Work Text:
Bruce sat at the desk in their office, head in his hand, elbow propped on the wooden surface. He was trying his best to keep his eyes open, but was failing miserably. He jerked his head up when cool fingers pressed into his neck. He looked up to see Natasha standing over him with an amused smirk on her face.
“Sleepy?” she questioned, moving her fingers up into the hair at the base of his neck.
Bruce leaned into her touch and sighed. “Just bored.”
He shot a glare at the stack of papers sitting next to his laptop. It was his own fault he’d gotten so behind on grading and now he was paying for it with his Saturday afternoon.
“How long do you have left?” she asked.
He shrugged. “A couple hours, at least. What are you up to?”
She frowned. “Paperwork.”
Bruce smirked, she was usually much better than him at keeping up with her work. She never seemed to work late to catch up like he often did.
“Don’t look so smug,” she chastised, tugging lightly on his hair. “I’m putting together the UN proposal.”
“Ah,” he said, understanding.
“Take a break with me.” Her tone was gentle but urging.
Bruce was tempted to say yes, give in and let himself be distracted again, but he needed to get his students’ essays graded. It was their final project and he had a deadline to turn in the grades.
“I can’t,” he told her, regrettably. “I’ve been distracted enough.”
Her frown deepened and her lower lip poking out slightly. Bruce ran his hand down his face and shook his head. That look paired with her fingers running rhythmically through his hair, how could he say no.
“What did you have in mind?” He asked and she smiled victoriously.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she suggested.
Bruce tilted his head slightly. “Where?”
Natasha shrugged and moved her hand from his hair to reach for his hand to tug him out of the chair.
“Nowhere,” she answered. “I think the fresh air will do us both some good.”
“Okay,” he agreed, standing up and following her to the mudroom.
It was warm and sunny when they stepped outside and Bruce squinted against the brightness. He looked over and saw Natasha already had sunglasses on and held a pair for him.
“Thanks,” he said and took them from him gratefully.
They walked in comfortable silence until they reached the end of their driveway.
“Lead the way.” Bruce made a sweeping gesture toward the street.
Natasha went left and he was right behind her.
“How is the proposal going?” he asked as they walked.
She let out a long sigh and ran a hand through her hair.
“That well?” He let out a soft chuckle.
“Everyone wants something different,” she said. “It’s hard to make negotiations when they can’t agree on anything.”
“Sounds frustrating,” he commented.
It was a lot to put on her, Bruce thought. The UN wanted some sort of oversight, but agreed that the Accords were a bit excessive. Natasha was their liaison for negotiating a contract that everyone could live with and Bruce knew it was not an easy task.
“They’re sending an ambassador next week,” she said, sighing again. “Rhodey is coming on Monday to help smooth it out.”
“You guys will figure it out,” he told her confidently.
“How’s the grading?” Natasha asked, clearly changing the subject.
“I just want to be done,” he admitted. He loved the teaching part of his job and the research, it was the paperwork part that he despised. It was the only thing left of the semester and he just wanted to be finished already.
Natasha took his hand and gave it a squeezed, swinging their joined hand between them.
“Summer’s almost here,” she said casually.
Bruce looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah? Planning a vacation?”
She smirked and bumped her shoulder against his.
“Something like that,” she said. “Clint is taking everyone to Florida for a week and asked if we wanted to go.”
Bruce raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really?”
“Don’t sound so shocked.” She laughed and bumped his shoulder again.
The Bartons were a pleasantly surprised part of being with Natasha. They were her family and Bruce had been nervous the first time they’d all gotten the chance to really spend time together. He’d always got the feeling that Barton didn’t like him, still did sometimes, Laura and the kids welcomed him with open arms. It was terrifying and wonderful all at once.
“That sounds, uh, really fun,” he answered.
She smiled brightly, “Yeah?”
“Tell Barton we’re in,” he said, a little more confidently.
“I will.”
The reached the park at the end of their road and Natasha stopped.
“I guess we should get back to work,” she said, her smile fading slightly.
“Or we could do the walking path.” He nodded at the park entrance.
She raised an eyebrow at him, a sly smirk on her lips. “What about not getting distracted?”
“We could both use the fresh air.”