#ilycfbc

You were generally fine with Natasha working, understanding that her working hours are not a fixed 9 to 5 thing but rather whatever she has planned. 

You were also not spoiled enough to think that the initial phase of Natasha spending most of her time with you in the first three months was going to last forever. She has busy periods, big export orders at the port, business deals that needs to be negotiated, events that needs to be planned.

She has a job, and you were fine with it. 

What you’re not fine with, is the fact that she brought work back home. 

She has a meeting room in the house, and you’ve seen multiple members work around the house on occasion. Most of them will spend their time in the meeting room, knowing better than to interrupt and disrupt you. 

But for the past two weeks, there was an influx of people in your house. Natasha said that they were preparing for a ‘mission’, something about protecting some rich people while they travelled through Europe for some business dealings. 

And the planning for this mission took them more than two weeks. 

You’ve brought up your displeasure at their presence in your house, not liking that your girlfriend is blurring the lines between work and home, and also how you feel slightly uncomfortable at having so many people in your home. 

You’ve grown to enjoy your time with Natasha, and the occasional member here and there. 

Now it feels like you’re living in a frat house with 20 other people. 

“Natty, it’s getting annoying,” came your complaint while Natasha was towel-drying her hair one night. 

Giving you a small smile from the reflection in the mirror, “Don’t be like this princess, this mission is really important to us. We need to ensure that the planning is flawless and we have contingencies at every turn.” 

And you get it. 

You understand that she needs to work hard on this. 

But why does it have to be in the house? 

You would not have minded as much - you still wouldn’t like it, if she kept this work at her workplace, and was spending more of her time at the office. 

But bringing the work into the house means that she wakes up and she’s gone to the office immediately to start work on it. 

Yes, she tries to spend some time during meals with you, she knows better than to ignore you fully. But it still doesn’t change the fact that this work is blurring her lines between work and rest. 

And you hate the way she seems stressed out all the time. 

You hate how her shoulders tensed up from the moment she wakes up until she goes to bed. 

You hate the way that all her subordinates are bugging her 24/7 about work. 

And you also hate that all she talks about around you is work now. 

None of the casual banter or fun little teases and quizzes you used to do with each other. 

So maybe you sound like a spoiled brat, but you think you have some pretty good reasoning for the displeasure at this. 

“But they’ve been here for two weeks! You’ve barely spent time with me outside of meal times!”

Her face turns guilty at that, “I’m sorry, princess. I know I’ve been busy…”

She trails off and drops the towel on the vanity chair, before walking over to you curled up against the headboard of the bed. 

Your arms were crossed at first, but once she started making little grabby hands, you scooted a bit and hugged her at her waist, breathing in the fresh scent of her signature soap - something fresh and woody.

She smiles at how easily pliable you are, her hands massaging your scalp, “How about this, once this mission is over, we’ll go on that island trip to Tahiti that you’ve wanted for months, hmm?” 

You furrow your brows adorably as you look up at her, “We’re going on that trip regardless, but I’d still prefer if you can have your people work in your office and not in our house.” 

She sighs a little before giving you a soft kiss on the forehead, “Just a few more days princess, I promise.”

A few more days turned into a week, and you were done. 

So you came up with a plan. 

It was a plan that you came up with after having about two glasses of wine last night with Kate - because of course your girlfriend was busy in a virtual meeting with the clients during dinner. 

You weren’t quite sure how your girlfriend would react, but it will either end up really well or really badly for you. 

And you’ve always been a bit of a gambler when it comes to things like this. 

Looking in the mirror, you tilt your head at the reflection you see. 

You were in an oversized shirt that belonged to Natasha and some shorts that barely reached your thigh. You weren’t wearing any bra underneath the shirt and it was obvious with the way that your collarbone is fully exposed and the neckline dipped down quite low. 

You kinda feel like a schoolgirl causing trouble. 

Your heart races with excitement while the corner of your lips can’t help but lift upwards. 

She’s going to lose it. 

And that thought puts a whole smile on your face. 

Fixing your hair a little, you went downstairs to grab some breakfast. 

Purposefully making your way past the meeting room and hearing your girlfriend’s voice in it, you peek into the room and catch her eye. 

“Natty you had breakfast?” you asked.

Her eyes were soft when they saw you, until she registered what exactly you were wearing. Trailing her eyes up from your legs to your face, they sharpened and focused on you, “Princess, what are you wearing there?”

“Your shirt, it was the first thing I could reach for,” feigning innocence. Internally, you were squirming, something about her gaze and tone making you feel like your plan is working.

Choosing to play your little game with you, Natasha nods, “I had breakfast, I think Colette made a new batch of pancakes just a bit ago.”

“Okay!”

That was phase one. 

After breakfast and spending a bit of time reading, you started phase two. 

Changing your shirt out for a bikini that was deep red in colour - one of Natasha’s favourite colours on you, you nod in approval at the reflection staring back at you in the mirror. 

It was a simple two-piece bikini, the top comfortably framing your boobs with a little gold pearl in between them. The bottom, well it’s a g-string. It’s not covering much, which was exactly the point for you. 

“What are you doing?” asked your girlfriend when she cornered you in the kitchen.

You knew that tone. It was the tone that was a warning.

You're playing with fire.

And you liked it.

Turning around after grabbing a wine bottle from the top cabinet, “I thought I’d go for a swim, it’s so hot today.”

Taking a step closer to you, her hand settles on your waist - she could never keep her hands off of you when you're this enticing.

A tight grip from her, an involuntary gasp from you.

Gosh, you've missed this feeling.

“The pool is at the back, you didn’t have to pass by the meeting room, did you?”

Well, that was true, but this is phase two after all.

Clearing your throat and avoiding how your body is starting to heat up, you met her gaze straight on. “Well I wanted to grab some wine, I can’t swim in the pool without some wine and a good book.”

There it is, your favourite smirk. Her head tilts to the side, trying to figure out what exactly you're trying to accomplish here.

Truth be told, Natasha knew that this was likely you trying to express your displease at the people in the house.

But what were you exactly trying to do here?

Rile her up?

Well, she's not gonna let you win this little game.

Her self-control may be limited when it comes to you, but her desire to win the little games between the both of you always have put her at an advantage.

“Whatever game you’re playing princess, I hope you’re ready to deal with the consequences,” came her warning.

That fucking husky voice, it will be the death of you one day.

But then again, you love playing with fire.

You lean closer, your body pressing against her front, and you can see the faint twitch in her jaw to know that she's not exactly immune to what you're doing.

“Can I not wear a bikini in my own home?” you asked, your voice playful and dangerous.

“You can, it’s your house, you can wear whatever you want in it," she would never stop you from doing something in your house, "but to parade yourself in front of my people like this? You really are getting bolder by the day.” 

Her hand slips up towards the bra strap, pulling it back and letting it snap against your shoulder. It was her final warning, play nice princess.

Laughing, glad that your plan is seemingly working flawlessly if she still hasn't called you out yet, “It’s just a bikini, Natty, no need to get so worked up over it.”

---

“Good night!” was all you said, as you pass by the meeting room that night.

You didn't linger too long, only for a split second for your voice to carry over the whole room, and to walk away quick enough before your girlfriend could react.

You weren't trying to enrage your girlfriend, no…staying by the door for longer than a second would not serve your purpose.

You were making a statement, that's all.

As expected, the whole crew was still inside, and this means not only the group that you've became close friends with, not just them, but some other people as well, people from legal, finance, other boring…crew…people, honestly you can't remember everyone as much as you try to.

Another late night for them, which plays perfectly into your plan.

Because everyone turned towards you when they heard you knocking on the door, and then could not for the life of them turn back around as quickly as they needed to.

Because that split second?

Of them seeing you standing by the door, stark fucking naked…

Not a single piece of clothing on your body?

Oh we're so screwed, was what 70% of the people there thought.

And there was a solid 28-30 people in the room.

The group of people that knew you closer than the rest on the other hand, some were smirking, some were covering their face with their hands, while some were just observing their boss' reaction.

Not everyone was there.

Some of them worked better as the muscle and some are on rotation for an off day - your girlfriend might be a workaholic, but she doesn't force other people to be like her.

And you didn't see it, but Natasha's eyes flashed red when she caught a glimpse of your skin.

“We didn’t, we didn’t see anything…” someone was bold enough to say, Yelena had to hide a snicker at how this probably was the worst thing to say right now.

They're getting kicked out, no doubt.

“Get out,” came her sister's calm voice.

Called it.

“All of you, out of my house right fucking now!” okay so maybe not so calm voice after all.

Packing up their stuff, everyone scattered out of the room, “We’ll continue this in the office tomorrow morning,” was the confirmation they needed from their boss.

And with that, Yelena prayed for you that you'd get a peaceful night, although she thinks you'd enjoy the storm that is headed your way for now, maybe you'd enjoy it a little too much even.  

“Princess.”

She didn't bother knocking on the door to the bedroom.

You expected her.

She also knows that you're expecting her.

You should expect her, after a stunt like this.

“Daddy?” you look up from your phone.

You were sitting in the comfortable leather lounge chair at the corner of the room. It was your favourite little reading nook, with a warm light stand that you chose from a local store, and it oversees out the balcony of the room.

There's a little side table that was currently stacked with four books on top, you were never one to commit fully to a single book, and instead preferred to read depending on your mood.

You were of course still naked, knees drawn up to your chest like you were a child huddled in the corner.

Natasha closes the door behind her, her eyes taking in your skin that was shining under the warm light. The way the warm tones were reflecting off your face, a picture of innocence that she knew better than to fall for.

Never.

She was dressed in a tank top underneath her usual leather jacket, and some fitted black pants that had more than two pockets which was probably the reason she bought it in the first place.

Despite the way she was looking at you, eyes filled with fire that you weren't quite sure if it's fuelled by anger or arousal, you still felt giddy and excited at what was to come.

“What were you thinking?” she asked, dropping her phone and watch on the vanity table before she crossed the room over to you.

“I was thinking that I shouldn’t be restricted in how I dress in my own home,” which was true.

You shouldn't be restricted on how you dress in your own home, and to be fair the presence of other people in your house isn't restricting how you dress in which you need to appear 'modest' for them.

No, it was entirely because your girlfriend is possessive.

Natasha loves to claim you.

Not in a toxic way like Viper did, but rather in a 'you belong with me and I want to be the only one that can see you in your best and worst'. You suppose it was sweet, if not a little hot.

She doesn't stop you from dressing however you want, but this…

This, you know for sure, gets on her nerves.

Which was exactly why you did it.

“You’re not dressed.”

You put your legs down and drops your phone on the side table, “Exactly! It’s so hot today, I couldn’t help but go bare naked in this weather.”

She walks over and stands right in front of you, forcing you to look up at her. You were tempted to lean into her, to rub your face at her crotch before giving her the infamous puppy eyes that you know she finds irresistible.

But you refrained yourself.

You haven't quite figure out how she's feeling right now, and you don't exactly want a full on punishment tonight.

No, tonight should be fun.

So you look up at her and spread your legs before your hands linked behind her ass to pull her in closer to you, letting her stand right between your legs.

She lets you do all of that, eyes shining with nonchalance that you absolutely adore for some reason, before her hand comes up to caress your cheek.

She's thinking, you could tell.

Probably wondering how she should deal with you.

Her hand glides down your face, and grips your jaw, forcing you to crane your neck back further, “I should spank your ass raw for that little stunt you just pulled.”

Keyword, should.

Meaning she's not angry.

Because if she was…you know you'd already be in her lap and crying for mercy.

“At least now I get what I’ve been asking for, for weeks,” you were being bold.

But she wasn't angry, and you really hope you got your point across.

She visibly paused, her hand soften for a second before a smile breaks out.

Huffing out a laugh, “You are such a brat.”

Natasha will admit that she never expected you to pull off something like this just to get your point across, but it is sort of her fault for not taking your complaints seriously.

You told her you didn't want the people in the house.

Told her why you hated it and how you've missed her.

She thought it was just you being needy as usual, but then of course you did mention to Kate that you hated seeing Natasha stressed out all the time and how working at home with everyone made all the lines blurred for her.

Kate let it slip to Clint this morning over breakfast, who let it slip to Yelena while they were out to make a record check on inventory, who let it slip to Natasha when they were both in the garden outside catching a breath before dinner.

“You love that about me,” which was true.

She loves everything about you, but the way in which your personality challenges hers, the way you are so unapologetic about who you are, she fucking loves that part of you.

Taking a step back, she gestured for you to stand up, which you do.

“I do, but-” she spins you around and have your naked front pressed against the balcony glass in two seconds, “you do need to be punished for that little act.”

The glass was cold against your skin, her body firmly against yours from the back, warm and so…clothed. You could feel your nipples hardening, your knees struggling to not buckle under your current position.

She always finds a way to manhandle you like it was effortless, and it drives you insane.

Pressing a leg in between yours, she pushes you slightly so you were grinding on her thigh. The rough texture of her pants running over your folds, satisfying an ache that you've been feeling in your body since you stared in the mirror this morning.

One hand wrapped around your neck and the other sliding down to your folds, she allows two fingers to run across them while grazing over your clit, gently, “So wet, and I haven’t even done anything yet. Did you get wet showing off your body to my people?”

“No Natty-” her hand tighten around your neck, forcing a gasp out from you.

You realised your mistake the moment she restricted your airway.

An honest mistake.

"Who?" her voice growls out, sending shivers down your spine.

“Sorry daddy!” your voice forced, as your body arched further back into her as apology.

Pleased, her hand loosens around your neck once again, but still firmly putting pressure on it enough for you to remember your place.

“Hmmm, you’re a little exhibitionist? Is that it?” her voice was back to teasing, a tilt at the end of the question that tells you she's smirking even without the reflection on the balcony that shows you how smug she's feeling right now.

Maintaining eye contact - that was something that your girlfriend loves whenever you're in a position like this, you try to shake your head as best as you could, "No- no-"

"No? So you don't want me to fuck you in front of the balcony right now? Just in case someone catches us? I could stop…" she trails off, and you knew what she was doing.

Fuck, you knew that she's manipulating you, and yet you choose to fall for it once again.

"No, daddy please!"

You're way too horny right now.

If she stops and leaves you hanging, you might combust into space dust, you're sure of it.

"So are you or are you not an exhibitionist?"

A trick question.

If you answered yes, then it means that your stunt was intentional and deserves punishment; if you answered no, then she stops right now and leaves you high and dry with no release.

Your brain was slowly overpowered by the heat pooling in your body and the warmth you feel radiating from your girlfriend, but you still can come up with a smart answer that could surprise her.

"I'm whatever you want me to be, daddy."

And just like that, the ball is back in her court.

Giving her full control once again.

Natasha wants to scream.

You're so perfect.

Your submission always so sweet.

She's constantly high on it, and still craving for more.

Addicted.

"Well then princess, one edge for every stunt you pulled today sounds fair, yes?" Her voice was right behind your ear, husky tone sending chills over your body.

Fuck…edging always ends with a banger orgasm.

Or in your case tonight, multiple ones.

You've been disappointed by many people in your life, to the point where you've learned to not have expectations when it comes to…certain things.

You don't apply this motto in other parts of your life. You have high expectations when it comes to the people you date (Viper does not count, he wasn't your decision), you have high expectations when it comes to friendships, and you have high expectations in yourself as well.

But when it comes to important dates…you can't help but shake the way your mind and heart will actively tell you to not expect anything from anyone. Not on your birthday, not on any anniversary, not on any other festivities.

Nights spent crying into your pillow when you were younger or days spent waiting for people to notice the importance of it…it was pitiful.

Pathetic even.

And so, you don't expect anything from other people anymore.

Save yourself the heartache.

But you really should've expected your girlfriend - who you've been dating for months now, to surprise you.

You woke up to breakfast in bed and your girlfriend gently kissing all over your face.

"Mhmm…morning…" you mumbled out, giggling when you feel her fingers trailing down your sides.

You open your eyes and see her green ones gazing down at you lovingly, "Good morning Princess…"

Giving you a final kiss on the corner of your mouth, she pushes herself up on her palms, "You didn't even stir when I brought in the food I thought you were in a coma."

"Breakfast?" you follow her lead and sit up in the bed, seeing the tray of food that was at the foot of the bed.

You try to rub the sleep away from your eyes, eyes furrowed, and she smiles at the way you can't seem to hide the very small part of you that hates being waken up.

She stands up from the bed, hand going to the back of your neck for a little scratch, "I planned a full day of fun for us, happy Valentine's Day princess."

You smile, the corners of your lips lifting up despite your efforts to not show how much this is affecting you, "You didn't need to do that…"

You tried to sound dismissive, but you weren't fooling anyone.

She quirks an eyebrow and looks at you expectantly. Tilting your head up towards her, she leans down and gives you another kiss.

"Thank you Natty," and you're lucky Natasha had some sense of self-control or you weren't leaving that bed until she exhausted you out given how cute and soft you looked in that moment.

"Come on, Colette made your favorite!" she teased, rolling the food tray closer to the bed.

"Small fluffy pancakes?"

"Only the best for my princess."

You dive into the stack of miniature sized pancakes that you love. As expected, it was drenched in maple syrup and you can see the hint of melted butter on top of it. It tastes incredible, anything that comes out from Colette's kitchen is no less than perfection.

You were so indulged in the breakfast that you didn't even notice Natasha had slipped behind you after grabbing something from the night stand, until you felt her hands linking something on your neck.

"What-?" You look down as her hands finish locking the clasp in place, hands lifting up the little star pendant that had your girlfriend's initials engraved in the middle. It was nothing extravagant, which was precisely the type of jewellery that you'd wear on a daily basis.

"Happy Valentine's Day princess. I hope you'll wear this for me everyday," her voice was soft, but it didn't fool you.

This is as much a gift as it is a claim.

You kinda like it.

And you were glad she didn't buy something overly expensive like a diamond or gold plated necklace. Things that costs a fortune always ends up at the back of your jewellery box.

You hated feeling like a jewellery stand made just to display your partner's wealth.

Your fingers caress the pendant as you take in the star, remembering the one time you told her that you love the stars in the sky and always find them calming the way they twinkle and just exist in a sea of other stars.

Eyes glinting as you turn around to look at her, "N as in Nroy?"

You're lucky you're cute.

She huffs out a laugh, unsure whether to spank you or kiss you, "If you wanna belong to a basketball frat boy with the emotional maturity of a peanut, you can."

"No! You're stuck with me, forever and ever."

It was kind of concerning, the way your girlfriend isn't even doing anything but looking down at you while her hand fiddles with the pendant. But something in the way she looks at you, her gaze…the intensity of it.

It makes your insides squirm and before you know it, you're shying away from her eyes and struggling to hide the smile threatening to overtake your face.

Instead you opted to bury your face in the crook of her neck while you take in her scent. She must've showered before she brought breakfast cause she smells wonderful.

A little nuzzle and you feel her hand moving to the back of your neck, giving it soft scratches like how she knows you love.

"Thank you daddy," came your soft voice, muffled by her shirt.

Your hand snake up her back and she grabs it before you go any further, "Don't start…"

Party pooper.

"What are we doing after breakfast?" you opted to ask instead.

"That's the only free time where I didn't plan anything. We have lunch at about 1 later, so that gives us a little under 2 hours of free time after breakfast, do you have something in mind?" she asks as she takes a bite of the pancakes you feed her.

You eyes gleam with mirth, "I can choose anything?"

And she recognises danger when she sees one.

Giving you a no limit option is definitely dangerous.

But she doesn't call you princess for no reason, she spoils you rotten everyday.

She squints playfully, "Within reason, yes."

You give yourself some time to think about it.

Anything within reason.

Well, the time frame is a bit tricky, a little under 2 hours…

Hmm…

You throw out sex, because you know damn well that Natasha had something planned for tonight that involves you screaming her name one way or another. You throw out driving somewhere because it's actually quite rare for the both of you to have time at home and just relax.

Relax…

Oh.

Actually…

You lean your head back onto her shoulder as you stab another piece of pancake, "Wanna see you workout."

You feel the vibration of her chuckle, "You could join me you know?"

"And miss the view? I don't think so Natty," you scoff at her, jokingly.

It's not a secret that you love watching her workout.

It doesn't help that she wears a sports bra and basketball shorts when she workout too. You can't help but stare at her toned arms while she lifts or works the punching bag; nor can you help yourself but fixate on the way sweat drips from her brow and down her torso when she's doing a full body workout.

You think she sometimes flexes on purpose.

But you're definitely not complaining.

"Alright, gym it is, my princess gets to decide."

You let out a little happy noise, knowing that you were always gonna get what you want.

It feels good to be the princess of the house.

"Blueberry?" you offer her a piece of the fruit from the plate.

She pinches your side, "Over my dead body."

"But I thought you love me!"

"And my love for you unfortunately has it's limits."

You let out an offended gasp and quickly the two of you were tangled on the bed play fighting, breakfast forgotten.

---

"Do you wanna try this princess?" Natasha asks as she got off the leg press machine.

She was all over the place today, hopping from machine to machine, not exactly over doing it, but rather letting you see how each machine worked while she showed off a little.

You throw her towel at her to wipe before grabbing the bottle of water, "That thing will fall and crush me into pieces."

You were fine just sitting here all pretty and occasionally handing her what she needs.

"I won't let that happen, also you're stronger than you think. You kick me in your sleep all the time," she teased.

You pour some water onto your palm from the bottle before flicking it at her, "I do not!"

She laughs as she uses the towel to wipe her face, "Come on, give it a try…"

You were gonna pout your way out until the gym door opened and a tall brunette walked in.

Perfect.

"Or…you could spar with Maria while I watch," you suggested.

Much like what you've seen from cartoons, Maria looked like a deer caught in headlight.

She paused her steps, "I came for a morning run."

"But it's Valentine's Day!" you pouted.

"That doesn't change things for me, I still want my treadmill warmup," she explains, slightly exasperated but amused by your theatrics nonetheless.

Natasha shakes her head, "You go warmup, I'll keep her entertained with the salmon ladder in the meantime."

You immediately lit up, "Ooohh now that's a good show."

The salmon ladder.

One of the best equipment your girlfriend have in the gym room. Seeing your girlfriend go up and down the ladder is probably the best past time you can think of. You've always had a thing for her arms, so that accompanied by the way her back muscles flex…

Gosh…

You're salivating and she hasn't even started yet.

You hear a puff of laughter from Maria, "Can't believe you're treating our boss like a monkey in the circus."

Natasha squinted, "You're in the same circus, Hill."

The taller brunette smirks as she got on the treadmill, "Ah, but if I beat you later then I'm the ringmaster."

"You wish."

As expected, Maria got her ass handed to her by your girlfriend.

The spar was a quick twenty minutes one, with them going at each other after establishing the general rules. No aiming the head, no long lasting injuries, and no head between thighs take-downs.

You were furious and slightly jealous when you first saw Natasha take down some thug in the street using her thighs. It was a twist and a turn and suddenly the thugs were in a position you wish you were in.

No more!

If anyone's head is between Natasha's thighs, it should be yours only.

Maria gave Natasha a run for her money during the spar. She was taller and lands insanely strong punches, but your girlfriend was just that much more skilled. She uses her speed to the best of her advantage, and dodges Maria's punches most of the time.

That one hit on her side made you wince, but your girlfriend was grinning so you instead focus on the way they're both looking damn fit circling each other.

You might have had a dream about this once or twice.

Hmm.

The spar ended when Maria landed on her back the fourth time. "Why do I still agree to spar with you again, I've beaten you exactly one time when you were running on a fever and was out of your goddamn mind."

Natasha walks off the sparring mat and wipes the sweat off her face and neck, "I keep you on your toes, you like that Hill."

Maria stretches after a sip of water, "Maybe, but I need a shower."

She waves at you as she leaves, but you were busy staring at your girlfriend.

Maria got out of there before things got too heated.

"Was that a good show?" your girlfriend smirks at you.

The audacity.

"Mhmm…" you hum as you walk closer to her. The fire and intention in your eyes clear as day, but she likes to tease, "So you liked it?"

You growl before pulling her into your arms, sweaty body and all, "Less talk, more kiss," and your lips were on hers before she could object to it.

Ah, the sweetness (your lust) of her harvest (working out), she smiles into the kiss. A quick pat on your lower back, and you jumped up into her arms. Her hands supporting your thighs as your hands link behind her neck, the passionate kiss never once pausing.

As she carries you to the corner of the gym with the bench press, she pulls back resulting in a whine from your throat, "But princess, don't you like it when I talk?"

---

You and Natasha barely made it to the restaurant for the lunch reservation.

You blame Natasha for starting round 3 in the bathroom which resulted in you on your knees while warm water pour down your back, your head between her thighs as she tries her best to not hurt you from gripping onto your hair too harshly.

The noises she made in the bathroom almost made you start round 4, but alas, you truly didn't have enough time to properly appreciate her in that setting.

There's always tonight.

She walks with you toward a little corner shop in the mall, "You've been wanting to try this for a while, didn't you?"

You jump a little when you recognise tbe shop and the line of people outside, "People spend hours lining up for the japanese burger rice here!"

"Come on, I got us a table for an hour."

It was as good as you expected.

The patty was juicy and the raw egg mixed with the rice was like a match made in heaven. Your girlfriend also got a plate of sushi with your favorites in it.

The only con is probably how stuffy and packed the place was.

It sucks to be a famous restaurant.

"I'll wait for you outside? It's getting stuffy in here," you said as you were waiting in line with Natasha to pay.

She knew you were at the end of your patience and the noises were slowly getting to you as well, so she nodded and gave you a quick kiss before you dipped out of the place.

When she was done with the bill, she stepped out the restaurant but was unable to locate you among all the people lining up.

Maybe you went further away to distance yourself from the noise?

"Hi," you tried to scare her by popping up behind her, but she wasn't someone that scares easily.

Boring.

You reveal the main reason you left the restaurant. Yes you were feeling annoyed at the people and the noises, but more than that you saw the florist next door and really wanted to get something for your girlfriend.

"What's this?" She asked, as if the bouquet of white and red roses weren't obvious.

"Flowers."

"For me?"

It was such an innocent question, and it made you question if you've been neglecting your girlfriend.

You shake it off before your mood gets affected, "Yeah, they're pretty, like you!"

Just like that, and you got your girlfriend smiling like an idiot.

She isn't someone that needed to be showered with gifts or materialistic things. She can get whatever she wants with no issue. Money isn't a problem for her, so she never find your lack of gifts to be anything worth noting.

You show your commitment to the relationship in other ways. Like the way you give her your time and presence. Or how you make efforts to fit in with her family — not just her actual family, but her extended one as well.

But the way you surprise her with little things like this, and the way your reasoning is so simple (they're pretty, like you!), makes her fall that much more in love with you.

You're not giving her flowers because it's Valentine's Day, not even because you feel like you had to after all she planned for today, but purely because you wanted to do it.

Just because.

Lord have mercy, Natasha wants to kiss you and never stop.

"Thank you princess," was what she said instead, taking the bouquet and placing a gentle kiss on your forehead.

She sees a paper bag filled with roses, all individually wrapper and quirked her eyebrow, "And what are these?"

"Also flowers."

She refrains herself from smacking your ass, "I can see that, who are these for?"

Your eyes lit up, "Everyone! They're pretty too! But these were the nicest, and they match your shirt today."

She looks down at her dark red and white striped shirt, and can't help but bury her face into your hair, mumbling, "You're so cute."

The driver picked you two up, because I'm not driving on Valentine's Day princess,the traffic and parking will make me commit murder. He dropped you two off at a fragrance shop, for the perfume making workshop that Natasha signed up for the both of you.

You got off the car after giving him one of the roses, and receiving a very confused 'thank you?' in return.

You weren't huge on perfume, which Natasha knew, but the workshop is something you mentioned about wanting to try. You might not be a scent freak like your girlfriend, but you can appreciate a nice smelling perfume.

You have your own two bottles at home that you use interchangeably, while Natasha has a whole shelve of it.

"I think my nose is broken," was your comment after about half an hour of smelling different scents.

If you had to smell another bottle, you might lose your nose.

Natasha just laughs at your misery, knowing that the scent you end up mixing might not smell like how you expected it to, so this whole thing is mainly for the expereince, but she can tell you're having fun measuring and mixing things together.

---

"Thank…you?" was the general response from the people that received the roses from you. Most of them also steals a glance from Natasha to make sure they weren't about to get shot for taking a flower from you, on Valentine's Day no less.

"You're welcome!" you paid no mind to their confusion.

It was just a nice little thing you wanted to do, knowing that most of them…are single.

Skipping into the living room, you find the TV on with the Overcooked game paused, and the whole Switch setup laid on the floor. Clearly some of the members were spending the day here.

It doesn't happen all the time. Most of them do have their own place, but Yelena crashes at this house when she wants to, and she of course has her own room. The others will stay in the guest room whenever they need to stay here.

The other staff like Colette or Charlie have their own staff building down the street, but those who are on duty whenever things are tense will also be living in the guest rooms, operating on different shifts.

Rounding the corner of the kitchen, you see a familiar face, "Kate! I got you this!"

Taking the rose from you, she gives you a warm hug, "Aw man, you're the best! Happy Valentine's Day!"

You beam at her as you look around for your next target, "Bucky!"

He walks over at your call, and stares at you rather confusingly when you hand him the rose.

It was almost cute, the way he looks at your girlfriend for direction.

Clearly, this man has not received a flower in his life, which is just so sad.

"She got everyone flowers," your girlfriend explains, to which he had to take another second to process.

But once he did, you got a rare smile from the man, "Thanks doll."

"Doll?"

You tilt your head, not sure what he meant by that.

"Y'know, like…a cute little thing."

Oh.

Did he just call you cute?

You were about to tease him about that, but your girlfriend's low growl, "No," stopped you before you could throw a quip at him.

You manage to catch the way her lips were pursed and internally grin at the possessiveness that you oh so love seeing on her.

She's opinionated at how other people treat you.

It feels good, if not a little hot, to have someone be so protective over you.

You don't hate the nickname from Bucky, but if your girlfriend feels like it undermines or infantilize you somehow, she'd put a stop at it.

Clearly something about 'doll' pisses her off.

Probably the objectification if you think about it.

If anyone's calling you 'doll' it should probably be her - but you've made it known how much you love being her 'princess' so that nickname is clearly not going anywhere.

"Right, sorry boss. Thank you, your highness," and he rightfully got out of there before he said another wrong thing.

You hear the front door open and the familiar combat boots on the floor before you even saw her.

The blonde was dumping bags of chips on the couch when you rounded out back to the living room, "Yelena!"

You all but ran towards her, before tackling her in a hug and giving her the rose, "My favorite person, what's this?"

"A flower for you! Happy Valentine's Day!"

She takes the flower and nudges your side, "Pfft, the same as Kate Bishop? I thought I was your favorite."

Kate snickered from the corner of her seat, eyes fixated on the screen as she chooses a new Avatar for the game.

You send Yelena a wink, "This is my favorite one out of the bunch, it has more leaves!"

"Aha! You hear that Kate Bishop?"

"Traitor!"

"Sorry!"

---

Dinner was a simple and quiet affair.

She cleared out the house and had Colette prepare your favorite meal for you. You shared the meal with her in the dining room, filled with scented candles, while engaging in little banters that she loves you for.

You were sure she's planning something else with the way she only drank a glass of red wine and nothing more than that. She just smirks at you whenever you raise your brow at her, silently asking what's going to happen next.

She's infuriating.

And you love her for it.

"Where are we going?" you asked once again, you hand gripping her forearm as you pout and look up at her, refusing to go change despite her request.

She laughs and pries her hand away from your grip, "Pouting won't make me ruin the surprise for you. Dress warmly and I promise it will be fun for you okay?"

"I don't like surprises," you huff out.

She knows you too well by now to know that you don't necessarily mean it.

"No, you don't like poorly planned surprises. I however, am a master at keeping things a secret, and I am telling you right now that you need to dress warmly, but you won't need to worry about meeting other people. It'll just be the two of us, is that good enough for you princess?"

That was the way to calm you down. Important information sprinkled in and letting you know just enough about what to expect.

Surprising you with things like people and other variables is just a one way ticket to a foul mood. The best is to let you know enough about what to expect - especially about things that you need to prepare for, like meeting people or going to certain places - and you'll be fine with being kept in the dark about what's about to happen.

There is enough trust between you two for that at least.

Anyone else and you'd be demanding for an explanation.

"Fine, only cause you beat Maria this morning," you drag your feet towards the wardrobe.

"Thank you. Now go get that thick fluffy jacket you've been wanting to wear."

Her voice was teasing, but inside, Natasha was nervous for what she's about to do.

You changed and got your jacket like Natasha asked. You see that she's also dressed warmly with a thick leather jacket and a bag of stuff that she put in the car before you were ready. You tried to peek into it when she passed, but she wouldn't let you, so you pouted, again.

Once you're both ready, you got in the passenger seat and she started driving out from the city.

It took thirty minutes for you to run out of your patience and finally asked, “Is this the part where you finally reveal your evil plan to kidnap and murder me in the dark, cause it feels like it."

You didn't know where you were going, it was out from the city, and the streets were dark. It was also close to midnight, so it felt chilly even without the windows down.

"I could, but I don't think I want to…yet," was her playful answer.

"That's reassuring."

The soft music playing and the way her hand finds yours in your lap, gave you enough reassurance to not feel scared. But it was still nerve-wracking not knowing what's going to happen.

After another half an hour of bumpy roads, and you're sure you saw a few road kills on the way, she finally parked in an open space…somewhere.

You honestly have no idea where the fuck you're at, it was so dark even with the headlights not turned off yet.

"You better not have brought me out here just to camp. I can't sleep in the wild, I'd die, the bears will get to me, I'm too attractive for them not to try," you tried to joke, not knowing what your girlfriend could have planned for you other than a camp.

She wouldn't bring you out here to camp…right?

You're definitely not dressed for the occasion.

She smiles before turning off the car and getting down, you hesitantly open your side of the door as well, hands digging into your pockets for your phone so you'd have a flashlight to see.

She grabs your hands before you could turn on the light, instead leading you down the car and standing in the middle of the space.

"You once told me that you're in love with the stars, that the idea of outer space and the universe being your favorite muse. The city is never a good place for it, but here…the sky full of stars and the milky way is all yours to love."

You finally look up for the first time, not even realizing that the lack of light around you gave you the perfect view for the night sky.

The little dots and the visible milky way made you tear up immediately.

You had to blink a few time to actually get used to the darkness, but once you did, the sky was as breathtaking as you can imagine.

Natasha gives you some time to take in the sky, but her soft voice keeps you grounded from the vastness of the world, "This place is one of the international dark sky reserves. It's normally a public star gazing location, but it is lightly governed by one of the NGO's to ensure the dark sky quality and that star-gazing tours aren't disrupting it."

You can hardly pull your eyes off of the sky, mesmerized by how pretty the galaxy is. The faint color of the milky way, the myriad stars that lights up the darkness upon you, the way some of them twinkle like they're speaking at you…

"I pulled some strings. Just for tonight, this sky is all yours," her voice trails off.

Hands slightly shaking as they find their way into yours once again, you can tell that your girlfriend is nervous.

But for what?

She's…insane.

"You bought me a night with the stars? You're fucking insane…" you voiced out for the first time since stepping down of the car.

Your tears were pouring down your face, heart overwhelmed by how much you love Natasha right now.

You've mentioned your love at the night sky once.

Telling her about how you used to gaze up at the sky hoping to see the stars, but boarding school wasn't exactly a place or time where you can just hop out and star-gaze. Even after that, you never really had a chance to just…try.

This woman is giving you a chance to do something you've wanted to do since you were young.

No questions, no fuss, no annoyance.

Just her working for god knows how long to plan this out…

"I- princess?"

You were openly sobbing at this point.

No one, and I mean no one in your whole life has even paid so much thought into you. Not for your birthday, not for any celebration, and certainly not just because.

But Natasha?

You expected nothing this morning, and instead she gave you everything you could ever hope for, and more.

Your sobs were coming out uncontrollably, hands gripping on her jacket tightly while you bury your head into her shoulders.

After all the years of being disappointed. All the tears. All the nights spent crying into your pillow.

It felt like coming home.

Like finally being somewhere that you belong.

Because she sees you.

She cares about you.

She loves you.

Taking your tears as a negative sign, your girlfriend started rambling just in case she misunderstood what you'd wanted, or if this might have triggered some bad memories for you.

"I- I was gonna buy you a star, in fact Yelena gave me that idea, but then I know how much you've wanted to try star gazing, so I just got this whole place to ourselves, bought a telescope, I even got Maria to teach me about the stars and stuff," she rambles as she tries to get you to look at her.

But your grip on her was strong, way stronger than what she's used to, so instead she runs her hand over your back, trying to sooth you as best as she could. "But- but if you want, I could still buy you a star, however many you want. It's surprisingly easy to get them anyway."

Your sobs weren't stopping. It wasn't the quiet type, you were struggling to breathe just trying to process all the feelings in you.

And Natasha was still not used to you crying.

Sure, you tear up when you get angry, drop a tear or two when you're watching something particularly emotional, but completely breaking down and sobbing in her arms?

This is a first.

Did she mess up?

"C'mere…shhh…" she leads you towards the car, and you let her.

Opening the passenger door, leading the both of you to sit down - while preventing you from knocking your head and pushing the seat back with just one hand (without watching too!), gathering you fully into her arms, you finally settled after another five minutes of wetting her shoulder.

When you were finally no longer dropping tears, and instead just sniffling into her, she slowly pries you away from her, hands wiping away the tears on your cheek, "…are these…good tears or like…you can't believe my audacity tears or like…I should've done better tears…?"

She likes to think that if you're displeased about this, you'd be yelling at her instead.

Looking at her - with the help of the light inside the car, you can finally see her face.

The green eyes that you fall more in love with every time you see, looking at you so sincerely that you want to kiss her and never let go.

"I fucking love you, you idiot," and you did just that.

Kissing her like you want to forget about everything and everyone else.

Which isn't far from the truth.

This is the woman that bought you a night with the sky.

The woman that for some reason chose you out of all people.

When she was running out of breath, she pulls away, "…so good tears?"

You lightly push her shoulders in retort, lips pouting and brows furrowing.

She wants to kiss you again.

Eyes red, cheeks puffy and wet, hair a mess…

She falls more in love with you by the second.

"Say it back," you demanded.

You didn't need her to say it back. She's always proven it by her actions.

"I love you, princess."

"I know."

I know.

I never doubted you.

I love you more.

I want to love you more.

I will love you more.

Everyone always seemed so close, so tight-knit, so loyal.

"Princess, we're gonna have to cancel dinner. I need to deal with this fuckery so I'm not gonna be back till late night okay?" she was talking in a rush, gathering things into her bag as the others were also stuffing things and laptops into bags.

You were standing by the door, "I heard from Carol that Yelena got caught. Do you need my help?" you asked, walking towards her knowing how much Yelena means to your girlfriend.

She paused, and cup your cheek with her palm, "You're sweet, but I'll handle this alright? Just need to find a fucking competent lawyer since ours is compromised."

You bit your lip, "You know who can help…"

She sighs, "I'm not getting help from Stark. He'd never agree to it anyway, since he hates me. I'll talk to you soon okay, love you!" and with that, she was out the house.

The rest of the crew followed her and soon it was just you left in the room. You bit your lip, mind going deep into thought.

He is the logical choice.

He was the best in dealing with cases like these, and his connections - legally and illegally, were something that Natasha doesn't have access to yet. It helps that he is crazy smart when it comes to finding loopholes and looking at cases from a different perspective.

It just happens that your girlfriend and him don't exactly see eye to eye.

They're not enemies, both of them were far too smart to know that creating enemies like this would bite them in the ass one day, but Natasha is also not desperate enough to get his help yet.

His help never comes without a price.

He's a shark like that.

But you also love Yelena.

And for some reason, you don't hate Stark.

And you're not as prideful as your girlfriend.

So you got your phone, and called a number.

"Get me a meeting with Tony Stark."

---

His office, much like his personality, is fancy to a fault. It was a tower in the middle of the CBD area of the city, with his last name plastered at the top like some sort of fancy Christmas ornament.

Stark works in many different sectors, technology, security, intelligence, but most importantly, he is a damn good lawyer. He was some sort of genius, having completed his IT and engineering studies in MIT at the young age of 15, and then he proceeded to join law school for fun. He once said in an interview that his motivation back then was because he watched some lawyer TV show that made him think it'd be fun to become a lawyer.

His company is one of the foremost leading ones in the tech industry, and the security systems that his company offers are also top of the line - he's lucky that Pepper Potts is just as smart as he is, or the company would've crashed years ago. But being Tony Stark, he became a lawyer and got his hands dirty in the not-so legal side of things too.

Connections, business deals, favors…things are not so black and white for him when it comes to dealing with a case. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty, as long as he wins. Everyone always has mixed feelings about Stark. He made a name for himself for being an absolute genius, but also kind of ruined it by being an asshole most times.

He was self-centred and arrogant, but you suppose one can argue that he's just confident in himself.

You didn't hate him.

No.

Growing up in your family, you've met him many times. Hard not to, when he's the go-to person for a business deal and your mother also had multiple deals with him in the past.

He was older than you by about a decade, so when you started attending dinners and functions with your mother, he's been playing in the field for years already. He was flirty, sometimes a little inappropriate, but he's never been rude to you.

And you can honestly respect someone who's not afraid to hide who they are and uncaring if they're being a little bit annoying to some people. Sure, he's not the easiest person to deal with but he's also surprisingly quite straight-forward.

You like that about him.

He doesn't hide, doesn't act.

Better than dealing with people who are two-faced and a lying piece of shit honestly.

You walked into his office and was met with the genius himself, "Well if it isn't the streets' princess."

He was sat behind his wooden desk, in a clean white shirt with a dark blue vest, looking as smug as you remembered him. You can appreciate a man that dresses well. "Stark. It's been a while."

"Word on the street is that you've cozied up with Romanoff," he says, you can practically see the way his eyes are vibrating with mirth.

You roll your eyes, "You know it's a fact, we've never tried to hide it."

He laughs, annoyingly charming, "I never expected it to be honest, she was here for what? Three months? And immediately got you right from under Viper's thumb."

You huffed, a little annoyed by him and his statement, "I got myself out. Whatever happened to him after I left is none of my business."

It took you multiple months of sleepless nights to get yourself out from under that man's thumb, you wouldn't let people take away that credit which is rightfully yours.

The aftermath though, yeah Natasha can deal with that.

You didn't know much about it, neither do you care to know about it. The less you know about how Natasha dealt with Viper, the better.

Tony always liked you, despite the differences between you two.

It was a case of mutual respect that was just polite enough to the point where you can enjoy a quick banter with him whenever you meet.

"So? What can I do for your highness?" he asks, feigning innocence.

You push the chair further out from the table, leaning back and crossing your legs. Your eyes hardened when it locked onto him and he smiles internally at how much you've taken on your girlfriend's mannerism.

He never expected you and Romanoff, but then again, you did always manage to surprise him. It was his favorite part about you, unpredictable and actions always tinged with a smidge of rebellion.

"You know why I'm here," your patience is basically non-existent, all you cared about is getting Yelena out, and the sooner the better.

"I heard, Belova got caught? The streets been buzzing with a bunch of stories," it was a statement and a question bundled into one sentence.

You're sure ever since the thing happened that people have been spreading rumours. It was how the business work, people hearing from people that heard from other people. Never the truth, though sometimes it could be close.

You wonder if Natasha would be mad that you tell Stark about it, but then again, he'd need to know about it if he were to help, "Internal frame job."

He didn't hide his surprise, although it's common for betrayal to happen in this line, the Romanoff mob had always been pretty solid and tight. He can imagine the chaos that's happening right now with Romanoff trying to get Belova out and to keep the situation from deteriorating any further.

She'd also be trying to get to the root of the problem, fish out all possible accomplices and cut off the possibility of other moles in the hierarchy.

You give him a brief summary of the situation, from what you've heard from Carol. Something about a mole in the legal team and a frame job that got Yelena caught in the middle of the action.

Kate was at the scene too but Yelena managed to get her to fuck off when she started feeling suspicious, the brunette didn't know any better and the last you saw her she was being dragged by Clint, likely to stop her guilt from consuming her.

Tony started scribbling notes on his whiteboard as you told him about the situation, it was a mess of lines and sloppy handwriting that might put a doctor's writing to shame. You hear him mumbling to himself as you talk, but he never stopped you so you kept going.

You've never really seen him work so seeing him go all genius and incoherent (to you at least) was interesting. After a bit of back and forth, with you trying your best to answer his questions despite not knowing the full details, he nods.

"Hmm, tricky, but not impossible. Not for me anyway," he smirks.

You sigh, "Just name your price Stark, I'm not in the mood for games."

And then came your favorite and least favorite part of this, making a deal with the devil.

"Now why would I help them? Romanoff has made it clear that she hates my guts. I don't make it a habit to work for people who wouldn't resist to kill me when given the chance," well at least he was self-aware.

You take a sip of the wine that he put in front of you - ooh he gave you the good stuff, "She doesn't hate you, she finds you annoying. Which is a common sentiment for many of us."

He laughs, with a grin that you want to wipe off his face, "You're not helping your case. And considering that you're here and Romanoff isn't, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that you're here on your own. She doesn't even know you're here, does she?"

You chuckle, the low vibrato sending shivers down his spine.

Yeah, you're really taking on Romanoff's mannerism, a bit too much.

"You both have egos as big as fucking Russia, so clearly I'm the only adult here," the irony is not lost on him, you are the youngest here. Not by a lot when compared to your girlfriend, but still.

He waves your statement off, "Still not convincing why I should help you get Belova out."

You uncross your legs, straightens your posture and fix him with another glare, "Everything comes with a price for you Stark, just name it. I know you probably had one in mind the moment I set up this meeting."

The devil grinned, "You know what I want."

Fuck.

You had wondered if he'd still ask for it, you'd hope not.

Clearly the devil is here to make your life difficult once again.

You kept your reaction to a minimal, not wanting him to see how you're affected by this, "Still? After all these years and you still want it?"

"I've got my eyes on it since day one. Your mother is the only obstacle between me and that piece of land," his voice dropped, and you can tell that he's rather serious about this.

You wonder if he'd been jumping up and down cheering when you set up this meeting, knowing that he'll likely get what he wants after so many years.

You let out a breath, "My mother also finds you insufferable. Which is why she's kept it to herself for so many years."

This was a long story.

Well, the story itself is short, but it's been going on for years.

Your mother had a piece of land that was under her name, something that your father bought long before you were even born that was located at the upper hills of the city.

For some reason unbeknown to you, Stark has been eyeing it for years. Your mother didn't exactly have plans for it, it's just been sitting there for years. But, you suppose you inherited your rebellious nature from her, she refuses to sell that land to him every time he asks.

They weren't enemies, nor did they have any dramatic beef, your mother just didn't like him very much - you guessed it was because he's snarky and sarcastic. And while she's had a few business deals with him, she also doesn't rely on Stark for anything in her business, so she can afford to piss him off a little like this.

"Help me out here kid, I've been eyeing that land since I first moved here. And it's not like your mother is doing anything with it, I'm even offering to pay ten percent above current market price. A lot of people would take that deal in a heartbeat," he's not wrong.

From a business perspective, there was no reason not to take the deal, your mother would get a decent price and her relationship with Stark would be better, which doesn't mean much for now but you never know when you might need Stark.

Like how you need him to get Yelena out right now.

Fuck.

Resigned, you bit the inside of your cheek, "How long do you need to get her out?"

He knew he checked your mate, shot your goal, whatever fucking game term you wanna use, point is he's winning and he knows it.

Annoyingly so.

"Half a day," came his cheeky retort.

You stood up, leaning over the desk, "Draw up the contract, I want to see her in four hours and if not you can kiss that land goodbye, I'll tell mother to sell it to Hammer instead."

You always love playing with fire.

He grins, "I knew I liked you for a reason. If I get her out and that land isn't mine by tomorrow noon, I will make sure she goes back in by sunset, you know that right?"

The devil also loves playing with fire.

If you two were to ever team up, you probably could burn down countries and regimes overnight.

---

Natasha was at the station, having heated arguments with the cops there about illegal detainment. While the frame job was something that they didn't see coming, they did make sure to always have contingency plans. Yelena might be caught on the scene, but her hands are clean as far as evidence goes.

Natasha was about to kick someone's ass when he came strolling into the station as if he owned the place.

Everyone in the room stopped their bickering when he showed up, knowing that he's here for serious business when he has his suit on and briefcase in hand.

"Stark?" you heard your girlfriend's voice before you even entered the room.

The lawyer sets his briefcase down on the table at the side, "Romanoff, haven't seen you since the conference four months ago."

"What are you doing here?" and the question was directed to both Stark and you, when she saw you strutting into the place three paces behind Stark.

Tony fiddles with the annoying glasses he had on, "Getting your sister out."

"I didn't ask for your help," ah yes.

Your girlfriend's ego.

Forgot to deal with that first.

At least the lawyer didn't seem to take it too personally, "I'm in a charitable mood."

"I'm not taking whatever deal you have in mind, don't play games Stark," she snarked, walking towards you and pulling you close to her.

It was her way to check over you and make sure that you're safe. She doesn't know why you're here, or why you appeared with Stark but she also doesn't have time to question now.

Stark sits down at the table, his nose twitching with the stuffiness of the place, "You know, you're lucky your girlfriend is cute, and smart. I'm your sister's only chance of getting out right now, do you really wanna get in my way?"

That was your cue to interfere before someone loses a limb, probably Stark. You grabbed Natasha's hand, and gave her a look.

"Princess…"

You just shook your head, "I made a deal with him."

She didn't hide her distaste at that, nor did she hide the fact that she doesn't trust him, "You know what kinda person he is…"

But you know what you're getting into when you set up that meeting.

And this was for Yelena, you won't let Natasha's ego get in the way.

"Of course I do," you locked eyes with Natasha, and the both of you had a silent conversation.

This happens quite often, mostly in front of Natasha's subordinates. And you just know the others are in the background just waiting for the result of the conversation between you and Natasha.

Though if you're being honest, you rarely lose.

You do love having your girlfriend wrapped around your fingers.

It mostly comes down to you reminding Natasha who you are, what you've done, and that she should trust you.

She sighs, and the others knew that Stark is their plan now.

The cops scrambled in the background, knowing that things are about to be ten times harder for them, while Stark grinned and cracked his knuckles, "Great. Where's your legal team? Or whatever's left of it. I'll need some information before I can do anything."

Natasha bit her lip to stop herself from bantering with him, instead she nods towards the one person she trusts to deal with Tony Stark, "Clint."

He has more patience than most of the others in the mob. He's also dealt with Tony Stark before, and they bond over horrible jokes sometimes. If anyone can handle Stark's temperament and attitude without wanting to kill him, it's Clint.

"Legolas, I've missed you," he was led to the other room by Clint.

"Harvey Specter, nice suit."

"Rude, I'm way better than that guy, and better looking."

You hear Clint's snicker before they left the space altogether.

---

Your girlfriend wasted no time to pull you into the car while you guys let Stark do his thing. You expected it, knew that your girlfriend is dying to find out what the fuck you did.

She wasn't rough, never. But she was insistent, and her face a little tight.

As soon as the door closes on the driver's side after she got in, "What did you do Princess?" Her voice wasn't exasperated, it was more…confused concern.

She was concerned, that much was clear.

Making a deal with Tony Stark isn't something that she thinks you should do, but then again, when have you ever let that stop you?

"That is between Stark and myself," you turn in the passenger seat to face her, eyes innocent and a little smile gracing your lips, much to her annoyance.

She sighs, "Princess…"

And you hear the undertone.

The 'I'm scared for you', the 'I need to know if I should kill Stark', the 'Did he hurt or threaten you?', and also the 'Be honest with me, please'.

You link your left hand with her right, and you feel her squeeze your hands just a little. It was a tiny reassurance, if it was anything at all.

"It's nothing. Just a business deal. Don't sweat over it," you hope you're coming across as nonchalant as much as you could.

It really wasn't something that she needs to stress about.

You're not in physical danger.

Just in an annoying position.

"What do you have that he wants?"

Well that was a little rude, you're not exactly a business mogul like her but you can hold your own if you want to. You just prefer to leave the boring business stuff to your girlfriend.

Although, she's not wrong here, "Not exactly something from me."

Her eyes harden for a split second before she forced them to relax, you've been getting better at catching her little micro expressions recently.

"From me then?"

You laugh, "No, I'd never make a deal on your behalf."

"Then what is it?" she sounds exhausted.

Well that makes the two of you.

It's been a long day of uncertainty and concern over one of the few people that can make you smile in the worst of times - Yelena just has that kind of effect over people.

You're also dreading the phone call with your mother that you'll need to make in a bit, so your emotions were just as messy as your girlfriend's right now.

"Can you just leave it Natty? It's a simple business deal, I'm not in any danger, he's not stupid enough to try anyway," you rolled your eyes as you add on the last part.

Truly, Stark would probably find ways to torture you, but he's not the kind to use…physical methods to get rid of his problems.

He's kind of an expert in other ways of torture - like mental and legal and psychological…he plays the long game. That's why the both of you get along, you like playing the long game too.

Seeing your girlfriend's hesitation, you pull out the big guns.

Jutting out your lips a little, you blink twice and then furrowed your brows, "Don't you trust me?"

Your voice tinged with that little bit of hurt, slipping in a tiny bit of vulnerability, and you have your girlfriend sighing once again, "Of course I do…"

Still got it.

God, you're good at this.

It's a little bit manipulative, but it's also the truth.

You would absolutely be crushed if you find out that your girlfriend don't trust you - though with how you're currently hiding something from her…hmm.

You shake away your thoughts before they distract you from the issue at hand, "Then trust that I'm not stupid and can handle myself. This isn't just your playing field. Don't forget how you built your empire."

That last part was said with a little bit of smug.

You still like to rub it in her face that you gave her the most crucial part of information that made her current empire. She's definitely worked her ass off in trying to secure her position, but god, without your part at the beginning? She'd probably still be trying to gain a foothold in this city.

Your girlfriend is always a good sport when it comes to you. She likes that her girlfriend is smart, and being reminded of that fact by you no less, brings her nothing but amusement, "You're right. I'm sorry, I just worry."

She runs her hand through her hair, and you find yourself smiling at the sight.

She's so pretty, even when she's tired.

"I know. He's not the best person to deal with, but he is right in saying that he's probably the only one that can get Yelena out right now," you said.

She huffs, irritation and annoyance at the situation coming out in waves, "Yeah, I tried calling a lot of the others but no one even considered taking on the case."

That sounds about right.

She gave your thigh a quick squeeze, "Thank you," before leaning over to give you a soft kiss.

You take in her warmth and her scent, the softness of her lips and the grip of her hand on your thigh. And suddenly the phone call doesn't seem as daunting or dreadful, because you knew why you had to do it.

"Yelena is my family too."

---

It took another few hours before Yelena was released. You don't fully understand what Stark did, but you know it took more than just him throwing legal terms and threatening to raise a case over the department that got her out.

You're no lawyer material, so you just accept it and was glad that Yelena was back and safe.

Your girlfriend was still at her office dealing with the consequences of the situation, vetting the legal team and trying to do damage control. Most of the others were with her, some dealing with the paperwork while some others were out getting more information on the mole.

You told her that you'd be getting dinner with a friend since she's still busy, she's not one to control your movements, so she just told you to be safe and you're on your way.

Your driver dropped you off at the restaurant - and of course it was the most high profile place your mother could think of, before you told him that you'll hitch a ride with your friend back home and to not wait up.

You knew what you were getting into, and you'd probably end up needing a drink or two before you go back tonight.

One starter later and you find yourself wanting to strangle Stark for making you do this.

Having dinner with your mother is just as dreadful as you remembered. Words that cut deeper than any knife your girlfriend owned, paired with the reminder of where you came from and why you spent years under a man that treated you like shit.

When she told you what she wanted in exchange for selling Stark that land - which she was very much against, she made that part very clear - you almost told her to keep the land.

This woman…

She's been waiting for this.

Waiting for you to crawl your way back to her.

And here you are.

With not much choice.

Fuck.

---

You were at the park, sitting on a bench.

You know you're being very stupid right now, with the dark sky looming over you and not much people that passes by the area.

It's dangerous to be out at 11pm.

Alone.

In the park.

Crying.

But fuck.

You really needed a minute after that disaster of a dinner.

The footsteps caught you off guard, but it was slow and intentional. Your sixth sense didn't send you bolting so you just took a deep breath before facing the person that stopped a few steps away from you.

You look up and see a familiar face, ignoring the tears that were still falling down your cheeks, "What are you doing here?" you asks.

Bucky was in a sleeveless shirt, and some sweatpants. A bottle in hand and a black headphone hanging around his neck, he wiped his forehead with a little towel, "Jogging. Some of us have a healthy lifestyle."

You almost laughed at that, but instead you raised your brow, "You eat cereal without milk I don't want any lifestyle advice from you."

The both of you were pretending that you're not sniffling every half second, to stop the tears.

Your mental breakdown session will have to take a pause.

He just stares at you blankly, the two of you in some sort of standoff.

You were not one to shrink from a challenge like this, but it seems he's more interested in the cause of your current mood, "Who do I gotta kill?"

It was said so casually.

As if he was asking about the temperature of the chilling night.

You shake your head, hand finally wiping your face to try and look more presentable in front of him.

You weren't concern on how he sees you, but you knew he was dragging you back, soon.

"Nobody. If there was somebody I think Natasha would have had you beaten to it," you answered.

He wasn't buying it.

Which, fair.

But also, he's not exactly someone you'd spill your heart out with.

Yelena, maybe.

Kate, if you're two drinks deep.

Valkyrie, when it's something you want kept a secret.

Point is, this isn't something you'd do.

Pouring your heart out to Bucky? In the middle of the night no less?

Yeah, no thank you.

"So, you're just sitting in this park bench at 11 at night crying because of nobody?"

"And you're jogging at 11pm?" you deadpanned.

Who the fuck jogs when it's almost midnight.

He doesn't take the bait, "The streets are emptier this hour, stop trying to deflect my question."

"It's nothing," you sighed.

He wipes the sweat on his neck before he sighs, much like you did. He sits down on the bench next to you, and looks up at the sky. Although it was 11 at night, many lights were still on in the buildings surrounding the park.

The wind was a little chill, but neither of you minded.

"Listen doll, I get it if you don't wanna talk to me about it, but talk to Natasha. Sharing your feelings and thoughts are part of a relationship, and whatever it is, you have to know that her feelings for you won't change," he nudges you by the end of it.

It was a gesture that you have gotten familiar when it comes to Bucky.

He wasn't one for words, but he does show his concern through actions.

A little nudge here, a well-timed shoulder pat there…

You feel comfortable around him, it was like having an older brother.

Sometimes, too old.

But reliable.

You can't help but tease him, "Haven't you been single for six years now?"

He stiffened, "Who told you that?"

"People talk," you answered ominously.

"Hmm."

He's gonna interrogate everyone tomorrow morning, you just know it.

"Come on, we'll walk home together and then you can tell Natasha about what's got you crying."

You button your long coat after you stood up, the wind is starting to pick up a little bit. Grinning before you turn to face him, "Or I'll cut you a better deal. We walk home together, you don't tell my girlfriend anything, and I won't tell her that you called me doll again."

You can see his throat bobbing up and down while he nervously gulps.

That was one of Natasha's pet peeve.

She finds certain pet names offensive, or even annoying.

Doll - is one specifically that Natasha didn't want Bucky calling you.

You didn't mind it, but since your girlfriend isn't a fan of it, you use that fact to your advantage whenever you can.

He really shouldn't expect anything less from you.

---

Natasha was sitting on the couch with the takeaway dinner on the little table in front of her. She has long finished dinner, and was finally resting her mind and body after the long day. It was a whirlwind of chaos since she was woken up by Maria at 7 this morning.

There's still a bunch of work left to do, but those can wait till tomorrow. Everyone is exhausted and deserved a rest.

She hears the door and knew it was you, since you texted her that you'd be back a little late.

"How was dinne- Barnes?"

You gave her a soft acknowledgement while you hang up your coat and took off your boots. Bucky gets near the couch and puts down your bag that he helped carry on the way back.

"I found her at the park, crying, alone," you turned your head at that, slowly.

Eyes hardening and lips pursing, "You little shit."

You really thought you were safe.

It wasn't like you were planning to hide this from Natasha forever, you do need to come clean to her about dinner - eventually.

You just didn't want Natasha to know about the fact that you were crying in a park at night.

You underestimated Bucky's loyalty to Natasha.

Or…you overestimated how much they fear Natasha.

Bucky wasn't looking at you, instead he was staring straight at your girlfriend, "I called her doll, once, just now. It was a mistake. I apologize."

Natasha clearly finds the situation amusing.

She's not happy about the 'doll' comment, but she also isn't particularly pissed off about it. She knew that this was something Bucky does, and you never seem to find it off-putting.

Deferring to you, "Princess?"

And suddenly you're exhausted all over again.

You sigh, waving your hand at the question and shaking your head, "It's fine."

Bucky bows a little when you pass by him to grab your bag, before you head up to Natasha's room to clean up.

Natasha furrows her brow.

You weren't upset about Bucky's nickname, that much was clear. You were probably more pissed that Bucky ratted you out like this…

But you really didn't want her to know you were crying?

Why?

You hear your girlfriend while you walk up the stairs.

"You and me, gym tomorrow morning."

"See you tomorrow."

"Thank you for sending her back, and coming clean. I'm sure she gave you no choice."

"Night."

---

Natasha gave you your time and space. She took the dishes into the kitchen, watched a bit more sitcom on the TV, went through her schedule for tomorrow, before she went into the bedroom to find you going through your skin care routine at the vanity.

She gave you some time to see if you'd bring up the conversation, but clearly, you're not in the mood.

You barely acknowledged her when she brushed up your side after she washed her face.

When you were done and started making your way to the bed, she finally broke the silence, "Are we gonna talk about why you were crying in the park after a dinner with your friend and threatened to rat out Barnes to cover this up?"

You pause your steps, "Do I have a choice?"

Your voice was low, bordering on anger. But she knew it wasn't exactly that.

Your mood is definitely off.

It's been a long day for you as well.

She softens her stance, turning around to face you, "You know I'd never force you to tell me something that you're not ready to, but you also know that I hate it when you're upset."

You huff out a bitter laugh, "So not a choice."

If you weren't her girlfriend, Natasha would've been tempted to give you a reminder on why she's feared.

But…

You were always good at riling her up.

She also knows that you're not good at confrontation.

If you think you can make it out the room without Natasha catching you, you probably would've done so already.

It's hard to hold a conversation with you if she herself is riled up as well.

You were never one to back down when faced with the hard approach.

You need the soft side.

She reminds herself that you've had a long day as well.

She can be patient with you.

She needs to.

Taking a deep breath, she considers what she might want right now.

Answers? Not necessarily.

Her girlfriend back in a good mood? Probably.

"It's your choice if you wanna tell me what happened or not, but I'd like it if you can at least let me know what you need right now."

Then, you finally look at her.

You see the way she's holding herself back from approaching you.

Space.

If you say you want her to sleep in the next room right now, she'd probably grab the pillow and leave immediately.

God damn it, she knows you so well.

You let out a breath and then take a seat on the bed, "I had dinner with my mother just now."

She clearly didn't expect that from you.

"Oh, um…I've never heard you talk about your family," it was cute, the way that she's so confused right now.

You give the space next to you a little pat, signalling for her to come take a seat next to you.

"And there was good reason for that. You know who my family is, don't pretend like you didn't do a full background check on me when you first met me," you poke her side.

She nods, "I know what other people told me, yes. But none of them were you, so I won't sit here and act like I know anything better than you do about your life and family."

So this is how it feels like dating someone who's mature.

You lie down on your bed, your knees hanging off the side of the bed. You're not good at these type of conversations, especially when it's family related. You can't hold eye contact with your girlfriend even if you tried.

"You know my family name, so you know that I was born into this name. My father and sister died in a car crash when I was five, and my mother blamed me since then. I grew up alone, she sent me away the first chance she got and when I came back after boarding school she had cozied up with a new man," you curse when you feel the tears gathering behind your eyes.

It's pathetic really.

How you're still so affected by what happened from years ago.

The hatred that you felt from your mother when you recovered from the accident was something that you barely knew how to process at the young age of five.

When she sent you to boarding school, it was almost a relief.

To be away from the tension and suffocation.

"He's the reason I was with Viper in the first place, something about a business deal and Viper's family handling their records. I tried leaving at first, you know me, I wouldn't let people tell me what I can't do; but she threatened something that I couldn't afford to lose, so I stayed with him all that time."

And you hated your mother for that.

The few years with Viper felt like hell. You didn't let it show, of course not. But on nights where you weren't busy planning to leave him, you were busy crying in your room. Questioning why you're in this position.

Natasha kept her eyes close on your face. It's the first time she's hearing you talk about your family. She tried asking about your mother, once, you shut the conversation down immediately, and she never asked about it since.

There were rumours, some ridiculous one, while others were just fucking make-believe. Natasha knew how family can be a sore subject to many, so she never pushed you to talk about it. She herself isn't a fan of talking about her own family, so she gets it.

But the way you're holding back tears now, and the longing in your voice when you speak about your mother…

"My mother…she can be nice. She still loves me, I think; or rather, she still loves having me tied to the family; but we never really stayed in touch ever since I left Viper. I knew she wouldn't be happy, but I couldn't let myself be tied to that man for any longer, and ever since his family moved to Europe and passed the business to him, they don't give a shit about it."

That little hope inside you, that your mother still loves you.

That her love for you didn't die with your father and sister in that car crash.

"So she was fine with me leaving him, even congratulated me just now. But other than that, the dinner was as dreadful as I imagined. Passive aggressive comments, reminders of the past, comparisons…just your classic toxic parent trope."

The bitter smile you flashed your girlfriend, while your tears finally fall from your eyes, she had to refrain herself from gathering you into her arms.

Instead she slips her hand into yous, "Did she ask to have dinner with you today?"

"No, I did."

"Why?"

This was it.

The reason you didn't want to let her know about the dinner in the first place.

You didn't want her to feel guilty.

Sure, you weren't happy to have to deal with your mother for Yelena, but you chose this.

You didn't want her to feel like you were forced to do it because of her.

"I needed something from her," that was as vague as you can go.

But of course, Natasha isn't stupid.

"What could you possibly need-"

She made the connection almost immediately.

"Stark's deal…" it was an easy conclusion.

You pull on her hand, and she took the hint to climb up to straddle you on the bed.

Normally the positions are flipped, with you straddling the redhead instead. But this felt right, in the moment.

"I knew what he'd ask for the moment I set up that meeting with him, he's been eyeing a piece of land that my mother owned since he moved here, and my mother has been insistent in making things difficult for him," you finally laugh for the first time tonight.

Natasha mirrors it.

"Did she agree?"

You nod, "She wants something in return, as usual."

"What does she want?" her hand couldn't help but go up to wipe the tears off your face.

You lean into her palm while she does it, "She wants to be seen in public with us."

"O…kay?" she sounds confused, which, fair.

It doesn't seem like a big ask, unless you're someone who knows her all too well.

"She wants me tied tightly back to my family name, and yours with it. I'm no longer a failure since I'm with you now. She sees value in not me, but our relationship. Everything is business to her, especially when that man got in the picture, he taught her to treat our relationship as a bargain," you explained.

If there was anything that you hated about your mother now, it's this.

The transactional part of your relationship with her.

You can handle the comments, the comparisons…

But the way she's treating you like some sort of property that goes up and down in value based on who you're with?

Now, that's a rabbit hole that you can't unpack on your own.

Not unless you want another mental breakdown.

"Oh," your girlfriend furrows her brows again, "And how do you feel about it?"

"Like I want to kill Stark."

You laugh again when her eyes light up at that, "I could get behind that."

You shake your head at her. It's moments like this that remind you why you love her so much.

"If you don't want to…" she trails off.

You knew she'd say this.

But it wasn't an option, not unless you want Yelena back in within 12 hours.

"She'll keep the land and threaten all I have left. I said yes," and your tone was final.

No arguments, no buts, no what ifs.

Natasha can recognise the end of a conversation when she hears one.

She has a lot more that she wants to say, but right now?

Right now, all she can say is, "Thank you."

You didn't hide your surprise.

You did think she'd try to persuade you out of this.

Or apologise for making you do this, in which you'd need to convince her that she had nothing to do with this - not in the way she'd insinuate anyway.

You imagined a whole conversation about it.

Which was also the main reason you dreaded telling her about it.

She leans down and kisses your forehead, "I do feel bad that you have to deal with this but I know you didn't just decide to do it on a whim. You did this for Yelena, and for me."

She really knows you.

There's no regret or guilt in her voice.

Just gratitude.

Fondness.

Love.

Your girlfriend didn't seem like the type to host a party, but then again with the year that they've been through, they deserved a party.

Your girlfriend has successfully established herself in the city - becoming one of the names that people feared and respected.

So when Kate suggested they host a party in your house, you thought about rejecting it, but then again you've gotten quite close with most of them.

It would be fun to have a drink with everyone.

Countdown.

Watch the fireworks.

Yeah, you agreed.

And once you agreed, your girlfriend couldn't really say no.

Which led to your current...position.

Standing on the balcony of your room, looking down at the party where some of them are out in the garden having a drink and chatting.

You can still hear the music blasting from downstairs, some 80's club hits that Clint put on after he stole DJ duty from Kate. You were about six drinks in, with a mix of wine and liquor - you'll probably regret it tomorrow morning, but that's tomorrow's problem.

You can feel the heat in your body and the slight fuzziness from the alcohol clouding your mind.

Despite all that, you somehow still felt your girlfriend's presence behind you before you felt her hands wrap around your waist.

"What are you doing up here, princess?" her voice was that much huskier cause she's a few drinks in as well.

"Getting some air, it was getting hot."

She leans her head on your shoulder, mirroring how you're looking down at the people, "You want me to send them back?"

"No! It's fine. It's almost 12 anyway. Would be a bummer to send them back now," you can see Kate and Carol talking animatedly at one corner while Bucky balances four glasses walking past people from the entrance.

"Hmmm."

It's crazy that it's been more than half a year since you started dating Natasha. You'd never imagine that your life would change this much when you first attended that gala next to Viper.

You knew you would be executing his downfall this year, but you'd never imagine scoring a girlfriend and a family in the process.

The few months you've spent with Natasha had been amazing in so many different ways.

For the first time, you are learning what it's like to be loved and cherished by someone who puts you first.

To feel the warmth of her body in the morning and the smell of her shampoo when you wrap yourself around her.

To learn how to communicate even when things get scary and your emotions run high.

To let yourself be vulnerable in a way that you've always been scared to do so.

"You're thinking really hard, princess," you can feel her breath tickle your ear, and you lean back further into her.

"It's been a crazy year."

She hums out her agreement, "It has been."

"You wanna know the best part?" you asked.

"Tell me."

You turn around in her hold, "Asking you out on that date."

You didn't miss the way her eyes brighten at your confession. You're not the only one that feels lucky.

Natasha still pinches herself wondering if this was all real.

Like when she sees you dancing in the kitchen with nothing but an oversized t-shirt and her basketball shorts.

Or finding you fitting perfectly with Yelena and the others while you bark orders at them while playing overcooked.

Or seeing how you look at her like she was someone worth loving. Like she doesn't wash blood off her hands.

Catching herself before she goes too far in her mind, her body shook with mirth before she responds, "I believe I brought you out on that date."

You laugh, the sound muffled over by the shouting you hear from the people downstairs, counting down as the clock ticks towards twelve.

Leaning against the railing of the balcony, you put your hands on her shoulder, "Yeah, but I was the one that asked for it."

She laughs, the sound filling your heart with something unspeakable. She steps closer, her face just an inch away from yours. You've memorized every inch of her face, from the green in her eyes to the faded scar on her chin.

Running your eyes across her face, you hear the countdown getting closer.

Her hands link behind your back, "That's the best part for me too," came her whispered confession.

One that was drowned out by the shouts from below but you heard her as clear as day.

Forget her business. Forget her empire. Forget her name.

You were the most important part of her year.

And to be able to call you hers?

Proudly, and loudly?

The fireworks light up the skies above you two, the sounds of cheers and shouting from not only downstairs but across the city...

You lean in and kiss her underneath the lights and the stars.

The explosives imitating the way your heart feels having her in your arms.

I like your cockiness, fuck being confident. - (1.9k) Introduction to the AU and the dynamic between Natasha x R <3 [26/09/2024]

Are you down to be a distraction baby? - (1.3k) R is a brat, Natasha is amused <3 [19/05/2023]

All I smell is your perfume and that black ice. - (1.2k) The first time R met Natasha, it was not love at first sight <3 [12/03/2020]

I think you're crazy, you say we both are. - (1.9k) The first time R reached out to Natasha ever since that day in the bar <3 [15/05/2020]

You should taste the water from your well. - (3.2k) First time R have sex with Natasha <3 [06/06/2020]

Your silence is a curse. - (3.5k) First time Natasha got really angry with R <3 [11/08/2020]

I heard these bitches throwing shades, I want the Prada ones to match. - (4.1k) Someone isn't a fan of R, is she jealous of R, or is it the other way around? [Multiple days here, but all between June-July 2020]

I can see you watching, let me take you there. - (3.0k) R is fascinated by Natasha's new boots, and then she's fascinated by Natasha's protectiveness <3 [October 2020]

What reason I got to be modest? - (1.7k) R attends her first official event with Natasha in her arms (or maybe it's the other way around). [August 2020]

Hold my grudge instead of having none to hold. - (3.4k) How R slowly got the approval of Natasha's family (Part 1 - Yelena & Maria). [Yelena - 09/07/2020; Maria - 21/09/2020]

You're the reason, I got a weakness. - (4k) R got kidnapped, and now things are...different? [27/07/2021 - whole fic spanned for about a month]

I might have to cause a scene, just so you can take it off. - (3.4k) R shows her displeasure through a stunt, Natasha isn't amused, but she is amazed. [19/03/2021]

Why you got me so obsessed with you? - (7.1k) Yelena is in trouble, and R does something to get her out without Natasha knowing. [02/11/2020]

And if I die, I already fell and I'm good here (safe in your arms) - (5.4k) Their first Valentine's Day celebration! [14/02/2021]

Some you made an instant connection with - Kate, Yelena and Carol being the first few, while the others kept a respectful distance with you - Maria, Bucky and Clint given their personalities and also closeness with Natasha. 

The other crew knew their place so they kept their distance with you even more. Just giving you polite nods and answering you whenever you would be asking them about Natasha’s whereabouts in the office. 

Your introduction made everyone hesitant, because Natasha had never actively dated anyone ever since she took over the business and the mob, most girls who came close were considered flings and never needed to be treated like how you were. 

Well one of them got quite close to becoming an official thing with Natasha. In fact, that person still works with them. 

Selena. 

You’ve met her twice exactly, once when you were brought to Natasha’s office for an official ‘meet everyone working for me’ thing that Natasha arranged, just so you’re comfortable with them and so the others know who not to fuck with; and another time where you joined Natasha for dinner at the office for some celebration of a deal they signed which gave them control over the imports of some big company from the Middle East. 

The first time went by fine. Everyone in the building knew better than to mess with Natasha’s girlfriend, she’s been doting and spending so much time and resources on you for the past few months. 

Natasha and Yelena both brought you around the building, showing you her office, meeting rooms, meeting everyone working there. You’ve met all the ones closer to Natasha about three weeks ago, so the rest are just people that you know you’ll see around, but don't necessarily need to interact with. 

They bring you to the floor where most of the official legal work is being done, so departments like finance, admin, HR, and legal were all holed up here. 

Yelena trailed behind you and Natasha, as your girlfriend led you around the building and introduced people to you, “This is Selena, she handles our finances. Anything money related goes through her.” 

You look at the woman in her late twenties, blonde hair and dressed in a plain white shirt and slacks. She stopped what she was doing and stood up at the introduction, giving you a quick nod as she listened to Natasha’s introducing you in the return. 

“Does she handle your credit card bills as well?” came your snarky remark. 

Natasha rolled her eyes, “The company’s yes. Not mine. Your spending all comes directly from me.”

She answered with a fond smile. 

You pouted at her, head tilting as you looked back towards the blonde lady, “That’s a shame, I thought she’d get a glimpse of what I bought online last night.”

She gave you a tight smile and instead addressed your girlfriend, “Natasha, can I speak with you for a moment? Need you to sign off some documents that I need to send out today.” 

If Natasha felt the tension between the both of you, she didn’t say or do anything about it. You gestured for Natasha to go settle her things, while you walked towards the other side of the office to Yelena. 

Standing by the wall and looking around the office with a bored expression, “How long did they fuck?” 

Yelena turned to you, but the corner of her lips were turning upwards, “What?”

You furrowed your brows at how the blonde’s hand was brushing over Natasha’s, “Them. How long did Natasha fuck her?”

Yelena was surprised you deduced that so quickly, she felt her respect towards you grow just at that, “How did you know?”

“Her attitude. She hates me,” you said, grinning at the idea of how much fun you can have with this situation. You don’t shy away from nasty people, especially when you know for a fact, that you’re in the right. 

You do so love it when people get jealous of you. 

Seeing the way you were grinning and licking your bottom lips, Yelena can understand why Natasha was intrigued by you the moment she met you. They all know Natasha’s tendency to indulge in chaos, it seems like something you both share. 

“She came by the house on and off for about two months. They broke it off last year, Natasha couldn’t handle her attitude at some point,” Yelena answered after thinking about it for a while. 

“And she’s still here?”

“She does her job well, that’s all Natasha wants.”

You laugh when you see Natasha raising her brow at something that Selena said, “Hmm…we’ll see about that.”

Yelena returns her gaze to Natasha and the blonde girl. She sees the way that Natasha seems oblivious to the way that Selena is looking at her like how she used to, instead the redhead was focused on signing all the papers and getting back to your side. 

“Does this bother you?” 

“Not yet.” 

The second time you met her, the dinner was already in full swing. You took your time getting ready. Natasha picked the outfit for you, her prize for winning the bet between who would cave first with the ‘no touching each other’ game that you initiated last Tuesday. 

You were dressed in a simple dark red satin short dress, the spaghetti straps leaving plenty of space for the new necklace that Natasha gifted you - it really served as more of a choker than anything else. The dress stopped just slightly above your mid thigh, hugging your curves tastefully. 

You’ve found that Natasha likes it better when you don’t go for a heavy makeup look, and seeing that tonight is just a simple celebration with her people, you just went for a base and some eyeliner to accentuate your eyes. You didn’t even bother with blush - there’s a time and place to go full out that you know Natasha would appreciate instead. 

When you walked into the meeting room that they converted into the party space, you immediately felt the whole room’s gaze shifting towards you. Almost like you were pulled, you turned and made eye contact with Natasha. 

She put down the glass of vodka that she was drinking and walked towards you, you faintly recognise that she was talking to Selena prior to your arrival but your eyes were too busy drinking in what she was wearing. 

It was quite pathetic, how much you’re genuinely attracted to her. She was just dressed in a black sleeveless turtleneck, and some slacks, but your eyes could not look away from her arms. Her hair was up in a messy bun and by the time she reached you, you couldn’t help but pull her into a kiss. 

She pulls away and then snakes her hand to grab a handful of your ass, “Hello, princess. You look breathtaking.” 

You just nose your way down her jaw, peppering little kisses on her neck, “And you look good enough to eat.” 

At a particularly harsh nip on her pulse point, she pinches your ass as warning, “Behave.” Her tone was dangerously low, but you’ve always liked to play with fire, “But I thought you like it when I act out.”

She gives you the little smirk that you love, “You don’t want me to punish you in front of everyone here, do you?”

You gulp lightly at the idea, okay this exhibitionistic part of you might be something new - definitely keeping that at the back of your mind. 

You just lean closer to her ear so you can moan before giving her earlobe a little tug with your teeth, “Mhmm, don’t threaten me with a good time, daddy.”

Natasha is nothing but extremely good at keeping her composure, “You are such a brat. Go have some dinner first, the bar is open but you get 3 glasses only for tonight, alright?”

Pulling away, you absentmindedly hum, “Hmm.”

Your mind is already conjuring different ways to act out so you can earn yourself a fun time tonight. 

The first hour of the night went by fine, you did as you were told, grabbing some dinner, mingling around with the people that you were mostly comfortable with. You find yourself enamoured by Valkyrie’s presence tonight, especially the slightly British accent along with the way she teases everyone around so easily.

You catch Natasha’s gaze from across the room, and you give her a smirk before you lean a little closer to Valkyrie; your front brushing against her back as you mask it up by grabbing your glass from the table in front of her. 

You see the dangerous tilt of Natasha’s head, her eyes sending you a warning from across the room to not test her further, so you just look away innocently and down the cup of alcohol you were holding. 

As you approach hour three, which you’re sure is close to the end of your stay in the building, you went to the table that you remember Natasha was seated just a few minutes ago, before Bucky whisked her away for some talk. You feel the alcohol buzzing in your body, your head heating up and your senses heightening. You’ve passed your 3 glass mark for tonight, but you really wanted to have just a bit more to rile up the redhead. 

It was Selena sitting there once again, and you recall that this was the table that Natasha occupied when you first came in as well, “This is Natasha’s right?” you asked, grabbing the glass of vodka that you know for certain was your girlfriend’s. 

Selena just nods, “Yeah.”

You gave her a smirk and started drinking the glass of vodka - obviously, “Hey, she-” came her voice that tried to stop you. 

You ignored her, instead focusing on the idea of what type of punishment you might get from Natasha for this. She said 3 glasses of yours only tonight, she didn’t say you can’t drink hers, “What’s hers is mine anyway. Don’t tell her I drank this.”

You giggled to which you think Selena rolled her eyes as you walked away, you can’t be certain, you are pretty buzzed already. You make your way towards Kate and Clint at the corner table, both of them engaging in some type of coin flipping competition. 

Natasha is ready to leave the building, you’ve been riling her up all night and her patience is wearing thin. She started saying her goodbyes to the people around, reassuring meetings that are happening tomorrow and reconfirming deals that are in line. 

She got to the table with Selena, just wanting to grab her jacket hanging off the back of the chair, but then she saw her empty glass. She’s pretty sure she didn’t leave that glass empty because she has the habit of putting them near the counter if she’s done with her drink. 

She sees the lipstick on the rim of the glass and starts laughing before she can even stop herself, “Let me guess, my princess drank my vodka.”

The blonde nods her head, “I told her that it was yours, Natasha, but she didn’t listen and just drank the whole thing and claimed that ‘what’s yours is hers anyway’.”

The redhead laughs out loud at that, “She’s playing with fire today.” 

Selena bit her lip, surprised that Natasha wasn't reacting the way she thought she would, “Natasha, people have been talking.” 

Natasha just shakes her head to get rid of her thoughts that were slowly derailing to you, and instead shrugs on her jacket, “About what?” 

Selena passes Natasha her keys, “About how you’ve changed. She’s made you weak, soft even. This isn’t a good look on us.” 

Natasha paused, “She’s harmless, our relationship is just something new that people are still not used to.”

Natasha doesn’t wanna hear what else the blonde has to say, she doesn’t particularly care about what people might be saying. But of course Selena had other plans, “She’s changing you, you’re becoming soft, easy to target. Enemies are gonna catch on and they’re gonna take advantage of this.”

At that, Natasha snapped her gaze to the blonde still sitting at the table, “I will decide if I am becoming soft, perhaps you’d like to have a taste of just how brutal I can be?”

With a final glance, “I don’t want another word of hearsay from you, because I don’t care what people think. Keep my princess out of your mouth, I won’t warn you a second time.” 

And with that, Natasha leaves with the intention to rail you into the mattress as punishment for your behavior tonight, but also to get rid of the annoyance she’s feeling from her conversation with Selena. 

Natasha should’ve guessed that you would be the one causing trouble and planning something instead. 

“Your girlfriend has been stealing money from the company,” came the bold exclamation when Natasha asked about the financial status of the company this month.

Everyone at the meeting table either consciously or subconsciously held their breath when they heard it. Yelena rolled her eyes at the way Selena is digging her grave, while Maria just sighed when she saw how Natasha was clenching her jaw. 

Valkyrie speaks up before the tension accidentally cuts anyone in the room, “Thread carefully Selena, you’re on thin ice with this accusation.”

Selena slides her tablet over to Natasha - seated at the head of the table, a quick glance down and Natasha knows that she’s reading the bank statements for this month. 

To the blonde’s credit, she held Natasha’s fiery gaze when she spoke up, “She stole your credit card, which I’m sure you didn’t realize, and have been buying random shit on the internet. She racked up an approximately four thousand dollar bill just from one online purchase last Monday!” 

Natahsa uncrosses her legs, adjusting her posture as a way to rid herself off the anger she’s feeling, “And you’re telling me this, just now? Why?”

“She has been making purchases using the company’s credit card, without anyone knowing, for the past two weeks. You cannot look past something like this, Natasha,” everyone at the table knew what Selena was trying to say. 

No one dared to comment on it. 

“How much has she spent?” asked Natasha. 

“After today, probably close to twenty thousand.” 

If anyone was paying close attention, they would hear you giggling outside the meeting room. You’ve been waiting for this moment. You knew Selena would strike today, you expected it the moment Natasha told you that they’re having the monthly budget meeting. 

“I will cover the costs accordingly,” came the steady voice of your girlfriend. 

What you didn’t expect was how Selena raised her voice, “You’re seriously just going to let this go? Twenty thousand dollars!”

Again, you rolled your eyes at that. Twenty thousand dollars was nothing to Natasha. You wouldn’t consider yourself as someone materialistic, but ever since you started dating your girlfriend, she has repeatedly told you that money is not something you should be concerned over. 

You were getting tired, camping outside a meeting room was hard work, so you just strolled in, “Why are you so hell bent on Natasha punishing me? Are you really that jealous or have you just missed seeing that side of Natasha?”

The two people standing close to the entrance almost pulled their guns on you, but with just a glare from your girlfriend, they stood back and watched things unfold. 

Some of the people seated at the meeting table sat up straighter at your entrance, seemingly intrigued or annoyed by your presence, you could never fully guess. But Selena was the one that was most surprised by you. 

She took a second before she composed herself, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You are messing with the business side of things, I have a right to be concerned over this.”

To your surprise, it wasn’t your girlfriend that responded to Selena, but Carol, “No. What you should have done was bring up this issue to the boss directly, the moment you saw it happening in the first place.” 

Clint also surprisingly spoke up, “Instead you waited until it was a concerning amount of money and then announced it in a meeting publicly, I assume with the intention of humiliating her, and some might even think you’re undermining Natasha’s authority.”

A part of you wanted to ask why they spoke up, and why your girlfriend wasn’t saying anything, but you were too focused on your little prey, “You want to play with power?” 

Everyone was watching you, the way your eyes were hungry with mischief, the way you’re enjoying this little incident, the way you seem to find pleasure in making your point and showing Selena why you are the one dating Natasha Romanoff now. 

You leaned down so you’re at eye level with Selena, she was shocked that you’re suddenly in front of her. You cross your arms in front of her, holding her gaze with a calm that was rare from you. 

“To show everyone here that you were right all along? That I’m making Natasha weak and soft? That I have ill intentions for the company, that I’m maybe even a gold digger looking to siphon all the money from Natasha for my lifestyle?” you asked, your voice steady and low for once. 

Natasha watches as you lean even closer to Selena, “You are in no position to play in the big leagues. Know your place, Selena.”

With that, you stood up and walked back towards your girlfriend. You caught her gaze for a second, but you’re not sure if she’s pissed or just unamused. 

“Bu- but-” came the insistent mumbling from the blonde, she really still wanna keep going? 

Natasha finally had enough of the conversation, “I gave her the company credit card because my personal credit card has expired and I haven’t gotten the new card yet. I didn’t tell you about this because I wanted to see how you would react when faced with something like this.”

The finality in her voice was clear, “Green is not a good look on you, Selena.”

The redhead stood up and you snake your hand around her waist, “Maybe she saw the receipt of my purchases last Monday. She missed you Natty, I’m sure.” 

Your girlfriend didn’t react to you, instead she kept looking at the blonde that was still in her seat. Selena was frozen, held captive by Natasha’s eyes, and the understanding that she fucked up this time. 

Something about that made you angry. Why is she still looking at Selena, when you were standing right next to her? So you turned your girlfriend to face you, and then leaned into her, face inching closer to her face until she couldn’t ignore you any longer. 

When you meet her eyes, you find orbs that are darker than what you remember. You squinted slightly, before whispering, “Too bad, you’re mine now,” and sealed that statement with your lips on her. 

“Did you have fun this evening?”

“Yes.”

“Hand it back.” 

“I wasn’t going to keep it anyway.”

Once Natasha got the credit card back, she picked you up, causing your purse to drop onto the floor, and carried you to the bed. 

Placing you gently to lie down on the bed, she cages you with her own body, arms framing your head causing you to look directly at her, “You gonna steal from me again? Hmm?” she asked. 

You smirk and playfully leaned up to lick at her jaw, “Someone has to keep you on your toes.”

Her right hand immediately wrapped around your neck, restricting your airway slightly and pushing you back down onto the mattress, “No more stealing from me. If you want to play a game, you tell me or you’re gonna need to face the consequences by yourself.” 

She was serious about this, you could tell by the way her eyes are slightly furrowed. You knew you were playing a dangerous game the moment you took her credit card without telling her. But you don’t think she’s angry at you for it. 

More unamused then. 

Nodding, she eases the squeeze on your neck, but still holds you down by your neck. You feel oddly comforted by this position, “Why did you cover for me?”

Natasha thought about it for a moment.

“Because I knew you did it. You really think I didn’t realise when you took my company credit card, princess?”

Truth be told, Natasha was actually more surprised than anything the night she found out that you stole her credit card. She knew you had no need to do so, the credit card she gave you was still far from meeting the limit. 

“You know, I was waiting for you to tell me what you were doing. But you never did, why?” came the honest question. 

After today, she understood why you used the credit card, but she still doesn’t fully understand why you kept it from her. You could have easily told her and she would gladly play your game with you. 

You look away at her question, “I wanted to see what she would do, and also what you would do.”

Her gaze softened at your admission, “Is my princess insecure?” finding the way your blush creeps up your body to be extremely adorable. 

You scoffed at that, “I’m a steal, of course I’m not insecure. You’re lucky to have me.” You can’t believe she would even suggest that. 

Natasha just laughs, “You’re not wrong, princess. Then where is this attitude coming from?”

You try to ignore her, but she wasn’t having it. So she tries to coax it out of you softly, her right hand moves up and cups your face, thumb stroking your cheek the way you love best, “Hmm? Jealousy?”

“Of her? What do I have to be jealous of? That she doesn’t affect you the way that I do? That she’s not the one being pinned down on the bed right now?” you denied. 

Deflect, even. 

Because of course you’re not jealous. 

That’s stupid. 

A stupid emotion. 

It was cute, the way you’re trying so hard to not meet her gaze, but she didn’t give you a choice, “Of course you’re not jealous of her now, princess.”

Your eyes shift to hers, and you can almost see the teasing tone from her eyes, “But I think you are jealous of her, because she got to be here first.”

You froze at that. 

Eyes hardening even further when she elaborated, “She got to hug me first, kiss me first, fuck me first…” 

You tried to push her off you but her hold was strong, so instead you just growled out the best you can, “You’re MINE!”

Natasha can almost feel you vibrating. This is a new side of you that she’s witnessing. Your anger normally comes out in waves of acting out, passive aggressive language and maybe even throwing the closest thing near you - never at her, but rather at the floor. 

Your hands were holding her body, grabbing at whatever you can, legs wanting to kick and throw her off, but she’s far stronger. You were so hesitant to meet her gaze earlier, but right now your eyes are daring her to look away instead. 

And of course you had to start tearing up. 

Internally, Natasha acknowledge how fucked up she might be, given that she finds this sight of you, extremely attractive. The way your eyes are watery, gaze hard and demanding. 

It was almost intoxicating. 

The way that she feels drunk on you right now. 

“You’re right princess, I am yours.”

You gulped. 

“Selena is no one. Because I never kissed her…” as she trails off, she leans forward, “The way that I am kissing you,” and with that, she leans in and kisses you softly. 

Her lips were soft and you can almost feel her pouring her emotions in the kiss. The way her tongue peaks out and grazes across your bottom lip, eventually seeking for permission that you easily granted. 

You can’t help but moan softly, feeling the way your body is growing hot at every stroke of her tongue and the way her hand cups your head. Your legs hook behind her knees, pulling her deeper into your body, and you hear her gasp at that. 

She nips playfully at your bottom lip when she pulls away, looking back down at you and finding herself falling more for you. She brushes a strand of your hair away from you face, thumb running across your bottom lip and her eyes drinking in the sight of you under her. 

She’s also quickly found that a quick kiss on your cheek or just a pout and some cheesy action - like magicking a flower from behind your ear, will always get you to roll your eyes before burying yourself in her embrace. 

You get frustrated at her easily, but it was never for long. And most of the time it was for smaller things like her forgetting to get you your favorite ice-cream despite passing by the place or accidentally leaving her socks around the room after she takes them off. 

Natasha on the other hand, it takes quite a lot for her to be frustrated at you. It has happened multiple times, generally only when you were being unreasonable and showing attitude in front of other people. The few times that she’s been frustrated so far, you normally just gotta show her that you’re sorry with a little whine and she will melt. 

The first time Natasha got seriously angry at you, you didn’t know what to do. 

In hindsight, you really shouldn’t have pushed her that far. 

It was just a little payback for how she denied your request to follow her to work that morning. 

You’ve been feeling bored and you’ve missed Yelena - who you’ve quickly bonded with, so you wanted to head into the office with her and grab lunch with Yelena. But Natasha said ‘no’ to you, citing that it was dangerous because she will have a business talk with someone. 

That was code for ‘someone dangerous will be in the office, so it’s not safe for you’. And god did you hate it whenever she would say things like that. 

Firstly, how dare she say ‘no’ to you. 

Secondly, you can handle yourself just fine. 

You glared at the back of her head until she left the room, leaving you all alone to your mischievous thoughts. 

A little payback, maybe. 

You dressed yourself and then immediately left the house without telling anyone. 

Natasha is not Viper, you were always free to go wherever you want. She requested that you at least let her know if you’re leaving the house just because she wanted to ensure your safety. She wanted to at least know if you’re going to leave the house and maybe even a text on when you might be back. 

But not this time. 

You were pissed at her for saying ‘no’ to you. 

So you left the house, turned off your phone so she couldn’t reach you, and hailed a cab to your favorite resort just slightly outside the city centre. You deserve a relaxing day of massages, spa, and cocktails by the pool. 

By the time you got home, you were eerily aware of the silence in the whole house. 

‘There’s no way she’s not even home yet, it’s almost eight,’ you thought to yourself. 

When you made it up the stairs and into the room, you saw her standing outside on the balcony, leaning against the rail and holding what you assumed was a cigarette. A deep breath in and you knew your assumptions were correct, nothing smells quite as bad as cigarettes.

You’ve never actually seen Natasha smoked before, so this is definitely something new to you. 

You can’t deny that the silhouette of her smoking on the balcony is quite attractive. Despite your dislike at the action of it, the concept of smoking is just kind of…hot. You’ve always liked the bad boys - or girls, in this case. 

When you were done showering and finished your nightly routine, she was finally making her way into the room. Her dark red shirt slightly crinkled and unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up to her elbows. If you weren’t still slightly pissed at her, you would have already dragged her towards the bed and started taking her clothes off immediately. 

She still hasn't made eye contact with you, ever since you came back. 

“How was the meeting?” you asked, tone nothing but a little bitter. 

If she heard you talking, she didn’t show it. Instead, she took off her shirt and grabbed her towel, heading into the bathroom without another look at you. The sound of the shower made you roll your eyes immediately, “Seriously? The silent treatment? What are you, five?”

As expected, you didn’t receive any response. 

In fact she refused to acknowledge you until she finished putting on her lotion, the towel wet from her hair still draped across her shoulder. You were tired and really just wanted to sleep at this point, “Natasha?”

She’s never ignored you before. And it was slowly daunting to you that maybe she was more angry than you expected her to be. 

Without another word, she crawled into bed, and turned her back to you. Switching off the lights next to the bed, you huffed. Accepting the fact that Natasha is insistent to not talk today. 

You didn’t want to push her more than what you already have, so you went to bed thinking about how you would talk to her tomorrow. 

Except that didn’t happen. 

Because Natasha didn’t give you a chance to do so. 

She was gone by the time you woke up. Not a hint of where she was going or what she wanted. You got out of the room and wandered around the house looking for her, but instead you found Maria working near the dining table. 

“Where’s your boss?”

Maria looks up from her laptop, “She went to the office.”

You’ve seen some of them work in your house before, but never when Natasha isn’t around. So really, there’s only one reason that could explain Maria’s presence here. 

“And let me guess, you drew the short lot and got post guard duty?” You asked, your tone clearly unamused by Natasha’s actions. 

Maria thought about the redhead, her mind recalling the way that Natasha called her this morning for this, “I wouldn’t say so. The boss trusts me to do this job, so here I am.”

You crossed your arms, “And what is your job? Make sure I stay in this house? Report my every move? Maybe even lock me in the room if I try to leave?”

She didn’t respond, just stared right back at you. Her eyebrows raised, as if she was asking ‘do you even hear yourself?’. 

Among the members from Natasha’s closer crew, Maria is one that you're unsure how to deal with. She is immensely capable of doing her job, you’ve heard Natasha talk about how reliable she can be.

But from your point of view? She’s a problem, because you can’t intimidate or sweet talk your way whenever Maria is involved. She seems immune to your intimidation or charm. 

Angry that you’re basically being locked in the house, you huffed and made your way back to the room. The pattern followed for another two more days. You would try to wait for Natasha to return so you can speak with her, but your attempts have been in vain. She either tunes you out, or she looks so tired to the point that you don't want to approach the subject anymore.

For the first time in the relationship, you were slowly realizing that this is how Natasha reacts in anger. The quiet, calm, eerie almost nonexistent presence - this made you anxious, almost scared. 

Not of her, it’s never even crossed your mind that she might react how Viper used to react when he’s drunk and angry, but rather…you’re scared for the relationship. 

It wasn’t long, before you were slowly drowning in guilt and thoughts. Your anger at her already vanished, and in place came the guilt of your actions.

Maybe you really did push her too far. 

Would she leave you because of this? 

Does she still love you? 

Has she finally realised that you were too much to handle? 

Unbeknownst to you, Natasha herself has been busy, but also struggling with thoughts of her own about the relationship. 

Today it was Kate - your post guard of the day that is. 

It’s been three days since the incident. You’ve not left the house for three days now. Everyday you would see a different person posted in the house, always someone you know. Maria, then Bucky, and yesterday was Clint. 

You wonder if Natasha chose them to make you feel better. 

Or maybe she didn’t really consider how you feel at all. 

You woke up feeling like absolute shit, rolling over and smelling Natasha’s perfume, making you miss her even more. 

You didn’t even dare to sleep close to her last night, afraid of what she might say if you angered her further. 

You groggily dragged yourself downstairs, finishing the breakfast - well brunch, that Colette prepared for you. 

Natasha still hasn’t said anything to you. 

No reply to your texts, no note, nothing. 

At some point you started hating yourself for your actions three days ago. 

Even more so, you hated how you’re scared now. 

Scared that Natasha might say the words, words that you never want to hear from her. 

Words that prove how much you’re undeserving of love. 

Kate stood near the front entrance as you sat in the living room, drinking your second bottle of beer from the fridge, your brain just slightly tipsy from the alcohol buzz, but nowhere near drunk, even with the two shots of vodka you had right after brunch. 

It’s only five in the evening now. 

You’ll regret mixing your alcohol tomorrow, for now, you don’t really care. 

“I thought she was different, but she’s just the same as him. Fucking control freak,” you mumbled, words biting but anyone can tell that you didn’t mean the anger. 

The way your eyes are watery, the way your lips tremble, and the way your hands keep fidgeting, they all betray how you actually feel.  

Kate eyed you slightly, you’ve come to build a bond with her much like you did with Yelena. It was to be expected, given that Kate was young and honestly the funniest one among Natasha’s clan (Yelena would disagree, but then you also know she has a soft spot for the group’s youngest member). 

She’s under strict orders from the boss to not meddle in this situation, but she also can’t stand seeing you like this, “She’s not like that, she’s just concerned.” 

A part of you is happy that someone is finally talking to you, but you were so high strung on other emotions that you don’t even realise that it’s been three days since you’ve engaged in proper conversation with other people. 

Maria, Bucky, and Clint, well they’re not big conversationalists in the first place, and with Natasha’s orders? They’re loyal to her first and foremost - they all know how their boss is, and they know better than to meddle in situations like this. 

They also see how Natasha has been suffering for the past three days as well. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. Viper used to say that as well.” 

“She was scared that day.”

You paused at that, no one ever told you what happened that day. 

Sensing your interest, Kate continued, “She finished some meetings in the morning and then tried to call you, but she couldn’t get to you. She sent someone over to check on you, but the house was empty. She got scared and cancelled all her meetings with the guys from Italy - that’s a two billion dollar deal down the drain in case you were wondering.” 

You furrowed your brows, you didn’t expect her to be this scared. 

“She went through the CCTV of the building, got hold of the cab number and tracked them down, finally getting a hint of where you’re at and that you were safe instead of being kidnapped. She was still nervous until she finally got the call from the credit card company about your spending at the resort.” 

Kate remembers how dishevelled Natasha looked that day, she probably ran her hand through her hair like fifty times within half an hour. The way she cancelled everything and had all of them work on locating you…it was a first for all of them. 

You feel guilty, of course you do.

You just wanted to teach her a little lesson, you didn’t expect everyone to be involved. 

“And now what? She wants to keep me in this house forever?” you asked, not knowing how you can fix this. Hating how you’re feeling so guilty over everything when Natasha won’t even talk to you about it. 

Kate takes the bottle of beer out from your hand, “She wants you to be safe. You’re free to leave this house by the way, the others didn’t tell you probably out of pettiness. I just need to make sure that you’re not in danger.” 

You pout, feet kicking her lightly, “I’m not…a child, I can take care of myself.”

Kate huffs out a laugh, “You’re in constant danger because you’re dating the boss, you know that right? She’s not just dealing with local thugs or mob boss wannabes, she has businesses in many European countries as well. Her enemies can come from different parts of the world.” 

You curled into yourself, arms hugging yourself and fingers digging into your biceps to stop yourself from crying. 

“People already in shady businesses will not hesitate to do stupid shit like kidnap and murder if it means more money and power. I have seen first hand what people are willing to do just to get a taste of her influence and power, having a weakness like you…just makes it so much easier for them.” 

Kate sees the way your eyes are tearing up, but she still has to say it, “And you are the easiest way to get to her. Natasha knows that.” 

At her name, you finally broke. 

You let out a sob, your nails digging deeply into your own skin, “I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t thinking, it was just payback for her denying me in the morning. It was supposed to be just a small thing. She would come over when I’m home, scold me for scaring her and then we’d make up in her room that night.” 

You frustratingly wiped away at your cheek, trying to stop yourself from crying uncontrollably, “And then now she won’t even talk to me, or look at me.”

Your mind wanders back to the last time she spoke to you, her green eyes teasing as she promised to make it up to you when she’s back. You can briefly recall how nervous she was about the meeting that was supposed to happen that day, having heard about how it’s one that she’s been planning for two months. 

You remember how she smells that morning, as she used a different perfume in place of her usual one, because something about authority and scent going hand in hand, needing a stronger scent to command respect…or whatever she said that morning. You were just focused on how you clung to her from behind, before you asked to go with her to the office. 

“I miss her…” you whimpered. 

You try to remember her voice, her scent, her touch…

And then you remember how she’s not spoken to you for three days. How she’s been avoiding you, ignoring you…how you’ve not felt her hands on you for three whole days. 

Squeezing your eyes tightly, you bury your face into the crook of your elbows, your breath uneven and short, “She probably hates me- I can’t-” you were struggling to breathe, your sobs taking over your body, shaking and causing you to forget where you were at. 

“I could never hate you.”

Your head snaps up at her voice, your vision still blurry from your tears, but it was undoubtedly Natasha standing right in front of you. 

You grab the pillow on your right and hit her right in the chest, standing up before you shove her backwards, voice hoarse as you raised it, “You left me for three fucking days!”

Natasha caught herself and tossed the pillow aside, before pulling you into her chest. Your body is shaking and yours sobs uncontrollable, “Shhh…breathe princess.”

Your hands immediately grasp her shirt tightly, scared to let go in case she leaves you once again, “You left- left me-” Your head was buried in her shoulder, your tears quickly soaking her shirt. 

Her heart breaks at the way your voice was cracking as you kept repeating the phrase over and over again. The sight of you trembling and crying in her arms, and she knew the past few days might have been a mistake on her end, “Breathe for me first.”

She ran her hands up and down your back, trying to sooth and calm you down. Eventually your breathing evened out, and you pushed yourself off her just slightly, wanting to see her face once again. 

Her right hand caresses your face like how you’re used to, and her thumb wipes away the tears that stained your cheek, “There’s my pretty girl…”

You sniffled before you lean into her palm, you’ve missed her touch so fucking much. 

She takes a deep breath, “I’m sorry princess, I shouldn’t have done that.”

You pulled on her shirt slightly, leading the both of you to sit on the couch, but neither one was willing to let go of the other entirely. She kept her hand on your face while you kept yours firmly gripping her shirt. It was more of an awkward shuffle towards the sofa, but the two of you made it work. 

Once you were seated on the sofa, Natasha sat herself down next to you. Knees touching, but not too close. Just needing the proximity after being away from each other for three days. 

“I was scared. I spent the past two days trying to drown myself in work because I can’t…face you. Knowing that you affect me so much…I was ready to tear this city apart to find you that day,” she confessed. 

It was true. She has been busy trying to get the deal back on track, it was something that everyone else has been working very hard on, and she also needed a project that will fully take her mind off of things with you. 

Was it just a pitiful attempt at avoiding her feelings for you? Maybe. 

You shamefully ducked your head down at her words, “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Her fingers lifted your face back up to her, your eyes locked with the green orbs that you adore and have missed for the past few days. 

She bit her lip in regret, “I didn’t mean to scare you as well. I overreacted because I don’t know how to do this with you. I’ve never cared for anyone as much as I do for you-”

You cut her off, “More talk tomorrow, kiss me now.” Your lips crashed into hers immediately, her body reacted before she fully processed what you just said, “Mhmm-”

It was desperate. 

You’ve both been depraved from each other for three days. 

“Mmm…princess,” she gasps out, hand finally leaving your face to push on your shoulder slightly before she pulls away from you as well, “Princess stop, you’re too drunk for this.”

The taste of alcohol from your lips and the way you’ve been crying, you were both still feeling a little raw from the incident. You’re way too vulnerable for anything beyond a kiss. Natasha didn’t want to take advantage of you like this, despite how much she wants to kiss you and make it up to you for the past few days. 

You pouted and furrowed your brows adorably at her, “But I missed you!”

The corner of her lips turned up slightly, she missed your stubbornness, “Not like this princess.” 

“You’re saying no to me again?” the hint of doubt crept in your voice, and Natasha heard it loud and clear. 

Her hand lifts your chin up lightly, much like how she did when you sat across from her in her office, demanding for a date just a few months ago.

You stare up at her, immediately feeling reassured by the way her eyes were just filled with concern and love, “You’re not in a good headspace now, I promise my feelings for you have not changed. But you are in no condition to do anything tonight, okay?” 

You nod, burying your face into her shoulder once again when you hug her tightly. You took in her scent, her warmth, her touch…

You would stay here with her forever if you could. 

“I’ll bring you to bed, we’ll cuddle and then tomorrow we’ll talk and then see where that brings us, alright?” she asked. 

“Promise?”

You didn’t expect him to overwhelm Charlie using numbers, having four people drag him away while you struggle against another two holding you down. When they start marching you towards the car, you distinctly hear the noise of someone’s bone breaking and the faint shout of your name. 

You really hope your favorite bodyguard gets to live. 

The two days you spent captive in the basement, you saw the man in charge exactly twice. 

First was when he introduced himself, told you about his qualms with your girlfriend, and then proceeded to slap you just to keep you quiet. Having a split lip was nothing new to you, but it did still sting. 

What followed next, was the thing that was most torturous. 

Sensory deprivation. 

Fucking old school torture methods. 

Blindfolds and headphones. 

You hated every second of it. 

You would’ve preferred if they kept up with a classic physical torture instead. Because that was engaging, I mean sure it would’ve sucked, but pain never faltered you. 

Silence however. 

Not knowing what’s going on? Not knowing what will happen? Not knowing how long it’s been?

He is trying to break you down. Subconsciously you know that. Know that this is just a classic psychological torture method. But it didn’t help with the thoughts in your head to go into different directions. 

The noise cancelling headphones was giving you a headache. The blindfolds took away your perception of time. 

You truly were just a sitting duck. 

Gosh, you hope Natasha finds you soon. 

The second time you saw the man in charge - his name was way too complicated for you to remember, but he was definitely Russian, it was only for a split second. 

He came into the room in a rush and cut off the ropes keeping you tied up. You jolted awake at that before you felt him roughly yanking off your blindfold and headphones. Your eyes barely adjusted to the light before you heard a gun going off and his blood spraying into your face. 

You stood stock still before him, as his body limply falls backwards and you finally catch a sight of the person behind him near the entrance of the room. 

Natasha had her gun with her, the bullet that killed your kidnapper undoubtedly fired by her. You briefly register that Yelena and Valkyrie were behind her, before you were swept into her embrace. 

The distinct scent of your girlfriend invaded your senses and you couldn’t help but hold onto her tighter. Your ears were still ringing but you slowly started hearing her voice calling out for you once again. 

“...you? Princess?” 

Hearing her voice again made you hold onto her even tighter - if that was possible. Your brain was slow to register that she was talking to you, “Hmm?”

Natasha caresses her thumb against your busted lip, careful to not put pressure on it, “He hurt you?”

You made a noise, “No, just this…”

That apparently was still horrible because Natasha started barking orders in Russian to the others, something that you know is because she doesn’t want you to understand what she’s saying. 

She does this sometimes, speaking in Russian when she thinks it’s better for you to not know the details of. You think it’s hot, even though sometimes you want to know what she’s saying. 

But with your head still swimming and your ear still trying to adapt to the noises that came rushing back in, you whined out her name, “Natty…” 

She paused her orders, her attention snapping back to you immediately, and you buried your head into her shoulder and whimpered softly, “Loud…”

She runs her hand up and down your back in comfort, while her gaze flickers around the room to get a hint of what might have gone down before she showed up. 

Yelena nods toward the headphones and blindfolds on the ground, kicking it slightly to get Natasha’s attention, and she immediately understands why you seem to be so out of it, “Sorry princess. Let’s get you home.”

You didn’t fuss when she carried you off the ground, and instead just burrowed your face into the crook of her shoulder, “Is Charlie okay?”

Her expression was tight, the crease between her brows showing up briefly before she forced herself to control her expression, “He’s in the hospital, but he’ll be okay.” 

You were relieved to hear that. 

Charlie albeit gets on your nerves sometimes, but you can’t deny the easy bond and understanding that he seems to have with you. Although you could live without him snitching your temper tantrums to your girlfriend, it was good to have someone understand you in a way that he did. 

“Natty?” you called out softly when she climbed into the car with you while the others took the front seats. Her hand was on you at all times and you can only imagine how she felt the past two days. 

“Shhh…let me take care of you princess.” 

---

It took a few days for your lips to stop hurting every time you drink water and a few more days for you to feel better with Natasha by your side. 

You visited Charlie at the hospital, glad to see him cracking a joke about you looking worse than him - it wasn’t true, he had two broken ribs and his right elbow was fractured, but the doctors did say that he will make a full recovery. 

You didn’t outright say that you were glad he was alright, but he can feel how much you cared about him in the way that you brought him his favorite healthy kale quinoa rice bowl garbage from across the town. 

It has always been that easy for the both of you to understand each other. 

Your girlfriend on the other hand has spent the last few days fussing over you but something still feels off. 

Whatever that feeling was definitely wasn’t obvious, but you could tell by the pinched expressions that you would catch on her face whenever she thought you weren’t looking, or the way that she’s been kissing you not with less love, but just…less warmth. 

Like she was holding herself back. 

You threw it in the back of your mind, believing that it was just the tension in the past week that is making everything seem so off. You also know that your girlfriend has been busy dealing with the scene and the clean up of what happened. 

So you let it go. 

You didn’t push her, believing and trusting that she would come to you and talk if something was wrong. 

A week goes by. 

And then another. 

And you realize what felt wrong to you. 

She’s been putting distance between you two. 

You’ve not had sex with Natasha for two weeks - three if you count the week of the incident and your recovery. 

You’ve tried initiating it, but your girlfriend was either deliberately ignoring it, or she’d give you excuses for being too tired or not feeling up for it. 

And your mind starts going crazy, overthinking why she might be acting this way. 

Most of the thoughts centered around you. 

Maybe she got tired of you. 

Maybe she finds you weak, given that she always spoke about loving how you’re independent and can take care of yourself - well now you’ve proved to her that you can’t, apparently. 

Maybe she finds you tainted…did she think you were dirtied by the man who caught you? 

Your mind was loud and you didn’t know how to approach your girlfriend about this. 

Until it happened again. 

“You’ve been turning me away for the past few weeks,” came your bold claim after the redhead pushed you off her lap saying that she was tired once again. 

She looks up at your words, “What?”

“Do not play dumb with me Natasha,” your gaze was hard, but you can feel the cracks slowly forming in your will to stay strong about this. 

She looks away, hands grabbing at the pillow next to her and putting it in her lap creating a physical barrier between the both of you. 

“You’re still healing-” and you didn’t even let her finish before your eyes watered, and you cut her off, “I barely got hurt! If it’s because of what happened then nothing…he didn’t do anything I’m not…”

Your voice started cracking, hands desperate to hold onto something but all you could do was wrap your hands around yourself, standing in front of her like some sort of desperate plea, “I’m still me. I’m still clean, I’m not tainted…” you sobbed. 

She didn’t expect you to think this way, she was quick to stand up and wrap her arms around you, “No princess-”

“Do you not want me anymore?” 

And if that didn’t break her heart. 

The crack in your voice and the way your tears were flowing down your face. She hates that she was the one that made you feel like this, never expecting her actions to make you feel unwanted. 

Her hands were tight around you, embracing you as if she was scared to lose you to your thoughts, “Shhh, princess I’m sorry.”

Internally, she was feeling guilty. 

She knows that she’s been acting a little out of it, and you’re too smart to not notice her behaviors; however, she didn’t expect that this was your reaction to it. She was prepared for you to question her eventually, maybe even demanding for the sex that you so clearly have been seeking. 

But this? 

This is just heartbreaking and it kills her to know that you’ve probably been drowning yourself in thoughts like these. 

How long has she made you feel unwanted? 

She gives you a kiss which you reciprocated hungrily, her hand coming up to cradle your face like you’re the most precious being in the world to her. 

“Listen to me, it’s not you. I’ve just been very busy with what happened and taking care of the business so I’m a little out of it now, okay?”

You try to find traces that she might be lying to you, scanning her face for any signs of the giveaways that you can catch, but all you see is just how tired she seems. The bags under her eyes that she tried to cover up with concealer, or the crinkle between her eyebrows that shows how much she’s been dealing with in the past few weeks. 

“You promise?” you asked, voice soft and hands linking into hers at your side. 

Her eyes were soft when she looked at you once again, the green orbs shining just a little as her thumb caressed your cheek, “You are still my precious princess, nothing is changing that.” 

Choosing to believe her, you nod once before burying yourself into her embrace once again, letting her lift you and settle you down on her lap on the couch once again. 

She knows that you weren’t genuinely looking to have sex earlier, your eyes are normally much more eager when you’re feeling lustful, so she settled down and kept you in her arms until you fell asleep. 

And you did fall asleep after just a few minutes. 

Your emotions were all over the place that you didn’t catch on the way that she didn’t promise you…

---

Fury. 

That was all you felt. 

Because if you let yourself feel anything else, you’re sure you will break down in the middle of Natasha’s office. 

The papers in your hand crumpled and crinkled as you whipped around and stormed towards the meeting room. 

You weren’t looking to dig through her stuff in the first place, you were just looking for the stapler on her desk and accidentally saw it peeking out of her binder. Natasha had never hidden anything from you per se, mostly just the more illegal side of things that she tries to keep away from you but never hidden. 

You knew enough about her line of business to be snooping around her stuff. 

This really was just a coincidence that you saw it while you were searching for something else entirely. 

Storming your way to the meeting room, you glare at the two people standing guard before they knock and open the door for you. They’ve seen this look from you before and know that restricting you is just a death sentence. 

Natasha was surprised to find you looking at her with such masked anger in your eyes, and as you make your way towards her, you see the others eye each other, waiting for someone to decide if they should stay or bail immediately. 

You didn’t care about the other people in the room, you marched up to your girlfriend and threw the papers onto the table right in front of her, “What is this?” 

Your voice was low, not calm, you’re way past calm at this point. You wanted answers and you wanted them right now. 

Natasha took a glance at the papers and her eyes darkened, “You went through my things?”

You held her gaze with your own hardened eyes, “Natasha Romanoff, you will answer me right now. What is this?” 

The redhead pursed her lips before signalling the others to leave the room, you distinctly register that Yelena was hiding a giggle at the way you full-named your girlfriend but you don’t have time for that right now. 

Once the door closes, your girlfriend arranges the papers into a neat little stack, “It’s exactly what you think it is.” 

“A split. Of your stuff. To me?”

“Yes.”

You hate the way your heart felt like it was traveling up to your throat and lodging itself right there. You hate the way your eyes are tearing up despite the anger and fury that you’re feeling. You hate that a small part of you somehow is repeating words that you’ve heard from your ex, ‘No one would ever willingly date you’.

“Is this your way of breaking up with me?” you asked, your fingernails biting into your palms as you try to keep control of your emotions. 

Frustratingly, your girlfriend is playing the nonchalant game that you’ve seen her play so many times with business partners, “I always knew you were smart,” and the little smirk she plastered on only made to fuel your anger even more. 

Because how dare she look so unaffected by what she’s saying right now, while you’re standing in front of her trying not to break down? 

“Why?” you asked, forcing your voice to be hard instead of the trembling that you’re feeling in your body. 

And finally she lets you see it. 

Or maybe she just couldn’t mask it. 

That split second of pain in the green eyes that you’ve spent hours gazing and falling in love with. The way her breathing stuttered for a beat before she controls it and she lets out a long breath. The little twitch in her feet where her body is trying so hard to move while she forces herself to stay still in the chair. 

Her eyes met yours, and with a tone of finality, “You’re better off without me.”

She didn’t spare you another glance before she grabbed the papers and stood up, deciding that the conversation was over.

And you never took that well. 

Never liked people deciding things for you. 

So, much like when she first met you, you surprised her. 

“Sit your ass down!” came a shout, and your hands were shoving her back into the chair. 

She didn’t hide her surprise. Her eyes were wide and caught between disbelief and also irritation. You have raised your voice before, mostly when you weren’t getting what you wanted. 

You’ve pushed her before, but never like this. Never with such conviction and with such anger. Your eyes were hard, shoulders tensed, and your spine was straight. 

You were holding yourself up by spite and sheer will. 

She’s seen you angry, seen you hurt, seen you vulnerable. 

But never like this. 

“This is because of what happened, isn’t it?” you asked, “I got kidnapped one time, and you think all your enemies are coming to get me. Spoiler alert, I have enemies ever since my mother gave birth to me,” you spat out. 

Natasha took it in. The anger, the words, the fury on your face. 

Softly, she sighs, “If it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t have taken you for two whole days.”

And that only made you angrier, “SO WHAT?!” 

How can she be this stupid? How could she possibly think that this one little kidnapping would unravel you? Why would she even think this is a problem when it’s never been an issue before? 

You run your hand through your hair, trying to form the right words so your girlfriend can really understand what you’re trying to say. 

“I chose to be with you, I can take the kidnapping or the torture or any of the potential bad things that might happen to me, as long as I am with you,” you tried saying, panting by the end of it because you feel exhausted by this conversation. 

“But I can’t!” 

And you stood there, taking in the raised voice from your girlfriend for once. 

She very rarely raises her voice at you, her anger generally comes out in calm, low tones that you’ve learned to recognize as your hint to stop pushing her. 

But as you take in her words, processing what she just said, she continues while she slumps down into her seat, head down like she’s trying to hide every emotion she’s feeling right now. 

“I can’t handle the thought of losing you! Do you know how torturous the two days were for me? To find out that you were taken right under my nose and kept god knows where, not knowing what he was doing to you?”

And now you’re really seeing it. 

The pain. 

The fear. 

The anxiety that she’s been masking for the past few weeks.  

“I can’t lose you like this…” and you wouldn’t have heard her if you weren’t laser focused on her right now. 

You see the way that her eyes are watered like she’s holding herself back just as much as you are. 

You notice how her voice is a whisper of pain and regret and guilt all mixed into one. 

You take in how her body looks tired and defeated like she’s had the longest day at the office. 

And your anger slowly fades away. 

Because this? 

This you can handle. 

Taking a step towards her, you tilt her head up to meet your eyes once more, “So you think leaving me will be the solution?”

With a gentle tug, she pulls you in closer to her by the waist, “You’re in less danger if you’re not affiliated with me.”

Huffing out a laugh, “The people already know that you care about me. Leaving me will not make me safe, it will just make me an easier target.” 

Rationality doesn’t seem to be registering in your girlfriend’s head now, so you gave yourself the leeway to feel a bit more. To open up the tightly closed lid on your emotions from the past few weeks and spill it onto the floor for Natasha to see. 

“Leaving me will also break my heart,” you pause, giving her a bitter laugh as your brain competes with the many inner dialogue that you keep having, “You might not think it’s a big deal but…I’m not moving on from you. Not like this.”

And finally, finally you let yourself cry. 

Your heart gives into the feeling that you’ve been repressing the whole day. The fear of being abandoned. The pain of being unwanted. The anguish at the thought of having the love of your life deciding to end something that you thought was everything to you. 

Your tears slide down your face. 

Dripping onto the carpet between the both of you, creating dark spots that marks the vulnerability you’re feeling. 

Natasha looks up at you, and you catch sight of the tear sliding down her cheek and onto her neck, “Of course I care about you, but I need you to be safe.”

Frustrated that she is still hellbent on breaking apart, you tore yourself away from her, pacing around the table, you grit out, “You’re not leaving me.”

“Princess…”

You turn and point at her, your anger from before slowly slithering its way back into your voice and posture, “You’re not! You know you’re going to stay because if you don’t then I will lose my mind.” 

You took a lap around the meeting room to calm yourself down, while your brain works to figure out how to get your damn point across a fucking stubborn woman who is surprisingly stupid. 

Clenching and unclenching your fists, you finally calm yourself down enough to try another shot at being civil with your girlfriend. You roll a chair that you briefly remember was occupied by Maria earlier, and sit down directly opposite your girlfriend, with just a little distance between the two of you. 

Starting with a deep breath in, “When I walked into your office and demanded for that date, I knew exactly what I was getting into. Yes, you are Natasha Romanoff, the mobster that everyone on the streets fear, the one name that the underworld is trying to get rid of, the one with hundreds of enemies just in this city alone.” 

You see your girlfriend wanting to agree and probably point out that you just made her point for her, but you didn’t let her as you roll your chair closer to her and continued, “But you are also Natasha Romanoff, the one person that I want holding me in my sleep, the one who will glare at me for mouthing off but secretly loves it, the woman that I can’t believe chose me to be her girlfriend.” 

The redhead looks away and sniffles, and your hand cradles her face to wipe off the tear tracks much like how she used to do for you, “I chose you, I chose us. This little danger is not gonna scare me off…” 

You see the way her throat is bobbing as she tries to control her breathing, your other hand finds its way into Natasha’s hand and you give her a little squeeze, “And you shouldn’t try to get rid of me as well.” 

She sighs, before her eyes find comfort in seeing your hands fitting perfectly in her lap, “What if it happens again? And this time I can’t get to you in time?” The crack in her voice caused your heart to stutter. 

“Do you think I’m not scared?” you asked, and her puffy green eyes found your gaze, “Every time you go out with Bucky to the port? Or every time you fly to another country for some business meetings? Or like that time you went to get revenge for Carol?”

And that was true. 

You will always be scared for her. 

You know how fragile a human life can be, especially in her line of business. 

But that doesn’t mean you’re going to stop yourself from loving her or being with her. 

“But I am not willing to let that fear drive me away from you, ever.”

And it was the conviction in your voice that gave Natasha the courage she needed to keep you by her side. 

You can almost see the decision being made in her eyes and her body. 

But today has been a long day, and you really want to never ever have this conversation ever again. So you try to drive it home with an even stronger message. 

“I trust you. I trust our family. I trust that I will forever find my way back to you, and you will always find your way to me.” 

And she believes you.