sporadic | avengers

FOUR / when black widow received a portrait

steve blocked a ray of energy with his shield, and bucky launched an enemy soldier into the air with his metal arm. vision severed the airborne soldier in half with his mind stone.

natasha fired at two soldiers from both sides, simultaneously. it was in that instance that she felt a tug on her belt. she looked over her shoulder to see a small eight or nine year old girl. her hair was tied in two messy braids, and she wore hello kitty footie pajamas.

natasha looked around, and when she saw a wave of new soldiers, she yelled, "cover me!"

bucky glanced at natasha and the small girl and took initiative immediately.

he kept his back to natasha, who picked the girl up and held her close to her body. bucky backed up as natasha moved into an empty parking garage. bucky fired at soldiers who tried, and failed to follow.

when natasha and the girl were safely inside, he moved a slab of concrete in front of the doorway to serve as a temporary block.

the plexiglass windows would serve as blockades for the rest of the area.

bucky remained standing, watching and remaining guard for the two.

natasha set the small girl down and squatted to get to her petite height.

the young girl seemed completely unaffected by her city destroying itself and a near-death experience. she looked with bright green eyes at the assassin.

"what are you doing out there?" natasha asked, trying to keep her voice calm and steady so as not to scare her more. "where are your parents?"

"my parents?" she asked. "i don't have parents."

"are you an orphan? where's your orphanage?"

"they attacked it," the little girl stated. natasha glanced at bucky for a moment; his eyes darted away. "i saw you, and i wanted to give this to you."

natasha watched the girl as she unzipped a few inches of her onesie and pulled out a folded piece of paper. she zipped it up again and handed the paper to natasha.

natasha looked at it. in sloppy letters, it read, "for black widow."

she carefully opened the worn paper. the edges were delicately worn from numerous openings before.

she looked at the portrait in her hands.

a work of art.

the eight or nine year old girl with messy braids, wearing a hello kitty footie set, had drawn natasha. there was an oversized head and fire engine red hair, black clothes colored outside the lines, and an array of weapons fastened to the body.

in lettering that matched the front, the girl had written, "my hero."

"it was for sister ann's assignment," the girl said quietly. "she wanted us to draw our heroes. no one drew you, except me. you're my hero. i'm kind of happy no one else drew you."

"why?" natasha asked softly.

"because then you're my special hero."

"thank you."

"why?"

"you're my special girl," natasha stated. "what's your name?"

"marcy. what's yours?"

it was then the slab of concrete was pushed aside, revealing a silhouette in front of the sun. natasha pulled marcy to her body just as the silhouette shot two rounds. natasha's eyes adjusted to the silhouette and she saw the enemy's leader.

bucky had shot a single bullet into his unguarded head, and the leader dropped dead. natasha's stomach felt wet.

she looked over to see where the two shots had gone: one into her own stomach and the other into marcy's chest.

"stay with me, marcy," she begged her. natasha completely disregarded her own pain, too worried about her new-found admirer. "come on, eyes on me."

marcy was too far gone from being saved. bucky knelt and applied pressure to the chest wound anyway; hoping it wound do something, anything.

"thank you, natasha," marcy's words died with her. bucky held the lifeless body of an eight or nine year old girl with messy braids, who wore blood-soaked hello kitty pajamas.

natasha's stomach writhed from both the wound and the weight of an innocent child's death. she folded the portrait up quickly and carefully with bloody fingers and tucked it into a holster for safekeeping, right beside her favorite gun.

she jammed two fingers into the wound to block the blood and looked at bucky.

"we have to go," he stated. "we can't leave her here," he added. he held the girl tightly to him. he stood, carrying her limp body. natasha stood. they walked out of the parking garage.

the team found them and understood.

+++

they buried marcy in a private graveyard near the town. because she was an orphan, and because the orphanage was destroyed (along with all the people and children), the stone only read 'marcy.'

natasha's stomach wound healed.

marcy's funeral was the first time she cried in front of the team. bucky had to take her home before the end.

natasha hasn't opened the portrait to this day, and she swore bucky to secrecy. he didn't think he'd have be able to say anything regardless.

marcy was buried in her messy braids and hello kitty footie pajamas. natasha set a belt of hers in with marcy. no casket should ever be the small, and no kid should ever be buried without something of personal value.