A/N: This is a suggestion from someone who wanted a story where Natasha uses handcuffs when going to bed as a habit from the Red Room. Hope you enjoy!
Wanda's POV:
My body jumped out of bed at the sound of scream- Natasha's scream. I immediately ran out of my room, panicking at the thought that she could be in danger.
Natasha and I had been dating for a few months now. Even though we spent most of our time in my room, she wasn't comfortable sleeping in the same bed. Every time I brought up the idea of sleeping together, she got nervous. She would play with her fingers- something she did when she was anxious- and knock down the idea, saying she wasn't ready. However, I had a feeling it was something more, but I wasn't going to pressure her into telling me. I could only hope that she would come to me on her own.
When I arrived at Natasha's room, I reached for the doorknob only to find that it was locked. The screaming on the other side of the door continued, and I decided it was best to let the red waves of magic emerge from my fingers and use it to bust the door open and turn on the lights. What I saw broke my heart. Natasha was awake, it was clear as day to see that her eyes were frantically scanning the room. Her whole body was thrashing around on the bed like she wanted to escape but couldn't. I didn't think the sight could get any worse until I looked to see what was stopping her from moving, and my eyes fell upon one of her hands handcuffed to her bedframe.
"Natalia!" I shouted, closing the door behind me and making my way towards her. She was sweating as she tried to get up but was failing, causing her to panic more. I looked at the handcuffs and noticed her hand was cut as the metal dug into her skin, allowing blood to drip from the wound. "Where's the keys?" I asked her, trying to get an answer so I could help her quickly, but I had no luck as she kept kicking and screaming.
I moved onto the bed, putting her head on my lap and holding it, trying to keep her still so the blood rush wouldn't make her pass out.
"Talia, I need you to breathe. You have to calm down," I tried telling her as I shot my hand up, my magic enveloping the handcuffs, attempting to get them unlocked. I wiped her tears with my thumb. "Look at me, Tasha. Right at me." I saw that her eyes averted to look at me. "Hey," I smiled at her. I began humming, watching as her body calmed down. She continued to gaze at me, tears in her eyes.
Her crying lessened as the handcuff finally unclipped. I reached to remove her hand from the restraints.
"What happened, baby?" I asked, brushing curls out of her face. Her face crumpled.
"I'm sorry," she cried, hiding her face in the arm she put over her head. "You weren't supposed to see me like this."
"Don't cry, pretty girl. It's ok," I told her.
"It's not. I'm so broken."
"You aren't broken, Talia," I reassured her as I continued stroking her cheek. "Did you have a nightmare?" She nodded her head. "Do you want to tell me about it?"
"Not really."
"Ok. We don't have to talk about it. But can we talk about how you had your hand handcuffed to your bed?"
"Promise you won't judge?" Natasha sniffed, revealing her face.
"Never, my love."
"The Red Room. They handcuffed us to the beds at night. After I escaped, it just stuck. I just- I feel like I need to protect you guys from me. I'm a monster."
My whole body ached at her confession. The injustice of everything she went through- what all those little girls went through- is not fair. I leaned down to kiss her forehead.
"I'm so sorry, Tasha. I'm sorry they made you believe that, but I can assure you that you are not a monster. You could never hurt us. Never."
"But how do you know that?"
"Because, Natalia, you are a good person."
"Stop that," she said with a pained face. "Don't try to trick me into believing that. It's not funny."
"Natalia, I promise that I am not tricking you. You are a wonderful person."
"I think you should leave," she told me, suddenly sitting up.
"I'm not leaving you like this," I responded.
"Wanda, please leave. I can't hurt you."
"You could never cause me any pain."
"You don't know that!" she yelled, shocking both of us. She looked down, ashamed. "I'm sorry."
I took a few steps closer to her, pulling her into my arms. "You don't need to be sorry. You're hurting. It's ok." I held her there for a moment before leaving the embrace. I took her cut hand in my own. "Let me patch this up."
"You don't have to-"
"Natalia," I said in a stern voice. She quickly closed her mouth and let me take her hand and guide us to the bathroom.
I took my time cleaning the blood and disinfecting the wounds. I saw Natasha wince, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. I kissed her head every time she flinched, trying to provide her as much comfort as I could. After a few minutes, I had finished wrapping her wrist in gauze, and softly trailed kisses from her wrist all the way to her fingertips.
I led her to her bed, tucking her in before getting in myself.
"Wanda, you can't. I need to-"
"Tasha, I can't let you do that to yourself anymore. I know you feel like you need to, but it will only cause you more pain. You won't ever be able to believe that you are human until you break this habit."
She bit her lip, and I carefully took her injured wrist, wrapping my hand around it and holding it in place.
"What are you doing?" she questioned.
"I'm keeping you safe."
"I'm not the one who needs to be kept safe," she frowned.
"You're the one who needs to be kept safe from those voices inside your head that tells you that you have to keep punishing yourself in order to be good." She looked down. "Let me help you, sweet girl," I said to her, running my free hand through her fiery red hair. Hesitantly, she nodded and scooted closer to me. I let her get comfortable. "Do you want me to tell you a story?"
"Sure," she whispered, putting her face between my neck and shoulder.
"Once there was a girl who had superpowers. They weren't normal superpowers. She couldn't fly and she didn't have super speed, but she was great at fighting and helping other people. She kept herself locked away from her village because she wanted to keep people safe."
"This sounds familiar," Natasha mumbled.
"Shh," I chuckled. "One day, she came across a girl who was sad all the time. She used her superpowers to make this girl happy, even though she didn't know it. The girl with superpowers didn't know it, but she saved that little girl from herself. It didn't take long for that little girl to realize that everything in her life became right until the girl with superpowers came into her life." I could feel Natasha's tears fall onto my neck and I hugged her tighter. "That little girl showed the woman with superpowers that she used her powers for good, and that's what made her a hero. They became one, and together, they lit up the night sky. They were finally able to see how good it was to be alive because they were dancing on the stars. And that's all that mattered. The end."
"Pretty good story," Natasha said.
"Why thank you. I will dedicate the story to you when it becomes published. And that's a promise," I joked.
"Oh hush," Natasha laughed. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, my love," I told her as I took her wrist that I held and brought it up to my lips to kiss it. "Get some rest, Natalia."
*
Natasha slept for the rest of the night and every night after that. Wanda held her wrist while they cuddled in bed, and she never had to use the handcuffs again. Together, they danced on the stars.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave suggestions :)
