Hold On

Embers

"Anthony and Joe already said they'd be happy to have you there..." Sebastian hollered from the bathroom, where he'd just taken a shower as I waited on the bed. I stood up, wandering over to my closet, looking through my clothing, trying to decide what I should wear. I jumped when I felt Sebastian's arms wrap around me from behind, his still wet hair falling against my neck, causing me to shiver "You know... If I'm gonna keep staying here, I need to bring some extra shirts..." His breath was warm against the back of my neck and I turned around, shoving a black plaid shirt into his hands, smirking at the look he now had on his face.

"I may have bought a couple men's shirts to sleep in, they're really comfortable..." I shrugged and quickly glanced over his still glistening skin before walking towards the bathroom "You're uh, you're still really wet..." I muttered as I tossed him a dry towel before I shut the door. This was what, the second time he had stayed the night? I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact he seemed to care about me so much, and now he was wanting to spend even more time with me...
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"Natalie, you've already met Chris." Chris winked, waving from where he was sitting in front of a camera with Anthony Mackie, apparently today was the day they were doing pre-production interviews, because I swore I had seen every single Avenger at some point "Jeremy! I want you to meet someone..." I was suddenly being pulled off to another area where a couple people were waiting, Jeremy was one of them but I didn't recognize the other two "Jer, this is Natalie, she's my uh... She's very important to me, so be nice." Jeremy gave me a small nod as Sebastian pulled me off to the side, putting his hands on my shoulders after brushing my hair out of my face "I have to go, so just hang out right here. Jeremy's a nice guy, he'll keep you company alright?" I nodded at him, closing my eyes as he gently kissed my forehead, giving him a small smile as he walked away.

"So, Natalie... It's nice to meet you." I jumped as Jeremy pulled me into a hug, his strong arms wrapping around me, holding me tight. Don't cry. Don't make yourself look weak in front of Hawkeye "You're shaking..." He pulled away from me, his hands gently holding mine as I looked away from him.

"Nerves I think. I'm fine..." I let go of his hands, letting mine fall to my sides, my left hand coming to rest inside my hoodie pocket as I shuffled my feet around on the floor.

"Fine? Natalie. Any friend of Sebastian's, is a friend of mine, you don't need to be afraid of me. By the way, that tattoo on your arm..." My eyes widened at his mention of the tattoo and I backed away from him, leaning against the wall, shaking my head as I frantically searched the room for Sebastian, my eyes tearing up when I didn't immediately see him. I hated that I had become so dependent on him for my comfort. When I felt Jeremy's hand on my arm, I couldn't stop a small sob from escaping my mouth, but I didn't pull away from him, instead I let his touch comfort me "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it..."

"It's alright... there are just, some tender memories attached to that tattoo, my friend that recently..." Jeremy's arms again pulled me into a hug, but this time he held onto me for longer, almost rocking back and forth as I still was trying to force myself not to cry.

"Sweetheart you don't have to talk about it, I understand. What do you say to walking around? I'll introduce you to some more people..." I nodded at him, taking his hand when he offered it, letting him lead me around the room. He was being really sweet, and the fact that my mind already trusted him was an entire step forward for me.
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Several hours later, we were back at my apartment. The day had been exhausting, in a good way I suppose. I had met so many people, and ignoring when Jeremy had brought up my tattoo, I had been happy the entire time.

"Sebastian you really don't have to stay the night again... I feel bad even thinking of asking you to stay... " I let out a sigh as he stood up from my couch, pacing around the room before he stopped right in front of me, his eyes seeming to turn dark as he stared down at me...