Romanoff affair
Lucy was under a car in the auto body shop where she spends her days. If you were a newer employee there, you would think she was busy working on the car. For anyone who had been there longer than a month, you would know she was asleep. They let her be.
The body shop itself was set up in an old wherehouse near an abandoned factory. The warehouse was spacious and had large crates piled up in the back. The crate created small rooms because of how they were set up. Some of the rooms acted as bunk rooms and the rest acted as small offices or rec rooms. There were two lines of cars, some up on lifts, stretching across the building. Lucy was sleeping under the second to last one. It was a sleek black muscle car. It was a Jaguar from 2011 and it was her favorite. It was fast and handled smoothly. The only issue she had with it was the long front. Other than that, it was one of her favorite vehicles.
A few cars down, a tall, buff Hispanic man got out from under his sky blue mustang he was working on. He stood and wiped his hands on a rag while walking down the line to Lucy's car. When he saw her under the car, he put his hands on his hips and shook his head, a fond smile gracing his face. He hooked his foot under the wheeled board she was using and dragged her out. She winced at the light and groaned throwing and arm over her face.
"Leave me alone." She grumbled. The man sighed.
"Not gonna happen. You've been asleep long enough. C'mon we can't get these cars done in time if you're just gonna sleep." He offered a hand to her and pulled her up. "You almost finished with this one?" He asked. She nodded and yawned. Lucy took her hair out of it's messy bun and ran her hand through the crazy brown curls as she stretched.
"Yeah. Should be good for the race. What about you?" She asked. Lucy and the man, Don, discussed the plan as far as getting the cars ready for the race that would be next week. Lucy had connections in the local police department so she was able to set up a deal. There was long stretch of pavement they would use for races. As long as they remained off the actual roads and highways, the cops didn't care. Sometimes people did get too competitive and they took it to the streets. Then it got challenging. The races were always held from midnight to early morning, right before people got up for work. Lucy wanted to make sure there was as little traffic as possible on the main roads. This time, they weren't using the empty stretch. She just hopped no one spilled it to the cops.
Lucy wondered if maybe Nat would be interested in something like that. She'd have to ask. Lucy had yet to tell Don about Nat. That in itself was a rarity. Lucy told Don everything, and Don told Lucy everything. He was her best and only friend, he was the only person left in the world she felt she could trust. The two had grown close over the past two years. They were close before, but now they may have well been siblings. They knew each other very well. Don knew her well enough to know something was up but also knew better than to ask.
Lucy was torn. Here was Nat, an attractive, successful, strong woman who was showing interest in her, and she couldn't bring herself to trust it. Lucy had been back for two years now, and not once had she felt like Shield was behind something. Nat was exactly how Shield worked. An attractive woman used to infiltrate or connect with a target, either to take her out, or babysit her. But then again, Shield had let her be for two years. That was an impressive feat. Lucy couldn't tell if she was right or just being paranoid. She would have to be around Nat longer, get to know her.
Lucy had tested the waters when she spoke about how Nat gets her targets. That interaction there is what sent up red flags the most. She had seen Nat's form tense so slightly anyone else would have missed it and Nat's eyes twitched so slightly Lucy almost missed it. The alarm and defense Nat's body subconsciously revealed something. There was something more to Nat's reason for being in that bar, hell even in this city.
Or Lucy was being paranoid and over thinking a gorgeous woman taking interest in her. Lucy's mind was occupied with this thought almost all day and Don could tell. Even though Lucy could keep up with the work just fine, he would see her zone out into her other world. He pitied her some days. That brain of hers was always working at least twice as fast as a normal human, rarely giving her time to rest.
Lucy spent the rest of her day working on the cars and thinking about Nat. Come closing time she decided to head to the bar again, and if Nat was there waiting for her, she would know she was from Shield. She hopped back on her bike and drove away to the bar. She quickly entered the loud room and made her way to the bar, eyes scanning for the red head. When she reached the bar and sat on a stool ,s he turned to Nick.
"Is Nat here?" She asked. Nick frowned and shrugged.
"Who?" He asked. Lucy sighed and rolled her eyes. She described Nat and Nick shook his head. "Nope. Sorry, kid. Can I get you anything? You seem frazzled." Lucy sighed.
"When am I not?" She asked with a small smile. "Bourbon."
Natasha spent her day differently. She arrived at the Stark Enterprise building in D.C. and went straight up to her new temporary office. The story was she had been promoted to head of marketing in the D.C office. At least she would have an excuse to talk to Pepper. The only draw back was that she actually had to play the part. She would have to sing off on things and make decisions, but if she needed help, Pepper was just a text or email away. However, Lucy came first. Natasha was allowed to drop everything if it risked progress on Lucy.
Natasha would be staying late at the office and then going home. She would not go to the bar tonight or the night after. She didn't want to make it obvious she was there for Lucy. Lucy was smart, and there was already a possibility that Lucy had already figured her out. Instead, Natasha would spend her day studying the layout of D.C., finding where Lucy spent her time and getting into any available security camera. That would take up some of her day, the rest was shared with being the head of marketing.
It wasn't the worst job she has had to stand in during a mission, but it was pretty boring. She also spent some time looking for a gym. She needed to stay active. Natasha realized she was going to have some down time on this assignment and she couldn't afford to get lethargic. She would go to the gym tomorrow morning.
She leaned back in her chair towards closing time and checked her tablet. She logged into the Shield's database available for agents to see what is going on in their world. It was kind of like a bulletin board of information. Everything was the same as usual except for the large alert in New York. The alert was centered in Manhattan. She tapped it and a file opened up. Shield has been informed that a few people who are possibly working for the North Korean government have recently entered Manhattan. All agents in the area were to be alert and ready to drop everything at a moment's notice. As of yet, no names or descriptions were available. Natasha clicked a button that would give her a notice when something in the file was changed or updated.
Closing down everything in her office, and putting the tablet in her bag, she made her way out the door and to her new place. She stopped by a grocery store to get some food for her fridge and cabinets. She got basic fruits, vegitables, chicken and fish. Natasha decided to splurge and get herself a slice of cake. She then got some bread, breakfast foods, and things for snacks.
Natasha went back to her apartment and popped in a frozen dinner into the microwave. She didn't feel like cooking. Natasha flipped on the tv, grabbed her laptop and tablet and began researching into anything she felt would be helpful. The TV was used as background noise.
Natasha spent the next few hours taping into security cameras on the streets near Lucy and in her apartment building. She would have to actually get inside and place her own cameras if she wanted to see inside the apartment. Natasha was only supposed to get close. Did that mean she needed to make sure Lucy stayed out of trouble as well? Most likely, however, Natasha wouldn't have to follow her around. Not only would that be unnecessary, but it would aslo put her at risk to blowing her cover.
Natasha looked to her phone and saw that Pepper had sent her a test. She opened it and saw it was about a meeting they would both have to attend on Monday. To Natasha's displeasure, Tony decided to put the meeting there, in Washington, D.C. Natasha grimaced. She would have to be careful. Natasha was working under the assumption that Lucy already was aware of what was going on in the office. She didn't need tony risking her cover. Maybe she should try to get pepper to leave him in New York.
She looked at the time and saw it was nearly one in the morning. She needed to get to sleep. It was one o'clock on Wednessday morning. In about nine hours she would have to be in a conference about marketing and other boring stuff Natasha really didn't care about. Thursday, she would go to the bar. Natasha actually found herself looking forward to it as she began to shut down her computers and tablets. She was sitting on the floor behind the coffee table with her back against the couch.
Her attention focused on the television. She had the channel on a news channel. She was surprised to see anything on right now but apparently something had happened in the past fifteen minutes. There was an amateur video of a small office building on fire in New York. Natasha turned the volume up to listen to the report as her small tablet binged.
Natasha picked it up and tapped on the alert. Sheild has reason to believe the fire was started by the North Koreans. They had no motive as to why the building was targeted and they currently dispatched two agents to look into it. The only piece of evidence pointing it to the suspected group was a video camera seeing one of the members enter the building.
By the time Natasha woke up a few hours later, the tall business building had burned to the ground. The fire was started by a small explosion. According to the shield report so far, it was confirmed tht the group had targeted the building but they still were unsure why. However, the database now had a photo of the person. All Sheild agents were to be on alert for the person.
Natasha paused from brushing her teeth when she saw the picture. Where had she seen this person before? It took her a few minutes to remember. The pulled up Lucy's file and scanned through it, continuing to brush her teeth. She looked at the section of the file that focused on Lucy's time in Korea. The picture of the man who caused the explosion matched the man who Lucy had been sent to eliminate. Natasha wondered if Lucy knew. Probably.
Natasha added it to a list of things she would have to find out from Lucy on Thursday, not directly, of course. But for now she would have to "go to work." Seeing Lucy at the bar again was looking better and better by the minute, even if it was for work.
"Hi, Nat." Lucy greeted her with a smile from her spot at the bar. "Thought you'd never show up again." She said with a laugh. Natasha offered her a smile and sat on the stool next to her.
"Had to work late, didn't get a chance." She stated simply, looking at Lucy. She was different. Her crazy brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and her face held small amounts of makeup. Her eyes were lined with black eyeliner, making her dark brown eyes stand out. On her lips was a deep shade of red, almost like a wine color. It matched her beautifully. She wore a simple white shirt with black and grey pinstripe pants and high grey heels.
"Sorry. Sounds rough." Lucy offered with a slight laugh. "I know how that goes, though. Had to meet with a business partner earlier. What an ass." Lucy scoffed and Natasha let out a soft smile.
"I thought you worked on cars." Natasha pointed out, still smiling. Lucy's smile didn't fade and she waved a hand to the bartender, ordering a drink for her and Nat.
"I do. Sometimes I have to do business to keep my shop running. Advertising, sponsors, things like that." Lucy explained as the bartender gave them their order. Natasha understood what she meant. Doing business was probably a reference to illegal activity. Lucy was an underground crime boss, presentation was key and if Natasha had to be honest, Lucy's presentation was very nice.
Lucy's usual rambunctious energy had been subdued. She held herself differently. Her back was straight and rigid. She was relaxed but in a professional manner. Her face was relaxed, only offering a small smile here or there and her eyes were firm. The heels gave her a few inches on Natasha. Lucy could be intimidating if she needed to be. She looked good.
"So how was your week?" Lucy asked, pinning Natasha with her dark brown eyes. Natasha could swear she was being challenged. "You look like you could use a drink." Lucy said as she sipped from her glass.
"Like I said, I've had to stay late." Natasha said, making sure her smile was still in place. "Busy getting settled into the new office and figuring out how everything runs here." She said, trying to sound like someone who was an actual stark employee. Lucy nodded and hummed as they both took a sip of their drink. "And that fire the other day didn't help."
Natasha saw Lucy's jaw clench and her hands tighten briefly around her glass but Lucy didn't miss a beat. She put on a slight frown and tilted her head.
"How so? Don't you work for Stark Industries?" Lucy asked. "How is an independent accounting office related to you guys?" Lucy asked, curious. Natasha took another sip, satisfied with the reaction she got.
"They aren't." She said and set down her glass. "But after what happened to the company over the past few years, all the higher ups want as tight of security. They don't want to risk anything. The problem is, not all of the new security systems are up in all the corporate offices. The building here isn't bad." She sipped her drink for a moment, debating on whether or not to bring pepper into it. She decided she would. "I have a friend in the New York building. It's chaos over there right now, still trying to get the building fixed." Natasha watched Lucy who was listening intently, nodding. Luckily, Natasha didn't have to lie. The security systems were still being installed and certain steps were being taken to make sure the company wasn't targeted and the New York offices were a mad house. It made it easier to build up credibility.
"Damn, and I thought I had a rough week." Lucy offered with a small laugh. Natasha offered a small smile and hummed. "Glad you could catch a drink. Sounds like you need more than one." Lucy teased.
"At this rate, I need a vacation." Natasha joked. Lucy snorted and studied the woman next to her as the two drank. Nat was dressed in a grey dress that hugged her curves in just the right way. Nat had worn black heels that looked sharp enough to kill and simple pearl earrings. Her eyes were a shade of grey that reminded Lucy of steel. Nat wore simple eyeshadow to bring them out. Nat was gorgeous but there was an air about her that told Lucy she was dangerous, not to be trusted, and it made her all the more appealing. Lucy had suspicions about Nat. She needed to know if the woman was working with Shield. Looks like she would be visiting Stark Industries soon, but in the mean time, she had other methods of research.
"I can't give you a vacation, but I do know something fun. You free Friday night?" Lucy asked. Nat quirked an eyebrow.
"As long as I don't get held up at work." She answered. "What did you have in mind?" She asked with a flirtatious smile. Lucy matched it with a smirk of her own.
"It's a surprise." She said and pulled out her phone. "I'll text you the time and address tomorrow, but first, I need to know something." Lucy explained and paused. Nat tried not to tense up and give everything away. She almost sighed in relief at Lucy's question. "Do you like to go fast?"
Natasha stood with her back to a pillar near the rest of the onlookers. They were in the bottom of a parking garage and their level was nearly empty of cars. There were a few parked and then there were a small number of cars lined up, waiting to race. They were still waiting for a few more people. Natasha was waiting for Lucy. People walked around and talked to the drivers or looked at the cars in awe. It was loud in the garage. The purr of the engines filled the level with vibrations and axcited chatter and cheering mixed in with loud music. People had brought beers and other drinks and passed them around. Natasha found herself holding a beer, sipping occaisionally to keep up the civilian rouse.
She wondered where Lucy was and wished the woman would arrive soon. Not only was their more information Natasha wanted from her, but also, she found herself enjoying Lucy's presence. She didn't go to the bar on Thursday, not wanting to seem too interested or desperate. Lucy was one of those people who exudes positivity and trust. She was easy to talk to and could even mae Natasha relax enough to get them talking like they were old friends. She needed to be careful.
Then there was the concern that Lucy may already know Natasha was sent to get close. Natasha had to remind herself to act like a civilian sometimes. At one point, Lucy asked if she knew how to use a gun. Natasha almost forgot to act concerned about guns like a normal civilian. Natasha's character was supposed to be afraid of guns or at least against them.
Natasha knew she was about to watch a street race (or at least the beginning of one). Now the question was should she act concerned about the police or the ethics?
Before Natasha could decide, a large silver pick up truck barreled in and slammed on its breaks and swerved to the side. The shotgun door flew open and Lucy jumped out and slammed the door. She bean shouting in Spanish and the only thing Natasha understood was policia. Nat stood up straight as most of the crowd began running to the exit or their own cars. The cars lined up to race revved their engines.
"Don, go on, meet you later!" She shouted to the man driving the truck. He shrugged before leaning out the window.
"Usual place?" He asked as he started to turn the truck and Lucy nodded as she jogged away. "Don't get caught!" He called and peeled out, flying through the garage with the rest of the vehicles.
"Nat! With me! Let's go, everyone! Police are on their way, someone spilled it! Go, Go!" Lucy began ordering and the drivers jumped into their cars. Nat was jogging towards Lucy who headed over to a black Jaguar that was just waiting to be started.
"Lucy, what's going on?" Nat asked, falling into her civilian act.
"Get in, we gotta go." Lucy told her as she climbed in. Nat followed quickly. Lucy had the car started before Nat could even sit and the moment the door was closed, Lucy took off like a bat out of hell. Nat grabbed the seat belt and buckled in, even though it was most likely not going to do any good if they did hit something.
"King to all mechanics, change of plans." Lucy said over a trucker radio that had been installed into the truck. Nat found it odd but didn't comment. "New game, don't get caught. Try again another day." She instructed as they flew through the garage. Natasha could hear the sirens and wondered if Sheild would bail her out if they got caught.
Each driver acknowledged over the radio and some even started placing bets. Lucy yanked the car into a sharp swerve and Nat found herself holding onto the bar above the window to balance herself. Nat found unease settling in her. She trusted her own drving and pretty much anyone who went through Shield's driving course, but Lucy? She wasn't sure of how much experience the woman had and it unsettled her. Hten she realized she needed to show it. Natasha allowed a look of unease to form on her face and Lucy laughed.
"Don't worry, Nat. I know what I'm doing. I've been doing this since I was fourteen." Lucy said cheerily. Nat shot her a look. What did she do in Mexico? "Can you hit the power button on the car radio? I need some music. Hit it to track eight. Nat did as she was told, still holding onto the bar and tensing when Lucy jerked the car. They were still in the car and Nat was unsure of how they were going to get out. Lucy seemed to be heading to the level above the exit.
Some song called Bangarang came on. Nat had heard it a few time briefly before but Lucy paused it before it got more than a few seconds into the song.
"Perfect." She said with a smile and slammed on the breaks without warning. Nat let out an off when the seatbelt tightened. Lucy's hand on her seat made her tense up until she realized Lucy was looking to see where she was going. Lucy backed into a spot and shut the engine off. "Get down low." Lucy instructed over the sound of blaring sirens and the two crouched and ducked in their seats. The sirens neared and Nat held her breath as she heard them whiz past. Lucy had parked in between two other cars and they went unnoticed by the police.
Lucy held Nat down for a few seconds after the cops passed before she sat up and started the engine again. Nat caught the wicked smile as she turned up the radio to an almost painful level and sped out of the parking spot and back down the way they came. The sirens grew fainter and Lucy blew out of the garage and onto an empty street. Nat thanked the gods it was so late at night. Traffic was low in this area.
Once on the street was when Lucy really put her foot on the pedal and Nat found herself tensing and holding her breath. Lucy smirked and glanced at the red head every so often, gauging her reaction. Lucy drove as if she had no regard for the laws. She sped, passed traffic when she wasn't supposed, drove in the wrong lanes if needed, and even blew through lights if she could.
"You're insane!" Nat accused, having ot shout over the music. Lucy laughed.
"I promise I'm a really good driver!" She defended.
"I can see that!" Nat said sarcastically and Lucy laughed over the music. The music changed and a song Nat was too familiar with came on. She couldn't help but laugh.
"Making fun of my music?" Lucy shouted, teasingly.
"I have a friend who does nothing but listen to this band." Nat shouted. Lucy nodded approvingly.
"Sounds like my kind of person." Lucy said and swereved around a corner, pushing Nat against her door. Lucy sped down the street and she could hear sirens getting louder. Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. Nat noticed and looked behind them. She didn't see the police. Where were they? Lucy pushed a button on the steering wheel. "Locate other drivers." She ordered as the music died down momentarily. Lucy glanced down and saw another driver on the road parallel to them and up ahead they had a choice to go left or right. Lucy's only option was left or she would hit a building. She swore. "Shit, shit, shit." She muttered as the neared the end of the street.
"What's wrong?" Nat shouted once the music began to blast again.
"Hang on!" Lucy ordered and Nat hung on tight and braced an arm on the armrest next to her. Lucy swerved around the corner and slammed on her breaks as another driver blew past and barely missed hitting them. The car went right and Lucy's stopped but the cop car swereved towards her and stopped. The cops, and Lucy took a minute to catch their breath, all relieved no one crashed. Lucy looked to Nat with a soft smile. The red head looked a bit tossed around and concerned, then she looked out the window at the cop driver. "Fuck, I know him. Hang on." She said again and switched the car in reverse as the cops sirens began to blare again. Lucy put another hand on Nat's seat and looked behind her.
"What are you doing?" Nat shouted, allowing herself to channel her actual emotions rather than stoically going with it like she was trained to do.
"Driving!" Lucy answered. "Keep an eye on the cops, let me know if they do anything!" sHe ordered as she stood on the gas pedal and backtracked. Nat did as she was told but made sue to hang on tighter. She wasn't able to see when Lucy was going to make a turn so she had to wait for the car to jerk in a new direction. The cop car was able to keep up with them for the most part.
As they sped into an intersection, Nat saw another cop car heading towards them and Lucy yanked on the steering wheel and sat back in her seat. Nat shut her eyes and turned her head to face Lucy, waiting for impact as the car spun and tires screeched. She heard cars collide but felt no impact. She opened her eyes and was forced back into her seat as Lucy sped off, no longer in reverse, with a victorious cry.
"Wooh! Take that Tony!" She yelled as she sped off through the city, laughing. Nat looked behind them to see the two cop cars had hit each other. It wasn't a serious crash thankfully, but they wouldn't be following. Lucy quieted after a few minutes and turned the music down low as she drove.
Lucy was fast but she began to follow the rules of the road as they crossed a bridge into Arlington. They drove in silence for a few minutes, Lucy focusing on the road. Nat turned to look at her.
Lucy glanced at the stoic woman and tried to fight a smile but allowed a snort of humor. There was another suppressed laugh from Lucy before Nat found herself forcing back a smile. Lucy glanced and saw again and a grin spread across her face as she started laughing quietly. Nat found herself laughing with Lucy as they drove down the road. Nat shook her head, relaxing into the seat.
"You're crazy." Nat laughed out quietly. Lucy chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah a bit." Nat laughed a bit.
"Do you always take your dates to illegal racing?" Nat teased and Lucy smiled.
"Nah, you're special." Lucy explained.
"Oh?" Nat asked, forcing a smile to stay on her face.
"Yeah, you seem like you can handle it." Lucy said with a smile. Natasha pressed her lips together into a small smile. Lucy quirked an eyebrow. "Was I wrong?" Nat's smile grew slightly.
"No." She said, shaking her head. "That was…" She paused for a second thinking, "that was fun." She admitted to Lucy and to herself. It was rebellious but not in a way that would threaten a nation. It was simple and seemed more like a game than anything. Nat found herself enjoying it. Lucy smirked.
"Good." Lucy said with a small smirk. "Hope you aren't tired, I have to meet up with my friend Don real quick, let him know I got out ok."
"DO you always get out ok?" Nat asked with a knowing smile. Lucy grinned like a lunatic.
"Nah, one time that cop, Tony, actually caught me. Don, the person I'm meeting now, had to bail me out. Tony and I have this thing, we try to see who can make life harder for the other." Lucy explained. Nat smiled and nodded listening, absorbing all the information. She needed more information on Don and made a mental note to look into him later.
"So what are we doing?" Nat asked after a few beats of silence.
"Meeting up with Don for now. Don has beer, figured we could celebrate. He usually has a bonfire on these nights. So we could stay or we could do something else." Lucy explained, hanging the bait for Nat to take. Lucy knew she wanted more information on Don.
"Bonfire sounds pretty nice." Nat said with a small smile. Bingo. Lucy thought. She would introduce her to Don, but Lucy would have to send Don to Montana for a bit in a few days. She wanted to make sure he stayed out of trouble. If Lucy was right and Ant was a spy, shit was going to go down and Lucy wanted Don away for that.
"Bonfire it is." Lucy said with a forced smile. Natasha noticed it and forced one of her own. The two lapsed into a tense silence. Something was up, and the other knew it.
The rest of the ride was mostly silent. Every now and then the other would comment on something, but the conversation went back to silence. With Lucy's driving, it wsn't too long, but it felt longer with the silence.
They took the time to take in each others appearance. Natasha was wearing blue skinny jeans that had small rips on one of her thighs, She wore a simple black cami styled shirt with her tan leather jacket. The jeans fight her perfectly and Lucy felt her gaze lingering on the woman's thighs. They really did fit her well.
Natasha noticed Lucy staring and inwardly smirked and crossed her legs. Natasha turned her head slightly to look at Lucy. The woman's hair was pulled back into a tight French braid, giving Nat a good look at her face. She studied it, memorizing it. Lucy wore a white tank top with green cargo skinny jeans that had been tucked into work boots. The outit reminded Natasha of when she first met the woman. When Lucy turned the wheel left, Natasha caught a glimpse of something black on the Woman's shoulder. How had she not seen that before?
Lucy felt Natasha staring and shifted in her seat, glancing at the woman in her passanger seat. She was not used to someone she didn't trust sitting shot gun. That was a seat for people you trust, who you know have your back. NAd the woman was staring at her. Lucy tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear nervously. They had fallen loose while she was driving. Nat noticed the uncomfortable body language and faced forward, smirking slightly in the dark.
Lucy almost sighed with relief when they arrived at the bonfire. Don already had it going and a few people were there with their cars. Someone had their radio turned up loud for everyone to hear and they were passing around beers. Lucy felt her face relax into a smile as she parked the car.
"C'mon." She said gently to Natasha who climbed out as well. Lucy waited for Nat and the two walked over to the small gathering of people. They were a good distance away from the city, almost an hour if a normal person drove. They had driven down on route one to an area near Mount Vernon. Lucy didn't stop until they were on an empty beach that rested on the Potomac river. It was a public area but it was so late at night, no one was awake.
"Hey! Here's the leading lady!" Don shouted and jogged over to meet them. Lucy smiled as the man approached and lifted her off the ground in a large hug. "HTought I'd have to bail you out again!" He jested and nearly dropped the short woman back onto the ground. He took note of Natasha's presence. Natasha took a second to study him and memorize his face. Lucy turned to Natasha.
"Nat, this is my friend, Don. He helps me run the repair shop." Lucy explained with a soft smile. "Don, this is my friend, Nat."
Don eyed Natasha and stuck out his hand with a smile. Don and Nat played nice, but both could see the challenge in each other's eyes. Don't fuck with me. They came to a mutual understanding.
"Lucy, got some beer, want any?" Don offered as the trhee walked over to the fire. Lucy shook her head.
"I have to drive back tonight, got too much to do tomorrow." Lucy said as an excuse. Don sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Girl, you know one ain't gonna do shit." Don said.
"I know that, but Nat didn't." Lucy pointed out. Nat frowned, not understanding. Lucy caught the look. "I don't process alcohol the same as most people. My body doesn't absorb it or something. So if I want to get drunk, I practically have to drink my weight in alcohol." Nat's eyebrows raised. Was Lucy like Steve? Steve doesn't process alcohol at all due to the serum, so he never gets buzzed or drunk. Did Lucy manage to get a hold of a similar serum?
"That's odd." Nat commented. "Do you know why?" Nat asked, digging for information with false concern. Lucy picked up on it and shrugged her shoudlers in response as she passed Nat a beer.
The two talked to a few others but mostly kept to themselves. They found themselves sitting on someone's car that faced the water. The moon reflected beautifully off the water and Nat sipped her beer as they spoke. Nat had noticed something with the conversations she held with Lucy. If Lucy suspected insincerity, she shut down and shifted away.
She also did this when she felt she was being lied to. It made Nat's job much more difficult. In order to connect with Lucy, she had to use her own, real emotions. If she needed to feign concern, she needed to actually be concerned. If she need to be scared, she had to actually be scared. If she was telling a happy memory from child hood, it would have to be a real memory. Luckily, she hadn't had to share those yet.
Natasha knew the risk of using her own real emotions. By using them, she would inevitably connect with Lucy in a dangerous way. If they connected, if Natasha grew too close, and the call came to kill Lucy, there was a very real possibility Natasha wouldn't be able to do it.
But that was a risk they were going to have to take. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. For now, she just needed to sit, have a beer and relax.
"How was work?" Lucy asked, leaning her elbows on her knees and looking at Nat.
"Difficult and tedious." Nat answered honestly as she sipped her beer. Lucy smiled softly and hummed. "You?"
"Nothing new, except tonight. The police were not supposed to show up." Lucy stated. "Sorry about that." She offerd with a small grimace. Nat smiled and chuckled softly.
"Don't worry about it." She told Lucy. "It was actually pretty fun." She admitted again and Lucy smiled slightly. "But next time, maybe we should do something a bit more legal." Nat suggested with a tease and gently nudged Lucy. Lucy laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah we should." She agreed and thought. "Have you ever been to D.C. before now?" She asked and Natasha paused to think.
"Yes. But only for business. Never had the chance to see the sights." Natasha told her. Lucy grinned.
"Perfect. You moved right at the perfect time too. With the warmer weather, it'll be better to walk around in." Lucy commented. "Wish you moved earlier though, could have seen the cherry blossoms. Always a sight to see." Natasha smiled. She'd seen pictures but never saw them in person. Never really saw a reason to.
The two sat and watched the water for a while in a comfortable silence before Lucy jolted with an idea. It startled Natasha a bit but Nat kept herself still.
"How do you feel about operas?" Lucy asked. "There is this one I've been wanting to see since I was a kid." Nat raised an eyebrow.
"You go to the opera?" She asked, slightly surprised. Nat couldn't see Lucy as the type to sit and watch an opera. Lucy smirked, and nodded. "I'd love to." Nat said with a soft smile.
"Perfect. Just let me know what times are good for you and I'll get tickets." Lucy told her. "Hopefully we won't get arrested there." Lucy teased and Natasha laughed quietly and sipped her beer.
The drive back was quiet, but not uncomfortable like before. It was almost five in the mourning by the time Lucy pulled up to Nat's apartment complex. Lucy got out and walked her up to the door. Nat almost didn't notice Lucy behind her. It reminded Natasha just who she was dealing with. She opened the door and turned to look at Lucy.
"I really did have fun tonight." She told her with a smile. Lucy smirked and stuck her hands in her back pockets.
"I liked having you in shot gun. Maybe I should drag you along more often." She suggested. "But I don't know if you're up for the actual racing. It gets pretty intense." She challenged. Nat narrowed her eyes playfully, hearing the challenging tone clearly.
"Try me." Natasha teased with a hint of danger on her voice. Lucy's smirk grew as she stepped closer to Nat, stopping just a few inches from her face and speaking slowly.
"I think I might." She breathed. "You seem like you can handle yourself." Nat smirked and leaned in closer.
"I can do more than just handle myself." Nat flirted and let her eyelids drop seductively. Lucy's tongue slipped out to lick her lips before she bit down on her lip. The action was simple and quick and it brought Nat's attention to the woman's lips. She leaned in closer to Lucy as she breathed out her next sentence. "Would you like to see?" She whispered as she leaned in closer.
Something inside of Lucy seemed to snap and Nat noticed the woman go rigid for a brief second. Her eyes met Lucy's and she raised an eyebrow. To Lucy's relief, Nat's phone began to ring. Lucy leaned close and kissed Nat's cheek before stepping back.
"Good night, Nat. I'll see you around." Lucy said as she hopped down the steps to her car. Nat looked after the woman curiously before answering the phone. Who the hell would be calling her?
Lucy plopped face first onto her bed and screamed into a pillow. How could she be so stupid?! She damn near kissed Nat! And she didn't even know who Nat was yet!
Lucy doesn't background check everyone she has an interest in. Nat was a special case. The woman had entered her life right when the group from North Korea entered the country. Lucy hypothesized Shield had given her a babysitter to make sure she stayed out of trouble.
That being said, Lucy felt it would be wrong for her to drag Nat into a fake relationship that they both knew would be false. Lucy felt it would be wrong of her to put Nat into a position where Nat would have to kiss or be physical with Lucy for her job. Lucy felt she would be taking advantage of the situation, because in all honesty, she was damn near head over heels with the potential agent.
But she could not in good conscious, do that to someone who was just trying to do their job. If Nat did turn out to be an agent, Lucy would just keep her at arm's length, let them enjoy a fake friendship until Nat's job was done. If not, then Lucy would move in for a more romantic option. But she didn't want to act until she knew for sure. She needed to do some digging.
Natasha was doing her own digging. She had just gotten off the phone with Coulson who informed her that members of the terrorist group were seen heading south, but they had lost them. There was a chance they were heading to D.C. but no one was sure why. There was a possibility they were after Lucy. Nat would have to monitor Lucy and spend as much time with her as possible, not including the time where Nat had to "go to work." However, She negotiated soemthign with Pepper to where she only had to show up a few days a week, leaving her to tail Lucy and do research.
Nat was currently looking up information on Don. She wanted to know who he was and what his history said. She entered in the required information and left her computer running, gathering all information on the man and setting up her equipment to alert her if something happened to Lucy or anywhere nearby.
Nat didn't bother changing out of her shirt or jeans as she dropped onto the bed, aiming to get some sleep. It was nearly six in the morning. Nat had a feeling she would be having a few of these all nighters in the near future.
Sorry if it is so dry or boring the first two chapters. I just had some information I needed to get in before I could really get the plot going, or the flirting going. Hope to have the next chapter up soon. Let me know what you thinik or any suggestions as fara s what you want to see.
Thanks for reading.