Summary: In the hopes of getting to know Natasha, you spent time with her by asking if she can help you dye your hair. After she cautiously approves to giving you an extra hand you break down part of her shell and get to know each other.
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After the night you found out about Natasha's exclusion by the rest of the team, you worked restlessly in your head to devise a plan.
You needed to find a task where she would be unable to deny your request, while also backing up your story so she would have no excuse, but to help you.
In the time you thought about it, you had come up with multiple ideas. You could ask her to come with you to pick up Peter from school to keep you company, but she could easily shoot it down by telling you to just ask Wanda. You could ask her for some extra help in the training room with your fighting technique, but she would shoot you down by saying that Rogers would be a better teacher. You kept coming up with these random tasks in your head, but as soon as you thought of one, you found a loophole where she would be able to get out of it. What made it worse was the fact that she was an assassin, she would see straight through your lies. You had almost given up completely until you came up with the perfect plan. You could ask for help with dying your hair.
Of course it would mean that you would need to ruin your beautiful hair, but the task was reasonable and was something you figured she couldn't deny.
You had never dyed your hair so it made sense that you needed help. When she inevitably asked "why me?", you could bring up the fact that she had experienced dying her hair.
Wanda didn't like the smell, and you didn't feel comfortable asking the boys because in order to do it you would need to be shirtless... WITH A BRA ON OF COURSE, but you didn't want them to stare and get all weird. Plus you didn't trust any of them all that much.
This was the task that was both reasonable and easy enough, the only price was your luscious locks.
You had always wanted to dye your hair though anyway and thought of this as the perfect opportunity.
~~~
You waited until night so the compound would be quiet, and you would be able to take a shower and go to bed right afterwards. You grabbed the boxed dye that you had picked up at the drug store earlier, and left your room heading for the elevator. Once inside you punched the number of the floor Natasha's room was on and your nerves took over.
Anxiously biting the side of your cheek, you let the elevator lift you up as you looked at the dye in your hands. You had one box in each hand, you weren't sure which color to go with so you bought them both. Hopefully once Natasha agreed to help, she would have some input to help with your indecisiveness.
In one hand sat a box of auburn dye. Close to the color of Wanda's hair you had always liked. In your other hand was a box of sort of dirty blonde hair dye. You always hated your brown hair, you thought it was average and boring, even thought it was shiny and soft.
The elevator door pulled your gaze from your hands to peer down the dark hallway. You pushed your body off from leaning against the wall of the elevator and hesitantly stepped out of the elevator. It was so quiet it left you questioning if you had picked the right floor. You had a slight burst of confidence as you thought how even if she denied your request it wouldn't be the end of the world, and sped up your pace as you found her door.
Standing in front of it, you took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. You looked down at your hands and your nerves came back. You lifted one hand to knock on the door, but hesitated once you let it get to your head. Your thoughts flooded your head as you wondered "what would we even talk about?". You weren't great at the whole carrying conversations thing, and honestly you were worried that you would be flustered by the beautiful girl standing in front of you. Either way, the thought of needing to constantly fill the room with small talk bothered you. You hated small talk, it felt so generic it made you cringe.
Two seconds. Two seconds was all you needed. Two seconds of confidence to knock on the door and then deal with the repercussions afterwards. So you took another deep breath, found your two seconds and forced yourself to bring your hand up to the door. Two strong, short knocks filled the silence of the hallway followed by ten seconds of silence. You began to feel stupid, maybe she was asleep, or maybe she wasnt even home. The thought never occurred to you that she wouldn't be home, but maybe she wasn't. You turned to leave disappointed until the door handle began to turn.
You lifted your head with sudden relief and your eyes met with hers. The door was only open enough to fit her body, no wiggle room on the sides so you couldn't see in. You froze like an antelope in headlights. Staring into her eyes, you completely forgot why you were even there in the first place.
"Hi", Abruptly passed your lips as you came to your senses and tried to ease the awkward silence. Sensing your flustered state, Natasha smirked a little and softly replied, "Hi". Silence swallowed you again and you felt your cheeks blush. Your heart rate sped up as you began to feel embarrassed for actually going through with this stupid plan.
Looking back down at your hands you began to apologize, "I-Im Im sorry, I know its, its late...". Slightly rambling, you apologize. Your hands were wet with sweat as you looked at the floor and returned to biting the side of your cheek. "No, no it's okay. I actually, I thought it would be you, that's the only reason I opened the door." She reassured you, slightly chuckling at the end. "Umm... What's up?". She asked cautiously. Not being able to talk again, in fear of anxiety riddling your voice, you lifted both boxes of hair dye next to your head, and sheepishly lifted your head with your brows furrowed to meet with hers. "Help?". You said hopefully, squinting your eyes.
To your surprise, instead of interrogating you, a smile crept on her face and she opened the door all the way, allowing you enough space to enter her room.
You paused for a moment, surprised before your face visibly relaxed. You couldn't stop the smile that crept onto your face.
Once you stepped into her room, you took a moment to view your surroundings. Although she spent most of her time in her room, it was clean and organized. Her bed was made nicely, her clothes neatly folded on the end of her bed. It was clear that she had been doing her laundry right before you had walked in. Her room was decorated simply with dark tones. Her bed was grey along with her curtains and carpet, while her desk, dresser, and nightstand were all black. Simple and crisp, it suited her.
It wasn't what you saw that made you think to yourself, it was what you didn't. Her nightstand was bare. With only a quick glance you saw a glass of water, her phone, and an alarm clock. Then you looked towards her desk. Her computer, some paperwork, and some pencils. Again on her dresser. A chapstick, a small pile of hair ties, and her gym bag.
Nowhere in her room did you find any sort of momentos. Not one picture flooded her desk, no old birthday cards laying useless somewhere, not even any dinky decorations.
Was it that this was just her style, or that she didn't have any photos with any loved ones to frame. No stupid drawings to hang up. No dinky decorations.
Despite the sad realization you remembered why you were there. While she closed the door behind you, you looked down at the dye in your hands again before turning on your heels to face her. Holding both the colors by your head, you gave her a questioning look squinting your eyes. "What do you think?". She furrowed her eyebrows, crossed her arms, and tilted her head back. Tilting her head to the side and squinting her eyes, she came to a conclusion. "Blonde. Definitely blonde." She said with confidence. You raised one eyebrow and almost laughed at how confident she was. Smiling and holding back a laugh you responded. "Really?". Then looking back down at the dye, you nodded your head, "I completely agree", you said before smiling and looking back up to meet your eyes.
All it took was this small interaction to know that you made the right choice coming to her. All of your worries washed away as you noticed how safe and unhinged you felt around her. You weren't even upset anymore that you were dying your hair.
Feeling more comfortable with the situation, you started to act more like yourself. "Okay so how... the hell do I do this", you gestured to the die in your hand. She smiled and laughed, "Follow me."
She led you into her bathroom where she took the dye out of your hands. "Gimme this", she playfully muttered, smiling. She read the back of the box while she nodded her head towards the toilet seat. "Sit", she said, not breaking eye contact with the directions.
She ripped the box open and displayed its contents along her counter as she examined the quality of the chemicals. You watched contently. The bathroom was silent, but it wasn't awkward, not at all. It felt normal, and calm. "Okay", she lightly nodded her head. "I thinkkkk, I know what I'm doing.", She said, although it sounded like she was trying to reassure herself more than you. "Oh god", you muttered under your breath as she began mixing chemicals. She smiled, "Oh come on what's the worst that's gonna happen?", She panned towards you. "Oh, I don't know... Maybe, just maybe, I don't know, my hair will fall out!" You sarcastically reminded her, she laughed. "Hey, it might. You never know." Natasha said. "Wow... Cause that makes me feel sooooo much better!", you giggled.
You watched as she continued to mix the chemicals. Your anxiety once again grew as you realized it was becoming too late to back out now. Starting to chew your bottom lip, Natasha noticed your anxiety and tried to get your mind off of it.
"So, are you enjoying it here?", she caught you off guard. "Oh, uhhh. Yeah, the boys are driving me nuts, but yeah it's nice here", you answered genuinely with a smile. "Yeah, I can see how their uhh... Annoying.", She said slowly trying to find the right words to describe them. You lightly chuckle at her description, "Yeah, they're really annoying, but I guess they're kind of like family now? I think we all are." You paused, then continued. "I think it's just nice to have people in your corner for once. This is kind of like the... Only family I've ever had so". The mood in the room changed as you stared into the distance sadly. "It's a pretty crappy family". Natasha said chuckling, filling the void. "Yuuup... but it's better than nothing". You sighed. "Wow, that smells awful". You mentioned giggling again, trying to change the mood. "Yeah no, this, this is definitely toxic." She clarified laughing along.
"Alright, you ready?" She asked. You looked at the dye and quickly nodded looking at her. "You're sure?" She asked one more time. "Yes?", you said skeptically. "Okay". She said, stepping closer. "Oh, wait." You put your hands up for her to stop for a moment. Standing up you began to take your shirt off. Her eyebrows raised as she looked at you now in just a sports bra, surprised. "It's my favorite shirt," you shrugged and sat back down. "Okay... Now I'm ready", you told her.
You shivered as the cold bleach and dye ran down your head. Natasha ran her hands through your hair making sure to coat every strand with bleach. You chewed your bottom lip regretting your decision to dye your hair. Natasha noticed and tried to calm you. "Don't bite your lips, you'll ruin them." You looked up at her, her eyes still focused on coating your head. "Don't worry, It'll look good.".
She finished massaging your hair and peeled the gloves off of her hands while leaning over you to see the counter to read the instructions. You blushed at how close you were, but tried to keep your cool. "Okay, so now we wait 20 minutes, and then wash it out so your hair doesn't fall out." She instructed. Your eyes got wide at that last part. "No, no I said so it DOESN'T fall out." She laughed.
As she cleaned up the bathroom you stood in front of the mirror and looked at your hair for the first time. "Oh my god. This was such an awful idea." You stated regretfully, as you started to panic. Natasha heard the panic in your voice and stepped away from what she was doing. She stood behind you and placed her hands on either shoulder rubbing up and down your arms. "No. No, no, no, no. This wasn't an awful idea. Everythings better, blonde, trust me." She reassured me. "And if it looks like crap, then I'll go blonde too... Who cares, it's just hair anyway." She confidently told you. You couldn't help but smile at her support. "Go sit on the bed." She instructed as she finished cleaning the small bathroom. You happily sat and contently spaced out until she walked out of the bathroom.
"I like your room", you said suddenly while she started putting away her laundry. "It's quiet. Unlike, literally anywhere else." You complimented. "Well, hey, you're welcome to hang in here anytime". She said. You sat criss cross applesauce on her bed leaning back on your hands to hold you up. "Well, you're welcome in my room too. It's just less quiet. More... Messy? In a good way... I think?" You said you were unsure of how to describe your room. "In a good way?" She repeated back to you questiongly. You shrugged your shoulders and closed your eyes. "You'll just have to come see". "Okay" she answered, chuckling.
Right when she was finished putting away her laundry she came and sat next to you. It was silent for a few moments until she broke it, "I like my room too." She stated contently. "You know what would make it even better?" You turned towards her and asked. "Oh god, what?" She laughed figuring that you were going to say something stupid. "If I drew you some pictures, would you hang them up?". You asked, smiling, expecting her to say no. "Depends," She answered truthfully. You raised your eyebrows and widened your eyes, "Ooooo a challenge. I accept." Interested, you began to think of what her conditions were. "None of that perfect crap. Yeah it looks nice, but that is not what I want. Crayons. Only crayons. And they have to look like child's portraits, if they're too good I won't hang them up. Oh and every single one needs to be signed by you in the corner." She stated the list jokingly. "I can do that, that I can dooo," You said, graciously accepting her conditions. "I'll have to get straight to work. Real art like that takes time." You continued the joke. "Ohhhh yeah, no slacking either".
At this point you were both giggling on the bed contently. "I'm not kidding, I'll hang them up." she said seriously. You nodded your head, "Can I ask why?". You cautiously asked. "I think it's time I add some color into my life.". That answer satisfied you and you both sat in silence until shortly after the timer went off.
"Okay, let's assess the damage", you said climbing off of her bed. "Here we go" She followed closely behind. "You better not have butchered me", you muttered. "I heard that!" She said starting the hand held shower, holding the handle. "Heared what?" You innocently asked, playing dumb. "Oh shut up, get your ass over here" She held back a laugh.
You were bent over the side of the tub. Natasha stood next to you and held the adjustable shower head above you, while she ran her fingers through your now dirty blonde hair. Once she had removed all of the hair dye she turned the water off and wrang out your hair, wrapping it in a towel. She refused to let you see it until it was completely dry.
At this point she knew that it looked amazing, but wanted to keep you away from the mirror until it dried completely so you could get the full effect.
"Hold still" She sternly told you as she blew the hair drier straight into your eyes. "You know it's difficult when you do THAT" You locked your eyes shut completely and tried to stay as still as you could for the remainder of the time.
Once she was finished she instructed you to keep your eyes shut and helped you stand up so you were in front of the mirror.
She stood behind you, one hand covering either eye. Her front pressed up against your back, you got butterflies in your stomach. "3... 2... 1..." She counted down. "Open!". You slightly opened one eye to assess the damage, but quickly opened the other out of curiosity.
You raised your eyebrows. "I don't hate it." You said trying to be optimistic about the situation. "What do you mean you dont hate it, it's beautiful! You're beautiful!" She said angrily. You just laughed. "Yeah it's alright" you shrugged. "Oh my god." She said leaving the room. "Hey, I said I DIDN'T hate it." You responded in the same manner she had done before. "It looks sooo good Y/n!" She said looking at the ceiling annoyed she balled up your shirt before throwing it, hitting your face. She just stared. "You deserved that" She finished.
You huffed when the shirt collided with your face, but put it on while giggling again. You looked at the clock on her nightstand noticing the time. "Shit it's late. Alright well I gotta go. I'm scheduled to train with Rogers tomorrow, so I got to get my beauty sleep." She chuckled. "Good luck with that, he's not easy." She said genuinely. "Oh I know. I'm gonna need it." You said seriously. "I hope he doesn't joke about the hair" Before you know it you could be the next team joke. "Stoooop, it looks good!!!" She yelled while you opened her door laughing. "Have a good night, maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" you slowly, carefully asked. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow" She responded with a soft smile. "Oh and I'll be sure to get you those strategic drawings a.s.a.p." you said quickly closing the door so she couldn't respond. She giggled. "GO TO BED Y/N '' She yelled laughing, so you could hear it through the door.
You smiled hard to yourself and did a little dance in the hallway before confidently walking back to your room.
Once you made it back to your room, even though Natasha told you to go to bed you couldn't. Your mind was too busy thinking about her to even fathom the idea of rest. So you lay on your bed in the darkness, a smile on your face as you went over in your mind how much you adored that girl.
Little did you know she was doing the same thing. As soon as you left she stood up and mapped out the different areas she planned to put your drawings excitedly awaiting their arrival. She was glad that you had made an effort to make her feel included and was even happier when she realized that you were actually having fun hanging out with her. She started contemplating that maybe not all people sucked. She lay in bed as well thinking about you. She had never really felt this way before, she didn't know what it was, but she wanted to get closer to you.
Later that night when Natasha left her room to get a snack she left with some pep in her step and a smile on her face. She didnt care if someone saw her from the living room, she was happy.
It was this night that both girls realized what they had with each other. Whether or not they knew if the other reciprocated these feelings, they didn't care. They just understood each other and earned for each other's company. They both wanted more, and it was only a matter of time before they got it.