Natasha was the first to wake the next morning.
It was still early and there was a weak stream of sunlight coming in behind her through the window. For the first time that she could ever recall, she genuinely felt comfortable and settled, almost as if the stresses of her job and life didn't exist and she just was.
Opening her eyes, the first thing she noticed was Maria, still mirroring her position. They appeared to have not moved during the night because their hands were still twisted together and Natasha was still cupping the brunette's cheek. If anything they may have shifted closer to each other.
There was a tight clench somewhere in her chest that she didn't recognise, although she was very well aware that her feelings for the woman in front of her were becoming less than professional. She wanted to move her head that little bit closer, so she could find out what those lips tasted like, how it would feel to wake someone up with a kiss, someone you genuinely liked.
And that wasn't allowed.
But when Maria stirred and her eyes fluttered open without any sign of fear, she couldn't stop herself from whispering with a smile. "Hi."
"Hi there," came back to her. Maria managed to stretch without breaking the contact between them, leaning into the hand on her face.
"How did you sleep?"
Maria paused for a second. "There was the beginning of a bad dream somewhere there but nothing bad enough to wake me up. Thank you."
"For what?"
"Protecting me."
Natasha felt a small swell of pride and smiled. "Stop, you're going to give me an ego."
With a squeeze of the hand she had linked with the other woman, she left the bad declaring herself hungry for breakfast, something that Maria had to eat. She began bartering over what she could eat and how much.
"One piece of plain toast," said the brunette as she shuffled ahead of Natasha down the stairs. As usual she drummed her fingers along the top of the piano at the bottom of the stairs as she passed.
"And some coffee," came the answer. "Do you play?"
"What?" came the confused answer.
"The piano. Do you play or is it just there for looks?" Natasha asked. She slightly smirked when she realised that Maria has been looking at her exposed skin when she reached for mugs in a higher cupboard. And Maria had realised she had been caught.
"Yeah, my grandfather taught me." Maria was confused. In front of her was a woman who she should only see as a colleague, a highly skilled assassin who could probably kill with one look. Instead she was beginning to see her as a person, someone with more morality and humanness than she had witnessed in any of SHIELD's employees. The Russian in front of her was beautiful and Maria couldn't deny that she had enjoyed waking up to the blue eyes.
'But am I actually attracted to her?' Maria thought to herself. 'Or is it some kind of unconscious attachment because she's here while I'm recovering?'
"Maybe you could show me," came the husky voice, as a cup of coffee was offered.
"I don't play for anyone. I only ever played for him. It was the only thing we really had together," Maria said sadly, "and my hands hurt."
She had to supress a shiver as the redhead took her hands to examine the healing cuts that marred her knuckles and fingers. Maria looked away. She hated the scars she had, and the ones she would have she hated those even more. Natasha was close enough now that Maria could really spot the height difference between the two of them.
"Don't be ashamed of them," Natasha whispered.
"They're a reminder," she answered.
"Yes, that you're strong. You survived," and with that Natasha simply raised Maria's hands and pressed a soft kiss to each. "You shouldn't be ashamed."
Maria simply watched, unable to speak as she watched the woman be remarkably kind to her. She was the first to break the eye contact though when the toaster popped up noisily and pulled her from her trance. Natasha looked away, maybe embarrassed, Maria couldn't tell and picked up her coffee again. The immediate tension between them was broken but there was still an energy sitting there, growing until it exploded.
"Tell me something I don't know about you, something I won't find in a file," Maria said, curious about the woman in front of her.
"Like what?" Natasha shrugged.
"Anything, something random. I barely know you, but I know I want to better."
Natasha's eyes tensed for a moment as she stared confused at Maria. "I've never been to a carnival. I actually hate spiders. My favourite colour is green. I like to cook."
"You're extremely well adjusted considering everything you've ever been through," Maria commented.
"There is no such thing as normal," Natasha countered, with a smile. "Humans are simply adaptive or maladaptive depending on the situation. With my training, I can adapt to new people, new places, new situations a lot easier. Maybe that's why. Tell me something about you."
Her voice was husky and gentle and Maria simply wanted to gravitate towards her. "I love spaghetti and orange and music and books and slow dancing. It's simple and it's easy to get lost in it and forget about this world for a while."
"You get lost in spaghetti?" Natasha asked, with a straight face.
Maria laughed. It wasn't a laugh that reached her eyes but it was the first one Natasha had heard in a week and she was the reason for it. She laughed too.
Their easy going discussion was interrupted by Natasha's phone ringing on the arm of the couch where she had left it the night before. She smile apologetically.
"Yeah," she answered. "Yeah, yeah, okay. Thanks."
"Everything okay?" Maria asked around a mouth full of toast.
"Yeah. That was Fury. Doctor Pillicker wants to see you today for a check-up. And then Meyer wants to see you."
Maria groaned. "I hate Meyer."
"Everyone hates Meyer. He's psych department, it comes with the territory," she said. Meyer had deliberately held Natasha back several times from being clear for active duty after assignments before. She didn't like him at all. "We better get ready."
"Yeah," said Maria, almost disappointed they had been interrupted and couldn't continue their conversation.