First off, just wanna say thanks SO much for all the support! I wasn't really sure if there would be a lot of people interested in a Natasha x Reader story but I'm super glad that you guys proved me wrong. I'm really loving writing this story and I hope that you guys will love reading it!

Your phone laid silently on the coffee table in front of you. It had no eyes but you could feel it watching you… Judging you... Mocking you…

It had been three days since your run in with the bombshell that you'd started to mentally call 'Cherry Bomb'; after the Joan Jett song. It was a real face-palm moment when you realized that you'd forgotten to ask her for her real name. Ever since then you had been actively trying to keep yourself from calling her. You'd found plenty of ways to distract yourself; gushing over everything that had happened that day, thinking of all the things you should have said and done, daydreaming about the future, fearing the future. You tried to stay productive. But now as the third day was coming to an end you began to realize that the longer you put off this call the more likely you were to jeopardize any chance of really getting to know this potentially amazing woman.

Reaching for the phone you found your hand immediately snapping back into your lap.

What if she only gave me this number out of pity?
What if she doesn't really have any interest in me?
What if it's a fake number?!
What if I can't think of anything to say?
What if I say something awful?
What if I accidentally insult her?
What if she ends up hating me?
What if-No! Stop it! Just pick up the phone and hit call…

Your body stayed rooted in its spot.

Any moment now… you're just gonna reach over to that table… pick up the phone… find her contact… and hit…call….

Another eternity of sitting perfectly still passed as you sat in a stare off with your judgmental phone.

"Ugh! Come on," you cried out, finally snapping. "You can do this! You asked her out in person! This should technically be easier. If anything goes wrong, just hang up! …Ok… One. Twothreego!"

You quickly swiped up your phone finding Cherry Bomb and hitting call before your nerves had a chance to catch up. You focused on breathing calmly, even as your heart pounded in your ears as you listened to the phone ring. And ring… and… ring…

Huh… Maybe she won't pick up… Oh God, what if she doesn't pick up?! What if I have to leave a message? What do I say?! Should I leave a message? Maybe I should just hang up, try again tomorrow… Or take it as a sign, delete her number, and go back to not overthinking every stupid thin-

"Romanov."

A cool and professional voice says a single word and your mind shuts off. You come to just short of the time limit allowed for being awkwardly silent on the phone.

"Um, hi, this is Y/N," you finally manage to blurt out. "Not that you would know who that is because we never exchanged names…"

Stupid!

"We, uh, we met the other day at the coffee shop down on 3rd?"

There's only half a second's pause before her voice returns sounding as if she's only mostly talking to herself, "Oh, yeah… You're the cute one…"

It was as if someone had doused you in napalm and then threw a match on you. You thanked every deity that came to mind that she didn't wait for you to think up a response to her comment.

"Finally talked yourself into calling me, huh?"

"Wha?! Well-I! …Things have been busy…"

Things had definitely been busy… Just for other people, though, not you.

She gave a small hum of acknowledgment but didn't press it further, "So, calling to see if I still want to get that coffee with you?"

"Coffee? Dinner? Movie? Whichever sounds the most cliché really."

An amused huff on the other end of the phone brought a grin to your face and you gave yourself a small mental pat on the back at the accomplishment. The smile instantly disappeared and your body sat straight up, however, at the sound of loud bangs in the background.

"Were those gunshots?!"

"I'm at a firing range."

You relaxed a bit, "Oh… Is this a bad time?"

"No, it's fine."

"Romanov! We need to mov-Are you on the phone right now?!"

A man's voice could be heard shouting in the background but was almost immediately silenced without the woman saying a single word. You almost laughed at the idea of her silencing him with just a look or the raising of a single finger.

"How about lunch? There's this place downtown, has the best pizza."

More gunshots started to ring out in the background. You had half mind to question her about them but then realized; If she were really in any kind of trouble would she still be talking calmly on the phone with me about pizza? "Parmesan's?"

"Yeah, you've been?"

More shouting in the background.

"No, haven't had the chance, but everyone's always telling me how great it is."

"It's amazing."

You pull the phone back from your ear as a loud alarm starts blaring in the background.

"Look, I've gotta go," Cherry shouts over the plethora of loud noises. "I'll text you later with a time and place!"

"Sounds good! Talk to you later!"

"Later!"

As the call ended you found yourself left alone in the dead silence of your apartment, sitting perfectly still before quickly breaking out in dorky giggles. You leapt to your feet, jumping up and down excitedly; allowing yourself to work out all your pent up energy in an embarrassing way that you reserved only for moments when you were sure that no one was watching.

"Yes! She said yes! I have a date! To get pizza! With a beautiful woman! …Who spends her spare time at the gun range… God, I hope I was wrong about the whole her being crazy thing…"