RING! RING! RING!

Natasha looked up from her perch on her loft. She had been up all night reading, completely enamored with a recent fan fiction she had found. She blinked tiredly in the darkness.

This summer was the last one before heading to college and with each passing day she was becoming more and more aware of that fact. However, ignoring the inevitable seemed to be one of her hobbies and so instead, she was determined to milk this summer for all it was worth. She had planned, or rather listed, tons of things to do with her Marvel obsessed friends. Nat laughed to herself. She thought back two years ago to when it had all began. Bucky, walking through the doorway to their theater classroom. She never could have imagined then how important that person would be to her or how much she would change her life. The truth was, Bucky's real name was Jamie but due to her obsession with Marvel and more specifically the Winter Solider, she soon become Bucky. Since Natasha was already named Natasha, she became Black Widow. Phishie was aptly namned Alexander Pierce because she looked innocent but she had a dark side that was pretty scary... Karmina became little Steve (Captain America before he was injected with the super serum) and soon there was Hydra and Falcon and Thor and Nick Furry and Rumlo. They had basically obtained all the Marvel characters over the years through all their friends. And just like that, it had become a thing. Now Nat's dream was to work for Marvel, all thanks to that little adorable blonde.

RING! RING! RING!

The continued ringing of Riza (as Phishie had named her phone) snapped her out of her reminiscing. What time was it anyway? Nat glanced at the clock.

11:00! 'Who the hell is calling me an hour till midnight!'

RING! RING! RING!

"Alright, alright," she barked. "I'm coming, I'm coming... you stupid phone."

Grumbling to herself about interruptions, she climbed down and grabbed Riza from her spot on the charger. Sleepily, she put the phone to her ear. "Do you realize what time it is?"

"Yeah, time for you to do your job and come help me." Bucky's authoritative tone rang back to her.

Natasha assumed she was switching to Jack mode, a role play between them where Bucky played the king of Gilboa and her own character Rose, was his loyal assassin. Either way, Nat ignored her. "I should be asleep right now."

"But you weren't"

"But you didn't know that, did you?"

"Of course I did, Hydra keeps tabs on everyone."

Natasha couldn't help but look around for hidden cameras in her room as she sighed. "Bucky-"

"Look, just get over here, NOW!"

"NOW?"

"Yes, NOW, it's an emergency!"

"What kind of emergency?"

"Bring poptarts!"

"Bring popta- what? Bucky!" The line went dead. "Buck- damn it she hung up!"

Bring poptarts? Why the hell did she need poptarts? Had Thor eaten all of hers or something? That didn't make sense. She considered the option of calling back but knowing it would be pointless, she merely put Riza in her pocket as she sighed to herself.

What could Bucky have gotten herself into? ...Natasha groaned. With her Rubra Stella, there was no telling. Surely if she just needed poptarts, it couldn't be an emergency... but then again... Bucky had actually asked for her help. 'Since when do that stubborn, lovable, idiot admit she needed help?' Never. Which only meant... things must be pretty bad.

Charging downstairs, Nat slid on her socks across the kitchen, opening the island cabinet. Poptarts... poptats... where iz you poptarts? Finding a glorious box of cinnamon poptarts, she lunged to grab it.

'GOD DAMN IT!' She cursed in her head, shaking said poptart box. Her damn brother, Theodore, had eaten them all and left the box... again.

"Screw it," Nat muttered to herself. "Poptarts are not a matter of life and death and I'm tired. I'm not going to the store right now, it can wait till tomorrow."

Natasha tiredly trudged herself back up stairs to her warm and loving bed. Tossing and turning five minutes later turned the warm invitation into a cold one, kept awake by her worries about Bucky. What could have happened? Is she hurt? Is she injured? What if she needed stitches but kept insisting she was fine like she always does? Or maybe their house flooded, or someone broke into their house! What if Bella ran away and the poptarts were to bait her back or something? Or... or...

"God damn it, Bucky!"

Half an hour later the doorbell rang and when Bucky opened the door, she could clearly see her best friend, Natasha, looking disheveled.

"This better be good." Nat grumbled.