I Know You Do

Med Bay

Violet

Why must the universe treat Violet so? What has she ever done to deserve this shit? Sure, she's stolen a few things like toothpaste, candy bars, and blankets. Sure, she's punched out a few Alphas to stop them from hurting people. Sure, she drinks pretty consecutively for a 19-year-old. Do all those wrongs add up and equal to this mess? Cornered and trapped by two alphas who had a hand in ruining her life and seemed perfectly content to continue doing so?

Life sucks.

On the brightside, The Widow finally released Violet from her unnaturally strong hold, allowing Violet to talk freely once more. Unfortunately, she was now being strapped to the hospital bed by both Alphas who looked particularly pleased with themselves. Violet wanted to scratch their eyes out. Every time their hands touched her, she tried to flinch away, but it was useless. The Alpha tone still affected Violet too strongly to successfully fight them off, leaving her defenseless and vulnerable to their touch.

"Don't worry, this is only a precaution." The Soldier murmured as he finished tying her wrist to the metal bar on the bed.

"Why? Don't want the injured Omega to damage herself more before handing her off to get raped and defiled by other Alphas?" Violet returned venomously. "I'd bet it'd be a real bummer for your trash parties to be an Omega short."

The Soldier jerked his head up to stare at her, eyes widened ever so slightly. "What did you say?"

"You heard me perfectly you sadistic bastard," Violet retorted, glaring defiantly at the intense man towering over her.

The Soldier didn't move for a solitary second. In that moment, he simply looked at Violet with a shock and a pain she didn't think he could possess. The humanity she glimpsed in his eyes unnerved her more than anything they've done to her in the past two weeks. Her heart dropped at the sight of him, confusion fueled her mind. What the Hell was this? Did she hurt him?

Then the second was over, the brief humanity she saw disappeared in a flash, and he leaned in. Violet pushed deep into the mattress, hoping against hope that she could sink through it. No such luck. Her hands clenched, limbs pulling uselessly at her bindings as his face leaned in closer and closer to her own until he was just inches away.

He breathed in deep, pupils growing as he took in her scent. She barely breathed, not wanting to take in any of his. She pulled her lips between her teeth, not wanting him to give any ideas about kissing her again. She wished she still had that taser Frank gave her. It'd be pretty handy right now. Once he mulled over her scent, he leaned in just a hair closer, then opened his mouth slightly, and spoke slowly.

"No one will every lay a hand on you like that. Ever." His voice was deep, but the commanding Alpha tone The Widow used wasn't there. Violet would feel it if he used it. This was just him, and despite everything that was happening, Violet kind of wanted to believe him.

But she won't.

"Explain the drugs you gave me then. The ones that put me into an early heat." Violet low-key snarled at him.

He didn't budge, "the drugs were supposed to sedate you, making it easier to transport you here without issue. The heat occurred because of it's interaction with the suppressants you've been taking to avoid going through your heat."

"If that's true, why didn't it happen to Peter too?"

"Biologically, he's a regular Omega just like the rest. You on the other hand are more evolved." The Widow cut in, walking closer with a strange look on her face, one she didn't understand and didn't want to understand.

"How is that?" Violet grated, still barely breathing beneath their gaze.

The Widow raised her hand slightly, wiggled her fingers and pointed to Violet's neck. "I'm not going to touch you," she warned before her hand moved towards her.

Violet tried sinking deeper into the bed, wincing at the pain in her side for the effort.

The Widow pointed towards her neck, "you know what's right there?"

Violet looked at her like she was crazy, "a scent glad, everyone knows that."

"What about here?" She gestured to the other side of her neck.

"The other one?" Violet responded slowly, taunting the assassin.

"Do you know how many Omegas are supposed to have?"

Violet stared at her, "two."

Everyone was losing their minds.

The Widow smirked slightly, "you didn't pay attention in health class. Did you?"

Violet shrugged, "Alphas mate, Omegas bear children, and Betas are free to do as they please. Not much more I need to know."

The Widow's strange look grew, a small smile appearing in her expression, "an Omega only has one scent gland for the one mate they are meant to have. If an Omega has more than one, it means a multitude of things."

Violet did not like where this conversation was going, "like what?"

"It depends on the Omega. There have only been a few reported cases since they were discovered. Most of them were overwhelmed by their true nature and lost themselves soon after their presentation. Ceasing to exist as people and instead only found desire and pleasure in performing their duties. Those Omegas bared incredibly weak and fragile offspring, which led to many of them dying within a few short years. The Omegas didn't live for very long either due to their own fragile natures.

There are also cases where the Omega is strong, fierce, and very much at odds with what they are destined to be. They don't live for long either, most of them meeting tragic ends due to their unwillingness to play the role that was laid out for them. Of those that lived long enough, their offspring was stronger and healthier than others, thus far living successful lives as Betas and Alphas alike." The Widow explained, grabbing a stool from a nearby table to sit on during her mini monologue.

The Soldier still hasn't moved.

Violet glared at the Widow, "you're leaving something out."

The Widow smiled again, "the reason why the babies are stronger and healthier, and why they're only Betas and Alphas, is because each child shares two strands of Alpha DNA. Two different strands from two different mates." The Widow pointed to Violet's neck again, "one scent gland for one Alpha."

Violet's eyes went wide. The confusion vanished; her heart dropped just as her anger rose. Was she serious?

"No," Violet growled, attempting to rise from the bed and claw the woman's eyes out. Was this chick nuts? No fucking way would Violet ever let one Alpha mate with her, let alone two! With all the shit she's seen, the shit she's stopped from happening, to allow an Alpha to treat her like that was madness. Madness! And to top it all off, the strange look Violet was seeing in the Widow's face was now explained. Well, partially. It was lust, a cruel leer as she took in Violet's state and appraised it. She actually thought she'd get to mate with Violet. Her and the Winter Soldier?

No way!

The Soldier's metal hand grabbed her shoulder and gingerly pushed her down to the bed, keeping her there as she tried to struggle once more.

"You're not fucking mating me!" Violet yelled, fighting her bonds while glaring at The Black Widow. "I'll die before I let that happen!"

"and we'll die before we let that happen." The Soldier responded in his deep tone, causing Violet to flinch in fear.

"Violet," The Widow leaned forward, resting her arms on the metal bar of the hospital bed, staring at Violet with soft eyes. "There are a lot of things we need to talk about today. I don't expect you to go along with most of it, or take us at our word, but I do need you to listen to us, and try to keep an open mind."

"Why would I do that? Why would I listen to the people who butchered my brother like a fucking pig and pumped me full of drugs? Who kidnapped Peter, my friends, and attempted to kidnap me! Who burned Peter's building down with people trapped inside! Who've done horrible things to countless people that are both good and bad! Why in the hell would I listen to you!" Violet shouted, heart racing beyond imagining, side screaming in pain.

The Widow stared back, seemingly unaffected by Violet's outburst. She glanced at The Soldier, who nodded forlornly. She turned her attention back to Violet, grabbing her restrained hand as she did.

"Because you're our chosen, Violet. The only person in this world we care for more than everyone else, including each other." She stopped, taking a breath and cocking her head at Violet. "You're safe with us. There's nothing we wouldn't do for you. Nothing we wouldn't do to you if you would allow us. You wouldn't be our property or slave. We're not HYDRA, we're not like those you've encountered over the years. You're right about everything we've done, but those things don't effect how we feel about you."

"You don't even know me!" Violet shouted, shocked and more than a little frightened by the Widow's impassioned speech.

"But we want to," The Soldier cut in, removing his hand from her shoulder in order to grasp her other bound hand. "If you'll give us the chance?"

Violet did not know what to do with this information. Going back and forth between looking at their faces, mouth opening and closing in baffled astonishment. Maybe she hasn't woken up yet? Maybe this was some weird convoluted nightmare her brain cooked up because it ran out of ideas? Yeah, that would explain it. A horrible, terrible nightmare that was far too realistic for its own good.

Still, it didn't explain one thing.

"Why?" Violet spluttered, turning her attention to the Winter Soldier. "Why me? I'm just a broken, homeless teenager with an anger problem, drinks way too much, doesn't know how to live without her friends, and a nobody that wouldn't be missed if I died." She continued vehemently. "Is it because I smell good? Because you have a penchant for lost causes? Or are you the asshole type that prefers the fighters so you can break them to pieces before throwing away the broken bits and putting the rest on display for the world to see?!" By the end she was shouting again.

The Winter Soldier stared at her, they both stared at Violet. Silence. Observation. Violet wanted to keep shouting, to scream at them until she ran out of breath. Something in her gut told her not to, maybe the bullet wound complaining at her to stop moving. She couldn't though, she couldn't give up. These people were going to hurt her, treat her the same as the Omegas in the Omega House were treated by their Alphas.

Suddenly, his metal hand came into view, and Violet tensed for whatever came her way, closing her eyes and prepared for the worst. She expected a punch, the cold metal fingers grasping her jaw and pulling her forward to kiss her again, she even expected another syringe filled with drugs. What she got was not on her list of expectations.

He merely brushed blue strands of hair out of her face, or at least that's what it felt like. She refused to open her eyes, not wanting to see their red eyes joined in studying her anymore. She couldn't tune out his voice though.

"It started with your scent." He spoke softly, still brushing strands away from her face. "I don't know how to describe the way it made me feel the first time, or every time after that. I know I feel hopeful, weightless even. It's the one thing that kept the nightmares away. The one thing that grounded me when everything else failed. Even after five years, it hasn't changed the way I felt."

The Widow's voice chimed in, "when I first caught your scent, the night you managed to run away from me, it was the first time I ever felt completely warm. I melted to the floor when I smelled you, losing myself in what you left behind. I never realized how cold I felt inside until you came into my life, and then left."

The Soldier's voice returned, "but then you came back like a wildfire bursting to life. You escaped us again and again. You stood toe to toe with us and told us the harshest truth you could give. A feat no one outside of our circle would be brave enough to do."

The Widow continued, "you're so good. The way you look out for your friends, protected Peter against all odds. How much you give without asking for anything in return. It's admirable. Enlightening."

The Soldier whispered, "the courage you showed the night of the fire, the fierceness in those eyes facing us down in that kitchen and again in the alley when you were protecting Peter, the sheer determination when you pointed that taser at me." She could hear a smile in his tone, but Violet was too afraid to look.

The Widow joined in, sounding closer than before, "you're not like most people Violet. I'm not talking about Omegas. I'm talking about people. So many are content to just sit on their couches eating microwave dinners and accept the role they've been given in life. So many are too consumed with their own little worlds to be concerned about what happens outside of it. People don't rush towards danger when people are in need, they run the other direction or are too distracted to realize what's happening. In an army of cowards, you're the lone soldier prepared to fight. Not because it's right, but because no one else will."

There was a beat of silence. The cold metal fingers left her face, but the grip on the hand he was holding tightened slightly.

"I'm not asking for your forgiveness because I know I, we won't get it. Maybe someday, years down the line we might earn it, but I'm not foolish enough to believe you'd give it so easily. Nor would I ever expect it. We're not saying these things to butter you up or manipulate you in any way. We're telling you the truth, just like you told us the night we officially met." The Winter Soldier's voice was soft, gentle. Violet desperately tried to tune it out, fighting the urge to open her eyes and see if he was for real.

The Widow continued just as softly, "We chose you Violet because we want to know you, to be part of you if you will let us. Show you places of the world that people only dream of seeing. To be there when you need it the most. We hope that someday you'll want us like we want you but know we're here all the same." She paused, a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Please open your eyes."

She shook her head jerkily. This wasn't happening. It was all lies. Just another trap she needed to avoid. This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't-

"We need you Violet," The Winter Soldier's voice broke slightly, "not for sex or biological needs, not to display on a wall or in a showcase somewhere. We need you to make us feel human."

"And you need us to feel human too," the Widow finished, her fingers brushing the tops of Violet's hospital gown.

That comment finally opened Violet's eyes.

Both alphas were closer than before, but not overtly so that they were in her personal space. That didn't matter to Violet now though. She glared at the Black Widow, appalled and enraged.

"You think I need you?"

"I know you do," the Widow's voice was brusque, harsh and unyielding.

Violet felt her glare intensify but did not have the opportunity to capitalize on the moment. Just then, voices came shouting through the hallways outside of the room. Violet looked towards the noise, particularly when rushed footsteps joined the fray. The Widow and The Soldier stood to their feet, taking protective stances in front of Violet. She stared at them in shock and confusion.

Another few seconds later, Frank Castle swaggered into the room, dragging a very scared Peter behind him.