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Natasha was walking back from the kitchen to the gym, fully restored to proper energy from a healthy breakfast Steve prepared and left for her before stepping out for his five am run, which she still couldn't believe he willingly did instead of working out whenever in the A+ gym Stark had built them all, when her name was called over the intercom. But it wasn't FRIDAY, JARVIS'S replacement. It was actually the voice of the man himself.
"Please report to my office."
Natasha rolled her eyes and changed her path, taking clipped steps to Starks makeshift office on the same floor. He had an 'office' on almost every floor and it could be seen from more than a few feet away. Clutter was the first thing and machinery was the next one noticed after going inside.
"You know I don't actually still work for you, right?"
She leaned against the door frame and surveyed the mess, while her arms folded across her chest.
Tony sat behind his desk, staring out at the city, and he didn't turn to look at her for a long moment.
"It's been 3 months since she left me and I haven't slept well since. Not that I slept very well with her here, but still...some was better than nothing."
Natasha frowned and moved cautiously inside the room,
"What are you babbling about? Take a sleeping pill. Get something strong to put you out for a good few hours. I think we can handle the world for that much."
She was referring to herself, Steve and Sam, who was also staying in the building while they all trained.
The other New Avengers as they had been coined, namely, Wanda Maximoff, and JARVIS turned Vision were in the building too, but on different levels, and only came to socialize when it was time for a team meeting.
They mainly kept to themselves and Natasha felt it was because the girl was still in mourning and Vision wasn't really sure how to socialize properly.
"I can't."
Tony sounded scared, Natasha realized, and that worried her. He was the most overconfident bastard she knew, so something like this was serious.
She stepped closer, and reached out to touch his shoulder, gently, bracingly, and she swore she felt him flinch away for a split second,
"What do you mean?"
He spun around suddenly and she was struck by the fact there were almost tears in his eyes,
"I mean I've tried it all. Prescriptions, not, alcohol, more coffee, you name it. Whatever this is, it's not going quietly. I may have infinite funds, but I'd do anything to sleep through the night, or day."
Natasha squeezed his shoulder firmly,
"There's one thing in there you didn't mention, and I'm pretty sure it's a guaranteed way to knock you out."
He cocked a brow,
"The gym? Been there, tried that. I know that's where you were headed...sorry to have distracted you."
Ignoring just how he knew that, unless her morning routine had become so predictable, in which case she needed to switch it up pronto, she shook her head.
"No Stark. Sex. It puts a man to sleep if you do it right."
Tony let out a laugh that sounded like a bark.
"In case you hadn't heard me, I'm flying solo lately. I don't really feel like a one night stand to be honest."
Natasha smirked. That didn’t sound like the Tony she used to know at all.
"I think I can help you. I'm in the market for a new partner anyway...don't get me wrong, no fuzzy romantic stuff, just sex. Don't bother denying that you're interested, I can tell when you and any other red blooded straight male want a bite from the Widow."
Tony blinked up at her and she fought the urge to laugh.
The innocent doe eyed look on him was weird, but it worked.
She could only imagine how it had helped him when he was younger.
"Okay."
***
That had not been what he'd been expecting Natasha to say. Maybe she’d recommend him extra strong vodka straight from the motherland, or some rigid yoga routine to relax him.
But no.
She said the big three letter word that he’d been avoiding and without for nearly six months. Sometimes it felt like an eternity, then the world came crashing down and he got distracted.
She’d never been more right. Ever since that night, the wild birthday party that was celebrated a little too hard and only cause he was mildly suicidal, he’d wondered about the two of them.
The chemistry they’d had couldn’t have all been an act, and he’d fought damned hard with himself about trusting her ever again after she’d been lying to him, for his own good, the entire time he’d known her.
Then came New York and almost dying, again, and she’d been right there, down on earth, saving the day while he tried to sacrifice himself.
Oh she’d missed him, and she would have really missed him if he hadn’t made it. A grudging respect had formed, and over the last couple years, had morphed into what he hoped was their own superheroesc version of friendship.
Now she was offering to add benefits he could only have ever dreamed of to the equation.
He’d be a fool to say no.
“When do we start?”
He found himself asking, a tad overeager. Not for the sex, well, if he was completely honest, yes that, but he was desperate to sleep.
She was perched on his desk, staring down at him, and why was he just now noticing how her hand was tracing gentle slow circles over his chest, the thin fabric of his shirt might as well have been already on the floor, so much could he feel the heat of her skin.
She tilted her head, causing the long reddish brown waves, grown out since the mess with Ultron, to slide from behind her shoulder to the front and form a curtain over her face, and she lowered her eyelids just slightly, giving him her best bedroom eyes. Oh, they were good.
“How about right now?”
Tony wasn’t above begging in the right conditions and right then and there he fought the urge to allow a groan of relief to escape his throat.
Natasha moved smoothly from sitting on his desk to sit on his lap, tight gym wear perfectly clinging to every inch of her, allowing her to easily grind against him, he wasn’t too proud to admit he was half hard already.
Whether the desire for her or sleep was stronger, he didn’t know.
The unearthly sound in the air was coming from him, he realized, the instant she began moving atop him, he’d broken.
“You like that?”
She was whispering in his ear, the words caressing his senses and turning his proven genius brain to mush.
“Yes-s-s-s…”
His hands tightened on her waist, and only an instant later he relaxed his hands, apologies falling from his lips.
Her hands left his body to clamp down on his own, and she nipped his ear before speaking again,
“You won’t break me Tony. I’m not made of glass.”
He knew as well as anyone she had more than natural blood running through her veins, but it was easy to forget, even momentarily.
She was extremely distracting.
He was no longer tired when she began unzipping her jacket and tossed it aside to reveal a perfectly cut black sports bra, supporting in all the right places, and with an easy zip in the front, no messy back clasp.
“Gorgeous.”
He found himself murmuring, and if he didn’t know better, he did, he swore she blushed.
“If you like this you should see me when I get cleaned up.”
She probably winked, but he was too busy staring at her bare breasts. He’d seen a lot of them in his lifetime, but hers were the last he thought he’d ever be witness to. There was so much pale skin like porcelain mixed with a touch of dusky pink where her nipples met the rest of the globe, and his hands couldn’t abandon her hips quickly enough.
“God…”
He brushed a thumb over each nipple, watching the bud literally contract and his mouth watered.
“Just me.”
She said, her voice suddenly quiet, as if she was holding her breath to see what he’d do.
He went for it.
He leaned in to press a sloppy kiss to the soft skin where her breasts met, and relished the way she inhaled sharply.
He teased her until her hand twisted in his hair, and then he remembered the entire point of the mission…er, exercise.
Natasha made quick work of his pants, simply black sweat pants that slid off easy enough, and hers had disappeared he wasn’t sure when, his insomnia really was getting the better of him, and then she was blissfully fucking him into his desk chair.
She felt amazing, and he wondered how long he’d be able to pretend that it wasn’t difficult not to come right away.
“Tony. Hey. Stop thinking. If you’re ready, go for it.”
Her hands cupped his face, forcing him to look at her, and then down at her beautiful breasts bobbing with every shift of her hips, and he groaned aloud as he did just that.
He knew she wasn’t anywhere near there, but he wasn’t about to leave a lady wanting.
He stood on shaky legs and placed her on his desk, before kneeling down, and diving right in. She tasted like he’d imagined, but also quite different.
Bitter, and salty from him, with a hint of sharp sweetness, like deadly nightshade of a perfume.
Her hands found his hair again, and this time it was to spur him on, and he thought he heard his name at one point, but he didn’t stop until she was thrusting her hips into his face, and he felt her shudder through at least three climaxes.
He owed her big time.
He could already feel his eyes growing heavy.
In fact, he could have fallen asleep on his knees, but if anyone had found them like that, it might have been a tad awkward.
As it was, Natasha helped him to his room, once they were both redressed, and she graciously dumped him on his bed, with a ghost of a kiss to his forehead.
Just before he drifted off, he realized he didn’t actually ever kiss her on the mouth.
Had she done that on purpose?
***
Natasha went to the gym, and worked out twice as long as she usually would have. Until her perfectly good, bordering on Captain America like heart began to stutter, and her breath was coming in pants, and the room started to spin.
She collapsed on the floor, and rethought all of her decisions from the morning. Fucking Tony Stark being the main one that seemed like a glaringly big error.
“Nat? You okay?”
The lilting voice of Sam Wilson filled her ears, and she forced her head to move, looking over at the door to the gym, where he stood staring at her with what was likely mild concern.
“Of course. I’m not a god, just had to catch my breath. You and Steve have a good day?”
Sam nodded, and walked inside, close enough to reach out and help her back to her feet. She was a bit shaky, but she managed to cover it with a mock curtsey.
“We did. Grabbed lunch after the running, well, brunch I guess, I only had a protein bar for breakfast before running-”
Nat snaked her arm through his, and they walked together down the hall,
“Steve made enough breakfast for you too, didn’t he tell you?”
Sam frowned, his handsome face contorting in a cacophony of wrinkles,
“That does it. I’m phoning in a complaint. I am the last to know everything around here.”
Natasha grinned at him, and hugged him close briefly, before retreating as she felt the strength trickling back into her legs,
“I’m gonna go hit the showers and take a quick nap. But come get me if I start to sleep past the first episode tonight.”
Sam gave her a mock salute, and nodded,
“Yes ma’am.”
Natasha shook her head as she retreated to her room. He had no idea she was old enough to be his mom, in a manner of speaking, like Steve and the rogue Winter Soldier.
Goosebumps rose over her skin, though the hot water in the shower wasn’t anywhere near running out. The Winter Soldier was still out there, on his own, god knew where, and Steve needed to know the truth about them.
She’d given him what he needed to know in the moment, but not all of it.
Heat pounded against the back of her neck, and it was like hot breath on her skin all at once.
The white tile walls of the shower began closing in on her, and her nails scratched welts that bled and washed away in a heartbeat to help ground herself again.
He’d been so dangerous, so deadly, the epitome of what they needed to be as Widows.
She might never be able to imagine him as the childhood friend and hero of Steve Rogers, not when she’d known him as a killer and trainer of killers.
Her skin healed nearly as fast as it had parted and she still felt shattered.
***
Tony woke in a daze, disoriented, and confused, until he glanced at the clock and realized that an entire night had passed without event.
FRIDAY had the day’s schedule displayed on his nearest wall, and the day was a sunny one, with mild thunderstorms in the evening forecast.
“Wow.”
Natasha had really done him right. He just hoped he’d be able to look her in the eye at breakfast, or lunch, or dinner, or whenever they ran into each other.
He wasn’t able to stop himself from grinning like an idiot as he went about his morning and got to his office, but the second he saw the mess he frowned.
How long had he been working in that?
How had he gotten anything done?
One night of sleep really did wonders for his focus.
The steaming cup of coffee in his hand was no longer a nuisance, but an enjoyable beverage to greet the day with, once he’d tamed the tornado that was his office. When he spotted Steve and Natasha chatting in the corner of the living room, Natasha curled up around her own cup of what was either coffee or vodka, he didn’t judge, and Steve with his hands empty, using them around him to talk.
“Hello fellow Avengers.”
He grinned, and watched how Steve’s face pinked and Natasha laughed while also rolling her eyes,
“The illustrious billionaire arises. You do know it’s nearly noon?”
Natasha asked him, and he shrugged,
“So that’s definitely not coffee then, unless it’s Irish.”
He winked at Steve, and he simply shook his head.
“Glad to see you looking so well rested Tony. You’ve needed it.”
There was a split second where he panicked, thinking Natasha had told the golden boy just why he’d slept so well, before Natasha gave him a knowing look and he relaxed instantly.
She would never speak to Cap about something so private, and the old boy would probably faint from shock.
“What’s the plan for today?”
He took a leisurely sip of coffee and Steve and Natasha exchanged a glance, but Steve spoke first,
“I’ve got a few hits on a possible sighting of my…our person of interest. Sam’s coming along with me. I think Nat said she had some online work to do, making contacts back in the places that Hydra scrubbed and flushed.”
Tony pretended to know what he was talking about and nodded swiftly.
“Sounds good, sounds good. Natasha, any chance I could have a word before you delve too deeply into your online adventures?”
She blinked at him, and then nodded. Standing swiftly, she squeezed one of Cap’s biceps in a parting gesture, and then followed Tony while he retreated to the kitchen, needing a refill on the java.
“What’s up?”
Tony licked his lips and glanced around her, making sure Steve was out of sight and out of earshot. Super hearing on that one.
“I wanted to thank you. More coherently than I’m sure I did last night.”
Natasha actually smiled at him, something warm and real and for a split second she looked the age she had printed on her ID.
“Tony, I’m truly grateful I could do anything of any good. I thought it was actually a long shot, fun as it was. But you really do look better. I swear the bags are gone from under your eyes.”
She reached out as if to stroke his cheek and he easily sidestepped her. He didn’t need any of her seduction techniques to make him feel any more off balance.
“I always knew I was handsome.” He quipped, pouring the rest of the coffee into his cup, suddenly wishing he could say something for once that wasn’t a crappy one liner.
“If you need me again tonight, just give me a call.”
Her hand on his arm was all the contact she gave him, and yet his skin burned from the touch.
What was she doing to him?
***
Natasha helped Tony every other night for the next month. She didn’t feel bad about one second of it, and every other week, he made sure to flip things around and spoil her as best he could, usually getting her off just before he gave in to his exhaustion.
If anyone was worthy of being a superhero, it was Tony Stark.
She was starting to wonder if she needed to sit him down so they could have a talk, to make sure they were still on the same page, no fluffy fuzzy feelings, just sex, when Steve called her in the middle of the night, she’d just gotten back to her room from Tony’s and the second she answered, she knew something was wrong.
“It’s him.”
Sam and Steve had been traveling for the last three days, and they’d told her they were on the verge of a breakthrough, and her online contacts there and abroad had given her the same estimate.
The only problem was, it wasn’t just the two of the groups that were after the former Winter Soldier. The New and Improved SHIELD had a warrant for his arrest, after he’d been accused of a recent bombing in Paris.
He’d been photographed in the city hours before the attack, and it was all highly suspicious, and yet Steve had pressed over and over that it couldn’t have been him, never Bucky.
Natasha bit her lip hard enough to bleed to keep from yelling at Steve that it wasn’t just Bucky anymore, he wasn’t the only thing that James was.
Her hands shook when she hung up the phone.
Twenty four hours later, everything had changed.
Sides were already being taken, lines drawn, and Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson were given orders by SHIELD to bring Bucky in, or else be considered wanted like him.
Now it was Natasha calling Steve, and she could only pray he would answer.
She knew how it would end if he fought them.
She just didn’t know how long she could fight with herself.
Was she on the right side?
***
END