𝙎𝘼𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙉 ✮ 𝘯. 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧

{13} - 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭

Hidden Location

Washington, D.C., USA

April 2014

SEMNA sat rigidly, massaging her wrists underneath the table. She ran her fingers absentmindedly over each muscle, never truly applying much pressure. She was used to the feeling, so her hands were no longer sore; rather, she was trying to avoid the many pairs of eyes she could feel fixating on her battered form.

Captain Rogers sat beside her, along with the man she encountered on the bridge—she learned his name was Sam. She also hadn't heard the Captain speak more than a few words, but it was what was best for now. Semna didn't think she could explain to him the horrible things his best friend has had to endure in the time they spent apart. She could hardly believe what had happened to James since the last time she spoke to him, the night before he was wiped of everything he knew.

It was hard to believe that was only two nights ago. Two nights ago, she still had her best friend right by her side, talking her through the troubling times and picking her up with clever anecdotes. Now, she has a shell of that man. She was more unsure than she had ever been about James. Normally, the routine wipes of his memory were nothing more than a bump in the road, one that he overcame in enough time to tell her another story about his life before Hydra. She would always listen eagerly, writing it down word-for-word in her journal. Every time they wiped him, she could still see remnants of her James. And, every time, she could weed out the bad that Hydra tried to put into his brain. She could make him remember Semna and their friendship.

Except this time. This time, he was a stranger who had no signs of the personality she could once see in James. This time, Semna knew there was no going back.

And if she felt this way about the loss of her best friend, she could not imagine the pain Captain Rogers had felt all these years of not knowing whether James was even alive.

The room had been silent for several minutes now. Semna wasn't sure what they wanted help with, exactly, but she wasn't willing to offer up everything she knew about Hydra; not just yet. She had faith she could trust Natalia, but she was not completely sold on everybody else in the room. Natalia already knew a lot more about Semna than anybody, both the good and the bad. But, even then, there was a thirteen year gap between now and the last time they had both seen each other. A lot can happen in thirteen years.

Reluctantly, Semna looked up to Natalia, taking in her appearance. The one thing she always remembered about her was the unwavering confidence in her character. No matter what challenges came her way, Semna never saw her break her resolve. She was always a rock that Semna could lean on when things got tough. Yet today, Natalia leaned back in her seat, her shoulders slumped. Her arms were folded over her chest as she stared down at the table. Semna mirrored her completely, stumbling over her thoughts, one occurring more often than the others—

How the hell did they end up here?

Semna's breath hitched as Natalia's eyes came up to meet her own.

However, the looks the two women shared now were entirely different than they were in the fight. This time, Natasha knew exactly who she was looking at. The icy eyes weren't just the spectacles of a Hydra soldier anymore; these were the same eyes that her teenage self would get lost in all those years ago, and the ones that once admired the stars as if they would leave at any moment. They had shared enough nights together to have an entire conversation without having to utter a word.