Previously
Tony and Natasha had a bad case of love at first sight, starting when she pretended to be his assistant, Natalie, but they couldn't admit it.
Years went by with them secretly pining for each other, almost getting together but always falling short. This changed after Ultron, when Pepper finally broke up with Tony for good, and Tony moved into the Avengers compound full-time. He and Natasha finally started a relationship, albeit in secret. But after Lagos, and the Accords, and the media branded Avengers Civil War, and Tony's smart ass mouth, Natasha left, now a fugitive, and severely pissed at him. Tony was angry to, and doubting whether their relationship was ever really real, or if she was just playing with him the whole time. He wanted to find out for sure, so he managed to track her down to Russia, where she was in the middle of hunting down her old nemesis, Dreykov, the founder of the Red Room.
After a tense meeting, and a lot of apologizing from Tony, he joined her on her mission, and teamed up with her kind-of family to take down the Red Room, which they succeeded at. But now Natasha is trying to return to the states, and has turned herself in with promises from Tony that he will convince the council to pardon her.
Today is the hearing, but there are still certain people who would like to see her locked away forever, one of them being Secretary Ross.
Chapter 6
One Week After Dreykov
"So let me see if I can get this straight, Mr. Stark, you're telling us that youjusthappenedto find Ms. Romanoff,by accident, while you were playing with your satellites. Is that correct?"
Tony's eyeballs nearly spin out of his head he rolls them so hard.
He stares at Harry Mcdonald, one of the Accords council members, and certified thorn in his side, who's determined to draw out this already decided hearing as much as he can, because he wants to slander the Avengers, and Natasha to the best of his capabilites.
It hasn't taken long for him to join Tony's list of people he can't stand, right underneath Justin Hammer.
So far, the whole hearing has been a farce, because like he said, the decision she would be pardoned was already made long before McDonald pushed to have a hearing in the first place. Tony knows it only happened because Mcdonald is one of Ross's old war buddies, and they're both pissed off a girl led them around on a wild goose chase for months and showed them up. Now they want to squeeze every bit of vengeance they can out of all of this and try to make some headlines. Like it isn't bad enough Ross has had Natasha locked up for a week at the fucking raft, doing god knows what to her. He swears if he finds out she wasn't properly taken care of there's going to be hell to pay for the secretary.
"Uh, no, councilman, as I've already said,many, many times, Iwasactively looking for her," Tony replies.
"So, you could convince her to turn herself in." McDonald says, pressing his lips together, in that preemptive, disapproving way, which Tony has come to understand means he's not even interested in seeing another point of view other than his own.
"Given the circumstances of why she let Barnes and Rogers go, yeah, I guess I wanted to try to persuade her to come back to sort all this out. Her decision was done with the intent of stopping Zemo from thawing out a Hydra-trained suicide squad. I don't think I need to remind anyone here what one winter soldier is capable of, much less an upwards of six."
"But you didn't think to notify Secretary Ross before you flew all the way to Russia to intercept her?"
"To be honest? Yeah, I did think about it, councilman, but I decided not to."
"And why is that?" McDonald asks.
"Because, with all due respect to uh, Secretary Ross-" Tony glances at the man himself, who is sitting off to the side with a couple of senators, all three giving him the evil eye.
"He's not exactly an ask-questions first kind of guy. I'm sure he has some fine soldiers working for him, and that they're highly qualified, but let's be honest here, Miss Romanoff wasn't made an Avenger merely for her good looks. She possesses a skill set that puts most operatives to shame. If anything, I thought it would be safer and easier if I tried talking to her, friend to friend, before we called in the cavalry."
"And that's when she told you about the Red Room?"
"Sure is."
"Mr. Stark." Mcdonald starts to laugh, an irritating laugh that makes Tony want to punch an old man in the face. "Do you really expect us to believe that you two alone took out an entire spy agency?"
Tony frowns at the man.
"Councilman, considering I was the world's only superhero and kept things in check a couple of years ago, yeah, I'm pretty sure we had that."
Mcdonald glares at him, and Tony glares back.
"Then what of her assault of a foreign leader? King Tachalla of Wakanda. I suppose you condone her electrocuting a man who just lost his father as well?"
"Uh, I don't, actually, and by that, I mean I don't support it any more than I support King Tachalla carrying out a personal vendetta against James Barnes all because he thought he killed his father, which was a false claim, by the way. It was actually Zemo."
"The king was unaware of that at the time," Mcdonald says.
Tony arches an eyebrow.
"Is that supposed to absolve him somehow? You're saying it's okay for the King, but when Ms. Romanoff trashes a terrorists plans to wake up Hydra frankensteins, it's treason? At least she was in the interest of saving people, and not simply out for revenge. I feel for King Tchalla for losing his dad, I really do. As I'm sure a lot of you know, I lost my own parents to a tragic accident. Ms. Romanoff only did what she thought was right to protect people, because she's an Avenger first, and that's what we do. And she did it knowing it would be of extreme consequence to herself, unlike the king, who consistently uses his status to get himself out of trouble."
"You're a fine one to talk about using status to get out of things, Mr. Stark," Mcdonald replies. "If Ms. Romanoff was so concerned about Zemo, then she should have discussed it with this committeeafterhelping to bring in Barnes and Rogers. Then we could have decided the proper course of action and whether or not to send in the remaining Avengers. The whole point of the Accords is to avoid an international incident like this, and to enforce accountability. Since the Avengers like to do as they please, I find this nothing more than a shining example of that."
"I agree, councilman, except in the opposite way. I think it's a shining example of the areas where the Accords still need some work. Because can honestly say if we would have come to you with that information that you would have made a decision in enough time to stop Zemo? Or would you have written it off as a last attempt by two fugitives to gain leverage? We can't sit around and wait when the threat is that big. We're an elite team trained to react in an instant before the cup spills not after. So yeah, taking down an entire spy agency capable of overturning modern society with the click of a button, that's just another day at the office for us. I consider what Natasha did pretty heroic, and worthy of a pardon, possibly a medal, if you'd feel so inclined."
"I wouldn't, Mr. Stark. I'd actually feel so inclined to keep Ms. Romanoff locked away in her cell at the raft where she belongs, along with your other rogue teammates." Mcdonald fumes. "-who recently escaped, as I'm sure you know. Heroism has nothing to do with it. There are rules for a reason-"
"-okay, I think we've heard enough aboutthe rulesfor one day," Bernice Hayes, the leader of the council finally decides to step in, sparing them all another lecture about it. "If everyone could please step out, I believe we have more than enough testimony to make a decision regarding Ms. Romanoff's pardon. The committee will take a brief recess and reconvene shortly. Thank you."
The room stands, and Tony and Mcdonald continue to bore holes into each other until the councilman heads over to his buddy Ross, who is also glaring at them both. Tony leans into Natasha who has been sitting there quietly listening to the whole thing awaiting her fate.
"Think I won them over?" He asks.
She watches Mcdonald and Ross whispering to each other.
"You certainly won me over, but no, Tony, I think you just made us more enemies," she says.
Tony shrugs, glancing at Ross who smiles at him tightly.
"Whatever. I hate those guys," he says.
"He reminds me of Steve a little," Natasha muses.
"Exactly. Fucking self-righteous nut."
A couple of burly guards comes over to take her back into the back until the decision is made.
Tony greets them with the same dirty look he had when they dropped her off.
"You'll be out soon," he says.
"One way or the other," she replies.
"I promise it'll be out the front doors. This is just a formality at this point."
"I believe you Tony," she says, standing up, allowing herself to be drug off.
Tony grits his teeth seeing her be treated like this, but it'll be over soon.
He gets up and goes out into thehallway.
He hasn't told anybody this, but this whole thing has been stressing him out, as it should be.
He promised Natasha he was going to get her pardoned, and while he's confident he succeeded, there's still that lingering sliver of doubt that something could go wrong in the back of his mind.
He searches for Pepper and Rhodey, spotting them chatting off in the corner. He starts to make his way over until he notices something that makes the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. An abnormally attractive brunette stands at the bay of windows overlooking the city all alone. Something about her feels eerily familiar, even though she appears to be a total stranger. Tony decides to check it out, just to make sure some shit isn't about to go down.
"Nice view from up here, isn't it?" He asks the woman, tapping the corner of his Edith glasses to scan her.
"Quite," the woman responds, not looking at him, but Tony is already able to recognize her voice, and thanks to his glasses he can see through her disguise, bypassing the nano-tech in her mask.
"You're getting around good for someone with a busted hip, Ms…" He squints at Melina's fake press badge. "-Lane"He laughs out loud. "Let me guess, first name Lois? That's not suspicious at all. Never would have pegged you for a comic book fan."
"The Red Room forced us to become familiar with all types of American media, Mr. Stark," Melina says. "I found Christopher Reeve to be quite handsome."
"Hmm, more than Big Red?" He asks, smirking.
He glances up and down the hall, wondering where the big oaf is. "What are you doing here? And where are Supergirl and Clark Kent anyway?"
"They have their orders."
"Orders? You starting your own super-secret spy club now?"
Melina turns toward him.
"If you must know, I am beginning to fulfill a promise I made to protect my girls from now on," she says. "So, I hope you know what you are doing, otherwise I will have to intervene."
Tony scrunches up his face.
"Well, that's noble, but I think you are aittle late to the party. About 20 years to late, I'd say."
Melina doesn't answer, just continues to stare at him calmly, unperturbed by his remarks.
"Sorry you wasted your time, but Natasha's not getting locked up on my watch."
"She already has though, hasn't she? She's spent the last week at your Raft. So I find it odd that you are so arrogant for a man who currently holds none of the cards, except perhaps the ability to talk his way into sounding right," Melina replies.
"I am right." Tony glares at her. "Trust me. This is all just a show for them, but if you know all of that, then you must also know that I tried to get her house arrest."
Melina nods.
"Yes, I'm aware, but even the committee could not afford that kind of bad press with her status."
"They're a bunch of idiots," Tony says.
Melina actually smiles.
"I hope you won't be offended if stick around. Just in case."
He shrugs.
"This is a free country. You already wasted your time coming here, why not waste some more? It's go big or go home in America."
"So they say."
Her eyes flick to the people going back into the courtroom.
"Looks like you better go get my daughter, and just know, I will be watching from now on."
Tony looks at her oddly.
"Yeah, because that's not weird or anything."
He frowns and walks away to go back inside the hearing room.
An Hour Later
Natasha holds out her hands with a cheeky smile.
The two guards who accompanied her from the raft, and have thus been escorting her around all day, come over to unlock her specially made cuffs, which she found cute this past week, honestly. She could have gotten out of them anytime she wanted to, but she pretended so she could go along with this whole thing and get back to her life.
"Sorry boys, and here I was getting used to our little sparring sessions. Hope there's no hard feelings." She smirks.
The guard who put up the most fight all week, and actually gave her a challenge, frees her wrists while the other one who can't fight worth a shit and makes her wonder how he even got his job in the first place, glares at her from behind a pretty shiner she gifted him last night.
"Get the fuck out of here. Treasonous whore," he spits, nastily.
Natasha chuckles, so glad she smacked his ass in the eye last night.
"See ya around!"
She smiles brightly, walking out the door.
On the other side, she finds Rhodey and Tony there waiting for her.
"Well, there's the inmate," Tony says, grinning. "Drop the soap much?"
Natasha giggles happily, coming over to greet them, kissing them both on the cheek. She'd like to do much more than that to Tony, but it'll have to wait until tonight.
"I only had to keep them in line a few times," she says.
"Well, you did good, Red," Rhodey compliments her, engulfing her in a gentle hug.
Natasha hugs him back tightly.
"Thanks, Rhodey, but Tony helped - a little."
Rhodey laughs and Tony gives her a playful glare. She takes Rhodey's arm and they start towards the exit.
"Why don't we get out of here and get some lunch?" Tony suggests, smiling behind his obscenely expensive…well, everything. "I'm sure the food at the raft wasn't five-star."
Natasha wrinkles her nose, images of the runny yellow mush that resembled liquified sawdust filling her mind. Another one of Ross's ways of trying to get her back and to break her, but the jokes on him because it was going to take far worse than that.
"There's a nice Italian joint around the corner," Tony says, opening the front door, leading her down the courthouse steps. "I know the owner. I could persuade him to cook us up a private lunch, if you want."
Natasha considers his offer, but after all the things she's been through, all she really wants to do is go home.
"That sounds nice, Tony," she replies. "But do you guys mind if we just hit Burger King drive-through? I really want to shower."
Tony tilts his head at her suspiciously.
"Yeah, of course," he says. "You didn't get to shower before you came here?"
Shit.
"Yeah, but it's not the same. I just want to shower in my own shower," Natasha says. "And I'm tired."
Tony nods in understanding.
"Okay. Whatever you want. You know I'll never turn down a burger," he replies.
"Aww, you guys are so cute!" Rhodey makes fun of them. "I'm cool with Burger King to, by the way, if you guys were interested."
Natasha smiles.
"Of course we do, Rhodey," she says, only then noticing an unusual absence of the media frenzy she had expected to be out there, especially after such an explosive headline. Not that she's complaining, but she thinks this has to be Tony's doing to. She looks up at him for confirmation, but he just shrugs.
"It wasn't me," he says, reading her mind. "This was Pepper. Fighting the vultures is her favorite pastime, and one of the names on Dreykov's list was a chief mechanical engineer at the Singapore branch. Guess she thought she owed you one."
"Oh," Natasha bites her lip, not even sure what to say.
"That was nice of her," she says, while passing by Happy, who gives her his usual glare of suspicion.
"I guess I need to thank her then."
Tony climbs in behind her, followed by Rhodey, who sits on the opposite side facing them.
"Sure, but it's going to have to wait, I think. She had to fly somewhere to do... something." Tony frowns, trying to remember what Pepper just told him some twenty minutes ago.
"She's going to Tokyo to check on the R division." Rhodey rolls his eyes, settling into his seat.
"Yeah, that," Tony says, then glares at Rhodey's attitude. "I guess I was a little preoccupied with Natasha's trial."
"It was ten minutes ago, Tony."
"Whatever, sour patch."
Rhodey flips him off, and then Tony flips him off. Natasha laughs softly, already feeling right at home.
"Told you I'd get you out of the pen." Tony grabs her hand, lacing their fingers.
She smiles and leans up and gives him a proper kiss.
"I know," she says, caressing his cheek. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
They gaze at each other for a moment, and he kisses her again, much to Rhodey's dismay.
"Come on, dude. Can't you two wait until we get to the compound at least?" He frowns.
Natasha chuckles against Tony's lips, but he could care less and tries to deepen it anyway. Natasha has to pry her mouth from his, reluctantly, to avoid making Rhodey uncomfortable.
"I'm appalled at you Rhodey." Tony sighs and looks over at his friend. "She just got out of the joint - no conjugal visits. Have a heart."
"I do have a heart," Rhodey says. "I just remember the last time I ended up in a car with you two. I'm not looking for a repeat."
"I am. I'm still waiting to make the sex tape." Tony smirks.
Natasha arches an eyebrow.
"You're going to be waiting an awfully long time for that, Stark," she says.
"Maybe not." He waggles his eyebrows at her.
She smirks up at him, but in a way that tells him in no uncertain terms that's never going to happen.
"Babe, I was just kidding," Tony says, quickly backtracking.
"I bet."
He grins until the sound of a phone ringing pierces the back seat, followed by an angry, "Goddamn it!"
"Everything good up there, Hogan?"
"Perfect," Happy curses underneath his breath.
His face is so red Natasha swears his head might pop off.
"Where are we going again?"
"Burger King!" Tony puffs out his chest, bellowing in his best Thor voice. "My queen has returned, and she desires flame-broiled greatness!"
He bursts out laughing at himself, and Natasha and Rhodey smile.
"What?" Tony asks, because they are both just looking at him. "Whatever, you guys are lame," he says, rolling his eyes.
He leans in and presses another kiss to Natasha's lips, tucking her further into his side where she snuggles into him.
"So, seriously, did they treat you alright at the raft?" He asks.
"Yes, Tony," Natasha replies. "More or less."
"More or less? What the hell does that mean?" He frowns.
Natasha sighs seeing him getting angry.
"Would you calm down? It means it was a prison, Tony. You're stuck in a little cell. It was boring,"
"Nobody hurt you, did they?"
She gives him a flat look, and he laughs.
"Sorry."
She kisses his cheek.
"Nobody hurt me, I promise."
"Okay baby," he says, rubbing her arm. "Oh I almost forgot, your mom was there today."
Her and Rhodey both look up.
"I didn't know you had any family, Nat," Rhodey says, taken back.
"They're not really."
"They're a real blast. Especially her sister," Tony pipes in.
"You have a sister?!" Rhodey gawks.
Natasha sighs and glares at Tony.
"What? Is it a secret or something?"
"Well not anymore."
"…are the rest of us going to get to meet her?" Rhodey wonders, curiously.
"What rest of us? You mean Vision?"
Natasha turns Tony's face back to hers so he will focus.
"What did she want?" She asks, stroking his cheek.
"She wanted to make sure I was getting you out, otherwise she was going to break you out."
"Really?"
Natasha smiles thinking about Melina.
"Yeah."
Tony takes a piece of paper out of his breast pocket and holds it in front of her.
"She also asked me to give you this, and by asked, I mean I have no idea how she slipped it into my pocket without me noticing. I found it while I was looking for tic tacs."
Natasha looks down at the note in his hand before slowly taking it.
"Did you read it?"
"I started to, but then when I realized what it was and I stopped."
Natasha nods, stuffing it into her jacket pocket.
"Was it just her there?"
"I don't know." Tony shrugs. "I asked her where Tweedledee and Tweedledum were, but she kept dodging my questions."
Natasha leans against him, thinking.
"Tired?" Tony asks, after seeing her yawn.
"A little bit," she says.
"Take a nap then."
"I'll wait till we get home."
Natasha doesn't end up waiting though. The exhaustion takes a hold of her between the warmth of his body and the giant weight lifted off her shoulders of no longer being a fugitive. She falls asleep against him, but only for fifteen minutes until Happy's road rage come to life inside Burger King parking lot.
"Yeah, fuck you to buddy!" He beeps the horn as somebody cuts him off.
She opens her eyes and looks up to find Tony smiling down at her apologetically.
"You want a cheeseburger or something?"
"Whatever you want is fine," she says, wincing a bit when she moves and irritates her rib.
She should have gotten a medical workup at the Raft too, but Ross really wanted to stick it to her, and let's face it, she wouldn't have seen the doctor anyway even if she was on her own. Good thing she has a full bottle of vodka back in her room at home waiting for her, unless Tony decided to go on a bender one night while she was gone and drink it all, but he's more of a scotch man.
A few minutes go by until they get their food. Once the bags get passed to the back, Tony places one of them in her lap, letting her pick what she wants first.
"Your food, m'lady," he says.
Natasha reaches inside, pulling out a french fry and feeding it to him. He eats it right out of her fingers, making her smirk when his goatee tickles her skin. He grins and licks the salt clean from them as well, spurring a tingly sensation between her legs, reminding her it's been to long for that to, and that she plans on jumping him later, injuries be damned.
Natasha gets a cheeseburger out of the bag and hands it to him, grabbing one for herself as well. The rest of the car ride is spent munching on Burger King and listening to Tony and Rhodey argue about anything and everything like two siblings who are sick of each other. By the time they pull up to the facility, she has drifted off again, and Tony has to wake her up. She waits for him to get out of the car first, taking the hand he offers as leverage, grimacing as her rib stabs with pain from twisting out of the car. She pants a little, but she's alright. Her and Tony are about to go inside but then Happy starts calling for Tony from behind them, looking stressed, even though she can't think of a time he doesn't look stressed.
"I'll be up in a minute, go ahead babe," he says.
She nods and goes in with Rhodey. Friday greets her as soon as she passes through the door.
"Welcome, back. Ms. Romanoff," the AI says, happily.
"Thanks, Friday." Natasha smirks.
She isn't sure why, but her and this AI have always hit it off. Sometimes she'll listen to her and not Tony and it bothers him because he can't figure out why that's happening. She'll have to pick Friday's digital brain for information about what happened while she was gone, but for now, it's straight to the shower.
"See you later, Red," Rhodey bids her farewell, disappearing off towards the gym to do some therapy.
Natasha kisses his cheek, and then heads to the elevator, unable to shake off the sense of emptiness she feels already, from the rest of the team not being there. The place used to be buzzing, with Sam and Steve always horsing around, and Wanda playing her instruments. Now it just feels abandoned. Memories of her last night begin to play back to. How Tony pissed her off, and how she up and left. She really shouldn't have done that, or gotten so angry, looking back, but emotions were already running high, like Tony said, because of Rhodey's accident. She's thought a lot about how it might've been if she'd stayed while she was gone. She probably would have gotten locked up for a time along with the rest of them. Tony probably could've gotten her out sooner, or maybe she would've gotten house arrest - who knows. But then again, if she hadn't ran, then she may have never gotten the chance to take down Dreykov, or reconnect with her family, so maybe it worked out for the best.
She gets to her room and proceeds straight to the bathroom, turning on the water to the shower and letting it get hot. She peels her clothes off in front of the mirror so she can take stock of herself. Ross wouldn't let her shower at the raft either, despite what she told Tony. She had to get creative on ways to get clean, and couldn't see the extent of her body, or how it has apparently become a giant paint by numbers until now.
Black, purple, and yellow bruises cover her from head to toe. She frowns as her rib stands out the most, showcased by a large burgundy welt running the length of her side. She sighs and grabs her brush to fluff the tangles from her hair, shaking her head at the bags under her eyes to, but probably nothing a good nights sleep can't fix.
She steps into the shower after that and stands under the hot spray, letting it melt the last three months away.
God how she missed this.
Out of all the things in her room she loves her shower the most, because the showerhead is a waterfall, with 7 different settings Tony installed after she mentioned it one time, and it comes with an endless supply of hot water, thanks to some other arc powered heating coils he added. She's pretty sure his enthusiasm for the project stemmed in the hopes that she would would be up for more shower sex, but that's a small price to pay for this type of luxury.
"Damn, babe. You look like a living breathing Picasso," Tony jokes, opening the door to the shower naked, letting out all the hot air.
Natasha glares at him.
"Shut the fucking door, will you?" She sighs.
Tony laughs, but hurriedly does as she says.
"Oops. Sorry," he apologizes, sauntering over to her.
Natasha rolls her eyes, wincing reaching up and running her fingers through her wet hair.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes, after a minute, not meaning to snap at him. She is just tired and sore and cranky right now.
Tony doesn't seem to mind though. He just chuckles and grabs her body wash from the corner, pouring some into his hand.
"Don't worry about it. I can see why you're grouchy. Does it hurt?" He asks.
"I don't know, does it look like it hurts?" She snarks at him again.
He smiles.
"Very. You also look absolutely exhausted."
"Thanks."
Natasha frowns as he moves behind her, tracing over the wound where the grappling hook pierced her shoulder.
"You're still sexy as hell though," he assures her, rubbing soap over the wound, along with the rest of her back. "Even though you're all beat up."
"Thanks, that's just what I was worried about, Tony. What did you have to take care of?" She looks back at him.
"Oh nothing, just Happy bitching about a new assignment I put him on." He coasts his hand over her bad rib. "How bad does this hurt?"
"Not that bad," she lies.
"Why are you lying to me?"
Natasha turns and slides her arms around his neck, leaning up and pressing her lips to his so he can't ask anymore questions.
"Thank you," she says.
"What are you thanking me?"
"For coming all the way to Russia to help me, and for getting me pardoned."
"Oh. All in a days work." He caresses the small of her back.
"I know, but you didn't have to do that, and I wasn't exactly nice to you at first."
"That's okay, I kind of deserved it. I'm sorry I hurt you enough you didn't want to talk to me," he replies.
"It's okay. It was a stressful time, like you said."
"Yeah, but I don't want to hurt you, Natasha. You mean a lot to me," Tony replies, pressing another kiss to her lips.
Natasha smiles and grips the back of his hair, pressing her body up against his. She places a bunch of tiny kisses on his bottom lip and jaw, coasting her lips down his throat and licking softly over his adam's apple.
"Babe," Tony says.
"Hmm?"
"Can you turn around now so I can wash you? Or are you planning to keep distracting me?"
Natasha frowns up at him, and he arches an eyebrow. She sighs and lets her arms slip from his neck, doing as he asks.
"Fine."
"Thank you." Tony grins. "I want to enjoy one of the few times you're letting me take care of you." He starts to wash her hair.
Natasha leans back against him as he winds his fingers through her red locks, lathering all the soap up in it until its a big ball of suds, scraping his nails all over her scalp, giving it a little massage. She lets out a quiet moan and closes her eyes.
"See? Remember this next time you want to tell me you can do it yourself," he says, going on to wash every part of her.
Natasha doesn't say much while he does this, mostly because its very hard for her to be vulnerable and let someone do things for her, but she tries for him, even though it feels like she's breaking some rule, no doubt due to the life she's lived - one of isolation. But she's getting better at it - not perfect - but better.
Once he finishes with her hair, Tony kneels down and lifts each of her feet up onto his bent knee and scrubs them and between all her toes.
"Are they that dirty?" She finally asks, in amusement.
"No, but I might want to suck on them later," he replies.
She lets out a giggle.
"I didn't know you had a foot fetish to." She strokes his hair, spiking it up.
"I don't." Tony grins, playing with her toes. "They're just that adorable."
Natasha shakes her head, beckoning him back up. Tony stands and looks down at her before wrapping her up in his arms.
"Well, at least you don't smell anymore," he teases.
"Fuck you," she says, hugging him tighter, smiling.
He laughs and rests his chin on top of her head.
"I missed you, baby," he says.
"I missed you to," Natasha replies.
"Okay, so be honest then. How much pain are you in? Your rib looks bad. I can get one of the Dr's to give you the good stuff," Tony offers.
"I've got a full bottle of vodka, that is the good stuff," Natasha mumbles.
He sighs disapprovingly.
"Seriously?"
"What?"
Natasha rubs his chest.
"Tony, just don't. Not tonight. Please," she asks, because she knows he's going to tell her that she drinks to much, and she already knows this.
She feels him sigh again, but this time he doesn't say anything.
After a few minutes, his hand slides down to her ass and squeezes it.
"I love you." He gazes down at her.
"I love you to." Natasha's heart flutters at his words - pretty much every time he says it. He's the only one who's ever said it to her.
"Do you want to get out and watch a movie with me?" She asks, hopefully.
"Anything you want," Tony says, with a smile.
She rinses herself once more before shutting off the water after that, and they get out. Natasha even lets him dry her off to, before they go back into her room.
She heads to her closet to get dressed, expecting Tony to follow, forgetting he has to go all the way back to his room to get his stuff.
"Tony?" She calls after him, standing in her fluffy grey towel in front of the closet.
"What's wrong?" Tony stops and turns back, looking her up and down as if she might spontaneously combust. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." She chuckles slightly at his panic. "Where are you going?"
"Uh, to get dressed?"
"Oh, right."
Natasha creases her brow.
"You know, you could probably bring your stuff and keep it in here, if you want, that way you don't always have to go back to your room all the time," she tells him.
Tony stares at her in response.
"Uh...or not." Natasha chuckles.
"I do, actually," he says. "I'm just kind of surprised to hear you ask."
"Why's that?"
Because they've been having this relationship for quite some time now, not without a few bumps in the road, but still.
Tony shrugs, looking around the room hesitantly.
"I just know you like your space," he says.
She snorts, frowning at him.
"Well, I like you in my space to," she replies.
"Enough to want me in here permanently?"
"I don't think I would have asked if not. We've been sleeping in each others rooms anyway. It'd probably be easier if we were in the same room," she says.
He nods, as if he is considering it.
"So, just to be clear, you're asking me to move in with you?"
"Kind of sounds like it."
Tony smirks.
"Then I'd love to."
"Okay."
Natasha smiles at him, then moves to go into her closet.
"As long as you're sure though." Tony says one more time, making her stop.
"I just said I was." She turns around.
"Okay then."
He smiles back at her before going out the door.
Natasha enters her closet, feeling happy, but she's also wondering why he seems so hesitant about it.
But oh well.
She strips off her towel and slides on some red panties and an oversized Star Wars t-shirt that goes down to her knees. She's in the middle of looking for a pair of socks when Tony shows back up in the doorway, still in his towel, only looking tense now.
"So…what made you want to ask me to move in?" He asks.
Natasha pulls out a matching pair of red socks and sits down on the small bench to put them on.
"Like I said, I just thought it'd be easier," she says.
"Oh, so you thought about it first, or it just came to you, or…?"
"I was thinking about it before I left, why?" She looks up at him.
"Just wondering."
She sighs.
"Tony, if you're having second thoughts already-"
"I'm not."
"Then why are you acting so weird about it?" She asks.
"I'm not…I just want to make sure it's what you really want," he says.
"Well, I already said I do numerous times now. Anyway, do I seem like someone who doesn't know what they want?" She looks up at him.
He grimaces.
"Sometimes?"
Natasha stands up, staring at him curiously.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Tony opens his mouth, but then he shuts it.
"Nothing," he says, shaking his head.
Natasha tilts her head at him.
"What were you going to say?" She asks.
"Nothing."
She studies him for a minute before rolling her eyes and brushing past him.
"Look, you don't have to if you don't want to," she says, going back into the bathroom so she can comb her hair.
"I didn't say that. I want to." Tony follows her.
"Then what is the problem? Why are you asking me all these questions?" She grabs her comb and starts running it through her hair.
Tony stares at the floor while.
When he doesn't answer again, she tosses her brush back onto the vanity.
"Just forget it," she says.
"Why?"
She scoffs.
"Tony, you're always harping on me about letting you into my life more, now I'm doing it and you're making it difficult, why?"
"Well, I'm just a little worried, that's all."
"About what?" Natasha asks in frustration, almost wishing she didn't ask him at all now. "What's there to worry about? You either want to or you don't. It's that simple."
She slides past him again and goes to the shelf where she keeps her liquor and grabs her vodka bottle for a much-needed drink.
"Well, I guess I just don't want to move in and then have to move back out in two days," he finally says. "That's why."
Natasha takes a drink of her vodka, glaring at the wall since she has her back to him.
"And why would you have to do that?" She asks.
"Because...you kind of have a chronic history of getting close to me and then pulling away, Natasha," Tony says.
Natasha narrows her eyes, wondering if he is serious.
"You've got to be kidding me," she says, whipping around.
"What? It's true." Tony frowns.
Natasha just gapes at him in disbelief, wondering how he can have the balls to say that after what he's done to her over the years.
"You know what, nevermind," she says, getting angry now, taking her bottle and glass to the bed, getting in.
So much for the nice night she thought they were going to have.
"Are you sure you want to be drinking all that?" Tony stares at her bottle.
Natasha turns on the tv.
"Are you sure you want to keep asking me questions like that?" She asks back, because she's pissed now.
"Why are you getting so angry?" Tony frowns.
"Because! You don't make any sense!" She exclaims. "And stop projecting your shit onto me to."
Tony screws up his face. "Projecting? What the hell are you talking about?" He glares back.
"Nothing. Forget it."
She goes back to flipping channels, and he keeps staring at her.
"Natasha," Tony says, trying to get her attention. "What do you mean?"
Natasha doesn't say anything.
He sighs and glares at her.
"So you're just going to ignore me now?"
"Yep,"
"Fine." Tony scowls and turns around, heading for the door. "Fucking typical," he says, lightly slamming it behind him.
Natasha purses her lips after he's gone, leaning back against the headboard, her rib aching like hell.
She seriously can't believe the nerve of that fucking man.
As if she's the one who kept running back to their ex five hundred times.
Everytime she thought they were getting somewhere, she would come back from a mission he he'd be right back in Pepper's arms, but sure, yeah, it's her fault.
"Asshole," she mutters.
She fills her glass back up and gets comfortable, just fine with spending the rest of the evening without him.
Two Hours Later
The credits roll to the movie she's been watching and Natasha pours herself another shot of vodka.
She quite tipsy now, and Tony has yet to return, but she doesn't care.
She's still pissed at him, and imagines he probably ran down to his lab to sulk.
"Friday, where is Tony?" She finally decides to ask the AI out of curiosity. "I know he's still not trimming his beard."
"Boss is currently on the phone talking to Ms. Potts, Ms. Romanoff," Friday answers, with a bit of hesitance.
Natasha pauses, and then laughs her ass off.
"Well, I kind of figured that." She sips her vodka, picking at her blanket as her blood gradually starts to boil.
She's going to kill him.
She came back just to commit homicide, apparently.
"Uh, yes ma'am. Should I let him know you are still waiting for him?" Friday asks.
"No. Let's not interrupt them," Natasha says, staring at the screen.
Sitting there, Natasha just feels numb.
She's really not trying to jump to conclusions, since she knows Pepper is still in charge of his company, and that they are still friends, but she finds the timing of this phone call a little curious."
"How long has he been on the phone with her?" She asks Friday again.
"…about an hour, ma'am."
"Wonderful."
Natasha finds another movie to watch, not even caring if he does come back at this point. Another hour passes. She's about to go to sleep since it's going on nine pm, but then Tony finally opens the door.
Natasha doesn't let her anger show, even though it's bubbling there, right beneath the skin. Instead, she watches him strip off his shirt and climb into bed with only his red Iron Man pajama pants on.
"Hey," he says.
"Hey." She blinks.
"Sorry I took so long."
"Oh, well, it was only three hours, it's fine."
Tony stops fluffing his pillow and looks at her.
"You okay?"
"Just peachy."
"Peachy?"
"Yep."
Tony looks at her some more and then sighs.
"What is it?"
"Nothing," she says. "What took you so long?"
He frowns at her.
"Pepper just called to remind me of a bunch of meetings I'm supposed to attend this week while she's gone."
Natasha continues staring at him.
"And that takes three hours?"
"It wasn't three hours. She was giving me updates on a bunch of stuff," he says.
"Three hours worth of stuff. Like what?" Natasha asks, curious what he's about to come up with.
Tony shrugs.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I wasn't really listening."
"Mm."
She laughs a little and takes another drink of her vodka, making him stare at her warily.
"Are you drunk?" He asks.
"A little bit."
"Why'd you drink so much?" He asks.
"Why were you talking to your ex for three hours?" She asks back.
Tony sighs.
"It was business, nothing else."
"I'm sure."
"What? You think I'm cheating on you?" He laughs. "You just got back."
"Never stopped you from going back to her before."
"What is your problem?" Tony glares. "You know have to talk to her about SI stuff."
"Yeah, I know, but this is how this always starts, isn't it? You tell me you want to be with me and then the next day you go right back to her?"
"When did I ever do that?" Tony frowns.
"Um, everytime?" Natasha scowls.
Tony presses his lips.
"If you mean the times we tried to be together and you disappeared, then yeah, I did."
"When did I disappear?"
"Um, everytime?" He mimics her back.
She glares at him severely.
"You mean the times that I left to go on missions?" She asks.
"Missions?" Tony furrows his brow.
"Yeah. Where the fuck did you think I went?"
"I had no idea."
"So you didn't think to find out? To ask someone? You just figured well hey, she's gone. Let me get back with Pepper."
Tony stares at her flatly.
"Yes, actually."
"Jesus christ." Natasha shakes her head.
"Not like that, but yeah, I figured you didn't want me or you were using me and so yeah, I moved on."
"Back to the same person."
He shrugs, before glaring as well.
"Are you trying to tell me something different?"
Natasha snorts.
"Yeah, you fucking idiot. You really thought I just left all those times? Wait, nevermind, of course you did because you always think the worst of me."
Tony frowns.
"If you were leaving on a mission then why did you just say that, Natasha?"
"I didn't think I had to."
"Then how the fuck was I supposed to know?"
"How was I supposed to know you'd keep running back to her. Jesus, Tony. Did you need someone that bad?"
Tony narrows his eyes at her.
"You left. No note. No phone call. No text. No nothing. And we aren't talking a few days, Natasha, you were gone for months at a time!"
"I was on a mission! Sometimes it takes awhile because I have to go in and develop a back story."
"Okay, well you could have let me know that. What the hell is wrong with you?" He sighs, angrily.
"Yeah, it's all my fault, as usual," Natasha replies.
"Well, you realize this means we could have been together all this time if you would have just said something."
"How is that?"
"Because, I only went back to Pepper because I thought you didn't want me."
"That's awful."
"Well, it's true."
"Wow."
Natasha stares off in thought, shaking her head.
"You're so frustrating," she says.
"Likewise, honey." Tony glares.
Natasha wipes her eyes as tears form in them.
"Well, that's just great," she says, swallowing hard.
Tony looks over at her and sighs, squirming closer and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
"Apparently we suck at communication," he says.
Natasha sniffs.
"Apparently."
Tony sighs.
"Why didn't you say anything when you came back from your missions?"
"Why didn't you wait?"
"I don't know. I thought you were playing me," he says, truthfully.
She chuckles sadly.
"That's what you think of me, isn't it? That's why you don't want to move in here with me."
"No, actually I was cautious because of this, but now I know the truth."
Natasha refills her glass of vodka.
"Will you slow down on that?"
"Don't tell me what to do," she says, taking a small gulp.
He huffs.
"All this time," she says.
He nods grimly.
"Wait, so does that mean you've always wanted me?" He asks.
"What the hell do you think?" She glares at him.
He smirks.
"I knew it."
"If you did this wouldn't have happened."
"I couldn't prove it for sure."
"Why did you never ask me about why I left?"
"I was hurt. Plus, I didn't figure you talk about it anyway."
"So that's it? We're both cowards?" She frowns.
"I guess so."
"Fine."
"At least we know now."
"Yeah, after how many wasted years?" Natasha asks.
"We still have plenty left - give me that." He takes her vodka, downing the rest himself.
"You know I've killed people for less."
"Well, you won't kill me."
"Why?"
"Because you love me, apparently." He grins.
She smirks, amused.
"And you think that will stop me?"
"I do."
"Then you really are crazy."
Tony smiles and looks at her, making her smile back. He pulls her closer and plants a kiss on her lips.
"I'm sorry I was gone so long."
She lifts her hand and caresses his cheek.
"I'm sorry you did to. The movie I watched was really good."
He gives her a flat stare. She smiles and curls against his chest, slowly sliding her leg over his lap to straddle it.
"You're injured," Tony says, as she pushes him back.
Natasha coasts her fingers over his abs and up his chest. "Not that injured."
He sighs and his hands find her hips as she rolls them against him.
"Well, you look that injured."
Natasha frowns.
"You're really not going to make love to me on my first night back?"
Tony looks up at her.
"I want to - just...are you sure that's a good idea? What about you're rib?"
Natasha leans over, licking wetly up his chest and the side of his neck, biting his ear.
"I guess you'll have to be gentle," she murmurs, biting his bottom lip, looking into his eyes.
"I can do that," Tony says, flipping her onto her back.
Natasha grins as he hovers over her. She reaches between them and brushes her fingers up his stomach and chest, sliding her hands over his shoulders and pulling him down. Tony captures her lips in a slow and passionate kiss. She cups the back of his head, opening her mouth for his tongue while bringing her legs up on either side of his hips. Tony rocks his hips into hers. They both moan at the friction. Natasha's hands are all over him after that, desperate. When Tony feels her toes hook into his sweatpants and start sliding them down, he chuckles.
"Babe, this isn't going to last long at this rate," he says, his head falling to her shoulder as she strokes his now free erection.
"Come on, Iron man, you wouldn't keep a lady waiting would you?"
He laughs into her neck. She smiles and kisses the side of his face.
Tony rubs his hand roughly along the back of her bare leg, slipping his finger in the band of her panties and sliding them down.
Natasha brings her legs up so he can get them off, then locks them behind his back again.
"I love you," she whispers next to his ear.
"I love you to, but I don't want to if it's going to hurt you," Tony says.
Natasha snorts, smiling up at him.
"You aren't going to, baby. It's my rib, not my vagina, now come here." She leans up and kisses his lips while rubbing the tip of him against her, letting him feel how wet she is already.
Tony groans and his eyes close
"Why are you so wet already?" He asks her.
"Because I want you, and it's been awhile."
"No shit." He shudders, as she glides him into her and he instinctively pushes forward, until he's fully gloved.
"Jesus." Tony hisses at how hot she is.
Natasha winces at him stretching her, but she's also throbbing, waiting for him to move.
Her hands roam his body, petting every inch of skin. They kiss while he begins to thrust into her, and her toes curl where her feet are rested against his ass.
"My god," Tony snaps his hips faster, overcome with pleasure from how good she feels.
Natasha flinches a bit from pain spreading out over her rib the faster he goes, but thankfully, the wonderful rise of heat in her belly overpowers it.
"Are you okay?" Tony asks.
"Are you?"
He smiles and slows a bit, brushing kisses to her jaw and along her cheek.
"Is your rib hurting?"
"I'm going to hurt you if you ask me again."
Tony pouts, rubbing his cheek against hers while opting for deeper, slower rolls of the hips.
Natasha slides her arm around his back, brushing her fingertips up and down along his shoulder blades and spine. She rests her cheek against the side of his head and nuzzles his hair next to her face.
"Go faster," she says.
"What's your rush?" He replies.
She bites his ear and he shivers.
"I'm the one doing all the work here," he teases.
Natasha grins.
"I'm injured."
"Exactly."
He does speed up though, to a pace that doesn't jostle her rib too much. Natasha sinks her teeth into his shoulder, gripping him tightly as her orgasm rolls through her. Tony's thrusts turn erratic as he pants and ends up going over the edge to. He buries his face in her neck and moans at the intensity.
"Not bad, Stark," Natasha tells him, when she can function again.
Tony gives her a sweaty smile and kisses her cheek before rolling onto his back.
The next morning, Natasha wakes up with a slight headache and an empty bed.
She slides her hand up and down the empty space beside her, frowning as she opens her eyes to find Tony gone.
Her hand hits a square shaped object though, which turns out to be a phone. She picks it up and a video starts playing.
"Aww, look how peaceful you look."
Natasha narrows her eyes.
"Definitely not the one-eye open sleeper you think you are,"Tony chuckles in the video, zooming in to get a close up of her face, before turning the camera on himself.
"I know you'll deny it, but there were light snores during the night. Friday says they definitely didn't come from me."
She frowns as he glares at something off camera.
"Dummy! Shhh! I swear to god, if you break anything, I'll downgrade your motor to an RC car!"He whispers harshly. "If they put anything anywhere you don't want it just tell them to move it,"he says, making her knit her eyebrows. "Or better yet, you might want to do it yourself."
He cringes as something else falls and bangs against the floor.
"Sorry I won't be here when you wake up, but I had a meeting about some real estate. I would've loved a repeat of last night, which was amazing. I'll be back this evening though. Love you."He smiles into the phone and kisses the camera. making her heart do a little thing.
The phone switches to the news after that, and she sets it aside, smiling to herself. She's about to get up and pull on her clothes from last night, when a metal claw suddenly appears in her vision, startling her.
She turns around to find Dummy there. The little robot hovers above her bed, twisting his claw in a curiosity. Meanwhile, Butterfingers comes rolling in out of nowhere a little too fast and slams into her bookshelf, knocking some of her knickknacks onto the floor, and busting the glass figurines into pieces.
He looks down at the broken items and then at her and slowly rolls back.
Natasha sighs.
"Tony, I'm going to kill you," she says.