A Different Call

In The Wrong Business

A.N. This is just a nice piece of fluff - for the most part- before I hit with about two chapters of the angst train. Also, the title is mainly just because I thought it'd be a cool easter egg, though this chapter does tie into the conversation that this line is from.

Natasha's P.O.V.

"There any reason that you're at my door at," Hunter pulled out this phone, "Midnight with a delicious looking bottle of whiskey?"

I shrugged and stepped into the room, "Just making sure that you don't have a concussion, you know...from when May shot you." I made my way to Hunter's bed.

"And what's the whiskey for? Not that I'm complaining, just curious."

"To celebrate that from my brief look at you, you don't have a concussion." I pull Hunter's laptop toward me. "Please tell me there isn't currently any porn pulled up on this?"

"You think that little of me. I wouldn't have answered my door if that's what I was doing. No, I'm watching some standup on Netflix. Some guy named John Mulaney." Hunter made his way to his truck and pulled out two glasses.

"Mind if I join you in watching?" I took a glass from Hunter and moved so that I was resting against the headboard.

"Sure, but do you need to talk about anything?" Hunter asked, taking a sip from his own glass.

I just shook my head and clicked on the video, taking a sip myself. We had made it through two specials and the whole bottle when I started to drift off.

"You okay Tash?" Hunter asked, noticing the state that I was in. "Can you make it back to your room okay," I noticed Hunter look down at how I was curled up, "Or do you want to stay here?"

"Can I say here?" I asked, setting the glass I was still holding onto the nightstand.

"Yeah sure, let me just make a pillow wall really quick?"

I couldn't tell if the look I gave him dripped sarcasm or made me look like a drunk college girl, but I really hoped it was the former. "First, we're adults Hunter and second you won't pull a move on me, because besides knowing that I will kick your ass you're in love with someone else."

"I wouldn't say that I'm in love with that secretary, I mean she was cute, but it was more of a one-off thing."

I rolled my eyes getting under the bedsheets, "I'm talking about Bobbi, Hunter."

"Um no. That was a mistake that I don't want to dabble in again."

I propped myself up on my elbow so that I was looking at Hunter, "Is that why you still have her wedding ring on your chain?" I plucked the item in question.

"That's in case I ever need to make some fast cash."

I rolled my eyes - I knew that ring would maybe get a couple hundred at a pawnshop if Hunter was lucky - but dropped the argument and dropped my body onto the bed. "If you asked me fifteen years ago what I would be doing now I probably would have answered with being dead. But now, now I just spent the longest span of sleeping alone that I've gone been through in about the last three years." Hunter pulled me closer at that statement and didn't fight back. "I don't even think that six years ago I could have imagined being this worried about someone who isn't myself."

"I'm sure Barton's ok," Hunter reassured, stroking my hair. "It's probably just been hard for him to get back to the states with the whole Hydra thing going on."

I just nodded solemnly before letting out a laugh, "I also admit that if you had told me five years ago that I would kiss Captain American I wouldn't have believed you either."

"Wait that really happened?"

I nodded, "He was okay, definitely nervous but not the worst I've dealt with."

We passed into a bit of awkward silence and I thought that Hunter had fallen asleep, but he surprised me by breaking the silence. "You know if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here to listen without judging or even offering help if you don't want it. I know that it sometimes you just want to talk and not have people try and fix whatever is going on. I also know that at some point compartmentalizing becomes too much and it can drive you crazy, at least that's my two cents from someone with a sucky childhood to someone with an even suckier childhood."

"Thank you," I said quietly, curling up a little more. If only I had known how much I would need someone to talk to in the upcoming days, and if I was being totally honest Hunter was probably tied for first on who I trusted most at the base.

Guess I was lying to Rogers when I said that he was in the wrong business for making friends, or maybe I was right and just ignoring my own advice. I would have had a more comfortable fast few months if I didn't have anyone else taking up part of my mind and my heart, I just hoped that I could get them back in hopefully one piece.