Summary: Nothing complicated, just a simple oneshot.
Interlude #2
It had been yet another stressful week for Ben and Natasha. Between constant round the clock missions and several debriefs, not to mention the routine checks with the Plumbers at he new HQ, the burnout of the past few days had gotten to them. While vacation was nowhere within their grasp, the duo found solace in the simplest of moments.
The duo found themselves engaged in what was quickly becoming one of her favourite activities: curled up on the couch at her place, Ben's head resting in her lap as she ran her fingers through his thick brown locks, their attention focused on the TV.
In truth, Nat was never truly a "homebody" type. Her home had long since been taken from her, along with the precious few she shared it with. The very concept of home became more benign, less concrete. Home was where you laid your head after a tough mission, home was always under constant surveillance.
Home was where you could try to escape from the nightmares that plagued every waking moment.
For Ben, home was a lot simpler. He'd more or less vacated his spot in the Tower, opting to spend more and more time with Natasha at her own apartment. While their lives were anything but normal, it became a habit to bask in simple moments like this together.
And despite it all, some of the more "home" activities were actually becoming her favourites; it was such a normal, mundane thing to do, and she liked that. She liked normal. Even though she knew that neither she or he would ever be completely "normal" she liked the idea of them being able to be "normal-ish", despite everything
"Uhhh, what's up Nat?", Ben asked, his attention now turned away from the TV.
"M' fine..."
"Yeah..Right", Ben drawled, " Like you haven't been staring at me this whole time. I could practically feel your pretty eyes staring holes in my skull"
She scoffed, playing lightly with his hair, her nimble fingers lazily raced through the brown curls.
"Ben, it's...", The words felt heavy, like molten lead in her throat.
"Cmon, Nat just spill it", the shapeshifter shuffled his position, sitting up to look directly at the redhead.
"Hey", he offered, reaching up to tuck a lock of her hair back in place, "you know I'm here for you right?"
"...are you?"
He gave her a confused look, "Am I...what? Here?"
"Quit goofing around", Nat's features flashed with mild annoyance, "you know what I mean, Ben"
Amused, he glanced around the room, down at himself, at his hands, then back at her with a humorous smile.
"I'd like to think I am", he joked, eliciting a small chuckle from the redhead. It was cute to see him so befuddled, unintentionally diffusing the situation with his comedic reaction.
"It's just...I know we aren't completely official"
"Well you said you wanted to take it slow, right?"
"...what if I break your trust someday?
Stunned, Ben could only gaze at her, an eyebrow raised in confusion. A moment passed, the question lingering uncomfortably in the air like the proverbial sword of Damocles.
"Wow, what's with the question?"
"Nothing", she sighed, "Just something weird I thought I should ask"
Trust was the key to any relationship, regardless of he circumstances. It was also the easiest to break, and the hardest to fix.
It didn't take long for his mind to race with the possible implications of her statement. Was she afraid of something? As far s he knew, Natasha Romanoff was scared of nothing, and everyone else was scared of her.
Was she hiding something from him? She was a spy after all, she kept secrets for a living. Needling her about it incessantly would do little more than cause her to subconsciously close up. Of course, he'd his own share of skeletons in his closet.
Another bout oppressive silence reigned until Ben decided to answer, taking her hand into his.
"Well...trusting you was my choice", he softly caressed the back of her hands, reasurring her. Staring into her pools of blue, he sighed.
"Breaking it, would be yours"
He'd lost his best years to the hero business, and any chance of a normal life without it was a foregone conclusion. Such was their fate, for creatures such as they. Unlike the fairytale, the hero never goes home after saving the day, doomed to either be taken by the battle or lose to it.
To find solace in another like-minded soul was like an oasis in the desert. After losing Julie and losing his team, Ben felt like he was floating, lost in an abyss. Meeting his new team, meeting Nat, had somehow found a way to ground him.
Natasha's doubts weren't unfounded, the secrets between them could wreck most normal relationships. Someday, eventually, they'd need to address the major elephant in the room. There was indeed, something to be said about ignorance being bliss.
Only time would tell...
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A/N: I know it's short, but I figured I should push this one out first to stall you guys while I work on the other series.
By the way, the idea was largely thanks to Guest With Ideas, my assistant writer. Hopefully this motivates him to get off his ass and actually try writing something.
Thanks for all your reviews and comments. Y'all are the best.
Till Next time! EXCELSIOR!!!
