Right by your side | Natasha Romanoff

27 | APTX 4869

Thankfully, Wanda made full recovery a few days later and she was fine to move around except participating in any mission. Since it was good news all around, Tony decided it was a great time to have a vacation. You were very excited to join as it's been sometime since you travelled overseas and agreed immediately without thinking.

You were so excited when you were talking to Bill, telling them that you'd be away for a week as they went to London. Until Hailey told you a terrifying truth. "Allison Bright is not a real person." Those few words weakened your legs and you dropped to the floor in horror that you won't be able to go.

"Hailey! You don't have to be so straightforward about it." Bill said. She rolled her eyes before going back down to her basement where she's normally at.

"No, she's right..." You got back up and trudged back to the entrance, waiting for Bill to drive you back. Bill was stuck in between, not knowing how to comfort you because not that what Hailey said was wrong, it was just the delivery was not the best it could have been. Hailey wasn't the best in communication, often saying hurtful remarks that others would have sugar coated. She's the type of friend you would look to for advice but refuse to believe because she's right.

"Wait!" Hailey said, making your head turn. She tossed you a pill and you caught it in your palm.

"What's this?" You held it between your thumb and index fingers and looked at the red and white pill in front of you.

"APTX 4869. I just created it with whatever information I have. It's not permanent but it'll last 24 hours."

"Thanks Hailey!" You went forward to hug her but she stretched her hands out to stop you. You didn't care about that and grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm only giving you two. One to go there and one to come back." She said sternly. "If you use them up before you come back, be prepared to get used to London's life." She handed you the box that contained the remaining one.

After conversing more with Bill and Hailey, Bill brought you back to the compound.

"Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me!" You said excitedly, a total 180 from the earlier mood. Now grinning widely, you were excited to go to your room to pack your bags for the vacation.

You walked past Natasha's room and heard her sigh. You knocked on the door slightly and opened the door to see Natasha was packing her bag as well. "Nat?" You said softly as you walked closer to her.

She wiped her tears away before facing you. "Yeah?"

"Why are you crying?" You sat on her bed and looked at her.

"I wasn't" She defended.

"You were."

"I wasn't." You crossed your arm in front of you and pulled your eyebrows together, not planning to back down anytime soon. "Fine." Nat huffed. "I just wanted Y/N to be able to join us. But I don't even know what she's doing now. She refuses to tell me and I can only hear her voice when she calls me." She dropped the hoodie in her hands and you shifted closer to her.

You knew she misses you by the number of voicemails you received from her. Sometimes, you even caught her calling you purposely just so she could hear your voice on the automated message. You were starting to think if giving her the number was a bad thing. She knows you're alive but she couldn't feel and speak to you, its almost like a torture to her.

"I love you." You hugged her and rested your head on her stomach.

You couldn't see it, but Natasha was smiling as she brought her hand up and down your back. "I love you too."

"No... I love you." Placing emphasis on the 'I'.

"Yeah, I love you too." Natasha said again, not getting what you meant. You grumbled when she didn't understand what you meant but continued to hug her. "Are you not going to pack your bags? We're leaving tomorrow." Nat said while she continued to fold her clothes while you stayed in the same position feeling too comfortable to leave. You sighed and gave her one last squeeze before going back to your room.

---

"Allie, have you and Bill arrived yet?" Natasha left a message on your phone when they arrived at Heathrow airport. You and Bill took the earlier flight here because you needed the gap time for yourself to change back, you couldn't risk turning back before you got out of the airport. Thankfully, Tony was willing to pay for Bill's first class seat as well. Not that it was even going to make a dent in his bank account.

The effect of the pill lasted longer than 24 hours which made you stay in the washroom longer than you'd like. Finally changing into Allie's clothes, you packed your clothes into Bill's bag and left the washroom.

It was a lot of fun trying to sneak into your old room to pick out the clothes you needed before sneaking back again. You know, being a lady and finally being able to travel after a long time, you wanted to look good, even if it was only for the duration of the flight. You made sure to pick the sunglass you absolutely adore, after not being able to wear it for so long due to it being too big on you now.

Once you were back with Bill, you took out your phone from your pocket and dialed for Nat to reply to her voice message.

Nat

Hey Allie, have you finally reached the airport?

Hi Nat, Bill and I just collected our bags.

We just left the airport since you told me your plane got delayed.
Do you want us to turn back and fetch you guys?

There's no need for that.
Bill and I will just take a cab and meet you all at the hotel.

Alright, can't wait to see you.

Me too. See you.

After hanging up, you could hardly contain the excitement when you told Bill what happened in the conversation and boarded the cab heading straight to the hotel.

Once the cab pulled up to the hotel, you quickly hopped out of the cab and Nat was waiting at the entrance of the hotel with Clint. "Hey Allie! I missed you so much." Clint said as he placed his hands on my shoulder.

"We saw each other yesterday." You said farewell to all of them before going to Bill's house the day before.

"Still. I missed having you around." The two of you conversed as Natasha and Bill took care of the administrative stuff. She passed Bill the card to your room and you didn't even realise that you were walking towards the escalator until the door closed and everyone was squeezed together as it was a tight lift.

"Tony said we were going to have a free and easy day for today since half the day had already passed and we would be heading out tomorrow. Bill, you're more than welcome to join us." Nat said, stopping outside her door.

"Sure. See you all around then." 

Posted on 31 Jul 2022