the black widow

Near Miss - Emma and Natasha

Emma leaned into the kiss, still trying to process what this meant. “It is,” she managed, trying not to make it sound like a question. “I… okay.” She pulled Natasha close again, deciding to just live in this moment and ask questions after they were done. 

“And you’re sure you want this?” Natasha broke the kiss again, wanting to make sure she wasn’t taking advantage of Emma. If Emma didn’t understand yet, Natasha didn’t want to go any further. “You want me?” That was something Natasha found a little hard to believe.

Emma shook her head, shaking her own thoughts out of her head. “I’m sure they’re not all like that. Look at Thor. He’s basically an alien, right?” she teased gently. 

“That’s true.” Natasha tried to clear the rest of those thoughts out of her head, but she still looked far away. “I wish they were all like him. I wasn’t made to deal with that sort of thing.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Emma mumbled before shaking her head. “I’m… away but not free. It’s complicated, sorry,” she offered with a half smile. There was no way to phrase it in a way that didn’t sound completely insane or painfully truthful and she couldn’t risk the truth. Not yet, anyways. For all she knew, this knight would drag her back to her parents for the nice, fat reward being offered for her safe return. 

Intersect - Natasha and Regina

[ Thaw || Closed ]

“Naw,” Bucky said with a warm smile. “There’s plenty of pancakes in the world. There’s only one Natasha Romanoff.” She started pulling out the necessary supplies and arranging them on the counter. “I may need a little help,” she said. “Cooking’s provin’ to be a bit hard one-handed.”

“No problem.” Things still felt unstable between them, but Natasha was willing to do anything to help solidify things a little. She knew they wouldn’t get back to normal right away, but she didn’t want their tiny foundation to crumble. “Let me know what you want help with.”

[ Thaw || Closed ]

“Should I be afraid you’re going to leave me to start an affair with pancakes?” Natasha teased, holding Jane’s hand until they reached the kitchen. She let go so Jane could start cooking, but she hovered around in the same space. “That’s really sweet of you, though. Thank you.”

[ Thaw || Closed ]

[ Thaw || Closed ]

Natasha nodded, sitting up a little. “I should probably eat. I can’t remember the last time I had anything. And if I did have something, it was probably ramen. Or crackers.” She slipped her hand into Jane’s. “Come with me to the kitchen?”

[ Thaw || Closed ]

“A little. I’m more awake now, I think. Didn’t have nightmares.” Thank god. Natasha stretched a little against Jane, still dozy. “Thanks for staying.” She felt like things were still fragile between them. Jane didn’t have to stay, but she did, and Natasha was grateful.

[ Thaw || Closed ]

Bucky tilted her head into the kiss and ran her hand through Natasha’s hair. “You wanna take a nap?” she asked gently, feeling the way Natasha had gone to jelly against her. “We can maybe deal with gettin’ some food and tellin’ Steve later, once you’ve had some rest. I’ll stay with you.”

[ Thaw || Closed ]

“I’ve worried about you since the day I met you,” Bucky said. “That’s not gonna change any time soon.” She kissed the top of Natasha’s head, and said once more, “I love you, y’know.”

When Jane said that, Natasha’s arms tightened around her, holding her close. She pressed a shaky kiss to her cheek, lingering. “I love you too. I can’t say that enough, nowadays.” She had half a mind to get some food, but she didn’t want to get up. Jane was comfortable, and she felt like her knees might give out if she stood up. The exhaustion she had put off for months was finally hitting her.

[ Thaw || Closed ]

Natasha settled against Jane’s chest again, the dullness still not gone from her eyes. She was exhausted, but she didn’t want to sleep. “I’ll take care of you. I’ll get you to okay. But you don’t have to worry about me.”

[ Thaw || Closed ]

“You don’t need to worry. I’m fine.” It wasn’t true at all, but Natasha hated when people worried over her, even Jane. She didn’t feel like it was worth the effort. She had survived every problem so far, and she would survive this one.

[ Thaw || Closed ]

Bucky nodded, running her hand in slow circles over Natasha’s back. “I’d like that,” she said. “Do you mind if I text Steve and let him know, though? He’ll worry.” She paused and then added, “He doesn’t know, I don’t think. Not unless you told him. I mean, he knows we knew each other, but he doesn’t know the rest. The important part.”

“That’s fine. I haven’t told him, but I think he picked up on it. I was upset for months.” Natasha shrugged a little, embarrassed. She leaned into Jane’s touch, trying to let it soothe her. “He won’t have a problem with it, though. It’ll probably explain a lot.”