The Ultimate Fix-It Fic

14| More Dreams *

Natasha was quiet on the Quinjet, trying to hold onto the goodbye, even though it seemed to be slipping away slowly, piece by piece, thought by thought. She shook herself off as an uncomfortable tingle crept up her spine, and she sighed. It seemed her connection with Mjolnir wasn't over yet.

"Nat," Clint called from the pilot's chair. "You alright?"

She waved him off. "I'm fine. Just distracted." Natasha circled his seat. "How about you? Think 19's going to be okay?"

"She can handle herself." Clint turned on autopilot and turned to face her. "So, you and Banner...? When were you planning on telling me?"

Nat shrugged. "Ideally, after this fight is over and the government is off our backs, he and I can retire. Unideally, right now." She stared at her best friend. "Are you going to say anything?"

Clint chuckled and went back to the controls. "You think the rest of the team doesn't know? Are you slowing down, Nat?"

She slapped him on the head before going back to her seat and reading a textbook she got a while back.

Steve stopped at her bench and looked at her book cover in disbelief. "Is that..." he started over. "Why are you reading up on 'Advanced Biochemistry'?"

Natasha kept reading, ignoring Clint's raucous laughter from the front of the jet. "It's an interesting subject," she replied. "And I finished the first one already."

"You're reading it because of Banner!" Clint wheezed.

"Eyes on the sky, Barton." Natasha snapped, glaring in his direction. "It has nothing to do with Bruce."

"You're in denial!" Clint said in a sing-song voice, annoying Natasha in every possible way.

She gritted her teeth and put away the textbook. "I'm not in denial, Barton, I just like adding to my knowledge." She retorted. "Unlike you, you who still believes that water is a solid."

"Water was a solid ever since I belly-flopped into the training pool," Clint said. "Adding to your knowledge is learning how to make a pie. You already know how to do biology!"

"Learn how to speak English correctly, Barton."

Steve interjected hastily. "Maybe we shouldn't–"

"Shut up, Steve." Natasha stepped onto the pilot's raised platform and whispered in Clint's ear, "I will corrupt little Nathaniel in every way you fear, starting with paint and ending with your tool shed. Stop talking immediately."

Clint clammed up and Nat went back to her seat, smirking at winning this tiny, petty fight.

-

There was a struggle when they got to Seoul, where Nat and the others got the Cradle and whatever Ultron was trying to develop inside to their Quinjet, but in a turn of events, an Ultron-bot grabbed her as she parked the Cradle neatly into the jet and, as she was thrown into a different one, and the world went dark.

Inside her head, a tiny part started to dream.

"Tasha," Bruce's voice floated out to her, speaking to her in a happy voice. The world was still black, though, and she couldn't see a thing.

"Bruce?" she tried to feel around her surroundings, but she touched air. It didn't even seem like she was lying on the ground, or in any particular position at all. There was just nothing.

She heard his gentle chuckle. "I'm right here, Natasha. I'm not ready to show you your surprise, so wait a second... let me just... there."

And then she could see.

They were outside, on a beach. The sky was dark with little pinpricks of stars lighting up the place, and on the sand laid a gingham blanket and a wicker basket.

"Bruce, what is this?" she heard herself ask softly.

"Date night on the beach," he replied, wrapping his arms around her waist. She felt him place his head on her shoulder.

And suddenly, everything seemed to click into place. Natasha didn't have any idea what was happening, but her dream self did, and she was content to just be along for the ride for now.

"I thought you could use some relaxation after the whole week," Bruce said. "My wife, both the leader of the Avengers and a fugitive at the same time. It's amazing."

Natasha heard herself scoff. "Don't sound so amazed. We've been here for eight years and I've been running the team for seven of them. This isn't new." She felt herself smile nonetheless.

Bruce sighed and released her, though keeping his hand intertwined with hers. "Well, I'm still happy we made it this far. We're married." He gazed at her like there was nothing more beautiful in the world. "There was a time we thought that none of this could've happened. And we have Bob."

Nat laughed quietly. "Bob is only here because you begged me to keep him. And Laura called it, back when we first visited? Before Nate was born?" She hugged her knees to her chest and felt Bruce pull her closer on the blanket. "If we aren't careful, we might get sand in these clothes and they'll be ruined forever," she warned as Bruce glanced at her, smirking softly.

"We already have sand in our clothes," he replied, and he kissed her lightly before she could say another word.

Inside, real-world Natasha was trying to process everything that was happening in that situation. She was married to Bruce? They have someone they keep named Bob? It's been eight years since Ultron and she's running the Avengers?

Understandably, she was very confused.

Bruce brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and looked out onto the sea. "Your week though," he chuckled. "Dealing with that whole mess of Rocket and Nebula, plus that surprise visit from Sam and Bucky–" he shook his head– "and having to separate Peter and Shuri? I have to say, I don't envy your job."

Dream Natasha rolled her eyes good-naturedly and leaned in for a quick peck on the lips, even though real-world Natasha was trying not to freak out about that stuff. "It's a nice sentiment, adorado, but like it or not, Tony has me on paperwork this week. Morgan is mad at him for not letting her go to kindergarten again and he can't 'work in that environment'." She grinned at her husband. "I'm very happy we have Bob."

"And you complained about him when we first got him." Bruce teased. He helped her up and grabbed the blanket and the basket. "'No, Bruce, we can't have a dog!' Yes, we can, and you were wrong."

Natasha hid a smile and she and he walked back to a little villa on a beach, where, from the look of the water and the stars, it seemed like they were on an island somewhere off the coast of Mexico.