DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE.
The rating of this story has CHANGED from T to M now, due to sexual content. Please bare this warning in mind if you decide to continue reading.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Steve could only watch wordlessly as the news report came onto the screen in the little hotel room that he and Sam had rented out in Vienna. The images flashed in front of him, but everything seemed to be a blur. Even the news reporters words weren't sinking in. It was all dimmed into the background by the unbelievable surge of panic that had gripped his body the second the report had come on.
He felt as if he was about to throw up.
A bomb had gone off beside the UN headquarters, right when the meeting for the Accords was being held. The King of Wakanda had been killed in the blast, and it remained uncertain just how many more casualties were waiting to be named, once the firefighters had managed to get through the rubble and bodies were identified.
An image of Bucky appeared on the screen as the Winter Soldier was declared the number one target, having been spotted closeby right before the bomb had been set off. Even as the image flashed before him, Steve would not allow himself to see the Winter Soldier and Bucky as being the same person. Rumlow had told him that Hydra still had Bucky. Surely, they had set him up?
But, that wasn't what crippled Steve with fear.
Nat had been in that building.
"I have to go to work." Sharon Carter, who had appeared at the hotel room only moments before, said from the back of the room. She had been one of the assigned agents with the task of tracking down Barnes, but had come to give Steve the heads up. Why she had done so was unknown to him, but he had been thankful for her help all the same.
But now, there was only thought in his head. Nat.
Nat, who had been in that same building, in that same meeting. Who had gone because she believed that the Avengers were owed the chance for the world to see them as they truly were; protectors.
Nat, who had come to him at Peggy Carter's funeral, despite the awful tension between them. Who had held him and been there for him, without him asking that of her. Who hadn't pressed him to come with her, who hadn't forced him to change his mind.
Nat, who now wasn't picking up her phone.
"She's alright, man." Sam told him, instantly knowing who Steve was trying to reach. He saw the desperation on his friend's face, and placed a hand on Steve's shoulder to try to relax him. "It's Natasha."
That wasn't enough. The tightening in his chest wouldn't loosen until he saw with his own eyes that she truly was okay. He should have been there with her. If there was even a scratch on her...
"We need to get there." Steve said. Natasha had no idea he was in Vienna, and she probably didn't want anything to do with him, but he had to go. He had to see that she was okay for himself, because right now, he couldn't think straight. What they had come to Vienna to achieve came second best right now.
Sam understood, dipping his head to Sharon as she darted from the room, before he and Steve dressed in hoodies and caps to hide their faces from any cameras. The press littered the streets, and they had to keep their identities hidden.
Around the building, police swarmed everywhere, darting around and calling orders. Medical staff wheeled people out on stretchers, and there were crying ladies on the steps of the building being comforted by strangers. Debris and rubble were scattered everywhere, the smoke of the explosion still in the air.
Steve's eyes scanned the scene in front of him, only coming to rest when he spotted the familiar red hair of the woman he loved. His legs felt like jelly underneath him as relief surged through him, but he stopped himself from running straight towards her and crushing her to his body, never wanting to let go.
She was seated on a bench, speaking to a gentleman that Steve did not realise. The man left her, and she watched him go, a look of dread but also sadness on her face as he disappeared into the crowd. Her brow furrowed in a way that he had always found so adorable, as it always did when she was trying to work something out. The sight of her felt like he'd just been hit by a wave of oxygen, finally allowing him to breathe once again.
Moving behind the cover of a street post, Steve dialled her number again. This time, she answered without a moment of hesitation, and her voice banished his earlier concern almost instantly, cooling over him in the same effect water had on a flame. "Steve?"
"Are you alright?" He hadn't seen any physical injury to her person, but perhaps the bomb had shaken her. She was perfectly entitled to be unnerved by such a thing, not that Natasha Romanoff would probably ever admit to being unsettled by such a thing.
Blood roared in his ears at the thought of what he would do if any harm had actually come to her. His grip on the phone tightened ever so slightly, careful to not snap the device right there and then as that overwhelming wave of relief washed through his entire body at the reminder that she hadn't been hurt.
She sighed gently. "I'm fine. I got lucky." When he looked over his shoulder, he saw that she had gotten up and was looking around her, as if expecting to see him. "I know how much Barnes means to you, I really do. But, stay home, Steve. You'll only make this worse. For all of us. Please, just stay home."
"Are you saying you'll arrest me?" He only meant it as a teasing comment, but then he got worried that perhaps it was no longer his place to joke around with her. Were they even together anymore? That thought frightened him more than anything, and his throat bobbed. Every breathe made his chest tighten.
Before, she probably would have chuckled. She would have rolled her eyes at him, in the way that had him smiling and feeling like he was on top of the world. Now, there was nothing but silence from her end of the phone that cut into him until she said, "No. Someone will, though, if you interfere. That's how it works now." Was she warning him to stay away because she was worried about him, or because she never wanted to see him again?
"If he's this far gone, Nat, I should be the one to bring him in." If there really was no hope for Bucky, Steve was determined to be there for his friend through the final steps. It should be him. Bucky deserved that much.
"Why?" Natasha demanded, glancing around again. Steve moved further behind the cover of a wall, keeping himself from her searching gaze. Although he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and kiss her until they were both gasping for breath, he didn't move an inch.
"Because I'm the one least likely to die trying," Pausing, he wanted to blurt down the phone that he loved her, because his feelings hadn't changed one bit no matter the void that was between them. But, for some reason the only thing he added was, "I'm sorry, Nat." before he hung up.
She stared down at the phone, an unreadable expression on her face, and Steve turned away, heading back to the restaurant where Sam was waiting to hear the next stage in his plan.
~0~0~0~0~0~
He was infuriating.
Natasha could have throttled him right there and then, in front of everyone and not given two shits about who saw, but she managed to somehow refrain herself. It took every ounce of self-resistrant she had, but she managed it, barely.
As Emmett led Steve, Sam, T'Challa and a group of armed guards down the walkway towards her, Natasha could have quite easily swatted Steve round the head, several times. He had not only gotten himself in a scrap with the Winter Soldier, but also, the Prince of Wakanda.
It was mostly because he looked awful, that she was so angry at him. He'd gotten himself battered in that tunnel. She'd never seen him get into such a state before. Soon enough, the serum in his veins would amend his injuries, but that still didn't stop her breath from catching at the first sight of him. Cuts crossed over his face, scrapes and bruises had already formed, but the defiance in his blue eyes still burned strong.
Stubborn ass. She made a mental note that when all this mess was resolved, she'd probably kill him herself.
So, she met his gaze as she approached them, and fell into his side, standing close enough to growl quietly, "For the record, this is what making it worse looks like." The material of her jacket brushed against the sleeve of his, but she made no move to get closer to him, even though every part of her wanted nothing more than to touch him - whether that be to hug him or punch him, she wasn't sure yet.
The corner of his lip twitched, but he didn't smile. "He's alive." That was his response, as if it justified everything. Once again, she resisted the urge to elbow him in the ribs.
Tony was already inside the room, on the phone, looking ruffled and fed up. Natasha shot both Steve and Sam a warning glare. "Try not to break anything while we fix this." She was furious, absolutely raging at Steve for being so stupidly reckless and putting himself - and others - at such risk.
"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve asked her.
She raised her eyebrow at him in challenge as she joined Tony, practically begging him to try to push her buttons even further. "Technically, it's the government's problem." She clarified, her tone warning him not to make a scene. Not here. But, it wasn't as if he'd actually listened to her advice as of late. She turned her sharp gaze to Sam. "Wings too,"
"That's cold." Sam commented, but Steve's expression could have been confused with amusement as he watched her.
Natasha refused to rise to the bait, and Tony couldn't resist retaliating back for her, "Warmer than jail," His hand was at the small of her back as he led her away, and Natasha felt Steve's glare from across the room, directed straight at the billionaire's touch. She huffed. He couldn't go against her advice and then get all alpha-male protective over her. It hurt her head too much to try to keep up with him.
"Jail?" She asked Tony quietly as they left together, leaving Steve and Sam to stew over what had just happened to them.
Tony sighed. "We'll see what we can do." It wasn't a promise, though. They both knew better than that. This situation was about to get a whole lot worse.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Steve's eyes did not move from the scene in front of him, showing Bucky held by some sort of mechanical cage, until the glass doors of the room slid open. But, when he removed his eyes from the screen, he tried to ignore the disappointment that sank into him. It wasn't the person who he wanted to see. In fact, it was probably the last person he wanted to see.
"I pulled something from Dad's archives." Tony said, placing a rectangonal case down on the table beside them. He opened the case, revealing two rather smart looking ink pens, that Steve knew were anything but functional ink pens. "FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941. Provided support to the Allies when they needed it most."
"Some would say it brought our country closer to way." Steve pointed out, on his guard. The footing between him and Tony had always been slightly shaky, and they constant butt heads, but this time, it was different. It felt personal.
"See? If not for these, you wouldn't be here." Tony said, sounding slightly frustrated with Steve's attitude. "I'm trying to...what do you call it? That's an olive branch. Is that what you call it?"
Steve didn't look down at the pens. Instead, he regarded his former team mate carefully. "Is Pepper here? I didn't see her."
"We're kinda...not, well not kinda…" Tony struggled.
"Pregnant?" Steve offered. He hadn't heard a single whisper of Pepper in months, and she hadn't been at Tony's side whenever he appeared on the news.
But, Tony scoffed at the suggestion. "No. Definitely not. We're taking a break. It's nobodies fault."
"I'm sorry to hear that." He genuinely was. No matter what his differences with Tony were, he knew that he loved Pepper very, very much. Perhaps, that partly explained his sour attitude as of late.
"A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed up my suits. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA, and then Ultron - my fault. And then...and then, I never stopped, because the truth is I don't want to stop. But, I don't want to lose her. I thought maybe the Accords could split the difference."
As he listened, Steve couldn't help but feel his heart clench as he realised just how broken Tony really was. If things continued how they were going, would this be him, when he no longer had Nat? When they had finally pushed each other away far enough that they were not repairing the damage?
The thought destroyed him, so he pushed it away.
"In her defence," Tony continued, walking around the room as if he couldn't bare to stay still longer than three seconds. "I'm a handful. Yet, Dad was a pain in the ass, but he and Mom always made it work."
It was still strange for Steve, sometimes, to remember that standing in front of him was the son of Howard Stark, who had been there before Steve had gotten trapped in the ice.
"I'm glad Howard got married." He said, truthfully. "I only knew him when he was young and single."
Then, sarcastic, defensive Tony was back. "Oh, really? You two knew each other? He only mentioned it about...I don't know, a thousand times. God, I hated you." His tone wasn't joking, and perhaps, what he said really was the truth, and that was why Tony acted out against Steve's orders.
But, Steve didn't want to continue this animosity between them. He was physically and mentally drained, and the only person who could make him better was somewhere in this building, not with him. "I don't mean to make things difficult."
"I know, because you're a very polite person." Tony shrugged his jacket back on in that casual way that only he could ever master.
"If I see a situation pointed south, I can't ignore it." Steve insisted. "Sometimes, I wish I could."
Tony looked down at him. "No, you don't. Sometimes, I want to punch you in your perfect teeth. But, I don't want to see you gone. We need you, Cap. Especially Little Red, I thought she was going to pull her hair out whilst she waited for you to get your sorry ass dragged in here. I'm the one who has to keep her together, and to be honest, she terrifies me."
Steve grinned at that, a flash of pride going through him that he quickly tried to overlook, as there was a chance that Natasha was now no longer his to feel that way for…
"So far," Tony told him. "Nothing has been done that can't be undone, if you sign. We can make the last twenty four hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-centre instead of a Wakandan prison."
Thoughtfully, Steve picked up one of the pens, rolling it between his fingers. "I'm not saying it's impossible but there would have to be safeguards."
"Sure," Tony agreed, and for a moment, Steve realised just how willing Tony would be to put aside their differences, if it meant that Steve signed those Accords. It showed just how much Tony believed that he was right about this. "Once we put out the PR fire, these documents can be amended. I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated-"
That name caught his attention, making Steve pause. "Wanda? What about Wanda?"
"She's fine. She's confined to the compound, currently. Vision's keeping her company."
Steve bristled. "God, Tony, every time I think you see things the right way…" In his head, he could see Wanda, curled up in a ball in her room, treated as a prisoner, feeling as if she deserved it.
Tony's voice raised as he defended his actions, "It's 100 acres with a lap pool. It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people."
"Protection?" Steve mocked the word, spitting it out as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. Poor Wanda. She didn't deserve this, this act of 'protection'. Not when her intentions had been nothing but good, to save his ass… "Is that how you see this? This is protection? It's internment, Tony."
"She's not a US citizen-"
"Oh, come on, Tony." Steve snapped.
"They don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction."
The tether inside Steve, keeping his temper in check, finally snapped. "She's just a kid!" He shouted, unbothered by the agents surrounding the glass room that spun around at his outburst.
"Give me a break!" Tony yelled back. "I'm doing what has to be done, to stave off something worse."
"You keep telling yourself that." Steve dropped the pen back into the case without much care. "Hate to break up the set."
As he headed for the door, what Tony said next had him pausing at the doorway.
"I meant what I said, about her. Natasha may be the strongest person I've ever met, and no doubt, she'll probably strangle me herself if she ever finds out I'm saying this. But, I guess I'm just hoping that if you refuse to listen to me, you'll at least think about her, and it may bring some sense into that thick skull of yours."
Steve's heart pounded in his chest, but he remained in the doorway to listen anyway.
Tony went on, clearly sensing that Steve was seconds away from storming off. "She doesn't appreciate someone trying to hold her together, but someone has to, whilst your off trying to get yourself killed."
Without a word, Steve stormed off, as the truth in Tony's words hit too close to home.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Natasha knew better than to be hopeful when Tony appeared at her side. "How did it go?" She asked quietly, as they were in a room filled with agents, and Emmett. All their attention seemed to be stuck on the large screen displaying Bucky's interrogation, but she couldn't be too careful.
"To shit," He muttered back. "Captain America is certainly an arrogant ass when he wants to be." He turned to glance at her. "How are you feeling?"
"Restless. I want to get this over with." She said, and it wasn't a lie. But, she wanted other things too, like a chance to have a genuine conversation with Steve that either ended with them resolving things, or at least being on the same page.
"You and me both," Tony said, and they turned back to the screen in front of them, where the agent had just asked Bucky to confirm that his first name was James.
Behind her, Natasha was very much aware of Steve hovering close by in the glass-walled conference room. Sam was with him, but Natasha knew that Steve's eyes were locked on Bucky's face as it appeared in front of him. Part of her just wished she could go to him, take his hand and squeeze it, show him that she was there for him.
But, there was a lot more than just a simple glass wall between them now.
Turning her head, Natasha picked up a third person in the room with him. Agent Carter was there, standing close to Steve, a sympathetic look on her face as she gazed up at him.
Of course, Agent Carter was here. Natasha should have known that the blonde would accompany Steve on whatever ridiculous mission that he went on in search of Bucky. She might well have even given him information that should have remained classified. The sight of the blonde woman staring up at Steve with such Bambi-eyes had Natasha bristling.
And then, Sharon Carter's fingers grazed down Steve's arm in a comforting, personal gesture. Natasha spun round, refusing to let that stab of hurt touch her heart, because if she acknowledged it, she'd certainly crumble to pieces in front of everyone.
If she had looked for a second longer, though, she would have seen Steve move away.
~0~0~0~0~0~
The alarm sounded through the entire building, alerting every agent inside to the newest threat.
The Winter Soldier had just escaped.
Natasha raced for the doors, practically throwing herself down the stairway. By the time she reached the foyer, Tony had just been sent crashing through the wooden tables. Natasha sprang up onto a chair, wrapping her legs around the Winter Soldier's neck and spinning them with all the momentum that she could muster. She struck his head several times with the handle of her gun, but he didn't so much as even flinch before he threw her down onto a table.
As his hand grabbed her throat, she managed to cough out, "Ah, still trying to kill me then. I see how it is."
Then, he was thrown away from her, and T'Challa was there, seeking vengeance for the death of his father. The Prince would most definitely try to kill the Winter Soldier right there and then, and fought with such precious strikes and agile movements that he certainly remained Natasha of a panther.
As the Wakandan warrior and the Soldier took their fight up a flight of stairs, Natasha fought to regain oxygen in her lungs. She rolled off the table, still battling for breath, when there was suddenly a hand on her back and someone was at her side.
"Are you alright?" It was Sharon Carter. Where she'd come from, Natasha had no idea, but after what she had witnessed in the conference room, she didn't much care to be around the woman either.
"Tony?" Natasha called across the room, ignoring the blonde agent all together. Perhaps it was rude. Perhaps it was petty - something that Natasha had never even thought she'd ever allow herself to be. But, she didn't care, but when she remembered the way Sharon had gazed up at Steve and touched his hand.
"Yeah, all good." He replied gruffly, rising to his feet. "Where is he?"
At that very moment, T'Challa fell to the ground nearby, and they rushed to help him to his feet, before Natasha had the chance to ask Tony if he had meant Bucky, or Steve.
"He's gone." The Prince choked out, hissing under his breath. "To the roof,"
Agent Carter darted off instantly, and Natasha went to follow her, when Tony stopped her, a hand landing on her shoulder. "Secretary Ross will want to speak with us, immediately." He told her. "They will handle this, Nat."
She clenched her jaw, but didn't argue. Sure enough, thirty minutes later, she found herself sat at a table with Tony across from her and Secretary Ross pacing around them furious that the Winter Soldier had disappeared clean off the face of the Earth, once again.
This time, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson had gone with him.
"Well, I don't suppose you have any idea where they are?" Ross demanded.
"We will." Tony told him. A nasty looking bruise had already started to form on his face, but it was nothing compared to his damaged ego. The Winter Soldier had treated him as a toy, and Steve had gone against his warnings. "GSG 9's got the borders covered. Recon's flying 24/7. They'll get a hit. We'll handle it."
But, Ross shook his head. "You don't get it, Stark. It's not yours to handle. It's clear you can't be objective. I'm putting Special Ops on this."
"What happens when the shooting starts?" Fear surged through her as she glared up at him. "What, you kill Steve Rogers?"
"If we're provoked." Ross confirmed, and that fear inside her exploded into full-blown panic. It was swiftly replaced with a searing hatred, directed at the suited man standing in front of her. Only decades of training kept Natasha's face from showing exactly how she was feeling. "Barnes would've been eliminated in Romania if it wasn't for Rogers. There are dead people who would be alive now. Feel free to check my math."
Tony turned to face him. "All due respect, you're not going to solve this with boys and bullets, Ross. You've got to let us bring them in."
"How would that end any differently than last time?" Ross asked.
"Because this time, I won't be wearing loafers and a silk shirt." Tony bit out, and under that annoyance at being undermined, Natasha knew that he also feared for Steve's life, if it was left in the hands of Special Ops agents. "Seventy-two hours, guaranteed."
Ross said nothing, and Natasha genuinely believed that he was going to turn Tony down and walk out. But, then, he compromised, "Thirty-six hours. Barnes, Rogers, Wilson."
"Thank you, sir." Tony said, and watched as the Secretary of State stalked out of the room, followed closely behind by his assistant. Only then, did Tony let his head fall into his hands and exhale. "My left arm is numb. Is that normal?"
Natasha walked over to him, her hand resting on his shoulder and squeezing. A silent thank you, for him defending Steve. "You all right?"
"Always," He answered, sitting down on a chair. "Thirty-six hours, jeez."
"We're seriously understaffed." She pointed out.
"Oh, yeah, it'd be great if we had a Hulk right about now. Maybe he could scent them out." Tony joked.
She raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think he'd be on our side?" Banner hated conflict of any kind, and the divide between the group would certainly be too much for him. Wherever he was in the world, Natasha hoped he had managed to find some peace, at last. "Any other great ideas, Mr Stark?"
He chuckled. "One." He said, and she dreaded to think where this possible ally would come from. "How about you?"
"Oh, I have one." She said. Downstairs, there was a seething Prince who would certainly be willing to help them.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Too much had happened in the last couple of hours for Steve to even try to process. Bucky was with them, and he was safe. Steve had already contacted Clint Barton and asked him to break Wanda out of the compound. Clint had been reluctant at first, stating that he had retired for a reason, but then, something had changed his mind. Steve was convinced that it was something to do with the fact Clint still carried the guilt of Pietro's death, so in helping Wanda, he could find some peace. Steve hadn't pushed him on the matter.
He and Sam were currently waiting for the return of their gear, which Sharon Carter had agreed to fetch for them, regardless of the consequences she could face if she was to get caught.
Somewhere out there, Secretary Ross would be raging at the successful escape of the Winter Soldier. No doubt, he had already sent teams out to hunt Bucky down and kill him on sight. Steve didn't even want to think about where Tony and Natasha stood on the matter.
As a car approached, Steve tried to forget his thoughts concerning his girlfriend - if he could even consider Natasha that anymore, if she even thought of herself as his after what they had been through recently.
Sharon stepped out of the car, glancing from Steve to Sam carefully. "I'm not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car." She commented.
"It's low profile." The car they'd managed to get their hands on wasn't the newest model, and probably couldn't stand to go faster than fifty miles an hour, but it was the best they could do at such short notice.
"Good," She said, lifting the boot of her own vehicle, revealing his shield and Sam's Falcon suit. "This stuff tends to draw a crowd."
Before heading over to retrieve the gear, Steve looked to Sam, who nodded and stayed by the car, where Bucky was waiting inside.
"I owe you again." Steve told her, having not forgotten everything she had done for him over the past few years.
"I'm keeping a list." She said with a small smile, glancing back to the car. "You know, he kind of tried to kill me?"
"Sorry, I'll put it on the list, too." Although it felt nice to have a light-hearted conversation again, Steve's mood didn't lift much. There was too much going on, too much to think about and plan ahead for, for him to be in much of a joking mood. "They're going to come looking for you."
Her reply was confident, despite the fact by now, her actions would have been known to SHIELD. "I know."
Steve looked down to the shield, not noticing how she had suddenly moved a lot closer to him. Her hand was around the back of his neck and her lips were against his faster than he could catch up with. Steve froze.
It wasn't as if it was an awful kiss. If it even counted as a kiss. Sharon's lips brushed against his for merely three seconds before his head snapped away. But, it still hadn't feel right, and he knew exactly why.
He stepped away, breaking it, noticing how surprised and disappointed she looked. "I - I'm sorry, Sharon, if I've given you the wrong impression-"
"There's someone else?" She guessed.
Steve nodded. "Yes." Even though I'm pretty sure she hates me. Even though I've been the worst boyfriend in the entire world, and don't deserve her. "I love her." He had no idea why he was blurting that out, but the need to say it overwhelmed him. It was true, though. No matter what happened between them, he could never stop being in love with Natasha. "Very much."
"Well, then I'm sorry." She said. "I should go."
Steve picked up his shield, feeling the familiar weight in his hand once again. "Thank you, Sharon. For everything. Be careful out there, okay?"
"Always," She said, giving him one last gentle smile before heading to the front of her car.
Steve grabbed the rest of the gear and headed back to where his friends were waiting. Instantly, he noticed their expressions, and rolled his eyes, shoving the gear into the spare seat beside Bucky.
"Good to see your way with women hasn't changed." Bucky commented.
In any other situation, Steve would have been relieved to hear his old friend tease him like old times, but right now, his head was far too muddled with thoughts of a particular red-head. Sam gave him a knowing look, but didn't say anything.
"We've got to go." Steve said, turning the key in the ignition. "The rest of the team will be waiting."
~0~0~0~0~0~
I've just started the Throne of Glass series (because I absolutely fell in love with ACOTAR series by the same author) but I'm finding Assasian's Blade a little hard to get into. Anyone on here read them before? I've seen the series all over TikTok so I'm sure it definitely is very good, but I'm struggling a little.
- E x