"Some days she felt like she was swimming in lies, treading water in a sea of deception. One day, surely, she would drown in her own secrets."
*~*~*~*
Venetia Sarafian was never like other women. Rather than sitting back and thinking of how she coul...
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After her conversation with Steve, Venetia had retreated back to the bedroom Laura had offered her for the duration of their stay at the Barton home. The same room that the woman always stayed in on her occasional visits. It was there with her lips pursed into a thin line that the brunette sat on the floor, her back pressed against the bed frame while her onyx eyes remained trained on the small flames dancing across her fingers.
She nor Steve had said a word after her confession about the vision Wanda had forced upon her. Neither of them knew what to say about her cruel vision, being forced to see the man she loved being held responsible for the deaths of those closest to her. That very same man then turning the gun onto her. It was far too close to reality for Venetia's liking. After all, the Winter Soldier had been the one responsible for kidnapping her in Italy and taking her to Strucker-- making her Hydra's prisoner.
There was no denying that fact.
"Hey, kid." The flames vanished from her fingertips at the sound of Clint's voice. She didn't bother looking over her shoulder and instead listened to the sound of his boots on the wooden floorboards as he closed the door behind him and moved around the bed. A small sigh escaped his lips as he sat down next to her, resting his calloused hands on his knees. "Laura tried to get you out earlier. You missed dinner."
"Not hungry," she offered a small shrug of her shoulders. The corners of her lips tugged downwards as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "And I'm not a kid."
"You look younger than me," he countered with a teasing smirk. "Consider it payback."
"I stopped calling you kid a long time ago," she reminded him.
"And I'll stop when you start looking your age," he offered. "Come on, we're all out there waiting for you."
"You guys don't need me," she shook her head. "I think you all proved that these last few years. You pulled together and handled yourselves when you needed to. Managed to take down Hydra's new string. You're a team, with or without me."
"Maybe we don't wanna be without you. Ever consider that?" He gave her a small nudge in the side. "I wasn't just trying to comfort you when I told you how much I missed you when you went missing. You were the one that brought us all back together after New York, V. Do you have any idea how many annoying messages I've put up with from Stark the last two years? All for the sake of finding you, hoping you were still out there alive somewhere. We need you, V, no matter how much you might think otherwise. You're the heart of this team."
"You're a shitty liar," she scoffed.
"What?" His brows furrowed at her words, it being enough to surprise him.
