Work Text:
Natasha knew that she was being selfish. She knew that she was needed literally everywhere else, but not here. All her instincts, conditioning and training told her so. Heck, everyone else told her so too.
You can't go off the grid, Nat. We need you.
And she knew that. She always made herself come back at the end of the day, no matter if that day turned into a couple of weeks or months. She'd always come back. It was out of obligation more than anything.
The city was her home too, but in a wildly different manner. She loved how the buses would rock her after a long day, violently back and forth, a comforting familiarity and urgency that never failed to soothe her. She loved being able to get pizza delivered to her doorstep at five in the morning. Despite the crime rate, the smell of urine on hot days and ever-present floods of people. They were all in it together, in a strange way.
But this was hers alone. Natasha never had somewhere that was just hers, had never been permitted to. Forever stuffed into communal spaces and shared living. It had always been a wishful dream of hers to get away.
She envied Clint and Laura's farm, the home that they built for themselves and their family. She had never let herself imagine what life could look like in a house, far removed from every responsibility that had been thrust upon her since early childhood. It still hurt that she never had a choice. Everything that was taken from her since before she could remember. The pain of that was so unique and tethering that she couldn't allow herself to consider it for too long.
One afternoon she had allowed herself to dream. She was browsing for clothes when an ad made her scroll back up, a green square with rolling landscapes and pictures of houses in different styles and locations. Want to get away from it all? Remote housing for all your reclusive needs! It read in big block letters. She smirked at the ridiculousness of it. It took her to a website filled with property listings all over the US and she scrolled for a little while, intrigued.
And then the world seemed to come to a stand-still.
A modest property, no heating, no electricity, no running water. She wouldn't call it a cabin, or a cottage, the words were too small for what she felt. Even though the size of the building would have matched those descriptions. It stood out starkly against the surrounding woods, proudly and unabashed on top of a slope, overlooking the tops of the trees in the valley below, surrounded by towering mountains.
Natasha was there in less than a week and paid cash. Packing only the essentials and a few of her most prized possessions, a couple of books and random items she'd acquired over the years. She had entrusted Clint with her whereabouts, knowing that he'd be the only one with a chance of understanding. Once in town, a small one tucked behind a mountain range in rural Wyoming, she stocked up on canned goods, staples like rice, beans and lentils, a small supply of fresh greens.
Pulling up to the property, she felt nervous like she hadn't been in a long time. She imagined this was what normal people felt before they went on a long awaited date.
A small plot of land stretched in front of the house (house would have to do as far as what-to-call-this-place-that-made-her-feel-all-these-things went) acting as yard space, nothing separating the housing area from the surrounding forest. The grass melted effortlessly into the moss and pine needle floor of the woods. Someone must have worked hard to turn this plot of land into one that grows healthy grass.
Natasha was spellbound by the beauty and silence of it all. An old fashioned water pump stood off to the side of the house, the kind you had to pump up and down for water to come out. Almost tucked into the forest was a structure, just a roof on poles, really, with firewood stacked up all the way to the ceiling.
This was exactly what she needed.
***
After the first month she was on a supply run in town, when she spotted the local shelter. She'd seen it there before, couldn't not see it, because of the size of the community. But it had never been open before. A tiny, hole in the wall facility, with just a few different animals, she guessed. Putting away her haul of fuel, candles and matches, she saw a pair of kind brown eyes staring at her.
Natasha couldn't explain in any other way; she felt monstrously compelled to stare right back, to maintain eye contact with this creature until the day she died.
She signed the papers thirty minutes later, lugging a box of dog supplies in her arms, the loop of the leash around her wrist.
The dog panted excitedly as she started the engine of her muddy pick up truck. Natasha couldn't help but grin.
***
She spent a couple of months in total radio silence. She checked in with Clint once in a while, sometimes just talking about random things, or something new Nathaniel had done that day. But she was content in the mountains. A pleasant buzz seemed to surround her, satisfied with the calm, the view, the silent companionship of her new furry friend.
***
It was just another day in paradise for Natasha Romanoff. She was dutifully chopping firewood, pulling her flannel shirt tightly around herself periodically, cold seeping into her bones as the weather grew more unforgiving each day. She perked up immediately as the unmistakable sound of wheels against gravel approached, head whipping around to glare at the road approaching her sanctuary. A car, expensive, something you could probably pull out of Stark's arsenal, came speeding rapidly through the winding path to the unofficial parking space next to her own car.
Natasha put her axe down and took off her work gloves (sturdy cotton ones now, rather than the leather ones of her catsuit) as Wanda freaking Maximoff stepped out of the drivers seat.
A small whip of grey fur sped past Natasha and up to the new arrival, barking excitedly, circling the surprised girl until she knelt to reward the dog with careful pats.
Natasha buttoned herself up as she walked towards the pair, only having time to do a few of the bottom ones before she was in hearing distance. "I see you've met Margot." She stated bemusedly.
Wanda glanced up at her.
"Is strange, I thought you would have liked a cat better. A dog seems...too rambunctious." She said while Margot busied herself licking the strangers fingers for no apparent reason, making the girl laugh.
"She sort of made me get her, I like to think." Natasha replied, cocking her head slightly to the side as she considered the picture in front of her. They looked good together. Happy.
"How'd you find me?" Natasha asked as Wanda stood, voice soft and only a little resentful that her private bubble had been breached.
Wanda straightened and looked Natasha in the eye for the first time in months. Heat spread across both their cheeks, embarrassingly enough, as green met green.
"Clint finally shared his intel. It took some persuasion. And free babysitting sessions."
Natasha snorted. If Clint would tell anyone she should have figured it would be Wanda. The Scarlet Witch had the archer wrapped around her little finger, and Natasha was surprised it had taken him this long to divulge her location to the girl.
"What are you doing here, Wanda?"
Wanda broke their staring match and pulled out a duffel bag from the backseat of the car she'd showed up in.
"I am staying with you." Wanda stated determinately. It was clear that the girl wasn't just talking about Natasha's house, out here in the wilderness, far removed from all the comforts of society. Her heart warmed at the sentiment. With you.