Rough Night

Chapter 4

   When you awake the next morning you find the bed beside you empty, and though at first you're a little saddened by this it doesn't surprise you. You knew she had a routine and part of that routine was early morning training, still you wished you could have woken up beside her.

You stretch before sitting up, and a smile tugs at your lips when you spot a note left on the redheads pillow. You quickly pick it up to read it.

Good morning detka(baby). I would have woken you to say goodbye but you looked so beautiful and peaceful that I couldn't bring myself to do so. I'll be paired with Carol today so expect me to be gone a bit longer than usual. But I'll still be able to join you for lunch :) I'll see you then, love you

You smile as you slip the cute note into the drawer of your nightstand, you fully intend to keep it and place it with all the other small things you've kept since you started dating the Russian. Maybe one day you'd show her everything. You stand and stretch again before heading for your closet. You grab an outfit and quickly change, intent on heading to the kitchen to grab some breakfast before you start looking at the files Hill had given you a few days ago.

When you get to the kitchen you don't even notice who else is in the room, you're far too focused on getting your much needed cup of coffee. But when you turn around, it takes every ounce of self restraint to not lunge at the two men.

"Uh, hey Y/n" Tony greets as he nervously rubs the back of his neck

"Look, we're very sorry- " Steve starts to say

You hold your hand up, "Shut it. I'm not the one you two need to apologize to. And when the two of you do apologize to Natasha, you better mean every damn word that comes out of your mouths, because if you don't or if you do something to hurt her again, I will not hesitate to punch you both so hard that you both are left with broken jaws and severely bruised egos."

They both nod but before they can say anything in regards to your threat you make your way out of the kitchen and back to your room. Paperwork wasn't going to do itself afterall.

After a few hours of what felt like endless document reading you can feel your eyes beginning to strain as well as a slight headache building. You sigh and place the current folder down before rubbing your sore temples. Your desk chair squeaks as you lean back in it, effectively masking the small creak your bedroom door makes as your girlfriend covertly enters.

She walks over towards you, a soft smile spreading across her face as her eyes fall on the framed photo of the two of you that you keep in the one corner. It's of the two of you early in the relationship, before you'd even really become official and she's sure that's why seeing it makes her heart flutter every time. Even then she had meant something to you. Enough for you to think about taking the picture, and then after a few more dates, enough to frame and put on display to show her off to others.

You don't even flinch as a pair of hands suddenly rest on your shoulders, you were far too familiar with her touch to be startled, "Hi detka(baby), how's the paperwork going?"

"Hi baby" you greet, grabbing her hands with your own, "It's going alright. Would be better if Hills rookies weren't so long winded. I mean really, a paragraph about the detainees' shoes?"

She chuckles, "Some things never change. Rookies always focus on too many of the wrong details"

"I bet you never had that problem"

"No" she replies with a smirk, "But that's because I was a rookie in SHIELD tactics only. I had more training and experience in my pinky than any of the rookies in my class or any class since have had in their entire body."