Natasha Romanoff

[baneofpaley]

OPEN POST

Feel free to drop a starter or suggest a line with Natasha here. Prose, action and text are all welcome, prefer M/F for shipping but open to F/F. Below are some AU's/Themes I like to play with her:

Mission Undercover Witness Protection code by tessisamess

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[missromanova]

“Pretty girls and handcuffs is your idea of a good time. I’m learning more about you tonight than I have in the past four years, Rogers, and to think I thought you were a prude.” Natasha can’t help but give him a teasing smile, but it fades almost immediately when the conversation takes a turn and he promises her that there’s no animosity held between them. It’s hard for her to believe that… the only reason she even tries is because it’s Steve. And Steve wouldn’t lie to her. Not about this. That’s what she has to keep telling herself. “I was moving around a lot,” she admits quietly, her hand moving to push her fingers through her hair and get it out of her face.

She looks like she just spent the past 48 hours being shipped from one place to the next in the undercarriage of boats and the back of trucks, but only in appearance. Her resolve is as strong as ever, although it seems to falter when she looks back up at him with uncertainty in her eyes; lingering worry from so many nights of the voice in her head telling her that she had broken her relationship with Steve beyond repair. “I considered just letting them throw me in prison so I could get out but I didn’t want to go through the effort. And I couldn’t take the chance that-“ they’d question her. Try to corner her into finding where Steve or Bucky were. She simply shakes her head, letting the thought end there. When she continues, she’s quieter, and her tone is dangerously close to one of defeat. “In this case, I just think it was better to run.” And now here she is. And here he is. They can’t leave the fight, even if the world turns on them in an effort to force them to do so.

Natasha holds his gaze for a lingering moment and she’s so close to saying it. ’I missed you.’ It’s on the tip of her tongue and she still has to swallow it back, because Steve might take it the wrong way. Even worse – he might not. It’s in the look she gives him, though, one that’s softer than anything she’d ever allow anyone else to see, filled with affection and relief all at once for the fact that he’s standing before her. “Come on,” she finally prompts, pulling her vision away from him with a bit of effort and turning to lead him to the warehouse, her voice lowering as she does. “I suddenly have the urge to make bad guys bleed.”

[oldfashionedhero]

"I figured," he says, giving her a small smile. He hadn't expected her to stay in one place for long, but he also wouldn't have held it against her if she hadn't been in any kind of hurry to contact him. He'd torn down the life she'd built after SHIELD had fallen, causing her to start over for a second time.

His fingers curl up into his palm when she mentions letting them put her into prison. It had been difficult enough seeing what they'd done to the others, but the idea of Natasha being locked up in a place like the Raft because of him wasn't something he liked thinking about. She pauses and he understands what she means without her finishing. He nods his head the slightest bit. Another thank you added to the many that he'll never be able to adequately voice. He'll make it up to her. He has to.

She holds his gaze and he thinks there's something else she's not saying. He can't help but wonder how much trouble he's caused her over the last few months and how long she's been alone. She's used to being alone, but he can't help but think she's not meant to be. She's better when she has a team. A family.

"Just like old times," he says, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. His hand lingers just a second too long as he fights the urge to pull her in for a hug. He's not sure if it's more for his benefit than hers and he wants to respect her space. He glances towards the warehouse, settling into action mode. "I'll take care of the guards."

He may not have his shield any longer, but he's got some other tricks still up his sleeve.

[missromanova]

It's when Steve touches her shoulder and holds on for a second too long that Natasha looks at him close enough to see it; that hint in his eyes. He's feeling something, something complex, and although Natasha isn't a mind reader and can't break down its complexities she knows Steve well enough to know, at least, the general idea. He missed her too, and that concern for a friend is mixed with guilt. There is something about Steve that makes guilt seem so obvious, as if he wears it on his sleeve despite how stoic he usually manages to be. Or, perhaps, she knows him well enough now to see it like a beacon, when it's not nearly as noticeable to the rest of the world as it is to her.

She manages a sad smile when she sees it though, and once his hand falls away and he prompts her with the first step of their plan Natasha reaches up and, instead of jumping into action immediately, she takes his chin and tilts his head to look at her from where he was gazing at the warehouse. She says nothing and simply looks at him, her touch moving instead until her hand cradles the side of his face and she lets his thumb run slightly against his cheek, a remarkably rare sign of affection that Natasha Romanoff simply doesn't give. He needs it, though, because again, Natasha knows him. Steve blames himself. A part of Natasha is upset with him, but it's easily drowned up by the part that knows she needs him in her life in one way or the other, and simply seeing him here is a comfort. She doesn't want him blaming himself. Conveying that with words to a man like Steve Rogers never works.

And then her hand falls away as she slips into a more defensive stance, the chance in mindset just as noticeable as the flick of a visible switch."Then I'll go for kingpin," she agrees aloud, and before they can waste anymore time with something as silly as feelings Natasha is moving, guiding Steve silently to the side of the warehouse.

She stays silent, signaling him to do the same before she creeps forward and moves to catch sight of the inside. She pulls away, still unseen, and signals to him with her hand. 'Eight armed hostiles, twelve civilians. Target on far end.' And before Steve can do that whole 'lets plan something' thing he likes to do Natasha is gone, having crept into the warehouse unseen and hugging the wall in an effort to gain some element of surprise. If Steve is going to take the guards she's going to need to get closer to their leader before he runs.