Perfectly Imperfect

Author's Note: Story contains strong language and nudity. There will be sex, but nothing hurtful or bad. This story is meant to be a positive one, so I hope you'll enjoy it!

Chapter One

Great Expectations

Agent Natasha Romanoff wiped the sweat from her brow as she entered her room. Her whole body was wet and sticky, and she ached all over. She deserved to ache like that, after neglecting the gym for more than a month.

The workout room was the first place she had gone after returning to the Helicarrier. She had gone there eagerly with weightlifting, lunges, and cardio all on her mind. A total body workout, just like what she had done almost every day before her latest deployment.

After running for just half an hour on the treadmill, she had been forced to give up for fear that her heart would explode. A six-course dinner every night, topped off with a decadent desert, would do that to you.

Her last assignment had been a welcome break at first. All she had to do was cozy up to a banker suspected of financing terrorist groups like AIM. No guns, car chases, or explosions. Just luxury hotel suites and fine dining. Lots of it.

It was great at first, and Natasha indulged herself as well as anyone could. But after several weeks, the constant and excessive eating became a chore. Natasha pushed on though, eating with the fat bastard wherever and whenever he wanted to.

Her big break had come just two days ago, allowing her to finally drop the charade and leave him. The man had left his mark on her though. She felt bloated and disgusting.

I'm better than this, she thought. She would be better. Tomorrow.

Natasha groaned as she walked in front of her mirror and began to undress. The first thing she pulled off was her tank top. Natasha dropped it on the floor and looked down at her stomach. It didn't bulge out like she was afraid it would, but she could see that she had grown a slight tummy. Her skintight cat suit was going to be a little more skintight the next time she put it on.

Agent Hill's gonna give me hell. Physical fitness was a requirement for all SHIELD agents. But for Natasha, so was physical beauty. It was ridiculous, but she actually had superiors who would look her over and pick apart her appearance. She could actually be reprimanded for not looking hot enough for them.

She unhooked her sports bra next. Gripping her breasts, she pushed them together as she examined them. Her girls always looked good. They weren't the problem. Never were. She knew where to look to find one though.

After taking off her sneakers and socks, she paused with a sense of dread. She didn't want to proceed, but she had to see where she was. With a sigh, she removed her shorts. She turned so that her back faced the mirror, allowing her to see her thong-covered butt.

There were dimples on her cheeks, but that wasn't all. If she turned just right, the light revealed creases running side-to-side all the way down her thighs.

The Black Widow had cellulite.

"Damn it," she muttered. It wasn't immediately apparent from a distance, or even from every angle. But she was going to be looked at very closely, more than anyone else whom she knew.

It wasn't fair. The only thing people cared about when it came to Clint was his ability to put bullets and arrows on target. Hill, an attractive woman herself, was judged on her skills and smarts instead. But Natasha had to be the total package. Strong, deadly, intelligent, and beautiful. Perfectly, flawlessly beautiful. Nothing short of that was good enough.

The door to her room slid open.

Shit, Natasha thought as she turned her head. In her tired and distressed state, she had forgotten to lock the door before. Natasha reacted on pure instinct. Both hands went down to cover her ass, before she even thought to raise an arm over her naked breasts.

"Hey, you wanna grab some dinner?" Steve asked. He stepped inside, and he froze as he laid his eyes upon her.

"What the hell, Steve?!" She turned to face him, unlike any other woman would in her situation. Anything to keep him from seeing her cottage cheese ass.

"I, I'm –" His eyes and mouth widened, and he stood there dumbfounded.

"Don't you know how to knock?!"

"Sorry!" he said as he finally looked away. "I was glad you were back! I wasn't thinking!"

"Get out!"

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry." He began to head for the door, when he stopped. "You still wanna eat?"

"Get the fuck out!"

Steve ran off, as fast as she had ever seen him move.

Natasha kept one arm over her breasts as she closed the door and locked it. She then plopped herself on the bed and lowered her face into her hand.