The Substitute (A Natasha Romanoff Story)

Chapter 14

Natasha

Everything that happened that weekend was a blur. I booked the earliest flight I could to Washington where I met up with Maria, Yelena and Tony at SHIELD headquarters where Nick was recovering. He was watching Senator Ross present Rhodey with a medal of honor in front of about five hundred people until someone pulled a gun on Fury, shooting him in his abdomen. Luckily, he would be okay and it would only take a few weeks for him to recover, but that didn't stop Maria from scolding me.

"...we called you several times while you were busy sleeping with your mission..." She rambled, barely giving herself time to catch a breath.

"Hill, calm down. Nothing I could've done would have stopped all this from happening. Fury's fine-"

"He's not immortal Romanoff," She interrupted "There are people out there who want him dead and it's our mission to prevent it!"

"I know! Which is why we need to head back to New York and finish it." I said.

"I can't leave him like this." The brunette sighed.

"He'll be fine," I reassured her "This building is filled with the best doctors and highly trained agents. That's more than enough protection."

"I don't want him to wake up and I'm not there." She said.

"He's better off knowing that you're keeping hundreds of other people safe, he'll understand." I smiled softly.

And with that, the two of us made our way back to our Brooklyn apartment after spending the night next to Nick's hospital bed. Yelena told us that she would stay in DC for a while so she could get new missions, so it was just Maria and I who went back to New York. By the time we had reached the apartment, it was pitch black outside and we were both exhausted.

"Why can't I just take Adonis into custody when I see him?" I asked Maria as we both walked into the apartment.

"We need more evidence, he's pretty good at covering his tracks." She responded.

"Was the shipment of explosives not enough for you?" I half-joked, making her smile.

A short silence fell over us as we started making ourselves comfortable again, putting our things away and washing our hands.

"Sorry for shouting at you earlier," Maria spoke softly, scratching the back of her neck. She didn't apologize often, I knew she meant it.

"It's okay," I said "I know how much Fury means to you, you had all the rights to be upset." The brunette nodded.

"Do you want a drink?" Maria offered, swinging open the fridge to grab herself some liquor.

"I can't have a hangover tomorrow, I have a mission to finish," I shook my head.

"Oh yeah, sorry Miss Rushman." Maria chuckled to herself quietly as she took a sip of her beverage, collapsing onto the couch.

"I also have to figure out an excuse to use for Naomi," I sighed as I slumped next to her "I kinda left without a goodbye."

"You tend to do that a lot, dont you?" Maria half-joked.

"Still haven't let that go?" I teased as she shook her head.

"I take it one night stands are kinda your thing?" She taunted with a playful smile.

"You would know, wouldn't you?" I smiled smugly.

"Ouch" The brunette laughed, pretending to be offended.

As much as Maria tried to hide it, I knew she was pissed about what happened between us a few months ago. We were both shit-faced at a party that Stark hosted and somehow managed to sneak out without anyone noticing. The following morning, I woke up on the chest of a nude Maria and left without a note or a message, which I regretted after she decided to ignore me for weeks on end. Although I slept with her, she was still my friend and we never really spoke about what happened until then.