Chapter 2
It wasn’t even thirty minutes after Tony and Jan had left the mansion to go to dinner that Natasha received a text on her phone. You up for some company?
She chewed her bottom lip, debating on whether or not to answer for a moment before typing a hesitant reply. Sure. Where do you want to meet?
The doorbell rang downstairs and she stiffened, staring straight out of the open door that led from her room to the hallway as if that was where the sound was coming from. She blinked a few times, blew her bangs out of her face and headed for the elevator.
The mansion was eerily quiet as she made her way through the foyer. She tried to think of when was the last time she’d been here alone with no one home, but her recently restored memories came up empty.
She shrugged off the odd feeling, reached to open the door, still wearing Tony’s t-shirt and a pair of red plaid pajama pants.
“James,” She greeted him with half a smile. “That was quick.”
He grinned back. “I know how disappointed you get when you have to wait.”
She moved aside so he could step in, her eyes sweeping over the outside exterior more out of habit than anything else before closing the door. “I suppose you’d know that better than anyone.” She led him to the common area, tilted her head to look up at him and found him studying her carefully.
“So it’s James now. Not Bucky?” He asked. His tone gave away nothing, though she’d been close enough to him throughout the years to know that his question was hopeful.
“I don’t know. It’s hard to keep up. Are you going by Bucky these days?” Their banter was familiar and his presence wasn’t totally unwelcome, but she wasn’t planning on making any of this easy on him.
“Nat.” He folded his arms across his chest, and she marveled at the bulge of bicep of his left arm, meant to mimic human muscle. The metallic forearm peeking out from his rolled up sleeve and the artificial light reflecting off of it was the only clue to the prosthetic. Another one of Stark’s miraculous upgrades.
She turned her eyes to meet his. “I thought you’d be half way out of the country by now.”
“I could say the same to you. I guess Stark finally convinced you to take some time off after all.”
She waved him off with a flick of her wrist. “We all know how persuasive he can be.”
He nodded. “It probably doesn’t hurt to be around someone who knows what it’s like to suddenly come back from the dead, either.”
“Do you mean Iron Man, or someone else?”
He shrugged. “Are we going to talk about this?”
She swallowed hard, avoiding his gaze.
“I guess that’s my answer,” he said softly.
“I can’t….” She started, her voice barely above a whisper. “I just got all my memories back. I can’t do this right now.”
“So you do remember everything?”
She nodded slowly, fidgeting with the hem of Tony’s t-shirt. “I remember…. everything.”
He pressed his lips together and took a step closer, not even bothering to hide his concern anymore. “You need time, I get it. Just… be careful. The things we’ve gone through… people like… us? It can be enough to drive you crazy, all those things coming back, all at once. Don’t let it haunt you.”
“You would know that too,” she said quietly, finally meeting his gaze.
“Just… no matter what else we were, or…. Look, we’re friends now, right?”
She nodded again, her eyes wide and cautious.
“So, you know. Anything you need, I’m right here. You know how to find me.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Maybe… maybe Stark’s right. You should take some time off. Let him spoil you here for awhile.”
“Yeah… maybe.” She nudged his shin lightly with her foot. “So did you tell anyone else I was here?”
“What do you think?”
She smiled. “Good.” She nodded over her shoulder to the kitchen. “Come on. I’ll make some coffee. That is, if you can stay for a bit.”
He smiled back gratefully and followed behind her. “Yeah. Yeah, I can stay for a bit.”
She gestured for him to sit at the wooden table, turned her back to him as she made herself busy at the counter, knowing full well that he wouldn’t miss the silent message in her gesture.
“So. Are you home alone? Where’re all the Avengers? Where is your gracious host?”
“He’s on a date. With Janet.” She set two mugs on the table, raising an eyebrow as she sat across from him.
“Stark and van Dyne, huh? I didn’t know that was still a thing.”
“Me neither.” She looked down at her hands for a moment. “Do you know what else is still a thing?”
He gazed at her quizzically.
She grinned, launching into gossip about the other team members based on observations she’d made during the past few weeks since she’d been back in regular contact.
He laughed, occasionally running his metal fingers through his long brown curls and she soon found that she was glad for the distraction.
“Seriously. It was nice to work together again,” he said carefully after awhile.
“Um, it was seriously nice,” she agreed.
“I didn’t mean to shut you out,” he said quietly.
She gulped down the last of her coffee so she wouldn’t have to speak for a minute, still not feeling quite ready to have this conversation yet. “I suppose I know why you did what you did,” she said after awhile.
He placed a hand over hers, looked at her until she would look at him. “I know you can’t do this now. But do you think…. Do you think we’ll ever be okay again?”
“James,” she said softly, savoring the way his name felt on her lips paired with the knowledge she now had. “We already are.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
She let out a soft sigh. “You’ve said that before. And you know that statement will never be true.” She eased her hand away from him and was grateful that he seemed to take the hint when he straightened up.
“I guess I should get going,” he said.
“Okay.”
“Unless you want me to hang around until Stark gets back.”
“No. It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
She rose up from the table with him, reaching out for a hug.
He eagerly pulled her into his arms, squeezing her briefly. “Do you need me to do anything for you before I go?”
She thought for a moment. “Actually… there is one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Can you go to my apartment and get Liho for me? Since I’m going to be staying here for awhile and all.”
He smiled. “Yeah, I can do that. I’ll bring her by tomorrow.”
XXXXX
“Nat?” A soft voice whispered.
She blinked against the sudden sliver of light coming from her doorway. A quick glance at the digital clock showed her that it was after eleven.
“Sorry. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
"Mmmm…… you’re supposed to be a genius. You should know better than to wake a sleeping assassin,” she mumbled, motioning for him to come in.
“Don’t shoot,” Tony said jokingly, holding his hands up as he entered her space.
“S’ok. I’m unarmed. Mostly.”
He crouched down at her bedside, reaching out and placing a tender hand on her forehead, gently brushing her hair back. “I just wanted to check in on you before I went to bed,” he explained with a soft smile, his blue eyes shining in the darkness.
She propped herself up and slid over, making room for him to sit beside her and he took her invitation.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m fine.”
“No pain? Any headaches?”
“I can’t promise that there’s no pain now that you’ve given the missing memories back, but no, I haven’t experienced any headaches,” she said lightly, twisting the blankets around her wrist.
“How about your wound?” He asked, gesturing with his chin to her side. “Need me to give you any painkillers?”
“Nah.” She looked up at him. “I know it’s a new body and all, but I guess it feels more like mine with an injury.”
“Well, new or not. Believe me. It’s your body,” he said.
She tilted her head to the side. “Tony. Was it strange… for you?”
“Sweetheart. It’s always strange for me.”
She smiled slowly, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards.
He smiled back, a billion dollar smile that was so familiar, it shone straight through her heart and made her feel a little more like she was home.