Mr Barnes and Ms Romanoff (Book 2)

Chapter 2

The effects of being electrocuted had left Bucky in a coma. The doctors were not sure when he was going to wake up, which devastated Nat. This was all her fault, if only she had listened to him, he wouldn't be in this situation right now. "Baby, come back to me. Please, my love. I promise I'll listen to you. Just come back to me. I love you so much, James." She sobbed as she held onto his hand. She had never seen him in this state before, it hurt her so much that there was nothing she could do. He must have been in so much pain and she didn't do anything about it. All she wanted to do was take his pain away. She then got up and gently placed a kiss on his forehead. "My love, I will get revenge. Elena will pay for what she did to you." Nat whispered in his ear. "I promise." She added, before leaving the room.

She bumped into Steve in the hallway, his eyes softened as he met hers. "How are you holding up.?" He asked, gently rubbing her shoulder. "I'm okay. Just trying to focus on finding Elena." She said, as her eyes burned with fury. Steve just raised his eyebrow, knowing that she was just deflecting. She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm feeling horrible. It is all my fault that he is in this situation.." She confessed, hugging herself. Steve pulled her in for a hug. "Oh, Nat. I'm sorry you're going through this. You can't blame yourself for what happened. You had no control over the situation." He said, reassuringly. "Bucky warned me that it was not going to go well and I ignored him. " Her voice cracked, as she collapsed into Steve's arms. 'You only did what you thought was right. You followed your gut like you always do. There is nothing wrong with that. You can't keep blaming yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to find the real perpetrator. Elena." Steve soothed, gently rubbing her back gently.

The tears continued streaming down her face as Steve gently comforted her. Another thought popped into her head. Bruce. She then slowly pulled away from Steve, looking him directly into his eyes. "What about Bruce? Anything on him?" She asked, curious to know where he disappeared to. "Nothing. We think he is hiding and waiting for a good moment to show up." Steve rolled his eyes. "I never expected someone like him to betray us in such a brutal way." Steve raged. " He was supposed to be one of the good guys." He said, disappointed. "I know. I couldn't believe it either." Nat admitted, still trying to come to terms with Bruce's betrayal. "Thanks, Steve. For helping me out. I know I tend to shut people out when my mind is all over the place. You always know the right thing to say. I'm so lucky that Captain America is one of my best friends." She grinned as she pulled him in for one more hug. "Glad I could be of service." He chuckled, squeezing her tightly.

***

"We need to track down Bruce and bring him in for questioning," Steve announced to the rest of the Avengers. "We also need to find Elena," Nat added. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Bruce could be under the radar now. He knows we will be looking for him. He is good at being discreet." Clint pointed out. "Although, not discreet enough. Remember how we managed to track him down in India a few years ago." Nat explained. "Well, that's because he let his guard down. No one was really looking for him during that time. He will be more cautious this time." Steve advised. "He could already be one step ahead of us," Sam called out. "Yes, he could be but we will find him and bring him in," Nat said, fiercely. Her eyes burned with determination, wanting to bring justice to Bucky. That was the most important thing to her at the moment. That and finding Elena. Just thinking about Elena almost made her lose her temper she was fuming with rage at that woman.

2 weeks later

Two weeks later and there was no improvement with Bucky. Nat was terrified that he might never wake up again. It made her anxious. She didn't want to live in a world without Bucky. He was her everything. Nat and the rest of the Avengers were working excessively to try and locate Elena and Bruce. Unfortunately, they only hit dead ends, which frustrated Nat a lot.

Steve was worried about Nat. She was more on edge than usual. She wasn't the type to become nervous. He knew it was because of Bucky and that the fact that he was in a coma made things worse. He managed to comfort her today but he wasn't sure he would be able to comfort her so easily the next time. Bucky was always good at easing her anxiety. Steve sighed, he missed his best friend. He also felt a tremendous amount of guilt for not being there on time to help him. He wished there was more that he could do. He walked to the medical room, hoping that Bucky would be awake. He knew his hopes were too high but he couldn't help it. To his disappointment, Bucky was unfortunately still in a coma. He sat beside him. "Hey, Buck. It's Steve. I don't know if you can hear me but I want you to know how sorry I am for not getting to you in time. Remember, you need to keep fighting. Especially for Nat. She really needs you right now. She is doing everything in her power to bring down the people who hurt her. You'll be so proud of her. " He explained to an unconscious Bucky.

'I'm with you till the end of the line. It's not the end of the line just yet. You have so much to live for. Nat is waiting for you. We both are, buddy. Please come back to us. I can't lose you." He said, tearfully. "I thought I was a mess," Nat called out, standing in the doorway. "Yeah, well. I guess we both are." Steve laughed, as he wiped his tears away. "Any luck?" She asked, hopefully. He shook his head gently. "The doctor says any day now but I don't know about that. What Elena did to him would have killed a regular man but luckily for the super-soldier serum in his body, actually saved him. To be honest, at what cost. Steve, what if he never wakes up." Nat said. Steve looked at her, unsure of how he could respond. Truthfully, he thought the same thing. Nat could see it in his eyes. He just shrugged, not knowing what else to say. He decided he should leave, giving Nat the chance to be alone with him. He felt so bad for her, he knew she still felt so guilty for what happened to Bucky. As he got up to leave, he pulled her in for a hug. "He will come back to us." He reassured her, even though he wasn't so sure himself. "Thanks, Steve." She said, gently squeezing him.

Once he left, Nat sat down beside Bucky, taking his hands in hers. She pressed a kiss to his palms, tears welling up in her eyes. "I miss you so much, James. I just want you to be okay. I miss your laughter, your smile. I just miss you. I don't know how much longer I can take it. It has been so difficult without you. We're nowhere closer to finding where Bruce and Elena are. It is so infuriating." She sobbed. Nat shut her eyes, hoping everything could go back to normal. She didn't hear the sound of someone sitting down next to her. The unknown person then placed their hand on Nat's shoulder. Nat whipped her head around in surprise, automatically going into defence mode. She quickly apprehended the intruder, tying their hands behind their back.

She then got a proper look at the person. It was Bruce. That made her even angrier. "You have some nerve, sneaking up on me like." She hissed. "I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I swear. I came to turn myself in." He confessed, squirming in pain. "You expect me to believe that. Out of the blue, you just come and turn yourself in. You could still be working for Elena and that you're turning yourself in could be a set-up." Nat interrogated, suspicious of Bruce's odd behaviour. "Nat. I'm done with Hydra for good. I really came here on my own. I need to pay for what I did to everyone, especially Bucky. I realise he has been such an important person to the team. I was so overcome with jealousy that I didn't get to appreciate him. I am truly sorry for putting everyone in such a complicated position." Bruce explained, disgusted with himself for how he behaved.

Nat slowly loosened her grip on him. "Why should I believe anything you say. You betrayed us, Bruce. You betrayed me. You can't just walk in here with all mopey and pitiful, expecting me or anyone to go easy on you. Why come to us now. Why didn't you turn yourself in two weeks ago?" She questioned. "I was a coward. I couldn't face everyone at that time. I was so ashamed of myself, I didn't want to show my face ever again. Then I thought, I wanted to make things right, especially with you and Bucky. I couldn't stand that you would hate me forever. I knew I had to find a way to repent my sins. I know you won't forgive me now. I just hope that someday you will." He said, regretfully. Nat let him go, causing him to catch his breath. "I have nothing more to say to you. I'm taking you to Fury now." She glared at him. "I understand. If you don't mind, is it okay if I sit here for a while? I don't feel like facing Fury just yet." He said, slumping in his seat.

Nat sighed, she couldn't just hand him over right away. She knew Fury was going to rain hell on Bruce when he saw him. She was going to spare Bruce's rage for a little while. "How is he doing?" Bruce gestured towards Bucky. Nat was surprised that he was asking about Bucky's condition. "To be honest, not so well. The doctors say he will wake up any day now. I'm not sure if he will. I'm so terrified of losing him." Nat confessed. Bruce gently placed his hand on hers, comforting hers. She smiled, sadly. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Bucky woke up and witnessed their intimate interaction. He was livid.