"Um. No." Wanda scrunched her nose at the image looking back at her in the mirror. "It's just not. . .me." The crimson red dress clung to her form, sliding against every curve and accentuating certain parts of her body that she preferred to hide so she wouldn't be noticed. The neckline plunged down in a v shape, showing her breastbone, and daringly swooping to her upper chest. The daring dress fell to her midthigh, and Wanda was paranoid of walking too fast, for fear of exposing her upper thighs.

Natasha stood behind her, red lips pulled to the side in a smirk. "That's the whole point, Wanda. You're not supposed to feel like you; you're undercover."

Wanda reluctantly twirled to look at the dress. "But you don't this is overkill?" She worried her lower lip, tugging the dress down like it would magically get longer.

Natasha shook her head and laughed. "You look great. The guys will be knocked out of their socks." She backed up and plopped on the bed, making the mound of clothes shift over to accommodate her. "I know this is way out of your element." She leaned back on her elbows. "You're gonna do great."

Wanda smoothed down nonexistent wrinkles in her gown. "Thank you." Even though she didn't know the assassin well, she appreciated Natasha's attempts to make her feel better. "I guess I should make my way downstairs?" She hated the note of hesitancy that entered her voice at even a simple question. Could she really do this? Go deep undercover?

Natasha got to her feet, agile as ever, and nodded towards the door. "Let's get on with it."

. . .

Bucky had never been at such a loss of words. Usually, he was a man of few words, but now even more than ever, he couldn't speak.

Wanda was descending the staircase, looking like an angel descended from heaven. Clad in crimson red, she was showing more skin than he had ever seen on her before. Bucky had been quite the ladies' man in his day, but those times had long passed. He was strangely drawn to her, and he couldn't get those intriguing brown eyes out of his head.

She was nervous that he was staring at her. Bucky could tell in the way that she hesitated before coming down each step and yanked on her dress aggressively.

To avoid being seen as a creep, Bucky pretended to be fascinated with the innermost workings of his metal arm.

"Wanda!" Steve's loud voice stopped Bucky from his fake perusing. "You look so beautiful I hardly recognized you!" He seemed shocked that Wanda could look like that.

Bucky had to admit she got his blood roaring in way he really liked. Maybe liked too much. He needed to keep his distance.

"We've gotta make our flight," Steve added, clutching Wanda's hand to help her down the last step. "You've got everything?" He directed this question at Wanda, smiling warmly at her as if he could sense her unease.

Wanda nodded, glancing at Bucky and then quickly looking away as if struck. "I couldn't fit it all in my suitcase, so I had to bring a carryon." Her red painted lips tuned up in a slight smile. "I didn't even know someone could have enough stuff to fill both."

Bucky's heart tightened as he thought about how horrible her childhood must have been in order for her to think that.

This girl was already way too good at getting under his skin.

. . .

Wanda shivered at the shower of cold air coming down from the vent above her in the plane. Sandwiched in between Steve and Bucky, she should have been warm, but goosebumps were spreading all over her bare arms. If it wasn't for appearance's sake, she would have changed into a sweatshirt and pants in the airport before the boarded the plane. Venezuela was quite a plane ride away, and Wanda was expecting it to be warmer than it was.

She was trying to keep the shivering to a minimum, but her teeth chattering woke one of the sleeping men next to her. Bucky sleepily cracked his eyes open and squinted at her. A random thought overtook Wanda, and she smiled, thinking he looked positively adorable.

"You are cold." Bucky statement was soft, not wanting to wake Steve.

Wanda blushed. "Sorry I woke you up," She whispered, adjusting herself in the seat. Bucky's arm brushed against hers when she did so, and her face got even more red. In the small plane, there was nowhere for her to go in order to get distance between them, and Wanda was realizing just how close they were. "I'm kind of cold natured."

Bucky observed her for a quiet moment until Wanda began to feel uncomfortable. In swift movements, he reached underneath the seat in front of him, into his military green duffel bag. A moment later, he had fished a black leather jacket out of his bag.

"Here." Bucky plopped it into her lap without ceremony, the cool of his metal arm grazing her cold flesh. Wanda jumped at the unexpected contact and shouldered Steve sleeping next to her.

He snorted in his sleep and turned so his head fell into the window next to him. The loud bonk did nothing to deter his long nap, as he serenely slept on.

Wanda and Bucky turned to each other and laughed lightly. "He sleeps like a bear." Wanda said, noticing for the first time how pleasant Bucky's laugh was.

The leather jacket in her lap was already warming her legs, and Wanda was beyond grateful for the lifeline to warmth. Whenever she used her magic, her body felt like it was on fire it was so hot, but normally she was always so cold.

Not quite sure how to slip the jacket on while between the two broad-shouldered men, Wanda opted to put the jacket on backwards, just slipping her arms in the sleeve. "Thank you," Wanda said, daring to make eye contact again with the man currently sharing her armrest.

Bucky nodded, and laid his head back on the seat, shutting his eyes again, and effectively distancing himself again.

Wanda sighed inwardly and settled into the warmth of the jacket. His walls would not be easy to break down. But why did she care to break them down? She had her own problems to deal with, and she would not go where she wasn't wanted.

. . .

They landed in Vegas without incident, and they hailed a taxi to take them to their hotel. Wanda was masquerading as an up-and-coming wannabe actress, and the men with her were her agent and bodyguard. After the made it to the hotel, Wanda realized that she was still wearing Bucky's jacket. A distinctly masculine smell surrounded her, and Wanda caught the spicy smell of an expensive cologne. It had to have been a gift because Bucky did not seem the type to have something so extravagant.

Although Wanda wanted to keep the jacket on, she shimmied out of it and dropped in on the chair while Bucky was in the bathroom. Steve headed right for the room service menu as soon as the door clicked open. Wanda didn't blame him; the super-soldier needed fuel.

"What is our first assignment?" Wanda asked, curling up in the armchair by the window. There were three queen-sized beds inside the massive hotel room, Wanda did not want to lay in hers for fear of falling asleep. Admittedly, she felt uneasy being around Steve and Bucky. Not because she thought she was unsafe, but she just didn't know how to be herself around them.

"We have to remember to keep up pretenses," Steve rolled out a map onto the table by the window, where the afternoon light was just now streaming in. "Tonight, Wanda, you and Bucky are going to the theater downtown. You have to scope out Antonio Bacevich." He grabbed a black marker and began drawing. "Fury believes that he is in connection with Hydra."

Wanda tried to remain calm. She had to ignore the fact that this was her first mission. Not only her first mission, but an undercover one at that.

Nervously tugging down her dress again, Wanda adjusted her legs so no one could see up her dress. This was becoming a weird tick of hers. "What are we trying to accomplish?"

Steve looked sideways at her. "This is where it gets a little complicated."

Wanda didn't like the sound of that.

Bucky cleared his throat. "What's this about Steve?"

Wanda whipped around to look at him, not even realizing that he had come out of the bathroom quite a while ago.

"Fury didn't mention that we would be engaging with Bacevich in the briefing." Bucky added, looking troubled.

Steve winced, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "Yeah he didn't want the others to hear the plan because they wouldn't approve. And Natasha and Clint were very interested in what the mission entailed so. . ." He stopped talking.

Wanda had a sudden feeling that she wasn't going to like what Steve would say next.

"You are going to infiltrate a little further than you all planned to." Steve continued, seeing to brace himself. "You guys are both going to the theater tonight and posing as the actress and bodyguard like we planned. But you have to get Bacevich to notice you."

"I thought we didn't want to be noticed?" Wanda was confused. "Isn't that the point of being undercover?"

"Bacevich wants what he can't have." Steve said, looking disgusted. "He fancies himself a collector of sorts and he wants to "collect" all the pretty young women that he can get."

He paused.

Wanda held her breath.

"Wanda you're going to be the bait."

. . .

Never. Never again, Wanda had vowed to herself when she had left Hydra the first time. She had told herself that she was never going back and now she was supposed to walk right into the belly of the beast?

Her panic must have shown on her face because Steve crossed the room towards her quickly, squatting down in front of her. "Bucky will be with you the whole time." His blue eyes were concerned. "You don't have to go anywhere with this guy, I promise. You just have to get his attention."

Wanda nodded, gathering her hair into a knot at the base of her neck. She was suddenly feeling very overheated. She was certainly not going to admit that she didn't even know how to flirt.

She flicked her eyes over to Bucky, suddenly curious about his opinion. His jaw was clenched, and his blue eyes were steely. Oh. He obviously didn't approve.

"Okay," Wanda breathed, because they seemed to be waiting for her reaction. "I'm in."