Maria was the first to wake the following morning.
It was the second night in a row she had managed to sleep almost the whole way through, waking only once compared to three or four times a night. Her nose was itchy from the few stray strands of hair that had escaped Natasha's pony tail during the night. The brunette shifted minutely and enjoyed the sensation she got from feeling Natasha's back against her front and remembered the night before.
True to her word, Natasha had made spaghetti for dinner and Maria had joked about putting in a requisition form for her to make this at least once a week, even once the protection detail was over. Natasha simply laughed, winked and cleared the table once they had finished. Together they had done the dishes and put them away, a simple task to waste time until bed.
Small talk about languages and favourite places and Maria's family had filled the silence and Maria had curled into her side again, her hand resting on top of Natasha's thigh and her face hidden in the nape of her neck. Until she yawned and Natasha insisted they go to bed. Maria had only agreed with a pleading smile if she wasn't alone.
She had drifted off to sleep with Natasha brushing her hair out of her face and had woken up find herself as the big spoon wrapped around a sleeping assassin.
Sleepily, Maria tightened her arm around Natasha and burrowed back down into the covers content to simply enjoy the feeling until the other woman woke up.
Before long, the redhead was stretching and rolling over to face Maria.
"Good morning," she muttered, eyes still half closed as she leaned in and pressed her lips to Maria's.
Although taken by surprise by the kiss, Maria didn't not object and kissed her back. Natasha pulled back, her eyelids snapping open as she realised what she had just done.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Huh?" Maria muttered, her eyes still closed.
"I'm sorry."
When Maria realised that the redhead was beginning to panic slightly, she opened her eyes and lifted her head. "Why?"
"I kind of wanted to be a bit smoother when I kissed you for the first time, be a bit more aware as opposed to being half asleep. I'm sorry."
Maria chuckled. "Don't be sorry. It was nice. It felt normal and easy. It felt more normal than I have in the past month and a half."
Natasha's dark eyes shifted from panicked to calmer as she rested her head in her hand. "You don't mind that our first kiss was kind of an accident?"
"No," she answered. "And I don't think it was an accident. I liked it."
"Really?" Natasha smirked, silently proud.
"Yes."
"Can I kiss you again?" she asked.
"Yes," Maria nodded with a smile and leaned in at the same time as Natasha.
Maria could feel the hypersensitivity emanating from her body; she could feel every inch of her that was touching Natasha with surreal sensation.
Natasha, despite the smirk of confidence she had showed, was secretly nervous all of a sudden; she really liked Maria but didn't want to get carried away and end up hurting her.
Their lips met gently for a few seconds before they pulled back, both with smiles on their faces. Without needing another prompt, the met in the middle again and slowly the kiss intensified. Natasha held back from pushing past anything other than her hand on Maria's hip. The brunette's tongue snuck out, seeking out Natasha's to deepen the kiss and they didn't part until the need for air became apparent.
Slightly out of breath, Natasha could simply lean her forehead against Maria's. "Wow."
"Wow?" came back as a breathless whisper.
"Yeah. It's no secret that I've kissed a lot of people. But kissing you, and as dorky and cheesy as this sounds, literally made me see stars," Natasha explained. "I don't think I ever want to stop."
"Good," Maria muttered. "I don't think I want you too."