Natasha Romanoff One Shots

I am Marble. I Do Not Break. Pt 2

Everyone knew they had a lot to make up for, but nobody had as much to atone for as Nat. Two months later and she still couldn't believe she had turned a blind eye to her daughter. The one thing in this world that was more precious than anything or anyone.

And those two months were hell. Not just for you or Nat, but for the three people left caring for you. You were stubborn, just like your mom. And you didn't want to wait until you were fully healed to get back into missions.

And when you finally were healed, You started falling into old habits. Wanda, Carol and Maria tried their hardest to help keep those habits away. But they couldn't be everywhere... especially once you started sneaking into the gym at 2 in the morning to train.

You couldn't close your eyes, because every time you did you were transported back to your time in the red room. When you were alone and had no one... not even Nat.

You believed it was best this way. You couldn't allow anyone to see you break. Not again. You're meant to be marble... why couldn't you be marble.

It was Wanda who heard you mutter that to yourself one morning when you didn't realize anyone was around. And truly she had enough. There wasn't anything her, Maria or Carol could do anymore. No one realized how bad it was until this moment. And no one knew how deep you had fallen into this haze. Which is why you needed someone who knew how to help you break this. Who knew how to fully pull you back from being a widow.

And as much as Wanda hated to admit it, you needed your mom. It took everything in her to walk to Nat's room and ask her for her help. But she was at a loss and she was worried if something didn't change soon, they would lose you for good.

Nat couldn't believe what Wanda was telling her. How could you have fallen so far. So far from what she and the team taught you about being human. About emotions. About life. And she was truly worried about how she would pull you back. But her and Wanda came up with a plan.

They needed you to feel the emotions and pain you were suppressing, but it wasn't going to be an easy task. Between the two of them, Carol and Maria someone was with you at all time. But it was Natasha who always seemed to be in the gym at 2am when you were.

And it annoyed the hell out of you. You tried for almost two weeks to ignore her as she worked out alongside you. But after a horrible mission you had enough.

"Don't you have anything better to do... like I don't know sleep" you muttered as you once again walked past her on your way to equipment. But you were off, and Nat could sense that so she stayed quiet.

You both trained side by side until you faltered. Almost like you were in pain. But you were marble, you can not and could not break. Once Nat heard you start to mumble this to yourself she grab your fist before you could strike the punching bag again.

She stood there in silence with your fist in her hand waiting for you to make eye contact with her. And when you finally raised your head and eyes to look at her all it took was her cupping your cheek before the damn broke. You fell to the floor but you didn't hit it.

Not only did red wisps from the door stop your fall, but Nat made sure to catch you. Wanda couldn't even take a step into the room before Nat told her not to in her mind. They had a long conversation between the two of them before Wanda relented and back out slowly.

You hadn't even noticed she was there, and to be honest, you probably would have stopped crying quicker had you known.

You wiped your tears and tried to mask your emotions as you got up. But Nat held you in place. And you looked anywhere but her. Whereas Nat took this time to really take in your appearance. Finally seeing the true toll all this was taking on you.

It was a good minute of silence before Nat finally said anything.

"It's ok to rest. It's ok to break..." she started to say. But as if you were on autopilot you responded with "I am marble, I'm not meant to break."

And as if Nat's heart wasn't shattered enough, it was even more now. She was almost at a loss. Until realizing that she had never apologized to you. Not properly at least.

So she made you again look at her, to truly see her as she apologized. And for once in the longest time you saw the mask that Nat wears break as she did.

Not only did she apologized, but she promised to work for your trust again. She didn't just assume she would have it after tonight. No, she was going to earn it. She was going to show you how to be a human again.

How to feel.

How to rely on people.

How to trust people again.

But more importantly she was going to show you that it's ok to break.

Because when you do break, you have people around to pick up the pieces. That weren't alone in this. That she would never again make you feel that way she made you feel.

That's when Wanda, Carol and Maria decided to make their presence known. The later of the three joining Wanda in the hallway after they realized you were up.

The three joked that Nat wouldn't live to see another day if she did it again. And for the first time in a long time, it didn't feel like you had a ton of bricks sitting on your chest. A weight was lifted and you were able to finally breathe.

And that, well that's the first step in breaking a vicious cycle that Nat vowed to never let you fall into again.