november 22 : bruce + natasha one-shots

02- you meant everything to me

 A polaroid of her smile was all he needed to remember to laugh. Her hoodie pulled close to him, her smell fading with every touch, was all he needed to remember her touch. Well, at least that's what he told himself. It was cold with his knees pressed into the early morning dew of the grass that guarded her grave. With his head resting on the head of her tombstone, he ached for her. Ached. It had been exactly a week since she hadn't returned. She was the first Avenger to give up her life for that stupid purple alien. Barton said she'd said, "Whatever it takes." He believed it too. To the rest of the word, she left as quietly as she came. But for Bruce, her exit resounded in him every second. He loved her. Oh how much he loved her. He could still hear her voice sometimes in the silence. He remembered every second they had together.

Everything reminded him of her. The way the leaves changed with her demise and the faces of his fellow Avengers. He'd loved her more than any other. He knew she loved him too.

He thought of the first time he told her he loved her. They'd been officially together for a month. She was devastated by the loss of Yelena. She hadn't been there to see her disappear like floating ash. Right after the first snap, she called Yelena. She squeezed his green finger as she dialed the number on her burner phone. That woman still didn't trust a real phone even after half the universe disappeared. The dial tone rang one, two, three. It was the longest three seconds of Natasha's life. Someone picked up and she released her breath. Only to realize the voice on the other side of the phone wasn't Yelena. It was the horrified voice of Ana, an ex-widow she didn't know. She could barely get the words out of her mouth as she described how Yelena disappeared from her bathroom with a swirl of dust. Ending the call abruptly, she smashed her phone with her bare hand. She stood in shock amongst the rubble of their failed mission. 8'2, he towered over her to only see the top of her blonde hair.

He knelt to see her eyes and he pulled her in. Eventually, she accepted his embrace. She threw her small arms around him, unsuccessfully embracing him back. All she knew at that moment was that she could bury herself within him. She knew she was safe within his large body. He felt her breath slow on his neck.

"I love you," was all he said. All he needed to say. Her chest heaved harder with her tears soiling his shoulder.

"You mean everything to me," she said with a shaky breath.

He'd do anything to hear her say that again. With the cold wind nipping at his face, he shrunk himself back down to just Bruce Banner. He'd gotten ahold of transforming between his two facets. Before that, she was the only one who could bring him back to his most vulnerable form. She had made him accept all parts of him. She was the only person in their right mind that liked the hulk, she made him steady.

"I just miss you 'Tasha." That was all he managed to say between shallow breaths. Breathing became hard. He felt the weight of her death more and more every minute. He tried to hate her for leaving. But he could never do that. Not a chance.