mama!nat x teen reader
note: i'm projecting SOOOOO HARDDDDD rn. so sorry i have mommy issues </3. also... want to throw up this is so bad im so sorry you guys. i'll try and do better :(
blame mitski and a scarlett edit with her "why not me" lyrics. im in Pain. also if ur adopted this ones for you fr.
prompt: reader's always getting in trouble and hoping to push away nat, but nat reassures them she's never leaving. idk im awful at summaries.
. . .
it was never big news when you'd gotten in trouble. from vandalism, skipping class, to fighting, your mother didn't exactly know what to do with you.
natasha had already taken away your phone, given you an early curfew, grounded you from extracurricular activities. she even thought forcing you to get a job would help teach you a few responsibilities, but that only proved natasha wrong.
almost every week there was something new, whether it be a detention or saturday school. you just couldn't help but do something wrong.
"i don't understand why you can't just stay out of trouble. i don't have enough fingers on my hands to count what number detention this is." natasha exasperated, sending you a glare.
"next time my teacher shouldn't have such a stick up his ass." you grumbled.
"you can't just throw a fit every time something doesn't go your way!" she fussed once more. you only rolled your eyes knowing she didn't know the full story.
"it wasn't even a–"
"don't start with me, i've had enough of you right now. when we get home just do me a favor and go to your room. i don't want to deal with you."
ouch.
you didn't bother telling her you had work in an hour. you'd just walk and if she happened to check on you she might get the hint. right now you didn't care.
. .
several hours later and you were almost through your shift at the ice cream shop. the atmosphere at work was completely different from the one at home, and you'd almost forgotten the trouble from earlier in the day. between the jokes you cracked with your coworkers and all the customers that came in, you didn't have time to even think about it. well, that was until your mom showed up.
"here you go, little one. don't tell anyone, but i put extra sprinkles on top just for you." you gave a playful wink to the kid before handing over the cone in your hand.
"you guys enjoy!"
before you could do anything else the voice of your coworker caught your attention.
"dude, is that your mom?"
"um yeah, i'll be right back."
natasha's face showed no direct emotion. she'd only ever showed up once at your job before, so you weren't really sure why she was here. it wasn't like days like today hadn't happened in the past.
"mom? what are you doing here?"
she glanced at her watch, "you're off the clock in 45 minutes?"
"yeah-"
"you can leave early if you want, it's dead anyway." you shot your coworker a glare, not wanting to deal with your mother at the moment.
"let me just go clock out real quick," you mumbled.
"i'll be outside."
a groan left your mouth. "why would you let me leave early?"
"you know most people want to leave early."
sighing, you typing in your employee code at the pos stand. "yeah well not me."
"see you later, y/n." you playfully flipped him off on your way out.
natasha wasn't surprised when you said nothing to her. she said something awful and it would be awhile before it left your mind.
"i didn't mean what i said. you know that, right?"
you shrugged, making your way towards her car. "it's fine, you were just angry with me. i get it."
i wouldn't want to deal with me either, is what natasha knew you were thinking.
"it's not fine, not at all. i shouldn't have said it just because i was angry. you're my kid and i don't 'deal' with you, i love you." you let her words sink in as you got into the car. so many insecurities were starting to rise all at once, you were beginning to feel overwhelmed.
"i just want to know why."
"why what?"
natasha looked at you, head down, fumbling with the sleeves of your shirt. she'd never seen you so small, so vulnerable before.
"why you act out, why you do the things you do, why you're so afraid of being loved by me." natasha answered simply, waiting for a reply, but when you didn't speak she took it as a sign to push a little more.
"i took you in four years ago and i told you i'd never give up on you, or let you go, or think you're too much to handle. you're doing everything you can to test my limits, to see when i'll snap, but it's not working, sweetheart. it never will because i'm not leaving you. so why are you trying to push me away?"
by now you were trying to wipe the tears off your face before natasha could notice.
"i've never had anyone stay in my life as long as you have. i've never had anyone care for me in the way that you do. it just seems to good to be true. it can't be true."
natasha pushed your hair away from your face. "nothing you do will ever change the fact that i love you. there will never be a second where i think i don't want you. a good mother's love will never break, just as it will never end."
"i'm sorry," you croaked, desperate to keep yourself together. "i know i'm bad, but i'll do better. i promise."
"you aren't bad just because you've made a few mistakes in your life. you're good at heart, i know you are." she murmured.
"how are you so sure?" natasha couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.
"i saw the way you handled that child in the shop. and i've seen the way you help other people without even realizing it. all those times you've held the door? or the times you'd give something up for someone else, even though you'd tell me you didn't want whatever it was anyway? cooking dinner for me when i was too caught up with work?"
you sniffled, "but that's just what other people would do too."
"no, sweetheart. you'd be surprised by how many people don't care in all the little ways you do." she kissed the top of your head, "i'm so proud of you."
you shook your head, finding it hard to accept something you've always wanted to hear, but never felt deserving of being told.
"don't say that."
natasha frowned. "why not? it's true. in fact i've never been more proud of something in my life – calling you my kid."
"i love you mom," you whispered, just barely enough for natasha to hear.
"i love you more. lets go home, yeah?"
"yeah."
