The Spark That Never Dies Part: Three

Chapter Seventeen

"So, I gotta ask," You smiled up at her as she held you in bed, running her hands up and down your arms, and hummed in response, "How long was I gone for and did you take another?"

"Another what?" She furrowed her eyebrows with an amused smile.

"Another lover," You shrugged, pretending you were acting unbothered, "When the men would go off to war without a sign of life in return, their wives would-"

"Screw the milkman?" She guessed with a chuckle and you gasped dramatically.

"How crass, Mrs. L/n-Romanoff! How very crass."

"Oh, yes, forgot my wife was so proper when it came to her language." She smirked teasingly.

You pushed out of her hold much to her protest and scooted away until you were sitting up against the headboard on the other side of the massive bed. She cocked an eyebrow, challengingly, because she knew that even though she loved cuddling with you, you were much more vocal about just how much you needed it in your life.

She tried not to laugh as you squealed when she grabbed both your ankles and dragged you down the bed before crawling to hover over you. She pushed the stray hairs out of your face with her fingertips before her eyes flicked from yours to your lips for only half a second and then she smashed hers against yours. Your back arched when her hands glided to your hips, trying to press yourself even further into her for more contact, and she smiled into the kiss.

"Tease." You groaned when she broke the kiss instead of deepening it.

"You're so damn responsive, sweetheart." She whispered against your skin as she started nipping at your jaw and down your neck to bite at your collarbone.

She moved to snuggle between your legs that seemed to spread on their own accord, making you blush when she smirked, only proving her point further.

You had some doubts, never truly letting your guard down, but something about this woman made you never really able to say no. Soon enough, both of you were stripping and then rolling around in the bed with each other. It felt like old times and by the time the two of you were finished, panting on your backs next to each other, you felt like this was right and you didn't want to wake up if it was wrong.

She glanced over at you with a huge smile on her perfect face, her hair mussed up and beautiful, and you laughed when you caught her eye.

"Real enough for you?" She asked, her tone light and warm in the air.

You rolled back on top of her, bracing yourself on your forearms that framed her head, and she wrapped her legs around your waist, smiling peacefully up at you with curious eyes.

"I love you Tasha," You whispered, and she smiled even wider, dimples peeking out of her cheeks that you noticed only you were privileged to see in these rare moments, "And I'm sorry."

"For what?" She whispered back hesitantly, almost afraid of the answer.

"I was stupid and reckless, and I know that's how I usually am, but I told you forever ago that I wouldn't-"

"Shh, hey," She cooed, cupping your face gently to get you to focus on what she said next before her hands fell to your shoulders, "Yelena was taken, she was fucking taken," She said the words like she couldn't believe them herself, "You followed your instincts and if you hadn't, I don't know if our daughter would be a few floors down hanging out with that Parker kid right now."

You looked away, not being able to stomach the idea of never seeing Yelena again or putting Natasha through something like that, and she leaned up to kiss you softly, pulling you out of those dark thoughts.

"I don't even know when reality stopped and when the illusion started." You admitted for the first time out loud since you got back.

"You gave her the necklace," She explained, trying to fill in any blanks she could between what she saw and what Yelena had told her, "But when one of them took you into the other room..." She trailed off, getting upset with the memory, and you kissed her forehead, "I couldn't get to you, so I got her out first, and when I came back..."

"Nat, stop." You pleaded, seeing how she was starting to blame herself for what happened.

"I left you there." She whispered brokenly and you shook your head.

"It wouldn't have mattered," You assured her honestly and she finally met your eyes again even though hers were wet, "I promise you, if you didn't get Yelena out, it would've just ended worse."

"Who did this?" She asked quietly after a long moment, "Who was that man you carried out?"

You let out a deep breath and scrunched your eyebrows, trying to think back, just without the pain and heaviness it carried.

"I knew him when the Shadow had me."

The name alone had her tensing underneath you and you moved so she could get up if she wanted to, but she just pulled you closer when you did that.

"And I knew," You smiled sadly to yourself, continuing when she stayed quiet, "I knew that once you got her out, no matter what happened to me, Yelena had you and she'd be okay."

She went to object, her face full of disagreement and almost like she was offended, but then you just leaned down to kiss her, and it seemed to be all forgotten for a bit as she pushed herself further into you to deepen it immediately.

"And what about me?" She asked firmly, holding your face in one hand, cupping your chin, and squeezing your cheeks a bit with a mischievous glint in her emerald eyes, "Would I have been okay?"

"Eventually." You offered weakly and she hardened her glare.

"Nope," She shook her head defiantly, "If you go, you take my heart with you, so you'd better not."

"Okay." You agreed softly and she released you with a hard kiss.

"Promise me, baby," She mumbled against your lips, her breath warm against yours, "Promise me you'll never leave."

You swallowed thickly, both of you knowing the weight of your promises as they have been since you came here and maybe even before, but after a moment, you met her eyes confidently.

"I promise."