Salvo ~ Avengers Soulmate au

11.

Natasha's POV-

Natasha Romanoff had been trained to be the best from the very beginning.

Best at fighting, best at ballet, best at guns, best at hiding emotions and overall being the best. And she succeeded and surpassed their expectations. Kill or be killed had been her life for as long as she could remember. She remembered the handcuffs they tied her to, the rigorous ballet sessions they made her go through and the undermining words they ingrained in her brain. It was a part of her and would always be but she had learnt to live with it.

She distinctly remembered the day she fought Clint despite the burning soulmark on her arm. She had to kill him- they had told herso, and she was unaware of what the random tattoos on her body meant. So when she met a man - an opponent really, who caused a burning sensation to run throughout her body, she panicked. After a long fight she had been sedated and woke up a few days later where Clint had explained everything to her. She had never felt so accepted in her life. And the rest was history.

Having lived a life like this she never wished it even upon her worst enemies. She had learnt to love and had been gifted with the most amazing soulmates she could ask for but openly expressing emotions was still a struggle for her. After all it wasn't easy to forget everything she had been taught since birth. But when her very new soulmate broke down in her arms after having a panic attack right before, Natasha couldn't hold back her tears and pressed the smaller female to her chest.

Heart wrenching sobs racked through the other girl's delicate frame as she shook in Natasha's arms while she held on as tightly as she could. She couldn't even begin to imagine what she had remembered for her to have such a reaction but she had a vague idea due to the rejection of male comfort she had displayed earlier- and Natasha vehemently hoped she was wrong this one time.

She looked up to see all the others in similar states. Bucky looked especially affected -after all he was the only one who knew what she was going through. Having Steve as a reminder of his past had helped Bucky discover his memories faster. Also, the various articles about his heroism and past had immensely helped him regain memories over the years he had traveled on his own but this girl had no link, no tether to her past. She was lost and Natasha didn't know how to help her.

Her soulmate finally looked up at her after a good while with glistening cheeks and red puffy eyes and spoke up in the smallest voice possible, "I'm sorry", before quickly looking down once again.

"Hey, hey Дорогой it's not a problem. We are here for you and we'll wait however long you need"
(sweetheart)

She looked up with an expression which made Natasha's chest ache,
"But-t I don't deserve you. I tried to kill you-u. Oh my god i tried to kill my own soulmates! Why would you have me when you have each-h other?!! " she sniffled.

It took everything in Natasha to not break down right there.

This time Steve answered their scared mate,
"Baby, you are our soulmate and we know you would never try to kill us in your right mind. We are here for you, let me help you, let us help you,

"Please? " he whispered the last part.

Salvo's POV-

Steve's words stirred something in her. She realized it was the first time someone had offered to help her. She looked up and saw various expressions on her soulmate's faces - from sorrow, loss, anger, hope and an unknown look she had never encountered before.

Trusting and hoping were two emotions she had never experienced before but right there, right then - she felt it in abundance that would possibly last her a lifetime. As she soaked in the warmth from Natasha's chest and comfort of Steve's soft touch she gathered all her courage and nodded with a small smile.

The reaction was immediate.
Thor broke out into a huge smile, Pietro swept her up on his arms, Bucky smiled widely at her for the first time, Clint pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, Sam and Tony laughed out loud and the billionaire began ordering some sort of AI to set up a room for her, Natasha snatched her back from Pietro and hugged her harder while Steve just smiled and whispered a small 'thank you'.

She looked around and did what she wanted to do since she woke up and took a leap of faith,
"Call me Rhea"

"Of course Rhea, " Sam shouted her name earning a series of laughs from the others and Salvo felt like the luckiest girl on Earth.