RIVER • buckynat au •

III

"we found him." Natasha whispered into her earpiece, keeping a cold eye contact with Bucky as he stared at her in confusion.

Steve was quick to grab Natasha's wrist, pulling it away from her ear, sending her a warning glare as if to tell her to abort calling back up.

"We are not turning him in, Nat. You can't do this." He warned

"what's going on, Natalia?" Bucky asked, still confused.

"It's Natasha." she corrected, her glare intact.

"Nat, please, we can't turn him in. They'll put him back into cyro, I can't let that happ-"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. What are you guys doing here? A-and what do you mean by 'Natasha'? It's Natalia... I-I remember. It's always been Natalia" he stuttered, brows furrowed as he tried to piece together the situation before him.

Natasha shuddered at the mention of her name. The name she chose to forget. That person wasn't her and she refused to bring it back.

"drop the plum, Barnes. We're turning you in."

Just as Natasha took a step towards Bucky, Steve pushed her against the wall and pinned her down in place, their faces inches apart.

"Nat, I'm asking you one last time. Let him go" He spoke through gritted teeth, Natasha hissing at the pressure she felt against her shoulder blade.

"Steve, calm down. Let her go" Steve's face softened as Bucky placed a hand on his shoulder, and he let Natasha go instantaneously.

"what are you even doing here? Why are you here?" Natasha asked Bucky in a hostile manner while she massaged her shoulder, hoping the ache would go away.

"I-I.. I don't remember much. I just kept having these images flashing in my mind. The images.. They felt like broken memories and-" he paused to think, as if he were trying to remember something.

"what were the images, Buck?" Steve asked in concern.

"They're hard to understand, but I kept seeing this place, w-with me and Natalia in it." he explained cautiously, waiting for Natasha's reaction. "I kept seeing images of us in war and the rest I can't fathom." he scratched the back of his neck, glancing at Natasha every now and then, hoping she'd stop avoiding his gaze.

"D-do you remember anything about this place, Nat? Do you remember anything about us?" He directly asked her, patiently waiting for her answer

"No" she denied and it felt as if his heart dropped, how could she not remember? A frown quickly took over his recent small smile, unsure of how to react.

"I'll give you three minutes to get away. If you're not gone by then, I'm turning you in" Natasha sighed in defeat, displaying a frown of her own as Steve nodded at her in thanks.

"what if I don't want to leave you anymore?"

Natasha's heart skipped a beat after he had said that, never in a million dreams did she think she'd hear him say that again. But something in the way he said it, sparked something inside of her that made her want him to stay.