The Mimic

87

Natasha was angry, and everyone knew it. They'd all ditched Steve, leaving him in the missions room on his own. Nobody wanted to deal with an angry Natasha. Neither did Steve, but she'd left him to hold her coffee mug. He was stuck there until she came back.

Natasha soon made her way back toward the missions room. She had a scarily calm look on her face as she walked past the rest of the team. Nat didn't say a word as she stepped into the missions room, shutting the doors behind her so nobody else could listen in on their 'little conversation'. She was ready to blow up on Steve. Y/n looked so upset and distressed sat up on the table. She'd been through enough in the past twenty-four hours, she didn't need any more stress. However, before she could begin to speak, Steve cut in.

Steve felt as if he needed to explain himself before Natasha begun to shout. They'd had their clashes before, but he'd never seen her this angry. He still felt as if he was in the right with what he did. "Nat. We needed more information on Zemo. The only way we could do that is if we know how he kidnapped y/n-"

"No, Steve. I don't care." Natasha quickly interjected, holding her had up as if to motion for him to stop talking. "There is nothing to excuse what you just did. Do you even think before you do things?" Natasha huffed, tapping her head out of annoyance. "Is there any empathy up there? Any humanity? Please, let me know if there's anything up there." She clasped her hands together with raised eyebrows, waiting for an answer. But, just as Steve opened his mouth, Natasha cut him off. She didn't want to hear anything he had to say. "There isn't anything up there, I know. Do you know how I know that? Because nobody in their right mind would just stand there whilst a person is very obviously breaking down in front of them." She snapped, beginning to raise her voice. Natasha pointed toward the table that y/n was once sat on, angry eyes trained on Steve. "Y/n was sat right there. Struggling to breathe and breaking down. And you all just stood there like she was a zoo animal! Nobody approached her, you all just stood and stared. What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She yelled, letting her anger get the better of her. Steve didn't seem to listen to what she had to say last night, so maybe shouting would finally get it through his head. "You're treating her like she's a monster! You're interrogating her like she's one of the bad guys! She's part of the team, Steve. She's part of the family. And here you are, watching as she cries." Natasha begun to pace as she ranted, not really caring if the rest of the team were listening on the other side of the door. They needed to hear it too. 

Steve watched Natasha rant and shout, just stood there with a frown on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest as anger begun to build. He didn't like being yelled at and disrespected like that, especially when he couldn't give Natasha any of his reasoning. Steve still felt as if he was in the right. "How are we supposed to know more about Zemo and the kidnapping if-"

"Did I ask you to speak?" Nat quickly cut in, her hands on her hips as she gave Steve an accusatory glare. "There are so many ways you could've done this! Why did everyone have to be in the room? Why did it have to be in the missions room? Why did it have to be right now?" She questioned, making her way toward Steve as if he was squaring up to him. "All you think about is yourself and the mission, Steve. I would've thought that you'd be the most caring in a situation like this, especially because of your best friend, but I guess not. I guess mental torture is something we should just brush over now." She spat, glaring up at him. Yes, Steve was taller, but Natasha didn't need height to make him feel small. "Y/n is not a monster, and she definitely isn't planning on attacking us. So stop acting like she could snap at any second." Nat moved away from Steve, making her way toward the door. Her hand hovered over the handle, but she didn't open it yet. "Y'know, I wouldn't be mad if y/n did snap. Because I'll know that you would've caused it, and you probably deserved it." She shrugged, a look of pure venom in her eyes. She would feel no remorse if y/n beat Steve up. No remorse at all. "Open your damn eyes. Because next time I won't be using my words." She opened the door, and walked out, slamming it behind her just to make sure Steve knew she was being serious.

Natasha let out a long breath as she walked down the hallway, happy that she was able to let her anger out. She didn't feel bad for yelling at all. Y/n was like a little sister to her, and there was no way she was going to let anyone torment her. She'd had a sister before, and she failed to protect her. Natasha wasn't going to let that happen again. However, her face seemed to fall as she pushed open her bedroom door. Y/n wasn't in there. Nat cursed under her breath as she almost begun to jog down the hallway, worry and anger beginning to build as she prepared herself to shout again. But, the sight that she saw in the kitchen stopped her in her tracks, a warm smile appearing on her once-angry face.

Y/n and Sam were the only two in the kitchen, yet the music and the laughs made it sound like there were many more. Sam seemed to be the only person that had actually listened to Natasha, and was treating y/n like a normal person. They were trying to make pizza - emphasis on the trying - but it didn't seem to be working very well. At all. There seemed to be a cloud of flour in the air, and random ingredients were everywhere. But, the main attraction was the pair trying to toss the pizza dough into the air. "Ready? Three... Two.." Sam begun to count down, preparing his pizza base to be thrown into the air. "One!" Y/n exclaimed, and they both tossed their dough into the air. More laughter seemed to erupt as y/n's stuck to the ceiling, leaving Sam distracted enough for his piece of dough to land on his head. Y/n almost doubled over in laughter as the dough landed on Sam's head. "You're terrible!" She laughed, helping Sam peel the dough off of himself.

Natasha watched fondly from the doorway. It was the first time she'd seen her smiling and laughing. Yes, there were still some tears in y/n's eyes, and she still wasn't acting completely like herself, but this was a start.