She was an assassin trained from birth. A super spy; the best that S.H.I.E.L.D ever had, really. And now, she was as close to a superhero as one could come; an icon that young girls all around the world looked up to.
So Natasha Romanoff was confused as hell about why wearing a swimsuit to the Avenger's summer pool party was making her so damn anxious.
It wasn't like there would be a bunch of hot guys there; no, it was just her and the five other dorks in suits that ran around saving the world with her. They wouldn't care about the hodgepodge of scars that dotted her abdomen. They wouldn't- right?
She assumed it was the human in her. She forgot that part of her was there, from time to time- the molded marble figure she had been raised to be took over far too often. She studied herself closely in the mirror, fingers drifting over the circular, smooth marks on the lower part of her stomach.
Soviet slug. No rifling.
She shuddered as she pushed the memory of Odessa to the back of her brain, pulling on a loose T-shirt (she was pretty sure it was Steve's, but honestly, the majority of her non-uniformed clothes came from different items she'd- erm- borrowed from the guys). She took in a deep breath and walked out of her room.
The pool was on the top floor of Stark Tower. She kept her head down as she exited the elevator, and she quickly found an isolated chair far away from the ruckus that was happening inside the pool.
Somebody had set up a volleyball net, and the boys, all in various degrees of drunkenness, were haphazardly flinging themselves around, chasing after a multi-colored beach ball. Nat sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the limited minutes she'd have under the warm sun before she began to burn.
That was, until Clint decided it would be a great idea to spray her with a water gun.
She yelped and jumped up, sputtering.
"What the hell?" she yelled, taking off her sunglasses and looking down at her soaked-through shirt.
"It's a pool party, Nat! You've got to get wet- better sooner than later!" Clint said with a mischievous grin before cannonballing back into the pool. She groaned and sank back into her lounge chair, clutching at a towel.
"Aww, c'mon, Natasha! Live a little!" Tony chided. She rolled her eyes and continued ignoring them.
Steve sighed and climbed out of the pool.
"It'll be fun, Nat. It's just us, and I swear, we're not too drunk.. well, not yet, at least," he said, holding out his hand. She stared at it for a moment before caving in.
"I hate you," she mumbled as Steve pulled her to the pool's edge.
"No, you love me," he said with a wink as he turned around and back flopped into the pool. She couldn't help but smile.
"Shirt's gotta come off, Red," Tony teased, and Natasha looked away, fiddling with the bottom of it. Bruce was the only one who sensed her apprehension.
"Everything alright?" he asked casually, doing a fairly good job at masking the concern in his voice.
"Yeah," she muttered, taking in a deep breath before peeling off her t-shirt and taking a seat at the edge of the pool. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, hiding the worst of her scars, but not the thin, white slivers that ran up and down her clavicle. She was about to climb into the pool when Thor's booming voice rang from the other end.
"I suggest you all stand back!" he shouted, and she and Steve exchanged a nervous glance. "I am about to do an... erm.." he hesitated, looking to Clint for the answer.
"A cannonball?" the archer suggested helpfully. Thor beamed.
"Yes! A cannonball!" Nat smiled and rolled her eyes as Thor took in a deep breath and jumped into the pool. None of them, however, expected the massive tidal wave that came. Natasha shrieked and scampered back from the edge as she was splashed from head to toe. She stood up, laughing.
"Nice one, buddy!" Bruce said, making the mistake of giving Thor a high-five.
"Damn, Nat, how'd you get that one?"
Natasha looked up at Tony, momentarily confused, until she realized she was pointing at her Odessa scar.
Oh.
"You know, just part of the job," she said with a smirk, hiding the fact that no part of her wanted to relive that particular memory. Steve looked at her sympathetically.
"Just proof about how much you've survived, right?" Tony added, and Natasha's expression softened.
"Yeah, I guess they are," she said. Tony pointed at a particularly nasty scar on his shoulder.
"Got this one about a year back from those damn AIM bots," he said, and they all winced sympathetically.
"Hey, Nat, we've got matching ones!" Clint said with a laugh, showing off the faded shrapnel wound he'd received from their first mission together- Budapest.
"Yeah, I already know the story behind that one a little too well," she said, grimacing.
"Just part of the job," Bruce said, echoing her words.
"It sure does suck, though," Tony said as she jumped into the pool. Clint gave her a playful shove.
She sighed. "It sucks.. but it's worth it in the end." they all sombered momentarily, before Thor broke the silence by chucking the beach ball back in the air.
"I call Nat on our team!" Bruce shouted, and she rolled her eyes.
"Not fair!" Clint whined.
"Sorry, Barton, but we're about to beat all of your asses," she said with a grin as she took up her side on the net.
Yeah... this was worth it.