"he looked at her
the way she needed to be looked at
like the whole world could crumble
and he wouldn't blink."
-atticus
In which a mercenary and a super soldier meet through extraordinary circumstances.
Marvel | Bucky Barnes
Cover by @blis...
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"You will break,
But oh, You will also heal."
NADINE
Nadine's head was plagued by nightmares. Recent events merged with certain moments from her childhood; one minute she was lying in the ground in the snow, the next she was on a table, a garbled scream stuck in her throat as she felt a needle be jammed into her lower back. Her muddled thoughts seemed to get louder as she woke up. She blinked hard in order to adjust to the brightness around her. Her gaze immediately settled on Natasha, who stood from her seat. She smiled softly; her eyes had a warmth that Nadine wasn't used to. "I'm glad you're awake."
"My head is... it's spinning," she croaked, wincing as she lifted a hand to touch her temple. She felt a rough texture on her forehead. Butterfly bandages. She tapped slightly harder and winced, feeling the cut that hadn't properly healed yet.
"I know, but just rest," Natasha insisted, but her tone was nothing short of subdued.
In the back of her mind, Jameson's words about the Black Widow rumbled, demanding her attention. Nadine decided to concentrate on her surroundings, not recognizing the room she was in. "Where...?"
"Wakanda."
Nadine stared at her, then observed the room with more focus. She noticed the difference in technological devices instantaneously. They were decades, maybe even centuries ahead from other hospitals she'd had the rare chance to visit. She didn't have a heart monitor on her, and yet there was a screen next to her that was tracking it accordingly. It also seemed to track other things, like brain function, blood pressure, among others. She wasn't connected to anything except the IV.
Natasha took note of her confusion and simply gave her a slight smile, then a shrug. "You deserve the best care."
"I don't understand," Nadine muttered, and she wasn't lying. She couldn't comprehend how they ended up here, though the answer seemed pretty obvious.
Natasha shook her head. "You don't have to understand now. Just, take a breath."
She looked at her hands. They weren't bandaged, so she could see her scarring nail buds. It was an awful sight and part of her was too focused on worrying that her nails wouldn't grow the same way again. Her wrists ached, and she could see the faded bruising from where she'd been shackled.
Another part of her was perturbed, because her wounds looked massively improved. Was Wakanda's technology so advanced that they healed her so quickly? Or had she been comatose for more than she thought?
"Nadine," Natasha called once again. She looked worried, cautious even. Her green eyes looked like storm clouds. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"She used you," Jameson's voice continued. "She uses you and you don't even know it."
Nadine chose to evade the question. "Where is everyone?"
