The Shadows Behind the Widow | Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Chapter 9

Y/N didn't expect this.

As soon as she got to Paris, she felt empty. It was like Natasha was the only thing that kept the pain or lack thereof at bay.

She missed having her around, but she knew it was for the best. Y/N knew that as long as Natasha thought she was dead, she'd be okay. She'd move on.

It had been six long months since she had faked her death.

Six agonizingly long months.

The only thing that kept her going was the fact that Natasha was okay.

But Natasha wasn't okay. Why would she be? The only person she'd ever loved this much had died right before her eyes. In her name.

She'd fallen from a six story building because she felt that she had hurt Natasha. She had tried and tried to prove that there was someway Y/N was still alive, but the evidence of her death happened right before her eyes.

So she had to live with it. If she could, she'd probably jump herself, but she would never get the chance with the team breathing down her neck to make sure she was okay.

So she had to live. She had to go on ad live in Y/N's name, just had she had died in hers.

~

Y/N was in her Paris apartment, reading as she waited for the jobs to roll in. Business was a little slow because she wasn't known by too many people with jobs they didn't want to do themselves. The new name threw them off, having not heard of someone with such a name.

Y/N missed the name she'd lived up to, the name she'd earned by doing her jobs well, by being in the shadows.

But if she had continued to go by Shadow, SHIELD would have found her again. She would have to explain a lot of things.

She would be back in Natasha's life, just to ruin it all over again. Or so she thought.

Y/N wasn't very good with love.

Her phone rang and she picked it up, "Quoi?" What?

"Tu es le Phantom, correcte?" You are the Phantom, correct?

"Quel est le metier?" What's the job?

"Rencontrez-moi dans l'allie plus proche de Avenue de L'Opéra. Nous en discuterons les termes." Meet me in the alley closest to Avenue de L'Opéra. We'll discuss terms there.

"Quelle heure?" What time?

"4:00. Apres midi." Afternoon.

"D'accord." Agreed.

She hung up the phone, stood from her seat, turning to prepare her suit and weapons for tomorrow.

~

Tomorrow came slowly, just as ever day had. Nothing kept Y/N busy for too long, her mind always strayed to the one she missed. She cooked, cleaned, trained, read, anything she could to busy herself, but she never left her mind. Natasha never left her mind.

Y/N shook her head and put on her suit, the suit she'd rather not wear. She wasn't able to keep her old suit, it would raise suspicion. She looked at her new mask and sighed, putting it on and tying it in the back.

She loaded her weapons and head out, slipping into the shadows to get where she needed to be.

She dropped into the ally and turned around, seeing her employer standing there. He wore a suit and glasses, both very expensive. He looked at his watch and smiled, "4:00 tranchant." Sharp.

"Merci." Thank you. He smiled. Y/N cut straight to the chase, not wanting to have this conversation any longer than needed.

"Le travail?" The job? She asked, crossing her arms and swishing her cape-ish skirt behind her.

The man clapped his hands together as he said, "The thing is..."

Y/N stopped, something was off and not just the fact that he'd started speaking English.

"I've been made another deal..." He continued, walking toward her. She placed her hand on her side bag, her hand resting on her gun as she took a step back.

What do I do?

Y/N thought to herself. Her...ability...had seemed to stop working correctly. Jobs became harder, judgement became even harder, she couldn't work as efficiently has she used to.

"By who?" She asked, staying cautious.

"Anonymous. They found out my line of work and threatened to expose me." He said, his French accent thick as she continued, "But, they said if I caught you, I'd be able to get away with it."

She pat at him, "Bastard."

"C'est des affaires, mon ami." That's business, my friend.

Y/N turned, trying to get away before she was met with her downfall. "Elle est la." She's here. He said through an earpiece.

People swarmed in all around, standing on the roof with guns, coming in cars and screeching to a stop, weapons out and ready.

The man laughed, his arms open as he spoke, "As I said...business."

"You're an idiot." She told him, dropping her arms as the people announced, "Lève les mains! Laissez tomber votre arme!" Put your hands up! Drop your weapon!

Y/N did as told and told the man, "It's SHIELD. They're coming to take you, too."

His smirk dropped as agents rushed out with guns, cuffing the man who yelled an cursed as they loaded him into a truck. Y/N sighed as the agents came from her. They cuffed her and directed her toward the trucks, loading her in and climbing in the front seat.

When they began driving out, Y/N sat in the back. "Phantom." One of the agents in the front said. The other turned around and said, "Je m'attendais à plus de combat." I expected more fight.

"Pour quoi lutter?" What's there to fight for? She had said, looking down at her shoes and waiting for the car ride to be over.

He turned back around and shook his head. 

~

In SHIELD, they shoved Y/N in a cell as they reported her capture. When they did a face scan, trying to figure out her real identity, a lot of the agents were dumbfounded.

"Mais elle est morte." But she's dead.

"Se suicida." Committed suicide.

"Qui pourrait survivre à cet chute?" Who could survive that fall?

"La Shadow est de retour." The Shadow is back.