A/N: dedicated to ororotchalla for her brilliant mind (ugh, powerful) and for inspiring the concept of this chapter. Also thank you sm for being my soul sister, and for agreeing that Steve Rogers is a freak in bed
ENJOY LMAO
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"I am not perfect.
I am sometimes selfish.
Occasionally self-destructive,
Prone to very brief, yet severe spells of sadness.
But I would fight until every bone of my body is broken to protect you.
That's a promise."
NADINE
Nadine slept for eighteen hours straight. She didn't even remember how she ended up in her room, with her covers over her form. One thing's for sure, though, it was like her body had been recharged, and she felt better, calmer.
After she woke up, Nadine quickly took a cold shower from head to toe so she could feel energized. When she returned to her room, her laptop started to beep, and one look at the ID and she knew it was Selene Mebarak, hacker extraordinaire and current MI6 agent. Nadine pressed the enter key to answer the call, and went to her vanity to grab a comb for her hair. "What d'you got for me, Selene?"
"I'm sending you a picture and the coordinates of a Triad member." Selene's peculiar accent was as clear as ever. It was a mix between a common British accent and the Arabic atmosphere she grew up in because of her Egyptian roots. "She's in Madeira. I'm not sure if she's a lead to the sphere, but considering she's so close to you guys I wouldn't consider it as a coincidence."
"Are they ever?" Nadine drawled as she continued untangling her locks, and stepped into her friend's view to give her a smile. "Thank you, I know you've got a shit ton to do."
"It's fi-why are you wearing a towel?"
Nadine snorted at her question. "I'd just gotten out of the shower when you called, because, well, hygiene."
Selene rolled her eyes, smiling slightly, her fingers gracefully working to untie her hijab from her head. "Anyway, just because I joined MI6 doesn't mean I won't help you. We're still ex-SHIELD allies."
Ah, yes, ex-SHIELD. When Nadine met Selene, she'd already been an established agent, but her time with the organization went way before that. Selene Mebarak was on SHIELD's watchlist the moment she tried to take down an influential businessman with just her keyboard and computer. The man had fired her father because of his religion, and Selene reacted in the most rebellious teenage way: hacking his bank accounts. Needless to say, she appeared on their radar soon enough, but Fury, never one to pass up an opportunity, decided to recruit her instead of arresting her.
When SHIELD fell, she'd served for almost a decade in combating cyberterrorism. She stayed with the group for a year, but after she'd been accepted at MI6, she decided to leave the fugitive life behind in order to reconnect with her family and faith. Nadine respected that, even if she missed having Selene's hacking skills at her reach.
"Thanks. I'll see you around, Selene." She ended the call, and proceeded to braid her damp, wavy locks.
"Hey, Nadine-oh." Bucky stood at the doorframe, the look on his face priceless as he took in her frozen form. He stared at her, eyes drifting up and down, but after realizing his actions he was looking anywhere except the woman in the towel, cheeks turning into a pale shade of pink in embarrassment. "Shit, never mind, I can... I'll be downstairs."
He bolted out before Nadine could even form a reply. Okay then.
After closing the door and changing into some clothes, she decided to appease the super soldier and see what he needed as well as get some breakfast for her empty stomach. She passed Dante's room, and noticed he was sitting on his bed with Kaia across from him. Nadine couldn't tell what they were talking about, nor did she want to know, but it seemed to be pretty intense, judging by the way Dante crossed his arms in a protective stance and his hazel eyes looked at anything except the French woman in front of him. Whatever it was, it wasn't her business.
She made her way into the kitchen, her gaze landing on Bucky. "Hey."
Bucky looked at her once before his gaze fell to the book again, his cheeks still pink. "Hi, uh, I'm sorry about..."
"It's fine," she chuckled, grabbing some slices of bread and placing them in the toaster. "You caught me just in time. Where is everyone?"
"Oh, Taj and Sam are playing video games." Bucky grabbed a cup from the sink and poured her some coffee, and she took note at how he knew how she liked it, even the cinnamon and hint of vanilla. Wow. "Fong's reading by the pool while Steve's in the training room downstairs... Kaia and Dante-"
"Yeah, I know what those two are doing," she drawled, and Bucky almost dropped the bowl of strawberries he'd pulled out from the fridge. "I didn't mean that. Jesus, they're just talking. That's it."
Bucky seemed about ready to change the subject. "Right, and Emilia and Natasha, I don't know."
"Emilia and Natasha? Together? That can't be good."
"Y-Yeah," he laughed, eyes crinkling as he did so, and he handed her the jar of Nutella from the cupboard. Their fingers brushed, and they lingered there for a second before he pulled back. Their gazes endured until she broke it, an indescribable feeling forming in her gut as she did so.
What just happened?
Nadine decided to concentrate on her breakfast instead. "Anyway..."
"Oh, right," he muttered, as if now remembering he had something to tell her. "I, uh, I wanted to take Steve sightseeing over Maricota."
"What about Sam?"
Bucky gave her an amused look. "What about Sam?"
"Hey!" Sam barked from afar, clearly irritated. "I heard that!"
Nadine chose to ignore his outburst and took a sip of her coffee, which was really good. "That sounds nice."
"Yeah," he agreed, chewing on the inside of his cheek as his gaze nervously flittered around the kitchen. "I was hoping, maybe, you'd want to come..."
"Oh?" she asked, a bit surprised by the invitation, and tried to ignore how she felt the urge to smile because of it.
"So you invite her and not me?! Well fuck you, Barnes!"
"You don't have to do it," Bucky added quickly. "I just figured it'd, uh, be better if we didn't get lost here."
So, he only wanted a tour guide?
Nadine forced her disappointment down her throat while she ate her breakfast. "I'd love to, but I can't. The Triad's in Madeira, and I wanna check out what the hell they're doing so close."
"Oh," he replied, and she swore he seemed downcast at her answer. "Okay. When do we leave?"
"Leave where?" Steve asked as he made his way into the kitchen, draping a towel over his neck. His dirty blonde hair was damp in sweat, just like his tight shirt. She didn't think his physique could look any more intimidating, but clearly she was wrong. Despite the tough-ish look, though, he gave her a kind, soft smile. "You're looking better."
"I'm feeling better," Nadine chuckled, handing him a bottle of water from the fridge. "And I'm tracking a lead on something. I'm gonna check it out."
"And I'm going with her," Bucky chimed in, giving Steve a half assed shrug.
"What?" Steve's brows furrowed in confusion. He was hoping he'd misunderstood, she assumed. "Are you sure it's safe?"
"Of course. I'm not letting her go alone."
"Actually, I think it's better if you sit this one out," Nadine said, in an effort not to cause tension between them. "I'm just tracking a lead. Besides, you two should have fun."
"It's been a while since we spent time together, too." Natasha made her presence known, her hair wet, and... blonde?! "Which is why I'm going with you."
"What the fuck happened to your hair?!"
"Remember when I said I might have to dye it? Well, Emilia dyed it," she replied, incredibly indifferent to Nadine's outburst. "What do you think?"
"It's terrible," Nadine retorted. "But you don't care either way, so."
"Exactly."
"Anyway," Bucky pressed, clearly uninterested in the likes of Natasha's makeover. "Nadine, I can go with you, just to make sure."
"James, it's fine."
"James?" Steve questioned, his eyebrows raising in surprise. He turned his gaze towards Bucky in a suspicious manner, almost as if demanding answers.
"How about this," Natasha drawled as she poured herself a glass of wine, her own eyes flickering between Bucky and Nadine. "You all go out, have fun, and Nadine and I will meet you at wherever you decide to go tonight. Deal?"
"Fine," Bucky relented, sighing in defeat. He ignored the piercing stares as he turned towards Nadine again, the worry on his face making her heartstrings tug. "Just, be careful. Please."
"Don't worry. I expect a drink, Barnes."
• • •
They didn't find anything. If The Triad was anywhere near the location Selene sent, they made a pretty good job of erasing their tracks. That being said, Nadine was looking forward to that drink, so she decided to not let the day go to complete waste. That's how she ended up parking a few feet from the nightclub, dressed in a look that could kill.
She grabbed her studded leather jacket from the backseat and put it on, completing her outfit for the night. "Of course Taj would bring them to a club. And a strip club, no less."
Natasha closed the door and smirked, which made her smokey eyeshadow even more striking. "A strip club, interesting."
"Well, it's both." Nadine fixed the strap of Natasha's two piece bodycon dress, then linked her arm with hers. "It's got two floors, and the underground floor is all about strippers a la Magic Mike, except mostly female. You ever see that movie?"
"No."
"We're watching it before you leave again," she replied. "Hey, I never asked, how's Clint doing? I'm surprised he's not here."
"Clint's fine," Natasha said, giving her a passive shrug. "He's retired."
"Retired?" she repeated. Wait a minute... Did she hear wrong, or... "Damn, that's actually possible?"
"For some, yes." Nadine could've sworn Natasha had a longing look on her face, but she blamed it on the dim lighting of the street lights. "For us, I'm not sure."
"Tell him I say 'hi'."
"Why not do it yourself?" The woman stopped walking to look at her former student, her hands on her hips in a disappointed manner. "When I told him I'd reached out to you, he said it'd been a year since you two last talked."
It was complicated. It's not that she didn't think Clint was cool, but certain revelations about him made Nadine realize that the best choice was cutting ties with him. "Once, I was paid to make sure nothing happened to this guy, and I saw Clint in the same place as I was. I was gonna sneak up on him, but this little girl ran up to him and hugged his legs."
"His family," Natasha realized, pressing her lips into a firm line.
"Yeah," Nadine confirmed, placing her hands in her jacket pockets as she continued towards the club, her memories irritating her. Not how she wanted to start the night. "After that, I figured it was better to stay away from him. Those kids shouldn't grow up without a dad."
"I was the same way when he told me about them." They reached the nightclub and pulled out their fake ID's, the bouncer in the front checking them swiftly before letting them inside. The music quickly elevated to chest vibrating extremes as they continued down the hallway entrance, the lights turning into bright reds. "Anyway, what's with you and Barnes?"
"What?" Nadine asked, dumbfounded by Natasha's question.
"I know something's up."
Nadine was suddenly more interested in looking for her friends rather than discussing that. "Nothing's up."
"Look, I'm not going to tell you how to live your life," Natasha warned, her tone careful and precise. "Just be careful. Relationships are risky-"
"There's nothing up, Nat," Nadine quipped, her tone snippy. "We're friends. That's it."
"Good. He has a lot of enemies. I don't like the idea of you getting caught in the crossfire."
"Don't. Bucky and I are just friends."
"I don't believe that!" Taj yelled as he caught the end of their conversation, a devilish smirk on his face. "Not while you two eye-fuck each other so much."
"No one asked you, Taj," Nadine snapped, her tone acidic. "Where is everyone?"
"Dante and Kaia are back at the house." The look on Taj's face made it clear that it's best if Nadine didn't know. "Sam goaded Steve to go downstairs, and it's fucking awesome!"
"Steve?! Downstairs?" Nadine wasn't sure if she believed it. Serious, slightly uptight Captain America, was partying? "With the strippers?!"
"He's not as innocent as we think," Taj explained. Clearly, he was enjoying seeing the super soldier let his hair down. "I love it."
"Emmi?"
"Dancing with Fong. As for Bucky..."
She followed his gaze towards the bar, quickly finding the other super soldier. He was sitting at the stool, drink in hand, dressed in dark, ripped jeans, combat boots, and a light gray shirt with a jacket over it. His hair was tied back in a loose man bun, a few strands framing the sharpness of his face. The whole look made Nadine's heart do a gymnastics routine. It all came crashing down, though, once she noticed the redhead next to him. "Ah."
"Okay, that's my cue to go dance. Come, young Taj." Natasha quickly grabbed Taj's hand, steering him towards the dance floor.
"M-Me? With, with you? Say no more!"
They left Nadine alone, which, in hindsight, could've very well been a mistake, what with the way she stared icily at the redhead talking to Bucky. She didn't even notice she was doing it; in her head, she was simply annoyed that he was being so open and talking to strangers, with how dangerous that was. So, with clenched fists and a tight jaw, Nadine made her way towards the bar, standing in front of them both, and Bucky almost choked on his drink when she caught his eye. "Nadine," he breathed, swallowing hard when he saw her look for the night.
She raised an eyebrow, then turned her gaze towards the redhead and gave her a snarky head tilt, a sign for her to leave. "Se perca."
The woman didn't think twice and got off of the stool. She walked past Nadine, but not before stopping for a second to look at her, almost like she was challenging her. One threatening look from Nadine made the woman scramble passed her as if the mercenary was dangerous, which, in all honesty, she was, especially when she felt threatened.
"What'd you tell her?" Bucky questioned, hiding his smirk behind his glass.
"Nothing," she responded as she took a seat, taking off her studded leather jacket to reveal a black mesh top with a bra underneath, her dark eyes watching his every move. "Just that you owe me a drink."
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow, grabbing one of the nuts from the counter and placing it in his mouth, his actions slow and deliberate as his smirk grew, never breaking eye contact. "I don't remember that."
"I'll buy my own drink then."
Bucky snorted, steering a glass of something towards her direction. He stopped looking at her as he did so, his smile smug. "I already did."
Nadine grabbed the glass and took a sip, the familiar burning down her throat making it easy to identify what it was. "Whiskey?"
"Figured you'd want something strong."
An irritating thought clouded her mind. "Do you buy all your friends drinks?"
"Jealous?" Bucky teased.
"No," she answered immediately, maybe a little too quickly to justify her innocence. "It's just dangerous to be talking to strangers."
"Relax, I didn't buy her anything," he replied, still amused by her reaction. "I was waiting for you."
"Really?"
"Really. You look beautiful, by the way." Another would've said something more crass, but here he was, being an absolute gentleman. That melted whatever anger she had at him. "Wanna dance?"
She snorted at the thought. "You? Dancing to this?"
"I'm not sure how the hell you're supposed to dance to this," he agreed. "But there's always a first, right?"
"What're you waiting for, then?" Nadine asked, giving his leg a bump with hers. She hadn't noticed he'd placed a foot on her stool, just like she did, so their legs were constantly touching.
He downed his drink, never breaking eye contact with her, and leaned in until their faces were a few feet apart. "Diz-me tu."
Nadine froze as she recognized the Portuguese. She hadn't realized that he knew more than two languages, and now she just felt stupid for never considering it. She wondered what other peculiar things she didn't know of him, and how intrigued she was to find out. She wasn't gonna be able to, however, because the moment she turned her gaze, she realized the redhead was staring right at them, until she disappeared in the crowd again. Okay, that was suspicious. "I'll be right back, then we can dance."
Bucky's smile made her stomach twist in the most strange way, so much so that it irritated her that she had to go. Nonetheless, Nadine downed the drink and got off of the bar stool, putting her leather jacket on and making her way into the bathroom. She looked around, having sworn that she'd seen the redhead come in before, but then she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror, satisfied with how her wine-colored lipstick looked. When she fixed her wavy locks to one side of her head and her mind started to wonder about Bucky, she finally stopped what she was doing. "What the hell am I doing?" she whispered questioningly, shaking her head to rid herself of everything. Bucky was just a friend, nothing more. There's no need to get so worked up about things.
Or so she tried to convince herself...
Sighing in an exasperated state, she tousled her hair once before heading towards the door, only to be blocked by four women, all dressed in various attires that went with the type of place they're in. "Com licença," Nadine muttered under her breath, but the women didn't budge, which made her apprehensive. "Eu posso o ayudar?"
"Yes, you can," a voice purred from behind her, their Portuguese accent capturing Nadine's attention. When she turned, she was met with the same redhead from before, except the tables have turned now, with the gun pointing at Nadine's face. "You have something we're interested in, after all."
Couldn't any of them have fun without some criminal organization trying to kill them?
"Did Francisco send you?" Nadine hissed, slowly raising her hands in front of her in a cautious attempt of making peace. She felt guns cock behind her, and she knew she had more than one weapon to face now. Great. Well, at least they didn't underestimate her.
"Francisco?" The woman scoffed, shaking her head. "The Triad does not waste time with foolish men like him."
"Well, unfortunately I don't have the alien technology, Triad."
"The alien technology? We lost interest in that back at Bordeaux. We're interested in something else. Well, someone else." she replied curtly, the smirk on her face making her pink lipstick more noticeable against her lightly tanned skin. "The Winter Soldier."
Nadine's blood ran cold. "What about him?"
"Just that he's right outside that door." Her smirk grew wider. Clearly, she noticed Nadine's reaction at the term. "I have to say, the pictures do not do his handsome face justice."
"The Winter Soldier's a ghost," Nadine said, trying to keep her tone level and void of any anger.
The woman tilted her head in mock confusion, which made the rage inside Nadine even more difficult to contain. "Is he? Should I go out there and ask him, then?"
"You can't have him," Nadine hissed, brushing her hand through her hair once, slyly turning her earpiece on. Natasha fueled her paranoia and convinced her to keep it on, and knowing the Russian, she had hers turned on all this time.
"We'll see about that, once we've got him. We'll have to use you for that."
"The Winter Soldier's weak." She decided to bargain. It was the only way to buy time and throw her off Bucky's scent. Threats would only make the woman more adamant on taking him. "He's soft now. Take me instead."
"You? Over a super soldier?"
"And why not? If your higher ups knew about your plan this place would be crawling with the Triad, and you'd already be leaving with him instead of chatting with me." The way her hazel eyes hardened confirmed that what Nadine said was right, she was here with just her four lackeys. "But they don't know that, do they? So you're acting on your own, trying to win your status."
"Careful with your words," she threatened, closing the distance between them so the gun rested on Nadine's forehead. That didn't shake the her at all, though.
"All I'm saying is that the Winter Soldier is wasted potential," she said, her tone casual, almost as if they were discussing the weather. "He's already peaked, so you can't do much with him anymore. You need someone you can break in, a fresher model."
The Triad woman looked at her skeptically. "You?"
"You know of Jameson?"
"Everyone knows about Jameson. You're one of his?"
"The tattoo on my neck says so," Nadine retorted, and she felt the brush of a gun at the back of her head. Careful, Nadine. "He trained me to join the Hand. His death stopped that, so I joined SHIELD instead. Trained under the Black Widow herself, and was recruited by HYDRA."
That last part was a lie. Because of Nadine's loose cannon attitude when she first joined, Fury always kept her on his watchlist, so she always supposed it'd been difficult for any HYDRA member to try and recruit her. She was half grateful for it. Despite it never happening, though, she needed something to seal the deal now, and she knew 'ex-HYDRA agent' would sound appealing to the Triad.
"Fine," the woman relented after a few seconds of thinking about it. Hook, line, and sinker. "You'll have to do, I suppose."
Nadine sighed in relief, but she didn't have time to enjoy the feeling as she was being forcefully ushered out of the bathroom. Two of them linked their arms with hers, while the redhead placed a hand on the back of her neck. She could feel something sharp pointed at her spine, while two others were pointed at her ribs and neck. Knives. She knew that if she so much as twitched, she'd be bleeding out in no time. From the corner of her eye she saw Bucky at the bar, alone. He was looking around, a frown plastered on his face. She silently pleaded that he'd turn his head to the right and look through the dancing crowd for her. She begged that he'd get this weird, worried feeling in his gut that'd push him to look for her. Most of all, Nadine hoped he didn't think she'd left him alone out of her own volition.
They reached the exit, and whatever hopes she'd had that Bucky would see her were gone. She was on her own for now, so she had to think. Unfortunately, her odds were against her. It was five against one, and three of them had weapons pointed at very distinct places that even if they didn't kill her, would surely leave extensive damage. The other two were leading the way, so she assumed that they're either the quickest, or the strongest. Either way, Nadine needed to wait in order to gain the upper hand.
They were a respectable distance from the nightclub when gunshots echoed through the air, and the Triad didn't react quickly. Both women at the front were shot down, and when they collapsed, Taj came into view, gun in his hands and an exasperated look on his face. She heard a gasp behind her and something clatter to the ground, but she ignored it and shoved the women at her sides. One was shot down, while the other swiped at Nadine with her knife, but the mercenary ducked quickly before she could get hit and kicked her opponent towards the wall behind her. She brandished her own gun and pulled the trigger twice, not even thinking before going through with it.
"Well, that escalated quickly."
When Nadine turned her head, she saw Natasha, and then she noticed the body at her feet, neck bent in an odd way. The redhead Triad woman. Natasha quickly grabbed Nadine's hand and started to pull her away from the scene. "We need to move."
"Go," Taj insisted, waving them forward. "I'll handle erasing our tracks from here. Selene's dealing with the cameras. Go!"
Natasha tugged relentlessly until Nadine complied. They ran through the streets, never stopping until they reached their ride. Nadine quickly got in, catching a glimpse of the nightclub in the distance in one of the mirrors. She almost considered turning back, but arguing with Natasha right now would just make things worse. So, she turned the car on, and drove off without a second thought. It wasn't until they were finally away from everything did Natasha break the silence. "What the hell were you thinking, Nadine?"
"I was thinking that they wanted Bucky," Nadine replied as she rubbed a hand over her face in an exasperated state. "I wasn't gonna let them anywhere near him."
"This is what I was talking about. This recklessness."
"I was gonna kill them eventually, Natasha."
"I know, that's my point," she drawled, her disappointed tone making Nadine cringe. "You say there's nothing going on, but clearly there's something, and that something can get you both killed."
"I'm just looking out for him. And just so you know, I'd do the same for you, so this isn't about James. This is about me protecting the people I care about."
Natasha was silent. With blonde hair, her green eyes looked colder, and the way she looked at Nadine made her tense. "Just be careful," she warned. "If your body ends up in a ditch, I won't be able to save you, Вишневая бомба."
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WORD TRANSLATION:
1) Se perca. (portuguese)- Get lost.
2) Diz-me tu. (portuguese)- You tell me.
2) Com licença. (portuguese)- Excuse me.
3) ¿Eu posso o ayudar? (portuguese)- Can I help you?
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A/N: as promised, one of the beautiful aesthetics made by capandbarnes :
I love it
I'll be posting the other one later on, because, hey, gotta have some surprises as the story progresses:)
If anyone wants to do moodboards I'll happily accept them ok I LOVE them
Also, I got a job! I'm officially an adult! Unfortunately, this means I'll be posting slower updates until I can get used to it and the schedule they have me on. Sorry, fam lol