Chapter Text
December 1st.
Natasha is in the middle of watching Harry Potter on the TV when she hears the lock click. She does not really bother to look in that direction, she knows it is Maria who has just got back home from work. She throws a quick ‘hi’, her eyes glued to the screen. Her lips curve in a small smile when the Weasley twins enter the Great Hall on their brooms, throwing fireworks.
“Stupid tree,” she hears Maria huff and Natasha realizes that the door to their apartment has not been closed, letting the cold wind wander around their house.
She turns her head to see what is taking so long for Maria to come into their apartment. Natasha sees her wife fighting with an enormous Christmas tree on their doorstep, trying to push the tree inside of their house. Natasha moves her eyes back to the TV, but it takes her a moment to realize that Maria is actually fighting with a goddamn Christmas tree in the hallway. She immediately pauses the movie and turns once again to Maria.
“When you said you would go shopping after work, I didn’t think you meant buying a hulk-size Christmas tree,” she says and gets up from the couch. “Don’t tell me you hoisted it by yourself, Maria.”
“Two fucking floors. Forgot we don’t have an elevator in the building,” Maria pants and finally manages to push the tree through the door.
Natasha shakes her head and takes the weight of the tree from Maria and leans it against the wall. She flicks the pine needles from her hands and moves closer to Maria, slowly reducing the space between them. She places both of her hands on Maria’s cold cheeks.
“You didn’t have to, Maria,” she whispers and places a kiss on her wife’s frozen red nose.
Maria puts her hands on Natasha’s waist and stares at her. She gently brushes her nose against Maria’s, one of her hand slotting into dark hair.
When their lips connect, they hear a loud bang that makes them turn, Natasha’s wrists ready to eject the nonexisting Widow’s Bites. But it was just the Christmas tree that slid from the wall and crashed to the ground. They look at it in silence and burst out laughing. Natasha takes pine needles out of Maria’s hair. When her wife begins to strip down, Natasha moves to the kitchenette and puts the kettle on. She smiles at Maria when she sees her trailing the Christmas tree to the corner of their living room. Maria walks out on their balcony and moments later returns with a big brown box and a metal Christmas tree stand.
Natasha makes them two cups of coffee and leaves the kitchenette, holding two mugs in her hands. She places them on the coffee table and moves to the box and opens it.
“Lights first?” She asks and Maria nods.
They untangle the cable together and Natasha smiles when she wires the lights up to see if the golden bulbs work. When they are about to start wrapping the lights around the Christmas tree, Natasha changes her direction and quickly wraps Maria with them. She laughs loudly as she does it and in the end, she sticks the plug to the nearest outlet, making Maria unsteady on her feet.
“Natasha, you stop this mess now,” she says but Natasha does not listen.
The redhead takes her phone out of her back pocket and takes a picture of Maria, wrapped in Christmas lights with a grumpy face on.
“Oh common! Cheer up, Hill!” She says while sending the picture to Clint Barton. “You’re no fun, my grumpy Christmas tree,” she whines.
Natasha helps Maria to break free and they wrap the proper Christmas tree with the lights.
When both of them reach for the ornaments from the box, they run smack into each other.
“Ow,” Natasha rubs her forehead and stands upright. “It has to happen every damn year, doesn’t it?” She says and reaches for the box again.
She sits on the floor and hang silver Christmas balls on the bottom of the tree. Maria hangs the rest of the ornaments on the higher part.
“Can I put the tree topper?” Natasha asks, already reaching for the golden star.
Maria lowers herself and piggybacks Natasha so the tiny redhead can place the tree topper. After everything, Natasha gets off her back with the grace of a cat. Maria turns to her and Natasha wraps her arms around Maria’s neck, kissing her tenderly. They stay like this for a moment and Natasha takes advantage of a peaceful situation to let her mind wander and eyes focus on the most important person in her whole life.
She knows that if Maria could, she would give her the world and nothing less. She knows that every year, Maria tries to make her feel like a part of society by celebrating Christmas. To help her feel more human.
Natasha loves December. She loves to sit at the windowsill with a mug of hot chocolate, pet Liho and stare at Maria who is sunk into reading another crime fiction on their couch. She loves to go out for walks to the near park, holding Maria’s frozen hand because she hates wearing gloves. She loves to stare at Maria, whose face is lighted by the moon only, and observe snowflakes sticking to her hair and scarf. She loves the feeling of Maria’s hot lips on her own, mixing with the icy-cold wind that wraps around them as they stand in the middle of an empty road.
Suddenly, Natasha feels the weight of Maria on her and panting, they both land on the floorboards. Maria lays on the top of her and with a laugh, Natasha realizes they are both pinned down by the Christmas tree. She tries to lift her head to see anything in front of her and busts out laughing when she sees Liho, entailed in a white tinsel.
“Liho!” Maria turns her head and snaps at their cat but Liho does not seem to be thrilled by Maria’s commander voice as she carelessly plays with the new fluffy toy.
Natasha laughs again and putting her hands on Maria’s cheeks, she forces the woman above her to look at her.
“I love you.”
“Yeah, I love you too. Now, help me get this thing off my back.”