Long Time No See • Natasha Romanoff

Part 18: They are one

Clint began to stock up on arrows from the combat room. He was loading all of the arrows into the quiver.

Pietro had raided someone's closet of shoes and took a pair for himself. He also put in a light long sleeve t-shirt. Wanda was looking out at the balcony where Thor and Vision were talking about something.

Tony was inserting a new AI into his suit given that Jarvis was longer available. He had gone for a voice that was female and had the name F.R.I.D.A.Y.

"Good evening boss." She replied. Her voice was soft and had an Irish accent.

Pietro was rummaging through Natasha's and Anya's wardrobe until he stumbled upon one of Anya's red leather jackets. He thought it would look good on his sister so he threw it at her. She caught it and inspected the jacket. She decided that it was a good match for her size.

Despite being much older than Wanda, Anya was still a fairly small human and only stood at 5'7.

Once on the ship Steve began his heroic speech to the newly formed avengers group.

"Ultron and Anya know were coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their life in peace. And that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we are what's wrong the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about wether he's right."

Wanda and Pietro started to evacuate the people of Sokovia away from the city. Banner and Barton were tasked with finding Natasha and Thor was assigned to find what Ultron was building.

~~~

"Why must I kill you?" Anya asked the woman sat in the cell opposite her. She was struggling to wrap her head around why she was asked to kill the redhead.

"You aren't who you truly are. They made you someone else." She began to explain whilst propping herself up against some boxes. Her head hurt for some reason. She wasn't exactly sure how she got here.

"They- gave me all I have now. They- are a part of me." It hurt Natasha to see her love in this state. The fact she didn't know who she was felt like her heart was being ripped out. To her Anya was an angle. Her Greek angel that was sent down to bring her the happiness she deserved. A star in a blanket of darkness. The light at the end of the tunnel. The reason she got out of bed. The reason she is who she is.

"You like donuts. Your papa used to bring them home from work. Your mama said you could eat all of the donuts you wanted." A small smile found a way into her lips because of the memory in that dark eating hall. When they most felt in love with one another.

This was Natasha's way of attempting to gain access to the real Anya. Remind her of all the good she's done in this world.

"Wether I like it or not this is me. The me you speak of, and the me with you right now. They are one." It was like the words went right through her. She showed no emotion. He voice was low and monotone.

"I like all of you. Even the bad parts." The Russian explained. She was still smiling, despite the situation, where she was in a cell and was talking to the soldier tasked with killing her.

This sparked something down deep in Anya. No one has ever looked past her bad reputation and figure and just looked at her like a human. The last time this happened was where she met Agent Coulson on the New York mission, but of course she didn't remember.

"The girl said the same thing." The brunette said in return. "She said you loved me." She bowed her head, not really comfortable about talking about her feelings. This was a positive for Nat as Anya also struggled to speak about emotions.

"I do. I love you Anya."

"No you don't! No one ever loves me!" She shouted, suddenly moved by her words. It made Natasha jump but it let her know she was piercing that thick layer she protected herself with.

"Μόνο οι γονείς μου με αγάπησαν! Και έχουν φύγει!"
"Only my parents loved me! And they are gone!"

A fire began to brew at the sound of the Greek language. She knew that it was only something brought out when alone with one another. She was proud to be Greek but didn't really share it because it was painful for her. This was a good sign.

"Σ 'αγαπώ και οι εκδικητές το κάνουν επίσης."
"I love you, and the Avengers do too."
She was so close to breaking the wall that separated the two, she could feel it.

"Ο καθένας με χρησιμοποιεί, όπως είμαι κάποιο αντικείμενο που είναι εμπορεύσιμο! Δεν είμαι έχω συναισθήματα."
"Everyone uses me like I'm some tradable item! I'm not I have feelings."

It clearly hurt her more than Natasha realised. Natasha's pain only came from the memories of her at the facility and at her home, but Anya's run much deeper than just the past itself.

Anya began to cry. It was only small water drops at the edges of her eyes but it was more than noticeable. This was always her worst fear. Belonging to someone. Having her freedom stripped and HYDRA made it a reality.

"So use those feelings. Try and remember." Natasha pleaded. It broke her heart to see her like this but she would break it a million times to finally be with her girlfriend again.

"It's too painful! They made it that way!" She shouted at the Russian who was just stood there opposite her, behind the bars.

"I'm here. You don't have to do it alone." There was silence. Only the sound of the two girls breathing.

There was a loud clank of a metal door to the right of Anya. She stood up and drew her gun immediately at the sound of danger.

"Anya no stop!" Natasha screamed. Just as she did so an arrow flew through the air, as Anya turned to evaluate the surroundings, the arrow panted itself in the centre of her forehead, sending a shock through brunettes fragile structure . She fell to the floor and her body became limp.

"Clint what the fuck are you doing?!" She yelled at he man guilty of shooting her.

"What? You screamed 'Anya no stop' so I just assumed the worst!" He defended.

"Get me out of here!" She continued to yell at Banner and Barton who came to her rescue.
Banner blasted the lock off the cell door and Natasha immediately jumped to her unconscious girlfriends side. "Help me get her out of here!" The three carried the body whilst, simultaneously, bickering about the action to incapacitate her.