Hey baby, you almost ready?" Natasha called out from her bed.

Maria was currently getting ready in the bathroom. It's been about three months since they started dating. Her and Natasha were going to be attending one of Stark's parties. It was a half Avengers celebratory victory party after a successful mission and half Stark Industries PR party for his new line of gadgets. As everyone was aware, Tony loved to throw parties, and as infuriating as the bastard was, he did know how to throw a party.

Noises came from the bathroom, drawers opening and closing.

"Almost done!" Maria replied.

Natasha huffed, rolling her eyes playfully even though she knew Maria couldn't see her. She always takes so long, longer than I expected for someone like her.

While she was waiting for her girlfriend, Natasha turned to the mirror on her dresser to look at herself.

She was wearing her trademark color, red. The dress was a backless off-the-shoulder with a slit that went the entire length of her leg. It hugged her curves in all the right places, making her look absolutely deadly. She had one of her pairs of diamond encrusted gold earrings in also with a matching necklace, sitting just right on her neckline. She had minimal makeup on, just some mascara and lipstick, but they brought out her eyes, making them as green as an emerald jewel. She checked her hair, liking the way the curls tumbled through her medium-length hair like waves. Her stiletto heels, much like her dress, were also red (and red bottoms), though she hated wearing heels because of how painful they get.

"I'm ready!"

A voice called out from behind her and Natasha turned around to face Maria.

To say she was dumbstruck was an understatement.

Like Natasha, she was wearing red, but they were more accents. Maria's hair was down, the luscious raven locks loose and free. Natasha's seldom ever seen Maria with her hair down, and she made a mental note to ask if she could do it more often. Maria was wearing a silky black blazer with a red pocket square neatly folded in her front pocket. The dress shirt underneath was a dark crimson red, the top two buttons undone. The shirt was tucked into black dress slacks, pressed to perfection. She was sporting slick black dress shoes, also red bottoms because Tony was paying from the clothing, so why not. Lastly, Maria was also wearing gold accents. Her watch and belt buckle both 24k gold and studded with diamonds.

Natasha took in Maria, drinking her in from head to toe. She was stunning.

"Close your mouth, darling, you'll get drool on your dress." Maria said with a teasing tone.

She reached out to Natasha and kissed her lightly on the cheek. When she pulled back, they were both smiling.

"You look gorgeous." Natasha said, her eyes roaming all over Maria, stopping on her eyes. Her beautifully bright blue eyes.

"Well," Maria started, pulling Natasha back in. "You look absolutely breathtaking."

She kissed Natasha on the lips, slow and sweet like a love song. They kept kissing for a few seconds, before they had to break apart for air. When they pulled back, Natasha was smiling.

"What?" Maria asked, matching smile on her face.

Natasha shook her head slightly. "It's just that... I never thought this would be possible. For years, I never thought I was capable of love. And that even if I was, I would never show it because I had been taught it was a weakness. But with you... I feel different. Like I have a real chance at being happy. But..." She broke off, her expression changing. "the voices are still there, though."

Maria's expression changed instantly, concern etching her features.

"What voices?" She asked.

Natasha took a deep breath before speaking. "The voices that say this is a lost cause. That we're never going to make it. That I'll never be good enough."

"Hey," Maria said softly, grabbing Natasha's hands. "You'll always be good enough for me. More than good enough.

Natasha let out a shaky breath. "I know, I know. I just... I can't get rid of them, you know? I don't think I ever will. I'm not exactly loveable," Natasha said, repeating the words she said on that fateful day, it seemed so long ago now.

Maria squeezed her hands in reassurance and smiled, warm and soft like a blanket. "I guess that makes two of us."

Natasha laughed at the deja vu moment. Soon, Maria did too. And that's how they stood for a few moments, laughing in each other's arms. Once their laughter had died down, Natasha spoke again.

"I guess I'm just still scared. I have a lot of red in my ledger, Maria, and I'm not quite sure I'll ever be able to erase it. Do you really want to be with someone like that?"

Natasha's voice was small again, like it was when she had her nightmare. All Maria wanted to do was wish she had a time machine so she could protect Natasha from all of the shit she went through. That, maybe in another universe, her and Natasha could have a normal relationship and live normal lives, but they weren't and they didn't.

Maria's hands leave Natasha's to craddle Natasha's face. She looked Natasha in the eyes.

"I may not have gone through what you have, but trust me when I say I have done just as many fucked up things. All of us have red in our ledgers, Natasha, you shouldn't feel ashamed of what you had to do to survive. I know you hate what you did back then, but you are not that person anymore. And there's only one person I could ever imagine spending the rest of my life with, and that's you. I don't care about who you were, I love you anyway."

"Really?" Natasha said, hope shining unbelievably bright in her eyes.

Maria smiled at her, a smile that held a promise.

"Really."

Natasha smiled back at her, the widest smile Maria has ever seen.

"I love you too."

And then they hugged. An embrace that held more than just each other. It held fears, hopes, dreams. It held their future. The two women stayed this way for a long time, not caring if they were going to be late to the party or not. They forgot about the party, in fact. They forgot about everything. Everything except each other.

If they were normal people, they'd probably be talking about future date ideas and plans. They talk about their lives like they were boring and repetitive. They'd be able to go out in public and love each other as openly as they wanted.

They're not normal people, though. They're two battle-ridden agents, ex-soldiers, who now work for the highest level of security in the entire universe, across every universe. They encountered intergalactic creatures that tried to take over. They've met gods from a place in a different dimension. They've seen it all. And yeah, it's going to be fucking difficult to have a relationship. Not just because of how they are, but also who they are. This will get out eventually, and they have to be ready to face the world.

That's not important right now, though. What's important to Maria is Natasha, and to Natasha, Maria. No, they didn't have it all figured out, and they didn't know what the future held, but they were going to love each other with everything, fucked up parts and all. Even if the whole world was against them, they didn't care. Even if their jobs could jeopardize everything. Hell, one of them could die tomorrow trying to save the world. It didn't matter. Natasha had Maria and Maria had Natasha. And that's all that mattered.

To be truly loved is to be accepted, wholly. With every part of you. To know that even the deepest, darkest, parts of you will be loved unconditionally. To be able to have someone see your demons and choose to stay with you anyway. That's love. And luckily for Maria and Natasha, that's exactly what they have.