Two lonely souls

It was nearing eleven at night and you were waiting for sleep to lull you into unconsciousness. You felt like an excited little kid who couldn’t sleep because it was snowing outside. Except it wasn’t the snow that was keeping you awake. It was a head of red hair and a set of green eyes that had taken over your thoughts. You searched blindly for your phone on the nightstand until your fingers brushed over the screen. You winced at the brightness as you brought the phone above your face. It was eleven past eleven. You clutched the phone to your chest, contemplating your choices. You had her number. You could call her, but on the other hand it was nearing midnight and it would be more than inappropriate to call your boss at such an hour. Maybe you should text. Somehow that wouldn’t be enough. You decided to call her. You only had the number to her work phone so it was more than likely that she had left said phone at the office. You pressed dial, feeling your cheeks heat in anticipation as the phone rang. She picked up almost immediately.

“Natasha Romanoff, CEO-“

“Hi”, you blurted out before she could recite the entire greeting she had rehearsed so well over the years. She went silent, most likely trying to figure out why the person on the other end of the line sounded so familiar.

“Y/N?”

“You don’t have my number saved?” You asked in an accusing tone, playing with a strand of your hair to alleviate your nervousness.

“You never call me. I just yell down the hall and you come running”, she shot back, smirking as she propped the phone against her shoulder. “Why are you calling me at this ungodly hour?” She asked, her voice raspy.

“Don’t tell me I woke you up”, you said a little panicked.

“No, you could never”, she chuckled. “I’ve got too much work for that”, she groaned, plopping down on her bed, closing her eyes, enjoying the sound of your voice as she relaxed into the bed.

“Could you meet me at Central Park by the Columbus Circle in thirty minutes?” You asked hopefully, gnawing on your lip.

”Do you not own a clock?”, she whined.

“I do. But I can’t sleep.” And you were lonely but that you didn’t want to admit. You missed Wanda, who you usually had sleepovers with every other day. Not even two months ago your best friend had practically lived at your place.

”I’ll see you in thirty”, she mumbled into the phone, catching you by surprise. You had almost told her to forget about it. Before you could say anything else she hung up. You leapt out of bed, tugging on a pair of thick sweat pants to fight off the cold, pairing them with a warm sweater before sprinting out of the house as you tugged on a coat, a scarf and mittens.

There she was. Standing by the gate in the corner of the park, waiting for you in the shadows, wearing her trusty peacoat. You approached her, purposely slowing down to seem a little less enthusiastic than you were. Surprisingly enough there were only a few people around, considering it was a very popular part of Central Park. You finally reached the gate and the redhead, giving her a wide smile.

“I’m a little surprised you came”, you admitted as Natasha joined beside you, walking along the path.

“You thought I’d stand you up?” She asked, raising her brows at you.

“I can’t think of a single sane person who would have willingly gone for a stroll at the park at midnight”, you grinned.

“Good thing I’m not sane then”, she joked, nudging you a little. You glanced down at your hands that were mere inches away from each other. Would it be so wrong to just hold her hand for a second?

“What’s up with my favorite assistant? You seem upset”, she noted with a little frown as you two continued your walk down the path that people had ploughed into the fresh snow.

“Oh, I’m fine. I just felt like going for a walk”, you lied, not thinking she would actually want to hear about your troubles. She was just being polite.

“Come on. You can’t just invite me on a walk in the middle of the night and say that you’re fine. What’s wrong?” She repeated, her tone softening.

“You remember Vision?” You asked, looking into the pure white snow that glittered in the light of the street lamps. Natasha hummed her reply and you continued on. “Wanda’s a little occupied with him. I think they’re planning on expanding the family”, you explained. “I used to spend all my time with her and I feel a little neglected but I guess she has a good reason for it”, you whispered, still avoiding Natasha at all costs. You felt her slide her hand into yours, giving you a little squeeze. You turned to look at her. You had ended up at a darker area of the park where some trees were wrapped up in Christmas lights that were reflected in Natasha’s gorgeous eyes. There were no other people around and your surroundings were rather quiet, like the city had suddenly fallen silent. You gave her a shy smile, squeezing her hand back.

“I don’t think there would be a good enough reason to ignore someone you love”, she said in all honesty. “She should still at least check in on you.”

“Yeah, but at least we see each other at work”, you muttered, eyes glued to your joined hands. You felt your stomach flutter, the warm, giddy feeling inside you almost hard to contain.

“Good thing you have me now”, she said with a genuine smile, your urge to curl up into a ball in her arms growing tenfold.

“Good thing I have you”, you echoed, holding her hand a little tighter, scared she would let go. And let go she did. You felt an uncomfortable twist in your gut at seeing her go. She crouched down to the ground, scooping up snow and aiming the ball smack in the middle of your chest. You gasped in shock, a wide smile taking over in an instant. There was no way that Natasha Romanoff, CEO, the boss of all bosses, just started a snowball fight with you. Another ball flew your way and you only barely managed to dodge it. You soon learned that her aim was lethal, unlike yours. You had only landed one hit on her shoulder.

“Come on, coward! You can’t take a hit?” she exclaimed, forming another snowball in her hands. Your head peeked from behind a thick tree trunk you were using as protection. You yelped when the snowball thudded against the trunk, scaring you back into hiding. You had prepared at least a dozen balls that sat beside you in a pile. You readied yourself, aiming for the redhead. You received another blow but what she did not expect was the onslaught of snowballs you fired at her. You hit her at least five times, until she started to run away from the little square you had claimed for the snowball fight.

“Don’t you dare run!” You screamed, hearing Natasha giggle at your tone. You sprinted after her, carrying an armful of your snowballs. You threw them hastily at her, her black coat now spotted white.

You two ended up at an area with a wide walkway and a statue a few feet ahead of you. The edges of the walkway were lined with street lights and trees, illuminating the area and the giant snowflakes that were falling from the sky. You had almost reached her when she stumbled over, causing you to trip over her and into the fresh snow. You immediately turned to see if your companion was okay. Her shoulders were shaking from silent laughter as she lay there on her back, an occasional snort escaping her mouth. Once you knew her to be alright, you allowed yourself to join her laughter, facing the sky as well. Natasha’s head turned to the side to look at you and you met her gaze, not even trying to hide the pure joy you were feeling as you lay next to her on the cold ground, her bright eyes warming you up from the inside. You both faced the sky once again, Natasha’s tongue sliding out to catch the snowflakes that seemed to land everywhere but her warm tongue. You giggled at her behavior, sitting up from the ground, you propped your arm next to her head, looking down at her, her fiery, red hair splayed over the sheet of snow under her. She just stared up at you, seemingly not able to tear her eyes away from you. The corner of her mouth rose up into that cheeky smirk before she sat up as well.

“Wanna make a snowman?” She asked, her reddened cheeks making her look more alive than you had ever seen her look before.

“Think we can make it bigger than that statue?” You countered with a bright grin.

“If you know how to defy the laws of physics, then yes”, she teased, standing up and brushing away most of the snow on her coat. She offered you her left hand, hoisting you off the ground.

You were sweaty and exhausted by the time you and Natasha lifted the third giant snowball on top of the two others. She sighed out in exhaustion, stepping back to once again marvel at your creation. He was handsome, although Natasha insisted it was a she but you disagreed. You walked up to the snowman that was a foot taller than you and carved him eyes before turning around to look at Natasha.

“He doesn’t have a nose”, you bemoaned, Natasha crouching slightly to scoop up some untouched snow from a nearby bench. She formed the snow into an almost stick-like shape, walking up to you and the snowman before, plunging it into his face.

“That looks questionable”, you snorted, studying the lumpy nose the snowman had received.

“It’s all he’s gonna get”, she grumbled, acting like she had a sudden vendetta against him. You laughed at her antics, walking to the side of the walkway to look for twigs to use as arms. You only found very thin ones, deciding it was your best option. You stuck them into his body and then he was finished.

“He looks sad. What should we name him?” You asked, inching yourself closer to Natasha.

“He looks like a Steve, doesn’t he?”

You smacked her on her arm, berating her for her behavior. “I’ll tell Steve you said that”, you threatened but Natasha just laughed. “Go stand next to it. I need evidence”, you ordered, shoving her towards the snowman as you dug your ice cold phone out of your pocket. You would later set the picture you took as your lock screen.

“How about Gilbert?” You suggested after pocketing your phone.

“I like that”, she whispered, looking up at the pile of snow beside her. “Gibby for short.”

“Gibby the snowman”, you stated solemnly. You couldn’t help but to feel a little sad that you would have to leave him there. You saw so much of yourself in his melancholy appearance and the lonely air that surrounded him that you already felt connected to him in some odd way. “Feels a little cruel to just leave him here all alone”, you mumbled.

“We should make him a friend.” Natasha started to gather more snow, forming a lump that she carried next to Gilbert. “Cat or dog?”

“You’re gonna make a cat no matter what I say”, you scoffed, walking farther away to go get more snow. Soon you had a very lumpy cat that was sat next to Gibby the snowman.

“What’s her name?”

“Liho”, she replied in an instant, like she had already chosen the name ages ago.

“Gilbert and Liho.” You nodded your approval, snapping a few more photos, just so you could never forget that night even if you became old and demented. You needed to remember that night because it was one of the most magical nights of your life. You waved goodbye to the glum Gilbert and little-Liho, and walked away, grabbing Natasha’s hand before she could slip away from your reach.