Chapter Text
[October 18th, 2007 – Formentera, Spain]
The sun was warm for an early October afternoon, the sea was calm; the only noises that could be heard were the calls of the seagulls and the waves crashing against the shore. Even the wind was absent, making the scene calm and quiet.
All was still enough for Natasha to enjoy the beach.
If she had to use a single word to describe her surroundings, she would have picked ‘peaceful’. And if she had to use another one to describe how she was feeling, she would say ‘content’.
Then, a sound reached her ears, but she wasn't quick enough. A second later, wet skin was sliding against her own.
“You're cold.”
“Refreshing,” Maria corrected, trying to appeal to Natasha’s love for her.
“It's October, the water is cold, not refreshing.”
“Mh,” Maria made a non-committal sound as she bowed her head to kiss Natasha's collarbone and her shoulder. “You sure you don't want to come check it out?”
“I could be...” she entwined her hand in Maria's hair, bringing their lips together for a brief, sweet kiss, “...persuaded.”
Maria smiled and raised her head.
Natasha looked up at her, her head crowned by the sun, her eyes so lively and happy, a dashing smile on her face. Maria was unspeakably perfect. What she felt for the brunette went beyond words. It went beyond worlds, time, even matter itself.
“Maria, I-”
One of their phones went off, and Natasha was almost glad it did. She didn't even know how that sentence was going to end, but perhaps it was better they never found out. She swallowed the lump in her throat and got up to a sitting position as Maria slid off of her to retrieve her phone.
She sat down beside Natasha, bringing the device to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Agent Hill, it's been a while.”
“Director Fury.” Maria gave Natasha a look that spoke for itself. “You're on speaker.”
“I take it Agent Romanoff is there with you?”
“I am, sir,” Natasha confirmed.
“Well, let's cut the pleasantries short. I didn't go through all the trouble of finding a functioning number to ask you how sunny Mexico is.”
“Oh, we were never in Mexico, sir. I'm afraid that was a decoy to get the Interpol off our backs,” Maria admitted.
“I see. Well, that was clever. And the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't even notice it was a decoy is exactly why I'm calling. My Deputy Director is going to retire in a few months, I need someone I trust to take that position, Hill. And Romanoff, if I have to send another soldier to do a spy's job I'm going to lose it .”
He didn't even mention how much Clint had been moping around since they left, or how Carter was trying to be sneaky about trying to track them since day one. He didn't tell them how hard Coulson and May had been working to get the World Council off their backs, eventually having them drop the charges on Hill and convinced them there was no trace left of what the Devil's Keeper looked like.
“So just come back, would you? It's been months. God knows how many lifetimes you've lived by now. Bring your asses back here.”
He ended the call without even waiting for them to answer.
Maria stared at her phone, trying to decide if that conversation actually took place, or if she was hallucinating due to the cold water she was in just a few minutes before.
She eventually put her phone back in their bag and turned to Natasha, who was already looking at her.
“What do you think?”
Maria shrugged, turning to look around them. “It's nice here, isn't it?”
Natasha almost smirked, the itch to get back as clear in her voice as the six a.m. alarm that Maria still had set on her phone to remind her it was time for her workout.
“It is. The house, the beach out back, the patio. It's all perfect.”
“We could stay,” Maria said, turning to look at her. “Stay here, get a cat. A dog.”
A family.
The last part went unsaid, but understood.
“I don't know if I'm ready to retire, just yet,” Natasha admitted, “But I'll follow you to the end of the world and back.”
“You already did,” Maria reminded her.
Natasha smiled, then shrugged, “I'll follow you to hell and back, then.”
“You’ve already done that, too,” Maria said, her tone a little darker.
She reached out, taking Natasha's hand in her own, her eyes once again scanning the marvelous landscape in front of them.
“Are you really ready to go back?” Maria asked, a little unsure. “Missions and assignments mean we won't see much of each other for days, weeks, sometimes even months maybe.”
“You're forgetting that I can reach you in the blink of an eye, wherever you are. I promise I'll always be with you when the day ends, Masha.”
Maria scooted closer, hugging Natasha with one arm. Natasha rested her head on Maria's shoulder, closing her eyes.
“You’ve shaped the past. We’ve changed the future. Maybe this is our chance to find out if there's something we can do to make the present better, too.”
“An average life together, Hill? Well, this might just be the greatest adventure we’ve embarked on to this day.”
Neither of them, in the beginning, thought they would get here; to this happiness.
“Nothing about any lifetime with you could ever be average, Romanoff.”
They traveled from the start to the end of the world, yet any second they spent together felt unique. All of time and space, but still, they could never get tired of each other.
The forehead touch and kiss they shared were both a promise and a reassurance: whatever fate they might face on the journey they were about to start anew, they would be ready to face it.
Together.