Forgotten Ghost | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 5: Second Chances

Trigger warning for self harm. Please stay safe <3

Nobody showed up the next day.

Just the guys bringing her food and water.

It made her wonder if she had done something wrong the day before. Maybe she had pushed Natasha too hard, forcing her into something she wasn't ready for. 

Maybe the knife throwing had brought back some bad memories and she couldn't see Katya without immediately associating her with that hellhole they grew up in. 

Maybe it was all a show and she didn't actually like her.

But on the other hand, she had seen no forced smiles or weird behavior yesterday. And also; Natalia was always on duty so maybe she just had a mission? That would explain why Barton came to get her yesterday.

All these things went through Katya's head while she stared at the cell door, sitting in the middle of the floor. Her hope slowly dissolved every hour that passed without any movement.

But it was eight AM when suddenly the beep of the lock told her that somebody was, in fact, coming in. She immediately stood up, prepared for whoever it may be.

It wasn't Natasha, call it a gut feeling. Like Katya could sense her presence and know this wasn't it. Instead, Agent Barton walked through the door. Ah, he can't come and get her before, so this must be fun.

''Hands,'' he ordered, wanting to put some handcuffs on her.

Katya wanted to protest, but knew it wouldn't help her position, so she went for a half-protest. ''You know I can get out of these, right?'' Her eyes following his hands' movements. For Natasha to trust her, she needed Clint on her side too. At least enough so he wouldn't try and talk her out of it. Besides, Natasha could always pick out the good ones, so if she was friends with him, that meant he was kind.

His dark, warning eyes looked up. ''Don't even try.'' He tugged her out of the cell, not too rough, and made her walk in front of him, clearly afraid she was going to run. If only he knew how much she wanted to stay.

''Where's Natalia?'' Katya asked when they walked into the interrogation room again and she didn't see her. 

''Not here.'' He took a seat across the table, the one Natasha always sat in, and watched her reaction to his words carefully. His friend was on a mission, so they finally had some time to figure out Katya's connection to her.

Katya wasn't stupid, she knew the topic was going to be the beautiful redhead now that she wasn't here. ''You want to talk about her.'' Not a question, an observation.

He gave her a curt nod. ''Start at the beginning.''

She sighed and looked at her broken nails. ''For as far as I can remember, Natalia has always been there, sleeping in the bed right next to mine.'' The image formed before her eyes, a faint smile on her lips. Even though that part of her life had sucked the most, Natalia was the best thing to come out of it. 

''Her hair would stand out so brightly against the pale grey bedsheets. The other girls used to make fun of her for it, but one day she stood up to them and punched one right in the nose. They never bullied her again.'' She could see the man's mouth twitch a little, apparently, this was still typical Natalia.

''We grew up together. Learning everything about being a spy. How to torture people for information, how to seduce men and women into giving up information, how to kill most efficiently, how to shoot a gun, throw knives, how to move in the shadows, you know the drill. It wasn't in a friendly way, as you know. You have read her file.'' The silence gave her the answer she needed.