Feelings and other difficult stuff-part 1
“you’re staring again.” Clint punches her shoulder lightly, but Natasha didn’t care enough to punch back this time.
she bites her lip. it’s impossible not to stare.
her eyes follow Maria as she walks through the hallway until she disappeared around the corner, out of sight.
Natasha sighs and focuses on her best friend again, who’s looking at her grinning.
“what?”
“you’ve got it bad.”
“that’s not true!” Natasha feels herself blush. the Black Widow NEVER got it bad. or at least, that’s what she thought.
Clint wasn’t so sure. “ask her out.”
“no.”
“why.”
“she’s not interested in me.”
“you don’t know that.”
“trust me, i would know.”
“maybe she’s just a lot better in hiding her feelings then you.”
*SMACK.*
………
Maria tries to ignore Natasha as they cross each others path mid-hallway. she can’t help but let her gaze linger on the redhead for longer then necessary.
luckily, the former spy didn’t seem to notice. how ironic.
she reluctantly rips her eyes away. she had other things to focus on.
after a mission debriefing or two, Clint Barton shows up in her office, with the biggest grin she’d ever seen on his face.
“Maria!”
“first of all, i can’t remember the time when i gave you permission to call me ‘Maria’. second of all, what are you doing here? i thought you where assigned on a mission for this afternoon.”
“yeah, well, l’ll keep it quick. Natasha-Agent Romanoff-likes to know if you’d ever wanna go on a date with her.”
Maria keeps her face straight. “is this another one of your stupid pranks, Barton?”
the grin disappeared quickly off his face. “no.”
she eyed him suspiciously. “then why are you here to ask this, and not agent Romanoff?”
there was that grin again. “she’s too afraid to ask it herself.”
Maria stood up. “tell her i’d like to see her in my office in half an hour.”
Clint studies her, but she didn’t blush or cast her gaze away. she kept her face straight as always. Maria Hill didn’t lose her cool, ever, and she’d like to keep that reputation up.
……
exactly thirty minutes later, someone knocks on her door.
“come on in.” she says, no, orders, without looking up from her paperwork.
the swings open and bright red locks are the first thing she sees from the corner of her eye.
“ah, Romanoff. sit down please.”
the red head does so, and looks at Maria questioning. the latter takes her time before finally looking up to meet a pair of emerald eyes.
“Agent Barton showed up at my office half an hour ago, with quite a remarkable question. would you like to repeat that question?”
Natasha casts her eyes down.
Maria might have this whole tough façade thing going on, but when it comes to dating, she is quite the lady. just like about everybody else, she likes to be asked out directly.
“i was wondering if you’d like to go out on a date with me? you know, get a drink or something.” Natasha forced herself to look Maria in the eye while asking the question, if only to gauge her reaction. she feels a warmth slowly spreading across her cheeks and curses Clint and his mother.
Maria watches fascinated as the Black Widow begins to blush. she finds it adorable.
she waits for a few seconds longer before releasing Natasha from her suffering.
“i might just do that. how about that small little café around the corner you talk about a lot?”
Natasha tries hard not to exhale to visibly, but Maria, observant as she is, notices the fact that she’s been holding her breath anyway.
“sure, l’ll pick you up at eight?”
“sounds fine to me. l’ll still be here around that time. now, dismissed.”
Clint joins Natasha almost as soon as she shuts the door behind her, with the same, stupid grin on his face as half an hour ago. his mission was postponed until tomorrow morning, so he had been sticking around this part of the building for a while now.
“and? how did that go?”
he keeps waiting while Natasha takes a deep breath.
“i have a date at eight!” she says, trying not to be too loud.
Clint high-fives her, and they walk out the head entrance of the building to have a celebration-drink, or maybe more then one.