Hey guys! I was having some major writer's block last night, and I tried to work through it by writing a drabble (or maybe it's more of a scene, I don't know the word count for drabbles.) Anyways, I'm posting it here. I'd like to make this a thread, and I'd like ya'all's help! If you have a prompt or an idea, just PM me, and I'll see if it's something I can write!
2 – Complicated
Characters: Pepper Potts and Natasha Romanoff
Pepper could count on one hand the number of female friends she'd had in the last ten years. In fact, she needed three fingers, max. It didn't bother her, really. Her personality meshed much better with men—they were less inclined to be intimidated by her single-mindedness and drive. She also didn't have an excessive amount of patience for traditionally feminine pursuits; she was elegant and fashionable, certainly, but her ideal afternoon was still not one spent shopping and gossiping.
Though now, Pepper could add a fourth finger to her count. It was nice having Natasha around, she decided. She was a nice break from the overwhelming amount of testosterone Pepper ordinarily had to put up with. And Pepper was quite certain Natasha wasn't used to having a female friend, either. But then, Pepper often got a strange, uncomfortable feeling that Natasha wasn't used to having a friend, period.
They were at Stark Tower one rainy afternoon. Pepper had declared it a spa day, in spite of Natasha's protests, "This is completely impractical. There's no reason for an assassin to have sparkly fingernails."
Pepper was rubbing lotion on her calves while Natasha read an old issue of Cosmo with a appalled expression on her face, when Pepper looked up and asked a question that had been on her mind for a long time, "So, what's the deal with you and Clint?"
Natasha stiffened and stared at Pepper for a moment, "It's…complicated," she finally said.
Pepper picked idly at a nail polish smudge on her toe, "Complicated how?"
Natasha pursed her lips, "Just complicated," she said, "That's how."
Pepper raised her eyebrows, "Well, that was a satisfactory explanation," she said dryly.
Natasha sighed huffily, "It's hard to describe, because I'm not even really sure what the…deal between us is. He's not sure either, I think."
Natasha paused, and if Pepper didn't know better she would've sworn she heard her whimper. "In our line of work, getting close is dangerous. Really dangerous. It never ends well."
The last part of Natasha's sentence was nearly inaudible, and Pepper felt her heart swell in sympathy. She knew all too well about the occupational hazards of dating a superhero. "Do you love him?" she asked tentatively.
Natasha didn't answer for such a long time that Pepper was sure she'd stepped over some invisible boundary. She was about to apologize or change the subject or both, when Natasha said, "So much it aches," she drew in a sharp breath, "But it doesn't matter."