Natasha Romanoff x Reader Oneshots/Mini-Series

Christmas Lights

(Uploaded to Tumblr on 12/12/19)

Natasha Romanoff X reader

Words: 1,101

Warnings: Falling. Swearing. Natasha wanting to kill Tony? That's it.

Request: No.

Summary: Falling can sometimes lead to something amazing.

A/N: This is the first bit of inspiration I've had to finish a fic in a long time. Thanks to writer's block. So I hope it's good! I guess I should also thank the Pentatonix Christmas playlist for giving me inspiration for this, too lol.

***

"C'mon, Romanoff! Put your back into it!"

"I'm trying, Tony!" Natasha yelled over her shoulder from where she balanced on the tip of her toes, upon the high ladder.

Putting the Christmas lights up on the Tower was turning out to be a much harder task than she first thought. She didn't think that her main annoyance would be the fact that she couldn't reach more than a few feet either side of her, thanks to her small height. And she was just stubborn enough, to not want to walk down the ladders and back up them, every five minutes.

The men by her sides having much more luck than she was. She had never once envyed Thor and Steve, but she did now. And it was solely for their height.

The other Avengers -who were not busy, with their families, or out shopping for holiday gifts- stood around, watching, talking to the "small" crowd of fans, or trying to shoo away the paparazzi and their flashing cameras.

"I don't understand why you don't just use your suit to do this!"

"Because, the last time I did, I accidentally ended up setting the lights on fire!"

"How?!" Natasha asked exasperatedly, looking straight down at the man, who had replaced Clint, who had to go back to his family, in holding her ladder steady, looking up at her bashfully.

"I kinda, maybe, triggered my repulsers," Tony muttered childishly, but Natasha had still heard him anyway. Rolling her eyes, she continued with her task at hand.

She had managed to get a few more inches stuck onto the building before she began wobbling again. Yelling down at Tony, she said, "Tony, keep a tight hold on the ladder!"

"Sorry!" he apologised, "But you're a ballerina! Shouldn't you be good at balancing?!"

"Trained as a ballerina! Trained as!" Natasha clarified.

"Anyway." Tony shrugged, making the ladder shake again.

"Tony!" she growled.

"Sorry! Sorry! Forgot."

Natasha grumbles to herself, reaching back over to the sleek Tower.

"Hey, Petie! Come hold Nat's ladder, I gotta go call Pep!"

"Sure thing, Mr Stark!"

Natasha rolled her eyes and sighed. Bracing herself for the wobbly switch. Which, apparently, was much wobblier than expected. Causing Natasha to lose her balance and fall from the ladder.

It had been a nice walk. Well, of what you could remember of it, considering that you had been dazed out for the last fifteen minutes or so. The air was cold, so cold that with every breath you took, you would exhale a cloud of white smoke. The only thing managing to finally pull you from your long trance, being the woman in front of you. Your instincts kicking in and taking over, without you realising. To catch the red-head now laying in your arms.

Blinking, you slowly looked down to her, finding her already peering up at you. Confusion etched on both of your faces. You realized who she was, in record time.

"Well," you started, with a small smirk on your face, "It seems that it's the civilians turn to save you."

Natasha rolled her eyes at you, only now did you notice the flashing lights around you, relentlessly firing off towards you and the Black Widow in your arms, making you go slightly blind.

"Maybe I should put you down now..."

"Yeah, maybe you should," Natasha agreed, nodding her head.

Gently, you withdrew your arm that sat under her legs, letting her feet hit the curb. Retracting your other hand from her back, using it to rub at your increasingly saw eyes.

"Nice reflexes you got there," Tony Stark said.

"Thanks." You glanced at Natasha, who was glaring daggers at the man. "But I really think you should start running now."

Tony looked between you and Natasha, backing up slowly.

"Yeah, I think you're right." And with that, he was off. Sprinting down the crowded New York sidewalk, with Natasha hot o his heels.

"I'm going to kill you, Stark!"

***

A knock sounded at your door, you had expected it to be the food you ordered. You did not expect it to be what you found.

Natasha Romanoff.

The Russian Avenger stood in your doorway. Smile upon her face, scarf wrapped tightly around her neck, and her hands stuffed deep into her coat pockets.

She spoke before you could. Pulling her phone from her pocket, switching it on to show you the article on her screen. One with a picture of her in your arms as the header.

"It seems that most of the world thinks we're together." Pushing her phone back into her packet, she shrugged, continuing, "That. Or they want us to be."

"I know. I just got off the phone with my mom, explaining to her that we're not actually together. And that you wouldn't be coming to Christmas dinner."

Natasha laughed at your words, eyes shining brightly under the lights of your apartment buildings hallway.

Taking a breath in recovery, Natasha faced you once again.

"I just came to say 'thank you', you have some great instincts."

"Thanks." You smiled, before shaking your head. "'Nd it was nothing. There's no need to thank me."

"Tough. You're getting it. Thank you."

You sighed. "You're welcome... wait. How do you even know where I live?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow up at you pointedly.

"Right. Stupid question."

The next few seconds were spent just smiling warmly at each other, you could have spent forever like that. And you knew she felt the same.

And you would have. If not for the whistling, suddenly getting cut off as it founded the corner, interrupting you. Drawing your attention from one another.

"Uhh..." the delivery guy sounded, glancing between you and Natasha. With the blush that coated his cheeks, you knew he had seen the articles about the two of you.

Snapping out of his own trance, just as fast as he entered it, pointing to the bag in his hand, he asked you, "Delivery for Y/N Y/L/N?"

"Yeah, that's me." You nodded accepting to food from him.

Natasha was still there as he left, peeing over his shoulder at you both.

Clearing your throat, you raised the bag full of Chinese food into Natasha's eyesight, "Wanna stay for dinner?"

"Will there be enough?"

"Ah, well that's the thing about me. I order enough to feed an army."

You would never get sick of making her laugh, you soon decided, as you watched her chuckle again.

"Sure," Natasha smirked, "I'd love to stay for dinner."

Moving aside to let her in, you knew this was the start of something special.