The Girl From The Woods ~ Natasha Romanoff × Adopted Daughter

9.

Nat's POV:

Around noon I decided it was time to give Tilly a bath. She wasn't super dirty but you could tell that she hadn't had a proper bath in a while.

Fortunately, I had a small bathtub in my caravan that could also be used as a shower. But first I wanted to ask Tilly if she wanted a bath at all. After all, she is old enough to decide what she wants and I understand that many children her age might prefer to take a shower rather than a bath.

"Hey Tilly, what do you think about a nice, warm bath?" she just made an uncertain face and groaned while hiding her head in my neck.

Great, this could be fun now. What was I thinking? I should have known earlier that this was a bad idea, after all, I have a cute little eleven year old girl sitting on my hip all morning who just wanted to be with me and wouldn't let me put her down or drop her hand.

"You don't like baths huh? I can understand that, but look, I think you really need a bath, don't you?" she just whines but doesn't say anything else.

I decided to just give it a try and then move on from the situation. So I went into the bathroom with Tilly and filled the bathtub with water. I made sure the water was the perfect temperature and then prepared everything else, such as the bath towel and shampoo.

Once everything was ready, I turned the water back off and took a big breath to prepare myself. (A/N: anyone who has ever tried to get a child to shower knows what I'm talking about)

"Okay sweetie it's all done now. You can bathe in peace and I'll wait outside until then okay? If there's anything, just call alright?" I try to put her down on the floor, but she tightens her grip on my neck and hips again, making it impossible to put her down on the floor.

Tilda's POV:

Tasha told me to take a bath, which I don't want to do at all. I really just want to stay with her in her arms and cuddle.

But I don't want her to get mad at me for not listening to her and then kick me out. I want to stay with her, I like her and I feel safe with her.

Tasha is still trying to convince me to take a bath, but I really don't understand what she thinks is so great about it. Even if I haven't had a warm bath for a long time, I don't want to get into the bath.

I usually had showers at Dave's because he said I used less water there but no matter how short or when I showered, the water was always cold. But I knew that when he showered the water was warm because when I went into the bathroom after him, the mirror above the sink was steamed up.

But he still always gave me cold water. After he started locking me in the cellar more often, I had fewer and fewer showers until I didn't have any at all. Except for one time. He took me out of the cellar after he had beaten me up and carried me to the bathroom. I had told him the day before that I needed another shower, to which he hadn't reacted very enthusiastically.

Long story short, he gave me a bath with very hot water. I can still remember it very well because the hot water in combination with my wounds hurt really badly and I ended up with slight burns all over my body.

But the worst thing I found was that he stayed by my side the whole time and made sure I didn't get out of the bath. I found this very unpleasant, as I had bathed naked and he just stared at me the whole time as if I were an animal in a zoo. I was almost ten at the time and after that I made sure never to bring up anything I needed again.

So when Tasha tried to put me down on the floor so that I could take my bath, I clung to her even more. I just don't want her to let go of me. I want her to stay with me because I'm one hundred percent sure that she would protect me no matter what.

I only say "No" in the hope that she will give up and go back into the living room with me. But apparently that's not the case, because instead of going back into the living room, she just sits down on the floor and leans against the nearest wall.

She sits me in her lap so that we look at each other. I'm questioning whether my decision was a good one or not. After all, she can always kick me out of here if I get on her nerves too much, I mean, this is her caravan.

"What is that beautiful head of yours thinking about right now?" She asks me lovingly, tapping my head lightly.
"Don't want" I answer briefly and turn my head in a different direction.
"Hey, look at me, sweetie, please"

I keep my head turned away because tears are now coming to my eyes. I don't know why, but somehow I feel like I've made her angry, even though there was nothing but love and care in her voice.

Tasha carefully takes my head in her hands and turns it in her direction so that I'm looking at her.
"Don't cry baby, it's all right, I'm here." And with that, she brings my head to her chest and puts it there.

Hey!

I would like to start a new book soon with one-shots about Natasha and her daughter.
I'm not quite sure yet, so please let me know your opinions or suggestions!

I also don't know if I should just use Natasha or other Avengers as well.

So please let me know what you think and, if you're interested, give me some suggestions to make the writing a bit easier at first! Thank You <3

Stay safe!