A/N: Not even sure this one makes sense, but...it's 12:30 AM and I'm exhausted after my first week of school (senior year!). And I was in the constant presence of my close friends who really, really like Betta fish, so this chapter happened. Enjoy, my lovelies~ And thanks for all your support! :)
Рыба - pronounced riy-ba
Кит - pronounced keet
Prompt 7: Fish
"This is my Betta fish and her name is Рыба."
Natasha smiled proudly as she held up the bag containing her new, bright orange friend. She wasn't exactly an animal or pet person, per se, but fish were fine. They just needed to be fed every day and have their tank cleaned every once in a while. That was a lot better than an active and energetic pet, like a dog or cat, in Natasha's opinion.
But Steve didn't look as enamored. He looked confused. And rightfully so; they were on an undercover mission in California, which they had just completed, supposed to be waiting for their extraction from S.H.I.E.L.D...when Natasha had spontaneously darted into a pet store and run back out not a minute later with a fishy companion.
"...What's a Betta fish?"
"A fish," Natasha said with a shrug. "It's just a type of fish that a lot of people like to have as pets."
"Why?"
Sometimes, Steve seemed to act no older than a child; his curiosity and optimism usually gave Natasha that impression, anyway. "I don't know. Fish are low-maintenance while still lovable, I guess."
Steve raised an eyebrow. "Didn't take you for a fish-lover."
Natasha winked at him. "There are many things you don't know about me, Cap. My affinity for fish is one of them."
"Have you always loved fish?" he asked.
"More or less," she said. "This is actually Coulson's fault."
Steve had apparently expected a much different answer. "Coulson? What'd he do?"
"Back when I was new to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Barton and I hardly got along, Coulson decided he'd buy two fish, name them after us, and see which one lives longer to settle whatever argument we were having. But the bastard forgot to feed them, and I felt bad for them, so I would feed them when no one was looking; I unintentionally helped Hawkfish win."
Steve laughed at the name. "Hawkfish?"
"Coulson's choice, not mine," Natasha said, looking at her own fish once more. "Mine was Fish Widow. She was a real fighter, but I think Hawkfish stole her food when I wasn't looking. Just like Clint probably would. Anyway, Coulson's real intention wasn't just pitting fish versions of myself and Clint against each other, it was more profound. In a way. 'The coldhearted Russian assassin couldn't resist helping a couple of fish,' or something like that."
"Though you may not seem like the fish or pet type, I'd expect you to be the type who couldn't let something helpless, like a fish, just die." Steve smiled.
Natasha playfully rolled her eyes. "Apparently, that's the same character assessment Coulson had made of me. It convinced Fury I wasn't really rotten to the core, believe it or not. Pretty strange, though. Anyway, Betta fish have been a personal favorite of mine ever since. I think Barton may have one in his room at the Tower, too."
"I'll have to look next time I go in there," Steve said, turning his attention back to the street to look out for their ride. "I've never been in there before, though."
"It's a wasteland in his room, don't bother," Natasha said, watching her fish swim around in the bag. "In the meantime, Рыба will join Кит."
"Кит? Рыба?" The names sounded awkward on Steve's non-Russian tongue, but he tried his best. "I'm sensing a trend with these names."
"'Рыба' means 'fish'; 'Кит' means 'whale.'"
"I now spot two: Russian and aquatic."
"Pretty much."
Steve put his hands in his pockets, trying to look casual; Natasha could have laughed at the sight. "So, is Кит really as big as a whale?"
"Not really. I just thought it would be a cute name," Natasha admitted. "Cute things deserve cute names."
Of course, in Natasha's opinion, the name Steve was pretty cute, too, as was the face behind the name. (But you would catch her dead saying such a thing out loud.)
Little did Natasha know, Steve thought her name and face were cute, too.
But, of course, he wouldn't vocalize that either.
"Can't argue that logic," he said instead, catching sight of a black van driving up the street toward them. Natasha watched it as well, meaning it was most likely their ride back to base for further transportation back to Washington, D.C. "Your fish is pretty cute."
"Thanks," Natasha said, smirking and holding Рыба out for Steve to take. "You want to hold her?"
Steve chuckled a bit, taking the bag from Natasha's hands with an amused expression. "She makes a nice companion, I guess. You gonna train her to fight?"
"You're hilarious, Rogers."
"What? It was an innocent question!"
Natasha stared at him. "Just give me back the damn fish, Rogers."
He grinned; she groaned (internally). "I don't think Рыба would want to be referred to as a 'damn fish.'"
Perhaps she'd rubbed off on Steve a bit too much, snark-wise, in the year they'd been partners (had that been part of Fury's plan in pairing them up?). She sighed."Again, top-class humor, wonderful, bravo, and all of that. Now give me back my fish."
But he wasn't finished yet. "Magic word?"
She punched his arm. "Please."
He handed the bag back to her, rubbing the spot on his arm that she had hit (though, obviously, it didn't hurt that much; he was a super soldier!). "No need to get violent. Look, it's time to go home."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. van parked on the curb beside them, and the door flew open, revealing Maria Hill. She looked between Steve, Natasha, and Рыба, looking fairly unsurprised at their new addition; Steve wondered if Maria had been involved with Coulson's Betta fish scheme from Natasha's story.
"We need you two," Maria said as they climbed in, closing the door behind them and settling in their seats, "on another mission. Tomorrow." The van resumed traveling down the street, driven by an agent Steve couldn't identify.
"Tomorrow?" Steve echoed, eyebrow raised. "Why so soon?"
Maria smirked. "Well, Cap, you've been in Southern California for the past three days. We can't leave without doing some tidying up in Northern California, now, can we? Ever heard of Sacramento?"
Steve exhaled deeply, feeling worn out from their past few weeks of back-to-back missions; it seemed like it wouldn't end quite yet. Natasha handed Рыба to Maria.
"You can do whatever you want with us, Hill, but make sure to feed Рыба, and take her back to the Tower if you have time," Natasha said casually, as if returning from a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission with a new pet Betta fish wasn't the weirdest thing in the world.
And, again, Maria didn't appear fazed at all by the behavior most would assume to be completely out of character for Natasha. Steve was excited to start to see this playful and human side of Natasha.
She just looked so...adorable talking about Рыба the Betta fish, Steve momentarily debated buying Natasha all of the Betta fish in the world (if it were possible, that is). That would probably win her over, right?
