Untangling a Memory

Try to trust

After Steve and Sam had seen Natasha tear through the kitchen, they decided to give her a bit of space. They weren't sure what had gone on that would have caused her to be that pissed off, but they knew better than to get in Natasha's way when she was like this. Best to let her cool down and allow her to make her way back in her own time. But after Natasha hadn't made an appearance within a couple of hours, Steve went looking.

He figured Natasha likely wouldn't have gone that far, based on the fact that she was shoeless and still in her pajamas. So, he began by looking in the usual places around the palace. He didn't have to search very long before hearing the loud grunts coming from the gym.

Steve opened the door to the gym slowly, wise enough to know that she might attack him if she was startled. When he poked his head in, he immediately saw her in the corner, beating her fists hard against the leather of the punching bag. She was standing barefoot, and in her tank top and sleep shorts, never having bothered to change into real workout clothes.

"Nat..."

Natasha kept her head down, throwing punch after punch, connecting with the heavy bag, making it swing violently. Steve approached her slowly and tried again.

"Natasha..."

Still, no response. But as Steve drew even closer to her, he noticed something disturbing. In addition to not bothering to change out of her pajamas, she also hadn't taken the time to wrap her hands. Blood was now leaking down her knuckles, staining the bag, and creating tiny splatters around her with every punch she threw.

Upon seeing this, Steve made the distance between them in two strides, grabbing her wrist mid-throw, and holding both of her arms in his hands. She struggled to get away as soon as she was captured, twisting her body and shifting her arms in an attempt to free herself.

"NATASHA! STOP!"

Steve rarely yelled at her, but he wasn't going to allow her to get away, to keep beating herself up. He held his grasp firm.

Realizing that Steve wasn't simply going to free her and that she wouldn't be able to wriggle away, Natasha's body responded without thinking. She used one of her legs to sweep out his knees, landing him on the ground. She was able to free one wrist and almost had the upper hand, when Steve rolled her onto her back and pinned each of her limbs under his. While she was more tactical and generally the superior fighter during their sparring, there was little she could do with the full weight of the super-soldier acting as tie downs on her arms and legs.

"LET ME GO, ROGERS!"

"NO! NOW STOP FIGHTING, GODDAMMIT!"

When Natasha heard Steve swear, it was as if a switch flipped in her brain, a safe word telling her that she shouldn't push him further. The snarl on her face relaxed as her head fell back to the floor, her look now one of resignation. All of her muscles eased and Steve could feel her giving up the fight.

Steve studied her face to see if the change in behavior was an act to slip from his grasp, but all he saw was the deflated expression she clearly had been hiding with anger.

"If I let you go, are you going to try to run?" Natasha shook her head.

"Are you going to keep hurting your hands?" She shook again.

Steve released his hold on her and moved off of where he'd had her pinned, before helping her to sit. Holding her hands, Steve could see the full damage that she'd done to herself.

"Can I clean these up?" Natasha nodded and Steve heard her let out a sigh, as he grabbed the first aid kit from the cabinet. He walked back over to her, sitting in front of her crosslegged, and began to clean and cover where she had created the deep gashes on her hands.