"Les commencements ont des charmes inexprimables. Beginnings have inexpressible charms."

NADINE

They headed towards a coffee shop down in Rua do Poço dos Negros, a quaint little space with yellow, white, and brown minimalistic decor and freshly baked pastries. The shop had magazines placed on shelves for people to read while they waited for their order to finish, and it wasn't overly crowded with tourists.

Bucky and Nadine were at one of the tables near the window in case they had to leave. They sat in silence, Nadine drinking her coffee and reading an architecture magazine while Bucky nitpicked on a muffin she bought for him, lost in his thoughts. Every now and then she'd look up at him and see his pursed lips, his furrowed brows, and squinted eyes. Was it the muffin?

"You know, that muffin didn't do anything to you," she drawled, hiding her smile behind the magazine as he jumped slightly, having been startled from his thoughts.

"Yeah, it did. It has raisins in it," he retorted, his smile appearing for a second before his gaze shifted to her hands. "How's your wrist?"

Ah, so that's what his contempt was about. She placed the magazine back on the table, brushing her fingers over the gauze that wrapped her wrist. "It's fine," she assured, her tone soft. "I didn't want people to look at it so I covered it up."

In reality, though it did have a purple-ish hue, her wrist didn't hurt as much as the bruise she'd acquired on her ribs. For the first two days or so, she could barely suck in a breath without feeling like someone had punched her in the side. She'd endured worse than a bruised wrist.

Bucky seemed unconvinced. "Hey," she said, reaching over and giving his hand a quick squeeze, much to his apparent dismay. "It's fine, I'm fine. Okay?"

"Okay," he eventually said, but he still looked guilty. If he said something after that, she didn't hear, because someone caught her eye in the crowd. Was that...? "Nadine?"

Nadine didn't answer. Instead, she quickly stood and went outside, turning around in a full circle as she tried to look over the crowds. Nothing. She could've sworn she'd seen-

A hand wrapped around her bicep and she quickly swung that arm, and her attacker ducked to avoid getting hit. She was about to throw another punch when the figure straightened, and she was met with familiar big brown eyes, black hair, and a dimpled grin. Emilia, Dante's extroverted younger sister.

"Not the face, Dina," Emilia mocked, her cheeky grin growing wider as she saw her friend's agitated state. "I'm too pretty to be hit." 

"Emilia," Nadine huffed, lowering her hands down and trying to calm her heart rate. She hadn't realized how startled she'd gotten by the twenty-three year old. "Aren't you supposed to be seducing a drug lord or something?"

Emilia snorted. The action made her look younger than she was. "Please, he's in MI6's custody now."

Of course. "Congrats, I guess," Nadine replied, giving her a smile despite herself. Sighing, she grabbed the smaller girl's hand and, when she spotted Bucky a few feet away from them, muscles tensed and ready to attack, she motioned for him to reenter the shop. "C'mon, let's talk."

They walked inside, choosing the table the farthest away from people. When all three were settled, Nadine turned expectantly towards her friend. "What are you doing here, Emilia?"

"Well, Dante told me he left you in Maricota but he didn't tell me why. He was all snippy about it. He forced Taj into secrecy, and Fong's evading my calls. So, I hopped on a train to Lisbon. I was going to Maricota but then I saw you and Muscles here, so yeah."

Bucky seemed uncomfortable by the new nickname, but said nothing.

"Really? Dante didn't tell you?"

"You know how my brother is. All I got from him was attitude and a 'it's better if you don't know' comment. But, now that I'm seeing you here, I assume he wanted to keep me safe from him?" She motioned to Bucky, who was constantly checking his surroundings for anything suspicious.

Nadine realized then that she hadn't introduced them. Grimacing, she placed a hand on Bucky's shoulder, who quickly turned to look at her in an attentive manner. "This is Emilia. Emilia, this is Bucky... Barnes." She whispered the last part, her gaze flickering around them as she did so. "You probably know him as the Winter Soldier."

She expected Emilia to react negatively, or at the very least, surprised, but the Colombian simply stared at them, her face blank. Finally, she spoke, "Oh." Emilia's pinkish lips did a little 'o' shape as she said that, her poker face so intact Nadine couldn't tell what she was thinking. "Now it makes sense."

"Your brother wanted to keep you away from me." Bucky muttered, and Nadine noticed how his gaze lowered to his hands dejectedly. "That's the big secret."

"Carajo." Emilia chewed on the inside of her cheek, her delicate eyebrows pinched together in deep thought. She hadn't stopped staring at Bucky since Nadine told her, but she couldn't tell if it was a good thing. "Well, I was not expecting this. It's gonna make the next thing I'm gonna tell you a bit more difficult."

Nadine didn't like the sound of that. "And what, pray tell, is this thing?"

"Simple. Kaia needs our help."

• • •

They left the coffee shop as soon as those last words left Emilia's mouth.

Now, they were holed up in the small apartment Nadine had rented for the night in Lisbon, listening intently as Emilia explained everything she knew about Kaia's situation.

When she was finished, both of them just stared at her with steely expressions, which was amusing if you considered that Bucky didn't even know who Kaia was. Of course, if you also considered his intense background, it wasn't far fetched as to why he understood the whole thing.

"So, to recap," Bucky broke the silence, thick brows furrowed together in a troubled state. "Your friend's in France with intel that could get her killed, and to top that all off, she's going to her target's gala?"

"You forgot to add that she doesn't know what this secret is because Kaia refused to tell her." Nadine pointed out.

Emilia gave them a shrug, and Nadine noticed how she was studying Bucky in an inquisitive manner. "I think you summed it up."

"Well, things just got really, er, interesting."

That's the understatement of the year. "Okay, now that we've got that out of the way..." Nadine's head felt like it was gonna explode with all the plans she's starting to form in her head. "When's the gala, again?"

"Four days."

"Plenty of time to arrive in France, get the clothes, find somewhere to crash outside of Bordeaux..." She ran her hand through her messy raven locks, and chewed on the inside of her cheek in deep thought. "I'm missing something."

"I have something." Emilia's eyes only averted towards Bucky for a split second, but Nadine wasn't blind to her apprehension. "Is Bucky coming with us?"

Before Nadine could even form a coherent word in his defense, Bucky did that himself. "I'm coming."

"What, what?" Nadine asked curiously, raising one of her eyebrows at him. "You don't have to do that, not when you're trying to lay low."

"Nadine, I'm coming with you."

"But-"

"Nadine, I'm coming whether you like it or not." The way his voice got deeper and firm made it clear that his decision was final. Despite that, the corners of his lips quirked upwards in the faintest of smiles. "You'll need some muscle."

She couldn't help it, she snorted. She never expected that. "Oh, as if."

"Well I think it's a great idea," Emilia mused as she studied them closely with that brain of hers. She knew exactly how to read people, which was why she was so good at manipulating them to get what she wanted, so Nadine knew that in the back of her head the Latina must've been writing down notes. "Unlike dramatic Dante, I don't judge. So Muscles here has killed, who cares? It's not like we're saints."

"We get it, Emmi." Nadine retorted, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. The look on Bucky's face was enough for her to know that discussing his kills made him uncomfortable, and remorseful. She'd have to apologize for that later. "It's settled then. We're going to Bordeaux."

• • •

The plane ride was only supposed to be around two hours, but the minute Emilia's ass sat on her chair, she dozed off because of how early it was. They'd considered taking another mean of transportation, but not only were they short of time to get everything planned, they figured a train or a bus ride would be harder to blend in.

Emilia sat on the window seat, her head resting on Nadine's shoulder as she lightly snored. Lucky bitch could sleep through anything, she never understood how. Nadine only slept soundly when she was too exhausted to continue. Other than that, she was always alert, a light sleeper ready to attack anyone who dared to try to hurt her at her most vulnerable. It was either that, or succumb to a restless sleep full of flashbacks. She definitely hated that. She also hated public flights; not only was it nearly impossible to pass weapons through security, but it was also incredibly hard to feel at ease because of all the people around her. She always felt as if she were being singled out, like everyone knew about what she's done. It all just made her hyper-vigilant.

Her only consolation this time? That Bucky was as restless as she was, maybe even more. The way his gloved hands were clenched tightly on his lap, while his knee shook tediously and he craned his head around, it just proved that he despised it.

"Hey," Nadine muttered softly, nudging his shoulder with hers in a playful manner. "It's okay. We'll be fine."

"Yeah..." he breathed, forcefully trying to loosen his tense stance so he'd look more casual. "I need you to distract me, please."

"Let's talk then. Anything you want to know?"

"That, key, of yours..." He didn't need to say the word, she knew that he meant "pocket knife" instead. Her choice of weapon, at first glance, looked like a car beeper, but when you pressed the button on it, a blade popped out instead of a key. It made it easy to hide.

She still didn't like talking about it in public, though.

Nadine studied her nails in an attempt to act nonchalant, but in reality, she could feel her back muscles tightening with tension. "What about it?"

"How did it pass through? You know..." Another word. Undetected.

"Technology." She explained simply, chuckling when he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I can't explain it, just know that nothing'll detect it. It's the only thing I can't leave without."

"Why?"

She pulled out the magazine she'd bought at the coffee shop, and proceeded to act like she was reading. "I, uh, didn't choose to be in this world... I was forced into it. Young, defenseless. When I escaped from..." She couldn't say it. It's been so long, but she felt like the Academy still had a hold on her. "Anyway, after that, I swore I'd never let myself feel defenseless ever again. Shit, I probably sound paranoid."

"You don't... and even if you did, we all need paranoia to survive in this world."

Nadine wasn't convinced. Life shouldn't be about looking over your shoulder everywhere you go, should it? "Yeah, I guess. Anyway, I'm sorry for Emmi and how she acted earlier."

"Stop," he chastised, turning towards her fully. His eyes seemed to always have a downcast look in them, which was a sad sight. "Don't apologize. She's not wrong for being afraid. I'm dangerous. I'm a..."

A monster.

"You're not a monster." Bucky scoffed, shifting his gaze towards his hands. "Hey, you're not. I've seen monsters, and you're not one of them."

"How are you so sure? You don't know me well." Though his tone was abrasive, Nadine knew he didn't mean to be like that. It was everything else that was talking. "You only know about the things I've..."

If you would've told her two weeks ago that she'd actually feel sorry for the Winter Soldier, Nadine would've laughed in your face. She wouldn't have been able wrap her head around the idea of him being something other than HYDRA's weapon.

And yet, she was wrong again.

"Look, I don't know you well, it's true. All I know is that I can't judge someone because of their pasts, especially if they feel guilty, like you clearly do." Bucky opened his mouth to speak, but she raised a hand in a signal to stop him. "Oh, come on, I see the guilt. It's pretty hard for you to hide it." Especially from someone who can relate to it.

"The things I did while I was..." Bucky trailed off; he looked so incredibly lost... "It was still me, just..."

"Different?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"I get it," she muttered, and gave his metal hand a soft squeeze. His eyes flickered towards it, half expecting Nadine to pull away at feeling the hard surface under the glove, but he didn't pull it away. "But you need to understand that what you did was because you didn't have a choice. And that doesn't make you a bad person, just, someone who's suffered through a lot."

He stayed silent, his intense gaze directed at the chair in front of him, until finally he exhaled, and it was like the tension was slowly leaving him. Finally, he turned towards Nadine again, and he gave her a soft, grateful smile. "Let's talk about something else."

"Whatever you want, within limits, obviously."

And just like that, they continued talking, slowly feeling at ease with one another. It was almost as if they could ignore their pasts and pretend like they were just two people, with normal problems. And they were content with it, even if it was just for time being.

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WORD TRANSLATION:
1) Rua do Poço dos Negros (portuguese)- the name of a road in Lisbon, Portugal
2) Nena (spanish)- girl, used a form of slang (like: giiiiirl)
3) carajo (spanish)- hell, or fuck
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A/N: this is kinda fluffy isn't it

Ahhhh, thank you for reading:) I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and getting to know Emilia. She's a bit of an eccentric.