"Yeah, they're kinda strange,
But I wouldn't trade them for the world."

NADINE

The next day, everyone packed and left for one of the other islands in Madeira. Nadine and Natasha said nothing about what happened, but the others knew they had something to do with it. It wasn't hard to connect the dots, after all.

It's not that they didn't want to tell them, but they figured that until they knew that the authorities weren't looking for them and Taj, it was better to keep it between the three of them, much to everyone else's chagrin.

Steve kept asking Natasha about it. He reassured her that she could trust him, and that whatever happened they could solve it together. Unfortunately for him, Natasha's survived interrogations tougher than a kind friend wanting to help, so she wasn't gonna talk any time soon. As for Nadine, Dante tried to talk to her, but she shut him out the first time and he hasn't attempted since. And Taj? Well, his tactic for avoiding questions was convincing everyone to go the beach, to Praia Escondida. It was a relatively hidden beach and on a Monday it's completely empty, meaning that it's safe for them to enjoy some time away from the chaos of their lives. Or so Nadine wished.

She was now sitting on a beach chair, scrolling through the news on her phone to see if there's any indication that they'd been linked to the crime; her paranoia was high, and she felt like any minute they'd come for her and her friends. After a minute or so of reading an article, Nadine felt a presence next to her and looked up to see a shirtless Bucky, which made her choke on air. A part of her thanked the fact that the beach was empty, and another part was unabashedly staring at the man before her. Then there was the other part that was still laughing at the fact that he was wearing patriotic swim shorts. She didn't know where they came from, but she had a feeling Sam had something to do with it.

"Can I sit?" he asked, motioning towards the empty seat next to her.

She looked away from his muscled figure. His shorts made his thighs look thicker, which made her swallow hard. "Uh, yeah, it's a public beach."

"What're you reading?" he questioned as he made his seat, leaning back against it as he studied her, eyebrow raised and a hand to his temple. He was definitely not amused.

"Just the news," she replied vaguely, locking her phone before tossing it into her bag again. "Gotta keep up somehow."

"You mean like what happened last night?"

Nadine stayed silent. She'd been expecting this, but she didn't think he'd wait so long for his turn. He was one of the last ones who tried talking to her alone. Well, in his defense, she was also avoiding him, considering he was the Triad's target and she traded her life for his.

"I know you had something to do with last night," Bucky said in suspicion, though she didn't miss how his gaze wandered to the scar on her abdomen for a second. Probably wondering where that was from, she assumed. "I mean, you disappear, and five women end up dead. Oh, and you're avoiding me."

"Everything's fine. And as for last night, I found some company." And that company tried to kidnap her, but that was a minor detail, right?

Bucky didn't seem convinced, but he also seemed aggravated by her comment. She could tell by the way his blue eyes raged with silent anger and he bit his lower lip in an attempt to hide his emotions. "Yeah, sure."

"Hey." Leave it to Taj to have perfect (deliberate) timing. He brushed the sand off his arms, the shade of it contrasting significantly with his brown skin. "You know what we should play?"

"What?"

"Our version of dodgeball." The grin on his face widened when he saw the panic in Emilia's eyes. "We haven't played that in a while."

"That's because the last time we played Emilia ended up with a broken nose," Nadine chuckled.

"Still convinced Kaia was aiming for my face."

"For the millionienth time," Kaia snapped, though she didn't move from her place on the towel. Sunbathing was more important, it seemed. "It is not my fault your face was in the way of the ball."

"Millionienth?" Bucky asked, confusion written on his face.

"She means 'millionth'," Emilia explained as she stood up and stretched. "In French it's millionième, so, yeah."

"What are the rules?" Sam asked curiously, and Nadine noticed how Steve gave him a slight shove after he caught Sam checking Emilia out. "Are we gonna start dancing?"

"No, that's not it," Fong said as he set his book aside, and he smirked at the new, potential players. "The rules are simple. The group is divided into two teams, and they stand at a respectable distance away from each other, with the ball in the middle. Each member of both teams is secretly given a number. For example, Steve could be a two and Emilia on the opposing team could also be a two."

"Is that based on looks?" Sam quipped, the smug look on his face making it clear that he wasn't done. "Because Steve's should be a negative number."

Steve shoved him harder that time. "No, Sam, it's not," Fong laughed, giving him a hand to help him up. The way his muscles tensed made the long, jagged scar on his arm more visible. "When I call out your number you race towards the ball and try to get it passed your side of the court without getting touched by your opponent. You can't throw it to your side, you gotta have it in your hands once you reach your team. Right, Emilia?"

She groaned dramatically as she slipped a shirt on. "It was one time."

"If you so much as pick up the ball and someone touches you, the round is done and no one gets the point. I think that's it."

"You forgot one," Dante replied from his spot under the shade, too entertained with slicing his apple than with anything else.

"Xiè xiè," Fong said. "If I yell the word conga, all members go in and have to try to get the ball."

"Can we kick the ball?" Bucky asked as he stood, and he gave Nadine a slight nudge on her leg as he caught her staring. It was something she'd been doing more constantly as of late, and it pissed her off.

"You can kick and throw it to move it towards your favor, but to win the point you have to have the ball in your hands while returning to your side."

"Sounds lethal," Steve remarked. Nadine couldn't take his demeanor seriously anymore after learning he'd voluntarily spent time with strippers last night. Seeing him chilling on a beach with only palm tree swim shorts didn't help either.

"It is," Nadine replied, shooting Kaia a smug look. "Especially when people are competitive."

"We won last time, did we not?" Kaia asked, sarcasm dripping in her tone.

Sam was the first to pick up the volleyball, the determination to win evident on his face. Oh boy. "I don't know about Steve and Bucky, but I'm so down with this. Let's play."

"I'm in, too." Bucky said.

"Nat?"

"Pass." Natasha didn't even look up from her book, but the smirk on her face was hard to miss. "It wouldn't be a fair game."

"Well, we need one more player for the teams to be even." Nadine turned her head towards Steve, tilting her head to the side as she studied him. "Steve?"

Steve considered it for a second before nodding, a small grin forming on his features. Mischief was a good look him, Nadine thought. "Okay, sure."

Taj scoffed when the blond agreed. "How's that even, though? He can go against two of us and still win."

"Taj, it's just a game," Fong reassured, his tone that of a father scolding his troublemaker child. "Okay, team captains?"

"I volunteer," Dante said as he stood, tossing his knife into the bag and the remnants of the apple into the trash bag.

"Steve," Sam offered, and Nadine laughed. Of course he'd be team captain, of course.

"What?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Fine, fine," Steve relented, though he didn't seem too bothered by the decision.

Fong's gaze wandered over all the players, and he looked a bit concerned, like he just realized that superheroes and trained mercenaries playing this game would be dangerous. "Pick your team members."

Dante didn't miss a beat. "Barnes."

"Excuse me?"

"You really think I'm gonna let two superheroes on the same team?" Dante snapped, but his words were lighthearted enough. "Get over here."

As Bucky rolled his eyes and made his way towards his team captain, Steve glanced at Nadine's direction, and his smirk grew. "Nadine."

"Ooof, rivals teaming up against their best friends?" Taj feigned a shiver, as if the very thought of the team ups scared him. "This shit's getting dangerous."

Kaia's brows furrowed in confusion. "Steve and Nadine aren't rivals..."

"Eh, maybe a little," Nadine replied, making Steve snort. "But, like, polite rivals."

"Nicer rivals than those two," Steve chuckled as he motioned to Dante and Bucky, whom both wore unamused expressions.

"Less talking, more picking," Emilia quipped, clearly itching to start the game.

"Emilia."

"Sam."

"You better had picked me," Sam mock threatened as he stood next to Steve, and he placed an arm on Nadine's shoulder. "Oh, this team's definitely gonna win."

"In your dreams, Wilson," Bucky snapped, his tone slightly harsher than usual.

"Oh, please," he scoffed incredulously, motioning towards the people at his sides like they're evidence enough. "I know Steve can beat your ass, and I can bet that Nadine can take both Villanueva siblings."

Dante looked offended. "What the hell, Sam?"

"Can you all drop this pissing contest and continue with the picking?" Taj retorted, clearly irritated. "I think the biggest offense here is that neither of you have picked me yet."

"Fine. Taj," Dante said, but his eyes lingered on Kaia as he spoke. Kaia didn't even give him a second glance, but she did make a point of sauntering over to Nadine's side. Clearly, she was showing off.

"Wanna tell me what that was?" Nadine asked, an eyebrow raised in suspicion at the French woman.

"Les hommes sont des poubelles," Kaia whispered, her calm tone masking the harshness of her words. "That's what."

After that, Fong helped divide the teams in equal distance, and placed the ball in the middle of the space they were using in the sand. He then proceeded to give each of the players a number, scaling from 1 to 4 on both teams. Nadine got the 3, and since she didn't know who was the 3 on the other team, she started analyzing the possibilities that could transpire with each of the members. Just to be prepared, after all.

"Alright, remember, it's just a game," Fong warned, looking between both sides as he made his way to his seat. "So no extreme violence, please. And no using pressure points to incapacitate your opponent."

"Nadine."

Nadine gave him a half assed shrug. "You're just pissed you didn't think of it first, Dante!"

And so the game began. Fong called out the one's first, and it turned out to be Kaia and Taj. Though Taj was an adept fighter, Kaia had the agility to outmaneuver herself and the ball from his clutches, even going so far as tripping him whilst the ball was in the air (so in any case, wouldn't count as ending the round). Unfortunately for their team, Taj recovered quickly enough and caught up with her, tapping her arm so the round was done.

"So close," Nadine chuckled, and Kaia scoffed. She hated losing. "Calm down, Ky, or this shit's gonna blow up into a fight."

"Yeah, yeah."

Fong called out the four's next, which were Steve and Emilia. Though Steve was obviously faster, Emilia had the advantage that she reacted first. She quickly picked up the ball and jumped back when Steve extended his hand. She dropped the ball just as he tapped her arm, and Steve slightly shoved it with his foot in an attempt to move it towards his team. Despite their difference in size (and superhero abilities, which she didn't have) Emilia fared pretty well against him, almost winning the round, but Steve tapped her shoulder to force her to drop the ball and grabbed it, quickly running back towards his team.

"One point for the runaway captain's team," Fong announced, using a stick to draw a line on the ground.

"How about making it fair, Fong?" Dante called, and Emilia punched him in the shoulder. "Hey!"

"I can take him better than you can, pendejo," Emilia huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "You'd be too busy looking at-"

He put a hand over her mouth to shut her up. "Emilia, no."

Moving on from that spectacle, Fong called out the three's next, and Nadine found out that her opponent was Bucky. Oh, great.

She reached the ball first, managing to pick it up and sidestep around him. She threw it in the air just as he was about to touch her arm and ran back to avoid him, the ball landing on the sand again. Bucky picked it up, but when he turned towards his team, Nadine was there, blocking his way back.

"The ball, please," she teased, extending a hand towards him patiently.

Bucky snorted, tossing it from one hand to another, and she could see the way his eyes examined her intensely, clearly analyzing her next move. "Come and get it, then."

She reached towards him, but he jumped back before she could touch his chest. She swung a leg towards him but bent backwards, and dropped the ball before she touched his leg. As they both hovered the ball again, she placed a foot behind his and pulled it forward, making him stumble back. When he tried to regain his balance she threw herself towards the ball, doing a somersault in the sand before standing up and making a break for it.

Just as she was about to reach her screaming teammates she was tackled, the ball falling carelessly from her hands. She landed on her side and spit out the sand that was in her mouth, turning towards him in anger. "God damn it, James."

"Can't avoid me now, can you?" he said tersely, standing up and leaving her there to process his words.

"Bucky!" Steve called, helping Nadine up from her place. "Buck! Where are you going?"

Bucky didn't look back. "I'm done playing games."

• • •

He didn't go too far, just enough to get away from them to think. He was sitting on the sand near the water, his arms resting over his knees as he stared into the horizon. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he looked like a normal guy enjoying the beach. Of course, that's not the case at all. Bucky wasn't normal, and neither was she; it's what made the secrets looming over their heads even harder to admit.

Nadine stood next to him, fiddling with her hands anxiously. "Can I sit?"

"That depends," he retorted, not even sparing her a glance. "Are you gonna be honest with me and tell me what the hell happened or are you gonna keep pretending like everything's okay?"

He wanted the truth, but how was she supposed to say it?

Sighing, she set herself next to him, fingers drawing circles in the sand in order to avoid looking at him. "The Triad was at the club. They followed us there in order to..."

"To what, Nadine?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat that made it difficult to speak, her eyes downcast. "To get to you."

"Me," he muttered, too calm for her liking.

"Winter, I mean. Some of the Triad got wind of your relative freedom, and apparently they're looking for you. Well, they were."

She could feel his eyes on her, but she avoided looking at him. She couldn't bear to look at them for fear they'd show how angry he must've been. "They were?"

"They were interested in you, but I convinced them to... trade your life for mine."

There was only the sound of the waves crashing at the shore and some seagulls in the distance. She half expected him to had left, but when she turned her head, he was staring at her in disbelief, jaw clenched and hands curled into fists against the sand. "Nadine," he whispered, his tone as sharp as a blade. "What. The. Hell?"

"I know," she agreed, placing her hands up in a sign of surrender. "Natasha saved my ass. She killed her while Taj dealt with her friends."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" he screeched, his voice getting deeper and showing how livid he was because of her decisions. "I had a right to know! I would've stopped it!"

"That's why I didn't say anything," she replied in an assertive tone. She knew that if she'd tried to alert him she'd either be dead, he'd be captured, or a mix of both. Needless to say, she didn't regret what happened, just that she kept it from him.

Bucky looked at her in a chagrined state, and she assumed he wanted to punch something. However, he actually stood up instead, leaving Nadine dumbfounded. "Wait, where are you going?"

"What does it look like?" Bucky snapped as he started walking back. "I'm gonna go pack."

"Wait, you're leaving?!" she yelled in disbelief, scrambling to her feet. "Why?!"

"They're looking for me. It's better if I go off on my own. Prevent bloodshed."

She quickly ran towards him and placed both hands on his chest to stop him, which just made him pinch the bridge of his nose. "No, hey, you don't have to go."

"I do," Bucky defended as he locked eyes with her again. Under the sun's rays, they were bluer than ever, rivaling that of the ocean beside them. "I can't risk your safety, or the others's."

He tried sidestepping her, but she stopped him again, her hands on his chest once again. "No, you're not leaving."

"Nadine," Bucky sighed, clearly tired of arguing about it, and took her hands off of him.

"No!"

Nadine refused to let him leave. Had it been at the beginning, she wouldn't have minded it if he'd left. But now... it was different. If he left... What was she supposed to do? "I'm not letting you go, James."

"It's not your choice to make," he replied, his tone freakishly calm despite her outburst. He just seemed dejected about the whole thing. "And you said I could leave whenever I wanted."

"But you don't want to!" A thought crossed her mind, and all she felt was doubt and fear choking her lungs. "Do you...?"

Bucky stared at her for a long time, the indescribable opia surrounding them like the sea breeze that was running through his dark locks. "No... I don't." he admitted truthfully, the softness of his tone making her heart swell with a strange form of happiness. "But I don't want you... any of you, to get hurt because of me."

"I can take care of myself," she defended, surprised that she sounded almost desperate. "We all can."

He smiled, and she hated the fact that it didn't reach his eyes. "I know, but I can't risk it."

"James, please..." Nadine was practically begging. She wanted him to stay so much. "Don't leave... don't leave me."

She didn't know what it was about her statement, maybe it was the truth in her words, or the vulnerability in her voice, but Bucky was caught off guard. In all honesty, she didn't expect it either, so she couldn't blame his surprise. "Stay with us. With me. You don't have to keep running anymore. You can have a home here."

"It's risky," he muttered, but she was glad it wasn't a direct no. She could work with 'risky'.

"I know, but at least you'd have six people watching your back."

Bucky's gaze settled on the horizon again, and it felt like an eternity had passed until he finally answered. "Okay."

"Good, that's good," she breathed, the relief she felt loosening the tension on her shoulders. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, which made her resist the urge to snort. "I understand you were doing it to protect me," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "But no more secrets, Nadine. If something like this happens again, you have to tell me. I want honesty."

"Honesty, got it." She could do that. And for him, she'd make it work.

"Hey, you two!" Taj called from afar. Even from the distance, Nadine could see the cheeky grin plastered on his face. "You coming back to play or what?"

"We'll be right there."

"Hey." Bucky grabbed her hand before she could leave, and despite it not being his metal one, it felt like a type of current was crawling up her arm and down her spine. Whatever it was, she didn't mind it.

"What?" she asked as she studied him in concern, half expecting there to be another problem to solve.

He smiled, eyes crinkling as he did so, and this time, it was genuine. "Nothing, just that you owe me a dance."

______________________________

WORD TRANSLATION:
1) Xiè xiè (mandarin)- Thank you
2) Les hommes sont des poubelles (french)- Men are trash
3) pendejo (spanish)- idiot, coward

____________________________

A/N: That game is so fun, especially when there are a lot of players. Just thought I'd add a little something in there:)

Thank you for reading~