#nataliaaaaa

the apartment wasn't much to look at, just another rented place tucked between a laundromat and a corner grocery in a neighborhood where people minded their own business, which was exactly why steve had picked it. after washington, after s.h.i.e.l.d came apart and hydra's decay spilled into the open for the whole world to see, he'd learned to appreciate places that asked nothing of him past paying the rent on time. the television murmured from across the room with another panel of commentators trying to explain the collapse of an intelligence agency they'd never truly understood, though steve had long since stopped listening. reports, maps, and photographs were scattered across the kitchen table instead, every spare hour spent tracing rumors that might point him toward one man who had disappeared before either of them had been given the chance to remember who they were to each other.

the knock at the door came well after midnight.

he was already on his feet before the second knock arrived, crossing the apartment in silence while instinct insisted on checking the peephole first. the woman standing on the other side gave him pause for only a moment. for a while, he'd wondered if he'd ever see her again.

ever since s.h.i.e.l.d had fallen, natasha had slipped back into the world she'd spent her life figuring out, disappearing with little more than the certainty that she could survive wherever she landed. after everything the internet now knew about her, after every classified file and carefully guarded secret had been dragged into public view, steve had figured she'd need distance more than company. he'd respected that, even if it meant months passing without so much as a phone call.

the moment he opened the door, every other thought faded.

blood had soaked through one side of her jacket, one hand clamped over the wound with the sort of trained pressure that told him she'd been holding herself together for longer than she should have. her expression gave little away, but she'd come here, and that alone told him more than words ever could. his gaze swept the hallway on instinct, checking both directions before resting on her again.

"...you're hurt."

it wasn't really a question. he stepped aside immediately, one hand already reaching for her arm to help guide her inside.