Officially, finally, the Avengers had returned to Avengers Tower. The press had been all over the event, and the Avengers had used it as an opportunity to introduce their new members. Rhodes, Skye, and Sam took the attention in stride, Pietro relished it, while Wanda was far less comfortable, preferring to make herself as low profile as she could.
As far as they could tell, the immediate threat from Hydra had dissipated. Even if Madame Hydra was still active, she seemed to be biding her time. They needed to be proactive and aggressive in hunting down Hydra cells, but hiding in a bunker wasn't the answer. The team had considered a few options for tracking down the Staff, Madam Hydra and the remaining Hydra cells, with little to show for it. Bruce and Tony had worked out a way to trace the Staff's radiation signature, but each time they got a lock and scrambled a team to investigate whoever had been there had vacated. Harry's 'point-me' spells did little better. They figured she was apparating frequently, never staying in one place for too long. While it was frustrating for them, it also meant that as long as they kept the pressure up, she would never be able to settle down, always looking over her shoulder.
Natasha hadn't had much in the way of downtime since Hydra had attacked them those weeks ago. She'd been busy- hunting down Hydra cells, sifting through intelligence, vetting ex-Shield agents, planning the defenses for the new Avengers facility in upstate New York… basically everything she could to avoid having to make a decision about her own life.
She scolded herself. She really needed to stop running.
It wasn't as if Harry, Wanda, and Skye hadn't been busy as well, and yet they found time for... other activities. In addition to training both Wanda and Skye, Harry had dove head first into Loki's book on Asgardian runes. He'd been coy with her about his progress, but it seemed his research had paid off if this little demonstration was anything to go by.
Harry had gone through the trouble of assembling as much of the team as was available (Clint was back with his family, Rhodes was back in D.C. to meet with a group of Senators), and he was acting like a kid showing off a school project, an innocent exuberance that she found impossibly endearing.
Steve had been ready when Harry asked for his Shield. "You see, whenever I tried to use runes before, they burned up immediately. The power was just too much. Back home, wizards used magic to reinforce the materials they used with runes to prevent this. However…" He grinned at Steve "Vibranium is a little different."
Understanding rippled across the room as Harry carefully traced out a pattern on the shield with his finger, leaving a faint glowing trail across the metal that slowly faded. After a few minutes of focus. He took a step back. "So, what did you do?" She asked.
"Protective runes." Harry replied, and then handed to shield back "Here, its time for a demonstration." Steve's eyes went wide, and he held the shield up reflexively as Harry quickly launched a spell at his legs, beneath the area the shield covered. However, instead of striking his legs, it bounced off of… seemingly nothing, ricocheting back into the room. Pietro immediately leapt into action, rushing Bruce out of the spell's path.
Harry, at least, looked sheepish. "Sorry!"
"Oh, its not big deal, its not like getting unexpectedly attacked could cause the other guy to come out." Bruce said, sarcasm and geniality somehow coexisting in that statement.
"Is this permanent?" Natasha redirected.
"I'm not sure." Harry answered "I know how to clear runes. I don't know how long they last on their own. Its one of the things we still need to figure out."
"So that leaves that leaves the question of where we're going to get more vibranium." Tony pitched. He'd been… mildly obsessed with this wonder-metal, and he'd asked Natasha to look into options.
"Well, we know Wakanda is a source of it." She answered, "But they're very isolationist, I doubt they'd willingly hand over any."
"You're not suggesting we steal it." Wanda interrupted.
"Of course not." She rebutted "But… someone already has." She walked to the front of the room, and Harry gave way, letting her navigate the computer. "Ulysses Klaw." She brought up his file "Arms dealer. According to the Wakandan government, he's stolen their entire stockpile of vibranium." She doubted that was true, but she didn't exactly have proof one way or the other "The records Skye has been going through have him selling to Shield… or rather, Hydra. It's probably how the material to make the Winter-" Steve tensed "Bucky's arm was acquired. There's nothing wrong with bringing an arms dealer that works with Hydra to justice."
"Do we know where he is?" Tony asked.
Natasha smiled "I don't think we'll have much trouble finding him."
-----
Bullets pinged nearby, deflected by the extended protection of Cap's shield. Skye was no stranger to combat, nor were any of the new members of the team, but there was always an adjustment to be made when working with new people. This was why the original Avengers had gone out of their way to rotate out the new roster on their missions against Hydra cells- and now while hunting down Klaw. None of these missions were extraordinarily dangerous, and they gave everyone the chance to sync up and get used to operating in different environments. They had lured Klaw into a trap by setting up a major buy in Lagos. Unfortunately, he'd gotten wise to the setup more quickly than they had anticipated. He'd set off an explosion to cover his getaway.
"Those wards are good." Skye remarked, knowing that even though Harry wasn't there, he was likely listening in over comms. His exclusion from this mission had been purposeful, after all, Skye already had experience fighting with him.
"Aren't they just a charm." Tony agreed. The runes Harry had inscribed on Cap's shield had blocked every bullet sent their way. Not only that, it had blocked Kaw's rigged explosion. Steve had been forced back into the wall, but behind him, Skye hadn't been touched. She had felt the impact of blast- force against vibranium- in her bones, like something deep inside her harmonized with it, but she hadn't been so much as signed by it. When the blast had cleared, the only sign of anything amiss was how the runes -previously invisible- had begun to glow casting the shadowy room in a faint ethereal light. It was a sign- Harry had said- that they were drawing a lot of power. "Imagine the tech I could make with all this vibranium, I wonder what runes he could cook up for the next generation Ironman suit."
Steve rolled his eyes "There's always-" He bashed the pesky gunman over the head "-another suit on you mind, isn't there?"
"Cap, looks like our target is attempting a getaway. Want me to intercept?" Sam Wilson voice chimed over comms.
"Take out their vehicles if you can but keep your distance." Steve told him "Tony, is the vibranium secure?"
"We have don't have much of it. Looks like they were trying to rip us off." He groused.
"It's common for black market dealers to keep most of their goods secure until they know a transaction is legit." Nat chimed in over comms. "We'll need to get the location out of Klaw, or one of his cronies."
Skye heard gunfire and an explosion outside. "They aren't going anywhere-" Sam started confidently.
Then Skye felt something charge up, once again her bones were singing in concert with it while her instincts cried out in warning. "Wilson, dodge!" She barked.
The weapon discharged, emitting a shrill ringing noise the pierced through the air. "Shit!" He cursed. "I almost lost a wing."
"Sam, stay low." Steve ordered "Everyone else, converge on the area. Harry, Pietro- standby." Having people who could act as reinforcements at a moments notice was handy.
Again, Skye felt the weapon charge up "They're about to fire again." She said through gritted teeth "I can feel it."
"I'll go first." Steve said "You try to disable them. Tony will ambush." She wasn't sure how her powers would interact with vibranium, but she was certain they would interact.
They emerged from cover, and Skye only had moments to take in the situation the burning wreckage of a car in the alley, Klaw and 5 henchmen taking cover however they could- behind the car, behind a dumpster, in a broke window-frame. Klaw, a rugged older man, wielded the weapon. For the moment, he seemed almost cocky- perhaps he actually thought he had the advantage. His weapon was a bulky gun with three prongs protruding from the end that visibly vibrated. As it charged up, the vibration ramped up in a feedback loop, and when Klaw depressed the trigger the tips of the prongs snapped to each other at a center-point, releasing the sonic energy in a beam that streaked towards Cap. It collided with his Shield to no visible effect, the vibranium shield effortlessly absorbed the energy.
For Skye, however, it bordered on painful. She winced as she clutched her head with one hand, while the other reached out to Klaw, clenching painfully at the air as she willed her powers into action. The arms dealer had done a double take at the complete lack of effect his weapon had had, and it had taken him a moment to regain his bearings and begin recharging it again. Skye would make sure he never had the chance, with her abilities, she could feel the vibranium as it vibrated. The metal called out to her with an almost entrancing song, impossible for her to miss, and she found, remarkably, that it responded to the slightest touch of her powers. The vibration, mercifully, ceased at her command, leaving the weapon useless.
Klaw would quickly surrender.
-----
Skye hadn't been expecting the knock at her door. It had been a long flight back from Lagos, and frankly she was hoping to just crash. She opened the door to find Natasha casually leaning on the doorframe, and she quickly reevaluated her outlook.
"You did good today." Natasha opened "Quick thinking, disabling the weapon."
Skye shrugged "Thanks. I'm no noob." An awkward pause "But I'm thinking you came here for more than business."
Natasha took a breath, steeling herself. "I am." The tension was thick in the air, the anticipation. So much was riding on this conversation, but part of Skye just wanted to skip past all of that and get to the… fun stuff.
"I'm sure you know that Harry and I talked about you." Nat opened. "Are you actually interested in me, having sex me? Me having sex with Harry?"
"Yes." Skye breathed.
"Most people wouldn't want someone else having sex with their boyfriend."
"I'm not most people." Skye returned "I don't… care about monogamy as much as most people." She didn't know why, but that possessive instinct that a lot of people possessed just didn't register with her, at least not nearly as much. "Frankly, I see this as a win-win." Natasha remained silent, so she continued "You and Harry get to try again, without the lies and misunderstandings. Wanda gets to explore her sexuality without worrying about her telepathy screwing things up. Harry gets to have sex with three women, of course." She smirked.
"And what about you? What do you get?"
"You."
Something in Natasha broke. "Fuck it."
Skye barely managed a "Huh?" before Nat's lips crashed against hers. She didn't hesitate, didn't hold back, putting everything into the kiss, and Skye was more than happy to let her. She didn't put up an ounce of resistance, folding and melting compliantly against her. She let Nat take, let her push her up against the wall, grip her almost painfully, kiss her so hard her lips bruised.
When Nat pulled up to breathe, Skye moaned- loudly and deliberately- hoping that she'd find the noise impossible to resist.
She was right. Nat was back on her in a flash, submerging her in another consuming kiss and manhandling her onto the bed. "You like to be dominated, is that right?" Nat panted from her perch above her.
"Yes please." Skye whined, and Nat gave her a smile that melted her insides. It was like a switch had been flipped and she was no longer in bed with her friend and coworker, but an apex predator that wanted to devour her whole. God, this was exactly what she had wanted. Natasha Romanoff, intimidatingly attractive and exquisitely dangerous, pinning Skye down and looking at her like she owned her.
"How nice of Harry then, to lend me his little whore." She crooned, cupping Skye's chin in her hand. This time, her moan wasn't voluntary in the slightest, but Nat silenced it with her lips regardless. They continued to make out, but Natasha's focus had shifted to disrobing her, taking opportunities to pull Skye's shirt, unclasping her bra, tugging down her jeans. She was relentless, never giving Skye time to breathe or regroup, always pushing and taking more.
It was so different than being with Harry. While Harry was an amazing gentle dom, at his core, he was a big softie. He didn't have Nat's killer instinct, and it was that primal, aggressive instinct that was currently turning her into hot jelly.
"I can see what Harry sees in you." She said as she appraised her nearly nude body, and Skye shivered at desire in her eyes "I imagine that you've become an expert cock sucker, but let's see if you're any good at eating pussy." She laced a hand through her hair and pulled her to her knees in front of the bed. Behind her, Skye heard the rustling of clothing, but as tempting as it was, she resisted the urge to look. "That's a good girl." She crooned, coming up behind her and stroking her hair "You really are eager to obey." Her tone wasn't indulgent, or overly sexual. Rather, she sounded like she was running on op- she was blunt, matter-of-fact, her tone brooked no argument and expected no hesitation. Of course Skye was eager to obey her.
Natasha circled back in front of her, and Skye's mouth went dry. She was every bit as glorious in reality as she had imagined- lithe muscles blended seamlessly with smooth curves, like an elegant weapon. "Go ahead." Nat told her "Start licking."
Skye scrambled forward, wasting no time in burying her face between Nat's legs. She admittedly didn't have nearly as much experience with cunnilingus as she did with blowjobs, but she tried to make up for that with enthusiasm. As she worked- licking and sucking messily- she took pride in the subtle signs of Nat's pleasure, how her breathing hitched, the way her hand clenched against her scalp, pulling her close, and how her hips began to cant against her mouth. Her restraint made the moment when she began to break even more satisfying.
"Oh fuck." Her moan was like a jolt of lightning, and it heralded Natasha's control finally crumbling. After a few moments, she turned Skye around and pinned her head against the bed, grinding her cunt against her mouth. "Fuck, fucking suck." One of her hands remained tangled in her hair, while the other was supporting her against the bed as her knees began to waver. Nat's breathing picked up and her moans became louder, but Nat's biggest tell was the motion of her hips. By the end, she was practically humping Skye's face. While vocally she seemed intent on controlling herself, her body spoke for itself, and it was clear that she was desperately pursuing her climax, riding the edge until…
"OOOOH! FUCK! OH FUCK!" Nat howled as she came, her hips mashing against Skye's face. Her sudden volume was as surprising as it was satisfying, and Skye happily rode out Natasha's orgasm, letting her grind herself to completion until she collapse against the bed.
While Nat panted on the bed, Skye stared blankly at the wall opposite her. The taste on her lips, the sound of Nat's heavy breathing, the memory of her body… all of it would be burned into her mind for a long time.