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𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧, 𝐃.𝐂.
━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━
Natasha boarded the quinjet at 4:54 in the morning dressed in her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform with her travel bag hoisted over her shoulder. She did a cursory glance, wondering where everyone was until she heard voices in the cockpit, her lips tilting up at the excited voice of Truth Castello speaking in ridiculously fast Spanish that had Natasha eager to know what could've possibly garnered such a response in her.
Throwing her bag onto one of the passenger seats, Natasha walked through the short aisle leading to the cockpit. The door was open, giving her a glimpse of Truth in the copilot seat, her whole body turned towards the person beside her as she leaned over to look at something. Her hair was loose, and she sported baggy cargo pants with a large shirt that hid the lines of her body. Natasha couldn't see her face, but she could hear the smile in her in her voice.
"Dios mío, es literalmente la cosita más mona que he visto nunca," she gushed. "Es adorable, Luis. Te das cuenta de que nunca voy a dejar de molestarte hasta que consiga verla en persona, ¿verdad?"
Oh my God, she is literally the cutest little thing I have ever seen. She's adorable, Luis. You realize I'm never going to stop bothering you until I get to see her in person, right?
"Sí, ¿así puedes secuestrarla y quedártela para ti solo?" the pilot, Luis, replied. "Conozco tus métodos, Truth."
Yeah, so you can kidnap her and keep her all to yourself? I know your ways, Truth.
"¿Y si la devuelvo?"
What if I give her back?
"¿Cuándo? ¿El año que viene?" At her excited nod, Luis made an unbelieving face. "No sé si a mi marido le gustaría."
When? Next year? I don't know if my husband would like that.
Truth made a sound of frustration, then stood, turning to face Natasha as though she knew she was there the whole time (she most definitely did) and grabbed her hand to pull her further into the cockpit.
"Natasha," she said, before gesturing to their pilot, "this is Agent Luis Herrera. Luis, meet Agent Natasha Romanoff." As soon as introductions were finished, she reclaimed her seat, looking up at Natasha with a very serious expression. "Natasha. I need you to look at this picture and tell me what you think."
Natasha turned when Luis brought his phone closer to her, allowing her to view the image. Upon realizing what Truth was getting so excited about, she had to hold back a laugh.
It was a puppy. A tiny little beagle looking up at the camera with big eyes and a red collar with the name Bella embroidered on it.
She was very cute.
Natasha repeated the sentiment to Truth, to her satisfaction.
"Now, don't you think Luis and his husband should lend her to me for a short, unspecified amount of time?" she asked, glancing up at the redhead with an innocent expression.
"You want to...borrow their dog?" Natasha questioned with a smile.
"Only for a little bit! Just think about how cute and fluffy and adorable she'll be."
"Yeah? But, what about Heidi?"
"She gets to have a little sister who she can play with whenever she wants!"
"Okay," Natasha accepted, "but what if Bella doesn't like cats?"
Truth turned to Luis for his input, only for him to shake his head with a chuckle.
"You're not getting our dog, Castello."
"Okay," she conceded, "but what if—"
"Nope."
"But—"
"Uh-uh."
Truth pouted, leaning forward to place her face on the palm of her hand.
"After all of our years of friendship?" she questioned.
Luis rolled his eyes.
"How about I bring her over for Easter—"
Truth jumped up out of her seat, her hands pressed together in front of her mouth.
"Yes!" She leaned down to give him a hug, a smile on her face as she closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his, which he accepted grudgingly. "Can you bring Robert too? I haven't seen him since the Fourth of July cookout, and he promised me karaoke night."
"Do I have to be there for it?"
"Yes."
Luis sighed.
"Fine." Then, he patted her shoulder, letting her know that her ten seconds were up. "Come on, now. Clock's ticking, and Germany isn't getting any closer."
With a grin, Truth stood up, winking at the pilot as both she and Natasha exited the cockpit.
"Thanks, Luis! You're the best."
"You are the worst, pollita (little chicken)," he replied. "Get some rest, we have a long flight ahead."
Truth stuck her head back into the cockpit.
"Do you want to switch at the halfway point? Ten hours is a lot, carnal."
"Tenemos una escala en Londres," he assured. "Estaré bien, chica."
We have a layover in London. I'll be fine, girl.
"Alright."
Truth walked out into the cabin, closing the door behind her to give Luis some peace and quiet after her nagging. She smiled when she saw Natasha sitting down in one of the seats doing something on her phone.
"Hey," she said sweetly. Natasha looked up and smiled.
"Hey," Natasha replied. "You know, if you want a dog that bad, why don't you get one yourself?"
Truth sat down next to her, her right leg bent on the seat so she could face her, elbow leaning on the back of the seat.
"I was mostly kidding," she said. Then she tilted her head this way and that. "Okay, maybe I do want a dog. But, they require a lot more attention than a cat. I've tried convincing Michael to get one so that, in technicality, I would also have a dog, but he knows it's more for my benefit than for his."
"Don't you need approval from Fury to do that, anyway? What if he says no?"
Truth scoffed.
"I'll pester him until he says yes. It'll probably be easier to convince him for a dog, anyway—he's not really a big cat fan, for whatever reason, but Heidi managed to win him over."
Natasha shook her head at her antics, and Truth smiled in response.
"Are you hungry?" she asked softly. "There's breakfast on board if you want some."
Natasha's habitual response was to politely decline, only for her to rethink that action. She was a little hungry, but she didn't want Truth to go out of her way for something that was definitely not high on Natasha's priority list. However, if she did decline, Truth would definitely know she was lying.
Huh. There wasn't really a way around it.
Truth hummed, amused at her mental debate.
"Not so easy, is it?"
Natasha made a face at her, but Truth only smirked before getting up to prepare them both a plate.
They ate in relative silence, taking it as a little reprieve before they started discussing their itinerary for the next few days. Within minutes, they were in the air, leaving D.C. behind with only the mission ahead.
They were scheduled to arrive at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base in Germany around three in the afternoon, giving them the time to pick up any supplies they needed for their aliases before checking into their hotel for the night. S.H.I.E.L.D. had managed to secure one invite to the gala, so it was decided that Truth would act as the distraction within the party while Natasha snuck in to retrieve the implant. The gala would open at seven with silent auctions starting at eight and closing at nine for a late dinner. Truth would arrive somewhere before or close to nine, when the auctioned items would be returned to storage until the live auction at ten. That gave Natasha about an hour to steal the implant and escape.
"I can intercept Judy Warner for you," Truth decided. "While it's obvious that she's willing to kill for this thing, I doubt she'd do so with the risk of ruining all of her life's work. There's something more to her story that we're missing, but it shouldn't be too difficult to apprehend her. I'm not sure about Keil's involvement in the project, but I will also make sure that he doesn't get in your way if it comes to that point."
"That leaves the Ten Rings," Natasha noted.
"Yes, and we'll have to play that one by ear. I can give you a heads up of when they arrive, but there's no telling if they're going to do a repeat of last night or take a quieter approach. Hopefully you won't run into them, but," Truth added with a smirk, "that's a best case scenario."
"Okay," said Natasha with her own little smile. "Best case scenario, the implant is secure and delivered safely to S.H.I.E.L.D. What's next?"
After the gala, Natasha and Truth would make the drive to Poznan, Poland, where the Oderint Dum Metuant were currently stationed. Truth had a safe house in the area for them to stay in for the time being. It was quite a trip, so they weren't sure if they'd be able to visit the Lycan the day they arrived.
"The enhanced are more comfortable at night, in my experience," Truth explained. "We'll probably get to Poland somewhere close to three a.m. at the latest, depending on when we leave, but I don't know if I'd want to wait until the next day to have this meeting."
Natasha raised a reproachful brow at her.
"This is the best case scenario," she reminded. "The gala ends at eleven the latest, so we skip the live auction and get to Poznan at one a.m."
"And," Truth added, "if I'm driving, I could make it twelve."
Natasha made a skeptical face at that. She was a pretty reckless driver herself under certain circumstances, but cutting a three-hour trip into two?
"...Let's maybe aim for twelve-thirty."
Their plans after that was the hard part. Liz hadn't yet gotten back to Truth about any updates on Anfisa, and they weren't sure what the Lycan had in store for them.
They did, however, still have a lot of questions. Many of which regarded the Red Room, such as the mysterious Russian woman who was reaching out to Truth and the unspecified status of the Red Room itself.
"Just to confirm," Truth said carefully, "when you defected to S.H.I.E.L.D...."
Natasha turned away then, staring at the ground as she fiddled with her hands.
"Clint and I..." She paused, then started again. "Yes. Our mission was to destroy the Red Room, and we did, but there are still some assassins out there from the program. This woman could be anyone."
"I don't think she is," Truth admitted somberly, watching Natasha's reaction carefully. "I hadn't been sure at first, either, but after your reaction to the drawing I'd showed you..."
Natasha looked at her then. Because, despite saying that she was unsure, Natasha did have one person in mind.
Only, she hoped it wasn't who she thought it was. It was the only person who made sense, and yet Natasha didn't want it to be so.
She never wanted to see anyone from that place again. Yet, their memory was branded into her memories, and Natasha was left with the sordid reminder of just where she was from and what they had made her to be.
Even in death, Dreykov had managed to bind her soul to the Red Room. No matter how free she may seem, everything always circled back to the room of trained killers.
And, staring at Truth now, she recalled that that was not only true for one of them.
"You know her," she realized.
"Were you there?" Natasha had asked.
"Once," Truth had answered honestly. "I was considered for the program. They didn't want me."
"I've met her," Truth corrected. She stared at something unseen, like she was viewing memories of the past with new eyes.
Then, like foreign words on her tongue, she spoke her name.
"Madame Baranova."
Natasha could only stare in disbelief, her thoughts coming to a full stop at the revelation. It was more jarring than the thought of her old teacher resurfacing, the sound of her voice like a mantra in her head, more than Dreykov's ever was.
"How—" Natasha shook her head, unable to wrap her head around it.
Madame Baranova.
"She...never told anyone her name," she managed. "Not even Dreykov."
At that, Truth scoffed, a small smile playing on her lips as her eyes once again refocused to the present.
"Not many people can hide things from me, Natasha," she explained. "I forced her to tell me. And, when she did—not without a lot of restraint, mind you—I..."
Truth couldn't even say it with a straight face. She started laughing, and Natasha sat up, eager to know what had happened.
"Truth! What did you do?"
"Natasha, it was so mean," she diverted, and the redhead grabbed her hands to keep her from covering her face.
"Truth, I can promise you that, whatever you did, she absolutely deserved worse."
"I know." Truth threw her head back on the seat, dragging a hand across her face in embarrassment. "Sometimes I just can't believe how bold I used to be."
"Yeah, this is news to me," Natasha agreed. She tugged once more on her hand, trying to move it from her face. "Tell me."
Truth sighed then, staring at the ceiling as she recalled her short encounter with the Russian woman.
"I had laughed at her, because I knew what the name meant. Officially, it means 'lamb,' but it had originated from a peasant family in Russia. And, because she'd taught my mother, she'd called me a 'daughter of the Red Room,' which I didn't appreciate. In turn, I'd called her 'daughter of the peasant lamb'."
Natasha looked at her with wide eyes, her mouth agape.
"You're kidding."
"I'm not," she insisted with a chuckle, covering her eyes once more with her arm.
Natasha laughed, fighting to remove it.
"Truth!" she exclaimed, and the other assassin laughed again before dropping the arm with a pout as she listened. "I would've killed to see that, you know. Remind me not to make you mad."
Truth raised a brow jokingly.
"I thought you already did?"
Natasha rolled her eyes, pushing the other woman away as she laughed again.
"To be fair," she defended, "you acted like you were mad."
"Oh, Natasha, I can assure you that you'd know for certain if I was mad. Though, if I were you, I wouldn't be too worried about it because I doubt there's anything you could do to make me mad at you."
"Really? What if I told you that I hate chocolate?"
"Natasha, I know that's not true. We literally shared a chocolate bar like two days ago."
"Okay," she agreed. "Then, what if I said that I'm not a dog person?"
Truth gaped at her in offense.
"So, if I got a dog, you wouldn't like her?"
"Well, that's not what I said, but—"
"I thought you said Bella was cute!"
"That was true! I don't think she's not cute," Natasha argued with a chuckle. Only, Truth still looked as though she'd betrayed her, and Natasha rolled her eyes. "Truth, you literally have a cat—"
"But what if she wasn't a cat?! Would you still love Heidi if she was a dog?"
Natasha gave her a look.
"She likes to go on walks, loves bath time, and is the height of an average six-year-old human child. Heidi is basically a dog."
Truth crossed her arms pointedly, not letting up her side.
Natasha could only shake her head in exasperation.
After a moment longer, she sighed, giving up.
"Yes, I would still love Heidi if she was a dog."
Shortly after they had their plan set in stone, and once Natasha had effectively soothed Truth after her comment about dogs, they spent a good portion of the flight catching up on the sleep they'd missed the night before.
Truth had suggested it first. She'd pulled out a whole fuzzy, gray blanket and thick pillows from one of her go-bags, and Natasha had looked on with surprise.
"Did you bring your whole bed?"
"Only part of it," Truth had answered cheekily as she got settled on one of the couches along the side of the jet. "Wanna share?"
Natasha's first instinct had been to decline in favor of looking through the files once more, but one look from Truth reminded her of their less than restful night and Natasha didn't have much to persuade her otherwise.
For the first few minutes, where Natasha spent her time curled up on the opposite end of the couch reading Anne of Green Gables so as to not intrude on Truth's space, Truth sat comfortably with her earphones in, her head moving along to a beat Natasha couldn't hear.
Then, after about ten minutes, Natasha glanced up from her book and smiled. Truth was slouched over, one arm underneath the pillow she laid on, her breathing even.
It took Natasha about another thirty minutes before her eyes started to close of their own accord, the book soon forgotten in her hand.
A couple hours later, when Truth woke up well rested, she'd turned and smiled softly at the sight of Natasha and her half-opened book, her thumb still holding her place.
Truth shook her head.
And she had wanted to pretend that she hadn't been tired.
Several hours later, they said their goodbyes to Luis as they made their way through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s German base.
Natasha had never been there before, but Truth, as always, knew exactly where she was going. She took them into one of the engineering labs, where all of their materials were ready for their assignment.
"Hey, Jemma," Truth greeted the woman tinkering with something on the wide table in the middle of the room. Jemma looked up in surprise, then grinned when she recognized the other agent. "How are you?"
"Not so bad," she answered, her British accent apparent. "It's been a while since we've seen you here. I heard about Brazil."
Truth rolled her eyes playfully as she dropped her bags on one end of the table, gesturing for Natasha to do the same. Jemma stood up, turning to rummage through some of her things.
"Everyone has heard about Brazil."
"Only good things!" Jemma assured. "Everyone only says good things."
"Aw. In that case, I owe you a thank you." Stepping aside to start introductions, Truth gestured to Natasha. "This is my partner, Agent Natasha Romanoff. Natasha, this is Jemma Simmons, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s genius interns." Jemma straightened from where she was hunched over a desk and turned to give Natasha a wave. "Where's your other half? And Franklin, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh, there was something happening with a diffused bomb somewhere out in London? Dr. Hall took Leo with him after I volunteered to stay to give you your things."
She came over with a dark green Kevlar case, sliding it across the table to Natasha.
"As per request, I have your taser disks, garrote, smoke and stun grenades, baton, PPK/S, photostatic veil, and...pepper spray?" she added uncertainly.
Truth snorted, and Natasha smirked as she double-checked her equipment.
"Don't knock it till you try it, Castello."
"I'm not knocking anything, I just think it's a little funny. Can I ask why...?"
"Clint lost a bet."
"Ah. Should we rub some salt in the wound? We can send him a picture of us wielding pepper sprays against the Krasnaja Komnata."
Red Room.
Natasha pursed her lips to hold back a laugh.
"My uvereny, čto ty vyros iz fazy 'mne vse po barabanu'?"
Are we sure you grew out of your 'I don't give a fuck' phase?
"Dumaju, kogda delo dohodit do Krasnoj Komnaty, mne uže ne do togo."
I guess, when it comes to the Red Room, I don't usually have anymore fucks to give.
Jemma came back out with an opaque garment bag that was larger than her, while juggling another case similar to the one she'd given to Natasha.
"Wow," Natasha commented.
"Yup." Jemma handed the case to Truth while she laid the bag onto the table. "In there is your usual, though Dr. Hall insists that you bring in your whip prototype—he's eager to hear about your ideas and I think he'd be happy to work on that extension you were talking about. He and Leo have literally been talking about it nonstop."
"How about we see if I have the time to stop by first?" Truth suggested. "That's if they're back from London by then."
"They should be, but I'll let them know." After unzipping the bag, she took a deep breath to calm herself down before turning to Truth. "Okay. I know you said that the goal was to stand out, but, considering you gave me liberty over basically everything and that you look drop-dead gorgeous in black, I made the executive decision to give you a black palette. It'll make your eyes stand out more, as if that's even possible, and the dress has a shimmer to it that'll catch onto the light. The only downside is that it drags on the floor, but we modified it a little so, if you need to, you can shorten it on the fly."
"Okay," Truth said with a chuckle as she studied the dress, feeling the soft fabric. "Any other adjustments?"
"We added a protective layer underneath the fabric around the torso, because we all know how injury-prone you are—"
"What?! I'm not—"
"Just because you heal fast and have the lack of scars to prove it doesn't mean it's not true," Jemma debunked.
"Okay," Truth accepted. "But I've never gotten injured on a solo mission."
Jemma looked pointedly at Natasha, who looked at Truth with a raised brow.
"Natasha doesn't count," Truth argued. "She's literally the Black Widow."
"How about we bet on it?" Natasha suggested with a sly smile.
"Given your track record, I'm not so sure about that."
"Okay, well, the protection is there as a cautionary measure," Jemma interjected before they could get further sidetracked. "There's a slit above your left leg, but we have thigh holsters for your right, which will be hidden beneath the dress. I gave you some extra knives, and, I know it's not your style, but there's a gun in there if you decide to use it. Shoes and jewelry are also in your case, so you don't have to worry about those. Is there anything else I'm missing?"
"Nothing," Truth answered. Then, upon further thought, she added, "Except..."
Jemma's face dropped, expecting the worse, only for Truth to give her a small smile.
"Relax. You did amazing."
Jemma let out a sigh of relief with a hand on her chest.
"Don't scare me like that! Do you know how intimidating it is to have both the Siren and the Black Widow in the same room as you? I was about to shit my pants when you got here."
Natasha and Truth shared a look, both noticeably holding back amused smiles.
Within an hour, the pair had checked into their hotel, giving them about two more hours before they had to leave for the gala. S.H.I.E.L.D. had given them a luxurious single king-sized room at the Westin Grand Hotel, where Truth suspected many other gala invitees resided for the night. The assassins didn't spend much time taking in the lavish decorations or ridiculously expensive furniture, however, aware that they had a short window before their driver would arrive.
Of course, Natasha had finished getting ready before Truth, having slipped into her tactical suit and assembled her utility belt with ease. She checked all of her weapons, slipping her guns into their holsters and her knives in their sheaths. Her hair was tucked away into a wig, the braided black hair falling over her shoulder. Studying herself in the mirror, she debated the necessity of the photostatic veil.
"Hey, Truth?" Natasha called out. She heard her hum in response as she walked out the bathroom. "Do you think—"
Natasha turned, only for her to forget what she was about to say.
Truth was in the dress. Not that Natasha thought that she wouldn't be in the dress by now, but it was the first time she was seeing it for herself.
Jemma was right. Truth was drop-dead gorgeous in black.
The dress shimmered, cupping her curves as it cascaded down behind her in a pool of fabric, leaving behind a trail. Each strap hugged her breasts, leaving a "v" down the middle to her stomach, giving her a low cut along her back. The slit showed her full leg, beautiful, bare brown skin, revealing her to be shoeless. A shear, decorated black sleeve covered her palm and forearm, though separate to the sleeveless dress itself. Her hair was twisted back into an elegant bun, a few wavy strands framing her face, drawing her attention to her eyes, a war between blue and violet.
When Natasha didn't finish her sentence, Truth looked away from the full-length mirror on the far wall, satisfied with her look so far. Only, when she saw Natasha's blank expression, her mouth still open in a small "o," Truth realized the source of her distraction and paused.
Truth knew that she had her fair share of admirers. She got most of her looks from her mother, who she remembered always fended off advances at every turn. With HYDRA it had been a curse, but when she had moved to the States and began to find herself, she'd come to love her body and usually enjoyed the attention it garnered so long as it was appropriate. She knew her way around a good time, and playing dress up was one of her favorite things to do before a night out.
And, granted, they weren't here to have that type of fun, but the goal for this mission was to be distracting. And, to find that Truth may have achieved that in the Black Widow seemed just slightly too good to be true.
It was no secret that Truth found Natasha attractive. She was her type of woman—a body that carried grace, sultry eyes, and a strength that captured her femininity in a sexual tease. Truth had checked her out more than a couple of times now, and that was even true in the moment as she took in the sight of the other assassin in her suit.
And yet, this was the first hint she got that maybe...
Maybe this could be a little fun.
With a sly smirk, Truth sauntered closer, watching Natasha closely.
"Do I think what?" she asked.
Natasha didn't say anything. She was confused, shocked by her own reaction. It wasn't the first time she'd looked at Truth and openly admired her, but this...
This was different. Natasha couldn't seem to look away, even as she came closer and closer and closer.
Once she was close enough, Truth pouted, tugging on the end of Natasha's braid.
"As good as you look in black, I miss the red, rosita."
Little rose.
"I'm...not supposed to stand out," Natasha finally replied. Her gaze traveled down Truth's body once more, before forcing herself to keep her eyes on her face. "Which I think you're doing just fine."
Truth smiled at her.
"Thank you. Are you ever going to ask me your question, or was that just to get my attention?"
Natasha rolled her eyes, turning slightly to gesture to the veil as she attempted to gain her bearings.
"Veil or no veil?"
Truth looked away from Natasha towards the item, tilting her head in thought.
"Whatever is most comfortable for you."
Natasha gave her a pointed look.
"That wasn't one of your options."
"Well, personally, I wouldn't because I don't like things covering my face, but I'm also not the one wanted by the Russian government with a five-billion-dollar bounty on my head."
"I'm also wanted by the Hungarian government," Natasha admitted. "But, so is Clint, so that's not really my fault."
"You're not really helping your case," Truth pointed out.
Natasha raised a brow.
"So...no veil?"
"If that's what you want," Truth answered with an amused smile playing on her lips.
"It's not about what I want."
"It's always about what you want, and nothing less," Truth countered seriously. "It's not about what I think, it's about what you think."
Natasha stared at her.
"I care about what you think," she said.
Truth lowered her head for a moment.
"Okay," Truth said, though her heart fluttered at the sweet comment. "What if I told you that, veil or no veil, I wouldn't let the Russian or Hungarian forces get to you either way?"
"Okay," Natasha said, though she was now thoroughly overwhelmed with the protectiveness of Truth Castello. Because, she was beginning to believe that Truth would make good on that promise. "So, what I'm hearing is...no veil?"
Truth sighed, because Natasha wasn't going to rest until she got her answer.
"No veil."
Natasha smiled.
"Thank you. Was that so hard?"
"Well, it did take up like ten minutes of our time."
And, like that, Natasha was once again reminded of the mission and, frantically, she glanced around to catch a glimpse of the time—
"Natasha." Truth caught her arm, the coldness of her ring-adorned fingers drawing her attention. "It's fine. We still have half an hour before our ride gets here."
Trusting her, Natasha took a deep breath to calm herself.
She never got distracted like that on a mission. She was always hyper-focused, one step ahead of anything and everything, and yet just the presence of Truth Castello seemed to make her feel so unprepared for a simple theft run that she felt slightly lightheaded.
"Sorry," she said.
"Don't be sorry," Truth said. "We're partners, now. I've got your back. We'll be okay."
She was right. They were partners.
The Siren and the Black Widow.
Once they were children sworn against each other. The Widow had grown to despise her, and the Siren had borne a hated for everything she'd stood for.
Now they were adults, and they were partners fighting for a world that had mistreated them.
"Speaking of partners," Truth added, "What are the chances that you can help me untangle my heels from my jewelry? Don't even ask how it happened, just know that I've been trying to fix it for like the past fifteen minutes."
Yeah. Germany was not going to know what hit them.
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OMG, we literally made it to 10k views!! Thank you guys so so much for all of your votes and comments and support, it means so much to me and I'm glad that you're enjoying reading this fic as much as I love writing it! 🧡