i guess we’re doing this :)
summary: you become quick friends with natasha when you move to the compound, but when it becomes more than just friendship, will you tell her? (maybe she’ll tell you first)
pairing: natasha romanov x reader
warnings: one curse word, some very very brief mentions of homophobia, gross fluff that made me sick writing, also maybe bad writing but i double checked the grammar and spelling 15 times so at least thats good (hopefully)
note: this is my entry for @mcuspidey’s 2-week writing challenge!! the prompt/trope for this was best-friends-to-lovers so yay! (this started out as peter parker but then someone was like emma it’s pride month and i was like, oh, got it ;D) hope you enjoy this!
To say the least, you definitely are not cut out to be a superhero. For some reason, however, your sister, Pepper Potts, thinks you are. Sure, you have that strange telepathy thing that no one can really explain, but other than that, you aren’t special. You’re just a vet in the city, at a clinic close to Avengers Tower. You used to be good at keeping your powers hidden, because humans are hard to read, for you. Eventually, you began only being able to read animals. One day, your boss discovered your ability.
You lost your home, your car, everything because of him. Because he ruined your reputation, so you couldn’t get a job. You were able to call your sister for help, and perhaps that’s when the idea struck her.
“Come live at the compound with all of the Avengers! You'll get along so well with all of them-Tony can set it up! You’ll be safe, too,” she had said. Pepper was always just worried for your safety. She was always worried for the absolute worst, especially after almost losing both Tony and Natasha to the super villain, Thanos.
Thank god that ended well.
“Pepper, I won’t fit in. I’m not a superhero.”
“So? You don’t have to be, you’re our family!”
You replay the conversation in your head as you step out of the taxi and look up at the Compound. You see Captain America- no, Steve Rogers- waiting by the door for you. Grabbing your bags, you pay the driver and make your way towards the man.
“You must be Y/n,” he says, extending his hand. “I’m Steve Rogers.”
You take his hand shyly. “Yep. Er, hi.”
He smiles and leads you instead. “So, Stark told me you’re telepathic.”
You shrug. “Yeah. Doesn’t work on humans. For now.”
Steve pats your shoulder. “You’ll fit in very nicely, Y/n.”
After giving you a very thorough tour of the facility, Steve brings you into the lounge, where some of the team are watching Wall-E. They’re sprawled on top of each other, and your eyes scan over a metal arm, a green and red man, and a man with an incredibly long beard.
“Wanda, Vision, Sam, Bucky, Clint, and Thor,” he says, pointing at each person as he says their name.
Wanda stands, running over to you. “Oh, thank god, another woman. Nat and I have been so outnumbered with Carol off-planet, Hope at her dad’s, and Pepper with Tony and Morgan! Oh, those are the lady’s that spend the most time here, anyway.”
“Wait,” you mutter, “Pepper isn’t here?”
Wanda’s eyes go wide, and she glances at Steve for confirmation.
“She and Tony will be here tomorrow,” Steve says, then looks among the group. “Wanda, show Y/n to her room, please?”
“Of course,” she says quickly, pulling you towards an elevator. She presses a button and gives you a small smile.
“Oh! You haven’t met Nat, have you?” she says, her eyes wide again. “You guys will get along great. Let’s drop your stuff off and go meet her. That okay with you?” she asks, putting a hand on your shoulder. You nod, doing your best to be friendly, despite your nerves. You had heard about Natasha Romanoff. The Black Widow. Deadly assassin. Rumor has it she could take on four men twice her size at once, and escape unscathed. Rumor has it she walked off a bullet wound like it was just a cat scratch. Rumor has it, she sacrificed herself for all of humanity. Rumor has it, she was one of the toughest people you would ever meet.
Basically, the opposite of you, the pet-loving doctor.
“Nat, this is Y/n, Pepper’s sister!” Wanda calls, running to catch up to her friend. Natasha turns, smiling when she sees you.
“Hi, Y/n. Nice to meet you,” she says. You look up at her, and, for some reason- that can’t be anything good- your heart skips a beat.
“Uh, hi, yeah, nice to, nice to meet you,” you say, wringing your hands together.
“Ooh! Can we have a girls-only movie night now?” Wanda asks, clasping her hands and pouting her lip.
Grinning, Nat says, “Okay, okay. I guess we have enough girls. If that’s alright with you, Y/n? You are brand new, after all,” she says, giving a look to Wanda.
You nod enthusiastically. Pepper would want you to make friends. Definitely.
“Great! Friday night!” Wanda says, running off, a skip in her step and a smile on her face.
“See you then,” Nat says, a sly grin on her face as she walks away.
...Two hundred and thirty days later…
“I still wish I could change, somehow,” you admit, Nat rubbing your shoulders. After almost eight months with her, you two had grown to be almost inseparable. She accepts your broken, and you accept hers. There’s no need to be anything other than yourselves around each other.
Except (there’s always an except), there is one thing. One thing you can’t tell her.
You spend day after day, night after night, morning after morning with her. Somewhere along the line, you fell in love. Oh well.
“Change?” she says. “How?” She sits next to you on the kitchen counter, ready for another 3am talk.
“Like, I wish I was never given powers. I wish I wasn’t abandoned and thrown into that orphanage. I wish my boss hadn’t caught me talking to that dog. I wish I didn’t have-” you stop, not wanting to admit the last thing. Your ex-best friend used to make fun of you for it, you don't want your new one to do the same.
“What?” she says, cupping your chin with one hand, wiping your tears with the other.
“I wish I didn’t have feelings toward…” Deep breath. She won’t judge. “Girls, Nat.”
She smiles. “Hey, it’s okay, Y/n. Don’t be ashamed. You shouldn’t have to be.” She pulls you into a hug.
“Thank you,” you mutter, sobbing.
“Don’t thank me,” she says.
“Not helpful, Steve! Not at all!” Nat yells, running her hands through her red hair.
“I know, I’m sorry. Just, look, whoever it is, just tell her how you feel, okay? No harm in telling her,” he says, patting her shoulder.
Nat sits by him, nodding. “But, what if-”
“You never get this nervous,” he says, and Nat shoots him a look.
“There’s no one like her,” she says quietly, and Steve laughs, wrapping an arm around her-a new thing they do, now. Pain brings people together.
You look into your mirror, hating everything you see (even though you look lovely). Nat had asked you to dress up and meet her in the garden. Which confused you greatly, but, hey, whatever.
Finishing your makeup, you stand and breathe for a minute.
“It’s fine, Y/n,” you say to yourself. “This is what you get for falling for a straight girl.” Little do you know…
“Nat?” you ask, walking into the garden lit by fairy lights. Soft music is playing, and you can see all of the stars in the sky- one of the benefits of the compound is minimum light pollution.
“So, I’m not really much of a romantic, but Steve said this was, and I quote, ‘sure to woo a girl,’” Nat says, using finger quotes for maximum impact. You turn to see her, and you freeze. She’s wearing a red dress, fit in all of the right places, and she looks incredible.
“Nat,” you breathe out, looking at her eyes… those eyes. She looks more vulnerable than you’ve ever seen her.
“I guess it’s time I tell you… I just haven't known how, Y/n.”
“Tell me what?” you say, hoping it’s what you think.
Looking at the ground, she half-shrugs-half-laughs. “I-I’m just. Er, would you like to dance?” She holds her hand out and steps closer. You take it, grinning widely. She wraps one arm behind your waist, her other hand holding one of yours, your other hand on her shoulder.
It’s everything you ever wanted, and more.
“I love you, Y/n,” she whispers in your ear after a while. Without thinking, you press your lips onto hers, shocked that you could be so bold. Her hands move to your cheeks, and suddenly you’re both tangled together, touching, needing, everything you’ve both been holding back.
“I love you, too, Natasha,” you say against her lips. She smiles.
“Dammit, Y/n, we should have done this sooner,” she laughs, kissing you again.
“If I had powers that worked on humans, maybe we would’ve,” you say, and you look into Nat’s eyes, seeing all of the happiness in them (something that would have shocked you the first time you met the Black Widow).
“Let’s go upstairs,” she says, pulling you inside and toward the elevator, kissing you the second the doors shut.
