Natasha Romanoff never paused. Never once in her life did she hesitate before striking, hesitate is something a Widow does not do.

You're taught that, actually. All of the beatings, the torture, making the young ones slaughter friends all to teach them allies are futile. So when Nat first met SHEILD and Clint, she thought as soon as it was over she'd be up and out.

Nat never believed in love.

Romantically, to be exact.

But something stirred inside her around Clint, and Nat was sure it wasn't vomit from his horrible jokes.

It was the love a brother. She was pretty sure the Red Room had caused her never to love romantically, but that didn't stop Clint from becoming her brother in arms. The one you don't hesitate to save.

The times she does hesitate are so rare you could count them on one hand. Most of the people she knew hadn't even seen her stop once.

She didn't pause when she had to attack her best friend when he was being controlled like a personal flying monkey.

Not when she had to shoot her first kill, back when her hair was long and her courage short.

Not when she jumped off that cliff to save her friend's life. When she leaped off the edge she only had one mission - stop Thanos no matter the cost. Take back the lives he stole. And make sure he didn't take any more.

She owed it to everyone who wasn't with them to try.

So when she heard there was a chance, no matter how small, to get them back she had no other way but to jump at it.

But what if she jumped too far? When you find yourself dangling off the side of a mountain on a alien planet, the only one holding you back the friend you've known for over 15 years. But Tasha knew.

That in order to reverse the wrong, wipe the red from her ledger, stop the havoc he wreaked on the world, it was her turn to trust that they would see it through.

Whether she was Natalie, Natasha, Nat, or Tasha. Rushman or Romanoff.

Not even if she was Black Widow or not. Widows don't do sacrifice. They understand that their goal is for themselves to get through the fight. When Nat faced the dark sky, she knew she was a new kind of Widow.

Deadly, kill victorious, but willing to sacrifice.

When a Widow jumps she does not fall.

Unless.

Unless she wants too.