When Steve discovered that he and Natasha had both known the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes at different points in time, he wanted to know more about the Winter Soldier that Natasha knew. So on one of their many trips to get him reacquainted with modern society, he took the opportunity to ask Natasha again about her connection to Bucky Barnes. She refused to discuss anything about this. How do you tell someone, "I was in a relationship with your best friend/brother who decided to push me away from his life, is currently brainwashed and repeatedly put in stasis by a bunch of Russians, and most likely doesn't remember either of us" without breaking down?
She remembered that her ex-superiors were tolerant of her relationship with the Winter Soldier but speculated how her ex-superiors discovered how she and the Winter Soldier were planning to leave the organization for good and start a new life elsewhere, perhaps in the United States. Natasha laughed sadly at this thought; she did end up in the United States, but where was her Winter Soldier? He was still stuck under the Soviets' control with no memory that he had ever wanted any life outside of all the killing. The Russians were using him as bait to lure her out, and she had willingly walked into them every single time, because as she saw it, there were only two options: find him or die trying. But the Soviets were so cruel; they were mocking her for having emotions! And now they wanted to indulge in the tragedy of having her own lover kill her at last and not care, because he would never know that he had his own fairy tale.
As Natasha reminded herself that focusing on the Winter Soldier backstory would only prolong the time it took for her to find him, she felt a shooting pain infecting her side and sank to the ground. Wincing, she touched her side. Blood. Crap; with her instincts and hearing, she should have heard that bullet coming toward her. Instead, she let her emotions control her and let her guard down.
"You all right, Nat?" Steve helped her get up. She ignored the injury as she moved; she would remove the bullet and clean the wound soon.
Meanwhile, she and Steve both looked in the direction the bullet was coming from and saw a shadow as it disappeared from high above a building.
"He's here," Natasha remarked calmly, despite being wounded.
"You mean Bucky?" Steve asked, glancing at her.
"I know him as the Winter Soldier," was all she could tell him. Even though Natasha had put on her best poker face, Steve could tell that there were many things left unsaid.
