes- especially Tony. Turns out the clothes he, or more specifically Pepper and hired assistants had chose for her would after all be food for the moths.
She slipped into the kitchen quickly and quietly. Tony and Bruce were the only ones still in the kitchen. They sat at the kitchen table looking over the papers Bruce had dropped earlier. Natasha thought back to her unfortunate exposure and could feel her cheeks growing warm. Natasha grabbed a plate of food and pulled out a chair from the island and started eating quickly. Bruce and Tony both snapped out of their nerdy conversation to see Natasha sitting at the island in a different familiar outfit.
Bruce and Tony exchanged glances and shrugged not wanting to get into a conversation about clothing when they were on the verge of a big technological breakthrough. Bruce continuously but inconspicuously kept glancing towards Natasha.
Natasha scarfed down her breakfast- two pancakes, scrambled eggs, and two slices of bacon along with a warm cup of coffee. She got up and pushed her chair in and placed the dirty plate delicately into the spotless sink and started to exit the kitchen. She walked to the coat rack and grabbed a large heavy brown peacoat and an umbrella.
"Going somewhere?" a deep voice asked.
Startled, Natasha turned around quickly to see Steve standing in front of her with his arms crossed and an inquisitive look.
"Uh, yeah actually. I was planning on going out." She said looking up at him. His crystal blue eyes pierced into hers making her look away hesitantly.
"May I join you?" he asked.
She nodded softly smiling. "Yeah, I would like that."
Steve smirked and grabbed a large black coat and reached for another umbrella out of the umbrella stand.
Natasha reached out her hand to stop him. "We can share," she smiled sweetly. "I don't mind." She smirked.
He smiled back. "Thanks. I'd like that." He stepped closer to the door and quickly held it open for her. "After you, Miss Romanoff." He teased.
"Why, thank you Mr. Rogers" she said as she stepped through the door and onto the porch. The rain was coming down hard and the sky was a dark gray. There was thunder rumbling in the distance.
"Are you sure you want to go out in this?" Steve questioned looking at Natasha.
She nodded giving a slight smile and opened her large black umbrella. She stepped out from under the dry porch and immediately stepped into a large puddle.
"Yuck!" Natasha grimaced. Her white converse were soaked immediately and her socks were soggy. "I chose a terrible shoe choice." She said regretfully.
Steve laughed. "It's not too late to go back inside and change." He offered.
Natasha shook her head stubbornly. "No," she said, "I made this decision and now I'm going to deal with it."
Steve shrugged and walked out from underneath the porch and under the cover of Natasha's roomy umbrella. "Would you like me to hold that? I am taller."
Natasha cocked her head and raised an eyebrow at him, stepping onto her tiptoes. "Is that so?" She said sassily. Even on her tiptoes she was still shorter. Steve was about 6'1 and standing straight Natasha was about 5'5.
Steve rolled his eyes playfully. He smiled sweetly, offering his open hand out silently to take the handle.
She begrudgingly handed the handle of the umbrella over to Steve's patient waiting hand. "I suppose you can hold it." She teased.
"So, where to?" he asked taking the handle and keeping the umbrella steady.
"I was planning on going to the market. I wanted some inspiration for a traditional Russian dish that I may or may not know how to cook." She laughed.
"Ha-ha okay. Sounds like a plan."
They started walking down the street in the rain side by side. Her wet Converse hitting the ground with a splish-splash and his blue Nikes striking the ground lightly.
"So, Nat" Steve started as he glanced over to her. "Since when did you learn to cook?"
"I've dabbled in some cooking on and off throughout the years. A girls gotta eat." She smirked.
They had friendly conversations all the way to the marketplace and upon arriving Natasha's face lit up as she rushed over to the vegetables for sale.
"Look at all these vegetables! Carrots, leeks, potatoes, brussels sprouts, and- "she paused staring at an odd-looking vegetable. "What is a turnip? And all these other vegetables I've never heard of. I don't even know what I need!" she threw her hands up and laughed. "Guess I won't be cooking anything." she muttered sadly.
"Do you remember anything from the recipe or from the dish you're thinking of?"
She shook her head sadly. Steve saw the disappointment in her eyes and thought of an idea.
"Come with me." He said grabbing her hand and walking away from the vegetables.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"You'll see." He mused. He had a delighted smirk on his face and was hoping his idea would work to cheer Natasha up.
Intrigued and skeptical she followed along with him and could sense that he was up to something.
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To be continued….
Thank you for reading! Please comment any thoughts and if you like the story so far!