natasha romanoff one-shots (gxg)

𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 (𝟑/𝟑)

You put up a mistletoe, buy gifts, bake cookies, place candles everywhere. You hang up Christmas lights all over the trailer and you even buy a Rudolph statue that you put outside, right next to a tree. The entire trailer looks like Christmas, and you love it.

Even Natasha seems excited about it now. She's constantly playing festive songs, buys matching sweaters (with tiny bells and candy canes all over them) and wraps every gift as meticulously as she can. Then she places them underneath the small tree, making sure they're arranged nicely.

The day before Christmas Eve, you find a hill to go sledding on. You're sitting in front, Natasha behind you with her arms wrapped around your waist. She laughs when you crash into a small snowdrift, making you fall off the sled.

You wipe the snow out of your face, laughing in surprise, amusement and pain all at once. The cold substance melts on your face, leaving a prickling sensation on your skin.

"You okay?", Natasha asks when she sees your face. Crashing into a heap of snow face-first hurt more than anticipated, and the cold only made it worse. Your eyes tear up as you nod, desperately trying not to cry. "Oh no, детка." She takes off her lined gloves and puts her warm hands on your face, caressing it gently. The heat from her skin slowly warms up your face, which is a relief.

"I'm okay", you mumble.

"Are you sure? Your cheeks...they're red. I mean, really red." She rubs your back. "Do you want to go home? I'll make tea and we'll go to bed."

"No", you brush it off. "Let's keep going. It's fun."

"Not if you're hurt."

"I'm not hurt." You get up, determined to not let a simple crash stop you, and reach out your hand. Natasha takes it and you walk up the hill again, ready for another round.

An hour later, you're in the car driving back to the trailer. You're wrapped into a blanket, shivering from the cold. Natasha put the heat on high, but it's still not enough. Stupid old car.

"We're almost there", she says, glancing at you with worry in her eyes. "You're going to bed as soon as we arrive, you hear me?"

"No", you mutter. "I'm not."

"You are. God, we should've stopped after the crash."

"Nat, stop it", you say, your voice angrier now. You've had enough of her acting like she's your mother, or something like that. "Can you please treat me like an adult instead of some kid? I'm a girl you're dating, not your fucking daughter!"

She goes silent, staring at the road as she keeps driving. The look in her eyes is scary, and you're afraid to speak. You deeply regret your words, but you had to say them. It was necessary.

"This is what I meant", she says quietly, her grip on the steering wheel tight. So tight that her knuckles whiten. "When I talked about our age gap, this...this is it. The problem."

"It's not the age gap, it's the fact that you feel the need to boss me around." You look at her, desperation in your eyes. "People can work through age gaps-"

"It's definitely the age gap. I'm way too protective of you, and it's not...it's not healthy." Natasha drives through trees that are covered in snow as you're getting closer to the trailer. "I didn't even realize until now."

"Natasha, it's okay", you say silently. "It's alright. We'll be alright. You just need to tone it down a little and..."

"And what?" She shakes her head. "The day we kissed for the first time, I warned you. I told you it's a bad idea. But you wouldn't listen, and I caved. I shouldn't have."