Natasha and Steve get captured on a mission and sad shit goes down.
*this does have brief mentions of torture and rape but nothing too graphic*
Something had gone terribly wrong. It should've been simple. Steve was going to go in and take out the guards while Natasha downloaded information on the terrorist group so that they'd be able to form a take-down mission later on.
They hadn't expected it to be a trap.
They had done everything according to plan. Natasha had the information and Steve was taking out the guards as they attacked him with ease. If they hadn't been ambushed by a whole different group, things probably would have gone exactly to plan.
They had taken Steve first, sneaking up behind him and holding several guns to his head and not giving him any way of fighting back. If he did, he'd undoubtedly end up with a bullet in his head.
"Steve! Status?" She asked through her coms, running through the hall with the flash drive full of information attached to her belt.
Steve cursed when he felt a knife against his throat, "I'm surrounded Nat. Make a run for it."
"Not gonna happen Rogers. What's your location?"
One of his assailants pressed the gun further into his head.
"Tell her," One of them whispered.
Steve shook his head, "If you come here they might get you too. Call for extraction and find me later. I'll be fine."
He yelled out in pain when the same man from earlier stabbed the knife that had previously been against his neck into his thigh.
"Rogers what's your location?" Natasha demanded again.
"Natasha get out of here!" He yelled back into his coms, tempted to fight back against the five men holding him back, but by now, one of them had put some type of vibranium handcuffs on him that he knew he wasn't going to be able to break.
Natasha didn't respond over the coms this time. He heard gunshots first, two of them within only a few seconds, followed by two of the men around him falling to the ground.
"Found you," Natasha said, throwing a widow bite at one of the others as she stabbed a knife into the leg of another, bringing down four of the six in seconds.
But before she could make a move on the others, at least 25 more people rushed into the room with guns pointed at both Natasha and Steve.
"Stand down or I'll shoot him," The man holding a gun to Steve yelled.
Natasha's eyes flickered to Steve's quickly before scowling at their enemies. It was her wordless way of reminding him the most crucial part of their relationship.
If they were ever captured, she had made him swear that he would hide all evidence of their relationship so that it wouldn't be used against them.
He gave her another look that told her he understood and then grunted as they forced him to his feat. Natasha frowned as she caught sight of the knife still lodged in his thigh.
They handcuffed Natasha roughly and she frowned as one of the men got a little too frisky, driving her foot into his knee hard enough so that he fell with a painful yelp.
"Be careful with the bitch. She's a nasty one," He growled, hobbling back to his feet and slapping Natasha across the face.
She spat at him and tried not to look at Steve as he tensed up and gritted his teeth. All he wanted right now was to slam his fist into the face of that man and make sure Natasha was alright but he knew that any sign of concern for her health could be bad for them.
They were both dragged into a jet and throw onto the ground besides each other while men aimed guns at them to assure that neither one would fight back.
Steve longed to reach out for Natasha, to brush his thumb over the red mark forming on her cheek.
"They told me it was suicide to try and take down the Black Widow and Captain America at once," One of the men said, clearly he was leading this group, "They didn't know what I do."
Natasha frowned, keeping her eyes off Steve despite her growing worry for him. She kept her eyes locked on the arrogant man in front of them as he continued talking.
"You see, I've got a friend over at SHIELD who goes to a lot of parties. From what he tells me, you two are pretty close."
Steve's heart began racing and he kept his mouth shut. Natasha scoffed, "Close? We work together. Close isn't professional."
Steve tried not to let her words bother him. She loved him and he knew it. Close was an understatement.
But still, the sheer disgust in her voice which he knew was an act seemed to hurt so much more then it should have.
"It's also dangerous isn't it Natalia. It can be used against you in ways that are...cruel," The man whispered, walking over to Steve with a knife in hand.
Natasha's jaw clenched slightly, though she did well at hiding it, "More reason for us to not be close. We're nothing more then teammates."
The man grinned, "I guess we'll see about that."
He walked away from Steve and disappeared into the front of the plane.
Natasha glanced over at Steve, her face still passive but a look in her eyes that only he could read telling him to just trust her.
They were in the jet for another hour before it landed and once again, he and Natasha were dragged into a small building. Once inside, they were thrown into a glass cell not unlike the one SHIELD had for the Hulk.
"Don't bother trying to break out of this cell. You'll be wasting your time."
With that, the man left the two in the cell alone without any guards.
Steve wanted to take the moment alone to run to Natasha and check on her but she was still standing in the back of the cell with her back against the glass. Maybe she knew something he didn't.
She kept her eyes locked on something and Steve frowned, confusion filling his features until he followed her gaze to a camera pointed at their cell.
He sighed in understanding.
They weren't alone.
They were being watched.
Natasha sank to the ground and discreetly caught Steve's eyes, letting her gaze linger a moment over his leg.
Steve looked down at the wound and realized that it hadn't stopped bleeding yet.
His hands were still cuffed so he couldn't do anything about it. Instead, he leaned back against the glass barrier and hoped his serum would heal it quickly.
The two sat in silence for hours, Natasha didn't say a word, so neither did Steve. He would follow her lead no matter how hard it was to act so distant from her.
Eventually, the same man came back and stepped into the cell with three guards behind him.
"You say there's nothing between you and Captain Rogers, correct?" He asked Natasha.
Natasha nodded, "Nothing."
He walked towards Steve with a coiled up steel whip, "So you don't care what I do to him?"
Natasha's shoulders tensed up and she stared into the man's eyes with so much hatred, Steve half expected him to drop dead from the glare, "I never said that. SHIELD would have serious issues with me if I let you kill their beloved Captain America."
"I never said I'd kill him," The man taunted, unraveling the whip.
Natasha's eyes flickered to Steve's. He could see how terrified she was. This was going to be bad no matter what she did.
"If you're going to hit me. Do it," Steve said, breaking the tense silence.
The man laughed, "Alright then."
He brought his arm back before bringing it down on Steve's back, causing pain to ripple throughout his entire spine as he suppressed a yell of pain.
Another hit and he fell onto the ground, closing his eyes and refusing to scream.
Natasha watched with horror as the man continued to strike Steve. It was at least twenty times before he stopped to admire what he had done.
Steve's back was bloody and raw. His eyes were filled with unshed tears from the pain but he refused to let them fall. Natasha was staring at him intensely, her own eyes glossy as she watched him struggle to stand back up.
"Still just teammates?" The man asked Natasha, "Because I don't quite believe you."
Natasha clenched her jaw, "I'll kill you."
The man laughed, "There it is boys. Turns out these two are closer then just teammates. Now Captain...just how close are you? Friends? Lovers?"
Steve didn't answer, instead he focused on his breathing and tried to block out the pain that was throbbing throughout his body.
"Nothing to say Captain? Well, I guess we know who wears the pants in their relationship."
Without another word, he punched Steve across the jaw and laughed when he hit the ground. Natasha fought against the cuffs holding her arms together, "Cuffs can only hold me for so long, and I promise you once I get out of these you're all going to die a painful and excruciating death."
"She cares for him more then I expected," The man said, "Let's go. We'll be back later to get the info."
Delivering another kick to Steve as they walked out, the man and his guards left the cell. Once they were outside, metal walls covered the glass ones and the two were left in near pitch dark.
The locks on both of their cuffs clicked undone and Natasha was quick to disguard of hers and run to Steve.
"Oh my god," She whispered, running her fingers over his jaw and then hovering one over his back, "I'm so sorry Steve. I'm so so sorry."
Tears fell down her cheek as Steve shook his head, "You didn't do anything Nat. They were going to do that no matter what you said. I'm just glad it wasn't you."
Natasha frowned, "It will be Steve. Somehow they figured out about us and now that they've got confirmation that we care for each other, they'll try and get information out of us by torturing the other."
Steve tried to sit up but was quickly knocked back onto his knees by the excruciating pain shooting through him, "Nat, I- I don't know if I can do that. I can endure torture my entire life, but watching them hurt you, that might break me."
Natasha gently undid the top of his suit, peeling it off his back and trying her best in the dark to make out how bad his injuries were, "I'll be okay Steve. Whatever they do to me, I'll be okay. Promise me you won't do what they say just to save my life."
Steve shook his head weakly, his voice coming out as a fragile whisper, "I can't do that Natasha."
She frowned, "You have to Steve. Please. Promise me you'll be as stubborn as always no matter what they do to me."
Steve looked at her, only making out part of her features in the darkness, "Fine but if it gets too much, tell me and we'll fight like hell to get out of here. No matter what."
Natasha nodded weakly, "Promise?"
"Promise," Steve whispered, giving her hand a weak squeeze.
Natasha sighed and held onto Steve's hand tightly, "I didn't mean anything I said earlier Steve."
Steve nodded, although she couldn't see it, "I know. You did what you needed to do. It's not your fault."
"I still hated having to say it," She whispered.
"I know, it's alright Nat," He promised.
She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around her neck loosely so she didn't hurt his back further.
"What's with the darkness?" Steve asked quietly, holding her hand tightly.
"It's to mess with our senses. They'll probably leave us in here like this for a few days and then bring us back into the light. You're eyes will probably adjust pretty quickly but mine won't. Not to mention the headaches we'll get once we're back in the light."
Steve frowned, "How are we going to get out of here?"
Natasha shook her head, "I don't know yet. This damn cell isn't gonna be easy to break out of."
"So we wait?" Steve asked.
"Until we can see what's outside this room, I don't think we have a choice," Natasha whispered, trying to soothe Steve as he winced from the pain in his back.
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They were left in the darkness for three days. Twice, they had been given water but they hadn't eaten since the day they were taken, which was proving worse for Steve then it was Natasha due to his high metabolism.
When the man came to take them, they were handcuffed again and chained up at the ankles and wrist along with around the neck.
They were led into the light again and like Natasha had said, Steve's senses were immediately thrown off. He thought he saw Natasha stumble but he couldn't tell through the blurriness of his vision.
They were taken into a room and strapped down to separate chairs across the room.
Now that Steve's vision had restores mostly, he could see Natasha frowning as she squinted in the new bright light.
"Captain, I'm interested to see if you care for Natalia as much as my friend tells me," The man said.
Steve kept his mouth shut.
"I get the feeling you'll be more hurt by this then she will," He said with a grin, walking over to Natasha with what looked like a taser.
Natasha struggled against the chains bounding her down and Steve did the same as one of the other people in the room dumped water on Natasha before the man pressed the taser to her stomach.
She yelped in pain quietly as he continued to shock her and Steve yanked against his chains, "Leave her alone! What do you want?"
The man laughed, "Where is Nick Fury?"
Steve frowned, locking eyes with Natasha, "Dead."
"Wrong answer," The man said, shocking Natasha again, this time drawing another scream from her lips despite how she tried to suppress it.
Steve clenched his jaw, remembering his promise to Natasha, "He's dead. I don't know what you want me to tell you but that's the truth."
"You're a terrible liar Captain, but the only one paying the price for that is going to be her...take her out of here."
Steve shook his head, "Don't touch her you asshole!"
The man came closer to Steve and held a knife to his throat, his vile breath invading Steve's senses, "Trust me Captain, I'll do more then touch her."
Steve broke one of the chains out of pure anger and swung a fist at the man, hitting him in the eye before he felt a sharp pain in his leg and fell to the ground.
"Feisty one aren't you?" He laughed, walking towards Natasha and dragging her chains away from Steve despite Natasha's efforts to fight against him.
Steve yelled again and fought against the men holding him back despite where he had been stabbed in the leg again. "Leave her alone!" He screamed, watching helplessly as the man walked away.
He was thrown back into the cell alone this time and was once again engulfed by the darkness as he pounded at the walls, screaming Natasha's name.
They didn't throw her back into the cell for another seven hours, and when they did...she was covered in blood and bruises.
"Nat?" Steve whispered, having a hard time seeing her in the darkness.
She didn't move for a moment, "Yeah."
Steve rushed towards her, cradling her against his chest tightly and frowning when she flinched at his touch before relaxing into it, "What'd they do to you Natasha?" He whispered, his voice raw with worry.
She shook her head, biting her lips to fight back tears, "Doesn't matter. I'm alright."
Steve shook his head and gently stroked her hair, "I thought they were going to kill you Nat..."
She leaned into his touch and sighed, "I'm okay."
Steve just nodded, not believing her but knowing better then to question her.
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Natasha had been counting the days since they were taken but between the darkness and the frequent beatings her and Steve were undergoing, she wasn't sure if it had been 12 or 13 days.
"Steve?" She whispered, her voice sounding like someone she didn't know.
"Yeah?" He asked, his throat as dry as hers...if not worse.
"How many days has it been? I was counting but I'm not sure any more."
Steve sighed, "13? They're giving us water every three days and we were last given food yesterday."
Natasha nodded, slightly mad at herself for not figuring that out earlier.
"The last time they took us out, I saw something," Steve started.
Natasha looked up, "A way out?"
Steve shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe. There's a door. At first I thought it would just a door to another room but last time someone came in through it and I could see trees. It looks like we're in the middle of a forest, but that's the door out of here."
"Where?"
"Third door on the left. It's guarded but not heavily."
For the first time Natasha felt a spark of hope, "We can take care of a few guards."
Steve nodded, "Maybe if we blitz them before they can chain us down we'll have a shot."
Natasha opened her mouth but before she could say anything, the door swung open and the man responsible for holding them walked in with a sick laugh, "I doubt that. You won't get the chance. Though I do admire your bravery."
He grabbed Natasha's arm and yanked her from Steve's grip. She swung at him and managed to hit his jaw but it didn't do anything to loosen his grip.
"Stupid bitch! What did I tell you about fighting me?" He yelled, kneeing her in the stomach and tugging on her hair as Natasha continued to fight back.
Steve stumbled to his feet and lunged at the man, only to be stopped by all of his bodyguards. He knocked one of them out but was tased by the others and fell back to the ground as they dragged Natasha away.
"No! Natasha! Let her go! Take me! Take me you son of a bitch!" Steve yelled.
He continued fighting against the men holding him until they threw him into the wall and left with Natasha, this time leaving the glass up.
Steve slammed his fist against the glass, ignoring his exhaustion as he watched them drag Natasha away and throw her down so that she was just out of his view.
The man looked at him with a sick grin and pulled out his gun, pointing it at where he had thrown Natasha.
Steve's eyes widened and he screamed at the man in vain. The glass was soundproof and he knew it was pointless to do anything, but he didn't care.
He continued banging on the glass and watched in horror as the man pulled the trigger.
Steve screamed and tried to fight the tears gathering in his eyes as he watched a pool of blood begin to seep from behind the wall.
He threw himself against the glass and continued when there was a small crack in the glass.
The man laughed and waved his hand, making two of his minions leave his side to disappear behind the wall.
Steve continued pounding against the glass until the man opened the door again, stepping in with a wide grin.
"I've gotta say Captain Rogers. I'm impressed. This glass was supposed to be indestructible. Sorry about that, but it was becoming clear that neither of you were ever going to give up any information so I figured I'd rather just convert a super soldier to do my bidding."
Steve lunged at the man and pinned him to the ground, holding his throat tightly, "I'll never help you. What did you do to her?"
The man somehow still managed a laugh, "I got rid of what I didn't need."
Steve shook his head, "You're lying!"
"Am I? You saw the blood. Why would I lie?" The man asked, snapping his fingers.
On queue, three men walked into the room and pried Steve off the man as Steve cried out.
"Sorry Captain, but I need your hopes down if I'm ever going to get you to comply."
Steve fell to the ground, "I'll never comply. Never."
"We'll see about that," The man said, walking out of the cell as Steve sat on the ground in utter shock.
The metal slammed shut around him and once again, Steve was stuck in the dark.
He stared silently into the blackness and tried to tell himself that the man was lying. Natasha couldn't be gone.
Not after all they had been through together.
If she was dead, then he had nothing to live for anymore.
He was going to get out of that hell hole one way or another.
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It was another 3 days before he got out.
Only, he didn't escape like he had planned to.
Clint and Tony had somehow found them and led an invasion of the base where they were being kept.
"Steve! Come on, we don't have much time. Let's go," Tony said, pulling Steve up and pulling him towards the door.
Steve shook his head, "Natasha..." He mumbled, his eyes blurry with tears.
"Clint will find her. But we've got to go," Tony reassured him, beginning to pull Steve away from the cell.
Steve shook his head, stuttering for words as Tony blew open the door and moved them towards the jet.
"Natasha...Tony she's-"
"Steve!"
Steve frowned, closing his eyes. His mind was playing tricks on him. Natasha was dead.
Tony set him down and Steve turned around, his eyes widening in shock when he saw Natasha limping towards him.
"You're alive?" She asked, throwing her arms around him as Steve shook his head.
"So are you. I thought...I thought they killed you Natasha. He told me you were dead. I watched him shoot you. There was blood."
Natasha shook her head, "He didn't shoot me. He killed one of the guards and then said he was going to kill you. I heard a gunshot and thought he had killed you."
Steve sighed, holding Natasha as tightly as he could without hurting her, "I love you so much Natasha. I'm so glad your okay."
She nodded, "I love you too."
"You guys alright back there?" Clint asked, starting the quinjet.
Natasha nodded, "We're okay...we're good." She whispered, wrapping her arms around Steve again.
Steve nodded, pressing a light kiss to Natasha's forehead, "I'm better now that you're here."
Natasha managed a small smile, "Sorry Rogers. You can't get rid of me that easy."
"I wouldn't if I could Nat. You're stuck with me."
Natasha smirked, "Good."
Steve just laughed and kissed her softly, letting himself rest for the first time in several weeks knowing that he and Natasha were both okay.
Hey guys. Sorry this took so long but it's a huge chapter so I hope that somewhat makes up for it lol. I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and if you did please comment and vote!
Next chapter should be up soon!