𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑴𝒐𝒐𝒏 ✘ 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐅𝐅

{2¹⁵} {IDENTITY}

∆ {2¹⁵} {IDENTITY} ∆

VENUS DIDN'T RUN to the lab, as some part of her would've liked to. Her heart raced in sync with her mind as she walked in her silence, Natasha a few paces ahead. She didn't dare to get her hopes up, to rely upon a man whom she'd never met to somehow miraculously help her after all these years where it almost burnt to wear her own skin. After all this time she hadn't allowed herself to touch someone unless they'd been her target. All this time that she'd simply been too dangerous to come too close to, just in case.

Maybe she wouldn't have to wear gloves after this. There was something so vaguely comforting about the idea that Venus increased her pace. And then she really thought about it, about the feeling of another person's skin on her own, and wasn't sure how she felt about it. But she didn't stop walking. She had to deal with those thoughts and get rid of them, before they affected her and how she did things. She didn't have time for emotions that complicated things, nor the inclination to deal with them in a way that was deemed healthy. So, she continued her walk, finding herself catching up to Natasha.

It was odd to walk side by side with the woman, as they'd never been separated. As if they were still nothing more than two assassins waiting for their next command, as if they were still the same kids who had basked in starlight and music and found some sort of foolish hope in each other that maybe things would be alright, as long as they stayed together. The idea of believing that a gain had crossed her mind a few times these past few months, and then she'd remembered that the only hope she would get was from the actions that she herself would carry out to achieve it. Very specific actions.

Venus sat down after being ushered in by a nurse, not sure what to say, and as such, didn't say anything. Her fingers went to her wrist, where she kept a hairband nowadays just in case she needed one, and began to fiddle with it, pulling it off of her skin and letting it snap back every few seconds. She wished she hadn't left her box of cigarettes and her lighter out on that balcony, because nerves were beginning to build up inside of her. She loathed the feeling of being unnerved, she'd discovered, because it made her feel too weak for her own liking, and it reminded her of the girl in the mirror with those honey eyes.

Apparently, from the nurse's gentle words - he hadn't seemed discouraged by her lack of interaction with him - they'd actually had whatever they were going to put into her yesterday, but had needed to account for certain variables. And, they'd needed time to figure out how to tell her. She'd added the second part inside of her own head, but had little doubt that it was untrue.

From what Venus had seen, they would be injecting her with whatever miracle drug Tony Stark had concocted blindly. There were still things that could go wrong, of course. This experimental serum could react to her in a way that was unpredictable. But, she supposed she would rather take the risk than have this venom under her skin much longer.

"Are you ready?" Came the nurse's soft voice, and Venus turned in her chair, because he wasn't talking to her. She only just managed to stop her face from falling into confusion. She found Natasha sat in a chair, her sleeve arm pulled up, the nurse sat next to her, preparing a syringe. The woman nodded, and met Venus' golden eyes as the nurse slid the needle into Natasha's shoulder.

Venus looked away, trying to find something – anything to fix her eyes and attention on as the fire boiled beneath her skin. The first thing her gaze found was the glass door of a medicine cabinet, and she was suddenly gazing into her own eyes once again. She was back there, with the lilted English and the shadow of a woman standing behind her, and the rotting floors. But she was present enough in the lab to hear what the nurse was explaining, however vaguely.

So, Tony Stark hadn't found a way to get rid of the poison that seeped into her flesh. He'd found a way to protect the people she'd be working with from her. He'd found a way for her still to be dangerous, to be the thing that people needed to be wary off - the venomous assassin with an unpredictable mind; the thing that people needed to protect themselves from, even if she'd grown up with them.

Venus pulled the hairband on her wrist back as far as she could before it would snap and let go, the stinging barely registering in her head. Her mouth was dry, and her face was cold, and she didn't dare to snap her gaze away from her own younger, naïve ones that shone in the glass. She was still the bad guy, the villain, the monster, even after a year and a half within SHIELD. Yet, she gritted her teeth and attempted to remain impassive, trying not to rush out of this lab as she wished she could when the nurse dismissed them, because Natasha was watching her.

She had been planning to go back to the balcony, to snatch up a cigarette, light it, and hope the nicotine dissolved whatever it was that she was feeling. She couldn't be feeling these things, because they would get in the way. She had the cigarette and lighter in hand, the flame dancing in the air, when Natasha's hand wrapped around her upper arm - wrapped in a long-sleeved t-shirt of the kind that Venus always tended to wear. The redhead took the cigarette out of her hand and for the first time that night, Venus was tempted to allow her emotions to show through, to scowl at the woman as she'd always been taught not to. Already more daring, less considerate of the acid that burned the inside of her skin. So quick to trust the work of this stranger. Though, she supposed, at least Natasha had worked with Tony once.

"Don't. Please." Venus considered it for a second, staring into Natasha's forest green eyes before she grudgingly obliged, half of her mind focusing on keeping her face blank. She set the lighter and the cigarette back down and folded her arms over her chest, though part of her longed to seek comfort in the woman before her. The redhead's hand moved to the side of her shoulder - a comforting touch - as she spoke.

"Look, I know this is probably weird for you, but I'm safe around you, now. We don't have to give each other such a wide berth. Let me help you, Venus." Yes, maybe Natasha was safe, but she was safe from her, and that thought made her inside's curl. She let her arms fall by her side, allowing her face to soften. Natasha could see through her mask anyway, she knew that, but she still didn't dare to display too much, answering with a small nod of gratitude at the redhead's offer.

And then Natasha kissed her. Venus pulled away from it immediately, staggering away a few steps with a wild fear in her cold, golden eyes as she met those forest green ones that seemed so hurt and confused. There was another moment where they were frozen, where Venus forgot about her face of stone and simply stared at the redhead in utter shock.

But then Venus remembered who she was, when and where she was, and her face settled colder, harsher than ever. She snatched up her lighter and cigarettes silently and strode for the hall towards her room, fear now mingling with the venom that burned her veins.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey. How're you guys? How's life? Not like it's been four months or anything. Anyway, don't be too mad :). Pls vote, comment, let me know what you think, etc.,

JABBERJAY_011

WORDS [1375]

WRITTEN [14.2.2022]

PUBLISHED [14.2.2022}