Chapter Forty:
Hammer And Sickle

( tw: torture, racism )

"I'll miss you." Ramona admitted, staring sadly at him.

"I'll miss you, too." Will said sadly, a frown etched on his face.

"Don't let any assholes push you around, okay?" Ramona ruffled his hair before her hands fell to his shoulders. "Give me a call, I'll have Steve drive me up there and I'll beat their asses."

"But-"

"I'm still seventeen, it's not child endangerment yet." Ramona joked, her eyes glancing behind him at Jonathan before falling back to Will. "See you around, little man."

"After awhile,  crocodile." Will replied, pulling her into a quick hug. Ramona stepped aside, allowing the party to step in to talk to him.

"Jonathan." Ramona smiled up at him, "Don't let any shitheads say shit to him."

"I won't." Jonathan nodded, pulling Ramona into a hug. She rested her head against his chest, sighing to herself. "I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you, too." Ramona admitted, "But I'll keep Nancy safe, don't worry."

Jonathan laughed sadly, pulling away to wipe away the tears. "Okay.."

"See you later.." Ramona said, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"See you later, Ramona."

~~

Even as Ramona's physical scars faded, she wasn't so sure that her mental scars would ever fade. 

Without fail, night after night, Ramona was plagued with nightmares. Almost so real that for minutes, sometimes extending into painfully long hours, it was impossible to tell that it was just that.

A nightmare.

Blood stained Ramona's clothes, her hair stuck to her forehead and the blinding fluorescent lights flickered above her head.

Her body ached and her eyes burned. In her current state, even breathing felt like a chore. Dark purple and yellow bruises littered her golden skin.

All she wanted was to sleep. For only a moment.. just to be rid of the pain for a little while.

The sound of the metal door creaking open caused Ramona's heart to drop. "No.."

A whimper left her lips as she struggled against the restraints, "God, please.. No. Detente, detente.. por favor."

The general's eyes darkened as he leaned over her, blocking out the lights. Ramona squinted, turning her head away from him.

"Did we not talk about this? Here we speak English. Not your... monkey speak."

Ramona bit her lip, not having enough energy to fight back. "Fu... fuck you."

A bitter laugh, left his lips as he stood, turning to the two soldiers who stood by the door. "Get the... how do you say? Brand."

Tears stung Ramona's eyes as she was once again left in the darkness by herself.

~~

A piercing scream left Ramona's lips as the burning hot brand was pressed against her hip. Searing white pain spread throughout her body as she struggled against the restraints with the strength she had left.

"Stop!" Ramona sobbed, struggling to breathe as the man pulled the brand from her skin.

A sinister smile appeared on the man's lips and his eyes glistened with delight as  he held the brand up in front of his face. Ramona's flesh stuck to the brand.

Ramona sighed shakily, her hip burning

"Maybe you'll learn.. respect.. now that you've been taught a lesson," The general began darkly, "A lesson you're never to forget. Do you understand?"

Ramona stayed silent, staring blankly at the ceiling above her. Angered by her lack of response, he slammed his hand onto the metal table. A bang echoed around the room, causing Ramona to flinch. "I said, do you understand? Answer me!"

"I-I.. I understand.." Ramona managed, her voice weak and shaky.

"Good.. That's good. Maybe your kind is salvageable after all." He and the other Russian laughed to themselves, almost in disbelief of the words they'd said. "Do not fret, little girl, I'll return."

Ramona tossed and turned in the bed, the memory replaying in her head as she whimpered.

"No.." She cried, "No! Detente! Detente! Please!"

Ramona suddenly shot up, breathing heavy as her terrified eyes frantically darted around the room.

From beside her, Steve stirred due to the commotion and tiredly tightened his grip around her waist.

Ramona clamped her hand over her in an attempt to silence her cries as to not wake her sleeping boyfriend.

"Ramona?" Steve grumbled, nuzzling his face deeper into her side.

"Ye-Yeah?" Ramona whispered, her voice cracking as she looked down at him.

"Hey, hey, hey." Steve's voice was raspy from having just woken. He sat up, his eyes searching her face in concern. "What? What is it?"

Ramona shook her head, not trusting her voice enough to speak. Steve frowned, pushing the comforter on her bed off of her legs. His eyes trailed over the scars littering her legs.

Ramona pretended not to care about her appearance and the scars covering her body, but Steve knew her better. He knew that, even if she would never admit it, that she was insecure about them. Especially the hammer and sickle embedded into her hip.

"Flashback?" Steve asked, his voice soft, just loud enough for Ramona to hear and understand. Ramona nodded, an exhausted sigh leaving her lips as she blinked slowly.

"Yeah," Ramona croaked, raising her hand to rub her eyes. "I'm sorry.."

Steve pressed a soft kiss to her neck, humming as he pulled her into his chest and slowly laid down. "There's nothing to be sorry for, you understand? It wasn't your fault."

"But.. But if I had jus-" Ramona struggled, her brows furrowing as she cut herself off with a sharp inhale. "If I had-"

"No." Steve interrupted sternly, "None of it was your fault. Okay? None. What happened to you was the fault of some sick fucking Russians."

Ramona stayed silent, avoiding his gaze by looking everywhere else in the room.

"Look at me," Steve ordered tenderly, gently taking Ramona's face into his hands. "Look at me."

Ramona glanced up at him, hating the feeling of vulnerability that hit her.  Steve's tired gaze softened on her and he pulled her closer. "Maybe you should've gotten a job at Scoops instead. Karma, you know?"

"God, you're such a gilipollas." Ramona sniffed, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"But I'm your... uh.. gi.. gila.. uh-" Steve stammered, "I've got this, hold on. Gia.. Gili-"

"Sh.. sh." Ramona smiled faintly, "Sh. You'll strain yourself."

"Go to sleep." Steve mumbled into Ramona's hair, "I'll protect you."

{ A/n: hi ive missed you,,, sorry i dipped. }

{ Edited: No }

{ Translation: stop, stop, please, stop, stop, douchebag }