Emerald Eyes | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 15: Holding You

onions have layers, ogres have layers
pls comment, it makes me happy

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"Nat?"

Nat was alerted at the shaky voice calling out her name. She was busy tying her bike up in the garage as they'd just got back home from school.

"Natasha?"

Lia's tone had no strength to it, and as Nat whipped her head around she saw the huddles figure of her girlfriend sat on the garage floor.

"Baby what's wrong?" Nat tried to keep her voice calm, as Lia's anxiety had just appeared out of nowhere. The brunette had her back pressed firmly against an old filing cabinet and her knees were pulled up to her chest.

Nat gently touched Lia's knee, unsure of how aware she was of her surroundings. The girl flinched, but didn't move away, so Nat took that as a sign to get closer.

"Li?"

The girl slowly lifted her head and Nat instantly saw her heaving chest. Settling down beside her, Nat took a hand in hers and lead through some deep breathing. Lia's hands were shaking and Nat tightened her grip ever so slightly.

This had seemingly come out of nowhere. The ride back had been as smooth as it could be and the girls were chatting the whole time. So Lia's sudden change in mood was concerning to Natasha.

Thanks to Nat's quick thinking skills, Avelia's breathing was more controllable. Her body had stopped visibly shaking but she still wouldn't look Nat in the eye.

"Baby?" Nat tried again and even though the pet names sent butterflies to Lia's stomach, she didn't dare make eye contact. Call it a gut feeling, but she didn't want to look into Natasha's disappointed eyes, which didn't actually exist. "Lia look at me."

The brunette shook her head and kept her eyes focussed on a random spot on the floor in front of her. Nat knew the girl was lost inside her own head, so she gently hooked a finger under her chin and tilted it up to meet her. "What's going on darling?"

Lia's mind had gone blank for the second time that day. Her anxiety had made her spiral over something so small. The voice of her mom telling her not to use powers outside the house had been circling around ever since she showed Nat, and now they were home it made her feel 10 times worse.

"Mama" was all Lia managed to get out. She took a deep breath in to try to settle her nerves, but let out a whimper as the fear took over.

"Mama? As in Wanda?" Lia nodded.

"Sh-she doesn't know I told you. And now she's gonna be mad because she told me not to." Her breathing picked up once again, pushing her back against the metal door she was sat against in a pathetic attempt to ground herself.

Nat could see the fear written across her girlfriend's face. She didn't have any ideas about Lia's powers, but the tone of her voice made Nat think that something had clearly happened with them before. "She will understand. Your mom is the most forgiving person I've ever met Lia, and I know she won't be mad. But we also can't sit here forever."

Nat's hands were still clasped around Lia's left one, and the shorter girl brought them up to her face and gently rubbed them against her lips. "What if she hates me?" she mumbled, almost inaudibly.