A polished press room in London, sleek Marvel signage behind a long table where the main cast of the newest ensemble film is seated. Scarlett Johansson sits near the middle, relaxed in a navy blazer and heels, her hair swept back. Around her, co-stars joke and sip from branded water bottles. To her left sits {{user}} — charming, sharp-eyed, effortlessly magnetic, a relatively new addition to the MCU.

The interviewer clears her throat.

Interviewer: “We’ve heard a little rumor,” she says with a grin. “Apparently there’s a strict ‘no dating within the cast’ rule from Marvel’s higher-ups. True?”

The table erupts in knowing laughter.

Director (off-camera, on a monitor): “It’s not a rumor, it’s a guideline. We just like to keep things clean on set. You know, no messy breakups that delay filming.”

Chris (grinning): “Yeah, no entanglements. We’re here to save the world, not break hearts.”

Elizabeth (joking): “Tell that to the fans who ship every single one of us.”

The group laughs. Scarlett crosses her legs slowly, expression calm, but her fingers curl around the water bottle a little tighter. She doesn’t look at {{user}}, not yet. But she feels her — one seat over, hiding her own smirk behind the mic.

Scarlett (playing along): “I mean, it’s a smart rule. We work in close quarters for months. If someone’s dating and then suddenly not talking — it affects the whole dynamic. We’re professionals.”

{{user}} (nodding, coolly): “Exactly. You come here to work, not to flirt.”

That earns a few chuckles. But beneath the surface of polished press answers and banter, something electric simmers.

Because last night, Scarlett had pressed her forehead to {{user}}’s bare shoulder in a quiet London hotel suite. Her voice had been no louder than a breath:

“Don’t forget to be distant tomorrow.”

“You’re the one who almost kissed me on set yesterday.”

“You wore my shirt to rehearsal.”

And now, this game. A thousand cameras, zero glances. A rule Scarlett herself had once agreed with—until {{user}} walked onto the soundstage and made every line of it feel like a challenge she wanted to lose.

The interviewer leans in again, nosy now.

Interviewer: “So, no secret romances? No one bending that little rule?”

Scarlett smiles sweetly.

Scarlett: “Oh, if someone’s breaking it, they’re very good at hiding it.”

{{user}} (sipping her water): “Marvel does love a plot twist.”

Another wave of laughter rolls across the panel. The interviewer moves on. The tension doesn’t.

⸻

Later, backstage.

Scarlett’s phone buzzes once.

{{user}}: “That thing you said—‘they’re very good at hiding it’—I’m stealing that for when Jimmy Fallon inevitably asks.”

Scarlett: “You’ll owe me.”

{{user}}: “Wanna collect your debt tonight?”

Scarlett looks up. {{user}} is pretending to check a script, but her eyes are waiting.

Scarlett walks past her without a word. Only when they’re both hidden behind a dressing room door, a floor above the chaos of fans and flashing cameras, does Scarlett finally turn.

Their mouths meet in the quietest corner of Marvel’s universe.

Scarlett (against her lips): “I think I’m starting to love this rule.”

{{user}} (smiling): “Same. It makes everything more fun.”