Bucky walked to the front of the group of Wakandans and Steve immediately went to hug his oldest friend. "Buck, so good to see you. You look good!" he said enthusiastically.
"I'm getting there." Bucky smiled warmly. He hugged Steve just as hard as Steve hugged him. He was so happy to have Steve back, especially now that he had done his work with Shuri to retrieve his memories.
Natasha's stomach was back in her throat. When she didn't see him at first, she had hoped he would be staying inside, still recovering from the time on ice. To have had time to get herself unpacked and ready for living down the hall from him. Really, she had hoped she had more time to prepare herself for however he looked at her when he saw her. Though, there was never really going to be enough time to prepare for that.
Natasha stood, involuntarily holding her breath, waiting for his gaze. A moment later, his hug with Steve finished and he was looking between her and Sam. Just standing, very relaxed, his hands clasped behind his back, a small, quiet smile, and his soft, bright blue eyes.
"Buck, you remember Sam, of course..." Bucky nodded at him and Sam nodded back. "And you met Natasha briefly at the airport." Bucky looked straight at Natasha, still with the same quiet smile and lifted his right hand from behind his back in a small wave.
Natasha had trouble getting her face to respond into anything but a blank stare. Did he know her or not? Could he remember Russia? The Red Room? Odessa? Washington? The good, the bad, or still just nothing? She searched his face for any signal.
"I think Natasha may still hold your history with her against you, but I'll let you two sort that out," Steve said with a chuckle. Bucky looked at him kind of confused by the comment. Natasha had a brief look of terror, thinking that Steve knew anything about when she was in the Black Widow program and he was her trainer. But her expression quickly recovered and finally softened, realizing that Bucky probably didn't know yet about Washington or Odessa.
Bucky didn't know. Or didn't know everything. That was clear by the look of confusion on his face in response to Steve's statement. But it didn't let Natasha totally relax. Forever the Black Widow, she wouldn't let her guard down until she knew exactly where he stood with him.
Listen to: "Paper Bag" - Fiona Apple
YOU ARE READING
Untangling a Memory
FanfictionBucky Barnes is finally starting to get back bits of his past with the help of Shuri, but it is jumbled and unclear. As he attempts to sort them, he struggles to put the pieces together to get his memories back and see what, if anything, was good ab...
