There's nothing wrong with you - Natasha
“Боже мой, идиотский ребенок!” Natasha mumbles under her breath upon coming to find you in the Avenger’s tower gym absolutely drenched in sweat, shaking like a leaf, and yet still trying to beat a punching bag into submission. She knew you and Clint had come down to get a few rounds in earlier, but apparently you never left. Natasha sighed and strode over.
“Widen your stance. Right now, you want to get the wind knocked out of you in a real fight, that’s the perfect position to do it in.”
You’re so tired that you unconsciously obey the command before you realise who’s speaking it and turn around. “Miss Widow, I didn’t realise you were watching.”
Natasha rolls her eyes. “Natasha, you know that. And you didn't notice because your senses have dulled. You’re exhausted and it shows.”
“No, I promise, I’m fine! Do you…maybe have anything else to teach me? You’re great in combat.”
“I’m going to teach you one of the first things my training ever taught me. The best defense in the world.”
“Oh? What’s that?” You ask while bracing for a physical demonstration, but it never comes. Instead, Natasha replies.
“Don’t be there. If you’re already in a fight, finish it, but if you don’t want to be in one, don’t give an enemy the chance to start. The same principle applies to training. You want the energy to be there when you need it, you shouldn’t train so hard. You realise it’s almost 3:00 in the morning, right?”
You look down, sheepish. Busted. You try to cover for it anyway. “I honestly didn’t realise it had gotten that late. Clint and I were sparring, he went up for the night, and I was just going to stay for a few more minutes. I guess I got carried away.”
All Natasha has to do is raise her eyebrows before you’re sputtering the truth.
“Okay, okay. You caught me. I didn’t lose track of time. In fact, I went back upstairs with Clint. But I still needed to clear my head. Everything just felt wrong and I thought if I came back down here, I could fix it.”
“Wrong how?” Natasha questions while grabbing for your wrist, She intends to pull you over to the benches and talk, but stops short. "My god. When was the last time you ate? You’re so thin!”
You say nothing and that’s when it clicks.
“You meant everything was wrong with you, didn’t you? Come here.” Natasha says, surprisingly gently. She follows through with her original mission of getting you both settled on the benches before getting serious again. “How long has this been going on?”
“A while.”
“So, the plan was to ‘fix yourself’ with ridiculously late night workouts and skipped meals?”
You nod, too ashamed to say it aloud.
“Солнце, you can’t fix yourself because there’s nothing to fix. There is nothing wrong with you! Do you want to know why I call you Солнце? It means sunshine and that is exactly what you are to me and everyone else in this tower. You have such an infectious, fun loving nature and positive energy. You brighten up our days so much and you can’t keep doing that if you don’t take care of yourself. Promise me you’ll start eating consistently again? Even small things at first. Fed is best. We’ll all be there to support you every step of the way.”
“I promise.” You say, standing to make your way to the door.
“Oh,” Natasha calls just before you enter the elevator. “And I’ll be taking over your training from now on.”