emmylou | natasha romanoff

thirty-four.

"Nat?" Wanda asks as she steps into the room, "Is everything okay?"

"No," Natasha says as she heads into the closet and opens a safe, pulling out at least three pistols.

"Okay," Wanda says, "Would you like to tell me what's going on?"

Natasha stops packing, "Kennedy's been taken by the Red Room."

"What?" Wanda asks, "How do you know?"

"When we were on our mission to stop Ultron, we made an emergency code word. Bluebird Wine. It's a song by Emmylou Harris. Reagan told me that Kennedy said to listen to the song and that it will remind me of home."

"Home as in the Red Room," Wanda mutters softly, "I need to tell you something."

"I'm sure it can wait," Natasha says as she begins shoving clothes into bags.

"No," Wanda says, "It can't."

Natasha stops and looks over at Wanda, "What is it?"

"When Kennedy was searching for Yelena, she got some threatening messages. That's why she broke her phone. She was trying to destroy it for that reason. The messages that they sent her were I see you, find me before I find you, and I warned you."

"When did she tell you all of this?"

"After the bombing in Vienna," Wanda says, "She was scared that someone might come so she told me to be careful. She said she'd tell you after everything settled."

Natasha stares at Wanda at a loss for words. Kennedy knew they were coming after her. There was no way that she didn't and yet she didn't say anything. She sat there and helped the team sort through their stupid issues.

Natasha took a seat on the bed. She wanted to cry. She really wanted to.

"Nat," Wanda says softly as she sits down beside her, "I'm so sorry."

Natasha shakes her head, "This isn't your fault."

A single tear slips down Natasha's cheek and she wipes it away as she looks at Wanda, "When I was eleven, our mission in Ohio ended and I had to go back to the Red Room. There, they train you to be nothing but a cold-blooded killer. You weren't allowed to have attachments. But I did. Dreykov could sense my hesitance when I was brought back. He knew that I had one."

"He knows what she means to me," Natasha says, "And he wants to hurt me and he's going to use her to do that."

"Not if we stop him," Wanda tells her.

"No," Natasha says as she stands, "I'm not bringing you into this."

"I've lost one family already," Wanda states, "I cannot lose another. I'm coming with you."

"Wanda," Natasha states, "I can't bring you along. Because if he gets you and he hurts you, that's on me and I'm not losing my wife and kid to him. He's ruined my life enough."

"You can't expect me to sit here and do nothing! You guys are the closest thing I've had to parents since I lost my mom and dad. We're a family and family fights for family. You go. I go."

Natasha looks at Wanda, a small smile on her lips, "I'm super proud of you, you know that? It takes a lot of guts to want to protect those closest to you."

Wanda shakes her head, "Please don't."

"I'm sorry, but I have to keep you safe," Natasha says as she lifts her arm and hits Wanda with Widow's Bite. She didn't use enough to hurt her, she just needed to knock her out. Natasha grabbed the bag, zipping it up before heading out of the house.