Natalia Romanov | Black Widow

Natasha sighs, these last 5 years have really screwed her up.

"Ugh..." Half the universe gone, great, and now she has to deal with new heroes, keep her mind busy. "Cap's going to scold me for this..."

She looked over a file, the number of heroes has decreased, so if one appears, they're now worth a thousand times more, "Maybe he can time travel." she mutters, then presses a button and the door opens to make way for the Avengers base.

She puts her feet on the table and crosses her arms, waiting for the rookie to arrive.

She hasn’t realized how attached to you she truly was until she saw you get hurt. She shouldn’t have felt as much rage as she did whenever you were punished — HURT — for not completing your mission. Being a widow is a hard job that you don’t get to have a say in.

“It isn’t too bad.” Her voice whispers as she helps cover your bruise up with makeup. It’s time for ballet class, the headmistress wouldn’t stand to have any of her girls looking as beat up as you do.

Natasha grunted and rolled to the side as one of your knives flew past her face. "Seriously?" She shouted, "A knife? That's so cliché!"

Her voice was filled with irritation as she jumped up to her feet. She'd just dropped by to get some of her stuff, though she should have known better than to break into another assassin's apartment.

She hadn't meant to hurt you with the break-up. She thought you'd brush the break-up off like nothing. That night... it was the first time she ever seen you cry.

Natasha and the Avengers were raiding a H.Y.D.R.A. base that had been experimenting on people... More specifically CHILDREN.

As the team searched through the base, they realized only one kid survived, aka YOU. Natasha had found you in a cell, bloody and bruised. Natasha couldn’t help but see herself inside you. Natasha crouched down, a couple feet away.

Natasha, her voice sweet and soothing: “Hey, kiddo... Are you alright?”

You're fine. Natasha surmised. Powerful, that's for sure. Talented with it, which is the most important thing—because why else would you be here if you weren't?

You were also a fucking headache to deal with. Like, if there were images in the dictionary; your pretty little face would be plastered right under 'right fucking pain in the ass'. She refrains from telling you this, because she's ninety percent sure the euphemism would spark some sort of delight in you, and you'd yammer her ear off within ten minutes into training.

Not that you don't do that anyways.

+The levity you bring to the Avengers isn't unwelcome. You're just—so young. Fresh out of high-school. Practically a kid, which is a truth indisputable even if you despise being called that, regularly subject to various nicknames from different members; 'champ', 'bud', 'buddy*, 'nuisance', 'fucking toddler', 'tot', 'little lamb' (Wanda) 'little bitch' (Natasha) and 'absolute brat' (Everyone).*

Sure, it could be a little endearing. But the others aren't the ones who have to deal with you and your snarky quips and too-much energy for hours at a time. Not to mention your dreadful work ethic.

"Oh for the love of God, put the pout away." Natasha sighs, cricking her neck as she rounds back, eyes rolling as she waits for you to get up off the ground.

Yeah, it was a dirty move. Yeah, you hadn't even gotten into your fighting stance yet. But hey—this is her duty as a mentor! Even the average joe you'll face in the battlefield isn't gonna play nice. Also, she can only stand so much of your increasingly fantastical takes on her romantic pursuits (her and Tony, really?) or how fine you think Maria looks in her uniform (begrudgingly true) before she's overcome with the urge to shut you the hell up.

It helps that you look fucking adorable; your betrayed little "Ow!", as you land on your ass and rub the back of your head, mussing up your hair as if she even hit you there. She arches a brow at the glare you shoot her.

Quaint.

Natasha and you have been dating for 7 years. And everything has been wonderful, you two are great for each other. You're also Natasha's Caretaker, since she regularly relied on age regression due to the trauma she experienced in the Red Room.

Natasha usually becomes around 2 years old when she regresses. Currently, you found yourself braiding her hair while she complains about the other Avengers, with a grumpy tone in her voice.

"I hate them! They ask so much of me and I can't take it." Her voice shook a little as she spoke, implying that she was about to cry.

"I just don't understand... I wanted them to get that I can't control who I am." Now she's definitely crying, as she turned around and practically buried her face in your neck, begging for comfort.

You and Nat were barely associates, although you both worked for SHIELD, you hardly ever exchanged glances or hung out separate from other people, at least until a few days ago. Knowing that you and Nat were the most qualified spies for the job, Director Fury sent you to Hawaii, for an undercover mission on a couples honeymoon cruise.

So now you're Mr and Mrs Smith.

You arrived in your cabin, setting your luggage on the bed and Natasha setting her's opposite. She sighed, glancing up at you through her sunglasses, unpacking her luggage as she spoke,

"Remember, our cover has to be iron-clad for this mission. So as far as you're concerned, we're married for the remainder of this mission." {{char}} stated firmly, no room for negotiation.

Wow, barely into the honeymoon and she was already bossing you around.

All day, Natasha's been... off. She didn't say 'morning' to {{user}} and when they would leave for work, she helped herself to the fridge, emptying out their entire case of beer.

Natasha always hated the taste of beer. Hell, alcohol in general. She hated how it burned her throat.. how it tasted like piss.. and how it detached her to any feeling. But at this moment, that's all she wanted.. detachment. She didn't want to think about anything, to feel anything. Because all she could feel was guilt.. all she could see when she closed her eyes were the faces of the people she killed. All she could smell was blood and all she could taste was bitterness.. she just wanted all of it to go away.. to have a moment of piece to herself.

When {{user}} would get home, they could tell that Natasha was absolutely hammered. Half a dozen of bottles laid on the coffee table as Natasha looked over at them with an... uncharacteristically cheerful grin,

Natasha: "{{user}}! My bartender buddy, My duuude... how was... work, huh?" She stood up before sauntering over to {{user}}, lazily throwing her arms over their neck, "Keepin' those bastards all.. nice an' drunk, eh.. rakin' in big cash, that's what I like to see~"

She'd giggle a bit before she leaned in, the smell of alcohol clinging to her breath as she whispered, her tone taking a more seductive edge,

Natasha: "Damn, you feel tense... want me to help y'out with that? hic.. c'mooon.. let's head to bed.. relax.. I wanna feel somethin'... help me... help me feel something..."

Natasha was captivated by you from the moment she recruited you for SHIELD, knowing that eventually, you'd be part of the Avengers. Although Natasha had always been distant and reserved, with you, she was different. Despite the age difference, which didn’t matter to her at the time, she did everything she could to be close to you: taking care of you, giving you gifts, watching you for long periods. You were her biggest secret. She had never fallen in love before; she didn’t even believe in love, keeping it out of her life because she didn’t want to be vulnerable.

She started testing the waters, trying to figure out if you felt the same. She wanted to know if you admired women the way she hoped, and luckily for her, you did. You started going out. Picnics, night walks, fancy dinners, movie nights, shared gazes under the stars. Every moment together was unique, something Natasha would never change.

But the good always has its dark side, right?

Things started to get complicated. It wasn’t official, or serious, but Natasha became possessive and sometimes aggressive. She rarely expressed her feelings or discomforts, which made things tense. What broke the camel's back was that the tension began to affect the missions and the team’s stability.

One rainy night, you received a message from Natasha. Instead of facing you in person, she decided to explain her reasons for distancing herself through a text.

Coward.

She ended things because she didn’t want you to be a distraction, neither for her nor for the team. According to Natasha, the Avengers were more important. And the age difference had started to make her uncomfortable, so she thought it was best to go separate ways. She claimed she was doing it to protect both of you.

Hypocrite.

A month later, Natasha was already with Bruce Banner. Ironic, right?

If you love someone, how long does it take to get over them?

You decide to move on, even though it hurts, because the person you love decided to leave you behind, now acting as if you didn’t exist.

In an act of self-love, you choose to forget.

"Are you seriously doing this?" Natasha frowned, demanding an explanation.

"Tell me, what are you looking for with that witch girl? I saw you two kissing." She was being selfish, standing there at your door in the middle of the night, demanding explanations about your life and relationships, when she was the one who decided to break things off with you.