The Black Widow froze in shock as Bruce turned into the Hulk. He roared at the sky at large before looking around and seeing her. He stopped and smiled at her with his large brick, his expression a little to manic to be comforting, but as Steve would later insist, it looked like he was happy to see her. He moved forward hand outstretched and she drew her gun and fired before anyone even knew she had it with her. The bullets bounced off Hulk's hard hide, but he didn't roar or charge at her he shrunk back looking almost hurt and betrayed. He made an odd guttural sounding whimper and held his hands up to protect his face trying to gaze at the woman in front of him from between the gaps in his fingers. Hulk huffed and howled until she had to stop to reload then he lowered his hands and looked at her with big sad green eyes curled in upon himself on the forest floor.
She raised her gun to shoot again, but her hands shook as she pointed the pistol at his sad betrayed face. Hulk snorted like a scared horse and flinched back from her when she gripped the trigger guard harder making the metal of the gun click slightly. "Come on big guy, its gettin' dark out." The Black Widow said her voice filled with controlled fear and rage.
The Hulk roared at the mockery of his lullaby and charged the Black Widow knocking her to the ground with his large head and crouching over her. The team flinched and made to move to her rescue, but the Hulk wasn't physically touching her now that he had her pinned so Steve held them back.
The Hulk roared in her face over and over and over again. At first the Black Widow fought to get up only to meet with the Hulk above her, but slowly she stilled laying her head back on the grass and just looked up at him as if she were studying him. Slowly her hand crept forward palm towards him as if she meant to stroke his face. He quieted as he watched her not moving from his position, but not roaring at her anymore. Something about her had changed, her face wasn't as hard, her eyes weren't as dead and cold.
"I'm sorry I hurt you Big Guy." Natasha said softly still reaching for him.
Hulk shook his head and pounded his chest with one hand as if to show that he was strong and she could not hurt him.
"No, I know, not the bullets. I broke your trust. I betrayed you. I hurt you inside and I'm sorry."
Hulk looked down at his chest where her fingers were just long enough to brush the skin over his heart. He sat back from her and studied it turning his head this way and that as if trying to see some physical wound she had left behind.
Natasha stood up carefully and stepped forward slowly as the Hulk watched her. She held her hand out to him and gazed up at him as he began to slowly reach forward. The Hulk touched the tips of her fingers with one of this massive hands and then gently brushed the side of he head with one thick finger. "I'm glad you're back Big Guy." Natasha said soothingly, "but now I need to apologize to Bruce." She admitted.
Hulk huffed, the air blowing her hair back a bit, but he sat down on the clearing floor and gently reaching forward picked her up and cradled her too him her entire body shorter than one of his large green arms. Natasha felt relaxed and safe despite the great power of the being holding her; he didn't want to hurt her, he wanted comfort from the hurt she had caused him. Softly she soothed her hand down his large arm trying to stroke more than pet him. The Hulk was still for several moments before putting her down in front of him and taking a couple steps back beginning to shrink.
Natasha took in her surroundings as Bruce regained his form. Seeing Steve and the team she waved them off with a smile of thanks to Steve and the team left the pair in peace. Bruce was fully himself lying on the ground shirtless and week, but he had enough presence still to recognize the feel of soft fingers stroking though his hair. Groaning Bruce rolled over enough to see her face. Her hair was tossed like she had just had a fight and there were bullet shells on the ground around him, but she didn't seem to be injured. "Did he hurt you?" Bruce rasped out.
"Shhh" Natasha shushed him lifting his head to slide her legs under pillowing his head on her lap, "Did I ever mention I adore you?" she asked smiling down at him.
Bruce smiled weakly back up at her and said, "I think I might have heard that somewhere, but I was after all falling down a well so I'm not really sure." Natasha had the decency to turn a little pink at the reminder of her behavior, but Bruce continued, "Seriously though, what did he do to you?" concern evident in his voice.
Natasha smiled and went back to stroking his hair softly saying, "Well, I shot at him," Bruce flinched, "Emptied two clips at him before I had to go for another one. He just curled up and covered his face looking at me like I had killed his puppy." Bruce's face was now confused, "I hesitated. That look in his eyes... He was so sad... but I got cocky and I couldn't get the lullaby quite right and it probably didn't sound much like me anyway with a gun pointed at his face. That made him angry and he knocked me down and roared at me until I came to my senses. Then we talked and he picked me up and held me fore a bit, just for the comfort of it I think, and then I asked for you, no lullaby, I just said I needed you, and he gave you to me." Natasha informed him.
Bruce was looking up at her in a mix of confusion and wonder and said breathlessly, "You've tamed the beast."
Natasha laughed and said, "And your beast tamed mine so we're even."
"I'm sorry I had to go all green on you, I couldn't seem to get through to you." Bruce apologized.
Natasha just shook her head saying, "Thank you, I needed it. Sometimes its just easier to fall back into not caring, especially when things get tough emotionally. I don't do emotional well."
Now it was Bruce's turn to laugh as he said, "Neither do I."
Natasha laughed and said, "Come on, let's get you back and get you cleaned up."
Bruce hesitated and Natasha stopped looking at him expectantly. Blushing slightly Bruce said, "Natasha... could I just..." He reached his hand up towards her face and Natasha smiled talking his hand in hers and placing it on her cheek closing her eyes and leaning into the touch she had been trying so hard to forget she had forgotten herself along with it.
"Come on," she said after a few moments helping to push him into a sitting position, "There will be plenty of time for that later... you are staying right?"
Bruce dragged himself up chuckling and saying, "Don't have much of a choice do I?"
"We could go somewhere else." She offered.
"So what? We just disappear?" he said mimicking her every time before when he had suggested the run away from this madness together. Bruce stepped closer to her and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers without any hesitation this time, "No Tasha, Steve needs you here, the new Avengers need you here, the world needs you here. We'll stay. I'm sure they have an extra lab somewhere for the famous Bruce Banner." He chuckled, "but I think the Hulk's work for the Avengers is done. I can't do it anymore Tasha, but they're a good team, they'll have your back, maybe not as well as the Big Guy would, but you're not done saving the world yet and I'm an old man. Come on. Lets get inside, it's starting to get dark and I've been dying for a nice soft mattress."
Natasha couldn't stop smiling her small pleased smile as she wrapped Bruce in her arms hugging herself to his chest and felt his arms wrap around her too. "Thank you." she murmured against his chest, "For everything, but don't ever pull that kind of shit on me again you big dork." she said bopping him on the back of the head and making him chuckle and hug her harder.