Frail heart

Red in tooth and claw

Chapter twenty-one

The room went quiet as Wanda walked in, everyone expecting you to be trailing behind her, but when you weren't, the tension in the room lifted slightly. Natasha glanced at Sam before sitting up a little straighter and clearing her throat, "How is he?"

Wanda looked as if she hadn't got a wink of sleep, and that point was proved when her husky voice reached everyone's ears, "He won't sleep, he just wakes up yelling for her..."

Everyone falls into a solemn quiet at the lack of good news, Wanda pouring herself a cup of coffee as her eyes droop shut. Sam notices how her body sways each time she drifts off, and speaks up, "Maybe you should get some sleep. One of us can look over him."

She yawns, shaking her head, "No, it's okay. I'll be fine."

Sam looks unconvinced but she doesn't spend much more time in the room, gulping down the cup of coffee as she makes her way back to your room. Natasha watches her go, groaning into her own cup of coffee, "This is really taking a toll on them both."

"I don't get why she doesn't just take a break; he'll be fine with one of us." Sam ponders, getting back to the bowl of cereal he was eating.

Natasha hums in disapproval, swallowing her mouthful of coffee, "No, they understand each other. He was there for her after Sokovia and she's gonna be there for him now." She finishes the last of her drink, standing from her seat to place it in the sink, "We have to trust that they know what they're doing. They're both hurt but I hope they can find comfort in one another."

Sam eyes Natasha thoughtfully as she leans against the counter with a heavy sigh, pressing roughly against the sides of her temple, "You really care about them."

Natasha chuckles airily, "Surprisingly, yes."

Sam frowns, placing his spoon down in his bowl, "What do you mean?"

She shakes her head, looking down at her hands as she picks at her nails, "I'm supposed to be this ice-cold, unreadable agent. And sometimes I think I am, but then I find myself caring about things I never would have before, and then I'm not so sure."

"You're not any of those things." Natasha looks over to Sam as he speaks, "I'll admit, you're hard to read sometimes, but you only ever do it out of defence. You've been hurt, no one can blame you for wanting to protect yourself."

Natasha doesn't know what to say to Sam's heartfelt words, she wasn't used to being the one getting the pep talk. Her attention returns back to him as he casually goes back to eating, shrugging slightly, "You've got a good heart, and that's hard to come by these days." He tilts his head to the direction of your room, "I'm glad they've got you."

Natasha is grateful for the words, and she feels her composure slipping slightly, but it's back as quick as it was gone, "You're a smooth talker, you know that?" She smirks.

Sam laughs, nodding along to her words, "Of course I know."

//

"The security cameras came up with nothing, not even a trace. Someone must have erased them...unless the guy's invisible but I highly doubt that."

Bruce frowns at Tony's comment before shaking his head and facing Steve, "Anyways, a few fingerprints came up, but there's no record of the man on file."

Steve nods, walking over to where Bruce is sat, "Let me take a look at it."

Bruce complies, bringing up his findings from earlier and leaning back in his chair, "This is all anyone's got on the guy."