Chasing Ghosts | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 6: I Am Going To Regret This, Aren't I?

Apparently, the kitchen wasn't private enough and the sound traveled into the living room easily. Because Maya's smile had turned upside down when Katya walked in. 

''You said you weren't leaving again,'' she accused her, frowning in a combination of sadness, fear and anger. Maya definitely had separation anxiety, just like everyone else in this house. But Katya felt content leaving her with Natasha for a while. That didn't make the guilt go away, however.

She sighed as she sat on the ground next to her. ''I know. I'm sorry. But Sam and Bucky need my help.''

''No, they don't. They can do this without you,'' Maya muttered back, keeping her eyes strictly on her hands as she put all the game pieces back in the box. The game was clearly over. 

Katya knew Maya understood that she had to go, but her own fear and sadness of her leaving clouded that understanding. Because if anyone knew and understood superheroes and their job, it was Maya. ''Tell me honestly; do you trust those two idiots enough to do this without me?'' She got no response. ''It's just an interrogation. Just one trip to Germany and I'll be back in about two days. Nat will stay here. And I will be back in time for your birthday.'' 

Those were a lot of promises she didn't know she could fulfill.

''Okay,'' Maya eventually murmured, although she still didn't look too happy. And those were some stabs in the heart for Katya. The last thing she wanted was to leave like this.

''I'm really sorry, Maya,'' she apologized again.

She finally looked up, if only for a brief moment. ''It's okay. Superheroing is what you do best.''

''Thank you for understanding. I'll call when I land, okay?'' Maya nodded and Katya planted a kiss on her head and got up to pack her bags. After a while, Natasha followed and sat on the bed, watching her pack silently. Getting clothes from the closet, toiletries from the bathroom, phone chargers from the nightstand. The gun in the drawer stayed there. You can't exactly take a gun onto a commercial plane.

They didn't say a word, but knew exactly what the other wanted to say. Katya wanted to apologize again, and Natasha wanted to explain the small amount of fear swirling in her chest. But a conversation was unnecessary. They were able to fill in the other's words. 

The late-night drive to the airport was silent. Not uncomfortable, but not exactly pleasant either. 

Katya knew Natasha wasn't mad, maybe more sad, in a way. She thought they had left all this behind. Moved on with their lives. But it seemed they would never find peace. It really was true what people said: the past does come back to haunt you. And this piece of her past, Katya was terrified of.

She probably should have thought this through more. Because this guy they'd be visiting in his very secure cell in Germany, had her almost kill her fiancée at the time. She hated his guts. 

But Bucky, he must be terrified, facing Zemo. He didn't have a choice though; they needed to do this. They needed to talk to him to find out where the superserums came from. 

Because when injected in the wrong bodies, they would heighten all the bad qualities of that person. Steve was selected because of his big heart and good character traits. Not everyone could handle it. And with the violence tendencies the Flag Smashers already had, it was important to stop them now before it got too bad.

Natasha didn't give two shits about the opinions of strangers and parked the car right in front of the main entrance, in a temporary spot meant for dropping off passengers. It had been a while since they'd been at an airport, since they always had Quinjets at their disposal before.