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The mission was a success, like most of the time.
Everybody had escaped unscathed, apart from Clint who seemed to take a narrow hit.
Sofia however, found herself in a lethal stand off with one of their own.
Big green.
She cautiously shuffled backwards, daring not to startle the giant, "the suns getting real low..." her voice shook with nerves as she held out her arm.
Banner didn't seem to want to switch back, either that or the hulk was enjoying the spotlight a little too much.
She helplessly yelped, seeing a colossal green hand swoop down and snatch her from the ground.
Sofia felt her insides squeeze together as the air was sucked from her lungs, and the agent couldn't muster up any energy to fight him off as she fought for a chance to breathe.
She felt her neck practically snap as the hulk thrashed her around, screaming bloody murder to the world.
"Hey! Big guy! Suns getting real low..." Natasha's voice came over the chaos.
Sofia let out an exasperated groan, slumping over the giant green thumb as banner seemed to shine through for a second.
She watched through blurry eyes as Natasha managed to calm the green guy down and before she could blink, she was dropped to the ground with a thud as banner returned.
He cowered away into a tree as Bruce caught his breath back, his shorts now swamping his regular sized body.
"You're okay..." Natasha rushed to the woman's side, taking in her slumped form.
Sofia groaned, "well that hurt" her voice croaked as she rolled onto her back.
"Cap, we got a situation... I'm gonna' need help getting Rae onto the jet" Natasha sighed into the coms, her hand on the younger woman's shoulder.
Sofia closed her eyes, trying to fight off the bitter sting of tears as the pain intensified through her ribs.
"What happened?" Bruce slowly approached the pair as he stared down at Sofia.
Natasha slowly moved her gaze up to that of his own, "did I..." he begun, taking a step back, "did I do that?" He added, shaking his head.
"You better get to the jet" is all Natasha could muster up, not knowing how to address the situation.
"Fia?" Steve appeared with his shield armed and ready, however, after assessing the scene he slipped it onto his back.
"Big guy..." Sofia groaned, "not Banner's fault" was all she managed to croak out.
Steve knelt down, picking her up, as Natasha grabbed her belt which had fallen off before they ventured back to the jet.
~
Clint escaped what could've been a fatal attack, and walked away with a large graze on the side of his leg.
Sofia escaped with a cracked rib, severe whiplash and some very nasty bruises all over her body. But she's okay. They both are. They both got lucky.
Sofia sighed heavily, hiding in her bedroom to avoid putting any more guilt onto banner.
Although, in a small Quinjet, hiding isn't exactly easy. So when she heard a small gasp from the doorway, she looked up at through mirror as she held her top up to bandage her ribs.
She saw banner stood with a horrified expression, his arms folded as he stared at her before he turned to walk away.
"Wait!" Sofia called out, only for banner to slowly enter the room again.
"You know I don't blame you, right? It wasn't you. It was the big guy" she smiled weakly, pulling her shirt down as she tried to cover up the pulling sensation in her neck.
"The big guy is me" he shook his head angrily, angry at himself.
Sofia let out a heavy sigh as she sat down on the edge of her bed, she looked up at a flustered Bruce as she patted the space beside her, covering up the wince that almost left her mouth.
Bruce approached cautiously and sat a considerable distance from her, making Sofia laugh slightly and roll her eyes.
"We have dangerous jobs, okay? This isn't a fatality, banner. I'm barely hurt. I forgive you, and I forgive the big guy" she shrugged her shoulders, only to groan in pain.
Bruce rubbed the back of his neck before leaving the room suddenly and abruptly. Sofia stared at the door in defeat, hoping that he doesn't keep his emotions to himself again.
She looked down as she continued tying the bandage, before Bruce reappeared holding some scotch tape and a tube of cream.
Sofia smiled widely, shocked that he came back, and nodded thankfully, "you shouldn't blame yourself, we all know what the big guy is capable of. Besides, I should've been more careful" she pulled her shirt to one side as Bruce taped the bandage on her ribs together.
"Thanks" she nodded, waiting for any kind of response from the man.
"This is on me. I know the risks of letting the hulk take over, yet I'm still doing this job. I may not have killed you, but that's not to say it won't happen. I mean, what if I killed you? What then? Huh, this was on me. Not you, me" he ran a hand through his hair as he stood up in anger.
Sofia shook her head and grabbed his hand, making him look down with a frown, "Bruce, I mean it. I do not blame you in any way, shape or form. We live dangerous lives, and we know the consequences. Now, stop being so damn angry and give me a hug..." she smiled softly.
Bruce sighed heavily, helping her to her feet as he hugged the smaller woman, "nothing could make me hate you, okay?" Sofia hummed from his chest.
Resting his chin on her head for a second, "okay" he muttered.
Sofia smiled to herself, completely ignoring the pain in her ribs, "can I at least cook you dinner or something? I feel like horrible" he let out a troubled laugh.
"That would be nice actually- oh and while you're here... the plate worked" Sofia reached into her suit and pulled out a piece of flimsy material that goes hard upon brutal impact.
Bruce took the price of fabric and admired the dents from the bullets, "I'm happy about that, so... dinner at 7?" He looked down at her.
"Sounds like a date" Sofia smiled widely, watching as Bruce blushed and quickly left the room.
Accidents happen, but that's what makes the team stronger.
