Stained (N.R)

Chapter 14

I fell through the sky, half strangled by Steve's best friend's metal arm, cursing Rogers silently in my head. 

Mr Barnes was in my way again. 

Rogers and I were supposed to be replacing the third chip, but unluckily for us, Falcon was having a problem with his wing, being shot down by Barnes, and Steve was barely able to overcome his old friend. 

So the job was on me. 

We tumbled through the air, determined to turn each other into pulp, as we dropped from the sky. 

We crashed through the concrete ceiling of the S.H.I.E.L.D tower, Barnes beneath me, landing on his metal arm, looking mostly unharmed yet slightly dazed. 

I grunted at the jolt of pain as gravity's effects caught up, my whole body aching. 

As both I and Barnes raised our heads to examine our surroundings, I found myself staring right at Fury, who had his gun raised at Pierce. 

Pierce on the other hand, pointed his phone at Natalia, who stood frozen in place, bodies of agent forming a circle around her. 

"Don't move, unless you want a burning hole on her sternum." Pierce warned me. "Winter Soldier, come here."

Barnes struggled to his feet, trudging towards Pierce, but Natalia smirked, pressing down on something in her hand.

Just as I realized it was her Widow's bite, electric arced through her body. She fell to the floor, unconscious. 

Barnes turned to protect Pierce, but was too late as Fury quickly took aim. Pierce soon lay on the floor, a red stain slowly spreading in front of his chest. Barnes approached Pierce, who whispered something in his ear, but I was too focused on Ilya to overhear their conversation. 

I ran to Ilya as Barnes made his escape, Fury close behind me. 

"Romanoff." He called gruffly as I knelt by her side. She didn't reply. 

"Natasha." He sounded unsure, and my heart thudded in my ears, blocking out the world from me. 

Then, she opened her eyes weakly, eyeing her surroundings, her eyes focusing on me. "Ow," she muttered. "It does sting."

Fury breathed a sigh of relief as Natalia looked around. "Where's Barnes?"

"He ran." 

I picked her up, ignoring her weak protests, and frowned at Fury. "What now?"

"Don't ask me," he replied. "I'm up for retirement."

Natalia threw out the subject as soon as we were alone, a few days later on the road trip to court.

"Katya, we have to talk."

I was halfheartedly watching the view going by in my seat, thinking about Rogers and Sam, who were both recovering from their wounds. Natalia sat beside me on her driver's seat, her eyes focused on the road. 

"Hmm." I replied, turning to look at her. 

"I didn't know about your feelings towards me, if I did... I shouldn't have done those things to you."

I furrowed by brows, pretending to be confused, my heart beating a panicked rhythm. "I don't understand, Ilya, what...."

"Bruce and I, since a couple of months ago, we've been trying things out, starting to know each other a bit more."

My heart sank all the way down, to the bottom of my stomach. "Na...."

"I don't want to disappoint you, Katyusha, and I don't want to lose you as a friend..."