When Steve responds with nothing more than a simple ‘you’ll see’, Natasha flashes him a look that both conveys her impatience and annoyance. She keeps her words to herself, however, because despite how frustrating it is to be led blindly to who-knew-where, it’s relieving to know that he doesn’t consider rattling off an easy lie to lull her into a false sense of comfort. ‘To finish your registration’ or something similar and equally passive would have been nothing more than a red flag to Natasha, but those who are trying to convince someone into fake security don’t keep things vague. They keep them convincing.
Her relief is short lived, however, when the elevator doors open to reveal a long and winding hallway that looks anything but welcoming. She lingers in the elevator for a second, watching the back of Steve’s head as he steps out and begins to lead her into the abandoned underground, and this time Natasha is genuinely shocked at herself when she steps into the hall to follow him. This place is strange, to say the least, and she can’t help but think that it would be the perfect location to bring a well experienced spy in order to find out just what she knows. Thick walls, nobody to hear her if something went wrong… a sudden wave of nausea hits her when she realizes that she’s afraid, and she doesn’t know if it’s because she’s considering the fact that Steve’s intentions are less than honorable or if it’s because she’s considering the fact that Steve’s intentions are less than honorable. He deserves more out of her than that and Natasha is angry at herself for even considering the alternative.
It’s when he leads her into the room that Natasha feels an overwhelming rush of emotion that almost stops her in her tracks. Relief, because this is so obviously not a place that the Computer is aware of. Concern, because these are Tony’s things, and Tony doesn’t seem to be in the room so… where is he? And, above all else, she feels guilt, because how could she have ever doubted Steve in the first place? “Don’t get emotional on me now, Rogers, we’ve got reputations to uphold,” she responds distantly, her eyes still scanning around the room to take in as much information as she can, and when they finally fall on Steve they’re filled with something that can only be described as affection. Perhaps even gratitude, because seeing Steve get turned into nothing more than a tool for a tyrannical system would have been - in that moment the realization strikes Natasha to her very core. That though – that fear – must be what it feels like for Steve when he sees The Winter Soldier take down a public street of innocent lives. Someone he has so much faith in turned into something he doesn’t even recognize… the dread of that is something that Natasha recognizes she only felt, but he saw it. She feels guilty now for completely different reasons.
”You can’t get rid of me that easily,” she finally manages to continue, her eyes finally falling away from him to break the moment because she’s never been comfortable with how invested she is in his well being. “But let’s start off with, what are we doing to take this thing down? It’s a machine, Rogers, it’s brainwashing innocent people, punishing them, using them…” She scoffs humorously with a shrug, her eyes rolling as she looks around the room once again. “Feels just like home.” She says it under her breath before her eyes close and she runs her fingers through her hair in anxiety. They were going to be talking for a while.
“Is there anywhere to sit in here? Because I have a feeling that we’re going to be talking for a while.”
no subject
Her relief is short lived, however, when the elevator doors open to reveal a long and winding hallway that looks anything but welcoming. She lingers in the elevator for a second, watching the back of Steve’s head as he steps out and begins to lead her into the abandoned underground, and this time Natasha is genuinely shocked at herself when she steps into the hall to follow him. This place is strange, to say the least, and she can’t help but think that it would be the perfect location to bring a well experienced spy in order to find out just what she knows. Thick walls, nobody to hear her if something went wrong… a sudden wave of nausea hits her when she realizes that she’s afraid, and she doesn’t know if it’s because she’s considering the fact that Steve’s intentions are less than honorable or if it’s because she’s considering the fact that Steve’s intentions are less than honorable. He deserves more out of her than that and Natasha is angry at herself for even considering the alternative.
It’s when he leads her into the room that Natasha feels an overwhelming rush of emotion that almost stops her in her tracks. Relief, because this is so obviously not a place that the Computer is aware of. Concern, because these are Tony’s things, and Tony doesn’t seem to be in the room so… where is he? And, above all else, she feels guilt, because how could she have ever doubted Steve in the first place? “Don’t get emotional on me now, Rogers, we’ve got reputations to uphold,” she responds distantly, her eyes still scanning around the room to take in as much information as she can, and when they finally fall on Steve they’re filled with something that can only be described as affection. Perhaps even gratitude, because seeing Steve get turned into nothing more than a tool for a tyrannical system would have been - in that moment the realization strikes Natasha to her very core. That though – that fear – must be what it feels like for Steve when he sees The Winter Soldier take down a public street of innocent lives. Someone he has so much faith in turned into something he doesn’t even recognize… the dread of that is something that Natasha recognizes she only felt, but he saw it. She feels guilty now for completely different reasons.
”You can’t get rid of me that easily,” she finally manages to continue, her eyes finally falling away from him to break the moment because she’s never been comfortable with how invested she is in his well being. “But let’s start off with, what are we doing to take this thing down? It’s a machine, Rogers, it’s brainwashing innocent people, punishing them, using them…” She scoffs humorously with a shrug, her eyes rolling as she looks around the room once again. “Feels just like home.” She says it under her breath before her eyes close and she runs her fingers through her hair in anxiety. They were going to be talking for a while.
“Is there anywhere to sit in here? Because I have a feeling that we’re going to be talking for a while.”