After you both showered and got back into bed, it was almost five and you guys were exhausted. You quickly texted Alex to make sure they got home okay, and they sent back a picture of them drinking a glass of wine with Porky in their arms. That eased the last of your worries and you snuggled up next to Natasha in her clothes before you let yourself fall asleep.
You woke up some hours later, but your phone had died, and when you turned slowly to face Natasha, you saw her eyebrows were furrowed while her lips were planted in a firm frown. You mirrored the frown when she whimpered in distress in her sleep, twitching a little, and it made you notice the sweat by her hairline.
She was having a nightmare.
Without giving it a second thought, seeing her in any pain wasn't something you could ignore, you placed two fingers to her temple, and seconds later, she was sighing in contentment.
Your expression mirrored hers again, relaxing against the bed, but that only lasted about a minute before a cold shiver went down your back.
"Shit." You muttered shakily, pulling the comforter closer around you both, and squeezing your eyes shut as you tried to push off those feelings.
But ultimately, you knew it wouldn't work, so you carefully crawled out of bed to make your way to the bathroom without waking her up. You closed the door with a quiet click and cringed when you turned the knob of the shower, hoping none of this disturbed her. Then, you stripped out of her clothes, placing them folded on the counter so you could put them back on after, and stepped under the now steaming shower.
You didn't love baths, so you usually opted for a hot shower when you caught this early enough and it wasn't an emergency where you needed to be completely immersed in warmth as soon as possible.
You started humming a random Capaldi song under your breath to fill the silence without letting your voice carry beyond the invisible threshold – or maybe it was just the closed door, while you tried to relax.
You took slow, deep breaths, letting your eyes flutter closed, and leaned back against the cool tiles, trying your hardest to stay present in this shower – in this room – in this tower – in this city. Anything to keep reminding yourself that you're here and you want to be and there are others that want you in their life and even if there wasn't, it doesn't matter. Because this life is yours and it's short and you want to live it for as long as possible.
The smell of fresh vanilla when you walk through the townhouse's front door and Alex is attempting to bake something, but they love vanilla anything, so they always overdid it. The padding of Porky's little paws tapping their way to you and then the look of his fat, happy face when he sees you. His little happy barks and grunts when you crouch down to greet him, his tail going a hundred miles. Alex's stories of painting and drawing and selling on the boardwalk or pier, all the interesting people they've met or the cute elderly couples that wanted a caricature. You weren't one for lasting love since it always made you envious of something you never saw yourself would be able to maintain, but it still brought some warmth to you and a smile you couldn't resist crossing your lips. Then you guys would either cook pasta or chicken or just end up ordering in for dinner before you finished up your homework, watched some television or went out to a bar or something. You didn't have a crazy exciting life, but the city was full of energy and beautiful people that appeared in your life temporary, and you loved hearing their stories. It was like living a hundred lives when you thought yours could be cut short.
Those were some of the thoughts you always let sail through your mind when you got into this type of situation – sometimes they'd be more specific like a story Alex told you or something that happened at the park with Porky, but in general, you'd keep yourself with the happy ones. Your family never crossed your mind during these times, and you'd never let them. The past was dark and if you let it dim your light, it could put it out entirely, encasing you in permanent nothingness. Something you might've wanted at a few times in your life, but not anymore.
Especially these days with Natasha in it.
She brought a warmth with her whenever you guys were in the same room and even though most people found her off putting or were just scared of her because of how she guarded herself and what she's done, it didn't matter. You felt your safest with her and she never failed to bring a smile to your face. She filled your heart with something that you've never felt before with anyone. You thought you had fallen in love once, and not to compare, but she's inadvertently proven that that's not what it was, and you couldn't help but to look forward to falling in love with your assassin. Just finally letting yourself feel something this deep for someone without letting fear or doubt get in the way or stop you completely. It was scary as hell, sure, but it was also the best feeling in the world, and you wouldn't deprive yourself of it anymore when you found someone as special.
Ass and tiddies.
"Baby?"
You let your eyes slowly open at the sound of your redhead, pushing yourself away from the wall when she crept inside carefully and patiently waited for you to respond as she stayed near the door.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" You asked, turning to pull the curtain back slightly so you could peek from behind it, and she smiled softly at you, her eyes lidded with sleep.
"No," She half lied since she only woke up when she felt the empty side and then she came closer, "But are you okay?"
"Yeah, just wanted to warm up a bit." You offered her a smile and she nodded once, slowly, so you knew she didn't buy it completely, but you were both still trying to wake up, so it could wait until later.
She held the curtain near where you did and leaned closer to kiss your cheek softly, not caring that her face got a little wet in the process.
"I'm going to wash up and then make us some food," She spoke lowly, keeping close, "Can you stay with me today?"
"I want to," You grimaced when her smile faltered, "But I should study for my finals."
"Nerd." She teased, kissing your nose, and you scrunched up your face with a smile, knowing she wanted to kiss you so badly – and you wanted it too, but she knew you didn't like doing that with morning breath.
"Yeah, well, if I'm gonna support my woman," You huffed jokingly and she smiled, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion and amusement before you continued, "And by my woman I mean my Betty White (RIP legend) obsession – good cheesecake and seasons of Golden Girls aren't cheap mmk?"
"So, I'm not your woman?" She mused, trying to sound slightly offended.
"I'm obsessed with your ass, but you've made it available and not for rent – I fully plan on putting down roots there, if you know what I mean," You sniffed, smirking a bit too much before continuing, "No, I'm filing you under an independent on those tax forms that always confuse me and then Alex has to finish so I don't accidentally get myself arrested again."
She chuckled lightly, shaking her head with fondness as she smiled, and you beamed proudly.
"Study here." She shrugged simply and you smiled before you realized.
"My books are at the townhouse." You cringed apologetically.
"I'll have someone pick them up," She was already turning towards the sink as she spoke and you watched her, wondering how you missed that she wasn't wearing any trousers, but now you couldn't stop unashamedly checking out her legs because my god, "And that way we can study in bed between fucking all day."
It took you a moment to register what she said, your eyebrows raising as your wide eyes did, finally reaching her face again, and she smirked when she noticed, but you hadn't noticed the water was still running behind you – you wasteful bastard.
"Yeah – yes," You fumbled out in a rush, not wanting this offer to leave the table – huh, a table, that could be fun, "Sounds uh, sounds good – really good."
"Thought you might like the idea," She was still smirking, gesturing to you and the shower with the tip of her toothbrush now, "Finish up in there, I told you I'm not patient."
Fastest shower of your life.
