Dancing Under The Stars

22

Natasha groaned, she could feel her muscles ache and her head pounding. What happened? She blinked and her vision became clearer, a blinding white light came to her vision and she winced. She tried lifting her arms or legs but they felt heavy. She twisted her head, ignoring the pounding thrumming against her skull.

"I wouldn't move if I were you."

Her body tensed heavily. She recognized the voice, she could never forget about the voice to be exact. The man walked in and placed a metal platter next to her with a 'clang'. Her vision was blurry, and it annoyed her. Still, she averted her eyes and laid them coldly on the man. As if he cared. She shivered as he placed his frozen fingertips on top of her skin. She wanted to recoil in disgust, he had no right to touch her. No matter how much she looked up to him in her childhood.

To her irony, he chuckled, a deep hearty one, "You never learn, do you Natalia?" When he saw that Natasha didn't answer, he laughed again, "Such a feisty one, eh? When you were young..."

Natasha didn't remember anything else. Her vision cleared a bit, but her mind was still woozy. His fingers circled a particular spot on her arm. She remembered it all too well. She wanted to cry, to scream, to fight. But how could she? When the person next to her could rip her apart then piece her together again? Or how he could dangle her deepest secrets in front of her than whipped it away like he never knew the secret? She can't break again. She can't. Can't.

She shut her eyelids close, the feeling of the needle sunk right in her skin. The pain wasn't bad, but the nostalgia obliterate her. It's happening again. She will lose herself, again. Tears brimmed the corner of her eyes, and she tried to fight it. But she couldn't feel anything. Her eyelids drooped heavily, no matter how hard she tried to keep them open.

And before she passed out, the security alarm blared.

*********

"Where is she?" Steve gritted, he held the trembling guard with his shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. "I will ask nicely again... WHERE IS SHE?" His breath fanned out, uneven. He could feel him loosing grip of himself. He had never been like this. Damn you, Romanoff. "Please...Please don't kill me...She's held hostage in the operation room-" Steve let go and the guard slumped against the floor tiles.

"Damn Cap, never seen you that angry." Tony remarked and earned a pointed glare from Clint. "Now's not the time to tease them Tony, as much as I enjoy the teasing. Let's find Nat first." Clint added. Steve ignored them, he was too focused on his thoughts. What if he never saw her again? What if she didn't remember him anymore? Or worse, she hates him. God knows what they did to her, he swears if they laid one finger on her-

He shook his head, shaking out of his thoughts. "Come on guys, let's go." He said, before running off towards the hallway. Clint and Tony shrugged but followed Steve.

Panting and heaving, Steve tried to push back his harrowing thoughts.

So many stars but she's the one.

His feet ached from the twisting hallways, but he didn't stop, he didn't dare to.

Who kissed his scars till they're gone.

He spun sharply on his heels as he turned around another corner, Tony and Clint were falling behind.

But somehow, his stiches were ripped out.

The corridors seemed to last forever. He's running out of breath, from fear or from tiredness, he didn't know.

If one thing he did learned,

He never believed in god, but he prayed for the millionth time today that, even if all else fails, she would be okay.

Was to never love your lovers too late.

*********

"Do you understand?"

Yelena clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. The sight of Madam B glaring threateningly down to her brought shivers down her back. It's been years since she graduated, it has been awhile.

"Do you?" Madam B repeated again. Yelena bit her tongue, then slowly nodded. She watched as a smirk etched across her ex mentor's face, she knew she let her win again. But it won't be for long. She came back for a reason, but not the reason Madam B thought it was.

"Madam?"

"Yes?"

Yelena hesitated.

"Can I change wings to the northern section? The temperature around my section has been too cold for my liking."

She held her breath as Madam B squinted her eyes across Yelena's face, scanning for any lies. It wasn't a lie, technically, however, she still felt nervous. She was about to give up when Madam B straightened up from her chair and soothen the paper on her desk. Yelena has seen her done this a million time in this office. It's a good sign. A sign of agreement.

"Of course, my dear. After all, you are our ah...guest."

Her shoulders sagged slightly in a sigh of relief and she let out a small, tight smile. "Thank you madam, I will arrive to training on time tomorrow. Rest well."

She bowed and dismissed herself out of the office.

As she closed the door, she let go of a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. She turned around and started walking towards her room. Her footsteps were light and silent, treading ever so gently. It felt a bit deja vú, considering she grew up in these places. Prisons. Undergrounds.

She was about to turn into another hallway, then she saw 3 people in the corner of her eye. She halted silently and slowly sticked to the wall, hoping to eavesdrop or just to see who they were.

When she couldn't hear anything, she slowly peeked at the hallway twisting right. Then she looked at the hallways twisting left, confirming their were no guards before letting her guard down.

There were three men who were seemingly  arguing with each other, or at least, their body language said so. Their were two with their backs faced towards her, one tall, bulky and blond; one slightly shorter, brunette but lean, he also had a bow and quiver slung across his shoulders. The blond one, was holding a shield that looked oddly familiar. It looked patriotic.

Could it be?

She stifled a gasp when the third man slightly turned so she could see his face. Tony stark. Was her only thought reeling in her mind. So, they came. She turned to the hallway twisting left, and headed towards that direction. She will stay hidden unless she was needed.

Yelena knew they all had one goal, was to save Natasha. And she sincerely hopes with all of her heart that, they would succeed, because then she wouldn't have to face her sister who thought she was dead, and, to risk all she had.

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