Pain
~~~
Soon we get there and I let Natasha go to the computer. I grab a chair a and sit next to her. I watch as she continues to type on the computer and I just continue to stare with a smile. The bar for downloading the intel is almost done when the door to the room is suddenly off the hinges as Steve lands on the floor with a knocked out George Batroc. "Well this is awkward," Natasha says with a smile as she looks at Steve.
"What are you doing?" Steve asks confused as he walks over to us.
"She's backing up the hard drive. Good habit," I tell him as I stand up.
"Rumlow needed your guy's help. What the hell are you two doing here?" Steve asks again looking at the computer, "Wait, you're saving S.H.I.E.L.D. intel?"
"Whatever I can get my hands on," Natasha says as she rapidly types.
"Our mission is to rescue hostages," Steve tells her angrily.
"No that's your mission," I tell him and he looks at me with anger. The downloading completes and Natasha pulls out the hard drive.
"And you've done it beautifully," she tells him.
Steve places his hand on her arm and I quickly pull it off of her. "Hands off, Rogers," I tell him as I tightly hold his arm.
"You both jeopardized this mission," Steve tells us angrily.
"I think that's overstating things," Natasha says.
Batroc suddenly gets up from the ground and throws a grenade towards us. Steve hits it away as I grab Natasha and Steve follows behind. Natasha shoots the glass behind us and I jump from the desk into the room and Steve does the same as the grenade goes off.
I groan when I feel shards of glass enter my back. I wince as I can't heal since the glass is still there. I can never heal when the object is there because if I do, I would be in worse condition. I slowly sit up and tentatively sit against the wall next to Natasha. "Okay, that one's on us," Natasha tells Steve.
"You're damn right," Steve replies and we watch as he rushes out of the room.
I start to feel the blood seep through my shirt and jacket. I sigh as I lean my head on Natasha's shoulder. "Eva," Nat says concerned as I close my eyes, "What's wrong?"
"Can't heal," I tell her and she quickly moves in front if me, "Glass. In my back."
Natasha's eyes go wide before moving me away from the wall. She holds me on my side against her chest as she looks at my back. "Okay, you'll be okay," Natasha says, but I can hear the worry in her voice, "Come on."
One of my arms wraps around Natasha's shoulder and she helps me stand then she grabs my sword from the ground. I lean against her for support as the pain in my back intensifies. The memories of not being able to heal when I was in the Red Room start to resurface. Every time they injected me with a liquid that prevented me from healing. The weakness I felt each time. The pain.
"Eva? Come on Bluejay," I hear Natasha's words as my walking slows down.
"I need medical!" I hear Natasha shout as she holds me up.
I hear multiple people running towards us and I slowly look up to see Steve starring in our direction with worry evident on his face. My legs give out beneath me and I am placed in a strong embrace. I open my eyes and see Steve carrying me.
I am then placed on a gurney, laying on my stomach. I am rushed onto the jet and I hear Natasha behind me. "Is there a way I can get a private area?" I hear Natasha asks someone.
I close my eyes as I try and concentrate on anything but the glass. I hear movement and then the sound of a curtain close. "Eva? Baby?" I hear Natasha say and I slowly open my eyes to see Natasha crouching in front of me, "There she is."
Natasha places a hand on my cheek and gently strokes it. "I'm going to take the glass out, okay?" Natasha asks and I nod.
"Okay," I whisper and she smiles.
Natasha gets up and I feel her carefully take the sword holder off. "Alright, this is probably going to hurt," I hear Natasha say. She helps me onto my side and unzippers my jacket. I wince as I lay back down and she takes my jacket off. I let out a gasp of pain. "I know, I know Eva," Natasha says as she places my jacket down.
I watch as she ruffles through a medical bag and she takes out a pair of scissors. "I have to cut the back of your shirt open," she tells me and I nod.
I feel her cut it open and the cold air hits my back as it is now just my bra covering a small portion of my back. "You're doing great baby. I'm going to start taking them out now," Natasha says as she grabs supplies.
She goes to start taking the glass out when I call her name. "Tasha," I say softly and she looks down at me. I open my hand that is next to my head and she smiles.
"I got you," Natasha says as she kisses my cheek then places her hand in mine.
Natasha starts working on my back and each time she takes a piece of glass out, I make the wound start to heal. After ten minutes, Natasha finishes. "There we go," Natasha says as she washes my back with a rag to get the dried blood off.
"Thank you," I say as the last spot of my back starts to heal.
"Of course," she says as she helps me sit up.
I sigh in relief as the pain in my back starts to disappear when the last cut completely heals. "Here," Natasha says handing me a white shirt. I take the cut opened, black shirt off and slip on the white one. Once I finish, Natasha takes my mask off and sets it on the table next to us. She grabs a new, clean, rag and gets the soot off my face.
Once she is done I wrap my legs around her waist and pull her towards me. Natasha laughs as I do so and she places her hands on my thighs. "I'm happy you're okay," Natasha tells me and I smile.
"All because of you," I tell her. I lean down and connect our lips.
"You need to get some rest. We won't be back at headquarters till morning and we'll need to report to Fury once we get back," Natasha tells me and I nod.
I lay back down and I smile when Natasha starts to clean my sword for me. I close my eyes and drift into a deep sleep.
----------
A few hours later
"Bluejay," I hear and I open my eyes to see my girlfriend, "We're here."
I sit up and get off the gurney. "Where's Steve?" I ask Natasha as she hands me my things.
"He already left," she tells me and I sigh.
"He's really angry, huh?" I ask her.
"Yeah," she says as she walks over to me. My mask is in her hand and she gives it to me.
"Thanks, Nat," I say as I take it from her and place it in my bag.
We make our way off the jet and people from the S.T.R.I.K.E. team look at me. "Why are they all looking at me?" I ask my girlfriend.
"Well, your an Avenger," she tells me softly and I nod, "And you got hurt."
I feel my heart sink at her words. They see me as weak. "I know what you're thinking, Eva. Please don't think like that because you're not weak," Natasha tells me as we enter the elevator to go to Fury's office. I'm pretty sure the car at the other takeoff zone was already brought back by Sharon.
"But I am," I tell her and she shakes her head as the elevator moves.
"You aren't, Evalina. Please trust me," Natasha says and my eyes soften at her words.
"Of course."
The elevator soon stops and the doors open. We walk down the hallway to Fury's office and I knock. "Come in," we hear Fury say.
I open the door and Nat follows me in. "Devin. Romanoff. I heard what happened," Fury says as he stands from his chair, "Great job on completing the mission."
"Here is the hard drive," Natasha says placing it on his desk.
Fury nods towards her and puts it in his pocket. "We're sorry that Rogers found out, sir," I tell him.
"All that matters is that you both are okay and that you got the intel," he says and I nod, "Now you two need to rest. You're dismissed."
Natasha and I walk out and we make our way to our room. I sigh in relief as I sit on the bed. My mind starts racing about what the intel could be when Natasha walks out in new clothes and wet hair. "You have been sitting in that exact position for ten minutes," Natasha tells me.
"I didn't even realize. Even after sleeping for a few hours, I am still tired," I tell her and she laughs as she dries her hair.
"Go take a shower and we can take a nap," Natasha tells me and I nod.
I peck her lips as I walk past her. I grab some clothes to change into and take a shower. I sigh as the water hits my skin. The relaxation I start to feel flows through my body as I finish.
I dry myself and along with my hair. I decide to just put a pair of sweatpants on with a sports bra. I step out of the bathroom and see Natasha reading a book on the bed. I climb in next to her and pull the blanket over me as I lay on my stomach. Natasha glances down at me before setting the book down next to the bed. She then fully lays down and faces me.
"Been a rough few hours," I tell her with a small smile. A smile appears on Natasha's face as she starts to run her fingers through my hair.
"You can say that again," she tells me and I chuckle.
I wrap my arm around Nat and pull her into me. I keep my arm there and Natasha places her hand on my cheek as she kisses me. After a few second she pulls away with a smile. I then turn to lay on my back and Natasha rests her head on my chest as she tangles her legs with mine.
"Go to sleep, Nat. I'll be right here when you wake up," I say to my girlfriend as I rub her back.
I feel Natasha's breath even out showing that she fell asleep. I mumble one last thing I don't have the confidence to tell her before I fall asleep, "I love you."
~~~
I hope you all enjoyed and you are starting to see more into the past of Evalina. More of her past will start to appear as the book continues. I hope you all enjoyed and don't forget to comment, vote, and stay safe!
~ The Author