A Little Bit of Freedom
Natalia was waiting for her signal. She was supposed to distract their target until the Winter Soldier sniped the person from a safe distance. Then, place some convenient evidence in that room and be done. That way, the Russian government could finish off two targets that were supposedly enemies but working together behind closed doors without being framed.
She entered the party, ensuring the right parts of her dress were revealing. Too bad that she was actually here for work and not fun. It could be amusing to play with some of the men in that room, including the man on the same com as her earpiece. They might not be the trainer and the student anymore, but that didn't mean she couldn't actually play with him.
The dress did exceptionally well to capture the right kind of attention. The blue satin did quite well to capture people's attention without imprinting her too much into their memory. She slowly swayed over to the bar at the private party and positioned herself close to the countertop. The man eyed her up and down just as she ordered a drink.
"The least you could do is pay for my drink when you already ogle me," She simply stated and looked at him expectantly. Natalia gave him a tempting smile and leaned in closer "That is if you want to keep up with me, hot stuff."
The target laughed and grinned at her, handing over his card to pay for the drink "I do love a challenge. You're new here, aren't you?"
Natasha hummed as she sipped from the vodka once it was served to her. "Oh, you wish to test that theory?"
Slowly she leaned over to him and placed a hand on his upper thigh. Some men were just too easy to seduce. In her experience, old men with money and power always thought they were entitled to have young and attractive girls. They didn't even question that kind behavior towards them. "We could always take this party elsewhere to a…more private room?"
He licked his lips and nodded, eager to get going. "What's your name, baby?"
"Isn't it far more exciting without a name? I can be anyone you like," Natalia squeezed the guy's thigh and slowly moved away as she swiftly finished her drink. "Bring the booze."
Natalia gave him a wink and started to walk away towards the door that would lead them away from the party. Using the intercom that connected her to the Winter Soldier she gave a quick head up "We're on the way to the location. Get ready."
She gave a fake laugh as the guy moved up behind her. He slowly moved to kiss her neck. Natalia pulled away a bit "Can't you wait until we're in private?" she asked him playfully but pushed him to 'accidentally' walk into the guy's office.
Elegantly she turned around and grabbed the bottle of champagne from him. Then, taking the two flutes from him, she walked to the desk close to the window. She filled both glasses with the expensive liquid and grinned "To an exciting night?" She raised her flute to a toast.
The guy eagerly walked over to the desk to take the second glass. He grinned and clinked his glass against Natalia's. "To some special adventures."
Natalia moved to the window and pulled the curtains away to give James a better ability to shoot the man.
The guy instantly moved behind Natalia to kiss her neck and shoulder. "Time to unwrap a certain present." He slowly pulled on the zipper of her dress.
He climbed out of the window of their provided safe house and scaled the back of the building to the rooftop. He crossed over three buildings, keeping track of the rifle being secured snugly to his back. The cold snap of the stinging wing was a welcome refresh. But, unfortunately, James had gotten distracted when Natalia emerged, ready for her half of the mission. The dress she was wearing was far sexier than he'd seen on her before and being out of the country together had kept him half-distracted on the way here.
Now he needed to focus, less his mission be affected. He dropped down onto the roof and found the sandbag where he'd left it the day prior. The banquet hall where the ball was being held was lavish and modern. Modern was good; it meant many windows and easy access for a sniper.
He reminded himself of the floor plan as he started building the nest. He pulled on his second glove before pulling out the duct tape and taping the roof's access door shut. Better to have it seem locked than someone unwittingly come across him and ruins the execution of the entire day's plan in a moment.
He crossed over, reconfirming the man's office window and getting the sand sock set up against the roof. He set his rifle on top of it, squeezing it into the proper shape to give him the right vantage point and height for a headshot. When satisfied, he crossed to the other side of the roof and got low enough to be unseen- even if it was unlikely in the low visibility tonight.
He watched Natalia through the rifle's scope and waited patiently as the hours clicked by and the party got into a fuller swing. The Soldier waited, keeping himself focused by observing the other guests from time to time while Natalia integrated into the party. Still, it was hard to not let his mind wander. Back to the plane here, to the other week, back at the Opera… to her bare back revealed by her dress.
Distractions happened too often lately, and apparently, it wasn't going to stop just for the mission. Especially when he had nothing to do but wait, and let Natalia do her part of the job. Eventually, the time was right and Natalia positioned herself near the target.
After that, he kept the site solely on the target and Natalia and found himself working harder to focus. It wasn't until her voice crackled over the com that his mind seemed to zero back into the mission, his thoughts leaving him, and the cold quiet that came during missions fell over him naturally.
"Copy," He stayed quiet aside from that, using the comm when they moved out of sightline. The Soldier stood and returned towards the sandbags he'd set up prior. He laid down and positioned his rifle into a good range for the office window they'd agreed on while mapping the location. He squeezed the sandbag to bump the back of the gun up and hunched over it to check his line of sight was correct. His eyes peered through the night, watching for the telltale signs of the wind's direction. It was a relatively calm night, but at this height, there were always wind factors to account for and factor in.
Satisfied that he was lined up, all he had to do was wait for her to line up his shot. He saw her dress pass through his scope, and then she emerged on the other side of the desk. It was fortunate they were not in the Soviet Union because any soviet cabinet member or general they might be taking out would not be so carefree as to let her open curtains and position them so perfectly. This wasn't their country, though, and so he wasn't surprised. Besides, Natalia's skills were showcasing and the shot was nearly there.
His earlier patience was thinning rapidly, distracting and sour thoughts pooling into his mind as the man started to undress her. She'd put him in the perfect spot, but she was in the way now. He ran his finger along the trigger, likely too eager to shoot, perhaps for secondary reasons.
Then, Natalia turned and stepped half a step away to get the champagne bottle and the Soldier's window opened. One last check and the Soldier squeezed the trigger; the bullet arched up like a rainbow and landed true. Straight through the target's temple as he'd turned to reach for Natalia again.
"Confirm target down," He reached up to call through the comm. As soon as it was, Natalia could plant the evidence and he'd cover her retreat from the event hall. If all went well, he'd wait for her departure and make a faster retreat than she could back to the safe house. They'd rendezvous there and wait for the fallout to dissipate from the death.
Natalia barely flinched when the man fell to the ground. She felt the familiar feeling of warm liquid on her skin. She sighed, a little annoyed but finished her glass of champagne. It was the good stuff, so why even waste a drop.
Slowly, she crouched down and checked for a pulse, even though the blood from his skull was enough of a telltale sign that the man was dead.
"Target eliminated." she simply replied and stood up, walking towards the window to look towards the other building and the room James was waiting in. "You pay for the dry cleaning, Winter. My dress has spots of blood."
She moved to shimmy back into her dress before planting some fake evidence to ensure the police department wouldn't suspect any Soviet involvement in this case. Then she walked up to the desk and looked through some paper until she found what she was there for. Some files and mission reports about Fidel Castro and the American involvement in the Cuban Crisis.
Now, she just needed to leave the location without being seen. It wasn't much trouble to her, but only a minor inconvenience. She redrew her red lipstick and fixed her hair on the way out. Then, slowly, she pulled her zipper back up. On the way, she grabbed a random cloak from a pile and wrapped herself in it to hide some tiny blood spots on her body.
Natalia strolled away from the party when she heard someone scream for help and to call the emergency. Sighing, she moved out when the chaos broke loose. To be sure, she went the opposite way she was supposed to. It was just to make sure no one was following her.
After 10 minutes, Natalia made a detour slowly to meet up with the Winter Soldier at their rendezvous place. Finally, she slipped out of her heels and walked into the house barefoot.
"Honey, I'm home-" she joked as she stepped into their safe apartment to wait for extraction.
Mission success, then. As long as she got out undetected, and that was almost assured. Still, he waited in his nest, following her movements as best he could in case he could be of assistance in any evacuation situations.
Her quip made him smirk, his focus slipping again. James shook his head before lining up with his sniper and pulling his range back. She was moving out of sight and he'd leave soon.
He scoured the ground for the shell casing, putting it into the pocket at his leg for later disposal. She cleared the building not long after, slipping around a corner and he quickly disassembled his rifle and put it into its case, the heavy sandbag he tucked under his metal arm. He could use the cover of darkness on the top of the buildings to get away unseen.
He moved fast, grabbing the tape off the door and doing a once over to ensure nothing was left behind. Then he disappeared without a trace, following his previous path back to the safe house.
Methodically, he disassembled his gear, putting it back into the duffel bag he'd come in with. He had barely had the time to turn his watch over and check the time when Natalia slipped through the door. James smiled.
"Working late today?" He asked, playing along. His gaze couldn't help but linger as she removed the wrap she hadn't had beforehand. It dawned on him now that the mission was successful and his focus was no longer necessary that they were here until dawn when the extraction team could arrive.
Natalia grinned as he played along with her joke. But, of course, it wasn't something she had anticipated him doing. So, why not tease him a little more? "I know. My boss was a total douche and wouldn't finish the assignment, you know?"
She sighed, relieved and dropped her heels. "One of these days, they're gonna kill me." The Red Room supplied her with tiny shoes and the last mile had been exceptionally aggravating on her feet. She knew she wasn't allowed to complain about it but still…her feet hurt and were sore!
Natasha noticed how his gaze lingered on her "Like what you see?" She raised her eyebrow and gave him a smirk.
"If I didn't know it better, I'd say you like this dress, James-" she leaned forward, getting on her toes to whisper into his ear and gently placed a hand on his chest.
Maybe she shouldn't try him like this, but it was fun. Besides, how he looked at her made her breath get caught on the way and her heart beat faster. He certainly had an effect on her.
He wanted to tell her he wouldn't let them and stop anyone before they killed her. His mind jumped past the shoes before placing what she meant. It was also ridiculously sentimental to think- he wasn't sure where the thought came from. It wasn't accurate, as much as he could try or would- no one could promise such a thing. There were too many possibilities out there.
"I doubt that," He decided to say, smiling because he wasn't willing to kill the mood with his strange thoughts. James walked towards her, nodding as she smirked at him. Well, who wouldn't like looking at her? He was highly aware of the fact that they were truly alone. Alone until dawn and entirely under their own motivations for the evening. Such a chance had never arisen before.
Her whisper sent a shiver through him.
"It's a good dress," He replied huskily, happy his updated arm was working smoothly so he could wrap his arms tightly around her waist as she leaned against him. "I like something else a little more, though," He continued playfully.
She had meant him and not their actual higher-ups. But it was more than obvious it had gone over his head. Never mind, she wasn't about to allow this to pull down her mood. She had been successful and nothing else truly mattered.
Natalia snorted, amused as he doubted the shoes would kill her. Granted, they wouldn't, but what did he know? "Have you ever tried walking miles in those shoes, James? I guarantee you wouldn't be so positive about that anymore," she nudged him gently.
She grinned as he clearly appeared to be smitten with her right now. Natalia bit her lower lip and allowed the warmth of James's embrace to sink under her skin. Almost instantly, she felt so much more at ease.
"Oh, really?" She grinned a bit and moved to kiss his cheek. "Why do I have a feeling you're talking about my shoes?" She played a little dumb but moved to gently kiss him.
"No, in fact I wonder quite often how you get around in them," He said, giving the shoes tossed aside a questionable look. But, he honestly had; Natalia never seemed to miss a step balancing on stilettos and James wasn't envious. Instead, he preferred his boots firmly on the ground where he could actually move.
"Hmm," He leaned into her kiss, his nerves jumping alive again. James broke the kiss to trail to her jaw and then her neck. "No, it's not the shoes," He muttered against her skin. James gave her a good squeeze, leaning away from her neck to smirk at her. "I think you might have an idea, Natalia."
Natasha's attention zeroed in on James and her heart began to beat faster. That man was doing things to her that she had never felt with anyone else.
His gentle kisses made her hair stand up. She stared at his lip and she shivered a bit in anticipation. "Why don't you show me what your idea is?" She asked but stepped out of his embrace a bit.
The redhead reached behind herself and unzipped the dress, allowing it to fall to the ground again. "Something like this?" She whispered.
She pulled away and James instantly missed the warmth, his arm trailing slowly back to his side. "Weren't you briefed? Extraction isn't until dawn…" He replied, the implications exciting him more. They'd spent too long sneaking a rushed kiss behind a closed door, teasing each other during sparring… and damn, she must feel the same pent-up energy he did. Tonight, there was no rush, no one peering over their shoulders or distractions from each other because they were mid-mission.
Natalia's thoughts were clearly reflecting his own. "Yeah, something like that," He muttered, drawn to her like a moth to the flame.
Author's Note: This is the first story of a full series around Bucky and Natasha's unseen past in the MCU. Stay tuned!
Leave a kudos or put it in the comments what you think will happen next or what you loved! It'll be great to hear from you! If you enjoyed the story, feel free to treat me to a coffee on KoFi! ko slash fi dot com slash fatedmuses