𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 ✘ 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐅𝐅

{4⁷} {TONY STARK 2.0}

∆ {4⁷} {TONY STARK 2.0} ∆ 

ROXI'S HEAD WAS still pounding with an awful ache, and now it was more than her mind pushing itself into overdrive due to the situation at hand. Now, it was that terrible pain that was more intense than almost anything she'd ever felt, and the one that simply wouldn't go away. These were the ones that she'd asked Tony to look into, though the answer that she got wasn't the one that she'd either expected or wanted. She was sitting in Natasha's room, which she realised that she'd only been in once or twice, drinking a cup of tea while she sat the arm chairs, staring at the faint red walls that she'd helped Natasha paint so many months ago.

The redhead had made more of a fuss than was necessary by insisting that it had to be the same shade of red that her room in Clint's house was. Roxi hadn't minded, because the proud, warm smile that Natasha had held at the end of it was something that Roxi would remember for a very long time.

She didn't register that the redhead had walked into the room until she wrapped her arms around Roxi from behind her, slipping her arms around the woman's waist and resting her chin on Roxi's shoulder. Roxi immediately responded, leaning back into the redhead's soft touch, knowing that the woman needed as much support and comfort as she herself did, especially with the argument in the meeting room that had finished only half an hour prior.

"How did you know him? Charles Spencer?" Natasha's question was soft, gentle, careful. It was clear that she didn't want Roxi to have a harsh reaction, but Roxi knew she wouldn't. This was different to before, when Tony had simply thrust the image into the open and started talking about the boy's death in such a carefully casual way. Natasha was being soft, as if respecting the boy who had died helping others, and Roxi didn't doubt that that was genuinely part of what she was doing.

"I saw him," she answered with no hesitation, on the same level and in the same tone that Natasha's voice carried, "In Sokovia. I saw him three times, Natasha, and every time he was helping somebody else. Never taking a moment to step to the side to catch his breath; just constantly helping. And there I was, watching the chaos go by so that I could take a moment to stop my thoughts from racing too fast. His head must have been spinning, Tasha, racing, with their screams. He was surrounded by them. He had a way out, but he didn't take it. He is what we need to be." She finished on a whisper, closing her eyes, her hands - that were now grasping Natasha's - strengthening their hold.

"Roxi.." Natasha didn't seem to know what to say, so instead, she moved around so that she was in front of the woman, and sat on Roxi's lap carefully, cupping her hands against her jaw and tilting her face up so that Roxi's eyes met her own. Natasha leaned forwards and planted a soft kiss on Roxi's lips, who quite literally melted into it, feeling some of her tensions melt away until Natasha pulled away, far too early for her liking. She met Roxi's gaze directly, her lips still only centimetres away from Roxi's own.

"You've, we've, done so much for the world. We've changed the world, and we've saved it. These Accords, they don't change that. What we've done.. we're not heroes anymore. Maybe we weren't to start with. We've done so much wrong, that we can't allow people to use the fact that we aren't heroes anymore affect us, because even if we're not heroes, we are the Avengers. That means that we save the world, whenever we need to, and we save whoever we can.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again until you understand. We can't save everyone. We have to do our best." Natasha's words were more stern as she watched Roxi carefully, though a weak smile broke through the redhead's features at the face of understanding that managed to break through the brunette's façade. 

"And that's why we need to sign," Roxi admitted, not daring to break eye contact, as she continued, her voice low as she awaited Natasha's reaction, "Because if we're retired, we can't do anything. If we're supposed to retire and we don't, then we're criminals, and then it's almost impossible to do anything at all. But if we sign, we can do something, and it would be more than anything else. We need to do it, Natasha. I need to."