This is my Christmas Gift to Autumn_Froste. :)
Hope she enjoys it because she's the best of Beta Readers!
Bruce is looking for closure to his relationship with Betty and knows it's time to move on. Natasha would like to help him do that. This story starts at the Avenger's first Holiday Party on Saturday, December 15, 2012, just before Iron Man 3 begins, and makes reference to the events in that film. Yes, this is why Bruce falls asleep on Tony during the mid-credits scene in IM3. Enjoy!
Note: This story doesn't completely fit with my larger work, Special Needs: A Bruce & Natasha FanFic, because it explores the question, what if Bruce and Natasha's relationship had started sooner than Age of Ultron, but they kept it a secret? Otherwise, I've tried to stick close to the Nat, Bruce, Tony, Pepper, and JARVIS I know. The characters are owned by Marvel. No harm intended.