Blackhill One-Shots

Quixotic

The first time Natasha tried to ask Maria Hill out, it didn't work out so well.

It was after a training session and Hill had just dismissed a group of sweaty and disgruntled rookies when Natasha strode over, her eyes burning into Maria's, her proximity just a little too close to be considered professional.

"Do you want to go out for drinks sometime?" Natasha asked, putting on her usual bravado in an attempt to hide her nervousness.

Hill stared at her like she'd grown an extra head. "We're in a metal fortress forty thousand feet up in the sky, Natasha. There's really no room to go out for drinks."

Natasha knew that Maria was just being her normal self; snarky, sarcastic, frank, but it didn't do anything to soften the sting of Hill's response. And she was pretty sure that Maria wasn't rejecting her, just her proposition of getting drunk on the Helicarrier and she could almost see why. It really wasn't the smartest thing to do.

She'd find another way. She always did.

- - -

Natasha decided to make a sort game out of it, because there was nothing more fun than watching Maria puzzle over something - it was kind of cute when she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration, but Natasha would never admit to thinking that. Besides, it gave her something to do when she was sitting on the Helicarrier, other than beating the living shit out of a punching bag - or Clint.

The first thing she chose to do was simple. Maybe, hopefully, it would get the message across.

Roses.

Should be foolproof, right?

And Natasha even went the whole nine yards; requesting shore leave, going to the local flower shop, spending thirty dollars on a dozen red roses and ten more to make it a bouquet, complete a glass vase and those little white buds that made the arrangement look halfway decent. She dropped the vase off the next morning, attached to it a little card that just had a heart drawn on it and the letter "N".

It was simple, it was decently easy, and it absolutely did not work .

Natasha watched from the vents with interest as Maria walked into her office, took one look at the roses, then proceeded to throw them out, not even taking the time to look at the card.

Apparently, Hill did not like flowers. And forty dollars - plus tax - went down the drain, or more accurately, down to the large trash bins hidden in the Helicarrier.

- - -

The next thing Natasha tried was just as stereotypically romantic as the first one; chocolates. She left the red heart-shaped box filled with Venezuelan-imported chocolates on Maria's desk, a note - not a card, this time Maria had to read it - taped on top with another heart and "from N" written on it.

Maria regarded the box with interest, taking a moment to read the note before ripping it off and shredding it, along with any of Natasha's hopes that this idea was going to work.

Hill ate the chocolates though, which could be considered a win but really wasn't, at least in Natasha's mind.

- - -

"Someone keeps leaving these weird gifts on my desk." Maria said, barging into the break room where Natasha was sitting, pouring a cup of coffee for herself and plopping down on the couch next to the agent.

"Oh?" Natasha responded, trying not to show too much interest in the subject.

Their coffee "dates", if you will, had became somewhat of a weekly thing. They just ranted about the annoying things in their lives for a couple of hours before returning to whatever threat needed their attention. They even went out to dinner sometimes, when their shore leave dates matched up and the powers allowed them to have a nice meal uninterrupted. Once, they'd even went to a concert. It was a good way to release some of the frustration that was built up from the week and Natasha found herself feeling lighter after one of their meetups, although she didn't know if it was because of Maria or the talking.