Dedicated to alunsinax and their awesome story, Illusionist. If you love Peter Parker, you'll love this story, and the refreshing protagonist.
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"No matter the situation, always remind yourself that no one can choose for you."

NADINE

The backyard of the house was pretty spacious. The pool was actually situated at the bottom of a slight hill, with some natural stone steps to help with the descent. They were quiet as they made their way down, but she could tell Bucky was staring at the horizon. From where the house was set, they had a pretty decent view of Maricota, and it looked incredible during the sunrise. They finally stopped at the edge of the pool. "So, Natasha thinks you should stay here." Nadine started, her gaze locked on the horizon.

He nodded. Clearly that didn't surprise him. "And Sam?"

"Sam said he doesn't care as long as you're not his responsibility."

"Of course," he muttered with an eye roll, his arms crossing over his chest in a protective stance. Of what, she didn't know. "And Steve doesn't want me doing the stupid shit he does."

"Forget about that. What do you want?"

That seemed to catch him off guard. "Excuse me?"

"Your friends want you to stay," she stated, glancing at him with the corner of her eye. "Say you've got a lot of enemies."

"They're right."

Of course they were. "I told them you could all stay, but only if it's their choice. That includes yours."

She felt his eyes on her, and it took everything in her not to squirm under his gaze. He was acutely observant, she realized, a trait he must've picked up after being under HYDRA's control. "Why?"

"Why what?" Nadine asked, confused; it was her turn to be caught off guard.

"Why are you telling me that I have a choice?"

"Steve, he cares a lot about you, and that's great, but in his caring he didn't let you have free will over what you want to do with your life. I know what it's like to not have a choice, and what it's like depriving someone of their right to choose. So, yeah, I'm giving you a choice. If you want to stay, you're welcome to, if not, that's okay too."

He was silent for a while. When she turned towards him, he was staring at the water, his brows pinched together and lips pressed into a firm line. It seemed that the Winter Soldier wasn't used to having free will over his decisions, so having someone tell him that he had just that, well, it took some time to sink in. If that's the case, Nadine was even more adamant on making sure he did what he wanted instead of what others wanted. After a long minute or two, he finally sighed, brushing his locks behind his ears in a clear sign of awkwardness. "Fine, I'll stay."

Surprisingly, Nadine smiled. "Good, that's good. I'm glad."

Bucky opened his mouth to speak, but a distant "Nadine?" interrupted him. Nadine looked towards the steps and saw Dante standing there, his arms crossed and so tense the veins were visible. Shit. "Nadine."

This wasn't good. "I have to go," she said, chewing on the inside of her cheek in dread as she pictured what was gonna come. Bucky only raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to continue. "I have one last obstacle to get through before you guys can stay. Wish me luck."

• • •

"So let me see if I understand," one of Taj's eyes was squinted and his jaw was clenched, a clear sign that he was both baffled and angry. "You said yes to babysitting these people?"

They were currently in the underground level of the house, in the training room. The room (and the whole level) had metal colored walls, a stark contrast to the earthy tones above. It resembled a bunker more than anything else. And it probably was, what with it being a former SHIELD safe house and all.

"I'm not babysitting anyone," Nadine snapped, and if her eyes rolled any harder, they'd get stuck in the back of her head. "I just told them they could stay here."

"Leonessa," Dante used his nickname for her whenever he needed her to listen closely, and most of the time it was him trying to convince her that she needed to "think things through", which was incredibly annoying. "This is a really bad idea. Never mind that they're very public fugitives, but it's not like they're innocent."

She knew exactly what he meant, and it actually irritated her. "And by that, you obviously meant Bucky," she said, eyes narrowing at him in contempt. Speaking with Bucky shifted her thoughts a bit and turned her defensive. Maybe it had to do with the look in his eyes when he realized he was actually free. Nadine could relate to that.

"Of course I meant the Winter Soldier," he agreed in a matter of fact tone, his hands running through his chestnut colored locks in an exasperated state. "I mean, I'm pretty scared of getting my dick cut off by Romanoff, but she doesn't have a history like him."

"Okay, that's ridiculous, Dante. We literally just killed someone two days ago," she said, her voice incredulous and derisive, as sharp as the edge of a blade. "And as much as we want to deny it, we make a living out of killing people."

"That's different."

He can't be serious. "And how, pray tell, is it different?"

That caused him to roll his hazel eyes, which looked like caramel in the LED light. "The people we kill deserve it."

He wasn't listening. There had to be a way to convince him. "Dante, as surprising as this is going to sound, he's like us," she reasoned, running a hand through her hair in an exasperated state. "He was used by HYDRA, like we were used by Jameson."

At the mention of his name, Dante scowled. Unlike Nadine, he was introduced to Jameson during his early teens, but the man still left a distinct mark on him, so much so that he struggled to let go of his acquired skills after joining the US Army.

Of course, that didn't last long...

"And you believe him?" Taj questioned, brows furrowed in deep thought. Under the harsh light, his melanin skin actually looked washed out, like someone placed a foggy layer over it.

She inhaled once, letting the calmness consume her thoughts and keep her tone level. "I'm not blind, that's what."

"That's not an answer, Dina." Dante quipped, his derisive gaze making her blood boil. She knew he meant well, but sometimes it felt like he was merely undermining her, and it pissed her off.

"Okay, this is bullshit. They're staying whether you like it or not. That's final."

"Fong, please, tell her she's being ridiculous and that this is a bad idea."

"It's a bad idea," Fong said, his gaze settled on nothing in particular. He rubbed his lips with his index finger, a habit he had whenever he was analyzing his options. "But I agree with Nadine. I'm sorry, Dante. I do. We're in no position to judge him for what he's done. I say we give them a home until they decide to move on."

"Really?!" Dante snapped, scoffing. "Really? We're just going to harbor them here and wait for the feds to come for them? For him?!"

"All this fighting is giving me a headache," Taj muttered, running his hands over his face tiredly. His accent became more distinct whenever he was tired or agitated. "Rafiki already told them to stay, so this is a waste."

"We can't just let them stay here without thinking about the consequences of that."

"Funny, when it was Yuna, you weren't thinking about consequences at all." She muttered under her breath, the words coming out before she even realized that they did, and she regretted them in an instant.

Low blow, Nadine. Mentioning his dead lover was a low blow.

"Rafiki," Taj said, his eyes wide and unbelieving. "What the hell?"

"Fuck," Nadine choked. She hadn't meant to mention Yuna, but her anger wanted otherwise. She knew she'd messed up big time for that. "Dante, I'm sor-"

"No," he snapped, and long gone was the gentleness of when they'd first started this conversation. The only thing that was between them was anger, pure, unadulterated anger. "Don't say you didn't mean it."

"But I didn't." She pressed, her tone pleading and remorseful. "I was just pissed. I didn't mean it that way."

He scoffed, clenching and unclenching his fists as he stared at her in disbelief. Yuna Watanabe's death would forever be a source of grief for him, and he'd never forgive himself for not saving her from her unfortunate fate. That was his fatal flaw; his loyalty to the people he loved made him suffer greatly whenever they were hurt. Nadine picking on such a sensitive topic probably hurt more than a bullet. "You know what? You want to play babysitter, fine. You're on your own on this one, Nadine."

"Dante-"

"No, you made your choice." He pointed a finger at her accusingly, and she resisted the urge not to bury into herself. "But know this, leonessa, when the time comes, and the people he's hurt appear through that door, don't expect me to be here for you."

And just like that, Dante was out the door, leaving Nadine to drown in her guilt.
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A/N: Honestly I feel like this is kinda trash

But go listen to these three amazing songs by these beautiful people:

Kiss the Boy // Keiynan Lonsdale
Try Me // The Weeknd
Guerra // Residente