I' K. I'm sorry I haven't been posting lately, but I kind of lost motivation. And then we were in the middle of a move- so I just didn't have much time to write. This will be a short chapter, but anything's better than nothing, I think?
I got way too many comments to reply to any of them, so I'll just say, thank you guys so, so much! And thank you for your patience.
Also, huge thanks to my new beta- is that supposed to be uppercased?- Your help really means a lot to me!
-PaleWolfsHowl
To say Natashia was surprised, would be an understatement. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but she could almost feel the shock coming off of Steve.
It'd been obvious that Winter didn't want to show his face, and Natasha hadn't really questioned it. After all, the man had been Hydra's Asset for decades, it was very plausible that he might have several scars - not just on his face.
That's what she had been expecting, bad scars… Not whatever this was. As Natasha had watched the scene, where Winter's mask came off, she'd only seen a fairly handsome face. No horrendous scarring to speak of, no reason to be so freaked out about being seen unmasked.
Obviously, Steve had disagreed. One minute The Captain had been sitting, and the next he'd practically leapt onto Winter. How Steve hadn't gotten stabbed yet was truly remarkable. Natasha's younger self would definitely have stabbed Steve, two - no, twenty - times by now.
She shared a look with Clint, it was a long look. They just stared at each other, silently communicating their confusion and disbelief. Natasha's head snapped back in the direction of Steve and Winter when she heard a click.
Winter had… he'd taken the muzzle off?
Natasha wasn't sure exactly what to think, as she looked back at Steve and Winter, who seemed to be whispering back and forth, hugging each other tightly.
Even Tony seemed to be speechless, which was a relief, because who knows what he'd say in a situation like this.
"Um. This is very touching and everything, but what's going on?" Clint spoke up, and Steve suddenly seemed to remember that he had an audience. Winter blinked, also recognizing that he was surrounded by other humans.
Natasha rolled her eyes, how could the assassin look so innocent still baffled her. Honestly, what the heck? This man usually struck fear into his enemies with just his presence - but that wasn't the point.
Steve rubbed at his eyes, which were red. Huh? Natasha had never seen The Captain like this before, but today had really brought everyone closer.
There was a long, drawn-out moment of silence, before Steve looked back at Winter - who just shrugged.
The weirdest - and funniest - part of this whole situation had to be the fact that the two men were still sitting and hugging in their very awkward positions. But neither seemed to notice. Ugh, elderly people.
"Uh -" Steve said awkwardly, glancing at them and then at Winter and then back. Winter shrugged again.
Natasha rolled her eyes, couldn't they just get to the point. Winter, finally, spoke up, his voice much clearer than it had been only moments before. Huh, that muzzle thing had definitely been muffling his voice a lot.
"Just let the movie explain it." He said, shrugging yet again in doubt. Natasha groaned, the man seemed to have developed a real passion for the art of shrugging.
"Seriously? You can't just have a hug-fest and then not explain it," Grumbled Tony, pouting childly.
Winter, once again, shrugged. "Says who? The Lord of hugs?" That had everyone groaning, except Steve, who was kind of just staring at Winter.
Honestly, Natasha couldn't keep up with what was going on with Winter. One moment, he wouldn't stand up for himself, the next moment, he was snarking everyone off.
Steve finally spoke, though what he said didn't really help anyone out. "I don't think the 'Lord of hugs' even exists." He pointed out, because obviously no one knew that.
Winter, like any mature, grown-up, just stuck his tongue out at Steve. Natasha once again rolled her eyes. Honestly, these two were going to be the death of her.
"You too, Steve?" Huffed Clint, glaring at them. "Can't you at least try to be helpful?"
Before Steve could respond, Winter spoke up for him. But where all this confidence had suddenly come from left Natasha baffled. "No. No he can't." Steve didn't seem to mind not being allowed to speak for himself.
Tony groaned. "You're just trying to be impossible, aren't you?" He said as Steve moved to stand, holding a hand out to help Winter up. As they resettled into their couch, Natasha narrowed her eyes.
They must have known each other. That was the only possible explanation. It seemed fit, too. Considering how close the two had acted, even though Steve obviously hadn't known Winter's identity until right now.
They just had to make things complicated, didn't they?
She groaned as they waited for the movie to start up again, watching the screen intently. She could feel the curiosity radiating off of Clint next to her.
Steve Rogers: Bucky?
There was a moment of silence, in which everyone stared at Steve and Winter intensely.
Natasha's mind was running in circles. Bucky? As in James Buchanan Barnes? That Bucky? How - how did - wait, what? She tried to think straight, but she was too shocked and bewildered to form any coherent thoughts.
Tony was the first to splutter out a complete sentence. "Like - Bucky Barnes? That Bucky?" He managed to say.
At least Tony had spoken up for the rest of them. Natasha kept an eye on Winter - Bucky? - intensely watching for some sign of either confirmation or rejection of Tony's question.
Winter paused for a moment, seeming to lose his confidence, leaning into Steve's side. "Huh. Yeah, that one." He mumbled, and Natasha sucked in a breath. That … that was a lot to take in. It somehow seemed to make what had happened to Winter a lot worse - putting a real identity to an unnamed victim.
She glanced over at Bruce, who had been mostly silent, to try and see what he thought. Considering he was one of the most level-headed people she knew - well, mostly level minded. Not counting his little anger issue.
He seemed shocked, but his eyes showed his sadness at the revelation.
"How…?" Clint asked, making her turn her attention back towards her husband. He also looked shocked, and sad. It seemed to be a trend.
Her eyes moved back to Winter - because it was too weird to think of him as Bucky - waiting for his response.
Winter glanced at Steve, obviously not wanting to explain. So Steve spoke up, it was hard to read his mixed emotions, although they seemed a combination of rage, depression, and relief at what had happened.
"When he - fell, they took him." That was all he really needed to say, considering Winter had briefly explained what Hydra had done earlier. It made a lot of sense that Winter was Bucky. How The Assassin had immediately seemed to latch onto Steve for no apparent reason. It made sense now why Steve hadn't been impaled, it was horrifying, but also clarifying. The knowledge of who exactly Winter was.
So, she sucked in her disbelief and horror, and gave him a small smile. Hoping to relieve some of his stress. "Well, in that case ... It's nice to meet you, Fossil Number Two." She waved, and Winter gave her a small grin.
Yeah, in the end, Natasha believed things would be alright …
