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"Dr. Banner."
He was a little proud of himself. He barely flinched at all. He knew that she'd been staring at him, standing along the wall.
He turned around, and the bruise on his jaw throbbed to see her.
"Miss Romanov."
She strolled further in, fingers trailing over gleaming workstations. Eyes on him, she stopped just shy of him, almost in his personal space. If she were any other woman, and he any other man, he might read something into the moment. But she's the Black Widow, and he's just him right now, the Other Guy only a bad day away.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"What?"
She arched a brow and tilted her head, showing that she was wondering just where his attention was. Her or his interrupted work?
"On the mission, Dr. Banner. I allowed myself to be caught off guard, and you got caught in the middle of a less than ideal situation because of my carelessness. I apologize."
She said it all in a very calm, deliberate, not-to-be-misunderstood way. Bruce boggled a little bit, and his mouth quirked, not sure if it wanted to be a smile or a frown. He stalled by removing his glasses, fiddling with them a moment.
"Natasha. Are you apologizing for getting ambushed and drugged?"
Because he could apologize for the same thing. Although, if he hadn't been doped to his eyeballs and his adrenal response hadn't been suppressed, they likely wouldn't be having this conversation.
"No, for being careless and kicking you in the face. Repeatedly. How's your head, by the way?"
"I haven't seen any pretty stars or birds for hours. "
She nodded, seemingly satisfied that she'd completed all she set out to do. She started to leave and was nearly out the door.
"Natasha?"
She spun in the doorway, tendril of red hair hanging
over her eye.
"I accept your apology, even though I don't blame you for not being able to maintain immaculate, spy perfection at all times. After all, you are, as far as I've been able to conclude, human."
A genuine Natasha Romanov smile was a rare thing seen only by a select few. The one she graced Bruce with was tinged with sardonic amusement but nonetheless real. He was a little honored.
"Regardless," she said, "it won't happen again."
He believed her.