Chapter 58

Bucky was allowed to leave for his first mission with SHIELD that way he was under law enforcement superivison. Steve was a bit nervous that he wouldn't be by his side but he knew Coulson would have an eye on Bucky. He tried his best not be a worried mama chicken like Nat teased him but it was weird that Buck would be out there on a mission without him.

"You wanna pack Bucky a care package?" Natasha joked when she walked into the kitchen the morning Bucky was going to leave for SHIELD. "I know you're nervous but he's really good. Don't worry, babe!" She kissed his cheek and poured herself a glass of juice.

Bucky came in a few minutes later already ready to leave. He took an offered slice of toast and gulped a cup of coffee down. "Punk, it's gonna be okay. I'm not alone and it's just a raid."

Steve nodded and walked him to the roof where a SHIELD quinjet was waiting for him. "Be careful, Buck. I just got you back."

Bucky smiled at him and gave him quick hug. "I will. There's no way I'm gonna miss your wedding, punk!"

He watched the jet leave and then walked back inside. He had to call the President to talk about HYDRA and the future of the Avengers. Ellis told him that more HYDRA cells on American soil should be targeted to hopefully draw Malick out and that he would be willing to let the Avengers operate on their own if they could bring down HYDRA once and for all. Yeah that was no pressure at all, Steve thought grimly and hung up.

Natasha was out to talk to the PI she hired to figure out if Jones found something onf Malick. Steve didn't like to admit it but Malick was really smart. Who knew how long he had been a member of HYDRA. He hoped Nat came back with good news. He wanted to start thinking about their wedding. He was glad that the team knew and they facetimed the Bartons yesterday to tell them that they were engaged and Nat proudly showed of her ring and he still couldn't believe his luck that she wanted to marry him. He remembered a time where she didn't even want to admit that she had feelings for him. She had come such a long way.

Nat came back in the late afternoon and looked pretty excited.

"Did Jones find something?" He asked after he greeted her with a kiss.

"Well, Malick has an affair with a married woman from the Upper East Side but nothing on HYDRA yet. Jessica only got the case a few days ago. She'll find something eventually." But she was still smiling and seemed almost giddy.

"Then what got you in such a good mood?" He couldn't help but smile back at her.

She pulled something out of her bag. "I wanted to come up with a surprise but I can't wait to give it to you. I hope you like it." She smiled shyly and handed a box to him.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Nat." He said but took the box out of her hands.

"It's my engagement gift for you." She got her ring out of her pocket and slid it back on. They agreed that it would be better if she didn't wear it in public. "So you have something to wear that reminds you for me. And my love for you."

He got curious and opened the box. "Nat, that's too much!" He breathed out. It was a Rolex watch and those were freaking expensive. It looked like a vintage modell.

"Get it out." She said with big eyes. "Turn it around!"

He did as he was told and couldn't stop smiling. There was something engraved in Russian and he was glad that his Russian was good enough that he could read it. "You are my happy ending"

"Natasha!" He whispered and she took the watch to put it around his wrist.

"Back in the Red Room they made us watch Disney movies to lean to speak without an accent and they always told us that happy endings were an illusion and we would never get one. I always thought that was true even after I deflected but then I met you and fell in love with you and I realized I do get to have a happy ending. You're my happy ending."

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. "You're my happy ending too!"

She smiled against his lips. "Are you stealing my line?"

He answered her by kissing her again. He wanted to show her how much he loved the gift by leading her to the bedroom. She pushed him onto the bed and straddled his waist.

She smiled down at him and slid his hands over her thighs. "That watch is as old as you by the way."

"Huh?" He had already been thinking about ways to show her his gratitude.

"It was made in 1918."

"Oh, Nat!" He sat up to kiss her again. "I love it so much. It's such a thoughtful gift. I'll never wear another watch."

She smiled a beautiful smile and he lowered her on the bed to worship the body of his future wife.

Natasha was laying on her stomach and he moved closer to kiss her shoulder and back. He wondered if he would ever get enough of her, probably not. He would always love and want her. He was kissing his way to her lower back when she started to chuckle.

"Quit it." She tried to slap him but he caught her wrist and kissed her finger tips. "Not all of us have super stamina."

He lightly bit into her beautfil buttom and she snorted. "Seriously, Rogers. You wore me out."

He kissed the spot he had bitten and then rested his head on her lower back. "Don't worry, I'm worn out too. That thing you did with your hips?" He kissed her skin again. "Amazing!"

"Yeah?"

"Mhm." He kissed his way up on her back. "I love you." He whispered into her ear.

She sighed and turned around. "I love you." She sighed sleepily. He brushed the hair from her forehead to kiss her again and then rolled them so she was tugged against his chest.

"Get some sleep, doll."

"Okay." She mumbled.

Suddenly her phone started ringing. "Ignore it!"

She was already half out of the bed. "You know I can't!" She walked to her leather jacket that was thrown on a chair and he admired her backside shamelessy while she fished for her phone in the pockets. Her face fell when she looked at the screen.

"Who is it?"

"Malick." She said grimly but her voice changed when she answered the phone. "Gideon!" They were on a first name basis? "Yes... I heard... Really?... Of course... I'll be there in an hour...Thank you for the invite...Bye."

Invite? "Where are you going to be in an hour?"

She put the phone on the dresser. "Malick invited me to his townhouse to talk about the World Council. He thinks it's infiltraded by HYDRA and I'm one of the few he knows he can trust."

Wow that dick had some nerve to pretend that he was worried that HYDRA was in the World Council. Of course, it fucking was. He was member of both parties! "I'm going with you!" He announced and jumped out of bed. He had to wince, their lovemaking made him a bit sore.

She shook her head. "It's better if I go alone. He thinks you and I are on bad terms. I can use that to make him trust me. Pretend that I don't like that you're back and taking the leading position from me."

"You can be leader-"

She held her hand up. "I know, honey. I told you that you can have it back and I meant that."

He watched her get ready for her meeting with Malick (it would be dinner, did the man think that it was a date?!) and tried to convince her to take at least Tony with her since the two of them met Malick for dinner while he was with Bucky gone.

He helped her into her coat. "What if it's a trap?"

"Then I'll handle it." She patted her thigs. "You know I'm never unarmed." Yeah, he watched her put her thigh holsters under her dress and that turned him more on than it probably should.

She kissed his cheek. "I'll talk to him and have dinner. I'm probably back in two or three hours." She slid her ring off and gave it to him. "Keep that one safe for me, will you?"

He checked his watch again. Nat had been gone for two hours. Well that seemed to be a normal amount of time.

He checked his watch again. Nat had been gone for three hours. Okay, that was still reasonable.

He checked his watch again. Nat had been gone for four hours. He was starting to get really worried. He called her cell but it went straight to voicemail.

"FRIDAY, can you please trace Natasha's phone?" She was probably still talking to Malick. No reason to freak out. He pulled her ring out of his pocket and played with it.

"I'm sorry, Captain Rogers. Miss Romanoff's phone if off, I can not trace her location."

His heart sank and he told FRIDAY to alert Tony, Sam and Rhodey. Something had happened to her. He just knew it. She wouldn't just turn her phone off when she knew that he was at home waiting for her return.

He was going to kill Malick with his bare hands if he had touched one perfect hair on her perfect head.

you guys had great ideas for Nat's gift to Steve! I hope you like the watch from 1918