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"Aw, fuck," Maria said as she pushed the bedroom door open farther and squinted out into the apartment. Bright cursed sunlight was blasting through the windows because they didn't think to close the curtains for some stupid reason. The walls were horrendously, blazingly white, burning Maria's puffy, straining eyes. She leaned against the wall as she left the dark sanctuary of the bedroom. Her shoulder bumped against the pictures hung in the hall - various locations that Natasha had visited and actually enjoyed. Maria didn't want to look at them. The colors made her eyes feel like they were going to bleed.
Day three into Natasha weaning off her sleep medication and everything was Hell.
Nat said something in Russian, too low and far too slurred for Maria to make it out. Probably something about the fucking brightness. It’s like a flash bang went off in here. She ducked her head against Maria's chest and pulled the strings on the hoodie she stole from Maria to pull the hood tighter around her face. Maria tucked her closer, hellbent on getting them at least to the couch without either of them falling face-first to the floor.
They just needed to make it to the couch.
Day three and Maria couldn't help but wonder if they should have stayed at the Triskelion under the watchful eye of SHIELD medical. After finally being free of the hovering and prodding herself because of her hands, again, she was still thinking maybe they should have stayed. Or could go back. Goodnight would certainly be relieved.
Not happening. It's not my recovery and Nat doesn't want to go back so we aren't going back.
She squinted and dragged her feet through the steps necessary to get them into the living room, so close to the dining table and the kitchen - to coffee.
Natasha wanted to stop taking the sleep medication, and Maria wanted that for her, too. She wanted Nat to have all the freedom she wanted and more. Anything she wanted Maria would try her best to make it happen. But it was painful and a slow process, the doctor had said, and she couldn't do it alone.
Maria wasn't daunted. She told Goodnight that she would stay with Nat. She could and would help her girlfriend through the trials of withdrawals, insomnia, and sleep deprivation. Natasha shyly attempted to talk her down, out of the idea, but Maria wouldn't have it. She knew full well what the consequences would be, but she wouldn't leave Nat's side. So she stayed, and stayed up, in Nat and Yelena's two-bedroom apartment, curled around Natasha and exhausted to the point of pain.
The first night the twitching kept them both awake. They sat up and watched a dumb spy movie on Nat's laptop - and Natasha didn't sleep.
Neither did Maria.
On the second night, Nat asked Maria to wear her out. So she tried, again and again, until they were both over-sensitive and aching in the best kind of way. She wasn't offended when it didn't work - surprised and a little impressed, maybe, but not offended. At least they set a new personal record she could be proud of.
She stayed up again, talking and listening and soothing.
Natasha didn't sleep.
Maria stayed awake, too, accepting the giggles and silliness that came with being that tired. Nat said she was cute, ten minutes into a rant about Battlestar Galactica, and gently massaged the deep aching pain out of Maria's hands. That was a revelation. She didn't know when Nat learned how to do that, but it was an immediate relief and she almost cried at having the pain so lovingly diminished.
Now, on the third day, Maria wasn't sure she could make it anymore, but she desperately wanted to. Yelena was due back soon. Maybe they could tag team it. Her own body rebelled at the lack of sleep, even with her training and years of awful sleep schedule thanks to SHIELD. The crash was coming. She needed help. They needed help.
Suck it up. It's just you right now and you've got a mission to see through.
Breakfast. Coffee. Food and caffeine. So much caffeine. Maria forced her feet to shuffle, sliding along the floor toward the kitchen. She moved slowly because she was half-dead, and also because a near-zombified Natasha was hanging onto her as a life preserver.
"Babe," she said, half-whisper and half-groan. "Here, sit, sit here."
Nat melted off of her and into a chair at the little dining room table. "Masha."
"I know, let me get the coffee." Maria yawned so wide it hurt the corners of her mouth. She rubbed at her eyes in a futile attempt to make the stinging go away. Her stomach turned over as she stumbled into the modest kitchen, and searched through the cupboards to retrieve grounds and mugs.
Come on, brain. Focus. Make coffee. She blinked her eyes and blinked again, watching intently as her hands fumbled through the process of making coffee in Natasha's simple Mr. Coffee set up.
Nope. She groaned and dumped the grounds into an empty mug before putting a filter into the filter basket. Back to square one. Filter in the basket, Marine, what the fuck are you even doing? Can't you make a simple pot of coffee?
"My eyes are vibrating," Nat said with a groan. "I hate this part."
"I don't think we're going to make it without a nap today." I'm certainly not. Maria shook her head and resisted the urge to smack her cheeks. The hallucinations are going to start soon. You need to be ready for that. You both need to be ready for that.
Maria watched Natasha shiver. "Nat -"
"I'm fine, Maria," Natasha said, her voice throatier than normal, gritty, and slurred with lack of sleep. The one green eye visible in her makeshift hoodie-cowl-mask narrowed. "Don't start again."
"Don't start what again?" Yelena asked, plopping down next to her sister with a doughnut around her index finger.
Maria yelped and barely managed not to fly up to the ceiling and cling there in shock. She did, however, slam her hip into the island when she jolted forward. That was embarrassing by itself. Never mind she was certain her mouth had hung open for at least a full three seconds while she stared, goggle-eyed, at the sudden Yelena in her life.
She set the coffee mug she'd raised as a bludgeoning tool back to the counter to fill with delicious caffeine instead, and cleared her throat. "Yelena."
"Commander Maria, you're looking not so good. A little sleepy, perhaps?"
Maria avoided both sets of green eyes staring at her. Coffee. Make coffee. Need coffee. "Concerned about me, Yelena? That's touching."
"Concerned about my sister, who has chosen you. I guess that means I am worried about you because of her," Yelena said with a huff.
"Of course." As if Yelena hadn't lingered around Maria after the surgeries, muttering and wincing through her guilt in multiple apologies. "Well I appreciate it, but Nat's the one we are worried about."
Natasha was looking at her so very fondly, and Maria was determined to avoid meeting that adoring expression. I am not cute. I am cranky and formidable and did not just get snuck up on. Though if I did, it is mostly because it is Yelena Belova who did the sneaking. Surely I can be forgiven for letting someone of that caliber get the drop on me?
"So, as we were saying. What aren't we starting again?" Yelena grinned at her deep-fried dough ring and took a bite, smearing chocolate on her cheek. "Is it the sleep pill thing again? That again? You know that Mom said she'd help you with the withdrawals."
Maria blinked as her brain sluggishly whirled and tried to make sense of the wild Yelena that had popped in from fuckwhere else. "When the hell did -"
"I got in last night. Finished the mission early. I am amazing, I know." Yelena tilted her head, silky blonde hair falling across her shoulders. She huffed a breath to clear her new bangs out of her vision and grinned at Maria. "Oooh, really? You didn't notice that I am here too? That's embarrassing. Wow. I could have killed you so easy, you know? You can't lose a step, Commander Maria. My sister will be really upset if you get murdered."
"She's not allowed to get murdered." Natasha glared at the table, eyes painfully red-rimmed and bloodshot. She slumped down even more in her chair. "And no."
"No what? No, it's not the sleep pill thing, or no, to what? To Mom helping, or Mom saying she would help?" Yelena took another bite. On the opposite side of the first. She continued despite her mouthful, chewing thoughtfully between words. "Because I was there, I heard her say she would help you. In fact, it was more of a lecture than a suggestion. Why do you not want her to help? I thought you made up a bazillion times already?"
"Could you please swallow and then talk?" Maria asked, torn between amusement and disgust. Yelena and Nat both had a thing about food - and Maria couldn't blame them, knowing what she did about the Red Room. They could be so childish in their delight over junk food, but Yelena had a habit of talking with her mouth full. It was a habit she seemed to have picked up from Alexei, though how she maintained such a habit in the Red Room or around Melina was beyond Maria. "Did you not get - I got smacked in the back of the head on the good days for chewing with my mouth open. I can't - it's so hard to engage when I can see half-chewed dough rolling around your saliva-filled mouth."
Yelena shrugged. "So disengage, Commander Maria."
Maria sighed. "It's just Maria, Yelena."
"Commander Just Maria," Yelena said with a wide grin. "Got it. Won't happen again, Commander Just Maria. Is the Just part of the title or part of your name? Did you get it for being such a great upholder of American justice?"
"Yelena." Nat gave in and put her head down on the table. "Stop annoying our Masha."
"Fine, but she likes it, I can tell. Her face does that thing - that twitch? Yeah. That one. Her top lip and the right eyebrow." Yelena put her doughnut down on a napkin and twisted in her chair to poke Natasha's shoulder. "Do you want me to call Mom? You already let her help you with our Masha's han-"
"No, do not call Melina," Natasha interjected, quickly. "I'm fine. I don't need her hovering and chattering and monitoring me. Plus, Alexei will inevitably take it upon himself to keep me company."
Maria wrinkled her nose at the thought.
"It's not such a bad idea," she said."The monitoring part, not the Alexei war-story monologue of doom part."
"It's a terrible idea."
"Well I like it." Yelena shrugged. "It means less yelling and phone calls for me if you just let them help."
Another round of shivers wrenched up Nat's spine. Maria wobbled across the room to grab the blanket from the back of the couch and tucked it around Nat's trembling body. "For that right there - you probably should be monitored."
"It's only withdrawals." Nat shook her head and sat back up with a pink mark on her forehead and a glare in her eyes. "I want off the sleeping pills and Red Room serum. If I have to suffer through the shakes, hallucinations, and insomnia to do that, then I will. I have survived far worse than being a little sleepy and - and twitchy! This isn't even my first time having withdrawal symptoms. Trust me, these are minor."
"Okay, but what about -" Maria chewed her lip and glanced at Yelena. "Can you give us a minute?"
Yelena made a show of chewing her mouthful slowly, with her mouth closed, and watching Maria with the barest of a smirk as she did so. She finally swallowed, and the smirk spread to that familiar grin. "I live here, how is it you get to boss me around in my home, too? She's my sister, why can't I -"
Natasha kicked Yelena's chair. "Stop antagonizing her. She hasn't been sleeping either."
"That is because she chooses to stay in our apartment and sleep with a reformed Russian assassin who's going through withdrawals," Yelena said with a snort. "That's not my fault."
"Yelena," Natasha said, a firm warning in her darker tone.
"Fine, fine. Yeesh, you're both so cranky. Where's your cat, Natashka? I'll take my chances with the real claws."
"Bedroom, probably sleeping on my pillow," Maria said. She poured two large cups of coffee. Black as tar for herself while Nat's was more of a beige color thanks to all the flavored cream she dumped in it. "Coffee for me. Coffee-flavored sugar milk for you."
Nat wrapped both hands around the mug and leaned over the steam to inhale. "Thank you, Masha."
"You're welcome." Maria swallowed down the lump in her throat and burnt her tongue on the first sip of coffee. She stilled and listened intently for any signs of Yelena lurking about to drop some eaves. Satisfied they were actually alone, she sat down at the table and fixed Natasha with her most serious 'Commander Hill' expression. "What about when the dreams resurface?"
"I guess I'll have to put some coping mechanisms back in place. I could stay asleep before." Nat blew a stream of air across the surface of her coffee before taking a tentative sip. "SHIELD ripped out all my defenses, remember? That's why I ended up on the damn pills to begin with."
Maria winced. "I remember, yeah. I'm just worried about... if we were at the Triskelion you'd have access to Goodnight and I could get Roth on call if you needed your therapist."
"You don't have your therapist on call," Nat said. She pushed the hood back off her face and squinted over at Maria in the light. Her lips were in a tight line, though. No playfulness in sight. "I need to learn to cope again, not give up one crutch for another. As if it wasn't dangerous enough already to be dependent on medication for sleep. I managed just fine before."
"Managed." Maria shook her head. "Nat, I know exactly what that means and what it looks like. You know I do. It's okay to need help to get to a place where the nightmares are few and far between. I'm not saying stay on the pills, I'm suggesting maybe we stay at the Triskelion to have better help at hand."
Natasha rubbed at her forehead. "I need to be okay on my own."
"I know," Maria said. She slid her hands across the table to cover Nat's around the coffee mug.
"And I don't mean in some lonely, stoic, tormented soul kind of way." She rolled her eyes and a small smile picked up one corner of pale pink lips. "I just don't want to need a therapist on speed-dial. I need to be able to function in the field on my own. Here I don't need anyone else. I have you and Yelena. Hell, I even have Melina and Alexei attempting to be my parents if I need or ever want that. I'm saying we don't have to go to the Triskelion because I have everything I actually need to get better here already, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."
Yelena sauntered back into the room, a purring Liho lounging in her arms. "I have a great idea and it isn't because I've been listening to your super secret conversation. No, I just am good at coming up with ideas, Maria Hill, you know I am. You love my ideas. Natasha also."
Maria hid as much of her face as possible in her coffee mug. Not only would the liquid help her stay awake, it could hide her irritation and smother the groan that tried to escape her teeth. She did like Yelena, and Yelena also did have very good ideas a high percentage of the time. However, Maria was sleep deprived, cranky, and really wanted some peace and quiet.
Natasha squeezed Maria's wrist. "We're going to work on boundaries, Yelenka. What's your idea?"
"Instead of all this drama about going to the Triskelion, why don't you listen, Maria? She literally is saying that she doesn't want anybody but you for help - which is disgusting and mushy and I hate it so much - so why don't you go and do that disgusting elsewhere?" Yelena snuggled Liho up higher for a kiss on the head. "I will watch the cat."
Maria set her mug down and opened her mouth to argue, to list all the reasons why it wouldn't work... and then she stopped. Peace and quiet? "I'm already on leave and I could - Fury will let me work off-site. He knows what's going on."
Yelena snorted. "Yeah, of course he does. You two and the space one are his favorites."
The house. The beach. Maria, you moron.
She looked at Nat. Ragged, beautiful Natasha. She needed the chance for calm solitude when she wanted it, and a safe embrace to shelter in when she wanted that instead. "I know where to go."
"Right." Nick sounded more amused than annoyed. At least she thought his tone was leaning more towards amusement. "So you're just going to take our infamous former Russian assassin and leave?"
Maria nodded, even though he couldn't see her since they were on the phone. "Yes, I am. We'll come back. We're not riding off into the sunset."
Yet.
She fought the urge to relax back, deep into the soft pillow set up against the headboard. It would be the end for her, she'd be asleep in seconds and she knew it. She forced herself to stay upright, legs crossed, on Nat's queen-sized bed. Liho lounged next to her, purring away and accepting all the scritches and love she was willing to give.
Natasha flitted around the room, packing for both of them because the task was distracting her from her exhaustion.
"... and you're not using SHIELD assets because you want to be fully off-grid?"
Maria shook her head and refocused on the phone conversation she was supposed to be having.
"That's correct," she said. "I think she needs it, but I will call Dr. Goodnight and let her know the plan."
"Hold up." Nick chuckled. "You're just going to hop on a commercial plane to somewhere without telling us the exact location. While she's weaning off sleep medication and might suffer from hallucinations, flashbacks, and other trauma induced etcetera’s. This seems like a good idea, does it?"
"It's happening. We're leaving and I'm not telling you where. I'll have my laptop with me with the hope of getting caught up on field reports and all that icky admin work." She sighed and watched Natasha pause in packing to hold her hand out for the phone. "Hold for Romanoff, please."
Natasha didn't bother with pleasantries. She held the phone to her ear with a shoulder and continued folding clothes to stuff into their shared suitcase. "Nick. I will have a tranquilizer kit shipped to one of my drops, or I'll pick some up from a contact. If I have an episode that Maria deems dangerous she has my full permission to dart me."
Maria made a face at her. That's not happening. She took the phone back. "I will get a message to you to let you know we've safely arrived. We both know if you actually need me you'll be able to find me."
"I'll take this off the books. You'll be on your own as much as I can let you."
"Tell him I will relocate any agents I see tracking us," Natasha said. She smiled and zipped up the suitcase. "We're ready."
"I heard her." Nick laughed warmly. "She won't need to damage the ego of any SHIELD agents. If I send anyone out for you I will let you know ahead of time. I'm also smart enough to send a friend."
"Thank you for understanding," Maria said. "I'm glad I saved your life the last few times."
"We're tied now, Commander."
"No, this counts as saving your life. I'll be in touch." She disconnected the call and dropped her phone. "Shower?"
Natasha nodded. "Shower."
"This is really going to fuck up my sleep pattern," Nat said. She walked along beside Maria at a slow pace, taking in the sights around them as they wandered through the Reykjavik airport toward their seating area.
Maria glanced down at her side and pulled Natasha in closer. They were both flagging and Maria was doing her level best to keep them both moderately engaged and awake enough to navigate their flights and the airports. At least they only had the one last flight into France. I'll have to sleep on this leg. Need to be alert enough to handle the rental car and drive us safely to the house. "Probably. Maybe the jet lag will help? We'll be so fried the only thing our bodies can do will be reset and start over?"
"Unlikely, but we can hope." She smiled up at Maria and pushed some blonde hair out of her face. "How long is the layover again?"
"Two hours," Maria said and tugged at a lock of the wig hair. Her fingers itched to trace the arch of her stained blonde eyebrows too. The color change had done something soft to Nat's features, and Maria wanted to explore it. "You're cute as a blonde."
"You said that earlier."
"It was true earlier and it's true now." She led them into their boarding area and down into a loveseat section. The chairs were abysmal, but Natasha curled up against her with a sigh. "This is all going to be worth it, you know."
Nat hummed. "My temporary blonde hair? Should I keep it for longer? I could dye it."
"No, I would miss the red. I meant this sudden trip, the jet lag, the cute blondeness - all of this hassle will be worth it when we arrive," Maria said. She leaned her cheek against Nat's head and forced herself to keep her eyes open. "I promise. You're going to love where we're going. And if you don't, well, I'll be very sad but also we can leave."
"I'm sure I'll enjoy it, Maria. It's clearly somewhere important to you." Nat adjusted against Maria's shoulder and stuck her hand in Maria's hoodie pocket. "...I can't believe I let you talk me into leaving my emotional support knives at home."
"I'm sure we could have explained the murder objects to airport security." She snorted softly. "You'll have to make do with me."
"My emotional support human," Natasha said. The hand in Maria's pocket patted at her stomach. "I'll get you an official shirt. Now hug me, I'm cold."
Maria smiled and did as instructed, looping an arm around Natasha's shoulders. She glanced at the clock and did some quick math.
Day four and a half.
"Here, Nat, take the window," Maria said. She pressed her fingertips to Natasha's spine, urging her into their first-class seats.
Natasha looked at her, shock crossing her features in a second before a tired but full smile took over. "First class? How fancy."
I figured it was safer for everyone if we were up here. In case you fell asleep and something happened. Maria shook her head and shrugged. "We don't get vacation very often, might as well go for the full luxury deal, right?"
The look she received in return told her that Natasha was fully on to her already. At least she didn't disapprove. She shimmied across into her seat and immediately scanned the view outside the window. Maria settled beside her and got her backpack tucked away before taking Natasha's hand back into hers.
Apparently pleased with what she saw or didn't see outside, Nat turned from the view.
Maria took a deep breath as she noticed the dark circles under Natasha's eyes and how sunken they looked in the harsh airplane lighting.
"It's alright," Nat said. She pulled her hand away and did Maria's seat belt for her before reaching for her own. "It'll get better soon."
"Do you think you will be able to sleep on the plane?" Maria licked her lips and wished she could do something, anything, to make it better faster.
Natasha smiled, closed mouthed, and laid her head back against the seat. "Last time I flew commercial I was actually in the cargo hold. I slept the entire trip. Mostly because I knew I wasn't going to get to sleep again until after my mark was taken care of, but still... This is much comfier than that casket was. I prefer sharing a seat with you rather than the body of a - well, a body."
"Okay," Maria said, deciding not to push. Definitely have to ask about that later though. There’s a good story there. "If you - I will probably fall asleep. So, please, wake me if you need me."
By the time they were in the air, Natasha had adjusted her seat to recline as far as it could go and was using Maria as a pillow. Not long after that, Maria felt her breathing even out as Nat finally succumbed to much needed sleep.
Maria forced her eyes open, again and again, watching Natasha for the slightest of signs of distress. If she had a nightmare, often times she woke swiftly and a bit like a vampire in a horror movie. Her eyes would snap open, she might make the smallest of sounds, and then she'd sit up and stumble out of the bed in search of water and distraction.
Other times she woke gagging, crying, or shouting in one of the many languages she spoke.
And on the really bad nights she thrashed, clipping Maria more than once with a swiping punch, or knee to the gut. Those were the worst - not because of the possibility for injury, but because Natasha would fling herself away from Maria, sorry and horrified.
Then Maria would get to spend a number of days salvaging their relationship and coaxing Nat back into bed with her, joking about armored sleepwear and a mouth guard.
Natasha seemed far too drained to do anything but sleep and possibly whimper if her dreams turned on her. Maria just didn't want to drop the ball. She was supposed to be dependable, and Nat was supposed to be able to trust her. Maria had worked tirelessly to be one of Natasha's safe people and she didn't want to lose that now.
Just stay awake a little longer, Maria. Make sure she's good. She said she'd wake you.
Nat stirred and her even breaths hitched for a second before settling once more. Her weight relaxed against Maria's chest and side. Fingers curled around the collar of Maria's hoodie.
Maria's eyes stung with more than sleepiness. She smiled and let her head drift to set her cheek against Natasha's head.
"I'm here," she whispered. You're not alone. You're safe.
Her eyes closed.
"We're in France," Natasha said, taking in the sights around them. She grinned at Maria for a moment before the expression softened and she took Maria's nearest hand. "Your mother was French."
"French-Canadian," Maria corrected as she steered Nat through another bustling airport. "Oui."
"And your Grandmere, also French."
"Oui. She moved to Canada with my Grandpere." Her eyes hurt from the bright sunlight, but the deep sleep she'd tumbled into on the plane helped tremendously. She felt more awake than she had in days.
"France in the Spring. How romantic." Natasha also seemed to be feeling better after her bit of sleep, rough as it may have momentarily been. She was beaming up at Maria, holding onto her hand with both of hers and squeezing. "I've only been to Paris once when it wasn't for work and I didn't get to stay long."
Because murder? Maria paused and adjusted her backpack strap against her shoulder. "Do - do you want to stay in Paris for a bit? We could do that if you want."
The bright smile returned, though it had a bit of mischief to it. Nat's eyes sparkled in the light. "So we're not staying in Paris, and you've got something else planned for our destination. Perhaps an undisclosed family home?"
"Perhaps."
A sly smirk slid across Natasha's features, replacing the smile in an instant. She twitched her eyebrow and stared hard into Maria's eyes. "Why, Maria Hill, do you have secrets?"
"A few," Maria said with a smile of her own, pleased to see the return of playful Natasha. "This is the only secret I've kept from you, and it wasn't on purpose. Worked out though, now I can use it for a surprise."
"Lead the way then. I'm excited to get there."
"We're going to need coffee and some food first, Nat," Maria headed for the rental car pick up, Natasha following close behind. "We'll get the car, find a cafe, and then you get the surprise."
"I'm already surprised."
"It really is beautiful," Maria said as she took Natasha's hand and breathed in a deep lungful of crisp ocean-scented air. "I'd forgotten. I love this beach. Let's never go back."
Four days into their impromptu sojourn and Maria thought she could really get used to being Marian Hardy for the rest of forever. As rough as the nights had been at first it didn't last long. The utter tranquility of seaside Brittany had lulled them both into their most relaxed selves and lured them gently into restful nights.
Spending the day traipsing around the cozy cottage barefoot, lounging about without a care for the work surely piling up at home - it was all healing in a way she hadn’t anticipated. Nat slowly returned to herself and then a different version of herself that Maria hadn't yet seen. A playful, soft, and wholly romantic Natasha.
Maria never wanted to leave.
They wandered down the beach in the evenings, bellies full of home cooked food and a glass of exceptional wine. It felt like retirement. A dream.
Natasha hummed something beside her and swung their hands playfully. "You know, Yelena will never forgive you for having a secret French beach house."
The mention of home jarred Maria from her daydream. She shook her head and smiled wistfully at the horizon.
"I'm not sure how secret it actually is." Or how long it will stay sacred, or when we'll be able to come back again. Maria sighed and raised their entwined hands to kiss the back of Nat's. "We did get that care package."
A box arrived a day after they'd settled, not at the cottage but in Natasha's drop box in Paris. No return address, no name at all anywhere. Just a dark red, fuzzy, soft, sherpa-lined blanket. It was put to service immediately. Natasha took an instant liking to it and it went with them everywhere for cuddles and sleep, while Maria spent a solid day stewing over who had figured out they were in France. The list was short.
She did like the blanket, and that was its own annoyance. Someone knew where they were, and sent something thoughtful and sweet.
Maria was certain she would be conditioned to only sleep with it from now on - and if Yelena was the one who sent it to them that was probably her master plan. Somehow. Phase one, get Maria addicted to the blanket. Phase two, the blanket disappears and Maria loses her mind trying to find it. Phase three, probably a blanket hostage that she has to divulge some embarrassing information to rescue. Or something like that.
"Do you want me to unravel the mystery of the snuggle blankie?" Nat asked with laughter lurking behind every word. "I can track down the mastermind behind this most terrible scheme. How dare they send us such a lovely gift that helps us sleep!"
"No, but it would be nice to say thank you, I suppose." Maria stopped and glanced around at their surroundings. Empty pristine beach, the water right there lapping evenly at the shore, a gorgeous sunset sky. Perfect. She tugged at Natasha's hand in warning and then dropped unceremoniously into the soft sand.
Nat laughed and laughed harder when Maria pulled her down, too. They tussled for a moment, grinning like fools and stealing kisses like the young honeymooners they sometimes saw in the cafes. Eventually Natasha settled, her back against Maria's chest, safe and sheltered.
"Vacation suits you," Natasha said. She turned and smiled at Maria, then pressed a kiss to her jaw. "You're happier here."
"This isn't a vacation." Maria wrapped her arms snugly around Nat and sighed happily for the billionth time since their arrival. "And I'm happier because you're happy. You're actually getting restful sleep, you're more relaxed, and we haven't had to call anyone for help."
Nat shrugged. "Must be the French air."
"Yeah." We'll call it that. Maria smiled to herself and knocked their heads gently together. "I'll send Yelena some flowers to thank her for the idea."
"With no return address?"
"With no return address."
Day nine into Natasha weaning off her sleep medication and everything was, well, not quite heavenly, but it was going much, much better.