Wolf Avenger x Natasha

9 - What They Have

Standing behind the bar, away from the rest of the party, Natasha pours a drink into a thin necked glass. I watch her from a table across the room as I take shots with Sam and Bucky, my stomach much too laden with food and water for the drink to affect me. The guys don't notice and neither does she. They also don't notice that I can hear every clink of glass and swish of liquid from the bar.

I watch as Bruce saunters over with an awkward smile and a bashful look on his face and I watch as Nat dips her chin and offers a flirty tight-lipped smile.

"How did a nice girl like you end up workin in a dump like this," Bruce says cheesily.

Natasha's eyes flare in perfect recognition, responding doeily, "Fella done me wrong."

"Gotta lousy taste in men, kid," he says and I nearly cringe at the 'kid' bit.

"He's not so bad, he's got a temper but deep down he's all fluff. The fact is he's not like anybody I've ever known. All of my friends are fighters and here comes this guy who spends his life avoiding the fight because he knows he'll win." No one could spout words like that without putting in some forethought. She planned this. She sips her drink.

"That sounds amazing," he says and I take note of the large amount of eye contact.

"He's also a huge dork," she drops bluntly.

He chuckles and she emphasizes to make sure he can't take it the wrong way, "Chicks dig that." She pauses and then asks softly, "So what do you think, should I fight this? Or run with it?"

Bruce sounds uncertain as he draws out his r, "Run with it, right? Or did he–was he–what did he do that was so wrong?"

"Not a damn thing." She leans in closer from across the bar, "But never say never." And then walks away with a sexy swish of her sculpted hips.

I take another shot of vodka, my mind tracing over her plans and intentions skeptically.

Bucky nudges my shoulder and Sam whistles. I follow their eyes to an attractive blond with long pale legs and my attention shifts.

"How much do you bet I can get her number," Sam starts.

I eye him, my lips turning up as I prompt, "How much you bet that I beat you to it?"

Sam raises his eyebrows at me and Bucky chuckles, saying, "You've done it now."

"You can quit acting drunk, the party's over," Natasha tells me after Stark's party.

The acting slips off in an instant and I extract myself out from under the body of a wasted girl who was one of Stark's guests, saying, "You could do to act a bit more drunk, you seemed alert the whole night."

"It's impressive you could tell from behind the public-fuck-desplay you had going on on the couch."

We begin picking up some of the beer glasses and I raise an eyebrow at her, "Jealous?"

Her nose scrunched, "Ew."

"Letting loose is the key to acting drunk," I explain and I shoot her a sidelong glance, "all you did was flirt–especially with Banner."

"Now who's jealous," she mutters under her breath and I grin at her to let her know that I heard her.

She shot me the middle finger in return as I placed some glasses on the bar counter.

After cleaning up a little I walk out to the balcony and peer out at the bright city.

After a moment I hear her heels clink against the cement as she joins me and I ponder aloud, "Why can't we have what they have?" I ask, staring out into the night as my heart yearns for someone to give me an honest answer, thinking of the drunk partied out people inside.

"I don't quite know what you mean," Natasha says, joining me in leaning on the balcony railing.

I smile, not looking at her, "You know what I mean."

"I have what they have," she breathes.

I turn to look at her, "You don't need to lie to me Nat, you forget that we come from the same bloody past."

She swallows, "I'm not lying."

"So that's why you flirt with people you could never love and build up this facade?" I push off from the balcony railing, heading back inside, the hard rock in my chest disappointed yet again.