The Irony of it All

16

“Nat. Natasha, Stop.” His laughter filled the training room. “Give it back.”

She laughed. “I think it looks good on me. And it’s surprisingly light.”

“Seriously, give it back Nat.” He tried to catch her again, but she dodged him easily, running a little farther away from his reach. 

“I wonder if I could throw it.” She mused, weighing the metal disk in her hands.

“Don’t.” He warned. She smiled, and threw it like she’d seen him do a million times….And then there was the crash of breaking glass filling the training room, and they both gasped and froze. 

“Wasn’t that supposed to come back?” She said. 

“You broke the window,” He breathed out.

After a few seconds of shock, her signature smirk came back. “No I didn’t.” He looked back at her in confusion. “Tony!” She called as his eyes widened in realization. 

“Wait!”

“Steven broke your window!” 

“Natasha, no!” He yelled, chasing after her as she ran away giggling. That’s right. Natasha Romanoff giggled. He didn’t even know she could make that sound. 
_______________________________________

“How come Nat gets magnets for Cap’s shield?! Huh, Tony?!” 

Natasha smirked. “You’re just jealous that Steve likes me more than you.”

Clint smirked back. “Like? You mean love.”

Her smirk disappeared, and Clint had to duck as the spinning shield nearly clipped his head. “Shut up, Barton.” 

“Hey! Watch where you throw that thing!” 

“Believe me. I was.”

“I’m beginning to regret having Tony make those magnets for you.” She heard Steve say from behind her. She turned to look at him, and smiled sweetly. 

“No you don’t.”

He chuckled. “No. I don’t.” He agreed. 

_______________________________________

“Come on, Grandpa!”

“Stop calling me that, it’s weird. And people are gonna stare.”

“So? Let them.”

“Then what’s the point of these ridiculous disguises you put us in?”

“What do you mean ridiculous? It’s hipster, and you look fine.”

“Why do I always have to wear glasses when we’re disguised? Even when I was sickly and colorblind, the one thing I didn’t need was glasses. 

“You complain too much.”

“Says the one disguised in my actual hoodie. I can’t wear my clothes, but you can?”

“Steve. Shut it and look up.” He did, and his jaw dropped in wonder.

“It’s still here?”

“Well, it’s been remodeled and upgraded, but it’s the same one.”

“Bucky made me ride this when we were kids.”

“I know. You threw up.”

He looked down at her in amazement and confusion. “How’d you know about that?”

“That pain medication Banner developed for your super metabolism works really well. And it turns out, you talk a lot when you’re high on suped up tylenol.” She laughed. 

“So that’s why you dragged me all the way out to Coney Island for ‘no reason’?” He smirked at her. She just shook her head with a smile. “You know you're not as cold hearted as you pretend to be Romanoff.”

“Uh, huh. And if you tell anyone about this supposed nice side of mine, you’re gonna find out just how ruthless I can be.”

_______________________________________

“Where are we going?” 

“Just keep your eyes closed.”

“Just tell me.” She whined. 

“I’ve told you like five times. It’s a surprise.”

“I hate surprises.” She grumbled.

“You trust me?”

“Would you take back the wedding vows if I said no?”

He chuckled and removed his hands from her eyes as he stopped walking. He took her hand and gently rubbed the silver band on her finger. “You can look now.”

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. They were on the roof of a building, and there was a blanket layed out with a boxed pizza and two beers, and some candles, but the real surprise was the view. Brooklyn, New York was laid out in front of her in all its glory. The neon colors of buildings, signs, and cars, lighting up the dark city like a supernova.  She could even see the Hudson Bay in the distance, with the lights dancing across the water. 

“It’s ours.” She heard him whisper. 

“What?”

“Three floors below us right now, is our apartment. It’s not fancy or anything. But we can add some paint to the walls, maybe upgrade the kitchen, and we can have this view every night.” 

She sighed and pressed her back against his chest as his arms circled around around her front. It wasn’t fancy, but for some reason, it was absolutely perfect. And as the cool night breeze whispered around them, she pressed herself against him and relaxed, closing her eyes, only to be disturbed by a bright, painful, light.
_______________________________________

Natasha woke up. It took her a moment to realize which was up and which way was down. She had the sudden urge to throw up everything in her stomach. She took deep breaths, trying to get her bearings and wishing the nausea away. ‘Stupid morning sickness’. She slowly realized it wasn’t Steve’s chest she was pressed against, but the back of a chair. She could easily break it, but at the thought of her child, she decided against it. 

The door swung open with a loud creak, and a slim, blonde woman, stepped through the doorway, letting it slam behind her. She stood across from Natasha, arms folded, feet apart, leaned back. 

“Dobroye utro natal'ya (Good morning, Natalia).”

“Speak english.” Natasha said. 

Yelena smirked. “Very American now, aren’t you. You’ve completely forsaken your home country.” Natasha had trained for years in the many languages she spoke, so that in each one, she’d sound like a native. Yelena was never the kind to hide her accent when there wasn’t the need to, and her thick Russian accent rolled out of her lips with every word.

“I’m back now, aren’t I.” 

Yelena scoffed. “Were you expecting a welcoming party?” Natasha was silent. “Why’d you come back Tal’ya? Hmm? You think you have friends here? Allies? Contacts? You left them all when you ran away to help the Americans. Why would they help you?” Natasha still stayed silent, her face a cold, blank slate. With Natasha’s lack of reaction, Yelena was starting to become frustrated. “I know you’re running Natal’ya. They’ve got a bounty on your head. The Avengers. Your teammates, that you left your home for, they’ve turned against you. So now you’ve got nothing. How does it feel? To have no home, no country? What were you trying to prove, sister?”

“The question is, what are you trying to prove, Yelena?” Natasha asked softly. Her voice and features, still void of emotion. “Why did you bring me here? I’m guessing it wasn’t for a family reunion because the venue is terrible and there’s no vodka. So you can stop quizzing me on the information you're not interested in and tell me what you want.”

The blonde smirked. “I want what I deserve. The title of Black Widow.”