A/N: This chapter contains a threesome between Steve/Nat/Bucky, with quite a bit of Steve/Bucky, as well as Clint and Nat snuggle time.
Tuesday meant a meeting with Emma that Natasha was dreading. Truthfully, she felt like she was being ungrateful, though it had long since stopped bothering her. Emma had taken Natasha in despite Nat not having any references, any formal training, excessive education, or much experience other than the slew of lovers she'd had back in Russia. She had no reason to hire Natasha, except that she saw potential she said, and knew the red hair would fetch a pretty enough penny even if Nat was just a pretty face. The rest could be learned, Emma had assured her.
That had been years ago, though, and now Natasha was just eager to spend what time with her clients she had, and that was all she wanted as far as work went.
More than once the idea had struck her about finding a different agency, but she wasn't so sure about that. And with Loki being thrown into the mix, it was only going to get more crazy.
'Don't think like that,' she chided herself, hoisting the waistband of her black pleather leggings up as she picked up her pace crossing the street to the agency. Her nerves had been so bad that she'd actually gotten up early enough to walk to work, rather than resorting to taking a cab, and her feet were screaming at her for it. Used to high heels she might have been, but breaking in a new pair of heeled sandals on New York streets was not her brightest idea. Still, she hastened to tighten her grip on her bag as she made it up to the sidewalk, then door. A new girl sat behind the counter desk, long brown hair tossed over her shoulder while Darcy sat facing her just to the side. She reached out a hand to rest on the new girl's shoulder, and Nat recognized the laugh the girl was giving as one she used to flirt with.
"Oh, Miss? Do you have an appointment?" The brunette looked over hastily from where her eyes had been fixed on Darcy's full lips, and Natasha arched a brow. Darcy looked over and shook her head.
"Jane, that's Natasha Romanov. She's one of our girls. One of the best off from what I understand, if Emma's not blowing smoke out her ass." Darcy winked, and Jane flushed at her mistake, hastening to murmur an apology.
Nat shook her head, smiling. "Will you let her know I'm on my way up?"
"Certainly Ms. Romanov, sorry-."
"First day?"
Jane nodded, her fingers already shaking as she picked up the receiver. Darcy looked about ready to eat her alive. "Just a temp position while I finish my Doctorate."
"Third Doctorate," Darcy amended. Jane's flush deepened.
"Don't worry, it gets easier," Nat promised, her smile kind and understanding. They all started out like that, she supposed. Fresh eyed, terrified of making a mistake, as Emma's wrath was the stuff of legends. "Be good to her, Darcy."
"I intend to be." Darcy was all but purring, and Jane shot her a quick, appreciative smile before dialing Emma's extension. She could just be heard explaining that Natasha was coming up as the elevator doors closed Nat inside. Only then did Nat relax, releasing the air that'd been tightening her chest and making her light headed. Right, negotiation mode first, then her appointment with Steve and his friend. She could do that, couldn't she?
The doors opened, elevator having stopped at the top floor, before she'd thought up a decent response. All of the big offices were up here, as though they could actually survey over everyone. Smack dab at the end of the hall of offices was Emma's, the largest of all for the biggest ego of the business. The thought made Natasha smile in spite of herself, and she knocked a couple times on the door before she was told to enter.
Emma's eyes were glued to the screen of her computer, fingers typing a mile a minute on the keyboard in front of her before she paused to look up at Nat. "Have a seat, I'm just finishing this up for you to go over."
Hello to her, too. Nat let the door close behind her as she made her way closer and took the rigid chair just opposite Emma. The whole room made Nat want to pull a coat on, everything done up in whites and silvers. The white queen, that was what Emma was called. She certainly took the nickname to heart. The bright white clouds visible through her nearly ceiling to floor windows only made everything look brighter, made the white business suit pants, blazer, and trademark white bustier that Emma favored look even more crisp than normal. Did she keep it half a thousand degrees cooler than it ought to be, too? Nat tried not be so obvious as she pulled her own black blazer tighter over her own white blouse.
There was silence apart from the clacking of Emma's sharp nails on the keyboard, and Natasha kept her eyes focused on the clouds spreading their way across the city's morning sky. It looked so peaceful, so relaxed where they were, an enormous difference from the chaos that went on just below. Was she being smart about this business venture, if that was what she could call it? Not for the first time she wished she could've talked to Thor about it, or maybe someone else who had some sort of experience in this situation. Emma wasn't exactly an impartial judge when she was making a percentage of Natasha's commission, and the other girls would tell her to skip it so they could try and get him to make the same offer for them. That left her on her lonesome, and as independent as she prided herself in being, lying in bed and spending hours going over the possibilities that came with Loki's offer was getting old.
The shift of the printer turning on made Natasha jump as she was tugged out of her head, looking over to the sheets being spat out on the tray. Her cheeks burned as she avidly avoided Emma's smirk.
"A little preoccupied?"
"You could say that," Natasha said, chewing the inside of her cheek until it was ragged. "So, that's the contract that Loki wanted me to look over?"
"Yes. Well, it's an amended version of our own long-term contracts. He said you both discussed what his wants were on Monday and came to the conclusions written up on here," she said simply, taking the stack of papers and handing them up to Natasha, the sheets still warm from the printer. "Go over it and if there are any additions or anything he'd gotten incorrect we'll fix them and call him up to ensure that he okays them as well."
Great. She wished she'd have grabbed something more to eat that morning, or at least some water from downstairs, her mouth dry and uncomfortable. "He told you I was going to be out of the country with him next week? For just a few days."
"I already have your appointments rearranged and rescheduled, just in case. Depending on which clients you wish to keep," Emma told her, though she sounded distracted. Sure enough, when Nat looked up over the top of the contract she was already on her phone, tapping away as though she wasn't sitting there to discuss Natasha's future with this company. "And I've already gotten his credit card filed away for your time. Just waiting on the transaction to go through, then it'll be transfered over to your account."
That simple, then. She was glad to know at least no one else was worried about it. "What if it doesn't go well?" she asked quietly. "Am I going to owe him anything?"
The sound of Emma's nails tapping on her phone stopped abruptly, and when Natasha looked up at her once again there was a strange look of sympathy twisting Emma's face. "No. You won't. But you will be subjected to questions as to why, and he'll be asked to fill out a form discussing just what happened and why the contract was terminated, as will you. Assuming there's no outstanding charges-no abuse, on either of your behalfs-then everything will end amicably. He'll get a full refund for whatever time it is that wasn't used, and you'll keep what you made in the mean time. That's on the eighth page, I believe."
Natasha flipped through a little, looking at it and nodding. Right. "Okay." As she kept flipping through the words started to blur together, and though she tried to force herself to stick it out she only skimmed it by the time she'd gotten halfway through. She'd look it over that night over a pint of Ben and Jerry's, where she could at least get some distance from the craziness that her professional life was careening towards.
"He compromised to three days a week?" Natasha reiterated. "That I'll stay there with him?"
"I told him to start with three, and if it ends up working out we'll reevaluate your abilities and your schedule to fit in another day." Emma leaned back in her chair, fingers crossed in her lap as Nat put off the other pages of the contract and signed it, before handing it over once more. It looked good, and if she found anything seriously wrong with it then she'd take it up with Loki, she decided. He was reasonable, all men were, especially when her lips were wrapped around their cock. Emma thanked her as she took it back and ran off a copy of it for Natasha, pulling up the scheduling program on her computer in the mean time. Natasha's schedule, as it stood, was empty save for her appointment that afternoon and the Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays that would be permanently blocked off.
Emma arched a brow. "You're still dead set on keeping your clients?"
Natasha nodded. "I don't want to be reliant on him alone. What if he's busy one week and doesn't have time for me because of some merger or something? I want to make sure to have a backup plan, just in case."
And if this all went tits up, she wanted a solid base of clients to help her get by until she could build her list up once more. Emma didn't look impressed, shrugging one of her shoulders, but pulled up the list of Natasha's regulars and others who'd been interested in having her for a few hours.
"You already said you wanted to keep Rogers. I assume you want Rhodes as well?" Emma asked, biting her bottom lip. Rhodes was generally a weekend sort of man, so finding a different time with him would be difficult.
"Can I talk to him to explain the situation to him? Why I can't do weekends anymore?"
"No," Emma said curtly. "You cannot call a client to impress upon them that another client is more important than they are. You'll be lucky if he wants you at all after that."
Natasha bit back the retort that Emma was going to do the exact same thing, and instead resigned herself to talking to him when they managed to reschedule. "Right. I'll drop Rumlow." She barely kept herself from shuddering. He'd been a regular for upwards of two months, ex-Navy SEAL with a penchant for getting a little too . . . into their sessions. She had a hard time getting him to listen to her safewording out, and though she'd worked with it and adapted, more than capable of handling her own when it came to it, the only reason he was still in her book was because he threw more than enough money Emma's way and that Natasha was strong enough to take it. Now? She didn't have to.
Emma seemed to understand and sighed. "Think we ought to just tell him we can't accept his behavior anymore?"
Yes, that would've been appropriate the first time it happened. Now, a civil lawsuit seemed more apt. But Natasha simply nodded. She squinted at the list once again. "Murdock I want to keep. He's my lawyer, and I'd like him to be on my good side." She never knew when that might come in handy.
"Planning on breaking your contract?" Emma asked, voice dry.
"No."
"Good." She added him in anyway. "There was a new request this week, just an hour session. The other girls passed on him. Clint Barton. No records of him ever coming here before, no referrals, just out of the blue. He's only paying base minimum. Not sure what sort of a tip you'll get from him."
"What's he looking for?"
Emma rolled to the side of her desk, thumbing through a file until she found his and opened it. "Non-sexual behavior. Cuddles." She snorted, turning the file Natasha's way so she could see what he'd scribbled down. "The other girls didn't want to waste their time."
Well, that made her decision easy then, didn't it? "I'll take him. Might be a nice relaxer after a long week."
They nixed five other of her clients, none of them sticking out much in her mind, and kept one more, a referral by the name of Pietro. He'd expressed interest, having seen her picture online, and they were waiting to set up a time and day for them to have their first meeting. He was some sort of athlete, according to Emma's files on him, and Nat couldn't deny the smile it put on her face to know that she was still popular enough to be requested specifically without having had to be sampled first.
In the end she only had an hour to prepare for Steve and his companion, whoever it was that he'd plucked up the courage to invite with him. She had a half guess as to who it would be, and if so was glad he was at least taking a step in the right direction in acting on his attraction. Emma seemed pleased with the turnout of the meeting, and told her that she'd get the new schedule to Natasha as soon as she'd made contact with everyone to discuss timing. It was all Nat could ask for, she supposed, and come to expect from Emma, and she left with her copy of the contract in hand and a strange sense of reassurance in her gut. She could make this work. Emma seemed to think so at least. This was a good idea, this was completely doable.
It had to be.
As before, she made sure to dress casually this time around for meeting Steve, no extra make up, nothing too over the top. She didn't know what his friend would be expecting, but if Steve wasn't into the whole sex-pot shtick, she doubted the other man would be. She'd perched on the edge of the bed, bare feet skimming the carpet lightly as she pulled herself into the right mindset. Her chest expanded with a deep breath, her eyes closing for a good half a second before there came a knock on the door. Her lips parted in a smile as she called for whomever it was to come in, standing slowly when Steve walked in. He was as adorable as ever, and completely dwarfed by his companion. "Steve, great to see you again. Who's the handsome man you brought with you?" Nat asked, winking at the pair of them. Steve's face had already grown red, the tips of his ears absolutely burning as the brunette at his side shot Natasha an appreciative look.
"Nat, this is Bucky, he's the guy who set us up the first time," Steve said, his eyes meeting hers. The light in them confirmed to her just what she'd suspected. Ah. "So I thought, well, the least I could do was return the favor."
"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Bucky said, stepping a little closer and extending his hand. Nat gave him a quick, quizzical smile, before shaking his hand. That wasn't the typical response she got.
"The pleasure is mine, Bucky." Interesting name. She hoped it was a nickname, and couldn't help but wonder how it was he'd gotten it. "Can I get you two gentlemen a refreshment? I've got beer, water, soda?" Champagne, but somehow she didn't think it really fit that situation.
Steve declined while Bucky accepted a beer from the mini fridge in the corner of the room, Nat going as far as to undo it for him as she padded back over with it. Steve hardly brought his eyes up from his shoes the whole time, rubbing his heel into the carpet. Nat, feeling her stomach drop for the poor guy, reached over and squeezed his shoulder.
"So, how can I help you two out?" she asked, her face easy and soft when he looked up at her, quizzical. He was really adorable. "Anything in particular you're feeling up to?"
Steve's face only reddened, and Bucky gave a quiet laugh, nudging his best friend. "C'mon Stevie, spit it out. Not nice to keep the lady waiting."
Steve kicked Bucky's shin, though it didn't look like his heart was anywhere near it. "Shaddup, jerk."
Bucky shrugged, taking another swallow of his beer, but Nat had seen the way that his eyes had lingered on Steve for a moment or two longer than strictly necessary. She smiled, and threaded her fingers with Steve's.
"I've got an idea. Might want to get a little more comfortable, though. You two are going to make me feel underdressed." She only had on a tank top and a pair of shorts, after all. Simple, and effective enough to get Bucky's eyes on her backside as she led Steve towards the bed. She looked back at Buck, who hadn't moved, his eyes watching as Nat had begun to shimmy out of her shorts, revealing a pair of simple cotton undies, light pink with lace around the edges. Her eyes caught on the dog tags glinting just under his jacket as he shrugged out of it, and beckoned him closer.
"C'mon soldier," she purred, Steve throwing his shirt off to the side hastily, the sound of his buckle being undone filling the room over the muffled footsteps of Bucky stepping closer. Natasha tugged him closer by the belt loops of his jeans, untucking the white shirt from the waist band, kissing her way up his lower torso and enjoying the definition of muscle she found there. Mm, soldier indeed. Behind her, she felt Steve's hands begin to push her hair to the other side of her neck, his sweet lips tracing the column of muscle with his tongue and teeth. Natasha watched through her lashes as Bucky's gaze zeroed in on his friend, the man's breath speeding up and coming in quicker pants than warranted given what she was doing, working to tug off his belt and jeans, letting them slip to the ground and pool around his ankles. When he bent to struggle and squirm out of them, Nat turned her face to catch Steve's lips with her own. He groaned, tongue slipping into her mouth without hesitation, opening up to her with a nervous excitement that had her easing her hands over his bared pecs, feeling his rapid pulse beneath the skin. Poor guy was about to have heart failure if it kept up this way. Bucky joined them after having divested himself of the rest of his clothing, delving between Natasha's thighs and mouthing at her through her panties. She whimpered, hips bucking forward out of reflex, as he managed to tug down the edges of her panties and toss them to the ground. As Steve's mouth moved further south, Natasha's tank top having somehow disappeared in the thick of things, his lips fastening around the nipple of her right breast, and Bucky buried his face between her legs, eating her out with an eagerness she didn't often find. Her soft groans turned to full bodied moans that slipped from her lips, her mouth tipping backwards as his nose nudged her clit, struggling to push his tongue even deeper inside of her given the angle. She didn't need to be prompted further to tip her hips upwards, allowing him a better angle that had her biting her bottom lip to keep from shouting.
Steve had just pulled away from her breast, looking down at the brunette going to town on Nat's slit, when Nat smirked. One of her legs rubbed Bucky's side, delighting in the way he shuddered at the touch. "Bucky, I think Steve wants a taste." Her right hand came out to stroke the top of his head, and it was only then that he unlatched. His mouth and chin were both covered in her slick, and the sight made her lose her breath as he began to shift out of the way. All it took was one nudge of Steve with her left hand, as he shifted closer, and the two bumped into one another, mouths scant centimeters away.
Oh come on.
She was about to just tell them to get it over with when Bucky leaned in, his tongue sliding past Steve's parted lips, the surprise having stolen the breath from Steve's lungs as his best friend moved a hand to cradle the back of his head and devoured him in front of Natasha. Well, if she wasn't turned on already.
She couldn't help but slip one hand between her thighs, delighting in the way that Steve's hips canted forward as Bucky reached down with his free hand to grip his cock lightly, giving it a couple tentative strokes. Nat's forefinger circled her clit, eyes hooded, as she watched Bucky ease Steve into orgasm, their movements as familiar as if they'd been born to fuck each other. It was glorious to behold, the stretches of Steve's pale skin pressed tight up against Bucky's tanned body, their movements languid as if they could read one another's thoughts. Steve's moans were even sweeter as Bucky swallowed them whole, and Nat came at the same time that Steve did, though she was careful to keep quiet about it, not wanting to ruin their moment.
They hardly even seemed to notice that she was there, Steve boneless and doe-eyed as he pushed Bucky onto his back and crawled closer to take his already hard cock into his mouth. It didn't take long, and Nat tried to commit every muscle shift and groan shared between the pair of them to memory as Bucky came with a loud shout, filling Steve's mouth much to the latter's delight. He moaned with a passion and adoration that could never be faked (and Nat would know) as he swallowed him completely. His tongue flicked out, swirling around the sensitive tip as Bucky hissed, and his hazy eyes fell on Nat before he went stiff.
"Shit, sorry-."
She shook her head, smiling and waving away his apologies. "Hey, I enjoyed myself as much as you two did, I promise. You two are amazing together." Truly, she didn't see many people who just managed to click like they did. She caught sight of Steve's more than pleased smile, his cheeks burning as he wiped his mouth, and Nat couldn't help but lean over and kiss him gently, tasting Bucky on his lips.
"Thanks," he murmured before they pulled away.
"Any time," she assured him.
She offered them their money back, but Steve had adamantly insisted that he wasn't going to take a penny away from what he'd paid her. The grin on his face and glow of his general person told her that he'd never been happier, and as the pair had left she'd watched as Bucky's hand found Steve's, their fingers threading together. Too cute, really. She found herself smiling even after they'd left the room, the door clicking shut behind them, and she turned to start the clean up. They'd done a remarkable job at keeping her bed clean, for the most part. She'd just need to switch over comforters-hell, she could probably flip it if she was feeling lazy . . . but no. She stripped the old one off and tossed it down the laundry chute all the way at the edge of her room, cleverly painted to match the rest of the wall so as not to be so obvious as to what it is. There was an extra comforter that she tugged from the closet, spreading the inky black blanket over the still tucked in sheets just beneath, at least giving it the impression that this bed was slept in. That wasn't an entire lie, at least. She'd napped in it between clients before. It hadn't been her best of days, but she'd had a late night the one just previous, and she'd never done it before. The bed didn't sleep as well as the one she had back home anyway.
She headed to the bathroom to clean herself up before her next client came through, and eased herself into a pair of sweatpants and loose tank top, not going for the cute girl next door that she'd used for Steve and Bucky, but rather a good college friend. At least she assumed, she'd never been.
Maybe she could, now that she had a steadier source of income. If she ever did get sick of taking clients, or could take night classes on the days that she wasn't with Loki. He wouldn't tell her no, surely, being an educated man himself he'd understand the value of a good college education.
She shook her head to clear that thought from her head. Too far ahead of time, way too far. They didn't even know how it was going to go the first time around. After France, after their three months, then they'd see. She couldn't get too ahead of herself, or else she'd end up disappointed. Her stomach twisted as she moved to the bed, grabbing a discarded magazine and thumbing through it absently as she worked to distract herself. For the most part it worked, the ridiculous excuse for sex tips making her snort as she tore out some of her favorites and put them beside the bed. Part of her wanted to start a collection, along with informational reasons why these were all terrible ideas. Well, most of them. One or two she might take to heart the more she thought about it. But still, for the most part? Dreadful. She'd be out of the job if she ever used her teeth anywhere near a client's cock, let alone stuck an ice cube up his ass by surprise. Who wanted that? A little reach around was all well and good every once and awhile, but to actually try and do that? Definitely out of the job. She reached over to the pen just beside her bed and circled that one before ripping it out. Too good to pass up.
She was just tearing out another page of goodies ("Buy a candle from a Pure Romance party and drip some of the wax on his nipples without telling him it won't burn. The surprise always gets my boyfriend more than the actual sensation!") when there came another knock on the door. She slid the magazine shut and shoved it into the drawer next to her bed, tousling her hair a little before half sitting up. "Come in."
He was her second new guy of the day, Clint Barton, and of all the men she'd met in her line of work-stock brokers, millionaires with boring wives or annoying divorcees, humble electricians and wait staff at the Met-he was the one she was most curious to meet. He'd intentionally sought out a call girl center to ask for a cuddle buddy. She had to wonder what sort of guy he'd actually be.
He was well built by the look of his broad shoulders hidden beneath a purple shirt, and the tape patching up his nose told her he'd come out on the wrong end of a brawl, or else a flight of stairs. His sandy hair was a mess atop his head, but his eyes were nice enough. He fiddled with something in his ear, an aid that was flesh colored and turned all the way up now, as the door closed behind him.
"You're Nat, right?" he asked, toeing off his shoes at the door so he wouldn't track anything in. Kind of him to think of that. She nodded, sitting up the rest of the way and inviting him forward with her smile.
"Nat I am. Clint Barton?"
"Last I checked that's what the State keeps telling me."
She let herself laugh quietly as he took a seat beside her, his thigh barely touching hers, hands folded in his lap in front of him. "Well it's wonderful to meet you Clint. How can I help you? Your file said no sexual contact."
He gave a one-shouldered shrug, one telling her she still had the right guy, but didn't give her much to go off of other than that.
"You're looking for physical touch, then? Do you mind if I ask why you don't go to a masseuse? I'm sure it'll feel better." She had half a mind to see one before she went with Loki, help her limber up. Not that she usually needed the assistance, but it might do her some good.
"It's not just touch it's . . . well, it's hard to explain." He sighed, face pulled in a look that told her he'd explained it one too many times before. So, instead, she reached out to take his hand and squeeze it, feeling his warm palm weighing her own down.
"Show me, then?"
He shot her a hint of a smile as he shucked off his belt and tossed it to the side, his shirt following suit. If she'd thought the tape on the nose had been an indicator of a past altercation, what was she supposed to make of the scars that covered his chest? She wanted to run her fingers down the spiderwebs they built, ask for the stories behind every one of them, but kept quiet instead. She let him guide her back, murmuring if she minded that he took off her tank top. She shook her head, and was surprised to be the bigger spoon for the first time in her life as he curled up in front of her. She wrapped an arm around his waist, and a leg around his hip, and he practically purred with happiness at the contact of her skin against his. Only then, the pair of them so close that she could feel his heart beat in her chest, did he really relax.
"I don't like sex," he muttered. "But I miss the physical sensation of being held. So I figured rather than struggle to find someone who'll take me, as is, no clearance price, I might as well see who'll do it for money."
Her eyes, which had been half closed, snapped open. Oh, poor guy. "Well trust me, I'll never turn you down," she murmured. "But we'll renegotiate your pricing. You shouldn't have to pay for sex if you're not getting it."
He laughed but didn't say anything about it. The knots in his back disappeared, and he held the arm that had wrapped around his waist tightly. When they woke up at the end of his session, the both of them yawning and stretching languidly, Nat swore she felt better than she had in years. Maybe he was on to something.
A/N: Alright, so T-Minus 8 or so days until I move states, which means I have no idea when I'll be able to update this next. Your comments are always amazing, and I really appreciate them. I'll try and scribble down stuff when I get a chance-we've got so much coming up!-but I can't guarantee when the next time I'll be able to update will be.
Till then! Thanks again so much for all the feedback, it's wonderful!
