Love Grown Cold

Memories

Wakanda, after Civil War

Steve calmly watched as Shuri, T'Challa's sister, continued to experiment on Bucky. It was kind of surprising that it didn't bother him more today. Usually, he asked all kinds of questions about what she was doing. And luckily for him, Shuri loved talking about her work to anyone and didn't mind the questions. But today, he was sitting silently, not really even seeing what was going on.

"Is there anything you want to talk about, Captain?" Shuri finally asked, breaking the silence.

Steve started slightly, then sighed. "If you don't mind listening."

Shuri grinned. "I like fixing things." She said by way of response.

Steve chuckled a little, then turned serious. "I've been having really weird dreams lately, only when I wake up, they don't fade like dreams. Instead, they stick with me, like a memory."

Shuri nodded. "What are they about?"

"My life when I was a kid. Only instead of it just being me and Buck, there's another person there. A girl."

"What does she look like?"

Steve met her eyes. "Exactly like my friend Natasha Romanoff. In fact, in all of my dreams, I call her Natasha." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I just don't get it. Why is this happening? She couldn't possibly have been in my past. If she had been, wouldn't I remember her?"

Shuri shook her head. "Not necessarily. You were found be SHIELD. They certainly had the technology to wipe your memory if they thought it necessary."

"Why would they do that?" Steve asked frowning. "That doesn't make sense."

Shuri shrugged. "Think about it. You were frozen for almost 70 years. That in and of itself would be traumatic. But if you had known this Natasha in your past, and she had somehow survived and wasn't seventy years older, it could be argued that that would be even more traumatic. Though I would think that would've helped you adjust faster."

They sat in silence for a moment. "How would we be able to tell if they're memories or dreams?" Steve asked slowly.

Shuri tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, we could either try to recover the memories, though if they're coming back on their own, it's definitely better to let it happen naturally, or..." she trailed off and looked at Steve. "Wasn't one of your crew Natasha's best friend?"

"Yeah, Clint." He said absentmindedly. Shuri sort of reminded him of Nat.

"Then wouldn't he know about Natasha's past? You said she was a world famous assassin. Did they ever tell you what made him change his mind about murdering her?" Over the past couple of months, Steve had sought out Shuri's company even outside of the lab. They had become good friends and he had told her all about the Avengers, who fascinated her immensely.

But she made a good point. "You know, that's actually a very good point."

"Of course it is." She teased.

"I think I'll give Clint a quick call and see if we can't meet up somewhere."

Shuri nodded. "And I'll keep working on your friend. I think I've almost figured it out."

Steve grinned. "That's great!"

"I'll tell you if my idea works. For now, go figure out who Natasha is."
*
Luckily, Clint was free for the near future, so Steve got a plane and flew out to Clint's farm to talk.

"Hey Cap," Clint greeted him warmly.

"Barton," he said, shaking his hand with a smile. He glanced around the quiet house. "No little agents today?" He quipped, remembering Tony's remarks the first time they'd met Clint's family.

"Nah," he replied grinning. "Laura took them over to their Uncle Mikel's house for a few days. Honestly, Cap, your call saved my life. If it weren't for the fact that you wanted to talk, I would've been stuck going with them." He shuddered. "Torture." He motioned for Steve to sit down. "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to ask you about Natasha."

Clint visibly tensed. "What about Nat?"

Steve sighed, trying to think of the best way to express this. "Lately I've been having these strange dreams. Only they seem more like memories. And the one thing they all have in common is Natasha." He watched Clint carefully as he said that, but there was no shock in his features, only relief.

"So you finally remembered." He said quietly.

"You mean it's true?" Steve asked angrily. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Easy there Steve and I'll tell you." He quickly explained about Fury's decision to keep him clueless about his and Natasha's previous friendship. "Nat was heartbroken. She thought that she had finally gotten her best friend back only to have him taken away again. Then she tried to convince herself that she had changed too much to be friends with you anyway. But then, with New York and Loki and that whole mess ... Steve it's been killing her since you resurfaced. I know of at least a dozen different occasions when she almost told you."

Steve sighed. "I really wish Fury hadn't done that. Knowing that Natasha was my friend, my sister!, would've helped a lot when I came back."

Clint shrugged. "What's done is done. Now all that's left is what to do about this new development."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I assume you're going to tell Nat. It would be pretty cruel not to, so I doubt that you wouldn't. But on the flip side, you're pretty much obsessing over Bucky's recovery, which isn't bad, but I don't think that Nat would be able to handle it. It pains her enough as it is that you two were on opposing sides about the Accords, never mind throwing in her brainwashed boyfriend to boot."

"One, she came over to my side and even if she hadn't I wouldn't hold it against her. Two, how much do you know about Bucky and Natasha? And three, Shuri, T'Challa's sister, thinks that she may have found a cure for Buck."

"One, don't tell me, tell Nat. Two, whats there to know? They were head over heels for each other and then they both became popsicles, unfroze, redeclared their undying love for each other just in time for HYDRA to catch up with him, brainwash Bucky again, and now Natasha is in pain constantly over it." Clint shrugged. "Simple. And three, if she thinks she's got a cure, I'd advise waiting to talk to Nat until after that."

Steve thought for a moment. "Ok. If it works though, I'm bringing her to Wakanda to work things out."

Clint grinned. "Sounds like a plan!"