Evermore

Chapter 27

Bruce offered Natasha his room for the night, which she accepted because she didn't have the energy to go all the way to the other side of the palace. She was emotionally drained and didn't want to go anywhere.

She changed into a pair of sweats and a shirt that he had to spare, then cleaned the makeup off of her face. Gripping the edge of the sink, she took a few breaths to steady herself.

Her sister was in trouble and she was stuck. At least if she was at home, she would have an idea of what to do. She heard a knock on the door, signaling that Bruce had changed.

As soon as she went back into Bruce's room, he was putting a blanket and pillow on the floor. He had changed into a black shirt and black sweats. Fanny was perched in a spot on the bed, her head perking up when the bathroom door opened.

He looked up and told her, "I'll sleep on the floor and you can take the bed. The other rooms on this side were destroyed, otherwise I'd stay in one of them. The guys took Fanny outside before they brought her in here."

"Thanks."

"Is there anything I can do? I don't like seeing you upset."

Natasha shook her head then said, "I'll be fine. Thanks."

As grateful as she was that Bruce wanted to do anything to help, she knew there was nothing that could be done about her current situation. She looked at the floor as she got into the bed and fell asleep in minutes.

When she woke up, Natasha looked down at the floor to see that Bruce was gone and the blanket was folded on top of the pillow. Her eyesight went to the door and saw it was open, meaning Fanny was somewhere in the castle.

"Nat?"

She looked up to see him at the bathroom doorway. He hadn't changed clothes yet and his bed head was all over the place, as if he had moved around a lot in his sleep.

"Hey," she said.

He sat next to her on the bed and said, "As soon as this storm is over, I promise that the first thing we're doing is getting you home."

She nodded in thanks and hugged him. When they parted, she felt a jolt of nerves hit her in the stomach and knew she needed to get out of the room, her flight response kicking into high gear.

"I should go," she said in a quiet voice. "Thanks for letting me stay in here."

He nodded and Natasha left the room. Once she was in the hallway, she took a breath. As much as she cared about Bruce, she knew that she couldn't allow herself to feel anything for him other than friendship. The last time she fell for someone, she got hurt.

When she was back in her room, Natasha stared outside the window, hoping for a miracle. Not because of Bruce, but because she knew her sister needed her. She mentally kicked herself for these childish feelings while her sister was in trouble.

A few hours later she went into the training room. She was about to leave after failing to find Clint or Steve to spar with when Bruce walked in wearing grey sweats and a white shirt with tennis shoes.

"Have you seen Tony," he asked.

"No. Why?"

"He was supposed to meet me here. He makes me spar once a week."

"I can help you."

He hesitated before he said, "Okay."

Based on his body language, she figured the hesitation was based on his crush on her than sparring with a woman. She had seen a lot of the men she grew up with refuse to fight her just because she's female.

After a few rounds she could tell he was getting tired. They had been at it for at least half an hour and she had just pinned him a third time. His defense was spectacular, but his offense needed a little work.

"You're good at defending, you just need to work on your offense," she said while he got up.

"Do you have any tips?"

She showed him a few moves to help with his offensive skills and when they were done, he followed her to the target practice room. To her surprise he was a skilled marksman, hitting the bullseye the first time.

"Why don't you ever let anyone see how good you are at this?"

"I used to practice this for hours when I was younger. Clint and I had the same mentor, but Clint's better. Now, I avoid fights if possible. Hulk is a fighter and so are the others, but I prefer to stay on the sidelines if I can."

"I get it," she said softly as she aimed the knife at her target and then hit the bullseye.

"Um, about this morning. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way."

She turned to face him as she explained, "It's not your fault. It's just... I'm going through a lot. I'm sorry if I seemed rude."

"No, you're fine. I didn't think you were rude."

"I had fun last night. The most I've had in a while. Thanks for taking me."

"You're welcome. I'm sorry about Yelena."

Natasha took a breath to keep herself from getting emotional and said, "Once I get back, we'll be okay."

"Do you need anything or is there anything that I can do? I have money that I'm never going to use if you need it."

He looked like he really wanted to help, but Natasha knew that he couldn't. She didn't take money that she couldn't pay back. She was still trying to pay Fury back for everything he did, even though he said he didn't want it, she insisted.

Natasha shook her head, gave him a small smile and said, "No, but thank you."

"You're very stubborn," he joked, then his expression turned serious. "That's one of the things I'll miss most about you."

She couldn't keep the sadness out of her voice as she said, "Maybe we'll see each other again one day?"

"I don't think so, Nat. I wish I could say we will, but realistically I don't know if it's possible."

Natasha kept her emotions in check as she nodded in acceptance. He made it clear during her time here that he tried to break the spell but couldn't. But the thought of never seeing him again hurt more than she wanted to admit.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Not your fault. I was a jerk back then."

"Bruce, you're the best person I know."

Bruce looked between her and the floor as he thanked her then said, "I can't bring myself to regret being cursed if it meant I could undo the damage my father caused me."

"You're not him and I hope you know that."

Bruce nodded and wrung his hands together as he said, "I've known that for a while." He switched to Latin and muttered, "Since you arrived, actually."

Natasha didn't press him to repeat what he said. Instead, she went back to throwing knives at the target while ignoring the butterflies in her stomach mixed with the nagging feeling that this might be the last time they spend time together.