Tanaya was extremely nervous. Bruce had finally told her that she could walk around regularly, so Natasha was taking her out clothes shopping. She had been in the medical area for a week, and everyone had come into visit, even though they really did not know her. She appreciated the effort that they put into getting to know her, and she felt safe around them. Tanaya could not help feeling slightly worried about spending an extended amount of time with Natasha who, although being very kind to her, had not been with her for longer than a few minutes. There was also the fact of money. Her mum had left her some money when she died, but it was limited and she definitely could not afford to get any decent clothes. She did not want to be embarrassed in front of Natasha when she saw how little money she had. She looked up from where she was staring at the pavement to see Natasha standing right in front of her. "Ah!" she exclaimed, jerking back out of instinct. "It's good to see that my clothes fit you ok." Natasha commented, looking at the black jumper and jeans that Tanaya was wearing. "Are you ready to go?" Tanaya nodded in response, following Natasha to a black car parked nearby.
Once they got inside the car, there was a beat of awkward silence before Natasha told the driver to take them to the nearest shopping centre. The ride there was mostly silent, with Tanaya content to just take in her surroundings, so the silence was not awkward at all. Eventually they pulled up outside a massive shopping centre and she was ushered out of the car by Natasha and they walked inside before stopping at the base of the escalators. "So, first thing. You are not spending any money today." Natasha stated matter-of-factly. Tanaya was about to protest, but Natasha continued, "I know that you only have your mother's money to spend. We have Tony's, so feel free to buy whatever clothes you want." Tanaya was feeling overwhelmed and more than a little bit guilty. Her mother never had much money, but always attempted to get what was needed, the thought of buying whatever clothes she wanted was too much. Instead of arguing, she nodded dumbly and looked around, a little lost. Natasha, sensing her confusion, asked her what types of clothes she was into. "I'm kind of into different style clothes, retro stuff, but not too old. Probably not many places here like that." Tanaya started fidgeting with the long sleeves on the jumper, worried about being labelled. She'd had enough of that back home to last a lifetime.
After a moment, Natasha led Tanaya through the centre to a small shop towards to back. It was cluttered inside, with an assortment of dresses, skirts and shirts all hung up in various places. In the middle of the store was a selection of shoes, all "alternative" in style. It was perfect. Natasha settled herself in the corner, where she could keep an eye on things whilst being out of the way. "Um, I'm just going to try these things on, do you mind, well, waiting near and giving me an opinion? I want to know if I look s-silly." Tanaya looked way too nervous asking for something many girls simply expected. "Of course, just stick your hand out and I'll be there." She was glad that Tanaya didn't know about their superhero status, it would just make her more scared about asking for things. A short time later, Tanaya was standing uncomfortably whilst Natasha inspected her outShe was wearing a black dress with bright red buttons going up it and a red bow around her waist and ankle boots with silver skull buttons. "You look great, you are getting more right? You can't live off one dress forever." The compliment seemed to bolster Tanaya's confidence and she started going around the store once more, grabbing things quickly. When she was done, Natasha gave her a credit card to pay with and she quickly went up to the friendly cashier.
"Nice choices, are we re-doing our wardrobe?" The lady asked with a smile. "In a sense" Tanaya responded, reaching out to pay. Suddenly, the lady's smile disappeared and she looked horrified, staring at something. Tanaya followed her gaze and saw what she was looking at. It was the repulsor sitting in her palm. She quickly snatched her hand away, and rushed past Natasha towards where she knew the bathrooms were. Confused, Natasha quickly moved to pay for the clothes as the girl whispered to her "What was up with her hands?" With the realisation of what happened, Natasha quickly followed Tanaya's path to the bathroom, where she found her staring at her shaking hands with tears running down her face. "They're hideous. Why did they have to do such a dodgy job with the incisions? I can't stand the thought of people looking at me like she did. I hadn't even thought that it might happen. Stupid of me." She muttered, looking defeated. Natasha moved to put an arm around her, just being there. Eventually, she whispered to Tanaya, telling her to put her hands in her pockets and follow her out.
Natasha left Tanaya in the food court as she ran off to do something. Tanaya was feeling ashamed at the way she reacted; Natasha must have thought she was pathetic. She made sure that her hands were kept out of sight as she sat there, waiting for her to return. When she did, she was carrying a small bag that she gently placed in front of Tanaya, who gingerly opened it and smiled widely at what she saw. Inside was a pair of black fingerless gloves that laced up on the black "These are amazing, thank you so much!" she exclaimed whilst pulling them on her hands. She inspected them for a moment before suddenly hugging Natasha as hard as she could. Although surprised at first, Natasha soon returned the hug and smiled to herself. She made a mental not to tell the others about Tanaya's new found reluctance to show her hands, if they asked too many questions she could get upset. Natasha would kill anyone who made her upset.
