Disclaimer: I don't own The Avengers.

Innocence

Natasha Romanoff was strong, or truth be told a strong killer. She was quick, and agile, her body moved almost gracefully as she maneuvered through a battlefield. Her had incredibly steady when handling a gun, her strength boiling over as her actions quickly beat her opponent to a bloody pulp.

Oh yes, Natasha Romanoff was strong.

But she had a past that haunted her, no matter which way she avoided it. Although she loathed the idea that Loki's words were right, "Your ledger is dripping, it is gushing red…"

With every inch of her being she hated those words, she wished they had never been spoken. But, Natasha was not a naïve child; she knew her past all too well. She had never been a child really, and one some days she wonders if that's what made her strong.

Natasha Romanoff was indeed strong, but she was not invincible.

And on nights when she had stayed home while everyone in the tower had gone out, to the latest club or to see the sights of New York, she broke.

You could see the pain in her face, the swelling of her eyelids as her self-hatred boiled over the top. Her hair was no longer a perfect bob, but her shaking fingers had laced themselves, no wove themselves into her red locks. Alone in her room, she broke.

Oh, and how she screamed. She yelled into the darkness, her voice eventually going weak as the thoughts in her head turned against her. The controlled her, they manipulating her. She manipulated herself.

"Do you know how many lives you have ended? How many families you have broken? You are a fucking demon. You are a killer. Barton should have shot that arrow straight into your head that night." The voices whispered to her, fueling her pain.

"SHUT UP! Stop. Talking. To. Me. YOU ARE WRONG. JUST SHUT UP!" Natasha screamed into the empty room, her head going dizzy as she sobbed and yelled.

"Please, you know its true. You are a fucking murder, your ledger is GUSHING with red, remember?" Her own mind taunted her, chipping away at her sanity.

Natasha pulled at her hair a bit, moving her hands to her ears. "BE QUITE, YOU ARE WRONG...you are wrong." Her voice broke into a whisper, her head lifting up to meet her own eyes in the mirror across from her view.

She wiped her eyes to get a better look at herself. She saw her vulnerability staring at her. She saw her weakness, and her shame. But in her eyes, she saw the look. The look of her victim's eyes, just before she stopped their heart in some way.

She had become her own victim.

Natasha stood up from the edge of her bed, and walked towards the mirror. She looked at her self one last time, whispering into the air, "You are fucking worthless. Look at all you have done… You are better off dead." The words poured from her lips as she struck the mirror with her fist, shards of glass flying everywhere.

The trembling woman bent down, and picked up a palm-sized piece of glass.

A small corner of the mirror still remained, just where her eyes met her own gaze, "You deserve this."

Her eyes clamped shut as she placed the sharpest side of the glass into her skin, preparing to drag it across, but…

Someone's arms wrapped around her. Strong arms. Confortable arms, but a sane Natasha would never admit that.

"Natasha, what in god's name are you doing!" A voice yelled.

She was shocked, but reality soon fell into place. Someone had stopped her. Someone had seen her like this. Someone had seen her, broken.

She began to cry into the unknown's arms, her breathing difficult as the sobs collected in her throat. Her tears burned her skin as she realized someone had stopped her plan. Her anger was focused on the person cradling her, her fists going weakly to punch the person's chest, which was obviously towering over her.

"WHY DID YOU STOP ME?" she screamed, still failing to see who her savior was, "I fucking deserve this! I NEED THIS. Do you know what I've done? The blood I have spilled? I'm DRIPPING WITH INNOCENT BLOOD ON MY HANDS. Do you know what its like to close your eyes, just to see the face of someone you are about to kill

To see the fear in their eyes?" She sobbed, still hitting the person (Obviously a man's) chest, doing no damage.

"Miss Romanoff please listen too me." The man's arms coiled around her, turning her to face him, but her eyes stayed shut. "You do not deserve this. You are wrong. Although I am familiar with you past, there is no way in hell you deserve all of this. You are strong, and you are beautiful. You HELP people. You save their lives, it doesn't matter what you did, lord knows how many years ago. Agent Barton spared your life for a damned good reason, Miss Romanoff." The voice lulled, calming her although her eyes remained shut with frustration.

"Miss Romanoff – Natasha! Look at me. All those years ago Agent Barton saved the most beautiful, kind, and strong young woman I know." The steady yet bashful voice admitted.

Natasha froze, her eyelids lifting slowly to the man who had saved her life, and her heart. She looked into the blue pools of what were non other than Captain Steve Rodgers. Her mouth had formed a 'o' as he looked at her with so much passion, and fear of rejection.

Her eyes soften, her fists loosened, and her lips grew into a smile. She had transformed her fists that were once hitting Steve with aggression, to an embrace of passion.

"Thank you so m-much, Captain." She smiled into his dress shirt she figured he had left the club early.

Natasha felt him let out a small sigh of what seemed to be relief. He bent down and pressed his lips to her forehead, his hands smoothing her hair. He began to stutter a bit, she could sense his nervousness. "No matter what you have done, or what you will do… I-I mean If you ever n-need open heart… You'll always innocent in my eyes." He finally confessed. "I love you Natasha Romanoff."

They stood their for a good fifteen minutes, and thank god for Steve's improved hearing, before Natasha let the words slip from her mouth, "I love you too, my savior." Although the words were barely audible, a peace fell about the room as Natasha Romanoff had finally found someone who she didn't have to be strong with. She had found love.

Fin.

A/N: Well, I hoped you liked this! I love showing the softer side of characters, I hope you all liked my version of Natasha. I mean, badasses have feelings too? And I just love Steve and Natasha, I think its adorable. (PS I don't know if it is the right spelling of Romanoff.)

Pretty, pretty, pretty PLEASE leave me some feed back? Thanks for reading!