Untangling a Memory

Not who we were

Natasha was in Shuri's office for hours that day, between the tests and waiting for her tears to finally pass. Shuri sat patiently with her the entire time, offering to get her anything she needed- food, drink, someone else to sit with her- but she wanted for nothing. Natasha just felt... empty.

Once she had finally settled, she redressed in her clothes, splashed her face with some cold water, and thanked Shuri (even though she wasn't entirely sure what she was thanking her for). Shuri offered for Natasha to come back any time for additional testing or just to talk. Natasha nodded and left Shuri's lab for the elevator.

As she waited for it to arrive, she leaned on the wall next to the doors. Her body felt heavy and dizzy with confusion. Natasha was torn on whether she should return to the apartment or just leave the palace until she could clear her mind. But she wasn't sure that would even happen. The information she had just received was overwhelming. She was questioning everything she knew about herself and her past.

The doors opened and Natasha stepped in, finally resolving to go to the apartment. Even though she wasn't hungry, she realized she should eat something and didn't want to start worrying Bucky.

Ugh, Bucky. She closed her eyes as she tried not to think about him. He was too complicated a subject to have to delve into right now.

The elevator dinged as she arrived at her floor and the doors opened.

"There she is!"

Natasha was so disoriented that she didn't recognize the large, muscular form approaching until he already had his arms around her.

"We've been wondering where you were!"

Steve pulled back from the hug still holding Natasha's shoulders. He was so happy to see her after their time away, grin spread wide across his face.

"Yeah, I had an appointment..."

"With Shuri. Yeah, Buck told us. It's so good to see you!" Steve immediately pulled her in for another tight hug and Natasha wrapped her arms loosely around him in return.

"Hey, pretty lady. We've missed you." Sam put his arms out as he walked over to where they were standing.

"Yeah, clearly."

Steve let go of hugging Natasha just long enough for Sam to get his own firm embrace. Once he had released her, Steve put his arm back around her shoulders and they walked down the hall toward the common area.

Bucky was standing in the kitchen, leaning on the counter, smiling sweetly at Natasha as she walked into the apartment. He'd had butterflies since he'd woken up from their time together the previous day. Bucky would have liked to have seen her before her testing and had woken up early to see her off, but she never came by the common room on her way to Shuri's

 However, as she walked closer and came more clearly into view, he noticed that something was off and his excitement started to wane. Natasha looked ever so slightly shifty, absent in her attention, and uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was a distinct change from the day before.

Natasha sat down at her usual place at the counter, next to where Bucky was standing. "I wasn't expecting you both back so soon."

Steve moved to the fridge and pulled out a couple of beers, handing them around to everyone. Natasha shook her head silently declining the offer.

"Yeah! Fortunately, we had an opportunity take the compound early and surprise them. Mission accomplished!"

Sam jumped in enthusiastically in between gulps. "It went great. And thank goodness because I was so sick of moving around from safe house to safe house. Steve has started to snore."