Always Okay ─ n. romanoff ✓

fifteen

SASHA stood by Steve's side a short while later, her head spinning and her heart fluttering. There was no time for her to fess up now, not when there were millions of lives at stake. Before they left the facility, she had run up to Natasha out of nowhere and hugged her, knowing full well that this was going to end badly. Natasha had been slack-jawed, too shocked to say anything. Now, as Steve's voice rang out through the loudspeaker and echoed inside Sasha's ears, she was regretting not telling someone, but the time to do so had passed.

"...I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not." Steve stepped away from the microphone, and Sasha snapped back to attention. He looked at her like she was a zoo animal, separated from the normal, sane humans by a thick panel of glass.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Sasha removed a sword from its holster and swung it in a circle.

"I'm a child holding a lethal weapon. I'm fantastic!"

"Yeah, no, somebody better take that away from her." Sam rolled his eyes. Sasha winked and made a peace sign with her fingers, earning her two more glares from the adults in the room.

"Can we go now?" Steve said, unimpressed. Sam and Sasha shared a look before nodding. Sasha pushed past them both.

"God, you guys are such slackers," she quipped. "Come on! Oh, wait! I want to announce into the loudspeaker that Natasha Romanoff sux. 'Sux' with an x, of course."

"Let's go, Sasha." Despite everything, Steve couldn't help a small smile from creeping across his face. The three of them began to jog, then run, in the direction of the passage out to the Helicarriers. A few agents dared to step in their way, but all faced the wrath of Steve's shield or Sasha's swords. They busted out onto the landing strip and broke into a full run.

"Hey, Cap, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys?" Sam yelled.

"If they're shooting at you, they're bad!" Steve yelled back. The wings of the Falcon suit unfolded on Sam's back, the jets propelling him up. He dove off the edge of the landing strip, the wings catching him midair. Steve followed him, gracefully leaping onto the lower landing strip with a forward roll. Sasha exhaled before taking a running jump, hurtling downward and attaching her grappling hook to the wire fence that surrounded the perimeter of the upper level. She stumbled a little as her feet hit the ground, but she ignored it and kept running. Bullets were flying at her from every angle, tearing through the metal structures that protected her.

"Hey, Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about!" Sam's scream blasted into Sasha's eardrum through her earpiece.

"Next time, use your inside voice!" Sasha yelled as loud as she could into the earpiece. She ducked as a man in all black threw a punch directly at her face, slamming the hilt of her sword into his nose. He pulled out a knife and swung it at Sasha's throat. Before she could stop it, her instincts took over, and she found herself sliding her sword into his stomach. When his lifeless body fell to the floor, she gasped. It had been a long time since she'd mortally wounded someone; it felt even worse than she remembered.

"Sorry, man, I'm so sorry!" she cried. "Fuck. I didn't mean to--"

"Sasha!" Steve ran by, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her behind his shield. "What the hell are you doing?"

"He's going to die!" Sasha shrieked. "Because of me!"

Steve let her go and continued down the strip. "We don't have time. We can't risk these lives."

Sasha wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. Her swords sank deep into the chest of the next man who approached her, blood pouring down like a waterfall. She winced as her white Superstars, which she'd refused to take off despite Maria's insistence, were coated in the sticky liquid, red staining her laces. She nearly gagged on her way to her assigned Helicarrier, almost blacking out for a moment before regaining her consciousness.