The Witch or the Widow: Old Wounds

Chapter Six: Lost Opportunities

(Natasha):

I slid into the passenger seat of the Corvette, immediately reclining my seat and putting my feet up on the dash. I caught Bex staring at them before turning her attention back on the road. "Still can't sit like a normal person, Natasha?" She asked. I smirked over at her, lowering my legs back down to the ground. As the tires squealed and Bex pulled out suddenly into the road, I sat up straight for real. My eyes widened.

"Wrong side of the road, Kat!" I shrieked, using the wrong name before I realized what I was doing. She gasped in surprise, her eyes going wide as we both yanked the wheel to the right firmly in order to avoid oncoming traffic. I sat back in my seat, taking a deep breath. Even Bex seemed shaken. "Pull over." It was not a request. Surprisingly, Bex complied almost immediately, turning into a passing parking lot. I climbed out of the passenger side, opening the driver's side door open as she sheepishly. I scowled at her from behind the wheel by the time she climbed back in. We rode in silence until she noticed that I turned away from the compound.

"Where are you taking me?" Her voice had lost its playful tone as she spun in her seat, staring back at the road we should have taken to head home.

"We're taking a little drive," I replied, resting my hand on the gear shift. She opened her mouth to argue, but caught my eyes and changed her mind. She turned to look out the window as I continued to head towards our destination. I pulled into a parking space just as the sun was starting its journey downward in the sky. Bex's eyes opened wide at the water in front of us. "You always talked about seeing the ocean," I said softly, leaning against the car, staring out at the beach in front of us.

"I never thought..." her accent brought back memories. I watched as she took it all in, inhaling deeply. Just when I was starting to relax and think that things were cool, however, she spun to me, her eyes full of accusations.

"You remembered about the ocean, but you just left me there?" Her volume was increasing with every syllable. I raised my hands, not wanting to fight.

"Kat, that's not what happened," I began. She scoffed and shrugged me off as though I hadn't said anything.

"I waited for you, Natasha!" Angry tears were beginning to sprout in her eyes, and I looked on in horror, seeing someone I loved – or at least used to - break right in front of me – and it was my fault.

"Kat, just let me..." she pulled away from the hand I tried to rest on her arm.

"That's not my name!" She was fully screaming now. My breath caught in my throat, and I stared at the ground.

"Bex, I'm sorry." Now I was the one trying to keep my own emotions in check.

"Sorry for which part, Natalia." I flinched at the mention of my former name, as well as the tone in which she said it. She turned away from me and started stalking off towards the water.

"Shit." I had no choice but to follow her. When I caught up to her finally, she stood there, the waves licking at her feet, ignoring the fact that she was still wearing her shoes and socks. She watched as the waves rolled over her shoes, and she had the slightest of smiles on her face. That smile vanished as I appeared beside her.

"Natasha, I'm sorry," her voice was low, and I could tell she was making her best effort to be calm. "I didn't know that I still had all of these...feelings still." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair.

"Bex, I'm so sorry." This time, she allowed my hand to rest on her shoulder. After a few moments, she sniffled sharply, shaking her head and resetting herself.

"Thank you for showing this to me, Natasha." She turned back towards the car, walking away from me. I sighed, shoving my hands in my back pockets with little choice but to follow her. The drive back to the compound was full of silence. I wanted to explain what happened, but no matter how many times I tried to phrase it correctly in my head, it sounded like an excuse, not an answer. Bex spent the entire trip staring out the window, refusing to so much as look in my direction. I sighed. This went well. It was after dark when we pulled back into the compound, and Wanda ran out of the door immediately to greet us.

"You're finally back!" She called happily before noticing the dark look on Bex's face, and the guilty look that was no doubt on mine. "Is everything okay?" She ignored me completely after shooting a glare over her shoulder, wrapping her arm around Bex and leading her back inside.

"That looked like it went really well." I jumped and crouched immediately, spinning to face the voice behind me.

"Barnes!" I shrieked, taking out some of my frustration on the super soldier, shoving him hard in the chest and causing him to stumble back a few paces. He chuckled, and continued to back a few paces away to what he considered was most likely a minimum safe distance.

"Sorry about that, I was just seeing if I could still sneak up on a spy," he grinned. I rolled my eyes and my shoulders, trying to make myself relax.

"Did Steve tell you then?" Bucky smiled at me again.

"He didn't need to." I sighed.

"Is it really that obvious?" He raised his eyebrows, surprised at the question.

"For most of them, not really. With people who come from backgrounds like we did..." his voice trailed off in the end, and I nodded my understanding. I didn't need him to complete the thought.

"I don't want to hurt her any more than I already have," I sigh softly. Bucky nods sympathetically.

"Give her some time, Natasha," he counseled me sagely. I glanced at him incredulously. He grinned and shook his head. "Therapy. Lots and lots of therapy." I laughed and playfully shoved his shoulder, and he feigned stumbling sideways.

"Steve said the same thing," I acknowledged, lowering my head.

"Yeah well, sometimes Rogers gets it right," he said.

"Sucks when he does though, right?" I glanced at Barnes from the corner of my eye and saw the wide smirk spreading on his face.

"Oh, you have no idea."

"Enlighten me," I tease. He smirks and takes me gently by the elbow, leading me back towards the compound.

"Let me get you that drink. I have some stories for you."