Natasha stepped out of the restaurant where she’d just had a late lunch with Tony and Clint. It was a chilly day with a hint of snow in New York City and she loved every minute of it.
Clint pulled her into a lingering hug as he followed her out, with Tony close behind.
“Do you have to go?” Natasha asked.
“You know as well as I do that if I don’t get these presents back to the farm so Laura can wrap them before Santa gets here it won’t be a good thing.” He embraced her fiercely before shaking hands with Tony.
“See you next week for our big holiday bash,” Tony said in a firm tone.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Clint replied before disappearing into a cab.
“Well, how about you?” Natasha asked, looking up at Tony. “Do you have to head back home right away, or can you enjoy a winter evening in New York?”
He shrugged. “I could hang for a bit. What did you have in mind?” He held out his arm, offering it to her.
Natasha eagerly slipped her arm through his. “We’re not that far from Rockefeller Center. Walk me to the tree?”
He smiled at her eagerness, nodding his head in the direction towards Fifth Avenue.
“When was the last time you saw it?” She wondered as they walked.
“I don’t know. College, I guess. My family was never really the warm and fuzzy holiday loving type,” He told her, buttoning up his coat with his free hand.
In the distance she could hear Christmas carols, and the music got louder as they approached. The crowd also got thicker, but nothing would ruin her good mood tonight. Not even the silent grumbling of the sarcastic bah humbug beside her.
She hummed softly as they turned the corner.
“Never pegged you as the festive type,” he commented, his breath showing in a cloud in front of him in the cool air as he glanced sideways at her.
“There is nothing like a Christmas in New York City,” she replied.
“Looks like it’s going to be a white one after all,” he said as the snowflakes got bigger and fell more frequently before their eyes. He reached out to brush a few from her red curls, which were spilling out of her knit hat.
She smiled as he stopped in his tracks, gazing at the tall, perfectly green tree with more lights than his tower.
A tender moment with Tony Stark was rare when he had to be in town on business, but she could pinpoint the moment his expression softened and she grinned, taking in the sudden twinkle in his eyes that she could see, even behind his big glasses. “Come on,” she said softly, giving his gloved hand a squeeze.
He obeyed her command, joining her as she stepped closer to the tree.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” she commented idly, staring at the ice skaters in the rink around the base.
“Then let’s do it,” he said.
She looked up at him. “I don’t even remember the last time I went ice skating,” she said seriously. “I don’t even know if I ever have.”
“It’s been a long time for me too,” he admitted. “My family was never-“
“Let me guess. Your family was never the take a boy ice skating out in the snow on Christmas type?” She said with a raised eyebrow.
He chuckled. “We doing this? The offer won’t last all day…”
She nodded, following him down the steps and to the ticket kiosk.
“I’m sorry, all our sessions are sold out for the day,” the bored clerk recited.
Tony lowered his glasses on his nose, gazing at the man over the top rim of his frames as he handed over a stack of bills. “This beautiful lady says she wants to do it now,” he said with a shrug. “Who am I to argue with that?”
“My apologies, Mr. Stark,” the man said, reconsidering. “It seems a couple of spots have just opened up.” He gestured with his hand, showing them where they could pick up rental skates.
Natasha grinned.
Tony laced up his shoes quickly, then held out a hand to her, pulling her up from the bench. “Just remember if I make you fall, this was your idea,” he murmured, hobbling unsteadily to the ice.
Natasha was as graceful as ever as she glided along, her extensive ballet training coming in handy as she spread her arms out and slid easily across the ice.
Tony was less than graceful while he caught his bearings and she skated on ahead, knowing that it wouldn’t take him long to calculate things like weight, angles and speed and also knowing that it would be best to let him be while he figured it out.
By the time she’d skated a lap and found him again, she was glad to see that she’d been correct.
“I’ll race you,” he said mischievously, not waiting for her answer and she took off after him.
She could hear him laughing as she followed close on his tail, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind as she caught up to him. “Got ya,” she said in a low voice.
“Think so, huh?” He said, reaching his arms to pull her in front of him and firmly gripping her waist before he lifted her straight up into the air in a bold move that, had he been anyone else on the planet would’ve had her propelling her weight forward, scissoring him to the ground with her legs and pinning him with his back flat against the ice in a death grip with barely a cry to let her down, but he was not just anyone else.
She tightened her grip on his shoulders, lightly kicking her feet and landing gracefully when he set her down again.
“Is that mistletoe?” He murmured, gesturing to the wall above them.
“I think so,” she said slowly, her gaze catching his as she tugged lightly on his scarf.
She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and he set his around her waist as he drew her in and they pressed their lips lightly together.
She smiled softly and he pressed his forehead against hers. She didn’t want the night to end, but his skin was cold against hers and his cheeks and nose were pink and the snow was falling more steadily around them.
They held hands as they skated to the exit side of the rink.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
“My pleasure,” he murmured.
“Walk me home?” She asked.
He shrugged. “Or I could get a car and we could go back to the compound. I’ll make you s’mores for dessert,” he said, his eyebrows wiggling.
“I do need to be at the compound with Steve and Sam for Christmas,” she said.
He was already pulling out his phone.
XXXXX
It had been a few weeks since she’d been at the Avengers headquarters for any length of time, but she wasn’t surprised to see that just like any other Stark owned property, the place was exquisitely decorated for the holidays with lively ornaments and eloquent lights.
A beautiful tree stood floor to ceiling in the corner of the common area and she felt her throat tighten as tears pricked behind her eyes. She had never seen a Christmas like this before.
“Do you like?” He asked, watching her as he hung up their wet coats.
She nodded. “It’s perfect,” she whispered.
“I wanted our first Christmas at the compound to be special,” he said softly.
She nodded. “It already is.” She reached into the cabinets looking for the ingredients to make s’mores, but he stopped her with his hand.
“You don’t make ‘em like I make ‘em,” he insisted.
She rolled her eyes and started a pot of boiling water for hot cocoa before she made her way over to the coffee table, clicking the remote and setting a video of a burning Yule log on the flatscreen above the mantle and starting a real fire in the fireplace.
“Yule log? Really?” He asked, raising an amused eyebrow.
She shrugged. “It’s tradition at Clint’s house.”
“Why does that not surprise me?” He said. “You know, my family never was-“
“I know,” she said, settling down on the floor in front of the fire and patting the space next to her. “But you’re not with your family right now. So why don’t you just relax and enjoy yourself?”
He knelt down next to her, handing her a stick with a marshmallow on it and watching the Yule log while they toasted their marshmallows in the fireplace. “It is kind of peaceful,” he admitted.
She smiled, biting into a graham cracker before he swatted her hand away and pulled their sticks back to the counter to assemble their s’mores.
She poured the hot chocolate, bringing two mugs over to the coffee table and settling down on the couch. She pressed another button on the remote and Christmas carols began playing softly from the speakers around them.
He brought their desserts over, placing a couple of peppermint sticks in their mugs and arranging everything meticulously on the coffee table.
She slid over to make room for him on the couch and once he was finally seated and the peppermint sticks were dissolved in the cocoa, she took a sip and gratefully accepted the plate of s’mores that he offered to her.
She closed her eyes, savoring the sticky sweet taste of the melted marshmallows and chocolate and licking her lips slightly. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. You really do make the best s’mores,” she conceded with her mouth still half full.
He grinned his signature grin. “It’s all about the consistency and the temperature,” he said, finally satisfied as he bit into his own dessert.
The plate was cleared in no time and she sat back against the couch, crossing her legs.
“Do you want me to put on some cheesy Hallmark movie? Or are you content with the music?” He asked seriously.
“Now you’re getting it,” she said with a smile at his wide, honest eyes. “But I think I’m good with just the music, how about you?”
“Hmmmm,” He murmured noncommittally, turning his attention back to the soft crackling of the fake Yule log.
She leaned her head against his shoulder, slouching down.
After a minute, he put an arm around her. “Here, c’mere,” he said softly, settling back into the couch cushions.
She uncrossed her legs, leaning closer to him.
“Comfortable?” He asked, tilting his head down to her at the same time she tilted her head up to look at him. He ran his hand gently through her hair before tucking it behind her ear.
She nodded wordlessly, her gaze steady on his as she leaned up and pressed her lips softly against his.
“What was that for?” He asked quietly.
“No reason,” she answered just as quietly. “I just felt like it.”
“Okay,” he said with a soft smile. He issued a command to FRIDAY to dim the lights and soon the only lights in the room where the ones on the tree and trimming the house and the soothing glow from the fireplace. “Better?” He asked, leaning down to kiss her again.
She nodded silently, adjusting her position to get more cozy against him as she eagerly received his kiss.
Everything about him was soft, from the light pressure of his lips on hers, to the knit sweater he was wearing, the feel of his hair under her hands as she kissed him back, his genuine smile on his flushed cheeks, and the way he had her wrapped up in his arms.
At first they were just pressing their lips softly against each other’s over and over and then his tongue was sliding gently over hers. His mouth tasted like the perfect mix of peppermint candy and hot cocoa and it wasn’t the first time that he’d had her feeling like this; like she could just melt right into him.
She let him put his hands under her sweater and feel her breasts as they kissed by the fireplace and her mouth found his neck, his skin warm and soft beneath her lips.
He closed his eyes and sighed softly and she began to suck gently on the side of his neck, not hard enough to leave any marks on his skin, but just enough to make him feel good.
She felt the light pressure of his lips against her temple, then her cheek, her nose, and then his mouth was on hers again and she was sliding her hands through his hair, over his face, down his neck and finally settling on his shoulders as she leaned her head against his chest, watching the slow crackling of the flames in the fireplace over the crook of her arm that was wrapped around him.
“It’s getting late,” he murmured, his lips on her hair as his fingers gently tugged on the ends of it. “I guess I should probably get going soon.”
“Or you could just stay the night,” she said quietly.
“Yeah?” He asked, his hand getting more wrapped up in her bright red curls.
Yeah,” she answered, wide green eyes gazing up at him as he continued to play with her hair.
“Okay,” he said softly, gently tilting her head back as he kissed her again.
She reached for the remote, clicking the Yule log off before letting herself get lost in him again.