Work Text:
The sun was already rising when Natasha walked into the kitchen area of the deserted Avengers compound.
She hoped to find a familiar face to surprise her on Christmas morning, but she was all by herself. Just like every day nowadays.
It's been a while since she saw Steve the last time. Tony left shortly after the snap to be with Pepper.
And Carol. Carol stayed on earth for a few months. She stayed with Natasha and they become close friends. And after some time they became lovers.
But they both knew Carols time on earth will come to an end and when she actually left, Natasha just felt empty.
They tried to stay in contact a few times a week but sometimes, when Carol was in a very distant part of the universe their messages didn't come through.
So at this point it's been a few weeks since they last talked and the red-haired woman didn't know if her girlfriend was okay and it hurt her deeply.
Nat looked at her phone, hoping someone tried to contact her but nothing. She sighed and put the phone back in the pocket of her workout pants.
The redhead made some coffee and sat down on the counter, taking out her phone again. She pressed #1 on her speed dial and Carols name popped up. But the blonde did not answer the call.
A single tear ran down her cheek. Natasha knew that Carols job was important, damn she saved whole civilizations, but Natasha couldn't help feeling a bit jealous.
After trying to call Carol, the red head tried to contact her best friend. Steve Rogers hasn't been to the compound in a while, and she hoped to get a hold of him on this christmas morning.
But she only got to voice mail. Nevertheless, she left a message for him to listen to later.
She tried to call the other Avengers as well but no one seemed to be available, so she gave up.
She finished her coffee and left the mug in the sink for later, before she went over to her office to check her emails. She found a few and went through them before she started working through some files on her desk. Of course it was Christmas but where's the sense in celebrating all by herself. It would probably make her even more sad.
5 hours later she got up because her stomach started growling. She really needs to eat something, and there's also a headache forming behind her eyebrows. Nat got up, went over to the kitchen and grabbed some bread and peanut butter. She prepared her food and sat down, taking her phone again to try to call Carol again, but still nothing.
After finishing up her not really nutritious meal, she got up and walked into the direction of the gym to blow off some steam.
The redhead turned on music really loud and started punching the punching bag in the far corner of the gym.
Letting go of all her anger and frustration really felt good and after almost an hour Natasha turned to her phone to turn off the music and walked into the community showers next to the gym.
As the burning hot water hit her skin, Natasha realized how tense her muscles were and how much she needed this hot water to release said tension. She let out a long deep breath she didn't know she was holding.
Nat took her time to wash her hair with the shampoo, that always reminded her of Carol, simply because it smelled like hers and washing every inch of her tired body.
After she had rinsed her hair, she turned off the water and took a towel from the pile next to the showers and wrapped herself into it.
The former assassin left the showers to go to her room, but something was off. She grabbed a gun she hid, from underneath a bench in the gym and silently walked into the direction of the hallway.
She couldn't find anyone, so she went through the whole compound. But nothing.
"Your spy senses are playing tricks on you. дурак."
Natasha arrived back in the kitchen and put the gun on the counter and turned around to get a glass of water. But when she turned around, she felt a movement behind her and with the gun out of reach now she moved into a fighting position.
But instead of an imposter she saw warm brown eyes and blonde hair.
"Hey babe" the blonde woman opposite her said with a smirk.
"CAROL!" Nat yelped.
"Sorry for ignoring you earlier but I was on my way home when you called. I thought it might be a nice surprise."
The redhead didn't say anything. She just wrapped her arms around the taller woman and hugged her tight.
"This is the best. I missed you so much."
Carol wrapped her arms around Natasha as well.
"I missed you too. So much. I love you."
"I love you too."