❝these were the women who knitted pain into glory❞
[COMPLETED]
[marvel cinematic universe]
[alternate universe]
[natasha romanoff]
[SO MANY WORDING ERRORS BUT I CBA TO FIX THEM RN]
BAD BITCH ❝these were the women who knitted pain into glory❞ 24. Forgiveness
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
February 2017
❝You know, I really thought we were going to fight side by side forever.❞ Svetlana muses thoughtfully, paying closer attention to the beer bottle in front of her rather than the woman to her right, and Natalia seems to freeze momentarily. Neither had wanted to be the first to talk about it yet, as the weeks came and went, it had become apparent that it was becoming an ever-growing elephant in the room. Svetlana had never been one for self preservation so took the plunge when she'd seen the perfect moment. Unfortunately, it damped the mood entirely. It had been the first time in a while since the two women were truly alone together. They'd not been avoiding each other, the opposite even, but the fates seemed to turn against them and every time one came back from a mission, the other would be leaving. Yet, the Natalia had gotten injured on her most recent mission alongside the Avengers and, though it was a simple torn hamstring, had been told to stay inside Stark Towers whilst the other fought. This had made Svetlana feel a wave of excitement. Of course she wasn't thrilled that Natalia had gotten hurt, but the prospect of having an evening together alone was enough to make her happy that it had happened. The evening had gone well, they'd spoken civilly over bottles of beer and had even bantered slightly as they lounged around on the couch. A long forgotten movie was playing in the background but both had effortlessly tuned it out, and it was complete bliss for Svetlana. She hated to admit it but she felt a childish sense of longing for Natalia. Almost as though she were homesick and Natalia were her home. Svetlana supposed that, in many ways, Natalia was her only home. Yet, she knew that they would have to eventually talk to each other about the resurfacing guilt and anguish and that there was nothing they could do from preventing the conversation. So she'd taken the plunge.
❝So did I.❞ Natalia states with a sense of finality. She takes a long drink of her beer before setting it on the coffee table in front of them both. She knew just as well as Svetlana that it was going to be a harsh conversation. Svetlana couldn't bring herself to look Natalia in the eyes, however, so was content to watch her thumb circle the neck of her own bottle. Svetlana frowns at her words. Natalia had always confused her, even when they were young girls just trying to survive, but she supposed that it was now, this conversation, that she could voice her internal thoughts. She didn't want to. Every instinct that Hydra had programmed in her screamed for her to shut down, walk away, and to never allow someone so close to her again but she fought against that and opened her mouth in hesitation. ❝Why leave, then? You left.❞ Svetlana mumbles, feeling childish for opening up to someone, and she barely catches the look of hurt flash across Natalia's face. It was definitely there though. ❝I couldn't keep living like that, Svet. All the hiding, and the secrecy and fear, I just couldn't see myself living like that for longer than I did. ❞ Svetlana stares at her beer bottle before moving her glare to the wall behind Natalia. They had both been sitting, relaxed, before the conversation, but now it seemed as though they were both folding in on themselves. Natalia was hunched at the back, elbows on her knees, one knee bouncing up and down rhythmically, whilst desperately trying to catch Svetlana's gaze whilst Svetlana had curled her legs in on herself and was crumpled into a ball, looking anywhere aside from Natalia.
