Work Text:
Bruce sighed as he entered the house and shrugged off his jacket. It was quiet, but it was a welcome change from the excited first day chattering he’d spent all day in. Syllabus day at the university, he’d started off a stuttering, nervous wreck. His first class had been understanding and patiently listened to his introductions and after that first hurdle, the rest of the day only got easier.
But after talking almost non-stop all day and listening to his students grudgingly participate in his introductory exercises, Bruce was exhausted. He just wanted to kick back on the couch the rest of the night with a hot cup of tea and a good book.
He hung his coat up in the mud room and took the few stairs into the rest of the house. Natasha’s car wasn’t in the garage so he headed to the kitchen to make that cup of tea. He set the kettle to boil and leaned against the counter. The mail was sitting on the counter, so Natasha couldn’t hadn’t been gone long. He picked it up and flipped through the bills, the junk mail already weeded out.
He set the pile back down on the counter when the kettle whistled behind him just as the garage door opened and Natasha pulled in. He turned off the burner and left his tea to cool while he went to greet her when she came through the kitchen door. She had a grocery bag in each arm and he hurried over to help her.
“Thanks,” she said, following him into the kitchen.
He set the bag on the counter, and she followed suit.
“How was your first day?” she asked, digging in the bag to start putting the groceries away.
Bruce shooed her away and took over for her. “Better than I expected.”
Natasha leaned against the opposite counter.
“What were you expecting?”
Bruce shrugged, putting a carton of eggs in the fridge. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a classroom. I didn’t know what to expect,” he admitted.
“I didn’t think you’d be home so soon, I was going to surprise you,” she said huffily, crossing her arms over her chest.
“You were?” Bruce asked, looking over his shoulder.
Natasha nodded and smiled, pushing off the counter to snake her arms around his waist. She rested her head against his back and he felt her nod and hum.
“I was,” she said, her voice sending shivers down his spine. “I had a whole plan to make dinner and take it into the yard, maybe crack open a bottle of wine.”
“Sounds perfect,” he commented and her arms tightened slightly.
“I wasn’t finished,” she whispered.
Bruce turned in her embrace and wrapped his arms around her. “Please continue.”
“After dinner we’d move to the hammock and spend the rest of the night under the stars,” she finished and ran her thumb under his eye.
“We could still do all that,” he said. He liked the sound of a celebratory picnic dinner in the yard. It would be too cold in a few weeks so it only made sense to take advantage of the nice weather while it lasted. “I’ll even help with dinner.”
“Yeah, but you’ll probably fall asleep in the hammock,” she sighed, a wicked smirk on her lips. “And it’ll be impossible to wake you up.”
“Ha ha,” he said dryly. “I’ll be fine.”
“You look tired already, Bruce.”
“What’s for dinner?” he asked, changing the subject. She knew him too well, but in her presence he felt more awake.
“I was thinking shrimp scampi,” she said, pulling out of his arms. He immediately missed her warmth.
“Perfect,” he said, moving to grab a pot from the cabinet for the noodles and a skillet to cook the shrimp.
Natasha was at the sink, opening the bag of fresh shrimp. He stood beside her to fill the pot and bumped her shoulder.
“How was your day,” he asked.
“Boring,” she said and screwed up her face. She smiled up at him after a moment. “I’m glad you’re home.”
“Me too.”
Bruce leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, short and sweet, just like her.
“It’s going to get dark before we finish at this rate,” she pointed out, but didn’t move away.
Bruce smirked and leaned in again, but stopped just short of her lips. “Let it,” he whispered.
Natasha closed the short distance between them and for the time being, dinner and their picnic plans were forgotten for the time being.