Reflections - OTA.

[kick_ass_curls]

Natasha Romanoff had been spending far too much time by herself. Unifying with the Avengers to stop Loki may have made others feel like members of a team, but for her it only served to reinforce the feeling of loneliness.

She'd found Steve, or rather found someone who could. While secretly exploring the BPRD she gathered that not only Tony but Bruce

Comments

[angryinsecret]

Bruce was outside for what had become his bi-hourly decompression. Being down in the bowels of the BPRD made him antsy. The longer he was there, the more it felt like a giant concrete cage, and the closer Hulk got to the surface.

He was sitting in the grass, barefoot, using the heat of the sun on the top of his head to center himself, when he saw Natasha. She didn't look happy. It was pretty much her standard expression, but something was off, he could tell even from a distance. He called her name and waved before making his way back to his feet. The shoes, however, remained off. Grass plus toes equals peace.

"Hey, where you headed?"

[kick_ass_curls]

Tasha had no idea the inner workings of Bruce's process. If she had, she'd have been far more understanding of his concerns for being on the SHIELD hellicarrier. She'd only sneaked around the BPRD, but the whole building was worse than the hellicarrier. At the the SHIELD ship had windows.

She had no idea why she was returning to the scene of her 'crime'. It was stupid. One of the first things Taras Romanoff's training, however intended or accidental, had taught her was never look back. Never stick around. It will get you caught.

The familiar voice calling her name made her jump visibly, a motion completely out of character for her. The Black Widow didn't jump unless she wanted to jump.

"Hi." Her arms folded over her chest as she came closer to him. Cautiously she came closer to him, observing what he was doing. "I thought you said the secret wasn't yoga?" She teased, dodging his question.

OOC: Is saying this is before Loki OK with you?

[angryinsecret]

OOC: That's fine!

"I don't know a whole lot about yoga, but I think it usually requires some sort of mat," he replied, concerned about the way she had jumped. He couldn't imagine what could have her so spooked.

"If you join me you have to take off your shoes."

[kick_ass_curls]

In truth it's everything. Tasha doesn't sleep anymore, she doesn't eat, she just thinks about everything and it's grating on her in a very noticeable way. "The lack of shoes are a requirement for inner peace?" She raises a brow, then reaches down to unzip her boots. "It's worth a shot."

[angryinsecret]

"Not inner peace per se. Let's just call it a step in the right direction." He grinned crookedly at his own joke and waits for her to sink her toes into the grass.

"So how're you liking the Bureau so far?" Nice, innocent question to get things started.

[kick_ass_curls]

Tasha doesn't blink. She doesn't want to admit to Bruce she broke in. And she sure as hell doesn't want to tell him Harkness offered her a job. She glaces at the building, smiling. "It's fascinating the things a person can find in there, isn't it?"

[angryinsecret]

He shrugged, tugging a few blades of grass out of the ground with his toes.

"I haven't really explored much. I just go in, do what they need me to do and get out." He didn't feel the need to go into details about his discomfort. She would understand.

"I need to find somewhere nearby to live, though. The shabby motel I'm in is better than my place in India, but it still only has hot water for about five minutes."

[kick_ass_curls]

"What are they having you do?" She didn't steal those files, only the ones she needed to connect SHIELD's involvement with the 456 incident. What Banner and Stark are tinkering with she hasn't a clue.

Her chin tilts up at the mention of the hotel. Without even thinking Natasha blurts out."I have a place." She realizes how that sounds and chuckles. "I mean, I got a whole building in New York. People are liquidating everything and the rent's cheap. No one bothers us."

Tasha's lips twitch as she clarifies. "Us being me, Steve and this guy named Walter I hired." She has no idea Clint's decided to camp out up high next door. "You could stay with us. There's a big workshop on the first floor that could make a great lab."

[angryinsecret]

It's not that Bruce doesn't want to answer her question about what he's working on - it's that it is nearly impossible to actually put into words. It's bits and pieces of projects and machines. He does what Tony asks and doesn't complain.

He perks up at her suggestion. "A whole building? How big? What part of the city?" Sure he helped save the world, but he's still not going near Harlem.

[kick_ass_curls]

She notices that he dodges the question, or perhaps he's not sure how to explain it to her. Tasha's not a scientist like her is and somehow she thinks having to explain things to her would make his frustrated.

"Yeah. It's downtown in a part of the city they're still rebuilding. No one really comes around to bother us." Even SHIELD, and that's a good thing. "I could give you a key if you want to come check it out."

[angryinsecret]

It sounds tempting, but Bruce still has a hard time trusting anyone, even her. She isn't pushing with her questions, though, so he decides it is about time he gave someone a chance.

"Thanks, I think I will." He remembers how spooked she was when he first saw her. She still hasn't explained that.

"So what are you doing in this neck of the woods? Not still keeping tabs on me, are you?"

*ties shit together*

[kick_ass_curls]

And she won't be explaining it now. What Natasha knew of this man was from a file, reports that can't tell you who a man really is. It wasn't until she watched him, and the Hulk that she understood how 'normal' Bruce really was. She's in awe of him now instead of afraid. Tasha wouldn't invite him into her personal space otherwise. "Here." She pulls a spare key from her pocket. Why she keeps one on her, who knows? Wishful thinking, perhaps.

She looks past him to the BPRD building. Tasha went there after she was caught by Rick, returning, in a way, the files she stole.

While she was there she made good on that promise she made to Steve to talk to Stark. She did, and he pissed her off calling Clint 'Katniss' so she decked him in the face. Sorry she broke your Science Buddy, Bruce. "You've shown me you don't need that, Bruce." Tasha looks at him again. "Besides, that wasn't my idea in the first place."

[angryinsecret]

Bruce doesn't know if he'll ever stop being surprised by how much trust she places in him. He takes the key and tucks it into his pocket, making a mental note to ask her later for the exact address.

"I was just teasing you. I am capable of that, you know." He looked down at her feet, so dainty compared to his.

"Feeling calmer yet?"

[kick_ass_curls]

She learned the hard way with what the Avengers did that she has to trust someone. Those someones used to be Coulson and Barton but ones dead and the other...? Tasha shakes her head, any calmness she did gain vanishing as she thinks about Clint.

"Little bit." She lies expertly. Trouble is Bruce is probably very good at seeing though things like that.

[angryinsecret]

He sees right through her. The problem is, between spending most of his young adult life in a laboratory and the rest in isolation, he's not exactly adept when it comes to relating to the emotions of others. Regardless, he wanted to try. She'd done her best to keep him calm while on the helicarrier even though she'd failed. It was the least he could do in return.

"Want to walk with me a bit? I don't know about you, but it helps me think."

[kick_ass_curls]

The sad part is she's not either. The Black Widow was trained to be emotionally distant and focused on the task at hand. Anything otherwise would lead to being...compromised.The panic and fear on the helicarrier, that was very real.

"Sure." Natasha leans down to slip her boots back on. She doesn't want to think, but she doesn't want to be alone with her own thoughts, either.