Natasha knew it.
She just knew it.
Of course she fucking knew it.
She knew it for fucking weeks...that she'd be in the middle of some stupid op on the day her wife would be giving birth to their child. Their first child. Their babyboy. The ultimate sign of their love. Once they got the confirmation of Maria's pregnancy they had agreed upon wanting to know the gender prior birth, to prepare everything accordingly. Well, everything...except the name- they still didn't have one. Many hours went by, looking and not finding or not agreeing on a name. Two super agents and apparently incapable of finding a name for their baby, what seemed like an absurd idea, for them it was harsh reality. Neither could help but smile at that though.
"Fuck this fucking shit," Natasha swears, not giving a single damn at all that Clint could hear her, as well as Phil Coulson who was sitting on the other side of the country with a less than amused expression on his face. Whatever, let him hear it. After all it was his fault as well. And Clint was her best friend, and best friends are there to listen. Barton's approval was not needed it was a given, as far as Natasha was concerned. It was not like they didn't have anything else to do, and anyway, Natasha was more than capable of multitasking so why not chat while getting the job done?!
"Priorities Romanoff," the man, the team ever so lovingly dubbed 'Legolas', warns.
"Mine are just fine," she scolds back, while shooting three guys with ease; quickly pulling the trigger while moving her gunned arm from the right to the left and then to the middle, "see- three fuckers down. Now back to my number one priority...,"
"Damnit, Natasha. Would you just...for fucks sake, this swearing and complaining won't help you any bit now..."
Natasha forgoes pointing out Clint's own swearing just, "But it makes me feel better, that and knowing Phil can HEAR it," she reasons, making sure she raises her voice at the last bit; totally and completely ignoring a muttered "Agents, please!" coming from Phil.
"Ok, now that you've had your fill of moaning and whining can you freakin' concentrate on the job?! The sooner we get that done, the sooner we can go back and the sooner you can go see your wife and your baby," he reminded her. It's not like he couldn't understand her, having children himself he knows very well how important it is to be there for such an crucial, life changing moment. Nonetheless, he, them couldn't do anything about that right now. Well, except moving their asses and get this mission done rather sooner than later.
"I know, I know," she mutters, "still, couldn't these asshats have send somebody else? I could do this shit with only one functional arm," she said grumpily, "which you could too, by the way."
Ignoring how she implies she'd rather send him all by himself than coming with him -again, not like he couldn't understand why she'd want that- he opts for an eyeroll, no sense in making that yet another issue, "Maybe, but may I kindly remind you, your wife also decided on sending you here?!"
"I try to push that thought aside," she defends stubbornly, "besides, I've already told her my opinion on this fucking shit; she was not happy," Natasha honest to god laughed at the flashback just running through her mind, "oh, no," she chuckles again, "she really was not happy about that, like, at all,"
"No way? Why would that be?" Natasha could practically feel his sarcasm dripping out of her ears the moment his words went through her earpiece.
"You know what, you can shove your sarcasm up your ass,"
"Now, now, Laura wouldn't be happy about THAT, you know the only thing that goes up my ass is the occasional stra...,"
"Spare me the dirty details, Barton!" Natasha growls, cutting him off rudely.
At this point, Coulson agrees with her via a rather loud groan of "Oh no! I can't believe this."
"You better," a way too chipper Clint Barton confirms.
Natasha is not even certain if Clint was being serious or not, but she'd rather not know if she was being honest. Very well aware that she also keeps throwing intimate details of her and Maria's lovelife at Clint on fairly regular ocassions, but that didn't mean she wanted to know about his in return.
"But you can tell me yours?" he raises an eyebrow -which she can't see, but still- questioning the obvious.
"Yup," she states matter of factly, smugness showing in her voice.
"Fine," Barton snaps and restricts their communication to solely mission-work related things, "not talking to you anymore unless it concerns why we're here for,"
"What?"
"..."
"Barton!"
"..."
"CLINT!"
"..."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"
"..."
"Fuck this shit. I'm gonna fucking shoot him!"
"No, you will not do such thing, Mrs. Hill!" Phil orders. Natasha knows how fed he must be when he's using her official last name and not the one she's using for work purposes; in the middle of a mission much less. "I don't care what you do in your sparetime, but no murdering Agent Barton while you're on a mission,"
"Ha," she laughs out loud, "Does that mean I have permission to murder him once we're off duty, sir?" had she her hands free she would probably rub them together laughing devilishly.
"TASHA!" Clint screams scandalized.
"Oh, look who's talking to me again. Legolas."
"Barton! Romanoff! Cut this shit and go back to work!" a Coulson, who finally has had enough of his agent's antics -no matter how comical they might be- bellows, "That is an order!"
"Yessiryes," Clint mutters.
"Two more down, I mean aye, sir!" Natasha mocks Phil.
How these two manage to get out of missions without hurting each other is not only to Phil a riddle.
"Natasha?" Coulson radio's Natasha.
"Kinda busy here, Couls...," she pants, clearly in the middle of a fight.
"Congratulations, Natasha, you just have become a mother! Maria and the baby are fine." Phil says joyfully.
"WHAT?" Natasha's high pitched scream irritates the guy, she's currently fighting with, enough for him to stop dead in his tracks. Which gives her the perfect opportunity to cut this fight short as she hits him square in the chest, with a kick of one heavily booted foot that sends him flying off the roof.
"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't mind this kind of interruption," he grins.
"Barton! Move your fucking ass," Romanoff's voice thunders through the mic, almost making Clint's ear give up, but he bites back any further comment. Instead, he just smiles to himself and does as she said, kicking it up a notch.
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7 hours later she was finally back and on her way to her wife; disheveled hair, dirty clothes and a few scratches in her face included. She couldn't care less. Neither would the nurses, this is the SHIELD medbay after all, they're used to their agents looking like that- or far worse. Right now there was only space for ONE thought in her mind anyway...well, TWO actually.
"Can I go see her...them?" Natasha's voice a mix of tiredness and anxiety. How could she not be nervous, she was about to see and hold their baby for the very first time. Their first of minimum three, if she had any say in it.
"Of course. Please follow me, Mrs. Hill," getting addressed as 'Mrs Hill' still made her proud and grin like an idiot, just like the first time someone called her that, which was by now 3 years ago.
The nurse opening the door for her ended her musings. Hesitantly, in case her wife was asleep and also because she didn't want to disturb the little one -who was most definitely taking a nap- she poked her head through the door, where she was greeted by a pair of bright blue eyes and a lazy, tired smile. The sight she was presented with almost took her breath away. Her wife looked exhausted and her hair was a mess, but she looked absolutely beautiful. And then she saw him: their son, he looked so tiny all wrapped up in the thick blanket- safely and sound asleep in Maria's arms.
The grin on Natasha's face so wide the white of her teeth where showing.
"Hey there," Maria smiled somewhat tiredly.
"Hey," Natasha finally stepped into the room, moving straight to her wife. Still smiling she dropped a tender kiss on her temple. "I'm glad you're ok," she sighed in relief, she heard and read enough of all kinds of possible complications that can occur during giving birth; until Maria forbid her to research the internet for these things - unless she wanted to be blocked from using it until their boy was there. Natasha finally gave in.
"And he too," she motions to the baby, "he is ok too, right?" And while Phil may have told her mother and son are ok, she needed to hear it from her wife.
"Yes, he is fine," her wife confirmed, "Everything's fine- now that you're here," Natasha takes a deep breath, relief also layered in Maria's voice.
"Finally," Natasha muttered, still pissed she missed the moment that would've been one of the most important in her life. "I'm sorry, I didn't make it on time, I tried, I really tried, but this stupid mission and...," she began rambling.
"Shhhhh...," Maria said soothingly reaching out her hand. Natasha took it and intertwined their fingers, "it's fine...," she tries to calm her down, also for Natasha's sake. She knows how Natasha can get. Especially when it concerns Maria. Maria can only guess how much more protective Natasha will get now that the baby is here. Their baby. Natasha, even less than Maria, not able to wrap their head around that just quiet yet.
"No, it's not," the assassin said heatedly, voice decidedly lower than it would usually be; the presence of their newborn firmly anchored in her mind keeps her from any further outburst, "This is the first big step to becoming our own little family, aside from our marriage, and they kept me away from it," she made a point in not mentioning that also Maria was responsible for that. She was her wife after all, she couldn't blame her...not really.
"I was there too when we made that decision, Natasha," Maria reminder her.
Well, thanks for that.
"I chose to ignore THAT part," Natasha said stubbornly.
"You're cute when you're acting up," Maria smiles fondly, leaving the other woman no choice but leaning in and give her a proper kiss on the lips. All tension leaving her body at the first touch. Again and again Natasha marvels how one touch or kiss of Maria puts her at such ease, and so fast. But then again, Maria always had this effect on her. Often Maria was the only one able to calm Natasha down, even back at the time when they weren't together just yet.
"But enough of that, hmmmm?" Maria suggested breaking the kiss, "I think someone wants to finally meet his other mommy too,"
"You mean? Now?" Natasha's eyes widened comically. And it's not that she didn't want to hold their son, this thought was constantly on her mind, she just didn't want o interrupt his sleep. He looked so damn cute sleeping sucking on is his thumb. The prospect of waking him up in the event of holding him almost made her feel guilty. Maria had no such thoughts however.
"Of course, dummy, why not?" letting go of Natasha's hand she shuffles around a bit to get in a better position to hand the tiny bundle in her arm safely over to her wife, "Say hi to mommy Natasha," she whispers softly holding their son out for Natasha to greet him, to hold him.
Natasha quickly wipes her sweaty hands on her fieldsuit and just a moment later she finds herself holding their child- her and Maria's child, yeah, it definitely will take some time for that to settle in her mind. With an increased heartbeat and shaky hands Natasha hesitantly but firmly held their son in her arms, not really sure what else to do that just stare, not blinking for one moment afraid this might be just a way too good dream.
But it is not.
She looks at the little boy with wonderment in her eyes, and if possible loved her wife even more now that she made her one of the biggest gifts in life. After getting a bit of an hold of what it feels like to hold a baby she softly starts rocking her arms from side to side, when suddenly two pale blue eyes shoot open staring right at her. She felt her breathing come to an halt; her heart felt like it would either swell with pride or jump out of her chest. The tear that rolled down her cheek was soon after followed by another and another, but she couldn't care less. "It's perfectly fine to cry" were Maria's words when she found her crying for the first time, words Natasha would always remember - words like lifelines. Like so many other things Maria had told her when Natasha felt insecure.
"Why don't you sit down, babe," Maria suggested softly, wishing she could capture this moment forever. She was in no hurry to take over holding their babyboy again. After this stressful day -and it's not like Maria's day wasn't stressful with giving birth and all, just it was a whole other kind of stress, a less life-threatening kind of stress, they deserved this moment of quiet and piece. Besides, she liked, no, loved the picture she saw before her: her wife -a badass russian superspy assassin- holding their just a few-hours-old son with more tenderness and care she probably has ever seen her hold anything.
The little boy blinks his eyes at her a few more times before they fall shut and he falls back into a peaceful slumber. "He has your eyes," Natasha says, smiling lovingly at Maria as she strokes over their baby's chubby cheeks, then softly over the faint dark hair. It makes her all the more giddy. It's starting to settle in: they're a family now.
And honestly, she always felt like family with Maria, but having a baby with her made it that much more real and of a family.
"I could bite his little chubby cheeks," she laughs before her voice goes serious, "I feel like dreaming," her eyes switch between the baby and Maria, "you...you both make me so happy," she states, then pauses. "Thank you," she chokes back her tears, her voice full of love and gratitude.
"Never, and I mean never, thank me for giving you, us this," now fresh tears started to form in her wife's eyes, "Natasha, there is noone else I'd rather be married to and have children with," she says with all the love she feels for this incredible woman sitting in front of her," She watches them for a while before she speaks again, "I know what you mean," Maria's lips quirk up in a smile, "I still find it hard to believe that we finally have our own family. I never really saw myself as a mother, but then you came along and changed everything pretty much from the first words you spoke to me."
Natasha blushes; so many years and she still can't quite believe Maria has wanted her right away. It's hard for her to understand, still, but it's gotten a lot better compared to the very beginning when Natasha outright refused to believe Maria is interested in her without having a ulterior motive; other than honestly wanting to get to know Natasha Romanoff for the sake of them working together. There had to be more to it, but there wasn't. "Don't get my wrong, the Black Widow is amazing and all, but I want to get to know the woman beneath all this: the REAL YOU."
For a few passing moments their eyes have a silent conversation, when suddenly the door gets pushed open and a second bed comes rolling in. Eyes locked at the scene in confusion, Natasha remains rooted on the stool looking at the nurse pushing the bed around until it's side by side with Maria's.
Looking over she watches the scene; Maria thanking the nurse, who nods and gives a smile and wink, that has the brunette's face coloring a little.
"Uhhhhmmm...," Natasha hums in wonderment, clearly feeling like she was missing something important here she jerks her thumb in direction of the nurse, who just exited the room as fast as she entered it.
"Well, I might have pulled a few strings," Maria offers, smiling sheepishly at her wife, "after everything that happened today, me...you...our little sunshine, I really couldn't stand the thought of spending the night any other way than with you at our side,"
Natasha beams at her. "You're the best," she grins and leans over to brush her lips against Maria's.
"I know," Maria agrees giving her the best smirk.
"Humble and shy as ever," Natasha teased placing the baby securely into his crib.
"If you wanted shy, you wouldn't have picked me. You don't want shy, you want wild," Maria laughs, sticking out her tongue.
"Silly is more like it, but I'll take any side of you I can get," the assassin purrs, flirting shamelessly with her wife. Even after all these years it still comes naturally to them.
And it works, Maria's eyes darken at that.
"Not in front of the baby," Natasha says, trying for sounding scandalized at her wife's lack of decency, but laughs, her eyes sparkling. "Really, no need to get your mind in the gutter, love," Natasha says knowing exactly where Maria's mind went, "keep the idea in mind though," she adds with a wink.
"Will do. Now hurry, I'm getting tired again, and you look like you could need a good night's sleep as well," Natasha tried to look appalled, but didn't manage more than an half-hearted glare, which earned herself a laugh in return.
"Don't mock me," she pouts, changing from her fieldsuit in to something more medbay-bed appropriate. As quick as she possibly could she rushed over to her bed. Because yes, Maria is so awesome she even thought of having Phil bring a shirt and pants from her quarters over. Rolling his eyes he stomped away, not showing her the grin he sported because he found her caring side so adorable, and Maria doesn't do adorable.
"By the way, is it true that you threatened to shoot agent Barton?" Maria asked almost conversationally.
Natasha stops dead in her tracks, scratching the back of her neck, "Well, I might or might not have said something like that," she admits, "did Phil...,"
Maria nods even before Natasha could even ask her.
"I'm gonna shoot him, too," the assassin muttered under her breath. Before settling down onto her bed she gives their boy a soft kiss on the cheek. Marveling again at this little bundle of wonder she can't help but run a finger tenderly along his cheek. "Good night, my little nugget, sleep tight,"
Maria was helplessly smitten. She had no idea where Natasha got it from to call him 'little nugget', but it didn't matter, it was entirely too cute.
"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Maria then says in reply to Natasha's desire to shot not only Barton but also Coulson,"but would you mind scheduling your shootings for sometime later the day? I think there are more important things right now," Natasha feels Maria reach behind her trying to pull her closer. She follows the silent request right away. Finding a comfortable position, that allows them to share as much body contact as possible Natasha finally allows herself to fully relax, for the first time in a long, long time.
Maria slightly twists her head back, "don't I get one too? A good night kiss?"
"You can get as many kisses as you want, baby," Natasha promises and gives her the kiss she asked for, letting it linger enough for Maria to sigh into the kiss.
After only a couple of seconds, the pair winds the kiss down reluctantly, before it gets too intense for the place they're currently at. "More of that later," Maria rasps, slightly out of breath.
"Oh, yes, definitely a lot more of that later," Natasha agrees, willing the already rising desire away.
As tired and exhausted as they may be, they can't wait for tomorrow to come so they can celebrate the addition to their life and family properly and appropriately.