Bruce woke up after seven, giving him just enough time for a shower and breakfast before Natasha's arrival. He received a text from her after leaving the bathroom to warn him that she would be there soon. Bruce settled on a bagel with jam while he waited, along with some coffee and the morning paper.
"Dr. Banner," JARVIS interrupted. "Ms. Romanoff will be up shortly."
"Oh," he smiled, "thanks, Jarvis!" He left the table to pour Natasha a cup of coffee before going to prop open the door.
Natasha allowed herself in and found Bruce setting the table with milk and sugar. "You don't have to get all fancy for me," she quipped.
He glanced up at her and smiled. "It's no trouble!" he cheerily promised. "Good morning, Natasha."
She took a seat at the table and let Bruce pour her some coffee.
"Did you eat?"
"I did," she nodded, adding some milk and sugar to her drink.
Bruce sat adjacent to her, his fingers wrapped around his half-empty mug.
"You nervous?" she wondered before taking a sip of her coffee.
He shrugged with a breathy chuckle. "A little. Just need to stay calm, though."
"If worse comes to worse, I'll escort you out," Natasha reassured him.
"Where are you keeping him?" he inquired. "One of those cells made for Loki?"
Natasha smiled and shook her head. "Just a standard holding cell." Bruce absently nodded and sipped his coffee. She noticed an evident tension in his eyes. "Fury contacted the hostages. They're okay. No longer hiding under Ross' orders."
A small smile formed across his lips. "That's good."
"You aren't in a rush to get there, are you?" She brought her mug to her lips.
"No. No-are you?" he blinked.
She slowly set the mug down. "No." Natasha observed him as he took a sip of coffee. "You aren't into me, are you?" He looked ready to spit the liquid back into his cup.
"Pardon?" he asked, startled by her abruptness.
"I shouldn't have kissed you. That was mean," she admitted.
"It was surprising," he corrected.
"So you're not into me?"
Bruce's lips parted as he struggled for an answer. He didn't want to hurt her feelings by saying "no," but he didn't want to lie to her. "I… I think you're a lovely woman…"
Natasha lowered her eyes and laughed. "I'm making this awkward for you, aren't I?"
"Natasha, I…" Bruce paused, eyes on her face. "I really do think you're wonderful. I'm just not ready for a relationship."
Her eyes met with his. "You should've mentioned the kissing bothered you," she smirked.
"Were you…" he blinked, "testing me?"
Natasha shrugged and raised her mug. "I've been worried about you, Bruce," she quietly admitted.
He held his breath as she spoke.
"I don't want you feeling lonely, you know?" Her smile fell. "You seem like you're moving forward-that's a good thing. And I know Betty would want this for you...to be happy." Natasha searched Bruce's face for an answer.
He took a deep breath in and managed a nod. "I like to think she'd be happy for me. She would like you," he added, smiling for Natasha.
"You used to get upset when remembering her. Now you can do it with a smile."
The corners of his lips fell as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I still miss her."
"I still miss those I've lost," Natasha replied.
Bruce thoughtfully observed her. He was slowly discovering just how complex Natasha was. There was more to her than the mysterious Black Widow. She was more than those casual grins and teasing kisses used to mask her pain. Natasha Romanoff was a woman of many emotions, and Bruce was curious, yet at the same time, terrified to see more of her true self.
Natasha caught him giving her a blank expression. "Please don't apologise," she laughed.
Bruce shook his head. "I won't. I mean, I'd like to… Loss is painful, it really is, but I was thinking about something else."
"What were you thinking about?" she wondered.
His answer came honestly and without much thought. "You." He caught himself and his mind raced to give a proper explanation. "Who you are. Not as a superhero, but you as Natasha."
She gave him half a smile. "That's not a door many want to open."
He lowered his eyes, staring into his coffee mug. "I'd like to."
His response worried her. The Doctor's desire to know her told her that he was in deeper than she would've liked. Natasha wasted no time in finishing her drink. "Ready to go?"
Bruce nodded and rose from his seat. "I'll get my coat."
The drive to headquarters was a quiet one. Bruce lightly bobbed his head and fidgeted with his hands while Natasha drove. There were several moments where he caught his leg trembling and had to force it to stop. He also didn't like how eerily quiet Natasha was, but the silence helped him rehearse what he wished to tell Ross. Granted Thaddeus kept his mouth shut, Bruce wanted to start off on a calm note. He refused to lash out-that would only force Ross to treat him like a monster, which could very well trigger an incident. Remember to breathe, he told himself. Bruce closed his eyes and imagined the classroom: yoga mats strewn across the floor, the steps for breathing through labor written across a whiteboard, a quiet Tchaikovsky piece drifting through an open window, and Natasha. His eyes opened just as his place of solitude came into complete fruition. Bruce was familiar with the emotions currently stirring in his chest. They were warm and comforting, but at the same time, dangerous. He turned to Natasha and recalled one particular moment from two years ago. Betty had accepted the other guy completely, but Bruce had to let her go. Though their friendship and romantic feelings remained, Bruce had sworn to himself that a relationship wasn't a possibility. He almost found it funny how he and Natasha shared the same views on romances.
Natasha parked the car in the garage and even after removing the keys from the engine and opening her door, Bruce sat, unmoving. "You need a moment?"
Her voice brought him to his senses. "No," he answered, undoing his seatbelt. Now wasn't the time for Bruce to be letting his heart get the better of him. He left the car and began following Natasha through the parking garage. "Should I call you when I'm finished?" He kept his jacket neatly draped over an arm.
"Don't bother," she answered. "No offense, but Fury wants eyes and ears on your conversation."
Bruce bowed his head and nodded. "That's understandable."
Natasha scanned her ID badge before an elevator granted them permission to enter.
Bruce slipped his jacket on inside the frigid elevator. He took a deep breath in through his mouth, then exhaled through his nose.
"What are you nervous about?" Natasha wondered.
His mouth formed a thin line. "The obvious," he shrugged.
"Bad nerves can trigger him?"
"I…It's yet to happen, but I can never be too careful."
Natasha reached out to give his arm a light squeeze. "If he threatens you, ignore it. He won't hurt you-he can't. He's under our custody and won't be getting out anytime soon."
His stomach churned and he wondered if his prior romance related thoughts were adding more fuel to his frantic state. He once read that fear and love were two sides of the same coin. Love. Now wasn't the time for him to be going there.
The elevator doors eased open and Natasha stepped out in front of him. "Keep it together for the afternoon, Banner," she urged.
He nodded, fingers knotting together as they resumed their walk.
"Don't look so timid. He'll hold that against you."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.
"You're in control here, Banner."
"That's quite a pep talk," he hummed with a smile. Natasha guided him down a narrow hall. She scanned her ID at a door, then more walking ensued. Bruce kept close to her side, breathing deeply in hopes of calming his anxiety. Their final stop was a metal door guarded by two men. As Natasha flashed her badge and they were granted access, Bruce noticed a gun strapped to one of the men's thighs. "Do you house many prisoners?"
"Currently three," Natasha answered. "The other two here are in for hacking cases-nothing to really worry about." She showed him to another door and swiped her ID. "Take as much time as you need." Natasha held open the door for him. "I'll be listening in from out here," she promised, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear to reveal an earpiece.
Bruce pulled his interlocked hands close to his gut and nodded.
"I can keep the door open if you'll feel safer…"
He opened his mouth, ready to decline the offer, but instead nodded his head. "Please do," he murmured.
"He can't hurt you, Bruce," Natasha reminded him as he stepped through the doorway.
Bruce kept his eyes fixed on his feet as he entered a dimly lit room. The door behind him eased halfway shut, allowing some yellow light from the hallway to filter through.
"I can't hurt you," a sarcastic voice muttered.
Bruce glanced up with furrowed brows. Ross was seated before a small table, his wrists secured to the table by a set of nailed down handcuffs.
"Come here to cower or gloat?"
Bruce unbuttoned his coat before taking a seat in an unoccupied fold-out chair. "Neither," he answered, looking the General in the eyes. "You're aware that in an attempt to harm me, you harmed an innocent civilian."
Ross answered with a blank stare. "So long as I acquired your blood."
Bruce's fingers curled into fists. "You wouldn't be saying that if your daughter was the one to get hurt."
Ross' glare hardened. "Drawing that card is a weak move."
"I'm putting things into perspective," Bruce coldly answered. "And you're proving to be more of a monster than the Hulk."
"What did you come here for, Banner?" the older man sneered.
Bruce stared at the metal hook securing the handcuffs to the table. "Your obsession with the Hulk is dangerous. With Betty gone, it's driven you mad, and that's only going to get worse."
Thaddeus closely observed Bruce's eyes. They were a deep brown and filled with anger and confusion. "Do you plan to kill me?"
Bruce shook his head and neatly laced his fingers. "I ask that you focus on ending this obsession." He looked the General straight in the eyes. "The world doesn't need another Hulk. I'm the only threat this world needs."
"So you do see yourself as a threat?" Ross wondered.
"Until I can control him…" Bruce hesitated. "That's the most logical solution at the moment."
"Your Stark buddy can't help you?"
"He's tried," Bruce answered. "But your daughter was the one who tried the hardest."
"I don't want you pitying me," Ross warned in a quiet growl.
"I'm not," Bruce confirmed. "I only ask that you give up hunting me down for Betty's sake. She wouldn't want-"
"Don't you dare use her against me, you son of a bitch!" Ross slammed his fists against the steel table, violently rattling the chains restraining him.
The door creaked open, but Bruce remained calm as he slid his chair back. "She'd be ashamed. Then again, she already was," he quietly informed the General before rising to his feet. Bruce acknowledged Natasha's presence in the doorway. "I'm finished here," he announced. The soles of his shoes hitting the tile was the only sound to be heard as he made his exit.
Natasha closed the door after him and stole one last peek at Ross as he sat with his head bowed. "Did that go better than imagined?"
The door clicked shut and Bruce audibly exhaled. "I didn't mean to use Betty against him."
"Sometimes you just gotta pour salt in the wound." Natasha escorted him away from the holding cells.
"That was a weak move on my part," Bruce muttered. "Using Betty as a shield… I suppose it's something I've always done…"
"Nothing wrong with shields," Natasha soothed. "Cap uses one."
Bruce shook his head. Her analogy didn't feel the same.
"You're a shield, too, Banner."
He gave Natasha a thoughtful stare.
"You shield the Hulk," Natasha continued, watching him out of the corner of her eye. "You keep him under control. Without you, all hell would be loose."
Bruce's pace slowed as the revelation hit him like an out of body experience. Natasha was right. The other guy needed him. He paused to reflect on something Tony had told him before the battle broke out. Tony had mentioned the Hulk "saving him" from all the gamma exposure he endured.
That notion brought Bruce back to one of his weaker moments. He had been hiding in an abandoned cul-de-sac with only a loaded revolver for company. Hulk "saved him" the instant his trembling finger pulled the trigger. The Hulk was Bruce's shield, and in turn, he was his. They worked in tandem as Yin and Yang. If there was no foreseeable way to destroy the beast living in him, there had to be a way to work with him. "Natasha?"
She stopped to give him a careful stare. "Yeah?"
"I…I'd like to walk home, if you don't mind."
"Bruce?" He had the faintest trace of a smile across his lips, but it was making Natasha uneasy. "I can drive you."
"No-no, I'll be fine!" he swore.
She furrowed her brows. "What happened?"
He offered her a weak grin. "You've helped me realize something."
"Oh, yeah?"
"I've never saw myself as a shield. And the other guy, he's a shield, too," he continued. "This is a mindset I haven't considered. I suppose it makes me feel more hopeful…like there really is a way to get the other guy to listen to me…"
Natasha gently pat his shoulder. "Always happy to help, Doc!"
He laughed. "You and Tony are the greatest help in the world."
"And that's how things are gonna stay," she confirmed. "Bruce Banner isn't alone. He never was, and he never will be."
His smile widened.
"Meaning he won't be walking home alone, either," Natasha sternly added. "I'll drop you off. It's no trouble."
"Thank you." The phrase was something that probably came second to "I'm sorry," but his gratitude couldn't be expressed enough. Natasha was more than someone he could turn to for a smile. She was his supporter, and that was someone both Bruce and the Hulk needed. "Thank you," Bruce repeated.