"And look at how far we've come, and how far we still have to go."

NADINE

Nadine played with the ends of her blonde wig, smirking as she noticed Dante fidgeting with his tie. "Calm down," she muttered, squeezing his arm.

"I'm calm," he retorted, turning his head towards the window next to him. They were currently seated on a train on its way to Germany, where the Mussolini gang most likely would end up adding their current hostages to their increasing number of trafficking victims. "I just really don't like ties."

"Sounds like someone else I know."

Dante made a face, hazel eyes locked on the view outside. "Don't compare us. It's weird."

Nadine rolled her eyes, smoothing the sleeves of her emerald green coat. "Honestly, I still don't understand how you aren't closer."

"We'd probably kill each other."

"Actually," Bucky's voice rang through the coms, his tone borderline smug. "You'd try killing me, but we both know that I'd beat you."

Oh, great, here we go again.

"Down, boys," she chastised, eyes searching for anything unusual around her. A little girl noticed her, and when Nadine smiled and waved, she did the same; she then went back to talking to the woman next to her. Her mother, Nadine presumed. She ignored the pang of longing it left in her heart, focusing on the rest of her surroundings. "How are we looking?"

"Everything's calm in our end," Emilia answered. "Well, except for Muscles over here."

"I fell off of a fucking train, Emilia," Bucky huffed. Oh, god. Nadine felt terrible for forgetting about that. The last thing she wanted was to poke at Bucky's traumas. "Forgive me if I don't feel safe."

She prayed to whatever celestial being was out there to help him keep his cool. "I'm sorry, James. I should've remembered."

"I'll survive, don't worry."

"Okay," she replied, unconvinced. Nonetheless, she wasn't gonna argue with him. "Everyone's got their kevlar on, right?"

"Yup," Dante replied, popping the p at the end of the word.

"Obviously," Emilia responded in a matter of fact tone.

"Kevlar?" Bucky asked, confused. She hoped he was joking.

"Yeah," Nadine muttered, studying her nails as she tried to keep her annoyance down. Though she didn't bite her nails, she'd developed a habit of picking on the sides instead. Her right thumb currently had a small scab because of how much she'd chewed on the skin. "You had to wear it, James."

"And he really thinks he'd win in a death brawl," Dante snorted, making a show to roll his eyes.

Both Bucky and Nadine chose to ignore Dante's quips for the time being. "Worried about my safety, Nadine?"

"You're not getting involved without it," she stated firmly, incredibly annoyed that he'd been reckless. "You're a super soldier, but you're not bulletproof."

"Has anyone ever told you how cute you are when you care?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're not actually funny?"

"Just you, but it's because you don't have a sense of humor," Bucky shot back, his light tone grating her. She couldn't understand how unbothered he seemed, and yet here she was, picking at the sides of her nails again.

She decided to put her leather gloves on to stop herself. "James."

He laughed softly, and Nadine imagined the cheeky smile he must've had on his face. "Of course I have kevlar on, Nadine."

"Good, that's good." She could feel some of her worry decrease now that she knew he was wearing it. That being said, she couldn't control the annoyance his teasing left behind. "Could've just told me."

"You're right," Bucky replied. "But I like making you worry."

Nadine swallowed the lump in her throat that the words left behind, and was about to respond, but Emilia beat her to it. "Dios mío, stop the flirting. Targets are gonna be passing you in 5."

Sure enough, their target passed their seat, five men walking behind him. Her eyes followed them, jaw clenching when one of them laughed at something another said. Before she could react, they all left for the next train car, taking their ruckus with them.

"It's time, leonessa," Dante muttered, freeing Nadine from his arm over her shoulders. He squeezed her hand once, pinkish lips pressed into a firm line. "I'll be around if you get made."

With a determined nod, she stood up from her seat and headed towards the next train car, which was a restaurant with a bar. The place was empty save for the man and his partners. They were smoking cigars whilst playing some card game Nadine didn't care about. Heading towards the bar in the middle of the room, she made a show of leaning against the counter. "One glass of champagne, s'il vous plait," she replied, donning her best french accent.

Kaia would be both proud and annoyed at her for it.

The bartender said something in what sounded like rapid German, and Nadine could only catch the words 'no' and 'champagne'. She genuinely didn't understand. "Pardon? Je ne parle pas allemand."

"He said it's closed." A breezy, Italian accent filled her ears, and when she turned, she was face to face with her target, the grey haired, middle-aged man responsible for the kidnapping of four girls.

She wanted to kill him.

"Oh, I apologize," she replied, brushing her hair behind her ears. "I suppose I'll have to come back."

The man chuckled and took off his grey coat, placing it on the stool next to her. He turned towards the bartender and told him something in broken German. He nodded and went to work. "No need. He will serve your champagne. I'll pay."

"Oh, merci." She gave him a grateful smile, hoping that made her look approachable and would loosen him up. "But you don't have to do that. I have money."

"No, a beautiful woman as yourself should not worry about paying," he said, fixing the cuffs of his buttoned up shirt. His tattoos were peaking through his sleeves, but she couldn't make them out. "I will pay."

"But surely, I can repay you somehow," she insisted, her tone eager. Come on, take the bait.

The bartender served their drinks, but before Nadine could grab hers, the man had already taken it. He smiled at her, something in his eyes sending a chill down her spine, and slowly extended the glass towards her. "Well, I suppose you could repay me with your time."

He must've drugged the drink. There's no way he would've missed the opportunity.

"I don't see why not," she said, grabbing the glass and setting herself on the stool in front of her.

"So." He sat next to her, taking a sip of the whiskey in his hand. "What's your name, bella?"

Nadine took the opportunity to smell her drink for any drugs, but nothing caught her attention. "Josephine."

"Josephine," he tested the name, and extended his hand towards her. She noticed he had an M tattooed below his wrist, with an eagle shape similar to the crest on the hat Benito Mussolini used to wear. "Beautiful name. My name is Giancarlo, a pleasure."

She took his hand and had to control herself as Giancarlo pulled it towards his lips, planting a kiss on her knuckles. His facial hair gave her goosebumps, but not in the way she liked. "The pleasure's all mine."

He let go of her hand, turning his attention towards his drink. "So, you're French."

"How did you guess?" she teased, placing the glass to her lips, but not letting the drink pass into her mouth. She hoped the glass itself wasn't laced with anything, either. "Yes, I am French. And you are Italian?"

"Oui, j'habite en Rome," he replied, satisfied that she'd taken a sip. Yup, definitely laced with something, by the look on his face.

Nadine tried to keep herself from smashing his face on the counter. "Votre Français est impressionnant. Much better than my limited knowledge of Italian."

"So why is a woman like you headed towards Germany?"

"Bah, it's not a vacation trip," she dismissed, waving a hand in a casual manner. "It's a work trip."

"A work trip?" He sat forward, clearly interested. "May I ask what you work in?"

You had him now, Nadine.

She gave him a tender smile to hide the fact that she was planning how to take him out. "My specialty is social work. I like to help people."

"Beautiful and philanthropic. A wonderful combination."

"You flatter me, Giancarlo," she mused. "Would you like to know my current project?"

He nodded, eager to know, completely dismissing the fact that she hadn't touched her champagne. "Do tell."

"We got them, Nadine," Bucky's confirmation soothed some of the tension on her shoulders.

"Well, there's this man. Well connected, who's paid a generous amount of money to look for his missing daughter and friends."

Giancarlo's demeanor changed. The smile was nowhere in sight. His brown eyes hardened as he turned his attention towards Nadine. "Really?"

"Oh, yes," she confirmed, and from the corner of her eye, she could see his grip tighten around his glass. "You see, they disappeared on a trip to Belgium. Poor girls. They were taken from their own hotel rooms and everything."

Giancarlo did nothing to keep his anger at bay, which made Nadine's smile slightly. "I've been tasked to find the men responsible for their kidnapping, and bring the girls back."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he threatened, standing up from his seat and heading towards his goons. Nadine wasn't facing them just yet, but she assumed he was motioning them to take her. "Those men would make things difficult for a woman."

"Perhaps," she chuckled, turning her stool towards them, a smirk on her face. "Or perhaps we'd make their life very difficult for them."

"We?" he seethed, eyes blazing with rage.

"Didn't you notice the bartender switched?"

His eyes turned towards the man, who had their back to them, but when he turned, it was not the same one from before, but Dante instead. He gave Giancarlo a dangerous smile as he loosened his shoulders.

"He really dislikes traffickers," she mused, ditching her French accent. She got off the counter and twisted her neck to loosen it up. "I do too."

Giancarlo snapped his fingers, and the first man lurched forward. He swung a fist towards Nadine, which she grabbed and pulled upwards so she could uppercut him, and maneuvered herself so she could kick his side with her knee. She pulled him forward and threw him towards Dante's way, who punched his face, sending the man to the ground. Dante grabbed him by the neck and pressed on a weak spot, and he was out like a light.

The rest followed their fallen friend. Nadine blocked a punch from her opponent and wrapped her hand around his wrist, pulling it over her shoulder in order to body slam him to the floor. She then pressed a foot on his shoulder and twisted his arm, successfully dislocating it without a second thought. Ignoring the man's pained cries, an arm snaked around Nadine's throat, to which she pushed back until they crashed into one of the tables, successfully freeing her from his grip. Her opponent recovered, and he tried to land a few punches, but she evaded each of them and jabbed his throat, then his gut, and lastly, his groin. The man fell to his knees, and Nadine took the opportunity to roundhouse kick him in the face, successfully knocking him out. When she looked to her side, Dante had finished off his own opponents, and also knock out the man she'd left on the floor.

And then there was one.

"Don't move," Giancarlo threatened, pulling out a handgun and pointing it straight at Nadine.

She smirked, stepping closer until the gun was resting on her forehead, never looking away. "Go ahead, but I gotta warn you that everyone's gonna hear it."

He made two mistakes. First, he didn't shoot Nadine the minute she took a step. Second, he focused all his attention on her. It was all Dante needed to run up next to him and push the gun upwards just as Giancarlo pulled the trigger. He then punched him in the gut and forced the gun off of his hands. "Sit down," Dante said, pointing the weapon at Giancarlo's head.

The man did as he was told, and Nadine took the seat in front of him. She cocked a head to the side as she observed him. "You Mussolini men really have a weakness for women who look 'almost white'."

"You are not white," he raged, his anger very similar to others she'd crossed paths with that shared his views.

"You're right," she agreed. "But with this wig on you took one look at me and thought I looked 'exotic' enough for your attention. I could see it in your eyes."

"Told you he'd fall for it," Dante quipped. "So, the hard way, or the slightly less harder way?"

"You filthy Americans, always involving yourselves in things that are not your business," Giancarlo spat on the floor in disgust, which just made Nadine roll her eyes.

"See, that's where you're wrong. We're not Americans."

Giancarlo scowled. "Then what are you?"

Nadine could only smile. "You can ask the devil when you see them."

• • •

It took three days to get the girls to the agreed location without any disturbances. It was the only way to make sure that they weren't kidnapped again. Nadine wasn't that worried, though, considering the members ended up in German police custody.

All in a day's work, she supposed.

Now, Nadine sat on the roof of the apartment they rented out for the night, her feet dangling over the edge as she took in the night sky and let the cold air tickle her nose and cheeks.

Germany was rich in culture and history, but she couldn't wait to leave. The further she was away from the mission, the better.

"So, we can agree that the Mussolini gang is off of the space rock list."

Before they knocked him out, Giancarlo revealed that the Mussolini gang never got the chance to take the sphere, so that was one less group Nadine had to deal with. Unfortunately, it meant a group like the Bratva might have it instead. Those were a lot more dangerous than the Mussolini's, or even the Triad.

"We got something extra for our hard work," she muttered to Dante as he sat down next to her. She noticed he had a notebook with a glittery bow in his hands. Interesting. "What's that?"

Dante smiled softly and nudged her with his shoulder. "Happy birthday, Dina."

Birthday? She checked her watch. The date was glowing right at her. November 15th, her birthday.

That's just great.

"You forgot your own birthday, didn't you?"

"I did," she admitted, accepting the notebook with a tight smile. She hated celebrating her birthday, but to him, it was like a holiday. "Thank you."

"I know you don't like celebrating your birthday," he said, his eyes glinting with a fondness that she was all too familiar with. "But you're twenty-six, which means you're fucking old now."

"You're two years older, asshole," she snapped, punching his muscled arm in exasperation.

Dante had the audacity to laugh. He could be such a pain in the ass when he wanted to be. "I just wanna let you know how grateful I am to have you in my life, and how much I love you."

"I love you too," she responded, doing nothing to hide her saddened tone. Every year it's the same thing.

"Your life is worth celebrating, okay?" He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him, his chin resting on top of her head.

"I just..." Nadine sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as her mind flashed back to her last birthday with her parents. She didn't like celebrating because it reminded her of them and the life she could've had. All those birthdays, graduations, and milestones that could've been.

She missed them.

"Your parents would've agreed," he pointed out, rubbing her arm in a soothing manner.

"Yeah," she agreed, chewing on the inside of her cheek to hide the despondent feeling. "They would've."

"Your life means more than you think, Nadine. To me, to Emilia, to Bucky..."

She said nothing and just let him comfort her. Dante may had been a pain in the ass, but she was grateful for his presence in her life, and the way he pretty much accepted her as a second little sister. "You know, I can't say I blame you. If either of us were able to let go of the past, we'd be retired."

"Wonder what that looks like," she scoffed, one corner of her mouth quirking upwards in a small smirk.

"I don't know, I like to think we'd be resting on a beach somewhere, drinking rum out of a coconut."

Nadine rolled her eyes. "We already do that."

"Yeah, but, we do it to forget the shit we do," he retorted in a matter of fact tone. "Not because that's our lifestyle."

"Okay, you got a point."

They were quiet for a while until Dante spoke again, "I also like to think that maybe I'd be able to see my parents again."

His parents? Oh, no.

Nadine straightened so she could look at him, her brows furrowing incredulously. His gaze was locked on the dark horizon, but by the way his shoulders were hunched and he fiddled with his hands, he was clearly struggling with the topic at hand. "You checked up on them again, didn't you?"

"I needed to."

"I don't understand why neither of you go see them," she wondered, but kept her tone level so he wouldn't think she was accusing him of anything. His parents were always a delicate topic.

Dante shut his eyes, his dark brows pinching together as he tried to keep his emotions under control. "I can't look at my parents in the eyes after everything."

"I can see why it'd be complicated," she said, her tone soft as she tried to be reassuring. "But I don't think they'd shun you."

"I guess..."

"Hey." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek, laughing when he smiled immediately. "No matter what, you still got me."

Despite his depressive state, the Colombian chuckled, clearly happy that she was there with him. "I know."

"Having a party without me, I see," Emilia said from behind them, the soft wind making her wavy hair fly in strange motions.

Dante ignored her presence and simply picked at a scab on his knuckles, his tongue absentmindedly brushing against his teeth. Unfortunately, he couldn't dodge a punch in the mouth the other day, and the result was a small bit of a tooth being chipped off, and now he was starting to develop a habit of touching it. "We were just talking."

Emilia set herself next to him, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. "About?"

"About how he thinks he's invincible," Nadine quipped, laughing when Dante flipped her off.

"I thought we'd already established that, if by any chance he was a superhero, he'd be dead the first three seconds just because of that?"

"Oh, fuck you," Dante snapped, scoffing when Emilia flicked his ear. "Hey!"

"Okay, enough." Nadine quickly sat between them. Every damn time. They're like children. "It's my birthday, can you two not fight for like two seconds?"

"Fine," they both muttered, their irritated looks a lot more similar than they'd care to acknowledge. The siblings, though physically -aside from the tanned skin and dark hair- didn't share that much of a likeness, were unquestionably related whenever it came to their expressions.

"Anyway..." Nadine turned towards Dante. "You're leaving for Italy, right?"

Dante nodded once, but he didn't look at her. Clearly he wasn't that thrilled with leaving. "Yeah, it's kinda why I wanted to get drunk on your birthday."

"Just be careful, Dante. I don't know what we'd do without you."

"Oh, I know what I'd do," Emilia quipped, her dimpled smile making her look innocent. She'd easily fool anyone who didn't know her with that look. "I'd turn his room into a spa. Mud baths and everything."

"You touch my room and you end up bald."

Nadine laughed, enjoying the feeling it left in her heart. She really loved these two idiots, even if they got on her nerves. "This is great, really. I miss this... Us three against the world."

"It's not just us anymore, though," Emilia pointed out, placing her head against Nadine's shoulder. "Which is nice."

"Now that you mention it," Dante leaned forward to look at Emilia, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Where the hell did you leave Bucky?"

Emilia waved a dismissive hand. "Relax, he went to get food."

"And you let him go alone?"

"He's a highly trained assassin on super steroids with a shiny metal arm, Nadine," she drawled, giving her a passive shrug. "He can take care of himself."

"I know he can," Nadine retorted. "I just don't think any of us should be alone, is all. I'm gonna meet up with him."

"Wow, clingy much, Dina?"

"Shut the fuck up, Dante," Nadine snapped, exasperated. "Honestly."

He held his hands up in mock surrender, his crooked grin a dead giveaway of his teasing. "I'm just saying, when I decide to get food, you never go with me. Hell, you'd leave me to fend for myself."

"You know, I'm starting to like the idea of turning your room into a closet."

"Thank you, Dina," Emilia said. "Finally, someone understands the potential his room has."

Dante pointed a finger at them both, his glare intensifying as he realized that now he had to worry about both of them messing with his designated space. "You two stay the hell away from my room or I swear..."

Their banter continued as they headed their into the apartment, until Nadine opened the door and was met with a smiling Bucky, a small, frosted cake in his hands. "Happy birthday, Nadine."

Well, then.

"Happy birthday, Dina!" Emilia sang, hugging her waist tightly. Nadine almost choked on a breath because of how tight she was holding her.

"That was all to soften me up, wasn't it?" she drawled, giving Dante a pointed look. He grinned and gave her shrug. "Of course it was."

"No complaining," Bucky chided, motioning for her to blow out the candles. She could see the crinkles around his eyes because of how wide he was smiling, which made her relax considerably. "Just make a wish."

Rolling her eyes, Nadine did as she was told, smiling as Bucky placed the cake on the table and gave her a little white box. She quickly took the top off, her eyes widening when she caught sight of an icy blue color. The familiar stone was wrapped around with silver wire on a brown, leather cord. A bracelet. Bucky made her a bracelet. "Is this the sea glass I picked up at the beach? I thought I lost that."

"Not exactly," he replied, and despite sounding sheepish, it was clear he was also proud of his present, just by the way his gaze seemed so bright and hopeful. "When Emilia mentioned your birthday was around the corner, I might've swiped it from your room and bribed Taj to help me."

"You bribed Taj?"

"Yeah, I suck at arts and crafts and he mentioned once how he liked making bracelets and stuff." As she attempted to put it on, his fingers curled around her hand delicately, almost as if he expected her to pull away. When she didn't, he proceeded to tie the leather cords together, the metal tickling her skin. "I figured you wouldn't want a necklace because you're paranoid, but no one can choke you with a bracelet, right?"

Nadine imagined Taj trying to teach him how to wrap the wire around the glass and the cord, and Bucky probably getting frustrated if it didn't turn out as he wanted. The amount of detail he put into her present made her heart swell. She pulled him into a hug, and she felt his body tense for a second before he cautiously wrapped his arms around her, which made her smile. "I love it. Thank you."

His arms tightened at her words, a soft chuckle vibrating through his chest. "You're welcome."

"Gross." As they let go, Nadine noticed that Dante was already cutting the cake long before anyone could protest. He made a disgusted face at them. "Get a room."

"Idiot," she snapped, her tone lighter than she preferred.

"I love you too." He blew a kiss in her direction. "Now, who wants cake?"

Emilia stopped her, a tiny, purple bag in her hand. "She has to open mine first."

"It can wait, Emilia," Dante quipped.

"No, it can't, dumbass!"

"Are you finally proposing, Emmi?" Nadine joked, taking the tiny present in her hands.

Emilia scoffed, but the mischief in her eyes gave her away. "We've been through this, Dina, you're not my type."

They continued like that for the rest of the evening, and through Nadine's birthday, the siblings ignored the looming uncertainty of their separation at sunrise. After all, whether they were in the same room or on different continents, the bond forged between them could survive anything, including what was coming their way.

_______________________________

WORD TRANSLATION:
1) Dios mío (spanish)- Oh my God
2) coqueteo (spanish)- flirting
3) Pardon? Je ne parle pas allemand. (french)- Pardon? I don't speak German.
4) Oui, j'habite en Rome. (french)- Yes, I live in Rome.
5) Votre français est impressionnant (french)- Your french is impressive

____________________________

A/N: Guess who's back, back again? This chick is back, tell a friend~

So! First off, I want to apologize for the really late update. Writer's block, plus work, and other things made it really difficult to push through with this chapter. And after someone stole a notebook I had where I'd written some notes, it made it even harder to write exactly what I wanted for this chapter. This was supposed to have more action, but I couldn't for the life of me be satisfied with how I was writing it, so I kept it like this instead. Also I'm sorry that it's so long and with so much dialogue, lmao

Second, I wanted to ask if anyone knows how to make gif manips? I really want some but this girl only knows how to do aesthetic boards and that's it.

Third! I've been doing some changes to better improve my writing and creativity, and one of them is creating mini playlists inspired by your OC's. Now, I don't know whether I'm gonna do all of them, but I did decide to do Nadine. AND I DECIDED TO SHARE IT WITH YOU GUYS~

NADINE MADAKI:

1) Homemade Dynamite | Lorde
2) Swan | Willa
3) Future Heroine | Ecca Vandal
4) For the Love of a Daughter | Demi Lovato
5) Human Engine | Kate Boy
6) Nasty Gal | Betty Davis
7) Who Are You, Really? | Mikky Ekko
8) Love Is Madness | Thirty Seconds To Mars, Halsey
9) Raise Hell | Dorothy
10) Blood Hands | Royal Blood