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The Devil's Apprentice

Chapter 66: Chapter 65

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Bruce was standing in front of the door of their room, now more of hers. He was beginning to feel like it was getting out of hand. He would rather pack and go somewhere in Africa. He believed that only then did he really help people. He believed there was his place. But he had certain commitments that kept him here. He couldn't just disappear again.

He knocked quickly on the door and entered without prompting. He had to act from second to second before he lost the courage he needed. He didn't really want to talk to the redhead because he didn't know what they were at the moment. And the truth really terrified him. It terrified him that it could be their end. But after talking to Betty, he had to talk to her.

"Did you talk to Betty?" he blurted out his question as soon as he saw her.

Natasha sat on the floor with papers about Mary and Quentin spread out around her. She didn't know what to do with Betty yet, so she had to focus on their next problem. She had to see if it was possible for Beck to still be alive. But when Bruce burst in and asked her the question that she was probably supposed to expect, she had to turn aside for a moment and grin. It was a good move, she had to let that to her. "Yes," she replied simply when she finally looked at him. There was no point in denying it. Betty had already told him anyway. Natasha was sure she had pictured her in the worst light. Maybe she should have done her at least one tiny little injury.

Brown-haired scientist paused. He hopefully expected she would deny it. That she would tell him that nothing like that happened. "Did you really tell her all those terrible things?" he breathed in surprise. He knew her. He knew how sharp she could be, but he wouldn't have thought she was threatening Betty. Why would she do that? Did he ever give her a reason to do so? He loved her so much that he felt as if it wasn't too much. But when he listened to Tony talk about Pepper, he found out that love was like that. He hadn't known what to think for the past few days. There was an increasing feeling that Natasha didn't really love him, and she finally found out she had made a mistake. And she doesn't want to tell him in the eye, so she does everything to create a gap between them that will never be filled again.

"I don't know what lies she told you. I talked to her just the same way she talked to me. She wants to break us, but you don't see it," she said honestly. After all, there was nothing left now.

Bruce was about to oppose but remembered how he had found a similarity between her project and Peter's DNA. Betty, whom he knew, wouldn't do that. He probably didn't know the brunette anymore, and if she really worked on modified DNA to create an army for her father, maybe Natasha was right about that, too. But there were too many uncertainties, and Bruce didn't like them as a scientist.

"Be honest with me at least once, do you want to be with me?" he said. He'll find out what's going on with Betty later. In the end, she wasn't as important as the woman standing in front of him.

The redhead gave him a surprised look. "Of course I want!"

"We said we needed to talk more if we wanted it to work," he reminded her, "Nat, please talk to me."

"This is not your fight, Bruce. Someone started pulling my past on me, okay? It's just me. I'll take care of it," she told him a little more about what was happening. The only thing she could share with him without leaving even bigger scars on their relationship. Well, at least that's what she thought.

"I get it, you're not talking about your past. None of us is,  am I right? Maybe we should start with that," he snorted. He was willing to talk about his own. He was willing to do anything if it saved their common future.

"It won't happen," she said in a firm voice. "I already told you you're not the only monster on the team. You won't know what happened before Fury took me on. No one will know. Bruce, let me take care of this, and then we'll talk, okay? We will solve it," she begged him. She needed to deal with it to keep her head clear.

Bruce suddenly had an unpleasant feeling of déjà-vu. "It never ends, does it? Once you deal with one problem, another comes. It's like you said in Sokovia. It wasn't after the fight then, so instead of running away with me the way you wanted, you pushed me off a cliff!”

"That's not fair," she said heavily. She was surprised that Bruce raised his voice and even more that he had started talking about Sokovia. They never talked about it. She didn't think that was one of the skeletons that hung in their closet.

"You know what's not fair? That you're asking me for a life you're not ready for. For life, you probably even don't want to! I won't be sitting at home waiting for you to return from the mission. So yeah, finish what you have to do, but keep in mind that when you finally want to talk, it might be too late," he yelled at her. He was getting angry and scared at the same time. His fears were beginning to materialize. He knew that not everything he told her was fair, but he could not help it. He felt hurt.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, slightly shaken.

"What I'm saying," he snorted, turning to leave. "I have to go. You're not the only one who has work to do," he muttered, leaving her alone in the room. He had to take a good look at the research and find out what Betty was up to. Then he will have no obligations to stay here and will be able to go somewhere very far. For example, in Fiji, he has not been there yet, and the health care system there will certainly be as bad as in the other countries he visited before the red-haired angel appeared to him in Calcutta.

•••

"So, what do you have for me?" The blonde demanded as she sat down next to the brown-haired man on the bench. She pulled a cigarette from her pocket, placed it between her lips, and lit it.

"She picks him up from school every Tuesday and Thursday," the man said a little reluctantly. For the past two weeks, he had been watching who was picking up Peter at school. He was a little annoyed to find a system in it. He had a weak moment yesterday when he wanted to jump under one of the moving cars, but in the end, he gave up and obediently returned to the blonde. He was so pathetic.

"Very well," she said with a smile as she took a sip from her cigarette, inhaling a dose of nicotine that was beginning to spread throughout her body. She loved it. "Ross is starting to annoy me, we should get rid of him. I'll probably tell Quentin and Hammer," she told him.

"Don't you need him?"

"Not anymore, I'm getting bored. Next Tuesday, I'll let Quentin take care of Potts, and I'll pick up Peter from school. I want to be one step closer to the real fun," she shared her plans.

"Why do you think it should work out when it doesn't work out for her?" Richard asked.

"Do I have to explain everything to you as to a little kid? This all is just a cover. Ross will never get the research, and when Stark breaks into his building with his team, he could talk, so we'll get rid of him. I don't want them to know about me. Not yet. They will think that Ross has been standing behind it, and when they get Peter back, they will not wait any more threats," she laughed venomously. "Slowly start packing labs. I don't want any traces left after us. We will be out at the end of next week."