Work Text:
At first, it seems that Natasha appears at the bar at the most unexpected hours and days. For the first time, she swoops in on a Thursday around midnight, swears in a mixture of Russian and English, typing something in her phone, and then orders neat whiskey. Double. She doesn’t say anything more that night, not paying attention to surroundings and lost in her thoughts. Maria notices her appearance - slightly disheveled curls, imperfect makeup and a white blouse; when she entered, Maria managed to catch a glimpse of a pencil skirt and heels. After two more whiskey and an hour and a half of silence, she pays, gives a tip and leaves, looking straight ahead, on autopilot.
The second time it happens is the next Saturday. She looks much better, but Maria barely has time to notice when she walks to her office to check the quarterly report. Behind the bar, Ward and their trainee, Skye, have everything under control. Hill catches a glimpse of red hair, leather jacket and high-waist jeans, and then hides behind the doors of her office until the end of the work night.
The third time, Maria learns her name. Natasha orders a dry martini with vodka, bows her plump lips in lipstick into a sly smile and introduces herself while Maria makes her order. She often works at the bar on weekdays, remembering her first part-time job at Fury's bar. Natasha doesn’t ask unnecessary questions, but her smile grows a little wider when Maria introduces herself in response.
Natasha becomes their regular. She always orders different drinks, sits at the bar and makes their waitress Jemma blush a couple of times. Sometimes Maria serves her herself, answering rare questions that can be considered casual politeness out of boredom.
One day Natasha comes with a man. He is dressed in a regular plaid shirt and jeans, and he smiles broadly, gesturing as they approach Natasha's usual place. Maria feels a slight prick of jealousy, although it has no point and no explanation - it was stupid to think that Natasha with her witch eyes, beautiful smile and charming accent had no one.
They order a beer and when Maria places the bottles in front of them, the man sends her a smile, leaning a little closer.
“So, you are Maria, Natasha's favorite bartender?”
“Barton,” Natasha hisses and it seems she is shoving him in the leg.
Maria raises an eyebrow. Barton somehow reminds her of Coulson, only more noisy. Sha has a feeling that they would definitely get along.
“I own this bar, but I'm glad to hear that my services are a success.”
She gives a quick glance to Natasha, whose cheeks have become a shade darker. Her red-manicured fingers grip the neck of the bottle, and it's a little thrilling to see her embarrassed. Maybe this is a little revenge for that incident with Jemma.
“Definitely success,” hums Barton and then yells, looking at Natasha. “Ouch, Tasha!”
While these two are exchanging long stares, communicating at some high level, Maria examines her workplace and says:
“Enjoy your evening. If you need something, call me.”
She smiles. Is it either a play of light, or did Natasha blush even more? She feels the gaze of green eyes on her back, and a pleasant shiver runs down her spine, which stops only few minutes later.
***
Natasha continues to appear in the bar and more and more often she manages to drag Maria into an easy conversation filled with grins, humor and flirting. Natasha, despite the impression she makes with her appearance and heavy looks, flirts on the verge of elimination. She uses bad pickup lines but she makes them seem adorable.
She works at Stark Industries, complains about her boss, Tony, and retells a couple of office gossip. With her the idle chatter seems unobtrusive and natural, pushing to learn more.
Maria gets used to her presence, and therefore she is not surprised when on Friday night Nat slides smoothly behind the bar, throwing her coat over the back of a high chair. Her dress has a bold neckline, and Maria looks away to her face not to look pervert.
Natasha orders wine - this has never happened before - and she asks, raising an eyebrow:
“Wine, really?”
Instead of answering, Nat leans forward a little and gives her a long look. This time she makes sure that her interest is not to be confused with anything else.
“I like your shirt.”
Her eyes slide over Maria's hands, and she just snorts. Compared to Natasha, she looks pale, preferring comfortable clothes. And her shirt is just simple grey one.
“Thanks.”
She pours wine into a glass and puts it in front of Natasha. Bunch of other clients are noisy nearby, but Skye and Ward are coping with the crowd, so she doesn't have to take on some of their work. And yet, she stays where she is, watching Nat grab the stem of the glass with her fingers and look up at her.
“Will you have a drink with me?”
“I can't, I'm at work.”
“You're the boss.”
Maria chuckles, shaking her head slightly.
“I don't want to set a bad example for kids.”
For a couple of seconds Natasha remains silent, but then she lets go of her gaze from Maria's face. It takes a lot of willpower not to give up first or blush. Two can play this game. Finally, Natasha brings the glass to her lips and, after taking a small sip, asks:
“So, in order to get you drunk, I need to lure you out of here?”
“You want to get me drunk?”
She chooses to leave the question unanswered, only shrugs. In the dim light of the bar, her hair looks dark, and Maria really wants to run her fingers into the heavy curls. And if Nat's previous flirting could be considered friendly communication and a way to kill time, then her next words can hardly be interpreted as polite curiosity:
“Are you dating someone?”
The main point is how Natasha says it. How her gaze floats over Maria's face and freezes on her lips before rising to her eyes; how her fingers squeeze the stem of the glass a little tighter and how she purses her lips a little.
Maria blinks a couple of times.
“Wow, straight to the point. I like it.” She rests her hands on the bar, finding herself a little closer to Natasha than before. But the distance still remains professional. “And no, I’m single. My closest relationship is with this bar.”
Natasha relaxes. Maria sees her shoulders drop as she exhales.
“Serious competition. Date?”
***
They go on a date at a restaurant, but after twenty minutes they realize it was a bad idea. As a result, they find themselves in a bar (not in Maria's bar, in somebody’s else bar) and Maria complains about cocktails and crookedly nailed to the wall darts, forcing Natasha to smile with this awfully beautiful half-smile, which makes her knees turn to jelly. This is probably the only reason why Nat wins two rounds in a row. They hug each other awkwardly as they say goodbye, but Natasha promises to pop into the bar this week and Maria throws something about a second date, earning a grin and a long hug.
Their first kiss happens a week and a half later on a lazy Tuesday evening, when there are only three customers in the bar, and Natasha is dressed in a translucent blouse with a deliberately unbuttoned button. She knows that Maria is watching, and in the middle of the conversation, she suddenly stands up in a chair and pulls Maria towards her by the neck, forcing her to bend over the bar, using her hands as support. She has a warm breath, and the kiss is just a careful touch of the lips, but it makes Maria dizzy and wanting to continue.
Natasha smiles right in her lips and pulls back. Her expression is overly pleased.
“Are you taking matters into your own hands again?”
“I have to. I don't have infinite patience, you know.”
She sits back in her chair. Maria walks around the counter and puts her hands on Nat’s waist, because it's unfair to tease like that; besides, it is her turn to make a move. The second kiss comes out not at all innocent, it has much more tongue and breathlessness, and Natasha's fingers, which scratch her neck. She mumbles when she's out of breath:
“Do you have any idea how nervous I was? I thought my heart would jump out of my chest.”
“Did you have any doubts that I would say yes?”
“I had a lot of doubts. I watched you from the very first evening.”
Maria raises an eyebrow, stroking Nat's side through the fabric of her blouse.
“Bullshit. You were in your phone all the time the first night.”
A devilish grin looms on Natasha's face. It suits her.
“Oh, so you fell for me at first sight?”
It is foolish and useless to deny. Maria definitely noticed her the first time. And after too. She leaves a small kiss at the corner of her lips.
“Whatever.”
Natasha's voice hums near her cheek, tickling a little:
“And I definitely noticed you that first time. Why else do you think I began to come here so often?”
“I don't know ... Because of the good drink and the pleasant atmosphere?”
“That too. But mostly because of you.”
A pleasant warmth spreads inside like a net. To hell with professionalism.
“Mm-m. My favorite client.”
And then the green eyes darken, and Natasha moves even closer, clinging to Maria with her whole body to whisper in her ear:
“Yes. I had enough time while you were working to fantasize about what we could do right here, on this bar stool.”
There is a short circuit in Maria’s head, because the pictures come out bright and very tempting. She manages to answer:
“Romantic. And unsanitary. My office is much more comfortable.”
“This still needs to be checked.”
It's good that her office has locks. After all any check is a serious matter, and Maria takes her business very responsibly.