Amnesia

C31: Late

"Natasha?" I mumbled quietly under the wind as we made our way down the busy sidewalk, only a few blocks away from the apartment.

"Hmm?" She answered looking over at me.

"How long have you known?"

"Known...?"

"You know what I'm talking about." I rolled my eyes towards her.

"Um... honestly I just kind of put the pieces together. I've known how much you guys have always meant to each other, and just the way you act, and the little subtle things you do when you think I'm not looking... it's cute actually... that you guys think I haven't known this whole time."

"Whatever." I muttered with a small smile as I felt the heat rise to my face.

"How long have you known?" She asked with a curious tone.

"Known...?" I dragged out, mocking her.

"You know what I'm talking about."

I took a deep breath and thought back to all I could remember. There were memories of our childhood that stuck out the most, and those were the ones where my feelings were most prominent.

"I don't know honestly. Probably since I was 14. I just didn't know what it was or how to feel. I just knew I loved him... but I didn't know it was like this..." I looked up at the tall buildings and squinted as my eyes were met with the sun. "It's different... He's different."

Natasha nodded beside me. I could see a small smile on her face as she looked at the concrete sidewalk.

"I had someone like that."

"You did?" I asked back, surprised that she would ever have time for an actual relationship.

"He's gone now... but yeah I did."

"Hydra?"

"Sorta. He was Hydra, yes... but he was also the only person to take interest in me as something other than a weapon."

"What happened?"

"I escaped... and therefore became a target."

It didn't take me long to put the pieces together. I knew who she was describing.

"Natasha... I..."

"So you do remember?" She turned to face me as we continued walking.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize. I know you aren't that person anymore. I fell in love with a Hydra soldier and now you're Bucky Barnes again. You deserve what you have, and I am not going to stand in your way. I promise that I'm completely over it. I just want you to be happy... and with Steve you are."

I didn't know what to say back. It was like for once in my life someone told me I was doing the right thing, and I didn't have any clue how to react.

"This must be hard for you..." I muttered, putting the pieces together.

"Not at all... You're too old for me anyways." She laughed.

"Oh shut up."

We walked along in silence, finally reaching the front of our building. We slipped in to the alley that Steve and I usually use a backdoor into our place and walked over to the old door that leads inside.

"After you princess." I smirked holding the door open for Natasha.

"Hah hah you're so funny." She rolled her eyes stepping inside the warm hallway.

I followed in suit, quietly closing the door behind me as not to disrupt anyone in the nearby suites.

"The staircase he told me about is at the end of the hallway just keep going."

She started off at a quick pace, quietly walking as she left her fingers out to touch the wallpaper on the other side of the hallway. The low lighting reflected her red hair and that's about it, the rest of her looked like a shadow, which was partially due to the black coat she was wearing over her jeans.

I followed her closely, making sure she didn't get too far ahead, anticipating an attack, but nothing came.

"Is that it?" She pointed out in front of us as we turned the corner.

"Yes." I said spotting the gray metal door with the black words DO NOT ENTER.

"Okay but why does it say do not enter?" She mumbled pushing the door open.

As soon as we opened the door it was dark and smelled of something old and disgusting. The lights that hung above the stairs were shut off, as they have been for what I'm assuming as being years.

"This was the old staircase that they had when there wasn't the east half of the building. They expanded into the lot next door and built a better staircase over on that side. This one doesn't get used anymore because not a lot of people live on this half of the building."

"Oh. Makes sense I guess. Pretty sure that's like a fire hazard though." Natasha said using the little bit of light that came from the door we just opened to find the first step.

I followed behind her holding on to the rail with one hand and keeping my other within close proximity of her back. I don't know why I did it, I guess it was something I used to do before.

We climbed up the stairs, flight by flight until we ran out of stairs. As we were reaching the top, Natasha tripped over the last stair, falling on to the cold concrete floor.

"They should really keep the lights on in here." She mumbled gathering herself as we stepped onto the concrete slab that separated the stairs from the door outside.

"Hold on a second is this blood?" She held up the hand that caught her when she fell, and I reached out and felt the wet substance on her palm.

"I don't know I can't see it."

"Well open the door."

I pushed down on the handle and was met with a dark outline of the top of the building. I scanned over all of my surroundings waiting for one of the outlines to be human. But none of them were.

"This is definitely blood." She exhaled behind me.

"Where's Steve?" I mumbled as Natasha got closer to me.

"What do you mean?"

"Where is he?" I raised my voice.

"Maybe he's late?" She hesitantly answered, knowing how stupid she sounded.

"Steve Rogers does not do late."

"Call him. Maybe he's inside. It might be clear, maybe he's just checking your place out."

"But he hasn't answered my texts."

"Okay maybe he hasn't had time. Just call him."

I sighed and pulled my phone out of my jacket, fumbling it into the upright position. I turned it on and immediately went to my phone log. His name was the first one. I pressed on his icon, a little picture I took of him flipping me off in his underwear. I put the phone up to my ear as the number started dialing.

The phone was in the middle of its second dial when I heard a noise coming from across the roof.

It was Steve's ringtone.