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Watching Maria fight was breathtaking, and if Natasha hadn’t been so busy doing the same damn thing, she would have been content to watch the other woman for hours. She loved Maria in a suit, but god, she looked incredible in her uniform. She forced herself to focus on her assailant instead of Maria, and before she knew it, she and Maria had taken down all of their targets. Now that their path was clear, Natasha and Maria began to run, having gotten what they needed here.
They finally came to a stop at their extraction point, and now, all there was to do was wait. Natasha could practically feel the adrenaline and energy radiating off Maria, and she watched Maria for a moment as they both stood there catching their breath. The wind had tousled Maria’s hair, and all Natasha wanted was to run her hands through it.
“You all right, Romanoff?” Maria raised her eyebrows in amusement, having noticed Natasha staring. It was no secret now that the two of them were attracted to each other, but they hadn’t put a label on it yet. Natasha was still a little hesitant to admit it out loud, most of the time. But sometimes, she managed.
“You’re gorgeous when you fight,” Natasha said, and was pleased to note that Maria’s cheeks tinged faintly red.
“I see how it is. You only like me for my brute force,” Maria joked, and Natasha elbowed her.
“No, I only like you for your biceps. Get it right.” Natasha gave Maria a long, drawn out eye roll, and then reached up to pat said biceps. Maria looked genuinely pleased at her initial compliment, though, and it warmed up a little place in Natasha’s tiny rock of a heart.
“I stand corrected,” Maria said. She reached up a hand to where Natasha’s hand rested on her arm, taking it. Whatever they had together had been more about sex until now, but there was something gentle about the gesture that made Natasha wonder if there was more to this. She let her hand slip into Maria’s, and they stood like that, waiting for their extraction.
“You know, I’m never going to hear the end of it from Barton if he shows up and sees us like this,” Natasha said after a while, and Maria let go of her hand, looking a little embarrassed.
“Sorry,” Maria said, reaching her hand up to scratch at her hair for a moment.
“He’s not here yet, you big goof. We still have twenty minutes.” Natasha reached up, running her hand over Maria’s hair, and then taking the hand that rested there. She interlocked their fingers this time, and the soft smile on Maria’s face was suddenly better than anything else she had seen that day.
Well, almost.
Nothing really compared to watching Maria throw a fully grown man across a roof.