Cold as Ice - WinterWidow One-Shots

i know you

Summary: As soon as her eyes meet Bucky's, he's hit with a gut-wrenching pain. Her eyes meet his and there's an echo of a scream and a sharp memory tears to the front of his mind, but he can't place it. He knows one thing is sure, though: he knows her.

A/N: italics represent Russian

It takes a year before Bucky finally lets Steve find him. He's known his old friend has been searching for him, but he needs time―time to figure out who he is, time to figure out what he wants, and time to figure out what to do. Eventually, he decides to just let Steve catch him―what's the worst that could happen?―and he finds himself proudly escorted back to New York City.

"I'll introduce you to the team when you're ready," Steve promises.

It's another week before Bucky agrees, but Steve doesn't seem to mind and takes him up to the common floor almost immediately.

As soon as he steps out of the elevator, Steve takes him over to where a vaguely familiar man is sitting. When he introduces him as Sam and the man gives him a slightly too-firm handshake, he puts two and two together.

"We've met before," he says. Sam nods. "Washington."

"Bingo," Sam says drily. "You owe me a car, by the way."

After that, he meets a man named Bruce who seems quiet enough and then Tony who offers to rebuild his prosthetic arm. Steve explains that two of the others are gone―a guy named Thor and someone named Clint―but grumbles about not being able to find someone named "Nat".

When they return from Tony's lab to the common room where Sam still is, Bucky freezes.

A redhead is talking with Sam in the kitchen and hasn't seen them yet, but Bucky seems to have lost all thought and function at the sight of her.

"Nat!" Steve calls, pushing Bucky into the kitchen to meet her.

"Nat" turns and as soon as her eyes meet Bucky's, he's hit with a gut-wrenching pain. Her eyes meet his and there's an echo of a scream and a sharp memory tears to the front of his mind, but he can't place it. He knows one thing is sure, though: he knows her.

"Natalia," he breathes.

He's not sure where the name came from, but he's certain it's hers. Her eyes widen and her breath catches. He's right.

"James, what―" She glances at Steve, her eyes still wide. "What is this?"

"I found him," Steve says, though he sounds less proud and more concerned. "It's okay, Nat. It's not like in Washington."

"He's got his own brain," Sam chimes in.

Neither of their reassurances seems to help. She's still staring at him like she's seen a ghost and there's a painful pounding at the base of his skull. He knows that he knows her, but he can't remember how.

"What is this?" she demands again, this time in Russian and directed at him. "How are you―what―?"

"I know you," Bucky murmurs. Her shoulders tense and he frowns. "I don't know how, though."

"Keep it that way," she tells him sharply. She's gone before he can blink.

* * * * *

That night, he's pulled awake by a nightmare that's too vivid to be his imagination. The scream echoes through his head again as he pushes himself out of his bed with shaking hands. He has to find her.

Steve is fast asleep and Bucky is much too silent to wake him as he crosses the floor to the elevator. He doesn't know which level is hers, but he gets it right on the second try if the leather jacket hanging by the elevator is anything to go by.

The lights are off, but he makes his way through her floor without too much hassle. He knocks into a wall once and stumbles into the bathroom, but eventually, he finds her bedroom. When he hesitates, the scream tears through his mind again and he's hit with the same overwhelming sensation as when he met her. He needs to see her again.

He throws open the door and she's waiting for him, gun raised as she stands in her pj's.

"Natalia."

The gun wavers in her hand but she doesn't lower it.

"What are you doing here, James?"

There's an aching silence as they stare at each other. He's not sure how to explain that he knows her (now, anyway) but she must see it in his eyes because she drops the gun.

Taking a hesitant step towards him, she murmurs, "James?"

It's enough for him. He reaches forward and tugs her to him. As soon as she's in his arms, he feels like he can breathe for the first time in decades. Even after so many years, she's familiar in his arms and he doesn't want to ever let go again.

"I'm sorry," he mutters, burying his face in her hair. "I'm sorry I never came back."

"You didn't know," she whispers. Her voice shakes and she holds him a little tighter.

"I'm sorry," he mutters again. "I'll never leave again."

He's not sure if he can really keep that promise, but he does stay with her for the rest of the night. It does little to make up for the decades of being gone, but it quiets the scream in his head that he now knows is hers. At the very least, he's able to sleep peacefully when he's with her again.

A/N: I'm not sure I'm too happy with this, but it's my first time writing these two so hopefully I'll be able to figure out the rhythm here soon. Hope you guys enjoyed it all the same!