Law and Order

Chapter 2

After a long day, she was finally home. She put the food on the counter from the Chinese spot around the corner and called out for her boyfriend, Bruce.

"Bruce, you here?"

"In the room." His strained voice called out.

"I brought food." She said as she walked towards her bedroom. She stepped in and immediately felt upset.

"Bruce, what're you doing?" Her eyes gazed around the room and her voice slightly raised because of the mess. It looked like a tornado came through the medium sized room. There were papers strewn all over the place and bottles littered the floor and table.

"What?" He looked up from all his work, irritation on his face from being interrupted. His hair disheveled and his clothes loosened from him coming from work a couple hours before her.

"What do you mean what? This room is a mess. What the hell did you do?" She could feel herself get more upset as she stayed there. All she wanted to do was to lay in her bed and she couldn't even get to the bed, forget laying on it.

"Natasha, I don't have time for this shit tonight alright, Just relax. I'm gonna clean it up." He quickly dismissed.

"I can't even get to my bed Bruce. How the hell am I gonna relax? This is ridiculous. Clean it up!" The one thing she hated was being told to relax. She made her way to the bathroom, kicking his crap on the floor.

"Natasha WATCH IT!"

"THERES NOTHING TO WATCH, THERE'S SHIT ALL OVER MY FLOOR. I HAVE TO STEP ON IT TO MAKE IT TO THE DAMN BATHROOM."

Bruce slammed his hands on the table, causing it to shake. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT. I TOLD YOU ABOUT THESE FUCKING TANTRUMS."

"and I don't have time to live in a pigsty but here I am." She mumbled as she walked past him. He quickly grabbed her arm causing her to wince.

"Watch your fucking tone. I told you about it already, don't make me remind you again." Natasha winced at his grip, but remained quiet. She didn't need a reminder of what he was capable of, she had plenty of memories of that already.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Good." He let go of her arm, so she could walk to the bathroom. "Bring the food in here when you're done."

"Ok." She closed the door and used the bathroom. She quickly washed her hands and looked at herself in the mirror. She wiped off her make-up that hid the small bruise she had from their last fight. It seemed as though they were getting worse, what she thought was a one time incident slowly began to turn into a frequent act. She sighed and washed her face to get rid of any extra make-up. There was no reason she needed to get acne and a bruised face.

She exited the bathroom and tried her best to avoid stepping on his mess. She quietly walked into her closet and grabbed some pajamas to change. She changed in the living room and threw her clothes in the hamper back in her room. The food was still hot, so she quickly made their plates and brought Bruce his. He didn't utter a word, he just kept working barely eating. Natasha ate her food and went to the living room to get some sleep. She only had a one bedroom and with Bruce using her only room as his office, she was forced to sleep on the couch. She would've cleaned off the bed, but she quickly learned he hated when his stuff was messed with.  It wasn't longer than 30 minutes before he was calling out to her. "NAT....NAT!..I KNOW YOU HEAR ME, COME HERE!"

Natasha had just felt herself begin to fall asleep when she heard Bruce calling out to her. She slid off the couch and went to him.

"Yes?" Her tone laced with subtle irritation.

"The food is cold. How am I supposed to eat cold food, huh?"

"It wasn't cold when I gave it to you." She didn't mean to sound like a smartass, simply stating the facts.

"WELL IT'S COLD NOW! HEAT IT UP. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO GO TO BED IF IM HUNGRY? YOU'RE SO DAMN SELFISH SOMETIMES." He pushed the food away almost making it fall to the ground.

Natasha didn't respond, she just grabbed the now cold Chinese and heated it in the microwave. Her mind flooded back to her day. It was a rollercoaster. It started off a little bad when she spilt her favorite coffee but got better as she thinks back to Steve and how sweet he was. She couldn't wait to see him again. She just wanted to be friends but she knew Bruce would have a fit if he knew. He barely allowed her to see Clint. It just so happened that her favorite coffee was from his coffee shop two blocks over, so she still got to see him every morning. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the microwave beeping. She took out the food, steam flowing from it. She brought it back to Bruce who seemed to be done with his work now.

"Here you go." She said quietly putting it on an empty space that had been made.

"Thank you."

Nat began to walk up but he called out to her. "Nat?"

"Yes." She turned looking at him timidly.

"I'm sorry baby. I shouldn't have yelled like that. I was just frustrated."

A soft smile came to her face. "It's ok."

"Wanna sleep in here? I'll clean it up now, while my food cools down a little, so you can sleep in your bed." He said standing up.

"Yes, thank you." She stood quietly while she watched him work. Some days, she couldn't help but forget the monster he was. He was so sweet and caring and smart and then he wasn't. It was one of the reasons why she stayed with him. He was one of the first people she met when she came to America. They began dating a year after she made it here and it was amazing. He took her out on dates and he took his time with her. Made her feel safe and cared for. Once, she got comfortable and opened up to him, that's when things started to turn. Little outbursts here and there, months of no fighting and then a big one would happen. The first time he hit her, she was shocked, didn't know what to think. He apologized and she forgave him because it seemed like a one and done thing. It hadn't happened again until almost 4 months later. She was so wrapped up in him she kept forgiving him and that's how they got here. Her leaning against the wall with him cleaning up his papers as a sorry gesture. He was done soon and turned on his lamp by the desk, so she could sleep without the main light on. He gave her a small peck as she laid down. At least they were ok now...