Chapter Text
Laotong—a friendship bonding two girls for eternity as kindred sisters
The moment you met the Black Widow you knew you were going to freak out because you were a huge fan, but you hadn’t expected that you would become friends, and close ones at that. When Clint was enslaved by Loki she had confided her fears to you; when he was injured during the assault on a Hydra base, when the moment presented itself, she sought out a friendly hug for solace. It may have seemed ridiculous considering she was a superhero, but you were protective of Natasha. The way the two of you could talk and trust one another made her feel like a sister.
The first thing you did when you arrived at the new Avengers facility was seek her out. She was on the top floor, standing in the center of an open room, staring at a wall with her arms crossed. You didn’t have to know that Bruce was gone to understand something was wrong. You stood next to her with a grim smile. She looked over and returned it briefly.
“He’s gone” was all she said, her tone flat.
You gripped her elbow comfortingly. “Hey, let’s go get a drink, huh?”
She hesitated, but then nodded and followed you. You retrieved a bottle of Golden Grain from your barracks and then lead the way to the helipad. The two of you snuck into a Quinjet, away from everyone at the base.
Using the lid as a shot glass, you filled it and handed the first to Natasha. She downed it and held the cap out for more. This continued until the two of you finished one third of the bottle and were starting to spill more than you drank.
Natasha leaned her head against your shoulder and sighed. You wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned your head against hers.
“Do you know what you’re going to do?” you asked gently.
Nat knew she didn’t have to answer if she didn’t want to, but she said, “I haven’t decided yet. If he wants to be alone I should respect that, shouldn’t I?”
You frowned. “Probably, yeah. But what do you really want to do?”
She sighed again, reaching up to push her hair out of her face. “I want to find him and go after him.” She moved to look at you. “Don’t tell me you want me to do that, because then I’ll do it.”
You laughed some. “I know, I would be the same way. Nat, we both know you’re going to find him anyway, but give him time to come to you before you confront him.”
“Ugh.” She hung her head and then grabbed the Golden Grain and its lid again and poured a shot, handing it to you. “Let’s get so drunk we forget our names.”
“Here here!” you agreed and downed the shot.
Steve and Clint found you the next morning, passed out on each other in the facility’s courtyard on a quilt, surrounded by empty chocolate wrappers and an empty bottle of Golden Grain.
FIN