REDEMPTION- MARVEL

• TWO •

2018

Cassandra sat up, crossing her arms over her stomach and sighing. Natasha sat up across from her, setting a hand on Cassandra's knee.

"What's wrong Cass?" Natasha asked, stifling a yawn.
"I don't know," she replied, shrugging and putting her hand over Natasha's.
"Come on Cassandra, you're not alright. You haven't been alright since New York, and you know it. But you won't talk to anyone, why?"
"Natasha you were in the Red Room. You know how we were taught. You bury your feelings until you don't feel them anymore. Asking for help gets you killed, and I-" Cassandra paused for a moment as two teardrops fell from her eye. "I've killed so many people," she sobbed.

Cassandra had never said that out loud before. At least not like this. Real people, with real families, and real lives. And they were dead because of her. She could never let that go. She was still a trained killer, she was still an assassin that brought death wherever she went. And no matter how many people she saved, no matter how many people loved her, there was nothing she could do that could ever take that away.

She looked up, her vision clouded by tears, at Natasha. Natasha's blue-green eyes stared into her's, shining with uncried tears. Cassandra exhaled, tears drawing lines through the dark eyeshadow around her eyes.

"And no matter how many magazines I'm on the cover of, no matter how many little girls tell me I'm their hero, no matter how many lives I save, nothing can replace all the people, some even children, I've killed. I've been trying to fix it for years, maybe if I do one more good thing, I'll be forgiven. But the guilt is still there and it always will be. And now my own brother is dead because of me."
"Cass you didn't have a choice, the Red Room, what they did to you, and me, it's not our faults," Natasha said, her voice breaking with almost every word.
"Natasha we could've said 'no'. They brainwashed and hurt us, but they never took away our words. We could've said 'no'. You could've shot those men, you could've killed Draykov and saved Yelena. I could've  saved the girl, I could've taken Dorothy with me. We would've died, but anything would be better than carrying that guilt," Cassandra said, a cold edge to her voice.
"Cassandra I was eleven," Natasha said sternly, sitting up taller.
"And I was thirteen. And then fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. I've been a murderer for most of my childhood, and all of my adult life. That will never change."

Natasha was staring at her with her mouth wide open. Her eyes were red, and her hands were clenched in fists in her lap. She was angry, hurt, sad, and shocked at the same time. How dare Cassandra tell her that she should've done more to keep Yelena safe that day. Natasha broke down, keeping eye contact with Cassandra as she weeped.

The angry look in Cassandra's eyes slowly faded, once her head cleared and she realized what she'd said. Cassandra tried to set a hand on Natasha's shoulder, but she shrugged it away.

"Natasha-"
"Молчи," Natasha said, getting out of bed, walking to the bathroom and slamming the door.

Cassandra closed her eyes, a tear slipping through her eyelash. She was a horrible person. Cassandra sat in the bed staring at the wall listening to Natasha cry in the bathroom.

After there were no noises coming from the bathroom, and Cassandra finally stopped crying, Natasha returned from the bathroom. Her cheeks and nose were red, and her hair was clipped away from her face. She didn't look at Cassandra as she left the room, roughly shutting the door behind her.

"Why did you say that, you idiot. You absolute Мудак."

Cassandra dragged her hands down her face, sliding off the bed and opening the door. Bruce was walking down the hall, a worried look on his face. He stopped in front of her, pointing behind him.

"Hey Cass is Nat alright?" Cassandra shook her head, rubbing her eyes.
"No, Bruce, I screwed up. I need to talk to her, I really messed up."
"Ok, she went down that way, I think she was going outside," he said quickly, patting her on the shoulder and moving out of the way.

She jogged through the Compound, past the training room, and stopped. The wall the faced the grounds was one giant window, and from it she could see Natasha's white blonde hair, on her knees in front of the cherry blossom tree.

The wind picked up, blowing Cassandra's hair around as she ran outside. She slowed down just short of Natasha and the cherry blossom tree, hearing a soft melody barely above a hum. The humming stopped as Cassandra crept closer to the tree.

Natasha was holding a picture in her hands, hugging it to her chest. Cassandra saw a part of the picture, a young blonde girl, sticking out her tongue at the camera.

"It was real to me too, it was real to me too," Natasha whispered into her hands.

"Natasha?" Cassandra said, just above a whisper.
"Ya know I haven't seen her for three years. We said goodbye, and then nothing. I heard from her once, she was just telling me that they had healed more Widows, and then this happened. And now she's gone," Natasha said, no emotion in her voice.
"Natasha I'm sorry," she said, her voice breaking.
"Now I know how it feels," she said, ignoring Cassandra. "How it feels to be so horribly broken."

Cassandra kneeled down next to Natasha, but she couldn't get herself to look at her.

"Yelena was my everything, I did everything I could to protect her. But I suppose that eleven year old me didn't do enough," Natasha said, venom in her tone.
"Natasha I didn't mean it I-"
"I don't believe you. We were raised as liars. In the Red Room, Hydra," she motioned to Cassandra. "even S.H.I.E.L.D."

Cassandra gently set her hand on Natasha's shoulder, looking at her.

"I'm sorry, you can believe me when I say that. If you want to stay away from me I understand, I won't bother you. I'm sorry Natasha. I love you."

Cassandra stood up, walking away. Natasha may never love her again, and that was ok. It broke her heart, but it was better than living through a relationship filled with lies. As she walked away, she felt a drop of rain on her arm. Then two more. She looked back as the rain picked up, the wind rustling the pink blossoms of the cherry tree. She saw Natasha lower her head as the rain fell on top of her. Cassandra felt a tear drop down her cheek as she went inside.

couples in marvel never get a break do they?
i hope yall liked this chapter, i'm pretty proud of how it turned out.
this book will probably not be updated for a while, cause i start school tomorrow so i won't be active.
ok ily all sm, have a great rest of your day <3