Chasing Ghosts | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 23: Did We Time Travel Again?

Six months ago

''This is like my own personal hell,'' Natasha complained as she pushed the cart into the store, seeing all the people wandering around aimlessly and without any pattern to the madness. Katya walked next to her, her eyes on her phone because it had the list of all the stuff they needed, carefully composed over the past few days.

They weren't leaving this building without all of it.

''You're being dramatic again. It's just an IKEA,'' Katya chuckled, grabbing a paper and a pencil to write down the product numbers of all the furniture they wanted.

''Pretty sure that's some sort of anagram for hell.''

Katya sighed and threw her a playful glare. ''You can wait in the car if you don't like it.'' She wasn't a fan of big stores and big crowds either, but they picked a quiet time and therefore there weren't that many people around.

But Natasha shook her head, following Katya around and waiting for any sort of information on what they needed. ''No way. You'll get home with the weirdest furniture ever.''

''Then stop complaining, push the damn cart, and work with me here,'' Katya ordered with a smile, ignoring the jab Natasha put in there.

She rolled her eyes but agreed, barely stopping the smile forming on her lips. She didn't hate this as much as she said, but it was so much fun to get Katya worked up. ''Yes, ma'am. What are we looking for first then?''

''How about a bed for Maya?'' Katya read from their list, walking to the bedroom section. Her eyes widened at the large number of beds on display. And they all looked fine to her. Leaving Natasha on the main path with the cart, Katya walked in between all of them, sitting on them, trying to picture them in the purple room.

Natasha thought it was adorable, watching her with a smile, but she shook her head when Katya pointed at one bed. ''This one? No?'' She moved to another one, a green one. ''This one then?''

Natasha raised her eyebrow. ''How does that go with the purple walls in any way?''

Katya's smile fell when she realized she had a point, crossing her arms with a huff. ''Right. Well why don't you come with any ideas then.''

''The white one in the back,'' she answered casually and within a heartbeat, watching how Katya turned to it, stared at it, but didn't say anything because she hated to admit that it was the one. ''Hmm?'' Natasha teased.

''Fine,'' she grumbled, getting her pencil and paper out and crouching in front of it, writing the number down and ignoring her wife's smirk when she returned to the cart.

They added more useful stuff along the way. Side tables, cushions, pots and pans, cutlery. But they also ran into useless stuff that Katya insisted she needed and snuck into the cart. But of course Natasha saw everything.

''No.''

Katya had thrown something else in it, acting as if she hadn't done anything.

''But-'' she started to complain.

Natasha lifted the thing out of it and pushed it into her arms, telling her to put it back. ''Why do we need an ice cube tray that will give us ice cubes in the form of fish?''

''Not everything needs to have a reason,'' Katya continued arguing, standing next to the cart like a pouting child. ''I think it's cute. Let me.''

Natasha studied her. The begging eyes, the small pout. The face that worked most of the time to get her way. Eventually, she rolled her eyes and sighed. ''Fine, but only because you look stunning today.''