Natalie made her way through the city with a lightness in her step that had been missing for the entire day, the train rumble and traffic noise barely registering as she clutched the basket tighter to her side and smiled. The closer she got to Harlem, the harder it was to keep from bouncing on her toes. She'd missed him—more than she wanted to admit—and the idea of seeing him again, of hearing his voice, lit up something in her chest she hadn't let herself feel since the last time they kissed.
'Pull yourself together.'
Something snapped inside her, but she brushed it off and continued almost skipping down the street, nothing could dampen her mood now.
Fifth Avenue was still rough. The wreckage had been pushed back but not cleared out entirely. Twisted metal framed the edges of crumbling storefronts, and construction barriers cut off whole blocks. But there were people, moving through the mess, working together, sweating under the sun as they brought the street back piece by piece. She walked past a couple older women setting up a water station. One of them turned, did a double take, and broke into a grin.
"Natalie! Girl, we haven't seen you in weeks. You finally come to drag your man home?"
Natalie laughed and walked up, giving a quick hug. "Something like that. You've seen Mark?"
"He's just over by the clinic. Talking about bricks and beams and city nonsense."
"Thank you," she said, already moving, her smile widening as her pace picked up.
She saw him before he saw her.
Mark was standing near what remained of the old clinic, his arms folded and brow furrowed, his hoodie sleeves pushed up to the elbows. He was talking to Luke and another man she didn't recognize, he was tall, salt-and-pepper beard, tanned skin, dusty clothes.
"I'm telling you, if we reinforce the east wall and redistribute the load using the steel supports from the collapsed diner, the building won't have to come down," Mark said.
Luke was nodding, arms crossed as he listened, and the other man was already sketching something in a notepad, humming in agreement. "If we want to do it like that," Anton said, "we can. It's unconventional, but it's sound." They were explaining it to a group of city contractors when they all stopped mid-conversation, hearing the sudden rhythm of footsteps approaching fast.
Mark turned.
"Natalie?"
She was already running.
She didn't stop, didn't slow down. She jumped into his arms like she'd been waiting for this moment for weeks. Mark caught her easily, laughing as he spun her in a quick circle before hugging her tightly against him.
"I missed you," she said into his shoulder.
"I missed you too," he said softly. He set her down but didn't let her go. "Wait, what are you doing here? I thought you had work."
"I took off early," she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Wanted to come see you."
Luke let out a warm chuckle behind them. "Well, sounds like a good time for a break. Let's call it lunch."
"Yeah," Mark said, nodding. "Good idea."
Natalie wasted no time dragging him away from the crowd. She led him behind a still-standing wall and down a narrow side path to a quiet corner of what used to be a backyard, overgrown now but shaded and tucked away. She set the basket down carefully, then turned, climbed onto his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck before hugging him again, much tighter this time. Her lips met his, soft at first, then firmer as her fingers threaded through his hair.
When she pulled back, she stayed close, her forehead resting against his.
"You okay?" Mark asked, tilting his head. "You're a little more clingy than usual."
Natalie let out a breath and laughed, but it sounded too much like a release. "It just feels like a long time since I saw you."
He didn't push. He just smiled and let her shift off his lap and sit beside him as she opened the basket and started pulling out food.
"I brought sandwiches, water, fruit... the fancy kind too."
Mark leaned back and smiled. "You're spoiling me."
"You've earned it," she said, unwrapping one of the sandwiches and handing it to him. "Now... tell me about your day."
"I want to hear about yours first," he said, nudging her knee with his.
She waved him off. "Mine was boring. Paperwork and fake smiles and husbands looking at my ass for way too long. Come on, tell me about this place."
Mark took a bite, chewed, and nodded as he looked out toward the work crews. "Cleanup's going faster than I thought. That whole block over there's gonna be cleared by next week. If the clinic plan works, people can start moving back in by next month."
"That's incredible," Natalie said as she looked up at him with her dazzling green eyes.
They ate together quietly for a few minutes, the shade keeping them cool while the rest of the street laughed and joked around, enjoying their lunches. Natalie kept glancing at him, she had been trained to detect even the most minute twitched in someone's face; yet even a child could recognise when something was bothering Mark. It's one of the things that she loved about him.
She set her sandwich down. "What's wrong?"
Mark looked at her for a second, then smiled, but it was a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I've got to tell you something," he said. "I've been holding off, but I don't want to anymore. I'm happy with you, Natalie. Really happy. And if this is going to be something real, I can't keep pretending there's nothing I'm hiding."
Her heart started racing. She blinked and felt her breath catch. She knew what he was going to say he was going to tell her about his powers. She tried to keep herself under control but she was struggling. He was choosing to tell her. Something he had only told to his closest friend, and that was only after he had no choice. But right now he was choosing to tell her he was choosing her.
Mark's eyes narrowed. "You okay? You look flushed."
"I'm fine," she said quickly, brushing hair from her face. "What do you want to tell me?"she said after quickly composing herself. It was embarrassing that agent such as herself lost composure like that.
He opened his mouth.
Then the ground shook.
A deep, booming shockwave rolled over the neighborhood, followed by a shattering crack of sound. The air ripped open with noise and dust as an explosion erupted several blocks away.
Mark shot to his feet.
Natalie's eyes were wide, her mouth open, the rest of the sentence stuck in her throat. People were already screaming in the distance. Sirens started almost immediately. Mark's body shifted, scanning the skyline; he looked different from how he usually did, much more serious.
"Natalie, can you go help gather the children, the busses should still be here, so you need to get them on them and get them out of here," Mark said with an uncharacteristically calm expression.
She nodded as he spoke, lips pressed tight, already turning to move. But something inside her ached. She'd wanted to hear what Mark had to say so badly, but now wasn't the time. "What are you going to do?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
Mark's eyes flicked back to her, and for just a moment the serious expression faltered. "That blast wasn't far. I'm going to find out what happened. See if anyone needs help." Then he was gone, taking off at a speed that left nothing but kicked-up dust in his place, no more time for goodbyes or explanations.
Natalie stood there for half a second, her chest feeling tight, she then pushed that down and snapped back into motion. She reached into her bag and pulled out a thin black device no bigger than a car key. Her thumb flicked open a hidden switch. "Agent Romanoff," she said into the comm. "Do we have anything on the explosion in Harlem just now?"
There was a pause.
"Hold on," came the reply from a voice she recognized as one of the operators at the New York field hub. "We're pulling feeds now. Standby..."
Natalie clenched her jaw. Her eyes flicked around the street. People were scattering. Others were frozen. Emergency workers were already shouting, trying to get control.
"Agent Romanoff," the voice came back. "Confirmed detonation. Likely VBIED. Source appears to be the Marriott. Current working theory is a terror attack."
"Shit," she muttered, already pulling off her blazer with one hand. "How bad?"
"Pretty bad," the operator answered. "Blast radius took out the front third of the building. Secondary fires reported. Civilians trapped in multiple locations."
"The Marriott?" she asked again, confused, even as she kicked off her heels and dropped them beside the basket.
"That's the intel. No group has claimed it yet. But there was a scientific convention scheduled there today—some defense contractors, biotech firms, academic people. We don't know if that's connected."
Natalie hissed through her teeth. "Can you get people down here?"
"We've got a QRF mobilizing now," the operator said, voice tighter than before. "But they're at least twenty minutes out. You're first on site. We'll keep you updated as we get more."
"Copy that," she said. "I'm going in."
She ended the communication, tucked the device back into her pocket, and pulled her hair back into a tight, low tie. Not today. She rolled her sleeves, crouched to remove the last of her civilian disguise, and stood barefoot in the dirt before grabbing one of the rubberized bags she kept hidden beneath the false bottom of the basket.
Inside was a small pistol, a blade, and a pair of reinforced gloves.
Natalie Roma was now gone.
The Black Widow was back on duty.
(AN: Short chapters are kinda shit tbh. But they seem to be really popular on here for some reason. Probably cause you can post them pretty frequently, like I'm doing right now. Idk I still don't like doing it. I'm only doing it with this cause I've already written everything and I'm just breaking it down. Want to read the full story have a look at the ol Patreon.)
Patreon.com/captainalfie78works