Chapter Five
the Black Widow.
xxxx
. . . .
"Can cross this off my bucket list," Max announced as she fumbled with the key, opening her front door and pushing it open. "Blindfold Captain America, check. Next on the list is to have kinky sex with him on Caroline's bed." She turned to look at him expectantly, hand on her hip as she quirked an eyebrow back to him, completely ignoring Caroline's scandalized gasp and harsh 'Max!'. "The latter is totally up for grabs. Never had sex with a cop before. Y'know... sober."
"Ma'am.., m'not a cop." Steve grumbled as he placed a protective arm in front of Max, backing her away from the opened door when she tried to take a step into her apartment.
Despite if he was once his friend in a past life, this was the Winter Soldier we're talking about.. and Steve would be damned if he let a civilian enter the room before he had a chance to secure the area. He let himself in first, cautiously... hopeful.
Max shot Caroline a dumbstruck face that clearly said 'Is-This-Guy-Serious?' and Caroline just waggled her eyes suggestively and proceeded to pointedly check out Captain America's ass.
Max nodded her head in appreciation once she checked out the view for herself.
Mmmm.. 'murica.
After Steve took a few steps inside, Max came stomping past him. "Oh well... looks like home boy isn't here."
Caroline came clicking in after her and brushed past a shocked Steve, grabbing a towel and a change of clothes before marching over to the bathroom. "I'll check and see if he's in the bathroom. No one bug me, either. I've had a very long day." She slammed the door promptly and a tiny click filled the silence.
"Funny, I don't remember having a lock on that thing." Max said, referring to her bathroom door as she discarded her jacket and tossed it on the chair, which actually looked decent compared to how much junk had been on it a few nights before. Steve looked absolutely crestfallen as Max rushed into the kitchen, peeking her head into the backyard. "Oh, good. He didn't steal the eight hundred pound championship horse we totally-legally-have in our back yard," Her voice rose a few pitches higher at the last part, before returning back to normal. ".. the dude must be a nut-job." Steve wanted to explain to the waitress that that nut job is a brain washed assassin who's been on the job for at least fifty years.. but something caught Steve's attention that distracted him from the thought. He picked up a stray needle and syringe that had been kicked underneath the couch, furrowed his eyebrows, and tucked it into his pocket. It could be evidence.
The house was secure..
...Unfortunately.
'Damn.. how many times will I let him slip from me?'
His silence was interrupted by Caroline emerging from the bathroom with wet hair and fresh new clothes on. Max's lips quirked into a wide grin when the blond left the bathroom, "Feelin better, Captain Potty Pants?"
"Captain Potty Pants?" Caroline repeated, completely un-amused. "Really, that's the best you got, Max?"
"Oh no, I can go on for days," Max shrugged with nonchalance, but noticed that Caroline was shoving her waitress uniform into her purse. "Wait- where are you going?"
"Um, after this morning I am so not going to stay in this hell-hole apartment. I just texted Andy telling him I need some 'Oh-My-God-I-Almost-Died-And-Realized-How-Much-I-Hate-My-Life sex." Caroline was flinging her jacket over her shoulder and slipping on her red-bottom heels.
"Oh, baby. That's my kind of sex." Max cooed approvingly as she picked up a cup to go pour herself some water. "But, I'm pretty sure I'm the one who was about to eat a bullet. Where's my I-Hate-My-Life-Sex?" She then sent the Captain a forward look, which had Steve swallowing thickly and nearly tugging on the collar of his shirt from how hot it had suddenly gotten in the room.
"Right.. Max.. don't do anything to the Captain while I'm gone." Caroline said teasingly to Max as she walked over to the door. "Oh, and thank you for making sure we got home safely, Captain. I don't even want to think about what would of happened if you didn't show up when you did!"
Steve rubbed the back of his head, only a little bit shyly. "I'm just glad I got there when I did, ma'am."
"Oooh! He's just too cute! Max, I don't want to come back and find out that the Captain put a restraining order against you!" Caroline warned once again. Max shrugged her shoulders without much care.
"No promises."
Caroline exited the small apartment briefly to go get laid by the candy man, and Max cleared some plates from the kitchen, noticing that Steve was still standing in the living room, seeming lost in thought.
"S'all good?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow at the dejected looking Soldier, noting how he was silent for a few minutes.
Steve shook away his momentary depression from the lack of Bucky. "No, I'm fine.. I mean, it's fine. Everything seems secure." The captain jumbled over his words.
"Pft, didn't need you to tell me that. Lets not forget that I'm the one who may-or-may-not-have killed him," Max pointed a finger at herself triumphantly.
This time, Steve found himself letting out a chuckle that surprised him, but the thought of this girl thinking she'd be able to take on the Winter Soldier was enough to make even him laugh.
"Plus, I used to watch my moms boyfriends rated R kung-fu movies when I was seven." Max rolled her shoulder proudly. "So you know, pretty capable over here."
His chuckle slowly turned into a silent laugh through his nose, and the captain shook his head. "I've never once doubted your capability, miss." He recalled the waitress standing up for herself on multiple times at the diner, situations in which had him feeling sorry for the poor fellas who were at the butt of her jokes.
"Damn right!" Max agreed as she walked over to the kitchen, pulling out a bowl from the empty refrigerator and flipping the plastic over it. She grabbed a big spoon and began to mix the cupcake dough she had setting over night.
Steve let out another silent sigh as he walked over by the door. His shoulders sagged visibly, and Max couldn't help but think never once has a guy been upset to be alone with her (and her cup cakes ;D) before. She probably would of been offended if it weren't for the fact that she didn't want him to come over in the first place. Seriously, Max could feel the anxiety of having a cop in her home, and was resisting the urge to go re-hide her stash because Captain America would probably catch her in the process.
"Well, listen.." Steve picked up a pencil and an old thrift-store receipt and scribbled his cell phone number (that he remembered the first time around, because really, the perks of super serum was limitless) before setting the paper back down on the chair. "If you happen to.. um, see that guy around.." You should probably run. Really fast. "..Just give me a call."
Max cleared her throat, "Eh-hem. Yeah, I don't think so. I'm not no snitch."
Steve blinked, taken back for a moment. "Pardon?"
"Why you after that homeless guy, huh? Is he some kind of higher-up drug dealer? Because I'll let you know, you'll find those on about every corner on Williams burgh. But don't talk to the prostitutes, because they'll have no qualms with taking Captain America's virginity." She paused when she saw the Captain frown, and shrugged her shoulders innocently. "Hey, don't say I didn't warn ya'."
There were just about too many things to correct her on; First off, 'He's not homeless. He's my friend. And he's dangerous.' ...But Steve just didn't want to get into that. And as for him being a virgin... well, she can assume what she wants.
Honestly, he was surprised that the brunette truly was oblivious to who the Winter Soldier was. After Natasha leaked all of S.H.I.E.L.D/HYDRA's database and then went into hiding, Steve couldn't help but feel for the loss of his privacy. As if every secret of himself was out in the open, before and after pictures of the transformation that he wasn't ashamed of, but seeing on museum walls was enough to make him uneasy.
Steve was used to people tip toeing around him, watching what they say in order not to upset him (and really? do people really think he is that vulnerable?), or just flat-out lying to his face. 'Not telling the whole story,' as Fury had so generously tried to put it.
But not Max. Not the fiery waitress who worked at the run down diner with the best damn burgers he'd had to to date.
And maybe, Steve could of corrected her that no, he wasn't a virgin. In fact, he chuckled deeply at her mistake, which was new, because usually he'd be annoyed when people made the assumption. Not that he'd correct them, it was none of their concern, but Steve almost wanted to show the attractive waitress why she was wrong.
Max lifted an eyebrow as she saw him caught in his thoughts. She frowned, because his fine ass was taking absolutely way too long to leave her apartment. She was definitely taking the rest of the day off, but she was going to do so by baking cupcakes to sell for tomorrow. Unlike Caroline, Max didn't have the luxury of running off to her boyfriends house and going at it like rabbits until all of her worries of the day were gone.
Setting her mixing bowl down, Max walked over to the door and watched as the Captain chuckled to himself. She didn't know what the hell was so damn funny, and she clearly didn't care because she pulled the front door opened and propped her hand on her waist.
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out." She then made a show of peering over his shoulder to blatantly check out his back, "Although it'd probably just bounce back open off that ass." Damn, Caroline was right. The Cap' sure did have a nice behind.
Once Steve's chuckle turned to silent laughter, he allowed the petite brunette to push him out of her apartment and into the hall way, the grin on his lips never once faltering. Max made a big show of dusting her hands together, sending him a toothy (and completely sarcastic) smile, before slamming the door shut on his face.
"Make sure you give me a call if anything comes up!" She heard Steve say from the other side of the door. She shrugged in response, not caring that he couldn't see her, and waited until she heard his heavy footsteps escort himself from the building.
She let out a sigh of relief once she was sure he was gone. He didn't seem like he wanted to throw her on the couch and tear her waitress uniform off, so there was really no point in him hanging around.
Besides, Max's Homemade Cupcakes ain't gon' bake themselves! And while Caroline thought almost getting shot in the brain was a good reason to take the rest of her day off, Max knew that if she didn't start baking now, then she'd have nothing to sell later on. Thus having no way to pay rent (pft, like she paid rent!).
'Lord, that is one fine under-cover cop.' Max shivered as she remembered his gruff tone, "Ma'm.. 'm not a cop," and she abruptly began to shake the unwanted thoughts out of her head, because really, who the hell said it was okay for her to get butterflies from thinking about Captain America?
"I think I need to get baked before I start baking.."
And with that, Max sauntered off to go recollect her hidden stash.
x - x - x - x
By the time Steve had turned his motorcycle off and made his way to the front door, he let out a long, weary sigh that he felt as though he'd been holding in for the past seventy or so years.
He felt like shit. Nothing could be worst then arriving at a dead trail, and having to start from the beginning once again. He was used to the disappointment by now. The past six months have proved to be fruitless each time him and Sam sniffed out a trail, but ended up at a dead end.
Of course, he would try over and over again for the rest of his life, now that he had hope.
He wasn't alone. Eighty years later, Bucky was alive. There was absolutely no way Steve wasn't going to give his all on getting his Bucky back. Not this 'Winter Soldier' that Hydra created.
James Buchanan Barnes, son of George Matthew Barnes. Former Sergeant, and member in Steve's Howling Commanders squad.
His best pal.
He could still remember vividly training at the gym with Bucky, back when the thought of being a soldier seemed like an unachievable dream for the former artist. Of course Bucky would get drafted into the forces, he was nearly four times Steve's size, and no disabilities that would 4F him. That had been the first time Steve truly felt like he lost his best friend.
Back then, it felt like the hardest blow to his stomach to have Bucky go fight on the front lines. For his best friend to be apart of those brave soldiers while Steve sat back and painted in class. Safe. While there were tons of good men out there risking their lives. Why did he get to do anything less?
And then he lost Bucky again. When Peggy approached Steve with talk of rescuing those one hundred and seven prisoners, there was no way he couldn't take action. And because the thought of being without his best friend, the only family he had left, just like that, Steve saved Bucky with just his bare hands and shield.
And then he lost Bucky for real. But none of that matters now. Because he's back. For real.
(And Steve knew it wasn't a dream, because Bucky's punches hurt even more now then they had back when he was pre-Serum Steve, which was saying a lot.)
It felt good to know that Bucky was alive. Even if he failed again this time, he'd try harder next time. Steve felt refreshed, and ready to head to his work desk and start again.
At least he knew Bucky was at that waitresses house last night, maybe if he stopped by again tomorrow for a follow up-
"You're usually home at this time."
Any normal, hot-blooded male would probably be overwhelmed by the sight of the Black Widow perched against their wall as soon as they open the door to their home.
Fortunately, Captain America was not your typical male.
"Widow." He sounded only slightly surprised, even a little amused by the sight of the red-head in her casual attire. Natasha smirked at him as neither moved an inch, staring eachother down. And then, Steve cracked a smile. "I thought you'd be half way across the world by now."
"Oh, I did take a vacation for a while." She kicked her foot off the wall and approached Steve as he shut the front door, sighing and hanging his black leather coat. "Singita Lodges, Africa. Took me a day to get bored."
"Surprised you lasted that long. You know, I do have a cell phone." Steve said in a disapproving tone. "Good thing about technology is that you can let somebody know if you're dropping byunexpectedly in a matter of minutes. It's called a text message."
"Seconds," Natasha corrected him plainly as she seated herself on his black leather couch, looking mildly impressed by how surprisingly modern his house was. Well, modern for him, at least. She brushed on to the next topic, "I suppose you're still looking for him, even though I told you you shouldn't."
Steve knew Natasha hadn't dropped by for a friendly hello. "Well, if I listened to everybody who told me I shouldn't do something, I'd never get anything done." He retorted calmly, heading towards his coffee table to pick up a yellow folder marked with 'CLASSIFIED' in about three different languages.
Natasha didn't seem phased, (but then again, when did she?) "The Winter Soldier is not somebody who can be saved, Steve. You don't know what they did to him." Her voice was emotionless, and it made Steve clench his hand into a fist at his side.
"You're right. I don't." Steve stared down at her, eyes hard. Natasha returned his gaze, eyes cold. "But I'm going to do whatever it takes to get him back."
The Black Widow rose from the couch at his words. She seemed to have gotten the answers she came for, because she held his gaze as she walked over to his door, held it for a moment longer, before smirking and shutting his front door.
Steve sighed as he collapsed into the couch that had been across from the seat Natasha previously sat in, and placed his forehead in palms. Great, now he had to add the Black Widow on to his list of people to watch out for. Bucky still first on the list, of course.
He didn't know what that was about, but Steve immediately called Sam over, deciding it was about time to tell him about his exchange with the two waitresses, and the photograph he found earlier that day.
Natasha pulled out a cigarette and used one hand to cup around her lighter so she could light the end, before putting the lighter away. She let out a puff, then followed by a sigh as she looked down at the man who was slowly regaining his consciousness before her. She had been standing there for at least twenty minutes now, hovering over Bucky's body contemplating what she was going to do with the tied up man.
She'd been trailing Bucky the night before, he was delirious, but he was sharp, and he almost nearly caught her three times. Nearly. Natasha was able to dodge the super soldier's range of sight by mere seconds, but she successfully tailed the delirious man without him noticing her.
And she wasn't ashamed to admit that she sat back and watched the brunette waitress knock the Winter Soldier out, and then proceed to drag him by his armpits out of the shop (but not before Max made a very amusing show of propping the unconscious Winter Soldier face-first against the glass door of the store as she locked it) and onto the subway.
Natasha was quick to take a picture of Max on her phone, and hop on the next train, pulling up the broke waitress's address in a matter of seconds as her database recognized Max's facial features and pulled up her profile.
By the time she arrived at their apartment (pick-locking their door wasn't even necessary at this point from how run down and cheap it was), the house was empty and abandoned, save for the unconscious Winter Soldier on the floor. Natasha had quickly injected him with a stabilizing drug she'd gotten from Africa, and threw the syringe needle somewhere on the floor.
Of course, she was a lot more discreet with her kidnapping of Bucky Barnes, (although Max Black was to thank for capturing the Winter Soldier, Natasha couldn't help but think her very very dumb) and Natasha carried him out as if he were merely her drunk unconscious friend, and threw him in the back of the Uber car she called.
"Don't worry, he won't be waking up anytime soon," She brushed off her drivers look of concern when she plopped the unconscious man in the back and then sat in the front. "But if he does, he'll throw up all over the place, so step on the gas."
When the woman and her victim arrived at the fancy house Natasha had been renting for a few days, she tied the drugged soldier up and poured herself a glass of water. She didn't sleep that night, and left to go see Steve that morning, but was surprised to see he wasn't locked in his house ripping his hair out over finding his best friend.
She lounged around his house for a while (he was definitely going to notice that all of his oreos were gone. She highly doubted they were his, but instead that friend Sam of his) and walked over to the front door when she heard his motorcycle pull up.
Of course, Natasha trusted Steve now. He proved to be reliable, and she had no doubt that he would risk his life for her when they're on the battle field. She felt like she had someone who could watch her back for once, not with just Clint. He told her he trusted her, even though she kept so many secrets from him.
So, Natasha supposed one more teensy weensy secret wouldn't be too bad. After her conversation with Steve, Natasha slipped out of his house without mentioning that the reason she was in town was because she had a trail on the Winter Soldier, and now had in tied up in her basement.
Natasha let out another puff of smoke as she blew it down to Bucky's face, seeing that his eyes opened as he regained consciousness. Bucky's face scrunched from both grogginess and confusion as he tried to recall where he was, the last thing he remembered being the diner from the day before.
"...You did a poor job of tying me up."
"It'll be enough. Make one wrong move and I'll put you back to sleep." The woman blew another puff of smoke in his face. Bucky's face remained stoic, his expression unwavering. His eyes darted around the room, taking in the dark basement.
"..."
Natasha knelt down so she was closer to his face. Bucky remained quiet, not faltering the least as she seemed to be surveying him, as if trying to read his thoughts. Too bad for her, he wasn't sure what to think.
"..Steve tells me you've got a name. It was hard enough for me to believe the Winter Soldier was more then just a horrifying myth. Now they're telling me he's an actual person." Natasha's tone was cold as she blew another puff out, to the side. She then continued, "Your name. You know it?"
"..."
She sat with him in silence only for a few seconds, before pressing further. "Well?"
"...He called me Bucky."
"He says you're his friend." Natasha nodded in approval at his reply. "I'm a friend of Steve's as well."
"How about you tell me who you are then, lady? Or why you decided you should tie me up?" If Natasha wasn't so weary of the man, she would of been impressed by how polite he managed to sound, despite the obvious annoyance that slipped out from his tone.
She blew another puff of smoke out into his face. "Seven years ago. Iran. You shot me. Bullet killed my client, and now I don't get invited to the parties in Odessa anymore." She watched Bucky's eyes flicker to the floor.
"Do you remember that?"
"..." Natasha waited for him to respond, taking a long drag of the cigarette patiently. It took Bucky a minute to respond, "..I know I've done a lot of things that I won't be able to ever take back."
She watched unfaltering as Bucky flexed, loosening the ropes that she had bound him with, and snapping the restrains off of him. She should of been frightened by the pure strength of it all, but when you've fought along side the Hulk, it was hard for things like that to faze her. She merely raised an eyebrow at Bucky, and watched as he rolled his real shoulder in a circle to ease the tension, and then flexed the fingers on his prosthetic arm.
"...I don't know what I'm supposed to do to make things right."
Natasha smashed her cigarette on the basement floor, standing up to look at Bucky who sat on the floor, looking like a lost puppy. "Well, you can start by not nearly killing the only person who wants to help you."
"..."
Natasha almost felt bad because of how guilty Bucky looked. He shook his head, "...I don't remember him."
"You will. I can help you."
"You can?" He looked uncertain. "..What if... I don't want to?"
She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, "And why wouldn't you?"
"..I'm not.. I'm not the same man that he thinks I am. He's supposed to be my friend, but I was ready to kill him. I was really going to do it. And I wouldn't of felt a thing. I never have. But then suddenly I felt guilt," Bucky clutched onto his head as if he were in pain, and Natasha discreetly grabbed the new syringe and needle from her back pocket. Despite the pain he was in, Bucky continued. "And suddenly I didn't want to complete the mission anymore. He was- he, he was my friend." Bucky choked.
"He is still your friend," Natasha eased gently, similar to the gentle tone she used when dealing with the Hulk. Bucky was starting to get twitchy, and he was beginning to raise his voice.
"I'm not him!" Bucky shouted violently. "I'm not the man he thinks I am anymore-"
"And you don't have to be," Natasha coaxed him gently. "Because no matter what you've done, no matter who you've become, you're all each other has."
And with that, while Bucky was distracted by her words, Natasha quickly stabbed him with her syringe and injected him with another doze of sleeping drugs. The Winter Soldiers eyes were feral upon the attack, and he grabbed Natasha's wrist so tightly she winced, before his grip slacked and he fell back to the floor, unconscious.
Natasha let out a shaky breath as she clutched her bruised hand. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number.
...ring, ring, ring.. click.
"Stark."
"Did you get him?" Tony's voice came from the other end of the line.
"I have him stabilized right now," came Natasha's vague response.
"Did you tell the Cap?"
"Nope. I don't trust his judgement." Natasha replied simply.
Tony made a sound of approval from the other line, "Good. Neither do I. Why don't you head on down to my place and bring ol' Freezer Burn with you? Then we can start the real fun."
Natasha knew by fun, Tony meant interrogation. "That'd probably be for the best. Be there in a few." She promptly hung up, not waiting for a response.
When all of this was settled, Natasha definitely was going to need to take a visit to that diner.
A/N; An update! Thank you guys for the reviews, they really pumped me when it came to typing this chapter. I'm so glad there are people who enjoy this 2BrokeGirls/Avengers crossover, because my story didn't get very much attention when I first started typing it. And as they say, a story without readers is one of the most saddest things. But I've been encouraged to update! I hope you guys like this chapter. I had fun typing as the Black Widow, and hers and Steve's relationship is pretty adorkable.
Anyways, thanks for reading. R&R! (do people still say that?)