Natasha Harkin (Natasha Romanoff x Y/N Harkin gxg)

A Thief

Y/N POV

"T'Challa..." I whisper as I sit down next to him on a bench outside. Natasha sits on my other side and squeezes my hand. Steve's texts were rushing through my head but I couldn't leave now, Natasha would throw a fit and one of my dearest friends had just lost his father.

"I'm very sorry." Nat adds.

I glance down at his hands, he's fiddling with a ring that must have belonged to T'Challa. It's silver with almost a Celtic like design crossing around the band. I look up at his face and the blood along the side of his head worries me. It's drying but the cut it's coming from isn't closing.

His mouth opens and shuts a few times before he speaks, "In my culture death is not the end. It's more of a stepping-off point. You reach out with both hands and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veldt where you can run forever."

As hard as I've tried to fully understand his home, and I know more than most, parts of it still escape me. I know what's next for him, I know who he is going to be now. But, I'm having trouble imagining it. T'Challa will be an amazing king, he will do everything right, he might even let his sister have more of an impact.

I realize that I have been lost in thought for too when Nat speaks up, "That sounds very peaceful." I can't help but feel a sense of pride in my "not a people-person" girlfriend who is turning out to be wonderful with people.

"My father thought so." T'Challa slides the ring onto his finger and clenches his hands into tight fists. His head turns to face me and it's like he understands everything that I was just thinking, well perhaps not the thoughts about Natasha. "I am not my father."

"I know." I whisper and he relaxes his hands. He flips one over so it's palm up and resting on his knee. I take it as an invitation and place my hand on top of his. Again, my touch seems to help calm him, it's something to ground him in an otherwise terrible world. But, again, he pulls away and that terrifying determination returns to his eyes.

Natasha stiffens as she notices it too, "T'Challa..." Her voice is full of warning, "The Task Force will decide who brings in Barnes."

He stands up, his hands back into those tight fists, "Don't bother, Ms. Romanoff. I'll kill him myself."

"Hey." I grab for his arm and he turns to look at me, "Don't start jumping to conclusions already."

"Y/N." His voice is rougher than I've ever heard it, "I already put aside the fact that you disagree with the very reason my father was here. Don't stand in my way. Please."

I let my hand drop from his arm, "Ok. I understand."

As he walks away I see a bar across the street. I stare at the doors and try to make out Steve behind the glass, but I don't. I lean back onto the bench and look at Nat before handing her my phone. "Steve is in that bar."

"What?" She asks quickly, opening his contact. "What the fuck. Nat will ask too many questions?" She huffs and tosses my phone back at me which I barely manage to catch. "Questions my ass." She mutters and I can't help but smile.

"You wanna come with?" I ask and nod my head toward the doors.

"No." She smiles and pulls out her phone. Before long my phone starts ringing and it's her calling me. I quickly answer and she mutes but as the phone pressed to her ear. "Run along. But, don't say anything too embarrassing."

"Always a spy." I tease and stand up.

I cross the street and slip into the building where I see Steve and Sam. They're both leaning against the counter with their typical baseball cap and sunglasses disguise.