Civil War || WinterWidow

Civil War

Natasha approaches the formation the group is standing in cautiously. Steve and Barnes are going to be arriving at the airport soon, and word is they had assembled a team of their own. Tony isn't going to let them get away, isn't going to let Barnes walk free without paying for the Winter Soldier's actions. Nat feels her stomach turn just at the thought of it.

"Are you ready?" Tony asks her.

"Do I have a choice?" She replies.

Tony, with his face unmasked, turns to her, raising an eyebrow. "Everything okay, Nat?" He asks.

Natasha doesn't face him, just keeps staring ahead where she knows Cap and his team will be shortly. "This feels wrong," she says.

"The Accords are going to -"

"I'm not talking about the Accords," she explains. "At least not completely. This just feels wrong. Fighting our friends, fighting the people we saved the world together with not so long ago. Clint's on that team, Tony. Clint and Wanda and Steve."

"Clint made his choice, they all did," Tony says. "So did you." His voice is stern, in charge, but under all that is a layer of sympathy. Natasha knows he doesn't want to fight Cap or Clint or Wanda or any of them just as much as she doesn't, but they're under the law now. They've got duties, responsibilities, and brining in Barnes and anyone who's helped him run is one of them.

"I know," she says, and then she turns her eyes to him. "Doesn't mean I like where that choice is going to lead."

Tony looks like his about to reply, when he sees a group emerge from the distance, and then all friendly conversation goes out the window and its back to business.

Cap's team is more organized than she first anticipated it to be. He's been recruiting; there's more people on it than they originally figured. She sees Sam, and Wanda, and some guy in a red and silver suit she's never seen before. Her heart aches when she sees Steve, and a lot more when she sees Clint. And then she sees him, and it's like her heart is ripped out of her chest. Like this is just another form of torture the KGB has organized, still making her pay for what happened all those years ago.

This shouldn't be happening. This Civil War - what they were calling the situation - should not have been happening. She shouldn't be fighting her friends because a bunch of damn governments told her too. She shouldn't be fighting them at all, least of all him. That should've ended when the Winter Soldier did. But they needed to gain the trust of world leaders and the public again, and this was the only way to do it. And Natasha fucking hated it. She hated the government and she hated the public, because even now after being free of the Red Room, she's still under the control of people who think they know better.

Before she knows it, Cap's entire team is lined up on the opposite side of them. And he's the one standing across from her. He's looking at her, sussing her out. She knows his weighing out the competition, but the way he's looking at her, the gaze, it's almost too much. Just the sight of him makes her stomach flip. She lets out a breath and shakes her head, closing her eyes. When she opens them again, his head is tilted and his eyebrow raised. His mouth is parted, like his aware of something, but then Cap starts speaking, and he's gone again.

"It doesn't have to end this way, Tony," Steve says.

"Should've thought of that before you chose the wrong side," Tony replies.

It's so stupid. This whole situation is so, so stupid that Natasha decides to tune out for the rest of the banter. She looks at Clint, who gives her a sad look. For a moment she can't help but think of his reaction when he found out she had chosen to side with Tony. In the background, she can hear Tony and Steve go on, about the different ways this can end. Then Tony calls in the Spider, who takes Cap's shield and webs his hands together faster than Steve can react. And just as she tunes back in the fight, it's started.

Everyone breaks into a run, so she does too. She sprints, and the faster she goes, the closer she gets, she realizes she's running straight to him.

"They're not slowing down," Peter says. He sounds panicked.

"Neither are we," someone tells him.

Natasha almost stops right then and there. She doesn't want to run to him just to have to fight him. She's tired of fighting him, hates it with every burning fibre. They're fighters, but never with each other. That's not the way they work. They're passion and heat and all unspoken things, but not this. Even though they haven't been any of those things for years.

She continues to run because she knows she has to. As she gets closer, she sees Steve's shield and Tony's armour clash together. She sees Vision and Wanda in the middle of what looks like a conversation and match of the powers. Sam's flying towards Rhodey, and Panther's dodging Clint's arrow. She doesn't see Cap's new guy, but hears Peter screaming "get him off me!". Everyone is already fighting. She doesn't stop running, but then he does, and all confusion and frustration causes her to stop too.

He's walking towards her now instead, but she doesn't move. This is not how this is supposed to go.

She can't help but take in the sight of him. He's different now. Different to the Soldier she knew in the Red Room. He's not the assassin, not the Winter Soldier, but not entirely Bucky either. He looks more aware, like he knows more now, but there are still some things that are lost to him that he doesn't know how to get back. He's a mixture of flesh and metal, a whirlwind of reality and brainwashing. She can see he's gained more memories, got a better grip on reality since the last time she saw him, but he's still not 100%. She wonders if he'll ever be.

He's getting closer and closer, but the way his walking towards her - it's not how it should be. He's not approaching her like his about to fight her. Instead his walking cautiously yet quickly, his head tilted again. His blue eyes are squinted, staring at her. He's looking at her like he knows something, but isn't completely sure.

Before she knows it he's in front of her, and she can do nothing but stare at him. He's so tall, so huge, so familiar. Both of them ignore the voices in their ears as he stops a few steps away from her. He shakes his head, blinks, and then whispers: "Natalia?"

The sound of her name in his voice causes her to go back in time. Back to late nights, tangled sheets, and sweet whispers. Back to when the only people that knew about Natalia and James were Natalia and James. The memories are blissful, but also painful. Because they were ripped away from each other, forced to forget.

But here they are now. Both remember. She almost wants to cry as his mouth forms the smallest smile. "Natalia," he breathes as he steps forward. She crashes into him without a second thought, wraps her arms around his neck as he catches her. He holds her tight, holds her close as it all comes back. As he continues to remember her. His hand, blood and flesh, tangles in her hair. She's crying now, trembling in his arms as he continues to breathe her name.

Everyone around, not realizing that the most beautiful moment is unfolding before them, continues to fight. But then Steve catches a glimpse of Bucky standing still, then sees Natasha in his embrace, and stops immediately. Tony follows his gaze, and stops too. Then everyone else follows as the two, the Asset and the Weapon, are reunited after decades. The two, of course, don't notice. They're too wrapped up in each other, too busy reliving the feeling of the other.

In a soft, confused whisper, Natasha can hear Tony in her comm. "What. The. Hell?"

Finally got around to posting this. I wrote this ages ago and have been working on new winterwidow stuff, but I've just been too lazy to post.

I'm on archivesofourown now and I'm thinking in the future I might save wattpad for books and use archivesofourown for short stories and one shots. Until that day I'll keep posting on both there and here. The user names the same :) feel free to check me out on there.

Thank you for the support and all the love. I really feel it. And I hope you enjoy one of my many fantasies of Bucky and Nat remembering each other and being reunited. Xx