Deadly Attachment

Chapter 18

"You're an Avenger?" There were wonder and amazement in his voice, and his eyes widened when I nodded.

"You're welcome. Maybe I'll see you again sometime." I sauntered out of the police station, pleased with my efforts tonight. I had to thank Tony for creating this suit for me in such little time. It was very comfortable, and it helped me show off a bit. 

-

I took my sweet time in returning, and when I entered the Tower, Tony was waiting for me. He had Andrea in his arms, and I was happy to see the sight. He was becoming more and more relaxed with caring for his child, and I hoped that someday he wouldn't need our help. Perhaps when Andrea gets older.

"So?" Tony raised his eyebrows at me. "How'd it go, Black Mamba?"

I grinned in response, wetting a towel and beginning to take off some of the face paint. "It went well. I saved my first human, and it felt good." I squeezed the towel and watered down black paint dripped into the sink.

"That's great news. Peter was worried about the public, but now he's going to be happy that his people are safe."

"Aren't they our people too?" I questioned.

Tony thought about this, ignoring as Andrea took a handful of his hair. "I guess so. But that was always Peter's area of expertise. He took care of the people, and when needed we called him up to take care of the world."

As I was about to speak, an all too familiar voice struck out. "What's going on here?" I froze and warily made my eyes meet hers. "Katya? What's on your face?" She walked over in disbelief, taking the towel from my hands and wiping off my face paint herself. When around my eyes were clear from the black paint, she stepped back, folding her arms at me. "You went out there, didn't you? You went out and did Peter's job."

"Peter is hurt. I'm just covering for him." I defended myself.

Natasha heaved a sigh and cleaned the rest of my face, frowning. I knew she was angry with me for going behind her back, and I'd have to speak to her about it after we leave this big room and go someplace private.

"Am I missing something here?" Tony frowned at us, and especially Natasha's nurturing and caring frame as she carefully dabbed away at the black face paint.

"Of course not," Natasha mumbled, throwing the blackened towel into the sink. She turned back to look at me and glared violently. "Don't ever lie to me again. Get out."

"My apologies, Natasha." I lowered my head before leaving the big room. I meandered down the halls, and entered Natasha's room, waiting for her to return.

I didn't have to wait long, because, in perhaps ten minutes time, Natasha walked into her room. I stood and walked towards her.

"That was some performance you put on out there." I took her hand in mine. "I thought you were serious for a moment."

"I was serious." She gave me an unhappy look, and I returned the gaze with a confused one. "You lied to me, Katya. You promised you wouldn't do something stupid, and you went and did it."

"It wasn't stupid, Natasha. I was a hero for one man, and I'm sure he doesn't think it was stupid."

Natasha pursed her lips and looked away. I can tell she was trying to find a valid reason to go against my antics, but couldn't find any.

"Please, Natasha. I need you to trust me, and it doesn't look like you trust me very much." I took her face in my hands.

"I do trust you. I just don't want you getting hurt." She mumbled, then bit down on her lower lip.

Shaking my head, I used my thumb and took her lip out from between her teeth. "Do you have any idea how much I worry about you?" I stared into her blue eyes. "You're a mortal, and can feel pain. I may be able to feel pain just as you are, but I can't die from it. You can, and it terrifies me more than anything in this world." I carefully pressed my lips against hers, then pulled back. "So don't go around worrying about me getting hurt. Please instead focus on keeping your life."

She nodded, and grabbed the back of my neck, kissing me hard. I backed up, letting myself drop onto the bed with Natasha hovering over me. Our tongues danced as she pressed herself up against me, and I resisted the urge to moan when she bit my lip. She took my hand, and intertwined our fingers, pushing my hands above me on the bed. My whole body tingled from her kiss. I flipped us over, and we both seemed to stop all of a sudden.

"We need to slow down, and show more self-control." She was breathing heavily from our kissing.

I nodded, but still placed a kiss on the side of her jaw, as if unable to stop. "Self-control is so terribly hard to come across," I whispered against her skin. She tilted her head back but then froze.

Natasha gently pushed me off and sat up. "I'm serious, Katya. We can't start a habit of this every time we disagree on something."

I sat next to her, watching her adjust her shirt. "I agree. We should be more civilized." My redheaded girlfriend stood up and dragged me towards the door. "You're not going to invite me to stay with you?" I pouted.

"If you stay with me tonight, I have a feeling my self-control will go down the gutter, along with my mind."

I grinned and gave her a parting kiss. "Goodnight, Natashka." I tried out a Russian sounding nickname. "Or do you prefer Nat?"

She rolled her eyes playfully, pushing me outside. "Both are odd. Goodnight, Katya." She smiled, closing the door.

On the walk back to my room, I couldn't help but smile like an idiot.