I'm not at all sure where this came from; it was just supposed to be a drabble... and then I don't even know how many hours had passed and there was this. Enjoy!

Natasha Romanov was not very often afraid, but this guy wasn't going away, and he wasn't even dying, no matter how many bullets she put into him. Freaking king of some freaking aliens, and he didn't seem to realize that he was the only one of his ranks still alive.

This guy – or whatever it was – was tall, broad-shouldered, and murderous, to say nothing of the fact that he was still coming straight towards her. Since he had already backed her into a corner and she knew there were only a couple of bullets left in the one weapon that she still had at her disposal, she figured that she had about three seconds before he snapped her right in half.

She squeezed her eyes closed – suddenly as cowardly as a child, but not even caring at the moment – as her finger squeezed the trigger of her gun those last two times.

The Avengers were scattered all across the city, trying their hardest to stop whatever the heck was invading their home planet, and at least the rest of them were having better luck then her, if what she was hearing through her communications earpiece was any indication. But they were all far enough away that their progress didn't help her situation one iota, and so she resigned herself to the fact that this hideous monster was going to rip her throat right open.

It was a final act of rebellion that had her screaming her lungs out, expecting to be halted at any moment by a death blow… a death blow that never actually came. Over her own voice and the sound of the city still burning around her, she never heard what else was going on in those predicted three seconds.

Apparently, her teammates were a lot closer than she had thought they were. Iron Man flew in first, carrying Captain America with him, and as the man in metal dropped his co-leader onto the pavement, he put everything his arc reactors had into the invader that was three steps from the Black Widow. Captain America threw his shield at the thing's shoulder blades as Thor flew in from behind Natasha, carrying his hammer in one hand and keeping hold of Hawkeye with the other. The alien looked up to the sky as he fell to the ground, and Hawkeye took that opportunity to put an arrow in the one soft spot that he knew these guys had. Their bloodshot eye sockets.

When Natasha finally opened her eyes, still screaming, she did so just in time to see the Hulk jump in from practically the middle of nowhere and land on the alien, pinning him down and ripping his throat out with roar that shook the concrete under Nat's feet.

And just like that – with the death of the king of the creeps – they were done. It was over. Once again the Avengers had completed mission impossible – and managed to all get out of it alive.

That had been close though, Natasha realized, leaning over with her hands on her knees as she took a few deep breaths.

Her vision was swimming as Thor and Clint landed between her and the Hulk.

Captain America asked from somewhere on the sidelines, "Are you alright, Widow?"

Natasha nodded, but in truth she felt like puking her very stomach out.

The Hulk rolled his eyes, and Natasha gasped as she landed roughly on her backside on the pavement when the green guy knocked her feet out from under her to get her to sit. He shoved her head down between her knees, being gentle for the Hulk and rough for Dr. Banner which meant that he would be completely de-Hulked in a little bit. Ah, there he was now.

Clint moved up to take the Hulk's place in front of Natasha as the archer grabbed a shirt from one of the many pockets in his clothing and tossed it to Dr. Banner. "Tasha, breathe," he ordered crouching down in front of her.

"I'm fine," she protested, feebly trying to scramble to her feet.

"Stay where you are for a moment." This time it was Thor who was talking, pressing a hand against her shoulder to keep her where she was.

Natasha stubbornly shoved Thor's hand away and stood on shaky legs. Clint and Captain America each moved to a side of her and Thor stayed at her back – all of them hovering – but when Natasha took a step forward, she managed to accomplish little more than falling into the arms of Tony, of all people.

"I know they call you the Black Widow for a reason, but you really don't have to throw yourself at me like this," Tony said, the mask on his suit up so that she could see his annoying smirk just as well as she ever could've – and she didn't miss the concern buried in his eyes either.

"Shut up."

Natasha swayed again as she stood erect, and Clint moved to wrap an arm firmly around her shoulders, all but forcing her to lean into him whether or not she wanted the help.

"I'm fine," she muttered moodily into her partner's black vest. She eyed him pointedly as she said, "It's not like this is the first time I've almost been killed."

He rolled his eyes, informing her, "It won't be the last, either, if you don't just let us help you. Something's wrong with your ankle."

"I'd bet Cap has a concussion," Natasha said in concern, noticing the gash over one of his eyebrows.

"I'll take care of Cap," Tony answered, his tone one of don't cross me finality. "Bruce, Clint, get her home."

Clint nodded and he and the now-fully-clothed Dr. Banner started helping her towards the heli-carrier, while she protested the whole time about being just fine.

"Shut up," Bruce finally ordered briskly as he helped her sit down once they were in the heli-carrier. He sat down beside her and began a gentle assessment of her injuries. "You have at least a concussion, quite a few burns, and a sprained ankle – at least that not's broken, I don't think – and I'm not even going to start on how many cuts I'm seeing."

"Not to mention you almost died," Clint said, glancing back at her and Bruce from his seat in the heli-carrier's pilot seat.

"Not a first," she repeated.

"That's low," Clint complained, knowing that she still meant her comment as a jab at him.

Too tired to think of something to say in return, Natasha stuck her tongue out at him instead.

Clint snorted and turned back to the windshield as Bruce rolled his eyes and ordered her sternly, "Look at me."

She obeyed, hissing as the doctor applied peroxide to a cut on her cheek, having opened a first aid kit while she was bickering with Clint.

"What is this?" she complained. "'Save the damsel in distress day'?"

"Only when she needs it," Bruce answered.

Clint, adding his two cents, shot back at her, "Well, maybe next time we won't. You worked alone once; maybe we'll let you revert to dealing with it alone next time, too."

But they wouldn't, and they all knew it. No matter how much she hated it at times like this – or at least wanted to hate it (she was never able to work up quite the right amount of dislike for their caring calm after the storm) – they would always do anything they could to take care of her. She would do the same thing for them, because…well, they were a team, and – as they had eventually come to learn – that was just what teammates did for one another.

It was in the little things, really, that they became the invincible force that they were. It was the stupid stuff like how nobody made a scene when Tony misread a recipe and put garlic in the cookies instead of cinnamon – Cap had just disposed of the baked goods when Tony was in his lab. It was in the really convenient things like how Clint had made a habit of keeping a change of clothes with him for the when Dr. Banner de-Hulked after a mission. And it was in the downright kind things – like how Bruce didn't say a word about how tears had began to gather in her eyes.

It was in the things that just happened – the habits that they needed so much to be okay. It was in the fact that once they got back to Avengers tower, Pepper always met them at the door with a plate of cupcakes – and it was always the favorite flavor of the person who had been hurt the worst this time around, which undoubtedly meant that Natasha had strawberry cupcakes to look forward to. She was honestly getting tired of Tony and his red velvet sweets.

It was in the way that by unspoken mutual agreement at the end days like today if no one was too badly hurt they all gathered in the entertainment room and watched black and white comedies until they fell asleep, piled on top of one another on Tony's monstrous wrap-around couch. And, no, despite what Tony tended to declare, there was nothing romantic about it for any of them. It was just the fact that being around one another staved off the nightmares at least for that first night after they got back to the Tower. It was truly comforting to wake up and see them all there, both safe and willing to keep her safe if the need arose – even if Thor's foot did end up in her face every once in awhile.

It was the things that were sweet, and stupid, and hard, and convenient, and not so convenient, and terrifying, and kind, and so, so, aggravating that made them a team. No – "team" wasn't the right word; those things had turned them into a family. No matter how much Natasha made out to be a loner and to consider herself so far above these guys, she knew that she needed Pepper and the boys just as much as she needed to breathe – because sometimes, without them being there for her, she wouldn't still be breathing at all.

Hopefully you guys liked this. Reviews are my new best friend, if you feel so inclined to drop me one! Thanks!:)