By the time they arrived at his apartment, he was exceptionally drenched from the rain having only his suit jacket to keep him dry. Hailing a cab in a torrential downpour was almost impossible, even in the city, so they had ran most of the way to the nearest subway and then from there to his home. Both their feet and legs were soaked from splashing through large puddles, and they shivered in the hallway as he opened up the front door and immediately put the heating on.
"Jesus," he complained, pulling his suit jacket off and hanging it to dry before peeling his white shirt off his torso. It was soaked through and sticking to his skin, his tie limp around his neck. Natasha laughed softly, her top half only a little more dry form her coat, but her hair drenched as much as his was. She pushed it from her face, kicking her shoes off.
"I thought you are supposed to wait an hour after eating before going swimming?" She joked, removing her jacket as she went to find dry clothing. He followed her to the bedroom, struggling with removing his tie.
"In hindsight maybe getting the subway and running a few blocks home was a bad idea," he chuckled, dropping his tie with a shrug. "My hands are freezing," he brought them to his lips, blowing on them to heat them up as she stepped up to undo his tie for him, nimble fingers freeing him from it in seconds.
"Tell me you have jumpers, large warm ones." She asked, visibly shivering as her teeth cluttered together as she spoke.
"More than I need," he opened up the wardrobe, taking a few steps inside and reached up to grab two along with some sweatpants and dry socks. Natasha emerged from the bathroom with some towels, already undoing her hair to dry it off. James undressed, throwing everything in the laundry, along with Natasha's jeans and socks and pulled on the dry clothes, already feeling a little warmer.
When he turned back around, Natasha was practically drowning in his jumper, not to mention the sweatpants which she tied tightly and rolled up around the ankles so she could walk in them. "Honestly, the dumbest I've ever looked but also the warmest." She smiled while he laughed and pulled the cover from the bed.
"I think it looks great," he teased, dragging the cover to the couch as she followed him down the hall. She dropped onto the sofa and he draped the cover over them as he sat beside her, both burrowing together for warmth. He flicked the tv on, letting her get comfortable leaning into his side, picking some reality tv show to play that they could make fun of and relax to.
"Is this how you pictured celebrating your divorce?" She asked, smiling up at him as he chuckled.
"I thought there would be balloons and confetti cannons and maybe a cake," he joked, making her laugh softly. "But this is good too."
"You sure? That can all still be arranged." She teased, moving to lay with him as he got more comfortable resting back against the pillows on the sofa. She rested her head on his chest, looking towards the tv as he stroked through her hair.
"On second thoughts, this is much better." He smiled, linking his legs through hers and relaxing back into a comfortable state of normal.
***
Around an hour of bad tv later, and the storm growing worse outside, a large crack of lightening descended the place into darkness. The lights and tv shut off instantly, plunging them into darkness with the occasional lightening their only source of light from the window.
They lit all the candles they could find, and James went off to find a flashlight he knew he had in a closet somewhere, only to be given a near heart attack when Natasha pounced from behind a door on his return.
"Are you trying to kill me!" He laughed breathlessly, snatching for her in the dark and pulling her back into a bear hug as she laughed.
"Don't pretend you weren't thinking of doing the same to me!" She giggled, wrapping her arms around him. There was a sudden pang of familiarity about the situation, being in a dark space pressed close to another body that made her stomach churn with guilt.
"I would never!" He denied half heartedly, feeling her rise slightly onto her tiptoes to match his height.
They couldn't see as well in the darkness, but he knew her face wasn't far from his, the glow from the candles framing the movement of her hand while she reached up and lightly traced the contours of his cheek bones, making him smile at the feather light touch.
"You know I love you," she murmured, feeling him nodding a little in agreement. "More than anything, really."
"It makes me a very lucky man," James smiled.
"I'm the lucky one," she scoffed slightly with a small smile that was hidden as she looked away as the lightening flashed.
There was a strange waver in her voice he wasn't sure he liked, and he moved one of his hands up to cup her cheek, frowning in the darkness when he felt a tear drop against his thumb. "Nat?"
"I really thought this was it," she admitted, no longer hiding the silent stream of tears. "My head was all over the place believing we were over and-"
She jumped as the thunder interrupted her, and he took the opportunity to step in.
"Natasha, I'm sorry." He held her close, alarmed by how quickly her mood had turned. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just needed some time." He found one of he hands to hold tightly. "I'm not done with you yet," he joked lightly, using the hand that was cupping her cheek to lightly trace his fingertips over to her lips. "I'm trying to see if that got a smile of not."
She gave a soft laugh, pressing a kiss to his fingertips. "I love you too Nat, let's just move on from it, a stupid bump in the road, yeah?"
"Yeah," she nodded, leaning closer to him. "Move on."
He gently leaned in until he found her lips, kissing her in a way that instantly caused her to flush with excitement. This felt right, normal even. Like it was meant to be. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, bringing him closer as she instantly forgot about her mistakes. Her dishonesty a distant memory and she pushed it to the back of her mind where all her past was, everything she didn't like to think about.
It was almost too god damn easy.
***
The electricity was back on by the next morning, and the sunlight streaming through the gaps in the curtains caused them to wake earlier than planned. They were both tangled on the sofa, only in underwear with their clothes abandoned from when it got too hot in the night since the heating had kicked back on.
James woke when Natasha carefully climbed off him, stretching her back as she stood. "What time is it?" He grumbled, hiding behind his hand from the light.
"5:30am" she frowned, rubbing her eyes. "I'm going back to bed, bed. Now that we can find the way easier." They had retreated back to the sofa in the darkness, and hadn't wanted to move too happy with the comfortable cuddled up position they were in while laughing and joking.
Their argument had been quickly forgotten, moods lifting once more as they teased one another. Natasha ended up refusing to move once James told several ghost stories, all made up, but still terrifying in the darkness while the storm still raged on.
"I'll come with you," he got up, pulling the blankets with him. "Can't have the Oneeyed ghoul snatching you from under the bed,"
"James, don't," she moaned, "it's still not funny."
"You're scared even in the daylight?" He laughed as she dropped into bed.
"Shh. I'm sleeping." She smirked, closing her eyes in attempt at ignoring him.
"Mhmm. Sure." He murmured, climbing in and starting to pull the blankets over them. "Hey.."
"What?" She yawned not bothering to open her eyes. He shifted up onto his knees, leaving the blankets half covering them and lightly tracing the tattoo on her hip as he looked down at her.
"This is new," he mused, and she opened her eyes to judge his reaction. He was smirking at the little rose in amusement.
"Impulse and a little peer pressure, I got it yesterday," she explained, watching him admire it.
"I never expected that," he chuckled. "It's pretty hot."
She cleared her throat a little, not the first time she'd heard that. "You think?"
"Definitely," he grinned, crawling in behind her as she lay on her side, kissing at her neck and making her giggle as his stubble lightly tickled her. "Makes my mind wander," he teased.
"What? How many tattoos I'll cover myself with?" She asked jokingly, regretting not dropping the subject as he laughed, wrapped his arms around her from behind. She was just glad she was the little spoon so he couldn't see her reaction.
"More what other exciting little secrets you'll keep from me,"