Goldie and Fishy-pt 1
Natasha drops her bag onto an invisible chair next to the door and gropes for the light switch. it's been a while since she's been in this apartment, two years to be exact. it is her permanent home for the holidays at Stark Tower, and this year Tony couldn't resist turning it into something spectacular again. this becomes clear when the light comes on with a loud click and the room is suddenly lit up by some three thousand flickering party lights, flashing in different patterns and colors. in the corner of the room is a two meter high Christmas tree, decorated with customized baubles with the faces of the Avengers on it. Natasha makes an amused noise when her eye falls on Tony's Christmas bauble face. a Santa hat has been edited on his head, and his tongue sticks out a bit as if he was tasting something nasty. a Christmas stocking with her name on it hangs on the fireplace. she reaches in and finds a note.
“I got you potato chips, but you'll need to work for them first. the pattern of the lights is a code, you might wanna figure it out.
-T ”
Natasha crumples the note in her hand and stares at the lights. Damnit, Tony knew how much she wanted chips after an 11 hour flight from Budapest.
it takes a while, but eventually, using Tony’s very complicated code, she finds the bag of chips in the bottom kitchen cupboard. it's such a logical place, and she wants to slap herself. of course Tony would do something like that. she looks at the clock. she has about two hours to herself until she is expected in the living room of Stark Tower for the traditional Christmas dinner. enough time to find out how her huge flat screen TV works.
two hours and an episode of Grey's Anatomy later, Natasha is all set to go. she has curled her hair and put on a red cocktail dress with a deep v-neck and spaghetti straps and put on a subtle layer of make-up. the presents she has brought for everyone from Budapest are neatly packed in her bag. she checks everything again to make sure she hasn't forgotten anyone.
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Natasha’s present list:
Steve: Captain America Pajamas she found in a cute little gift store in Budapest
Tony: none, he’s been a dork all year.
Clint: a new pair of warm, black gloves and a arrow-shaped keychain so he won’t accidentally grab her keys again.
Pepper: the usual coupons from her favorite stores.
Bruce: a sweater with “world’s okayest scientist”.
Sam, Rhodey and Thor: a funko pop figure of themselves and a few smaller trinkets to make it seem like she had actually known what to get them.
Wanda: rose gold earrings with small ruby’s
Maria: perfume
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yup, Maria was coming too, and it had been one hell to find a present for her. luckily, Natasha had an excellent taste in perfume.
she made her way down the hallways, walking as fast as possible on 3 inch stilettos. the common room was about two levels below her apartment, and the elevator was, once again, stuck. when she arrived, everyone is already seated around the long table. Tony is the first to notice her. “ah, look who decided to grace us with her presence.”
“shut up, Stark.” she growls softly, taking place next to Clint.
“Christmas thoughts, Natasha!” Sam shouted from the other end of the table.
“i’m thankful for my ability to kick Stark’s ass and i wish that Tony gets kidnapped and tortured by Kree.” she answers.
“that’s Thanksgiving.” Clint says. Natasha rolls her eyes.
Tony asks for everyone’s attention.
“before we begin eating, let’s do the presents. first, everyone’s presents for me.”
Stark gains his presents from everyone but Natasha (yeah, that caused a scene) and they move on to Rhodey, who is seated next to Tony. Natasha sits it all out until it’s her turn, and Steve shoves a big present her way. “this is from us all, Merry Christmas, Nat!”
Natasha slowly peels the paper off and reveals a small fishbowl containing two goldfish-one red and white with a hint of orange and the other classic
orange-gold-gravel and a plant. Natasha stares at it wide-eyed. Maria, next to her, looks just as surprised.
“that’s not how you take care of goldfish!” she sputters. Stark raises an eyebrow.
Maria picks up the bowl to remove the rest of the paper.
“goldfish need proper filtration, and at least a 50 gallon tank.” she points out, grabbing Natasha by the wrist and dragging her outside.
“what are we going to do?” asks a perplexed Natasha.
“buy the proper stuff.” comes the answer.
they find a local petshop, pick out a nice big fish tank, a filter, water conditioner, water test strips and some other care stuff and manage to drag everything all the way back to Natasha’s apartment, in Stark Tower. after the huge tank is filled, the filter and lights are working and the water conditioner is added, they walk back to the common room, where they find Steve, Clint and Tony staring at the goldfish. a determined Maria picks up the bowl and the rest follow her.
“whoa! how big are these fish gonna get that they need a tank this big?” Tony asks.
“30 centimeters.” Maria answers, placing the bowl on the counter.
“shouldn’t we be adding the fish to the tank?” Sam asks.
“Nope.” Maria says, popping the ‘p’. “the tank needs to cycle for four weeks first.”
“what?”
“the tank needs to be prepared for the goldfish to live in, there need to be good bacteria in the filter and everything needs to be cleaned properly to make sure the tank doesn’t contain any harmful substances. the tank water needs to be tested aswell to make sure the nitrite, nitrate, pH and ammonia levels are good enough.” she explains, grabbing a few of the big rocks she bought in the petshop and placing them carefully on the sand they’re using as substrate.
“Natasha, would you mind taking care of the waterplants?”
Natasha takes a few small plastic bags and pulls them apart with her nails, freeing the waterplants from their dry prison. she positiones them in the tank and takes a step back to admire the result. her arms are cold and wet, and she hurries to grab a towel to dry them while Maria is still talking to the boys.
“so, this should be good for now. but never, ever, buy someone a pet without their permission and educating yourself and them first.”
Natasha comes back into the room. “it’s fine now. i’ve decided to name them Goldie and Fishy. Maria, how much do i owe you for the stuff?” she gestures to the tank.
“nah, it’s fine.” Maria waves her away. “just promise me you won’t let Tony take care of them when you’re on vacations.”