The Younger Agent - Natasha Romanoff x OC

Chapter 114 - The Tree

"We need to book a room in a Motel or something...", Eleanor groaned, her feet blistered and aching from all of the walking they had been doing since escaping Ross' captivity.

Nat turned her head to look at her with her classic raised eyebrow whenever anyone around her said something that she deemed to be stupid, which was quite often. "Um... honey, we are still wanted fugitives, now more than ever". The two came to a standstill in the middle of the dry, cracked field that they were walking through, one corner of Eleanor's mouth scrunching up in thought.

"Right... We need to break into a room in a Motel or something", she shrugged and started to walk again, dragging Nat along with her, their hands having been in a tight grip since walking away from that grassy field after the van escape. Natasha laughed loudly at the mental rerouting from her wife and shook her head with a smile.

"Yeah, okay. We are seen as global terrorists, so I suppose adding another breaking and entering onto our list of crimes in the last 5 years won't be too much of an issue", Nat smiled and bumped her hip with Eleanor's, earning a small giggle from her wife before the walk returned to silence. The mood was... off. There was a sense of grief and mourning between the two. Silence was common.

Silence was needed.

It'd take time to process everything, they both knew that. Natasha found out that she wasn't abandoned by her mother, the rest of the family most likely conducted a pay-off without her permission, and yet she continued fighting for her baby, even against all odds. She had died fighting for Natasha's right to her own life, and that was a feeling of guilt that would not go away after a bit of walking.

To Natasha's left was her wife holding onto her hand as though it were a lifeline, experiencing a similar type of guilt. Her own mother had escaped the Red Room with her in order to make sure she had her own life too, much like Nat's Mom was trying to do. Mila had gotten out and raised her, ensuring she had sufficient protection from the Red Room even if she wasn't there, which unfortunately was needed. The whole issue of her being a clone was also something she was battling with but, you know... one tragedy at a time.

The silence went on for a while until Natasha decided that their legs needed a break, and a plan needed to be made. So, under a large tree that provided plenty of shade from the sun beating down on them, they sat. But Eleanor was confused when Nat's face looked simultaneously disappointed and deep in thought, before flattening her legs and spreading them out like a starfish.

Her head tilted to the side as she looked at what Nat was doing, thinking that she was perhaps just stretching her legs in a very strange way. Her head tilted even further when Nat patted the spot between her legs on the ground. "I swear I have to spell everything out for you sometimes", Natasha smiled playfully as she shook her head, the flyaways that had been ripped out of her braids bouncing slightly, and a laugh erupted from her chest when Eleanor's face scrunched up even more confusion. In her defence, the last few days had felt like years.

She patted the floor harder, causing the dry mud powder to fly up ever so slightly, "Sit, I haven't been able to cuddle my wife for days, I've missed you".

Eleanor's mouth opened in an 'O' as she scooted over to sit between her wife's legs, who promptly wrapped her arms around her torso, and placed her chin on her shoulder, her head tilted to look at Eleanor's side profile. "I've been with you this whole time though", Eleanor giggled slightly at feeling Nat place a few soft kisses against her neck.

"I know", Natasha mumbled against her skin, "But I've only really been seeing Eleanor, you know? The one strategising and fighting. I've missed my El", she smiled softly, nuzzling into the crook of her neck, soaking up all of the warmth that she had missed over the last few days. To Natasha, it had felt like millennia.