the great hope of russia

            ❛   it’s   good   to   see   you.   ❜   she   should   have   expected   to   be   hugged,   she   really   should   have.   and   yet   when   alexei’s   arms   wrap   around   her,   nat   was   just   slightly   surprised.   despite   the   surprise,   the   woman   returned   the   gesture   with   an   arm   of   her   own.   though   it   didn’t   even   make   it   halfway   around   his   back.   he   was   a   large   man.   would   she   pay   money   to   see   both   him   and   thor   standing   next   to   each   other?   no   doubt.

moving   back   to   where   she   had   originally   been   sitting   before   alexei   had   arrived,   natasha   picked   up   her   glass   and   took   a   sip.   ❛   i’m   always   busy.   there’s   always   something   going   on   that   needs   my   attention.   i   like   it.   then   i   don’t   have   to   worry   about   getting   bored.   ❜   eyes   watched   him   curiously   with   a   small   smile.   alexei   looked   good,   relaxed   and   happy.   ❛   how   are   you?   how’s   everyone?   ❜

ALEXEI TAKES HIS FIRST BEER FROM THE BARTENDER AND clinks his glass against Natasha’s, ❝ За здоровье. ❞  He downs the first drink in one go, the glass hitting the bar top hard as he puts it down. It will have no effect on him but he can pretend. Perhaps he just likes the sense of normalcy, whatever that means for people like them. He likes the taste anyway.

❝ да, да, you’re a big superhero now. Busy, busy, busy, no time to even call your parents, hmm? ❞  He teases with a smirk. It isn’t the easiest to keep in contact with either of their situations at present. Alexei is just GLAD they’ve been able to meet like this at all.  ❝ Me? I am good. Very good. Everyone is well. Your mother has been doing good work and we have met many of our goals. We are close...very close, Natasha. She wanted to be here, you know. Your mother. But she is busy, busy too. ❞

❝  I will let you figure that out by yourself.  ❞    He’s telling the truth, she knows it.    Being around so many people who weren’t so good with expressing themselves, she has learned to pay attention to facial expressions.    Those don’t lie.    ❝  Lovely name, Alexei.  ❞    Her attention is back to the poor bartender, and she is quick to lay her hand on Alexei’s biceps when noticing the force used to get the man’s attention.    Maria gives him a ’no need for that’ look but it’s followed by a small smile, she holds her glass up and nods at the bartender.    ❝  Please,  ❞    She adds teasingly, turning towards the man next to her,     ❝  Was the need for a good conversation and company what brought you here?  ❞    Maria was indeed curious. This didn’t look like the place he would be hanging out at.

SHE’S PLAYING COY BUT ALEXEI DOESN’T MIND THAT, he likes a bit of mystery. A beautiful mysterious woman with what must be an interesting story from what he can tell simply by looking at her. She’s perfect and entirely too intriguing. Her scars tell a story of their own but the way she carries herself tell him more. His years spying for Dreykov have not left him without keen powers of observation. And with the serum his senses are CONSTANTLY dialed up. He has an awareness he never had before the process.  ❝ I could say the same, Maria. ❞  Her name rolls off his tongue easier than others.

‘ You got me there. ’     Tony watched Alexei, an eyebrow raised. Not many people would just throw themselves into the lake light that. But Alexei wasn’t your average guy, clearly.    ‘ Remind me not to come if you invite me Russia sometime for a vacation. ’    Then he finally makes his move and sinks himself down into the water. Taking a quick dip had become part of his routine more so in the morning. It was refreshing, it woke him up properly and he felt like he needed that more often than not these days.      ‘ I can find you some information while you enjoy yourself. Or maybe when we’re done and I can get us a coffee. ’  He sunk himself down into the water and then came back up giving his head a shake now that his hair was wet.    ‘ Sound like a plan? ’

    the widow was injured   -   far more than she could handle on her own but not impossible to fix.  without alexei,  she would not get out of that disaster of a battle field alive,  that is,  if the red room didn’t terminate her first.  she stuck to his side,  leaning into him when needed.    -    and then the next wave of attacks began.  she didn’t even notice,  but he did.  that was clear by the sound of him beckoning to drop into cover only to have him gather her up and drag her behind a wall.  

    she was pulled against his chest as he took the brunt of the attack at the start,  feet off the ground and all.  but once behind the protection of concrete,  anya tried to peel herself away just enough to examine him.  valiant,  yes.  but she couldn’t get out of there if he was dead.  the widow finally released herself from his grip   (  no matter how..  loving it felt?  )  and checked him over.  multiple bullets taken and he still was trying to be his regular self.   

    truthfully,  anya was moved by his protectiveness.  it made her long for a bond where this was something common.  she shakes the thought from her head and focuses on their escape.   “    можете ли вы двигаться?    ”    she asks,  eyes glance around their environment for a path. 

@gloryguarded​   :   " get down! “ 

HE SEES THE GUNMEN AND HE RUSHES FOR THE WOMAN, wrapping his body around hers as he tries to get them to cover. The first rattle of the weapons come and he feels the impacts but keeps moving. If he stops they’ll BOTH die. Once they’re in relative safety, he crumples to his knees, back hitting the concrete hard. His breaths are ragged, strained, tasting blood in his mouth. He’s been shot before, he’ll be shot again, but it’s never pleasant.

@gloryguarded​  asked:  23. for after battle sex            nsfw prompts that don’t sound like a bad

“YOU REALLY CANNOT WAIT TO GET HOME?“ home, whatever they are calling the place they will be staying the two of them on their own. not even out of their uniforms and he is all hands and pulling her closer and she is rolling her eyes as she recalls his earlier comment during diner. “My suit is just a zipper. I think you know that.“ There is a bit more intricate action in that suit really but still, it was basically that. Tip on her toes, the widow reaches to drag him down into a kiss. Different from their time in Ohio, when they had the red room and dreykov checking on them and eyes everywhere.

“PLENTY,  BUT  YOU  DON’T  LOOK  LIKE  THE  JOKING  TYPE.“  trouble,  is  what  he  looks  like.  The  type  of  trouble  the  archer  doesn’t  want  in  his  life.  What  is  up  with  the  russians  and  him  ending  up  in  dangerous  situations?  And  a  super  soldier,  no  less.  “Would  it  change  your  mind  if  I  told  you  I  was  a  big  fan?“  Not  really,  but  he  had  heard  of  the  red  guardian  during  the  orphanage  and  before  the  circus.  He  ducks,  just  in  time  and  oh  boy,  this  man  is  massive.  He  needs  distance  between  the  two  of  them  to  let  the  string  of  the  bow  quiver  as  he  aims  an  arrow  at  the  man,  landing  on  his  feet.  and  then,  BOOM.  The  arrow  was  a  trap  to  tie  around  Alexei’s  feet.  “Can  we  talk  like  adults?“  He  has  no  desire  to  leave  Lucky  an  orphan.

She’s definitely pleased with his answer, glad she wouldn’t need to persuade him to stay with her a little longer.  This right here was a lot better than she imagined it would be, and it was a little too cold to be left alone on this enormous bed.  No, she wasn’t going to admit right now she was already attached to Alexei, even having met him not too long ago.    

❝  Good.  ❞    Maria replies, raising an eyebrow.  The hand on his shoulder falls to trace a few of the tattoos she could see better now with the brightness seeping inside the room and her eyes meets his again when he switches languages, not being able to hide the smirk on her face.   Why was she so turned on by this?   ❝  Good morning, bello. Sleep well?   ❞     Maria teases, biting the inside of her lip before kissing him.   

HE FEELS HER FINGERS DANCING OVER HIS SKIN, GAZE shifting to look at them. She traces over one of the tattoos on his arm and he smiles softly.  ❝ That one is for my daughters. ❞  Not technically his daughters but for all intents and purposes the closest thing he’s ever had to family. They have a bond much like parent and child in spite of the limited time they’d had together.

Natasha thought that hearing the words would bring some kind of… closure. Some kind of relief but instead she felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her throat and she was having trouble breathing. “Up until I left – and even then. And even now, really. What we had in Ohio was the happiest memories I have. And they were all fake. I don’t know what was real and what wasn’t..” she could feel the tightness in her chest and the pricking behind her eyes but Natasha would be damned if he saw her cry. Widows didn’t cry, they didn’t know how.

Part of her knew that he was a pawn just like she was. Like Yelena was… really she felt worse for Alexei than she did for Melina who never stopped working for Dreykov and she would never know what was true and what wasn’t from her. Her head shook again and she tried to focus herself but it was becoming harder and harder.

Head nodded and that was what she was afraid of. Yeah, he only knew what Dreykov wanted him to know, but it was enough. She knew Alexei wanted to please the general as much as she and Yelena wanted to make him happy and proud of them back home. It was understandable but it didn’t mean it hurt any less. “You realize that I was his favorite, right? That I got the focus of his attention and energy. I mean, rather it me than one of the others. That’s why I pushed myself to be the best. Because if I was the best than I would be able to help just one other get through it. Maybe I did all I’ve done because I feel guilty that I chose a lot of the girls for the red room. He used me to pick them out –” words cut off and she turned those green eyes back to him. “What do you think I want to know?”

THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT HE KNOWS WAS INEVITABLE, one that they’ve been long due for. He hates that so much time has passed, hates that he hasn’t gotten to see her grow into this incredible woman that she is. But that’s his own fault. He allowed this to happen, he allowed all of that to happen to her. ANGER flashes quickly across his eyes as he listens. If Dreykov wasn’t already dead, he would find a way to kill him himself.

❝ I’m sorry, Natasha... ❞  He knows that leaving his girls, letting them take them, is the worst thing he’s ever done. There’s nothing he can do to undo that, to fix it.  ❝ I think you want to know if it was REAL. ❞  She’s said it wasn’t, that it doesn’t matter, but Alexei knows why she says these things. The same reason he said the things he said. To protect themselves. If she doesn’t care, how can she be HURT? He lifts his gaze to hers again.  ❝ I thought I was doing the right thing and this cause...this great cause I dedicated my whole life to...it was fake. ❞  He had been used and thrown out like an old toy. Manipulated for years. It’s taken him too long to come to terms with it.