The Prisoner | Natasha x OC

Chapter Twenty-One

"You've become so damaged that when someone wants to give you the love you deserve, you have no idea how to respond."
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As the day progressed it became more and more obvious to Natara that Natasha still wasn't happy with her. There was a tension between the two that hadn't been there for ages. She knew she shouldn't be surprised, she'd expected it afterall. But she'd truly hoped that they'd be able to continue on like normal.

Her feet were an annoying discomfort that had her heels aching everytime her boots touched the ground. And her eyes were heavy with fatigue-- the consequence of her refusal to maintain a proper sleep schedule.

"You had all of Thailand to choose from and you chose here?"

Her blonde head perked up at the sound of Natasha's voice, they'd been in silence for a lot of the day. She kept walking. "It's where he'll be. And besides, in my opinion, Thailand as a whole isn't worth visiting." Natara made sure to keep her voice down even though most people here spoke Thai. She couldn't risk anything, losing Jay wasn't an option. Not after so many years of searching.

"Most people would disagree." Natasha didn't look at Natara as she said it. The relief and happiness that seeing Natara again, alive and well, brought her had finally worn off; and now only the anger and hurt her departure had left remained.

"Well most people are wrong."

Nat ignored the slight sharpness Natara's words carried and pushed forward. The silence continued, awkward and expectant. "I waited, you know? For a message, a call. Even an email. Waited for you to come back."

"I called," Natara replied bluntly. She heard a scoff in return.

"Yeah. Right." Nat pushed down her anger. It was Natara, what had she expected? She thought of their three months together at the compound, their partnership and everything in between. She deserved more than a phone call when Natara needed her, deserved more than the constant condescension and secrecy. With that realization, she turned around. "You're an asshole, you know that?" Her mouth was pressed into a tight line, eyes glaring right into the surprised green ones behind her. "We're supposed to be partners, Natara. Teammates. Yet you leave whenever the hell you feel like it and do whatever the hell you want to without caring about anyone else's feelings. You could've told me you were leaving, could've told someone-"

"I told Wanda." Natara didn't back down or cower away, instead standing taller and walking closer. The area they'd wandered into was practically deserted, the sun about ten minutes away from setting. She could see the anger burning in Natasha's eyes, and like fire, it seemed to catch. Her own anger appeared, her own irritation and frustration rising to the surface. "And I'm guessing she told Steve who probably then told you. The rest I don't care about, so you're right about that. I don't need anyone's permission for anything, we've had this conversation before. What? You're upset I didn't tell you? Didn't come running to ask you to come with me or didn't cling to you like a good partner should? Get over it. I told Wanda who told you. You got the message, okay? Whatever it is you want from me, you're not going to get it."

Natasha took the assassin who was now in front of her, in. Took her in for a good few seconds before a chuckle left her lips, the sound cruel and mocking. But more than that it was pitying, a sound that had fury lighting Natara's eyes. "God, you really are broken, aren't you?" She saw the anger in Natara's eyes flicker, along with her usual confidence and swagger. "People care about you and your immediate reaction is to push them away." A sneer grew on her face before changing to a disappointed line. "You're a coward." Natara's face grew cold and guarded, the woman taking a step back and a breath in. Nat just nodded in agreement of her own words. "You know what? If you want to push everyone away then fine, I'm done. In two days I'm going back home. Whatever you do after that isn't my problem. I'm done."