Chapter Text
Yelena drummed her fingertips on the arm of her chair, taking in the smiles and laughter of the company she found herself with. Wanda sitting next to Sam as they shared a loud laugh at something he said after he tugged on the sleeve of her new intricately layered robes; while the fashion in Kamer Taj was certainly unique, there was no denying the tangible calmness that Wanda seemed to embrace. James finally not lurking at the edges or in the shadows, sitting next to Steve and getting a deep laugh from him over an old story of them playing ‘skeeball down at the pier’. She smirked to herself already thinking of a plan to make him think it was his idea so she could try this infamous past time of two centenarians herself.
Then there was the ease that she saw in Natasha, unabashedly having a good time sitting on Steve’s lap with a smile that hadn’t left her face all day, was something Yelena had only ever seen in a much smaller setting. Natasha may no longer have a small band of merry fugitives as her small circle but she certainly had a large band of merry men and woman around her now. A group her sister proudly shared with her; somewhere Yelena never thought she would be.
Sure, at one point during the rumored days of the ‘Secret Avengers’, while she and the others were hiding away in safe houses and dismantling a complex alien weaponry, turned human trafficking network; she thought about meeting the rest of the Avengers, but evidently the universe had different plans. Just as she had suddenly found herself on a battle field months ago, fighting along side the Avengers; now she sat with the people her sister considered a family; and by default, they were hers as well.
All with their own story to tell.
“Alright, the minors are all in bed?” Yelena asked Laura and Pepper as they came back to the group.
Laura nodded, sitting on the arm of Clint’s chair. Given the day the children had, regardless of their age, from Morgan right up to Cooper, none of them put up much of an argument when bed times were announced, far too late for the young ones and far too early for the older ones; turns out bounce houses truly had no age limits.
“Perfect” Yelena said leaning back in her chair, a sly smile on her face as she looked over to Natasha.
“What do you have planned?” Natasha asked.
“Finding out all the possible dirt I can on you” Yelena said with a smirk. Just as she has studied the Avengers during her time in the Red Room, just as she had learned about them from first hand experience over two years, she was going to learn more about her sister in the best possible way.
“Now. Dumbest thing you’ve seen her do on mission?”
“Shimmy up a palm tree with an extended shoulder” Maria said tilting her glass at Natasha.
Natasha rolled her eyes. “That shouldn’t on the top of your list. Also, it was after I saved your ass from downing in the South China Sea.”
“Hurl herself through a wall of fire” Sam said loudly, laughing as raised his bottle.
Natasha arched her eyebrow smiling at Sam. “To save your ass as far as I recall.”
“Falling for this lug head” James said, shoving Steve’s shoulder and ruffling his hair.
Natasha smirked. “That’s ‘cause he has a nice ass.”
>>
Natasha laughed loudly, perched on Steve’s knee, her stomach tensing and she wheezed.
“You had fucking chicken feathers in your hair when we finally got the evac to you” Clint said, nostrils flaring with laughter as Laura laughed along with him. Natasha had stayed well away from the chicken coop on her next three visits to the farm; if it wasn’t for Cooper pleading with her to join him, and Clint’s creative new name for their hen, she was fairly certain Natasha would have put if off for longer and never met Margrate Hatcher.
“Is this the chicken shit story?” Maria asked, swinging her leg over the chair. “I can still picture the throbbing vein on the Accounting supervisors head when he handed over your expense claim.”
“Chicken shit along with the feathers, might I add. I sure as well wasn’t paying for that literal shit.” The mission in Argentina had gone decidedly south when an unexpected storm rolled in and she was forced to seek shelter in a chicken coop, with ten distressed chickens for three hours.
“You out did yourself after Cambodia.”
Clint snapped his finger. “The diesel. How could I forget the diesel.”
>>> 2012; 7 years with SHIELD, Helicarrier <<<
“You wanna explain this $5800 salon invoice that came across my desk for approval?” Nick Fury asked as Natasha walked into his office.
“You’re signing off on $5800 expense claims? Seems below your pay grade” Natasha said, sitting as she usually did in Fury’s office for a reason she didn’t feel was worth either of their time; slouched, legs wide and without an apparent care in the world.
“You’re damn right it is, which is why I was perplexed Romanoff” Fury said picking up the tablet, scrolling quickly to the right.
“I thought people went to these fancy ass spas to sit in mud. Based on your report, seems to me like you did just do that in Cambodia?” Fury said, tossing the tablet on his desk. His voice raised in the simmering annoyance that typically clung to him when he was handling expense claims; at least that was what he liked them to think. His job was nothing but high stress, with next to no breaks and not many opportunities for enjoyment; and while he certainly knew of all of their missions, sometimes the official reports were far too light on the details. Fury had always played the long game, so he would wait until a few weeks post mission, when the expense claims started to roll in; that was usually when he got the nitty gritty details that he lived for.
“Twelve hours in the jungle, covered in mud waiting for a shift change of a fucking rebel army is one thing. Doing it near a damn leaking barrel full of fuel is an entirely other thing.” The small bamboo platform was more or less avoided by the small militia, giving her the perfect opportunity to stake out their operations, if it wasn’t for the slow leak from the barrel of diesel fuel.
“And? Still isn’t giving me much insight to this salon bill, now is it?” Fury scoffed to conceal his laugh; as it usually turned out, when the plan fell apart Natasha improvised and got them exactly what was needed.
“It was the goddam diesel fuel in the mud, Nick.”
Fury raised an eyebrow.
“Fried my fucking scalp and took like two layers of skin with it.”
“And?”
“I’m in Brussels in two weeks, gotta look my best” Natasha sat up straight, eyebrow arched not all that surprised she’d have to explain this to Fury. He was a man after all, a decidedly bald one at that.
“You look the same to me” Fury said leaning back in his chair, hands tented in front of him. He already had plans on approving the claim. Once she understood the parameters Natasha was never shy on expensing things. He watched her carefully, waiting for whatever reply she was going to spin; talking with Natasha kept him on his toes, always a game between the two when they were in the mood.
“And I think you just answered your own question if you give yourself a minute. That is the entire point of the expense claim.”
>>><<<
“And that sums up why they all just had their own credit cards” Pepper said laughing. At one point in her career, she had to justify Tony’s ridiculous expenses claims to the board of Stark Industries, and it was something she was very glad was behind them.
“That rule was in place just for a few of the level high level Agents, he liked the stories that came with most of the expense claims. Said it was the only entertainment he got most days” Maria chuckled.
Yelena held her hand to her throat, tongue lolling to the side and head laying limp. “The bureaucracy is killing me. Expense claims are not what I meant with this little trip down memory lane.”
Tony looked at Natasha and winked, his grin widening as Natasha rolled her eyes. “I’ve got a good one, BTNB you’re gonna like it. She’s all bad ass, and I make an ass of myself.”
>>> 2012 <<< 7 months post Avengers; the Tower
Natasha walked into the lab, an evident limp in her step. She was tired, her lip was split, she was going to have one hell of a bruise on her jaw in hour or so and was pretty sure she still smelled like kerosene. Mission was successful and she anticipated some damage but twisting her ankle within the first ten seconds of a fight was never in her plans.
Not in the mood to deal with SHIELD medical, which was a lot more trouble than it was worth, nor in the mood to deal with the work involved to stitch up her split lip herself, Natasha begrudgingly sought out help. The Tower was the closest and usually had a few people around, except for tonight evidently; Steve was in DC for meetings, Clint was still on leave, Thor off planet and Bruce wasn’t at the Tower, which only left Tony.
“There’s my favourite double agent” Tony said finishing a solder point on his latest wiring project. Blowing slightly on the connection, he looked up at Natasha and paused, his slow blink even more prominent with his head mounted magnifying lens firmly in place. “Natashalie…you look like shit. Mission go south?”
“No, went according to plan actually” Natasha said casually.
“You planed on getting punched in the face?” Tony asked placing his tools down.
“You should see the other guy” Natasha shrugged.
“Your lip needs a stitch” Tony said.
“Well, your headgear must have one hell of a zoom.”
Tony kicked a rolling stool towards her. “Sit Romanoff, I am a doctor you know.”
“No, you have a doctorate. Very different” Natasha said, sitting on the stool on the opposite end of Tony’s work bench.
Natasha was no stranger to Tony’s lab. They had spent a few late nights drinking while Natasha observed Tony’s chaotic creation process. He was still rough around the edges, brash, overly confident, holding on to too much baggage, but still somehow managed to be more grounded then when she first met him. The Battle of New York had changed the man she met 2 years prior.
Natasha sighed as she realized she just described herself. It was a long day.
“True. But my stitches are amazing.” Tony washed his hands, going to his first aid kit.
“I know.”
“I doubt mine are better than yours though” Tony said, swabbing away the dried blood and debris from her lip.
“They’re not. Honestly, it's more work for me to get cleaned up enough to do it myself” Natasha replied.
Tony hummed in agreement, looking at her split lip. “I’m gonna numb it. I have a topical.”
“Don’t bother, you’re just going to make fun of me when I can’t drink when you’re done” Natasha rolled her eyes, her jaw throbbing.
Tony sighed. “Ya, probably, but it’s still better if I do. I’m thinking one stich, I have the dissolvable kind. New tech, will be gone in a day. No scarring – Stark guarantee” Tony said winking.
Natasha chuckled at the ridiculous display of Tony’s wink under his magnified lenses. “Just get it over with Tony.”
“But the view is so…well no. Not pretty this time Red. You look like shit” Tony grinned, turning to the first aid kit and taking out his new suture kit.
“You have a horrible bedside manner.”
“Uh-huh. Now, I get to bask in what I’m about to say next: shut your mouth Romanoff and let me do my work.”
Natasha narrowed her eyes.
Tony’s pupils constricted in panic; his mind catching up to the words he just said aloud.
Damn it. Tony thought as he remembered how many Chitauri she took out with nothing but handheld fire power; she had learned to use their tech in under thirty seconds and was hitting head shots in under a minute of field testing; with no suit. He knew better then to piss her off. “See, I can say that because I need to sew your lip back up. It’s a legitimate statement. You can’t talk while I’m stitching your lip” Tony explained quickly.
Natasha’s gaze didn’t waver.
“Riiiight…Request. It was a legitimate…poorly worded request. Sorry. I’m just gonna…” Tony motioned towards Natasha’s lips as he placed the small suture in her lip.
“Done. So, vodka now? I have some in the freezer. Top shelf.” Tony rolled away, putting distance between himself and the unintentionally pissed off Agent/spy/scary red head.
“I know your lab vodka Tony. It’s shit. But I’ll drink it” Natasha said. She would have to get Tony to stock better quality vodka in the lab. ‘Top Shelf’ doesn’t always mean better and that was a hard lesson to get in Tony’s head.
Tony raised his middle finger and flipped Natasha off, causing her to smile, the stich pulling on her lip. She grimaced, straightening out her spine and flexing her shoulders; she needed a shower and her bed. She kicked her leg up on the stool beside her, alleviating the pressure on her sprained ankle.
Natasha turned, her eyes roaming around the lab. Tony was always working on something; at times he was chaotic in his projects and from the looks of it this was one of those times. Seeing a few abandoned projects on the worktables and a display of some of Tony’s designs on the holoscreen. Natasha lowered her leg from the stool and rolled towards the display table currently projecting a black tactical suit. There was no question which suit Tony was designing.
“Uh...Tony. What’s the designs for?”
“Oh that? New mechanized suit for my favorite patient” Tony said placing the beakers on the lab table.
“Tony...are those?”
“Repulsors. Yup. You’re the best hand to hand fighter we have, so repulsors in the hands wouldn’t work” Tony said miming the action of activating one of favoured weapons. He poured the vodka into the chilled beakers, sliding it over to the visibly tired woman.
“Here, whiskey rocks, for your lip. Cold pack for your…well wherever you think is best to put it” Tony said sliding the glass of cold whiskey rocks; he had special sections in his sub-zero freezer stocked with medical supplies.
“So...you put two of them...on the chest?” Natasha said, holding the ice-cold rock to her lip, the cold was a welcomed relief to the persistent throbbing.
When Tony was thinking, he could be a real gentleman at times.
“Well at first, I thought eyes. But the helmet would heat up way too much” Tony said, holding the glass beaker in cheers to Natasha. Tony sipped, while Natasha downed the whole glass in one go.
“Has Pepper seen it?” Natasha motioned for the bottle and Tony chuckled, sliding it over.
“Despite popular rumor, Pepper doesn’t need to approve SI designs, nor does she have any say in my personal designs.”
“Run it by her, let me know what she says” Natasha smirked.
“What?” Tony asked moving the design, getting a 360 degree view of the new tactical suit. She didn’t like it, but he wasn’t sure why.
“So, hand repulsors no go. Eye repulsors no go” Natasha started as she poured another large shot of vodka. “So...you put them on my breasts?” Natasha leaned in to look at the designs closers. “In the general vicinity of where the aluminum nipples would be, no less...Tony” Natasha sighed.
And when Tony wasn’t thinking he did some stupid shit.
“Tony I appreciate it. But I’m not Barbarella and this isn’t Austin Powers” Natasha sipped the vodka this time, her lip still stung, but another cold whiskey rock, combined with the warm feeling that vodka always provided and she was feeling pretty good, all things considered.
“Austin Powers? Oh...right. The machine gun bra. I…shockingly didn’t look at it that way” Tony said, his tone and posture seemingly deflating with his words. He blinked as he looked at the design again. It was a dumb design. “The whole hourglass thing you got going on, it was for symmetrical purposes really. But now that you are commenting on it, it’s pretty crass, even by my standards. I can change the location.”
Tony swiped through several folders, finding another design. “Here, this design has them at the shoulders, but the recoil at that height will throw your center off balance…but I can compensate with thrusters.”
“Not sure I want a suit Shellhead.”
“What do you mean? Everyone wants a suit”. As much as Tony hated the way Natasha would always manage to stop him in his tracks and rethink things, he also appreciated it all the same.
“A mechanized suit with repulsors. Not really my style. There’re already two suits flying around out there” The last thing she was interested in was flying around in the sky in a suit. She had enough eyes on her as it was; she didn’t need another target on her back.
“Well...yours would be different” Tony shrugged.
“Ya. With boob lasers” Natasha chuckled, finishing the last of her vodka.
“Ok, no breast located projectiles” Tony sighed. He wasn’t going to live this one down anytime soon.
“Tell ya what Shellhead, I could use a better charging system for my gauntlets.”
“You mean your Widow Bites.”
Natasha sighed, Tony also liked to name things. “Sure, my widow bites. They hold a decent charge, I can get off 4 to 5 shots depending on their strength but –”
“Well, that’s a shite ratio. Would it have helped with wherever you came from?” Tony asked sincerely.
“Likely.”
“Alright, what were you thinking?”
“Jarvis, access my personal drive, design 46. Authorized by my voiceprint.”
“Right away Ms Romanoff.”
“Wait, your personal drive?”
Natasha smirked.
“Jarvis?” Tony asked.
“Ms. Romaonff asked for a small partition. It was approved with week 40’s service pack Boss.”
Tony pulled up the schematics for week 40’s update. “Son of a bitch, when did you do this Red?” Tony asked finishing his drink and waving Natasha off from a refill. “And how’d you get in my system?È
“You let me in Tony.”
“When did I do that?”
“When you gave me clearance with Jarvis when we moved in.”
“What level?”
“I have level 3 clearance. Hence, partitions and lockdown protocol on my drive.”
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “You read the code permissions, didn’t you?”
“Yup” Natasha replied.
“No-one else did?”
“Not that I know of. Steve wouldn’t know what any of this means. Clint’s just not that interested, and Bruce has higher clearance then me, level 2.”
“Right and you know programming. Pretty damn well if what you did with the Vanko situation was any indication.”
“I’ve got many skills.”
“That you do” Tony said dryly. He never would have guessed that ‘Natalie from Legal’ would not only be able to kick Happy’s ass and use his repulsors, but also hack Vanko’s suit and kill a ton of aliens.
“I’m going to have a talk with Happy. He’s scared of you, you know. You hurt his ego in the ring and bruised it further when you took out the goons at Hammer” Tony said with a grin. Natasha smiled as best she could in return. As far as her undercover ops went, working at Stark Industries was pretty damn great; Pepper was a force to be reckoned with and she got to take down Happy in the ring to get Tony’s attention, blew up an ice sculpture and got an excellent pay day. It could have been a lot worse.
“Now design 46...” Jarvis projected the rough design and charging schematics.
“How long have you been sitting on this gem?” Tony asked as he expanded the image and looked over the schematics.
“Couple weeks. Got bored one night after a mission.”
“Same kind that got your lip busted up?”
“I’m fine Tony. Barely a scratch.”
“Well, no armour but a suit that has your Bites fully charged and allows for...what kind of rapid fire do you need Red?”
“I’m actually thinking blue for this one. Looking for a change. Let’s work out the details.”
“You good to keep working on this, or you need to go recoup?” Tony asked, looking Natasha over again.
“Naw, I’m good.”
“Maybe, uh take a shower. No offense but you smell like kerosene and blood. Lab shower has a steam setting, and 10 jets.”
“Thanks Tony. Like I said you should see the other guy.”
“I should have a change of clothes on the shelves inside” Tony said as Natasha rose from the stool and started to limp towards the shower.
“I’ve got a change of clothes down here.”
“What? Where? Actually, never mind.” He was quickly realizing not to question things too much with Natasha.
Natasha smiled limping away. “Good call Shellhead. I am a spy, remember?”
>>><<<
Pepper swatted Tony’s chest as she laughed. “I swear, sometimes Tony…boob lasers.” She wrapped her arm around Tony, resting her head on his shoulder; it had been well over seven years, but it felt good to all be together, gathered in celebration for a change.
“Is that when you got the blue lighting on your suit?” Yelena asked, turning to Natasha who nodded and grinned.
“One of my favourite suits” Steve said tightening his hold on Natasha gently. She looked down and smiled at Steve, about to lean in and peck him on the cheek.
“Nope!” Yelena shouted, breaking the moment. Natasha rested her forehead against Steves, turning to look at Yelena and sticking her tongue out.
Sam leaned forward in his chair, winking at Natasha. “I got a good one.”
>>> 2017; 1 year post-Civil War, Minsk <<<
Natasha and Yelena worked in synchronized precision to control their descent through the atrium. Back-to-back, they repelled into the building, taking out the guards on each level with their Widow Bites. Landing on the main floor, the Widows worked silently to neutralize the closest of Kovac’s men before ducking behind two opposing pillars. Natasha looked towards Yelena with a wide smile and winked, before quickly peeking past their cover and to the room with the children.
They’re safe, terrified and I’m pretty sure sedated somehow. Wanda clarified, wanting to ensure the woman knew the children and other victims were safe. Yelena nodded towards Natasha, as the women walked out from behind the pillars to the remaining guards. Kovacs' men looked panicked, their eyes wild as they aimed their weapons at the women.
The one on the right one enjoys it. Wanda said darkly as Natasha and Yelena faced the guards.
“Who they fuck are you?!?” The largest man on the right yelled.
“Your fucking reckoning, you piece of shit” Yelena replied, as she and Natasha raised their wrists and stunned the guards with their gauntlets.
As Yelena stalked towards the remaining guard on the right, Natasha understood the tension in her shoulders, the need that Yelena had for the physicality of a fight, and let her sister have the remaining guard on the right. Natasha had been the same after she defected to SHEILD; especially on missions dealing with human traffickers. There was a deep-rooted rage Natasha used to feel and at times she did little to quell that rage when she was taking out certain ‘bad guys of the week’. The rage was still present, but Natasha had learned other ways to focus it; she was far more selective with who she targeted.
Yelena dodged the guard’s pitiful attempt at shooting her; Wanda’s words echoed in her head as she held his arm with the gun, her fingers digging into the flesh targeting a pressure point and forcing him to drop the gun. She punched him quickly in the spleen, ribs and hard in the face, the guard crumbling to the ground.
“Kusok der’ma” Yelena said, her voice filled with anger.
“He is a piece of shit.” Natasha agreed.
Room secure Wanda.
Wanda breathed a sigh of relief, removing the protection from around the room. She focused again, pushing out her powers as the survivors’ eyes flashing scarlet, before they laid down into a forced sleep.
They were already pretty out of it, but I encouraged them to sleep. Wanda updated the group.
Steve? Still bashing away up there? Natasha asked.
One left, outside Kovacs’ location. Figured I’d wait for you join me. Steve replied, he was happy to wait for Natasha and Yelena; knowing the younger woman was eager for the physical confrontation.
Yelena grinned behind her mask, her eyes lighting up. “He’s mine” Yelena replied, as she repelled up the line with Natasha quickly behind her.
Yelena swung onto the sixth floor, landing lightly on the glass covered tiles and standing to her full height. Just as she was about to move forward, Natasha landed in front of the younger woman in her signature Black Widow pose.
Yelena rolled her eyes, as she watched Natasha land in front of her.
Her ass does look good though. Yelena thought, momentarily forgetting their mental connection, as the team chuckled.
“You looked” Natasha said with a smirk, catching Yelena looking at her crouched position.
“Whatever. Such a poser” Yelena replied stepping around her sister and joining Steve against the wall.
With a good ass. Natasha added as the others snickered.
>>><<<
“I want to know things I don’t know. I was there” Yelena shouted before flicking a pebble at Sam.
Sam swatted at the pebble and grinned. “Well only five of us were, it’s a good Nat stor –”
“It’s amazing you got anything done” Maria said quietly enough that neither Sam nor Yelena heard.
Natasha scoffed. Their two years as fugitives had been far from dull with the company she had. Steve, Wanda, Sam and finally Yelena all finding a bizarre balance that worked for them between training, missions and the secluded life that they led.
“I often asked myself the same question” Wanda said, shaking her head as Yelena and Sam continued to bicker.
“Fine, fine. First mission with these two love birds. Triskellion literally collapsing around me before I use my body as a football and ‘Hail Mary’ myself out the damn 41st floor window. Dive through the helicopter and she catches me falling out of the damn helicopter. Then like it’s nothing starts some kind of weird flex with Fury.”
>>> 2014 <<< Fall of SHEILD; Washington
Natasha couldn’t help the feelings of utter relief when she caught the glimmer of something reflective along the shore before it disappeared into the overgrowth around the Potomec. James had pulled Steve from the wreckage, now she just needed to get to him.
“Which belt did you grab?” Natasha asked into the mic of her headset, looking over at Fury; eye brow arched
“What do you mean which belt?” Fury barked. “The belt I’m allowed to touch. What is this, a trick question?” He asked in his never-ending annoyed tone, as he turned to look at her.
Natasha smirked, giving Fury a wink as he rolled his eyes.
Sam looked between the two, holding his low laugh until Fury turned back to the windscreen. “Wasn’t he your boss?” Sam asked as she secured her utility belt around her waist.
“Sam, Fury’s always boss level” Natasha said, taking out her grappling line, securing it to the interior of the helicopter and taking off the ear protection.
“You just leveled up, wingman!” Natasha shouted, winking at Sam as she leaned backwards and tumbled out of the helicopter.
“She do this often?” Sam asked Fury as he leaned out of the chopper, watching Natasha disengage the line 15 feet above the ground, and tumbling into a roll before she bounded up and started running to an unconscious Steve.
“Another day at the office Mr. Wilson. Even if we did just blow the company to hell” Fury said; another day and the goddamned office.
>>><<<
“I have never seen someone talk to the head of any agency the way Nat talked to Fury and Congress and still keep her job” Sam laughed, giving Natasha a playful grin.
Steve smirked, Sam was far from wrong; over the past five years he had never seen someone so eloquently put world leaders in their place. She had a knack for telling things like they were, a skill honed over decades. There was no denying her talent in the field, regardless of the task at hand.
“You’ve never seen her act drunk.”
>>> 2014 <<< 11 months post Battle of New York / 2 months pre fall of SHIELD; undisclosed location
“She plays drunk really good. Like really, really good” Steve said over their comms.
“Did you expect anything less?” Clint asked.
“No, I guess not. Just another thing to see it in action. How we looking from the satellites?”
“All clear, I’ve got eyes on all the roads” Clint said from their SHIELD office. Clint was oversight for this op, with only Steve and Natasha in the field. “Anything you see around the building?”
“All clear.”
“Perfect now we wait, Nat will signal if things get risky or she needs extraction.”
Natasha’s ‘drunken’ giggle interrupted their conversation. “What’s this room back here for?” Natasha slurred. “OH! Your friends. You have lottsa friends don’t ya?”
“Shit. How many Nat?” Clint asked
“I don’t like this. I’m getting suited up just in case” Steve said.
“She can handle herself” Clint said, watching the satellite footage closely. “But it never hurts to be ready.”
“Copy that” Steve said, walking to the locker and attaching his small matt black field shield to his back. Captain America wasn't needed for all of their missions. It didn't take much for him and Natasha to get R&D to make something new.
“1…2…5...15 more friends than I’m comfortable with” Natasha said, her words slurring and voice starting to tremble.
“Damn. Twenty Cap. Nat you start the hack yet?” Clint said, watching the satellite footage closely. No movement
“You know it – ” Natasha hiccupped. “You know it’s not nice to tricky a lady.” Natasha’s slurred voice was loud over their comms, confirming Clint’s question and playing along with her cover.
“Clint? Feels like I should go in” Steve said, lowering the clocked quinjet.
“Hold at the ready Cap. You don’t want to go in unless she calls the signal. Your evac route clear?”
“All clear. Looks like their security is clearing the club. They got something planned” Steve said.
“Ya, they always do. She’s either been made or they’re hoping for some action.”
“All of them?”
“Gang rape, Steve.”
“Jesus, Clint. And we sent her in there?”
“No, we don't let Nat do anything. She can handle herself; it won’t get that far.”
“There’re twenty guys...” Steve mumbled.
“And you got her back” Clint reaffirmed to Steve. These situations were always difficult to navigate, especially when Natasha was involved.
“We have a lock on their transmissions. We’ve hacked their systems. Nat get yourself out whenever you can” Clint said, securing their channel and parsing the data.
“I don’t think it’s gonna be that easy, guys. I’m a lot to handle” Natasha continued to slur her words.
“Clint?” Steve asked, lowering the jet 20 feet above the skylight over the back room where Natasha was being held. “I’m in position.”
“Hold. She hasn’t said she needs evac yet” Clint said.
“Well, she’s too quiet and I don’t like this.”
“I don’t like it either. But we’ll like it a whole lot less if we piss her off.”
“Trust me boys, you don’t want to do this” Natasha voice was still slurred, but her tone had shifted.
“No, please. I just wanna go home. I have a dog, she needs me” Natasha whimpered, working their safe word into her persona’s terrified pleas.
“Steve, engage.”
“Heads up, Nat” Steve said taking the shield off his back and leaping from the quinjet.
Steve crashed through the skylight, shield first, landing in his crouched position.
“Told you, you didn’t want to do this” Natasha said as grabbed the leaders wrist and flipped him over her shoulder, twisting his arm to dislocate his shoulder. She elbowed the next guard in the throat. “Crashing through, huh?” Natasha said, looking at Steve quickly as she took on another three guards.
“Jumping in headfirst” Steve said as he punched another guard, his body crumbling to the ground with the force of the hit.
“You are good at that” Natasha replied, twisting the forearm of another guard and flipping him over her shoulder while kicking backwards at another assailant.
“Exactly. Doesn’t hurt to lean into what I’m good at. Right?” Steve said, slamming two of the guards against each other.
Steve turned, watching as Natasha locked her legs around another’s neck, twisting and throwing him into the wall, before flipping forward and punching another in the groin, followed by an uppercut.
“Cool move” Steve said nodding, before punching another man square in the jaw.
“Thanks” Natasha replied, blowing her hair out of her face.
“Killer right hook” Natasha said with a wink replied before taking out the final guard in her vicinity.
“Quit flirting and hit the safe as our cover. Let’s get you two out of there” Clint said grinning. Listening to Natasha and Steve work was more entertaining than he thought; there was definitely something there with both of them.
“That wasn't flirting. Besides I save my best tricks for you Birdbrain" Natasha said.
>>><<<
“Poster children for waiting too damn long” Clint said, giving Steve a nod that spoke volumes in its sincerity. He could see that Steve was trying, although not entirely ready to let the past five years slide which he understood, but as his wife would often remind him; he could see things better than anyone. And he had seen first-hand how Natasha and Steve just seemed to click; all it took was one leap of faith off his shield and they were both hooked.
Wanda held her glass high, allowing herself to feel the happiness and joy around her. Her stay at Kamer Taj, while far from dangerous could only be classified as solemn and exhausting in what she had been learning. She was well in tune with her powers, learning far more then she could have imagined and had found a way to balance and focus her pain into something tangibly positive. She spent her days tending to an ornate garden, pouring over ancient texts or in meditation; it was peaceful. But here, with a group of people she considered her family, it was easy to let herself be happy.
At least until she saw the playful glint in Yelena’s eyes.
“Dooon’t Yelena. I finally forgot about that” Wanda said, involuntarily shivering at the very vivid memory she had managed to forget about.
“Sorry little witch” Yelena said, not in the least bit apologetic.
>>> 2017 <<< 1.5 years post Civil War; Wakanda
“So, what do we want to do? Who’s coming with me and my girl Okoye here? Come on, we all put on wigs and wore those electrostatic veils for that shit, we should go have some fun!” Yelena said looking towards Natasha who was standing beside Steve and angling her body towards him.
Steve looked towards Natasha, meeting her eyes and smiled slowly, thinking of something ‘fun’ he could do with Natasha.
Face buried between her thighs, squeezing him as he licked and sucked on her clit and Natasha’s fingers tugging deliciously at his longer hair.
“NO! NO! You’re being loud. NO!” Wanda shrieked as she jumped off the couch and pushed past a confused Yelena and Okoye.
“Oh my GOD Steve” Wanda said, not looking at either Steve or Natasha, a fierce blush on her cheeks as the incredibly vivid visuals were still fresh in her mind.
“Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope” Wanda said loudly.
Yelena’s eyes grew wide with realization, and she began to laugh. Sam joining in her laughter soon after.
Natasha looked towards Steve who looked away, a small laugh leaving his lips before he could stop it.
“Sorry.”
“We’re just gonna stay in for the night” Natasha said smiling, knowing exactly what Steve had been thinking. She looked towards Wanda with a wolfish smile.
“Okoye, you guys have good vodka here? Wanda’s gonna need it”.
>>><<<
Natasha smirked while Steve hid his face behind Natasha’s back. He may have been in the modern era for over a decade, and had grown to be comfortable with a lot of things, but having his friends and family literally hear about his dirty thoughts and what he considered ‘fun’ was entirely something else.
“That’s nothing. Show of hands who’ve walked in on or immediately after these two” Rhodes pointed at Natasha and Steve, with a knowing look before raising his hand.
Yelena, James, Sam, Wanda, and Laura raised their hands, grinning as they looked at a very smug Natasha, and an increasingly embarrassed Steve.
Rhodes cleared his throat. “Now, in the spirit of Tony’s truly dismal design choices story, I have the epitome of Natasha being Nat."
>>> 2022 <<< 4 years post Blip; Compound
“Well, I don’t know what else we can do here. We gotta be patient Nat” Rhodes said looking over the timelines again. There was no room to budge, no matter what Natasha and Rocket were hoping for.
Steve looked over at Rhodes, while he wasn’t necessarily wrong, the last thing anyone he be telling Natasha or anyone else in the room is to be patient. He caught Rocket’s slack jawed response as Nebula glared daggers at Rhodes. A slight shake of his head had their extraterrestrial friends ignore Rhodes comments. He knew Natasha well enough that she could handle things on her own and she’d be far more creative than he could be.
Natasha narrowed her eyes slightly at Rhodes comments. He didn’t intend it the way it came across, but she certainly wouldn’t let it slide.
Natasha went back to skimming the reports and trying to understand the syntax of some of the alien languages. Translations were difficult and it was always slow going when she had to start from scratch with a new language. A few minutes later, Natasha made slight progress on the translations, but worked out a plan for Rhodes.
Natasha caught Steve’s eye, before subtly motioning to Rhodes, a slight tilt to her head.
Steve taped once on his left knee acknowledging Natasha’s subtle heads up; she was planning something, and Steve’s experience led him to believe it would be pretty damn good.
“Anyone want anything?” Natasha asked, kicking her legs off the desk.
“Ya, a water actually. Thanks Nat” Rhodes answered, looking up from the reports.
Natasha nodded walking out of the conference room and winked at Steve through the window.
She returned, a casual smile on her face as she walked in the room, placing Rhodes’ glass on the table before sitting back at the table.
“Uh, Nat? This is just ice” Rhodes said, looking at the glass.
“Observant as ever Rhodey. Wait long enough and it’s guaranteed to melt into a glass of water” Natasha said looking at the translations on the tablet. “Just be patient.”
Rhodes blinked at Natasha, as the silence hung in the room for a moment before Rocket laughed loudly.
“A glass of ice! She gave you a glass of ice!” Rocket laughed loudly, nudging Nebula with his elbow. “A glass of ice and told you to wait until its water!” Rocket wheezed with laughter, slapping his hand on his knee. Nebula chuckled quietly.
Laughter burst from Steve’s lips, as Natasha kicked her feet up on the table, cracking a sunflower seed between her teeth as she balanced her tablet in her lap. She looked at Rhodes and winked as she popped a seed in her mouth.
“Point taken" Rhodes said, nodding his head and laughing. “I’ll see what I, can do.”
Natasha tossed him a bottle of water, smiling. “Thanks, Rhodey."
>>><<<
Yelena keeled over in laughter, her smile carefree and laughter loud mixing in with the others.
Natasha’s smile softened her cheeks absolutely numb from the days’ events as she looked past the flames of the bonfire to the small group around her. She had never had the chance to have a biological family and yet she found herself with parents, sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews. She was surrounded by family and friends and finally no longer felt the need to look over her shoulder. She no longer had to search through databases and learn alien languages to try and find an answer.
The answer was everywhere around her; everywhere she looked.
Her family was back and with them, she was finally ready to live. She was going to do what she wanted to for no other reason because she wanted to do it. Not because they had to stay off anyone’s radar. Or wait for the next mission to role in or plan the next diplomatic excursion.
She’d get to do it with the person that she loved.
She’d get to do it with knowing that Yelena was a video call away. That Wanda was on a solid path of healing.
That Clint, Laura and the kids were together.
That they all made it through to the other side.
She wasn’t alone any longer, she made attachments and let the marble crumble away. The world is a savage place, but there was beauty all around them.
“You ok?” Steve asked quietly, stroking his thumb over her thigh gently.
Natasha smiled, small yet proud at how far they all came, and hopeful at what lay ahead for them. The possibilities were endless.
“Never better”.
She meant every word.
>>>
Natasha rolled off of Steve, feeling him slip from inside her. Her thighs quivered, her entire body relaxed and sore in the best possible way.
“One hundred” Steve said nodding, his chest heaving as he caught his breath.
“I’m so dehydrated” Natasha said, mouth dry and throat parched from the last screaming orgasm. “I can’t believe I’ve had 100 orgasms in twenty days Steve.”
He took her hand, holding it his chest. “It was fun though, right?” Steve asked, turning his head towards at her kiss swollen lips.
“Oh, no doubt about that. Pretty sure this is going to be the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
“Gonna have to top this for when you turn 40. I look forward to the next sixty, no the next 100 maybe.”
“You’ve got some lofty plans, Steve. Hundred more years? You think we have that in us?” She blew a few errant strands of hair out of her face, turning to look at Steve; her cheeks were likely just as flushed as his own, and could only imagine that her hair was in the same state as his.
“I know we do.”
“Me too, Steve. Me too” Natasha smiled, shifting her hand in his and interlacing their fingers. Her body was humming, her mind clear.
Hundred more years sounded just right.