Chapter Text
My brother had always told me that I needed to learn how to protect myself because he wouldn’t always be here, but I had always thought that he would be here all of my life. Last year he had been in an accident and didn’t make it. Losing him felt like losing half of my soul. Now I’m here, going to school where we both wanted to go, but I’m alone. I found a self-defense class and immediately signed up. Walking to said class was an experience in itself. There were so many kinds of people on campus and on the walk to the studio.
Pulling open the door to the studio of the class was intimidating. There are mostly men in the room and I’m not trying to train with a man. I was desperately searching the room for a woman and finally found one. She’s hitting a punching bag and I can’t take my eyes off of her. Her red hair is up in a bun and she’s got the most intense look in her eyes. Eyes that sparkled like emeralds as she hit the bag in front of her.
I made the quick decision to go introduce myself to her before anything got started. If anything, I wanted to see if she would agree to be my partner. I didn’t want to be uncomfortable on my first day and leave. As soon as I got close to her, she stopped hitting the bag and looked at me. I almost lost the ability to function when she raised an eyebrow in my direction.
“Did you just come over here to look pretty or…?” She asked, a smirk on her face.
“No, I uh, I was just, I’m new. You’re the only girl in this class. I uh thought maybe we could pair up? It’s just that I, well I mean I just don’t feel comfortable training with a man.” I explained, cursing myself for being so awkward.
“Well, what’s your name? Or should I just refer to you as ‘new girl’?” She asked, the smirk spreading across her face.
“It’s Wanda. I’m Wanda. Maximoff. Not… Not that my last name is important. That’s just my name. Ugh, I’m sorry, you probably think I’m weird.” I said, yelling at myself in my head.
“Hello, Wanda Maximoff. I’m Natasha Romanov. And no, I don’t think you’re weird. Adorable? Yes. Weird? Not yet.” Natasha said.
“Natasha… I like it. Is that… Is that Russian?” I asked, watching her smile.
“It is. Maximoff. Sokovia, right?” Natasha asked, slowly.
“Exactly.” I said, lost in her smile.
I had only just met her, and I loved being around her. It was entrancing and intoxicating to the highest degree. I knew I was getting lost in her eyes, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care. She was beautiful and I was thankful that she was even talking to me. I was brought out of my daydream when she cleared her throat. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and focused back in on her.
“So you want to train with me?” Natasha asked with a knowing smirk.
“Uh, yes, yeah, I do.” I stutter out.
“How are you with being at the front of the class?” Natasha asked.
“Uh, I guess I’m okay with it. But why?” I answer, confused.
“Because this is my class and if you want to train with me, you need to come up to the front of the class so I can also demonstrate with you.” Natasha said with a wink.
“ Oh .” I said, sounding about as smart as a neanderthal.
I watch the smile spread over her face as she walked to the front of the class. She whistled and the entire room came to a halt and turned to face Natasha.
“Alright guys, I’ll be having Wanda come up here to be my partner for today. First, I want you guys to work on leg sweeps. Wanda, please come up here so I can show them how it’s done.” Natasha commanded, sending me a wicked smirk.
I made my way to the front of the room as quickly as I can. Not wanting to keep the room waiting on just me. I also want to learn how to do a leg sweep. Natasha slowly instructed the class on how to go about the leg sweep, using me as the demonstration dummy. Something I wasn’t opposed to though. Suddenly I was on my back and she was looking down at me with a smirk. She quickly dismissed the class to practice on each other and turned to me with a softer smile. She offered me a hand to pull me up and I took it.
“Did I catch you off guard?” Natasha asked.
“Uh, no… Why?” I asked, trying to play it off.
“Just seemed like you weren’t ready for it to happen when I did it. Like you were a little… Distracted.” Natasha said with a small laugh.
“Oh, uh, I was, a little.” I answered truthfully.
“Anything in particular catch your attention?” Natasha asked with a smirk.
“No, no one in particular.” I said, dismissing the silent accusation.
“Interesting. Do you know what to do, or do you need me to go through it again with you?” Natasha asked.
“Can you uh, can you go through it again for me?” I asked quietly.
She laughed and noded her head. She slowly demonstrated where to put my hands and the movements to go through as she swept my legs out from under me. She was looking down at me with a smirk and I couldn’t help the comment that escaped my mouth.
“You’re hot.” I said and was immediately embarrassed.
“Well you’re not so bad yourself.” She said, getting off of me.
She offered me a hand again and pulled me back to my feet. I knew she was waiting for me to start but I was nervous. She must have seen that, because she she grabbed my hands and put them where they needed to be. I smiled gratefully, and attempted to sweep her legs out from under her. She would stop me to instruct me on things and help me with things like my footing.
We ran through a bunch of different techniques over the hour of the class. Natasha showed me how to do everything, making sure I understood what I’m doing and know how to do each move without hurting either one of us. Honestly, the best part of the day was getting to have my hands on her throughout the class. When she dismissed the class she had instructed me to stay back with her for a second.
“So, what did you think of your first class with me? You know, other than that I’m hot.” Natasha asked with a smirk.
“It was very informative.” I answered with a blush making its way on my face.
“Was it? You weren’t distracted the whole time?” Natasha asked, stepping closer.
“Only mildly.” I answered honestly.
“So, Wanda Maximoff from Sokovia, will I see you again next week?” Natasha asked softly.
“You could see me anytime you wanted to.” I answered with embarrassing honesty.
“Don’t want to ask for my number?” Natasha asked, pulling out her phone.
“Yes, um, can I have it?” I asked, knowing she was already going to give it to me.
“Just put yours in here and send yourself a text.” Natasha said with a small laugh.
I took her phone and quickly put my number in it. I sent myself a text before I handed it back to her.
“I know you just spent an hour with me, but do you think you’d want to go get some coffee or maybe tea?” Natasha asked, sounding nervous.
“I’d love to get some tea.” I answered with a smile on my face.
She just nodded and turned around to lead me out of the studio and to the coffee shop. She ordered her coffee and turned to me to get my order. Once I told her what I wanted, I started to take my wallet out and she stopped me, and paid for both drinks.
“I asked you here, I should pay for the drinks.” Natasha said with a shrug.
“Oh, okay. I’ll pay next time.” I said, hoping there would be another time.
“You think we’ll have a second date?” Natasha asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Oh, this is a date?” I asked, trying not to get excited about there being another time.
“I mean, I asked you here, I paid for our drinks, you clearly couldn’t focus in class because you were focused on something else. Or should I say, someone else. You’ve also already had your hands in more places than most dates have with me.” Natasha said in a sarcastic tone.
“I guess that’s true. Um, I suppose this could be a date then.” I answered, understanding what she was saying.
“You suppose?” Natasha asked, cocking her head to the side.
“It is?” I almost asked.
“So, what brought you to my class today?” Natasha asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
“My brother, Pietro, died in an accident last year. Usually, he would make sure I was always safe, but with him gone, I needed to learn how to defend myself.” I explained quietly.
“I’m sorry about your brother, were you two close?” Natasha asked.
“We were. We were twins.” I answered, nodding my head.
“Well, I’m glad you decided to come to my class and that I got to meet you. And I’m looking forward to doing this again. I’ll see you again next week for sure, right?.” Natasha asked with a small smile.
“Duh.” I said, my smile matching hers.