A/N: Hey guys, so I'm gonna make this one short. This is a birthday present for my dear friend Caryn who recently turned 25. We met nearly two years ago now and bonded over out love for Klaroline, but recently BuckyNat has taken over our lives. I thought I'd write her a small fic (3-5 chapters?) of Klaroline as BuckyNat because I thought combining our two obsessions would be a fun task.
If you're not familiar with the story of The Winter Soldier and Black Widow as a couple, as they were in the comics, I've put links on my profile to a brief overview of their relationship. It might help you Anyway, I hope you like this, and a quick shout out to Monika for betaing 3
Character Translations:
Caroline/Karolina - Black Widow/Natalia Romanova
Klaus/The Hybrid – James 'Bucky' Barnes/The Winter Soldier
Stefan - Steve Rogers/Captain America
Enzo - Tony Stark
Russian: Solnyshko - little sun - a common Russian endearment which I used to replace Klaus' use of 'sweetheart'. I thought it fit Caroline well.
Fracture
"Thou shalt not make a machine to counterfeit a human mind."
- Frank Herbert
It was around 3am when the yelling, followed by cries of pain, started from down the hall.
Caroline had been sitting idly at the kitchen counter of the temporary apartment which Enzo had loaned them, staring down into a mug of lukewarm coffee, but at the noise she'd snatched her knife off the benchtop and bolted towards the source of the noise.
She made it to his room in record time, and found Klaus pushing Stefan roughly into the far wall while the latter tried desperately to free the metal appendage which was pressed against his windpipe.
Not willing to pause for a second and risk a bloodbath, she stepped into action and leapt forward to sweep the unsuspecting soldier onto his back, kneeling down and placing the sharp edge of the blade against his throat and watching Stefan slide down the wall out of the corner of her eye.
"Ease up, Soldier. Remember where you are." she spoke roughly, staring hard into his glazed eyes.
Hoping her words would penetrate - they did on some nights, but on others he was too deeply entrenched in the nightmares that it took hours to bring him back - she paused and waited. Unfortunately, while she had been prepared for hostile action, his reflexes were too fast for her to react when he made no response in the affirmative, and his own leg shot out to pin hers. In addition to this, while he'd distracted her with that action, he somehow managed to get the knife out of her grasp and flip their position.
"Klaus, no!" Stefan shouted, having been hesitantly watching the power-play that Caroline was making earlier and waiting to see its outcome, he sprang into action and reach forward to grab the arm, the organic one, that held the knife. Anticipating the move, the metal limb shot out to strike his friend in the chest, making the American hero fly straight back into the wall he'd been leaning against and halfway through the plaster.
In the interim, Caroline managed to use the distraction in order to twist his wrist and get him to release the knife he was holding against her throat, grappling it out of his tight-fisted hand. She was able to get a good hold on it, but it wasn't long enough for her to shuffle her way out from under him, and before any of them knew it the sharp tool was replaced with Klaus' fingers.
His grip tightened to the point where breathing no longer became an option, so she used another tactic all together and stopped fighting. Dropping the knife and removing her clawing nails away from his hand, she instead reached on up to his face and laid her palm gently against his cheek. She saw surprise flash behind his eyes and his grip loosened for a second, but it was long enough. She was able to pull in a fraction of a breath and she used it to her advantage.
"Nik...it's me...it's okay...you're safe…"
Through the confusion of his clouded eyes she started to see realisation begin to bloom, and as it took shape and the guilt over his actions began to fill his gaze, she pulled her fist back and struck him in the side of the head hard enough to render him unconscious.
When she first met him he was introduced only as the Hybrid.
He was a hard-bodied man with an impenetrable stare, and he donned a metal arm which gave him his name and that none of them dare asked how he got. There were rumours, of course, ranging from bear attack to him actually being a robot built in a secret lab. Karolina felt that the former was too dramatic and the latter, while she wouldn't put it past Department X to be making machines into men, seemed wholly implausible after she'd first laid eyes on him.
When he strode into the dormitory behind their coordinator, she watched as his gaze passed over each of the girls in the room as if he didn't really see them at all, but rather machine that needed to be fixed; honed into the perfect assassins for Department X to use as they pleased.
However when that cold stare finally stopped and held hers, she saw something living behind those eyes, no matter how deeply it seemed to be buried.
He was a man made into a machine, not the other way around, and that made all the difference.
Along with the 25 other girls, she was told to line up and follow the two men in an efficient manner, and while they were lead silently through the hallways to the training rooms Karolina wondered if any of the other rumours about this man were true. Generally the routine was the same; they would be taught hand-to-hand combat and how to wield weapons, the English language and American mannerisms. All of this was to prepare them for their inevitable futures, and the Hybrid was a significant piece of the puzzle.
His priority was training them for physical combat, and in doing so he would be able to also hone their abilities in subsequent areas. She'd heard horror stories in the dorms of how brutal he could be; incapacitating individuals in seconds and sending most to the infirmary. Sometimes the combatant didn't always walk away from a fight, and as they set themselves up in the Red Room and he took his position she began to realise why.
The coordinator gave a quick nod for them to stand on the edges of the larger centred fighting mat, and she saw out of the corner of her eye the Hybrid walking over to some lockers and depositing his shirt before coming back to start warm ups. His movements were swift and calculated, with swift jabs here and high kicks there - some at speeds which could render a person unconscious. All of this was done so casually that, without knowing it, he'd grabbed the attention of everyone around him … but then again maybe that was the point.
Nevertheless, the term being thrown in the deep end didn't even begin to cover it. Karolina had initially assumed that this would be an observation session only, but when their instructor gestured towards the soldier and told him to walk the line and pick his first fight, she saw some of the girls turn strange shades, while others looked eager to prove themselves. They'd been in Black Widow training for some time now, so they all knew the drill in regards to hand-to-hand fighting, but none of them had encountered anyone of this calibre before.
She'd consistently held the spot at the top of the class when it came to combat skills, and Karolina wondered as he stopped before her if he'd been informed of this fact. Earlier, when they'd met each other's gaze, she wondered why he'd noticed her among the crowd, but now she wished for nothing more than to be a wallflower as the others were to him.
"You."
He awoke with a start to a dark room with a hole in the wall, and her sitting casually on a chair watching him with hard eyes. The events of earlier rushed back to him all too quickly and he relaxed back into the pillow with a sigh - bringing his arm up to lay across his eyes.
"Is Stefan alright?" he asked in order to fill the void of silence which surrounded them.
"Stefan is fine. I told him to go back to bed, but he went for a run instead." she spoke in a casual tone, and he finally lowered the arm to look at her.
She had her gaze trained out the window and into the night sky, and he could see it clearly now in the bright light of the moon. She looked tired; her hair dishevelled, dark circles under her eyes and the tell-tale twitchiness under the calm demeanour that only those who knew her would be able to spot. She had obviously been drinking coffee to keep herself awake.
Klaus sighed, knowing that he was the cause of her fatigued features, but not wanting to present her the same fight they had with each other every time this happened. She would just vehemently refuse to listen and his mood would darken considerably at the collateral damage his 'episodes' brought.
"Solnyshko," he started anyway, the word left his mouth before he could stop himself. He knew his mistake as soon as her head whipped back to meet his eyes and her spine went stiff as a board. Working to ignore her reaction to the former pet name he continued, pretending not to notice.
"I'm leaving in the morning.''
His voice was low, but there was steel in his words telling her not to fight him for once. But alas, she was a stubborn one.
"No you're not. Don't be an idiot." she shot at him, leaning forward and resting her forearms on her thighs as if bracing for a fight.
"You don't have a choice in this." he shot back, sitting up in the bed now and tearing the sheet off so that he could move to the edge. Unlike Stefan, her gaze didn't shoot to his metal arm as if it were an offending object - she'd always known him to have it so to her it was a part of him - but instead it shot to his bare chest. If the situation wasn't so serious he would have smirked.
"I understand that you and Stefan went through a lot to find me, but I didn't want to be found. There is no life for me here."
He watched sparks fly in her gaze as she raised an eyebrow at the words.
"Seriously? Newsflash, comrade, there is no life for any of us anywhere on this Earth. I'm an ex-russian spy turned S.H.I.E.L.D agent turned rogue agent, and between you and Stefan I don't know who is more sub-human. Not to mention the Avengers. None of us belong anywhere else, Klaus, it's why we fit so well together."
"You're wrong. The Avengers initiative has done well for this world; for you; for Stefan. I would be a villain among heroes."
"But no sinner among saints. We've all done things that we're not proud of, and most of us are haunted by something from the past. What you did was hardly within your control, Nik, and we both know it. Department X turned you into this 'villain' by putting chips in your head … experimenting on you … torturing you …" she trailed off at the pained and distant look that came into his eye. Before either of them knew it, her hands had slowly come up to frame his face and the two stared into each other's eye, unmoving.
"You listen to me carefully. You're not a bad person. You're just a person who bad things have happened to, and as a consequence you think you should be protecting those around you from the shrapnel of your past. But that's not going to be happening because I refuse to abandon you - and so does Stefan. We are in this together."
He smiled wryly at her and brought his hands up to cover hers. The metal of his artificial arm was cold, but she did not pull away.
"I don't deserve you." he finally said after a long moment, for which she replied almost instantly in rejection of the statement.
"No, you deserve more. You're a good man."
"Not really, no. But you're the only one who understands that."
"Well then, I guess you'll have to stay." she smirked, giving him a look of assured confidence as though the idea had already been agreed upon. Standing up from the chair, she smooth a thumb over his cheek and leant down to softly place a kiss on his hair before heading towards the door.
His voice calling her name softly made her stop, and she turned back once she'd reached the frame.
"It was you. You brought me back, Caroline. Then … and now."
The words were spoken softly, and the tender look that crossed his face made her sure that they'd come out of this on top. The monster they'd tried to make him into … it would never be able to show such an expression of emotion, she was sure of it.
"I'll be here to bring you back again and again if I have to." she replied evenly. "I won't leave you, and I won't let anyone take you away from me. Not again. Not even you."
He turned his back before she formulated any kind of response and positioned himself in the centre of the fighting area. With a raised chin, she walked forward until there was only a few feet between them.
"Karolina, Comrade." she spoke in an even tone, and she saw him raise his eyebrows and tilt his head quizzically, so she expanded. "My name."
"I did not ask for your name." he spoke in a bored tone and put himself into a fighting stance, gesturing for her to mirror him. "The aim of this exercise is for you to strike me. Once you do, you are free to leave the fight and will be replaced by one of your peers. Begin."
He gave her no time to process the words as he immediately swept his foot out and caught her unsuspectingly in the legs, making her fall face first onto the hard mat surface. Recovering quickly and finally gaining her centre, Karolina quickly turned over and was able to dodge his fast-approach fist with mere inches to spare. Swiftly she got herself into a kneeling position and rolled backwards away from him until she was far enough that she could finally regain her feet.
A smirk spread across his face as he slowly slinked towards her and her began sidestepping around the edge of the ring to gain herself some additional time to think.
"What if I am unable to land a strike?" she questioned him, not having underestimated his skills earlier, but suddenly realising the practically impossible task set before her.
"Then you need to try harder."
He leapt forward then and caught her arm, pulling her toward him and using the momentum to wrench her arm painfully behind her back. Leaning forward, she felt his warm breath whisper across her ear.
"You are not to leave this here until your fist makes contact with my flesh. If that does not occur, then you will simply fight to unconsciousness," he paused for effect, "and we will continue to do this routine every day until you land a strike. Is that clear enough?"
Growling in frustration, she threw her head back when he began to pull away, hoping to strike him somewhere on the face, but he merely huffed with impatience and avoided the shot before kicked her in the back knees. She fell to a kneeling position this time, but her anger meant a quick revival and she was soon facing him once more - her eye burning with fury and determination.
"Such fire, Solnyshko." he spoke in a mocking tone, and this time it was her who leapt forward.
It was a mistake.
Her anger meant that she wasn't wholly focused on the task at hand, and he easily sidestepped at the last moment, using her own momentum against her once more. He turned, placed his hands on her shoulder and head, and pushed down at the same time as kicking her feet out. Before she knew what was happening, the weight of her body, plus his own bearing down on it, was slammed into the mat.
The crunch was unmistakable.
She was amazed that around the throb of blood rushing in her ears she was able to determine a few gasps from their audience, though they were quickly shushed by the coordinator on the sidelines. She felt, and saw as it dropped below her, the slick red liquid running down her features. Bringing her hand up to her face she tentatively touched the mangled body part and flinched at the sharp sting it elicited. If the sound hadn't been an obvious indication of the break then the pain certainly was.
Assuming that a stop would be called, Karolina rolled onto her back and began to sit up. Only when she caught a foot in the shoulder did she realise with shock that the fight was still ongoing and she'd wasted precious time. The movement wasn't pulled back when she roughly met the floor once more, but instead he cruelly followed it through, adding pressure as he went. More and more weight was pressed upon her until she couldn't help but wonder what kind of sadistic monster this man was - if he was one at all.
When the muffled pop! followed, she thought not. Her earlier assessment of something living behind there was false...there was no conscience inside this machine, only orders.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, she looked up into his face and saw him watching her with narrowed eye, for which she gladly returned a scathing glare of her own. With her good arm Karolina balled her hand into a fist and swung it towards the leg stabilised on her now-dislocated appendage, and saw surprise flicker across his face while he pulled back. She almost growled in frustration at not making the connection and finally stopping the assault, but was thankful that on some level she was able to prove her level of strength and persistence to him - even if he didn't seem to care all that much and the expression faded soon after.
Laying there, she didn't know what was worse - the dislocation or the break - all she knew was that she had to get away from here. Reaching out with her opposite hand, she clutched at her damaged arm to support it and rolled partially onto her good side. In this position she was able to make a quick curl to her feet in more rapid a movement than she'd expected from her body. The stars that filled her eyes did not stop her retreating steps from the figure in front of her however, as she gave him the widest birth the fighting area would allow without her leaving it.
When her eyes met his now, she saw a hint of her own well-earned fear reflected in his shining gaze. He spotted this of course, and she couldn't help but notice his increasing interest in her behaviour - as if he couldn't really make her out. It was disconcerting to say the least, and she averted her eyes soon enough.
He chuckled low under his breath, and the sound sent shivers down her spine..
"You fear me, but you don't let that fear paralyse you - it is an uncommon trait among the newest of our members, and an admirable one." He stated as casually as if he were a teacher critiquing her technique, and she supposed he was, but it felt odd after he'd just beaten her into a bloody mess. "Unfortunately you let your emotions get the better of you, and emotions play no role in our lives; they are a weakness to be controlled or eradicated."
She frowned at him, wondering if he actually believed the words which he was spouting at her but misunderstanding the expression on her face as confusion, he elaborated.
"You must learn to control the flame which burns behind those eyes, Solnyshko." he taunted.
As if to prove his point about her lack of control, she retorted immediately.
"Don't call me that." she spat at him, and watched as an ugly smirk twisted his features for an instant before being wiped clean again - an impenetrable mask..
"Do you dare to prove me wrong?" he challenged her with a contemplative expression, tilting his head to study her for a moment rather than continuing the fight.
"Again." she spoke roughly, and manoeuvred herself into a fighting stance as well as she could with the damage inflicted. It was a stupid idea and she knew it, but he rubbed her nerves raw and she couldn't think straight - all she could think about was how much she wanted to return the favour and pound his nose back into his own skull.
She observed silently as his brows raised slightly, before his head bowed in acknowledgement.
Quickly, she took note of her injuries, and as they circled each other once more she focused on how she could do what had to with what was left. The dislocated shoulder could not be fixed right away, so for all intent the arm was useless, but she still had one good fist to strike him with and two working legs - the nose was merely an aesthetic injury that restricted nothing in this case … but nonetheless it was painful.
He didn't really wait for her to gain her bearing - she didn't expect him to - but this time when he came at her she felt more prepared … right up until the moment where the force of his punch - damn that metal arm hurt - hit her squarely in the jaw.
As her vision went blurry, she couldn't help but be pissed at his blunt teaching methods. He was trying to prove a point and he'd delivered it with brutal efficiency. By her being focused on the pain of her injuries, her anger at him, she wasn't wholly focused on the fight at hand and had missed the swift attack which sent her reeling. Now here she was sprawled on the floor with temporary black spots clouding her vision while he stood without a scratch on him.
But that doesn't make him right, she thought stubbornly. Emotions may distract you but they are also what keep you going - they gave you motivation, drive, and made you fundamentally human. In all her year under Department X Karolina had learnt of survival, but if anything those life lessons told her that her own emotions were the only thing she could trust to carry her through. In the end all she had was herself, and she wouldn't let them take that away and turn her into a monster like he was. She may do questionable things in her life, but she'd rather live with the guilt than as a whole different kind of monster.
They'd done a lot to her here, but she tried not to let them take away who she really was.
When her sight came back enough for her to see and think again, she wasn't surprised to find him looming over her prone body - expecting him to have abandoned any interest once she was incapacitated on the floor … but then she remembered his words … you will simply fight to unconsciousness. His face showed no signs at all of what he was thinking as he looked at her, but she could imagine it was nothing of praise. She could hardly move right now, and he was probably finished 'teaching' now that she was floor-bound.
As if concurring with her thoughts, she watched as the Hybrid drew his arm back once more.
"Here endeth the lesson."
The blackness that engulfed her was suffocating, but atleast it took away the pain.
A/N: and here endeth the chapter. I hope you liked it – please review and tell me what you think. I had a hard time trying to mesh Caroline into Natasha and Klaus into Bucky while still trying to maintain what was fundamental about their characters...I hope I succeeded to some extent. Let me know how I went
Once again, happy birthday Caryn! Thanks everyone for reading