Katya
The flight to Madripoor was long. Really long. Katya had lost complete track of what time it was, what day it was and whether another night had passed in Washington DC or not. Because on top of the twenty-plus-hour flight, the time difference also played its part. Eventually, she figured out that indeed another night had passed in America, the weekend over and Monday marking the start of a new week.
Maya would be in school right now, her birthday the following day all that was on her mind. Natasha would be bored to death, probably. Maybe she had randomly started calling people -- Clint, Tony -- just to have something to do. Or she finished the next season of their show. Katya had accepted that karma.
Zemo had somehow gotten clothes from somewhere, and somehow, they also fit perfectly. This man was creepy because he was too prepared. How long had this been Bucky's plan?
Anyway, Sam looked fancy. The dark red three piece with the weird pattern on it suited him. He was less happy with the heeled boots he had to wear, but after Katya glared at him and showed her own six-inch heels, he shut up. Apparently, he was someone named the Smiling Tiger. ''The sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack,'' according to Zemo.
Bucky's outfit was the complete opposite of his. All black. Very Winter Soldier-y. Katya saw in his eyes that he tried not to panic, but he must feel horrible.
She kept tugging on her own outfit. It didn't quite fit right and her black thigh-high snakeskin boots kept falling down. The clothing didn't make her uncomfortable, despite it being so exposed. Body insecurity had never been a problem. She knew she looked great. This type of clothing just wasn't her usual style.
The black two-piece with a very short high-waisted skirt exposed her stomach from her belly button to her bra band. Luckily, the crop top was a halter neck and covered her up really good. But her favorite thing must be the fur coat with -- how fitting -- tiger print. It provided her a lot of coverage and reached her knees. She prayed all the animal skin was fake, but Zemo didn't look like the kind of person who bought fake stuff.
''Why do I always have to be the hooker? Can't Sam be the hooker?'' she complained when she got out of the back of the plane to meet the three men waiting for her. Bucky was quick to respectfully avert his eyes from her revealing outfit, but Sam smiled and gave her an approving thumbs up, to which she rolled her eyes. At least she had gotten a gun and a couple knives.
''You're not a hooker,'' Zemo answered her without looking. He still wore the same clothes as before. ''You're Sam's assistant. The Smiling Tiger is known to never go anywhere without his beautiful personal bodyguard.''
She scrunched her nose a bit when he called her beautiful. It made her nauseous. ''My question still stands. And do I even want to know where you got this?'' He just smiled faintly and went into the cockpit to talk to his butler, which was probably for the best. She did feel a bit better knowing she wasn't just eye candy but a bodyguard, a fighter.
''Maybe you can take this home, surprise Nat,'' Sam teased, almost wiggling his eyebrows. He was out for a glare or something like that, but she answered casually.
''Natalia likes red.''
''I can see that,'' Bucky muttered, referring to the faint red hickeys on her stomach. He still wasn't looking at her, but must have spotted them at the first glance.
She smirked, enjoying how this made him uncomfortable. Steve never got quite comfortable with the easy way people talked about this sort of stuff either. ''If you want to hear about my sex life, all you have to do is ask.''
He finally eyed her, but quickly returned his gaze to the window. ''Thanks, but I think I have a pretty good idea.''
''Oh, you don't know the half of it,'' she smiled smugly.
He scrunched his nose, causing Sam to laugh and make fun of him for it. This was the first time she felt a bit lighter after they left Berlin.
Maya
Mornings without Katya were... different. Natasha smiled a lot more with her wife around, but did her best not to show Maya how much she missed her and how much she worried. Maya saw right through it, but didn't say anything about it. She missed Katya too, after all.
''Don't forget to remind your friends about your birthday party tomorrow,'' Natasha said before Maya stepped out of the car. In her small backpack sat the lunchbox the redhead prepared for her every morning.
Maya nodded and climbed out of the seat. One pro of being with just the two of them: she could sit in the front seat. ''Will do. See you at three.'' She walked into the school, knowing Natasha would wait until she was inside to drive off. She was paranoid like that.
Despite Katya not being here, she was excited for her birthday and knew it would be a fun day nevertheless. She didn't care much that she missed it. To Maya, birthdays have never felt important, and she still felt like a burden for wanting one. Her moms were rich, but still.
Now in terms of Maya's popularity at school, there were two groups. Or actually three. One group thought it was really cool that she had two Avengers as parents, and put Maya on a pedestal she didn't want to be on. The second group, the one with her friends, didn't give two shits about who her parents were and treated her like any other person. But the third group, they hated her. Not because she was mean, but because they were jealous.
From the very start, the girls in that group had their evil eyes on her, throwing in an insult or mean comment every now and then. Maya was smart, she knew to ignore them, not give in to the temptation to talk back. But today was different. Probably because all her friends talked about her birthday party, making Maya the center of attention and making the mean group even more jealous.
And today, today they took it too far.
''Did you hear she's adopted? She might have the same hair color as her mom, but she can't fool me. That red hair looks ridiculous anyway.'' A blonde girl whose name Maya didn't even know, sat at the lunch table next to her. And if she tried to glance at the redhead in a way that wasn't obvious, she was failing miserably.
''Adopted?'' Maya heard another girl ask. She gripped her drink bottle a bit tighter, trying to ignore them, but they talked so loudly that it was hard to. Comments like these hardly ever got to her, but she had been so happy today and this was such a stark contrast.
The blonde nodded again. ''Yeah, apparently she has two moms. I heard they're freaks.''
The sandwich in Maya's hand started shaking.
''One of them is the Black Widow,'' a shocked friend of the blonde said. She couldn't believe she was talking dirt about the superhero.
The other girl scoffed. ''You know she's a killer right? Both her moms are. All that hero stuff is fake. They're Russian, they are still our enemies. I bet they wanted Thanos to Snap.''
Maya had kept her eyes on her food the whole time, but when that last accusation left the blonde's mouth, something snapped. She still didn't know why she did it; out of anger or need to defend herself and her family. But she stood from her chair, walked over to the blonde and punched her jaw.
She surprised and shocked herself, and regretted it immediately. This wasn't who she was, this wasn't who she wanted to be, and who her moms wanted her to be. Violence had been the main thing their whole lives, and they didn't want that for her, too.
Luckily, the blonde didn't hit back, she just clutched her jaw and burst out in tears. A teacher saw the whole thing and sent Maya out of the cafeteria, to the principal's office. She did as she was told, hanging her head out of shame and guilt.
Natasha
Natasha had finally found time to go on her daily run. It was later than usual, but there were some chores to take care of in the house. And since her mind kept drifting off to Katya, they took a lot longer than usual. It was a little past twelve and the weather was horrible. Dark skies, a light drizzle that had started this morning and hadn't stopped since. That didn't stop her though.
At only her second lap around the neighborhood, her phone started ringing. It traveled absolutely everywhere with her now. She stopped dead in her tracks, and if her heartbeat wasn't already through the roof, it would have spiked. Any phone call could bear bad news.
She scrambled to get it out of her pocket, expecting an unknown number, but instead it was Maya's school. That didn't make her worry less.
She hastily pressed the green button. ''Hello?''
A kind but careful voice answered her. ''Mrs. Romanoff?''
''Yes?''
''There is a situation with your daughter. We would like you to come pick her up.''
All kinds of scenarios played in her head. Mostly bad ones. ''What happened?'' she pressed, speed walking back to the house. She would be so mad if Maya got hurt, not afraid to scream at someone.
''She got into a fight at lunch. Punched another girl.''
Natasha furrowed her eyebrows, her steps momentarily faltering. That didn't sound like Maya at all. She would never hurt someone unless they really provoked her. ''I'll be there in twenty.'' She hung up, jogged the rest of the way and changed into some dry clothes. All the while she tried to figure out how this could happen. Maya wasn't a violent person, so whatever that fight was about must have gotten under her skin.
She sighed and grabbed her jacket and keys, leaving the house after checking all the locks and windows. Much faster than supposed to, she reached the school, rushing in and following the waiting principal to his office. He gave her the usual talk about this being unacceptable, but she paid no attention to it. He didn't say it in so many words, but he obviously thought Maya copied this behavior from her.
The girl sat on a chair in the office, her head down in shame or guilt. She lit up a bit when Natasha walked in, but a smile couldn't fully form on her lips.
Natasha crouched in front of the chair, ducking her head so she could catch her green eyes. ''Hey, what happened?'' she asked softly. She wasn't mad in the least, just worried.
Maya fiddled with her hands when she mumbled an answer. ''They were picking on me. Saying stuff about you and mom.''
Natasha's heart sunk. She was proud of Maya standing up for herself, but wished she had done that with words and not with her fists. Maybe the principle was right and they gave her the wrong example. Although she knew pretty sure that Maya knew fighting was bad. ''You know punching a girl isn't the way to fix that. Ignore it and tell your teacher or me and Kat about it. I am proud you stood up for yourself, but you know fighting is not the solution.''
''I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again,'' she murmured. All that anger had left her body as quickly as it arrived.
Natasha nodded and smiled. ''Thank you. Apology accepted. If she does it again, you tell me and I'll pick my own fight with her mom. A verbal fight,'' she quickly clarified, scolding herself for that.
Maya chuckled. ''Sure mom,'' she replied sarcastically, knowing a verbal fight wasn't what her mom was aiming for in the first place.
''I'm trying to give you a good example here,'' Natasha scolded playfully, earning more giggles from Maya, which made her feel a lot better. She shook her head and stood. ''Now let's go home.''
Maya nodded and jumped off the chair, grabbing Natasha's hand - to her surprise. Kids followed them with their eyes the whole way out. It wasn't often they saw an Avenger in real life. Maya held her head high, proud to be her daughter. And Natasha couldn't help but get emotional about that.
As soon as they were in the car, Maya turned to her, wearing a smile Natasha didn't particularly like. ''Kat told me you hit a girl too. When you were little and she made fun of your hair.''
Surprised, her eyes flickered to Maya in the seat next to her. ''Damn, she told you that?'' she groaned, silently cursing Katya for telling her this. It was exactly the point she tried not to make.
Maya hummed with a smirk. ''Did it work?''
Natasha sighed, hating the satisfied smile on her face. ''It did,'' she admitted, to Maya's amusement. That memory wasn't clear on her mind, but she knew it had happened.
Maya laughed and turned to look out the window, watching the wipers try and keep the water off the windshield. She got lost in her head a lot, which was exactly the case now. Her smile slowly disappeared during the small silence that fell. Her gaze dropped to her lap and she whispered, ''I miss her.''
A shot of sadness traveled through Natasha. ''Me too, honey.''
Katya hadn't been gone for 48 hours and they missed her presence like the sun on a rainy day. Their family was simply not complete without her.
''I hope she knows I'm not angry.''
Natasha took a hand of the steering wheel and ran it over the girl's hair. She was worried Katya thought she was angry at her. What kid thinks about that? ''She knows you love her, Maya. And I know she feels guilty for missing your birthday tomorrow.''
She shook her head. ''I don't care about my birthday. I just want her to be safe.''
''I'm sure she is,'' Natasha smiled, hoping to ease the worries that played in her own head, too.
''She's smart,'' Maya nodded, more to herself than her.
A smile flashed across Natasha's face. ''That she is. That she is.''
Katya
Her and Sam's heels clicked on the lit-up bridge that connected the island of Madripoor with the mainland. It was the only way off and on, and in the middle of the night, nobody was on it. It gave them a beautiful view of the skyline that also reflected in the water, the dark buildings lighting up with different color neon lights. It looked amazing and not dangerous from the outside. But hopefully, innocent visitors would not make the mistake of visiting Low Town, which is exactly where they were going.
''You smell this?'' Zemo asked nobody in particular. He referred to the awful smell coming from the city. It had hit them like a ton of bricks a while ago.
''Yeah, what is that? Acid?'' Katya heard Sam ask. She was too occupied with a black car that slowly drove their way. Her natural state was being on edge, always. And only when she established things were okay, she would relax. So when Zemo kept talking after acknowledging the car, she calmed down. This was all part of his plan.
''Madripoor. No matter what happens, we have to stay in character. Our lives depend on it. There's no margin for error. High Town's that way.'' He nodded to the skyscrapers while opening the passenger's seat door of the car. ''Not a bad place if you wanna visit, but Low Town's the other way.''
Bucky got in the seat behind him and slammed the door shut. ''Let me guess. We don't have any friends in High Town,'' Sam said to Zemo, who didn't reply. He just got in, taking place next to the sketchy looking driver.
Katya sighed, following Sam to the other side of the car. ''Did I say how much I hate that he's in charge?'' The door opened for her and she sighed again at the sight of the small middle seat. ''And that I hate being the smallest one.''
She did her very best to press her body against Sam and not touch Bucky, but with two buff guys, it was hard. Luckily, Bucky didn't feel it if she accidentally touched him, because of his metal arm. It was awkward to say the least, and Katya found herself twisting her ring again as a nervous tick. She didn't notice Bucky staring at the movement.
They left the bridge, taking the left turn into Low Town, which was quite literally what you expected of it. Dark, unkept, small streets and creepy figures. But with the weapons in her coat and boots, Katya felt a lot safer and confident than without.
It wasn't long until motorcycles suddenly surrounded them. Calmly, but it didn't leave room for protest. They were to follow them quietly. And so the driver did. Katya wasn't surprised when the streetlights caught the glimmer of guns on the riders' bodies. In a lawless country like these, everyone needed a weapon.
Sam and Bucky glanced around worried, but she paid no attention to it. She had seen enough gangs to know how this went. Like Zemo, she staired straight out the front window and waited until they arrived at their destination.
Katya fell into what could only be described as a criminal's paradise. The neon lights and small streets reminded her a lot of Japan, but the buildings in this part of town were a lot lower and in a bad state. All she saw was expensive cars, scantily dressed women, stacks of money being passed around, drugs being packaged in the middle of the street, big guys in leather with huge rifles in their hands. Like she had walked into a gang HQ but outside and in the middle of a dance club.
Bucky and Sam eyed all of it warily but inconspicuously while Zemo lead them through the crowd confidently. Katya didn't feel at ease at all. On the contrary, she felt really anxious. Because danger could come from all sides, at any given moment. She stayed close to Sam while her hand unconsciously moved a bit closer to her gun.
People watched them closely and she prayed, prayed they didn't recognize the three of them.
Upbeat music came from all the buildings, but Zemo seemed to lead them to one bar in particular. Which was also the most crowded one.
''If any of these people grab my ass, I will kill them,'' she muttered under her breath to Sam, because that's the kind of crowd this was. She did feel a bit better knowing Bucky walked behind her. Because despite the weird tension between them, he was still a gentleman and would stop anyone who tried it.
''Here we are,'' Zemo said, a little too enthusiastic, pushing through the crowd towards the bar. ''Готовы подчиниться... Зимний солдат?'' (Ready to comply... Winter Soldier?)
Katya almost didn't hear it, but when she did, she stumbled and almost fell on her face. The only reason she wasn't a mindless zombie right now was because he spoke the words in Russian and in a different tone.
It was enough to kick her awake. She had settled down too easily, had let her guard down around him too quickly.
If they weren't in a role and in public, she would have pulled one of the knives out of her boots and threatened him with it. Probably put it on his throat or something. He has to know not to screw with them.
For now, she clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white and tried to keep the panic off her face.
''Is that the Winter Soldier?'' she heard people whisper in her trance. So far, it seemed their covers worked. Katya knew if they recognized them as the Avengers, they would have been on them a long time ago. She was pretty sure they weren't welcome here.
The bartender snapped her out of her head. Or maybe it was Sam touching her arm subtly. He knew of the words too. ''Hello, gentlemen. Wasn't expecting you, Smiling Tiger.'' Apparently, she was invisible.
''His plans changed,'' Zemo answered for him, leaning on the bar casually. ''We have business to do with Selby.''
The bartender studied them suspiciously, as if he didn't trust them but didn't want to start an argument either. ''The usual?''
Sam just nodded, not sure what that would be. On this island though, Katya suspected it couldn't be much good. And as usual, she was right. The bartender opened a pot behind him and grabbed the thing inside. A snake.
Sam had trouble keeping a straight face and not scrunch it up in disgust. Katya wasn't bothered in the least. In all her travels, she had eaten a lot weirder things than the intestines of a snake.
A small piece of flesh got thrown into a shot glass, together with some clear liquid. There were three, so she assumed one was for her as well since Bucky stood a bit to the side.
''Ah. Smiling Tiger, your favorite.'' At least Zemo seemed to enjoy himself.
Sam took one and handed another glass to her. ''I love these,'' he said dryly, praying the bartender wouldn't see through his facade.
''Cheers, Conrad,'' Zemo smiled, knocking his glass against Sam's. He brought the drink to his lips but Katya beat him to it, throwing it all into her throat at once, placing the empty shot glass on the bar before the other two had brought theirs to their mouths.
Bucky threw her an impressed look, while Sam stared at her in wonder. She answered both of them with a bored shrug and went back to surveying the area. After all, she was supposed to be Sam's bodyguard.
She heard Zemo chuckle quietly next to her, probably over Sam's hesitation and disgusted face. But he drank it, and although the bartender hesitated slightly, he seemed satisfied for now. If drinking a shot would be enough proof they were who they said they were, this night might not go so wrong after all.
''By the way; if I need to seduce our way into places, I'm totally game,'' Katya mumbled with her back to the bar. She had that weird feeling of being watched, but couldn't find where it was coming from. ''There's something so satisfying about seeing people crumble at my feet with a single look.''
Zemo hummed, answering her without looking to his left. ''I will keep that in mind. But Selby is a woman.''
A smile flashed across her face. Only for a moment until it was back to business. ''Your point?''
Sam chuckled quietly. They could still appreciate each other's humor.
A bald man with a beard, leather jacket and dangerous gleam in his eyes approached the four of them. Or more specifically, Zemo. He didn't spare her or the other two a glance, much to Katya's liking. ''I got word from on high. You ain't welcome here.''
''I have no business with the Power Broker. But if he insists, he can either come and talk to me...'' Zemo trailed off, gesturing to Katya and Bucky. The man eyed both of them. And despite his face not changing, Katya knew he was aware of their danger, ''or bring Selby for a chat.''
The guy disappeared without saying anything. Katya's blue eyes following him through the crowd. She wasn't convinced he'd let them see this Selby now. There was a weird tension, like something was still to happen.
''A power broker? Really?'' Bucky asked Zemo dryly. She wasn't impressed herself, but agreed with Zemo's next words.
''Every kingdom needs its king. Let's just pray we stay under his radar.'' So, a kingdom ruled by fear, how original. This place was savage, but predictable. Believe it or not, but especially lawless countries had a lot of laws. Unwritten ones though, which made it tricky to navigate.
''Do you know him?''
''And are you sure it's a him?'' Katya chimed in, ignoring the weird look she got. ''Just saying you're making assumptions about people in power always being men.''
Zemo almost sighed, and she was glad to be able to get under his skin. ''Only by reputation. In Madripoor they are judge, jury, and executioner.'' Katya smiled smugly at his usage of the pronouns, but that smile disappeared when another guy in a black leather jacket and a beard approached them slowly. He had no good intentions, something which Zemo also concluded. Calmly, he turned to Bucky, who dreaded what was to come. ''Зимний солдат. атака'' (Winter Soldier. Attack.)
With pain in her eyes, Katya watched him walk towards the fight. Easily, he grabbed the guy's arm and threw him to the side, bringing the first of what would be many opponents, down. She went to push herself away from the bar to help him -- call it a habit -- but Zemo's hand wrapped around her bicep, keeping her in place.
''This is not your fight.''
Her head snapped to him, an angry scowl on her face as she ripped her arm free. ''Keep your hands off me or you won't have a hand anymore,'' she threatened. According to the look on his face, he won't try it again.
While Zemo was smiling and enjoying the fight, Katya felt horrible having to watch the scene in front of her. And next to her, she felt Sam tensing up as well. Just when Bucky thought he was done with all of this -- the name he just got called, the fights and the violence -- he got thrown right in the middle of his living nightmare.
And while he did a good job keeping his face straight, she could see his broken eyes. Memories probably plagued him, every yell his opponents let out another one he would never be able to forget.
The guys who kept coming at Bucky -- probably people from this Selby person -- were no match for him. Within one or two punches, he had them down.
He grabbed the last guy by his throat and slammed him on the bar, causing a chain reaction of guns cocking. Katya couldn't stop her reflexes now and got her own out. First time in five months she had touched one, but it would never feel unfamiliar.
Sam tried to protect Bucky from himself and tried to pry his arm off the man's throat. But even Katya knew that was a stupid idea. Like Zemo said, they had to stay in character. And if these people found out right now that they were not who they said they were, all those guns would be aimed at their heads. Not good chances.
''Отличная солдат,'' (Well done soldier) Zemo praised Bucky. His metal hand slowly opened, dropping his victim to the floor. His eyes were distant, broken, displaying the internal panic he felt.
''Selby will see you now,'' the bartender said to Zemo's delight. But neither Sam nor Katya could care less about that. Because Bucky was their friend, and he was clearly in pain right now.
''You good?'' Sam asked, receiving nothing but a sharp exhale and a faint nod. Katya wanted to reach out and touch his shoulder or something, but from her own experiences, she hated being touched when she was lost in her trauma. The best they could do was keep an eye on him and not let him spiral.
When he took off to follow Zemo, she shared a worried look with Sam before holstering her weapon again. They were in deep shit now.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: Oh my god I am so sorry this is so long haha. I think I got excited because I finally handed in my assignment that has been following me around me for months. I feel relieved, and apparently that helped with writing. Oh and let me know if you like the Maya pov?