Risk

Twenty Seven

Natasha sat on the floor of her living room, surrounded by open books and her laptop as she tapped her pen lightly against her notepad. Wanda was in the same predicament on the other side of the coffee table, but laying flat with her hands over her face.

"I am so over this." She yawned, "I'm going to go shop, clear my head for a bit...and my bank account. Being broke encourages me to get this degree. Want to come?"

Natasha shook her head with a laugh, "As much as I would love to procrastinate right now, I'm almost finished this last part of...of..." she dropped her pen, her face frowning. "I've no idea what I'm reading anymore, but I've gotta finish it."

Wanda chuckled, getting up and stretching out her arms. "Alright. I'll see you in like an hour then, yeah? When is Clint back?"

"No clue, whenever he gets tired of running." Natasha shrugged. "I'm surprised he's lasted longer than 10 minutes."

"Really? I'd have thought he'd been back after 5." Wanda joked grabbing her bag. "Text me if you need anything."

"A bullet for my skull?" Natasha grumbled, pulling a face at one of the words in her textbook.

"I was thinking more along the lines of cupcakes. Cookies."

"Those work too!"

Wanda smiled, rolling her eyes. "See you later, don't work too hard."

Natasha waved her off, managing to scribble down a few more notes before a knock at the door interrupted her.

"Forgot your key again?" She called, rolling her eyes fondly as she opened the door, ending up face to face with James.

"Oh, hey." She smiled at the surprise of seeing him, opening the door wider so he could come in. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk, right now." He said firmly, stating where he was with his fists in his pockets.

Natasha raised her eyebrows in response, her mouth parting in confusion as she stepped aside. "Okay...is everything alright?"

"I don't know, is it?" He asked, in a calm a voice as he could manage. He stepped into the apartment, carefully moving around her study things until her faced her again.

"Shit...has someone said something?" She bit her bottom lip.

"Yes, but probably not what you think."

She shook her head. "You've lost me. What's going on?"

"I'm just going to ask you something and I want an honest answer." He held out one of his hands to the side, watching as she furrowed her brow slightly. "Have you and Clint done anything since we've been together."

"Oh, come on." Natasha sighed while her stomach lurched. "I thought we were past all this?"

"Just answer me, Nat."

"No!" She frowned, ignoring her rapid heartbeat. "I've not done anything with Clint."

"Not even a kiss?" James asked, not missing the tightening of her jaw, or the slight widening of her eyes as she stared at him. "Any form of intimacy? Nothing?"

She held his gaze, inhaling deeply through her nose before slowly shaking her head. "No." She replied, slightly quieter than before, sticking to her lie.

He took a step towards her, "You're lying. Aren't you?"

Natasha swallowed hard, tears burning at the back of her eyes as she watching him look down on her. "What do you know..." she asked, regretting it immediately as his face broke ever so slightly.