Civil War || WinterWidow

Civil War 02

Natasha sits with Bucky on her bed. They're in the Avengers compound, locked away in her room as Steve and Tony are outside arguing. She doesn't know why they're fighting with each other. About the Accords she understands. But about her and Barnes she doesn't. Tony should be in here interrogating her about why she never told him or anyone for that matter about her past with Bucky. Steve should be in here wondering what really happened to his best friend in his years of absence.

After everything, they still don't get it. That it's not about them.

Bucky runs his thumb over Natasha's knuckles repeatedly. They sit so close that their knees touch and their shoulders lean against each other. Natasha smiles as she leans her head against his, breathing him in. She stops thinking about Steve and Tony, hushes out their bickering. She never thought she'd have this again. Being here, with him. It's a fantasy, really. A dream she's had over and over again but doubted it'd ever come to reality.

And yet here they are.

Here he is.

"I wish they'd stop," Bucky whispers to her.

"Me too," she tells him.

After the revelation of Bucky and Natasha, Steve managed to convince Tony to convince some government officials to take care of Zemo, which thankfully they did. When the all clear was given, everyone flew straight to the Avengers Compound. To sort out what, neither Nat nor Bucky knew.

"We could make a run for it," Bucky goes on. He lifts up their hands to kiss hers. She smiles, wider than intended. "Steve found me once. He can do it again, and hopefully then all this would've calmed down and he'd understand."

"I'm pretty sure he'd understand if we got the chance to explain it to him now," Natasha says. She hums. "It's a nice thought, though. To run away with you. To not have to worry about being sent to Siberia if we got caught."

"We're finally free, but we're still not entirely free," Bucky sighs. She can feel his shoulders slump.

He's right. They're free, but not really. Natasha's linked to the government now. Anything she does has to first be approved by various different countries. And Bucky's not only a wanted man, but is also plagued by memories he struggles to remember, a past his not entirely aware of. Still struggling to distinguish that line between reality and programming.

"They're going to come for us," Natasha says. She doesn't want to ruin the moment, but she has to. Living in a fantasy all those years ago is what started this in the first place, and it didn't end so well then. "Our past is going to be seen as treason or some other political crap. I'll probably be put on trial or something. And they're not going to waste a second thought in locking you up."

"I know," Bucky replies. He moves so that he faces her, his one leg bent so his foot is on the floor and the other tucked on the bed. Natasha follows his position. "I don't know why they had to bring us all the way here. No matter where we go they'll come find us. They could've just done this in Germany."

Natasha doesn't say anything. Just reaches out her hand to caress his cheek. He stiffens as she makes contact, obviously still getting used physical touch that isn't meant to be harmful. But he soon relaxes into familiarity, and leans his cheek into her hand, closing his eyes. Her thumb moves up and down in soothing pattern on his cheekbone.

She worries about him, more than she does about herself. No matter what they do to her, she knows she'll be fine. Him, she's not so sure. He remembers her, but he doesn't seem to remember everything. He knows he knows her, knows he loved her, but she can see part of him is still trying to understand, trying to make canon the idea of her and who she meant to him. It'd be so confusing for him. Him finally finding his way, finally understanding who Steve and Natasha mean to him. To have that all taken away, to be locked away yet again for crimes he truly didn't commit or even want too...