𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

- ⧗ ZARIAH PETROVA ⧗ -

   THE SUN WOKE ZARIAH UP. It crept in through her curtains, falling upon her eyes and rousing her from her sleepy state. As she wiped away the haze from her eyes, she noticed Natasha still lying asleep next to her. They had ended up in Zariah's bed last night, following yet another nightmare that left the girl screaming out into the darkness.

She thought they would have started to get better, slip away as she became more comfortable staying at the Avenger's compound. But it had perhaps taken the exactly opposite route. The more accustomed she became to her new routine, the more afraid her mind became of losing it. Every night she was plagued with thoughts of the Red Room finding her once more, dragging her back screaming.

Last night's dream had been awful. Natasha had been the one to hand her over, smirking as she stood by Madame. B, watching Zariah cry out for help as they pulled her back to the school. When she'd woke, the girl had cried for hours.

Zariah slipped herself out from under the sheets, pushing away any remnants of the dream that lingered. Her feet padded across the carpeted floor as she walked towards the bathroom. When she returned, Natasha was sat up on the bed, pulling her hair away from her face into a ponytail.

"Morning," the young redhead called, walking back over towards the bed.

Natasha's eyes met hers. "Morning," she replied. "You're up early."

Zari rubbed her hand across her arm. "Couldn't sleep any longer. You can go back to bed if you want though, don't get up just for me."

Natasha sighed. "No, it's okay. I'm up now." Her hands dropped as she finished up her ponytail. "Besides, Steve's been berating me about getting back to training."

"Right," Zariah hummed. Her fingers began to pick at her nail beds. Natasha obviously had noticed, shifting across the bed and reaching out a hand to stop her. Zari's eyes met Nat's as she held her hand in hers.

"It's only for a couple hours, okay? I won't be gone long."

Zariah felt suddenly ashamed that Natasha had noticed her anxiety. She let out a low chuckle. "I'll be fine. I did manage by myself for years."

The redhead smiled. "But you don't have to anymore, hm?" She stood, placing a kiss on Zariah's forehead as she slipped her hand away and began walking towards the door. "I gotta go get dressed before Steve barges in here screaming I'm late."

Zariah pressed out another laugh, but the smile didn't seem to reach her eyes. There was still a trepidation she felt when she was left alone. What if she had another run in like she had with the agent? What if she had another flashback and went into a panic attack? What if...

"Zari."

The voice drew the girl from her head, pulling her attention to the redhead standing hovering in the door. Natasha smiled at her softly. "You're getting lost in the bad thoughts again," she said.

Zariah sighed. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Nat replied. She danced on her heels. "You can come with me if it'll keep them at bay."

The girl frowned. "Come to training with you?"

Natasha shrugged. "Only if you want to. There's no pressure."