[Audio] backdated to the 28th

[madesacrifices]

[The audio clicks on and Natasha's soft grunts of pain can be heard]

What if I fail?

Never fail... I will never fail. It's cleaner that way...

[Two consecutive rounds of three shots fired can be heard]

Bozhe moi (my God)

[The feed clicks off with a curse]

Comments

[somewhereintime]

No.

[When he was invited to come in, the first thing he did after closing the door was walk over to where she was and the concern was evident on his face.]

I'm fine, but you want to tell me what happened?

[madesacrifices]

[ She couldn't meet Steve's eyes so she trained her eyes on the floor. She shrugged, embarrassed. She was too shaken to even think of a snappy comeback. ]

You know same stuff different day.

[somewhereintime]

[Steve sighed and took a look past Natasha at the room itself. She had been the one to initiate affection between them, including that kiss on the escalator that never quite managed to work its way out of his head.]

Did it ever get this bad before being here?

[Was it this place maybe? Either way he's concerned because she's a good friend of his and he would protect her as long as he could, including carrying her out of burning buildings and protecting her with his shield as he'd done before.]

[madesacrifices]

[She sighed softly as she looked down at the gun in her hand and the holes in the floor. She knew what she needed... or wanted, but she didn't know if she could force herself to ask for it. She turned slightly, stepping away from Steve to store the gun away... under her mattress but semantics. ]

It's what I saw when Wanda got in my head but worse... They... I was shooting you, and now I can't get the image out of my head.

[She is crying but is so upset that she hardly notices instead she grabs Steve's arm, holding on tightly.]

I... could being here do this?

[somewhereintime]

[When Natasha moved away from him, Steve just kept his eyes trained on her. Something seemed to really be bothering her, but he wasn't sure how to ask other than he had. He'd given her the opportunity to talk but maybe she didn't want to. But then hearing more of what she had seen..and she was shooting him in the vision? That wasn't good.]

This place could do a lot of things since we're not home. And we don't know all of the things it can do.

[Now he was more worried than he was before. But he had to be strong for her and that's exactly what he was going to do. Anything he would've said after that though went out of his head as she clung to him.]

We're gonna be ok, I promise.

[madesacrifices]

[Natasha knew that she was being weak and everything that she abhorred. But there was something about this place that knocked all of her usual defenses out of whack. ]

I believe you. But how can you be so sure, Steve?

[somewhereintime]

Because we've been through a lot worse than winding up in a different world.

[Another reason was because Thanos wasn't here, and it'd been hell on him before Nat got here. Being in a different world was frustrating and they needed to go back to their own timeline. But while they were trapped here and if Yuna had been right that time froze back there, then they just had to be patient.]

[madesacrifices]

I hate feeling like this. I wish there was something I could punch but my own memories? I thought that... it doesn't matter.

You don't have to stay. I'll be okay. I always am.

[She doesn't really want him to leave but she doesn't know how to ask him to stay either. ]

[somewhereintime]

"Thought what?" Steve asked gently. He wasn't sure if he should reach out for her or not, even though between the two she was way more 'touchy feely' as Tony put it.

But his head cocked to the side when she said he didn't have to stay and he put a slight joking tone in his voice. "Trying to get rid of me already Nat? And here I didn't even offer to cook for you yet."