Natasha Romanoff - Fluff One Shots

Swamped

It's been a long day.

You trudged back into the Avengers compound, heavy in your steps and looking down at your feet as you walked. You, very characteristically, had your earphones in listening to 'Cooks' by Still Woozy, nearly on full volume, so you couldn't hear anything other than the music. Your backpack weighed down your right shoulder, packed full of folders, books, textbooks, notepads, odd bits of stationery and a near empty water bottle.

Yeah... in case it wasn't obvious, you had been at school all day. And what a draining day it had been. You felt as though all life had been sucked out of you the moment you stumbled into the compound. Your social battery had completely run dry. Your classes had felt longer than normal and you found yourself daydreaming almost all day. The main culprit for this immense sulk you found yourself in was probably that test you got back today. Fourth period. History class. You got back the essay you had written... you got a D. Although you were not surprised by the result, considering you barely studied for it, it still hurt to see the dreaded grade written in bold on the top of your test paper.

You chucked your keys onto the table by the door, not even looking to check if they had landed in the bowl and trekked up the stairs towards your room, dragging your feet along as you walked. The compound was quieter than usual. Tony, Steve, Bruce, Sam and Clint were on a mission and had been for the past week. However, Peter, Thor, Bucky, Wanda, Pietro and Nat were still here. Thor was currently grocery shopping with Wanda. Bucky and Pietro were down in the gym doing some training. Peter and Nat were in the living room just watching some TV. They both noticed you as you marched past them, paying no attention to them.

Before you made it to the stairs you heard a muffled remark made, but you're music was too loud that you didn't quite catch what was said. You pulled an earphone out and looked around, looking for the source of the speech. You jumped slightly when you saw Nat and Peter staring right at you. "Huh?" you questioned, looking at them with a hint of surprise in your face. "I said... Is everything okay love?" Nat trailed off, cocking an eyebrow at you. She looked concerned over your lack of liveliness. Usually when you came back from school, you couldn't wait to unwind and spend time with the rest of the avengers, being goofy and giggly, telling them stories about your day. But your exhausted entrance along with your lack of sociability told Nat and Peter that something was clearly up.

If you were being honest it was just stress. A heavy academic burden weighing on your shoulders that you just couldn't seem to relieve yourself of. As a perfectionist, you pride yourself on always doing the best and performing exceptionally in everything you do. But recently you've fallen behind. Not studying, leaving homework until the last minute, zoning out in class, and sometimes just skipping lessons altogether. No matter how hard you tried you could not seem to find any motivation to try and better yourself and get back on track. Regardless, you responded to Nat's question with a simple: "yeah everything is fine. Just a little burnt out, that's all." You gave a soft, unconvincing smile before hauling yourself upstairs and to your bedroom.

Nat knew. She knew. Of course she knew. As your girlfriend and trained spy, she was very easily able to read you and your emotions. She let you be for now, considering you'd be a little frustrated for the first hour, and in desperate need of a nap of some sorts.

You stumbled into your room, lowering your shoulder allowing your backpack to slide off and hit the floor with a loud clunk. With a heavy sigh you flung yourself onto your bed and laid there on your stomach. You could feel and ache in your feet, in your thighs, in your neck and in your back. You were drained. Just as you were about to slip out of consciousness, into a blissful stress-induced sleep, you remembered... you have homework to do. You let out a huge groan and then leapt up, picking up your backpack from beside the door and unzipping it. You pull out a notepad, a pen and the homework sheet (math) and head over to the compound library.

[...]

2 hours had passed. A homework that should've taken 30 mins is taking much longer. You couldn't help it. Your brain wasn't working. You were exhausted, aching and not to mention, you hadn't eaten or drank anything in over 4 hours. But you were torturing yourself. You had already failed to hand in several homework's this week and you couldn't afford to make it another, so you tried to push through. You were on the last question. The end was in sight but it was a difficult one and you brain just could not focus. Just then you hear footsteps approaching and the library door clicks open.

In waltzes your girlfriend. "Hey kitten..." she cooed softly as she made her way over to you. You were slumped at the desk, with your head propped up in your hand. The dim desk lamp glowed a warm orange, allowing you to see your work clearly as it was now dark out. You groaned in response, visibly fatigued. "Aww my poor baby" she pouted as she wandered behind you and wrapped her arms around your neck in a loose cuddle. You rested your chin on her forearms as you looked down at your sheet, anxiously clicking your pen, trying to solve the last math problem. She kissed your cheek and used one of her hands to brush gently through your hair. "What's up with you today?" she mumbled with her voice laced with deep concern, her breath tickling your neck before she dragged her lips along your ear, gently kissing behind it.

You just shrugged. Your throat was dry and you couldn't think straight enough to even form a response. She kissed your neck before pulling out of the hug and sauntering off out of the room. You whimpered not wanting her to leave but not having the energy to beg her to stay. "Don't worry princess, I'll be right back." she said before leaving.

Around 10 minutes later she walked back in with a plate of food, a bottle of water and some clothes tucked under her arm. You grinned as you lifted your head up and sat back in your chair. She always took good care of you. You loved that. She placed the plate and bottle down before pulling your chair out from under the desk. "Up!" she commanded, urging you to stand up so that she could get you into some comfier clothes. She pulled off your shirt as you kicked off your jeans. She handed you some shorts to put on whilst she slung an oversized band-tee over your head and pulled your arms through the sleeves. You were now changed and comfortable and you were just about to sit back down. "Nuh-uh-uh" she uttered, nudging you out of the way and sitting down on the chair herself. She patted her lap, signaling for you to sit on her, and you did so willingly. She cradled you in her lap as she handed you the water bottle.

"I'm gonna do this last question for you, I think you've had enough." She picked up the pen and kissed you on the forehead. "You just eat and drink up and let me finish this, then we can go chill, okay?" she insisted. You just nodded, taking big gulps of water and eating away. She was so good to you. She scribbled away and you just observed, in awe of her intelligence as she worked her way through the question with ease. You looked up and kissed her under the jaw. "I love you" you mumbled, your lips not leaving her skin before kissing her once more. She hummed and chuckled a little at your first show of affection of the day. "I love you more" she cooed, writing the final answer on the dotted line before shuffling all the papers into one pile and clicking the pen closed.

"Cmon bubba..." she whispered, scooping you up and carrying you bridal style out of the library and to your shared bedroom. "...time for a movie I think." She carefully set you down on the bed and draped the covers over you before sliding under the duvet herself and switching on the TV. You instantly cuddled into her, laying down on her chest and letting out a heavy sigh as she ran her fingers through your hair once more. With the other hand she drew little patterns on your back, earning her a little hum from you.

"What did I do to deserve you" you muttered, completely worn out.
"I ask myself the same thing."