A/N: Thank you for all of you who are following this story. I hope you like it!
ErinKenobi - This certainly will be darker, especially in the beginning as our two main characters cope with the aftermath of the Civil War. With the splitting of relationships, it's especially going to take its toll on Natasha. This chapter gives more insight into this. As for being an OC work, this one probably won't feature Eliza much more than in passing. For her story, check out the other, concurrent sequel, West Coast Avengers. That one is a bit more upbeat than this. And don't worry, if you're ever lost because of references to The Changeling, let me know in the comments, or sign up with FFN and send me a PM. I'm happy to clarify, so you don't need to read that other one.
Miran - Love you! And yep, good 'ole Sin appears here too! Thanks for proofing this!
There was no "free breakfast" in the morning like the two friends had grown accustomed to as they worked with the Avengers. Hell, there wasn't even breakfast to be bought. It was a really cheap motel. Bucky and Natasha packed their duffle bags and went down to the first floor lobby. Bucky went to the counter to pay while Nat pulled out her phone that Fury had provided for them. She looked up local food places and settled on McDonalds. No reason to pay more than they needed for food. They had about 5,000 dollars cash at the moment, and the closest of Fury's stashes was in the mountains.
Bucky came over after dishing out the cash for the motel room, "Where to next?"
"McDonalds."
He nodded and they hopped into the car that Fury had rented for them. That had been his last gift for them. After that, they were on their own. But he knew they wouldn't get far without transportation, so he'd provided them that much at least.
Bucky worried about his best friend. He remembered when Pepper and the other civilians had been captured by Sinthea Schmidt, and that hadn't ended well at all. They hadn't even all come out alive; Pepper's nephew had been killed. Sinthea Schmidt was a devious woman who had a lot of resources to her name. Her partner in crime, if partner was the right term, was Crossbones, Brock Rumlow. He was a former SHIELD agent who had left and joined HYDRA.
Bucky and Natasha drove in silence towards the McDonalds and ran through the drive-thru. Natasha drove. After they had their quick meals, they continued on their way. Their first stop? A dock on the Black Sea near the Ukrainian border. An old 'friend' of Natasha's in Russia was working as a fisherman. The team, calling themselves Covert One, were hoping he would have some information for them. After all, he used to sell arms to the Red Room. Maybe he had connections with HYDRA?
"How long's the drive, Nat," Bucky asked her as they drove through a series of hills and valleys on an old, empty road that was paved properly, but obviously seldom used.
Natasha handed him her phone, "Check the map."
Bucky glanced down at it. Five hours, twenty seven minutes left. What was happening to Steve at this moment? Probably something horrible. Maybe he was even being brainwashed like Bucky had been. That would be bad. It had taken Bucky about a month of being surrounded by his closest friends to recover. And he still had missing memories.
Suddenly it began to rain, the pleasant tap tap of the drops bouncing off the window filling the silent air between them. Natasha put the windshield wipers on. They pulsed back and forth, back and forth. The lull of the engine provided good background noise.
"What are you thinking about, Natasha," Bucky asked her after about an hour of complete silence, "Because it's obvious that something's on your mind. Is it just Steve?"
Natasha sighed and rolled her eyes. She supposed that if she had to talk to someone, it might as well be Bucky. They had both survived the Red Room together. They had been lovers once-upon-a-time. They were friends even now, all these years later.
"It's Clint. I didn't say goodbye. Couldn't risk him asking questions," Natasha told him finally.
Bucky nodded, "You miss him."
"Of course I miss him," she snapped, "I missed him every day when we were on opposite sides of the Civil War. I missed him every day we were held by SHIELD at the Triskelion after being captured. He came to visit me, you know. Twice. But I couldn't talk to him. Couldn't show weakness."
"You love him," Bucky stated matter-of-factly, "Of course you miss him."
"Yeah but I realize something now," Natasha shook her head, taking her eyes off the road for a second to lock on to Bucky's, "Love is for children. There's no place for love in this life, Bucky. None. It's a risk. It breeds trouble. It compromises you. So I can't love him."
Bucky looked at her sadly, because he understood. He knew she was right to a degree. Especially now, there was no place for love. There was no way either of them could fall of someone or retain past affiliations. There was only the mission now.
"This friend of yours, down by the Black Sea," Bucky changed the subject after a few minutes of silence where only the constant patter of rain and swipe of the window-wipers was audible, "This friend. Is he reliable?"
"He's not a nice man," Natasha started with that, "Not by any stretch of the imagination. But he owes me a favor. A big one. And I intend to cash in on it."
"What'd you do?"
She smirked, "Back when we took out the Red Room once and for all, the Avengers I mean, I took the time to send him a transmission telling him to cut ties with them and get as far away from them as possible. He'd helped me in the Red Room. Snuck me food and water whenever he came delivering supplies."
"Surprised Ivan never caught you," Bucky looked at her curiously.
"Da," Natasha said, thinking of her life in the Red Room, "It was tricky work. But Petrovitch never found out."
Ivan Petrovitch had not only been Natasha's handler in the Red Room, but also was head of the entire organization for many years. He was a wicked and cruel man who delighted in the torture of his Black Widow "students".
"I don't want to talk about that anymore," Natasha decided quickly.
"Of course," nodded Bucky.
The rain continued for several hours. Bucky was pretty bored out of his mind, and allowed himself to gently be lulled to sleep by the ambient noise around him. Natasha let him sleep, focusing instead on her driving rather than conversation.
By the time they reached the little sea port on the Black Sea, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to wane in the sky. Bucky, woken up by Natasha, glanced at his phone. It was 5:30. They would just have time to check into their hotel and grab some food before finding Alexei Ivanovitch in port. Bucky was sincerely glad that both he and Natasha spoke Russian, because it was highly unlikely that here, anyone spoke English well enough to really communicate. Perks of being brainwashed by Russians, he supposed. And those perks were few and far between.
