I Walk The Line

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/43109730.

Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Relationship: Wanda Maximoff/Natasha Romanov, Pietro Maximoff & Wanda
Maximoff, Yelena Belova & Natasha Romanov
Character: Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Yelena
Belova, Dreykov (Avengers Marvel movies), Olek Maximoff, Iryna
Maximoff, Brock Rumlow
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Western, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Pietro
Maximoff Lives, Protective Natasha Romanov, Sweet Wanda Maximoff,
Natasha Romanov Feels, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug, she gets one,
Fluff, Angst, Secret Relationship, Eventual Smut, Angst and Fluff and
Smut, Just a hint of, Jealous Wanda Maximoff
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2022-11-16 Completed: 2023-02-04 Words: 33,204
Chapters: 10/10

I Walk The Line

by WhoLetThisHappen

Summary

The next time Natasha gained consciousness, it was certainly morning. Blinking against the
brightness, the redhead was met with two concerned blue eyes staring down at her, and
fuck... they were beautiful.

OR

Natasha Romanov was running from her past, an outlaw trying to make things right. All she
needed was a place to hide. Wanda Maximoff just wanted to know where her missing
laundry had gotten to. The last thing she expected to find was a strange woman,
unconscious in her father's old barn.

Notes

Basically, I stumbled upon cowboy Nat's character design from Marvel 1872 and went feral
lmao. I also read too much fan fiction in the era where the "injured outlaw stumbles into
farmer's daughter's barn" trope was still popular, so my brain JUMPED to this the second I
saw it.

Leaving it at just M for now because there will be sexual content in this fic but I'm just not
yet sure if it'll be just implied or actually written out. We'll see how it goes lol
Title is from the Johnny Cash song
 Chapter 1
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Natasha felt her entire body shaking with the vibrations of hooves against dirt. Digging her stirrups
into the horse’s sides, she urged the animal to push forward as yells and gunshots echoed through
the night air. Bullets whizzed past her whipping hair, lodging into trees and shooting off to God
knows where else.

It had all gone to shit so fast.

The Red Room was not one to leave survivors, much less have any mercy towards deserters. As
the most infamous gang in the West, its members were kept under strict watch. Natasha herself was
taken as a child along with her sister- orphans on the streets that were soon raised to be the perfect
criminals for Dreykov and his purposes. No one questioned him. They did as they were told. They
killed, robbed and pillaged, and at the end of the day, they got nothing out of it all. Nothing more
than fleeting approval from a man who had taken them from their homes and molded them into
sheep for his flock. Natasha was told to be proud. She was his greatest accomplishment- the feared
Black Widow- but she’d had enough. She didn’t want to hurt anyone anymore. She needed to get
out.

It was more than that, though. The redhead couldn’t allow Dreykov to continue his leadership. One
deserter (even if it was his best fighter) would not do anything to hurt him more than some slight
ego damage. She needed to get rid of him. Natasha had been so sure she could kill him.

She was wrong.

Natasha’s heart clenched at the thought of the moments before her treachery began.

“Yel? Are you awake?” The redhead whispered through the silence. She was only met with a light
snore.

Natasha rolled over, turning to face the blonde in her own sleeping bag. The pair shared a tent,
just as most other members paired off whenever they made camp. The oil lamp hanging above
them was still setting a light glow against the tent’s fabric, illuminating her sister’s features in a
way that made her look so gentle. Natasha frowned. The redhead had been twelve when Dreykov
found them. Yelena, only five. Her sister was nearly eighteen now; still so young, yet she only truly
looked the part in her sleep. Natasha hated seeing such a drastic difference. She hated herself for
following the strange man who offered them food and a new home without question- for trapping
Yelena in this life as well.

It was at that moment that Natasa decided she was going to make it right. She got out of her
sleeping bag and threw on her clothes, taking care to not forget her guns or knives. The Red Room
was nothing without Dreykov. If he was out of the picture, then his gang members would defect
almost instantly. They’d be free. Yelena would be free.

“I love you, ‘Lena.” She spoke into the night before grabbing her guns, pulling back the exit flap
and making her way towards the largest tent on their site.

A muffled curse escaped the redhead’s lips when a bullet grazed her arm, though it was far from a
mortal wound. Dreykov had gotten the drop on her, having an extra guard inside the tent with him.
What she thought would be a quiet assassination turned into an all-out gunfight in a matter of
seconds. She hadn’t had time to go back for Yelena before being chased out of the camp on a
stolen horse. Her only foresight was to snag a bag from outside one of the tents and hope it
contained some clothes or even food. Either way, corresponding with her sister at all would have
only put her in more danger of being dragged into this mess. Natasha could go back for her later,
when she was more prepared for a fight.

Her thoughts of Yelena were broken by a searing pain in her abdomen as a loud cry left her lips.
Looking down, she was met with a red pool quickly growing against her abdomen, and her stomach
dropped. As shock set in, she ushered her horse off the path, hoping to shake off Dreykov in the
brush. She was losing blood fast, and if he continued to give chase, Natasha wasn’t too sure it
wouldn’t cause her to collapse off of her horse. Unfortunately, as her breathing became more
labored, her pursuer showed no signs of slowing. Knowing that Dreykov would easily be able to
follow the large frame of her horse and the sounds of falling hooves, the Black Widow did the only
thing she could think of.

Letting out a prayer to a God she wasn’t even sure existed, she dove from her saddle, wincing but
keeping quiet as she landed on her injured side. She laid still and hidden off the trail as her horse
galloped on without her, the gunshots and threats following along after it. When they were far
enough away to be barely audible, Natasha let out the breath she had unintentionally been holding
and forced herself to her feet.

She needed shelter and supplies- a place to stop the bleeding before it was too late.

The redhead wasn’t sure how long she stumbled through the woods for until she finally broke the
treeline, spotting a decently-sized farm a short distance away. She sighed in relief once she had
reached the fence, hopping it ungracefully in her current injured state, and wandering ever-closer.
As she darted across the field, a light turned on in the distant farmhouse window, and she did her
best to avoid being seen. Even as a defector, she was still a dangerous outlaw. She believed this
was the outskirts of Westview- not a town where she was wanted, but close enough to others where
she was.

As she passed the small house, she thanked the heavens that a set of laundry was still out on the
clothesline to dry. The redhead snatched a bedsheet as quickly as she could, only feeling slightly
guilty, before her eyes darted around. She obviously couldn’t just collapse on the side of the house.
That was the quickest way to get caught. The stables were a no-go. Whoever owned this farm
would obviously be tending to their horses daily. Same with the chicken coop. She’d be too
exposed in the fields.

That’s when she saw it.

Far enough away from the house to be discreet, but not close enough to the woods for Dreykov to
find, stood an old-looking barn. From the chipping paint and distinct lack of animal noises,
Natasha could tell it was no longer in constant use. She should be safe there to patch herself up.

Picking the lock was child’s play, even as her vision began to blur. Natasha grunted in pain as she
pushed the heavy door open, letting out a strained grin when she took in the sight of the interior.
The only thing here was equipment that looked like it hadn’t been touched in years and an old, tall
pile of hay. Perfect.

Unable to hold herself up any longer, Natasha collapsed against the hay pile. She probably should
have attempted to climb up to the loft for a better hiding place, but she knew she was in no
condition to do so. She quickly unbuttoned her shirt, grimacing at just how caked it was in an
uncomfortable mixture of dried and fresh blood. Upon examination, Natasha was relieved to find
the bullet had gone straight through- there was no need to dig it out. However, she did need to stop
the bleeding. She bunched up the stolen bedsheet and used it to press against her wounds as much
as she could, hoping that the flow would stop soon.

Thankfully, it slowed quickly enough that she could clean it before truly becoming dizzy. She
turned her attention to the contents of the bag she had taken, and sighed in relief at the sight of a
flask. Pouring its contents over the bullet holes, she hissed as the alcohol did its job. Once that was
complete, she tied the bedsheet around herself as tightly as her breathing would allow and threw a
clean (if slightly oversized) shirt on. It was the middle of summer and hot as hell, but Natasha only
felt an ice cold overtaking her from the inside out as she burrowed into the hay for some warmth.
She ignored the fact that this probably wasn’t the best sign as her eyes drifted shut without her
permission.

The next time Natasha gained consciousness, it was certainly morning. Blinking against the
brightness, the redhead was met with two concerned blue eyes staring down at her, and fuck... they
 were beautiful.

Chapter End Notes

A short little first chapter. They’ll probably get longer as I go on. I don’t plan for this
fic to be super long.

Hopefully you enjoyed this and thanks for reading!

 Chapter 2
Chapter Summary

Wanda’s average Tuesday becomes a bit more exciting.

Chapter Notes

Not sure why, but it annoys me writing in obvious accents, though I tried my best to
make it a little more telling than just writing dialogue normally. For reference: they all
have a lil bit of a Southern accent (because cowboys) if you'd like to imagine that lol.

That info wasn't really necessary but I felt the need to write it out for my own sanity
lmao

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Wanda hummed as she pulled her arms through the long, green summer dress before allowing her
lighter shawl to fall over her shoulders. Looking at herself in the mirror, she forwent any type of
head covering- the sun wasn’t too bright today. Instead, she opted to tie her hair back in a bit of an
untidy bun over the sounds of the farm coming to life outside.

When she finally made it to the kitchen, she was met with the smell of eggs on the table and her
father’s boisterous laugh. It brought a smile to her lips, until the sound of her mother’s voice
interrupted in a bit of a scolding tone.

“Wanda…”

“Morning, Mama…” Wanda turned to her sheepishly, trying to hide her guilt behind a small head
tilt. She was supposed to be up over an hour ago.

“It’s past nine.” Iryna scolded lightly as Pietro did his best not to snicker from his seat. “Don’t tell
me you were up all night again, young lady.”

“I didn’t mean to. Just lost track of time, 'is all.” The brunette shrugged as she grabbed a plate and
began to cut into her food.
“Lost track of time? Your lamp was dark by lights out last night- just like it was supposed to be.
Tell me why it was suddenly lit again once you thought everyone was asleep?” The older woman
questioned, rolling her eyes playfully as Wanda huffed.

“Maybe she was sneaking around with that boy from town? What was his name again?
Brock?" Pietro teased as he stood to wash his dish, and Wanda scowled around her mouthful. She
wanted nothing to do with that oaf.

“Oh, don’t even joke about that, son.” Olek choked around his coffee, his face both paling and
growing red. The man was notoriously protective of his only daughter, continuously warding off
Rumlow and any other man under threat of death. Honestly, that arrangement worked just fine for
Wanda.

“I just wanted to finish the next chapter of my book.” The brunette sighed, sipping at her own drink
carefully. None of her family members had an issue with her hobby, of course. However, it was the
contents of the books and her tendency to get lost in them that her parents were wary of.

“That’s nice, hun, but it can’t be getting in the way of your chores.” Iryna insisted, patting her a bit
on the shoulder and giving Pietro a kiss on the cheek before he left for the fields. Olek stood to join
his son, but not before turning towards his daughter with a slight frown.

“I know they’re just stories, Wanda. They give you something to aspire for. They’re exciting and
adventurous, but you can’t get too into all that.” He sighed. “Your place is here. Helping your
mother.” He drawled out as he brought a hand on her cheek, rubbing it with the pad of his thumb.
Wanda looked down, eyes sad, before she nodded solemnly.

“I know, Papa.” She agreed, though she longed to argue. She wanted to be seen in the way those
protagonists in her novels were. She wanted to explore, live her life to the fullest- hell, even simply
be allowed to do more than just women’s work.

“Good. I’ll see you tonight, okay? I’m going into town for some deliveries.” Olek placed a peck to
the top of her head before sharing a sweet kiss with his wife and heading out the door.

“Dear, the laundry is still out from yesterday. Could you bring it in before you start your chores for
the day?” Iryna asked, already gathering the leftovers from breakfast. Wanda nodded as she
finished her plate, handing it to her mother. She straightened out her dress before picking up the
laundry basket.
It was a nice day out, the sheets and clothing swaying a bit in the slight breeze. The sun was warm
on her back as Wanda approached the clothesline, taking down each item one by one. The repeated
movements were almost therapeutic for her. She barely had to pay attention as she unclipped and
stored socks, pants, towels, bedsheets-

Wait.

Her bedsheets were missing.

Wanda raised an eyebrow at the large gap between her parents’ sheets and Pietro’s. Scanning the
rest of the line, she didn’t see them anywhere, and nothing else appeared to be missing. The
brunette was puzzled, but allowed the mystery to sit in the back of her mind until she had finished
taking down the rest of the laundry. It was only when she went to pick up the basket and take it
inside that she noticed some small, red droplets littering the ground. Strange.

Abandoning her chore for the moment, Wanda absentmindedly followed the barely-there trail. It
eventually brought her to their old barn. When her great-grandparents had been in charge, the
Maximoff Farm was a large property with plenty of farmhands and nearly triple the amount of
livestock. Now, it was just their family and a handful of horses, cows, and chickens. This animal
barn hadn’t been in use since she was just a toddler. Then why was the door ajar?

Intrigued, Wanda pushed the door open with a creak and stepped inside. After an initial once-over,
the barn seemed to be empty. However, the brunette nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of a
low groan just as something in the haystack moved slightly. Then, nothing but silence. Wanda
gulped down her fear as she approached, biting her cheek out of a nervous habit. As she rounded
the haystack, her heart stopped when worn boots came into view. Her immediate thought was to
call for Pietro. Their barn had been broken into, probably by a thief.

However, upon further inspection, Wanda found herself conflicted. The so-called thief was
probably the most beautiful woman she’d ever laid eyes on. The redheaded stranger had a striking
jawline, high cheekbones, and a cute, upturned nose that seemed to go against her otherwise
angular and intimidating features. She seemed to be older than the brunette by at least a few years.
She wore black jeans under a red tunic, her fiery hair tied into a loose braid, and a faded green
bandana wrapped around her neck. Beside her, a jet-black Stetson lay in the straw next to a leather
fringe shawl.

Wanda did her best to ignore the slight warmth in her chest, reminding herself of the fact that this
woman was an intruder (and likely dangerous, if the double holster belt and knives strapped to her
thighs were any indicator). She needed to get Pietro- maybe even her father. Before she could
move, though, the redhead groaned again. Wanda’s attention snapped down as her shirt rode up,
revealing the missing bedsheet tied around the stranger’s midsection.
It was soaked through with deep crimson.

Wanda gasped at the sight, instinctually dropping to her knees to try and help before remembering
herself. This woman wasn’t just sleeping. She had probably passed out from blood loss, unable to
bring herself back to consciousness. Wanda had no medical supplies on her at the moment, and
disturbing the makeshift bandage could make the injury worse without immediate care following.
She didn’t even know this woman. If he were here, her father would have already been chasing the
redhead out with a shotgun. She shouldn’t be helping a trespassing stranger. The brunette sighed,
knowing none of this would make a difference in her already made-up mind.

She raced back to the house for the medical kit under their stairs, thankfully avoiding her mother
with ease. Once she had returned, Wanda’s face burned with the realization that she would have to
undress the unconscious woman in order to treat her wounds. That was probably fine, right?

With shaking hands, the brunette pulled the tunic up and off the stranger’s torso, guilt building
when it got to her breasts. Being as respectful as she could (given that the redhead apparently had a
perfect body to go along with that striking face), she held her breath as the fabric gave way for
more skin. Wanda breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed the redhead’s chest was covered by
loose bindings, probably for when she rode off on adventures, based on the stirrups attached to her
boots- something the brunette would never be able to. This stranger seemed so free, even in her
injured state. Wanda tried not to envy it as she removed the bloodstained bedsheet and tossed it
aside.

The wound was no longer bleeding, but fairly large and obviously the result of a bullet. Looking
more closely, the redhead’s ribcage was covered in bruises of varying different stages of healing as
well. Wanda couldn’t help but trace her hand over them, her chest filling with sympathy. However,
her entire body froze when her hand came in contact with a patch of scarred and reddened skin.

An hourglass shaped cattle brand- the mark all Red Room members bore.

Jumping back, the brunette’s heart raced. She’d heard stories of the infamous gang and its ruthless
members- killings, robbings, and much worse. If this woman had played a part in such atrocities,
Wanda had a lot more than an average stowaway to worry about. She should leave the redhead
here and call for the authorities, even if medical attention was urgently needed.

However, as she stared at the unconsciously pained knit between two perfectly shaped brows,
Wanda reached for the antiseptic.
The second the medicine-soaked cloth made contact, bringing a burning sensation to the open
wounds, Natasha’s eyes shot open as a loud groan escaped her lips. Confused, she squinted against
the sunlight filtering through the roof and attempted to sit up. However, she found herself unable to
move under the gaze of a woman who would’ve taken her breath away even without the use of
physical shock. Her eyes were an ocean blue, complimenting her long auburn hair. There was a
light dusting of summertime freckles on her cheeks, and she looked to be younger than the
redhead- perhaps a few years older than Yelena.

“Who ar-”

“Hold still, will you?” Wanda implored, hoping the heat in her face wasn’t showing after locking
onto cunning, emerald eyes. She pressed the cloth to the apparent gangster’s wound once again.
This time, the redhead was prepared, and didn’t even flinch. “Are there any other wounds?”

“Bullet went straight through. Same wound on the other side.” The older woman grit her teeth,
reluctant to accept help yet knowing she needed it. Once the brunette gave her a pointed look,
Natasha sighed. “Also, a graze on the back of my left arm.”

“Thank you.” Wanda quipped, avoiding the redhead’s piercing gaze in favor of tending to the other
wounds. “I’m gonna have to stitch the bullet holes.”

When the injured woman opened her mouth to protest, the brunette just sent her a stern look.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Natasha quipped sarcastically, but remained quiet as the antiseptic burned against
her flesh, allowing the strange woman to stitch her up without a fuss. “Not that I’m ungrateful or
anything, but who are you?”

“I should be asking you that, seeing as you’re the one passed out in my barn.” Wanda replied as she
tied off the suture on the redhead’s back, thankful that she didn’t have to look into those alluring
eyes at the moment. Though, the stranger’s well-defined back might be equally as distracting.

“My apologies, Miss. If I had known the owner would be such a fine young woman I’d’ve tried to
be a little more presentable.” Natasha smirked, finally rolling over to sit up again and savoring the
slight blush that overtook the brunette’s cheeks. “I’m just a traveler passing through. Had a run-in
with some highwaymen last night and needed shelter.”

“Is that so?” Wanda questioned, her eyes trailing to the fresh bandage she had just applied.
Bringing her hand up as if to touch it, she instead ran her fingers over the scarred brand on the
redhead’s ribcage. Looking up again with a challenging raise of her brow, she tried not to smile as
the older woman’s face filled with realization. “I’m Wanda. What is your name?”

Natasha sighed, knowing she’d been figured out. She wasn’t sure why this woman was still helping
her, clearly knowing who she was affiliated with. She sucked in a breath, knowing that if the
brunette still had any willingness to help her, it would be gone with the next two words.

“Natasha Romanov.” The redhead watched as the girl drew back suddenly, sucking in a sharp
breath.

“You’re… You’re the Widow.” Wanda forced out, her eyes widening in recognition. Very few of
the Red Room members were ever identified by name, and even less by an infamous title. The
ones that had earned them, however, were known for their merciless ways. The Iron Maiden and
Red Guardian, for example, were feared throughout the counties. None were more well-known
than the Black Widow, however. Natasha hung her head in shame.

“I never wanted to be.” She let out, barely a whisper. “Dreykov took me in as a child- an orphan-
and tricked me into thinking the Red Room could be my new family. I’ve done his dirty work for
over a decade now, and I refused to continue.” The redhead gestured to the blood-soaked shirt and
bedsheets beside her. “This is what he does to deserters. I’m lucky to have even made it out alive.
I’m done with that life. Please believe me.” She finished, hoping that the woman in front of her
would not turn her in.

Wanda studied Natasha closely. There was no mistaking the danger that the older woman exuded.
If the confirmation of the redhead’s deadly ledger weren’t looming over the brunette’s head, she
would say the dangerous aura was attractive. However, when she looked into wide, jade eyes,
Wanda saw nothing but remorse. The Black Widow truly did wish to repent. Wanda relaxed her
shoulders, and smiled a bit when Natasha beamed at the show of trust.

“You’ll need to rest, Natasha. No one uses this barn. You can set up a bed space in the loft until
you're well enough to leave.” The brunette did her best not to blush when she realized just how
infectious the older woman’s smile really was. “Just a day or two to recover.” She tacked on at the
end, fighting off the urge to wipe a dark smudge of dirt away from Natasha’s cheek.

“Just a day or two….” The redhead trailed off absentmindedly, studying the features of the
brunette’s face. The younger woman was wholeheartedly distracting, but Natasha was doing her
best to blame that fact on the blood loss. If she was still in a stable body state she would’ve been a
lot smoother. Probably.
 “Don’t leave the barn. My father cannot find out. He’d kill you.” Wanda let out worriedly. Natasha
only hummed cockily.

“If I had a penny for every time I heard that…” The redhead smirked, and Wanda couldn’t help but
giggle lightly. Natasha’s stomach fluttered at the sound.

“Of course.” The brunette watched as subtly as she could when the Widow moved to pull her tunic
and shawl back on, placing the Stetson loosely on the top of her head before settling back against
the hay. Clearing her throat from the momentary distraction, Wanda gathered the bedsheets in her
arms and stood to leave. Natasha was quick to speak up.

“Stay.” The redhead blurted out without thinking, wanting this beautifully kind woman to remain
close for just a little longer. “Please?” It was uncharacteristic. The Black Widow never asked for
anything. Yet, here she was.

Wanda stopped for a moment, wanting to accept the offer but knowing that if she did it would raise
suspicion.

“I have chores to get done. I’ll wash these and bring them back later with some food.” She
promised, forcing herself to head for the door. Natasha made a low hum of agreement, watching
with apt attention as the brunette closed the door behind her.

After hearing the squeak of the hinge, the redhead let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was
holding, just as Wanda did the same.

Chapter End Notes

God, I forgot how much I really do love a good old lesbian western. I'm honestly
really excited to write the rest of this fic.

And yes, the light that spooked Nat a bit while she was sneaking through the fields last
chapter was in fact Wanda reading her book lol.

Hope you enjoyed!

 Chapter 3
Chapter Summary

Wanda's always been one for questions- curious by nature. Natasha's never actually let
herself slow down for long enough to really answer any before.

Chapter Notes

Well hello and welcome back to my current writing hyper-fixation.

Just some softness here in this chapter, though there is a pretty healthy dose of
~tension~

I couldn't stop myself lmao

See the end of the chapter for more notes

As it turns out, a day or two would soon turn into a few more. Natasha was a bit worse off than
either of them had realized, but Wanda gave her the best care she could. The brunette insisted on
changing her bandages daily and refusing to allow the older woman to do any strenuous tasks.
Natasha would normally be annoyed by it, but it gave her an opportunity to sit back and flirt,
reveling in any small reaction she could get out of the girl.

That first night, Wanda had snuck out to the barn with whatever food scraps she could manage to
get away with and knocked politely on the door. Confused as to who would be knocking on their
own barn door, Natasha had peered through the cracks of the wall and chuckled lightly at the sight
of Wanda fidgeting awkwardly on the other side.

“Didn’t realize room service was a part of this deal.” Natasha let out with a smirk as the door
creaked open. Wanda’s shy smile faltered slightly.

“Sorry, I just thought you’d be hungry. I said I’d bring food earlier. I have some sheets too for the
night if you-”

“I remember, darlin’. Just teasing.” Natasha stepped aside to allow Wanda space to enter, and the
brunette ducked her head to hide the light blush the pet name brought to her cheeks.
“It’s not much, just a sandwich, but I washed the sheet. We can fill it with straw or something.”
Wanda held out the small, cloth-wrapped plate for Natasha to take before heading towards the loft
ladder. When Natasha grabbed a hay bale and went to follow, she turned around with a hand out
to stop the redhead. “Nuh-uh. I’ll do it. You’re injured. Just take the sandwich.”

Natasha huffed, but complied. She wasn’t sure why, but the younger woman’s determination was
quite endearing, and the redhead sure wasn’t about to question her kindness. She was slower than
she’d usually be climbing up to the loft, stopping every now and then to nurse her side. By the time
she was standing on the platform, a little winded, Wanda was already starting to stuff the bedsheet
with hay to form a makeshift mattress.

“Why are you helping me?” Natasha couldn’t stop herself from asking, curious as to why anyone
would want to risk anything for the Black Widow. Wanda hesitated, glancing over her shoulder for
a little more than a second before continuing to fill the bedsheet.

“Everyone deserves a second chance.”

Natasha’s reminiscence was broken by the creak of the barn door, followed by a quiet call of her
name.

“Nat?” Wanda’s voice broke the silence in the barn. The redhead smiled at the nickname. The
brunette had adopted it a couple days ago, and Natasha wasn’t sure the younger woman even
realized she was using it.

“You’re early today, sunshine.” She answered, popping her head over the ledge of the loft just as
Wanda began to climb.

“I thought we could have lunch together.” The brunette proposed, stepping onto the loft and
holding out a small basket. “If that’s okay, of course…”

“Won’t they notice you’re gone?” Natasha questioned, though she simultaneously scooted over to
allow Wanda room on the mattress. The younger woman accepted the nonverbal invitation
instantly, sitting and beginning to unpack their lunch- cornbread and chicken (presumably from the
previous night’s dinner).

“Mama’s out with her girls and Pietro went with Papa for deliveries to town. We should be fine.”
Wanda shrugged.
“Only if you’re sure it’s not a problem.” Natasha insisted, though she smiled gratefully.

“Besides, I wanted to see you for a little longer today.” The brunette shrugged as the older woman
quirked an amused brow. If she were being honest, Wanda’s mind was often preoccupied by
thoughts of the woman she’d been hiding in the barn. She’d never done anything so rebellious
before, and the thrill of having a secret was a bit addicting. It also didn’t hurt that Natasha had
found a way to make her stomach erupt in butterflies with just a passing glance.

“And why would you want to see little old me, hm?” The outlaw pouted teasingly, leaning back on
her elbow a bit. She held back her smirk at the slight pinkish color that dusted the tips of Wanda’s
ears. Until now, the brunette had only stayed for a couple of minutes each night to deliver food
with some small talk here and there. Wanda grew silent around a bite of her food, thinking for a
moment before swallowing carefully and answering.

“You’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met.” She stated quietly, turning to face the redhead
more fully. Natasha’s teasing expression fell, obviously having expected more light banter.

“How so?” She asked, sitting up properly now. If ever asked, she would vehemently deny the red
that invaded her cheeks. Wanda only laughed lightly.

“You really don’t know?” The brunette asked, and was only met with a nod to continue. “You
manage to escape from the most widely-feared gang this side of the Mississippi, stumble halfway
through the forest in the middle of the night- while full of bullet holes, break into my barn, reveal
little to nothing about yourself other than a name, and still expect me to be able to think of
someone more interesting than you?” Wanda asked incredulously, tilting her head in challenge.

“Well, when you put it that way…” Natasha trailed off. When the brunette only looked at her
expectantly, she sighed, leaning back against the pillow Wanda had managed to snag for her.
“Alright. What do you wanna know, sweetheart?” Wanda’s eyes lit up, and Natasha rolled her eyes
playfully as she tried to force down her smile.

“I don’t know. Anything, really.” The younger woman’s head was racing with questions to ask.
“What’s it like? Riding off on adventures?”

“I’m not sure I’d call them adventures.” Natasha deflected, not wanting to talk about the horrible
things she’d done. Wanda seemed unconvinced.
“C’mon, I’ve never even ridden a horse on my own! You’re out doing whatever you want,
whenever you want! There’s gotta be at least one good story in there.” The brunette said pointedly,
giving her best puppy-dog stare. Natasha couldn’t have refused if she tried.

“Alright, alright. There was this one time, back when I was still learning the ropes, I accidentally
got locked in the vault of a bank we were-” She stopped for a second, trying to think of a better
word than robbing. “Uhm. Visiting.” She smiled sheepishly.

“Sure. Visiting.” Wanda deadpanned, taking another bite of her food. “How’d you get out?” She
finally asked, eyes large and curious. Natasha wasn’t sure how the brunette was just breezing past
the fact that she was a wanted criminal. Usually, nobody saw her as more than her ledger. She had
to admit, it was a nice change.

“Well, the job went so well none of the townsfolk had even realized what happened. Unfortunately,
it wasn’t my usual crew, and they didn’t notice I hadn’t come home with them until the next day.”
Natasha huffed. “When dad found out about it, he stormed back on his own and held up the bank in
broad daylight, demanding they open their vault. Imagine the banker’s surprise when the ruthless
Red Guardian came back out without any money or jewels. Nothing more than a pretty pissed off
teenage girl.”

Natasha found it in herself to chuckle at the memory, though it was humiliating at the time. She
had been just a kid- still learning the ways of being a seasoned criminal. Wanda’s whole-hearted
laugh was infectious.

“ I thought you said you were an orphan. The Red Guardian is your father?” The brunette asked,
her giggles dying down. Natasha’s reminiscent smile dimmed a bit.

“In the same way that the Iron Maiden is my mother.” She looked down at the reminder of her
pseudo-family. “Not through blood, but experience. I was twelve when Dreykov found me. He
needed more-experienced members to mentor me, and I was just a kid that needed a family. Melina
and Alexei stepped up. I know they’re on the wrong side of this, but they cared for us when
nobody else would. It felt real.” She missed them, despite their affiliations. Sensing that this was a
bit of a hard topic for the redhead, Wanda bumped her shoulder against Natasha’s light-heartedly.

“Okay then, miss mysterious past. ” She bit her lip, internally building the courage to ask her next
question. “What about love in that busy life of yours? Any time for a novel romance?” Wanda
ignored the fact that she probably didn’t want to know the answer, if it meant imagining the
redhead in some star-crossed love story. Natasha only let out a huff of a laugh.
“Trust me, I’ve had my share of bedmates.” Wanda ignored the funny feeling in her stomach at the
way Natasha looked her up and down with the word. “But no. Oddly enough, finding someone to
really love ain’t easy when you’re living on the run- hard to believe, I know.” The redhead let out
sarcastically, finishing her plate before she relaxed on the mattress again.

“Was it lonely?” Wanda let out softly, and Natasha quirked an eyebrow for what had to be the
hundredth time today. This woman was full of unexpected questions.

“I wouldn’t say that. It was always just me and ‘Lena, anyway. Didn’t need anyone else when I had
her to worry about, especially when she was still young.” When Wanda tilted her head in askance,
Natasha clarified. “My sister. She’s probably a couple years younger than you. She’ll turn eighteen
next month. What are you? Twenty?” It was a thinly veiled attempt to learn anything about the
brunette that she could, simply because she wanted to, and Natasha ignored the implications of
that.

“Twenty one.” Wanda corrected, though she didn’t continue. Natasha took it as a sign that she
wanted to know more. She sighed.

“I’m here because of her. I lied when I told you I just deserted.” The redhead fidgeted with her belt
buckle. “I didn’t want her to have to keep living this fucked up life. She’s my little sister. I’m
supposed to protect her. I failed at that and wanted to make it right.” Looking anywhere but Wanda,
she forced an assured look onto her features. “So, I snuck out of our tent one night. I thought I
could just quietly take out Dreykov in his sleep. Then Yel would be free and maybe I’d have a little
less weight on my conscience or something. Obviously, it didn’t work out. I didn’t even have time
to take her with me.” Natasha looked down, avoiding the brunette’s gaze.

“Natasha…” Wanda trailed off, reaching out for the redhead without thinking. Her heart ached for
the Widow, wanting to comfort her. Before their hands could touch, however, Natasha jerked
away, meeting Wanda’s eyes confidently as if she hadn’t just been on the verge of tears.

“Anyway, what about you, sunshine? Got any good love stories for me?” She deflected, tucking
her arms behind her head as Wanda’s face turned red.

“No, not really.” The younger woman’s voice wavered a bit, looking at her hands.

“Not even a little crush?” The redhead insisted, and Wanda hated the way her eyes flickered
towards smirking lips. She forced her gaze away, not answering. Natasha just continued. “You
 can’t tell me there isn’t some handsome boy out there just dying to take out a pretty little thing like
you.”

She wasn’t sure why she was pressing so hard on the subject, teasing much more than she normally
would. Maybe because it was an effective segue away from the Yelena talk. Or perhaps she just
had an unusual interest in Wanda’s love life, her stomach tightening strangely at the idea of the
brunette in love.

“Well, there is a man in town- Mr. Rumlow. Comes from money and all.” Wanda spoke softly,
with a slight frown. Natasha did her best to hide her disappointment.

“Good on you, sweetheart. Money isn’t everything, but it sure helps.” The older woman let out,
examining Wanda’s face closely. The brunette seemed to be battling something within herself, her
brows pulled together in worry. After a beat, she sat up straighter.

“He’s persistent, I’ll give him that.” Wanda admitted, staring straight ahead before turning to lock
onto striking emerald eyes. “But he’s not really, uhm, my type.” She finished, putting a bit of
inflection on the final word that she hoped the redhead would be able to read. Natasha’s eyes
widened a bit before she steadied her gaze, chuckling a bit as she sat up as well.

“Well then, that’s something we have in common, sunshine.” She couldn’t help the way her voice
had a husk to it, her heart pounding when Wanda’s lips formed a smile. Just when the brunette
began to lean in, Natasha pulled away and cleared her throat awkwardly. “Come back tonight.
Eleven o’clock, when everyone’s asleep. I wanna show you something.”

Wanda was dazed for only a moment before she felt the tips of her ears heat up. Had she really just
almost done that? There was no way Natasha Romanov of all people would want to kiss her. She
shoved down her embarrassment in favor of nodding politely, too internally preoccupied to really
process what she’d just agreed to. Wanda smiled anyway as Natasha’s face split into a smile.

“Good. I’ll see you tonight, then.”

Chapter End Notes

At this point, I think I have pretty much the whole storyline for this fic outlined and
anticipate it to be 10 chapters at the moment. Not setting it to a specific chapter limit
just yet though in case I suddenly get more ideas lol
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
 Chapter 4
Chapter Summary

Feelings are a complicated thing.

But then again, maybe not.

Chapter Notes

Some real fluffy shit to be thankful for on Thanksgiving lol. Writing this had me
smiling like an idiot tbh

Happy Turkey Day for those who celebrate it in November!!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The rest of the day went by like a blur for Wanda. She finished her chores absentmindedly,
responding with only a small hum when her mother came home from her afternoon out, followed
closely by Pietro and their father. Her thoughts were wholly preoccupied by the mystery of what
Natasha had planned for her. Thankfully, none of them seemed to notice much.

“Ira, how was lunch with your girls?” Olek’s voice floated just under Wanda’s thoughts of the
woman currently hiding in their barn.

“Good. Maria spent half the time complaining about Howard, but what else is new?” Iryna laughed
a bit at her own joke. “How did the deliveries go?”

“Smooth travels. It’s a good thing, too. I heard talk of some gangs lurking.” Her father’s voice
grew serious. “I know Westiview’s been pretty safe from it all so far, but there’s talk of the Iron
Maiden lurking around, and you know who follows after that.” Wanda’s chest ached
uncomfortably at the words. She fully believed that Natasha would never purposefully lead the
Red Room here, but it was entirely possible they were out searching for their missing member.

Sensing the bit of tension growing in the air, Pietro cleared his throat.

“Brock says hello, by the way. He’s wondering why you haven’t been to town lately.” The blonde
teased, having noticed the light blush on his sister’s lips and assumed the man was the cause.
Wanda’s train of thought was broken, her face immediately twisting.

“He can keep wondering.” She huffed out, just now feeling present at the table for the first time
since dinner started. She looked at the window, seeing the sun dipping below the horizon. It was
just past six now, and she wanted nothing more than for the clock to tick just a little faster. Natasha
said eleven. She didn’t want to be too early, and God knows it wasn’t a question of if she’d ever be
late.

“That’s my girl.” Olek chuckled before taking a bite of his potatoes. “How was your afternoon,
hun? Sorry you were alone.”

“It was fine, Papa. I found things to entertain myself with…” She trailed off, unable to suppress the
small smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. She wondered what Natasha was doing- how she
kept herself occupied all day in that barn. Wanda tried her best to keep her thoughts from drifting to
the redhead. She really did. Nothing seemed to be working, however.

Natasha wasn’t faring much better.

Since the moment Wanda had left earlier that day, the outlaw had paced the floor of the loft in
anticipation of the younger woman’s return. She couldn’t describe the feeling that overtook her
whenever the brunette crossed her mind. The Widow was so used to keeping her eyes open and
alert at all times, but since that first day Wanda had patched her up, the younger woman consumed
all of her thoughts. She couldn’t even find it in herself to be uncomfortable with it. Over the past
week, despite having just lost the only life she’d ever known and being confined to a rickety old
barn, she felt happy whenever Wanda came to visit.

She sighed as darkness took over the barn, watching carefully as the last flickers of sunlight filtered
through the loose roof shingles. There was no clock, so Natasha was confined to simply waiting for
Wanda without any instance of what time it actually was or how much longer the girl would be. It
was slowly killing her, especially after the revelation that Wanda had no interest in the men of
town.

Natasha was no stranger to her sexuality. She’d found plenty of women to enjoy her time with over
her travels. Often, even straight women were at least a little bit curious about the Black Widow
herself for just one night. The Red Room also had more than a few members she could fall back on
when her searches through whatever town they were in failed. Dreykov didn’t give a damn about
who his gangsters bedded, as long as they didn’t lose focus on his agenda. However, it was truly
rare to find a woman who seemed genuine.
When surrounded by thieves and murderers, falling in love wasn’t really something any of them
were after. It was never something Natasha was after. She didn’t think she was even capable of
having genuine feelings for someone.

Not that she had feelings for Wanda. Definitely not.

She was just grateful to the brunette for helping her. And enjoyed talking to her sometimes. The
fact that Wanda was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen didn’t hurt, either.

Okay, so maybe she had some feelings. That was fine. Right?

“Natasha?” Like the true, hardened criminal that she was, Natasha nearly jumped out of her boots
at the soft voice that cut through the dark. The door hadn’t even creaked. She shoved down the
bubbly feeling in her chest in favor of lazily climbing down the loft ladder.

“You ready?” The redhead drawled out, still facing away as she hopped onto the ground, skipping
the last three ladder rungs.

“I’d be a little more prepared if I knew what you planned on showing me.” Wanda answered,
genuinely curious. She squinted to see Natasha through the dark. Having just been in a lit house,
her eyes were not as well-adjusted as the redhead’s.

“Patience, sweetheart…” The older woman laughed as she turned around to face the brunette. She
stopped short when she took in the sight of Wanda in front of her. The girl was still in her
nightgown, clearly having changed to convince her family she was going to sleep. “You’re gonna
freeze out there.” Natasha hurriedly shrugged off her shawl, draping it over the brunette’s
shoulders. Wanda did her best to suppress her blush.

“Out there?” She questioned, choosing to not acknowledge the fact that she was now wearing the
Widow’s clothes for fear of her voice wavering from nerves. “Natasha, you can’t leave the barn. I
told you, if Papa sees you-”

“He won’t.” Natasha stated assuredly, grabbing the brunette’s hand and tugging her along towards
the door. The night breeze hit the both of them in an instant- Natasha taking her first breath of fresh
air in days while Wanda clutched the borrowed shawl tighter.
“What would you have out here? All of your stuff is in the barn.” The brunette pressed further,
ignoring the way she was beginning to shiver.

“Well, they’re not actually mine. Or anybody’s, really.” Natasha answered with a shrug, not
explaining further. She shoved down her smile at the curious look Wanda was sending her.

“You really aren’t much of a conversationalist, are you?” The younger woman rolled her eyes at
Natasha’s mock-offended look. “How much further?”

“Depends. Where’s the best place to lay down in the fields?” The redhead asked, and Wanda
laughed a bit at the fact that Natasha didn’t even know where she was going. The brunette led them
to a nice little clearing, gesturing for the older woman to sit. Neither woman said anything as their
backs hit the grass.

When they’d been laying in the dark in silence for a little over a minute, Wanda finally spoke up.

“What are you showing me, exactly?” She glanced over to the other woman, but quickly averted
her eyes back upwards. She wasn’t entirely sure she’d be able to handle staring directly at
Natasha’s face- lit up beautifully in the moonlight.

“You’re looking at ‘em.” The redhead let out cockily, unafraid to gaze fully at Wanda’s confused
look. She brought a finger to point upwards. “That’s Cepheus. The King.”

Wanda stared confusedly at the sky, unable to really tell exactly where the older woman was
pointing from her vantage point. Upon realizing this, Natasha scooted closer and leaned her arm
into the brunette’s line of sight so she could properly identify the slightly cone-shaped cluster of
stars.

“He was the ruler of Ethiopia. At least, that’s what the stories say.” She continued when Wanda
remained silent, the younger woman squinting a bit to make out the shape. “Cehpeus was the
husband of Cassiopeia.” Natasha’s hand then moved towards a zig-zagged line of stars a little to
the right of the previous group. “He was a nice guy, but his wife was nasty as could be. Ended up
taking them both down.”

“Oh really?” Wanda finally spoke, amused and slightly in awe of the redhead’s sudden revelation
of astronomy knowledge. She allowed herself to look over at the other woman, unable to keep in
her slight giggle at the sight of Natasha- one eye closed with her pointer finger out, the tip of her
tongue visible in concentration. “How so?”

“The queen thought she was the best-looking woman out there.” Natasha shrugged, opening her
mouth to continue, but Wanda spoke up.

“Well, was she?” The younger woman asked teasingly, though her slight smirk faltered a bit when
the Widow’s face tilted to face her with a sincere look.

“The most beautiful people hardly ever know it, sweetheart.” Natasha’s jade eyes softened for a
moment, studying her, and Wanda was grateful for the darkness that covered her blush. After a
beat, the outlaw turned back to the heavens as if nothing had happened. “Either way, she just had
to go and brag about it- saying she was even prettier than the sea nymphs. Well, that angered
Poseidon. You know that guy, right?” The redhead asked suddenly, as if to clarify that the brunette
was aware of one of the most famous mythic figures out there. Wanda nodded in affirmation.
“Anyway, he decides to send a monster after their kingdom…”

Natasha’s words begin to blur a bit in Wanda’s hearing. She vaguely registered the tale of a hero,
Perseus (who’s constellation would apparently not be visible for another month or so), saving the
princess, Andromeda (the only star cluster that Wanda could really imagine making up a person’s
shape), from the monster sent to punish her parents. She had never expected this level of interest
from Natasha. The woman radiated dangerous, level-headed energy. This side of her that would get
so lost in some simple storytelling was just so, for lack of a better word, sweet. It surprised Wanda
a bit, but did nothing short of strengthen the already rapidly-growing fluttering in her chest each
time they locked eyes.

“Why do you know all this?” The brunette blurted out, unable to stop herself. Natasha paused mid-
sentence, and Wanda could swear she saw just a hint of pink dusting her cheeks in the moonlight.

“Most of us know all about the stars and how to read them.” The redhead answered carefully, her
chest feeling heavy at the obvious implications of who ‘us’ was. "You know, out of everything I've
ever stolen, I'd give it all back for just one of those little lights up in the sky. It was one of the first
things they taught me- how to use them to guide yourself when maps aren’t an option or figure out
around what month it is if you’ve been off grid for too long" She absentmindedly rubbed the
scarred brand on her ribcage, her mind slowly drifting. If Wanda noticed, she said nothing. “I don't
know, I guess little me found some comfort in that.”

“Can you show me how?” The brunette asked, curious, but also wanting to steer the older woman
away from any potentially triggering thoughts. Natasha looked over at her, a bit surprised at her
interest, before letting out a small smile and pointing upwards again. Something about just simply
lying on the grass with Wanda eased what would've normally been an emotional spiral. It felt nice.
Easy.
 “You see that thing that looks like a giant ladle?” She asked, and Wanda shifted closer to see from
under her pointer finger. Their shoulders brushed, but neither woman moved away.

“Which one?” Wanda asked, finding comfort in the warmth that was radiating off of the redhead.
The night itself wasn’t too cold, but the slight wind was causing her to shiver slightly. Natasha
hummed in approval at her observation.

“Good eye, sunshine.” She smiled, nudging Wanda with an elbow as the brunette preened a bit at
the praise. “That one there is the Big Dipper. People usually see it first because it's, well, bigger.”
Natasha explained before shifting her point towards the smaller of the two nearly identical
constellations. "But, it’s the Little Dipper that you really wanna be looking for. That bright star at
the end there is the North Star. As long as you can see that one, you can find your way home.”

Wanda took in as much information as she could about what stars led to which directions and
which constellations were visible during which months. It was a bit hard to pay attention with the
tingling contact of their sides pressed together in the grass and the raspy quality that became more
prevalent in Natasha’s voice as she grew more tired. The redhead knew so much about being out
on the road, independent and free. She could go where she wanted and do as she pleased,
unrestricted by the boring parts of life that Wanda found herself suffocated with. The brunette
wanted to live like that more than anything.

But, for now, she’d settle for just laying here with Natasha- sharing various stories and other
whispered promises under the stars until the late hour became too much for the both of their tired
eyes.

Chapter End Notes

God they're adorable.

Anywho- I've already established that this fic is gonna have sexual content, but would
y'all prefer it to be just implied or actually have smut in this fic? Asking because it
would probably come up in the next chapter or so (haven't written it yet so not exactly
sure). I really don't have a preference, so I guess it's up to whoever comments with an
opinion on that lol

Hope you enjoyed!

 Chapter 5
Chapter Summary

Neither Wanda nor Natasha could really deny the unmistakable pull that they both felt.
They were straddling a very thin line, unsure of how long either one of them could
remain neutral.

Chapter Notes

Well this took longer than usual. Whoops.

Sorry for the delay in this chapter. But, to make up for it, this is a bit longer than
usual! I have a feeling my posting may slow down a little bit, just because of life
circumstances. Full disclosure- I'm starting medical treatments that will probably take
a lot of out of me very soon so idk how much energy I'll have to write. Then again,
writing might end up being what keeps me sane. So... we'll see how it goes, I guess
lmao.

Anywhoo- here's that chapter y'all have been waiting on.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“Hey, you cheated!” Wanda huffed, lowering her hand of cards in favor of pouting at the smirking
redhead.

“What? Just because I’ve got a couple warrants out, I cheat at cards?” Natasha chuckled over her
victory, tilting her head in challenge. Wanda’s pout shifted into determination.

“Roll up your sleeves.” She demanded, holding in her smile when the older woman’s face
blanched.

“I don’t have to show you anything!” Natasha tried to scoot away, laughing when the brunette’s
hand clasped around her wrist to grab at the two aces hidden in her sleeve. Wanda let out a
triumphant noise, shoving Natasha away when the redhead made to take them back. Natasha
wasn’t one to go down without a fight, however, and grasped at anything to keep her upright as she
fell backwards. This just so happened to be Wanda’s blouse.

The pair stared at each other for a moment from their new positions- Natasha on her back with
Wanda nearly laying on top of her, propped up by her elbows. A tension filled the air that neither
woman could deny. Natasha wanted nothing more than to lean up and kiss her.

“Shit! Sorry.” Wanda drew back after a moment, scared she had aggravated Natasha’s wounds. The
outlaw was confused for half a second, before quickly covering for it with a grunt and a faux
wince.

The pain that had seared through Natasha’s abdomen every time she moved just a couple of weeks
ago was dwindling down to only a slight discomfort, now. Normally, the redhead would be
thanking her lucky stars for a quick recovery. Nobody would want to be stuck with a healing bullet
wound for too long, especially in her less-than-stellar circumstance. However, she didn’t want to
recover just yet. She didn’t want to be healed and travel-ready anytime soon. That meant finally
getting back on the road again.

That meant leaving Wanda.

It was stupid, really. She’d only known the brunette for a couple of weeks. She shouldn’t be so
invested in hearing about her day or replaying each and every one of the younger woman’s smiles
in her head whenever she left. She shouldn’t be counting the minutes until the next time she could
see the brunette. There was no other way she could put it. Natasha Romanov, the merciless Black
Widow, had somehow fallen head over heels for Wanda Maximoff: wide-eyed and headstrong
farmgirl.

She really didn’t get it either, but she never wanted it to stop.

Wanda had taken to visiting Natasha any chance she could get. The brunette would sneak away to
the barn several times a day, even if it was just for a few minutes. They’d talk and laugh about
anything and everything when Wanda brought her lunch or dinner. They’d spent several nights
lying in the fields- Natasha telling stories about the stars while the younger woman tucked herself
in close to the redhead’s side for warmth. It was never planned, but always a nice surprise when
Wanda came knocking on the barn door after dark.

Neither had the guts to say anything, given that Natasha was supposed to leave again soon, but
there was an unmistakable pull between them. Natasha desperately wanted to give into her growing
affections, but knew it would only make things worse when the time came for her to go. Some
nights, as she dreamed, the outlaw would allow herself to imagine a life where Wanda came with
her. They’d pack everything they could fit in a saddlebag and just go. They wouldn’t have to hold
back, then.

Every morning, she woke up and knew that couldn’t happen. No matter how bright of a flush the
brunette could bring to Natasha’s cheeks, it would never be redder than her dripping ledger. The
older woman had gangs and sheriffs alike after her neck. She couldn’t bring Wanda into a life like
that. So, she’d stay here for as long as she could, downplaying her recovery for just a little more
time before the day came when she had to go.

Wanda, on the other hand, wasn’t blind. She could see that Natasha was well on her way to being
able-bodied again. The bullet hadn’t hit anything vital, and Natasha seemed to be a fast healer. She
was struggling less and less to climb the loft ladder or sit herself up in bed. She no longer winced
when she laughed. Wanda was, of course, extremely grateful that the object of her affections was
no longer in significant pain, but it made her entirely too aware of the fact that this little bubble
they’d found themselves in would soon be popped. However, as long as Natasha seemed to be
content to ignore it, she would be too.

Eventually, their card game dwindled down to soft conversation, and Wanda sighed as she realized
the time. Dinner would be ready shortly, and her family would begin to wonder where she was if
she didn’t turn up at the house soon. To her credit, Natasha held in her disappointment well.
However, Wanda could see the tiny flicker of a frown tugging at the corners of her lips as they said
goodbye.

“The dog’s been sniffing around the old barn lately. Hopefully we don’t have another groundhog
problem.” Olek’s voice was muffled around his bite of corn.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, dear.” Iryna quickly scolded, as Wanda’s heart froze.

“You want me to check it out tomorrow, Papa?” Pietro inquired, shrugging casually, completely
oblivious to his twin’s distress. Olek shook his head.

“Not yet. Haven’t seen any tracks or had any missing crops. Don’t wanna waste the time unless it’s
serious.” He answered, this time swallowing fully before he spoke with an exaggerated, teasing
eyebrow raised at his wife. Iryna only huffed in amusement as Wanda let out a silent sigh of relief.

That night, Wanda didn’t venture out to see Natasha under the stars. She felt that everything they’d
been doing was too risky. The thrill of sneaking around was still very apparent, as was the pull
towards the barn she felt all the time, but the last thing she wanted to do was endanger the redhead.
She fell asleep reminding herself over and over again that Natasha had to leave soon.

She woke a few hours later to a tapping sound filling the room. Rubbing her eyes and looking
around the darkened room, she sat up in confusion. From the moonlight filtering through the
window and reflecting off of her bedside clock’s face, she could see it was well past two in the
morning.

Just as she was about to go back to sleep, the tapping turned into a full-on knock. It was coming
from her window. When she glanced over, she nearly jumped out of her skin at a dark silhouette
pressed against the glass. It was only the quick flash of red hair that calmed her enough to get up
and unlatch it.

“Nat?” She asked incredulously as the woman climbed into the room, half-sure she was dreaming.

“I’m sorry. I dropped that book you gave me over the loft edge and it clattered. Then the dogs
heard and the barking started, and I just didn’t know where else to hide. I didn’t want to run off
into the woods and leave you without a word.” Natasha whispered, closing and re-latching the
window behind her. Now that Wanda was awake, she did register faint barking in the distance.
Thankfully, her father and Pietro could sleep through anything. She smiled at the fluttering feeling
that filled her chest from the fact that Natasha’s thoughts while potentially being discovered had
been solely of her.

“It’s okay. Trust me, Papa won’t be waking anytime soon. You should be fine.” Wanda said,
moving to sit back in bed. Natasha lingered by the window, looking at her with an unreadable
expression.

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry for waking you, then.” The redhead apologized, taking in the room. It was
small, with a closet to the side and a vanity by the door. She couldn’t really tell what color the
walls were in the darkness, but she could see the outlines of several picture frames hanging and
other simple wall decorations. Natasha wasn’t sure what she had imagined Wanda’s bedroom to
look like, but this suited her well. She looked over to meet blue eyes, and suddenly froze. It hit her
at once that she was in Wanda’s bedroom. In the middle of the night. Sneaking through the
window, of all things. “I’ll just g-” She made a gesture towards the window and backed up slightly.

“Wait.” Wanda interrupted, slightly surprised at herself for stopping Natasha. She’d be lying if she
said she didn’t have feelings for the woman. And this may be her only chance to know what it
would be like to fall asleep next to her. “You- You can stay.” She took in the way the older woman
froze at the suggestion. “Only if you want! I mean, if you’re still worried about someone going out
to check…”

Wanda chewed at her lip nervously as Natasha debated the offer. The outlaw had no idea why the
thought of sleeping in the same bed as the brunette made her so nervous. If anything, she should be
excited to be feeling an actual mattress for the first time in her months on the road, especially if it
was going to be accompanied by a woman as beautiful as Wanda.
“Alright.” Natasha finally said, a small smile tugging at her lips when Wanda’s face broke out in a
grin. The younger woman slid over in the bed to make room, and Natasha took up the space it
created after removing her boots and holster. The bed was small, so they found themselves pressed
up against each other’s sides, much like how they would lay together in the fields. After a moment
of charged silence, Wanda pushed through her nerves and turned over to lay on her side, still
pressed into Natasha but facing her now. When the redhead didn’t protest, she allowed herself to
find a comfortable spot in the crook of the older woman’s neck, her arm coming up to lay across
Natasha’s middle.

“Is this alright?” She asked, lifting her head a bit to search Natasha’s face. The redhead looked
down at her through the darkness, warmth filling her chest at the slightly unsure expression in
Wanda’s eyes.

“Always, sunshine.” Natasha let out softly, breathing out the words along with any doubts she still
held. Wanda sent her a smile, resting her head once again in the juncture of the redhead’s shoulder
and neck.

“Night, Natasha.” The brunette sighed out, smiling against Natasha. Her lips and breath tickled the
outlaw’s skin in a way that both thrilled her and relaxed the tenseness in her body.

“Sleep well, Wanda.” As she brought a hand up to run through auburn hair, Natasha closed her
eyes to sleep peacefully for the first time in years.

Wanda woke the next morning to an empty bed. She almost would've believed she had dreamed up
the entire encounter with Natasha, if not for the still-warm sheets on the other side of the bed and
the open latch on her normally locked window. She couldn’t find it in herself to be disappointed,
however. She knew Natasha would’ve had to sneak out early to avoid being caught, and was
honestly just grateful for the best rest she’d had in a long time. For whatever reason, something
about sleeping next to the most dangerous woman in the surrounding county had felt so incredibly
safe.

Breakfast was fairly uneventful. She spent most of it thinking about sneaking out to the barn again,
her worries from last night’s dinner dissipated with the new fluttery feeling in her chest. They’d
been dancing around each other for too long now, and Wanda was sure that last night meant
something. She knew Natasha only held back because of her circumstance, but the more that the
brunette thought about it, the less she cared. Wanda nodded through the list of chores her mother
rattled off to her once the table was cleared, and rushed out the door the second she was sent off.

“Early again?” Natasha’s laugh echoed from the loft as she heard the familiar squeak of the door
hinge.
“I may have rushed a chore or two.” Wanda responded with a shrug as she climbed the ladder.
“You left pretty early this morning.”

“Didn’t wanna get caught. You’re always saying your father would run me off if he caught me in
the barn. Something tells me finding an outlaw sleeping in bed with his daughter would be just a
little bit worse.” The redhead teased, holding her index finger and thumb up in a pinch. Wanda
laughed as she sat down next to Natasha on the mattress and handed her the food she’d brought.

“I’m just glad you got back here alright.” She said, looking up to meet shining emerald eyes. The
air around them froze for a second, neither woman sure of where they stood at the moment.
Natasha had to admit, having Wanda pressed against her side as they slept felt right. Wanda wanted
nothing more than to fall into the redhead’s arms again. Clearing her throat, Natasha finally spoke.

“What’ve you got for me today, sunshine?” She averted her eyes from Wanda’s, looking down at
the covered bowl that now rested in her lap.

“Mama made stew last night.” The brunette answered, gesturing for the older woman to eat.

Natasha did so quietly, contemplating how she should act around Wanda now. They’d been getting
closer over the last couple of weeks, and she was sure that falling asleep wrapped around one
another wasn’t something the brunette would do with just anyone. It certainly wasn’t for Natasha.
Wanda hadn’t said anything about it yet, though, and the redhead had no plans on doing it for her.

As Natasha finished her meal, they talked comfortably. Wanda recounted her chores for the day
and Natasha relayed her opinions on the book that the younger woman had let her borrow. Through
it all, they seemed to drift closer until their shoulders touched in a physical reminder of both their
underlying affections.

“Thank you.” Natasha finally spoke, though she stared down from the loft at the barn floor below.
“For the food, but also last night.” It left the tingling feeling of something unspoken in the air, and
Wanda smiled as she took the now-empty bowl from the redhead.

“Anytime.” She breathed out, placing the bowl and spoon on the floor by the makeshift mattress
before once again leaning into Natasha’s side. The brunette bit her lip, suddenly filled with a new
sense of determination. If she was going to say anything, it would be now or never. “Nat, I really
like y-”
Suddenly, Natasha went rigid and shushed her urgently. Wanda had a split second to be self-
conscious about her words before she was being grabbed by the shoulders and pushed flat on her
back. Natasha hovered over her protectively, covering the younger woman’s body with her own
and pressing them both as close to the ground as possible.

“Wanda!” A voice called just after the barn door squeaked, and Natasha held her breath. Though
she had initially been scared that the approaching footsteps would be the Red Room finally
catching up to her, something about the fact that it was one of Wanda’s family members made her
even more nervous. Especially given their current physical positions.

“Are you in here?! Mama needs you!” The voice called out again, and Natasha looked down just as
Wanda mouthed Pietro. The redhead recognized the name as Wanda’s brother. Thankfully, Pietro
didn’t seem to be putting too much effort in searching the barn. He probably figured that if his
sister was inside, she would have answered. Both women let out a breath of relief when the door
creaked shut once again.

Natasha finally allowed herself to meet wide ocean eyes, staring up at her with a look she knew all
too well. She froze a bit again at the realization of just how closely they were pressed together, the
outlaw hovering mere inches away from the brunette’s face.

Wanda’s stomach erupted in a swarm of butterflies when sharp green eyes flickered down to her
lips for barely a second. Neither woman said a word. Never breaking their locked gazes, Wanda
tentatively brought both hands up to cup Natasha’s jaw. When the redhead still said nothing, yet
didn’t move away, the younger woman leaned up slightly, pulling Natasha’s face down to meet her
own.

When their lips met, Natasha’s stiff frame erupted in feeling once again. Instinctually, she kissed
back in earnest, sighing into Wanda as all the tension left her body. She’d kissed quite a few
women in her life, but nothing could ever compare to the stomach-flipping feeling of the brunette’s
lips against her own. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt. Kissing Wanda felt real.

Wanda let out a small noise of content when one of Natasha’s hands fell to her waist, gripping it in
a way that felt almost protective. She felt the redhead shiver against her at the sound, and it only
spurred the younger woman on more. Sure, she’d expected to confess her feelings in a more verbal
way, but she was quickly realizing that this felt much better.

Tilting her head for a better angle, Natasha nearly groaned when she felt Wanda’s tongue asking
for entrance. She granted it immediately, reveling in the feeling of the brunette’s hands coming up
to tangle in her hair as they fought for dominance. Her Stetson had been lost the second she’d
pushed them to the ground, and her braid was quickly becoming loose and messy under Wanda’s
ministrations. Shifting her weight to balance more comfortably, Natasha was taken by surprise
when the woman below her let out a genuine moan.

“Nat…” Wanda’s voice was breathless, her breath tickling Natasha’s face. It was then that the
redhead realized her thigh had moved to press against the younger woman’s center, and Wanda
was earnestly grinding up to meet it. Natasha choked back a gasp at the sight, the brunette’s dress
riding up a bit higher on her thighs.

“Wan-” She started, but was quickly cut off by another, stronger kiss. Wanda’s hands were
gripping at her hair and shirt desperately, trying to pull her closer. The younger woman had truly
never felt like this before. Yes, she’d touched herself in the past, but the slightest bit of friction
from just Natasha’s thigh was already so much better than her own hands had ever been. She
bucked her hips into the feeling, but whined a bit when the redhead’s hands held her down.

“Wanda, we shouldn’t.” Natasha pulled back from the kiss, panting into the air between them. “We
can’t.” She tried to reason, but Wanda just tugged her back down by the back of her neck.

“Don’t say that.” The brunette spoke against her lips, scratching at her scalp. “Please, don’t say
that.” She begged, kissing Natasha desperately as she rocked her hips. The older woman allowed it,
too lost in the feeling of Wanda to protest until she realized herself again.

“He almost caught us.” Natasha tried again, but was only met with those perfect lips coming to bite
and suck at her neck. She thought she heard a mumbled ‘ but he didn’t’ escape Wanda, but couldn’t
be sure. She was far too distracted in the fact that the brunette’s dress was almost completely
ridden up now, only the cloth of her pant leg and Wanda’s underwear keeping them apart. The heat
she could feel radiating off of the younger woman’s core was nearly enough to make her break. “It
was bad enough when you were just hiding a wanted criminal in the barn. What do you think they'd
do if they found us like this , hm?”

She really had meant for it to be a warning, but Wanda just whimpered again and bucked up with
renewed vigor. The idea of being caught had sent a thrill up her spine in a way that made her sure
she was going to leave a large wet patch on Natasha’s jeans. She knew the redhead was speaking
with reason, but there wasn’t a thought in her mind other than getting the release she needed.

“Don’t care.” Wanda gasped out as Natasha’s grip tightened once again on her hips and forcefully
stilled her movements. The treatment was rougher than the redhead had been with her since their
kiss started, and only served to intensify the growing desperation inside of her.
“Wanda, if I do this I can’t take it back. My life and my past aren’t something I want you to get
mixed up with. It wouldn’t be fair.” Natasha forced out, knowing she would never have the guts to
say the words if she didn’t speak them now. It had been consuming her thoughts from the first
moment she’d realized her feelings. “I have to leave.” She averted her eyes, moving to stand before
she was being roughly pulled back down.

Wanda wasn’t sure what made her do it, but before she could think twice, she was kissing Natasha
with every bit of her soul. The fact that the redhead cared enough to leave her behind for her own
safety brought a lump to her throat that she was sure would end up turning into tears if she didn’t
focus her energy on something else. She understood Natasha’s reasons, but she wanted to be the
one to protect the older woman now. Take her away from all of the hurt. Give her a home.

“Stay here.” Wanda said as she pulled away to look into Natasha’s eyes. It wasn’t a request, more
so a demand. The redhead opened her mouth to protest, but Wanda shut her up with a peck to the
corner of her mouth.

“I’ll talk to Papa- tell him I met you in town and get you a job on the farm or something- whatever
you need. Just please, Natasha. Stay with me.” She nearly begged, running her fingers through fiery
hair as she fought against the older woman’s grip to try and move her hips. Natasha looked down
at her for a moment with an unreadable expression, before she suddenly surged forward to claim
Wanda’s lips once again.

“Alright, sweetheart.” She said once they broke for air, barely a whisper. Her head was spinning,
screaming at her to run and never look back. However, she’d listen to her heart just this once-
damn all the risks. Wanda’s instant smile was worth it.

“Yeah?” The brunette was sure her grin would split her face, as she ran her thumbs over Natasha’s
cheeks in disbelief. Her voice was breathy, eyelids fluttering a bit as she was finally allowed to
resume her grinding.

“Yeah.” Natasha nodded back, unable to hide her matching smile even if she had wanted to. Before
she could think to say anything else, Wanda was crushing their lips together again in a bruising
kiss. The redhead leaned down again so that the younger woman could fully lay back, the position
once again pressing her further into Wanda’s core and earning her a small whimper.

“Tasha…” Wanda tilted her head, speaking it directly into Natasha’s ear. The plea was paired with
a particularly strong buck of her hips, and it sent a shiver down the redhead’s spine. She could feel
the younger woman’s arousal starting to soak through her pant leg, already painting her thigh.
“Please just-” Wanda was cut off with a louder moan as Natasha ground down hard against her.
“Just what, baby?” Natasha asked smugly, her confidence returning to her once again as she moved
to place open-mouthed kisses over the brunette’s neck and jaw. Wanda groaned at the pet name,
and the outlaw filed away the information that her lover seemed to enjoy that title for later use.

“Fuck me.” Wanda all but ordered, wrapping her arms around Natasha to grip at the back of her
shirt. The redhead moaned at the words, sitting up a bit to remove it as Wanda’s watchful eyes
looked on. Natasha was so fucking beautiful, and the brunette was unable to hold back her gasp
when those perfect breasts were finally free for her view. When the outlaw went to discard her
pants as well, which would've required removing holsters, Wanda’s arms shot up to stop her.
Blushing furiously as Natasha sent her a questioning look, she moved her hands to run along the
worn handles of the redhead’s twin pistols.

“Leave them on.” Wanda forced herself to request before she had a chance to be embarrassed. The
idea of Natasha fucking her, guns still strapped to her thighs, had her clenching around nothing.
Something about the physical reminder of the danger that followed Natasha like a shadow caused
her to bite her lip to contain a moan. Thankfully, the redhead said nothing, silently complying,
though her eyes darkened impossibly more.

Wanda brought a hand up to run over Natasha’s now-exposed upper body, reveling in the solid
muscle she could feel in her abdomen and the softness of her skin. When she finally cupped the
older woman’s breasts, Natasha groaned and leant back down to kiss her, working her own hands
underneath Wanda to unzip the back of her dress.

“Sit up for me, darlin’.” Natasha commanded, though her voice was soft as she nipped at Wanda’s
ear. The brunette barely registered complying, drunk on lust as calloused hands pulled her dress
from over her head and guided her back down onto the mattress. The second her back was settled
again, there were lips leaving a bruising trail down her chest. When they came to close around a
stiff nipple, Wanda moaned as she tightened her hold in Natasha’s hair.

“God, Nat.” The redhead heard from above, and she smiled into warm skin. The second Wanda’s
dress had come off, revealing her lack of a bra and the bright flush that reached halfway down her
chest, Natasha had lost any and all willpower to hold back. She wanted to kiss every inch of that
wonderful skin, needed to draw out every beautiful sound from those kiss-swollen lips.

“So good, sweetheart. So perfect.” Natasha replied, a bit muffled as her tongue circled Wanda’s left
nipple, bringing a hand up to pinch and roll at the other woman’s neglected right breast. The
brunette groaned loudly at the stimulation, rocking her hips erratically as the thigh strap of
Natasha’s holster dragged against her clit in a way that made her see stars. She was painfully aware
of the fact that she was dangerously close to getting off on the redhead’s thigh alone- and from the
way Natasha was rolling her hips in encouragement, the redhead knew it, too.
“Nattie, ‘m close.” She mumbled, dragging Natasha up and away from her chest and messily
pressing their lips together in a desperate attempt at a kiss. Natasha's heart sped up at the new
nickname. “So close, baby, I‘m gonna- oh God!” Wanda cried out as the redhead grabbed her hips
in an almost bruising grip, guiding her into an even faster rhythm.

“I didn’t even get your panties off, yet. You already gonna cum on my thigh, baby? That easy?”
Natasha’s voice was shaky, dripping with her own arousal. She smirked when Wanda’s only
response was a rapid nod and a high-pitched mhm before she was lifting her blushing face to bury it
into the crook of the redhead’s neck. The younger woman knew she was going over the edge
embarrassingly fast, but Natasha’s taunting words only served to turn her on even more.

“Please…” She gasped out, clawing at the redhead’s back and most likely breaking skin in long,
red lines that would last for days. Natasha used the hand that wasn’t currently holding her up to
rake through long auburn hair, holding Wanda’s head tenderly. It was a stark contrast to the rapid
pace of their hips and the domineering attitude she’d adopted. She pressed a kiss against the
brunette’s temple, and Wanda whined as the sudden affection shot straight to her core.

“Go on. Be a good girl and cum for me.” She whispered into Wanda’s hair, and the woman below
her tensed as a guttural moan ripped from her lips. Natasha only held her tighter.

Wanda swore she saw stars as her hips jerked and stuttered, riding out her high for as long as she
could. It was the best orgasm of her life, and she wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t pass out the
moment it was over. She bit down hard on Natasha’s shoulder to muffle her near-scream, which
only served to make her eyes roll more at the loud moan it pulled from the older woman. God,
Natasha was better than she’d ever imagined.

When Wanda’s body finally relaxed, collapsing against the makeshift mattress in a tangle of limp
limbs and heavy breaths, Natasha sat back to revel in the sight of her. The brunette was possibly the
most beautiful sight she’d ever seen. Scratch that- Wanda was definitely the most beautiful sight
she’d ever seen. In her post-orgasm bliss, the younger woman seemed to glow with pleasure, and
Natasha was sure she’d do anything to witness it again and again.

“You alright?” She moved to lay on her back, pulling Wanda to rest against her chest. Wanda
nodded against her neck.

“Can we stay? Just for a bit?” She asked, tracing small shapes into the skin of Natasha’s abdomen.
The redhead wrapped a protective arm around Wanda, doing the same on the brunette’s hip.

“We can stay as long as you like, sunshine.” Natasha replied, humming in content as she felt Wanda
 pressing small, sleepy kisses along her collarbone. The brunette’s breathing evened out quickly as
she burrowed into the redhead’s arms. Natasha smiled as her eyes drifted shut and she soon
followed Wanda’s example.

Chapter End Notes

Oop-

I really did mean for this to be more of some actual fucking. Idk what happened to that,
but in the end, thigh-riding ended up being the mood ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hope you enjoyed!

 Chapter 6
Chapter Summary

Wanda worries. Pietro flirts. Olek changes his views. Natasha... Natasha just wants to
stay like this.

Chapter Notes

These chapters are getting longer lol. Who's complaining though?

I'm not entirely happy with the final product of this chapter, but that's probably
because I'm a very plot-invested type of writer and this chapter and the next one don't
have a whole lot of real plot in them. There are copious amounts of good-old fluff,
however :)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

True to her word, Wanda returned to the barn the next afternoon with the promise of introducing
Natasha to her father as a potential farmhand. It was a foolproof plan, in her opinion. Olek had been
toying around with the idea of taking on a few extra workers to help out, since the work was a bit
much for just him and Pietro to do alone. It didn’t take much to convince him after Wanda had told
him she’d met a perfect candidate while on a walk in the woods yesterday (which was also a good
excuse as to why Pietro had been unable to find her). She’d just conveniently left out the name of
said job candidate and the fact that it was a woman.

Okay, an almost foolproof plan.

“Wanda, are you sure this is going to work? I mean, I have more than a few aliases, but what if he
sees a poster or something?” Natasha’s ever-cynical voice broke the silence as they sat in the older
woman’s makeshift mattress, the brunette comfortably held between strong arms from behind.
Wanda frowned a bit at the doubt, turning in the redhead’s embrace a bit to face her.

“I thought you said you weren’t wanted in Westview. Have you got something to tell me?” Wanda
teased before continuing. “Besides, you didn’t seem to have any second thoughts about it
yesterday.” She raised a brow in accusation, and Natasha only smirked a bit.

“As I remember it, I was a bit distracted at the time…” The outlaw trailed off, brushing auburn
hair to the side to gain access to a slender neck. Wanda bit her lip at the feeling of a warm, open-
mouthed kiss being placed at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, but quickly pushed Natasha
off.

“Not so fast, cowboy.” She reprimanded and held in her chuckle when Natasha pulled a face,
offended at the term. “You can’t get me to drop the subject that easily. Besides, he’s already
expecting to meet you tomorrow. You said you’d try, Tasha.” Wanda covered the redhead’s hands
with one of her own, sending her a pleading look. Natasha sighed. Never in her life had a woman
been able to hold this much power over her with nothing more than a simple pout.

“I know, sunshine. I’ll try.” The redhead gave a small smile, pecking Wanda on the lips and
savoring the happy swell it brought to her chest. “How does Natalie Rushman sound?” She asked,
pulling one of her old aliases from the back of her head; one that she couldn’t remember ever being
previously compromised. Wanda hummed in thought as she fully turned to sit on the older
woman’s thighs, straddling her. She tidied up the tied-off end of Natasha’s braid before
straightening out the black Stetson resting atop red curls, studying the woman in front of her
teasingly.

“It’ll do.” The brunette nodded, bringing her lips to brush against the shell of Natasha’s ear. “But I
still like Natasha better. We’ll have to take down this mattress, too. Can’t have anyone knowing it
was ever here. What a shame for it to go to waste, though…” She breathed out, dipping her voice
just enough to be suggestive, and smirked at the redhead’s sharp intake of breath. Wanda laughed,
as within seconds there were lips on hers and hands gripping her waist, guiding her to lay down.

__________

“Wanda…” Olek’s strained voice trailed off from his spot beside Pietro as he turned to send her a
disapproving look.

“Yes?” The woman asked sweetly, tilting her head at her father as he sighed.

“Tell me that’s not your farmhand suggestion.” He nodded towards Natasha’s approaching figure,
exactly on time for the ‘job candidate’ interview. Wanda only huffed a bit at his obvious
reluctance. She should’ve guessed the man who consistently reminded her of her woman’s work
would be hesitant about hiring a female farmhand.

“She’ll be perfect, Papa. She’s polite, already looking for work, and says she has experience with
outdoor work.” Wanda insisted, pouting a bit in the way she knew would never fail to break down
Olek’s defenses. “Give her a chance, please.”
“Yeah, Pop. I’d give her a chance.” Pietro finally spoke up, smiling dopily and waving at the
approaching woman. Wanda knew that awestruck look, and did her best to quell the jealousy it
bloomed in her stomach. Before she could tactfully dissuade her twin, however, Natasha was nearly
standing right in front of them.

“You must be Wanda’s friend.” Pietro stepped forward before anyone else could speak, putting out
a firm hand to shake as Olek gave her a very obvious once-over. “I’m Pietro.” He offered, clasping
his free hand over Natasha’s when she accepted his handshake and holding her there for a moment.

“Natalie Rushman. It’s nice to meet you, Pietro.” The redhead let out slowly, pulling her hand
away as politely as she could and glancing towards Wanda and then Olek. “Hello again, Wanda.
And you must be Mr. Maximoff.”

“Olek.” The tall man nodded in greeting, but did not offer a handshake. He instead folded his arms
as he looked at her appraisingly. “You sure you’re up for laborious work? My wife could always
use help around the house instea-”

“With all due respect, Mr. Maximoff, I’ve always been much better with physical work. I steer just
fine if you need deliveries done, I’m the best shot you’ll ever meet if you get any groundhog
problems, and I’d mend a fence better than your local carpenter. Hell, your daughter and I met
while I was working on some woodcutting in the forest. She’ll tell you I’m more than capable with
my hands…” Natasha interrupted, smiling innocently at Wanda as the brunette’s face flushed. “All
I’m looking for is a steady job and a place to stay while I do it. No need for money.”

Pietro’s smile only grew as the redhead talked, nodding along with everything she was saying.
He’d always been one for the more challenging, independent women- and Wanda knew it. Natasha
seemed to be picking up on his infatuation as well, as she was doing her best to not address the
blonde.

“She’ll do you good, Papa. All the deliveries are getting to be a bit much on top of the field work,
even for me.” Pietro offered, turning to his father and placing a convincing hand on his shoulder.
He sent a smile and a wink Natasha's way, and the redhead did her best not to laugh at Wanda's
barely concealed scowl. The younger woman managed to recover just enough to join her brother in
bargaining with their father.

“He’s right. Plus, Nat’s not looking for payment- just a place to stay. We’ve got space in the barn
or even the couch.” Wanda added, unconsciously stepping closer to her lover with the intent of
clinging to her arm, but quickly stopping herself. She simply copied Pietro’s movements, instead,
bringing a hand to her father's other shoulder. Olek looked rapidly between his children and their
chosen candidate, uncrossing his arms after a minute of silence.

“You say you can ride?” He asked, looking at Natasha questioningly.

“Since before I could read or write.” The outlaw answered easily.

“Fix up things around the property?” Olek took a step closer.

“You pick up a lot of labor trades on the road. Odd jobs here and there.” Natasha shrugged,
matching his step.

“You really don’t want money?” The man’s stony expression fell, now looking at the redhead with
mild curiosity. Natasha nodded.

“Just a warm bed and a place to call home.” She insisted, unable to stop herself from looking into
Wanda’s wide blue eyes as she spoke. The brunette smiled back, unseen by her father or brother.
That answer seemed to stump Olek in a way, as if he were trying to find any excuse not to hire her.
He could come up with none. Suddenly, he stood a bit straighter.

“You claim to be a pretty good shot. I’ve never seen an educated woman like yourself hold a gun
around these parts.” He crossed his arms again, clearly thinking he’d finally stumped her.
Natasha’s expression gave no warning as her right arm suddenly shot out slightly behind her,
drawing her pistol and sending a perfectly-aimed bullet to shatter an old milk jug that had been
resting on a crate by the chicken coop. Never once did she break eye contact with Olek while doing
so.

“I said I was the best shot- and I’m not from around here.” She answered cooly, raising a brow as
she holstered the gun once more and squared her shoulders. She studied the faces of all three
Maximoffs, ranging from Wanda’s barely contained blush and Pietro’s wide ‘new-crush’ grin to
Olek’s stunned respect. “So, Mr. Maximoff, have we got a deal?” She stuck out a hand, and finally
smiled as the man reached to shake it.

“You can start now if you’d like. I’ve got a delivery in town that needs running. Take one of the
twins with you- they’ll show you where to go. By the time you get back I’ll have a proper mattress
and sheets set up in the loft of the barn. We don’t have an extra room in the house, unfortunately.”
Olek spoke, a hint of appreciation in his tone. He may be a hard-willed man, but he was willing to
admit when he’d been wrong. Natasha nodded at the order, thanking him for the opportunity
before turning towards his children with a smirk. Pietro stepped forward, about to offer himself as a
guide, when Natasha interrupted.

“What do you say, Wanda? Show a girl around town, will ya?” The redhead let out teasingly, and
Wanda nodded rapidly. The brunette would’ve taken the time to feel a bit bad for her brother,
who’d been effectively cut off from his flirting, but she was far too excited at the prospect that their
little plan had actually worked.

“I’d love to.” She smiled, unable to stop herself from grabbing Natasha’s elbow as she guided her
towards where they kept the delivery wagon.

“It was nice meeting you!” Pietro’s voice trailed off a bit, his eagerness going unheard as Wanda
did her best to drag the older woman away from her flirt of a brother. Natasha just chuckled.

“Didn’t take you for the jealous type.” She teased once they were out of earshot, connecting an old
chestnut mare’s harness to the delivery wagon.

“Shut up.” Wanda huffed, rolling her eyes as she climbed into the seat. Natasha only laughed
harder as she joined the brunette in the cart, pressing a kiss to her temple. Wanda suppressed her
blush.

“You know I’m all yours, darlin’.” The redhead promised before snapping the reins and bringing
them to a forward motion. Wanda gave directions as they went, setting Natasha on the right path
into town and then to the right storefront once they had made it there. There were several heads
that turned at the sight of the Maximoff wagon being driven by a stranger, but no outward
questions.

“This is it.” Wanda said as they pulled around the back of what seemed to be a small restaurant.
“This is Tony’s place, though he’s usually not here on Fridays. It’ll probably be Peter or Happy
picking it up.” Just as Natasha hopped from her seat to the ground, rounding the wagon to help
Wanda down on the other side, a large man came out the side door to greet them.

“Afternoon, Wanda. New help, here?” He asked, his smile friendly as he moved to assist in
unloading the various food supplies.

“Hey, Happy. This is Nat- she’s gonna be staying with us now.” Wanda answered easily, pouting a
bit when Natasha refused to let her lift a crate by herself. For a wanted gangster, the redhead was
almost annoyingly gentlewomanly.

“Nice to meet you! Name’s Harold Hogan. Most people just call me Happy, though.” The man
said, patting the redhead politely on the shoulder since her arms were too full for a handshake.
“First day?”

“Natalie Rushman.” Natasha answered with a smile, hoisting up the crate Wanda had attempted to
lift and carrying it to the entrance of the building, where a small pile had formed. “And yep, it’s my
first delivery. Doesn’t seem too horrible so far.” She finished jokingly, going to grab the last
couple of boxes while Wanda struck up a conversation with a younger boy who leaned out of the
restaurant’s window- Peter, she guessed.

“Well, I’m just glad Olek’s got an extra pair of hands now. He’s not getting any younger.” Happy
commended, patting the mare’s head now that the cart was completely unloaded. “Pietro’s a good
kid, but is always in such a rush, and Wanda always seems so uncomfortable to be alone in town
with Brock lurking around…” He trailed off, slightly nodding towards an approaching figure from
behind.

“Good to know.” Natasha trailed off, glancing back to see who she assumed to be the reason for
her lover’s constant discomfort. The man was tall, with dark hair and expensive-looking clothes.
“Alright, sunshine, I think we’re all set. Time to head back.” She called out to Wanda, who quickly
said her goodbyes to Peter and rejoined the redhead’s side.

“Can’t we stop for a drink or something first? I’d really be a terrible tour guide if I didn’t at least
introduce you to our famous saloon…” The brunette said, tugging a bit on Natasha’s sleeve and
inwardly beaming when she noticed the slight upward twitch it brought to the corner of her lips.
Really, all she wanted was just a little more time with the redhead. The outlaw caved after a few
seconds of silent begging, unable to deny Wanda of anything, though she continued to look
sparingly towards the approaching man.

“Alright, but not for long.” She pulled the brunette away as quickly as she could, making it about
halfway to the saloon as per Wanda’s directions before a voice called out from just a few feet
behind.

“Didn’t realize you’d be in town today, Wanda.” Natasha’s lips pulled into a frown at the way the
brunette tensed next to her. “Who’s your little friend?” Wanda turned slowly, forcing a polite smile
onto her face, though she instinctually pressed herself further towards the older woman’s side.

“Hello, Mr. Rumlow. This is Natalie. She’s the new farmhand my father hired.” The brunette said,
her voice eerily even and void of affection. The man scoffed a bit as he took a step closer,
disguising it as a friendly laugh.

“I’ve told you a hundred times, Wanda, I’m not giving up. You’ll be my wife one day- you might
as well use my first name.” Rumlow offered with a tilted head before turning his attention towards
Natasha. He reached a hand out to shake. “I wasn’t aware that Olek was the type to accept…
feminine laborers.” The man’s eyes squinted as he looked her up and down, as if he were trying to
remember something.

“I wasn’t aware that a woman no longer had the right to refuse you.” Natasha answered almost
immediately, ignoring his outstretched palm. “Persistence is not the same as persuasion, Mr.
Rumlow. I’m assuming she’s already told you no.” She finished, spitting out the name like it put a
foul taste in her mouth and turning to Wanda for confirmation. The brunette nodded with a small,
grateful smile.

“You’re just gonna agree with her? Listen here, you-” Rumlow’s brows knitted in anger and his
lips pulled into a sneer as he took a step forward, his formerly outstretched palm balling into a
shaking fist. Before he could come any closer, Natasha had her left arm outstretched in front of
Wanda. Her right hand shot to the pistol at her hip, cocking it but not drawing.

“I’d think about your next words very carefully.” Is all she said, glaring up at him as he froze. His
eyes shot from her own down to the gun at her side, before roaming over her once again. He still
seemed to be contemplating something, as if he were preparing himself to make an accusation he
wasn’t entirely sure of.

“Don’t I know you?” Is what Rumlow eventually settled on, stepping back and crossing his arms.
Natasha scoffed.

“I’d remember an ego like yours.” She huffed out, not giving him a chance to retort before she
spun on her heel, dragging Wanda away with her.

“You didn’t have to do that.” The brunette insisted, though her tone was grateful, as they sat down
on two free bar stools. There was a tall, muscular man standing behind the bar a few feet away,
polishing a glass with a shining grin as he gossipped away with a group of customers. Natasha gave
him a small wave, gaining his attention before turning back to Wanda.

“I wasn’t going to stand there and let him speak to you like that.” She shrugged in as non-chalant of
a manner that she could manage. Her eyes remained sincere, however, and Wanda couldn’t help
the affection the redhead’s protectiveness stirred within her chest.
“He never really means it, Nat.” The younger woman replied easily, rolling her eyes when
Natasha’s face hardened.

“You mean he’s done that before?” She questioned, half looking like she was about to storm
outside to hunt Rumlow down. Wanda placed a calming hand on her knee under the bar.

“Calm down, cowboy. I really don’t need you to protect me all the time.” Wanda teased, putting
emphasis on the nickname that she knew would press the redhead’s buttons. She gave a small
greeting to Thor, who she quickly realized Natasha had flagged down for a drink, before smirking
when he placed her usual liquor shot down in front of her. She did her best to uphold an aura of
bravado, though her mental assurances were slipping. “I’m a big girl, Tasha.” She said as cooly as
she could before throwing it back with only a small wince at the burn. “See?” Natasha allowed
herself to release a small chuckle.

“Haven’t seen you around in a while, Miss Maximoff.” Thor’s deep voice interrupted before the
older woman could answer. His head turned to Natasha, smiling in welcome. “And I don’t think
I’ve seen you around ever. ” He joked, nodding towards Wanda’s empty shot glass in a silent
question of what she’d like.

“Then you think correctly.” Natasha said with amusement. “I just moved in with Wanda and her
family. And I’ll take a whiskey, neat.” She thanked him as he turned to prepare the drink, setting it
down in front of her just a moment later.

“Well, then, I’m Thor- owner of this lovely establishment.” The blonde gestured around the room
proudly. “Welcome to Westview, Miss…” He trailed off, raising his eyebrow in askance of her
name. Wanda didn’t speak, suddenly feeling self-conscious with how easily Natasha was able to
slip into a character. The redhead just seemed so effortless, able to dodge any assumptions to be
made about her- something the younger woman was sure she’d never be capable of.

“Rushman.” Natasha answered confidently, easily slipping into the old habit of lying about her
identity. “Natalie Rushman.” She finished, placing a hand over Wanda’s on her knee to hold it
when she felt the brunette begin to pull away.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll settle in nicely, Miss Rushman.” Thor smiled, before his attention was
drawn by another customer at the end of the bar. He said a quick goodbye to Wanda before leaving
to attend to the new order.
“You alright, sunshine?” Natasha asked quietly when he was out of earshot, leaning into the
brunette’s ear. Wanda nodded, squeezing her hand.

“Never better.” The younger woman said with a bit of hesitation, feeling a bit guilty about lying to
Natasha’s face, but not wanting to discuss her current worries in public. “How about we head back
now?” She asked, hoping the redhead would pick up the hint. Thankfully, Natasha did, as she
finished her drink then stood to place a few dollars down on the bar.

Wanda remained quiet for most of the ride back, only really speaking when Natasha had asked her
a direct question. Her mind was lost in her own thoughts, unable to really sort them out into a
coherent phrase. Eventually, Natasha stopped the wagon just at the edge of the Maximoff farm and
hopped to the ground. She circled around to help Wanda down, and guided the brunette to sit on
the grass with her as she sent the redhead a curious glance.

“Papa’s gonna wonder why we’re taking so long.” Wanda observed, though she sighed contentedly
as she got comfortable leaning against Natasha’s side. The older woman’s shrug jostled her head a
little bit.

“He can go ahead and wonder. I missed our alone time.” Natasha said, wrapping an arm around the
brunette’s shoulders and laying a comforting kiss to the top of her head. She remained quiet after
that, not wanting to push the subject, but knowing that Wanda needed a steady presence right now.
After a moment of nothing but the sound of the birds, the younger woman finally spoke.

“Nobody ever questions you.” Wanda blurted out, fist clutching the fabric of Natasha’s shawl for a
second at the realization that she’d actually said it out loud. “At least, not for long.” She clarified
softly, sitting up straight to hug her own knees.

Natasha turned to look at her questioningly, moving her arm from around Wanda’s shoulders to
soothingly rub the small of her back. She remained quiet, sensing that the brunette had more to say
before she should be interrupted.

“You shut Rumlow down with just a couple sentences and barely batted an eye. Happy never once
tried to stop you from unloading the cart- but I know if you hadn’t stopped me from taking a crate,
he would’ve. Hell, Papa saw you as nothing more than a woman for all of two minutes before you
were able to convince him to send you out for labor.” Wanda rushed out, running her hands
through her hair in frustration. It wasn’t directed at Natasha, however- never at Natasha. She was
frustrated with the world. Her life. “He’s known me all my life, heard me beg for anything more
than women's work for years. It’s like everyone except for me knows that I won’t amount to
anything. All anyone has ever seen in me here is that monotonous farmer’s daughter. Some future
housewife without any of her own ambitions.” She finished, hanging her head.
“Sweetheart…” Natasha started, but was unsure of what to say. She simply brought the hand that
was not currently rubbing Wanda’s back to tangle against the brunette’s own fingers and squeezed
down gently. This earned her a small look from Wanda, and Natasha did her best to give her a
reassuring smile. Before she could continue, however, Wanda spoke again.

“You’ve traveled so far, Natasha. You’ve done so many things and learned so much. You can go
where you please and do anything you want.” She breathed out, unclasping their hands to trace her
fingers over the redhead’s face and jaw in wonder. “I’d do anything to be free like that- living my
life without anyone telling me I couldn’t.” Natasha’s eyes softened impossibly more at the
statement, both at how much longing she could sense in the younger woman’s tone as well as how
utterly wrong she was.

“Wanda, sunshine, you can do whatever you want. And I would gladly do everything in my power
to help you see it through.” She said confidently, placing a gentle kiss to the corner of Wanda’s
lips. “But I’ll never really be free. Not for as long as Dreykov is still out there.” She sighed,
looking down. Not while he still had Yelena. “I’ll spend the rest of my days in hiding if he isn’t
dealt with, but I don’t know if I can do that.”

Wanda’s knitted brows relaxed, her hand falling to Natasha’s lap (where it was quickly captured by
one of the redhead’s own again). She studied her lover’s face for what felt like hours, trying to
decipher the older woman’s inner thoughts. Eventually, Natasha glanced back up at her with a
bittersweet look, and Wanda understood.

“You don’t want to risk me.” She said, a half-question, and the redhead’s gaze dropped to their
clasped hands once more. Natasha gave Wanda a small nod.

“I know I need to clean up my mess. I’m going to, eventually. I can't live my life on the run while
he's still out there.” She said, her jaw tightening at the thought of the man who’d turned her into
the killer she was. Suddenly, she looked up to meet shining blue irises. “But you are the best thing
that’s ever happened to me, Wanda Maximoff.” Natasha breathed out like a promise, and Wanda’s
heart nearly burst. “How could I run off to go get myself killed, knowing you’d spend the rest of
your life wondering what could've happened?”

“What if…” Wanda said thoughtfully, a bit unsure of her own words. “What if you just stayed on
the run?” She asked, biting her lip in preparation for Natasha’s answer.

“I’m sorry?” The redhead tilted her head, sending her a quizzical look.
 “Just run away. Take me with you. We could go anywhere we’d like- somewhere far away.”
Wanda tugged their joined palms into her own lap, playing with Natasha’s fingers as she spoke.
“Somewhere with nobody you’d need to hunt down. No expectations I’d need to fulfill. Just the
two of us... That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” The brunette dared to imagine, leaning her head into the
crook of Natasha’s neck with a wistful sigh. She knew it was a fantasy, but it felt so good to speak
it out loud. Natasha let out a small huff of agreement.

“It would be, sunshine.” The redhead whispered into auburn hair, breathing in Wanda’s scent for
comfort as the younger woman laid a few lazy pecks on her jaw. There was an air of unspoken
emotion in the air, their words holding a deeper meaning that neither woman could truly express.
They both knew that this was nothing more than a far away dream, but it was theirs. “It sure would
be.”

Chapter End Notes

Sorry again for the delay in this chapter, but at least it was a bit faster than the amount
of time last update took lol. Hopefully I'll have the next one up sooner rather than
later, as it's gonna be a bit shorter than this one was!

Hope y'all enjoyed and are having a wonderful day :)

 Chapter 7
Chapter Summary

Even dedicated workers require a break sometimes.

Alternatively: Wanda can be very persuasive when Natasha works a bit too hard.

Chapter Notes

I expected this chapter to be shorter than it was, so it took me a bit lol. I planned for
maybe 5 pages and ended up with 9 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But... who's gonna complain lmao

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Natasha’s first week under the Maximoff’s employ went by faster than she’d have imagined. One
may think that the physical nature of her new occupation would make her days seem long and
drawn out, but each afternoon under the hot sun felt like mere minutes when she got to catch
glimpses of Wanda between each chore.

As promised, Olek had brought up a spare cot to the loft with a far more comfortable cushion than
her previous straw-stuffed sheet. Truly, she would’ve been content with her normal sleeping
conditions, but her back was certainly thanking the man for his thoughtfulness. Having a soft
cushion to sleep on each night made waking up to work on the farm every morning easier.
However, more often than not, it wasn’t her own little cot that she was drifting off in every night.

“You weren’t at dinner.” Wanda said, not fazed anymore by the figure in her window. Natasha
shrugged as she quietly shut and locked it behind her.

“Your father asked me to go looking for those groundhogs the dogs kept sniffing for in the barn.”
The redhead said, slipping under the covers when Wanda pulled them back for her. Wanda laughed
lightly, knowing full well that the ‘rodents’ in question had really been Natasha in hiding. The pair
settled down, laying face-to-face on the younger woman’s pillow. After a beat of silence,
Natasha’s soft smile pulled a small sigh from the brunette’s lips.

“Hi.” She whispered out into the darkness, making out the features of Natasha’s face as best she
could.
“Hey, sunshine.” The redhead replied, opening her arms invitingly, and Wanda didn’t need any
more coaxing to fall into Natasha’s warmth. “I didn’t see you all day.” The older woman spoke, a
question in her voice as she buried her nose into honey-scented hair. Wanda hummed against her
collarbone.

“Mama had me cleaning up around the house all day so I was stuck inside.” The brunette
explained, pulling back a little bit to look into emerald eyes. “I missed you, though.” She said,
leaning in to press a long kiss to the older woman’s lips.

“Well, you’ve got me now.” Natasha assured, rubbing the pad of her thumb over the younger
woman’s waist. She sighed into the next kiss, further melting into the feeling that was Wanda
Maximoff, just as the brunette became more sure than ever that she was falling far too fast. They
fell asleep like that- sharing soft kisses with some whispered words here and there, Natasha’s head
resting comfortably against the brunette’s.

“Care to make good on that carpentry promise?” Olek’s voice across the breakfast table broke
Natasha’s distracted gaze, which had been locked on the bobbing column of Wanda’s neck as the
brunette ate. The outlaw only hummed distractedly in response, and the younger woman couldn’t
help the small smirk that curled around the corners of her lips.

“Sorry?” Natasha finally ripped her eyes away from the Wanda, giving her proper attention to the
man.

“There’s a line of fence that needs mending. Out by the pasture, the end near the stables.” Olek
explained further, sipping at his coffee. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice the silent conversation
going on between his farmhand and his daughter. Wanda was entirely too thrilled by the redhead’s
eyes continuously wandering towards her. She’d never done anything like this before- snuck
around behind her family’s backs. Hell, she’d barely been kissed once or twice before Natasha
came barreling into her life.

“Papa, don’t put too much work on Nat. She deserves some rest, don't you think?” Pietro started,
leaning closer towards Natasha’s side with an inviting smile. Wanda’s smirk dipped into a frown,
her chest filling with a jealous feeling she was quite unaccostumed to. “I can fix it. Then maybe
after, you and I could go-'' He suggested, puffing out his chest proudly before he was effectively
cut off.

“Isn’t that the section you tried to fix last month?” Iryna asked, her face innocent, though her tone
was a bit firm. “Maybe it’d be best if Natalie gave it a shot this time, hm?” She finished, her eyes
darting between the two other women at the table. She wasn’t blind. Iryna could see the prolonged
glances and small smiles, even if her husband and son didn’t. She caught the light dusting of pink
that fought its way to the redhead’s cheeks every time Wanda’s hand brushed against her own
while passing a plate. Most of all, she couldn’t ignore the increasing knit in her daughter’s brow
every time Pietro attempted to flirt with the object of her affections.

“Well, yes, but this time I could get it right.” The blonde said, a bit embarrassed at being called out
on his initial failure. Natasha opened her mouth to speak, wanting to offer him the job if he really
wanted it (it would give her time to spend with Wanda, anyway), when Mrs. Maximoff responded.

“I just don’t want you rushing and getting distracted.” Iryna warned, tilting her head in a way that
Natasha was sure she passed down to Wanda. “Focus is important.” She let out assuredly, and
Wanda breathed a small sigh of relief when Pietro finally leaned away from the redhead.

“I’m sure you would, son, but I need you to tend to the stables today. You know that damn horse
of yours only ever listens to you.” Olek spoke up, laughing a bit at the mention of his son’s
beloved steed. Pietro rolled his eyes playfully.

“Quicksilver’s just particular, is all.” The blonde insisted, but didn’t argue. Wanda’s eyes shot up
to meet Natasha’s just as her brother began to eat again- an understood promise to talk later about
his flirting. The redhead finished her food as quickly as she could in order to begin her work.

Natasha wiped a bit of sweat from her brow, pausing for a moment to inspect the new post she’d
just set. It seemed to be in a proper position, not leaning too far to one side or the other, and she
smiled at her handiwork. She’d been at it all afternoon, and this was the final section of fence that
required repair. All that was needed now was to slot in the rails, and she’d be able to head back
inside for a drink- and to see Wanda. She quickly abandoned her brief procrastination at the
thought of seeing the brunette sooner. However, she nearly jumped at the feeling of lithe arms
winding around her waist from behind.

“You’re getting better at that.” Natasha spoke as evenly as she could when a familiar frame pressed
against her back. It wasn’t a lie. Wanda was probably one of the only people on earth that could
sneak up on the ever-aware Black Widow. Wanda hummed, leaning her chin over the redhead’s
shoulder.

“And you’re getting harder to stay away from.” The brunette sighed, allowing herself to bite down
a bit at the shell of Natasha’s ear. Truthfully, she had tried her best to be patient. However,
watching the older woman work from a far away window was not her ideal way to spend an
afternoon. After the first hour, Wanda had resigned herself to the fact that all of her chores would
be distractedly half done. Once it had hit the three hour mark, the brunette had been forced to suck
in a breath at the sight of Natasha left in just a white undershirt and jeans- her shirt abandoned in
the late summer heat. Now, having endured an entire afternoon of being so painfully far from the
single most attractive person she’d ever known, Wanda simply couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Wanda…” Natasha trailed off warningly, but hissed a bit when hands made their way beneath her
undershirt and blunt nails came to drag down her abdomen. It’d been a little over a week since they
were alone enough to go any further than a few heavy kisses, and having the younger woman
acting so forward was not doing her libido any favors.

“Baby, I’ve had to watch you out here all day.” Wanda pouted, though the redhead couldn’t see it.
Above all physical need, she really had missed Natasha. Pair that longing with the image of her
lover laboring away in the sun- sweat dripping down her back and a concentrated knit in her brow-
and the brunette found the coil in her stomach tightening considerably. “Mama’s with her girls and
Papa’s gone to town.” She pulled back just enough to turn Natasha around, pressing her back
against the newly-stood post and bringing their faces just inches apart.

“Sunshine-” Natasha tried, keeping her palms up and held a decent amount away from the younger
woman despite the raging urge to plant a bruising grip on her waist. Her hands were dirty from
labor, and Wanda’s dress was far too pretty to ruin.

“Haven’t you missed me?” Wanda interrupted, her eyes wide with feigned innocence, and the
redhead had to clamp down a groan at her tone. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, as any sound
she might’ve made was quickly swallowed by the deep kiss that the brunette pulled her into not
even a second later. Natasha melted into the feeling of warm lips against her own, though she
grasped firmly at the fence behind her rather than touch her lover. After a moment, Wanda pulled
back with a slight frown, looking around and finding a clean rag thrown over one of the fence rails.
Without a word, she handed it to the redhead.

“Fuck, c’mere.” Natasha breathed out once her hands were clean, throwing the now-dirty cloth to
the side and dragging Wanda in by the back of her neck. Their kiss was faster this time, tongues
and teeth clashing as the brunette’s hands came to unbuckle Natasha’s belt. Within seconds, it-
along with her holsters- thudded against the ground and her jeans were being pulled down.
“Wanda…”

“Let me show you I missed you. Please, Nattie?” Was all the brunette said in response. Natasha
was barely able to nod before the younger woman was on her knees and sealing a warm mouth
against her center. The redhead did her best to muffle the moan that threatened to escape her throat,
instead bringing a hand up to stroke through soft curls.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” Natasha asked in a bid to keep any semblance of authority,
though her words hitched at the end when Wanda’s tongue found her clit. “God, that’s it, baby. So
good.”
Wanda whined into Natasha at the praise, digging her nails into the older woman’s hip to ground
herself. Her own thighs pressed together tightly, chasing any bit of relief she could find. Sensing
the brunette’s affinity towards the encouraging words, Natasha allowed herself to smirk a bit.

“Right there, darlin.” The redhead’s voice was pleading (though, if anyone were to ask her after the
fact, she’d swear it was an order). She tugged against auburn strands, in a stark contrast to her
previous gentle strokes, pulling Wanda into just the position she liked. The brunette groaned at the
treatment, and the vibrations sent shockwaves up the older woman’s spine. “Just like that. Good
girl.” Natasha panted out, feeling her knees begin to shake.

“Yeah?” Wanda mumbled out, drunk on the taste of Natasha and the sound of the praise as her hips
bucked against the air. The outlaw moaned lowly in response as she pressed further into the
brunette, understanding Wanda’s unspoken request for more.

“Always, baby. Always so good.” One of Natasha’s hands drifted down to bunch against the
shoulder of the younger woman’s dress. Lost in her rapidly growing high, she didn’t even have the
foresight to think of the nicely patterned fabric being pressed into the dirt under Wanda’s knees.
“All for me, hm?” The brunette nodded as rapidly as she could as her lips sealed around the older
woman’s clit and sucked harshly.

Natasha bit down on in a fist, her vision going white over the sounds of Wanda’s muffled mhm and
the sensation of red-painted nails scraping against the backs of her thighs. The brunette continued
to lap slowly against her, bringing Natasha down from her high while trying to stay in her favorite
place for as long as possible. After a moment, calloused hands gently tugged her back upwards and
kiss-swollen lips captured her own once again. The redhead was sure nothing would ever compare
to the taste of herself on Wanda’s tongue.

“If you’ll keep doing that, maybe I should leave you alone more often…” Natasha breathed out as
their kiss became heated once again. Wanda sighed when a hand wandered up the skirt of her
sundress. “Though I could do without needing to quiet myself.” The redhead finished with a nod
towards the stables, where Pietro was obliviously tending to the horses. Wanda couldn’t stop the
way her grip tightened against Natasha’s shirt at the mention of her brother, pulling her into a kiss
that was somehow even more frenzied than the last. The older woman’s brows raised in surprise.

“Or is that what this is about?” Natasha teased, flipping them suddenly to press Wanda against the
fence now.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The brunette deflected, squeaking a bit in surprise
when the hand under her dress playfully tugged at her underwear.
“I think you do.” Natasha tilted her head, trailing open-mouthed kisses down Wanda’s neck.
Moving the younger woman’s underwear to the side, the redhead gasped at the amount of damp
heat she found there. “I think it’s what got you this turned on.”

Wanda only whined in response, her face burning. Really, she’d come out here because the sight of
Natasha working did things to her that she’d rather not describe. But, she had to admit that the idea
of claiming the redhead as her own just about 50 feet away from Pietro, who wanted Natasha for
himself, was an added incentive. She found herself feeling uncharacteristically possessive of the
older woman, needing to know that Natasha would never belong to her brother.

“You wanted to do this out here. With him just a wall and a lawn away.” The redhead’s voice was
intoxicating, and Wanda couldn’t have stopped the buck of her hips even if she wanted to. She bit
her lip when she was suddenly filled, two fingers beginning a slow rhythm inside of her.

“No…” Wanda tried to lie, but Natasha only smirked, curling her digits just enough to watch the
brunette’s eyes roll.

“You wanted to know that while he’s toiling away in the stables, I’ll be right here.” The redhead
sped up her pace. “Fucking you. Instead of him.” The words were punctuated with two particularly
hard thrusts, and Wanda hoped her moan was quiet enough to go uncarried by the afternoon breeze.
She still shook her head in denial, however fruitless her efforts may be. She knew Natasha could
see right through her.

“Need more.” She pleaded. It was all so good, but just barely not enough. Her body felt like it was
on fire, toes curling in her shoes. She was glad for the fence at her back and Natasha’s steady body
holding her up, otherwise she was sure she’d have collapsed by now. “Please, Tasha.”

“Tell me the truth and you can have whatever you want, sunshine.” The redhead promised, and
even brought her thumb up to rub against Wanda’s clit. The younger woman’s nails raked across
the backs of her shoulders, a final attempt at defiance. When their eyes met, though, Wanda knew
she wasn’t going to be able to avoid it.

“I just wanted you...” She mumbled, shoving her face into Natasha’s neck to kiss along her jaw.
The outlaw grinned, but said nothing- a silent urge to continue. “You’re not his. Never his.” Wanda
spoke, her voice deepening into a desirous tone that sent a shiver up Natasha’s spine.

“Yours, baby.” The redhead moved to whisper against her lips before Wanda felt a third finger join
the others, and the stretch caused her to bite down on Natasha’s bottom lip hard enough to almost
draw blood. “All yours.”

The words had her back arching, a near-scream falling from her lips. Natasha was just quick
enough to swallow it with another kiss, muffling Wanda’s beautiful sounds as she fell over the
edge. There were sure to be bright, angry lines down the redhead’s back pretty soon, but neither
could find it in themselves to care. When Wanda’s stiff muscles finally relaxed, Natasha stepped
back with a chaste kiss to her cheek.

I love you.

The words died in the redhead’s throat, her heart hammering at the realization. She was in love
with Wanda Maximoff.

Wanda, oblivious to Natasha’s internal screaming, took a moment to recover before playfully
running her fingers through scarlet curls.

“You look like you need a break.” The brunette said, cupping Natasha’s blushing cheek. “Piet
should be almost finished by now. You wanna go for a ride? I can grab us some food and we could
eat in the fields after.”

Natasha only nodded dumbly in response, kissing Wanda back briefly when the younger woman
leaned down to place a peck on her lips. They both smoothed out their appearances as much as they
could before making their way towards the house.

“Nat! Hey!” Pietro’s voice sounded a bit startled as he exited just when they reached the door of
the stables, a small basket of sandwiches slung under Natasha’s arm. The man quickly straightened
his back and did his best to seem relaxed against the doorframe.

“Hello to you, too, Pietro.” Wanda responded, unconsciously taking a step closer to the redhead.
Her brother only gave her a sheepish look and a small greeting. Normally, she’d be playfully
teasing him for his crush- maybe even helping him out- if it had been anyone but Natasha.

“I was just finishing up if you wanted to grab some late lunch? I know a great spot in town. Papa
took the wagon, but I know you ride and we’ve got extra saddles, so…” His (admittedly, rushed)
offer trailed off with a slightly hopeful lilt at the end, and Natasha couldn’t help but smile a bit at
his eagerness. Sure, she had no feelings towards Pietro, but he was a really nice guy. His eager
offers and nervous smiles reminded her so much of Wanda, and it was amusing to see the
similarities between the Maximoff twins. Wanda, on the other hand, was stuck in an internal cycle
of doubting that Natasha would want her above her brother, remembering exactly what they’d just
done without his knowledge, and forcing herself away from clinging to the older woman’s side.

“Actually, Wanda and I were going to spend the afternoon together. Weren’t we, sunshine?”
Natasha answered easily, bumping shoulders with the younger woman and snapping her out of her
thoughts. Wanda nodded, smiling widely at the familiar name. Until now, the redhead had
refrained from using any term of affection around anyone else. Whether it was intentional or not, it
gave her the reassurance she needed.

“Well, then maybe another day. Have a great time.” Pietro said, hiding his disappointment well.
He looked between the two curiously. Wanda wasn’t the type to become so close with someone
this quickly, and it intrigued him. Seeing the older woman bring his sister out of her shell was a
nice change. However, there was something different about them that he just couldn’t put his
finger on. Deciding to ignore it, he gave Wanda a small shoulder squeeze before nodding to the
redhead and walking off towards the house.

“I feel weird lying to him.” Wanda finally spoke once they’d made their way inside. “We tell each
other everything.” Natasha hummed in sympathy as she picked out a saddle and placed it on the
back of a sleek black mare.

“Something tells me he wouldn’t wanna hear about this.” The redhead said a bit suggestively,
fastening the buckles in record time and turning to Wanda with a curious look. “Aren’t you gonna
get ready?” Wanda tilted her head and looked down at herself.

“Aren’t I already?” She asked, confused. Natasha huffed a small laugh.

“We are going for a ride, right?” The redhead clarified, gesturing to the horses. Wanda nodded, an
eyebrow raised. “You need a horse for that.”

“Oh, I don’t-” The brunette’s eyes widened in surprise before she quickly looked down. “Papa says
it’s improper. I always sit behind him or Piet. I never ride on my own.”

“Well, would you like to learn?” Natasha asked, stepping away from her chosen horse and smiling
gently at her lover. Wanda kept herself from bursting into a massive grin right there. She’d always
wanted to know what it was like, being able to ride without clinging to someone else’s back. “You
can say no. I won’t make yo-”
“I’d love to.” The brunette interrupted, shooting forward to place a grateful kiss against Natasha’s
lips. “You’re gonna have to tack up the horse, though.” She let out with a laugh.

“Yes, ma’am.” The redhead grinned, pecking the younger woman’s temple before stepping back to
do just that.

Within minutes, they were just outside the stable, Natasha boosting Wanda up onto her saddle
before swinging herself up into her own once the brunette was settled in. Wanda sat a bit
unsteadily, examining the reins and saddle horn with hesitation.

“Use the reins. Straighten your posture.” Natasha explained, demonstrating on her own horse.
Wanda followed her example, and with a small flick of the leather reins, the buckskin horse was
moving forward at a leisurely pace alongside Natasha’s. It was a strange feeling, not having
another steady body in front of her own, but she was quickly discovering that she enjoyed it.

“Steer with your body. Face where you wanna go and use your legs to guide him.” Natasha said,
doing exactly that to turn right, and smiled widely when Wanda followed easily.

“I think I’ve got it.” The brunette said after a while of trial and error. She’d nearly fallen a couple
of times, but overall was doing well (at least in her opinion).

“Well then, Miss Horse-Whisperer…” Natasha laughed teasingly when Wanda shot her a look. The
redhead came up close enough to reach out and place her own Stetson snugly on the top of
Wanda’s head. “Who’s the cowboy now?” It was a bit small on the brunette and hugged her head
tightly, but Wanda found her cheeks burning anyway. Natasha grinned at the sight, suddenly aware
of just how much she liked the image of Wanda blushing in her hat.

“Still you.” The younger woman shrugged, though she made no action to return the hat. Instead,
she leaned forward in her saddle, giving her horse a nudge to run forward towards the fields and
leaving Natasha in a small cloud of dust. Stunned for only a moment, the Black Widow laughed
brightly before urging her own steed to follow.

The next hour was spent racing through the fields, Natasha staying on the slower side in order to
keep Wanda in sight. The brunette was far from an equestrian, but she was a quick learner, and the
older woman felt her heart warm at just how happy she looked. Eventually, they ended up on the
far end of the field by the edge of the woods. The food had long since been finished, and Natasha
was almost certain she was never getting her Stetson back.
“Are you even listening?” Wanda asked, an amused smile on her lips, though she knew Natasha
couldn’t see it behind her book. The redhead was laid out in the grass, her head resting snugly in
the younger woman’s lap as she listened to her read aloud. Even without being able to see green
eyes staring into her own, she could feel Natasha’s gaze trying to pierce through the hardcover of
her book.

“Cross my heart, sunshine.” Natasha breathed out, though in reality, she had merely been basking
in the sound of that smooth voice. The words had been lost amongst her inner thoughts- mostly
consumed by just how quickly she had fallen for the woman above her. Natasha had never been in
love before- didn’t even know she was capable of it. Wanda raised an eyebrow in skepticism at her
promise.

“What book are we reading?” The brunette asked, closing the pages and placing it face down on
the grass so that Natasha wouldn’t be able to see the cover. The outlaw pouted.

“Well that’s just not fair.” Natasha huffed, though she was easily placated when long fingers came
to card gently through her hair. Wanda giggled lightly before leaning down to press a sweet kiss to
her lips. “You’re too distracting.”

“Am I?” Wanda asked, smiling into the redhead’s nod. The statement made her heart flutter as she
gave Natasha another small peck. “You couldn’t even see my face.”

“Didn’t need to.” Natasha shrugged, sitting up now to kiss Wanda properly. “That’s not the only
beautiful thing about you.” She said, bringing a hand up to cup the soft skin of the brunette's cheek
and meaning every word. Wanda looked down, biting her lip against her smile.

“Shut up.” She mumbled, embarrassed, though there was no real assertion behind her words.
Natasha only shook her head.

“When it comes to you, darlin’? Never.” She said, giving Wanda one final peck before settling
back down into her lap. “Now c’mon. I wanna know how Alice gets home.”

Wanda looked down at her in surprise, mouth falling open a bit when she only found closed eyes
and a relaxed smile burrowed into the fabric of her dress. Shaking her head in amusement at her
lover’s antics, she reached down once again to pick up Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland as
Natasha hummed in contentment.
Chapter End Notes

I am, in fact, a big fan of Wanda being bold as fuck and Natasha going "wtf you're
supposed to be the shy one??"

Anyways, I hope y'all are having a wonderful day and that you enjoyed this chapter! :)
 Chapter 8
Chapter Summary

No matter how hard you fight it, the truth always finds a way.

Chapter Notes

God this took so long, I'm so sorry. Also, I feel like every one of my beginning notes
starts like that- whoops.

But *gasp* is this... a Pietro-centric chapter???

Well, not entirely. But mostly! I love him and thought he deserved some attention lol

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Pietro Maximoff would consider himself to be a simple man. He got up at dawn every day, kissed
his mother good morning, teased his sister over the breakfast table, then followed his father out to
work on their humble little homestead. He’d do whatever was required for the day to keep the
Maximoff Farm operational, repeat his earlier familial engagements at dinner, and finally hit his
pillow (already half-asleep) at the end of it all. That had been his routine every morning, afternoon,
and night since he was old enough to milk a cow. It would be his routine until his children and
grandchildren were adept enough to do it for him.

It was still his routine, even with the added bonus of the woman currently helping him load up their
family wagon.

“Long day today?” Natalie asked him, chuckling as his frown deepened at the sheer amount of
deliveries that needed to be done. The sound warmed his heart.

“At least it all fits in one load this time.” Pietro huffed, setting down the final crate next to the one
she’d just placed. “I hate the days where I need to make two trips.”

“Have fun.” The redhead said in a teasing tone, elbowing him in the arm as he groaned. He shook
his head, climbing up into the seat, before turning to her with a face full of hope. His attempts at
flirting thus far had mostly gone ignored, but the blonde wasn’t one to quit. This time could finally
be it. Maybe she’d agree to join him.
“Hey, I was thinking-”

“Do you know if Wanda’s busy today?”

The words were spoken at the same time, and Pietro quickly cut himself off at the mention of his
sister. Wanda and Natalie had become incredibly close, almost strangely. Ever since the older
woman had shown up at the Maximoff Farm, his sister’s every spare second was spent either with
the redhead or asking about her. He really did love seeing Wanda so invested in another person
(usually, she was by far the more introverted twin), but it was kind of killing his romantic game.
On top of this, Wanda had always been one to tease him for hours about any woman he’d come to
like or even go as far as to try and set him up. With Natalie, however, the brunette seemed to avoid
the topic like the plague.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off. What were you saying?” The redhead asked, her face
apologetic, and it effectively snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Oh! Nothing.” Pietro said, smiling a bit awkwardly in a way that he hoped was more charming
than concerning. “I think she’s only doing some laundry today. Mama’s handling the cleaning and
I know she did double time on chores yesterday, so she should be pretty free this afternoon.” He
shrugged, wondering what it was that his sister and their farmhand did all day. He couldn’t imagine
there was an awful lot to do around the farm, and the pair almost never ventured out into town
together.

“Great, I was gonna see if she wanted to finish our book.” Natalie grinned, and Pietro nodded in
agreement. “You’ll be okay with the deliveries on your own?” The blonde paused for a second,
considering saying no and asking the woman to join him. However, he knew that once the laundry
was done, Wanda would have nothing to do all day. He really could handle the deliveries alone,
and it had been a while since he’d visited the boys at the saloon. He’d be alright for the afternoon
if his usually-lonesome sister would be happy. Honestly, the man was just glad that Wanda had
found such a close friend.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine! I know it’s your day off. Have fun.” Pietro assured, grinning when she gave
him a pat on the arm and an over-the-shoulder farewell.

As far as the deliveries went, the blonde was right- not as bad as it could be. Sure, Tony had
forgotten he was supposed to be getting his orders today and Pietro ended up waiting around for an
hour for the man to make his way over, but the Danvers’ shipment went off without a hitch. Now,
he was set to deliver to the final (and best- in his opinion) destination of the day: Thor’s Saloon.
“I’m telling you, Pietro, she was throwing them back like water and still walked out upright.” The
barkeep laughed brightly as he recounted Natalie’s last visit. “That’s a keeper, right there.” The
younger man could only grin.

“Yeah, if she’d just give me the time of day.” He chuckled, though not bad naturedly. Sure, he
liked the woman, but he understood if those feelings weren’t mutual- respected it, even. And from
what he could tell, they were not. “She is fun to work with, though- a great friend, if not anything
else. I’m glad we took her on.”

“Glad to hear it. Your father must be happy to have another set of hands.” Thor mused, putting up a
finger in a pausing gesture when another customer flagged him down. Pietro hummed in agreement
as the large man turned to take the new order.

While his friend was preoccupied, he glanced around the room, looking to find something to
entertain himself with.

“Yeah, I know her. Rushman. Haven’t seen that bitch in a few weeks.” A disgruntled voice caught
his attention, and Pietro turned with a scowl at the insulting name. He was met with the sight of
Brock Rumlow sitting at a booth with two unknown men. The blonde narrowed his eyes at the fact
that he could not identify the strangers- and he knew everyone in Westview.

“But you have seen her?” One of them, a dark-haired and gruffly-dressed man, asked with a smirk.
“And you’re sure it was this woman?” He asked, pushing what Pietro assumed to be a photograph
across the table.

“She gave me a shiner that lasted two fucking weeks just for a harmless joke about her little
friend.” Rumlow huffed, crossing his arms. “So, yeah. Pretty sure I did more than see her.”

“You got a first name for this Miss Rushman?” The second stranger asked. He was tall and thin,
his face and lips pale under a neatly trimmed beard. Pietro’s brows knitted together at the
questions. Why were these suspicious men asking about Natalie? Was she in danger of some sort?

“That depends on what I’d get out of this deal.” Brock asked, leaning forward on the table as Pietro
did his best to not stand from his seat. Starting a fight now wouldn’t do anything to help in the long
run, no matter how strong the urge to defend his friend was.

“A lot less black eyes.” The first stranger said with a laugh, but cut himself off when Rumlow
simply raised an eyebrow. At which point, the second man threw a small parcel of what sounded to
be coins onto the table. Rumlow smiled, tucking it into his coat and reaching out a hand to shake.

“Natalie Rushman. She’s living out on the Maximoff Farm- squatting in the barn, from what I’ve
heard. Do what you will with that information, gentlemen.” He said as the second stranger grinned
and stood from the booth, the first taking Rumlow’s hand and shaking it. Pietro’s body froze at the
sound of the information. That, alone, was jarring. However, he wasn’t prepared for the way his
stomach dropped at the sight of the first stranger’s inside wrist as his hand clasped Brock’s.

An hourglass-shaped cattle brand.

__________

“You’ve gotta stop straining it.” Wanda laughed, rubbing soothingly against the now almost fully
healed mark standing proudly amongst the scars littering Natasha’s torso. The redhead laughed
lightly.

“Not my first gut-shot rodeo, sunshine. Besides, I didn’t hear you complaining about being carried
around…” Natasha said, though she winced a bit when the younger woman poked her wound
lightly in retaliation.

“I never asked you to do that.” Wanda huffed, though her smile gave her away. She placed a peck
to Natasha’s forehead, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair. “It was sweet, though.” The
redhead hummed in acceptance.

“Didn’t wanna get your new shoes all muddy.” Natasha shrugged, brushing off the compliment.

“Or you just wanted to be a big, strong cowboy.” The brunette teased, fully aware of her lover’s
dislike for the nickname and laughing when the redhead tried to shove her off in annoyance. The
attempt was futile, however, and Wanda just held her closer to her chest.

“Shut up.” Natasha grumbled, but hid her smile in Wanda's neck.

The pair were laying in Natasha’s bed, barely clothed, despite not having done anything physical.
The older woman’s injury was acting up, and regardless of her eager advances, Wanda refused to
aggravate it. The skin-to-skin contact was their compromise, and it was quickly becoming one of
the redhead’s favorite things. Just when Wanda went to retaliate, the barn door slammed open.

“Nat!” Pietro’s frantic voice boomed throughout the barn, and both women sprang apart, the
moment broken. Natasha shoved Wanda’s discarded blouse towards her, pointing the brunette
towards some boxes big enough to hide behind. Thankfully, the two had kept their pants on. The
redhead frantically looked for her own shirt as Pietro’s calls and footsteps approached the loft
ladder.

Pietro’s heart was racing, unsure of how fast the Red Room planned to act, but aware of how brutal
they’d be when they did. It was best to get Natalie away from here as soon as possible. When he
received no answer, yet heard some shuffling in the loft, he feared he was too late.

“Natalie! Who's up there? Are you alright?” He called out, practically throwing himself up the
ladder rungs. “Please, tell me you’re alri-”

He froze at the sight before him.

The redhead’s left side was facing him, her shirt not yet pulled all the way over her shoulders. Her
upper body was riddled with marks and scars- unsurprising for a woman who’d been living on her
own for years, doing physical work. She was beautiful, either way. However, it wasn’t her current
state of undress that made his jaw drop.

It was the split-second glimpse of an hourglass brand, forever burned into her ribcage.

“You led them here?!” He was unable to hold in the shock in his voice. Natalie whipped around,
her face falling at the angry knit in his brow.

“Pietro, I-”

“Don’t Pietro me, please.” He demanded, though it sounded more like a desperate plea. He liked
Natalie. He really did. But she was apparently not the woman he believed her to be. “You’re a
gangster. And I’ve never felt more stupid.” He spat out, pinching the bridge of his nose. The loft
went silent.

“I left them.” The redhead sighed after a beat, her heart pounding with nerves. When Pietro looked
up at her, she sighed. “I ran away, changed my name, tried to live a normal life.” She looked at him
pleadingly. “I never wanted to hurt anyone, I-”

“Well you did, Natalie!” He cut her off, before pausing, rewinding her previous confession. “And
that’s not even your name.” The outlaw winced at the way his tone dropped more into hurt than
anger.

“It’s Natasha.” She said, glancing nervously around the room. Pietro noticed she was focusing
mostly on the old supply boxes.

“Rushman?” The blonde questioned, crossing his arms. The woman looked down in shame.

“Romanov.” The word made the air run cold. Pietro didn’t speak for a long moment.

“How dare you.” He whispered out, his chest aching at the thought of a known murderer living
right under his nose. Pietro stepped back with wide eyes. It felt like a punch to the gut. His breath
stuttered for a second before he squared his shoulders with a scowl. “Get out of my barn. Get the
hell away from my family, Widow.”

He really wasn’t sure if he even meant it. Natalie had quickly become one of his best friends, even
if she didn’t share his feelings. He’d miss family dinners with five chairs instead of four. Teasing
Wanda together out by the laundry lines. Every day spent laughing out in the fields while they
worked. But that was Natalie Rushman. This was Natasha Romanov.

“I’m sorry.” Natasha tried, her throat bobbing with emotion. She had known she was going to have
to leave, eventually, but she never wanted it to be like this. “Please.”

“Get out or I’ll make you.” The blonde forced out, holding back his own teary eyes. Realistically,
he knew he’d probably lose that fight, given the Black Widow’s reputation, but he needed the
woman to leave. He needed it for his own sanity. The redhead stood in shock, unable to believe
what he was suggesting. When she didn’t answer he took a large step forward. “Please, Nat. I don’t
want to hurt you. So, don’t force me.”

“Pietro, stop it!” Suddenly, there was a body between the feuding pair, blocking Pietro’s path.
Wanda’s eyes were wide and frantic, her arms outstretched to dissuade her brother.

“Wanda, get out of here. She’s dangerous.” He tried to push past her, but she only shoved him
back. Not expecting the blow from his own sister, he stumbled a few steps before looking at the
brunette incredulously.

“Pietro, please.” Wanda tried to de-escalate, but Pietro only frowned. Knowing she’d probably
heard everything, he couldn’t understand why his twin would side with Natasha over him. The
confusion did nothing but make him feel worse.

“She’s Red Room!” He pointed a finger accusingly, finally stepping past the brunette to poke at
Natasha’s chest. “I don’t know what she’s told you, but that makes her a criminal!” He turned to
Wanda, but the younger woman only shuffled herself into Natasha’s side, determination covering
her features.

“I’ve never tried to convince her otherwise-” Natasha began, winding an arm around the brunette’s
waist. She’d never once lied to Wanda. Her lover was fully aware of her past. However, Pietro’s
eyebrows raised at the movement, alarm bells ringing in his skull as the redhead's hand made
contact with his sister's skin. The last thing an outlaw needed was a hostage. He cut Natasha off
before she could finish.

“Wanda, get away from her. She could hurt you.”

“She would never hurt me!” The brunette finally snapped, grasping Natasha’s arm and holding it
like a lifeline. They’d been careless, she’d admit that; just a little too confident in their privacy. But
Natasha wouldn’t be leaving her. She’d make sure of it.

“Piet, I would never.” The redhead tried, admittedly making the mistake of starting to maneuver
Wanda behind herself. She meant to bring the brunette comfort, but Pietro’s instincts took the
wheel as the sight of an outlaw putting herself between him and Wanda. Before she could even get
an arm in front of the brunette he was taking angry, determined steps forward.

Wanda panicked when Pietro’s face twisted, knowing what lengths her brother would go to when
trying to protect her. When his right fist raised she couldn’t help but step in front of the blow.
Thankfully, the blonde had enough awareness to change his planned punch into a bruising grip
around Wanda’s now outstretched wrist, instead.

“What are you doing, Wands?” He asked, confused and hurt. Why wouldn’t she let him help her?
Why couldn’t she see what had been hiding amongst them? He was hurt, why wasn’t she? Wanda
grimaced, trying to pull against his clasped fingers.
“Piet…” She trailed off, her wrist beginning to hurt. Before Pietro could truly realize his actions,
however, Natasha was seething.

“I’d suggest you let her go.” The redhead’s voice huffed out, now stepping as much as she could in
front of Wanda with the brunette’s wrist still within Pietro’s grasp. Her face was hard, a hand
coming up to grip at Pietro’s offending arm while the other snaked around Wanda protectively.
The blonde froze, unable to move as understanding bloomed on his face. Suddenly, he let go with a
gasp and stepped back.

“Wanda, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Pietro stuttered, reaching out for Wanda. Natasha blocked
him, studying the brunette’s wrist with concern. She had been mentally prepared to lose everyone
in her life since the day she was brought into the Red Room. Everyone was expendable when no
one was ever meant to be permanent. However, just the sight of a tiny, barely-there bruise under
Wanda Maximoff’s left thumb had her stomach churning.

“And you said I’d hurt her?” Natasha scoffed, rubbing Wanda’s wrist soothingly. Suddenly, she
focused solely on the younger woman. “Are you alright, sunshine?” The brunette stared back with
a small smile at the caring nature of her tone.

“I’m fine Nattie. It’s okay. Just let me handle this.” Wanda breathed out, bringing her free hand up
to cup Natasha’s face in an attempt to calm the redhead’s worry.

The pair stayed like that for a brief moment, and Pietro looked between them as his eyes widened
in realization. Wanda was in love with Natasha Romanov.

His sister was in love with one of the most wanted criminals this side of the Mississippi- and the
Black Widow loved her right back.

Well, that would change some things.

“Pietro, you have to believe her.” Wanda turned to him suddenly, her eyes pleading.

“Wands-” He started, but was cut off.

“No, just listen, please.” The brunette pleaded, grasping Natasha’s hand as the older woman
remained obediently silent. “She’s on the run. They’re after her, Piet. They’ll kill her just for
wanting to be a better person-”

“Wanda-” He tried again.

“She’s not a monster! She just wants to be happy and she makes me happy, and I-” Wanda
continued, and Natasha squeezed her hand warningly at what she’d just almost revealed.

“Wanda!” Pietro finally yelled, stopping his sister’s rambling. “I get it.” He said, allowing a
hesitant smile to curl the corner of his lips. He understood now.

“You do?” The brunette asked, her head tilting. Natasha did her best to keep a steely expression, but
couldn’t help the way her own brow raised slightly in question.

“I’m sorry. I was just angry and confused, but grabbing you was out of line.” The blonde sighed as
he looked between them, unsure of whether or not to bring up the obvious care they held for one
another. “I’ve only known Natalie, you’ve got to understand. This is an… adjustment.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I lied to you.” Natasha said, her eyes sincere as relief flooded her chest.
However, a sense of something uneasy still lingered. All she wanted to do was wrap herself up in
Wanda’s arms and sleep this stressful situation away, but something was telling her that wouldn’t
happen.

“You did what you had to.” Pietro nodded, before his face turned grave. “But I came here for a
reason before we got, I’m, distracted. They’ve found you.”

Natasha’s heart froze as the hand in Wanda’s own fell limp in shock.

“They couldn’t have. I took every precaution. How-” She began to question as Wanda’s mind
raced. The brunette looked to her lover with worry, only to find a dark storm cloud in usually bright
green irises.

“I heard them asking around town. Rumlow gave them Natalie Rushman’s name and told them
where to find her.” The blonde said solemnly, stepping to the side to clear an exit path. “You need
to go now. As far as you can. Take Quicksilver if you need to, he’s the fastest horse we’ve got, but
they’ll be here any minute.”
“Tasha, you can’t.” Wanda suddenly spoke, placing a hand on her love’s arm as tears threatened to
brim her waterline. “They’ll-”

“Kill me?” Natasha asked, turning to the brunette again. “Better me than you, and if they find me
on your property, you and anyone else here are as good as dead. Tell them I left due North when
they ask. I’ll head South.” She finished, though her own frown betrayed her hidden sadness. She
wasn’t ready to leave, yet.

“Couldn’t you just hide? Anything but leave. There’s gotta be another way. Piet?” She asked,
turning to her brother for help, but the blonde only shook his head. “Take me with you. You said
you’d take me with you, Nat. Please!” Wanda rushed out, squeezing Natasha’s arm like a balloon
that would float away otherwise.

“Sweetheart, we both know that was just a fantasy.” The redhead let out with a forced smile,
pulling the brunette in for a hug that was accompanied by a small shoulder-pat from Pietro. “And if
I make it, I’ll see you again someday.” She finished bittersweetly. Her heart ached to stay with the
younger woman, but Wanda’s safety was above all else. And she’d never be safe if Natasha stuck
around.

By the time they’d made it to the edge of the Maximoff property, Wanda couldn’t hold in her tears.
She wanted more than anything to pull Natasha in, crashing their lips together for what very well
may be the final time. But Pietro stood just a couple feet away, guiding Quicksilver by the reins as
Natasha prepared to climb on the dapple gray stallion’s back, so she restrained herself. It was
killing her. Before she could open her mouth to speak, however, a warning shot rang out through
the treeline. Natasha had twin pistols aimed at their assailants within milliseconds, scowling as the
men approached.

“Lukin.” She said, voice full of displeasure, as one of the men Pietro recognized from the bar
grinned.

“So it really is you.” The man, Lukin, said. "You were the best of us, Widow. And now you leave
it all behind? Your friends and family? That precious baby sister of yours?" Natasha held back
from shooting him just for the mention of Yelena. She scowled deeply, instead.

"Aw, I didn't think you cared that much!" She teased mockingly, narrowing her eyes.

“Well, I didn’t think you were the farming type.” The other, shorter man chuckled.
“I wouldn’t laugh, Karpov. Didn’t I just watch you get your ass kicked by Barnes a few months
ago? You didn’t walk for weeks. Now imagine what I’d do to you.” Natasha smirked, tilting her
head as Karpov seethed. He reached for his gun, but was stopped by Lukin.

“We’re not dumb enough to pull a pistol on the Black Widow herself, Romanov. In all honesty, I’d
rather be relaxing right now.” The tall man said, rolling his eyes in annoyance at his current
whereabouts. “But Dreykov needed a messenger.”

“Leave her alone, you-” Wanda couldn’t stop herself, taking a step forward before another warning
shot rang out. It had missed the brunette by a long shot, but was still enough to rattle her slightly.
At the younger woman’s flinch, Natasha was marching within inches of Karpov’s face.

“Dumb move.” She hissed out, bringing the barrel of her own gun to the man’s throat before Lukin
interrupted.

“Well, isn’t that interesting. A friend of yours, I presume?” The man let out threateningly as he
eyed Wanda. Natasha whipped around on him nearly as fast as she had with Karpov, but he was
focused solely on the brunette. “Given that this is the Maximoff Farm, I’ll just go out on a limb and
say you’d be Miss Maximoff.”

“You stay the hell away from her.” Pietro growled out, stepping in front of Wanda as the brunette
glared. Karpov laughed.

“Not interested in you, blondie. The grown ups are talking.” He chided, sending a knowing glance
Natasha’s way before redirecting his gaze on Wanda. The Widow’s stomach twisted at the
implications.

“Don’t talk to my brother like that, you-” Wanda spat out, taking a step closer.

“Just give me your message and leave.” The redhead cut her off before she could dig herself a
deeper hole, masking her growing worry with expert ease.

“Dreykov wants a duel. Tomorrow, in the hills. High noon.” Lukin ordered, and Natasha frowned.
 “I don’t have to duel for shit.” She argued, cocking her gun in warning. Karpov raised a brow.

“How about for her?” He nodded towards Wanda, who blanched at the question.

“If you don’t show tomorrow, we burn this little farm to the ground.” Lukin laughed, patting
Karpov’s shoulder and turning to leave. Natasha’s face went red with anger, the grip on her guns
tightening. When the pair were a few paces away, Karpov turned to look back.

“Got any return messages, Widow?” He threw over his shoulder mockingly. He barely had time to
finish the question before he was dropping to the ground, bleeding from the forehead with glassy
eyes. Natasha holstered her gun, not bothering to cool the still smoking barrel.

“Think that’ll do? Or do you need it on paper?” She asked innocently, as Lukin nodded in fear and
turned to run. She turned slowly, dreading the look of disgust Wanda would surely be sending her.
She never intended for the brunette to see that side of her. Instead, she was met with a crushing
hug.

“Nat, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anyth-” Wanda started what was sure to have been a long
ramble if Natasha hadn’t cut her off.

“It’ll be okay, sunshine.” She breathed out, though she wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince
the younger woman or herself. She choked back her fears, looking over Wanda’s shoulder to Pietro.
The blonde’s face was grim, and she was thankful that Wanda couldn’t see the redhead’s matching
expression. She buried her face in auburn hair. “I’ll be okay.”

Chapter End Notes

Dun Dun Dun...

Sorry for the cliffhanger, but hey- gotta keep y'all hooked somehow lol. But did I
literally forget Karpov and Lukin existed until I needed random male Red
Room/Hydra characters for this?? Yea…

Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, and I will have the next one up as soon as I can!
 Chapter 9
Chapter Summary

Natasha must face her past to have any hope of a future.

Chapter Notes

This took far too long I'm so sorry-

Despite my severe lack of a good schedule, I hope you're all having a lovely day and
that you enjoy this update :)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

“You’re being irrational.” Wanda said, exasperated, as she once again tugged on the sleeve of
Natasha’s shirt in an attempt to keep her in place. Just the thought of the redhead going off to face
Dreykov had been eating her alive all night and well into this morning. She couldn’t go alone- it
was a death sentence. Natasha huffed and turned anyway, making her way towards the barn exit.

“And you’re being illogical.” The outlaw threw over her shoulder as she began to open the door,
doing everything in her power to avoid her lover’s eyes. Wanda had been begging her not to go
since the moment Lukin had left, but that couldn’t happen. If she didn’t face her past in the hills,
Wanda’s entire future would burn. It was stupid of her to believe she could’ve kept the brunette
away from the horrors of her former life. “If I don’t go, they’re just gonna track me down anyway,
and the last thing I want is to drag you into this mess any further than you already are.”

“We could call Sheriff Rogers!” Wanda blurted out, catching up with Natasha and finally forcing
her to face her. Natasha’s eyes softened at the moisture she saw pooling in the younger woman’s
waterline. “He’ll come protect the farm with the deputies, and then they’d catch Dreykov when he
shows up, so you could stay and-” She was pulling at straws, she knew, but Wanda would do
anything to convince the woman she loved not to go get herself killed.

“Wanda, stop.” Natasha forced out, despite her own choked-up throat. She sighed, memorizing
every one of the brunette’s features just in case this would be the last time she saw them. “Sure, if
you call the Sheriff he’ll put Dreykov away faster than you could blink. But the second Rogers
spots me , I’d spend the rest of my life in a cell right next to him. I have to deal with this myself.”

“Then I’m going with you.” Wanda insisted, but Natasha’s face hardened. The brunette frowned at
what she knew was going to be an immediate denial.

“You aren’t going anywhere near the Red Room.” The older woman let out firmly, her voice
demanding in a way that was almost threatening. She couldn’t help it. Just the idea of Wanda in the
presence of Dreykov himself sent her straight into defense mode. “You don’t know what they’d do
to you. But I do. And I’d rather duel him over and over again and lose every single time.” She
looked down, unable to handle the way a single tear trailed down Wanda’s cheek before the
brunette’s dam broke.

“Nat, he’ll kill you.” She whispered, ghosting a hand along the underside of Natasha’s chin to
guide her gaze back up. “He’ll kill you and I can’t live with that!” The brunette cupped Natasha’s
cheeks with both palms, running her thumbs over an infuriatingly stoic face. She knew the older
woman was trained from childhood to bury emotions- to get the job done at any cost. When Wanda
looked in her eyes, however, she saw everything the redhead could never hide from her. Wanda’s
lip trembled as she cried, taking in the worry catching at the edge of jade irises. She sniffled as she
recognized how much it truly hurt Natasha to keep her at arm’s length. But through all of this, it
was the sheer amount of love she felt boring down from pained eyes into her own that stopped her
heart completely. “Baby, please.”

“I need to face the music, sunshine. This was always going to happen.” The redhead sighed,
placing her hands on Wanda’s hips and pressing their foreheads together. The brunette couldn’t
take it anymore. She pulled Natasha in by the back of her neck, burying her hands in fiery hair as
their lips crashed together. She was surely messing up the older woman’s perfect braid, but she
couldn’t care less. Natasha’s lips sealed against hers with an urgency she matched as well as she
could, every emotion they’d never dared to say out loud pouring into the press of their lips. They
stayed like that for far too short, their kiss having been poisoned by the salt of mixed tears. Wanda
buried her face into Natasha’s neck as soon as the redhead pulled away.

“I need to go now. If I don’t make it back within the hour, take Piet and your parents and leave. I
can’t guarantee they won’t still-”

“No.” Wanda shook her head against a strong collarbone, cutting Natasha off with a conviction she
didn’t know she was capable of. “Don’t talk like that. You’re coming back. Nobody’s burning
anything down, and you’re not dying. You’re coming home to me.” She squeezed the redhead like
a lifeline, choking back a sob when a wet cheek pressed against her hair and a final kiss was laid
upon her head before Natasha stepped away. The outlaw could only manage a nod before she
turned for the hills, unable to make a promise she couldn’t keep.

Wanda watched, clutching herself tightly, as Natasha disappeared into the treeline. She stood still
for a long while as the love of her life made her way towards what was sure to be her last breaths,
and refused to believe there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Wanda made a beeline for the stables, her brows knitted in determination.

__________

Natasha willed her heart not to race as the figures at the top of the hill came into view. There
must’ve been at least a dozen Red Room members, talking idly as they gathered around the man
Natasha had grown to despise more than any other.

“Romanov!” Dreykov broke their chatter with a sneering call, stepping forward to see her properly.
The redhead scowled, finally breaking the edges of their circle to meet him face-to-face. “Glad to
see you made it.” He let out mockingly.

“Unfortunately.” She frowned, glancing at some of the familiar faces around her. Many of them
looked on with frowns, saddened to see their former friend’s fate. None of them had a choice in
this. Natasha looked away. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Eager, aren’t we?” Dreykov laughed, but shrugged. “Very well. Have at it.” He waved an arm
towards the small crowd of people, and they parted for a single figure to pass. Natasha’s eyes
widened. “You’ll have to put her in the ground if you wanna be free.”

“‘Lena?” The Widow’s gaze darted to piercing green eyes that matched her own. They had never
looked at her with such distrust before.

The blonde didn’t speak.

“Dreykov…” Natasha trailed off, nearly snarling at the man. “Explain.”

“I can appoint anyone I want to duel on my behalf, Widow. As can you, if you wish. You know
this.” Dreykov answered, smiling smugly. “Though, something tells me you’d never call for
someone else to shoot your own blood.” Natasha seethed at the words.

“Yelena, what is this?” She asked, her eyes softening. Her heart sped up at the unreadable
expression her sister displayed.
“You left us, Natalia.” Yelena let out lowly after a moment, her gaze boring into Natasha’s own.
The redhead couldn’t help but flinch a bit at the use of her previous name. She hadn’t been Natalia
since they were children.

“No.” Natasha started, shaking her head. “No, ‘Lena, I-”

“Mama and Dad kept saying you’d be back. They said you’d never stay away willingly. Their
perfect little Widow would never abandon the family she loves.” Yelena started, looking away.
She’d tried to believe them for the first few weeks. When weeks turned into months, she had given
up on Natasha’s love. “Well, I heard they had to threaten your new family just to get you to even
consider coming back. Was it ever even real to you?” The blonde’s voice wavered as Natasha took
a step forward.

“Yelena, of course it was! I just couldn’t stay-” The older sister tried, but Yelena’s tone raised.

“Couldn’t stay with your sister?” The blonde’s voice wavered, anger and grief consuming her
chest. “You left me, ‘Tasha. I woke up to guns and screaming and you were just gone.”

“I was coming back for you, ‘Lena!” Natasha was holding back tears, unable to accept that her
sister believed she’d been abandoned. “I was always, always coming back for you!” The redhead
took another step towards Yelena, arms outstretched. The younger woman’s heart was hammering,
her feet unconsciously taking a step forward to fall into her big sister’s embrace. Natasha’s chest
clenched at the look of hurt on Yelena’s face. Before she could reach the blonde, however,
Dreykov’s voice cut through their moment and Yelena froze, realizing herself before her eyes
hardened once again.

“That’s enough. Didn’t you want to get this over with?” He eyed the sisters closely, receiving a
nod from Yelena. The younger sister squared her shoulders, stepping up to position, but looking
over curiously when Natasha didn’t do the same.

“I’m not gonna shoot my sister.” The redhead insisted, remaining glued to her spot. Yelena
scoffed.

“As if you’d draw faster than me.” She teased, immediately regretting the sense of familiarity that
warmed her chest as Natasha rolled her eyes. The redhead picked up on the younger woman’s
slight nostalgia, a spark of hope igniting behind her eyes.
“I guess we’ll never know.” The redhead shot back with an easy smile that Yelena was so used to
laughing alongside. The blonde looked away.

When Natasha still did not step forward, Dreykov growled.

“Don’t force my hand, Widow.” He warned, gesturing towards Lukin. The tall man nodded and
headed for a small tent that had been set up a few yards away.

“I’m not going to shoot my sister.” The redhead held her ground, looking at her former superior
defiantly.

“Fine. Don’t shoot for your freedom.” Dreykov sighed, before a twisted smirk made its way across
his face. He waved an arm, and Lukin emerged from the crowd once again. This alone would
never be a cause for concern, however Natasha’s stomach dropped at the sight of the woman in his
hold.

In all honesty, Wanda really hadn’t had a plan when she’d messily saddled up a horse and charged
after Natasha’s retreating form. She hadn’t even brought a weapon in her haste to follow her lover.
It was fairly idiotic, now that she had time to think about it, but that was really the least of her
concerns at the moment- given the jarring sight of a pistol being aimed her way, her arms
restrained from behind by the man she remembered to be named Lukin.

“ I might just have to shoot her .” Dreykov finished, his face hard as he drew his sidearm.

“Wanda…” The redhead’s face fell, taking an instinctive step to protect the brunette but stopping
the second Dreykov threateningly pulled back the hammer on his gun. The man chuckled at the
pure concern that took over Natasha’s face.

“Don’t you dare.” Natasha hissed, drawing her own pistol in a matter of seconds. Her eyes met
Wanda’s in a frenzy, terrified of the possibility that Dreykov could do anything to hurt the
brunette. She had never seen those baby blues look more scared.

“Then step up, Romanov. It’s you or her.” Dreykov insisted, gesturing towards the redhead’s
intended dueling place with his pistol before training it right back on Wanda.
Having been silent since their argument, Yelena observed the situation with wide eyes. Natasha’s
jaw was clenched tighter than she’d ever seen. She had never known Natasha to display any true
intent on her face. The redhead had always been almost impossible to read, even to her own sister.
However, right now, Yelena could see every thought in the Widow’s mind. Her eyebrows raised at
the pure panic that Natasha had allowed to seep through, probably because she was completely
unable to hide it. The only reason Yelena could come up with for that was-

No. It couldn’t be.

“Sweetheart, it’s gonna be okay.” Natasha breathed out, nodding more for her own assurance than
Wanda’s. “You’re gonna be okay.” The redhead promised, tears brimming her eyes at the idea that
she may not be able to keep it. Win or lose, there was no guarantee that Dreykov would keep his
word and let Wanda go. She walked slowly to her position in front of Yelena, hands
uncharacteristically shaky. Wanda’s muffled response was unintelligible through the small cloth
that had been tied over her mouth, and Natasha’s singular tear shocked Yelena to her core.

Her sister was in love.

Until now, she hadn’t thought that Natasha was capable of such a thing. The redhead had always
been so focused on surviving. Planning the next score. Getting the job done. The Black Widow
didn’t have time for feelings or relationships. Yelena had never seen Natasha form a genuine
connection with someone other than her or their parents. Her eyes softened at the sheer amount of
uncut emotion leaking out of every pore on the redhead’s body, and the matching look of love
coming from the restrained brunette across the crowd.

“You both know the rules.” Dreykov boomed as the sisters stood back to back. Yelena shut her
eyes tight at the thought of just how much she could feel the redhead trembling against her. “Ten
paces, turn, then draw. Winner is whoever's body doesn't hit the dirt.”

The small crowd counted as the pair took their steps, and Wanda couldn’t decide if she wanted to
watch every little detail or rip her eyes away from the scene. By the fifth step, she was sure she
was about to pass out from how fast her heart was pounding. The brunette tried her best to hold
back the rapidly forming tears in her eyes, knowing she was likely about to witness Natasha’s final
draw. The redhead would never actually hurt her little sister- Wanda knew that- which only left one
option.

On step seven, Natasha stopped fighting the urge to look up at Wanda. The brunette looked so
broken, unable to do anything to protect Natasha. For once in her life, the great Black Widow
actually wished someone would be her savior. However, step nine brought out a sound that pierced
the barrage of frenzied thoughts in Natasha’s mind.
A single, long whistle- a high note falling into a low pitch.

Natasha choked down her relieved sob to answer the call.

The second the tenth step was counted, a shot rang out amongst gasps and curses just as the thud of
a body reached the older woman’s ears. The scene may as well have been in slow motion, given
how focused she was. Yelena’s aim had always been impeccable. Dreykov really hadn’t stood a
chance, having been focused completely on the redhead’s actions. Once he was taken care of, it
was a matter of seconds before Natasha’s own pistol had Lukin falling over next to him.

Natasha rushed to Wanda as Yelena holstered her gun, nearly jumping over Dreykov’s lifeless
frame in the grass to reach the brunette. She couldn’t help the face-splitting smile that overtook her
features as she barreled into her lover, laughing into her neck as Wanda’s arms came to wrap
around her once again.

“Oh thank God.” The redhead breathed out shakily, pulling the cloth from over the younger
woman’s mouth and quickly replacing it with her own lips.

Wanda grinned into the kiss, tangling her hands in fiery hair. She’d never felt more relieved in her
life. The brunette wasn’t sure if her heart would ever recover from just how nervously it had been
beating for the last few hours. Before she could deepen the kiss, however, Natasha was suddenly
pulling back with a creased brow.

“What the hell were you thinking!?” The outlaw huffed out, slapping the brunette’s elbow lightly.

“I just wanted to help!” Wanda let out, a bit blindsided by the sudden change in Natasha’s tone. As
quickly as the older woman’s anger had appeared, however, it was gone. She pulled Wanda into
another crushing hug within seconds.

“You almost got yourself killed, Wanda.” Natasha sighed, burying her face in the brunette’s neck
for a bit of comfort. Wanda sighed.

“Well, so did you.” The younger woman noted, running her fingers over the redhead’s back just to
feel that she was really there. This earned a small laugh from Natasha.
“We’re even, then.” Natasha said, pulling back to place a feather-light kiss against soft lips. Wanda
hummed out a chuckle as they parted, bringing her hands up to play with the stray hairs at the back
of the redhead’s neck.

“This is nauseating.” Yelena’s voice sounded from behind them, and the pair jumped a bit at the
reminder that they were out in the open. Natasha rolled her eyes, though she turned to her sister
with a grateful smile.

“Thank you.” The older woman let out, placing a hand on Yelena’s shoulder and squeezing gently.
Using the contact, she pulled the blonde in for a hug that was quickly returned. Wanda stepped
back, not wanting to intrude upon the moment. “I missed you, ‘Lena.”

“I missed you too.” Yelena said, bunching the back of Natasha’s shirt in her palms. They stayed
like that for a moment before the younger sister spoke again. “I wasn’t gonna actually shoot you,
you know.”

“Oh really?” Natasha shook her head in amusement, the action being felt against Yelena’s
shoulder.

“Maybe just a flesh wound.” The blonde mumbled jokingly as they stepped apart, Natasha’s palms
still holding Yelena’s arms. The redhead laughed this time, looking down after a beat.

“I’m sorry I left.” Natasha frowned a bit, sighing when Yelena looked away briefly.

“I know.” The blonde nodded before meeting Natasha’s eyes again. “It’s okay. You won’t do it
again?” Natasha grinned at the forgiveness.

“Never.” She promised, pulling her sister in for another hug. She looked up over Yelena’s shoulder
to Wanda, who had migrated towards a horse tied down to a tent- presumably how the brunette had
managed to get here so quickly. Sensing the redhead’s distraction, Yelena pulled away to follow
her gaze.

“You know, it’s okay if you want to stay with her.” Yelena said, though she was unable to keep the
sadness from her voice. “But I have to help them.” The blonde finished, gesturing to the handfuls
of lost-looking Red Room members.
 Natasha looked around with a sigh. Dreykov’s operation preyed upon corrupting children, taking
away their choice. With him gone, most of these 'outlaws' just wanted to live their lives normally.
Away from all of the horror. The redhead wanted nothing more than to help these people- repent in
some way. Her soul practically ached for it.

However, when she looked up at Wanda, who smiled back at her, her heart sank. She didn’t
deserve to settle down. Not without doing anything to clear her ledger. A girl like Wanda
Maximoff was better off without her, anyway.

“I’m coming with you. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow.” Natasha said with determination,
forcing a small wave towards the brunette over Yelena's shoulder.

Wanda’s smile widened at the redhead’s attention, taking it as an invitation to rejoin the pair.
When the younger woman folded herself into Natasha’s side with a loving kiss and comforted sigh,
the redhead did her best to ignore the guilt pooling in her stomach.

Chapter End Notes

Couldn't help but throw in a little bit of suspense at the end there ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Will Natasha leave with Yelena? Or will she finally settle down with Wanda?? We
shall see in the final chapter folks...

As always, thank you for reading!

 Chapter 10
Chapter Summary

Feelings are shared and decisions are finally made.

Chapter Notes

And here it is! The final chapter of possibly one of my favorite fics that I've written! I
do love myself a good old lesbian western :)

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Natasha was sure that she’d never experienced Wanda’s affections quite as strongly as she did the
second the pair returned to the Maximoff Farm. The only time that the brunette wasn’t clinging to
her side or peppering kisses anywhere she could reach was at dinner. Even then, Wanda had made
her exit as soon as possible and instructed the redhead to sneak through her bedroom window once
her own plate was cleared. Natasha couldn’t have refused if she'd tried. Plus, given that she’d be
off to join Yelena again the next day, the redhead decided that she might as well spend as much
time with her lover as she could while it was still possible. She laid awake for hours, memorizing
the feel of Wanda’s weight on her shoulder and the sounds of her soft snores. Natasha wasn’t sure
how she survived the night, with the crawling feeling of culpability itching just under her skin as
she quietly slipped out of bed in the morning.

“Got a lot on your mind?” Thor’s voice broke the redhead’s thoughts as a shot of whiskey was
placed down in front of her. Natasha looked up from her own hands with slight surprise.

“I didn’t ask for that.” She said, schooling her features once again.

“Ah, but you needed it. A barkeep always knows...” The blonde observed, giving her a once-over
before nodding towards the drink. “On the house, Miss Rushman. What’s on your mind?” He
asked with a reassuring smile, leaning on the bar as he prepared to listen.

“So much.” Natasha breathed out before knocking the shot back and groaning. “Way too much.”
Thor only gestured for her to continue.

“I’m skipping town. Just here today to take care of some unfinished business.” She elaborated,
smiling gratefully when Thor passed her another drink. Just as she swallowed it, feeling the
calming burn settle deep in her chest, a bark of laughter erupted near the back window. Through it,
Natasha could see Brock Rumlow leaning on a beam and whistling towards a woman on the street
from the alley behind the saloon.

“Is this ‘unfinished business’ a matter of drowning your feelings in booze?” Thor asked, though his
voice was void of judgment. Natasha shook her head determinedly, anyway.

“There are no feelings to drown.” She assured, standing abruptly as she placed some cash on the
bartop. “But, I suppose, I should just get it over with.” Before Thor could answer, she was turning
and marching out the back door.

“Rumlow.” Natasha let out icily as she came to stand behind the man. Brock startled slightly before
gaining his composure and turning to face her.

“Thought you’d be long gone by now.” He said slowly, looking her up and down as if calculating
her intentions.

“Why? Thought your little friends were gonna take care of me?” The redhead asked, scowling as
she stepped closer.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rumlow said, raising an eyebrow in challenge. Natasha
scoffed.

“I think you do. But what I don’t think you know is just exactly who they were.” She offered,
smirking when this appeared to puzzle him. “You see, Brock, those weren’t your friends.” She
started, gripping the side of her shirt to pull it up just enough to reveal the scarred skin of her brand
and reveling in the way Rumlow’s eyes widened in slight fear. “They were my friends.”

“Natalie…” He started, backing up slightly.

“Oh, my friends didn’t call me that. Then again, you and I never got a real introduction. Did we?”
Natasha asked, dropping her shirt with a humorless laugh. She stuck out a hand for show, wiggling
her fingers a bit in invitation of a shake. “Name’s Romanov. Natasha if you’d prefer.” She dropped
her hand before Rumlow could even think about actually shaking it, and held in a true laugh at the
fearful recognition that flashed across his face.
“No. No, they were looking for you. They wanted to kill you.” Rumlow forced out, seemingly
trying to convince himself more than Natasha.

“Yeah, well, I guess they weren’t really my friends…” The redhead started airily, bringing a hand
to pat at her pistol threateningly. “And I don’t take too well to betrayal.” She narrowed her eyes as
Rumlow swallowed thickly. A tense moment passed as neither spoke, before Natasha finally let out
a small hum of indifference.

“You and I, though?” She asked, drawing her gun and twirling it expertly through the air. The sight
would’ve been impressively mesmerizing to Rumlow if he weren’t being threatened. “I think we
could be friends.”

“Of course, Natasha!” He let out almost pleadingly, eyes widening when she raised an eyebrow at
him. “Miss Romanov. Um, Widow.” He finished a bit weakly, his eyes trained on the gun in her
hand. It finished a perfectly done spin around her fingers before the redhead stopped to hold it
loosely pointed upwards, cocking her hip to the side as she smiled.

“And you know what my friends do?” Natasha asked, chuckling when Rumlow shook his head.

“What?” He asked hesitantly, sucking in a sharp breath when the barrel on the outlaw’s pistol
suddenly snapped down to focus on him.

“They stay,” Natasha growled out as she took a step closer, “the fuck away,” she scowled up at the
man and pressed the barrel into his chest, “from my girl.” The redhead pulled back the hammer of
the gun as Rumlow whimpered almost inaudibly. “Got it?”

“Y-yeah. Got it.” He said, nodding rapidly with his palms raised in surrender.

“Now, I’m going away for a while.” Natasha said, her voice even again but still holding a deeper
tone. “But if I hear that you so much as glanced in Miss Maximoff’s general direction, we won’t be
friends anymore. I’ll be the Black Widow, and you’ll wish you were never born in the first place.
Am I clear?”

“Crystal.” Rumlow assured as Natasha examined his eyes for any sign of deception. Satisfied, she
huffed out her assent before turning to leave just as quickly as she had arrived. She still needed
some supplies.
 __________

“Wanda, you nearly got yourself killed!” Pietro’s whisper-yell would’ve normally made Wanda
laugh, if the subject wasn’t so sensitive.

“She needed help!” Wanda insisted, rolling her eyes when her brother immediately shushed her.
“Mama left for the Stark’s half an hour ago. We’re fine.” Pietro frowned in embarrassment.

“Well, did you even get to help her?” The blonde asked, pointedly looking at the slightly-visible
rope burn around her left wrist. The sight made his stomach lurch.

“That’s not important.” Wanda pulled her sleeve down instinctively, covering up the evidence of
her failure and leaning against the farmhouse wall as the laundry lines swayed in the breeze.

“Yes, it is! Listen, am I her biggest fan? No. But she got you home safe.” Pietro sighed, taking the
brunette’s wrist in both hands and rubbing it soothingly. “She brought you home from a situation
you shouldn’t have followed her into in the first place.”

“I know you don’t understand-”

“I do! Trust me. I do.” Pietro sighed, looking away for a moment as he dropped Wanda’s hand.
“But her type is dangerous.”

“I-” Wanda started, but her twin shook his head.

“It’s gonna follow her like a death wish and I’m just not sure you really know what that means.”
He added. Just the thought of his sister in any kind of harm’s way made his chest tighten. “Even if
the Red Room is gone, who knows what will come next. She’s bound to have enemies.”

“Piet…” The brunette tried again, stepping closer.

“No, Wands. I know she’s important to you, but she can’t stay here. It’s not safe for her or us-”
“Pietro!” Wanda finally blurted out, grabbing the blonde’s shoulder and forcing him to look at her.
Her heart pounded as they both froze, knowing what she needed to say. “I love her.”

Wanda’s eyes remained wide with anticipation of his response. She hadn’t told anyone except for
Natasha of her attractions towards women before, and most reactions she’d seen in town with
others didn’t end well. However, she needed her brother to understand. He had to know why
Wanda would never be letting the outlaw go. Wanda resisted the urge to close her eyes and turn
away, expecting him to yell and curse and reject everything her kind of love could stand for.

After a beat, Pietro’s expression softened.

“I know.” The blonde said, smiling gently as Wanda’s gaze snapped up towards him in surprise.

“No, I mean that I love her.” She explained. Surely he didn’t fully understand the context. “I love
her the way that you do. She means everything to me, Piet. I’d marry her if I could-”

“Wanda.” He breathed out with a bit of a laugh at his sister’s ramble, holding her by the shoulders
and rubbing his thumbs over the soft fabric of her sleeves. Pietro stared at Wanda for a moment,
taking in the sheer look of longing in her eyes as she likely imagined being able to openly love the
older woman. “I know.”

“You do?” The brunette asked in a bit of disbelief, only receiving a nod and another reassuring
smile. With the information sinking in, Wanda nearly beamed. She threw herself into Pietro’s arms
as he held her tightly, burying his face into the top of her head.

“I just want you to feel safe, is all. I don’t care who makes that happen.” He said, pulling back to
look into her eyes. “Even if she isn’t a saint.” Pietro added with a bit of a grimace. The thought of
his sister and the fucking Black Widow would take a bit of getting used to, even if he knew Natasha
wouldn’t be staying long. Even an idiot would know that it wasn’t safe for her to stay here any
longer, and Natasha Romanov was far more intelligent that anyone could give her credit for. He
only hoped that she didn’t take his sister’s happiness with her.

The twins stood quietly for a little while, embracing tightly in the afternoon light before Wanda
resumed hanging the laundry. Pietro took to helping her, handing over clothes and sheets while
Wanda clipped them to the lines. After a few minutes of this, the blonde noticed his sister pausing
and staring off towards the barn, catching the back of fiery hair retreating behind the large door.
There was a heavy-looking pack slung over Natasha’s back, and Pietro couldn’t deny that he was
often right. The redhead was undoubtedly packing up for a long trip. When Wanda’s motions
became slower and her focus distracted, he eventually spoke up.
“Go ahead.” Pietro breathed out, ignoring the lump that was beginning to form in his throat as
realization dawned upon him. When the brunette only sent him a puzzled look, he pulled her in for
a tight hug. “I know you want to see her.”

“Are you sure? I can finish up here first.” Wanda offered, confused by her brother’s sudden change
in demeanor. Pietro only pulled back from the hug with a wobbly smile.

“It’s okay, Wanda.” He insisted, taking a shirt from the basket and clipping it on the line, the offer
to finish for her clear as his eyes watered. His sister was going to leave with the love of her life.
Pietro knew that if the brunette had a chance, she would take it in a heartbeat. Wanda may not
know it yet, but Pietro could see it coming like the clouds collecting just before an April shower-
and he’d rather be here to see her off than find her bed empty in the morning. “Go.”

“Thanks, Piet.” Wanda smiled obliviously, squeezing his arm and kissing his cheek. She bent to
pick up her book from beside the cloth basket before turning towards the barn. “Love you!” She
called over her shoulder as she picked up her pace, making her way towards Natasha.

“I love you!” Pietro called back, the ends of the words dipping off a bit bittersweetly. He loved his
sister dearly, but she'd never been happy here.

But with Natasha? Pietro really had never seen Wanda smile brighter, and that knowledge was
enough.

__________

Natasha held back her surprised jump when the barn door swung open.

“Tasha! Piet’s covering for laundry! I was thinking we could-” Wanda’s offer to read in the fields
died in the back of her throat as she took in the sight before her, nearly dropping the novel in her
hands.

“Hey, Wands…” Natasha trailed off guiltily, turning slowly from Quicksilver’s open saddlebags.
Scattered by her feet were several packs of food and clothing, boxes of bullets, and various maps.
The redhead finished wrapping up a length of rope before hanging it over the saddle horn with a
sheepish smile.
“Natasha…” Wanda replied with a raised brow, her frown deepening when the older woman
flinched at the name.

Natasha’s chest had been heavy since she'd snuck out of bed that morning, the guilt of her
impending wordless abandonment of the brunette gnawing away at her heart like a vicious animal.
But, now? Having to actually look at the confusion and slowly-sinking-in hurt flashing across
Wanda’s face?

Atlas himself may as well have dropped his own load on her shoulders.

“Hey, we still have a whole chapter left in our book! Why don’t we finally go see how Alice gets
home, hm?” Natasha tried to deflect, pointedly ignoring everything she’d just been doing and
making her way towards the exit. She was stopped almost instantly by a hand to her chest and
large, blue eyes bearing down against her own apprehensive green.

“You’re leaving?” Wanda asked, her voice smaller than Natasha had ever heard it. The redhead
looked down, unable to admit it out loud. The younger woman’s brows knitted at the lack of
response.

“You’re leaving me?!” Wanda nearly yelled this time, shoving her palms into Natasha's shoulders
without thinking. The redhead stumbled back a few steps, but didn’t protest.

“You almost died yesterday because of me!” She finally spoke up as Wanda opened her mouth to
ask again. “I don’t know how you can live with that, because I can’t!”

“I chose to follow you, Nat!” The brunette insisted, stepping forward in an attempt to cradle
Natasha’s face. “Please, don’t do this.” The outlaw just took a step back to maintain the distance,
shaking her head.

“Settling down isn’t my style, anyway. You should’ve known better.” She tried to lie. To convince
Wanda as well as herself that she could ever want anything more than to finally have a home with
the brunette. Wanda was having none of it.

“Don’t do that.” The brunette huffed out, stepping closer again. “Don’t try to hurt me to make me
leave.”
“What did you expect, Wanda! We were never going to be able to keep this a secret forever!”
Natasha let out, exasperated. “What was going to happen when it all came out, hm? Pietro already
doesn’t want me here anymore. The townsfolk would probably run me off with pitchforks- that is,
if your father wouldn't shoot me on sight first for defiling his baby girl!” She turned suddenly to
resume packing her things.

“Tasha, please.” Wanda begged again, placing her hand on top of Natasha’s to stop her placing her
final supplies- a rolled map and an old sleepshirt- into Quicksilver’s left saddlebag. The older
woman just shrugged her off and continued.

“I’m an outlaw, Wanda. I don’t get to have the happy ending.” Natasha sighed, looking down. “But
you do. So why don't you go and find it?” She forced out as her lips curled into a frown, the words
a bit more biting than she had meant for them to be. Wanda froze for a moment before tears
prickled in her eyes.

“Fuck you.” She breathed out quietly, looking down at her feet before snapping her eyes back up.
Natasha’s stomach dropped. “I fucking love you! And you’re just gonna leave?! I-I love you…”
Wanda began, rubbing at her now-wet cheeks furiously.

“Baby...” Natasha’s own eyes had begun to leak, her voice wavering at Wanda’s confession. She
remained still, processing the new information.

“No, don’t ‘baby’ me! You don’t get to tell me I’d be better off, Natasha! I can make my own
decisions. I’ve spent my whole life wondering if all those books I’ve read could be true! Just
waiting for my happy ending...” Wanda stopped to toss the worn book that they’d come to claim as
theirs into Natasha’s hands, softly crying as the redhead caught it on reflex. “You were it, Tasha.”

The older woman stood silently for a moment, her gut wrenching at the sound of Wanda’s sniffles.
God, she was an idiot. Sure, maybe Wanda did deserve better than her. But she chose Natasha. This
perfect, beautiful, kind woman actually wanted to be with her. Loved her. The thought made her
chest heat faster than anything else ever had. Still, Natasha couldn’t stay here. If the Red Room
could find her at the Maximoff Farm, God knows who else would've heard by now. She stared
down at the book’s cover, smoothing her thumb over the image of a little girl with her white rabbit,
running off into the distance.

“Come with me.” The words slipped out so softly that Natasha wasn’t even sure if she’d actually
said them.
“What?” Wanda sniffled out, looking up with a slight bit of hope buried behind watery pools of
blue, scared that she had heard the redhead wrong. Her heart began to pound when Natasha closed
the distance between them, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. It took the brunette a moment to
process the older woman’s sudden change in affection, but she eventually brought her hands up to
tangle in fiery hair and sighed against Natasha.

“I love you.” The redhead spoke into the air between them, resting her forehead against Wanda’s.
The brunette’s breath caught at the words. “Come with me.” Natasha begged again, circling her
arms around the younger woman’s waist and clutching the back of her shirt like a lifeline. Her tears
were flowing freely now.

“You mean…” Wanda trailed off, looking between Natasha and Quicksilver’s saddle with a
questioning gaze as a smile began to form on her lips.

“We can go wherever you want. Anywhere, sweetheart. You and me, I promise! We just have to
see ‘Lena first, I told her I would meet her, but then-” Wanda’s lips were on hers before she could
even finish her sentence, watery giggles escaping between kisses.

“Yes.” Wanda breathed against Natasha’s skin, her smile nearly splitting her face. Natasha froze at
the agreement, having half-expected the brunette to refuse.

“Yes?” The redhead asked with an airy laugh, not believing her own ears.

“Yes!” Wanda nodded rapidly, kissing her cheeks and nose repeatedly as Natasha let out a relieved
grin. The brunette let out a surprised noise when Natasha suddenly lifted her by the thighs,
spinning the both of them for a moment as they laughed and kissed. Eventually, the redhead placed
Wanda down in Quicksilver’s saddle before swinging up to sit in front of the younger woman.
Wanda immediately clung to Natasha’s back, smiling when one of the outlaw’s hands came to
cover her own.

“Ready, sunshine?” Natasha asked, sighing happily when she felt Wanda’s chin come to rest upon
her shoulder.

“Always, my love.” Wanda answered with a grin, pressing a kiss to the redhead’s cheek.

With that, Natasha snapped the reins with a grin, driving Quicksilver across the Maximoff fields
and towards the hills, Wanda’s steady frame a constant at her back.
Chapter End Notes

God, they gay idiots and I love them.

Hopefully you enjoyed this final update! Let me know what you thought if you'd like,
or if anyone has any requests I'm always open to them!

As always, I hope y'all are having an amazing day and that this gay little fic brought
you some joy. Till next time :)

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