Author's Note: Hey! So for some strange reason I feel like Natasha and Pepper would fit well into an Imagine You and Me type situation, so that's what I did to them. There's a few lines of dialogue directly from that movie, and of course all the characters are from Avengers. I obviously don't own any of them. Also, "Simple Song" by the Shins has been playing on the radio an awful lot lately, so the chapter titles are all lyrics from the song and some elements of the descriptors/dialogue/plot etc tie back in to that. Enjoy and thanks for reading.
Feel Like An Ocean Being Warmed by the Sun:
There is a part of Natasha Romanov that had always been Natalie Rushman. Natalie was not a lie as much as she was a distortion of the truth, though that truth is illusive at best. Black Widow is a woman of masks, of layers. She is built this way on purpose, first by Red Room and then by S.H.I.E.L.D. There are days where she was sure she was nothing but masks, some broken, layer after layer. Now she knows that isn't true.
She knows because while Natalie Rushman respected Pepper Potts, looked up to her, strived for her approval, Natalie Rushman sure as hell didn't fall in love with Pepper Potts. Natasha spent her life first mourning and then spiting love, but in the days after she returns from her mission at Stark Industries, she finds she can't shake the feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever she thinks of Pepper. It's an amazing, giddy feeling on the surface, but underneath it is bottomless, sinking in on it's own depths.
What's worse is that Clint seems to notice. Clint is the only person she trusts with any portion of herself that surfaces from underneath her masks, and as such he is invaluable to her. He is also the only being in the face of the universe who can properly read her emotions. As such it's not particularly surprising when Clint finally corners her. It was bound to happen eventually.
"Natasha." she simply raises an eyebrow in response. "You've been acting off lately."
"Have I?"
"Don't give me that bullshit, we both know you have." This she must concede, and does so with silence. "I'll admit you had me positively perplexed, but now I'm sure I've figured it out." he waits for her to respond, and when she refuses to do so, he continues. "You've been mysteriously quiet whenever a certain Pepper Potts is mentioned."
"Clint, am I ever not especially quiet?" She hopes the look she gives him is incredulous, but she worries it's actually the mild panic she feels beginning to set in.
"Not this quiet, and you usually don't blush when I bring people up. Are you feeling emotions again, Tasha?" She nods, swallowing the urge to punch him. "Well then we must talk all about it. Don't worry dear, I'll eventually get you to admit to being in love."
She punches him.