Warning: Includes rape/implied continual sexual and physical abuse

Compared to their first year of high school, Steve had grown a lot. Thanks to Bucky wanting to participate in a local weight lifting competition over the summer but not wanting to work out alone, Steve had filled out his now six-foot-tall form and was being pressured to join the football team. He hadn't seen Natasha over the summer as often as he wanted to, but he knew she had matured a lot as well. He'd texted her a couple of times to see if she wanted to hang out, but after the third time she'd been busy with Alexei, he'd stopped.

For a while, Steve had worried their friendship was over; at the very least they'd been reduced to acquaintances. Then, one the first day of their third year of high school, Natasha had knocked on his door exactly five minutes late and given him a shy smile. Steve had barely managed to keep himself from hugging her as they walked toward the bus stop together and chatted like nothing had changed. However, the day had been disrupted when Alexei came to pick up Natasha from homeroom and walk her to class.

"See you after?" she asked, looking at Steve hopefully. He had agreed to meet Sam and Bucky after school to study, but he knew they wouldn't mind having Natasha join (if anything, they'd be more excited than him about finally meeting the famous Natasha).

"Yeah," he said. He nodded at Alexei then disappeared to let Alexei take over his old duty of walking Natasha to class.

That afternoon, he, Sam, and Bucky are holed up in his room, struggling to stay focused. Natasha still hadn't shown up even though they got home nearly an hour ago. Sam and Bucky are relentlessly teasing him when there's a soft knock on his door. They both shut up immediately and all three turn to see who enters, half expecting Ms. Rogers to walk in. Instead, Natasha pokes her head through the door and smiles shyly, something Steve hasn't seen her do since about the third grade (or that morning; but other than that, third grade).

"Sorry I'm late," she said, shutting the door behind her and joining Steve on his bed. Sam and Bucky share a smile and Steve gives him both sharp looks.

"Don't worry about it," Bucky assures her, grinning at Steve from where he's sat on the floor. "We were too busy talking to study anyway."

"Yeah, Steve here has a crush and we can't just let that slide," Sam chimes in. Steve decides right then and there he's going to kill them both the second Natasha leaves if they reveal his secret. Instead, Natasha seems immediately intrigued and joins the boys in teasing Steve.

"Aw! Do I know her?" she asks. Steve mumbles out a 'yeah' and Natasha grins wider. She throws all sorts of questions out at him: what's she like? How long has he known her? Does she share any of his crush's classes? Steve gives vague answers to all of them and is incredibly thankful when Natasha doesn't pry further. Sam and Bucky look about ready to lose their shit as they struggle not to give any more clues than Steve does.

"Shouldn't we actually do our homework?" Steve asks in a weak attempt to redirect the conversation. It doesn't work, but Steve's not surprised. Instead, he's forced to endure Bucky, Sam, and Natasha bond by teasing him. At the very least, he's glad Natasha gets along with his new friends.

* * * * *

That fall, Natasha joins Sam and Bucky at Steve's house every other day after school. She's late a lot which isn't new, but it does bother Steve a little. Something about how she's always a little more reserved when she first arrives makes him feel like something's wrong. He can't be sure if it's just because he hates she's coming from something with Alexei or if it's actually a worthwhile concern. However, after five minutes, she's teasing him just as ruthlessly as Sam and Bucky are and all is well again.

"When's your next performance, Tash?" Sam asks. They're piled on top of the couch in the living room, all squished together to watch an old horror movie Bucky swore by. Natasha is pressed between Steve and Bucky, more on Steve's lap than Steve would feel comfortable admitting.

"December," Natasha answers before promptly shoveling popcorn into her mouth. "It's the Nutcracker and you had better all be there because I'm Clara."

"Obviously we wouldn't miss it for the world," Steve assures her. He shifts and Natasha ends up completely in his lap. Steve feels his face heat up, but Natasha hardly blinks at the new arrangement so he calms down and just enjoys the fact they're best friends again.

"We'll be at the front of the doors to make sure we get the best seats," Sam promises. He shoves her feet off his lap in disgust but doesn't fight when she puts them right back. "How many seats are we saving?"

"Six," Natasha tells him, listing off the three of them followed by her mom, Ms. Rogers, and then Alexei. Maybe its the way Natasha's so relaxed in his arms or the way she's curled into his chest on her own accord, but the mention of Alexei doesn't immediately upset him.

Bucky shushes them all as he finally figures out how to get to the main menu of the movie and presses play. Steve definitely doesn't relish every moment Natasha hides her face in his chest at the jump scares or the way she clings to him moments before.

* * * * *

It's spring when Steve realises his concern for Natasha is worthwhile. Even though it's getting warmer out, she still wears long sleeves. She wears shorts on particularly warm days, but her shirts are always long. She even continues to wear her long-sleeved dance leotard to practice (he only knows this because sometimes she goes straight to his house afterward and is still wearing her leo). She's even later to their study groups, nearing two hours even though they now meet after soccer practice.

"Natasha's been acting strange, hasn't she?" Steve suddenly voices one afternoon. He'd just gotten a text saying she wasn't going to make it due to extra practice for her spring dance recital. Steve doesn't tell her he can see her location and she's not at the studio. He just says 'okay' and lets her continue whatever is more important than their study group.

"I mean, I didn't know her before this year, but she does act a little strange," Sam admits. Bucky hums in agreement and that only concerns Steve more. He decides to keep a closer eye on her and maybe even recruit Yelena, one of Natasha's dance friends, even though he doesn't know her very well.

* * * * *

It's a Sunday morning in the middle of April and Steve's mom is gone. The only reason he's up so late is because he'd been out until two in the morning with Bucky and Sam. He'd caught a taxi from Sam's house home to find a note from his mom saying she's gone to New Jersey to visit an old friend and might not be home until tomorrow. He just shrugs and makes himself comfortable in the living room with his sketchbook and begins drawing.

The slamming of a car door draws his attention next door to Natasha's house and he looks up just in time to see Alexei storming into her house. Steve knows Ms. Romanova is gone all day and he's willing to bet Alexei is to. It's not uncommon knowledge that Ms. Romanova has been taking weekends upstate to meet with her new partner in a place that doesn't make Natasha feel awkward. Steve tries to go back to drawing, but the bad feeling in his gut won't go away no matter how hard he tries to ignore it. With an irritated groan, he sets aside his sketchbook and walks next door to Natasha's house.

He doesn't knock. He hasn't knocked in over seven years and just because Alexei's there doesn't mean he'll start now. Instead, he slips inside silently, trying to keep his presence unknown lest he walks in on them in the middle of a fight and wants to leave quickly. He was planning on going upstairs even before hearing the dull thud from above and wastes no time in hurrying to Natasha's room as silently as possible.

Her door is shut, but he can hear muffled voices from inside. He presses his ear to the door and listens closely. He doesn't mean to invade, really, he just wants to make sure his gut is being stupid and Natasha's completely fine.

* * * * *

Natasha had been trying to catch up on much-needed sleep when Alexei had stormed into her room. She had scrambled awake, clutching at her blankets as Alexei stalked up to her then grabbed her arm roughly. He pressed on old bruises and Natasha gasped, trying to free herself from his vice-like grip and stop the pain. It was hard enough hiding the purple and black bruises already; she didn't need him to make them worse and therefore more difficult to hide.

"Alexei," she gasps, curling in on herself as he pulled her from her bed. With her mom gone and being holed up in her room, she hadn't bothered covering up and was wearing short pyjama shorts and a camisole tank.

Alexei doesn't seem to care that he's making her uncomfortable as he pushes his hands under her thin tank top. She doesn't bother fighting back, having learned long ago it wasn't worth the pain that came from it. Instead, she's silently thanking herself for being too tired to take off her bra and making it a little more difficult for him to undress her than it could have been. Unfortunately, only a few seconds after thinking this, his hand reaches around and unlatches the clasp with ease. His hands move from her back to under her bra and Natasha can't help but squirm uncomfortably.

"Don't resist me," he growls in Russian, letting go of her chest to hit her head hard. She stumbles back and just as she looks back up, Alexei hits her again and uses his leg to trip her. She hits the ground with a dull thud and Alexei towers above her.

He grabs her arm with an angry sneer and pulls her back up onto the bed. Her eyes close tightly as she falls backward onto the bed and feels Alexei climb on top of her. With her mom gone, there's no telling what he'll do. He's unpredictable when alone; sometimes he'll just touch her for a while then get bored and leave. Other times, she's forced into more than she wants (although almost everything Alexei does to her is forced now).

"Undress me," he demands, leaning close enough she can feel his breath on her neck. "You know I like it better when you do it."

"Please, just one week without," Natasha says softly. Alexei growls and bites down on her neck hard enough Natasha worries he broke the skin. She hisses in pain but doesn't yell. As she slowly reaches up with shaking hands to pull off his shirt, Alexei sucks on her neck like he owns her. She still has the last two marks he'd left behind and was struggling to keep those covered with the make-up she had to buy. Now she'd have to get more.

Natasha's just pulled off his shirt when Alexei slips his hand under her panties and begins to finger her. Natasha doesn't move, doesn't even try to shift away as he pushes more fingers and soon his entire hand into her. She can't stop the cry that escapes her when he fists her particularly hard, but she knows he won't mind. It's almost as if he likes knowing she's against this.

"Alexei, please no," she begs. He's threatening to pull off her bottoms with his free hand and even if he's done it a thousand times, she still hopes her begging will convince him at least once. "Please stop."

Alexei's face darkens but before he can make things worse, her bedroom door flies open. Terrified it's her mother who's come home early and is about to yell at her for not giving Alexei what he rightfully deserves again, Natasha covers her face with her hands and tries to hide. She can feel Alexei pull his hand out as she covers her face, but a few seconds later, he's being thrown off of her and Natasha looks up in surprise.

It's not her mother that had entered to room, but Steve. She can tell right away he knows she wasn't a willing participant based on the glare he's giving Alexei. He stands between her and Alexei who is now on the floor.

"Get out," Steve demands, grabbing Alexei's arm and shoving him toward the door. He grabs Alexei's shirt and throws it at him.

"You shouldn't have intervened," Alexei snaps. He looks behind Steve and glares at Natasha like it's her fault Steve had shown up.

"You shouldn't have tried to hurt her," Steve replies, stepping to the side and blocking Alexei's view of Natasha. Alexei scoffs.

"Oh, I wasn't hurting her that bad," Alexei says. Steve's jaw tightens and Alexei sneers, "This isn't going to stop me. One time isn't going to keep her safe, Rogers."

"If you so much look at her again, I will make sure you regret it," Steve threatens. Alexei chuckles but doesn't continue to challenge Steve. Maybe he doesn't think it's worth it or maybe Steve's height and muscle mass intimidate him a bit, but Alexei turns and leaves the house, slamming Natasha's door behind him.

With Alexei gone, Steve turns to face Natasha. Aside from the fact her bra is unclasped and her pyjama bottoms are a little crooked, she's fully clothed. She doesn't feel like it, though, and tries to hide from Steve's gaze.

"Nat," Steve sighs softly. He sits on the bed beside her and looks at her with so much worry and guilt that Natasha can't stop herself from starting to cry. He tentatively reaches out for her, unsure if Natasha wants him nearby or not, but she practically throws herself into his arms and he can't wrap his arms around her fast enough.

She's shaking and Steve's pretty sure it's not because she's crying. He'd be pretty shaken up as well if he'd been in Natasha's place and based on the multiple bruises that littered her arms, this hadn't been the first time Alexei had abused her. It's hard not to run after Alexei and hurt him for what Steve knows he's probably done in the past, but Natasha is clinging to him and she's more important than getting revenge on some asshole speeding away.

A long-time passes before Natasha's able to breathe normally again and her face isn't totally soaked in tears. She pulls away from Steve and whispers an apology to covering his t-shirt in snot and tears. Steve brushes her off and gently cups her face to make sure she's alright. He knows it's stupid to ask if she's okay, but he does and she nods. He frowns at the blatant lie and in a very un-Natasha-like way, she struggles to stutter out a defense.

"It's not that bad," she tries to assure him, looking down at her lap instead of at him. "He's not that horrible. He's nice to me; sometimes I just upset him or he has a rough day. He really didn't hurt me that bad this time."

Steve knew without asking it hadn't been the first time Alexei had assaulted her, but hearing her indirectly confirm that concern makes him worry more.

"Natasha, what he was doing isn't okay," Steve reminds her, gently brushing her cheek with his thumb. She glances back up at him briefly then quickly looks away. "You don't have to defend him; please don't. He hurt you and you have the right to be upset by it."

"But I'm not!" she exclaims suddenly. She immediately backs down and Steve feels a part of him die inside. She looks away again as says, "I know I should be, but I'm not. He always says things like he's just having a bad day or that I'd made him angry so I deserved it. I can't be mad at him and I don't understand why."

Steve's not a professional on the topic of abuse, but based on what little he knows, he's not surprised by what Natasha says. He knows it's not uncommon for an abuser to make the victim blame themself.

"Hey, it's okay," Steve tells her, pulling her back to his chest. She tenses for a second then melts into him. "He's gone now. You're gonna be okay."

They stay in Natasha's room for the rest of the day. Most of the time is spent in silence, but after a while, Steve can't help himself and asks how long Alexei had been hurting her. Natasha doesn't go into detail, but from what Steve can gather, it's been almost a year. For most of the time they'd been dating, Alexei had either hit her or assaulted her. Steve doesn't ask further questions and Natasha doesn't go into further detail.

* * * * *

The year ends with Alexei getting arrested for drug abuse. Sam never outright admitted it, but Steve's pretty sure Sam was the one who called the cops on him. How the drugs got into Alexei's car, Steve isn't sure he wants to know. However, the week before, Sam and Bucky had been too busy after soccer practice to study and now they seem much more cheery than usual. Steve decides not to get after them for framing Alexei, especially after the drug test comes back positive. Some things are better left unsaid.

Of course, Steve never told the two what he'd discovered merely a month ago. He mentioned something about how Alexei and Natasha had quit dating due to some personal thing (his exact words, actually), and somehow they'd put the pieces together. Steve isn't exactly sure what gave it away, but there's a small list of things that could have made them suspicious. First of all, Steve had attacked Alexei the next morning at school and they'd both been suspended for three days.

With Steve no longer at school, he had practically begged Sam and Bucky to make sure Natasha was alright and to walk her to every class (they'd been a little put-off by the idea, but agreed nevertheless). Second, Natasha had arrived at every after school study appointment on time or early. She often rode the bus home with them and was much less shy around the three of them. The third--and probably the biggest one--was that once Steve and Alexei had both returned to school, Alexei had tried talking to Natasha. That had only ended in Alexei screaming at her in Russian while Natasha tried to escape him. Sam and Bucky had stepped in moments later and managed to shut Alexei up long enough Steve could help get Natasha away.

In the end, the four became a whole lot closer. Natasha spent more time at Steve's house than ever before (which was partly upon his insistence). With her mom gone and busy with a new partner, Natasha was sent to spend nights with the Rogers. Steve had also learned that Ms. Romanova had supported Alexei, a fact he'd learned when Natasha showed up one night teary-eyed and begging to stay over. After a brief questioning of what was wrong, Natasha had admitted she'd told her mom her and Alexei had broken up and her mother had gone on a rampage about how Alexei deserved better if all it took was an uncomfortable situation for Natasha to end things with him.

"You're better off here anyway," Steve had said, letting her curl up beside him on the couch. She'd spent nearly every night after at his house and if Ms. Rogers was suspicious, she said nothing.