Dimidium - Marvel Studios [7]

thirty-two.

I walked into the common room area of the Avengers compound, my footsteps completely silent as I stood still on the spot for a moment. Natasha was sitting at the table at the side of the room, papers scattered all around her as she looked down at them stressed, her red roots starting to grow back in against her blonde hair. She had a singular light on, the summer sun setting outside, just the one over her head illuminating her as she read through everything, cascading over her like a spotlight on a stage actor.

"Hey" I said as she looked up at me, not smiling as I walked over to the table, pulling out a chair as I took my backpack off before setting it on the ground. "Where have you been?" Nat asked me as I sat down, running my hands through my hair, letting it fall over my shoulders. She didn't smile at me, and i could tell from just looking at her that she hadn't had the best day by any means. "I was out on damage control, finding kids and taking them to the shelter in the Grand Central Station" I told her, wiping my nose as her face fell, if that was even possible considering she was already frowning.

"They are still out there?" she asked as I nodded my head slowly, letting out a heavy sigh as I dropped my hand into my lap. "I don't know how the ones who are surviving made it" I told her as she looked over at me, closing her eyes gently as she took in the information. "Did you find any?" she queried, her voice laced with worry as I nodded my head slowly, wondering that if I should tell her. "A few in Queens, they were alone in their apartment building, a 7 year old boy looking after his 2 younger siblings" I told her, my voice quiet in comparison to the silence that filled the room. She nodded her head slowly, lowering her head as she set her head in her hands, her elbows leaning on the table.

"What are you reading?" I asked her quickly, stretching my back and leaning over to try and see what she was looking through, the papers completely mixed up. "Damage control numbers from Texas" she told me, pushing her hands through her hair as she looked back down at them, finding one sheet and flipping it before passing me the sheet she was just reading. "The whole of Florida seemed to be wiped out yet the whole on Kentucky is still intact" she told me as I took the paper from her, looking down at the numbers that lined the page. Natasha handed me another piece of paper, showing a map of our country alone, the states we already knew filled in with how many numbers they had lost.

"He said half the universe, it was completely random" I added, flipping through the pages that she was handing me one by one, skimming through them all quickly. "How are the roads looking?" she asked me as I stacked the papers, giving them back to her as she stashed them back into the file she was closing, all of her papers in individual files to get things from getting mixed up, which clearly had t worked too well.

"Not too good, people have been moving the cars stuck on the roads in Manhattan, but it's still pretty blocked up" I told her, shaking my head as I grabbed my bag, pulling it onto my lap as I unzipped it swiftly. "I found a store in Queens" I started telling her as I pulled out two drawstring cotton bags, setting them both on the table with a small clunk. "It was abandoned so I picked the lock" I told her as I opened one of them, pulling out a pair of pink satin pointe shoes. "Honestly, I got it picked in about 20 seconds" I told her as she rolled her eyes at me, looking at the shoes as I held them out in front of me.

"8B right?" I asked her as she took them from me gently, Nat taking them from my hands and setting them on the table in front of her, staring down at them. "You stole them" She joked as she finally cracked a smile, looking up at me as she ran her hands over the soft material. "I left $40 on the counter, not that it matters anymore" I said, pulling my own shoes out of their bag, holding them in my hand as I bent them back and forth, softening the curve of the shank. "I've not danced in years" she said as she ran her hand over the soft material, looking down at my shoes with a small smile on my face.

"My feet probably won't be able to handle it anymore" I said to her as she nodded her head at me, setting her shoe back onto the table. "You're out of shape" she said to me as I looked up at her, my eyes narrowed as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. I stared at her for a moment, especially because I knew she wasn't even joking, and that's what she truly thought, because that's how Natasha worked. "I have a lot more muscle is what I think you meant to say" I retorted as she scoffed, nodding her head slowly at me.

"Yeah, sure" she replied quietly as I grabbed the bag for my shoes, slipping them both back into it as I pulled the bag closed tightly. "We aren't 16 anymore" I said with a shrug as I set them on my lap, slouching in my chair as Natasha laughed lightly, her laugh almost bringing up the atmosphere in the room for brief moment. "You definitely aren't" she said as I sighed, grabbing my backpack as I shoved my shoes back into it, looking back over at her. "If you're going to insult me I'm going home" I said to her as she nodded her head at me, not replying as I sank back into my seat, knowing that we would probably end up talking for a while.

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A/N: fun fact, I actually wrote this chapter AGES AGO and I have been waiting to use it for a while so I am excited to finally get it out!
I wanted to travel back to Ally's red room roots for a few chapters so look forward to the next update in the next few days (if I get it written fast enough lol) for that
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please do not forget to vote and comment and I will see you all soon