"Natasha?!" He saw her collapsed on the ground and he sprinted to her in a panic. "Natasha!" Bruce dropped to her side, his hands trembling as he brushed aside a clump of her hair matted in fresh blood. Her eyes remained shut as he discovered a gash just below her hairline. "Tasha, can you hear me?" He knew he had to stop the bleeding, but he found himself frantically searching for the pulse in her neck when she didn't answer him.

He found nothing.

"Na…" His voice drifted as he pressed a hand over her chest.

No heartbeat.

"Natasha…" Her pale cheek felt cool to the touch. "No," he whimpered, instinctively pulling her body close. "Not you. God, not you…"

Bruce opened his eyes to find himself hugging a spare pillow to his chest. He loosened his grip before sitting up in bed to run his hands through his messy hair. A dream, he told himself, one brought about from not having heard from Natasha in eight days.

She had a mission. Bruce didn't know where, but he never questioned her. The day before she left, he told her to be careful. She told him she always was, but he couldn't for the life of him believe that. Bruce audibly groaned as he shook his head, still reeling from his nightmare. She should've been back by now-she said she would be away for six days tops.

"I do hope all is well, Doctor," JARVIS interrupted.

Bruce shook his head as he reached for his phone. "I should be fine, Jarvis, but thank you." When his answer was met with silence, he searched for Natasha's name and gave her a call. Hearing her generic voicemail wasn't very helpful on his nerves. Bruce knew Natasha would smack him for assuming she had gotten hurt, but between his nightmare and thoughts of his dead mother and ex-girlfriend lingering at the back of his mind, Bruce Banner was very concerned. He set his phone aside and decided to use breakfast as a distraction. When food failed to help, he headed off to the shared and newly refurbished lab. "You don't have any whereabouts on Agent Romanoff, do you, Jarvis?" Bruce asked aloud as he sat at his desk.

"I am afraid I do not."

"That's okay," Bruce replied after swallowing back a lump in his throat. "I'm sure she'll be home soon."

"Would you like me to get in touch with Director Fury?"

Bruce was quick to turn the offer down. "No. That's alright-I'm sure she'll get in touch when she gets back." He quickly directed his attention to the monitor before him. Bruce wouldn't have felt so needy if not for his dream.

"Girl troubles?" Tony wondered as he sauntered into the lab with a half-eaten waffle in hand.

Bruce turned to him with a shy smile. "It's nothing like that."

Tony took a bite out of his breakfast and chewed as he approached his desk. "What's on today's agenda?"

Bruce opened up a set of blueprints for the latest Iron Man model. "I've been looking at making the suit's frame stronger, but trying to keep it lightweight. Have you ever considered using Steve's shield as inspiration? That Vibranium is something else…"

"Haven't been able to fully recreate it," Tony sulked. "Not yet, at least."

"The great Tony Stark created a brand new element but can't recreate Vibranium?" Bruce teased.

Tony flashed him a warning glare. "Don't speak to me until you made one useful element."

Bruce nodded his head and laughed. "I have noticed that what you've been using mimics the Vibranium."

"Purely intentional. That's as close as I've gotten."

"You don't suppose Steve would let us analyze his shield, do you?" Tony answered him with a shrug. "Is, uh, everything okay between you two?" Instead of an answer, Tony pretended to be focused on an e-mail. "Let bygones be bygones?" Bruce weakly suggested.

Tony turned to his partner and watched him whilst chewing his waffle.

"Bygones..?"Bruce's voice drifted as he swore Tony's stare hardened.

"We're two different people," Tony began after swallowing. "Completely different-not his fault, though."

"Would you be mad if I had him over for dinner?" Tony frowned. "You're invited, of course! I was just thinking a get together would be nice," Bruce quickly added.

Tony turned his head to focus on the screen before him. "This place could use a bit of the party scene. Whether Rogers shows is another question. Do what you want. It's your casa, too."

"Thank you," Bruce smiled, feeling as if he just won an argument with a child. He worked with Tony in silence until after one o'clock when his stomach demanded to be fed. Bruce turned to his partner in preparation to offer getting lunch together, but the inventor was clearly lost in his own world, bobbing his head to a Boston song. Bruce left unnoticed and headed back to his own portion of the tower. He opened the front door, his thoughts focused on the leftover quinoa in the fridge.

"You're a sight for sore eyes."

The voice forced Bruce's neck to snap up in attention.

"I take it Jarvis didn't blab on me?" Natasha wondered with a smirk. She rose from the couch and wandered towards the surprised scientist.

"God," he breathlessly laughed. Bruce prayed that he wasn't having another dream. "You don't know how good it is to see you."

She raised a brow. "Fighting with Stark?"

Bruce extended a hand once she was inches away from him and his fingers gingerly curled around hers. "I missed seeing you," he admitted, eyes glued to her hand as he reveled in its warmth.

"That's awfully sweet of you."

He lifted his chin to meet her stare. "Natasha…" He hesitated, afraid of what was likely to slip from his tongue. "We're a bad idea," he murmured before pressing his lips to hers.

She was quick to end the kiss, pressing her hands against his chest to force them apart. "Please don't tell me you love me…"

His eyes narrowed as the light in her eyes dimmed. "I'm not."

"Sure as hell feels like it's coming," she breathed in irritation.

"I just missed you," he admitted, taking a step backwards. "This morning I thought…" he paused, "what if I never saw you again? It terrified me-the last woman I left, well…" He hated himself for dragging Betty back into the picture. The guilt of leaving her would haunt him forever. "I'm sorry," he replied, shaking his head. "I-I really just came here for lunch. Never in a million years did I expect you to be here in my living room…"

Natasha faintly smiled and stepped forward to pat his chest. "You shouldn't worry about me."

"Can't help it…" His gaze shifted to the tiled floor.

"We both care too much," Natasha stated. "I can't put a blame on that." Her hand reached behind his neck to initiate another kiss.

His arms secured themselves around her waist as her chest pressed against his. Flashbacks of blood smeared along her forehead crept into his mind, and he subconsciously hugged her tighter.

"Bruce," she sweetly hummed against his lips.

His lips hovered over hers, close enough for him to feel her breath against his chin.

"Do you want to…" Her fingers wandered to his waist and began tugging at a belt loop.

"I really can't," he groaned.

Her voice took on a playful nature. "When was the last time you tried?" she winked.

Bruce shook his head before turning his back to her. "If that's all you want, just leave…" His tone was colder than intended, but he needed to be aggressive in order for Natasha to know his stance on having sex. Hulk or no Hulk, Bruce had no desire to "mess around" for fun. A relationship meant more to him than mindless, though pleasurable, sex.

Natasha sighed in defeat. "Guys always go for that. Forget I offered."

A growl from his stomach made Bruce go straight for the fridge. "I respect you, Natasha," he divulged, reaching for a plastic container of leftover quinoa. "Sex…" he hesitated, "isn't a solution for me."

Natasha took a seat at the counter overlooking his kitchen. "You're a commitment kind of guy? I respect that."

Bruce avoided eye contact with her as he grabbed two plates. "I don't feel comfortable discussing this right now… Lunch?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.

She laughed as she hopped off of her chair. "I should go."

Bruce set the plates aside as he turned to her. "Sex wouldn't lead to love?" After the words left his mouth, Bruce was quick to apologize. "Don't answer that-that was inappropriate!"

Natasha casually grinned. "Never has. Not sure if it ever will…"

He uncomfortably shifted, his fingers knotting together as he kept his gaze low."Then I'm not like you. Believe me, I wouldn't be able to not fall in love with you."

"That's fine," Natasha softly promised. "But kissing… that won't lead to love? You're okay with it?"

Bruce held his breath and stared at his folded hands. "Physical touching…" he paused, wary of how his answer could affect his friendship with Natasha. "It's not about that for me. I mean, it's nice, but I get more of a connection on an emotional level. The other guy has really helped me realize that I don't need touching to have intimacy."

Natasha hadn't experienced an emotional-heavy relationship. Her flings were always physical-she knew emotions were dangerous in her line of work. She could never play house, not with S.H.I.E.L.D. calling her away to do the dirty work. "But you're sure you don't have an emotional connection with me right now?"

Bruce wondered if his pause was a good enough answer for her. He couldn't deny that he felt a strong longing towards her, but he was afraid to fall in love again. Love wasn't in the cards for him, especially not when Natasha craved a purely physical relationship. "I care about you," he finally answered. "As a friend. I'd like for us to be friends."

"Friends with kissing benefits." Natasha laughed at her own joke.

Bruce's guilty eyes rested on her face. "Is that strange? I should just not kiss you…"

She took a step towards him with a smile. "Does it calm you down?"

He shook his head, fully aware of the act's affect on his heart rate. "I… enjoy kissing you."

"I get that a lot," she winked.

"It comforts me," he continued, wondering if he was digging himself a deeper grave. Coming off as a pervert was the last thing he wanted. "You comfort me." He frowned at his phrasing and Natasha laughed. "I feel safe around you, is all. Wish I could say the same for Tony…"

"You'll get there," she promised.

Bruce nodded. "I trust you."

She placed a hand over his laced fingers. "You wanna get lunch?"

His fingers loosened. "I can throw together something quick right here, if you like. Quinoa, and I think I have some pasta salad to go with it."

"Sounds good to me," she nodded.

Bruce went to grab some plates and started setting the table. "Anything you can tell me about the mission?"

Natasha began raiding his fridge and stole a can of Coke. "Arizona-hot as hell. There were guns, a bomb threat…pretty boring," she drawled.

He chuckled as he brought two plastic containers to the table. "That's all a typical morning for you, isn't it?"

"Like I said-boring stuff."

Bruce poured himself a glass of water before joining Natasha at the table. "Can I ask what qualifies as exciting for you?"

Natasha helped herself to several big spoonfuls of leftover pasta salad. "Chitauri and Loki have taken that number one spot."

"I'd be concerned if they didn't," Bruce chuckled.

"Think we'll ever get another gig like that?"

Bruce uneasily picked at the cold food on his plate. "What happened shouldn't be taken so lightly."

Guilt struck Natasha hard following his comment. "I'm sorry…" Her voice was low as she parted her portion of quinoa into two separate mounds.

"You meant well, just…" He was one of the hundreds, maybe even thousands, to lose someone in the battle. "More bad came out of that situation than good, in my opinion..."

"At least when shit hits the fans, the world's got the Avengers to depend on." Natasha smiled as she glanced in Bruce's direction.

"But there's only so much we can do."

"I know," Natasha agreed. "We can't always save everyone. Even with a god on our team."

"Do you think the pressure will get to you?" Bruce wondered.

"I try to not let it," she replied with a shrug. "But I don't want it getting to you," she warned. "You think you can carry the world on your shoulders whether you're the other guy or not. Stark feels that way, too. Even Barton… But this team business is about all of us. No one's in this alone."

The faintest trace of a smile crossed his lips. "This is the kind of speech I would expect to hear from Captain America."

The corner of her lips raised into a smirk. "I'm full of surprises, Banner."

One thing that wasn't a surprise to Bruce were his feelings towards her. He didn't dare say it aloud, but he really had fallen for her despite his fears of falling in love again. In his defense, she was making it hard not to. Bruce wondered, in the privacy of his mind, if Natasha was aware of that.