Little Situation

Chapter 12

 Nat entered the studio, the blaring classical music indicating Sarah was in there. She saw the hearing aids on the floor by a water bottle and a pair of brown pointe shoes. She would've knocked on the floor like she saw Pietro do but she honestly wasn't sure if Sarah would feel those vibrations over the ones from the speaker. So she waited until Sarah fiddled more with the music and finally turned around.

"Can I join you?" Nat held up a pair of ballet slippers.

Sarah nodded.

"I haven't done this in years, don't make fun of me if I mess up."

Her smile faltered a bit when Sarah didn't laugh but she slipped on the shoes and started at the barre letting Sarah have full room on the floor. Nat liked from this vantage point she could watch over Sarah. She never saw herself coming back here but Natasha was protective of Sarah and after what they all saw she was willing to push aside her own discomfort for the young girl.

Sarah didn't tell her but she was grateful for the company even if it was silent. The entire first hour Nat didn't try to talk to her, letting her process. Nat looked over when Sarah turned down the music. Sarah grabbed her pointe shoes and hearing aids. Sticking the aids back in, she walked over to Nat and began to put on the shoes and lace them up.

"Did they ever wipe you?" she asked.

"No, Sarah. They never did."

Nat helped her stand and they both began doing more barre exercises. When they were both facing the mirror, Nat looked at Sarah through her reflection.

"You're not a bad person."

"I know."

"Then why can't you look yourself in the face when you say it?"

"He wouldn't even look at me," Sarah whispered.

"Who... Steve? Sarah, honey, he wasn't looking to stop from crying."

Nat tried to reason but she wouldn't see it. Sarah kept shaking her head over and over again. Nat watched her snake a hand up and turn off both aids before muttering sorry and running away. She returned to the other Avengers in the common area.

"Girl talk wasn't what she wanted, we should've just sent Steve first," Nat said as she sat down.

"What happened?"

"We're back to square one. She thinks you think she's a monster... wait, Rogers, give her some space."

Steve faltered for a moment before heading up to the apartment, he felt like he needed to see Sarah— that if he gave her space, it might fester into something worse. He couldn't see her in the living room and didn't hear any sound of movement.

"Sarah? Sarah, Babydoll, it's dad," he called out but still no response.

Steve leaned against the dining room table and started speaking loudly into the apartment, not sure if Sarah still had the hearing aids turned off or not.

"What happened to you isn't your fault. I'm sorry they did that to you. That you went through any of that and I wasn't there to save you or your mother. But I don't for one second blame you for anything you did or they made you do. It wasn't your choice and it wasn't you. Okay, Babydoll. I know my Sarah, you aren't just what they made you."

Steve almost didn't hear her say bathroom. He had checked there already but went anyway, hoping his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. The bathroom was still empty until he heard a sniffle from the bathtub. Steve gently pulled back the curtain and saw Sarah sitting in the corner of the tub. He carefully climbed in and sat down, waiting for her to speak.