natasha romanoff one shots

the party

A/N: I don't know about any of you, but from time to time I get really overwhelmed at parties - usually resulting in some kind of sensory overload - and I just shut down. I've been mean with the amount of angst I've been publishing for you, but I don't have any pure fluff to write right now. So I thought I'd write this as a combination of A) getting my own feelings out in writing and B) giving you some fluff at the end.

All sorts of people attended Stark's parties. The Avengers, the SHIELD agents, the people from the press and more often than not the people who just wanted a shot at being rich and famous. Stark's parties were good publicity for anyone wanting to be in the spotlight so the fame hunters would show up on his doorstep and suddenly there's an extra 50 people in the building. Stark isn't the type of guy to turn down anyone from a good party so the crowds tended to get pretty busy.

Natasha and I were excited to go to this Stark party in particular. It was our first one as an official couple and we were looking forward to simply being with each other throughout the night. Dancing together, drinking together, sitting together when the random guests left and it was just our tight knit family. Let's just say our outfits were nothing short of spectacular. My emerald suit with velvet black trim complimented Nat's tight black dress perfectly. She was wearing the emerald earrings that I got her for her birthday and I was wearing the gold pendant necklace she got me for mine.

For most of the night, we danced. We danced like idiots on the dance floor. Twirling each other around, dipping each other and occasionally stealing a kiss as we did so. We danced amongst the crowds until early morning when the press and the random tag alongs started to filter out. The number of people in the room reduced significantly after that but there were still quite a few SHIELD agents and of course all the Avengers.

Most of them were sat around a large table surrounded by couches and beanbags playing a game of poker so Nat and I decided to join them. Exhausted from dancing, we flopped down onto a squishy leather sofa and Tony dealt us out our cards and chips. I could feel the energy in me slowly draining as the rounds went on. I went from my usual chatterbox self to a more reserved, quiet version. This was pretty normal for me, everyone knew this happened when I had alcohol. I went from absolute chaos to quiet within a short period of time so no one questioned it when it happened this time. To be completely honest, neither did I until later on in the night.

It wasn't until later on that I realised I was actually getting overwhelmed. It flicked like a switch. Suddenly, the voices and music were much louder than they were earlier, drilling into my head and not getting quieter. I could hear the flick of the cards being shuffled and the scrape of the chips being pushed across the table. I could hear the clinking of glasses and the clicking of heels behind me. My clothes felt too tight to my body and the earrings I wore felt heavy and my shoes were rubbing.

Masking. It's what I do best. I continued my conversations, I carried on playing poker, I tried to play it off as nothing even though I probably shouldn't have. My leg bounced under the table where no one could see. I tapped my thumb against each finger individually counting in my head. 1 2 3 4. 1 2 3 4. I felt Nat's hand just above my knee, she didn't break conversation with the rest of the team, she didn't need to look or ask, she just knew. Her thumb rubbed up and down and she squeezed my leg in reassurance. This was comforting for a while but in the end it was just another thing to overwhelm me. I lifted her hand and moved it back to her own lap, smiling at her to let her know I appreciated it and she returned the smile understanding why I moved it back.

I was fine like this for a while. Pretending I was okay and not letting this sensory overload get the better of me. I didn't want to run away. But then I started zoning out in an attempt to tune out everything which only made the noises grow louder in my head. Trying to ignore it made every single noise so much more noticeable. I didn't realise my hands moved to cover my ears to block out the noise. I was sat there like a child, pressing my palms into my ears for some quiet. My eyes were scrunched shut and only when Nat tapped my back and Tony called to me did I realise it was my turn.