"There wasn't a predictable thing about her, but that's what made her so interesting."

NADINE

Dante left the next day. He didn't say much when he left, nor did he look at her. His only acknowledgement of her presence was when he nodded after she apologized, and muttered a "good luck, Nadine" before he forced his tall form out of there. She wasn't worried about not seeing him again because of his anger towards her, but was definitely concerned of what his anger could cause him to do. Dante could get too emotional, and if he got too emotional...

Moving on to Natasha and her boys. Well, they lasted two weeks, which made Nadine lose a bet about how long they'd stay to Taj. They tried living like normal people -well, as normal as you could get living in such a fancy house- but Steve really wanted to get back out there. He still felt like he needed to stay for his best friend, though, because to him, he was his responsibility. Bucky, however, told him to leave, reassuring him that he was gonna be fine.

In reality, fine was a relative term if you considered the fact that he'd been sulking for the past two days.

By now Nadine could've found some new mission to do, but Fong told her to take it easy and let her bruise heal before subjecting her body to another possible injury. So instead, she decided to do some inventory in their armory. They had weapons ranging from handguns to sniper rifles, as well as a variety of blades. She noticed that two glocks were missing, as well as a hunting knife. Dante. Those were his choice of weapons most of the time, she knew, so she wasn't surprised that he'd decided to take them.

He better not do anything stupid.

"Nadine," Fong's voice filled the armory, his eyes glancing at his old katana that sat on the wall. He no longer used it, but that didn't mean he wasn't drawn to it. "Taj and I are going into town. He wants to help me at the clinic."

"Is he bored already now that his new best friend is gone?" She drawled, referencing his budding friendship with Sam. They'd spent their short time together cracking jokes and competing to see who was the funniest out of the two, whilst Taj casually interrogated him about Wakanda. Good thing Sam was oblivious to it.

"I think so," Fong chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "We won't be gone for too long."

"It's fine, I'm heading to Lisbon. We're running low on ammo for the AR-15's."

"Be careful, then."

"Hey, Fong." She looked at the katana, chewing on the corner of her lower lip as she thought long and hard about her question. "How did you give it up?"

In the two weeks that she'd been resting, she'd actually done a lot of thinking, just like when she'd endured SHIELD's training. Though she never chose to be a part of the intelligence world, she always did wonder if she could ever get out of it or let go of the tendencies that she'd developed. Looking at Fong's katana, she'd never connect it to the pacifist person standing before her, despite having seen him carry it on his back that fateful day when Dante brought him and Yuna to Maricota- which he left right afterwards and didn't come back until months later, but that's another story.

It just didn't make sense.

Nadine didn't need to explain any further, he understood. Sighing, he walked up towards the blade and stared at it, lost in the memories that it held. "I was tired of the violence, especially after Yuna died. I didn't want to take part in it anymore, so once I left Seoul, I said it was going to be the last time."

And it has been, she knew. "Sounds easy," she said, her gaze shifting to nowhere in particular.

Fong scoffed, rubbing his hand over his face in a tired state, his demeanor having aged after thinking about his past. "It's not. Trust me, Dina, it's not. When you find the reason to want to leave all of this behind, don't hesitate to take it."

The way he spoke with a quiet urgency made it seem like all he wanted in the world was for her to get out and live a better life. She wouldn't be surprised, really. He'd become the closest thing to an actual parent figure, unlike Jameson, who only brought the worst out in her; or Fury, who exploited her talents all to defend a system that failed her; or even Clint Barton, who, instead of a father figure, was more like the uncle she teamed up with to irritate Natasha, her stern -and actually pretty scary- teacher. But Fong? He was the closest thing to a father, and she loved him for it.

"Fong," Taj's head poked inside, his tone full of mock impatience, oblivious to the seriousness of their conversation. "Are we leaving or not?"

"Yes, I was letting Nadine know we were leaving," Fong responded.

"She'll be fine," he quipped, and his eyes glinted with a mischief that only Taj possessed. Sometimes it was easy for her to forget he was only 21, but other times, his younger demeanor was evident. "Let her spend quality time with the colonizer."

"Are you really gonna continue with that?"

Taj scoffed as if he were offended by her question. "Of course, white people in Wakanda? Never thought I'd see the day."

Though he joked, Nadine knew he was probably envious of their time in the African country. After all, you could force the boy out of Wakanda, but you could never force Wakanda out of the boy.

Once they left, Nadine decided to get everything ready. She packed some clothes, two weapons, and rented the night in a small apartment. No use renting anything too expensive if it was just for the night. After everything was set, she decided to check on Bucky, who had been watching TV -he'd taken an interest in modern entertainment from the moment Taj showed him how Netflix worked- when she woke up. Nadine figured something must've been on his mind, considering how early he awoke. Maybe he was lonely?

She didn't dwell on it, and instead made her way to the, as Dante so "cleverly" called it, the family room, but Bucky was nowhere to be seen.

"Bucky?" Nadine called, her brows pinching together as she thought where the hell he could be. The pool, perhaps? No way, no way was he there.

Nadine was wrong.

He wasn't just at the pool, he was in the pool, which was interesting in itself. For some reason, she didn't expect him to want to get near the water, let alone actually in it. Maybe it had to do with his metal arm, which, now that she thought about it, was kind of silly. Obviously his high-tech arm would be waterproof or else it'd be an obstacle instead of an advantage. Just as she made her way down the stone steps, he pushed himself up over the edge, revealing the dark wetsuit he was wearing, like the ones divers used whenever they had to sink into the depths of the ocean. Fong must've given him one from their supplies, but she didn't expect that any of them would actually fit him like a glove. A sturdy, tight glove.

"Bucky?" Nadine called, trying to keep her eyes off of his imposing form. She was met with silence on his behalf, so she stepped closer. "Bucky? Hey-"

She didn't finish her comment as Bucky turned quickly and swung a fist, which she narrowly avoided as she bent backward. His metal hand grabbed ahold of her wrist before she could touch him, while her remaining hand whipped out her pocket knife and pointed it at his neck. His gaze was hostile, but he didn't move a muscle.

"Easy. Calm down," she grunted. Her blade didn't move from under his chin, but the firm yet calm sound of her voice seemed to snap him out of whatever it was that happened. However, his tension increased when he noticed the weapon. "What happened to trusting each other?"

"What's with the knife?" he questioned back, almost in an accusing type of way.

"I don't think you have the right to say that considering that you attacked me first."

He glared at her, but she could practically see the gears turning in his head as he thought about what just transpired. "You startled me."

"I called your name, but you didn't-okay, you know what? Here." Clenching her jaw, she carefully dropped the knife onto the ground a few feet away from them, her movements pointed and emphasized so he knew she wasn't going to try anything. "Can you let go now?"

He dropped his gaze at her forceful tone, finally letting go of her and taking a step back to place some distance between them. She hadn't realized how tight he'd been holding her wrist until she inspected it and saw the reddish marks of his fingers. Another potential bruise, great. "I'm, I'm sorry," he uttered, remorseful.

Any hint of anger she had was gone at seeing him so frustrated with himself. "It's... whatever. I'm sorry for startling you." Kneeling down to pick up her pocket knife, she tucked it back into her jeans once again. "Anyway, I'm going to Lisbon."

"Oh," he muttered, his hand unconsciously rubbing the back of his neck. It caused droplets to fall from his wet hair, which was partly flattened and stuck to the sides of his face and neck. "Uh, okay."

She couldn't stop herself. "Do you want to come?"

"What?"

"Well, Fong and Taj won't be back until later, and I rented the night in Lisbon. So, uh, if you want to come..."

Bucky seemed surprised, like he didn't understand what was happening, but he must've noticed Nadine's sincerity -or he was happy to finally get a change of scenery- because he gave her a nod. "Okay."

"Wait, really?" She asked, actually not expecting him to accept. 

"Yes, yeah," he chuckled, his eyes crinkling when he did so. Huh, the Winter Soldier, smiling. Now that's an interesting sight.

"Well, er, great. But, you might wanna change clothes."

• • •

When Bucky finally realized why Nadine wanted to go to Lisbon, he regretted accompanying her, it was obvious just by the scowl on his face. Granted, he never did ask her what she was gonna do here, so Nadine didn't think he should be that pissed.

"What's up your ass?" she queried, one corner of her lips quirking in a grin as Bucky's scowl deepened. They were currently in an alleyway in between the old, colorful buildings that symbolized Lisbon, waiting for her contact to show up.

"You're about to buy ammunition from someone in broad daylight," Bucky said in a clipped tone. "What do you think?"

"Relax," she replied, leaning against the bright yellow wall of the building behind her. The color reminded her of sunflowers because of how bold it was. "This area is rarely visited by anyone and Francisco's stealthy. Besides, if he tries anything, it'd get him in a shit ton of trouble."

Meaning Nadine would personally make sure he ended up in a jail cell. She used his services, but only because they had a mutual understanding: Francisco didn't rat her out, and she wouldn't do the same.

Bucky's about to say something when he turned his head, Nadine mimicking his actions. Immediately, she recognized a middle-aged man, with light brown hair, green eyes, and facial hair. His average form was dressed in a casual suit, the first button of his white shirt unbuttoned, revealing a black leather cord with a bullet shell tied to it, and held a briefcase in his hand, a gun in the other. When he noticed Nadine as he walked down the cobblestone steps, his jaw tightened, making his thin lips press into a firm line. Francisco da Costa, professional arms dealer.

"Francisco," she greeted, giving him a playful wave. "Long time no see."

Said man looked at her indifferently, like she wasn't worth a second of his time. "If it isn't the pretty girl with the saudade in her eyes. Did not think I'd see you again."

Always the charmer. "It's cute how you missed me." Nadine pushed herself off of the wall, twisting her wrists to loosen them from their tense position. "Did you bring the ammo?"

"Yes, yes," he waved his gun dismissively, placing the suitcase on the ground next to him. "Two AR-15's, 223 Remington chamber. One GLOCK 19, 9millimeters. All in here."

Nadine silently asked "May I?" when she looked at the briefcase, to which Francisco nodded. She picked it up, holding it in one arm while opening it with the other hand. Sure enough, there were four packets for the rifles, meant to be manually loaded into the magazine. Along with that, there were two packets of 9mm bullets for the glock. Satisfied, she placed the briefcase on the floor and motioned for Bucky to come over with the backpack. Instead, he just tossed it to her, smirking when she almost dropped it. "It's always a pleasure doing-"

"-Ah ah," he eyed the amount of money in the envelope in her hands, scoffing incredulously and shaking his head. "The rate has doubled, Ms. Comparato."

Bucky finally spoke, and quietly did he do so, "Ms. Comparato...?"

An alias. As much as she considered Francisco da Costa to be the easiest access to weapons in Portugal, that didn't mean she was gonna start opening up to him and spilling her secrets. She couldn't explain that to Bucky right now, but the look on her face must've said enough for him to understand that.

"You never said anything about rates doubling," Nadine said, trying to keep her annoyance from coming up to the surface.

"Yes, well, business has been booming." For the first time since their encounter started, Francisco smiled, which looked like he was mocking her. "So double the money, and you'll get your ammunition."

"Or, and this is a valid option: the rate stays the same, and I don't shoot you in the leg." She snapped, and she placed the envelope into the back of her light-washed jeans as Bucky looked at her in worry. She didn't have a comfortable outfit, nor did she have the appropriate footwear, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try to kick Francisco's ass whilst wearing tight jeans and converse.

He narrowed his eyes, eyeing the fact that she didn't have a gun on her. "Princesa, you're not my only client. So, double the money," he threatened, lifted the gun up and pointing it to her face. "Or I shoot you in the face. Simples."

From the corner of her eye, she could see Bucky point the gun she'd given him, which only had a few rounds in it. "Put it down," he seethed, and she could feel the anger radiating off of him in waves.

"Tell your namorado to lower his gun, this business is between you and me."

"He's not my namorado," she snapped, and unbeknownst to him, she was already readying the backpack to use it as a weapon. "And he can do whatever he wants."

They stood like that for a full minute, waiting to see who would give in. Despite the silencer pointing at her forehead, she didn't let that bother her, remembering Natasha's words about maintaining your expressions neutral, even if your heart rate's through the roof. And when his resolve faltered and he was distracted with Bucky, Nadine's whole demeanor turned deadly.

She swung the backpack, knocking the gun out of his hands, and punched him in the nose, and again in the throat when he pulled back. He keeled over, choking on his words, and she lifted her leg up and kicked his back with all the force she could muster, sending him to the ground. "You may run a good business, Francisco," she went to pick up his gun and Bucky's pack. "But there's a reason why people like you hire lackeys to fight their fights."

He cursed in Portuguese, and when she turned, Bucky had Francisco against the wall, his concealed metal arm pressed against the man's throat. His jaw clenched incessantly, and she knew he was trying really hard to downgrade his abilities. Having Francisco recognize him would just make things worse. "You have a chance to walk out of this unscathed, I suggest you take it."

And Francisco tumbled to the floor, his hand clutching his throat desperately as he nodded incessantly, muttering some "sí, sí, sí's" as Bucky glared at him. Coward.

"Next time," she divided the money and grabbed half of it, tossing it towards him. He scrambled to grab the tied pieces of paper before Nadine had a chance to change her mind. "Don't double-cross your clients. I wouldn't have minded paying double, Francisco. And I'm keeping your gun."

After placing the ammo and the gun in her backpack, and handing Bucky his, they quickly sprinted down the cobblestone steps and didn't rest until Nadine decided to stop, deeming their current position safe enough to catch her breath. "I'm sorry," she eventually said, noticing Bucky's clenched fists.

"For what? For putting me in that position, or for doing business with a guy like that?" His anger was justified, she didn't have the pride to deny that. She still cringed at hearing his tone, though.

"Both," she replied, feeling guilty for involving him despite knowing he needed to lay low. "I'm sorry, I really am."

"Did you invite me here just to use me?" he seethed, taking a few steps towards her. His eyes were blazing with rage she couldn't look at, especially when his tone was rising with each word. "Was that it?! You needed a bodyguard so who better than the super soldier in your backyard, right?!"

"No! I swear, I didn't even think about that." 

It was true. When she invited Bucky to tag along, the last thing on her mind was to use him. She just figured, after what happened, he could use a distraction to ease his mind. "I just, I don't know... I didn't want to leave you alone."

His anger seemed to be fading, judging by the way his shoulders slouched like they were tired of carrying around his baggage. She didn't miss the way his eyes flickered towards her gauzed wrist, regret all over his face. "Because you don't trust me to be alone."

"Because being alone can lead to overthinking," she corrected. And it's true. She'd gone through it many times to know how much being alone can hurt more than heal. "I don't know what's going on in your head. I don't know if it's HYDRA's programming, or the trauma left by it, or both. I just thought maybe you'd want to get your mind off of it."

"By buying ammo?" His anger was no longer as potent, so his words held no malice, just an incredulous tone that showed his doubts about her actions.

"I didn't think Francisco would get so cocky, okay?" Nadine countered, scoffing in annoyance as she thought about it. He might've been a coward, but she also knew she should've thought about all the scenarios that could've happened, and she didn't. "The guy's a rat, but he also cares about his business and not getting arrested. I guess the sales increase inflated his ego. Anyway, I thought maybe we could've gone sightseeing after it, or I don't know, do something that tourists do."

Guess not.

Bucky snorted, and she could see the way he tried to mask his smile. That's way better than angry glaring, in her opinion. "Do you think he's gonna come after us?"

"I don't think so, but let's get somewhere crowded just in case."
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WORD TRANSLATION:
1) saudade (portuguese)- doesn't have a literal translation, but it's described as a melancholic feeling that is supposedly characteristic of the Portuguese.
2) princesa (portuguese)- princess
3) simples (portuguese)- simple
4) namorado (portuguese)- boyfriend
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Damn, +3,000 words. I'm so sorry lmao

Reminder: in this story, Bucky did have treatment, but they were never able to confirm if it worked, and Bucky still has some deep rooted traumas that won't just go away with some treatment, so he's gonna have some PTSD.

Alsoooo, I know I introduced myself as N but tbh it's boring

So, *waves* name's Naomi, and this is my official introduction to Wattpad as myself.

Anyway!

If any of you are interested in writing a Marvel fanfic (or a fanfic in general) but can't seem to form a plot idea, head on over to my plot shop titled "Think Outside the Box"!