Stranger Au
Parings: Natasha Romanoff x Black!reader
Summary: Things can only go well for so long before the inevitable cycle of past actions shows themselves once again.
A/N: Iâm finally done with this part! itâs been a long time partly from writerâs block and other things in my life as well as low motivation to write anything at all.Â
Stranger Au Masterlist
As soon as you opened the door you knew somethings was off, you hadnât heard from Natasha since yesterday event though you two had plans today. you open the door with clear concern as Natashaâs demeanor is the opposite or at least trying to be. âNatasha?â You donât hide the surprise in your voice. You honestly thought she wouldnât show up today. The plan was to drive together to Jordyâs school for a Parent teacher conference, but again you havenât heard from her since yesterday morning, you thought she would be a no-show.
âHey, Iâm here. I made it Iâm a little late but Iâm here.â Natasha audibly sighs in relief to know that youâre still here and that she wasnât too late. When the conversation was brought up about the parent teacher conference it was Natasha who suggested that you both go together, better yet that you both drive there together as well. Since that night you two have been on better terms than ever. There was no clear tension or petty bickering from either of you, just making plans for Jordyn and sticking to those plans. Natasha has been holding up on her end more consistently than before.Â
A clear change in her behavior. As she approached the stairs all you could do was study her. You might not be an agent anymore, but your senses are still very much active. The first thing you notice is that sheâs out of breath not very visible to the normal eye but to you, you could always tell when she wasnât one hundred percent herself. You know itâs not from her short run from the car. The next thing you notice is the slight panting and the tight clench in her jaw. You inspect her silently as she shifts under your gaze. You see her slightly clutching her rib cage.Â
âYouâre hurt.â Sheâs ready to dismiss your accusations. âDonât lie to me I can clearly see youâre hurt.â You sigh, opening the door wider. âGet your ass in here.âÂ
âIâm fine.â You pull her to the bathroom downstairs ignoring her false claims of her wellbeing. You make quick work of getting her inside the bathroom not wanting to alert Jordy of her mamaâs presence yet before you check out the damage. Not until you fully assess the situation. You instruct her to sit on the end of the toilet seat while you grab the first aid kit you might not be an agent anymore, but you still know how to address wounds, you had a six-year-old after all.Â
âLift your shirt up.âÂ
You see shock before you see her devious smile. Sheâs waited so long to hear those words again. She was hoping it would be under different circumstances, but she wonât complain. Natasha also wouldnât be able to pass up this moment without teasing you about it. âTake me on a date first.â You were losing your patience and the moment she plastered that smirk on her face you had to show her you werenât in a playing mood. You pinch her arm in retaliation. âOuch!â She yells from the pain and soothingly rubs her arm.Â
âIâm not playing with you, take the shirt off before I do it for you.â She knows itâs bad and once you see the full damage you were gonna scold her even more. She made it all the way here with that gash on her stomach? You hover your hand over the open wound noticing the bruises littered in the other areas. She stares up at you just waiting for you to yell at her or something, but you never do. When you snap out of the trance you quickly turn to the first aid kit to distract you. To stop the tears from potentially falling from your eyes.Â
âAre you mad at me?â She searches for your eyes, but you donât give in. Focused on treating her wounds. With how fast her heart was beating out of her chest right now she swears you can hear it loud and clear as you apply ointment and antiseptic wipes to her cuts and bruises. The way you crouched down in front of her stomach made it hard to be upset with her. Just being up close and personal with her toned body again brings back memories that you thought you buried a long time ago. Natasha doesnât like the silence. She hated the silent treatment; she would do anything to get you to speak again. She had no shame in annoying you to hear you voice again. âCan you say something please?â She bites her lip patiently waiting for you to give her a piece of your mind, yell at her, anything.
âHow could you be so reckless?â You say the words the same time as you apply unneeded pressure to her wound. She hisses in pain and doesnât even have time to respond to you when you immediately ask another question. âWhy didnât you get this treated before coming here Nat?âÂ
âYes! Iâm fucking mad at you.â And you end your second rambling question by finally answer her initial question. Once again with a little more force as you treat her wounds properly.
âI couldnât be late! Okay? I needed to be here. No matter what.â She searches for eye contact that you donât seem to be willing to give her right now.Â
âSo, you were just gonna walk around like this?â The utter disbelief on your face has Natasha knowing she was definitely in the wrong, but she wishes you werenât so observant. She wishes she hid it better. She wishes on her worst days you were there waiting for her, so that your hands were the only hands to patch her up and treat her wounds.Â
âIf it meant me being there for my daughter than yes! I wasâ Something about it was poetic in a twisted way, she would rather be in pain than to upset her daughter. She would rather bleed out than to disappoint you both even more than she has in the past. âDo you not understand how reckless that was? there will be other parent teacher conferences Natasha!â The deep pinch in your brow and the way your nostrils flared out Natasha knew it was time to take responsibility. Her reason was valid, but she wasnât thinking about the outcome of her decision. Like she said sheâs been in far worse condition she didnât think it was a big deal apart from her bruising and her cuts she only ripped a stitch.Â
âHey, I- just wanted to be here.â She cups your face in her hands and slowly rubs your soft cheeks. Her eyes unmoving from yours. she sees the hurt in them, and she wants to chant her new apologies to you. part of her grows excited and anxious at the fact that you care this much about her wellbeing still. in the past she swears you wouldnât have batted an eye at her injuries, but she canât blame you. She couldnât blame you for hating her, but if sheâs correct right now with how sheâs feeling and just feeding off of your energy, you care. You still care for her after everything. âIâm sorry, I wasnât thinking clearly, and I just wanted to make it here on time. I didnât want to disappoint you both.â
âIt was okay to be late or to miss this one we wouldâve understood.â Natasha removes her hands from the sides of your face and visible displays guilt and regret for her actions today. âIâve missed so much already; I just didnât want to miss this milestone. The teachers know me as an Avenger, but they donât know me as Jordynâs mom. I wanted that connection to the other parents, I want to .â You canât fault her for that, at least not anymore. The accords royally fucked up a lot of peoples live yours being one of them. Natasha was on the run for months and barely had contact with Jordyn. She regrets it, you can tell she regrets it every day. There is a soft deflated sigh and a brief pause before you speak again. âJust...donât do that again.â You tilt her head up and slowly wipe her tears away. Just to show her you understood where she was coming from, but you donât appreciate what she did. You donât miss the small flash of hope in her eyes as you forgive her for not putting her health and wellbeing first. That was understandable unlike the other excuses sheâs given in the past. She perks up nods her head slowly in understanding all the while keeping a heavy focus on your face. Her hand slides on top of yours thatâs rests against her soft skin. Natasha shows a brief sign of hesitation on pulling you into her and slamming her lips on yours. Sheâs been craving you since that moment you two had outside the compound at game night.
The sound of your phone going off interrupts the soft moment. You instantly recognize the ringtone, but you ignore it, anyway, treating the cuts and bruises were more important to you right now. Natasha was more important to you right now. The fact that you chose to ignore your phone alerted Natashaâs curiosity, you always check your phone even if it was an excuse to avoid the tension between you two, youâd take the call. âWhy is she still calling you?âÂ
âDo you want me to step in? because if sheâs harassing you about breaking up I can-â you hold your hand up for her to stop talking. You werenât being harassed; in fact, this was the first time Skylar has reached out since that big fight in the kitchen. Perfect timing you guess. âSheâs not harassing me Nat.âÂ
âThen why is she calling you?â The worst scenarios canât help but to run though her mind at you brief silence. It was only a few seconds but to her it felt like a century the longer she waited for you to ease her mind and reassure her that you werenât going back to the woman that tried to take her daughter away from her. The same woman that called her unfit. The same woman that called her a monster. âShe wants to talk, I guess.â You shrug your shoulder nonchalantly as you fumble with the rest of the materials from the first aid kit.
âAnd youâre considering it? After what she did?âÂ
âNatâÂ
âNo! How can you even give her another chance after. How could even want to talk with her after you saw how long it took me to get up from that kitchen floor?â Youâre not surprised about how angry Natasha is she has that right to be angry at Skylar but not at you.Â
âWeâre not going to act like youâre so innocent Natasha, youâve said slick, under handed things as well. That night it was a lot happening and things just went left.â You havenât even brought up the idea of fixing things with Skylar. Just because things went left with Skylar doesnât mean you were giving Nat another chance. She looks away for a brief moment. You had a point there was no reason to deny it. You knew it, she knew it, hell even Jordy could see the tension and animosity her mother had towards Skylar. It was a reason why you were stalling about that date Natasha asked for, you didnât know if you could honestly open your heart up again to her. âWeâre not together Natasha. You need to remember that.âÂ
âRight.â She doesnât say anything else as she stands up and prepares herself to move away from you in the small bathroom. âNat, what are you doing? Iâm not done stitching you up yet.â You quickly stand up and halt her from moving any further through the room. You didnât want to fight today; you didnât want to fight at all, but you would never let her walk around wounded like she was attempting to do earlier.
âI can finish it; donât worry about it Iâve been in worser condition than this before.â Now it was your turn to be angry and upset with her. This was petty and childish. Natasha had a pattern of being stubborn, just because something didnât go her way she shut down and shut you out. This whole situation feels too familiar. It feels like the main problem that broke you in your marriage coming back again like a full circle. As you stand behind her in awe and anger, your phone buzzes again. To no oneâs surprise its Skylarâs Name that pops up on your screen again. Natasha doesnât make an effort to hide her displeasure. You on the other hand ignore the buzzing phone and focus back on Natasha and her struggle to finish the last stitch. âHere, just let me help.â You take a few steps forward as Natasha stands in front of the mirror by the sink. She immediately counters by stepping back.Â
âI said I got it.â As she swats your prying hands away from her wounds he grunts in return from the soreness and pain. âYou donât have to worry about me anymore.âÂ
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â The panic in your voice wasnât subtle at all. The thought of her disappearing again for months scares you. it scares you for your daughter upstairs.
âNothing.â She ends her response by cutting the string as she finished her last stitch. She looks down at your abandoned phone on the counter. âYou should probably worry about your girlfriend, right? seems like itâs important.âÂ
âWhat the fuck? Natasha, donât be like that.âÂ
âDonât be like what? hm, Y/n?â She raises a challenging eyebrow before taking advantage of your lack of words. âYouâre considering making up with that bitch that suggested you take Jordy away from me! What does that say about you? The Y/n I knew wouldâve never even entertained the idea of associating with someone that hurt me...Maybe youâre not the same person I knew.âÂ
âYeah? well now you know how I felt in our marriage.â You spoke before you had the time to truly think about what you were saying. In all honesty you meant what you said however this only added more fuel to the fire. You donât even know why youâre having this conversation right now; you havenât said anything about fixing things with Skyler, you have a hunch that this isnât totally about Sky trying to patch the communication with you and that itâs about you not giving Natasha a chance to move forward. Not giving her an answer about an official date. The look you both give each other clearly shows how much you both want to take back your words, but in the heat of the moment the hope of either of you saying an apology is out of the question. âYou canât you give me an answer, but you can potentially think about letting her back into your life?âÂ
âYouâre an opportunist, you literally cornered me after the fight and guilt tripped me into even considering the date Natasha. Be serious for a minute.â
âHow the hell did I guilt trip you?âÂ
âYou used that moment of vulnerability to your advantage Natasha; I donât even know if I can trust anything youâve said about changing.â Part of you felt this way but you canât deny that there is a lack of accountability on your part, you werenât forced to say yes to her proposal.
âSo not only am I an opportunist but Iâm a liar now too, right?â Your mouth opens and snaps shut before you can even get a word out, she cuts you off with her words of venom. âWhat else have you been keeping in? Iâve never needed pity, not even from you. Seems like Iâm not the only liar standing in this room. Do you think Iâm unfit too? hm? Do you think the same thing as her? Come on you can say it, tell me the truth, Iâd rather hear it from your lips than anybody elseâs.â Natasha doesnât give you a chance to speak, she doesnât give you a chance to shoot down those thoughts sheâs stabbing you with right now.
âYou wonât have to worry about the date anymore, forget about it, letâs just get this parent-teacher thing over with.â You want to protest against that. You want to yell at her for jumping to conclusions in the first place. You want to tell her you need time to think about it longer. You want her to understand that you technically were still in a relationship with Skyler despite the lack of communication between you two, but your words come up empty and your pride wonât let you. Your silence was enough for Natasha to understand that this conversation was over. She wouldnât be getting a date like she hoped. The little effort sheâs made seems pointless as this encounter knocks her back to where she first started. A stranger.
âMom, is it time to go yet? Iâm readyâ Jordyâs voice sounds throughout the hallway as she approaches downstairs. Natasha left the room just in time to get her emotions in check, it was a short moment but enough for her to put it on the back burner for her daughter. Jordyn goes wide eyed with the appearance of her mother standing there when she near around the corner wall. âMama!â She runs fast on her heels and smashes into Natasha for a warm embrace. You on the other hand needed a bit more time to gather your emotions, you use the excuse of putting the first aid kit back and cleaning up a bit. âHow come I didnât know you were here?â Natasha picks Jordyn up slowly swaying back and forth.Â
âBecause Iâm really good at being a ninja.â Natasha smirks at Jordyâs faltering smile. âIâm being serious mama!â Jordy whines with annoyance with the childish response from her mother. âHmm that means you need to get better at those Romanoff senses.â Jordy groans already aware of what would come from her motherâs lips. âUntil you work on that, I canât take you on a mission with me.â She huffs her breath and slightly pouts. âFine.â Natasha pecks her cheeks multiple times in an attempt to bring her toothy smile back that works in an instant. Natasha lowers Jordy back down to the floor which still doesnât do anything from keeping close proximity to her. Jordyn focuses back on her original task in leaving for parent teacher night, she grabs Natashaâs hand excitedly and tugs on them eagerly. âCan we go now mama? please?â
You finally retreat from the bathroom just in time to see how hard it was for Natasha to hold in the pain she was experiencing right now. She blew up at you before you could even give her something to help with the pain. âJordy, be easy on mama sheâs a bit banged up today.â She nods her head and doesnât raise any eye of concern since her mother looked fine and she saw no signs of major wounds. Jordyn slightly pulls Natashaâs hand leading her outside to the car. Jordynâs voice laced with excitement as they leave out the door. âI canât wait to show you everything I did at school!â The plan was still to drive in the same car to the school. Natasha didnât want to near you so opted to sit in the back seat with Jordyn. You donât know if youâre grateful for that or upset. Grateful for the prevention of any further conflicts but upset about the childish and petty action.
Even as you all enter the school, she doesnât really acknowledge you, or so you think she doesnât. Natasha sneaks a glance at you every so often but nothing too noticeable, she tries so hard to zero in on the teacher talking about Jordynâs accomplishments and how well sheâs doing in her classes, but the tension was too high. She wants to apologize to you. She wants to say sorry for blowing up at you and being so possessive even though she doesnât have the right to anymore. She wants to take her words back and ask you to still consider giving her a date. She wants to tell you to never stop worrying about her; never stop caring about her and her wellbeing. As Natasha is being yanked around the classroom by Jordyn the teacher approaches you holding a paper. âWhatâs thisâ you curiously wonder as you take the familiar childhood paper into your hand. âThe kids had an assignment to draw their favorite moment, and this was Jordynâs favorite moment. I thought youâd want to see it.â she smiles softly at you as your eyes roam the vibrant colors on the paper. Jordyn drew the moment you all shared at the dinner table. The day you finally let Natasha stay for dinner, the cause of events that happened before that was unknown to the girl but this? This has changed your prospective on things, maybe you were being cruel to not give Natasha a chance to fix what she broke. Seeing the effects of having the both of you in the same setting, getting along, with no fighting, arguments and no Skyler gave you a big push towards forgiveness. your mind also wondered to the thought, were you being selfish? your issues with Natasha keeping Jordyn from having better moments with both of her moms together? you shake that negative thought away as youâre brought back to the sounds and environment of the classroom. âI think you should let Jordyn show this to Natasha.â you smile as you hand back the construction paper to the teacher. She nods and walks towards them; you can briefly hear the excitement in Jordynâs voice when itâs clear that she knows what paper her teacher is handing her. You need a moment to gather your thoughts.
When the parent teacher night is over Natasha ends up sitting in the front seat this time. You donât show any emotions about it on the outside. You keep your eyes forward and only left the school parking lot once you heard the click of her seatbelt. You thought for sure that sheâd sit in the back until you made it back home. Truth is Natasha wanted to be close to you even if she was still upset. She knows she blew things out of proportion but how could you blame her? how could you blame her after the woman that was supposed to be a saint let those vile things leave her lips? How could you blame her after that kiss you two shared at game night? or what about that small but meaningful moment you two shared in the kitchen on the floor where you comforted her and reassured her about being a great mom? Natashaâs mind drifts back to the moment her eyes landed on the family picture that Jordyn drew. Tears almost brought to her eyes and how badly she wishes to have more of those moment just so Jordyn can create more of these pictures. Natasha would be sure to hang up every single one in her room at the compound, in her training gym, in her small section on the quinjet, hell sheâd probably turn them into stickers as well. Natashaâs mind is racing with these thoughts and itâs the sound of your voice that brings her back from going deeper into the rabbit hole.Â
âHow about we stop and get some ice cream since we have a mini genius in the car right now?â You say as you watch Jordy from the rear mirror. âWhat do you think goober should mommy stop and get ice cream since Iâm a genius?â Jordyâs mouth drops with shock. âHey! she was talking about me being the genius.â Natasha turns in her seat to look at the excited six-year-old. âOh, youâre right my mistake Einstein.â Natasha throws her hands up in mock surrender. You chuckle at the interaction and the atmosphere of the car has changed to a lighter mood, but you two still avoid maintaining eye contact like the plague.Â
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Getting ice cream felt awkward, the tension only you and her know about was nonexistent to others around you. âWhat flavor do you want Jordy?â Natasha waits expectingly but truth be told you both knew her answer before she even said it out loud. âDouble chocolate fudge.â She jumps with excitement while responding, something you note as the pre-hyper jitters, lucky you. The worker scoops the chocolate ice cream and hand Jordyn her cone. she carefully walks over to the empty booth and eats her ice cream. âWhat flavor would you like?â the worker asks you. âIâll have-â The words die on your tongue as Natasha blurts the words out for you, she didnât do it intentionally her brain was just on autopilot. She knows everything about you down to the smallest detail, even when sheâs mad at you she canât seem to stop herself from wanting to be involved with you in some way.Â
She clears her throat and Shys away from your soft gaze. âIâll have a Strawberry cone.â The worker gets started on both cones and hands them to both of you. when itâs time to pay for the cones, you reach in your pocket first, but Natasha stops you. âDonât, Iâll get it.â She pulls her wallet out and before you can challenge her the worker tells you both that the cones are on the house. âOn the house?âÂ
âYeah, Youâre an avenger.â Natasha didnât normally like when people used that line on her but right now, she didnât have any more fight left in her to argue and it settled the potential argument between you two about paying for the cones. You were waiting for her to stare him down until he accepted her money or something, but she simply sighs, puts her wallet in her pocket and says thank you before she walks over to the table with Jordyn. You stand there for a moment stunned before you join them at the booth.Â
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Even as you pull back into the driveway of your house Natasha doesnât say any of her usual starter conversations. She doesnât even ask to stay for dinner. How can she stay near you any longer than she had to right now? The small moment of happy talkative six-year-old and soft served ice cream cones as a distraction wasnât enough for her heart to be at ease, at least not today. You shot down her hope when she saw the name pop up on your phone screen. She felt betrayed and she knows she shouldnât, but she still expected some sort of loyalty from you. She wants to go back home and head straight for the boxing bag and later the gun range and maybe after that sheâll spar with Sam.Â
She needed to release this anger even with her minor injuries, no pain could be more impactful than losing you completely and her chance to be a family. As soon as you stop the car and turn off the engine Natasha gets out of the car and opens the back door for Jordyn. Natasha kneels in front of Jordyn as she sits in her car seat. âHey, Goober, I have to head back to the compound now, and Iâm sorry that I canât stay for dinner tonight.â You spotted the lie instantly, but you can understand her reasoning for it. âItâs okay mama, I know youâre in pain.â Natasha was surprised, sure she knows Jordyn can pick up on things, but this was on a whole other level. Surely, she couldnât have picked up on her motherâs emotion. âWhat?â Â
âMommy said you were a bit banged up today, remember?â A sigh of relief releases from her lips as Jordyn looks down at her. âYeah, right.â Natasha holds her arms out and Jordyn practically leaps off of the seat and into her motherâs arms. âI love you and Iâm so proud of you, keep up the great work, okay?â Jordyn pulls back from the embrace and nods her head in agreement. âI love you too mama.â Natasha places a kiss on her forehead as she pulls back from the hug and stands on her feet. she helps Jordy out of the car, closes the door and walks towards her car without sparring you a glance. âGoodnight, Y/n.â She doesnât wait around for you to reply to her as she gets in her car and pulls off. You lead Jordyn to the front door and release a much-needed breath as you close the door behind you and work on getting dinner ready. âGoodnight, Red.â
 After settling Jordyn down from her sugar high and cleaning up the rest of dinner you stare blankly out the kitchen window. Youâve been distracted since the moment Natasha stepped through the front door hiding her evident display of pain. The familiar feeling of magnetic pull that sparked between you two before your phone rang, before things went left. Had that phone not rang your lips wouldâve touched for the second time in years. You canât decide if the interruption was a good thing or a bad thing at the moment, your mind is completely disheveled. Your phone rings and the name that pops up give you an immediate ick. Tony Stark. you roll your eyes and swiftly decline the call, you honestly thought you had the number blocked, after the whole sokovia accords you really werenât too fond of Tony, Steve or the avengers in general even though Natasha made her own choices. The phone rings immediately after your denial but this time it answers before you even have time to decline it again. âWhat the hell?â you inspect the phone curiously, no way you had a bug on your phone you donât even go anywhere. âThat was very rude to hang up on me before even saying hello.â Tonyâs arrogant and sarcastic voice sounds throughout your kitchen. its late, youâve had a long day and the last things you want to be doing is talking to Tony Stark of all people. âWhat do you want Stark?âÂ
âAh, straight to the point I guess, Iâm having a nice party this weekend and I thought Iâd personally invite you.â
 âNo, thank you.â You were keeping your ground, you forgot how persistent the billionaire could be and you did not miss it at all.
âWait, hold on just come hang out, catch up with a few people you donât have to stay long.â Truth be Told Tony was doing this for Natasha, after seeing her today he had to come up with something to get you two in the same room together. away from your normal settings and in a new environment. you bite your tongue hard, whatâs makes him think that you want to catch up with any of them? things turned out great for everyone else that was not a part of the avengers. Coulson died, Jordan died, Ward was a trader, and your marriage died. âLook Tony I-â your words fall short when he mumbles the word, he whispered it so soft that you almost missed it. âPlease.â Youâve never heard him say that word for as long as you had surveillance on him when you were an agent at shield.
âFine, Stark. Iâll show up to the party as long as you bring out the good stuff none of that watered down fancy shit.â he chuckles on the other end of the phone; he was expecting you to curse him out for not leaving you alone after you already said no. âYou got it, party starts at nine.â after you both hang up Tony drops his phone and rubs his temples. he looks up from his desk with a blank expression. âI didnât my part, but you better make damn sure this doesnât go horribly wrong Wilson, this was your idea. I donât need Two angry Russians and an ex-shield agent on my ass, Iâm getting too old for this.â
âTrust me Tony, everything will go smooth, youâll see.â Sam stands up from the seat patting Tony on his back and leaves his office. the outcome between you and Natashaâs interaction is always unpredictable, but the question is will this time end with a happy ending?
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