Missing You - WinterWidow

Missing You

Natasha was racing around the kitchen of the safe house, filling a tea kettle with water from the sink. "Would you like some tea? I've got a few flavors," she called out to the man standing in the doorway.

"Widow," he said.

She ignored him, opening up a cabinet. "I've got black, green, old English breakfast, chamomile, cinnamon–"

"Romanoff."

"--ginger, earl grey, citrus–"

"Natalia," he said, commanding yet gentle, "You're bleeding."

The Black Widow froze. She looked up at him for the first time since they'd fled from the ambush.

He pointed to his forehead, where the oozing gash lay on hers. "We need to patch it up. Where's your first aid kit?"

She reached up to the gash and winced at the contact. Her fingers came back red.

Natasha sighed. "It's in the bathroom, under the sink."

He left the room, swiftly returning with a plastic tub of various bandages, ointments, and other first aid supplies. Wordlessly, he gestured to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair for her to sit on. She complied.

He dug through the box, pulling out a few supplies. "This will sting," he said, grabbing a wipe. He dabbed it on the gash.

To her credit, the Black Widow did not cry out. She barely even tensed. She was trained to show no weakness.

He opened a gauze pad, smearing antibiotic ointment on it from a tube. He tore off some tape, securing the gauze to Natasha's head, carefully avoiding her red hair.

"Barnes?" she asked.

He hummed in response, adding the last piece of tape.

"You called me Natalia."

Bucky hesitated. Finally, he answered, "Yes."

Natasha tilted her head. "How did you know that name? I don't use it anymore."

The kettle began whistling.

"The water's done," Bucky said.

He started to move away, but Natasha stood and grabbed his arm.

"How do you know that name?" she asked again, her eyes searching his.

His mouth opened and closed.

The kettle was still screaming for attention.

Bucky sighed. "I-it's just something I remembered."

"Something?" Her grip on his arm tightened as if she were building the confidence to hold onto that something.

Slowly, Bucky said, "I remember...you. I remember us working together."

He trailed off, not having the courage to say anything further.

"Ah," Natasha said. Expressionless, she let go of his arm and walked over to the kettle. "What tea would you like?"

"Nat–Natalia," Bucky said, exasperated.

"What tea, Barnes?" Her walls were back up as they had been when he first joined Steve and the Avengers.

"Cinnamon is fine," he responded, still gathering his thoughts. "My–my memories are all jumbled up."

She looked at him, but he averted his eyes to the floor.

"I've recovered my–er–pre-Hydra memories for the most part, but my time in Hydra is a lot harder to recover. I guess it has to do with all of the mind-wiping they did. That or my brain just wants to forget that I did all of those things."