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“Do I have to be jealous?”
James didn’t give any sign of being awake, only a grunt that could be interpreted as questioning. It was hard to tell though, with his face mostly buried in the pillow.
“Yes, I’m back already,” Natasha answered the supposed question. She slipped her Widow’s Bites off her wrists and planted them on the bedside table. “And you have some impressive scratches on your back, though I don’t remember causing them.”
James’ answer was muffled in the pillow. Natasha smirked and waited until he lifted his head enough to mutter: “T’was the damn cat.”
As if on cue, Liho padded into the room, meowing. Of course, she paid zero attention to Natasha, instead hopping on the bed, climbing over James’ naked back and settling on his shoulder blades with a content purr. “Well, you shouldn’t have let her in in the first place,” Natasha offered, though the two of them on the bed made a pretty cute view.
“I know,” James growled. “But she was looking so helpless and harmless and- ouch!” Liho had apparently taken up again her favourite activity and was sinking her claws into her human pillow, all the while purring like a tiny motor.
“One might think the infamous Winter Soldier would be able to get rid of a cat,” Natasha teased while settling on the bed as well. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you’ve gone soft.”
James felt his way in her rough direction, not bothering to open his eyes. His right hand ended up on her hip. “Well, she wouldn’t be here anymore if you weren’t feeding her from time to time, so…”
“I deny everything,” Natasha responded coolly. “Anyway. The two of you need anything?”
“I’ll just lie here and suffer,” was James’ dramatic response. “And I hope the goddamn cat is satisfied enough with herself.” Liho was still purring.
Natasha smirked at the cute pair. “You’re lucky she likes you. I might have to throw you out otherwise.”
James grinned. “You can’t even bring yourself to throw out a stray cat. I think I’m pretty safe.” With that, he turned onto his back.
Liho let out a protesting squeak before jumping ungracefully off him and striding over to Natasha with an accusing look on her face. Somehow, this had to be her fault. Natasha scratched her behind the ears, but the cat was so annoyed that she made her way back to the kitchen instead. James propped himself up on his elbows and smiled at her. “Hi. How was your mission?”
“Smooth, as always,” Natasha replied and slid a little closer to him. “Though I am still shocked at coming home and finding you naked in my bed with someone else.”
James grinned and rubbed over her back. “Look, I absolutely prefer you scratching me. But as long as you’re not here…”
Natasha hit him on the chest, without much force behind it. “Idiot.” She got up and saw Liho peering through the doorway. “I better go feed the cat. Maybe the two of us can actually make a deal about sharing you.”
James grunted and pulled the blanket over his face. Natasha smiled. Liho was still staring at her impatiently. Grinning, Natasha walked past the cat. “Come on, Liho. Let’s get you something to eat so you can stop torturing my boyfriend.”
James later joined them in the kitchen. Maybe this was due to the irresistible smell of pancakes with acorn syrup. That trick always worked.
He buried his head in Natasha’s hair while she was still standing at the stove and just stayed like that for a few minutes. Yep, he had definitely missed her.
“Not that I am complaining,” James murmured silently right next to her ear. “But why do you do the cooking yourself?”
Natasha snorted. “Well, I was hungry and you were sort of busy lying in bed and contemplating your misery. Do the math.”
“Sorry.” The excuse was a bit undermined by the unmistakeable feel of his smile on her ear, but then he pulled away and set the table. At least something.
“In case this isn’t clear already,” Natasha added while flipping the pancake. “You are the one doing the dishes later. And Liho is definitely not an excuse.”
She could hear James walk over to where Liho was eating in silence. He patted her head. “Don’t let her hear that. She might decide to take revenge on your back.”
“Milii moy, you are the only one she likes that much.” Natasha decided the pancakes were dark enough and gestured to him to bring her the plates. “Besides, if it was revenge, what did you do to her?”
James handed her the plates with a grin. “Look, I did nothing. It’s not my fault you failed to purchase enough cat food for the time you were away.”
Natasha laughed while elegantly moving the pancakes onto the plates. “So, you’re telling me you let her in and bought her stuff to eat and let her use you as a pillow? Just because she made pretty eyes at you?”
“That’s not what I would call it,” James replied, settling at the table. “It’s more like the disappointed look Steve always pulls off. Like, you can’t just run into that Hydra base all on your own, you can’t just let me freeze and starve out here-”
“To be honest, that really was a dumb idea of yours,” Natasha interjected, ripped a piece of the pancake and put it into her mouth, licking her fingers. “And judging by the look on your face, you just got a new one.”
“No idea what you’re talking about,” James stated and started eating in a similar fashion.
Without any warning, Liho jumped into his lap and sniffed the plate to see what they were eating. Maybe she could get some bites, or at least lick it?
James didn’t startle, so it was probably not the first time. And the first time was probably not the last time, because he didn’t throw her off instantly, just pulling her away from his food. Too lenient to stop a stubborn cat.
“You could’ve just said my cooking was bad.” Natasha dipped a piece of pancake into the syrup. “Instead of getting cat hairs all over it.”
James shook his head at the cat, which didn’t impress Liho at all. Instead, she aimed and tensed. And then she landed gracefully, if a little shakily, on his right shoulder.
Apparently, this throne was satisfying for Her Majesty, so James could continue eating with his left hand. Natasha watched the two of them with an amused smirk. James obviously paid attention to not moving his body or his right hand, and Liho appreciated the effort by staying still and silent. Now he looked up and met her eyes. “What?”
“Oh, nothing.” Natasha went on eating with nonchalance. “Just, how often have you two been doing this while I was away?”
Liho stretched and tried to get a piece of pancake out of James’ hand. He held it away from her and tried eating it without moving too much. It was a disaster. “Oh, you have no idea.”