"You know what's more dangerous than staring down the barrel of a gun?
Making eye contact with someone.
Because while a gun could kill you, with just one look, a person could destroy you from the inside out.
With just one shared look, your souls can catch fire.
And that vulnerability will always be scarier than the barrel of a gun."

NADINE

It was the beginning of December and the only progress Nadine made with the sphere was eliminating the Mussolini gang from the list. She'd hit a dead end with the investigation at hand, which just grated her immensely.

Yeah, she really hated not knowing where the hell it was.

Nadine was back from a small side mission in Rio de Janeiro to a seemingly empty house. Steve, Natasha, and Sam had left around the same time they arrived from Germany, while Taj went to meet up with Dante. It seemed like Emilia, Kaia, Fong, and Bucky were gone as well. "Hello?" she muttered, bothered by how empty it felt without the ruckus. She'd gotten used to a full house, so the silence was unnerving. "I'm home!"

She was starting to get suspicious when Emilia appeared downstairs, dressed in some leggings and a blue top, a glass of wine in her hand. The Colombian shrieked when she saw Nadine standing in the kitchen. "Carajo, Dina, a little heads up would've been nice!"

"I did say I was home," Nadine drawled, giving the younger woman a shrug in response to her glare. "Where's everyone at?"

"If you must know," Emilia said, placing a hand on her heart in an attempt to calm it down. "Fong headed out to the clinic, Bucky's downstairs in the training room, while Kaia and I are going to sit by the pool and gossip while we get drunk. Wanna join?"

Nadine considered her options, but she ended up thinking about how she could use some training. After such a long trip, she definitely needed to stretch her limbs. "I think I'll change and go downstairs."

"Of course you will," Emilia responded sarcastically, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. The movement made the small scar just above her brow all the more visible. "Can't say I blame you."

"Screw you, Emilia."

The woman chuckled in amusement and pretty much strutted away from Nadine, waving a dismissive hand in her direction. "You wish!"

• • •

When Nadine walked into the training room after going on a quick jog to warm up, she found Bucky enjoying the salmon ladder. For the first time since Fong installed it, she hated it. Not because she envied his ability to do it with ease -although, she did- but because she couldn't stop staring. It didn't help that the shirt he was wearing made his back muscles visible and the veins in his flesh arm pop out.

It pissed her off.

"You know, doll," Bucky grunted as he reached the last one on the bottom of the ladder, dropping to the floor after he secured the pole. When he turned, he took one look at her and smirked, his teeth absentmindedly biting the inside of his cheek. "Staring used to be considered rude."

She scoffed, taking her shoes off and placing them in the corner. "I wasn't staring."

"Don't worry, I don't blame you," Bucky teased, before enveloping her in a sweaty hug, much to her chagrin. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," she grunted in annoyance. Though she enjoyed exercising, she loathed sweat. Sweaty hugs were even worse, even if they were coming from Bucky.

"Don't act like you didn't miss me saving your ass."

She scoffed, shaking her head in annoyance as she pulled her head back to playfully glare at him. "Oh, bite me, Barnes."

Shouldn't have said that.

"Well," he started, an eyebrow raised to convey his irritatingly playful demeanor. "If you insist."

"No!" she shrieked, quickly bending back and pressing her hands on his chest to avoid getting bitten. As she tried to slide out of his grip, Bucky loosened his hold, laughing as she maneuvered herself away from his reach. "You're such a child."

"A child that makes you nervous," he quipped. "Hypothetically speaking."

Nadine narrowed her eyes, ignoring the fact that the little voice inside her head agreed with him. "That's a bold accusation."

Bucky merely shrugged, but the crooked smile on his face was hard to miss. "How was Brazil?"

"Oh, no." She pointed a finger in his direction, knowing exactly what he was trying to do. "Don't change the subject, James."

"Too late."

She groaned dramatically. Lately, there had been more moments like that where he'd say or do certain things and backtrack whenever Nadine paid attention to them. It was aggravating, and just made her feel like she was stuck in a sort of limbo, with too many questions and too little answers.

"Whatever," Nadine muttered, fixing her high ponytail. "So how about some sparring?"

Bucky had the gall to snort. "Sparring?"

"You heard me," she quipped, trying to bite down her annoyance. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm as human as they come, so I'd like to start some extra training, just in case." 

It was her encounter with the Amigos dos Amigos in Brazil that made her consider it. The woman she'd fought was twice her strength, despite being around the same height. Needless to say, since her world was slowly getting invaded by aliens and the enhanced, she figured training with a super soldier was a good tactic.

"Fine, then," he agreed, stretching his shoulders to loosen them up. "Let's see what ya got, Cherry Bomb."

"Har har." She shook her limbs to ease her body from the tension, slipping off her jacket so it wouldn't bother her. She didn't miss the way his eyes glanced at the scar on her shoulder in intrigue. He was itching to find out the story behind it, she knew, but didn't understand why.

Bucky shook his hands once, and she could see the way his hair sticked to the sides of his face because of sweat. "You know, you still haven't told me about that nickname."

God, he asked too many questions. "It's a long story," she responded carefully, and she stood across from him on the mat.

He said nothing, to her relief. Instead, he simply twisted his neck a bit, his eyes never lifting from her movements. He was studying her, trying to find a weak spot even before they started. That's clever.

So when she threw the first punch, Bucky was already one step ahead, literally, and sidestepped before her fist connected to his cheek. She shifted her arm back to elbow him, but he blocked it by placing his hand around her bicep and twisting her arm behind her, just enough to cause some discomfort, but no pain. His vibranium arm circled around her shoulders, her locked arm and back pressed against his chest.

"Did Jameson teach you to fight?" he muttered curiously, and she could feel his breath on her shoulder, which made the hairs at the back of her neck stand.

She bent her knees and shifted her weight, pulling him over her shoulder so he'd end up falling onto the mat, which she landed on her knees as he pulled her with him. As he sat up, he looked at her in disbelief, to which she simply shrugged with a small smirk on her face. "Well, yeah. I mean, everyone received training of everything, but since he wanted me to join the Hand, I needed to know some hand to hand. Then I joined SHIELD-"

"And they trained you even more," he deduced, standing up quickly. He swung a leg, and she immediately bent backwards to evade it. "Natasha trained you. Makes sense. You fight like her."

"Is that an insult or a compliment?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he blocked her attempt at kicking his side with both hands, then blocked her swing with his bicep, before grabbing her shoulders and placing a leg between hers, bending forward in order to pull her over him. She landed sideways on the mat, her arm raised and a foot on her shoulder blade. If they were in an actual fight, he could easily dislocate it, but he didn't, opting to just let go. "Take it as you want."

Nadine huffed in annoyance, quickly standing up. She understood why he was holding back, but even like this she felt like she was losing. "Again."

They continued like that for what seemed like a while, until Bucky had her pinned to the ground, his arm wrapped around her neck while her right arm was blocked between the metal one and his right leg. "Well, now that I've got you here, you could enlighten me about your nickname?"

"Seriously?" she grunted, punching his side repeatedly to get him off, but he wouldn't budge.

"I'm a curious person, Nadine."

Nadine thought back to that fateful day. When she found Jameson, she could've let SHIELD take him in and lock him up for the rest of his life, but hearing him try to parent his way back into her life just reminded her of how much she wanted revenge, and how she wanted him gone.

So she went outside, lit some cherry bomb prototypes she stole from one of the students of the Science Division, and threw it through the window, leaving him to burn.

Nadine pushed her legs up and maneuvered them in between their bodies, wrapping them around his neck like a vice. It was enough to distract him and so she could pull him sideways, throwing him on his back, the momentum somersaulting her towards freedom.

"I killed Jameson using two cherry bombs made by a trainee," she finally admitted, her eyes staring at the blue of the mat. "That's the big secret."

Silence entrapped them as they stayed like that for what felt like a minute. And during it all, she didn't look at him; she couldn't find the courage to do so.

"You killed him," he finally said, his voice void of any emotion, or judgement.

"I didn't wanna tell you because I didn't want you to think the worst of me." She stood back up, brushing some loose strands behind her ears, her gaze settled on the weights in the far left corner of the room. "More than you already did, once upon a time."

"Nadine," he scoffed incredulously. "I could never think the worst of you."

That made her look at him in disbelief. "What?"

"When I think of HYDRA, you don't think I don't want revenge for what they did to me?"

"The thought's crossed my mind," she confessed, giving him a shrug.

"Well, I do," he confirmed, and it was his then to evade his gaze, almost out of shame. Was he ashamed of his dark thoughts? Or was it because of the countless of things he'd done. "But I try not to let it consume me."

"You're better than I am."

Bucky quickly grunted in disapproval, eyebrow raised and everything. Clearly, he didn't agree with her self-deprecating humor. "Not really, no. I'm not saying I agree with what you did, but I understand, more than you give me credit for."

"I'm not proud of it," she admitted. "I'm not proud of a lot of things."

"Well, not being proud of it means you give a shit."

An airy laugh escaped her, his smile widening as he basked in his pride, almost as if making her laugh was such an important prize. Nadine didn't agree, but she was grateful for it. She needed the change in her mood.

"Think fast!" She swung her leg in a roundhouse kick, which he ducked swiftly, a look of disbelief on his face. Nadine chuckled and cheekily raised an eyebrow at him, like a challenge. He tried to jab at her, but she evaded his attempts and side-kicked him. Bucky grabbed her leg, and she struggled to find her balance with just one foot on the floor. He smiled crookedly, his eyes narrowing slightly as he did so, and pulled her towards him, to which she stumbled and grabbed onto his arm to maintain balance. When she looked up, they were so close she was sure that if he titled his head slightly, they'd bump noses. She could feel her skin tingling and her stomach twisting in knots because of the way his hooded eyes looked at her lips and his hand rose up her leg. Nadine was so sure that the sparring was done at that point.

But then he pulled her other leg out from under her and shoved her, and she landed on the mat with an unnerving groan.

Bucky laughed. Fucking asshole was only trying to distract her. "Another round," she muttered under her breath, not sure if she was annoyed by the fact that she got distracted, or the fact that she actually hoped they'd kiss.

She pushed herself up, quickly ducking when Bucky swung at her, noticing that he never did anything with his metal arm, which left his side exposed. So she tried to cross punch his ribcage, but he sidestepped before she made contact. She swiftly blocked his jabs and grabbed onto his wrist, lifting her legs up and wrapping them around his neck, the force of her weight pulling him forward and over her body as she let herself fall onto the mat. She was about to stand up again when a force tackled her onto the ground. Bucky pinned her under him, and his smirk almost served as a taunt. "You know, I'm starting to think you just like me pinning you against things."

Nadine sucked in a breath and felt her skin grow hotter at his words. He knew exactly what he was doing, and it pissed her off.

It was time to turn the tables.

The woman pushed herself up slightly so their faces were close once again, and Bucky's demeanor changed when he felt her lips brush against the corner of his jaw. She smirked when she felt his stance loosen as she made her way closer to his lips. He was letting his guard down, so he didn't react to her lifting her legs up to wrap them around his arms and swinging them sideways until their positions were reversed, with her legs pinning his arms down, while one hand pressed against his chest, and the other was wrapped around his throat. She smirked when his ears and cheeks turned pink. "I could say the same about you."

He stared at her, dumbfounded, but there was something else she couldn't point out. Impressed, maybe? No, that wasn't it. Was he beaming? No, that's not it, either.

Longing. He was longing.

Her smirk quickly faded as they stared at one another, the intensity of the atmosphere reaching higher than ever before. That magnetic pull was there since the beginning, and it didn't seem like it had any plans on dissipating, especially in moments like this where she could feel his chest rise and fall under her. It made her wonder if his heart was beating as fast as hers. He tapped the mat twice in a sign that he surrendered, and she freed his arms from her grip, their eyes still locked on one another as he sat up and swallowed hard. "What?" she asked quietly, suddenly aware once again of the palpable tension between them.

"I don't want to spar anymore," he muttered, his voice deep, and Nadine took note at how his tongue licked his lower lip in the faintest of manners, almost teasingly.

She got off of him. "Fine by me," she replied, coughing once to mask the way her voice cracked. She needed some air to clear her head, anyway. Just as she stood up, though, his fingers circled around her hand, and she felt herself freeze on the spot, her heart rate creeping up her throat.

"Nadine," Bucky muttered, the softness of his tone reverberating through her, like a fog sweeping over her. She turned to look at him, the blue in his irises tugging at her, urging her towards him. He was as gorgeous as ever. Nadine placed a hand on his chest, above his heart, and she could feel its rapid beating. Like hers.

It drove her insane to know that Bucky Barnes - the kind man behind the ghost stories- was attracted to her.

The revelation enveloped them. Bucky closed his eyes as her hand brushed upwards, finding its way up to his neck in order to pull him forward. Their heads were leaning in, the proximity making her very aware of his warm breath on her. Dear God, she couldn't fight against the urge going through her.

In the back of her head, she could hear a small voice tell her that this was dangerous. But when his lips lightly brushed against hers, and she could feel his facial hair scratch against her cheek, she told that little voice to fuck it.

They probably would've gone further, except a distant "Nadine!" startled them both out of the trance they were in.

Bucky's groaned in clear annoyance, his eyes blazing as he carefully pulled her hand from his hair and stepped away from her. "What now?" he muttered, his voice acidic.

Nadine said nothing, instead choosing to take the moment to try to bury her emotions inside all over again.

But how could she now that she'd let them loose?

It was impossible, especially when his touch still lingered all over her body like a ghost.

Emilia quickly entered, her breaths shallow and her face pale. Nadine could see him bite his lower lip, his eyes showing how irritated he felt at seeing her.

She needed to stop looking at his lips.

"What is it, Emilia?" she asked, surprised at how level she sounded. Nadine'd been sure that if she uttered a sound, she'd rat them out.

"Dante and Taj have been compromised."

_______________________________

A/N: Well, that was eventful

Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the long ass delay. I keep sidetracked by my crappy ass job and I was also working on applying to grad schools, so I had a bunch of stuff on my plate that just drained any and all creativity from me, which sucked because this is actually one of my favorite chapters. But here I am again, sporadically updating! Yay!

I can't promise that I'll get back on track on updating because my schedule's pretty tight, but the next chapter's actually halfway done so maybe I will?

Who knows:)

Anyway, I made an aesthetic

I just realized Nadine and Bucky's ship name could be JamesDine

Get it? JamesDine? Like James Dean? Lol I suck

So that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this chapter:) and be sure to look for the next one soon!

Thank you so much for reading!

-Naomi