𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌

𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

- ⧗  NATASHA ROMANOFF ⧗ -

THE CAR RIDE WAS QUIET on the way home. Natasha put the radio back on to try fill the silence as Zariah sat staring out of the window. Suddenly the redhead found she missed the girl's teasing attitude she'd received on the way there. Now she left entirely to her own thoughts, checking every so often that Zari was still okay.

When they arrived back at the compound, Zariah exited the car still without saying a word. Natasha followed her out, moving towards the back of the car and using the key to open the trunk. All of their shopping lay inside, bags upon bags of new clothes for Zari.

Just at that moment, Steve came walking out of the compound door. He sent a smile Natasha's way, waving a hand in greeting. "You guys need any help?"

"That would actually be great," Natasha replied.

As Steve approached the car, he seemingly noticed the stoic look upon the girl's face. "Hey Zariah," he said. "You doing alright?"

"I'm fine," Zari replied harshly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You sure?"

"Fucking hell, I said I'm fine," the girl yelled. "What is with all of you and not believing me the first time I say something."

Steve pulled back a little. "I was just-"

"Well just don't. Why don't you just go suck your own dick or something."

With that, the girl turned away, storming towards the compound. Natasha called her name after her but she wasn't stopping for anything. A little shell-shocked, she turned back to face Steve. He held a startled expression.

"I'm so sorry about that."

"You know I thought maybe she was starting to not hate me," the blonde replied, angling his head.

"She doesn't hate you," Natasha replied, releasing a sigh. "She just... she had a panic attack at the mall. So she's feeling a little defensive."

"Oh right," Steve said, face dropping slightly. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah she's fine, I guess." Nat sighed. That afternoon's event still lingered heavy on her brain. Zariah had seemed so afraid. Who knew what may have happened if Nat hadn't gotten there when she did. Still, the redhead couldn't help but wonder if it was her fault. Had she pushed Zariah to far too quickly?

"She's got a lot of PTSD, " Natasha said softly. "I mean she barely even sleeps because she has nightmares every night."

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I've heard."

He knew a little about Nat's past himself, one of the only team members who's she'd shared little snippets with. Even once he'd been there to console her through one of her own nightmares.

But things with Zariah seemed a little different. Almost everything seemed to be a potential trigger for her and when that trigger came, so did the anger.

"I'll go up and speak to her," Natasha said softly. She felt bad for Steve being forced on the front line of Zari's temper. "It's just gonna take her a while before she's comfortable with the rest of the team. Right now she really just needs to be shown some empathy and patience."