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Summary:

Natasha rarely admitted when she was wrong but she grudgingly did so about her initial impression of Tony Stark.

In her attempts to make up for her past behavior, she tries to help him.

None of them could have predicted the pain this would lead to.

Or the love.

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Natasha Romanoff: Part 1

Natasha could see that a disaster was coming from a mile away.

She could see it in Steve's desperation. In the light dulling in Tony's eyes day by day.

And yet she was helpless to do anything to stop it.

Her relationship with Tony had got off to a rocky start, what with lying to him from day one and her own bad impression of the billionaire.

But after being on the other end of the man's generosity for months, after seeing him time and again put others before himself, she'd finally had to admit that she was wrong.

That the Black Widow had been wrong with that 'Iron Man: Yes, Tony Stark: Not Recommended' report.

With great reluctance, she'd gone to the man and apologised, expecting at the very least passive-aggressive comments.

Instead, she'd received a hopeful smile and a "Not the worst first impression someone's had."

She'd felt even worse after that. Damn him for being so forgiving.

So on Clint's advice, who had got on with Tony from the start like a house on fire, Natasha offered the only olive branch she could think of.

She was brilliant at playing and manipulating people. But actually making a friend? She wasn't the best at that.

Clint was the exception to that rule. And they met while he was trying to kill her.

So she went with the only other option available to her. She offered to teach Tony how to fight for when he was out of the suit.

The man eagerly took her up on the offer.

Their training sessions started slow, with Natasha learning his physical limits and teaching him to work around them. To fight around the hunk of metal in his chest and his decreased lung capacity.

He complained and whined, but he was a dedicated student under it all.

And gradually the sessions changed.

They talked more, moving from banter to gossip to genuine talks.

For the first time, she made herself open up to someone besides Clint. She spoke about the Red Room and her continuing struggles with the conditioning she'd been put through as a child.

In return, Tony told her about Stane and the portal in New York with its stars and never-ending blackness.

About Afghanistan and how it felt to slowly lose his life to the thing keeping him alive.

She apologized again, the words flowing easier off her tongue as she understood the vulnerability SHIELD had taken advantage of back then.

He'd only smiled and told her that the first apology was enough.

They didn't really talk much outside of their sparring sessions. Not in the way that Tony was friends with Clint outside of missions.

But they had something there and Natasha had a feeling that she was lucky enough to have him for those few hours a week.

It was during that time that she learned of his crush on Steve and his reluctance to follow through on it because of how much Steve seemed to dislike him.

Seeing that resignation and suspecting that her report played a large part in Steve's opinion, Natasha set out to change his mind.

And she succeeded. She managed to convince Steve to give the genius a chance and the man soon fell head over heels in love with Tony. The two were a sweet couple and she was glad she managed to do something good for once.

And then things changed.

Then they found out that Bucky Barnes was alive and Steve grew obsessed with finding the man. As he went on more and more missions to find Bucky, he neglected his relationship with Tony more and more.

The genius grew withdrawn, quiet. He smiled and laughed less and kept to himself in his lab more.

Natasha felt like throttling Steve. That idiot was ruining his relationship and he didn't even realise it.

But things still managed to get worse.

Because they found Barnes. Because of Tony's dedicated work. They found him and they brought him home and Steve was over the moon with happiness.

And still completely caught up in Bucky and neglecting his boyfriend.

Now Steve was there. Right there into Tower, but he still missed date nights and barely saw Tony.

Natasha hated seeing the light dim in the genius' eyes more and more every day.

But then Steve did the unforgivable.

___________

Tony was late to his sparring session with her, which never happened.

Worried, she asked JARVIS where he was and the AI told her that he was in the lab.

His tone told her that something was very, very wrong.

She didn't quite run to the lab, but it was a near thing. Alarming enough that Clint followed after her when she raced past him.

They found the lab in ruins, projects strewn across the floor and Tony huddled against the far wall, sobbing and surrounded by empty alcohol bottles.

"Tony?" She'd whispered in worry, Clint at her back.

A harsh sob tore from the genius and her stomach dropped.

"Tony, what's wrong?" She coaxed gently.

It took both of them a while to calm him down enough to speak but when he did, Natasha's world went cold.

She'd trusted someone with a person she cared about. And that trust had been betrayed.

"It will be alright Tony," she'd promised, pressing a light kiss to his forehead. "I'll make it alright."

Clint had looked at her with a mix of worry and anger. She'd only nodded and told him to take care of the genius.

"One of our safe houses," she told him. "Privacy."

Clint had nodded once and hauled Tony to his feet, taking most of his weight.

"Make him hurt," he'd demanded.

"I'll rip him apart," she'd vowed.

The Black Widow stalked out of the destroyed lab as Clint slipped away to the garage with their very drunk friend.

_____________

Now, she stepped into the elevator and JARVIS took her upstairs without a word.

As the elevator opened, she could hear them from down the hall and her lip curled in disgust.

In Tony's home.

In his own bed.

She opened the door quietly and dispassionately watched the pair for a moment.

Super soldier stamina had its perks elsewhere apparently. They were still going at it even though it must have been a while since Tony walked in on them.

Did they even notice?

Likely not.

With a neutral expression, she drew her gun and fired.