Age: 19
Warnings: Mentions of Natashas death, mentions of death in general
Word count: 1260
Summary: After Natashas death, Steve and Alena finally talk about her sacrifice.
Requested by: Ruzgar2023

Thanks for your request :)

Death.

The death of a loved one can make you isolate yourself or cut everyone you love off.

It can alter your brain chemistry forever.

For Alena, the death of her mother hit her like a train at full speed.

She fought with such power, converting her grief into anger and strength.

She simply didn't allow herself to feel anything besides rage.

After the avengers managed to defeat Thanos, the 19 year old shut everyone out though.

Even her father.

Steve could hear his daugther cry, not only at night but when she thought he couldn't hear her.

It broke his heart, knowing that she wasn't ready to talk just yet.

It broke his heart even more when he thought about having to realise that his wife, the woman he had spent every moment with, the mother of his child and the one he called the love of his life was gone just like that.

Just like that and the last thing she said, the last thing that stayed of her were the words 'See you in a minute'.

And that was the part that hurt the most.

Natasha did not 'see him in a minute'. In fact, she never saw him again.

Today was one particularly bad day.

Alena was curled up in her room, hugging her childhood stuffed bear with her Mom's perfume on it and crying.

It became a habit for her to wear her mothers tshirts, so that's what she did.

Something about them made her feel close to the one person she loved most in this world, the one person she thought she'd never loose.

So, the 19 year old cried and cried until she couldn't anymore.

A few minutes later, someone knocked.

Alena shot up and wiped her tears away as fast as she could.

She didn't want anyone to see her in this broken state, not even her dad.

,,Come in"

The 19 year old permitted, her voice a little hoarse from crying.

,,Hey little light, are you alright"

Steve asked, but with one look at his daughter, he knew that she had been crying again and that she was obviously not alright.

Still, Alena tried keeping her facade up.

,,Yea, I'm I ..."

She tried confirming, but something wouldn't let her.

Alena became irritated by her incapability to be strong, so as stubborn as she was, she tried again:

,,I am f ... I'm ..."

At that point, her emotions and grief got the better of her.

She started crying again, but this time, her fathers arms wrapped around her.

,,It's alright, little light. It's okay to cry"

He soothed as his nineteen year old child cried into his chest.

This was a breaking point for Alena.

She felt ready to talk about vormir and everything that happened up there.

,,Dad?"

The redhead piped up, her blue eyes meeting the ones she resembled perfectly.

Steve cupped his daughters face while wiping her her tears.

,,I'm ready to talk about Mama"

Alena announced sternly, telling herself that she would not cry again.

,,I'm ready when you are"

Her dad encouraged, knowing that this cost a lot of strength.

,,When we were up on that mountain, Clint, Mama and I, an entity appeared. He said his name was redskull"

The redhead started, focusing hard on what she wanted to say.

She saw as her dad's eyes went wide, only for a split second before resuming the gaze they held before.

,,He led us to ... to a cliff and said something about an everlasting exchange. 'A soul for a soul', were his exact words"

Alena continued, her eyes beginning to shake.

This was a thing they did, not only when she was lying but when she was feeling big emotions as well.

She went silent after that.

Steve examined his daugther carefully. It was like a flip had switched inside her.

,,It's my fault she's dead"

Alena suddenly blurted out, over and over again.

,,Hey, hey, Alena look at me and tell me what happened. It's not your fault, it's Thanos's"

The supersoldier muttered, once more cupping the redheads face to make her look at him.

,,I wanted to make the sacrifice, it was supposed to be me. I should've just jumped while Mama was fighting Clint for it, I should've held on tighter, It's all my fault"

Said child rambled, tears pooling in her eyes.

She was going into excessive overthinking.

,,Alena"

Steve inquired, his voice the perfect mix of soft and stern.

,,What happened up there, just before ... the sacrifice"

He asked while holding eyecontact.

Alena broke it, examining her nails instead.

She began picking at the skin around her nails.

,,I jumped, I thought I saved her but she jumped after me"

The redhead started, the tears in her eyes finally falling.

,,She activated my widows bite and then we were hanging off the cliff. I held on to her hand, trying so hard to pull her up"

She continued, her voice shaky.

Steve took his daughters hands into his own, preventing her from picking at her skin.

,,I wanted to pull her up, I really tried but she said to let go, Mama wanted me to let her go"

Alena sobbed, trying so hard to keep it together.

,,She told me that it was alright and that she loved me before she ripped herself from my grip..."

The 19 year old finished, her expression completely and utterly broken with a hint of guilt.

Steve pulled his daughter into a hug, letting her cry into his chest and consoling her while she did.

,,She's so proud of you, Alena"

He whispered, fighting hard to keep the tears at bay.

,,I miss her, I miss my Mama"

The redhead cried, her voice muffled by her dad's shirt.

It broke Steve's heart to see his little girl, the cheerful little girl she once was, so broken and traumatised.

,,I know you do, little light. I know"

He cooed soothingly, carefully stroking the redheads hair.

,,I want her back"

,,I know"

,,There's got to be a way"

,,I don't know if there is"

This was the day that Steve swore to find a way to bring Natasha back.

To make his little girl happy.

He didn't know if he would be able to succeed but he damn well would try.

Alena was grateful for her dad's company.

She knew he was grieving, just like her.

This is what made her even more grateful to have him.

The fact that he put her first, the fact that he consoled her while he was hurting too.

Alena always cherished her dad, but never had she been more happy to have him by her side.

A/N: Ouch, just ouch.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry while writing this one. I know some of you really like the bond Alena and her dad have and I'm glad you like this duo so much.
Even though this is mostly Nat and Alena, I could do more Steve and Alena if you want me to.
Yea, hope you enjoyed this one and I'm sorry if you cried.
Also, thanks for the request again.
I always appreciate you lots involvement with this book and your requests are always great to write.
Okay, have a great day/night and I'll see you around. Stay amazing, beautiful people <3