An Assassin's Creed | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 7

Natasha and Clint walked down the street, coffee cups in hand, talking and laughing like friends, which they were. They walked into a park and took a seat on a bench, and Clint draped an arm around her shoulders and the back of the bench. He took a sip of his coffee, scanned his eyes over the outdoor scene, and cleared his throat.

"So...you hear any more about Eden? Have you heard from her since the kiss?"

Natasha shook her head dejectedly and looked down at her coffee cup. Clint patted her shoulder and sent her a small sympathetic smile.

"Give it time, Nat. Give it time."

"She's driving me crazy, Clint. First, she kisses me, then she doesn't talk to me ever again? What the hell is wrong with her?" Natasha balled her fist in a dangerous mix of anger and frustration. She was still thoroughly confused about her feelings and thoughts, and she wasn't even sure if seeing or talking to Eden would help straighten things out, but she wanted to try. And regardless of her confusion, she knew enough to know that the lack of contact between the two of them hurt her. "I...I miss her."

"I know you do." Clint breathed a deep breath. The next thing he said, he had to be careful. Calculated. "You know...you could always make the first move. Send her a text or a call."

"I...I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I...I..." She sighed. "I don't even know what to say. What if she brings up the kiss?"

"Just...be honest. With her and yourself."

Natasha sighed. She knew she couldn't avoid Eden forever, not that she would want to. Her confusing feelings and the kiss aside, it was refreshing to have a girlfriend that she could talk to and hang out with that wasn't affiliated with the Avengers or with SHIELD. Eden was a good listener and somehow, no matter how outrageous the issue, had numerous amounts of wisdom that she would give to the redhead whenever she needed it. In a sense, she liked Eden and wanted to be close to her, to have her in her life, but how deep was this feeling, this...wanting?

Reluctantly she pulled out her phone and opened her messages, scrolling a bit before she stopped at Eden's name. Seeing her contact picture sent a small pang of pain into her heart and a whole new wave of nervousness set in, halting her from opening the conversation.

"What do I even say, Clint? 'Hi Eden, sorry I've been ignoring you the past few days, it's just that your kiss sent me into a downward spiral into myself and now I'm overthinking every though and feeling I've ever had about you?'"

Clint shrugged. "I mean, I wouldn't say that exactly, but you can be honest and tell her that you've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days. Or, if you want to go your usual route, which I do not recommend by the way, you could lie and say that you were away for work and couldn't get to your phone. That shouldn't be too hard since you lied to her about your name."

Natasha didn't miss the disapproval in his voice, but shook it off and looked back down at her phone, the blue cursor blinking as it waited for her to start typing her message. Deciding to just be simple, she typed out a simple "hey," hit send, and waited rather impatiently for a reply. After an obscenely short amount of time, Natasha slammed her phone—albeit gently—down onto the bench, covered her face with her hands and threw her head back, and let out a very guttural groan that caused the archer to release a deep throaty chuckle.

"Why hasn't she responded yet?" Natasha's muffled voice sounded from her covered mouth.

"You know it's only been what like..." Clint turned his wrist and checked an imaginary watch, "two minutes, right? She could be at work right now. Be patient and give her time. Who knows, she might be mad at you."