There is nothing much to I want or need to talk about before or after with this chapter except that finally has Bruce and Natasha coming together again. I am very happy to see that Choices and Consequences has gone up from 19 to 31 followers. I am glad all of you are enjoying my story and hope all of you continue to. Next I want to thank veronica2shoes, RiaMarie1281, Oacean1, Pain d'pices, and Not-A-Robot28 for the reviews I appreciate them.
All right I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter, and hope everyone enjoys it. As always feel free to review hopefully good positive reviews, I have no problem with constructive criticism.
Chapter 4
Dr. Valerie Cooper looked at the window of the Boeing C-17 looking out over the high plains of eastern New Mexico as the military transport plane heading toward the High Plains Research Base that was nicknamed the Hulkbuster base by Ross's men and other military officials. Cooper looked across at her six recruits and was pleased with herself. Like General Ross, she had warned President Palmer about the growing threat mutants and other beings, and the military unpreparedness when dealing with them and threats from alien races. Through her impressive service working for the CIA and NSA Valerie had become a well-respected for her skill to being able to read seeing things other couldn't as well as being a skilled interrogator, and intelligence analyst, and thanks to that President Palmer had made her one of his National Security Advisors and takes her as the civilian counterpart to General Ross in observing and advising him on what needs to be done about the super powered people in the United States as well as extraterrestrial threats. The first thing Cooper had advised the President was creating a government team of powered people tasked with capturing beings the regular police or military couldn't handle. It had taken her some time, but Valerie had assembled a team that she believed could handle any threat that included the Hulk, and if necessary the Avengers. Landing at the base Cooper walked down the ramp to find General Ryker and General Ross waiting for her.
"Dr. Cooper it is good to see you." General Ross said smiling politely to the long haired blonde woman. "How is the president?"
"The President is always a busy man with the Chinese causing trouble in the South China Sea, Latavia civil war that has broken out in the country with mysterious machines backing the rebel army no one knows where they came from or who is the leader of the rebel army, and then there is here at home with possible alien invasions, the ever growing population of super powered beings, mutants, freaks, or whatever you want to call them, and perhaps most important is his upcoming re-election campaign coming up next year. General Ross we have the responsibility of making the United States a more secure place, and to advise the president making his job less stressful." Cooper explained to Ross not telling the General what the President had tasked for her as it could be her most important assignment. President Palmer needed Ross's expertise as he was one of the United States best generals, but he wasn't blind to what Ross had done, and President Palmer had asked her to watch the general and report back to him.
"Being the president certainly is a thankless job. Did you bring them?" Ross asked
"Yes I found our team. General Ross and Ryker let me introduce you to the Freedom Force. First let me introduce Julia Carpenter aka Arachne. Next there is Dominikos Petrakis aka Avalanche followed by Guido Carosella aka Strong Guy and Lila Cheney. After them is Terrance Sorenson aka Equinox, David North aka Maverick, and lastly Dane Whitman aka Black Knight." Cooper said introducing the members of the Freedom Force as they walked out of the plane.
"Well you certainly brought together an interesting team." Ross said looking over the team which was full of at criminals. Avalanche and Black Knight who they had captured after Dane was left behind by his comrades after the fight with the Avengers were wanted for murder, bank robbery and many other crimes. Equinox was wanted as well just for lesser crimes. Still that didn't bother the Ross if it helped him get Banner. Plus there was Maverick who had been part of the Weapon X program, and had a healing factor that could perhaps rival the Hulks. Arachne was a powerhouse of abilities that would greatly help take down the Hulk. The only two unknowns were the one known as Strong Guy and Lila Cheney. Ross could guess what Strong Guy's abilities were just by looking at the huge man. As for Miss Cheney he'd just have to trust there was a reason why Cooper chose Cheney. "Our main base will is at Fall's Edge, Virginia right outside D.C., but I agreed to bring the team here to meet since we are jointly working together." Cooper told the General.
"Thank you Val. Freedom Force you have been not only tasked with being the United States powered police forced but with tasked with taking down the Hulk, and I am the expert on Bruce Banner and the Hulk, so I expect all for you to be experts at knowing both of them by the time you leave. My right hand man General Ryker will show you around the base and all the files on both Banner and the Hulk." Ross explained and then handed the team off to Ryker, and turned back to Cooper. "Val come with me. I'll show you around and we can talk and then I'll take you to your quarters." General Ross said escorting Cooper around the base talking about their plans for the Hulk with a new weapon that could easily pierce the Hulks skin, and their thoughts on mutants. As Ross was escorting Cooper to her quarters for the night they passed by a television with a live broadcast of the Avengers led by Captain America with Scarlett Witch, Vision, War Machine, Thor, and their new member Ant-Man once again fighting the Masters of Evil in Boston, but this time Ross could see that the battle would end differently with the help of the visiting Thor and new team member Ant-Man.
"I must say I am impressed that their back on their feet so soon." Cooper said watching the Avengers take down the Master of Evil. "It hasn't been two weeks since their defeat and the Avengers are already back in the fight looking more like a team then they have since the defeat of Ultron." Cooper continued as all six Avengers surrounded the two remaining villains in Black Mamba and Moonstone.
"It is more that they are lucky that Thor had come back from Asgard to visit Jane or I doubt this fight would have gone down so smoothly." Ross noted as Black Mamba and Moonstone wisely surrendered. "So Val what do you think of the Avengers?" Ross asked as he escorted Val to her room.
"I take it you're not asking whether they are an effective team, but whether Captain America will get in your way in the future." Val asked as they stopped in front of her room for the night.
"Not my way the United States way." Ross countered.
"If things come to a head and President is forced to make an executive order or congress passes some kind of registration act I think certain Avengers will be a problem. Scarlett Witch will definitely be against it as will Captain America. James Rhodes and War Machine will side with the government. I have no idea what Vision, Ant-Man or Thor would do. Iron Man will side with the government, and I used to believe I knew who Hawkeye would side with, but after what happened with S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, and his past experiences with us I'm not sure any more."
"What about Natasha Romanoff?" Ross asked opening Val's door for her, and remembering he hasn't seen Natasha since the battle in Chicago.
"The Black Widow will side with the government." Val stated somewhat surprising Ross. "No matter what her perceived feelings for the Banner and the Hulk are Natasha is a realist and a pessimist knowing that something needs to be done in this ever changing world." Val explained walking into her room and turning to look at Ross.
"Thank you for your insight Val. If any of the Avengers get in our way, heed our task of observing or arresting mutants committing crimes they will be dealt with."
"I agree Ross." Val said about shut the door, but stopped wanting to say one more thing to the general. "Just remember Ross that we are United Sates citizens and officers of the state operating on United States soil, and even though we are given some leeway we are still required to follow the laws and rules given to us, and not doing so is unacceptable." Val explained and shut the door in Ross's face. So the president sent his own watch dog to observe him Ross thought was he walked down the hall on his way to his quarters to make a phone call. That certainly added his respect of the President, but that might complicate things because when it came to Banner and the Hulk laws didn't matter to him. Entering his quarter Ross first went to his phone.
"Agent Reid what do you have to report?" Ross asked the agent from the FBI he had in charge of keeping tabs on the Avengers and Jennifer Walters.
"Sir there is nothing to report. There has been no sign of Banner. We have Walters home and office bugged but there is no sign of Banner trying to contact her. Her trip the Cook Islands was work related. We have no ears inside of the Avengers compound, but our men watching the place haven't observed anything strange or out of the ordinary when it comes to Banner, and we still haven't been able to locate Barton. From what we know or think we know is that he had a secret family very few know about." Reid explained to the general.
"Keep looking for Barton. What about Romanoff?"
"She's off the grid. She left the Avengers Fridays nearly two weeks ago after apparently getting on kicked off the team. Natasha was spotted in New York, but then vanished, and if the Black Widow doesn't want to be found you aren't going to find her."
"All right keep up the surveillance. I want Banner found." Ross told the agent hanging up and dialing another number. "Warden It's me. It's about the plan we discussed a three days ago. It's a go. I will have a team sent to you. Make it look like he escaped, and transfer him to my team and they will bring him to me." Ross told the warden and hung up.
"No matter where you run or hide Banner I will find you, and this time there will be no one to protect you." Ross said out loud before lying back in his bed.
Little did General Ross know there was someone else making her way to Bruce in Natasha Romanoff who was waiting for her flight to the Cook Islands at Auckland Airport, in New Zealand. Natasha could have gotten to the Cooks Islands much sooner, but did not want to lead any Red Room, Hydra or any of her other enemies to Bruce or allow Ross to follow her, so for nearly two weeks she had taken a vacation like Steve had asked her to do. After driving north from New York City she put the Stingray in storage space she used under the name Nadine Roman. Natasha had never used the alias Nadine Roman before. She kept one identity a secret from even S.H.I.E.L.D. just in case she needed it, and the name wasn't on any file related to the Black Widow, so it hadn't been released when Natasha's file had been released to the public. Nadine is a 27 year old chocolate brown haired Irish American from Hartford, CT who is a registered nurse working out of Buffalo, NY who also volunteers with the American Red Cross. Natasha had for just for a situation like this made Nadine her most through and detailed identity yet. Over the years since Natasha had come to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. she slowly built the Nadine identity going to the neighborhoods in Hartford where Nadine had supposedly grown up talking neighbors and community members so to foster relationships as Nadine convincing people that Nadine actually existed and by the time she was done to the people in those neighborhoods Nadine did exist. The easy part was getting Nadine a social security number, ID, driver's License and passport. The hard part was implanting Nadine into people's lives without them realizing it. Besides talking to people in Hartford, and Buffalo Natasha had hacked a high schools data base showing Nadine Roman had graduated, and even implanting a picture of herself in the schools old year book. Natasha created Nadine's childhood where her father worked as a mechanic and her mother as a nurse who were both killed in a car accident when Nadine just before she graduated from high school, with no immediate family Nadine was on her own in the world.
Natasha was impressed with her creation that she had planned to use if things ever turned real bad, and even considered after the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D. Not even the best agents from Russia or Fury will be able to track her down. Once she had everything read for Nadine's live Natasha headed north to Buffalo where she first travelled to England to see a comrade who owed a favor to her. Natasha travelled into London taking in the sites for a day, and then drove to Cardiff where she met Peter Wisdom the former Black Air agent and now high level MI6 and an accomplished spy and assassin who was good, but not on her or Fury's level, but his mutant powers easily made up for that. Natasha didn't believe anyone was following her, but Natasha asked Wisdom to make sure either derailing or eliminating anyone who was following her. Wisdom did owe Natasha one favor for saving his sister, and he agreed to help keep anyone from tailing her out of England. Natasha thanked the man, but still wouldn't put it past the man to keep tabs on her as she left England, and that was the reason she went to Lisbon, Portugal onto Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and next to Santiago, Chile to finally here in New Zealand. Natasha had taken time to enjoy the sights while she could taking pictures she planned to show to Bruce as she wasn't on the job or mission to complete only worrying about being followed, but as Natasha got closer to Bruce she was getting more excited with a fire building inside of her she had felt thinking about or being around Bruce. The nearly five hour flight to the Cook Islands and the capital of Avarua was a quiet one where Natasha got couple hours of sleep keeping her large duffel bag close to her where she had packed the usual stuff for a traveling tourist, but also Black Widow uniform and two of her three handguns. Natasha had also brought another duffel bag down in the lugged compartment that had her other handgun, but also included an MP7 SMG Natasha had picked up in Lisbon. Natasha had found a way around security by wrapping using a case S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists had designed if their agents had to fly on a commercial plane. Essentially there were case with in another case. It would show the x-machine the stuff packed on the inside of the outer case, but mask the other case. That invention was able to keep agents from being vulnerable while on a mission.
Walking through the airport to where the seaplane was waiting to for its passengers to Mangaia Natasha got a lot of stares from passerby's and other passengers heading to Mangaia as Natasha were sure the passengers were thinking why is a beautiful foreigner with long brown hair dressed in a navy ruched front maxi dress pair of sandals was heading to Mangaia. It wasn't one of the resort islands, and wasn't tourist major tourist attraction attracting only scientists who come to the island to do research as the Mangaia is the oldest island in the Pacific with a lot of rare plant and animal life. Natasha just smiled and waved politely to her fellow passengers acting natural. Natasha finally got to Mangaia on the evening of Saturday August 12th. The sun was setting over the Pacific lighting with half of the sun hidden behind the Pacific's horizon lighting up the sky in beautiful plethora of colors mixing yellow with a tint of orange, blue added to the darkness of night rising from the east. Natasha turned hearing a faint hit of sound coming from the tavern nearby. Heading up the walkway in up the small dirt road Natasha reached the Pacific Blue Tavern. Natasha walked into the Pacific Blue looking around she saw seven tables a pool table and dart board, a bar with stools and two large televisions hanging on either end, but no patrons or workers. Natasha walks up to the bar putting her duffel bags and looking around.
"Hello." Natasha called out. "Is anyone working."
"Yes I'm here, but I'm stuck in the back. My cook is stuck on the Avarua as he won't be able to catch the last flight of the night here, and the day cook won't be here for another half hour, so if you want a drink help yourself to the bar." The male voice called out from the back. Natasha walked around the bar looking in looking around for a moment and then finding the refrigerator she found some chilled sparkling red wine and orange juice and made herself mimosa. When she looked up from what she was doing Natasha froze before she could take a drink as she found a blue eyed blonde haired Bruce starring at her from across the room. He did look nervous, but also adorable Natasha thought as she looked at Bruce in brightly colored Hawaiian and cargo shorts. He's unruly curly natural brown hair was quickly growing out turning Bruce's air color to a very dark blonde hair color.
"How'd a nice girl like you end up working in a dump like this miss…?" Bruce asked coming out of his daze of seeing Natasha again and walking over to the bar standing across from Natasha.
"Names Nadine Roman, and a fella done me wrong. What do you think Mr.…?" Natasha asked remembering their conversation from before and made Bruce a mimosa as well.
"David Bixby and it sounds like you got lousy taste in men kid."
"Well, he's not so bad. He's got a temper, but deep down he's all fluff. Fact is, he's not like anyone I've ever known. All my friends are fighters, but this guy spends his time avoiding fights because he knows he'll win." Natasha repeated what she said before as she took a sip form her drink.
"He sounds amazing." Bruce remarked taking a drink from his glass and looking intently at Natasha.
"He's also a huge dork. Chicks dig that. So, what do you think? Should I fight this? Or should I run with it?" Natasha asked, and then watched Bruce walk around to the back of the bar as his eyes stayed on Natasha watching her passionate softness to his eyes. Bruce stood before her, but Natasha was going to let Bruce make the first move this time, and he did moving his hand gently along her cheek, which she leaned into and stroked it with his thumb.
"Definitely run with it as there is no more running from you or us." Bruce said leaning into Natasha, and she met him half way in their first real kiss that was gentle and sweet with his hands running through her long hair. The two pulled back resting their foreheads together, and both smiling, and then Bruce took Natasha into his arms hugging her against him with her head resting on his shoulder fully embracing Bruce back making a promise to herself to never let go of Bruce again as long as she was alive. The two stayed like that for a long time enjoying the silence and each other's closeness, but it was cut short by Liam.
"Sorry to break this up David, but I need the bar." Liam explained and pointing two to patrons coming in. The last plane had arrived for the night and the sun, and with all the workers back the tavern was about to get busy.
"I'm sorry David, but a good friend came to visit." Bruce explained as he and Natasha pulled apart and moved out from the back of the bar.
"Hello I'm Nadine Roman." Natasha said introducing herself to Liam.
"A pleasure to meet a friend of David." Liam told Natasha as Bruce put down money for his drinks picking up one of Natasha's bags. Of course Natasha noticed a brief flicker in Liam's eyes as he looked at Bruce and knew Liam knew who Bruce was.
"Sorry I won't be around tonight I'm going to take Nadine to my place." Bruce said putting one of Natasha's duffel bags over his shoulder while Natasha picked up the other, and without Bruce noticing dropping her purse on the barstool.
"David one moment I'll be right back. Wait here I left my purse in the tavern." Natasha explained after they had walked a couple of hundred feet leaving Bruce on the side of the road with the duffel bags.
"Did I leave my purse here?" Natasha asked as she came up to the bar making sure to sound worried and a little panicked.
"Yeah you had left it on the bar stool." Liam said reaching behind the counter to grab Natasha's purse and hand it to her, but as Liam was handing to Natasha she grabbed Liam's shirt tightly surprising Liam, and pulled in so her head was on the side of his.
"You know who David really is?" Natasha whispered in his ear her voice quiet, but with a viciousness to hit that put Liam on edge. "Answer the question yes or no."
"Yes." He whispered back knowing what Nadine was asking.
"Now say his name quietly." Natasha demanded.
"Bruce Banner."
"Now do you know who I am?" Natasha asked of Liam as she pulled only slightly so she could star at him, which terrified him, as for what was staring at him was no longer the vibrant full of life emerald green eyes Natasha had shown earlier for Bruce, but now the darkest shade of green eyes he'd ever seen, and even more they seemed almost lifeless devoid of a soul. "Take your time and think Liam." Liam looked at the woman before for a long time looking back in his memories as he realized this Nadine resembled someone, and then his hand and body began to slightly shake. "Now Liam who am I?" Natasha once again asked quietly knowing the tavern was slowly beginning to get busy.
"The…Black…Widow." Liam quietly answered realizing he was far more afraid of the Black Widow than the Hulk. The Hulk with is strength and power would probably kill him quickly and painlessly, but the from what he's read and heard about on the new the Black Widow could be far more deadly and painful to her victims.
"Good then you'll know what I'm capable of doing to you if you tell anyone Bruce or I are here right?" Natasha asked Liam who just silently nodded in return. "Good." Natasha said letting go of Liam's shirt and watched Liam stumble back against the back of the bar knocking over a bottle of bourbon shattering the bottle when it hit the floor.
"Are you all right Liam?" a patron asked looking their way.
"He's fine Liam just accidently slipped." Natasha turned explained to the man, and turned back to Liam, but now the darkness that had seem to envelop her was gone with eyes much lighter full of life. "Well thank you for keeping my purse for me and the talk, but I really need to go. David is waiting for me." Natasha said with a smile thanking Liam for her purse and then walking away only for Liam to stop her.
"Nadine you know your friend David is a really good man who I'd consider a friend only from knowing the man about three months, so I would never do anything intentionally to hurt David." Liam told Natasha still shaking a little with some fear in his eyes, and she looked at Liam for a moment nodded her head, and then turned and left.
"You didn't scare Liam too much now did you Nadine?" Bruce asked Natasha as she returned, and smiled at her slight surprise. "What? I know you Nadine. You will do anything to protect the people you care about, and that's one of the many things I love about you." Bruce said pulling Natasha in for another kiss. "But you didn't have to do that Liam wasn't going to say anything."
"I know." Natasha said with a dopy grin on her face. She was happy to hear Bruce say he loved her as well see Bruce more open and assertive with his emotions and feelings toward her. "If Liam had wanted to tell the world you were here he'd have done it by now. Still I wanted to be sure, and let him know what I would do to him if he did."
"Come on I'll take you to my home." Bruce said picking up one of Natasha's bags and taking her hand into his, and the two walked south along the one paved road on Mangaia that circled the length of the island. The two walked a mile and a half where they walked along some steep cliffs that took up nearly two thirds the coast of Mangaia passing other small houses until they reached a small paved path leading down a about fifteen feet where they came to a cabin on standing on small hill along the beach. "It isn't much, but it's been home these past three months, and I've found it very peaceful here." Bruce said showing her around his small home.
"It's very quaint and very you. I love it." Natasha said looking around at the small house, and putting her bag down by the door next to where Bruce had put her other duffel bag.
"Have you eaten? If you haven't I have some fresh fish in the old ice box along with some vegetables I can cook out on the fire pit."
"That sounds nice." Natasha said slipping off her sandals wanting to feel the sand on her feet as Bruce went and pulled out the two fresh fish he had gotten earlier in the day out of the ice box, and a variety of vegetables out of a cabinet. "Sorry I only have water here to drink." Bruce told Natasha as he walked down onto the beach putting the fish and vegetables on the small table while he got some wood to put in the fire pit.
"It's fine." Natasha said, and while Bruce got the wood for the fire pit she made some make shift security measures a few dozen feet from the house to warn them if anyone was sneaking up on the. The two cooked and ate their dinner as they enjoyed the comfortable silence that enveloped them as the night took old with the only sound being the soothing sound of the crashing waves.
"I was getting worried that you might not have come or hadn't forgiven me for leaving without you." Bruce said once he had finished his fish.
"Bruce you told me in your letter to forgive myself for what I did to you during the battle with Ultron, so the same goes for you. I understand why you've ran why you've been running and hiding most of your life first from your father and then when you became the Hulk. You're afraid of being hurt and hurting people you care about and innocent lives. I was happy to get your letter trusting me with your location, and even more so when you said you wanted to see me. I'm hoping you've grown some since being gaining confidence in yourself and trusting yourself and the other guy, and from what I've seen and felt you have." Natasha said smiling at Bruce and touching her lips knowing it was safe to say Bruce's name here the crashing of the waves, the distance they were from the road, and there was no other home quarter of a mile.
"That is thanks to you Tasha. Having your friendship started me down this path to a better understanding with myself, and after the war with Ultron I did need to get away, but I wish I had taken you with me. Being on the island here helping people and meditating thinking about you meditating on about myself and coming to accept that the Hulk is part of me…he is me, and getting some blunt honesty from Jen pushed me to the next step pushing the fear aside and to allow me to express my feeling for you and to show you." Bruce explained.
"Does that mean you'll give me another kiss?" Natasha asked innocently batting her eye lashes, and enjoying hearing Tasha from Bruce's lips again.
"I'll give you as many as you want or you get tired of them." Bruce said using both his hands to cup her cheeks and then kissed her hard passionately under the countless stars of the night sky.
"Well that will never happen." Natasha honestly said as maybe it was because she loved Bruce, but the man was the best kisser she'd ever kiss.
"Tasha I also promise neither me or the Hulk will ever run without you again." Bruce said looking lovingly into Natasha's eyes and kissing her again.
"We're going to have do something with your hair." Natasha said running her hand through Bruce's growing hair.
"What you don't like the color? I learned a lot from you and wanted to be inconspicuous and changed my eyes and hair."
"Well I do like the tan." Natasha said seductively looking Bruce over making the doctor fidget nervously, and Natasha smiled at that. "But the eyes and hair aren't you. They aren't Bruce Banner, and I miss the glasses." Natasha told Bruce, and yawned.
"You must be tired from all the traveling and I know you never get much sleep." Bruce said seeing that Natasha was getting tired and got up taking the plants and leading her inside putting the dishes away and then turned and realized that he'd forgotten about the sleeping arrangement, and Natasha looked seeing what he say in his lone twin mattress bed. "Tasha you take the bed I'll take the floor."
"Bruce don't turn into a prude now when you were showing so much progress." Natasha teased. "There's no reason for you to be uncomfortable and there's more than enough room for both of us. Don't you find me attractive?" Natasha continued to tease and flirt with the man she loved.
"I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation, and do I find you attractive? Of course I do you are by far the most beautiful woman on the planet, and being around you now does things my body, and makes me want things I'm not ready for and my never be ready for or that you may want something from me that I'm not ready to give, and then there is my heart rate that gets dangerously high the green kind of dangerously high." Bruce explained with his hands fidgeting nervously, and Bruce walked up to Bruce putting her one hand on his chest feeling his heart beat, and the other to his cheek so she could look him in the eye.
"Bruce first I am not uncomfortable. I am at piece around you. You know Bruce I see people who look up to me as being some kind of role model and think I enjoy or wanted to be the odd girl out, the bad girl, a so called anti-hero. That's not what I wanted, but then I was never given a choice, and for a long time I accepted it even working with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, but you changed all that. Knowing you, becoming your friend and falling in love with you has given me back part of the humanity I honestly didn't think I ever had or I was capable of having. I will always be the Black Widow, but I'm not going to feel guilty or ashamed about loving someone wanting to go on dates, kiss them, or hold sleep with them without sex just holding each other. I don't expect anything from you Bruce. I know you still have a ways to go before you are ready for that, and I've told you about my past with the things I've used my body for to complete a mission. I never want to have sex with you." Natasha emotionally explained as she felt tears flowing from her eyes and saw the look of pained sadness in Bruce's eyes at her last statement, but before Bruce could say anything Natasha continued. "What I will want from you whenever you are ready is for us to make love. I've had sex many times for meaningless times that weren't passionate had no emotion and left me empty. What I want is for us to learn about each other's bodies like we did when we became friends and fell in love. To learn what we like and don't like, when you are ready we will be two people who love enjoy body, heart, mind and soul becoming one." Natasha finished feeling Bruce's heart beat slowing to a steady pace, and then Bruce put his hands into Natasha's hair gently running his hands through her long chocolate brown hair in a soothing pace for a moment and then pulled Natasha to him crashing his lips against hers in a fiery hot passionate kiss as their body flush up against each other with Natasha's hands in Bruce's air and Bruce's hands running up and down her back with their tongues dulling for supremacy.
"What did I ever do to deserve you?" Bruce asked when the two finally came up for air.
"All you had to do to deserve me was be yourself. That was all it took me to fall for you." Natasha answered Bruce's question running her finger along his cheek and then pulled back. "Now why don't you get ready for bed while I go take a much needed shower." Natasha told Bruce walking over to one of her bags and carrying it outside while Bruce took care of the dishes, and turned to get change out of his cloths pair of boxers and nothing else there isn't much variation in temperature on the Cook Islands all year with the average temp in the evening in August was 64 degrees. Bruce pulled the ultra-light weight blanket back and turned when he heard the door close and turned to see Natasha in nothing but a blue camisole and matching pair of sleep shorts. Once again Bruce froze as he watched Natasha the personification of physical perfection pull a chair up to the door jamming it into the handle since the door didn't have a lock, and then she pulled out her four guns putting three of them in hidden, but accessible places around the room, and the last one she put by the right by the bed, and then turned to Bruce, and he watched her look him up down suggestively make Bruce blush as Natasha walked up and ran finger along his arms and chest.
"You are quite the beautiful man." Natasha looked at Bruce's well-toned body no overly muscular, but the muscles in all the right places. It's funny Natasha thought she'd seen Bruce nearly naked many times before when he returned from his Hulk state, but this time was different, and very naught thoughts popped up into her mind, but she quickly shook them off. They both loved each other, but this state of their relationship was still new, and like Natasha had said earlier wanted more than sex from Bruce and only when he was ready. "Come on Bruce get into bed we're both tired, and need sleep." Natasha told Bruce motioning him to get in first. Once he was lying on his back on the bed Natasha turned off the lantern, and crawled into bed nestling into Bruce with her head on his chest over his heard so she could hear Bruce's heartbeat and Bruce used his arm to pull Natasha in tight to him and pulled the blanket over them. They sat in a long blissfully comfortable silence for a long time, until Bruce spoke up.
"This isn't going to be easy is." Bruce said as his thoughts wondered to the future and knew they couldn't stay hidden as no matter how careful and at peace with his other half the Hulk would eventually emerge revealing his location.
"No it won't" Natasha honestly replied coming out of her peaceful state for a moment. "The outside world will eventually drag us back into eventually whether we want to or not, so here is what we are going to do Bruce." Natasha said turning her head up to look at Bruce. "We are going to enjoy our time alone for as long as that is, and when the outside world catches up to us we will handle it together as a team, so that nothing will drive us apart." Natasha told Bruce meaning every word, and Bruce kissed the top of her head.
"I love you."
"I love you to Bruce." Natasha said for the first to Bruce, which caused Bruce to capture Natasha lips in his for a heated kiss, and pulled back smiling as the two let the dark thoughts drift away as the two lovers drifted off to sleep wrapped in each other's arms.