Right by your side | Natasha Romanoff

25 | Again

It was finally the weekend and we gathered at the theme park. There were too many people to fit in Bill's small yellow beetle car so we decided to meet them at the entrance instead. Clint took the wheel and we set off just after 10am. The kids had a sleepover at Bill's house the night before so they headed straight from his house.

"Um... you haven't met my friends before but here they are. Amy, Hailey, Conan, George and Mitch." You pointed to each of them and said their names. "This is Bill, you've met him before your accident."

"Hi guys." Nat waved at them.

"Wow!! No fair Allie, you get to stay with a pretty lady." Amy and Mitch said while walking close to Nat and each held her hand, dragging her to the ticket entrance.

"Hey! Don't go without us!" You screamed making sure they were not going to get lost. At least Nat was tall enough to see above the sea of people. Not that much taller but tall enough.

"Ohh popcorn!!!" George saw a pushcart and immediately went towards it. Bill went after him because he needed to pay. Poor him.

"I swear he only thinks about eating." You mumbled under your breath as Clint laughed at the situation.

You heard Clint laughing and you turned to look at him. "This reminds me of my own family." He said.

"I didn't think you would come." You said to Hailey. She was always the type to stay at home and nerd out in front of her computer.

"Conan forced me to." She said flatly before walking to the ticket entrance as well.

"She can't be staying at home all the time!!"

---

You've been on a few rides and the crowd was still growing. This was evidently seen by the ever growing queue for each ride. The kids were complaining while queuing under the hot sun as there was nothing to keep them occupied. Even after snacking all the time, George's stomach still rumbled loudly.

"George!" Amy said.

"What? I can't help it."

"Why don't you go and grab another snack while I wait in the queue for us? I think we have to wait for another twenty minutes for this ride." You suggested.

"Okay!!" They agreed without hesitating and went out of the queue cheering happily. Bill had to follow them as he was their guardian for this trip. As much as you were the one who suggested the idea, you were slightly sad that they didn't even hesitate before leaving.

"Why don't you go with them? Clint and I can wait here." Nat said.

"No... it's fine."

The three of you chatted while waiting and approaching the front of the line. You didn't really talk much, it was mostly Clint talking about Lila and Cooper. Just as you were about to call Bill to make sure they didn't miss their turn, they came back with chips in their hands.

"Here! We can share them." Amy stretched her hands and you took a piece of chip from her.

"Thanks."

---

You stayed until it was darker in the evening as they were planning to catch the fireworks at night. After having dinner at one of the over-priced restaurants in the theme park, the kids started dragging Bill around to get souvenirs and toys from the store.

You took a look around and something caught your eye. It was a white dolphin keychain. Out of everyone that was hanging on the shelf, it was the only one which was not coloured. It was hidden amongst the rest but it stood out clearly because it was so special.

"Do you want it? I can buy it for you." Nat voice out of nowhere, startling you. Even though she hasn't unlocked her memories of her time with you, she felt the connection.

"Uh no it's okay. I just noticed that it was different from the rest, that's all." You politely declined before meeting up with Clint who was waiting outside.

"We better go and find a place to see the fireworks." Bill said as the time was approaching.

"Wait wait wait, I need to go to the washroom!" George said dashing off and once again Bill had to follow him to ensure his safety.

"Sorry guys." He said before rushing towards Geroge.

While waiting, the fireworks started and luckily, we could still watch a bit from where we were standing. You looked around and immediately noticed that Nat was gone.

"Clint! Where's Nat?" You asked anxiously. She wouldn't have just left without informing us.

"Wasn't she just here with us?" Clint also started to panic slightly after not seeing the red head around. Your eyes scanned the crowd thinking she might have left her spot to look for a better place but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Hailey, call the rest of the team and stay with the kids and don't move!" You instructed before running away to find Nat.

"Y/N!" Conan called out to you before also instructing Hailey the same and rushing towards you, knowing you would do something dangerous.

Hailey sighed as turned to the rest of the group which was really just reminding Mitch and Amy. "Let's go and find them shall we?" Hailey was also one of the smart bunch but she prefers to use the help of others to achieve what she needs instead of having to do it herself. So off she went first to the map of the place, thinking where everyone else could have gone.

You went off finding Nat, knowing her, she probably went off hiding somewhere and wouldn't be out in the open. You looked at the queue of the rides, all of them with little to no one because it was getting dark and people are more interested in the fireworks now.

Seeing the shadow of the person you were looking for, you dash forward even though the employees tried to stop you. However, Nat didn't see you, she only heard someone was chasing her and that made her run even faster. She may have forgotten how to fight, but her impressive stamina was still there.

Both of you ran towards a water ride, which doesn't not stop operating even though there were no riders. You watched as she jumped into the float and gave it your all to catch up to her in order to get into the same float.

Natasha screamed as she felt someone got in with her but you were quick to reassure her. "Hey hey, it's just me. Allie. Just me."

"Allie?"

"Yeah, it's me. Why did you run away?"

"I don't know? I thought I saw him, and I can't put you guys in danger."

"You can't-" You went to speak up but a bullet landed near us and started deflating the float. You started thinking as you were still on the water ride and there was no way of getting out dry. "Do you trust me?" You asked Nat seriously.

"Yeah, I do."

Posted on 10 Jul 2022