Hey, guys! I have some things to say before you start reading this story and the first one is that English is not my native language, so you may find errors in the text, if it happens, accept my apologies and please let me know, so I can fix! The second thing is that I decided to write this story after reading all Brutasha fanfics that exist in the universe and I tried to put everything I feel about these two in the narrative.

It will be a shortfic and I hope you enjoy it.

Day One

Natasha had found easily the small house that Bruce settled in New Caledonia. It was similar to several other residences in the street, with two floors and small rooms, but cozy, that Natasha quickly became acquainted.

The agent also had no difficulty to break into the residence, making it seem very normal the way which she slid the clip into the lock and broke it.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon, a difference of fifteen hours of New York, what messed up with Natasha's body and left her with an uncontrollable sleep.

It was her fault, of course, having spent the entire flight thinking about her first encounter with Bruce after eight months he had left her. She hated to admit that she was nervous, but the pain in her stomach was impossible to ignore and she could not settle down enough to have a nap.

She would apologize for breaking the lock when he arrived, 17h, according to Nick surveys.

Bruce could not stay hidden for a long time and so had been found, the entire report was made about him including the time he left his work in his new life.

Natasha couldn't help but feel a little hurt at the thought that they could be living this life together, but she pushed the thought out of her mind and entered the house.

The interior was simple, with raw furniture and nothing to cling to. No pictures or decorations. Only a sofa and a coffee table in the living room, a very small shelf with few books and the kitchen, with only a sink, a wood's cabinet, a table and an old refrigerator. A staircase in the living room side, leading to the second floor, where Natasha found a bedroom and a bathroom.

She left her bag next to the double bed and went to the bathroom, trying to calm herself.

Her visit to Bruce was supposed to be a mission. Nick told her where he was and how he was, and her mission was to find him and recruit him, - again -but they both knew it was much more than that. Natasha remembered how she had to fight her feelings to answer your top unabashedly and Nick pretended not to see her lips trembling slightly as she asked questions about Bruce.

He said that Bruce had traveled from Fiji to New Caledonia, where he remained with the money of an emergency account that Tony had done for him sometime between the battle of NY and the battle of Sokovia, and a few months later he had achieved job in a shop of organic products, more specifically, in the plantation.

She had never thought of Bruce like a man of the field, but after a moment pondering, found gardening something that he could go with.

Natasha opened the bathroom sink faucet and wet your face with cold water, which made her feel a little better.

She still had about three hours before Bruce arrived and wanted to spend them doing something more productive than tremble with anxiety.

She tried not to think about what she would say when she saw him, because she actually did not even know what her reaction could be like.

She wiped her face in a towel that shw found in the bathroom and returned to the bedroom. In her bag, she found her cell phone and texted Tony telling that she had arrived, because he had made her promise she would give news. He missed Bruce, as much as she.

The room was so modest as the whole house, with only a bed, a wardrobe and a desk.

Natasha took off her beige leather jacket and folded it, tucking in the bag along with the rest of her few belongings. She wanted to put something more comfortable than her boots and jeans skiny pants, but was not sure if she should look as relaxed as if she had taken over Bruce's house. She decided to keep her tight, uncomfortable clothes, but took the liberty to sit in bed and stretch your legs, being careful not to let the soles of her boots dirty the white and slightly wrinkled sheets.

She smiled a little at the thought of expression that Bruce would do when he saw her quietly sitting on her bed and wondered if the shock would be able to make him go green. She hope for not, because she was not sure if they still had a conection, the conection that made her able to drag him out the transformation.

She was afraid they had lost their window and it made her feel suffocated.

Eight months was a long time, and even for her the feeling that she felt for Bruce seemed as alive as ever, she was not sure about how it was for him.

Natasha looked in the phone's clock and found that half an hour had passed. With a loud sigh, she decided to leave the device inside her luggage and relax in bed, closing her eyes.

It would be another two and a half hours until Bruce came

x.x.x

Bruce always leave his work in the garden with annoying earth grain trapped beneath his fingernails, no matter how short he kept them. Maybe that was the only part that bothered him in his job and he always made his way back home fighting the small grains.

The afternoon sun was warming his skin and it seemed like a great friday for a walk on the beach when nightfall.

He led a very simple life but liked to keep his mind always busy, because when he doesn't, the unpleasant memories filled his mind with ease.

He walkef from the work to his home on foot, always choosing the longest paths, occupying his mind with anything as long as it was not himself.

When he finally arrived, his heart skipped a beat when he noticed the front door was unlocked. Bruce paused for a moment, trying to remember if he had forgot the door unlocked. It could be a thief, but he doubted, since the neighborhood was quiet and his house was especially free of things of value that could attract attention.

He entered the house with a sigh and tried to be as quiet as possible.

The interior of the house was exactly the way he had left, which made him relax a little and closed the door behind him.

Maybe he'd just been foolish enough to leave the door open and not even remember that.

Bruce hung his keys and went up to the second floor, going straight to his room to find Natasha lying on his bed, with her red curls shining in the light of sunset that lit the room. Bruce held his breath and remained motionless, trying to turn around.

She was breathing softly, eyes closed, perhaps sleeping, and he thought that if he was fast, he could go out without her noticing.

But she smiled a little in the same second that this thought crossed his mind, and Bruce wondered if she had gained some Wanda ability to read minds.

Oh, he missed her. Despite its uncertainties and cowardice, he missed her badly and suddenly breathing had become too painful.

Life had become too painful.

All the memories he had tried to avoid for so long occupied his mind quickly like a plague and Bruce had to lean against the nearest wall to contain his trembling.

He wondered if she could hear his heartbeat as he could, strong and tall and fast, hurting his chest.

"Natasha ..." he asked for it with a trembling voice, because now he was sure she had notice his presence. Of course she had. "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you" she replied quietly, "I was waiting for you for eight months."

She opened her eyes when she spoke, her emerald green iris reflecting a mixture of feelings that Bruce had not courage enough to decipher. He looked away.

"Maybe I also have slept a little" she finished, stretching his body and throwing his legs out of bed.

'You broke into my house" he said thoughtfully, because he could not find anything better to say.

"I've done worse," she smiled bitterly, remembering the last time they were together in Sokovia when she kissed him and then threw him off a cliff.

"I'm surprised you did not came in by the window," he continued, as she made soft footsteps to approach him.

"I was not sure we still had one" she stopped in front of him and thought that she could kiss him or punch him.

His skin was more tanned than she remembered and his hair grew in uncontrollable curls around his head, the big beard completed his unkempt look, but still cute, that made her heart warm. His eyes were full of fear and fear and longing, and oh, she had felt such a lack of him.

She took a deep breath and something inside her softened, but she did not undo the hard look he had on his face.

"I missed you," he whispered, looking deeply at her eyes, his lips trembled slightly.

She could definitely punch him for saying this, but instead she kissed him.

With all hurt, anger, resentment, longing and affection that she had kept for so long and he seemed more surprised than he had been in the first time she had done it.

Bruce seemed tense in her hands, but wrapped her waist gently and did not let her go even when pulled away from her, parting their lips.

"Why did you come?" He asked, with pain in his voice, his eyes glowed in radioactive green when he looked at her and Natasha gasped. She moved her hands carefully to his chest, leaving his right hand over his heart to feel his rapid heartbeat.

"We need you," she confessed, speaking on behalf of the entire team. "You've been away too long, Bruce ..."

"That's how I intend to stay, Natasha" he took her hands and pulled away from his chest, pressing them against his own hands.

The kiss she had given was enough to remember why he left her. The simple approach of Natasha already made his heart beat fast enough to awaken the Hulk within him and so he had to keep away. It was too dangerous.

He walked away, feeling his chest hurting, but he needed to calm down.

"But you missed me" she reminded him, unhappy that he had walked away from her and tried to shake the feeling of rejection away from her mind. She knew that it was cruel to think, because she could see in his eyes how hard it was being for him to stay away from her. He was trying to protect her.

She smiled bitterly and continued "the same way I missed you".

"That does not change the fact that I'd better stay away ... from everything" Bruce brought her hand to her mouth, pinching a bit his lips that still burned by Natasha kiss.

He wished he could kiss her again.

But he knew it would be a selfish decision.

"No, Bruce. The world needs you ... A war approaches " Natasha moved the conversation to the strictly professional side quickly, blinking hard to get rid of her emotions. "I was sent to recruit you"

"And if I say no?" He teased with words and Natasha thought about how he was cruel, while a smile escaped from her lips.

And if he says no? She asked herself again what she had been asking since Nick gave her the mission. Particularly, she was sure he would say no and yet more sure that persuade him against his desire would be too painful for both of them.

"I leave you alone," she said, ignoring her agent side to be just Natasha. "I won't lie to you and say that we won't need your help, because we will. But if you don't want to go with me, I won't force you to go. I won't take that decision for you." Not again, she added in her mind.

Bruce raised his eyebrows in surprise at her words. He felt his heart accelerate again and cursed himself for not being able to stay calm.

"I won't lie to you and say I don'tt miss you, because I do. I won't lie saying that I was not hurt when you left me, even understanding your reasons. I promised myself that I would always be honest with you some time ago. So the only thing I did was lie to myself, saying I'm here just to fulfill a mission, but it is not. "

Her words were painful as many punches in Bruce's face and he had to close his eyes to not get lost in his own feelings.

"So, tell me you don't want to go back. Tell me you're happy here and don't care about the shit that the world is about to face, and I'm leaving, Bruce. "

The only thing he wanted to do now was hold Natasha and kiss her until he was breathless, tell her all the things he had never said and apologize for everything he had done.

He didn't. But he tried to be as sincere as she had been with him when he answer her anyway.

"I want to go back, Natasha. I'm not happy here and imagine what is threatening the world now makes the monster inside of me getting a quite nervous, but the fact is that I can't. I can't delude myself that I can lead a normal life again and let others pay the price for it, as the last time in New York "

"That was not you. Wanda was messing with the big guy's head "

"It doesn't matter, Natasha." He answered quickly and saw the pain in her eyes, which made him regret his tone.

Bruce knew he had an enormous capacity to hurt the people who he loved while he tried to protect them, and hurt yourself in the process, but see Natasha thus scared him more than anything else in his life. Perhaps it was because he spent too much time thinking she was cold and unfeeling.

He sighed and rubbed his face, wanting to slap himself.

"And besides, I had you," he continued, "I didn't want to leave you because I adore you. But looking for that video call, you looked so ... breakable. Don't get me wrong, you're the strongest woman I know. But Hulk doesn't think the same and honestly, it had been scary for a lifetime for both of us to think that something had happened to you when Ultron shot in our direction. "

"The big guy thinks I'm weak?" Natasha turned her head slightly to the side, surprised to learn that the escape wasn't only a Bruce's decision and her stomach trembled because he said that he adored her.

"I know he could crush me like an ant, but I thought we had won that stage" she smiled a little, remembering how Hulk behaved in an unique way around her.

"I never know how things will be with the Hulk" he sighed, frustrated, as always was when he spoke of his inner monster.

"But he saved me. He put me in a safe place and then kicked Ultron's ass " she bit her lower lip, containing a smile.

Bruce stayed in silent for a moment, absorbing the words of Natasha. She looked quietly and leaned against a wall, hoping he was ready to talk again.

"I adore you," he repeated, after several minutes "that's the reason why I left."

"I know," she replied, feeling hir heart grief.

Eight months didn't made Natasha forget her feelings for Bruce, especially knowing that he had been away from her for not wanting to hurt her. In fact, it only made her want him further and she found herself tempted to kiss him again.

"Bruce ... You don't have to be alone. You think you know what's best for me, but you're wrong," she admitted, approaching him again "and even if you don't want to go back for me, the world needs you"

"What are we dealing with, Nat?" She was happy to hear her nickname and the atmosphere around them seemed calmer.

"Alien Menace" she said, without elaborating "is worse than last time."

"We can win?"

"We have to win," she said, glad he had used "we"

"This means that you will return to me?"

"I feel I must help ..." he did not seem entirely sure what he was saying, but Natasha knew they could solve it with time. "When shall we go?"

"Nick gave me two days. I have return tickets to New York scheduled for monday"

"You can stay here," he said, knowing that even if he didn't offer it, she would stay anyway"Make yourself comfortable, I need to ... take a bath."

He was going with her, he thought, as he picked up a towel in the closet. And also, if the Avengers was calling, the threat was really serious.

"I could join you," she said with a small smile on her lips, referring to a very distant day when they had been on Barton's farm. Bruce pushed the towel more tightly between his fingers, thinking about the possibility of the two take a bath together.

"Maybe later," he said, biting her lower lip and made his way to the bathroom quickly.

Natasha watched Bruce until he dessapear into the bathroom and wondered how much his heartbeat increase if she went after him, but decided to don't push him too much, because she doesn't know if they still had that intimidy.

After all, Bruce didn't seem angry with her, like she thought he would be after having pushed him down the abyss, betraying his and Hulk's trust and it made her smile.

For the next fifteen minutes she waited Bruce bathing, still finding it very surreal all the talk they and he was probably feeling the same as she.

She picked up her cell phone again and answered a message that Tony had sent to her asking how things were going, Natasha made a mental note to tell Bruce that Tony missed him.

When Bruce finished his shower, he appeared in the doorway looking very uncomfortable and Natasha arched one of her eyebrows at him.

"I forgot my clothes," he admitted, making sure the towel was securely fastened around his waist.

"I'd love to take a bath too," Natasha said.

Bruce went to his locker, still very shy and cautious, and took a towel from there, handing it to her. The Natasha's gaze lingered on his chest, as she had done once at Barton's home "Thanks, Bruce."

The tension between them was something that neither of them could avoid, Natasha thought as she made her way to the bathroom.

It was too hard to get away from it and pretend they didn't feel anything, and to be honest, she was tired of spending most of her life pretending to be something or feel something that wasn't the real way she was or feel.

She quickly took bath, taking care not to wet your hair and when she finished it, Bruce was no longer in the room but downstairs. Natasha changed, placing comfortable and fresh clothes she had brought and made her way down to the first floor.

Bruce was in the kitchen preparing something to eat and didn't notice her until he turned back and found her leaning against a wall watching him.

"You have really soft steps," he said, smiling a little and looking at her for a long time. Her hair had grown and now her curls reached to below her shoulders, she was wearing jean shorts and tank top and her feet were bare, Bruce didn't remember seeing her wearing it as casual often, which made him a little surprised and mentally disturbed. He didn't know how she could be so beautiful.

"I'm cooking dinner," he said, after realizing that he was staring for too long.

"You don't look a kitchen man"

"Actually, I'm not," he admitted and turned his attention to the pots and vegetables "but I try"

"So that's what you've been doing here? Preparing your own food, gardening and cooking? "

"Yes," he thought in his response, while cutting an onion into slices "... I just keep living. Nothing special"

"I could get used to this," she said, making Bruce's heart tight.

"It doesn't seems your way of life"

"How do you think 'my way of life' looks like?"

"Hmm, secret agent way of life"

"This way of life wasn't my choice. I don't know how I like to live, Bruce. I thought I was going to find out with you if we had disappear together"

"That wasn't the best choice for you, Nat" he said with pain in his voice. Onions seemed not so interesting suddenly, and he slowed his pace to cut it.

"You have to stop thinking that you know what is best for me, Bruce, you're always wrong" she smirked. Natasha didn't know how a genius like Bruce didn't realize that the more he tried to move away to try to protect her, the more he hurt her.

"It would be dangerous ..." he began, but Natasha interrupted him quickly.

"And I do something that isn't dangerous, Bruce? Honestly, even if it was dangerous, I would not mind. But you're no danger to me," she sighed, letting her frustration shows up "You're just afraid, Bruce. Afraid to try to be happy, afraid to be happy and lost it then ... But you know what, Bruce? When you see that you missed all your chances, you will regret it. " Natasha knew she was being cruel on him, but he deserved it, the same way he deserved to take a chance on happiness. She decided to help with the dinner because he didn't answer her.

She did not know what he was preparing, but picked up a knife on the sink and began to cut fresh tomatoes beside him. "How do you want these tomatoes?"

"Slip in half"

Bruce breathed heavily, feeling the warmth of the body of Natasha heating his side. He would always be impressed with the way she could shut him up. Natasha was the only one able to read his confusion of thoughts and understand it, just like she was the only one able to establish a bond of trust with the Hulk.

They were very similar.

She was terribly right about the fact that he was afraid. But he could not be otherwise, not when all the times things seemed to be well on his life, ended in chaos destruction.

"Tony misses you," she said after several minutes, when all the onions and tomatoes and peppers were properly chopped.

Bruce smiled sadly, remembering the egocentric man who became his best friend.

"I miss him too"

When Natasha told him she had finished with the tomatoes, Bruce said they were preparing tomato sauce. She watched him gracefully work with condiments while she was busy cleaning the silverware the was messing it.

Bruce wondered if it was going to be like this every day if he had not fled without her and his chest hurt with the trought. He looked at her while he cooked and it made his hands sweat and tremble, but he supposed that amused her, because she just gave him a little smile in the corner of her mouth.

It took longer than usual to him to make the tomato sauce and cook the spaghetti, because her presence made him completely abashed.

When everything was prepared, Natasha helped set up the table and Bruce opened a bottle of wine he had bought weeks ago in the city center, finally having a good time for drinking it.

They sat in the small wooden table of Bruce's kitchen and ate in silence. Natasha had not realized how much she was hungry ultin she take the first bite on pasta with sauce and cheese, and she also discovered that Bruce had some talent in the kitchen.

"You don't cook so badly," she said, taking a sip of wine.

"I learned a few things living alone for so long ..." he looked down, poking a his pasta with a fork.

"I have always appealed to the fast food" she laughed, playing with the glass cup in her hand.

"I remember your terrible eating habits" Bruce smiled at her and she smiled back, remembering a distant time when they used to be very close.

They missed each other, it was undeniable for both, but they were afraid to admit out loud how much it hurt.

"You told me that I eat like a child"

"It's not a lie," he was glad that the tension between the them seem less dense and drink his wine "I was thinking about walking on the beach today," he continued, looking at her eyes "would you like to join me? "

"I'd like that" Natasha tilted his head slightly to the side, analyzing him.

Bruce was reluctant to being close to her, thinking if he might hurt her, but since he could not walk away from her, he was easily attracted to her and seemed happy to see her.

Natasha decided to ignore his agent aside again, to enjoy the few days of peace if it would be with Bruce. On Monday, they would go to New York, to deal with things that were beyond the comprehension of both. For now, she preferred to focus on Bruce's shy smile and brown eyes that sparkled when they looked at her.

She knew it was painful for him to stay away and lost her smile at the thought.

"I look forward to visit the beach," she said quickly, rising from his seat and collecting the plates and glasses to be washed. Bruce followed her and not let her wash all dishes, so she just helped him to lay up all things they used and climbed to the second floor of the house to put on slippers and brush her teeth. When she left the bathroom, Bruce took her place inside it and she waited for him in the room until he finished brushing.

Natasha was surprised at how easy it was to stay close to Bruce. She felt her body and mind soft, and was glad he was ok. She wished they had more than two days together before they had to return to their Avenger's reality.

x.x.x

The beach was a few minutes of Bruce's house, and he and Natasha walked in a nice quiet until they get there. She caught him looking at her for a moment and smiled at him in response, more admired than she should allow himself to be.

Natasha doesn't want to think about how it would be, she doesn't want to wait or demand anything of Bruce, because she knew he could be a little unstable.

He reminded her herself.

The sun had already disappeared into the horizon, leaving the dark sea lit by the moon and the stars. Natasha put her hair behind her ears to keep them away from the face by the wind from the sea that rocked them. She took off her slippers and walked on the sand alongside Bruce, feeling good.

The night was beautiful.

"It seems a good place to live," she told him, stopping to walk to admire the starry sky above their heads.

"I guess so"

"You repented at some point, Bruce? Regretted left without me? "Natasha looked gently at his eyes. Bruce sighed.

"I ... wish you were here with me," he said, and Natasha laughed as he recalled a conversation he had with Nick as he told about where Bruce Quinjet had landed "but it's a selfish thought, don't you think? Want you near me, even though I could hurt" Bruce looked at her real with doubt in his eyes and she smiled sweetly at him.

"The way that hurt me when you left without me, was more painful than any physical injury that the Hulk could cause me" she revealed quietly.

"Why, Natasha?" He asked, not wanting to believe he had hurt her so deeply.

"For a scientist, you have a very slow-witted" she snorted, "it's because I adore you, Bruce."

"I told you that there is no future with me ... How can you still want me? I'm broken, Nat "

"There is no future with me as well and I'm so broken as you," she sighed and approaching him until she was close enough to hold his hand, "but I thought ... that if we combined our pieces, we could complete one another somehow"

Bruce looked at the multitude of bright green emerald in Natasha's eyes and felt his heart accelerate in his chest.

He wondered if he would repent of it later, but at the time he wasn't.

Bruce hold Natasha's face between his hands and his chest almost exploded when he stuck their lips together for the second time that day.

Her mouth was soft when he ground his lips together and a low moan escaped his throat when Natasha deepened the kiss with her tongue. Unfortunately, he had to step away.

"You'll be the death of me," he whispered against her lips, breathing deeply and his heart was beating fast in his chest.

"Don't turn green," she asked him, smiling a little, before kissing him again and her mind wandered all the beautiful thoughts that only Bruce's presence could make her think.

Natasha forgot who she was or where she was to focus only on Bruce's body pressed against hers and his lips making smooth movements against her mouth.

She decided that this was the kind of life she would want to live.