A New Beginning

Chapter 13

I found Sharon in an uninhabited room nearby, our former conference room. She was sitting in a chair, her face in her hands. I approached her carefully and sat down next to her. She waved a hand, gesturing me to go away. I leaned closer.

"Now that it's just the two of us, I think we can talk comfortably," I said, with no hint of command in my voice. Sharon removed her hands from her face to reveal tear-stained cheeks. She didn't look at me.

"I tried. I tried to be a good mom, a good wife, a good agent. I screwed up everything," she said bitterly. I surprised myself by relating to her. I often screw up everything. And end up hurting those I love. And end up hating myself. The only reason I'm actually still standing is because... because someone gave me confidence and self-assurance that I'm not the monster I think I am. Because of Steve.

A lightbulb lit in my head at the thought. Sharon needs someone like Steve. Maybe not Steve himself, since he seems to hold a very negative view on Sharon, but maybe... maybe I could be that person. I shook my head in my mind at the thought. There's no way I would be able to do that.

I cast a sidewards glance at Sharon, who was now staring blankly at the walls. My eyes moved to her hands, where there were crescent-shaped marks indented in her skin. I sighed and reached out to tap her shoulder.

"Hey," I started. "You know you're not the only one who feels like they screwed up everything."

"Well I not only feel like I've screwed up everything, I actually screwed up everything," Sharon intercepted, and turned around to look me in the eye. I sighed once more.

"You think I haven't screwed up everything one point in my life? I killed so many people - I can't even count - under the KGB. And when my parents died... I thought it was all my fault. I still believe so," I said.

"If you still believe so, how do you cope with it? How are you still smiling? How are you not lying in your bed, depressed out of your mind, not wanting to do anything else?" She asked me. She seemed desperate to know, her voice shaking as questions spouted from her mouth. Truth is, those questions accurately described me at different points in my life. The only reason I wasn't still doing those things was because of -

"Steve. It's Steve," I blurted out. I braced myself for an outburst, knowing Steve could be a touchy topic for Sharon, but instead she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She laughed an unhappy laugh.

"Of course. Everyone's knight in shining armor. How is he doing?" She asked.

"He's... well he's his typical self. Overly kind, but still so lovable. Thinking that it's his duty to save every single little organism on this planet. Very protective of his family. Just really sweet and cute and brave," I replied quietly. Really, I was being frank. This was what Steve was like every day. Anyone close to him would know.

I looked at Sharon, who was smiling. It seemed like a real smile this time. She suddenly turned to me and gave me a smirk.

"You seem to be completely in love with him," she said.

"Yeah..." I trailed off, not knowing what else to say. I couldn't hide the smile, nor the blush on my face, though the smile disappeared as I asked my next question.

"Why? Are you jealous?" I asked her. Sharon chuckled, and looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting in the table. She shook her head once.

"No," she replied. "No, I'm not jealous. I still love Steve, but not in a romantic way. More of a respecting and admiring way. My fling with him was brief. Soon it became clear that I didn't have the love he was searching for. Aunt Peggy obviously did, but she... died. And you have it too, I'm pretty sure," she said. I gave her a genuine smile. Sharon seemed to be getting more and more likeable. Maybe I read her wrong.

"Thanks," I said. "You know... I think you deserve to be part of Steve's family more than I do."

"Loving isn't the same as deserving. Loving is being attracting to one another, on the outside and most importantly - on the inside," she pointed to her heart. "Steve and my Aunt Peggy were attracted to each other on a physical and emotional level. I think it's the same for you and Steve. I think... Steve wanted to find someone who was like Peggy."

"And you weren't that person?" I raised an eyebrow. Peggy shook her head.

"I may be related to Sharon, but personality-wise, you're more similar to her," she said.

"Oh," I gave a blunt reply. "You have to tell me more about Peggy someday. I need to know about this legend. She seems like a pretty awesome person." Sharon have me a wide smile.

"She was. You guys would've gotten along," she said, and paused. "Oh and by the way, how is Sarah doing?"

"Sarah's... fine. She's actually doing great. She fits in with the Avengers. It's very funny," I said and laughed to myself. Sharon nodded, then brought out a wrapped gift.

"This is for Sarah," she said. "Pointe shoes." I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Sarah? Pointe shoes?

"She does ballet? I mentioned to her that I do ballet but she had almost no reaction to it," I said.

"She wants to, but I never let her do it. That's probably why she didn't say anything about it," Sharon answered. My mouth formed an "o" shape, not wanting to say anything further.

"Well, I will get these to Sarah. I'm sure she'll be very happy," I said. Sharon cast a sad smile.

"Just... do me a favor and don't tell her it's from me," she told me. I wanted to ask why, then thought otherwise. Sharon had been cooperative today - I shouldn't push her too far.

"It's the least I could do," I said. Sharon then stood up to leave. I watched as her shoulders straightened up as she got closer to the door. Suddenly, she stopped.

"And Natasha?" She turned around for a brief second. "I killed the person who hurt James." She left with that, leaving me in the room with an unopened present in my hands and thousands of questions spiraling through my head.

An hour later, I found myself sitting on the floor of the new room that Tony had assigned for Sarah in the Avengers Tower. Sarah was eagerly opening her present, and I had to suppress a smile as she took out a pair of pale pink pointe shoes.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed. "Who are they from, I need to thank them!"

"Someone secret. I'll pass on the thanks to them," I said, and gave Sarah a smirk. "Shall we observe your ballet skills?"

Sarah gave me an excited nod and dragged me over to the ballet studio in the tower.

So... Sharon seems to be nice? Or Natasha seems too gullible? If you're confused, let me clarify.

I wanted to try something new with this story, because Sharon always seems to be the victim of Romanogers fans. I mean, technically we should be hating on Staron, not Sharon herself. But you never know, Sharon might be a wolf in sheep's clothing. I'm never really sure myself.

Also, I'm sorry if Natasha was a bit out of character this chapter. She seemed a bit too soft and open to one of her least favorite people. And I'm sorry for the excessive amount of dialogue. I just needed to figure out how to incorporate the Natasha/Sharon bonding experience into this story.

Otherwise, thanks y'all for reading and voting and commenting! I really appreciate it. 😊😊 And stay tuned for the upcoming chapters because there will be more on Sharon's abusive boss.