Tony looked inside of the gym in the main compound, he had gotten a warning that someone was in there. He hadn’t been in there for quite some time, not since a vision shaped hole had become a decoration for the floor. But Natasha hadn’t been here either, yet she was in there now, just after Daisy had left.
Tony suspected that perhaps Nat had been in love with Daisy. (He knew for a fact that it was the other way around)
Nat was hitting the punching bags with her hand and feet, at a speed so high that he barely could register all the movements.
She wasn’t wearing any gloves of the sort, so her hands must be raw by now, but the assassin didn’t seem to care.
Tony wasn’t close with Natasha, they didn’t really like each other, but Daisy liked her, and for his daughter, he’d be willing to give the ex-spy a second chance. For his daughter, he’d be willing to do just about anything.
Tony wanted to turn around, walk away, but Natasha suddenly turned around, perhaps he had unknowingly made a sound.
‘What are you doing here?’ It didn’t sound accusing, just curious.
‘I got an alert that someone had entered the compound, so I went to check it out.’ Tony was fully aware that this was the first time he and Natasha had spoken since the day before Siberia. They had gone out of their way to avoid each other. It was weird to think that there had been a time in which Tony had trusted Natasha, in which he hadn’t yet known she was a spy, but she had known that the woman was well aware that he had been trying to make Pepper jalouse and had cooperated with it.
Of course, that had all gone out of the window not much later but it still had happened.
They just looked at each other for a while, but eventually Tony decided to speak up. ‘I know from Daisy that you two were close and lived together.’ Just a statement, he didn’t really know what to say to the black widow, who could kill him whenever she wanted. Who had threatened to do so multiple times in fact.
‘Yes, we were.’ Natasha sounded wary. Tony couldn’t blame her, neither of them really knew how to handle situations that had anything to do with feelings. There was sadness in her eyes though and regret.
Tony decided to say what he was thinking. ‘You love her, don’t you?’
It seemed like the former assassin was contemplating what to answer, but eventually, she closed her eyes. ‘I do.’
Natasha wasn’t sure how this situation had come up, but she had just confessed to Tony Stark that she loved his daughter. It was weird. She and Stark couldn’t stand each other. Hell, he had been surprised when she understood his stance on the accords.
But now he was talking to her. It hadn’t really dawned to Nat that Daisy was Starks daughter until know. She had known it, but not fully realized it.
Stark decided to speak up after an uncomfortable silence. ‘Let me tell you something about Daisy, she was the most open person that I knew, that didn’t mean she didn’t have secrets, but she would always tell people how she felt about something. That changed when she lost all her trust in people when she got betrayed by Ward, has she told you about him?’
Natasha hesitated. ‘I know they were on the same team, I know that they were friends, and I know that he turned out to be Hydra.’
She could tell from the look on Stark’s face that that wasn’t the whole story. Then she realized. ‘She was in love with him, wasn’t she?’
Star- No, she should call him Tony, nodded. ‘Yes, but not just that, he loved her as well.’
‘That’s why he kidnapped her instead of killing her.’ Natasha realized.
A nod and a sigh. ‘Yes, that’s why. They kept on meeting each other over the years, the first times, Daisy didn’t have it in her to kill him, but eventually, she did try to do it.’ Tony closed his eyes. ‘Essentially, that was the moment in which a part of her broke, that was even before Hive came, took over Ward’s body and had his memories, used his mind control to control Daisy, while Hive had the same love for Daisy that Ward had had, and then killed Lincoln, the person Daisy loved.’
They both were silent for a while and Natasha processed and realized what Stark was trying to say.
Much like herself, Daisy had been hurt countless times and it had partially broken her.
Even if Daisy had loved her, she wouldn’t move on it, because where Natasha had never let people close to begin with, Daisy had tried it, but had gotten burned badly.
She’d be there for Daisy, and she’d wait, until both of them were ready for love.
Natasha looked up, and realized Stark had left already, she picked up her phone and looked up his contact. She sent a text containing two words. ‘Thank you.’