No, she didn't want to talk about Steve. Natalia didn't really want to talk at all. Nuzzling at his fingers was far more appealing, and giving him little kisses in between soft touches was so much better than anything else. They were still wrapped tightly around each other, and she craved it, craved his touch and his attention. He was hers, goddamnit, regardless of what the Powers That Be insisted.
Besides, talking would only inevitably lead to more lies, and her heart ached with those she'd already been forced to tell.
"I'll stay as long as I can," she promised, sealing it with a fierce kiss. "Not sure I'm really that good of a luck charm," oh, the irony, "but I'll do my best." They shifted against each other and she moaned, nipping at James's lower lip before kissing him again and again. And again.
"My good luck charm anyway," Bucky whispers, covering her so he can kiss her even deeper. He's always loved to kiss and Natalia is the best at it compared to any other woman he's ever been with. He rolls his hips against her and cages her in with his arms, keeping her from leaving him.
His kisses are deep, teeth tugging at her lower lip and mouth drifting along her cheek and jaw, along her shoulder, and to the hollow of her throat.
She had no intention of going anywhere. Not tonight, at least. Natalia let herself slowly drown in Bucky's sweet, tender kisses, whimpering softly when his mouth left hers to trail a slow, warm path down her neck and over her shoulder. She held him close, running a hand through his tousled hair, and pressed her own kisses where she could.
"I love you, James," she breathed against his skin. "Never doubt that. Whatever happens, never, ever doubt that." Natalia coaxed him up to look at her, and met his eyes seriously. "I love you. You are mine, and I am yours." A tender hand stroked his cheek. "...no matter what."
"I'm yours and you're mine," Bucky says back, curled around her as best as he can manage. She's so beautiful, Natalia, and he feels so lucky to be able to be hers in this mess of a war. Nobody else is this lucky.
"That's for always. No matter what. You're my best girl, after all. Can't leave you this early."
Several hours later, right before reveille, Natalia answered the quiet but firm knock on her door to see Captain Rogers, apparently looking for his best friend. "Yes, Captain," she replied quietly, clutching the throat of her robe tighter against the snowy chill, "he's here. He's still asleep. Give me...a minute, please?"
Rogers nodded and settled to wait, while the redhead gently closed the door again then returned to her well-stirred sheets and her slumbering lover. "James?" She perched on the edge of the bed, reaching out to smooth dark hair back from his forehead. "James, it's time to wake up, moya zvezda." She leaned over to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Captain Rogers is here, looking for you."
"Don't really wanna see him, doll. Not right now." Bucky's voice is gravelly and he feels like he's still in that HYDRA camp even though he's managed to get out, be checked over, and spend a night with Natalia. He reaches for her hand and kisses her palm, closing his eyes as he does.
"Can't they just give me a day off? I know it's a fucking war but I just want...I was scared to come and I still wanna fight but I need some time. I guess there's not any time out here, is there?" No time for nonsense like a relationship, anyway. Not when there's HYDRA to eliminate.
She cupped his cheek as he kissed her palm, leaning over again to replace her hand with her lips. "I know," she whispered softly, nuzzling against his cheek. "And no, there isn't." She had to get moving, herself. Howard would be up and in the armory soon; there was no rest for the wicked, not anywhere.
"I have to report in to Howard soon, too." Regardless of how much she wanted to just close the door on the rest of the world and snuggle down into bed with her tousled, war-weary lover. "Maybe you can request a few days liberty? Get out of camp and go to a real city nearby?" One not under German occupation, preferably.
"Get over to Switzerland. Heard that's where all the good stuff is happening," Bucky says with a little laugh. "Better go and see what Steve wants before he comes in and interrupts us."
It doesn't take long to dress and it turns out it's not just Steve who wants him but Carter and the Colonel and they're forming an elite squad. Bucky isn't sure what they want him for until Phillips produces his sniper record and he's glad to know it's on his own merit and not just because Steve asked for him. After they plan strategy, he asks Phillips for his liberty and gets two days.
He goes back to find Natalia and tell her the news. "I got my time. Two days, but I'll take it."
She was once again transposing notes for Stark, and glanced up from her papers when she heard the Sergeant come in. Greeting him with a smile this time, no more tears - at least for now - Natalia put down her pen, rose from her chair, and greeted her lover with a soft welcoming kiss.
"That's great news, James," she replied sincerely. "You should get out of here right now, go do something fun and happy, put all of this out of your head for a while." Two days could be a lifetime, in the right circumstances. "Bring me back some chocolate," she teased, giving his uniform jacket a little tug.
"I was hoping you could come with me," Bucky says, somewhat crestfallen. He'd asked for the liberty under the assumption she'd wanted to spend time with him and not that he'd be going off by himself while everyone else was back at base planning the next op. Maybe it's just not...the same. He's not the same.
"I guess you're too busy with the other thing, though, whatever it is. I know I remember that. I know I do. I just don't know why you'd try to lie to me about it. You can trust me, you know."
"Oh." Perhaps she should have expected that, but then he hadn't mentioned wanting to go with her, just that he'd needed to get away from all the war for a while. "I didn't--I didn't realize."
She was just about to say that she could go ask Howard if there was anything he needed across the border, but then James said that, and Natalia paused, frozen. And frowned. "...I have no idea what you're talking about, James." Her heart screamed in pain, but she insisted, "I haven't lied about anything."
Just to have something to do, she thrust a few papers into a folder, adding, "If this is about your--hallucinations, I don't know what else to tell you."
"I didn't hallucinate it," Bucky says sharply. "But fine, don't trust me. I'm not spreading your secret around regardless because I actually love you and don't care who you are. I'm taking my leave. Maybe we'll see each other before I ship out again."
Or, perhaps not, since clearly she'd rather make him doubt his own mind than trust him with her secrets when he's laid himself completely bare for her more than once.
"I've always been honest with you. You're worth that to me."
It stung more than she'd expected it to, that sharp rebuttal. But she made sure her poker face was firmly in place, and schooled herself to a smooth blankness. Natalia cleared her throat softly, automatically rearranging the papers on her small worktable, and kept her eyes on those, instead of the man across the desk.
"...maybe we will," she replied woodenly. "But maybe we won't. No way to know." It was tearing her apart inside, hearing the thread of anger in his voice. But she had no choice, none at all. And if losing him was the consequence of saving his life, then so be it. She'd just have to pay it.
"Enjoy your work," Bucky says. He wants it to be clipped and cold but it comes out softer and more hurt than he wants it to. "Be sure to let Howard know where to find me if he needs me."
He wants nothing more than to just pull her into his arms and forgive her, bring her to Switzerland and coax her into sharing the secret with him, but he knows he can't do that. He's the one who's fucked up now, who can't trust what's real and what isn't and he doesn't even know if his whole relationship was real. Was any of it real? Or did he just have some information she wanted? He's sure he's spilled plenty of it on the pillow.
Had he fucked the Allies against HYDRA? Is she a spy or something? He has no idea what's true and what isn't and decides that until he knows his own brain again, he can't be sharing himself with anyone else. Especially not her.
"I think...I don't think I'm the kind of guy you wanna be with anymore." He fingers some of the papers on her desk. "And maybe I haven't been for a while but I know I'm not now. But I love you even if it's not...if I'm not me anymore. It was all real for me."
It seemed impossible that only a few short hours ago, they'd been entangled in each other's arms, warm beneath her blankets. Now, they were stilted and cool, both of them pretending they didn't hurt as much as they did. She recognized the signs, at least. It was a game she'd been playing all of her life.
She started to inform him that she wasn't his damned secretary, and that if he wanted Stark to know where he was going, that he should tell him his own damned self, but she bit her tongue against the hot retort. Natalia had resumed her seat before Bucky spoke again, and this time, the words made her hands still.
"...that's not true," she finally answered, looking up at him softly. "You're still the same man you were before, nothing's changed." God, if only that were the truth. "But...take the time you need, James. I'll...I'll be all right." What choice did she even have?
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Besides, talking would only inevitably lead to more lies, and her heart ached with those she'd already been forced to tell.
"I'll stay as long as I can," she promised, sealing it with a fierce kiss. "Not sure I'm really that good of a luck charm," oh, the irony, "but I'll do my best." They shifted against each other and she moaned, nipping at James's lower lip before kissing him again and again. And again.
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His kisses are deep, teeth tugging at her lower lip and mouth drifting along her cheek and jaw, along her shoulder, and to the hollow of her throat.
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"I love you, James," she breathed against his skin. "Never doubt that. Whatever happens, never, ever doubt that." Natalia coaxed him up to look at her, and met his eyes seriously. "I love you. You are mine, and I am yours." A tender hand stroked his cheek. "...no matter what."
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"That's for always. No matter what. You're my best girl, after all. Can't leave you this early."
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Rogers nodded and settled to wait, while the redhead gently closed the door again then returned to her well-stirred sheets and her slumbering lover. "James?" She perched on the edge of the bed, reaching out to smooth dark hair back from his forehead. "James, it's time to wake up, moya zvezda." She leaned over to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Captain Rogers is here, looking for you."
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"Can't they just give me a day off? I know it's a fucking war but I just want...I was scared to come and I still wanna fight but I need some time. I guess there's not any time out here, is there?" No time for nonsense like a relationship, anyway. Not when there's HYDRA to eliminate.
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"I have to report in to Howard soon, too." Regardless of how much she wanted to just close the door on the rest of the world and snuggle down into bed with her tousled, war-weary lover. "Maybe you can request a few days liberty? Get out of camp and go to a real city nearby?" One not under German occupation, preferably.
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It doesn't take long to dress and it turns out it's not just Steve who wants him but Carter and the Colonel and they're forming an elite squad. Bucky isn't sure what they want him for until Phillips produces his sniper record and he's glad to know it's on his own merit and not just because Steve asked for him. After they plan strategy, he asks Phillips for his liberty and gets two days.
He goes back to find Natalia and tell her the news. "I got my time. Two days, but I'll take it."
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"That's great news, James," she replied sincerely. "You should get out of here right now, go do something fun and happy, put all of this out of your head for a while." Two days could be a lifetime, in the right circumstances. "Bring me back some chocolate," she teased, giving his uniform jacket a little tug.
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"I guess you're too busy with the other thing, though, whatever it is. I know I remember that. I know I do. I just don't know why you'd try to lie to me about it. You can trust me, you know."
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She was just about to say that she could go ask Howard if there was anything he needed across the border, but then James said that, and Natalia paused, frozen. And frowned. "...I have no idea what you're talking about, James." Her heart screamed in pain, but she insisted, "I haven't lied about anything."
Just to have something to do, she thrust a few papers into a folder, adding, "If this is about your--hallucinations, I don't know what else to tell you."
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Or, perhaps not, since clearly she'd rather make him doubt his own mind than trust him with her secrets when he's laid himself completely bare for her more than once.
"I've always been honest with you. You're worth that to me."
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"...maybe we will," she replied woodenly. "But maybe we won't. No way to know." It was tearing her apart inside, hearing the thread of anger in his voice. But she had no choice, none at all. And if losing him was the consequence of saving his life, then so be it. She'd just have to pay it.
"Enjoy your leave, Sergeant Barnes."
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He wants nothing more than to just pull her into his arms and forgive her, bring her to Switzerland and coax her into sharing the secret with him, but he knows he can't do that. He's the one who's fucked up now, who can't trust what's real and what isn't and he doesn't even know if his whole relationship was real. Was any of it real? Or did he just have some information she wanted? He's sure he's spilled plenty of it on the pillow.
Had he fucked the Allies against HYDRA? Is she a spy or something? He has no idea what's true and what isn't and decides that until he knows his own brain again, he can't be sharing himself with anyone else. Especially not her.
"I think...I don't think I'm the kind of guy you wanna be with anymore." He fingers some of the papers on her desk. "And maybe I haven't been for a while but I know I'm not now. But I love you even if it's not...if I'm not me anymore. It was all real for me."
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She started to inform him that she wasn't his damned secretary, and that if he wanted Stark to know where he was going, that he should tell him his own damned self, but she bit her tongue against the hot retort. Natalia had resumed her seat before Bucky spoke again, and this time, the words made her hands still.
"...that's not true," she finally answered, looking up at him softly. "You're still the same man you were before, nothing's changed." God, if only that were the truth. "But...take the time you need, James. I'll...I'll be all right." What choice did she even have?