VENUS VADYAEVA. RED Room trained assassin, graduate of the Black Widow program. She'd nearly always been at the top of the class. Cold; smart; ruthless. The qualities that they were looking for. It'd taken a little while, but eventually, she'd gotte...
"I'M SORRY?" FURY'S face was incredulous, twisted with disbelief that was entwined with surprise. Venus leaned forwards, no trace of the smirk on her face as she leaned forwards, an exact mirror to how Natasha was sitting, her hands clasped as she repeated her answer.
"I said 'no.'"
"You do understand what I'm offering?" Fury seemed genuinely perplexed by her answer, as if this had never happened to her before. It hadn't. He was giving her the chance at redemption, something that he'd only done once before, with Natasha, and she had said yes, though after consideration. This woman had declined almost immediately, though she had clearly thought about it. It confused him. She would be safe here, she would be with Natasha, who she had some form of relationship with, she'd be able to continue what she was doing, her line of work, which she seemed to be exceptionally good at. There were so many benefits, and yet, she'd still said no.
"I understand perfectly well," if it were anyone else, he would've been expecting their voice to be dripping with venom, the speaker practically hissing the words out, but this woman, Venus, wasn't 'anyone else' and her tone was as blank as it had been form the beginning, "I'm just choosing not to accept it." The room was silent for a few seconds as everyone took the time to process what Venus had said, before Fury let out a grumble of rushed words and strode out of the room, beckoning Clint after him as he called instructions over his shoulder.
"Barton, with me. Romanoff, take her back to the holding cell." Venus met Natasha's gaze without a second thought, only to find the redhead looking at her wit ha slight frown as if she'd made mistake. Venus had her reasons, whether other people deemed them good enough or not, and she wouldn't let the fact that all of them thought she had made the wrong decision affect her confidence - or at least, the visual part of it.
In truth, she was already regretting her decision, and she had to keep reminding herself of her reasons in her head, as if she hoped that that would make them more valid, more understandable. She couldn't let them see her regret. She hadn't let anyone into her walls. The gates had been firmly locked since the first few years of her life, so hidden that you wouldn't bee able to get in even if you had a key. The walk was completely silent, neither of them exhibiting any sign of recognition of the other, each of them marching to the silent commands of their own thoughts. Once again, Venus didn't even acknowledge the door opening or closing behind her, and simply lay down on the bed as she had become so accustomed to doing, as Natasha began to let her guard down outside. Clint joined her about half an hour later, seeing the redhead staring determinedly at an old coffee stain on the floor. She glanced up at the first sound of footsteps, uncrossing her arms and pushing herself off of the wall as she greeted the new arrival with confused eyes.
"What is it?" Clint's inquiry seemed to ring through the thick air of the hallway, echoing through Natasha's head, that was already buzzing with the sound of her own thoughts.
"It's just.." she trailed off, as if trying to figure out if she was phrasing it right, her features pulling into a frown, "I wish I could say it isn't like her, but that wouldn't be true." She had always admired Venus, mostly before the woman's conditioning, surprised by the amount of courage that she would show. Natasha would often find herself fuelled to act similarly by what Venus was doing, but she'd known the rules, and hadn't been brave enough to do the same. Clint's face twisted into a similar look as he contemplated what to say. He didn't know much about the woman in the holding cell they stood outside, but from the effect she seemed to have on Natasha, they must have known each other well.
"I'm sure she has her reasons," nevertheless, Clint had always been good at comforting people, a skill that had only developed as his family grew. All he could do right now was hope that he was right about what he was saying.
"She will, but they'll probably only make sense in her head," Natasha sighed out, trying to look on the lighter side of things as she reflected on times gone past, and the way that if they were caught, Venus would often say something instinctively without thinking about it due to the rush of fear and adrenaline she felt. Of course, they'd trained her out of that long before SHIELD had taken Natasha in. But, it was still one of the things that Natasha remembered her for, something that had scared her at the time, but now, she just might be able to look back on with a pleasant familiarity coursing through her veins.
"You should talk to her," Clint suggested, watching his best friend closely, evaluating what she was feeling to the best extent he could. It was like walking on an invisible path. You didn't even know if you were doing or saying the right thing until you had done it, and then there would be no return, you'd simply fall into the gaping void of darkness below. However, he seemed to still be standing, trudging along the walkway, because Natasha's frown became fore considerate than confused.
"Alone," he added, as if the message hadn't been clear. He didn't like seeing Natasha like this, so torn, not knowing what to do. It wasn't like her.
"Yeah, I'll do that," Natasha agreed eventually, and Clint almost sagged in relief before she continued, "but not like this." The redhead that he'd known for two years now set off in a determined march, striding down the corridor and leaving Clint alone again, mirroring the events of a few days prior, though this time Clint murmured something under his breath, glanced at the door to the holding cell, and began to walk away.
Neither of them had seemed to remember that Venus could hear them talking outside, however muffled their voices were. She'd still managed to make out their words, and Venus shifted where she lay, considering where this was going, before rolling onto her side away from the camera as she stared at the cracked plaster wall only a few inches in front of her face. And for once, her demons caught up to her by daylight. Her façade dropped, revealing anxious golden eyes that flitted across the wall, and a tired face that hadn't gotten any sleep in days.
Where this was going, Venus didn't know. She wasn't even sure that she wanted to find out.
{A/N:} This chapter isn't the best tbh, again, not that much happens, but hopefully it's enough to last you until Monday. Anyway, I kinda just wanted to write something and it's an extra chapter, so yeah.
For those of you who know the 100, I decided to start a new fanfic (surprise, surprise) but basically where the main character is Nat caus I think she'd be awesome in it. If any of you are interested, the first chapter's up, it is a Lexa fic because she's amazing, and there are way too many Bellamy fics :/. Anyway,
Pls vote, comment, etc., let me know what you think,
1260 Words
Written: 05 / 02 / 2021
Published: 05 / 02 / 2021
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