Summary:Natasha just wanted to go on a date with Skye, but of course the world had to saved first. Geniuses with anger issues, brainwashed best friends and gods and aliens somehow all had to happen at the same moment. It's hard, but at least Skye is still there for her.
or, Natasha and Skye during the Avengers, where Natasha is trying to hold herself together and Skye is the best girlfriend (they're girlfriends, right?!) ever
TW: panic attack, slight mentions of injuries and blood,
Notes:Yeah so, uni still kicks ass and still I wrote this in two days cause the inspiration I could use for my essay went to this beauty. I'm quite happy with how this one turns out :)
If you expect certain conversations to go like how they go in the movie, then dont. Due to both legal reasons and me being too lazy too write every convo like the movies I made stuff up. The general message is the same, so yeah.
Anyways, enjoy all this, I hope you like it!
(See the end of the work for more notes.)
Work Text:Barton's been compromised.
The sentence ran through Natasha's head, over and over again. Clint was compromised. That was all the information she got. And then they send her to fucking India, to get the big guy. Clint was compromised, and she wasn't there.
She was rudely interrupted from her thoughts up as her target entered the room. "Hello, Dr Banner," she said in an emotionless voice.
The man took a step back, all his senses on high alert. She raised her hands, a clear sign of her not wanting to harm him. He didn't buy it, and honestly, she couldn't blame him.
"Are you SHIELD? What are you doing here? I want nothing to do with you," he said, while backing up further. She stayed where she was with her hands raised, but she did raise an eyebrow at him. "Doctor, I am not here to hurt you or force you to do anything you don't want to do, but I do feel obligated to tell you that the snipers surrounding the house don't necessarily share that sentiment. Although they would sedate you, not kill you," she added.
The doctor's eyes flashed green for a moment. "What do you want then?"
She moved one hand to the file that was lying on the table behind her and tossed it to him. He caught it, barely taking his eyes off her to look at the classified stamp on it. She nodded to the file. "This is a program, called the Avenger Initiative. Something about the greatest heroes on earth standing together to save the world from the real big threats. And one of those threats is coming," she explained. "We need you, Dr Banner."
"You need the other guy," he corrected her. She shrugged. "Even without him, your mind and medical knowledge could be of great use. We need that mind of yours to track something down. We could use the big guy, but not unless you want to."
He eyed her for a few minutes. When he seemed certain she wasn't going to shoot him, he opened the file and skimmed through it. "I can't just leave here," he said while flipping the pages. "But I don't have much of a choice, do I?"
Natasha gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid not, doctor. But I'll make sure your work here won't be completely abandoned." He nodded, closed the file and tossed it back. She caught it without looking. He gave her one the fakest smiles she'd ever seen. "Alright then, I'll come."
She smiled, hoping to put him a bit at easy, for she didn't feel much for the other guy to say hi, and tapped her earpiece. "All units stand down. I'm coming out with the doctor. He is in."
///
Natasha supposed, that for a couple of ragtag superheroes, they were okay. Ish. But god, did she miss Clint. And Skye.
Shit, she probably needed to call Skye. She doubted this would be over in time for her date next week. She sighed, tore her gaze away from the computer screen that showed the search for Clint, and turned to the arguing idiots that were supposed to be the Avengers. A billionaire, a frozen soldier, a god and a professor with anger issues. Great.
She tuned half of her mind into the conversation and let the other half try to make sense of this all. Another god with issues and an alien army, one they were currently holding, trying to steal a cube that could form a portal. Who had brainwashed her best friend and a scientist for reasons yet unknown. Possibly to steal the staff they were also currently guarding.
She zoned out again when Nick send Dr Banner and Stark out to track the cube, while Rogers went out to do who knows what and Thor went on a search for food. She saw Nick sigh from the corner of his eyes, before he too made his way out. Maria sat down in the chair next to her, Coulson coming closer too. "Are you okay?" Maria asked her softly, so no one else but them three could hear. Natasha gave a short nod.
She knew without looking that the two were having a silent conversation, but she utterly ignored it. Her best friend was being brainwashed and used, and she could only sit here waiting for him to be found, damn it! Coulson placed a light hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing it before retrieving it. She looked up at him. "What?"
It came out a bit harsher than maybe necessary, but oh well. He just smiled with his always kind eyes and nudged her. "It's okay. And I know for sure that Barton will be. That man will continue to be a pain in all of our asses."
She nodded, giving him the tiniest smile, before abruptly standing up. "Please excuse me, I need to call someone." She turned around, missing the – now amused – shared look between her two supervisors, and walked to a more private part of the helicarrier. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her limited contact list. It was picked up on the second ring. "Hi?"
"Do you have a secure line?" she asked, hating how this always had to be the first question on any of their phone calls.
"For you always. What's up? How is India?" Skye asked kindly, seemingly just happy to hear from her.
She was silent for a moment. "I… am no longer in India."
"Moved on, eh? Where are you now? If you're allowed to tell, of course."
So understanding. So incredibly, frustratingly understanding. "Somewhere in the sky. I honestly couldn't tell you where exactly. But up high. How… how are you?"
Skye hummed on the other side of the line. "Alright. I've been building websites for some people; easy money you know. And helping this old lady with setting up a bank account. She is the sweetest person ever. Except for you, of course, but you get what I mean. And I went to this bar yesterday, and the bartender was just so nice. He taught me how to make a few cocktails after he saved me from some creep. I was ready to punch him like you taught me, but then Robbie just sent him out, and then we were making cocktails together. So yeah, pretty alright I'd say. The van needs repairs again though, so I might just hack Stark again. Website building doesn't pay that well."
Natasha forgot how easy it was with Skye. And how comforting it was to just listen to her. She hummed, a lame response at best. Skye noticed, because of course she did. "Mind telling me what's bothering you? You can tell me anything, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I…" Natasha paused and closed her eyes. "Clint's been compromised."
It was silent for a beat, then, "Oh, love. Is he… Is he alive? Physically okay?"
"He's been brainwashed by a god, and now he is missing, and we can't find him, because he is one of our best and also one of our own and he is incredibly effective at escaping notice, but it means that I have no idea where he is or how he is, and I don't know how to get him back, and," she gasped for breath, not even noticing until now that she'd forgotten to breath. "And I miss you," she finished softly.
"Okay, Nat. Listen to me. Sit down."
Natasha sat down, the phone pressed tight to her ear. Skye must have heard the ruffling of her suit, because there was a sound of approval from the other side of the phone.
"Good. Now, first of all, if he's managing to stay out of your reach, that means he is at least physically okay, and probably mentally capable as well. Meaning, the brainwashing is some form of 'be yourself just under my control'. Which is shit, but manageable. Are you still with me?"
Natasha had been listening intently. "Yeah, yeah I'm with you. That… that makes sense, thank you."
"Of course. Now second, you're going to figure out how to get him back. Just focus on that. Start with hitting him really hard on the head. You can figure it out from there. Don't think about finding him. Either I will, or he will find you."
"You'll find him?" Natasha asked, somewhere between confused and amused.
"Of course, I'm already setting up my own search."
Natasha thought that if she cried, then it would be now. She swallowed thickly. "Skye…"
"Na-ah. I don't want to hear it."
She wanted to say more, but a message chimed in on her phone. "Hold on," she said apologetically, waiting for Skye's affirming hum before checking the message. It was Nick's.
I need you to figure out what Loki is planning. Play him
She sighed and put the phone back on her ear. "My boss wants me to figure out god's play. I should probably go."
"Hold up. He wants you to talk to the bad guy? You know he will manipulate you."
Natasha shrugged. "This is what I do best, Skye. I can draw him out."
"Yeah, at the cost of yourself."
And Skye sounded so affronted by that thought, that Natasha actually hesitated. But, she had no choice. "Skye, I have no choice. Maybe… maybe he knows something about Barton."
Skye huffed. "I'm more worried that he knows stuff about you."
Natasha had already considered that possibility. But again, no choice. She didn't answer, and she heard Skye sigh, resignedly but determinedly. "Okay. Put me on your earpiece."
Now that had Natasha speechless. "On my earpiece?" Then she realised. "You want to hear us talking? Are you trying to get in on the mission?"
"Oh for Christ's sake!" Skye cursed, but Natasha had a feeling that Skye wasn't necessarily angry at her. "Natasha I-don't-know-if-you-have-a-second-name Romanoff! I fucking hate that you are going to talk to a guy who can apparently mind control people in some way, just because your idiot of a boss tells you to do so! If all I can do for you in this is be the voice in your ear that tells you that everything out of the bad guy's mouth is bullshit, then that is what I'm doing! And you can either put me on your earpiece, or I'm hacking the damn thing!"
Natasha was silent for a moment. And then she laughed. She ignored Skye's affronted, and probably a bit embarrassed, huff and just laughed. When she got a hold of herself, she finally responded. "Have I ever told you how amazing you are?"
"Not nearly enough. But we have time." Natasha just knew Skye was grinning victoriously. She couldn't help her own smile. "Okay. I'll link you up in a minute. Thank you. For, well, everything."
"Again, for you always. See you in a minute." And then the call ended. Natasha sighed, looking at her phone for a moment longer. Then she squared her shoulders, got up, and started making her way to Loki's holding cell. First, she texted Nick back. On my way. Then she connected her phone with her earpiece, and called Skye again.
She was outside of the holding cell now. She tapped her piece. "Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear." Skye's voice sounded comforting in her ear. "Good luck, love."
She took a deep breath, and entered the room.
///
Natasha strode down the hallways, and into the lab. She didn't expect to walk in on a massive argument between the new superheroes and her boss. However, she didn't care. Loki had made his plan quite clear. Draw out the big guy, set them up against each other. And it seemed to be working already. She vaguely noticed the odd blueish gleam that radiated from the staff, but ignored it in favour of getting in front of Dr Banner. "Doctor, I need you to come with me."
Rogers, Stark and Thor stopped whatever they were arguing about to look at them. Dr Banner shook his head with a sarcastic laugh. "What, to lock me up?"
She resisted exchanging a look with Nick. "No, to get you out of here. Loki is planning to bring out the other guy. You need to come with me."
He shook his head. "You can't lock me up. I'm not coming with you. Not until he tells me why SHIELD is making weapons of mass destruction powered by that goddamned cube." He pointed at Nick, who just looked exhausted. Natasha frowned. She wasn't surprised, if a bit disappointed. If anything, it was a nice reminder of why Skye didn't like SHIELD.
Rogers eyed the doctor carefully. "Dr Banner, take it easy." Stark walked to stand next to his new science friend. "Why shouldn't he blow of some steam?" He placed a hand on the captain's shoulder, who shrugged it off with an annoyed look. "You know damn well why. Back off."
Stark raised his hands up in surrender. "Now who needs to take it easy? I'm just saying…" Natasha opened her mouth to intervene, but Rogers beat her to the punch. "Don't make this about you Stark." Stark snorted. "Isn't it always?"
Rogers rounded on him. "It's really not. You know, you act like you're something special, but take away that suit of armour, what are you?"
Natasha took a small step forward, ready to step between the two men if necessary. She saw from the corner of her eye that Banner was backing up while Nick placed his hand on his gun. She wished Skye was still connected to her earpiece, even if it just was to call the boys idiots.
Meanwhile, Stark just gave a cocky smile. "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," he answered easily, studied. Natasha was silently begging the captain to not continue, but he couldn't read minds and chuckled. "Always an answer ready. You know, I know your type. I knew men in the war that were worth ten of you."
That was probably true, Natasha thought, but it wasn't helping diffusing the situation in any way. Rogers held Stark's eye. "You're not the one to make the sacrifice play. To lay down on the wire; let the other guy crawl over you."
Now that wasn't true. Natasha saw the quickly masked flash of hurt in Stark's eyes, and just knew Steve was taking it too far. She took another step. Stark's eyes flashed to her, and she silently begged him not to continue this. He gave the tiniest possible nod and turned his head away. And then Rogers ruined it. "You may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."
It was a wonder Stark didn't get a whiplash, as fast he whipped around. "You can't talk. Everything special about you came out of a bottle!"
Natasha's phone vibrated in her pocket, and it pulled the attention of both men on her, luckily away from each other. Even Nick gave her a raised eyebrow. She ignored the phone, but made use of the moment of silence to turn back to Dr Banner, the reason she'd come in here in the first place. "Doctor, I still need you to come with me. Get you out of this… possibly triggering environment. Please, come with me to our safety room."
He'd backed up until he reached the glass wall behind him. "You're going to lock me up. Try to kill me. But you can't. Believe me, I tried."
The silence rang loud, as he seemed to temporarily deflate. "I did. Saw no way out, so I put a bullet in my mouth." He looked down. "The other guy spit it out."
She shook her head. Her phone vibrated again, but she kept ignoring it. Whatever it was, it could wait. "We don't want to hurt you, doctor, much less kill you. But we can't let the other guy come out. We need to get you away from this."
"I was far away from this!" he snapped, his eyes flashing green. "I was doing some real good in Calcutta, before you dragged me back into this freak show."
"And I apologise for that, but- Oh for crying out loud!" she interrupted herself when her phone started ringing. She pulled it out, and checked the caller ID. Skye. "Fuck," she mumbled, quickly answering. "What-?"
"Before you ask, I have a secure line. Second, if I text, you need to bloody check your messages. Third, I found him."
Natasha's eyes widened. "Where is he?"
"On his way to you, with a strike team. You need to get out of there, or prepare for a fight."
She pressed a hand against her forehead. "Okay. Okay. Fuck."
"Breathe in, breathe out, Tasha. Now go."
The call ended, and Natasha swallowed. "Agent Barton is on his way here, with a strike team," she told Nick in a monotone voice. "We need to prepare." He nodded, not questioning her or her intel for a second, for which she was grateful. She could tell he had questions, but they would have to wait.
He turned to the Avengers. "Stark, Rogers, suit up. You can fight another time. Thor, go to your brother. Keep an eye on him. Natasha, please escort Dr Banner out of here."
Before anyone could move, some screen in the back started beeping. "What is it, Dr Banner?" Nick asked tiredly. The doctor made his way over. "We've located the tesseract. It's… Oh god."
An explosion rudely interrupted whatever the doctor had been about to say, shaking the room and shattering the windows. Natasha felt the floor around her fall away and crashed to the floor below. She groaned and blinked the fog from her mind, vaguely registering Stark and Rogers running off to wherever the explosion came from, and Thor and Nick had disappeared from her side. And Banner… was next to her, softly groaning.
She heard Nick yell orders for Maria and Coulson in her ear, before he checked up on her. She checked her body mentally, cursing when she found her leg stuck under some debris. "We're okay," she called back. Banner groaned again next to her, writhing on the ground. "Right?"
He didn't respond. She saw him straining, fighting against the other guy, and realised she need to keep talking. "Banner? Bruce? Bruce, I need you to listen. You have to fight it. I'm going to get you out of here, okay?"
She heard footsteps approaching, and craned her head. Two maintenance guys came running to see what the noise and the damage was, but she quickly waved them out. They took one look at the greenish doctor next to her and ran back. She tried again to get her leg from under the metal pipe, but it was little use.
"Please," she continued talking. "I swear on my life, that I will get you out of here."
"Your life?" he roared, and Natasha had the vague realisation that the hulk was winning. "Bruce," she tried one last time, but the doctors cloths started tearing, and the green darkened, and she knew she had to get out of here. If she got crushed by the hulk, Skye would kill her.
She caught the doctor's eye as he scurried away, trying to create as much distance between them as he could, before he lost full control. Natasha's heart cracked when she saw the guilt and pain in his eyes, before he turned away.
She finally managed to pull herself free, and quickly got up. She started making her way to the stairs, throwing one last look over her shoulder. The hulk, because there was no trace of Banner left now, stumbled around, bumping into a few pipes and walls as he gained his bearings. And then he noticed her.
He slowly turned around, his green eyes focussing on her. Natasha hesitated for a beat, and then bolted. Oh Skye was so going to kill her.
///
It was a mess. I giant mess. Everything hurt, and Clint was back, but Banner and Thor were missing, the helicarrier barely remained airborne, everyone was bruised and battered, and Coulson… Coulson was gone. Just… gone.
Her finger hovered over the call button for a moment longer, then pressed it. She lifted the phone to her ear. Picked up on the first ring. If she didn't feel so… numb, she would feel flattered. "Skye?" she asked, her voice small and vulnerable.
"Natasha? God, Nat, are you alright? Nat? Answer me, please? Is everything okay?"
She chuckled. Cause no, everything was far from okay. Skye seemed to get that message though. "Okay, obviously not. Let's take it in steps. Are you physically okay?"
In steps. She could do this. She. Physically okay. "Bit battered and bruised. My leg hurts, my head pounds. Got smashed by the hulk. Fought with Clint. It hurts."
"Bruises fade, pounding seizes. It's going to be alright. Okay, next step. Is Birdie okay? Is he back?"
She looked around her, not really sure what she was looking for, but something was comforting about the dark grey walls around her. "He's… back, I think. Physically okay. Mentally, a bit unstable. It's gonna be a rough one. I hit him over the head, so he'll feel that too."
"Glad my plan worked," Skye joked with little humour. "Next step. How is the rest of your guys? I know there's more going on than you and Clint, Nat. Don't try and fool me. Just tell me. I won't… I won't tell anybody."
Did Skye sound nervous? Did she not know that Natasha trusted her completely? "I know you won't. I trust you." It remained silent on the other side, so she busied herself with answering the question. "It's ehm… A mess. Everyone's bruised at the least. Two are missing. The bad guy escaped. The plane is heavily damaged. And Coulson…" Her voice faded away, and she had to swallow a few times to continue. "Coulson's dead."
"Oh no. I'm so, so sorry. I… Well fuck."
Natasha chuckled humourlessly. "Yeah, that sounds about right." Skye didn't find it funny. "Don't… please don't do that."
"Well, I don't know what else to do, okay?" she snapped. "If I don't do this, I don't know how to continue. Because my partner is fighting his own mind, and I know how god awful that is, and my SO, one of the five people that ever really trusted me is dead, and, and…"
She gasped for breath, clawing at her chest when she realised she couldn't breathe
"Natasha. Listen to me. Breath with me. Come on. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. Remember? Good, you're doing great. In for four. Hold for seven. Out for eight."
In for four. Hold for seven. Out for eight. In for four. Hold for seven. Out for eight.
Dreykov's daughter. Sao Paulo. The hospital fire.
No. It's okay. I'm here. You're doing great.
It's dripping red. Gushing red.
It's not. You're doing great. Don't listen to him. Don't let him get to you.
Pathetic. You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers.
Don't listen to him. Listen to me, listen to my voice. Easy, steady.
In for four. Hold for seven. Out for eight. In for four. Hold for seven. Out for eight.
"That's it, you're doing amazing, love. You're with me, I'm with you and you're doing great. Now repeat with me. In…"
"For four, hold for seven, out for eight," Natasha recited numbly, her voice hoarse and tight even to her own ears. "Good. Again."
"In for four." Breathe in. "Hold for seven." Hold it. "Out for eight." Release.
She repeated it several more times, until she felt like she was in control again. "Skye?" she tried hesitantly. Skye hummed softly. "Yes?"
"I… thank you," she said softly. "For staying. Through all this."
There was a sound of shuffling sheets on the other side of the phone as Skye moved, probably in the back of her van. "I once saw a kid have a panic attack in the orphanage. I couldn't help him, and it was one of the most awful things I've ever seen. So I made sure to know what to do, so I could help. I even taught some other kids how to help, if they'd ever see something like that. It's okay, really."
Natasha almost rolled her eyes. "That's not what I mean, I-"
"What's on the inside of your wedding ring?" Skye interrupted her. Natasha pulled it from under her shirt, running her finger over the edge. "Always," she murmured. "Exactly," Skye stated matter-of-factly. "Always."
Natasha smiled as she fiddled with the ring. "I hope that you know that if you ever need me, I would do the same for you?"
"I was counting on it." Natasha could tell that Skye was feeling emotional as well though.
They remained silent for a while, Natasha taking comfort in the fact that Skye was on the other side of the phone, and Skye happy enough to stay on the line. Natasha could hear the clicking of a keyboard, and was oddly comforted by the rhythmical sound.
She checked the time on her phone, and realised that Clint would be waking up soon. Suddenly she got an idea. "Hey, I probably need to go see Clint. Make sure he's alright. Mind tagging along for a bit?" I don't want to hang up yet.
It was unspoken, but Skye heard it anyway. "Of course. Whatever you need."
And so Natasha made her way to Clint's medical bunk, with the phone pressed close to her ear. She entered the room, her heart clenching at the sight of Clint writhing against his pillows, eyes screwed shut and his mouth pulled in a grimace. "Clint," she called softly. He didn't reply. "You're safe here. He's gone."
Clint opened his eyes, focussing on her. There was a faint blueish gleam to his eyes, and in a flash Natasha remembered the blue gleaming staff during the argument. Clint groaned, pulling her back. The blue in his eyes faded, and it was now recognition she saw there. "Natasha," mumbled.
"Hey," she said.
"Put me on speaker, will you?"
Natasha put the phone on speaker. "Hi Birdie!" Skye called. "Natasha took my advice and hit you over the head. It worked, so welcome back!"
Clint raised an eyebrow at her, but she just shrugged. Skye of course couldn't see their silent exchange and continued happily. "She told me that you had an idiot in your head. Now, let me tell you, this will be an annoying bitch to rehab from, if I have to believe the conspiracy theories. But I also know," her voice turned serious, "that whatever happened was not your fault. Creepy god guy is to blame, and no one else. You hear me, Birdie?"
For a moment, Clint didn't know what to say. Then his eyes softened, and he nodded. "Thank you, random person on Nat's phone."
"No problem, Birdie. Nat? Off speaker?"
Natasha put her off speaker and put the phone to her ear. "Yes?"
"Go take care of him. He needs you now. And if you need me, you can call me, but I think you guys need to talk with each other for a while. I'll save a hug for when I see you again, okay?"
Natasha didn't even want to fight the smile on that made its way onto her face. "Okay. I'll call you later. Oh, and ehm, I don't think I'll be back in time for our date," she said apologetically, looking away from Clint so he wouldn't see the slight blush she was certain coated her cheeks.
"That's okay. As long as you come back, it's fine. Talk to you later?"
Natasha nodded. "Of course. See you later."
"See ya, love."
Natasha put her phone away and sat down next to Clint, who looked at her with sudden realisation. "Was that-" She placed a hand over his mouth to silence him before he could say the name, and understanding dawned in his eyes. "Off the books then," he whispered. She gave him a short nod, and he sighed. "Okay. Then I won't ask. Here. Once we're done with this shitshow, I'm teasing you to death."
She shook her head good-naturedly, glad to hear him joke, even when his eyes weren't twinkling as usual, and his smile wasn't quite real yet. She nudged him gently. "She was right, though. It wasn't your fault."
He leaned against her shoulder. "Thanks."
She leaned back. Maybe Skye was right. It would be okay.
///
Scratch that. It was so far from okay. It was a blur of getting out on a stolen quinjet, a quick text to Skye that the aliens were going to land in New York and that she had to get the fuck out of there, and after that it was one long memory of blood, both alien and hers, and screams and flying arrows and bullets and what not.
And then it was flying an alien motor cycle flying thingy, and closing portals to other dimensions and watching as Tony Stark fell out of the sky to his certain death only to be caught by the hulk. And then it was dealing with Loki and contacting Nick and now it was eating shawarma.
They were eating shawarma while the owners of the restaurant were still brushing the shards of glass to the side. They had difficulty finding six chairs that weren't broken. There was chaos all around them. Police and military yelling at and directing people. Dead aliens being taken away. Bodies being secured, and wounded being tended to. It was a fucking mess.
She had tried calling Skye, but the woman hadn't picked up the phone, and now Natasha was fidgety, although anyone besides Clint had yet to notice. She took another bite of her shawarma, chewing without really tasting anything. Her lukewarm coke wasn't great either, but it was this or water, and she had a feeling she needed the sugar to keep from crashing in the foreseeable future. She groaned as she sat up straighter. Everything was bruised. Everything hurt.
"Natasha?"
She whirled around, her eyes tracking the source of the sound. Because she knew that voice. A woman stepped into the store, careful so she didn't get cut by any broken edges of the window, her eyes flashing over the group before settling on Natasha. "Hey."
Natasha got up, almost sending her chair tumbling to the ground in the process. "S… Mary," she quickly corrected herself. Skye gave her half a smile. "Skye's fine."
"Skye," she breathed. And she didn't know who closed the distance, maybe they met in the middle, but regardless, suddenly she was enveloped in a tight hug. "I've got you," Skye whispered in her ear, so soft no one else could hear. Natasha squeezed tighter.
Someone coughed gently behind them, and Natasha pulled back reluctantly. Skye didn't care much about the others, and gave her a searching once over. "You've got a nasty cut here," she said, gently wiping some blood from her brow. "I like the new haircut, by the way."
Natasha frowned, taking her in in return. "You didn't get the fuck out of here like I told you to. And you also didn't pick up when I called." Skye gave a sheepish grin. "You see, when you called me I figured I could help so I contacted some friends of mine and silently tipped of the police networks and set up runaway routes throughout the city. And then some alien killed my phone when I was attacked."
"You were attacked?!" Natasha called out. Skye gave her a deadpan look that could rival her own. "I really don't think you're allowed to comment on that. I know what you did, it's all over every news station."
Natasha opened her mouth, but no sound came out. "Are you okay?" she asked eventually. Skye nodded, a small smile on her face. "Good enough. You?"
"Not at all."
Skye took her hand and squeezed before turning her around and gently pushing her back towards the table. She grabbed a chair from somewhere and placed it next to hers. Natasha sat down and took her burger, suddenly hungry. And it tasted better too, how about that?
The rest of the Avengers just stared at Skye, who seemed utterly unphased by the new superheroes' attention on her, but Natasha noticed the tense set of her shoulders and the forced smile as she stole one of Natasha's fries.
Suddenly Tony slammed his hand on the table. "I know you! You came to pick up my assistant the other time!" Skye smiled at him, a bit unsure where this was going. "Yeah, that was me."
He laughed, his eyes kind if a bit tired. "You were really sassy. I think I tried to hire you?" Skye shook her head. "I don't think you did?" She frowned. "You insinuated I was fucking your assistant, I think, which was not the case." At least, at that time, Natasha thought.
Tony's eyes widened. "I did! Oh my, I apologise. In my defence, I was dying, so I wasn't thinking very well then." Skye waved it away. "You're forgiven." Like it wasn't all banter in the first place. But Natasha could appreciate the fact that Tony was trying to lighten the mood, while similarly avoiding the fact that it had been Natasha that Skye was picking up. She glanced at Skye and was pleased to notice that she looked a bit more relaxed too.
"And how do you know the lady Natasha?" Thor asked curiously after swallowing half his remaining shawarma in one go. Skye looked at Natasha, and she realised that Skye was giving her the choice of telling them or not. She was speechless for just a beat, but recovered quickly. "The purpose for one of my missions aligned with hers. So we made a deal. And we've kept in touch since then."
Skye looked down at her rings, fiddling with one in particular. Natasha had to actively fight a smile. Clint tapped her arm and signed something. Girlfriend?
She shrugged, and he frowned. With a sigh, she elaborated. Not yet. Haven't talked.
She heard Tony mumble something to no one in particular, probably about spies or something, but what did catch her attention was Skye snorting. Both her and Clint looked at her with careful expressions. Skye rolled her eyes at both of them.
If you want to, she sighed, a nervous but determined look in her eyes. Natasha's eyes widened. Was she being serious? Are you sure? Cause then, yes. Hell yes.
"Hell yes," Skye echoed with a grin. Natasha turned to Clint with a smile on her face, no longer caring about anything. "You heard her," she said.
He sighed in exasperation and took another fry. "Your funeral," he told Skye before popping the fry in his mouth.
The other Avengers looked on with matching expressions of confusion as Natasha exchanged an amused look with Skye. Skye subtly pressed her leg against Natasha's, and she thought her heart might just burst in this moment. She took another fry and relaxed in her chair.
She was far from okay but she would be. With Clint back on one side, and Skye on the other, and her new team at her back, she could be okay. She would be okay.
Notes:For those expecting Skye to turn up earlier to give Nat a heart attack, so sorry. This was really too long already, and I decided to end like this. Next one, she will get picked up and the shit really starts to hit the fan :)
I hope you all enjoyed. If you did, please drop a kudos or a comment if you feel inclined to do so.
Take care all of you, and hope to see you at the next one <3
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