Venomous

4. Familiarity

(Natasha Romanoff's POV):

As soon as the creature in front of me began to move its way up the wall, I slid my way down the alley and around the corner, out of sight. I checked my gun and removing the safety before glancing up, getting a glimpse of white from the corner of the rooftop above before it vanished into the darkness. Shit. I frowned and tucked my gun back into my purse, reaching for my cell instead. I clicked two buttons and got linked to a SHIELD crew immediately. I gave them my location and instructed that it was for a "cleanup." Did that thing really bite off that moron's head? And eat it? I gulped down a round of nausea as I moved back down the alleyway, examining the body carefully from a distance. The head was completely severed, surprisingly neatly given the glimpse that I'd gotten of its teeth. At least it was efficient. I gave my statement to the Agent on Scene before walking a few blocks to my bike, climbing back on and gunning it back towards the Tower. I couldn't get the thought of that voice out of my head. Well, those voices. The white creature's voice was deep and reverberating. It had several sounds and tones at once. The other voice, however, that one sounded human. Not only human, but...familiar. My eyes darted from side to side as I rode up in the elevator towards the main living floor below R&D. I was scanning my memory. I knew that voice, and not just in passing. I knew what that voice sounded like...intimately. I knew what it sounded like to be whispered. To be...

"ROMANOFF!" I blushed immediately at the sound of someone else's voice behind me, given where my brain was headed. I felt like I was a naughty schoolchild that had just been caught by one of their professors. To cover up the embarrassment, however, I did the only thing I knew how, I spun around glaring at the owner of the voice who had come up behind me. Tony stood there, a smoothie in his hand. He was half in his suit and half out of it – I don't know how that works, but with Tony I'd given up trying. He raised his eyebrows at me over the top of his glass, and I literally watched as his eyes read me like some kind of instruction manual. "What's with the face?" He gestured towards my face and I huffed, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"What's wrong with my face, Stark?" I snapped. His eyes widened.

"I was going to ask if you got laid, but...it wouldn't appear so, given the attitude." I processed what he said much more slowly than I should have, and I blushed again when I realized what he actually said. I scoffed. Then I thought for a moment. Then I spun on my heel and stalked out of the kitchen towards my room.

"Okay, Bye!" Tony called behind me. I flipped him off and kept walking. It couldn't be. Right? That wasn't possible. As soon as I got to my room, I pulled out my phone, dropping my jacket and purse onto the desk beside me. I scrolled through my contacts, sighing in frustration when I didn't see the name that I wanted. It was a long shot, anyway. Our breakup hadn't exactly been...amicable. I thought back to the night of Tony's party, five years ago now. Parker had caught me in a compromising position, and I knew damn well that if I had seen her like that, with some rich asshole's hands on her body...I would have done more than just leave the party. But the other part of me thought that, just maybe, it was better this way. It was getting harder and harder to hide my job from Parker. The closer we got, the more I wanted to tell her the truth, and that just wasn't an option. Fury was planning something bigger, and I knew that there was some idea of a team on the table – and anyone close to any of us would be a target automatically. I didn't know if I could reasonably keep her safe anymore if things moved forward, and I loved her too much to willingly put her in danger. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I processed what I had just thought. I'd never been able to stop thinking about her. I hadn't even dated anyone seriously since her. But even if I still had her number, and if it was still in service, there was little chance that she'd want to talk to me, right?

"Jarvis?" I spoke aloud to the AI that was built into the tower's systems. When I thought about that fact for too long, it seemed creepy, but at times like this, it was useful, I guess.

"How can I help, Agent Romanoff?" I smirked at the familiar, formal voice.

"Do we have contact information for a reporter, an Eddie Brock? Last I heard, he was out of San Francisco."

"One moment, pulling files now." I pulled the band out of my hair, shaking it loose before stripping out of my clothes, leaving them in a puddle on the floor temporarily. I stepped into the shower, getting the water as hot as I could physically stand, letting it relax me. Once I rinsed the city off of me, I stepped back into my bedroom in my robe. "Contact has been linked with your cellular, Ms. Romanoff."

"Thanks, Jarvis."

"Of course, Ms. Romanoff. Will there be anything else?"

"Not now, Jarvis, good night."

"Sleep well, Ms. Romanoff."

I glanced down at my phone, hesitating only for a moment before dialing Eddie's last known number. I felt better knowing that, at least if he was still in San Francisco, he was three hours behind me, and it wasn't quite so late for him. I sighed as I realized I was getting routed to voicemail. "This is Eddie, leave a message." Shit.

"Eddie, this is Natasha...Natalie Rushman. I used to date Parker." I sighed, staring down at my hands and picking at my fingers with my nails. "Look, I was wondering if you could get me in touch with your sister?" I hesitated for a moment. "It's important." I hung up the phone, crawling into my pajamas and getting into bed, staring up at the ceiling as I pulled the covers up under my arms. Parker, please tell me that you're not in New York. And also, what the hell happened to you?