Frail heart

Absence

Chapter fourteen

"It's actually kind of funny how he keeps just appearing and we never expect it." Tony's comment earns him multiple unamused glances and he shrinks back into his seat.

Steve doesn't have the patience for Tony's jokes right now, so instead, he faces Natasha, "When did you last see him, Nat?"

"Last night. He was in my room; he came to apologise."

Sam lifted his head from his hand, shooting Natasha an incredulous look, "He apologised?"

Natasha nodded towards him, pausing at the rest of the team's expressions, "What?"

"Nothing, we just... didn't expect that from him." Clint clarifies, speaking on behalf of the rest of the team.

Natasha's brows crease in frustration at her best friend's words. She didn't understand why everyone thought so little of you, "Why not? He isn't a monster; he can understand when he's at fault."

Steve places a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her rising temper, "We know, Nat."

"Your lack of faith in him is probably the reason why he left. He made one mistake and thought you guys would immediately throw him out."

This is news to Steve, so he sits up a little straighter in his chair and tries to get Natasha's attention, "What do you mean?"

Natasha shakes her head, clenching her jaw before she speaks, "He thinks we're getting rid of him."

Everybody waits in puzzled silence for her to clarify and she groans, gripping her armchair a little tighter, "I told him about Wakanda. He didn't take it lightly."

The whole room released a chorus of aggravated noises and Natasha flails her arms around in the exasperation, "I wasn't going to lie to him! He deserved to know."

"Lying and withholding the truth are two completely different things, Nat"

Natasha shifts to face Tony with a raised brow, irritation dripping off of her posture, "Are you serious?"

The room erupts into conflict, everyone trying to fight their own corner and Steve has to stand to gain the table's attention, "That's enough! What use is it to us if we're sat here fighting all day?"

The team have the decency to share sheepish glances, quieting down. Natasha doesn't have an ounce of regret on her face and Steve is proud of her for it.

"Natasha is right. We shouldn't have hidden this from him, we made the decision without his consent. That was bad enough."

"He wasn't going to admit he needed help, if we didn't make the decision, no one would." Clint interjected, trying to find the fault in their doings.

"He should have at least had a say." Natasha argues, eyes locked onto Clint as she attempts to understand his reasoning. His dismissive attitude was rubbing her the wrong way.

Tensions were too high in the room and Steve concluded it best they take some time away from the subject to quell the heat of the disagreement. The team concurred, filtering out of the room one by one.

Natasha had stood from her chair rather abruptly, heading for the door but Steve blocked her path, earning a glare from the woman. He raised his eyebrows with a small smile and she stepped back with a sigh.

"I'm not the one you're mad at. I agree with what you did."

Natasha nodded, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "I know. I just want him to trust me, to trust us."

Steve hummed, moving closer to place his hand on her shoulder, stroking his thumb across it gently, "He will. Like you said, it's going to take time."

Natasha lifts her eyes to his, her expression softening at the optimism in them. She will never understand how he does it. His reassuring touch on her shoulder was comforting and she was glad to have him there.