Imagine That: Multifandom Part Two

the wrong prophecy | natasha romanoff

It was through that when I saw us becoming friends, her not terrifying me as much as she did when we first met. But then as time went on, I started to like her a lot more than I should have.

It was hard not to when we'd both be up training late, delirious from lack of sleep and exhausted from working out, and the only thing I could notice was how pretty a shade of green her eyes were. Or when she'd see something funny happen and try to hide her amusement behind a smirk. Or when she was too tired to move from the couch after a mission and would fall asleep, looking the most peaceful I'd ever seen her.

She still scared me a little, obviously, so I wouldn't dream of revealing my feelings for her in any way. But after two years of pining, it was definitely something I wished I had the guts to do. Especially when I was beginning to see into things that weren't there. It got to a point where I'd occasionally believe Natasha may have felt the same about me. The lingering glances, the teasing smirks, the playful banter... it always made me feel special, like it was all reserved for me. But I couldn't be certain with Natasha, since flirting was her whole personality. That was how she treated everyone.

So, I stuck to appreciating our friendship and not the fact that I was definitely in love with her.

————————

"Remember, we need to focus on getting the civilians out first," Steve was telling everyone on the quinjet as we flew to our next mission. "There's three buildings all being held up by Hydra. Two apparently have explosives, but Stark is getting a visual. We have to be quick."

I nodded as I stood beside Natasha and Sam Wilson, listening to everything Steve was saying. Tony had travelled to Canada for a business meeting when the Hydra hostage takeover of some office buildings had occurred. Next thing we knew, a few of us were flying in after to do our job and contain the threat before people got hurt.

By the time we arrived, Steve took to one building as Sam joined Tony in another, leaving Natasha and I to clear the final one. Steve wasn't kidding when he said Hydra agents were holding up the place – we went floor by floor, freeing hostages and defeating Hydra agents who were a lot more annoying than usual.

We reached the fourth floor when we took on four Hydra agents that were isolated from their team. Thanks to my years of training with nobody but the best, I was able to handle myself easily, not even needing to pull out my gun to get the upper hand. But after defeating one of the two men I was fighting, the other landed a lucky punch to my cheek, swinging so hard that I hit the ground with a groan.

Slightly dazed, I raised my hand to my cheekbone, which felt like it was on fire, and looked up to see my opponent about to kick me. Thankfully, Natasha had pulled him into a headlock from behind and choked him out before he could even realise what was happening.

"Thank you," I breathed out, pushing myself to stand up and trying not to fall over as a wave of pain washed over me, spreading from my face.

Natasha steadied me with her hands, eyes flickering over my face with concern. She rested her hand on my cheek gently, thumb grazing where I'd just been punched, making me flinch under her touch.

"That's not gonna be pretty," she mumbled to herself, green eyes focusing on my cheek before she stood back and let go. "You okay?"

I winced as I spoke. "Well, that fucking hurt, but sure, I'm good to go."

She cracked a small smile, despite the situation. "Gotta be more careful. What did I say about keeping your arms up?"