Whatever it Takes: Black Widow

Chapter 17

It had been a couple of weeks since Natasha and Bruce went their separate ways. Last she heard, Bruce had broken his burner phone when he hulked-out, so her only way to get a message to Bruce was through Rick and vice versa.

Natasha got off the motorcycle she bought and took off the helmet to place it on the handle, revealing her now blonde and shorter hairstyle along with her sister's vest. She was meeting Rick in a deserted area for better transportation so she could break the Avengers out of prison.

When she saw him, he was waiting and looked exhausted, and she wondered when he last slept.

Hey," she greeted.

"Hi."

"What did you get for me this time, like, an upside-down lawnmower," she joked.

He pointed in a direction, and she turned her head to see a sleek, working jet waiting.

"See what I can get you with a bit of time and money?" She was really impressed, and he continued, "Go on, say it. It would be good for me to hear it. Really."

"I'm impressed. You've always been a really good friend to me."

Rick looked a little hurt, then said, "Dr. Banner wanted me to tell you he'd see you soon. Where you gonna go?"

"I'm gonna go break a few friends out of prison, see if I can't help patch things up."

Natasha nodded farewell to him as she walked towards the jet. Once in there, she noticed someone in one of the driver's seats.

The man turned in the seat and stood up saying, "How'd a nice girl like you wind up in a dump like this?"

"Fella done me wrong," she echoed her words from a year ago to Bruce. He was wearing his usual plaid shirt with a jacket over it and jeans with black shoes.

"You got lousy taste in men kid."

Any reply she had was cut off when he brought her closer to him and put his lips on hers. She returned the kiss and deepened it as she grabbed ahold of his jacket.

When they parted, he wrapped his arms around her waist and said, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she said as she fiddled with his jacket. "Had to break your phone didn't you?"

"Sorry," he replied with a smile, then his expression turned serious. "Nat, I'm tired of being apart."

"So am I," she answered truthfully. "I used to be fine running alone, but I don't want to do this without you."

He nodded, wordlessly telling her he felt the same way. His eyes glanced at the necklace he made her then back to her eyes.

"So, my family didn't send you running off?" she joked.

"No," he answered with a smirk. "If anything, I think I fell a little more in love with you. I know how much you love them but seeing it for myself was a different experience. You're so much stronger than you give yourself credit for. Not many can try and get their family back together or go back to their worst nightmare and face it one last time just to defeat it. I um... I haven't seen my dad in years and I don't plan on talking to him again, but if I did I want to be as strong as you are. I really am proud of you and I want you to know that."

"I adore you," she said then pressed her forehead to his.

"I adore you too."

In that moment, Natasha felt safer than she had in weeks, cherished and loved. Her boyfriend's pride for her was everything she needed in that moment, but mostly she was happy he was there.

"You look tired," she mused as she brought her head back and observed the circles under his eyes.

"Haven't been getting much sleep. I've been working on a new hypothesis for the Hulk to make him stronger."

"You need sleep," she said softly, more concerned for his health than anything else.

"If my hypothesis is correct then it might change the game entirely if Thanos arrives. I'll explain on the way over, then I'll get a bit of sleep."

Natasha nodded then went to the driver's seat, while he got in the passenger side.

"Ready to break our crazy friends out of prison?"

"Yep," Bruce replied.

She prepared the jet, then they took off to the Raft.

Note: End of "Whatever it Takes: Black Widow." Hope you guys enjoyed this one, even though not a lot changed storyline wise.

If you're wondering, "Are big things ever going to change?" then the next story is where you'll want to look! "Whatever it Takes: Infinity War" is coming soon.