natasha romanoff one-shots (gxg)

𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞

a/n: inspired by 'delicate'; natasha's reputation gets destroyed because of a simple accident (stupid way to describe this but i'm too tired to come up with anything better)

Her hand feels clammy in yours as you walk up the narrow ramp. The world around you is loud, turbulent, filled with unfamiliar faces and voices. You try your best to appear calm and confident, but you can't deny that even your legs feel a little shaky as you take in the view in front of you.

A luxury yacht, over 200 feet long and five floors tall. Expensive, massive and absolutely intimidating. Every part of it — the giant pool on the  lower deck, the three different bars, the very own spa — screams wealth and money. Tony bought it as a kind of engagement gift to himself and Pepper, and tonight he's throwing an engagement party.

He invited the entire team, obviously, and a bunch of other people you don't know. Don't need to know, actually. It's not like you care too much.

This kind of wealth something you're both only familiar with because of Tony. Before him, your idea of luxury was eating out at any restaurant other than one of the massive fast food chains, or buying a new pair of shoes. Not anymore, though.

Things have changed, you think to yourself as you squeeze Natasha's cold hand reassuringly, leading her onto the yacht and away from the dozens of paparazzi and camera flashes. She glances at you, a mix of hesitation and thankfulness in her eyes. The last few days have been rough for her, you know that, and you're more than happy to offer as much support and reassurance as you can.

What happened wasn't her fault — it really wasn't. It was an accident, and you know that because you were there with her. But, nevertheless, it caused an eruption of rumors, anger, hatred. People turned against her in the blink of an eye, and within seconds, her world had crumbled beneath her feet.

You think back to exactly a week ago, remembering every detail of it. You and Natasha, hurrying away from the movie theater holding hands. People chasing you, yelling stuff, asking for pictures and autographs and whatnot — unknowing that they were causing Natasha to have a panic attack.

Then, when a 30-something guy grabbed her shoulder, she snapped. Within a second he was on the ground, his nose busted and bleeding and his front teeth wobbly. The redhead stared down at him with her fist still raised, tears filling her widened eyes. You just stood there, frozen in shock, until Natasha started sobbing silently. Only then did you return to reality and pull her close, quietly soothing her as your free hand began to fumble for your phone.

At least a dozen people — probably two dozen, even — saw it. They saw the man reach for her shoulder and actually grab it, without any permission or consent or anything. Never would you have thought they'd end up making Natasha the bad guy in this scenario.

But, as it turns out, the guy was a fan. Huge one, actually, with his own fan account and YouTube channel. Hundreds of thousands of subscribers, an entire separate fandom dedicated to just him — and 'punchgate' (as fans started calling it) went viral within less than an hour.

She was trending on all social media platforms, she was in every news headline. All the major news outlets covered the story, each of them telling it just a tad differently — but, no matter which one you read, they all made it look like it was her fault.

The worst of the headlines went viral as well.

Assassin undercover — who is Natasha Romanoff really?

It sparked one hell of a debate online, and people started researching her immediately. Soon enough, the rumors started — some true, some fake. But all of them were cruel and twisted, only adding insult to injury. Her past as an assassin was the biggest of all the rumors, and one of the only true ones, but it went a lot further than that.