Once the Winter Soldier was dismissed, she dropped her arms and moved her head slightly to get the tension out of her shoulders and neck. Natalia was about to get up when she saw Kudrin arrive at the sea of people. Unsure of what to do, she kept kneeling, watching the men surrounding them. She looked at the mule who had trusted her and didn't feel regret for making him come with her. He or better, the drugs inside him had spared her life after all.

Kudrin walked over and told her that she would finally be able to get up, so she did. She listened to her speak in false pride. The redhead would've loved to wipe that satisfied smile of the older woman, but she simply stood and listened. Her gaze shortly went to the man, who deserved the self-praise and pride. But once she was addressed as a Black Widow at the graduation ceremony, Natalia noted how it wasn't a question anymore but a statement.

"Thank you, ma'am," she spoke, knowing that was what Kudrin wanted to hear.

"When will the ceremony take place?", she asked to which Kudrin simply said "Soon. Hold yourself ready."

Natalia nodded obediently and stayed quiet. It was still evident that the two women couldn't stand each other much. The redhead tolerated Kudrin because of those dancing lessons and because she wasn't allowed to do anything against her.

She was dismissed with a wave of Kudrin's hand. Natalia walked towards the building to go to her room, thinking of her future outside the Red Room. Little did Natalia know that she would rise to be the most famous and efficient Black Widow in this program.

He could feel his head lull to the side and murmured under his breath.

"Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes of the 107th regiment… 325557038... Brooklyn, N.Y. …." He repeated under his breath, repeating again and again… So that's who he was… not what this freak German scientist kept repeating and repeating and repeating… hydra… no… Sergeant James…

His eyes trained on a point across the room, and he continued to mutter hours after the latest experiment. His body felt drained from whatever they'd injected him with, but the light was gone, that swayed back and forth in jerky movements. It was gone like the scientist was.

He could hardly breathe, but he still kept at it. His voice grew weaker until he thought the mantra more than saying…

"Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes… of the 107… 32..557…" he continued, his voice growing hoarse and his eyes slid closed without him realizing it. He was... so tired... so, very tired. All he wanted was to rest... 'compliance will be rewarded'...his heart beat faster.

No. He'd never listen to that. He'd never give in to these Nazis. He couldn't rest; James just couldn't. Because he was James Barnes... his mother's little Jimmy, and his annoying sisters Rebecca's confidant, he was Bucky, Steve's friend and protector... God knew he needed one. Someone to stop him from his stupid escapades.

He couldn't give up, couldn't give in. But he wouldn't die, either... James didn't want to die. He wasn't ready to. But he just wasn't sure how long he could keep going. The clear thoughts dispersed sooner and he mumbled along his words to draw strength from them when his mind grew weaker. To remind him of all that.

A voice drew him out of his mantra and he opened his eyes.

He stared above him and resigned himself to more of it… more of the bright lights and the shouts, the prodding and the needles… the creaking... cold metal under him… he couldn't really feel his body just now, and his mind drug behind him sluggishly from being forced to stay awake for who knew how long.

He almost felt them pulling at the restraints he'd long forgotten was there. One shook him hard near his chest and his head lolled to the side again. He blinked once… this wasn't…

"Who… who's there…?" He slurred, finding words hard to find, and he focused on a helmet… blue… he could almost see blue in the dark light from the moon shining in the room.

"It's me…" James looked harder at the face. "It's Steve."

His mind stuttered. "Steve," He said, a smile pulled at the muscles on his face oddly and he felt a wash of homesickness over him. Of the little punk back at home, waiting for him to get back from the war, who wanted to come galivant in this hellhole, so God damn much… his thick-headed friend who was probably still picking fights in back alleys and stuffing his shoes to pass stupid tests…

"Come on."

The voice pulled his mind back, away from the fond memories of home, of his friend. He looked up and felt he was imagining it. "Steve?" He muttered, letting out an amused breath. Of course, Steve couldn't be here… but as he looked at him and got hauled up off the metal table, he could swear he saw Steve's stupid face in front of him.

He felt disoriented as his body moved, and he could feel the stiffness in his bones. Steve hadn't left, his face hadn't turned into something else and his friend clapped him on the cheek and he blinked again wildly.

His brain finally seemed to register that Steve was in front of him and they were still in the isolation ward. Steve…. what the hell…?

"I thought you were dead," His friend breathed out worriedly, but he couldn't really take in words. So instead, he looked at Steve, trying to tell if his mind was tricking him again, taking him somewhere else besides the pain of the experiments.

It didn't seem right, it wasn't real. Little detail were wrong... even sitting, why was Steve so tall? He used to have to set his arm on his friend's shoulders. His shoulders so broad and yeah, it didn't really work did it?

"I thought you were smaller," He mumbled back, a little confused at the whole scenario.

He stared and stared at him, balancing his arm on his friend's and he practically begged God to please not let this one be fake. That his friend was somehow here, rescuing him from this place, that he'd lied his way into the army and somehow ended up with a group here to save them all from this… just so he could get out. So it could all end. So he could rest. James was too stubborn to die and never submit... but he was so tired.

"Come on," Steve said and he helped Bucky adjust his grip... and as he hauled him to his feet… Bucky was starting to realize this was real. This wasn't his imagination. Steve was here…. and he was helping him stand up. Bucky couldn't feel his legs, and his knees buckled as soon as they stood.

Steve lifted him… Steve lifted him… Steve Rogers was carrying him and huffing a 'here goes' as he pulled Bucky's deadweight and tried to pick up his tangled feet to make them work. He could barely stand on his own… dammit; how tall was Steve suddenly? Could this be real?

It would have to be one really realistic dream. He stumbled over the step and glanced back up… no, this was real. He could hear the gunshots now, he could feel Steve holding up his weight, and he could feel the pain arching across his shoulders and in his chest.

"Wh-What happened to you?" He pushed the words from his throat.

"I joined the army!" Was Steve's doofy reply and Bucky knew this was his friend, alright. Even he couldn't dream up that sort of dumbass answer. No one else could be so light-hearted in the middle of this place, either. He could finally feel his feet and wrapped an arm around his injured side as he struggled to stay up on his feet and not weigh Steve down.

They continued down the hallway and he continued his questions….

"Steve..." He murmured, hardly a whisper in a hushed, soft tone. He shifted in his sleep, rolling onto his back as his flesh hand clenched and his eyes darted beneath his eyelids.

Natalia was on her way back from breakfast as she passed two guards. It was a regular occurrence and people stopped caring about her appearance as her graduation ceremony was only a few days away. She was one of them now and not the psychotic scared girl who had shot and murdered several people on the run. Yet she liked to remind them what she was capable of. It helped keep the nosey and talkative guards away from her and allowed her to walk freely in the facility.

"You go wake him! I did it the last time..." one of the men said to which the other just violently shook his head, irritated "Not a chance! You heard the stories. I don't wanna end up dead because that asshole cannot set his alarms."

Natalia stopped and listened to them speak. She tried to figure out who they were talking about even though she had an excellent idea of who it was. She had heard the stories herself and they painted the Winter Soldier worse than he actually was. Sure, she had initially been a little afraid of him, but at least she hadn't shown it openly.

The redhead finally walked over to them. "What's the matter?" she asked harsh having her own fun by scaring them. Her cold gaze basically pierced them and she had a welcoming smirk on her lips. Her whole demeanor seemed like she was about to use them as her prey. She was bored so they were the perfect toy.

"I'm listening, dear..." she said, flirty placing her hand on the man's upper arm. The one who declined to do it and talked about those stupid children's stories. Both men quickly shook their heads, refusing to speak. But, of course, everyone knew about the close relationship between her and the Soldier.

"We were...uhh...we were just talking about an order," the one she had attempted to flirt with.

Natalia stepped closer to him and purred while batting her eyelids "Perhaps I can be of help?" It was ridiculous they were eating out of the palm of her hand already. The redhead was sure they should know that she was waaaay too nice to him. Though she first, the first man had caught on and looked around, uncomfortable, for a way out.

"The Soldier, Natalia. We are supposed to wake the Soldier," he spoke, which made her raise her eyebrows and break her character.

"First of all, it's Black Widow for you! she spoke and outlasted a hand slapping with the back of her hand. She even left an imprint of her hand on his cheek. Next, she threw a knife toward the first man who was running away now. It scratched the man's leg and he stumbled and fell.

"Secondly, you're a disgrace to the guards. Both of you! Afraid of waking a man up and stupidly even telling that. Thirdly, you better run before I slice you open for ignoring a direct order and running away like frightened pigs. Lastly, you are more than lucky that I am feeling gracious and will go wake him for you two. Oh, and get a new partner: he will treat your life for his own," she hissed at the second man before walking past the first and picking her knife up.

"Pathetic," she spoke merciless and stepped on the wound before continuing her way. She knew they wouldn't go kiss and tell. They were way too afraid of her by now and she wasn't a student anymore, so they couldn't even be sure if she was to be punished.

The redhead turned right and quickly found herself in front of the Winter Soldier's quarter. "You better be dressed 'cause I'm entering," she spoke lighthearted and looked around in his room.

Natalia quickly found him lying in his bed while she closed the door again. He was shifting, unsettled as he dreamed. She walked over to him, already thinking of ways to wake him up, until she heard a name. Not any name but the name of Captain America. She tilted her head to the side and listened. She had already given up on the file and had been about to place it back in the office. But here they were. Natalia shook her head, thinking she had misheard things. Yet there it was again. So shortly after another, it couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

She crouched down next to his bed and watched him sleep. She closed her eyes trying to listen to each word the man was saying. No matter how silent it was. Thought you...smaller. Was he really dreaming about the infamous Steve Rogers? It matched; she had finished reading the man's biography after buying the books. She rested her arms on his mattress with one hand placed over the other next to his head and leaned her chin on her hands.

What happened...and there it was again, Steve. It was enough for her to make the file exciting and relevant again. She opened her eyes and looked at the man. He seemed so peaceful despite his dream. He seemed different to her than the Winter she knew - almost like his dream made him into another person. For a moment, she wondered what he was dreaming about.

But there was no use to dwell over it. Winter needed to get up. On one thing, the two men were right, he was late for whatever meeting and he should've set the alarm. Breakfast was most likely over. She thought of holding down his arms and shouting at him for a moment. But that one would backfire on her. There was no way she would be able to hold down his bionic arm and handcuffing him to the bed would only break his bed, so it wasn't a good idea either.

Then an idea struck her; she walked over to his sink, wet a small towel with cold water, and filled a glass with the cold liquid. She wrung the towel out, so it wasn't dripping wet anymore. Afterwards, she returned to his bed, holding the towel behind her back.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Time to wake up," she purred into his ear.

Her face was only mere inches away from the side of his face as she grinned to herself. She kept repeating that until his eyelids would flatter open and she spilt a bit of the water on his face. Natalia waited for him to open his eyes to shove the wet towel into his shirt. Again, she grinned and kept her face only inches away from his. So he could feel her warm breath on his damp skin. She was optimistic that he wouldn't hurt her. But just in case, she kept holding the water glass to splash the rest into his face in defense as she didn't intend to fight him.

Words, or movement at all, usually threw him out of sleep. Usually, it was fitful at best and he rose at the same time each morning. Oftentimes earlier than he'd like and he'd wait in bed until the time arrived. When he was heavily dreaming, often, he did nothing until someone touched him.

This was different, though, a different sort of dream. Or the soft words were unlike those he usually received. It was almost enough to lure him away from sleep. Eventually, it did just that, but instead of jumping into action at someone so close to him without his knowledge, his eyes simply lifted groggily. The headache his dream formed left him waking harder, too.

Until a splash of water rained down onto his face. It wasn't much, but it made his shoulders jump up in surprise and in the quiet room, his arm's position changing made a loud whine. He was used to waking to the cold; he always awoke to the silence or the cold. Whether it was the room or the actual cold that bound him. The loose splash of water was so the opposite it caught him off guard instead of his usual instantly guarded nature.

Something equally wet but warm shoved down the shirt he'd been wearing and his shoulders bucked. His blue eyes dashed to the side, to the perpetrator and he blinked, shocked at who he found grinning widely at him.

"Natalia?" He accused, yet there was no bite to his voice, none of its usual weight. Instead, he felt her warm breath on his face, drying the water and it was so surprisingly different. He could hardly focus on it feeling nice as he quickly sprung up to dig the cloth out of his shirt, sliding down his chest.

Was this a joke of hers? Perhaps a prank before her graduation? He was no longer half asleep, but the strange events after waking had him reacting oddly.

Without thinking about it, he threw his metal arm out and grabbed her wrist to keep her near him, at least when she was sure to squirm. He tugged her loosely towards the edge of the bed, leaned over her and swung the damp towel around her head to shove it down the back of her uniform. A smirk danced on his face as he leaned back from her and looked down at her victoriously. Two could play.

She tried hard not to start laughing as the tiny splash of water obviously shocked him. It was new to her to see him react humanly to things happening around him. Fresh but also pleasant. It reminded her of her Winter than the Soldier everyone saw. Waking him was fun. Perhaps she should do it more often. Her grin, though even widened in amusement.

Once he sprung to action to get the cloth out of his shirt, Natalia couldn't keep to herself anymore. She started laughing as it just looked too funny. Oh, she would definitely do this again. She laughed hard and held her stomach as she got stitches from laughing.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.", she repeated again.

Her eyebrow rose as his hand darted out and his metal finger wrapped around her wrist. It wasn't so tight that he would break her wrist but still tight enough to make her crinkle her mouth in discomfort.

"Oh goddammit!", she suddenly squealed as he pushed the wet cloth down her back.

"Winter!" she complained and used the rest of the water to splash it into his face in defense. Next, she would use the moment of surprise to wrap one leg around his midriff to push him back onto the bed and sit down in the middle of his stomach. So she would at least be on top while trying to remove that goddamn cloth from her back with one arm.

Who was the sleeping beauty now? If he'd had time to pause, he would have wondered that he had been sleeping, but he was too caught up in their sudden game. His smirk widened as she shouted joyously. She complained and retaliated with a burst of water thrown into his face.

He let out a boisterous laugh, shoulders shaking with it until she threw her water in his face. He spluttered, water spewing less than it was running down his face. She threw him back down on the bed, and he landed with a soft grunt. He looked up at her and his breath caught. She was no longer young...

He swallowed the feeling, and instead, he chuckled once again at the situation.

The strange laughter made him realize where he was and he glanced around. No one was there and Natalia, suddenly on top of him, had him distracted.

"It's only fair," He grinned as she struggled to get to the rag. "You did start this."

He seemed to be caught off guard, and for once, it didn't seem like he looked at her like she was his student. It was an unusual feeling and she didn't really know how to react to this adequately. Her grin widened, though. This time it wasn't only amusing but perhaps a hint of gentleness, or was it pride? Something about being to surprise him like this made her feel proud and satisfied. Natalia definitely would need to do this. Perhaps not shortly because this man would be prepared. But in two weeks or so, his usual stoic ways would come back and this little game would've been forgotten.

"Oh really? I don't see why!" she complained, still trying to get it out. But instead of pulling it out of her suit, she pushed it further down, which made her jump a little.

"It's not me who slept over the breakfast and had guards fighting over who was supposed to wake our Sleeping Beauty here," she said and leaned forward even though her arm was still restricted. Again she stopped only mere inches away from his face as her lips were right next to his ear.

"Can you let go of my wrist, please, Winter? Or at least remove the wet cloth from my suit? It's getting kind of uncomfortable because of that," she asked him with a soft voice, almost purring again. It was the same way she demonstrated to guards all the time to get her way instead of being reported.

"I do not usually sleep very long," He explained, unsure why he took the liberty to. Usually, he'd start awake much earlier than the rest of the world, but he never rested well. Sleeping late like this was unusual, but he did every once in a while. A dry, short laugh left him at her statement of the guards. "I recall one snuck up too close to me," He raised an insinuating eyebrow at her. "It didn't end well for him," He shrugged. When he slept like this... he awoke groggy, out of his senses and having anyone so close so suddenly, he attacked instantly.

Except... apparently for Natalia. He wondered if that meant he trusted her. It must; perhaps it was their mission together. She was indeed as effective as he, and she kept up.

Natalia came close to him, her voice lowering in an attractive lull. It was alluring... as he was sure it was meant to be, and his body did shiver in response. But it was not quite Natalia. It was missing that fire of hers.

With a very subtle whine from the position control in his fingers, he released her wrist as asked. He hadn't realized he'd still had a hold of it.

"You can have your wrist," He said, and a smirk dragged up his lips, and he sat up swiftly, tossing her backwards onto the small bed.

"But you'll have to get yourself out of what you started, Natalia."

"What did he do? Kiss Sleeping Beauty awake?" she asked with a chuckle and tried her best to stay innocent.

"Perhaps you prefer being woken by women. After all, it did end up well for me, didn't it?" she spoke casual and smiled at him.

Natalia tilted her head as she had an excellent idea of what happened when people angered this man. She had seen it often enough to know how to dodge it and not be on the receiving end of it. In fact, she was aware that she had been playing with the fire this morning, but she also knew how to press his buttons correctly. She usually didn't end up doing it, though. So she was pleased to see that she could slip past his guard. In fact, she was really happy about it. Perhaps he did care for her more than a simple mission.

She could feel his body shiver lightly in response to how she spoke. It was almost disappointing that at least his body seemed to react the same way to her as most men did.

"Thank you very much, Soldier..." she continued to lull him in as he released her wrist. Natalia was about to press a soft peck on his cheek to double the effect. Just as she was about to get off of him to remove the wet cloth from her back.

But he had been faster and sat up, sending her falling onto her back and off of him. She squealed a bit as the wet cloth touched even more of her bare skin. She was sure it left damp patches on the back of her suit.

"Oh, I will," she sat and elegantly moved her leg around him and rose to her feet swiftly like she was dancing.

"By the way, I think men usually react differently to having women suddenly in bed on top of them." she joked and sent him a flirty wink to give him an idea about what she was talking about. Finally, she reached backwards and managed to get the wet piece of fabric from her back.

She let out a high-pitched squeak and he smirked again. She confidently moved away and rose off the bed as if she were starting one of her ballet lessons. Truthfully he didn't know much about the subject for her, or any of the girls, it wasn't where he was supposed to be and he hardly strayed from that.

He didn't have time for his thoughts to stray to wondering if this was a new exception. Because Natalia's words and the wink made his thoughts falter. His eyes searched her face and mentally stretched for an appropriate response, but his mind fumbled for words. He... didn't really know what to say.

His face twisted slightly, and his lips pressed down as he fought for a response. He was thankful Natalia was busying herself with the cloth and he still tried to resist with a reply. Although obviously, he knew what she was speaking of, that wasn't what was making him stall. So, instead, what did he say to her? To the young girl, who was not so young now, he had trained thus far. She was to graduate in a few days and would no longer be part of his mission to teach the Red Room Academy girls.

What did that make her? Nothing was the logical response. But Natalia was far from nothing, and he couldn't wrap his head around that.

"How would you have me react?" He asked very seriously. The Soldier didn't pay attention that he'd switched back to Russian, or rather, he hadn't noticed he'd been speaking in English with her.

Even though she retrieved the washing cloth from her suit, she did notice his falter in answering her. She hadn't thought he would take her joke so seriously. In truth, she hadn't thought of her own statement a lot. It just slipped her lips like so many things before. She felt his gaze on her and tried to stay calm and not have her cheeks heat up.

Had she crossed the line from appropriate to inappropriate between the two? To her, the line was still blurry even after all this time together. She had seen him as her only friend and somewhat older brother. But obviously, things had shifted a bit. No one flirted with both options. This wasn't a thing she liked to dwell over. Yet she probably should soon. Her graduation from this program was only days away, which meant a parting between the two. But she didn't want that at all.

His question caught her off guard and she dropped her luring smile. She didn't have an answer. Natalia even noticed his slip back to Russian, which meant her to watch her words even more. She tended to speak the truth and questions, which better were left unanswered, in English. He tolerated that habit, but Russian meant watching her words. There was the switch between what had just happened and his usual cold self.

She raised her chin and answered with a question herself, falling into Russian herself "Why does it matter? It was just a game, wasn't it?"

She raised her chin and usually seemed displeased by something when she did this. His question must be the cause. He couldn't understand why but he let it go. Natalia had her quirks.

He shrugged his right shoulder in response and could not possibly answer that. It was her game. Although reflecting, he had followed along quickly.

How strange... his face grew distant as he searched for some memory to correlate with all this... But he could not come up with one. The Soldier finally shook himself, and as he appraised the situation more clearly and Natalia stood there, he refocused.

"You were sent because I am required, yes?" He asked her and glanced about the room for the time. But there wasn't any clock for him to know. He must need to train the girls or do some other task by this point. His continual mission here did not wait.

Her tactic to make him think of something else seemed to work out. He shrugged and Natalia guessed that meant that their prior behavior was gone. So it seemed like they were back to business.

And she was correct. Here he was back to the mission or whatever reason they had sent for him.

"I don't know. I just overheard them talking about waking you. But I suppose you are needed or missed a class with the girls," she spoke and looked at him with a guarded gaze.

"Who is Steve? Did you know him before the Red Room, Winter?", she asked him suddenly and looked at him. She probably shouldn't mention it now, but this moment was as good as any other. Even though he probably wanted to get started.

"You mentioned the name in your dream..." she explained, hoping he would buy the explanation. This time she stayed in Russian, hoping he wouldn't catch on to how important the answer to that question was to her.

Missed a class? He frowned sharply. No, surely someone would have retrieved him. He could not forget their class, for that would be a failure of his mission. That would not be acceptable.

He looked over at her as she asked of a man. Steve... the headache that had fled since he woke seemed to return hurriedly and he could feel the throbbing beat in his temple.

"I..." Before the red room... before that... the space between his eyebrows knitted together as he thought hard on the question. It troubled him greatly and his eyes dulled and distanced with the effort. The headache grew... he could... only remember the cold. The stiff, painful cold. He... he remembered waking, retching as he stumbled from a machine unable to move his numbed body... so cold... he'd fallen onto the floor and was later dragged elsewhere when he'd stopped.

His face pinched further, and before that... he... He did not know. There were his missions, he was sure. But, yes, his handler told him of the red room, that he would be doing something different. Training to bring the state more assets.

His face smoothed some thinking on that. That was surely the answer.

Natalia continued, but she must be confused.

"I did not dream," He explained, his voice calm and stoic. He didn't dream. He would remember if he did, surely. He woke with a headache, but he didn't dream. Certainly not of a man, sometimes of pain... of shocks that burned... sometimes of debriefings, but he didn't really dream. He hadn't last night. Something so fresh he would remember.

Natalia watched him as he seemed greatly confused. She received more facial expressions from him than she mainly did. He was a blank man and she had grown used to it. As a teenager, she had searched for feelings and expressions more times than she could count but never found any. Eventually, she had grown tired of it and busied her curiosity with something else until recently. Things had shifted again when she discovered that cursed file. Of course, she had lost interest again after their mission until this morning. He could tell her what he wanted, but she knew he had been dreaming.

She walked over to him and placed her fingers gently on his temples. She could almost feel how tensed up he was becoming.

"We all dream. Even you, Winter. We just forget those dreams from time to time," she spoke gently and started to massage his temples in circle motions of her hands. She applied light pressure while she did so. It helped her when she had headaches from time to time. She wasn't even sure if he did have one, but she felt somewhat guilty over bringing confusion to him.

"I know you don't want me to think this way. But sometimes, it's good to question them. It's what keeps me perhaps you should for once try it as well and learn something about yourself.", she told him just above a whisper.

She knew that it was dangerous for her to voice this. Depending on who she talked with, they wouldn't hesitate to alarm Kudrin or even other higher-ups. It was essential to think of a mission's success, stay quiet, and follow orders. She dropped her hands to her side and looked at him with a frown. She stood there quietly and moved out of his room to search for her own answers that she wouldn't get from him.

He fought the sudden urge to throw his hands up and push hers away from his head. It came on so suddenly, and after being so relaxed with her earlier, he fought the rushing instinct to protect near his temples where she touched. Instead, he still felt tense as she massaged his temples. How did she know how much his head throbbed now? It was soothing, somehow, despite how her hands near his head made the hairs on his neck stand.

"I've never dreamt," He spoke unsteadily. His hushed voice was throaty from the pain in his head. It felt more like he was confessing something to her, and he didn't know why that was. What could he possibly have to admit?

Forget them? He wasn't sure of it, but he wasn't sure of this gentle but sad look that had fallen on her face. With her so close, he had ample time to study it.

"Natalia," He sighed as she spoke of treason. It wasn't actual treason; he knew Natalia would never betray the state. But she had never truly complied with the red room's way either. Her focus always wandered. But she would graduate soon and needn't worry about her thoughts so much.

He didn't argue with her, but he didn't think he was capable of that. So instead, he struggled with this sudden, hard-to-decipher feeling her words coaxed from him. Dread... maybe, not fear so much as a fleeting feeling of loss. For some reason, the Soldier didn't honestly believe there was as much to know as Natalia wanted. He was Russia's and Hydra's Soldier... and he wasn't sure there was anything more in him. Or ever had been, as much as she looked for it now.

He let the thoughts slip away; the pain was growing too much. But his hand hesitantly reached up to grab the one she had near his temple. He'd unknowingly relaxed to her soft touch there. But before he could reach her, she was already withdrawing her hands and stepping away.

She stepped out, that same look on her face. It was not a good one, but it softened her features. He watched her leave, and an errant thought came to mind.

He wondered if that would be the last he saw of Natalia Romanova.

The Soldier hoped not.

It was the type of thought he simply did not have; thoughts towards his own future were foreign. But there it was, stuck there for him to think of over and over. So slowly, he dressed, changing out of his wet shirt she'd made, and with slow and heavy steps that, he headed towards the training rooms.

Most of the time, Natalia was surrounded by Kudrin, to her displeasure. That woman really hit a nerve and she didn't even know why. Perhaps it was how she still treated her and had approached her as a child. After that, it was simply a mutual dislike. But Kudrin had considered it her role to help Nat with the precautions for her graduation.

The bit of leisure time, she either used the empty ballet room to dance for herself or used to learn things about James Buchanan Barnes. The deeper she dug, the more she found out about the man. Natalia was sure there was something accurate about the file even though the Winter Soldier didn't seem to remember anything. So she reread the books of Captain America and checked those facts with the stolen file. The only thing which made absolutely no sense to her was that her Winter Soldier was still so young. The described man would be at least in his 40s or 50s.

It was only one more day until her graduation ceremony, and she grew nervous about her future. The feeling was doubtful for her and she tried her best to simply ignore it. She entered the Winter Soldier's room to say goodbye and thank him. Neither of them knew what was coming next for them and Natalia was sure she would never see him again.

"Hello.", she spoke and continued "Hopefully I'm not bothering?" She walked over to him and felt like she didn't belong there. The redhead hadn't talked to him anymore since waking him up the other day.

"I...I just wanted to thank you in case...in case we don't see each other again," she tried to explain and gave him a short smile.

She looked at him, unsure and finally gave up on her charade. Natalia hurried over to him and enveloped him in a tight hug. She knew this would catch him off guard and she shouldn't hug him. Natalia was lucky if he wouldn't throw her through the room. But the redhead couldn't help herself and she was able to take the pain. He was the closest thing to a family she ever had.

"I'm going to miss you, Winter," she whispered into his ear and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you for everything. And remember to question - do it for me!"

He'd just finished a training session with three of the younger girls. They were new, and he had to go much easier on them than he was used to. They were still young teens and while they'd been in the program for years, their fighting techniques were not honed well. That was his purpose here, of course, so he would slowly school them as they grew.

He was in between two sessions when Natalia slipped in. It seemed some time since he'd seen her. The Soldier didn't say anything, but he simply nodded negatively as she asked if she was bothering him. She seemed... nervous, or perhaps just around him?

That thought made it all the more surprising when she suddenly swept towards him and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He was shocked, but he didn't move to break or return it. She... thanked him? Expressed she'd miss him, and he was still silent.

She kissed his cheek and as she told him to do it for her, a ghost of a shadow passed over his face. But it wasn't until she'd almost reached the doorway when words pressed out of him.

"Be careful," He called. It was impulsive, but he knew without any real thoughts that she would need to be careful about what lay ahead. She should be cautious with the way they worked, the way it always worked for him.

She left, and he then went for his next session, too.

Relief washed over her as he didn't move to fight her. Instead, she simply hugged him and to her, it didn't even matter that he didn't reciprocate her hug. Of course, Natalia hadn't expected him to do it, but just for once, she needed to express how much she genuinely liked him. Of course, she was aware that it was unusual, but still...

She moved to the door and she was almost disappointed that he neither said nor had done anything. The slightest bit of reaction would've been nice. She hadn't seen the ghost moving over his face for once. She had simply enjoyed the very one-sided hug. Her hand was on the doorknob as he called out. She turned her head and smiled, almost sad, at him "I'm always careful, Winter."

He had no idea what she had done for him already. But, it was too late for careful. If someone found the file in her bedroom... Things wouldn't end well.

The next few days were a blur for her. Nothing made sense. She remembered waking up day after day with pain in her lower body. The wound had opened itself once after the operation. So she had required more rest than necessary. Soon she was restless, though and they included her in a mission. Her wound had primarily healed but still was very sensitive to touch. At least it hadn't become inflamed. She dressed and checked the bandage around her lower abdomen one last time before she closed the jeans. Natalia dressed casually again, but this time had the Widow Bite hidden underneath her sleeves. She followed a guard quietly to the room where she was supposed to meet her partner.

Natalia didn't have high hopes for her partner. In truth, she had argued against doing it independently, but the others had declined, saying she needed backup. It might've seemed like most people had sulked the rest of the debriefing. But in truth, she had listened and accepted. No questions on her part.

The guard opened the door for her to walk through. She nodded at the man politely and stepped inside. "Your partner will be here in a few minutes," the guard told her and Natalia ignored her, waiting for the door to close again.

Author's Note: This is the first story of a full series around Bucky and Natasha's unseen past in the MCU. Stay tuned!

Leave a kudos or put it in the comments what you think will happen next or what you loved! It'll be great to hear from you! If you enjoyed the story, feel free to treat me to a coffee on KoFi! ko slash fi dot com slash fatedmuses