𝙎𝘼𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙉 ✮ 𝘯. 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧

{13} - 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭

But today, they both faltered.

Natasha wasn't so sure she wanted to know how Semna got here...not anymore. She knew how Hydra worked and she knew how she was treated in the Red Room all those years, and it was no coincidence that Semna's injuries became more frequent just after her time at the academy had been slimmed down.

She remembered the day she first found one of these injuries. Semna had been unusually quiet since her private meeting with Madame B and as one of the many results of said meeting, she was missing more and more of her classes. She was missing more and more time with Natasha. On one of the few nights she was actually at the academy they snuck off to the windowsill, talking quietly for almost an hour, until Semna's nightgown had risen up her leg and exposed a large, untreated cut on her thigh, at which she abruptly ended their conversation and refused to speak to Natasha the rest of the morning. This was only one of the many occurrences in their partnership.

They never discussed the incident. Now Natasha knew exactly why.

During her daydreaming, Natasha had begun to spin the ring on her finger delicately, just as she always did when she thought of Semna.

Semna noticed this and forgot herself for a moment, speaking up amidst the eerie silence from the group around her. "You kept my ring."

Natasha paused in her movements. It wasn't a question, but slowly, she nodded at Semna and a sad smile crept onto her face. "You thought I wouldn't keep it?"

"I thought you might have been upset with me," Semna admitted. "I had no idea what you would do with it."

They shared a smile. It was only a moment, but it was enough to make Semna's heart swell. So far, seeing Natalia again hadn't been what she imagined, but it was perfect nonetheless. She never knew if the chance would actually come for them to be this close ever again. There was another thing that had been on her mind, though. Hesitantly, she turned to Steve, who had been standing near the doorway, staring daggers at her.

She offered him a small smile. "I am sorry about Bucky."

Steve's eyebrows unfurled and his mouth fell open slightly. "You know him?"

"Well, obviously I do, yes."

"You know him as Bucky?" He corrected, shaking his head. "Not as the Winter Soldier? Not as James?"

"No, I..." she trailed off, pinching the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes shut. She felt like she had already said too much for her liking, and all she was trying to do was offer up sympathy to someone she barely knew, someone who was supposed to have been her enemy all these years.

This was going to be a lot harder than she expected.

"I know his name," she said carefully. "I know he went by Bucky before the war and I just know that is what you called him...call him. But I was only ever allowed to address him as Soldat in front of my commanders."

"And who are your commanders?"

"Um..." Semna bit her lip. "I only know the name of one: Andrik. He was my personal commander, and he was on the bridge with me. I have seen his bosses before, but I have never learned their names."

"If I showed you pictures of people in SHIELD," Maria interrupted, "would you be able to identify the ones you recognize from Hydra as well?"