Learning to Love

Chapter 25

-Steve's POV-
I watch as Natasha falls. I slide to the ground to catch her. I cradle her body close to mine. Yelena comes over to rub my shoulder comfortly. Then I hear the melodic ring of a phone. Yelena walks to the noise. It's my phone. She tosses it to me. Fury is calling.

"Fury. Thank god. We were captured but we are fine. Natasha needs a doctor right now,"

"The team is five minutes from your location," Fury relays from the phone.

"Thank you," I hang up. I pull Natasha tighter to my chest and I brush the hair from her face. Yelena got the collar off of Wanda. Lila and Wanda hug tightly. Natasha sighs in my arms as she begins to wake.

We are all startled when we hear a loud bang. I turn towards the large doors as the team bursts through, along with a STRIKE team. Shortly followed by Clint and Tony are two doctors, who swiftly get Natasha onto a stretcher. The STRIKE team works on detaining all of the Widows in training. Everyone goes outside where two quinjets are parked. I'm careful to not take my eyes off Natasha as I help Bucky to another doctor.

I look over the crowd of people. Everyone doing a job. I see Clint embrace Lila in a tight hug and she sobs into his shoulder. As I contiune to scan everyone I notice a third quinjet being landed, by the one and only Maria Hill. She lowers the aircraft's door. A man dressed in all black steps out. Fury.

"Captain Rogers. You had one goddamn job," He yells as he walks across the snow covered field.

I walk to meet him half way. Fury's frown turns to a smile.

"Thank you for looking after Natasha," He whispers as he shakes my hand. I nod my head and turn away from him. Only realizing I had lost Natasha. I look around frantically. But through the identical uniforms, forming clouds of gray I spot her red hair. I race over to her. She is arguing with the doctors. I apologize for her and ask for a minute alone. She sits up on her own on the stretcher.

"Nat careful," I urge.

"I'm fine old man. I'll be good as new by tomorrow," She replies and pulls me into hug. I sigh into her neck. I squeeze her tightly she winces but I don't let go I can't. And I won't ever again.

-Natasha's POV-

I casually fall apart in his arms. Though I'm careful to not let any tears fall. I do have a reputation to maintain. He holds me tight against him. I don't mention the ribs the doctors said I had broken. Or the partly torn ACL of my left knee. Or the minor internal bleeding. They said I'll need surgery. But for now that can wait. I look over Steve's shoulder at the body bags being carted from the building. I notice a doctor tending to Ivan as he's carried away in shackles. Tony checks Wanda for injuries and she is already on a quinjet to go home.

After what feels like forever, the doctors finish looking over me. They said with the version of the serum I have, I'll be fine and surgery may not be necessary. I still need to be put under observation. Steve runs his fingers over a bandage covering the stitches on my forehead. I lean into his hand.

"I'd hate to inturup lovebirds but.." Clint drags on. Lila dashes over to me from behind Clint I pull her into a hug, and she returns it tighter. I pull away and I tell her I will come visit her soon.

"I'm sorry Clint really I..." I begin.

"Natasha don't. it's not your fault," He replies. I go to speak again but he silences me with a glance. Clint leaves with Lila and they catch up to Tony who are boarding a quinjet.

"See ya soon Little Red," I hear Tony call from the saftey of the jet. I stick my middle finger up proudly and he salutes me mockingly.

By now everyone let alive from the Red Room is safe. All the girls I had fought had been placed into SHIELD custody until they find out another solution. The STRIKE team had packed up and boarded their own jet and left. I decide to stay for a few more days here. Of course Steve insits on staying with me also. Fury promises Steve that Bucky will be observed and sent through the ranks, until he is no longer a danger.

The doctors had left with numerous things for me to look out for. They gave me a knee brace and wrapped my ribs. The wound from when I was shot is almost healed but the stitches were torn prematurley so that needs to be watched also. Though I stopped listening after a while, Steve had listened attentivly.

Now Me, Yelena and Steve watch as the last jet off. I trudge through the snow to the front door of the Red Room. I open the large oak doors and step in. Both of them follow me.

-Steve's POV-

I follow behind both of the girls as they walk back inside the Red Room. When I catch up and go inside. They are standing infront of a large stone wall with name ingraved in it. Yelena places her hand on Natasha shoulder and walks away.

"I am done with this place. I'll meet you guys back at the car," Yelena chirps, happy to leave the house of horros for the last time.

I stand next to Natasha, but her gaze is focused on the ingraving. I follow her eyes to where it reads,

Natalia Romanova

Dottie Underwood

Melina Vostokoff

Yelena Belova

"When I was growing up the only thing I wanted- what everyone wanted- was for their name to be at the top of that list. Now there it is," Natasha finally explains. We stand in silence before I speak up,

"Dottie. Peggy knew her."

"Ya. It's probable she had an assignment in the States around that time,"

"How do you know that?" I ask.

"She told me," My mouth opens agape, I wait for her response.

"The serum they developed similar to the one you have, it makes us age slower. Dottie was the Black Widow before me. I killed her. It's the only way to get the title. That's why those girls wanted to kill me," She informs. I stay quiet.

"Wanna leave?" I ask.

"There's one more thing," She replies.

I follow her up a grand staircase, past an open room, which was lined with beds. A set of handcuffs attached to each metal frame. Then it comes together. I had noticed the same markings on Yelena's wrists, and the same in Dottie's file, the one's left by handcuffs. I try to keep up as she paces past that room. She leads me further down the hall to a door. She opens it.

Inside is a single bed and a nightstand with a lamp. A 1x2 sized window with bars over it. That's it. Natasha walks in and kneels down. She reaches under the bed and pries a loose floor board open. Inside are pictures. Of Natasha and Yelena and a smaller girl. Another picture where Natasha and James are hugging and smiling. All were taken with a polariod camera.

"Who's she?" I ask nodding to the third girl. A warm smile spreads to her face.

"That's Anya. She was the youngest. She didn't last long. But Yelena and I helped her, saved her food. Taught her a few things. A lot of good that did her," Natasha tells.

I just nod to her. She reaches further into the box and pulls out a bottle of Vodka.

"James stole this for me," Natasha says as she pulls the top off. She raises the bottle in the air and takes a sip. She passes it to me. Natasha picks up the box with everything in it. She reaches in one more time and pulls put a piece of fabric. It's a long black ribbon. This time she doesn't wait for me to ask.

"This was from my from my first pair of pointe shoes. Yes I know ballet. I loved it. So much. It was the one good thing from this place." We sit in silence before she gets up. I follow her from the room. She had put everything back in the box and brought it with her. We walk with the breeze filling the hush. We walk side by side all the way to the car, where Yelena has it warming up.

I open the front passenger door for her she smiles and kisses me on the cheek. I cram myself and my shield, which I found lying carelessly in the building, into the back seat.

When we are settled into the car. We simutaniously let out a sigh. Each of us smiling to the other.

Yay! Another chapter! That was a long one.
Thanks for reading.
Many more chapters to come.
Please vote and comment.
I never want this story to end. I might drag it out forever. So feel free to stop reading when it gets too long XD.