This one came about because (a) I firmly believe Maria and Natasha were friends; (b) writing a slightly snarky Maria is always fun; and (c) the more fics I read featuring these two, the more I want to write them.
enjoy!
"Romanoff, what can I do for you?" Maria asks without looking up from her current task of reading yet another file of a new recruit for the Academy. If it were up to her, she'd have delegated this particular task, but Fury was oddly firm about her being to one to review them. Just another one of his delightfulquirks, I suppose.
"I want to go camping."
Her brow furrowed only momentarily at the abrupt declaration before she refocused on the file in front of her. "So submit your request for time off. Fury will approve it. You haven't taken any personal time in almost a year. You're due for some," she answers, again without looking up.
"Want to come with me?"
That does get Maria's full attention and this time she looks up. Natasha's expression is neutral, though she can see a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Pardon?"
A smile curls on her lips at Maria's confusion. "Want to come camping with me?" she repeats patiently from her spot in the doorway. She is the picture of casual — with her shoulder and hip leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, and one foot crossed over the other — and while she often puts on the air of being casual, Maria suspects that this time the relaxed posture is genuine.
"Camping," Maria repeats slowly, finding herself a bit flummoxed. To say she hadn't expected this was a serious understatement.
Natasha chuckles, still obviously amused by her reaction. "Yeah, you know...the great outdoors, fire pit, s'mores, that sort of thing. At least, that's what Barton and Coulson have told me."
"You want me to go camping with you?"
"Mmhmm," Natasha prompts with a slow nod.
Maria shakes her head in disbelief. "Why?"
Natasha just shrugs. "Why not?"
"Have you ever gone camping, Natasha?" Maria asks, trying to understand the sudden and abrupt urge to spend some intentional and extended time in nature. It wasn't really in character for Natasha, at least not so far as Maria knew. Natasha hesitates with her answer for a beat and Maria knows exactly where her mind has gone. "Sleeping outdoors on a mission does not count," she amends quickly while pointing a finger at her knowingly.
Natasha's mouth twists into a half-smile, half-smirk. "Then no. Not strictly speaking."
"But you want to?" Maria clarifies, wondering if Barton and Coulson put the idea in her head. Not long after she had defected, Barton had made it his mission to expose her to all the 'great American rights of passage' as he had put it, and she'd been steadily working through them over the years. (Watching her confused expression at his insistence that she dip fries into a chocolate milkshake had been a true delight that Maria was grateful to have witnessed...though to be fair that particular activity had been less of an 'American' thing and more 'out of left field and totally Barton' sort of thing.)
"Yes," Natasha confirms with a nod and a smile that Maria thinks, again, is genuine. In fact, upon further examination, it doesn't seem as though she's putting any effort into managing her posture or expressions.
She's about to launch into another series of questions — because if Natasha thinks her answers have explained this odd turn of events she may actually still have a concussion from that last mission — but in a spur of the moment decision, Maria opts instead to go with the flow. Ah, to hell with it. Why not? "Okay, I'm in," she says with a nod. "But only if we bring alcohol," she adds seriously.
Natasha scoffs as though the very thought offends her. "Obviously. You thought I'd do this sober?"
Maria laughs. "Okay, send me the details."
"I'll admit, Nat. I didn't expect this," Maria says as she scrutinizes the structure in front of them. The charming cabin nestled next to the lake is certainly a far cry from the standard campsite that she had expected.
"What? You thought I'd sleep in a tent and give up hot water by choice? Do you even know me at all, Maria?"
She laughs because Nat's right. She probably should've seen it coming. Nat has had to stay in some pretty shitty places during her tenure at SHIELD so far — being as adept at her job as she is means that she and Barton get the shitty missions no one else can handle that usually result in some terrible circumstances — and that's not even to speak of whatever hellish accommodations she'd had before defecting, so camping in a tent wouldn't be that far out of the realm of possibility. But Maria knows that Natasha also loves luxury where she can get it. She knows Nat spends good money on maintaining her hair, wears expensive (if understated, most of the time) clothes, indulges in expensive food, and owns a luxury car she doesn't strictly need. (Maria always guessed it was a way to make up for what she could only assume was the opposite means she'd lived with during her childhood.) So yeah, making the assumption that Natasha would sleep in a tent when there were other far less rustic options available might've been a mistake on Maria's part.
"Besides, I sent you the details. I'm surprised you didn't examine them in exhaustive detail," Nat teases.
"I trust you," Maria counters with a dismissive wave of her hand, skipping over the mostly unsaid remark about her usual strict attention to detail.
"Ah, so Fury kept you busy right up until you left the office, huh?" Nat says knowingly.
"You know how he is. He gets lost when the people who do most of the paperwork disappear so he had to make sure he had a map while we're away."
"Well, welcome to our home away from home this week," Nat says with a flash of a grin as she opens up the door and features for her to enter.
Maria whistles in appreciation at the admittedly beautiful interior of the cabin. "Nice digs."
"Yeah, not half bad," Natasha agrees. "I think it'll do."
Maria rolls her eyes. "Uh-huh, I guess we can make it work," she quips.
"Take your pick for what bedroom you want. I don't particularly care. I'm going to grab the food from the car."
"Yeah," Maria says distractedly as her gaze continues sweeping across the cabin. It's rustic but elegant in a way that seems to strike a tasteful balance and is certainly a far cry from the tents she'd camped in as a child. There were large windows in the common area which overlooked the lake, and even a few which extended up onto the ceiling in a skylight of sorts, providing a clear view of the sky. Duffle bag still in hand, she heads toward the back of the cabin and passes a small but functional kitchen before reaching a bathroom with modern finishes and a large soaker tub. The doors on either side of the bathroom lead to bedrooms, one which faces the lake and the other the forest they'd driven through to get to the cabin.
"You pick one yet?" Natasha calls out as she reenters the cabin and heads to the kitchen.
"Just looking now," Maria calls back as she pushes open the door to take a look at the bedroom facing the lake. It's a relatively small room compared to the common area, large enough only for a dresser, a queen bed, and a small bedside table, but the large windows facing the lake are the highlight. A quick look into the other bedroom reveals an almost identical layout, with the windows facing the dense forest instead. She tosses her bag onto the bed in the room with a view of the lake before heading back out to the common area.
She finds Nat unloading food from bags into the fridge in the kitchen. "So?" she prompts when she spots Maria.
Maria chuckles. "Well, this is definitely not your average camping trip, that's for sure. This place is amazing."
"Yeah, not bad, huh?"
"This place puts camping in a tent to shame."
"I think they call it glamping, right?"
"That might be understating it," Maria quips. "Where exactly did you find this place? And do I want to know how expensive it is? That's one thing I don't think you've mentioned." Not that Maria cared; she was willing to pay half for their little impromptu vacation, even if it ended up being pricey. It's not like she took a lot of vacations...she could afford to splurge a little.
Nat shrugs. "I have my ways. And anyway, a friend owed me a favour so I got a pretty good discount."
Maria's brow furrows as she scrutinizes her friend. I call bullshit, Nat, she thinks, figuring the woman had probably spent good money on this place. Not that she would have cared how much it cost. Nat was like that about money. She was no Tony Stark, who threw money around like it was nothing, but she wasn't exactly all that frugal either. Then again, when your job has as poor a life expectancy as hers did, Maria couldn't judge her for spending the money while she was around to enjoy the benefits of it.
"Alright," she concedes, knowing she isn't going to get more out of Nat. "I'll take the lake view room if you don't mind."
"Fine by me," Nat answers with a shrug and then grins as she tosses a can to Maria. "Here."
She looks down to find a vodka soda in her hand and she wrinkles her nose. "Really?"
"Don't hate it 'til you try it. It's not good vodka, mind you, and tastes like pure sugar if you ask me, but there's a certain appeal." With a shrug, Maria opens the can and takes a cautious sip. "See? Not bad, right?"
"Not awful," Maria concedes with a thoughtful tilt of her head.
"Don't worry, I brought the good stuff too. We can crack that open later after we unpack it."
Maria chuckles. "You think everyone brings as much alcohol and food as we did?" she asks as she joins Nat in her task of unpacking their groceries for the week.
"Definitely not. College students probably bring way more alcohol and less food," Natasha quips and shoots her a quick grin.
Maria snorts in amusement. "Yeah, that's probably true. Nice that we won't have to put up with any of them," she says with another look around their cabin. Some people might worry about being so isolated, but the two of them have the luxury of being highly trained agents, and therefore can enjoy the seclusion with no worries. The way Maria sees it, their skills in marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat mean that anyone who tries anything is absolutely going to end up wishing they hadn't bothered them.
"Yeah, I thought about going the traditional campsite route...for about five seconds. Then I started searching for a better option."
"You never did tell me what was with the sudden urge to go camping," Maria points out.
"Barton's been after me for a while to go camping and after how the last few missions went I figured some time unplugged from the world wasn't a bad idea," she answers as she starts unpacking the beer they'd brought.
Maria scrutinizes her expression, finding a trace of weariness there. Nat had never been one to let her feelings show plainly in her expression or posture, not even with the small group of people she trusted (which Maria was proud to say she was a part of). But here, removed from the requirements and expectations of SHIELD, Maria can see she is allowing a small view in.
"Well, Barton probably had tents and sleeping bags in mind when he suggested it, but I much prefer this option, even if it's less 'traditional' than he intended," Maria says. "And thanks for the invite."
Nat waves her hand dismissively. "Of course."
But the more Maria thinks about it, the more she wonders if Nat's sudden urge to go camping had, at least partially, a different motive. "Why did you invite me anyway?"
Nat shrugs again, not phased by the direct question. It was one of the things Maria appreciated about her - she wasn't usually offended by directness. "Well, I couldn't bring Barton. He'd complain this wasn't really camping the whole time. Melinda's on a mission, and bringing Coulson would just be…weird."
"So I'm the last resort?" Maria chuckles.
"Something like that," she says, eyes twinkling with amusement as she grins.
"It wouldn't have anything to do with Fury not so subtly hinting I should take time off, would it?"
"How would I know what Fury is or isn't hinting to you?"
"Uh-huh. Sure," Maria says with a raised eyebrow. "But either way, thank you. It is nice to get away for a bit and unplug," Maria concedes.
Maria had to admit, they'd struck it damn lucky with the weather. Or Nat had checked the forecasts and picked this week specifically. Both were equally plausible. Either way, she was grateful for the lack of rain, even if their cabin would have meant the usual pains of camping in wet weather would have been avoided.
"Nachos are almost done," Nat declares, leaning back into her Adirondack chair after poking the contents of the foil on the grill. While she'd been happy to lean into the advantages of glamping accommodations, she had insisted that they at least cook a few meals over the fire as though they had gone the traditional camping route. Maria hadn't argued, knowing there were a lot of options beyond the clichéd hot dogs.
"Good. I'm starving," Maria replies as she drops into the chair beside her.
Nat chuckles. "Pretty sure we made enough for like six people, so that's not gonna be a problem."
"Better too much than too little," she points out and Nat nods in agreement.
"So what's for dessert?"
"Deconstructed apple crumble," Maria replies. When she'd mentioned that she knew a few breakfast and dessert recipes suited for camping, Nat had bargained that she'd handle the dinners if Maria handled breakfast and dessert. She'd easily agreed, figuring it was the least she could do given that Nat had arranged the rest of the details for their stay.
Nat pauses her task of checking the nachos again and arches an eyebrow as she looks over at Maria. "So...apples with some granola on top?"
Maria rolls her eyes. "That's a gross oversimplification. There's also bourbon involved."
Nat laughs. "Oh, well, if there's bourbon then it's fine."
"Judge all you want, it's delicious," Maria says with a pointed look.
"Relax. I'm not saying anything until I taste it," Nat says as she hands Maria a plate with some of the nachos that are now finally ready. "Eat. You'll be less grumpy after you've had some food."
"Pot, meet kettle," Maria volleys back, knowing all too well that a hungry Natasha was a grumpy Natasha. Even Clint, who was a shit disturber if there ever was one, would hand her food before attempting any conversation if she was hungry.
"Yeah, yeah," Nat mutters as she settles back in her chair with her own plate loaded with some nachos as well. She takes a bite and hums in appreciation. "Holy shit these are good."
"There's something about cooking over a fire pit. Makes stuff taste better," Maria says knowingly.
"Well, apparently I'm gonna have to go camping more often."
They both chuckle and settle in to eat their dinner, chatting and swapping stories as they do. Some stories are work-related, but for the most part they stay away from SHIELD business, and Maria has to admit it's nice to have a conversation that doesn't have the shadow of work hanging over it in any form. By the time the sun was setting they'd finished their meal and dessert — Natasha had whole-heartedly approved and went back for seconds of the deconstructed apple crumble — and had moved on to enjoying some bourbon.
"God, I haven't seen fireflies since I was a kid," Maria says as she spots some of the beetles beginning to light up a few feet in front of them.
"I've seen them a few times. It's been a few years though. I hadn't realized they'd be here," Natasha replies with a thoughtful expression on her face. There's a flicker of emotion on her face that Maria can't quite parse out, but on the whole, she looks more peaceful than Maria can remember ever seeing her. She wonders if this is Natasha well and truly relaxed.
"I guess this is the right time of year for them," Maria offers, trying to remember if May is their peak season. She thinks maybe it is, given how more and more of them appear to be lighting up in front of them as the seconds pass.
"Guess so. Did you see them a lot as a kid?"
"Often enough, yeah. One summer I spent most of my evenings trying to get a picture of them glowing. Never did manage to get a decent one. Just came out as dark with vaguely fuzzy lights."
Nat chuckles. "Might be easier with cameras now, what with not needing to develop the photos and all."
"Probably," Maria agrees with a laugh of her own. Her eyes widen as suddenly the number of fireflies seems to quadruple. She shares a quick glance with Natasha who is just as amazed and awestruck as she is. "Whoa," she breathes out, barely more than a whisper.
"Yeah," Nat agrees as she leans forward in her chair to get a better look.
"I've never seen so many at once before."
"Definitely a first for me too," Nat agrees. They are quiet for a few moments as they each take in the amazing sight in front of them. Then Nat holds up her glass of bourbon in a toast. "To fireflies," she says.
Maria thinks there might be a hint of something in her tone but she can't quite identify what it is, or what might've prompted it. Maybe in time Nat would read Maria in on those secrets she held close, but for now she would be content to be included in her inner circle of friends and trusted people. "To fireflies," Maria echoes, "and to time away from work," she adds as she taps her own glass to Nat's.
Nat grins and then takes a sip from her glass as Maria mirrors the action. "Yeah, I need to go camping more often," she quips as she leans back in her chair again, grinning widely.
Maria chuckles and tips her glass toward her friend again in another toast. "Hear hear."
So...amused by the banter? Enjoy the twist of glamping vs a more traditional camping experience? Always love to see what y'all think.
Also open to suggestions for future chapters (though no promises!).
More to come!