Trust

Natasha remembers their conversation as if it was yesterday, sitting in Sam Wilson's guest bedroom and talking about how Steve trusted her with his life. She had been surprised to find that she believed he believed that.

And they moved on. Quite spectacularly.
And after things quieted down, they went back to business. Fighting the villain of the day, saving the world. And the conversation kept replaying in her head whenever he ran straight for the enemy. There was no shortage of them nowadays, and she noticed that they got better each time, finding their weak spots, making sure to break the team up and single them out to attack. She made sure to stay close to Steve. Because he trusted her with his life.

And now, during the attack that left the others dissembled all over the city and two city blocks between her an Cap, after they heard his distress call and the explosive impacts, after he said they found something that got into the vibranium making it brittle and Stark asked three times to make sure he heard that correctly, after they heard him yell and the line went dead ... she feels her chest tighten up at that thought ... after she made her way over and found the enemies eliminated and him face down in a pool of sticky blood in a ruined coffee shop with his shoulder ripped to pieces, now is the time to prove herself. She deserves his trust. Because he may believe it. But she does not yet believe it herself.



Painted in Photoshop, Bamboo Tablet.
Disclaimer: Neither Natasha nor Steve are mine, I just borrowed them from Marvel. No profit is made from this.