Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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The clatter of her shoes echoed in the empty hallway. The cold steel gave her surroundings an unforgivable chill that did nothing to help her situation.

'Deep breath, what's the worse they could do?' This was her mantra. All the way until she reached his office anyway. She hesitated for only a second, giving her time to wallow in her own self-loathing. The young woman's fists were poised to knock, but it was unnecessary.

"Enter agent Romanoff "

The individual in question clenched her hands and fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was in deep, and everyone knew it. Natasha did as she was told, exposing no sign of the raging emotions within.

His office was as bleak and cold as he was and today she paid more attention to insignificant details than ever before. The overflowing trashbin by his desk, the stain by the door, the slightly crooked frame on the far left wall, and so much more.

"Please sit Agent. " In her mind she saw the seats in front of his desk like electric chairs ready to buzz to life the moment she sat down. The last thing she wanted to do was prolong this.

"I rather stand sir." Natasha's voice was calm as she spoke to her superior and she held her head high. Nevertheless she had neglected to look him in the eyes.

Nick Fury himself sat down and folded his hands over his midsection leisurely.

"Sit Romanoff." His tone was harsh and left no room for argument. But it was his eyes that were murder. Those dark orbs pierced through her soul as if they could not believe the level of insubordination before them.

The Russian born sat down reluctantly. What she wouldn't give right now for the ground to swallow her whole, for time to speed up, any kind of escape would suffice. Instead her grip on the armrest were so intense that her knuckles turned white.

" Do you have any idea, what you have done?" He spoke slowly and clearly. And she hated him all the more for it. Fury was going to drill this into her mind if it was the last thing he ever did.

The gifted spy maintained eye contact. She was as still as a statue with not a drop of emotion on her pretty face. All tension was focused on her iron grip of the armrest, so much so if she were any stronger they would surely break.

The former question was clearly rhetorical as he continued without a word from her. "You've been compromised Agent Romanoff "

It was the years of expert training that prevented her from flinching, how she hated that word. It was a weakness in this world and that was something she always loathed, even as a child.

"You were sent out to complete a routine procedure. To provide information on the target." Fury began to explain to her like she was a child. "This should have been a walk in the park for you! But what do you do? You make it personal!"

His voice continued to rise until he was yelling at this point. He slammed his hand down on his desk and Natasha's gaze briefly flickered from him to the rattling objects before her.

"I did my job. I gave you the Intel you wanted." It was true, every detail they required she had delivered without hesitation. She always delivers without hesitation, and now she was getting the third degree for sleeping with her mark.

" Yes Ms. Romanoff so please explain what part of your job description required you to get intimate with Mr. Stark?" His sarcasm was more than evident as he looked at the woman before him bemused.

"How dare you." The statement was spoken with nothing but scorn. She managed to disable the security measures during certain…times together, but apparently even she could miss some things.

"Oh no Agent. How dare you." The way Fury uttered those words almost seemed like he was disgusted with her. " You ruined your assignment and nearly jeopardized this entire operation. Did you forget that your cover was not the only one at stake?"

"I'm a spy. I thought we were supposed to be selfish." She had no regrets for what she did, and Natasha Romanoff does not have a conscious.

Fury's slight laughter held an edge; his rage held amusement. "So it would seem Natasha." The use of her first name caught her attention immediately.

" But remember" he paced around her chair like a predator, trying to make her feel trapped. "You are no longer the hired hand you were when we captured you"

He now invaded her personal space; a classic intimidation technique that she hated to say was working. "You work for us now. And if you want to keep a low profile and live to see the next month, you will not screw up like this again. Is this in anyway unclear to you Agent Romanoff?"

Finally, this was what she was wanted. No more formal tones or carefully guarded emotions. Instead anger. Cold blooded, righteous anger. The masks were dropping and the relief was indescribable.

"No, Sir."

"Good." He said simply, and had the audacity to smile. "You are by no means done with this Agent. You will have a hearing with the rest of your superiors at a later date. I don't think I need to mention this, it's obvious enough, but you do understand that you are forbidden from ever coming in contact with Stark again correct?"

The level of hatred that rose surprised even her. She should have known better. There's no room for life or love in espionage. To hear it outloud made it feel like something had died within her. The pain was constricting and hurt more than she though was possible. Natasha found it more difficult than ever to maintain her poker face. She refused for it to end like this. The odds will tip in her favor one day. All she had to do was play the part long enough.

"I understand sir."

Fury nodded his head. "You're dismissed for now."

The secret agent got up like the place was on fire.

"Natasha."

She stopped in her tracks but did not look at him. "Off the record. Was it worth it?"

Was it? It was irrational, and the consequences had the potential to be severe. But in the world she grew up in full of deceit, Stark was honest to a fault and enjoyed nothing more than to be himself. A concept she would never grasp. He was an enigma to her. The billionaire was frustrating at times but he brought out a series of carefree sentiments in her that she had never felt before. And though she would rather be damned than admit it, he made her smile.

"Yes." And with that she left the room. She didn't need to explain her reasons to him or anyone else.

A sudden feeling of nausea interrupted her escape out of this godforsaken base and she ran to the first restroom she could find. The contexts of her previous meal emptied out into the toilet. The heaving continued for several moments even after there was nothing left to give and she reluctantly stood up straight. She's been feeling this way for days now, and if it was any bug it should have been gone by now. The young woman pressed the lever with her foot and took deep breathes while leaning against the partition.

How hilarious would it be that despite the mess she was in with S.H.I.E.L.D she would be pregnant on top of all that? Her eyes snapped open as fear stabbed her in the chest.

Natasha hadn't been intimate with anyone since Stark. To make it even more possible she recognized she was late. Her mind did a quick mental calculation of the last time they were in bed together.

At the realization her eyes drifted shut once again and she softly banged her head against the wall. The Russian beauty laughed with no humor whatsoever. The dates matched up.

'How fucking perfect.'

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I know Nick Fury has an eye patch (if you noticed that missing here) but at this point in the story he doesn't have one. Why that is will be revealed later on. From now on he will I promise.

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