au!winter soldier

[fallenson]

Of course I'm laughing.

Look at you. You don't even know what to do with me, now that you have me.

Oh, you know what I'm good for. But that's not what you're after. I can see it. There's no mission here, no information. You just cut my tether to see what I'd do with freedom.

The thing is, there's always someone willing to pay for what I do.

Mm. You're disappointed, now. Well that's boring.

Tell you what, if I'm going to be here for a while, you might as well let Natalia know she can stop hiding. I could use some decent company.

Comments

[widowing]

[ natasha doesn't underestimate anyone, and steve is one that is often underestimated in spite of everyone knowing the legend. people forget that before he was enhanced, he still knew the technique of fighting and shooting, had been in countless fights he'd refused to back down from. he'd become an expert in his field, knew how to strategize and how to use people in battle in the most efficient manner. he's dangerous enough without the red room using him as a tool.

this knowledge, these thoughts, are things she's kept filed away, locked in a distant corner of her mind in hopes of never having to bring them back out. that she's encountered him like this makes her glad she did, reinforces her belief that one can never be too paranoid (just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.). everyone is capable of falling.

that doesn't mean they can't be pulled out, that they can't be saved, but some don't want to be. ]

Извините, что заставил вас ждать. [ a beat. ] Что вы хотите?

[fallenson]

Знакомое лицо.

[ That smile widens, like it's some private joke they're sharing, except that no one is laughing. They still stand on opposite sides of a line, with eyes on their backs from either side. It's less a question of what they would do of their own accord, and more what the other might be asked to do. ]

Может быть, я почувствовал ностальгию.

[ There's something odd about the way she looks at him. It's not the detachment, that he expects. It's the anxious edge underneath the calm, the wonder of how best to take him down if she needs to.

As though she never had to before. That's odd enough to stand out. She's trained with him, sparred against him countless times. She knows him inside and out. So why that look now? ]

[widowing]

[ she and steve have sparred together before, and the outcome is about even every time. sometimes one just edges out over the other, but the victor never wins by too large a margin. it might be easier to take him out this way if this conversation comes to that, she realizes. they've obviously worked together, must have had similar training, even if he was the one who taught her what she knows. ]

Насколько знакомы мы говорим?

[ she's pretty sure the question's unnecessary, that she can guess the answer even if things aren't quite the same. ]

[fallenson]

[ There's a knowing look given then, chiding her quietly for even having to ask. For playing the game so close to the vest. Is there really a need? ]

Не волнуйтесь. Я просто хотел разговор с кем-то компетентным.

[ If he'd meant to be a threat to her, she'd have sensed the trap sooner than this. ]

what it's supposed to say is 'i just wondered if certain things were the same'.

[widowing]

[ there's not, or there wouldn't be if she had confirmation that things had progressed the same way, or at least similarly, to the way she remembers. in the end, she supposes it doesn't matter, and she shrugs. ]

Я не беспокоюсь. Я просто подумал, что все было то же самое.

[ a hint that she's not the one he remembers, that they're from separate universes. they can't be that different, at least not for her, if the same events took place, but she's curious as to how the rest of the world fared without their hero. (because captain america's duty was to save the world, not just his country.) ]

[fallenson]

[ He'd suspected as much, or at least half-suspecting. The confirmation means that this Natalia might share the same history as his, but with none of the other...complications.

Well. That'll make things easier in the long run, won't it? ]

И то, что так сильно отличается?

[widowing]

Это был не ты.

[ it's a vaguer answer than the one she knows he's asking for, but she's pretty sure it answers enough. for now. if he asks for more specifics, she'll offer them. ]

[fallenson]

Then who?

[ The switch to English is abrupt, perhaps a signal of his annoyance with the situation. The lack of patience. He's maintaining his cool otherwise, but the stranger in front of him wearing his...wearing Natalia's face has quietly put his hackles back up. ]

[widowing]

[ she can hear the shift in his tone, sense the anger and impatience even if he's remaining calm. she's very, very good at reading people, and why wouldn't someone be frustrated at being told he's not who he knows he is. (she doesn't brace herself in case things suddenly go wrong; she's been prepared for that since this conversation began.) ]

James. James Barnes.

[fallenson]

Never heard of him.

[ A lie. He knows the name, it's on file. One of his intended targets for a future mission, someone they're keeping a very close watch on.

Him and the rest of his team, the 'Avengers'. But this Natalia doesn't need that information, and he won't surrender anything easily, now that he knows. ]

[widowing]

[ if she's surprised, she doesn't show it. and she's not, not really. the red room likes to play with your mind, to pull out what it doesn't need and hide it somewhere deep inside if it can't get rid of it altogether (and it very rarely can, not entirely; if something or someone makes an impact it always leaves some kind of impression). and it's not as if the man she knew as the winter soldier could have told you anything about steve rogers. ]

Names tend to get buried. [ beneath programming and training and overwriting, and maybe he's lying to her (he's got no reason not to), but it does make her wonder what james's fate was where he's from. ]

[fallenson]

You're saying I should know him, then.

[ Even if he had felt anything at all, hearing that name, he wouldn't have shown it to her. His Natalia, well, that's another story. He knows what side she stands on, no matter who she's working for.

This woman is unknown, offering what could be a glimpse into how things might have been, and could be simply a well-constructed attempt to disorient him. It remains to be seen. ]

Why? I'm the only Winter Soldier there's ever been.

[widowing]

No, there was just a possibility you might. [ her arms have been crossed for most of the conversation, but now they lower. ]

That's the case where you're from. I happened to know a different one.

[fallenson]

[ And there's something like realization. Ah. Well then. If their histories are so similar, then that leaves room to assume who James is. At least in relation to her. ]

[widowing]

[ there's a small, bitter smile on her lips, because of course he's able to piece it together. ]

Sure it doesn't sound familiar?

[fallenson]

Perhaps he's a man worth getting to know.