Ghost of you
pairing: ghost!Natasha Romanoff x f!reader
words: 3k+
genre: fluff
warnings: swearing, ghosts (?)
Masterlist
You've never been to the Avengers compound before and now you wish you accepted one of Maria's invitations to their parties. Because now the place that used to be the epitome of hope, heroism and bravery was nothing, but a pile of dust.
You sighed and closed your notebook, tucking it into your backpack. You spent the day documenting the damage caused by Thanos' ships, wherever they came from. Just two weeks ago you were sure that Thor killed that dude ages ago, but he came back with an army. Again. Honestly, what is so appealing about your little planet, that lures intergalactic evil beings?
You crouched near the pile of cement blocks, and after quick examination you came to a conclusion: the dust under your feet used to be Stark's lab. Right.
You took out your notebook and scribbled more notes, blinking away the tears. It's not like you spent the last few weeks crying your eyes out over people you've never met. That would be ridiculous.
You got up and hugged the notebook close to your chest. Restoring this place might be hard, but you're never one to turn down a challenge. You were the one that built SHIELD's headquarters, meeting Fury's ridiculous expectations. He was beyond pleased with your work and that was part of the reason why he called you yesterday, asking if you wanted to be the one to restore the compound. You felt honoured and optimistic, ready to throw yourself at work.
Now though, you were not so sure.
You were ready to continue in your path when you heard soft footsteps approaching you.
"I need to show you something," Maria walked up to you with a solemn look on her face. You nodded and turned to follow her with a pit in your stomach. Whatever she's about to show you must be really bad.
The trail you were walking on was much longer than the other ones. Taking notes every now and then, you dutifully followed Maria, bumping into her whenever she took a sharp turn. You walked for at least thirty minutes before you reached the east side of the compound.
You don't know how it happened, but somehow the explosions didn't reach this wing, leaving it almost the same as it was before. Tension in Maria's shoulders increased with each step and you reached out to squeeze her fingers. She braced herself in front of the hole in a wall, which you guessed served as an entrance now, and pulled you inside.
At first, you didn't realize what was so significant about this room. A simple, boring living room with remains of peanut butter sandwiches occupying half of the coffee table. You took a few steps closer and noticed a vest thrown on the back of the couch. Some papers and sketches on the floor.
Ballerina shoes.
You let out a deep breath. So this is her wing. It was her wing.
"Fury gave you the freedom to rebuild this place however you see fit, but you can't touch this. This side will stay untouched," Maria whispered.
You nodded, subtly wiping a stray tear.
She left a few minutes later, claiming that Fury needed her. But by the look on her face you knew that it was too hard for her to stay here any longer. You ventured deeper into the halls, checking other rooms for any signs of damage
The first one was a conference room.
You hesitantly stepped in, feeling out of place. Feeling like you were intruding. You shook the thoughts away and let your gaze wander, checking the windows for any cracks, walls and ceiling for any holes. Surprisingly, everything was perfect. Just the way they left it. Some blueprints and planned out strategies occupied most of the flat surfaces.
You cursed your curiosity and took one.
Time heist.
Mind.
Space.
Time.
Reality.
Power.
Soul?
"Time heist," you muttered under your breath, running your fingertips over the hastily written words.
You were ready to make another note in your notebook when you heard something fall in one of the rooms down the hall. And rather loudly at that. You ushered to investigate the source, tripping over a chair on your way out. The second you stepped out of the room everything went quiet. Even the wind outside seemed to disappear, leaving an eerie silence instead. You tightly clutched your pen, holding it protectively in front of you.
"It's not like it would help you."
You stopped.
Goosebumps covered your skin at the sound of the voice. You're not sure if you actually heard the words or if you imagined them in your head. The prickling feeling at the back of your neck told you it was the former, but you shook the ridiculous thought away. You couldn't see anyone in this hall, and if you wanted to come home before nightfall, you needed to check the rest of the rooms as fast as possible.
So, you clenched your fists and moved forward.
You checked a supply closet, some sort of training room with all kinds of deadly weapons, which you didn't dare come close to, and a movie room. All clear, no signs of damage or... whatever it is that you heard.
You were left with two rooms at the end of the hall. One to your left and one to your right. The bedroom and the office. You went to the room to your left first. The door was left slightly open, allowing you a peek inside before fully stepping in. You let out a relieved sigh when you realised it was her office. You already felt like shit walking around her space, venturing into her bedroom might feel like a crime.
Her laptop was left open on her desk, another sandwich right beside it. You let out a quiet snort at her habit before walking over and throwing the sandwich into the trashcan. After a second of hesitation you closed her laptop. You cast one last look around the room, noding to yourself, when you saw something move from the corner of your eye. You whipped around, falling into the chair in front of her desk.
There was no one there.
You let out a tired sigh and rubbed your eyes. Maybe you should head home. You already spent more than ten hours walking around the ruins, trying to gauge the damage. Maria won't appreciate you falling asleep on her late friend's desk.
You got up, pushing the chair away to walk around the desk to sit on the couch instead. Falling on the backrest, you closed your eyes, feeling the tiredness seep into your bones. You knew it was a bad idea to rest your eyes when you were so exhausted, but the way soft fabric gave out under your weight, letting you sink into the couch, made you forget about your worries.
You didn't register the moment you fell on the pillows near the armrest. And you didn't see the chair rolling back to it's former place.
---
"Rise and shine."
Someone pocked your side, causing you to press your body in the back of the couch. You grumbled something incoherent and burrowed your face in the pillow.
"Get up." Your shoulders shook. Or someone shook them.
Ouch. Did they just pinch you?
"Hey!" You finally sat up, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. You were coming to your senses and finally remembered last night.
"What are you doing here?" A woman stood in front of you. With hands on her hips, dangerously close to a gun strapped to her thigh, she towered over you. Swallowing your nerves you looked up, meeting her bright hazel eyes. Which were unimpressed and maybe the tiniest bit annoyed.
And also red and puffy.
"I fell asleep." Your voice sounded to hoarse after a good night of sleep and you cleared your throat. "I was working late and fell asleep. I didn't mean to, obviously. I just kind of... fell."
"Didn't mean to?" She bent over you and tugged at something, which you realised was a blanket draped over your body.
Your mouth dropped open and you hurried to explain yourself to the scary woman. "It wasn't there last night."
"Right. A gust of wind seeped through the cracks in the foundation and carried it towards your trembling body." Her accent paired with sarcastic tone made you wince.
"It doesn't matter. Who are you?"
She scoffed at that and sat on the edge of the desk, her feet dangling back and forth. "Yelena. I came here to grab some stuff." Only now you noticed the vest you saw yesterday clasped tightly in her hand.
"I'm Y/n." You got up and stretched your arms over your head. "Um, not to be rude or anything, but do you have Fury's permission to take that?" You pointed at the vest, immediately taking a step back at her glare. Her posture stiffened and her whole demeanour changed.
"He won't mind." She got up and grabbed something from the drawer, pocketing it before you even had a chance to see what it was. She cast one last look around the office and headed to the door.
"Bye?" You called after her, receiving a hum in response.
The moment the door closed behind her you sat back on the couch, eyeing the blanket suspiciously. You were about eighty percent sure you didn't see it in this room yesterday. And a hundred percent sure that it was not on the couch.
"It was in my bedroom."
You stilled at the sound of now familiar female voice. Once is a chance. Twice is a coincidence.
"Third time's a pattern."
You jumped to your feet and bolted straight to the door. Tripping over your bag on your way out you fell face first onto the floor, bracing yourself for the impact. Instead, you fell into something warm and tingly.
"You're ridiculous."
"You're in my head." You accused.
"And you're inside me."
"What?!" You shrieked, scrambling to your feet. There was no response this time. The weird feeling that coated your whole body a second ago disappeared. You stood in the doorway, eyes darting around the room, trying to spot something or someone.
"What's going on?" Maria stepped in, looking slightly worried.
"What the f- Where did you come from?" You whisper-yelled and the worried crease in her brows deepened.
"Didn't you hear me talking to Yelena right outside of this door? Like two steps down the hall. We heard you screaming-"
"I wasn't screaming."
"-but Yelena told me you were alone here. Which is even more concerning. Are you okay?" She pulled you into a side hug. "I know how hard it is to be here. If it's too much, you can tell me. We'll find someone else to do the job."
In that moment you appreciated your friend more than ever. While you wouldn't consider her to be your best friend (that title is reserved for Darcy and Darcy only), she was always here for you back in the day. And now, after coming back from the dead not even three weeks ago, she was trying her best to comfort you.
"No, I'm fine. It's just... Have you noticed something strange here? Like random objects falling or even moving from one room to the other?" You tried your best to sound even, not letting your nerves to show up on your face.
She looked to the side, most likely trying to remember if she saw anything weird. "I can't say I've noticed anything like that. But you know, there was a time machine here a few days ago. Which was destroyed by alien weaponry." She sent you a pointed look. "It might be because of that. Maybe we should call Jane Foster, she has experience in that area." She pulled out her phone, ready to dial said woman, but you stopped her before she hit the call button.
There's totally a ghost in this place and you don't think Jane Foster qualifies as a Ghostbuster.
"It's fine. It's probably my imagination running wild. You know, stress and all that." You forced a chuckle, trying to look as relaxed as possible.
"Okay. If you're sure." She sent you a questioning look and you replied with what you hoped was a confident smile and a nod. After a second of scrutinizing she pulled a folder out of her bag. "It's from Fury." She explained, opening the file and showing you the documents he provided. "It's all bureaucracy. I just need your signature and I'll get going." She gave you a pan and you signed the papers.
"I'll go with you." You grabbed your things and followed her outside. "I need to drive back home, I fell asleep here yesterday." You shrugged sheepishly under her gaze.
"Maybe you should just stay here. Driving back an forth for hours every day doesn't sound fun."
It made sense. The compound was two hours away from the city and you'll be needed here for at least two weeks, overlooking the clean-up and the start of construction.
But your newest discovery made you hesitate. As much as you wanted to just stay here, you still had no idea what was the thing that talked to you. And scared you. And probably tucked you in when you fell asleep.
Yeah, so maybe she's harmless. Maybe.
"You're right. There's plenty of couches here." You agreed, hoping that you won't regret your decision.
---
"Long time no see."
The folder in your hand fell loudly onto the table. You let out a sigh, more annoyed than scared, now that you realised she's not some bloodthirsty, revenge seeking poltergeist.
"Can you stop startling me?" You huffed, rolling your eyes. Today you're testing the waters, you decided.
"Can you stop being a scaredy-cat?"
She sounded almost amused, but you couldn't really tell. It's not like you actually heard her voice, it was just there, among your thoughts.
You came back to the compound this morning after spending all evening back home googling ghosts. After all, aliens, witches and gods existed, so why not ghosts? And it was the only somewhat logical explanation for all the weird shit that happened. So yeah, you've read like thirty articles on ghosts. Armed with newfound knowledge, you felt much more confident coming here.
"I want to show you something."
"And how are you going to do that?" You mumbled, taking a sip of your tea. You were ready to put the mug on the table, when you felt something warm envelope your hand, nudging you up. "That's you?" You gasped in wonder.
"Yes. Just go to my room, I'll meet you there."
"And where is that supposed to be?" You called after her, feeling the warmth seep away.
Sighing, you started walking down the hall. Great. What if her room is in some kind of basement, buried under the rubble? You ran a mental check of all of the rooms in this wing and stopped in your tracks.
And than you ran.
"Glad you caught up." Now she was definitely laughing at you, you could almost feel her chuckle tickling your brain.
You struggled to breath after sprinting all the way to Natasha's bedroom. "You- It's you!" You beamed and felt the warmth return.
"Uh-uh."
"How are you here? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why didn't you tell anyone else?" You rumbled, pacing the length of the hall.
"I don't know. I tried, but you ran away with Maria. No one else can hear me."
"Okay. Cool. Great." Your mind was racing with the speed of the sound. "You're here and I'm the only one that can hear you. And you're probably a ghost or maybe an imprint of Natasha."
"Thanks for the reminder."
"Sorry." You winced. "You wanted to show me something?" You tried changing the subject, your cheeks heating up from embarrassment.
You felt tingles all over your back, enveloping your whole body in a warm embrace. The feeling travelled through you towards the door to her bedroom and you took it as an invitation.
You turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door, taking a step in...
"... is this a kids bedroom?"
The room in front of you was littered with toys and crayons. There were two twin beds by the windows, one with a green comforter and the other one with red. You took a step in and the door behind you closed with a soft click.
"Yes. We had a mission in Ohio when I was little. This was our bedroom. Yelena chose the colours." Her voice was barely audible in your head, fading away with each said word. "Yesterday it was the Red Room. And on the day I appeared here, it was my room back home."
She told you that on the first day she didn't understand what happened, thought she was in some kind of afterlife reality, before she heard the commotion outside. Then she fell through the floor and realized she didn't have a physical body.
Her voice trembled, but she told you everything that happened.
"I don't know why I'm still here."
You sat cross legged on her bed, pulling a thread on the blanket. "Maybe I should call Jane Foster. I don't think I can do anything in this situation."
"When Yelena came over she went to my room. The second her hand touched the doorknob my room looked normal again. When I tried to touch her I didn't feel anything and neither did she. You're the only one who can help me."
You felt her warmth against your back, and you could almost feel her tears trail down the back of your neck. Her quiet sobs echoed through your head and you turned around reaching out to hug her, before dropping your arms back to your knees, cursing yourself.
"I'll do everything in my power to help you." You looked straight ahead, hoping she could sense your determination. She chuckled and you felt her sending warmth up your chin.
"My eyes are up here." She laughed with full chest at your embarrassment, forcing you to hide your face in your hands.
"Next time just tell me where to look." You mumbled under your breath.
Your assignment just got a thousand percent harder. But you're pretty sure you don't mind.
















