𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

- ⧗ NATASHA ROMANOFF ⧗ -

NATASHA HAD NEVER SEEN ANYONE HACK AS WELL AS ZARIAH COULD. This became quickly evident as they sat in the office together, Nat getting more caught up in watching Zariah work than actually doing her own job. Not only did the girl's fingers seem to dance over the keyboard, rewriting code just a quickly as her mind could conjure it, but she had more knowledge than anyone Nat had met, including herself.

Before Zariah, Natasha thought of herself as the best hacker at SHIELD. Now, it was clear she had been demoted.

Surely, the information the girl had previously stolen began to file back in. First came the basic files on SHIELD intel, things that really didn't make a difference who saw them. But quickly the girl moved on to more important information, delving deeper into SHIELD's secrets.

Each day, just before they finished up for the day, Maria would swing by the office to check the girl's progress and pick up a hard drive of any files she'd been able to return. The director kept a checklist of everything that had gone missing, ensuring Zari didn't miss any small files during her deciphering. The girl however, was good and never seemed to slip up on anything.

Maria commended the girl each time and was met with a gentle smile in return. Zariah would then close down her computer while Maria and Nat would pass each other a small look on the way out.

A few weeks had passed since their first kiss and in that time, more had fallen. It was hard to find the time, what with Nat's hands full with Zariah most hours of the day, but the pair seemed to make it work. Nothing was becoming official just yet. Natasha didn't want to loose focus of her main priority, Zari.

Thankfully, the girl seemed to be settling in more and more each day. The routine they had found was working for her, even alleviating some of her stress so much that the girl had had a few dreamless nights of sleep.

That wasn't to say Zariah wasn't still having nightmares. Most nights Natasha still found herself consoling the young girl, falling back asleep with her cradled in her arms. But things did seem to be slowly improving, which gave Natasha some hope that one day the girl would find true rest.

Zariah had even began sharing some of her nightmares with Nat. Not the worst of them that left her a shaking, crying mess on the bathroom floor, but the simpler ones were whispered out over the warmth of a tight hug.

Each thing Zariah shared was like a tiny needle piercing Natasha's heart. She knew the stories of her life would not be a fairytale, having experienced many of them herself, but it seemed Zariah had been through even more than her. Every mission, a gruesome murder; every test, a painful punishment. It seemed torment was written in the girl's blood from the moment she was born.

Still, through every haunted retelling, Natasha held the girl close and assured her it was okay. Nobody could hurt her now she was out. Nobody could hurt her now Natasha was there.

Zariah experienced a lot of things for the first time in the weeks that passed, most of them done by Natasha's side. She took her to see her first ever movie at a real cinema, popcorn and all. In truth, Natasha had spent more time looking at Zariah than the film, smiling to herself as she watched the wonder and joy on her face. Afterwards, Zariah ranted the whole way home about the movie and how they just had to go again.