Trigger warning for self harm. Please stay safe <3

Nobody showed up the next day.

Just the guys bringing her food and water.

It made her wonder if she had done something wrong the day before. Maybe she had pushed Natasha too hard, forcing her into something she wasn't ready for. 

Maybe the knife throwing had brought back some bad memories and she couldn't see Katya without immediately associating her with that hellhole they grew up in. 

Maybe it was all a show and she didn't actually like her.

But on the other hand, she had seen no forced smiles or weird behavior yesterday. And also; Natalia was always on duty so maybe she just had a mission? That would explain why Barton came to get her yesterday.

All these things went through Katya's head while she stared at the cell door, sitting in the middle of the floor. Her hope slowly dissolved every hour that passed without any movement.

But it was eight AM when suddenly the beep of the lock told her that somebody was, in fact, coming in. She immediately stood up, prepared for whoever it may be.

It wasn't Natasha, call it a gut feeling. Like Katya could sense her presence and know this wasn't it. Instead, Agent Barton walked through the door. Ah, he can't come and get her before, so this must be fun.

''Hands,'' he ordered, wanting to put some handcuffs on her.

Katya wanted to protest, but knew it wouldn't help her position, so she went for a half-protest. ''You know I can get out of these, right?'' Her eyes following his hands' movements. For Natasha to trust her, she needed Clint on her side too. At least enough so he wouldn't try and talk her out of it. Besides, Natasha could always pick out the good ones, so if she was friends with him, that meant he was kind.

His dark, warning eyes looked up. ''Don't even try.'' He tugged her out of the cell, not too rough, and made her walk in front of him, clearly afraid she was going to run. If only he knew how much she wanted to stay.

''Where's Natalia?'' Katya asked when they walked into the interrogation room again and she didn't see her. 

''Not here.'' He took a seat across the table, the one Natasha always sat in, and watched her reaction to his words carefully. His friend was on a mission, so they finally had some time to figure out Katya's connection to her.

Katya wasn't stupid, she knew the topic was going to be the beautiful redhead now that she wasn't here. ''You want to talk about her.'' Not a question, an observation.

He gave her a curt nod. ''Start at the beginning.''

She sighed and looked at her broken nails. ''For as far as I can remember, Natalia has always been there, sleeping in the bed right next to mine.'' The image formed before her eyes, a faint smile on her lips. Even though that part of her life had sucked the most, Natalia was the best thing to come out of it. 

''Her hair would stand out so brightly against the pale grey bedsheets. The other girls used to make fun of her for it, but one day she stood up to them and punched one right in the nose. They never bullied her again.'' She could see the man's mouth twitch a little, apparently, this was still typical Natalia.

''We grew up together. Learning everything about being a spy. How to torture people for information, how to seduce men and women into giving up information, how to kill most efficiently, how to shoot a gun, throw knives, how to move in the shadows, you know the drill. It wasn't in a friendly way, as you know. You have read her file.'' The silence gave her the answer she needed.

''They would push our bodies to the breaking point, pain was a daily thing and they would try and break us mentally. Natalia was more afraid, I could see it in her eyes. She would try and hide it well, but her hands were always shaking and nightmares filled her dreams.'' Katya shook her head for a second, trying to get that image out of her head.

''It was clear from a young age that we gravitated towards each other. We were also a little younger than the other girls, maybe that had something to do with it too. But we were always together, although in a non-suspicious way, because friendships were strictly forbidden. We didn't know what love was, because we had never experienced it, but we still found it in each other.'' Clint's eyes softened a little bit, clearly affected by the story.

''Unfortunately, they found out about us. One of the other girls must have ratted us out, because we were very careful. They caught us when we were making out. I think we had just turned fifteen at the time. That sounds very young, but you have to understand that we never had a youth. We were adults long before we turned ten years old, having seen and done things no child should ever have to.''  

''They ripped us apart and beat us up so bad that I thought we were going to die. I have never feared death, but right there, I did. They threw me in a dirty, small cell where they left me to rot for a couple weeks. I got food once a day, the minimum I needed to stay alive. And all I could think about was if Natalia was still alive. If she was undergoing the same treatment.'' She took a deep breath, breaking herself out of that memory. Clint could see that she cared about her deeply. Back then and still now.

''Anyway, after a couple weeks, someone came in, knocked me out and I woke up in a different building in a different bed. They had sold me to the highest bidder like I was an animal. Turned out to be HYDRA.''

Katya dropped her eyes to the table. ''I never saw Natalia again, although I did keep tabs on her. I was so relieved when I found out she was still alive and was so happy when I saw that you had taken her in and given her a second chance. If anyone deserves to be happy, it's her.''

Katya let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding in and leaned back in the chair, tired of telling that story. It sucked to think back, but it was a little easier now, knowing they were together again.

Clint watched her carefully while the gears in his head turned, trying to process everything he had heard. But one question tugged at his brain. ''Why did you never come looking for her if you knew where she was?''

Her eyes fell from his, down to the table again. ''She had made a new life for herself. Fighting for the good guys, that was something she always wanted. I didn't belong in that picture, didn't want to mess up whatever she had.'' She was getting emotional and hated that, so she sniffed once and sat up straight again. ''Will that be all, Agent Barton?''

He was deeply impressed by the story of these two children growing up together and finding each other ten years after being separated. The brunette in front of him cared very deeply about Natasha, he had no doubts about that. And wasn't that all he ever wanted for his friend? To find someone who cared about her as much as he did?

''No. I have one more thing to say and this is her friend talking, not her colleague.'' He got very close to her face, a warning flashing in his eyes. ''If you hurt her, I will not hesitate to take you out. Do you understand?''

A teasing smile formed on her lips. ''Don't worry. Natalia is pretty capable of killing me herself if I ever hurt her.''

A short silence fell in the room as Barton leaned back in his chair. ''Shit, I like you,'' he murmured softly, unable to keep a serious face now. He pushed away from the table, standing up from the chair. ''Wait here, I'll be right back.''

Katya lifted her cuffed hands as far as they allowed her to. ''I'm not going anywhere.''

It didn't take long for him to come back, motioning for her to follow him. He took her all the way upstairs in the elevator. This building was huge, so that took a while. She didn't ask him where they were going, but she had her suspicions. 

They stopped in front of a door and Katya was proven correctly. ''Dir. Fury,'' said the golden plate on the door. Clint fumbled around in his pocket and came up with the key to the woman's handcuffs. Apparently, Fury wanted them gone.

He looked at her for a second, trying to gauge her emotions, but seeing nothing. ''Just don't say or do anything stupid.''

''Why do people say that to me all the time?'' Did she give off dumb or chaotic energy or?

He answered by knocking on the door. Fury expected them or had already heard them, because he gave permission to enter immediately.

''Petrova for you here, sir.''

A tough looking, dark skinned, one eyed man sat behind his desk, his only visible eye looking up at Clint's words. ''Thank you, Agent Barton, you are dismissed.'' 

He nodded politely before walking to the door backwards. ''Yes, sir.''

Fury waited until the door closed to look at the woman and gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. ''Sit down.'' Katya knew she had to make a good impression on the man. He would ultimately decide what her fate would be.

''Katariina Alena Petrova.'' He spoke her name very slowly, reading it from a brown folder in his hands. ''You have quite the impressive record. The Secretary of Defense who you claim was HYDRA, multiple government officials in Iran and Syria, some spies of British Intelligence, the bombing of the government building in Brazil.'' 

He put her file down, which Katya didn't know how he got his hands on, and looked at her sternly. ''Tell me why we shouldn't just kill you now. All these crimes have a life sentence and in your homeland of Russia, it would be at least a hundred death sentences.''

Katya expected him to say this, but tensed up none the less. If he would throw her out, she wouldn't even be mad, she'd understand. But using her skills for good had always been her goal, and it lay within reach.

''And I would deserve that, sir. Like you said, I have done terrible things. Some forced and some not, but it doesn't matter what the reason was, I still did it.'' His face didn't move while she spoke, something that made her more nervous. 

''But I want to do better, I know I can. I'm tired of sowing fear and hate. I don't want to be what they made me to be, because there are enough of me in the world already. I want to be the one to help fight them. I want to protect children from undergoing the same fate as me and women from being used as slaves. I'm not asking for forgiveness, because that is something I will never get. I'm just asking for one chance to prove myself and if I screw up, you can kill me.''

Katya took a deep breath. All of it, the entire speech, came out of her mouth at once. She started insecure but grew more confident. She didn't know what else she could do to convince him.

He stared at her, taking in her words in silence. It took him back to when Clint brought in Natasha, when he had the same conversation. She grew out to be one of SHIELD's best agents and he never regretted letting her stay.

''It looks like you are perfectly capable of doing that yourself.'' Fury was not one to shy away from sensitive topics. His eyes looked at the insides of Katya's underarms. Although she had many scars on her body, these were the only ones she had inflicted on herself. 

Her voice became soft when she looked at where her long sleeve sweater had rose up a bit, showing the thick, deep line starting at her wrists. ''I didn't see a way out. I don't think I have to explain further.''

''No, but it tells me everything I need to know.'' She looked up at his eye once again, trying to see any emotion in it. ''Romanoff clearly trusts you and I trust her judgement. If she tells me that you won't be a problem and even Barton agrees that you deserve a chance, who am I to tell them no.''

Wow. Even Barton was on her side now? Katya finally dared to have some hope, her eyes lighting up a little. 

Fury leaned forward, folding his hands together on his desk. The one eye pierced through her soul, daring her to do something wrong. ''But know that I am watching your every move and if I have even the slightest of doubts about you being on our side, you're gone.'' The man threatened. 

Katya swallowed. ''I understand. Thank you, sir.''

He stood up, so she followed, putting her weight on her good leg. ''Barton will appoint you to a new room upstairs from the cells. I want you close to Romanoff. She is the one responsible for you. So know if you screw up, she will undergo the same consequences.''

If that wasn't motivation enough for Katya, Fury didn't know what else could convince her. ''Good luck and welcome to SHIELD. Dismissed.'' He sat down again, clearly a sign for her to leave. 

So she did, giving him the same nod she saw Barton give. ''Thank you, sir.''

Fury watched the brunette leave the office. He didn't trust new people, but something about her made him want to give her that second chance quite easily. He guessed he had a soft spot for young women who were forced into a life they didn't want. 

Besides, Romanoff had become one of his best agents. One of the only ones he completely trusted, so this was also a gift to her. A reward for all her good work. Now he just hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass.