𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 ✘ 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐅𝐅

{6⁸} {TEAR IN COMPLACENCY}

∆ {6⁸} {TEAR IN COMPLACENCY} ∆

Seven Months Later

ROXI, FOR WHAT felt like the thousandth time in the last hour, traced the lines inked into the skin of her forearm. The image of an emerald sky and that network of stars was beginning to fade, though it was nowhere near gone. Once she'd explained to Natasha why she'd done what she'd done, the woman had dug up photos of Wanda and Pietro somewhere.

She had claimed it didn't bother her, that she was glad that it gave her something to do.

How much of that Roxi claimed to believe was rather more than what she actually did, but she had decided that if Natasha could put up with the things she'd been doing, then the least she could do was not to confront Natasha about these sorts of things. It was only fair.

Instead of worrying about that, she supposed, she should probably be more worried about the fist swinging for her stomach. She didn't try to catch it, but did manage to step just out of distance.

Mara's tattooed hand hit thin air, and she let out a growl of annoyance, because never once had she found her mark and actually touched her opponent. Roxi had her hair pulled back sloppily, and gave the other Spanish woman a teasing smile, raising her eyebrow to add to the effect.

"Can't you take a punch?" Mara's laboured breaths interspaced her words, though there was an element of a snarl to them. Roxi wasn't sure she'd ever met someone quite so competitive. It was probably more fun than it should've been, winding her up. But Mara had asked to be trained, so Roxi had obliged.

When she'd first found out who Roxi really was, she hadn't cared to say much other than 'So you know Black Widow personally?' Roxi had simply rolled her eyes at Mara's shit-eating grin. After realising that she probably knew how to fight, Mara had asked for her help, so she'd given it to her. She'd never said it was going to be easy though, and a large part of her was delighting in the frustration it caused the woman - to an extent. Another blow swung at her, wide and predictable, though it packed a lot of force behind it. This one, she let hit, just to see how powerful it was. It winded her for a few seconds, and caused the pain to begin to tickle her temples. It was the beginning of a headache, but she would ignore it for now.

The pains had far too much control over her life already, and she wouldn't let them have anymore. Mara's face twisted in annoyance, into a nasty sneer that told Roxi she wasn't happy that she'd let her land the blow. Roxi rolled her shoulders, and started her own assault. Simply dodging wasn't much of a workout, after all. Punch after punch, kick after kick, fluid movement after harsh movement. She certainly landed a few blows, though Mara was far better at dodging than she was hitting, because that was what Roxi had taught her first. She wouldn't risk losing another person through her own faults.

Once Mara landed on the floor for something like the eleventh time, Roxi helped her up and decided that they had trained enough for the day. The woman was much better than she had been at the beginning, but she wasn't there quite yet. The same went for her dependence on alcohol, for the sharp words that she spoke too freely. More than once she'd accidentally commented something that had made Roxi slightly uncomfortable, but everyone had to start somewhere, right?

She could tell that Mara's patience had begun to wear thin anyway. The woman grinned at her, and Roxi returned it with her cold, sharp smile. She was wearing short sleeves, for once, and her tattoo, as large as it was, was on full display.

However, so was her weight - she was still far too light - though her muscles, which she had so particularly maintained, looked particularly good today. Or so Roxi had thought to herself after a glance in the mirror this morning.