Nat [1:46] Hey, so I was thinking...

Eden [1:47] Uh oh. That's troubling ;)

Nat [1:48] >:p

Eden [1:50] uwu

Nat [1:53] wth? what's that supposed to mean lol?

Eden [1:54] You're cute when you're angry ;)

Eden [1:55] So what were you thinkign?

Nat [1:56] How about we go out tonight? Like as a date?

Natasha bit her lip and bounced her leg nervously as she waited for Eden's response. Grunts and sounds of pain, surprise, and victory shot out from all points of the room and swirled around the redhead, infiltrating her headspace. She let out a sigh, blowing out the air with such a dramatic force that the few strands of hair that escaped her ponytail lifted into the air and danced in the small breeze.

Eden [1:59] A date? Oooh, Natasha Romanoff, you hopeless romantic, you! Aren't you just the sweetest teddy bear? 😘🤗

Nat [2:00] shut up

Eden [2:01] But Nat, you're being sweet! And it's cute! Usually I'm the sweet one!

Nat [2:02] STOP! I am NOT sweet! I am strong!

Natasha laughed to herself, watching as the three dots of Eden's response blink at the bottom of her screen.

Eden [2:03] Yes you are, sweetie. You are the strong one. You're so strong.

Nat [2:03] While I appreciate your compliment, thank you btw, why do I detect a hint of sarcasm?

Eden [2:04] It's possible that there was such a hint...but it's nothing that you can prove.

Nat [2:05] If you don't stop being mean to me, I'm going to change my mine and sit at home by myself eating your favorite pizza while binge watching The Great British Bake Off.

Eden [2:05] NOOOOOO!

Eden [2:06] YOU WOULDN'T!

Nat [2:06] Try me ;)

Eden [2:07] 😱

Eden [2:07] YOU MONSTER!

Nat [2:08] You gonna stop?

Eden [2:09] yeah...

Nat [2:10] Don't do that...

Nat [2:11] Eden?

Nat [2:12] Eden??

Nat [2:13] EDEEEEEENNNNN!!!

Nat [2:14] Why are you ignoring me??? Did I go too far? I promise I won't watch The Great British Bake off without you. You know I could never do that. You make it so much fun and worth watching. Please answer me.

Natasha's heart started to beat fast and hard in her chest, her nerves getting the best of her. Had she accidentally hurt Eden? Offended her without even realizing? Acted too hard and too strong and now Eden didn't want to deal with her? She clenched her hand into a tight fist, her knuckles whitening and her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palm.

She teared her eyes off her phone and looked around the training room, hoping—seeking for a distraction. Her eyes naturally fell onto Wanda, paying attention to her movements, quick and precise. The little Witch flailed her arms, wisps and tendrils of scarlet energy swirled around the room, surrounding around the practice dummies, hoisting them into the air and taring them apart.

She only refocused on her phone when she heard a soft blip—an incoming text. Looking down, she heard her heart pounding through her ears, a headache forming.

Eden [2:20] Hey sorry about that. My boss caught me on my phone and went on a mini lecture but he's gone now. Did you really think I was ignoring you?

Nat [2:20] Kinda...

Eden [2:21] You're so cute 😊 So...what was this date idea?

Nat [2:22] Well, that's up to you. We can either go out or we can stay in, eat pizza, and binge watching The Great British Bake Off while we fight off the urge to fuck each other into week.

Eden [2:23] Hmm...🤔 While the second option sounds SUPPER compelling, I think it would be better for both of us if we went out. How's...dinner and a movie? I'll pick you up at 6?

Nat [2:24] Wasn't I the one that was setting up the date lol

Eden [2:25] I'm sorry. Did you have another plan? We don't have to go with that if you don't want...

Nat [2:26] No! I like the idea, it's just I'm usually the one in control lol

Eden [2:27] So it's a good plan?

Nat [2:27] 👍

"Hey Romanoff!" Sam's loud and obnoxious voice cut through the noise of the training room and snapped Natasha's attention away from her phone. She grimaced as she looked up at him. "What's the matter you tired? Come on, girl, you're slacking!"

She stood up from the bench and flipped him off. Placing her phone down on the bench and stretching, she walked onto the mats, grabbing Sam's arm as she passed him, and pulled him into the center mat with her. She crouched in a ready defense position and waved him on, initiating the start of their spar. Sam stepped up, cast a scared look at Rhodey who backed away and held up his hands, shrugged and readied himself as well. Natasha eyed him carefully, calculating and menacing.

Steve came over and with a smile on his face, he stood at the side. "Alright. First to pin their opponent wins. Ready?" He looked between the two of them, and waved his hand down. A primal glint flashed in her eyes and for a moment, Sam felt an intense amount of run through his veins like cold water, chilling him to the bone. Before he could comprehend what was happening, Natasha rushed at him, tackling him onto the mat, wrapping her legs around his neck and squeezing lightly (not enough to cut off his air completely), and grabbed his arm and bended in back behind his back.

He cried out in pain, shouting "uncle" out repeatedly as he one free hand slapped against the mat. He writhed under her as he tried to free himself from her grasp. The room erupted into laughter when Natasha released him and got off him, rubbing her hands together, letting out a short breath and smirking. She turned around and looked at Sam who was rubbing his neck, "What's the matter, Wilson? I think you're slacking."

She grabbed her stuff and left the training room, walking down the hall and into the women's locker room to take a shower. She heard the door to the locker room open, though she ignored it. Ending her shower and grabbing her towel, she pushed the curtain back to reveal Wanda standing in the middle on room, looking awkward and out of place. Her arms were crossed over her body and her eyes were cast down to stare at the ugly tiled floor while her teeth chewed on her bottom lip.

Natasha raised her eyebrow at her and tightened her towel around her body, stepping around Wanda to get to her locker. She pulled out her spare civilian clothes, finished drying off, and got changed.

"Everything okay?" Natasha asked, shooting her an annoyed and curious look. Wanda's face flushed and she inhaled sharply.

"It was funny...what you did to Sam, I mean. He absolutely deserved it."

"Yeah, I guess." Natasha didn't know what to do when with the younger brunette. In fact, from what she could remember, this was the longest that she's ever held a conversation with her. Wanda shifted on her feet and sighed. "Can I help you?" Natasha asked, feeling a little bit annoyed at the fact that she was still standing there looking at her.

"I just...I just wanted to say sorry. For everything. I wasn't in my right mind when I..." she waved her hands around in the air in nonsensical movements, "you know. I'm not making excuses; I take full responsibility for my actions and I hope that one day we can maybe...become friends?"

Natasha froze, looking up at the brunette with curious eyes. She didn't know what to do. Could she see herself becoming friends with the younger woman? She wasn't quite as bitter as she once was, but what Wanda did to her...was unforgivable right? The woman...took control of her mind and twisted it, showing her her deepest and darkest fears, her worst nightmares. She was still haunted everyday by the events of what happened in the Red Room, so she tried so hard to lock that part of her life away, but Wanda broke down the door without a key. She took each individual nightmare and distorted it, enhancing it, making it worse than it was.

While she understand why the younger woman went along with the Hydra experiments and becoming Ultron's right-hand man—or woman in her case, she couldn't get over what Wanda did for her. Over the past almost two years, Wanda did everything she could to atone for her actions, and for the most part, Natasha felt pretty indifferent to the woman and what she was doing, not having to worry about accepting her forgiveness because she figured the brunette would never get the guts to talk to her, but now...now how could she respond?

Wanda tightened her arms around her and looked away from Natasha. Her pale face flushed an unhealthy red, and she shuffled on her feet. "I-I'm sorry. It was stupid of me to try to talk to you. I guess...I know I messed up big time, and understand that not everything can be solved by an apology. I'll leave you alone." She turned and made for the door.

"Wait," Natasha called out to her, releasing a short uneasy breath. Wanda turned back to look at her, her bright green eyes similar to Natasha's glistening. Natasha stepped closer to her, holding out her hand. Wanda looked down at her hand and then back up into her eyes. Wanda took her hand, giving it a firm shake and a small smile before leaving the locker room.

○○○

Natasha waited outside her apartment building, phone in hand as she stared down at Eden's recent text. She should be pulling up any minute now, and her heart hammered in her chest, so loud that she was sure that anyone in her immediate space could hear it. She wondered if Eden was nervous, and if she was, there was no way she was as nervous as her. Eden told her that she had been on a few dates with women before, so she didn't expect the black haired woman to practically shitting her pants at the prospect of going on a first date. But then again, Eden seemed really into her, and part of Natasha hoped that Eden saw her differently than the other women she'd dated.

Natasha smiled when she saw Eden's familiar blue car pull up in front of her. She rolled the windows down and smiled when she saw her. Nat's eyes slipped down to her lips, staring at the plump flesh painted a delicious red, and a shuddered exhale came from her throat. Eden blushed and bit her lip, looking down at her steering wheel.

"Get in the car, loser. We're gonna be late," she said, unlocking her door. She giggled when Natasha opened the door and sat next to her. Eden took her hand and kissed her cheek before driving away.

"How was your day?" Natasha asked after a few moments of silence. Eden glanced over at her and smiled a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"It was okay. Work was fine, but I had to stop at home to grab some things and had to deal with my parents..." she huffed and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

"What's so bad about that?"

"I kinda shut them out of my life after I came out. They weren't entirely supportive when I came out and when I first brought a girlfriend home to introduce them to her, they were assholes. My dad kept making insensitive comments that weren't quite homophobic, but were definitely rude, and my mom tried to ignore the fact that she was my girlfriend by treating her like she was just a friend that I invited to dinner like how I did when I was younger."

Natasha frowned and rested a hand on top of her, easing her grip on the wheel.

"I couldn't take it, so I gave them an ultimatum: if they were my parents and truly loved me, then they had to love all of me, and that included my girlfriends, but if they couldn't except that, any of that, then they would lose me. Over the years, they've gotten a little better, but...I know deep down they still haven't accepted me."

"I'm so sorry," Natasha mumbled, shifting her hand to rest on Eden's knee. Eden breathed a small chuckle and gave Nat's hand a squeeze.

"It's okay now. I don't let them get to me. I know that they're flawed and I shouldn't let their narrow way of thinking interfere with my love life. I know who I am and I love myself." She smiled a real smile and picked up Nat's hand, pressing her lips to the skin on the surface. "I stopped denying myself and seeking other people's approval a long time ago and I've never been happier."

"If you're happy, then I'm happy," Natasha smiled. Eden giggled and kissed her hand again.

"So...what do you want to do for dinner?"

○○○

They sat on opposite sides of the table, smiling and laughing at each other, overall just enjoying each other's company. Natasha never felt so happy then when she was sitting across from Eden. Eden's laughter sounded like beautiful music to Natasha who had spent her entire life deaf to the world. She grasped Eden's hand and threaded their fingers together, smiling brighter than ever before. How was it possible for her life to change so much after meeting one person? Looking at Eden sitting across from her, Natasha felt something she wasn't sure she ever felt before in her life. While she had a few friends, and even fewer good friends, Eden felt different. Being with Eden, the raven haired woman changed her, and she could sense that change from the moment they first hung out. She knew that if she could sense it, then others could. In fact, Clint made it his mission to keep pointing it out to her whenever he saw her, much to her annoyance, though deep down it made her happy to know that he noticed and cared to notice.

"Are you listening to me?" Eden asked, smiling and ignoring the blush that creeped up her face. Natasha shook her head, her face darkening to a deep scarlet that matched the same shade of Eden's lips.

"I'm sorry. I was a bit..."

"Distracted?"

"Yeah." Natasha laughed.

"You were staring at me." Natasha kissed her hand and cupped her cheek.

"Does it bother you?" She couldn't help but frown slightly. The idea of upsetting this woman in front of her, this beacon of light, hurt her more than she ever thought it would. Eden took her hand off her face and held it tight, squeezing it reassuringly.

"No, it doesn't bother me, though I was wondering why."

"Why what?" Eden's face held an expression that she wasn't familiar with and Natasha felt a little scared.

"Why you were staring." Eden's lips curled into a bashful smile and her eyes sparkled. Natasha's mouth opened but she couldn't speak. She sputtered and stuttered and Eden giggled at her blush

. "Is there something on my face? In my teeth?"

"No! No, it's nothing like that. It's just...you're so beautiful." Eden's smile widened. "You are...the most beautiful woman on the planet, Eden and I can't believe that..." she paused, and when she couldn't bring herself to continue, Eden's face fell and took her hand.

"What, sweetie? What is it?"

"I can't say..."

"Why not?"

Natasha sighed and bowed her head. "I...I don't want to overstep—"

"Jesus Nat, you can't overstep more than me. I drunk kissed you and then drunk made out with you. I wouldn't call it an overstep, that's an overleap." Eden laughed and kissed Natasha's hand. Natasha chuckled and took a small sip of her wine.

"I can't believe that you're mine. That you and I exist at the same time and that you are here with me having dinner. That you like me. God, I probably sound so sappy right now. Believe me, I'm not usually like this..."

"Oh, Natasha...do you think being sappy is a bad thing? It's not, it's sweet. So incredibly sweet. It's endearing." Natasha grimaced and Eden sighed, bringing her chair closer to Nat, and kissed her. "I understand that you're not used to showing emotions and having those emotions returned on you, but I need you to know that being sweet isn't a bad thing. Or something you should be ashamed of. I'm not telling you how to be or whatever. I'm not trying to pressure you into to being something that you're not comfortable being. I just...I need you to know that you don't have to be so guarded with me. Okay?"

Natasha nodded and stared at their intertwined fingers. She stayed silent for a while, just staring at their hands. Eden watched her, rubbing her thumb across her knuckles, a curious glint in her eyes. She allowed Natasha to sit in her silence, clearly out of her element, and just sat as a supportive anchor, keeping her grounded until it was time to go catch their movie.

Nat sat hunched in her seat, shifting every so often because of her discomfort. She felt it all night, from the moment they stepped into the restaurant. She wasn't one for being in public spaces, and with her talk with Eden on opening up emotionally, well, she's been weird all night. She didn't blame Eden, there's no way the poor girl would've known, but Natasha couldn't help cowering when she felt Eden's fingertips graze her bare shoulder.

Eden snapped her hand back and placed it in her lap. She heard Natasha release a shuddering breath and guilt crawled its way into her heart. Leaning over in her seat, she accidentally touched Natasha's ear with her lips. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable..."

Again Natasha didn't speak. Eden focused her attention on the movie, trying her best to ignore the dull drumming pain in her chest caused by Natasha's sudden coldness. She was confused...she thought she was making progress, that Natasha was opening up to her. She didn't understand what she did or what she said to make her recoil back into her hardened exterior like this. She wished this movie would end so they could just fucking talk about what happened, but the end was nowhere in sight.

Tension extended the movie, keeping both women hostage longer than either of them wanted to be kept. Natasha played with her fingers and the hem of her shirt as her eyes remained glued to the screen. Her heart was pounding, ringing loudly in her ears and drowning out all other noise. She couldn't concentrate on anything except the deafening sound of her heart and it drove her crazy. She was going crazy. So many things were happening and going through her mind and she couldn't fucking concentrate.

Eden hands gripped the arm rest, resisting the urge to grab onto Natasha's hand and she bit her lip. Hard. Drops of blood touch her tongue, spilling from the new very small incision on her lip, and Eden lets go, contorting her face in disgust while quietly muttering a curse word or two. She hoped Natasha hadn't notice her, had kept her attention on the movie, but given the redhead's profession, it was very likely, much to her dislike.

When the movie finally ended, both women hoped that the awkwardness and tension would fade on the way home, but as they sat in the car, stuck in heavy New York traffic, both the tension and the awkwardness only grew. Eden laid her head back against the headrest, her hands on the wheel and gearshift while Natasha rested her head against the window, her one hand at her side while the other sat in her lap. Eden glanced over at her, and then behind them when a large truck slammed on its horn, cutting roughly though the tension like a hot knife through butter. Natasha followed Eden's gaze and furrowed her brows, scoffing and shaking her head as she turned back around.

"What an asshole. Where is he gonna go? Where is anyone gonna go?" Natasha sighed. Eden chuckled, relishing in the broken awkwardness and enjoying the fact that this was the first time Natasha had spoken since dinner.

"I know. Thinks he's so important with his big ass truck. Like who does he think he is?"

"A guy trying to overcompensate for something..." Natasha giggled, blushing when Eden looked over at her. Eden laughed loudly and bit her lip to try to keep from laughing, but it didn't work. Nat smiled, and when her companion settled down, she took her hand off the gearshift and intertwined her fingers. Eden's eyes shot over at her, wide and curious and slightly fearful, and her blue/grey orbs shifted between her red face and their hands. Natasha only stared at their hands, her thumb running across her skin. "I'm sorry. For acting weird. I wish I could say that it wasn't that bad, but...I ruined our date."

"No, no, hey. No. You didn't ruin our date, I did. I pushed too hard. I made you feel weird. And I'm sorry."

"Eden." She into Natasha's eyes, a flash of sadness crossing them. "I'm...not mad about what you said in the restaurant. You thinking that I'm anything more than a heartless bitch...means so much to me and I'm not used to hearing things like that. From people that I...care about. I guess when you said them they...I couldn't stop thinking about it. You threw me for a loop, Eden. You always do, and it gives me whiplash. The way you look at me, the way you talk about me, gives me whiplash."

"I'm sorry, I'll stop—"

"No! That's not—I don't want that. I like how you see me. I'm just not used to it. Is all."

"I'll go as slow as you want me to. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Eden looked down, keeping her hands conjoined, and Natasha leaned over, lifting her hand to her face, and kissed her. Eden melted into the kiss, her other hand coming up to cup Natasha's cheek. They only broke away when another honk of the truck blared outside.

Natasha moved back to her seat, her face red and hot, and Eden covered her face with her hands while she giggled. Like Natasha, a deep red blush overtook her, turning her face as red as Natasha's hair.

When traffic started to move again, and Eden pulled up outside of Natasha's apartment, the brunette smiled at the redhead.

"So this is you..." Eden whispered, touching her arm with gentle fingers. Natasha held out her hand, closing it and wrapping her fingers around Eden's when she laid her hand down.

"I-I don't...want you to go," Natasha whispered, a sense of desperation lacing her voice. Eden smiled and chuckled, leaning in her seat closer to Natasha and kissed her forehead.

Resting her forehead on Natasha's, she whispered, "Is this your way of inviting me inside?" Natasha giggled and turned her head away from Eden, but soon came back to her. "Of course, I won't overstep...again. I'll do whatever and go however far you want me to."

"You're gonna make me beg aren't you?" Both women laughed and Eden tipped Natasha's face up for a kiss. "Alright, jeez. Will you please come in? I can make you something to...make up for dinner. Then, maybe we can watch a movie and...see where it goes?"

"Are you trying to recreate our date?" Eden giggled.

"The key word is 'trying'."

"Lead the way, baby girl."