Under the mistletoe
“You’re here with Romanoff, right?” Wanda asked as she handed you a flute of champagne. You hadn’t spoken properly to your best friend in ages and you were more than glad to have her attention for a short moment at the Christmas party the office had thrown.
“Oh, no. Not like that”, you mumbled. You had thought about asking Natasha to be your date for the party but then again you were too nervous to do so. Surely Natasha would have made an advance towards you already had she been interested in you like that. Wanda let out a quiet scoff before motioning for Steve to come over. He excused himself from Sam and came to greet the two of you. Wanda he had already seen a while back but you were a new addition so he pulled you to his chest, his solid arms hugging you tight.
“I’m glad you could make it”, he said with a bright smile.
“Yeah, me too.”
“Where’s Romanoff?” He asked expectantly, the same kind of smirk on his face that Wanda had worn.
“Somewhere here”, you muttered looking around. If your friends were just going to tease you about your new friendship, you might as well go find better company.
“So... you two seeing each other a lot?” He asked. That stupid bastard. He knew exactly what he was doing.
“No.”
“Come on, Y/N! Give us something!” Wanda whined, her green eyes shining in excitement. “We know. There’s no way you’re just friends with her”, she pestered. You actually felt a little sad at her comment. Because you really, really wished you could give her the answer she desired. You wished you could call Natasha yours.
“No, we’re just friends”, you grumbled, Wanda sensing the change in your attitude, dropping the subject.
“I’m sorry, I have to go”, you lied, leaving your full champagne glass on the table next to Wanda’s. You walked out into the corridor, taking a little breather now that most of the people were gone. You leaned against the wall, sighing out in frustration. You felt like a stereotypical lesbian who had fallen in love with her best friend. And that’s what it was. Love. You couldn’t ignore it anymore. You knew everything there was to know about Natasha and there was not one single thing that you disliked. She-
“What’s wrong?” Your head shot up to see the woman of the night leaning her shoulder against a closed door next to you as she inspected you, a worried frown on her face.
“Oh, don’t worry about it”, you sighed out, waving your hand nonchalantly.
“You’re looking more like the Grinch than me and that’s saying a lot. What’s got my little elf so glum?” She continued, her voice low and comforting. You smiled up at Natasha after hearing her nickname for you.
“I’m just a little tired I guess.” You were starting to run out of excuses and for some reason you just couldn’t come up with any decent lies.
“You wanna go?” She asked, pointing to the elevator behind her.
“Oh, God no. You don’t have to leave just because of me”, you nearly exclaimed. “I’ll be alright. But just so you know, I’ll probably go home early tonight.”
“Alright”, she sighed with a faint smile. “Come stand next to me for a second. I’ll let you go right after”, she assured, moving back a little to give you more room. You frowned at her odd request but complied nonetheless.
“Look up”, she whispered, moving her own eyes above her as yours followed suit. Mistletoe. Your heart skipped a beat. It was a mistletoe. Natasha had pulled you under a mistletoe. Your eyes dropped back down to meet her green ones, a smile spreading slowly onto your face. Her gaze flitted down to your lips as she waited for you to give her any kind of signal that indicated that you were uncomfortable or that you didn’t want it. But when none came, her hands rose up to cup your cheeks, pulling you closer as she leaned into you. Your eyelids fluttered shut as you let her take the lead. Her soft breath fanned over your lips, before you felt her incredibly soft mouth on yours, your lips only barely brushing each other. Your hands found their way to her waist, gripping her little black dress as you pulled her flush against your body. Your lips moved slowly, so slowly that you wondered how you had the patience for it. She tasted like fresh peaches and champagne that she had had more than one glassful for courage.
Natasha pulled back to look you in the eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips as her hand rested at the back of your neck. When she noticed you glancing down at her lips again she pulled you right back in, the kiss more passionate this time, more needy. Her plump lips slotted perfectly over yours and you couldn’t believe that it was real. Her smell, her taste, her warmth. It was almost dizzying. You were feeling so many emotions that you thought you were going to burst, your heart beating loudly in your chest as you continued to kiss her. It was all so gentle, so perfect. Her hands slid down to your waist, squeezing your hips firmly as your arms tightened around her neck, pushing your breasts against hers, her lips still sucking firmly on yours. You had decided to wear heels for once in your life and it turned out to be a hazard, your balance almost faltering when her tongue slid into your mouth. Natasha couldn’t help the desperate whimper she let out as your tongues slid against each other, both of you growing breathless. You broke apart, panting quietly as you once again shared a shy glance at the other.
“I’ve wanted to do that since the day I fell down in Central Park”, she admitted softly, her hands running down your arms to grab your hands in hers. You suddenly felt uncharacteristically shy as you ducked your head. Natasha was a very direct person. She knew what she wanted and she got what she wanted. That’s how her previous romantic encounters had been. She only did one-night-stands or month long flings but with you she knew immediately that she didn’t want that. From the moment she first hung out with you she knew she didn’t want to first have sex with you and then just distance herself even though the sexual desire definitely was there and it also might have taken a minuscule part in why she hired you out of all the other just as qualified applicants. You were just her type and she couldn’t resist it. She avoided doing all the things she usually would have done and got to know you first, allowing you to get to know her as well. Although she did need to gather courage for a couple of months before even talking to you about anything other than work related things, which led to you thinking she wasn’t very fond of you.
“Me too”, you whispered, smiling a subtle smile as you squeezed her hands. You glanced at her mouth again and pressed a chaste kiss onto her lips. You just couldn’t resist it. You were now allowed to just kiss her, kiss the most gorgeous woman ever. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“No”, she quipped with an impish smirk. You huffed out in annoyance, nudging her.
“I wanted to ask earlier but I didn’t know how you would have reacted”, you explained despite her teasing. “But here goes: Would you want to be my date for tonight?” You gnawed gently on your lower lip, fiddling with your fingers. Her hand rose up to your chin, her thumb tugging gently on your lip, sliding it out from your bite.
“I would love to”, she whispered as if not to disrupt the quiet moment you were sharing. “I’m gonna kiss you now”, she mumbled in amusement, giving you a heads up before tilting your chin so that she could plant a chaste kiss on your lips. You pulled her right back in, not letting her go, kissing her a little harder. She didn’t resist in the slightest, sucking eagerly on your lower lip, a quiet giggle of excitement slipping from her.
“Mmh, I’ll never get tired of that”, you sighed out when she pulled away.
“Sweetheart, you’ve barely had a taste”, Natasha chuckled, brushing her knuckles up your jaw as you closed your eyes, flashing a small smirk. “Do you still want to leave?” She questioned, her left hand rubbing gently over your waist. Yeah, her love language was physical touch. There was no doubt about it. She absolutely could not let go of you for even a second and you found it endearing to say the least.
“No. I’m all good”, you admitted, watching as you slid your hand into hers, lacing your fingers together. You made your way back into the party, Wanda and Carol clearly giving you and Natasha’s joined hands more than a few glances. Your eyes landed on a small stage with a microphone on it and a big screen behind it. Sam was singing ‘jingle bell rock’ slightly off key and you were struck by possibly the worst best idea ever. You tugged Natasha’s hand, immediately gaining her attention.
“The Grinch in you is not going to like this but can we go sing karaoke?” You suggested, grinning so wide Natasha had a hard time refusing.
“Why do I have to come too?” She whined as you dragged her to the stage just as Sam sang the final note, hand already offering the microphone to you.
“The boss lady got a surprise for us?” He teased after seeing Natasha’s grumpy frown.
“I’m being coerced”, she stated solemnly as you giggled at her dramatics, adjusting the red Santa hat you had put on her before putting on your own.
“What are we singing, ladies?” Steve asked, eyeing you both up and down, smiling wide.
“Santa baby”, you replied.
“Can I have three shots of vodka, please?” Natasha whined again and surprisingly enough, or not, she got what she wanted. Even you requested a drink when all your closest work friends started to gather around, eager to see their boss in a completely different light.
“Still think this is a good idea?” Natasha hissed at you, trying to talk her way out of it.
“Nope, but we can’t back down anymore”, you mumbled, a little nervous yourself and then the music started. Natasha and you both glanced at each other nervously and it was at that moment when you decided to just sing to her. She had seen you goof around and embarrass yourself too many times. What was one more going to do? You weren’t an exceptional singer but you sure could perform.
“Santa baby, just slip a Sable under the tree for me” You smiled at Natasha encouragingly, giving her a flirty little smirk before singing the next line. “I’ve been an awful good girl.” You saw the way she bit down on her lip at you saying the last words, starting to forget about her surroundings. “Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight.” It was her turn next and you felt so proud when you saw her adjust her microphone before opening her mouth to sing. You had almost expected her to not go along with you, although you should have known that she would never leave you hanging.
”Santa baby, a 54 convertible too, light blue.” Her voice was something you hadn’t expected in the slightest. Low and almost seductive, at least to you. She gave you a bright smile when she noticed your reaction, your eyes just a tad bit wider than normal. She walked closer to you, cupping your cheek before sliding her hand down your neck, just barely brushing over the low neckline of your dress. ”I’ll wait up for you dear. Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight.”
“Think of all the fun I’ve missed”, you joined in on her singing, both of you wearing goofy smiles. ”Think of all the fellas that I haven’t kissed. Next year I could be just as good. If you check off my Christmas list.” Just the look she was giving you was enough to make you forget about everything and for the first time you truly felt an unbearable tension between the two of you. Now that you knew your feelings weren’t unrequited, your impulse desires were twice as hard to resist, but you needed to remind yourself that you had an audience that consisted of all your work buddies. The lyrics of the song weren’t helping in the slightest and neither was the alcohol. Every time you sang the word ‘baby’ you could not help but to direct it at her, enjoying that very specific look in her eyes that you couldn’t verbally describe. You flashed her cocky smirks whenever you caught her slipping before she realized to fix her facial expressions. It was almost torturous to sing on stage while being so painfully distracted by the redhead, and you were sure that it was just as obvious to the audience as it was to you. To your relief the song ended soon enough and you felt Natasha pull you into a side hug.
“Merry Christmas, everyone”, she said, the people shouting their reply to her, everyone clapping and cheering for you. “The Grinch is out.” She handed the microphone to Sam who also grabbed yours before you almost took it with you. Natasha was rather chipper and you were sure the alcohol was at least partly involved in that. You were holding her hand again, laughing along with her as you walked to a more quiet corner of the room, Natasha kissing you the second you weren’t right next to anyone.
Her plump lips pressed down on yours, eliciting a quiet moan of surprise from you before you returned the kiss, your hands resting against her chest. Her hands were low on your hips, slowly but surely inching even lower. “You like me calling you baby?” You murmured in her ear, making her shy away from the tickling sensation.
“I was gonna ask you the same thing”, she giggled as you pushed her back to look you in the eyes.
“Answer the question.” Butterflies erupted in her stomach at your tone as she bit her lip, her playful eyes gazing up at you as she nodded. You moved closer to the bar, looking for a table but before you could even pick one you heard someone yell at Natasha.
“Hey boss, you’re under the mistletoe!” Tony, who was fashionably late of course, sneered from the bar, Pepper rolling her eyes in a lighthearted manner. You and Natasha both looked up to see a mistletoe attached to the lamp above the table, and then at each other.
“Might as well stay here then”, you muttered, cupping her cheeks and pulling her into another kiss. Somewhere in the back someone cheered. Maybe it was Tony or Wanda and Carol, you couldn’t focus on the voice enough to figure it out. Natasha’s lips sucked hastily on yours, your hands wandering more than they had ever before. She felt your hands grope her hips and butt as you pulled her closer. She was completely at your mercy, melting against every firm press of your hands.
“You look so pretty tonight”, you whispered in her ear, your lips pressing kisses down her neck, sucking lightly. “You make me nervous”, you added quietly. Something about you admitting that she made you nervous was more than attractive to Natasha. It almost made her dizzy to think that you liked her enough to be nervous just at the sight of her. Your hands smoothed down her sides, lips pressed against the junction of her neck and shoulder. She swayed gently side to side to the melody of the Christmas song that played in the background as your hands raked over her body, pulling her closer as you pressed your lips on hers again, tongue already pushing past the seam of her lips. You dominated her with ease, your tongue sliding against hers firmly, your mission of finding drinks and a table long forgotten.