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In the Avengers tower, they have weekly movie nights, to relax but also to introduce Steve and Thor to modern day media. On one such night, the original 6 with Bucky and Peter Parker are gathered.
Everyone sits down and talk about movie options while Tony prepares snacks to share (popcorn and m&m’s). Peter makes a comment about the new trailer that got released for the live action Beauty and the Beast a few days before. Bruce remarks that the cartoon was great. Steve responds like “Wait… There’s a cartoon?!”
And thus the movie is chosen for the night.
Everyone starts choosing their seat and getting blankets, which Clint tries to steal and hoard. Thor is collecting all his snacks into a large bowl. Tony asks Jarvis to turn on the movie.
No one notices when Natasha goes pale and makes an excuse about being tired before exiting.
She first goes to her room where she had planned to read to distract herself from her anxiety. But as soon as she hears the opening music adrenaline courses through her veins, urging her to escape the Red Room of her mind.
She rushes down into the workout room, silent as a ghost. She grabs a jump rope off the wall and starts doing every combination she knows of, letting her heartbeat thumping in her ears drown out her thoughts and push back the flashbacks.
It helps somewhat but she feels like the only was to combat against her past that resurfaces is to fight, hand-to-hand.
So she discards the rope and throws a punch at the punching bag. Again, again and again. Her hands bleeds but she doesn’t notice. The pain keeps her from letting go of the present.
With every hit she reminds herself that she is in control of her mind, her body and her life; and not in the control of the Red Room or Dreykov.
He flashes before her eyes. The Black Widow whirls, jumping high with a roundhouse kick.
She lands wrong. She falls. The Winter Soldier is there, looking down at her with a red cheek. She grabs his leg, trying to bring him down, so she can graduate, so she can survive.
But she is trembling. She is weakened. He pins her to the ground.
Her heart pounds. She can’t breathe. She tries to push him off, to kick him off, to get him off balance. But he doesn’t move.
His face is inches away from her own. He wears no mask.
She closes her eyes, waiting for the fatal blow.
“Natalia? It’s okay. You’re safe. You’re not there anymore. You’re with the Avengers. You’re safe. You got out. You’re safe…”
He eases his grip on her wrists when she opens her eyes.
Silent sobs rake her body. He sits up and gathers her to his chest. He smooths her red hair with a soft touch while he whispers,“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe now,” over and over again. To her, to himself. In at attempt that those words become embedded in both their minds. That they shut out the horrors in an impenetrable wall.
They stay huddled there, keeping each other present, barely pushing back the dark. All the while their teammates are calmly watching a cartoon, laughing together, never imagining the tears that are being shed below.
In that work-out room are a boy and a girl learning to live again. Two broken weapons learning to be human. The girl, who was taught to use her beauty to deceive the world. The boy, who is seen by the world as only a beast.
Most of the time, beauty must remind the beast of the kind heart that beats in his chest. But still, quite often, beauty needs someone to acknowledge and embrace the ugliness inside. Something only the beast knows truly.
And so, when the world or the past becomes too much for them to bare alone, the beauty and the beast, the ballerina and the assassin, find comfort in one another.
And that is how they survive. Together. Side by side. Hand in hand. Beauty and Beast.