marvel oneshots

romanoff | getting to know somebody else ( f )

summary - when nothing else felt like home, natasha did. or, all natasha ever wanted was to be enough for you

word count - 1.6k

You have Tony Stark to thank for the happiest moments of your life. He doesn't let you forget it either. His smug expression is practically tattooed on the inside of your eyelids when you try to fall asleep after already dealing with him and his teasing at work for thirteen agonizing hours. His matchmaking skills albeit rusty, and not asked for, have led to a more then complicated relationship with one Ms Natasha Romanoff herself. He's entirely the kind of person you hate, but find yourself coming back to time and time again, because when he's not being a pushy asshole, he's kind. He'd kill you if he ever heard you call him kind.

The Avengers Tower had become a home for the team and yourself quicker then you would've expected. Pepper continued to outdo herself with the interior design, though you'd been entirely unimpressed with Tony, who intentionally designed the top floor personally for you and Natasha. Despite his persistent meddling that both you and Natasha were painfully aware of, you made excellent floormates; yet another thing Tony would come to hold over your head.

Until the Avengers Initiative in 2011, you had never experienced living circumstances like sleepaway summer camp or dorming at college. Having a roommate was an adjustment that was a rather intense change, but Natsha made it easy. Even if living in the multi-billion dollar compound was technically nothing like sharing a small wood cabin in the woods, Natasha made it feel that way. You'd come to learn very quickly that despite her rough edges and conditioning, she was entirely soft to the belief that you were never too old to make up for lost time.

The first week in the compound was terrible. Despite the company, you'd never felt so alone. Even if you'd saved the world from aliens with these people, a handful of them were still strangers. You spent more time pacing your bedroom than you did sleeping, and that was evident. Your otherwise easygoing and soft spoken attitude had been replaced with a sass that made Natasha giggle into her cheerios. She found your sleepy attitude funny, cute even. Tony, the one on the receiving end of your blunt response, did not.

Natasha had begun to pick up on your patterns the longer you shared a floor. She wasn't the heaviest sleeper, and you weren't the quietest in any regards. You had spent almost an hour exchanging horrible dad jokes with FRIDAY when Natasha came knocking on your bedroom door. She smiled softly at your sleepy eyes and pouty frown, complimented the decor like she hadn't just shoved her way past you at two in the morning, and then began pulling your bed apart.

Turns out, child assassins don't get to catch up on the latest animated films in their downtime. You had spent that night into the early afternoon under a blanket fort with Natasha, showing her your favorite Disney movies. She hated almost all of them, but her smile never fell. You hadn't realized how much that night would change your life.

Natasha was observant. She knew your favorite colors, and your favorite movies within days of listening to you ramble. She could also tell when you weren't feeling up to yourself, or when you needed a break. Sometimes you hated how observant she was.

The first time she noticed you weren't yourself, it was a Thursday night. Steve was trying his best to adapt to the twenty-first century and you were with him. He had become a close companion in so little time. Maybe it was because you both felt the most out of place in the compound, even if it was for completely different reasons. Steve was displaced from his time, you weren't sure how to navigate your feelings for a particular redhead who enjoyed teasing you until you became red faced and shy. Still, Natasha noticed. She had been walking past the common area when she saw you curled in on yourself. She'd come to learn your cues, and this wasn't any she'd familiarized with. What Natasha didn't know was that you had a history with anxiety, and it didn't appreciate how fast your life had been changing lately.