An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov, Melinda May/Natasha Romanov, Natasha - Relationship Characters: Melinda May, Natasha Romanov Additional Tags: Friendship, Friendship/Love, Late Night Conversations, Drinking & Talking Summary:
Two old friends, with similar spectacularly lethal skill sets, walk into a bar. How Melinda took care of Natasha's watchful heart.
~*~
Two SHIELD agents walk into a bar...
It's a common assumption in the "girls' night out/ladies who lunch" trope that women who work together are friends outside of work. This piece doesn't take that connection for granted, which is why I love it.
Kaffyrutsky lays out a small moment of vulnerability and fellowship here, Melinda supporting Natasha, but it's a jewel set in greater context. This story digs into why Natasha and Melinda are friends, and how they got there in the first place. Their relationship has weight and evolved history and is built on mutual understanding that's hard for each of them to find.
This is how and why Melinda and Natasha would be friends; not because they're both small and lethal and cool to the touch, but because they are tender in their practicality, practical in their tenderness.