Love is a sweet tyranny, because the lover endureth his torments willingly. ~ Proverb

Avengers

Age of Ultron…What If?

Sweet Tyranny

Bruce shut the water off and pushed the shower curtain aside. Shivering slightly in the cool air, he rubbed the towel over his hair while brief images of the incident in Johannesburg flitted through his mind. The one that stood out was Tony's voice.

Listen to me. That little witch is messing with your mind. You're stronger than her. You're smarter than her. You're Bruce Banner!

Then, as if from far away, Natasha came into view.

Hey big guy. Sun's gettin' real low.

She knelt in front of him, holding out her hand, palm out. The Hulk mirrored her, their palms touching. She stroked his hand from the wrist to the fingertips, and suddenly, he was himself again. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he got the feeling that each member of the team had attempted a similar strategy, but the only one the Other Guy would respond to was Natasha. He only had to look within for the reason.

The memories never appeared to him in order, and this was no exception. The first was from Johannesburg. The second was an earlier memory from one of their raids on HYDRA strongholds looking for the scepter.

He pulled on the sweatpants and long sleeved t-shirt Clint had given him to wear, using the towel to dry his hair as he opened the door. The room was a combination playroom and guest room. Natasha was sitting on the bed. He gestured with the towel. "I didn't realize you were waiting."

Getting to her feet with a tentative smile, she shrugged one shoulder. "I would've joined you, but uh, it didn't seem like the right time."

Not knowing how to respond, Bruce pointed over his shoulder. "They used all the hot water."

She chuckled lightly. "I should've joined you."

Assuming she was joking, Bruce smiled back. "Missed our window."

"Did we?" The light in her eyes changed, became softer, almost affectionate.

With those two words, Bruce realized that she knew his plan. "The world just saw the Hulk. The real Hulk, for the first time. You know I have to leave."

"But you assume that I have to stay?" Natasha moved closer, her expression serious. "I had this, um, dream. The kind that seems normal at the time, but when you wake…"

Mildly confused at what seemed like a change of subject, Bruce asked, "What did you dream?"

"That I was an Avenger. That I was anything more than the assassin they made me."

She seemed upset now, and he felt the need to sooth her fears. "I think you're being hard on yourself."

One side of her mouth turned up in a grin. "Here I was hoping that was your job." She leaned in close, taking his hand and letting their eyes meet.

Suddenly nervous, Bruce inhaled sharply at the contact. "What are you doing?" Their lips were almost touching, and though he wanted to step back, put some space between them, he couldn't make himself move.

"I'm running with it, with you, if running's the plan, as far as you want."

Her meaning became clear, and Bruce abruptly turned his back on her. He had to put a little distance between them before something happened he couldn't take back. "Are you out of your mind?"

"I want you to understand that I'm…"

Whatever she was going to say, Bruce wanted to hear it, yet didn't. He faced her again. "Natasha, where can I go? Where in the world am I not a threat?"

Again, that tentative smile, her lips trembling. "You're not a threat to me."

"You sure?" He was still holding the towel, using it to emphasize his point, reminding her of recent events. "Even if I didn't just… There's no future with me. I can't ever… I can't have this, kids, do the math. I physically can't."

Natasha's lower lip trembled and her smile faded. She looked down at the floor, and back to him, and he got the feeling that she was about to make a confession, something she'd never told anyone before.

"Neither can I." Whatever Bruce expected Natasha to say, that wasn't it. "In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised, um, they have a graduation ceremony. They sterilize you. It's… efficient. One less thing to worry about. The one thing that might matter more than a mission. It makes everything… easier. Even killing." Stunned, all Bruce could do was stare at her with his mouth open like an idiot when he should've been comforting her. "You still think you're the only monster on the team?"

Finally finding his voice, he moved a little closer to Natasha. "What, so we disappear?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "Why not?"

He gestured at the world outside the farmhouse. "Where would we go?"

"Doesn't matter, as long as we're together."

Bruce was hooked, and from the glow of triumph in her green eyes, she knew it. Rubbing the back of his head as he paced in a circle, he finally faced her again. "You're sure you want to do this?"

Her back straightened, and Natasha nodded with confidence. "Absolutely. Where would you like to go?"

He didn't even have to think about it. "Somewhere I can do good."

Natasha took hold of his hand, and he gripped it like a lifeline. "You're doing good here."

"The citizens of Johannesburg would disagree with you."

"That wasn't your fault. Maximoff messed with your mind. With all our minds."

Finally, he smiled ruefully. "That's putting it mildly." Natasha looked away, embarrassed at whatever vision she'd been given. With a finger under her chin, Bruce forced her to look at him. "Whatever that witch did to you, to us, we'll get through it together."

Her smile was back, the one that made his reservations melt. "Yes, we will. So, we're really going to do this?"

"If you're sure it's what you want, Natasha."

Her smile grew into joy. "I've never been more certain of anything, Bruce."

"When?"

Casting a quick glance toward the open door, Natasha lowered her voice. "Tonight, after everyone's gone to sleep."

Before he could say another word, she kissed him, her small hands gripping his shoulders. Footsteps in the hall drove them apart as Clint's wife appeared.

Laura smiled, though not in a way that said she'd seen them kissing. If she had, she chose to ignore it. "Dinner almost ready."

Embarrassed at being caught in the bedroom with Natasha, Bruce ducked his head and eased past Laura. "I'll leave you two alone."

~~O~~

Laura watched Bruce until he'd gone into Cooper's bedroom, and the door closed behind him. "He seems nice."

Natasha didn't realize her smile had softened. "He is."

The other woman took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm happy for you, Nat. Clint will be too when he figures it out."

Chuckling, Natasha crossed her arms. "He is a bit clueless."

Looking over her shoulder, Laura lowered her voice. "Cooper can sleep in with Lila, if you and Dr. Banner want to… double up."

"We're good. Thanks for the offer though." Natasha looked at Laura's belly with more than a little envy. Her talk with Bruce had brought the disappointment at not being able to have children out into the open. "The next one better be a girl."

Laura's eyes took on a note of sadness, and resignation. "This is the last one."

"That's what you said about Lila."

"After the miscarriage, the doctor said I shouldn't try to have any more children, so we're taking steps to prevent it on both sides, just to be sure." Laura gasped and grabbed Natasha's hand, pressing it to her belly. "He's a kicker. Keeps me up at night."

Before Natasha could respond, Clint's voice floated up the stairs. "Time to eat!"

Going into the hall, Natasha led the way to the stairs, staying in front of Laura just in case she fell, the cause of her miscarriage over a year before.

When they reached the kitchen, Fury was there, and everyone was already seated at the table. The kids were in the living room to make way for the adults. While they were talking Lila came to Natasha with a drawing of a butterfly. She put her arm around the little girl, hugging her tight. Bruce put forth the theory that Ultron was growing and changing, creating his own evolution. Looking up, she caught his eye and gave him a secret smile.

Later that night

Wearing some of Laura's clothes that were a bit long, Natasha softly closed the door to the room she was sharing with Lila, and made her way to the door of the Clint and Laura's bedroom. She shoved a note under the door, and tiptoed down to the first floor. Stark was asleep on the sofa. Thank goodness Steve had elected to sleep in the barn or this might not have worked.

She went out through the laundry room, softly closing the door as she left her old life behind to start a new one with Bruce.

Ducking under the clothesline, Natasha quickly came around to the front of the house to see Bruce waiting for her by the woodpile. He held out his hand, and she took it, leading him to Clint's truck parked near the barn. He gave her a questioning glance. Smiling, she held up the keys. Miming pushing, she put the keys in the ignition and turned it on, and together, they pushed the truck down the dirt road until they were far enough away that no one would hear it start up.

They got in, and shared another kiss before Natasha started the engine and drove away.

Morning

The phone jolted Clint out of a sound sleep. He slapped the nightstand until he found the handset. "Yeah… Who? Oh, hi Frank… Yeah. Got back yesterday… You found my truck where? I have no…" Laura tapped him on the shoulder, holding the note out, her finger pointing to the bottom of the page where it said, "P.S. We borrowed your truck." Huffing, he backpedaled. "Just remembered I lent it to a friend… Yeah… The keys should be in it. Send Charlie after it for me? Thanks, Frank."

He hung up the phone as they went down to the first floor. "When you said Banner and Nat had a thing, I'd no idea it was this serious. How did you know?"

"Women's intuition." Laura paused a beat, then, "And I caught them kissing last night."

"Oh." Clint started getting the coffee ready for their guests who would be waking up any moment now.

"This Ultron. Will you be able to handle him on your own, just the four of you?"

Shrugging, Clint took down mugs and plates. "We got back-up. WarMachine, Falcon, Mockingbird…" he flinched at the mention of his ex, but Laura didn't even look up. "Fury's got something up his sleeve too."

Laura went to the refrigerator, taking out two dozen eggs, two packages of bacon, sausage, and cheese, setting them on the counter next to the stove. She added a loaf of bread, jam and butter. "Think this'll be enough?"

Clint chuckled. "For Thor, maybe. What're the rest of us going to eat?"

At An Undisclosed Location

"…my grasp of Portuguese was iffy, and when the police caught up with me, I told them I was hungry, and they wouldn't like me when I was hungry." Bruce grinned as Natasha nearly fell out of her chair laughing. "Confused them just long enough to get away."

When she stopped laughing, Natasha took a sip of her Zhigulevskoye to clear her throat. "I can see their faces, lyubImaya moy."

Sitting in the small café, Bruce watched Natasha interacting with the people, and wondered if she regretted her decision to run away with him. Taking her hand, he was about to ask her just that when she leaned forward to kiss him. "Ya lyublyu tebya, Bruce."

Her avowal of love thrilled him as he pulled her close. "Ya lyublyu tebya, Natasha."

Konets

A/N: Zhigulevskoye or Zhigulyovskoye is a notable brand of Russian beer.

You know what the Russian means. ;-)