Human (Natasha Romanoff x reader)

Chapter 5

Warnings: mental images of throwing Bruce out a window; mentions of involuntary sterilization; mentions of the Red Room; wanting to kill bad people?

We finished cooking and ate supper with the team. I was introduced to Wanda's brother, Pietro, but I barely said ten words to the guy. The entire evening had been a haze, my mind unable to escape the shackles of the conversation between Wanda and I. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like my feelings for Natasha went much further than what could be described as platonic. It was eating away at me, and I decided that I would talk to her as soon as we were alone. Just think of it as a mission, right? No reason to be nervous. Or terrified.
I saw Natasha over by the bar talking to Bruce. I didn't like it, but I remained where I was seated on the couch. She put her hand on his arm and laughed at something he said, and I instantly wanted to throw him out the window. Before I could stand up and march over there, Wanda sat down beside me and said, "Why did I just see a very vivid image inside your mind of Bruce being thrown out the window?"
I did a double-take and thought about what she had just said. "You saw what from where?"
"Oh, you didn't know yet. I can read minds. It's one of the powers that I got while I was at HYDRA. I can't always control it and I didn't mean to go into your head, but your thoughts were very loud..." She gave a sheepish smile as her sentence trailed off.
I let out a low huff, too distracted by the ugly feeling in my gut to be all that shocked. "Look at them. I mean this is a team dinner, not some meet-and-fuck bar."
She raised an eyebrow at me when I tore my eyes away from them to look at her. "You're jealous." She sounded rather amused. "I don't think you have any reason to be, though."
"Why do you say that?"
"I think she likes you too."
"You've barely known her for two days and she's a world-class assassin. You have no idea what she's feeling."
"That's a fair point, but I can read minds."
"You read her mind?!"
"I didn't mean to! I told you I can't always control it."
"Okay, you know what? Don't say anything else. That's a total invasion of her privacy and I don't wanna know anything."
"Are you mad at me?"
"No. I'm just mad in general."
"Yes, because you're jealous."
"Shut up."
"Just go up to her and ask her if you can talk to her in private."
"I don't know...that seems kind of weird."
"You guys are best friends, it's not weird to want to talk to her."
I hesitated a moment before mumbling, "Ugh, fine," and standing up.
I walked over towards the bar and Natasha caught my eye, offering a small wave. I sent a small smile in return and stood beside the bar until Bruce cleared his throat and left. "Hey, can we talk? Like...in private?"
"Um, yeah, sure. We can talk in my room. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine." We left the common room and I caught Wanda's gaze, sending her a wide-eyed look that screamed 'help me'. She opened the door and we walked in. I glanced around the room and cleared my throat. I was totally panicking. So, naturally, I avoided the subject. "I just...wanted to know why you sent that text earlier? I mean it seemed kind of ominous, there wasn't even a smiley face at the end."
"Oh...well, something happened at the cabin. Wanda must've thought we were HYDRA. When we went in, she got in my head. As soon as she realized who I was, she backed out. I told her I hadn't seen anything yet, but...she brought memories of the Red Room to the surface. I saw Madame B training young girls to be widows and my sterilization. It was horrible but I didn't wanna make her feel bad for something that wasn't her fault."
She was tearing up and her body was trembling so I took two large steps forward and pulled her into my arms. "You're okay, Nat. You're not there anymore. You're free. It was really kind of you to not tell Wanda, but you don't have to deal with these things by yourself. You should've told me the second it happened. I would've been on a flight to Sokovia before you even finished your sentence." I swayed gently with her in my arms, trying to calm her breathing. I knew about the kinds of things that happen at places like the Red Room, but knowing it had happened to someone I cared so deeply for ignited a burning hatred in my chest. I wanted to kill anyone who had ever caused her pain. I had a feeling we wouldn't be discussing what I had planned on, but she was hurting, and my top priority was making her feel better.