I quickly leave the room and rush through the halls, hoping to reach my room before anyone talks to me. Unfortunately, in my haste, I round the corner too quickly and bump into Natasha.
"Whoa, Ana. What's wrong?" She asks, seeing my petrified face.
"Nothing Nat, let me go," I say before she grabs my arm and gives me a serious look.
"We both know that's a lie."
"I just had a long day, okay? It took it out of me," I admit, trying to get my arm out of her grasp.
She sighs and asks, "Do you want to spar it out?"
I consider her idea before realizing it'd probably be much better than talking about it with her.
"Lead the way."
We walk towards the training room and get in defensive positions as we stand in silence.
"You gonna start?" Nat asks.
On cue, I bring my fist up and punch her in the abdomen before she grabs my arm and pushes it back. I punch her again, and she does the same thing.
"You're pulling your punches," she says with her eyebrows raised.
"No, I'm not!" I shout as I struggle to pin her down.
"What are you scared of? I'm not going to hurt you, Ana."
I scoff as I dodge her upper right hook, "What like you have in the past?"
"What do you want me to say, Ana? I'm sorry... I may not have been the best sister as a child Ana, but I will do everything I can to fix that."
"There's nothing you can do to fix me, Nat! You made your mistakes, and I made mine," I say, trying to get the upper hand.
"I never said I was trying to fix you! What is this really about?" She asks as she lands a hit on my shoulder.
"You! You know what you did, and you ruined my life!" I say, almost breaking down into tears.
"I don't know, Ana! About leaving you in the building? I told you, I thought you were dead! Half of the building collapsed; I still don't know how you survived!"
"No! The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that killed my neighbors said it was an order from you!" I say, finally succumbing to tears as I fall onto the ground.
She quickly tries to comfort me before I swat her away. "I-I.. didn't know, Ana. And you know I don't give orders, I'm not the director, I don't have the authority."
"What are you saying?" I ask, wiping the tears from my eyes.
"He lied. He purposely tried to pin you against me for some reason," Natasha thinks.
"Why should I trust you?" I ask, looking at her with bloodshot eyes.
"Maybe you shouldn't, but I'm still your sister, and I love you."
"I know, Nat; it just doesn't always seem like it. You never looked for me, never even shut the Red Room down."
Natasha looks down in remorse, "I tried to; it just brought back too much pain, Ana. I'm sorry."
"I don't know if I'll ever forgive you, but I've done some pretty bad things myself."
I take a short breath before continuing, "Turns out my friend was right, talking things out does help ... but I think I like sparring more; how about a rematch? I promise not to pull my punches," I say, reaching my hand out towards Natasha.
She takes it with a grateful smile, and we get back into our defensive positions.
"Are you ready?" Nat asks.
"You know I am."
Tada! I'm honestly really proud of this chapter, and I hope you like it too. Please leave a vote or comment if you can! It is much appreciated.