Longest While

A.N.: Drabble prompts by Anonymous on tumblr; 7. "I almost lost you." + 28. "Marry me?" + 29. "I thought you were dead."

She wakes up in a hospital bed. After a few seconds of disorientation, she concludes she's in one of the labs-turned-medbay at Avengers Tower and that she currently has quite a number of healing bullet wounds in her abdomen, making it uncomfortable to breathe. Nothing she hasn't been through before, though, so she estimates about three weeks of recovery and physical therapy before she's work ready.

Natasha then notices Bruce sleeping on the chair next to her bed, holding her hand. She smiles and runs her thumb on the top of his hand. It slowly wakes him up, and she makes sure the first thing he sees is her smiling and better and alive.

Natasha knows how much he struggles with worry of losing the few people he lets himself love - she is the same, after all. She must've caused him such pain, so Natasha makes sure she does everything in her power to reassure him of her well-being. Although, as Natasha sees him so calm, she decides he's taking the whole thing a lot better than she would've if the roles were reversed. If anything, she would've slapped him at least once by now, yelling at him to never fucking do that again before offering to make him tea. Bruce is the pacifist among the two, after all.

A silence fills the room as Bruce grabs Natasha's hand tighter and returns her smile. It slowly fades, but Natasha can still see the love and relief in his eyes. "I thought you were dead.", he says and Natasha wishes she didn't have to hear the way his voice breaks. "And you were, for a while. The longest while of my life."

Natasha doesn't speak, just takes her other hand and places her palm on one of his cheeks. He leans into it, slowly closing his eyes, and she can see how tired he is as he slowly turns his head to kiss her palm.

"I almost lost you, Natasha.", he whispers, and Natasha gently caresses his cheek, before moving a bit in her bed - as much as the pain would allow her - and makes space on one side. With the hand he's still holding, she pushes him towards her, telling him to lay down next to her. He obeys. Bruce lies next to her on the bed and lets her lean her head on his shoulder. He rests his chin on the top of her head, breathing in her scent.

Silence surrounds him and Natasha think Bruce has fallen asleep. As if he can read her mind, he squeezes her shoulder, showing her he's still awake.

Natasha closes her eyes. "Marry me?", she asks, speaking for the first time since she woke. Bruce moves his head so he can face her and she looks up at him.

There's a smile on his face and he doesn't look so tired anymore. She kisses him.