natalya romanova ( @gracelss ) —— ‘we can fight this together. side by side, we always do.’
in order to fight monsters, one must first become a monster. and how they both know what feels to have humanity stripped away, like pieces of linen wrapping a war wound, unwinding skin and bone to be moulded into a weapon. neither of them are innocent, but she has more cause to despise him when he had a hand in shaping the black widow. memories of sparring and sterile hallways half encased in ice, the ever presence of the winter soldier to haunt the red room’s girls. still, she is perhaps the only one who has been able to shift through the shards and find what remains of who he was before the fall. the only person who will make his head tilt up when calling out the name james.
one of her hands rests on his jaw, the other gently placed on top of his metal palm. red blooms from silver, shedding rust or blood ( is there a difference? ) until he blinks and it disappears. the details of how they got here feel insignificant — another nightmare of which the contents are already faded, wedged between bedframe and adjacent wall, her curled against him. there’s a small nod in response to her words, metallic fingers wrapping around hers. a few more beats of silence before a hesitant ❝ thank you. ❞ he probably won’t sleep again tonight, but if she’s here, he can pretend a while longer.
