The Prisoner | Natasha x OC

Chapter Thirty

"I suffer in my loving, and you know it."
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Gods, Natara hated this room. Always so formal. And who the hell was that? An old man stood in the middle of the room, chin high with a sense of importance that had clearly gotten to his greying head. Her lip curled in disgust on its own accord.

"Secretary Ross." Steve greeted him, the others following in low mumbles.

None of them were pleased and Natara wasn't surprised by why. This was who they'd assembled and stressed out for? His hairline was probably receding faster than he could get up from bed in the morning. And this is who scared them?

Maybe sensing her thoughts or noticing that she'd been the only one not to greet him, Ross's eyes moved to the lithe blonde towards the back of the group. They narrowed in suspicion. "Ah, Natara Faez. It's good to finally put a name to the face."

"Yes, I'm sure it is." She made to walk past but he spoke again, the sound grating.

"Though I'll admit it would've been better had I seen it back when you were first recruited. The government likes to have a say in who they send out to represent them. Especially when the Avengers posses such dangerous weapons."

Natasha's fists curled but she didn't step in. Natara could only blink. Looking around, all eyes were on her and him. Oh, so he was talking to her. She thought she'd been imagining things, battling to believe that a man who looked like that thought he could speak to her like he just had.

Slowly, a cautious smile grew on her wide lips and question dawned in her eyes, eyebrows inching downwards slightly. "Oh, do you mean back on Sokovia? Perhaps I missed you then. My apologies." Her breathing had paused and she zoned in on him. C'mon, take the bait. Keep going. Please.

"I wasn't on Sokovia-"

Yes, I'm well aware. "Oh, really? Then surely you don't mean to tell me you'd have preferred we put saving the world on hold to send in my CV and application?" Please, keep going. It was one of the things she loved, giving old white men a reality check.

"Well, no. Of course not-"

His grey and white feathers were clearly ruffled so she pressed on. "And you obviously don't mean we should have done if after? When training and preparing for the incident that just went down was vital, do you Mr Secretary?" Her tone had taken on an innocent and almost unknowing facade but it had dropped a few octaves towards the end. Nat found herself mesmerized, even more than the others who could only watch.

"No, but-"

"Well then, what did you hope to achieve by your earlier statement?" He looked positively furious and Natara, delighted. She spoke once more before he could respond. "Now now, I believe we have more important things to discuss? And can we discuss them quickly? I was just shot and stabbed afterall."

Natasha cringed at the reminder, the way she'd been able to do nothing but watch when that bullet had hit Natara's chest. The pain of reliving that moment almost made her forget her earlier conversation with her partner.

The look on Ross's face was priceless and Natara strolled past, entering one of her least favourite rooms. But she was met by a surprisingly pleasant sight. "Tony, it's good to see you again."

"Faez, you're looking well for someone who almost got themself killed."

"Yes, yes. I'm sure we're all disappointed." They shared a dry look before breaking into a smile. But she noticed his looked tired. The others walked in there, Ross in front and more put together than he had been. Pity.