'Twins' - Alternate MCU - ON HOLD

8. Honesty

Lexa

I blinked in confusion as Romanoff asked me this question.

"Sorry what?"

"I want to offer you freedom."

I narrowed my eyes. How did I know she was being genuine? The stoic expression she had didn't give me any idea.

"What's the catch?" I asked.

There was always a catch to something good.

"Give up your loyalties to Hydra," Romanoff replied without hesitation.

"Sorry, but... I'm sure my sister would take you up on the offer, but not me," I said. "I'm walking out of here with my loyalties correct."

Romanoff scoffed.

"It seems like your sister is the smarter one of the two," she insulted to my face.

Wow. Damn. That was uncalled for. I glared at her, my gaze flitting towards the door briefly.

"Get out of my fucking way," I growled.

"I can't let you leave," the red-head replied coldly.

"Fine then, I'll move you myself," I snapped, assuming I'd get the upper hand quite quickly.

Turning invisible, I slipped behind her and kicked her in the back. Romanoff spun around and snatched her hand just above my shoulder. I ducked and pushed her away, turning again. I put my hand on the door handle, but as I pushed it down to open the door, Romanoff grabbed my waist and yanked me back harshly. Shit. I panicked slightly and did what I could to get out of her grasp. I kicked, punched, dodged and got mostly out of her grasp, but never fully. She managed to pin me down on the bed and yell loudly, "CLINT GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!"

I couldn't see the door but I heard it open.

"Shit, what happened?" a voice I assumed was Clint's asked.

"Get a power dampener!" Romanoff snapped as I flashed visible and invisible every now and again.

Suddenly, I heard the familiar voice in my head.

Lexa? Please tell me it's not you why Clint just ran off and why Agent Romanoff screamed?

Finally!

God damn it, why didn't you ask me before?

Wanda only just took my dampener off.

Who the fuck is that?

The girl who was with me earlier. The magic one.

You're okay, right?

Of course! What about you?

Clint came back into the room, and just as I was telling Elise something, the dampener snapped around my neck.

Romanoff, she told me that if-

"No!" I screamed, kicking and thrashing. "I just got to talk to her!"

"Clint grab her arms!" Romanoff ordered as I tried to tug the dampener off.

Clint grabbed my arms and held them down on the bed whilst Romanoff pinned my body down.

"Lexa, I told you, Elise is fine!" she told me.

I glared up at her, my chest heaving as I tried to take in more oxygen.

"No shit sherlock!"

Natasha

"Lexa, I told you, Elise is fine!" I told Lexa, desperation creeping into my tone.

I hated having to hold her down like this. But I hated hating it. It was my instinct to hold her down. It was ingrained in my DNA at this point. But the feeling that I couldn't ignore was a feeling of pity and pain.

The girl below me glared up at me, her eyes full of anger.

"No shit sherlock!" she spat.

Her thrashing body was stilling. Clint kept a hold of her wrists until she had completely calmed down, then I let go of her, backing away. Lexa laid on her back on my bed, breathing heavily for a minute before I noticed her face was streaked and wet. She was sobbing silently. I went over, immediately feeling bad. I never felt bad for people this quickly. I was incredibly surprised. She curled up in a ball as I sat beside her.

"Lexa..." I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

I knew the girl was feeling incredibly vulnerable. I had felt like that. I remember feeling hopeless and empty. Like everything you had fought so hard to get could get taken away in a second. I felt like giving up trying to unblind Lexa from Hydra's atrocities, but I couldn't stop myself from trying harder and harder.

"Lexa, Natasha's only trying to help you and Elise," Clint told the crying girl softly.

Lexa sniffed and mumbled, "Natasha?"

"Yeah, that's me," I replied with a smile.

No reply. Her body was shaking with every breath she took. I knew without asking she was trying to understand why the organisation she'd spent her entire life with was apparently evil. The pieces didn't fit together right in her head. I understood the feeling. Like a jigsaw puzzle. You can have a brand new sealed box, but when you pour out the pieces and begin to put them together, none of them fit correctly. There are missing pieces and jagged edges that disrupt the natural flow of the image. I decided to take a different approach to Lexa's state.

"You've got some good fighting skills," I complimented her, placing my hand gently beside her.

Lexa looked at me briefly.

"Maybe," she mumbled.

"At some point we should train together," I offered. "I could teach you some Black Widow moves."

I smiled honestly whilst saying this. Lexa lifted her head.

"Why?" she asked.

"You can always improve your fighting," I told her.

Lexa sobbed again.

"I can always improve. I'm never perfect!" she cried.

I put my arms around her and she flinched.

"Lexa, what's wrong?" I asked, looking deep into her teary emerald eyes.

"You can't tell Elise," Lexa mumbled. "They were cruel. But it was always for good."

"Oh Lexa..." I pulled the girl close to me.

I felt a closeness to the fiery twin. I felt an instinct deep inside of me to protect her, and I barely knew her.

"I spent my whole life in Hydra being told I'm never perfect. I saw horrible things... But I always agreed with them. Because I was..."

Lexa stopped, stumbling over her words.

"Scared?" I suggested.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Clint sit at the opposite side of the bed.

"I was scared they'd hurt Elise. I protected her for so long. I'd always take the punishment when she did something wrong. I couldn't bear for her to get hurt," Lexa confided.

I felt a pit open in my stomach. She was protecting Elise. Everything she did. All for her sister.

"Lexa, we're here for you," Clint told her.

"How can I trust that?" Lexa challenged.

"We're an open book," Clint replied.

"Ask us anything," I told her. "We'll be completely honest."