First Time for Everything - [Past - Natasha and Bucky]
“Hmm,” James answered, settling back in his chair, overlooking the street in front of him. If all went according to plan, the mark would be making a trip soon, all to pass on the briefcase to one of their men. In a different time, the Winter Soldier would have just taken the mark out, picked up the briefcase on his own.
Of course, he had Natalia as his ward for this mission. He took a moment to eye her, looking even younger than she was in her picked up clothing. Beautiful, but young. She wasn’t ready for a mission to go south yet, still too green. “I expect we’ll have plenty of time to finish our tea.”
Her left hand moved towards her knife strapped to her leg, before pulling back. One less thing for the Winter Soldier to pull her up on. She wanted her first dual mission to go well, wanted him to be proud of her. The idea of him being proud of her… well she loved the idea. Instead, she moved her hand to the opposite side of her cup.
Nodding at his remark, she continued to watch the seeming empty house. Yet she had a feeling it was not as empty as it looked. Glancing up, she saw the rags in the top window move. Natalia raised her foot and tapped his ankle to get James attention. “Look up.” She murmured in English. She needed some way to gain his attention and the conversations around them had raised - a man arguing with his wife about what he wanted for his dinner. She put her cup down, waiting for him to tell her what their next move was.
Casually, James' eyes drifted up, catching the curtain move. There was a flash of a face, beard and crooked nose enough for James to know that was their man. He put down the empty tea cup, and sat forward. Two fingers tapped on the dish, a signal that it was time to move. The corner of his lip turned up, as James stood and offered Natalia a hand. "Ready to leave, darling?" he murmured in Russian.
It would be her job to distract, his to grab the briefcase, and together they'd bring it to the safehouse.
