Katya woke up because someone shook her softly, not wanting to startle her too much.
Her eyes felt like lead, glued together by the lack of sleep. Her head throbbed, as did her shoulder, and her throat was as dry as the desert in summer heat.
''Hey, wake up, we're here,'' Natasha whispered from above, scanning Katya's dirty and bloody face. Hopefully, Steve's friend wouldn't be scared too much by three injured spies he barely knew on his doorstep. But he was their last hope, a safe place.
They desperately needed rest, food and medicine. Fighting a war when you're only at ten percent is not a good idea. And with SHIELD, you had to be at a hundred-and-ten percent if you wanted to have a shot at beating them.
Katya groaned as she sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes, looking at their surroundings trying to figure out where they were.
It was a nice neighborhood. Small, white houses with some woods around. They were definitely on the outskirts of the Capital, but you could still hear the traffic and business of the city center. A perfect place for someone who loves the city, but doesn't want the traffic to deal with. Someone who prefers peace and quiet, but doesn't want to be too far away from society.
Natasha helped Katya out of the car and kept her steady while walking up the steps to the front door. Since Steve knew the man best, he walked in the front and would do the talking.
Each step seemed to be higher and Katya had to focus all her energy on lifting her feet and not falling over. She really hoped the man had some good drugs in his house and a nice comfy bed. Although at this point, she would sleep on the floor with a stone as a pillow to get some rest.
Steve looked to his right when he stopped by the door, exchanging a look with Natasha that said: are you sure? But Natasha knew there was no other option and they had to take this risk. So Steve knocked on the glass of the white, wooden door, waiting for his friend to open the door.
He had just come back from a run. They saw him entering his house, so he was home. The bigger question was, will he let them in?
Footsteps came closer to the door, stopping just behind it. The blinds opened and they saw a very shocked and confused man eyeing the three people on his porch.
He didn't waste another second and opened the door, his eyes widening when they saw Katya's red-stained face and the dirt on their clothes. ''Hey man,'' he greeted Steve with a worried look on his face.
''I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low,'' Steve apologized, knowing that by bringing him into this conflict, his life was in danger too.
''Everyone we know is trying to kill us,'' Natasha added in a low voice, her arm wrapped around Katya desperately. She begged him to let them in.
The man's eyes flashed between the tree of them as he contemplated on whether to trust them and let them in. But he saw that they weren't kidding and they really were desperate.
''Not everyone,'' he finally said after a short pause, stepping aside.
Natasha didn't waste a second and pulled Katya into the house, out of the open and away from the danger. Steve followed quickly behind and his friend made sure they weren't followed before closing the door and closing the blinds.
''What's going on?'' he asked anxiously when he followed them to the living room, where Natasha carefully placed Katya down, who had zoned out and was in her own state. Somewhere between falling asleep and passing out.
''She's bad,'' Natasha said with a light panic in her voice, completely ignoring his question. ''Get me all the medicine you have and something to stitch that cut with,'' she ordered him. In any other situation, he would have frowned at the way she talked to him, but he could see how much she worried about Katya and left to do what she said without another word.
When Katya's head started falling to the side, Natasha tapped her cheek to keep her awake. ''Hey, hey, stay with me for a minute.'' She tried catching her gaze, but her blue eyes jumped all over the room.
''Tired,'' Katya mumbled under her breath, just loud enough to hear. She wanted to do nothing more than fall asleep on this couch again. How much rest did a person need?
Natasha would have smiled at her pleading whisper if Katya weren't in pain and so pale. ''I know. You can sleep after you take some medicine, okay?''
The man came back with his arms full of medicine and first aid stuff and dumped it all on the coffee table in front of the couch. Then he stalked off to get some bottles of water to swallow the pills with.
Natasha shifted through the pile of bottles and boxes for the strongest drugs she could find and shook them in her hand, gratefully accepting the water and pushing it all into Katya's hands.
Katya had just enough strength left to throw the pills in her mouth and bring the bottle to her lips. She drank the entire bottle in one go and let out a content sigh before laying down and falling asleep immediately.
''Damn,'' the man said impressed, eyeing the stranger on his couch. ''Does she always fall asleep that fast?''
Natasha let out a humorless chuckle. She had no energy to make conversation, but Katya sleeping peacefully and relieved of any pain made her feel a bit better. She could worry about her own state now.
''I'm Sam, by the way,'' he introduced himself as Natasha stood up. They'd met at the park, but didn't know her name. If you could call that a meeting though.
''Natasha,'' she replied, having no intention on shaking his hand or saying more than that. She didn't mean to be rude, but this wasn't the best first impression she had ever given someone. Sam understood though.
Sam nodded, looking at the woman sleeping peacefully on the couch. ''And your sleeping girlfriend over there?'' He asked. Katya didn't look too peaceful, a frown between her eyebrows even as she slept.
Natasha raised a questioning eyebrow. How did he figure out their relationship so quickly? And was she comfortable with him knowing that? Not many people knew for sure they were together. People suspected, but didn't know for sure.
Sam laughed lightly, dismissing her surprise. ''Oh, come on, I'm not blind. I see the way you look at her.''
''Katya,'' Natasha finally answered, grabbing a bottle of water herself and sitting down into the chair next to the couch, keeping a close eye on her girlfriend. That cut will have to be cleaned and stitched closed, but it could wait for now. She didn't want to risk waking Katya when she was sleeping so peacefully.
Steve, who knew Natasha was done with talking, cleared his throat to get Sam's attention and keeping him away from her for a while. ''Again, I'm really sorry about this. We didn't want to bring you into this, but we have nowhere else to go.''
''Ah, that's okay, man. I couldn't exactly say no to Captain America,'' he joked. ''But would anybody please tell me what's going on and why I have a sleeping, injured, drugged woman on my couch?''
Steve explained everything to Sam as Natasha cleaned herself up in the guest bathroom. Well, everything but a little summarized. He left some non-essential parts out and gave him enough so he understood the situation and why they had come to him.
''A whole building collapsed on your heads?'' Sam asked in disbelief when Steve told him about the bunker. ''And you're still alive? Well, at least now I know why you all look like you've clawed your way out of a grave.''
Natasha walked into the room without any warning, seeing the two men sitting around the coffee table, talking quietly and keeping an eye on Katya. ''Your turn,'' she said to Steve, taking her place next to Katya again.
She wasn't gonna lie, she was tired as well. And the sight of her girlfriend sleeping so peacefully made it even more tempting to look for the guest bedroom herself. But she feared if she gave in now, her body would shut down and there was no way she could fight.
Steve disappeared into the bathroom and Sam said he would make some food for them, so it was just her and Katya in the room. A glance at the clock on the wall told her they had been here an hour. The sun had come up hours ago and another night had passed.
Natasha listened to Katya's breathing, the ticking of the clock, the running water in the bathroom and Sam rummaging in the kitchen. It was peaceful, and for a while it felt like she could breathe again. Until all her thoughts came rushing back.
When you finally sit down and relax, everything that happened previously comes crashing in. It was surreal and hard to believe that everything that happened was real. That HYDRA had been inside SHIELD for decades. That they all had been working for HYDRA, and they had actually been the bad guys while believing to be the good ones.
Natasha never became 'good'. She never bettered her life, only traded one evil organization for the other.
She was so lost in her own head that she didn't notice Steve walking into the room, having cleaned up and looking a lot more alive. ''You okay?'' He asked when he saw her stare at the coffee table, completely zoned out.
Her head shot up, acting like nothing was going on. ''Yeah.'' She tried to sound convincing, but Steve saw right through her, something he couldn't with her before.
Natasha sighed when she saw that Steve didn't believe her and walked over to her instead, sitting on the table in front of her so they saw face to face and Natasha had no other option than to look at him.
''What's going on?'' He asked gently, not wanting to push any wrong buttons. But he cared about her state. Natasha hadn't had many people care about her before.
Katya stirred in her sleep, woken by the sudden noise in the room. She opened her eyes slightly to see what was going on, but shut them immediately when she saw Natasha and Steve having what looked like a serious conversation. It was not nice to eavesdrop, but she wanted to know what Natasha would say without any interference from her.
It was silent for a while. Probably Natasha deciding whether she was going to be honest or wave his concerns away. She surprised even Katya when an honest answer came out of her mouth. ''When I first joined SHIELD, I thought I was going straight.'' Her beautiful voice sounded more hoarse than normal. ''But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but...I guess I can't tell the difference anymore.'' She tried to make it sound lighthearted, but failed immensely.
Katya's decision to stay silent faltered, wanting nothing more than to reach out and grab her hand. But she knew Steve, and she knew that he would come up with some way to cheer her up and make her feel better, even though everything Natasha said was true and Katya felt the exact same.
''There's a chance you might be in the wrong business,'' Steve answered jokingly, using her own words from earlier against her. Natasha answered with a disbelieving scoff before the conversation fell silent again.
Katya thought the conversation was over altogether, about to open her eyes, when Natasha spoke again. ''I owe you,'' she whispered. And there was no explanation necessary to what she meant. Steve knew what she was talking about and so did Katya. They had that conversation earlier.
''It's okay,'' Steve dismissed statement her gently.
''If it was the other way around, and it was down to us to save your life, and you be honest with me, would you trust us to do it?'' This was a big question to ask. Steve knew about all the lies they told. The double agendas and the secrets. He didn't know who they were and if you don't know someone, you can't trust them. And apparently, Natasha really wanted Steve to trust her.
''I would now,'' Steve answered confidently without thinking about it too long. ''And I'm always honest.''
Natasha was clearly done with the emotional stuff and turned back into her own, sarcastic self. ''Well, you seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing.''
Steve mirrored her smile. ''Well, I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting.''
''I made breakfast. If you guys... eat that sort of thing,'' Sam interrupted their conversation and Katya had to force herself not to smile or chuckle at his comment. She decided to like the guy. He was funny and let three total strangers into his home. Well, they were not total strangers, they were the Avengers, but still.
''Go ahead,'' Natasha said to Steve. ''I'll catch up with you.''
There was some rustling and some fading footsteps until it was quiet again. ''You can open your eyes now, Katya.''
Katya groaned as she opened her eyes and turned on her back, stretching her stiff legs and back, already feeling the soreness set in. ''Damn, you knew I was awake the whole time?''
A smile formed on Natasha's lips as she watched her wake up on the couch. ''You forget that I sleep next to you every night and I know what you look like when you're sleeping. You woke up right after Steve walked in.''
''Three days without a job and I'm already losing my touch,'' Katya joked as she tried to sit up. ''Well you look better,'' she said as she eyed Natasha's clean face and hair, the red strands still wet from the shower and a little darker because of it. It also started curling slightly, her own hairstyle that she suppressed by straightening her hair every morning. Katya had complained a lot, telling her that she loved the curls, but it was no use. Natasha was just as stubborn as her.
''You don't,'' Natasha said concerned, looking at the cut on her forehead and the dark circles under her eyes.
''Jeez, thanks Nat,'' Katya countered sarcastically as she felt at the cut on her head, her hand coming back with dried blood on it.
Natasha completely ignored Katya and continued staring at her concerned. Like a mother whose daughter fell out of a tree. ''How do you feel?''
''Like a building fell on top of me.''
Natasha looked at her with a look that said: really? ''At least you didn't lose your sense of humor.'' She stood up, extending a hand to help Katya up from the couch. ''Let's get that stitched and get you cleaned up. You look like a building fell on top of you.''
''I hate you,'' Katya said with a glare as she accepted Natasha's help and started making their way over to the bathroom.
''No, you don't.''
''No, I don't.''