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"Thanks for coming with me Nat." Steve said casually as the two of them wandered the busy bizarre. "Well Wilson said he was busy and the thought of you trying to go undercover on your own was not pretty." She admits as she pauses at a stall for a couple of moments to browse the jewellery. Steve quickly picked up on what she was doing. They stuck out, Steve more than Natasha and they weren't exactly around friendly society. She was smiling and chatting to the young woman behind the stall and Steve took a breath, calmed himself and slipped his arm around Natasha and the young girl smiled at him as the two women continued to chat, before Natasha handed over some cash and took a small pouch, slipping into her jacket pocket.
"Gift for Lila?" He asked and Natasha glanced at him as they continued walking. "It's better than a postcard and it helps us to look like we're not on a spy mission." She whispers as they move to the side to let a couple of bikes through. They move off again and they're only halfway down the street before Steve stops and throws his head back down the crowd and Natasha spins quickly. "I think I saw him." He says softly, but loud enough for Nat to know. Steve is madly scanning the crowds. It must have been him. Natasha knew they weren't going to find him in the crowd, so instead she moved Steve away and sat him down.
"Did he see you? Did he recognise you?" She asked as she hunched next to him. Steve was staring ahead of him, his mind racing through what he saw. He shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. He was walking the other way and passed maybe three or four people away." Steve tries to calmly explain. "It was only a glimpse, there's crowds but I'm sure it was him." Steve admits and Natasha puts a hand on his back and was surprised by much his heart was racing.
"If he didn't see you, then it means he's not going to run. We know he's in the area." Natasha calmly explains standing to her feet and she moves away for a couple of moments before returning with a can of something illegible. He opens it and downs it all in one go, before he follows her to his feet. "If Barnes is here, he'll be doing the same as us and trying to blend in. He'll want to avoid a conflict, especially here." She comments quietly and takes Steve by the arm when he nods in silent understanding. "We'll head back in the direction we saw him." She says as they slip back out into the crowds. "We can look for a gift for the boys. Cooper doesn't half pout when he's been left out." She says with a smirk and Steve catches the smile and returns it. He's nervous, she knows, he wants to just run in Bucky's direction, but he has to follow her lead, she knows what she's doing, so she's grateful, when he takes her hand and follows her. Trusting her to make the right choices here.
As they calmly and slowly stroll through the market, picking up trinkets here and there, they both have their eyes peeled for Barnes. They catch his tail a couple of times, but he always ends up back in the crowds, but they know they're in the right place and they're sure he's unaware of their presence, so they can stay around and wait for him.
Natasha has been doing this her whole life and she should be able to get even, Captain America to hide under the radar. So as she sees it, it's all going to come down to who slips up first, Barnes with his memory lapses or Steve with his inability to look comfortable anywhere. She knows she's the only constant in this narrative and she wants some sort of closure for both these worlds she's helped create.
AN: Thanks for reading. This is a scene out of an old story I wrote, that I scrapped. But I quite enjoyed the idea behind this scene.
Everything at the moment is unedited, so if you're interested in helping me out, check my profile and get in contact.