round two
Maria picks the tracker up from where Yelena had tossed it into the grass with a sigh. “Shit…” She murmurs, praying that this tracker wasn’t one that sensed body heat and knew when it was taken off. Maria heard the crack as, without a second thought, Yelena dislocated her thumb.
It wasn’t worth chasing after the girls. Not when she was the reason that they were running.
She fucked up. She massively fucked up and she didn’t even mean to do it.
Clint, who had been cheering them on, was quiet as he stepped up next to Maria. “You okay?” He asked her quietly.
Maria lets out a sigh, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. “Shit… I didn’t mean--” She cuts herself off. “I triggered her.” Knowing that you triggered someone you care about sucks.
“You didn’t mean to,” Clint offers before shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have put the mistletoe up. It was a bad idea. As soon as Yelena asked about it I knew I should have put it away. But Yelena wanted it up and Laura said that she was just afraid of breaking tradition and I thought about taking it down….”
“Maybe I should go.” Maria had more work to do on her desk and triggering Natasha may be a good enough excuse to come back to SHIELD.
“It was an accident, Maria. Don’t go,” Clint tells her firmly. “At least wait to talk it out with her. Besides…” He paused before he gently nudged his elbow into her ribs. “I know you like her.”
Maria inhales sharply, turning to look at him. “Is it that obvious?” She demands, worried that Natasha knew that Maria liked her.
Clint holds his hands up in surrender to her. “No. But Nat likes you too.”
Maria lets out a scoff, shaking her head. “This whole thing was a bad idea, I knew it.”
“Hey--” Clint interrupts her firmly, grabbing her shoulder. “Maria, look at me. Yelena wanted you here. We want you here. You’re part of our family.”
“Look, I fucked things up,” Maria gestured helplessly toward the barn where the sisters had taken off toward. “I couldn’t control myself and--”
Clint pulls Maria into a tight hug and she squirms against him. “Natasha isn’t going to hate you for this.” He promised and Maria sinks against him. “Everything will be alright.”
Maria clenched her jaw, unsure if she could believe him.
She kissed her crush and she liked it. She triggered her to the point of running off and the only thing on her mind was how soft her lips were.
What kind of shit person was she?
It’s nearly freezing temperatures outside and Natasha did not grab shoes nor did she grab a coat before she bolted.
She didn’t even really mean to run she just… did. It wasn’t even that she hated what just happened.
She liked it. And that scared the shit out of her.
The barn is slightly warmer than the outside and Natasha folds into herself tucked along the crates of targets and weapons by the shooting range.
Yelena appears moments later, falling to her knees beside her. Yelena’s not wearing long sleeves like she is, donned in her favorite purple shirt that shows Natasha the goosebumps forming along her skin.
Yelena squirms her way into Natasha’s lap and Natasha lets her, holding her baby sister close as Yelena wraps around her. Natasha rests her forehead on Yelena’s shoulder, unsure about what to do with the feelings inside her.
“Are you okay?” Yelena’s quiet voice interrupts her thoughts. Natasha doesn’t know how to reply. “Do you need to dance?”
Natasha shakes her head. She wasn’t that far gone. She just… was confused.
“Nattie?” Yelena pulls away slightly, reaching up with one hand to cup her face. Yelena usually uses both when she does that and Natasha’s eyes fall to Yelena’s other hand.
The first thing she notices is the lack of the silvery band around Yelena’s wrist that was meant to track her. The second is the red irritated skin where the tracker had sat and then her eyes fall onto the dislocated thumb sitting at an odd angle on Yelena’s hand.
“Sorry…” Yelena murmurs when Natasha grabbed her forearm to bring her hand up to inspect it. “I had to get it off.”
“You shouldn’t have done that.” Natasha is grateful that Yelena came after her. Yelena’s presence always made things feel bearable. But she didn’t want Yelena to get into trouble. Yelena was in enough trouble as it is and her taking her tracker off could have severe repercussions.
Yelena shrinks in on herself at Natasha’s words and guilt hits Natasha.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” Natasha lets Yelena’s hand go, cupping her face and gently knocking their foreheads together. “I adore you.”
“I love you,” Yelena murmurs as Natasha pulls one hand away to look at Yelena’s wrist again.
“Why didn’t you tell Maria it was hurting you?” She asked, running her thumb over the chafed skin around Yelena’s wrist. With one quick movement, Natasha sets Yelena’s thumb back in place, a small hiss escaping the blonde’s lips.
“I dunno…” Yelena murmurs but Natasha can tell she was lying. Yelena rubs her thumb along her damaged skin. “I don’t think Maria meant to kiss you.”
“I know.” Natasha didn’t even realize what was happening until she saw Clint’s grin as he gives her a thumbs up. She turned her head, realizing too late what Maria intended to do.
Kissing Maria was so much different than any other kiss she got. Maria wasn’t rough or forceful. In fact, Natasha barely even felt it, her lips so soft and gentle against hers.
Natasha has seduced men and women alike but none have been so gentle with her as Maria had been.
She liked it and that was what scared her the most.
Natasha doesn’t even realize how far into her own mind she had drifted until she realized that Yelena had wrapped her arms around her, rocking them from side to side as she hums Miss American Pie. Yelena was shivering slightly, her exposed skin cold to the touch but she doesn’t even mention it. Natasha herself was cold but she was wearing socks and a long-sleeved shirt that was considerably thicker than Yelena’s.
Natasha wonders how long they had been in the barn. Was Clint just outside the door guarding it like always? Did Maria leave?
“Come on,” Natasha murmurs, patting Yelena’s back. “Let’s go inside.” They both needed to warm up and Natasha needed to face Maria and apologize for her harsh reaction.
Yelena winces when she stops rocking and Natasha paused for a moment, wondering if Yelena somehow got hurt between her leaving and Yelena appearing. Yelena climbs off of her though, hesitating for a brief moment before straightening up all the way.
Worry briefly washes over Natasha and she makes a mental note to strip Yelena before bed that night to check for injuries.
Clint wasn’t standing guard outside of the barn but the backdoor was cracked open and Natasha could smell the scent of Laura’s apple pie waft out the gap.
Yelena leans against her, a little more than she usually does, and they head up the path back to the house.
They’re barely inside for more than a few seconds before Laura appears with blankets to wrap them in, fussing over them and remarking on their blue lips and shivering frames.
Natasha realizes that the blankets are warm as if they’re taken directly from the dryer. “Where’s Masha?” Natasha questioned quietly.
“Clint took her on a car ride to calm down,” Laura says. “Come sit down and have some hot pie.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for them?” Yelena questioned but lets Laura prod her into one of the chairs at the table. Natasha slides into the seat next to her and Yelena immediately shuffles closer to lean against her. Natasha tucks her under her arm and her eyes land on the way that Yelena cradles her abdomen under the blanket.
Had Yelena been in pain? She usually told Natasha it was a bad day and there were things they could do to help. Why had she kept quiet? Was she worried about interrupting the festivities?
Natasha pulls Yelena closer, kissing the side of her head as Laura sets down a hot plate of pie in front of each of them. Natasha takes a bite from her first before switching their dishes. She doesn’t have much of an appetite but the pie warms her up from the inside out so she forces herself to take another bite.
Yelena pokes at her pie, another sign that something was wrong. Yelena devoured it the last time they had it. She even asked for seconds.
They’re halfway through poking at their pie when the front door opens. Maria shuffles into the kitchen and Natasha belatedly realizes that the mistletoe was missing, now sitting on the counter.
Yelena is out of her chair and across the room to wrap around Maria within a matter of moments. Maria slowly wraps her arms around Yelena in return before glancing over at Natasha. “Can we talk?” She asked quietly.
Natasha leaves her half-finished pie on the table as she approached Maria. “We can talk upstairs?” She offered.
Maria nods, slowly detaching herself from Yelena. “Yeah. That works.”
Natasha whispers to Yelena that she’ll be right back. Yelena looks a little unhappy at being left out of the loop but reluctantly lets Laura guide her back toward the table. Natasha follows Maria upstairs to the guest bedroom. The room felt significantly smaller with only the two of them there.
“I’m sorry,” Maria immediately blurts out. “I didn’t mean to trigger you. The move I made was stupid and foolish and I shouldn’t have done it. I would take it back if I could, I didn’t mean to cause you to be uncomfortable or fear me--”
Maria was rambling. It was an uncommon sight to see the normally so composed commander start to unravel.
Natasha didn’t like it. Maria was spiralling, starting to call herself stupid and foolish. “Maria.” She starts but Maria keeps rambling, pacing slightly as she runs a hand through her hair. “Maria. Hey--” Natasha moved forward, grabbing Maria’s shoulder. Maria spun toward her and Natasha pushed her against the wall before she could retaliate. “Masha, stop it!”
Maria immediately goes quiet, staring at her with wide eyes. Natasha suddenly realizes how close they were.
“You’re not stupid,” Natasha loosened the grip she had on Maria but doesn’t quite let go yet. “You didn’t… you didn’t trigger me.”
“But… you ran?” Maria’s brow furrows in confusion.
Natasha can’t meet Maria’s gaze as she looks away. “I did…” She takes a few carefully measured breaths. “I ran…” She imagines Clint’s good-natured ribbing as he joked with her to be more open with Maria because they would be perfect together. “Because I liked it.”
Maria stares at her, blinking a few times in stunned confusion as she lets out a small “Oh…”
“I’m sorry,” Natasha shakes her head, letting Maria go and stepping back. She was a Black Widow, she was trained not to have these feelings. “Nevermind.”
“I liked it too.” Maria interrupts her before she can spiral as well. She reaches out before pausing her hand hovering awkwardly in the air. “So…”
Natasha doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do. She shouldn’t be feeling this way. Not for girls, not for her superior, not for Maria. But she is and she’s unable to stamp these feelings down.
“If you want to forget that anything ever happened then we can. We’ll go back to how things were this morning,” Maria is offering her an out. A clean slate to start fresh.
“What if I don’t want that?” Natasha challenged boldly, ignoring the way her heart raced in her chest.
Maria swallows hard, reaching up to rub the back of her neck. “Do…” She lets out a harsh sigh. “Shit…” She murmurs. “I’m your superior. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
Natasha steps into Maria’s space, the taller woman pushing herself against the wall so that she doesn’t touch Natasha. “You’re not taking advantage of me if I start it.” Natasha doesn’t know what she’s doing. Maybe she’s just too damned curious for her own good. But she wants it again. She wants more.
Maria stares down at her. “I…” She seemed nervous.
“If you don’t want me then just say so,” Natasha lets out a huff, stepping away. “But don’t you dare regret me.”
Maria grabs her wrist and it takes everything in her not to flinch or retaliate. “I don’t. I… regretted what we did because I thought I hurt you. But I don’t regret you. You’re my friend, Natasha. My family. I care about you… a lot.” Natasha lets Maria gently tug her closer again. “Can-- can I kiss you again?”
Natasha’s fingers slide up Maria’s arm when she lets go of her wrist until they settle on her shoulders. “Yes.”
She knows it’s coming this time. She knows how to seduce men and women until they fall at her feet but never had she been so nervous for a fucking kiss.
Maria’s hands, usually rough and calloused, are soft and gentle as they cup Natasha’s face. Natasha steps forward, bumping her body against Maria’s as Maria leans down closer until Natasha can smell the minty scent that was uniquely Maria.
Maria’s lips are just as soft as they were the first time. Maria has a much more ample opportunity to jerk Natasha closer and deepen the kiss but she doesn’t. Maria ends the kiss first, knocking her forehead against Natasha’s.
The second kiss only cemented the feelings in Natasha’s mind.
Natasha then abruptly steps away, realizing what she was doing. Yelena was downstairs in pain and here Natasha was upstairs making out with Maria. “I’m sorry.”
Maria’s shoulders slump for only a moment before she straightens. “It’s fine. I know it’s a lot. Don’t worry about it.” Maria finally lets go of her and Natasha lets her, watching as Maria heads downstairs before she lets out a frustrated huff, tugging at her hair angrily.
Yelena came first. Natasha needed to get her priorities in order. She wanted her sister’s first official Christmas to go smoothly. She could worry about the whole Maria issue when they get back to SHIELD come the new year.
Yelena was still at the table when she descended the stairs, poking at her half-eaten apple pie. The tracker was back on her wrist but on the other one and there was an ice pack on her hand.
“What happened?” Natasha asked in worry, reaching for Yelena’s hand.
“I had to put it back on without opening it to alert SHIELD. I had to dislocate my thumb again,” Yelena murmurs. She seemed unwell and it concerned Natasha.
Yelena was hiding something from her and Natasha doesn’t know why Yelena felt the need to hide it in the first place. Did she do something? Was it her? Is she just messing everything up?
“Come on. I need to lie down,” It’s only partially a lie as Natasha tugs her sister up from the plate that she clearly wasn’t going to finish. Yelena goes willingly and when they’re getting settled into bed, she curls into Natasha just like she did when she was little and wasn’t feeling well.
Natasha pulls her close, humming her favorite song. Yelena relaxes into her, pressing her face against Natasha’s chest to hide from the world.
Natasha just hoped that whatever it was would either pass or not ruin their Christmas.