emmylou | natasha romanoff

ten.

2012
Springfield, Ohio

Kennedy stared at Natasha, watching as her chest rose and fell with every soft snore. Natasha was a cute sleeper. She was also secretly a clinger. She held on to Kennedy as though she were going to disappear in the middle of the night when truthfully there was nowhere else that Kennedy would prefer to be.

They'd fallen into a routine where they couldn't sleep unless they were sleeping together. If it were a night after Kennedy's hospital shift, Natasha would come over to her apartment and just slide into bed with her. They'd eat dinner with Kennedy's family before heading to Natasha's.

Kennedy's hands played in Natasha's hair as she laid half on top of her.

"Do you have to leave?" Natasha asks sleepily.

"No," Kennedy responds, "But I am on call."

"Do you want to go to your place?" Natasha asks as she snuggles deeper into Kennedy's chest, making her smile.

"You can stay here," Kennedy says.

"I want to come with you," Natasha says opening her eyes and looking up at Kennedy.

"Okay," Kennedy says, "But we don't have to go now. So, you can go back to sleep."

"Will you keep playing with my hair?" Natasha asks as she closes her eyes.

"Of course," Kennedy says softly. It's a matter of minutes before Natasha falls back asleep and Kennedy wonders if Natasha's ever been able to just relax. She wanted to give her as much peace as possible.

Natasha slept for an hour longer before they ended up going to Kennedy's apartment, bringing Tolkien along with them, who seemed to be extremely taken by Natasha.

"You're joking."

"I'm not."

"Natasha, tell me that you're joking."

Natasha shakes her head with a smile on her face, "I'm not."

Kennedy uses her keys to unlock the front door of her apartment, "I don't believe you."

"That's okay," Natasha says, "I'll just call Clint and have him tell you all about it."

"Clint," Kennedy says with a giggle as she opens the front door. Natasha pokes Kennedy in the side, making her jerk away and laugh even harder.

"Stop laughing about his name," Natasha orders.

"I'm sorry," Kennedy says with a smile, "It's just a super cool SHIELD agent with the code name Hawkeye has to introduce himself as Clint."

"You have to be nice to Clint when you meet him," Natasha says as she lets go off Tolkien's leash, allowing the dog to run into the apartment.

Kennedy looks over at Natasha with a small grin, "I get to meet Clint?"

"Of course," Natasha says as she tilts her head, "And please stop saying Clint like that. You don't have to enunciate each syllable."

"Do I get to meet the rest of the Avengers?" Kennedy asks as she steps into the apartment, "Since apparently, you are one."

"Why is it so hard to believe?" Natasha asks with a smile.

Kennedy can't help as she grows excited, "Because that means you are friends with like the coolest people on Earth."

"They're not friends, they're more like coworkers," Natasha responds.

Kennedy rolls her eyes, "They're your friends."