The Phantom (Black Widow x Male Reader)

A moment

(Y/N) POV:

I felt everything in that moment.

I felt the slight humidity in the air upon my brow mixed with salty sweat. I smelled the stench of death that followed me become mixed with a second source. A smell of blood that made it sickeningly sweet. I heard the familiar and almost comforting sound of a trigger being pulled but releasing no bullets. I could taste upon the tip of my tongue something that I had not tasted in a long while. The satisfying taste of revenge. And what I saw was a picture perfect enough to be framed.

The picture of the face I had been brainwashed to love, pocked with holes. A picture of eyes, now filled with bullet holes, crying deep crimson blood joining with the other streams like tributaries to a greater river. I saw a mouth open ready to scream but cut off by the instant relief of death. I saw skin, mottled and grey now spattered with colours of burgundy, crimson and ruby. I saw wisps of white hair blown from a balding head by sheer force.

I saw death.

But it was only for a moment. A mere fraction of a fraction of a second within a lifetime that could span millenia. A moment in time caught and memorised. Only a moment where it was satisfying to watch and only a moment where the ghost of a smile began to creep up on my face.

And as soon as it came it dissapeared.

The body before me was no picture. It was a corpse. There were no crimson rivers just small dripping streams of blood falling down and soaking a plain white shirt. There was no more beauty here. The sickeningly sweet smell of blood was now a stench of death that burned my nose hairs. The humidity in the air did nothing to me other than make the room feel heavier than it was. The sound of the clicking trigger was no longer comforting but agitating. The taste of revenge soon turned sour and I swallowed harshly to rid it from my mouth.

There was silence then. An oppressive silence that fell down upon me just as hard as the life of Astrikov had once done.

I lowered my rifle and dropped it. The clatter of the metal falling to the floor filled the room uncontested by any other sound. I just stared blankly at the corpse before me unable to properly process what I had just done.

I became lost in my own thoughts so that when a hand came to my face from behind me, My hand instinctually shot up to meet theirs and break it. However, when I touched it I knew who it was and where I was once again. My hand over her's she wiped a lone tear from the corner of my eye.

I looked at it in confusion and a voice soon joined the choir of arguing people within my mind.

"Was it worth it?" She asked from behind me.

I hesitated and looked at the body once again.

"I...I don't know." I replied honestly. I felt her hand attempt to move away from my own and I looked at her. She had moved to besides me and had moved her hand down to beside her. I brushed mine against hers and she grasped onto it quickly again.

"I thought it would be harder." I said and after a short pause of not knowing what to say, I continued. "It had just been so long, there had been so much time where his shadow laid across me that I...I thought it would be a fight, that there would be vindication. I thought that it would be like fighting my demons, like I would be able to banish them through a great battle but he was just human. I guess I built him up so much in my mind that he no longer was human to me. I just-Y'know what you don't need to hear this." I said realising that I was rambling.

"Its fine. You say what you want and when you want. I'm here." She told me and I just shifted slightly and leant my head on her shoulder.

"I couldn't do this without you." I told her and she kissed the top of my head with full lips.