A/N: Mama!Nat
Life in the red room was a living hell. There was no love, no compassion, no sympathy. The trainers and handlers were just as cold as the Siberian winters they often threatened to throw you into if you weren't on your best behavior.
Being forced to fight each other until one of you couldn't stand any longer all the while not being able to show any emotion than sadistic joy was nearly unbearable. It was made even harder with the shadow you stood in.
There was little room for mistakes in the red room as is but for you, it was out of the question. The daughter of the most dangerous weapon the red room had ever produced was to never fail, ever. You needed to always come out on top no matter what.
If not then your punishments would be 10 times worse than anything the other girls received. On top of that, they would force your mother to watch as they beat you mercilessly for your failure. Sometimes they would make her do it herself. If she didn't beat you to their liking, then they would give you both extra lashings.
When they wouldn't make her do it and just had her watch, they would always have it set up so that you would have to face her. The two of you would be forced to look upon each other as you took the harsh blows. The look of pure neutrality you mother had shown you every single time will forever be ingrained in your mind.
Part of you wanted to hate her. It wanted to be angry that she never saved you from your abusers, it wanted to call her a horrible mother. The rest of you knew the truth. You knew that if she showed how much seeing you hurt caused her pain that it would be the end of both of you. You knew that if she showed that she loved you you would both pay dearly. You knew she loved you and you knew she wasn't showing it to protect you.
Eventually, you did get the memo and began to progress in the program even more. In the Red Room, you weren't allowed to have friends, it was forbidden. Now while that was the case most girls understood what the others were going through and thus harbored no hate or resentment for them. This was not the case for their attitude towards you. They all collectively hated you. Whether it was because you would always come out on top or because you were the instructors' favorites it didn't matter, it all meant the same thing. You were despised and left alone by the only people who could understand your pain.
It was only made worse without the blatant love of your mother.
You became just what the Red Room wanted you to be, cold and unforgiving. By the time you were 15, you had already surpassed your mother at that age.
"She's ready." Madame B said after coming to stand beside your mother. They had just watched you take down one of the older girls with swift ease and not a hit of remorse. Natalia knew exactly what she meant and it chilled her to the bone. Yet, she held her tongue.
A smirk rose on Madame's lips and a soft hum escaped her. "Her ceremony will be soon," when she still didn't gain a rise from Natasha she turned to leave. "You should be proud. She's done even better than you, Black Widow."
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You were woken up by a small commotion in your room. Instantly you were up and ready to attack. Jumping up to face your attacker you went to yell out only to be pinned against the wall. "Hush Y/N, it's me." Your body stilled at the voice of your mother. Narrowing your eyes in the darkness, they finally adjusted and were met with the wide green eyes of Natalia's.
You stared into them, your eyes softening ever so slightly at what you found. They weren't cold and emotionless as usual. There was something there, something you had only ever seen in the eyes of the girls you pinned to the mat. Fear.
Nodding slightly she slowly lowered her hand from your mouth, still keeping you pinned to the wall. "We're leaving." Your eyebrows drew together in a deep frown. "What?" Was she out of her mind?
"We need to leave, now." There was a firmness to her tone and urgency. "It's been a long time coming and I fear that if we don't leave now we will never get the chance to do so again." This didn't make any sense. The last time your mother and yourself had been left in a room together left completely alone was when you were but a breastfeeding child. So having her barge into your room in the dead of night saying you were leaving was alarming. It had to be a test.
With a hard glare, you instantly flipped the two of you, slamming her against the wall. Caught slightly off guard it was all too easy to grab her by the throat with surprising strength. "This is a test. If they want me to take you down then I will not hesitate." To emphasize your point you squeezed a bit harder.
Natasha stared into the green eyes that were perfect replicas of her's as she tried to pull your hand from her throat. Your grip was far too strong. "Damnit Y/N, this isn't a test." She hissed. She could feel her vision blurring and you clearly weren't letting up anytime soon. "T-they plan on graduating you." Your eyes widened at her words and instantly you dropped you, stepping away from the now sputtering woman on the floor.
You stared at her stunned as he tried her best to regain her breath. Clutching her throat she looked over at your now scared form. It pained her heart to see the fear in your eyes at the very mention of the graduation ceremony. "W...why are you telling me this?" Your voice was barely above a whisper.
"Because," The redhead panted as she got to her feet, still clutching her throat. It was going to have a nice bruise on it. "I can't let them do to you what they did to me." You didn't respond, just stared at the floor trying to process it all.
As much as she would have loved to give you a moment and pull you into a hug that you clearly needed, there was no time. She walked over to the door to check if the coast was clear. "We don't have time for this, Y/N. We must go."
There was a split second before you blinked and snapped into action. You had quickly packed a small bag before joining her at the door. The two of you shared a quick glance before she nodded.
"Let's go."
