lonely heart - k.bishop

o n e

Christmas used to be Eden Romanoff's favourite holiday. She loved decorating the huge tree Tony Stark had bought for them, exchanging gifts, even though her fellow teammates told her not to get them anything every single year and the freshly baked cookies Wanda had made for them after she joined the team. Eden never listened—Christmas was her favourite time of the year. Naturally, she would buy them presents.

Natasha always pretended to be annoyed, but Eden knew that she secretly loved receiving gifts. Steve always received them with  a kind smile and a simple thank you. Sam was always genuinely happy about receiving gifts and he shared her Christmas spirits, so the two made it a competition of who got the other the better gifts. Wanda was really shy during their first Christmas with the Team and was really surprised when Eden pulled out a gift for her. Eden could've sworn the witch was gonna start crying right then and there. She assumed it was because it was also her first Christmas without Pietro, so Eden had made it her mission to make it Wanda's best Christmas ever. That was also how the tradition of Wanda baking cookies came to live. Eden tried making them, but burned two trays before Wanda came to her rescue and took over.

It was the only time of the year, that Eden felt the whole world came together, no matter if you were celebrating it religiously or just to soend time with family. It was such a wholesome Holiday. The whole year was filled with missions and fighting, but Christmas was the one time, Eden truly felt at peace.

Another tradition that no longer existed was Eden and Natasha going to New York for a whole day in the days leading up to Christmas Eve. They walked around the city, went to Christmas markets, drank hot cocoa and at the end of the day always ended up at the Rockefeller Centre to see the big tree light up.

So yes, Christmas used to be Eden Romanoffs favourite time of the years. Now she hated it more than anything. Everything she used to love, turned into something she dread. Filled with painful memories and reminders that she had lost nearly her entire family last year.

"You're doing it again." Lila Barton whispered over to her, her eyes filled with as she watched the older girl. Her eyes would always get so distant, like she was in an entirely different world. Lila had picked up on it a few months ago, at the dinner table, when she had asked Eden to pass the salt and ended up almost having to shout at the girl to pull her out of her thoughts.

"No, I'm not." Eden mumbled, and shifted further into her seat, pushing the thoughts into the furthest corner of her mind and locked it there.

Eden could say she hated few things as much as she did musicals. Sure, there were worse things, like parsley or Thanos, but in this very moment, musicals took the top spot on her hate-list. The dancing, the singing, the overdramatic portrayal of literally everything—it simply agitated her.

Yet, somehow she ended up sitting in a theater, surrounded by a sea of people, having to endure Rogers: The Musical. It wasn't on her agenda, but since Clint had dragged her to New York, and Nate had pleaded with her to go with them to watch the musical, Eden didn't have any other choice but to agree.

She started regretted her decision an hour ago.

The sensory overload of lights, sound, and theatrical performances became overwhelming. The lump in her chest threatened to spill. Not only was she watching an impersonated version of her mother on stage, but little girls dressed up as Natasha Romanoff kept recognising her in the audience. Each friendly wave they sent tightened the knot in the back of her throat.