The Perfect Girlfriend - Blackhill

Chapter 11 - Sunday

Maria kept driving long after Natasha fell asleep in the seat next to her.

They were four hours into the drive, when she lazily woke up and turned toward her with heavy eyes, smiling tiredly.

"Want me to drive for a while?"

"You look sleepy, love. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Oh, please, Mia. I drove with three bullet wounds and a fractured arm. I think I can manage sleep just fine."

Maria laughed a little. "How about you keep me company for now and I'll pull over at the next service station so we can switch?"

"Sounds good. Why are you listening to Taylor Swift?"

"What do you mean, why am I listening to her? It was on the radio."

"Well, why didn't you change it?"

"Because I like her."

"You're such a softie."

"I'm not soft." Maria furrowed her eyebrows and looked confused.

"You're so soft, you're probably filled with yeast."

Maria snorted. "I should just let you drive and sleep your craziness off."

"I did offer." Natasha pointed out. "Or we could both sleep. We could stop at a hotel, rent a room and look at pictures."

"Oh, you brought the album with you?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Natasha laughed a little. "No, I didn't." she said with innuendo, her hand landing on Maria's upper thigh. "You're still not grasping this whole picture metaphor."

Maria laughed, shaking her head. "We have to be there by morning, you know that."

"Why? It's not like our problems won't still be there in the afternoon."

Maria stayed silent, deciding not to point out that the sooner they dealt with at least some part of their problems, the sooner their new relationship could have some kind of stability without Banner or the press breathing down their neck.

"Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I'm not that tired."

Natasha just kept looking at her profile, not knowing what to say to make things lighter or somehow better. They were a little out of their depths. Give them armed enemies, they would manage just fine. But personal issues? They were screwed.

"Just let me drive for a while so I can be in charge of the station. Taylor would ruin my REM sleep anyway."

"You can tease me all you like, but we both know I saw that playlist on your computer. You're soft too, Romanoff."

"Never said I wasn't, Hill."

Maria turned briefly, just enough to see her smirk and then turned back toward the road, smirking back.

She stopped at the next station so they could switch seats, and let Natasha drive for four hours while she slept. When she woke up, they switched again so she could drive the last four hours.

"I'm staying awake, I swear, so I can keep you company." Natasha promised as she settled in her seat. Not twenty minutes later, she was fast asleep.

- - -

She parked in her building's underground parking lot and, only after turning off the engine, she turned to Natasha, gently grabbing her shoulder in order to wake her up.

"Hey Nat, we're here."

She stirred and looked around, then back at Maria. "Hey." she greeted in a sleepy voice.