Evermore

Chapter 9

Natasha woke up the next morning feeling the most rested she's been in years.

When she got off the bed and grabbed her bag, she pulled out a spare hoodie that she had packed. She didn't know if there was a washer and dryer anywhere, but at least her pants were still okay. When she heard a knock at the door, she answered it to see a happy-looking Pepper.

"Morning," the woman said in a cheerful tone.

"Hi," Natasha replied, trying to sound as polite as possible since she wasn't fully awake yet.

"I brought you some clothes, so you don't have to keep wearing the same thing every day," the other woman said as she handed them out.

Natasha was relieved when she saw several pairs of jeans, shirts, and jackets.

"Thank you so much!"

"Oh, it's no problem. We make have to make our clothes for this weather. These are some of the jackets, shirts, and pants that didn't fit anyone."

"You make your clothes? This place gets weirder and weirder doesn't it?"

"Something like that. I'll let you get changed. Everyone else is downstairs for breakfast."

Natasha nodded in response, thanking Pepper before she closed the door. She was ready to get the scent of yesterday off of her.

When she went downstairs and into the kitchen, dressed in jeans and a black shirt and jacket that surprisingly fit, Natasha was greeted by a welcoming chorus of "hellos."

Bruce was the first one out of his chair to meet her at the doorway.

"Hey, I'm sorry about last night. I don't just mean your sister. I want to also apologize for leaving without saying anything. My friend Clint needed attention, and I'm the only one with any medical knowledge."

"So, you're a doctor?"

"Scientist, but I practiced medicine too. Sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself with all of the chaos last night. I'm Bruce Banner."

He reached out his hand for her to shake.

"Natasha Romanoff," she said as she shook his hand, giving the man an olive branch. Her gut told her that she could trust him.

"Here's your knife, by the way," he said as he held out the object. "I disinfected it, so there aren't any blood stains."

"Thanks," she said, putting the object back in her belt.

"Banner is this the woman with the strength of a thousand men," a booming voice called out.

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows, confused. Then she looked at Bruce, whose face went a bit pink as he said, "Yeah, Thor." He walked her over to the table. "Natasha, this is Thor."

Bruce pointed to the man next to Thor, "That's Steve. Then next to Steve is Tony, and Clint is the one resting his leg on the spare chair."

They all waved at her except Clint, who said, "You've got good aim. Banner said I'll be on bed rest for a few days."

"Sorry about that. I tend to fight my way out of things when I can," she said, feeling a bit guilty.

"Hey, no need to be sorry. I would have done the same thing."

"And him saying you have good aim is high praise from Hawkeye himself," Tony said.

"I wish to fight the strong woman," Thor exclaimed.

"No," the other men exclaimed as if they were worried for her safety.

Thor shrugged as Natasha sat across from him. She turned her attention to Bruce, who sat down next to Clint. When his eyes met hers, she put her head down and saw that someone had put a plate full of food in front of her. She looked up to see Steve nod at her.

She ate without talking to anyone for several minutes. Then heard Thor exclaim, "Another!"

She looked up as he smashed the cup on the floor.

The other men at the table rolled their eyes and groaned.

"Thor," Steve scolded.

"What?"

"We talked about this," Tony said. "You can't keep smashing cups every time you want another drink. Just walk to where the coffee is and get more. My four-year-old could do it."

"I'm not cleaning it up this time," Clint said.

"I'll get it," Bruce said.

"No," Clint said. "It's Thor's mess. He should clean it."

"Barton is right. I'll get it," Thor said as he got out of his chair.

His chair was knocked into Steve's, who accidentally spilled tea into Tony's lap. The man shot up like a firework, using every curse word in the book, only stopping when Steve shouted, "Language!"

"You just spilled tea onto my lap and all you can say is 'language?!' You're lucky it wasn't hot!"

"I'm sorry, it's just we're in the presence of a guest," he nodded toward Natasha. "We should be polite."

"My sister and I curse all the time," she said, completely unfazed. She had seen similar arguments between Hill and Laura.

"See, she's fine with it," Tony said.

Thor entered with a towel and wet washcloths in his hands and then looked at Tony.

"My friend, did you forget the bathroom is across the hall?"

Clint spat out his coffee across the table and howled in laughter. Bruce closed his eyes and shook his head when Tony and Steve started arguing again, and Thor cleaned up the broken cup.

Natasha thought they were so chaotic they could barely function. Yet, she couldn't help but feel a familiar pang. They gave off the same vibe she felt with Yelena, Hill, Laura, and Fury: Family.

The thought of her makeshift family made her slightly emotional, and Natasha excused herself to leave the table. She walked fast in the hallways until she found a balcony with an awning.

"Fresh air," she thought as she opened the door, then closed it behind her as she went outside.

She didn't care about the blizzard and ignored the instant chill that hit her face from the breeze. Thankfully the clothes were much warmer than she thought.

She took a deep breath to regain control of her emotions as she leaned against the railing. The snow was falling so fast that she could hardly see what was in front of her.

She felt a presence as a warm, heavy blanket was wrapped around her. She turned her head to the side, meeting a pair of striking green eyes and a kind face.

"I didn't want you to get cold. I'm sorry if any of us said or did anything...," Bruce said while fiddling with his hands.

Natasha shook her head, then explained, "It's not their fault. It's just... the five of you remind me of my makeshift family back home. My parents died 21 years ago. Since then, I've been taking care of Yelena. We moved to a small town and met Fury, Hill, and Laura. They're the only family we really have."

Bruce looked down at the snow on the railing.

"I understand. My mother died when I was eight, and my father took care of me. But he was drunk and abusive, and no one stood up to him. He was king at the time, so who could? I did everything and anything I could to please him. By the time he died, I wasn't exactly like him, but I wasn't a good person. A week before my coronation, I was throwing a party, and then I was cursed by a witch to become a monster. Thor and Steve were given abilities to keep the other guy at bay. Tony received a suit that can see where our border is, fly, and shoot lasers. It took a long time for me to become a better person and learn how to control my anger. Over the years, the four men in there, plus Pepper and Morgan, became my family. Sorry, this is a lot to dump on you."

"No. It's okay."

"I'm sorry about everything."

"It's not your fault."

When he looked at her, she could see the sadness in his eyes, mixed with guilt. Why he looked guilty, she didn't know.