joey looks over at him, eyebrows still pulled together slightly. "you're a jerk, you know that?" they both know that she's referencing several things at the moment, not just his words minutes ago.
"yeah," he tells her, shaking his head and looking a...
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IN AN ATTEMPT TO PROCRASTINATE THE UNPACKING AND JOEY-FICATION OF HER ROOM, JOEY, THROUGH AN INTERVIEW WITH FRIDAY, LEARNS THAT NATASHA ROMANOFF NOW RESIDES IN ROOM 13.
So, room 13 is exactly where Joey is headed.
Suppressing a smirk, she grabs the book off of her desk before slipping out of her room and up and down the several halls, searching for the plaque that reads the right room number.
When she finally finds it, she knocks and waits anxiously for all of four seconds, which is nowhere near enough time to contemplate the thought that Natasha may not even be in her room.
"Joey!"
Before she can even open her mouth, Natasha is throwing herself at Joey, who is laughing and, once again, nearly crying. When Natasha lets the hug go, her hands remain on Joey's shoulders.
"Holy crap, you're tall."
"So I've heard," Joey smiles as she takes in the woman before her. Her hair is long now, and the ends are blonde, and her smile is as contagious as ever.
"Get in here, Stark." Natasha slings her arm around Joey's shoulder, and she lets her bedroom door fall shut behind her.
Joey takes in the room, and it's so perfectly Natasha: the walls have forest green designs painted on them that couldn't have possibly been painted herself; there's a three-photo collage above her dresser that consists of a picture of her and Clint, a picture of her and another red-headed girl, and a picture of her and Steve; and at the bottom of her open closet is a pile that is equally mixed of combat boots and stripper heels.
"Is this mine?" Natasha asks, grabbing the hand that Joey is holding the book with. Joey looks away from the photos on the wall to process Natasha's question.
"Yes," she replies, cracking a smile. "My dad moved all my old things into my new room, and this was one of them."
"Did you ever finish it?"
"Of course not."
"You're helpless," Nat sighs, taking the book and tossing it onto her desk. She turns back and looks at Joey for a second longer, taking in her lightened hair, and height, and differences. She hugs her again. "How are you, Jo?"
"Better than I know, Nat," she tells her, before looking back around at her room.
"Thanks for the book," Nat tells her with a wink, "but I can see the decor ideas turning in your head. You got a new room, right?"
"Room 21," Joey confirms, wrinkling her nose at how easily Nat is still able to read her. "It's just a big pile of stuff right now."
"Go decorate! We'll have all summer to catch up."
"OK, OK," Joey concedes excitedly, looking around Nat's room one more time. "See you." She blows a kiss as she steps outside, and onto the last room on her mind, before her own.
