𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 ✘ 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐅𝐅

{3¹⁷} {SALTWATER RAINDROPS}

∆ {3¹⁷} {SALTWATER RAINDROPS} ∆

THEY HIT THE ground hard. Roxi sat behind Natasha, her arms locked around the redhead's waist as the bike roared to life. It made a strange sound, no doubt due to whatever adaptions Tony had made, probably making it more energy efficient, if he was even still looking into that. Natasha's hair was blowing back into Roxi's line of eyesight, but she disregarded it. She knew she should be focused on the fight, but she couldn't help the nervous feelings that sparked and flitted inside of her at the idea of being so close to Natasha, of the thought of spending personal time with the woman she liked; it made her feel more alive.

Natasha was entirely concentrating on weaving between the cars that still swarmed the streets, the drivers clearly not having got the memo of the danger that they could be in. They sped across an intersection and slalomed harshly between the honking vehicles, trying to avoid any collision that they could. It seemed impossible, but with Natasha's attention to detail and ability to drive a motorcycle (Roxi had only been on one once or twice before), they managed to get through the traffic without too much difficulty.

Roxi's heart was pounding. It could be from the pure adrenaline coursing through her body with the looming thoughts of the oncoming fight, or it could be because of her closeness to Natasha, whose intoxicating smell of roses and vanilla was all Roxi could smell. Maybe it was that that inspired her sudden moment of boldness, maybe it wasn't.

"You know," she called over the rush of road noise and constant whirr of the bike beneath them, "There's this small café near Clint's." Roxi could only hope that Natasha understood her intentions, and she probably did, because she tensed up in surprise in front of Roxi. A second later it disappeared, and if anything, she seemed more relaxed than she had before. 

"Yeah? Do they make good tea?" Roxi cracked a genuine smile at Natasha's joke, remembering just how many times the redhead had walked in on her after New York with a cup of tea in her hands as she stared out the window. She even let a small chuckle pass her lips, tightening her grip around Natasha as they twisted around a particularly busy road, only just avoiding a large truck which blared its horn at them.

"Sounds nice, we'll have to go sometime," Natasha agreed, following up on her previous statement in such a nonchalant tone that it caught Roxi off-guard. It took her a second to process Natasha's repsonse, before her smile grew wider, although a flicker of nervousness appeared inside of her at the prospect of going out with the woman in front of her. It was wiped away a moment later when Clint interrupted their conversation, both of them having forgotten that their comms link was still open.

"Well, if you two are done flirting, I think Cap could still use some help." A sudden noise of slight surprise and confusion came from Steve as Clint teased them, obviously having been too focused on fighting to pick up the undertones.

"Yes please," Steve's voice was out of breath, and it was more of an exclamation than a statement, but Roxi rolled her eyes at his formality and the fact that he still felt obliged to be overly polite towards them, even when they were fighting killer robots together. Natasha's face still held a smirk, though it was mixed with a genuine smile, while Roxi's had gone blank as she tried to process what was happening.

"I'm always picking up after you boys," Natasha stated as she fixed her eyes on Steve's discarded shield that lay in the middle of the road, simply waiting for some car to run it over so that the car would spiral out of control and into an accident. It wasn't what they needed right now, though Steve did need his shield. It was his defence as well as part of his offence; he wouldn't get as far with out it. Roxi squeezed her legs on the bike tight, as well as carefully rearranging her arms around Natasha for a better grip. The motorbike swerved wildly a second later, and Roxi almost felt as though the road would rip the skin off of her arm if they'd been any lower. But, Natasha knew what she was doing, and they were upright again before Roxi could realise quite how close to the tarmac they'd been, and speeding straight forwards once again, though Natasha now held Steve's shield in one hand. Roxi was quick to take it from her; it'd be easier for her to give it to Steve, and Natasha was the one steering.