Never Alone Again |N.R|

Is this the end?

Natasha's POV

I spent the next couple of weeks in silence, mostly alone in our room, or just my room now. Every time I woke up I expected Rue to be there, huddled into my side, but every morning I was met with the painful reminder that she was gone, and that she'd never come back. That side of my bed was cold, colder than it had ever been, and I couldn't help but welcome it across to me. It did a good job of numbing me and my pain, pushing it as far away as I could for as long as I could.

Every time I closed my eyes I saw Rue's lifeless eyes, the ones that continued to stare up at me even after she'd breathed her last breath. I hadn't let her go, refusing to until we were back home. I held her body in my arms for the entire flight home, trying hard to convince myself that she was just asleep. But this became near impossible when her skin went ghostly pale and she was cold to the touch.

We'd had a funeral for her not long after. She was buried just outside of the city, and the only time I'd left my room since the burial was to visit her grave in the dead of night. Each time I would slump to the ground in front of the headstone, ignoring how the wet grass seeped into my jeans, and trace my fingers along her engraved name whilst letting the tears fall. My heart broke over and over at this, but I couldn't stop myself. If I wasn't hurting then I wouldn't feel anything, and that made me afraid that I'd forget her.

Her smell was slowly disappearing from my room, from the pillow she slept on and the clothes in the wardrobe. The last details of her life were fading out and I wasn't ready. She'd been my one true purpose for almost four years, and although that wasn't long, I'd never felt more alive than when I had her. I was like a mother to her. She relied on me for nearly everything, she came to me when she needed advice or comfort and I found myself worrying about her nearly all the time. Especially when I was away on a mission. But now that worry had no place to go, it just pooled in the pit of my stomach as a reminder of what I'd lost.

But as hard as it was to keep going, I couldn't let her leaving stop me from living. If Rue taught me anything, it was that there's always someone out there relying on you even if you don't realise it. So all I could do was hope that I'd find something else to hope for, to believe in and nurture as proof of my purpose. And a big part of me felt like whenever that did truly arrive, it was a message from her to say that she was waiting, just like she'd promised.

(-)

I was half asleep, huddled up on the bed, when FRIDAY suddenly spoke, jolting me awake. "Agent Romanoff, Mr Stark requests your presence in the kitchen." I didn't even bother replying, instead I just climbed off of the bed with a groan before traipsing towards the elevator. When I stepped out onto the kitchen floor, I heard some light talking coming from the room but I made no effort to listen in. I didn't really care, not anymore.

As I rounded the corner and stepped into the kitchen, I spoke up without bothering to look around, instead just walking over to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. "What did you want Stark?"

He coughed lowly before replying, "I wanted you to see something." His tone was light, as though he was fighting off a smile as he spoke.

"Yeah, and what's that?" I hadn't bothered to look over yet, still just focusing on the contents of the fridge despite having no appetite. I hadn't been hungry in weeks, but forcing food down every now and then to keep myself alive.

"Romanoff, quit being difficult and look over here." After letting out a sigh I finally turned around, slamming the fridge closed as I did, maybe a little harder than was needed.

When my eyes set on Tony, they quickly shot to the figure standing beside him. She was small, her head hung low and as I kept my gaze on her she stepped to hide behind him. In realising this Tony turned his attention to the young girl momentarily.

"You don't need to be afraid kid, she's the one you were talking about." My heart winced slightly when he called her kid. That used to be Rue's nickname, so why was he using it on someone else? But I quickly pushed those thoughts aside. She looked so scared, vulnerable and somehow she knew who I was.

After Tony gave her shoulder a squeeze and ushered her put from behind his leg, the girl dared to talk. Her voice was just above a whisper, so I had to focus hard to understand the words leaving her mouth.

"Someone called Rue told me to come here if I needed help. She said to ask for someone with red hair, that her name was Natasha." She hesitated a little before continuing, except this time she posed a question. "Is that you?"

I had to stop my jaw from hitting the floor. Had Rue really said that? She must have.

"Yes, yes that's me" I quickly offered, seeing her face turn to one of regret as the silence lasted a little too long.

"It looks like the kid found a project for you Nat. All that worrying about her getting into trouble on those late night walks, when really she was doing community outreach. You must've done something right Romanoff." Tony smiled at me widely as he spoke, although I could only offer a small one in return to stop the tears escaping my eyes.

"What's your name?" I focused on the girl again, although she seemed a little more relaxed now.

"M-maya, my name's Maya" she replied, her face turning a little red as she stuttered over her words.

"That's a beautiful name" I smiled at her reassuringly as I spoke, "why don't you come with me? I can show you around." After a few seconds I held out my hand, and she didn't hesitate to grasp it in hers. Now that she was standing right before me I could see that she was younger than Rue was when we first met, probably eleven or twelve.

As I led her along the many corridors I couldn't help but smile upwards as we went, a silent thank you to Rue for shining some light for me in the dark. I would guard this young girl with my life, just as I should've done for her. I'd do it all right this time.

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That's the end. I hope everyone enjoyed it.

I don't know how I feel about this chapter, but I thought it was a nice bittersweet ending. Thank you so much for reading my first book, it means so much for you to keep with it until the end.

ALSO, I HAVE ANOTHER BOOK THAT I'M WRITING. IT'S ANOTHER BLACK WIDOW STORY, BUT THE RELATIONSHIP IS ROMANTIC INSTEAD OF MOTHER-DAUGHTER. SO KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED AS I'LL BE PUBLISHING THE FIRST CHAPTER SOON!

EDIT: THE FIRST 2 CHAPTERS ARE PUBLISHED. IT'S CALLED 'NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS.' I'D BE REALLY GRATEFUL IF YOU CHECKED IT OUT!