Summary: Natalia's stuttered gasp isn't hidden from him as they're pushed through the door and James fights his restraints. The sight of the familiar chair has him summoning every ounce of strength he possesses because there's no fucking way he's letting them put Natalia in that thing.
A/N: italics represent Russian
She had known they would be caught eventually. Nothing this good could last in the Red Room and it was only a matter of time before it, too, was stolen away from them. Until then, though, she put all her effort into loving him and after a year of secrets, she let herself believe it could last.
She was a fool for it.
They come in the middle of the night. She and James are still on a mission, though they technically completed it the day before. The stolen time remains for just them. At least, it was meant to.
There's a sound outside their safehouse and Natalia's pulled awake. She's so exhausted that she almost brushes it aside and curls back into James's arms, but there's a rustling under their door and she's suddenly wide awake.
"James," she hisses, lying still in his arms. His breath hitches and she knows he's awake. "Outside."
"What?"
"There's someone out―"
The door flies open and three of her sisters converge on them. With them are unfamiliar agents, but Natalia recognizes the Hydra armband they all wear.
In a flash, James's arm around her tightens and they both reach for the guns stashed under their pillows. They're less awake then their attackers, though, and aren't quick enough for three Widows and a band of Hydra agents.
Natalia is ripped off the bed and pinned to the ground by her sisters. Above her, James shouts her name as he's restrained just as quickly.
"Don't hurt her!" he shouts, fighting against the restraints around his arms and the agents holding him back.
"Silence, Asset," an agent hisses. "Your time is over."
They're escorted out of the safehouse and locked in opposite cells on the transport jet. It's telling that the Red Room thought to send a jet with lockable cells to retrieve them: they'd known long before the two were sent on their mission.
It's Petrovitch that's waiting for them when they're finally back in Russia. The flight hadn't been long enough, in Natalia's mind, but it had been too long for James. They both knew what was waiting for them.
"Stupid girl," Petrovitch snarls at Natalia.
She doesn't make any move to defend herself either physically or verbally. It grates on James, but snapping at her handler won't do either of them favors so he bites back a snarl of his own.
"And you, Asset." Petrovitch turns to him but James's face stays blank. "You'll have to be dealt with too."
He and Natalia stay silent as they're led deep into the bowels of the KGB, surrounded by Hydra agents and Widows even though they know better than to fight. When they reach where Petrovitch is taking them, the Widows leave and only the agents remain.
Natalia's stuttered gasp isn't hidden from him as they're pushed through the door and James fights his restraints. The sight of the familiar chair has him summoning every ounce of strength he possesses because there's no fucking way he's letting them put Natalia in that thing.
"Do not fight, Asset," his handler warns, appearing in front of him with a scowl.
James doesn't listen to him. His restraints are strong, but he'll die before he sees Natalia in that godforsaken chair.
Behind him, Natalia screams and he turns sharply. There's a knife in her shoulder and she's kneeling on the ground with an agent above her. The distraction is enough for several agents to wrangle him into the chair and this time when Natalia shouts, it's not for herself.
"No!" she cries, fighting against her own restraints. "No, James! Please don't." She turns to his handler and James sees the tears in her eyes as she begs him, "Please don't. I'll do anything, please!"
"Love is forbidden," his handler snarls at her. "You commit the crime, you pay the price."
"Do me first, then," Natalia begs and James protests immediately.
"Natalia, no!"
"That is not your price," his handler tells her coolly. He walks over to where Natalia is still pinned on the ground and roughly grabs her face. "You will remember," he hisses, "while he will forget."
The machine whirs to life and James's eyes lock on Natalia's as he processes his handler's words.
"Please, no," Natalia begs again.
The tears in her eyes make their way down her face and James can't help but think that he doesn't want this to be his last memory of her: bloodied and crying on a cement floor.
"Live with this memory," Petrovitch sneers, pulling Natalia to her feet. "Remember what you did."
"No, Natalia, it's not―"
James's words are cut off as an agent shoves the mouthpiece between his lips and lowers the helmet.
He wants to tell her it's alright. It's not her fault. He wants to promise that he'll love her even after they scramble his brain and he forgets her, but he can't. The pain is overwhelming and soon it's the only thing he knows. The last thing he hears is her scream before everything slips from his mind.