James "Bucky" Barnes--Indie RP

[jamesbarnesrp]

Haven’t been using this for awhile. You can find me: @buckybarnesthewintersoldier

@steverogers-soldier

This blog will probably become a comics bucky rp blog at some point

[elithien]

Elithien’s 10,000 Follower Giveaway Contest. Never thought I’d ever reach such a milestone but to come this far goes without saying I am forever grateful and therefore I’ve created a giveaway contest for 10 winners. All you gotta do to participate is to be 1.) following me 2.) reblogging (as many as you’d like! better chance eh?) this post to participate. FIRST PLACE: -One original commission of one character choice in watercolour/ink [example] -x2 A3 size prints of any existing artwork, signed by me. -Choice of 10 badges from any of the two [Marvel] [Star Wars] -Choice of 5 charms from any of the two [Marvel] [Star Wars] -x4 Postcard size prints of any existing artwork, signed by me. SECOND PLACE: -Commission Sketch of one character -x1 A3 size print of any existing artwork, signed by me. -Choice of 5 badges from any of the two [Marvel] [Star Wars] -Choice of 3 charms from any of the two [Marvel] [Star Wars] -x2 Postcard size prints of any existing artwork, signed by me. THIRD PLACE: -x1 A3 size print of any existing artwork, signed by me. -Choice of 3 badges from any of the two [Marvel] [Star Wars] -Choice of 2 charms from any of the two [Marvel] [Star Wars] -x1 Postcard size print of any existing artwork, signed by me. FOURTH & FIFTH PLACE: -Choice of 2 badges from any of the two [Marvel] [Star Wars] -Choice of 1 charm from any of the two [Marvel] [Star Wars] SIXTH TO TENTH PLACE: -Choice of 2 badges from any of the two [Marvel] [Star Wars]

Contest ends on: October 15, 2016 12MN; GMT 8+ Goodluck everyone!

[elithien]

Last chance to join or better your luck! (I’m not kidding, about 2 of the people from my last giveaway won because they increased their chance by reblogging it 4 times, so yes, it does count ;D)

[jamesbarnesrp]

On Hiatus

[jamesbarnesrp]

Don’t Start a War: Bucky and Natasha (Closed rp)

[supersecretblog]

The itching from Natasha’s scalp was spreading down her neck and all she wanted in the entire world was a goddamn shower, but James was doing exactly what she’d asked him to do. If she wanted to have any hope of them ever working together, she had to acknowledge that.

She pulled the hair band out of her hair with rather more force than needed and flopped into the chair behind her. “I’m sorry I left like that, but I’m exhausted.” She gestured between them. “This is exhausting. Every time it seems like things might be looking up, one of us offends the other one and so far that has only let to escalation.”

She rubbed a hand across her face. “I have a mental image of Steve looking disappointed at me, more or less permanently at this point.”

For a second she thought about asking him what he’d thought she’d say to revealing the Winter Soldier’s hand in this when all Steve wanted was to bring him in from the cold. But that was too much of a sore spot for him to even refer to.

“But thank you for confronting me, maybe this isn’t quite as hopeless as it feels like.” She shot him a tired smile.

[jamesbarnesrp]

Bucky frowned at her. “Why is this such  a big deal? Why worry about it enough to be exhausted? I don’t know what you expect that you can call this hopeless. We’ve both lived through hopeless. This is just sort of annoying and you haven’t  offended me on this mission. You just thought I was bent out of shape when I wasn’t.”

He went into the antechamber and grabbed his equipment bag, putting it on the bed and checking his gear as he talked.

“Yeah, I’ve picked up on the fact that you don’t like it when I disagree with you, but I’m not gonna keep my mouth shut because I might offend. I spent years holding my tongue and I don’t have to do that now. Not gonna.

“Don’t get why that’s such a problem, though. I shut up when it looked like we might get into it, didn’t I? Chit-chatted about the damn food. I’m not trying to fight with ya.”

Bucky picked up a Sig Sauer, checked the clip, and reloaded it.

"You think Steve and I agree all the time?” He shook his head. “Nope. We got some big differences of opinion--and from what I can remember, that’s nothing new.”

He put the gun back in the bag. “When that happens, we argue, then have a beer that neither of us can feel. Doesn’t  change anything, doesn’t make us less friends. It’s not a big deal, and this isn’t, either.”

Bucky raised his gaze from the bag and looked at her. “It’s only a problem if it interferes with the mission, which it just did. We worked great together today. We can keep doing that. Ya gotta accept that I’m not whoever it is you’re expecting me to be, though--and I’ll do my best to only object to shit when I think it’s mission critical. I was worried about you, but that’s not my place. You gotta do what ya gotta do.”

He zipped up the bag. “Look, I get that everyone is disappointed that I’m not more ‘Bucky’ and don’t remember more. I guess people liked him.

“Hell, it’d probably be easier if I was just the Winter  Soldier. I’d be efficient without opening my yap much--at least if I was the Winter Soldier I was for the last few decades. Don’t think it was always like that.”

His mouth pulled up on one side. “'Course, then you’d be pretty pissed about how I did my job. Annoying is better than being a fucking cold-blooded killer all the goddamn time, right? Let’s just be glad of that and stop overthinking things.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Don’t Start a War: Bucky and Natasha (Closed rp)

[supersecretblog]

Natasha got a glass of water while the images transferred from the camera to the computer. It wasn’t refrigerator cold, but she just needed to replenish what was lost during the run.

“Thanks, I’ll have some after a shower,” she said, trying not to fiddle with her limp hair. The hat and hoodie had been almost as bad as a wig, but at least she didn’t have to clean that too.

“Yeah, there weren’t a lot of people around on my route. Stayed away from the bakery and their house though, so can’t say how it looks around there.”

She was wondering if his plan was motivated by an urge to get away too when her phone pinged. Her contact had reacted quicker than expected. That was a nice change of luck considering how everything had gone so far. She quickly send off a coded message about needing the contact to look into someone and meet up about the result.

“That sounds like the best idea right now. We’re sorely in the need of more people and a couple of weeks too late to do more than last ditch effort if you’re right about the command.” She tried to ignore Steve’s voice echoing in the back of her head, telling her that the mission was reconnaissance only. They hadn’t discovered anything final yet, but if things were as urgent as it seemed to be, Steve should be notified sooner rather than later.

Oh, how quickly things could change.

She barely managed to start the image processer up before her phone pinged again.

“It looks like I might be able to get something on dear old Karl tomorrow, at least if my contact finds anything. I’ll relieve you in the morning and let you get some rest before I meet them. I’ll text you with the timing details when I know more.” Part of her wanted to make a joke about bringing something to make up for her shorter short stature, but she dropped it. It would no doubt only get her a raised eyebrow and a ‘really?’ look in return.

Gathering her oversized tee and a pair of clean panties, she was almost ready for the shower.

[jamesbarnesrp]

Natasha was acting kind of twitchy. Nothing overt,  just...like she wanted to be somewhere else or something. Like she didn’t much want to be in the same room with him, let alone eat a meal.

Yeah, she was talking. She was doing her job. There was nothing obvious, but.... It was hard to put his finger on and he didn’t get it. 

Things had been okay that afternoon. That was why he’d brought decent food. He figured they might be able to enjoy a nice meal, instead of verbally fencing over fast food.

Bucky watched her deal with her contact, and by the time she’d gathered her things for a shower, he’d come to a decision. There wasn’t really time to talk, but it had to be done, or things would just go back to the way they’d been.

“You’re bugging me.”

He put his book down and sat up. “You said I should say that when you were, so I am. I dunno  what happened, because things were going good today, but I thought we weren’t gonna do this anymore.”

His head tilted as he gave her a considering look, trying to figure out what was up. “What’s going on?”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Don’t Start a War: Bucky and Natasha (Closed rp)

[supersecretblog]

Typically when out running, Natasha used the time to get out of her head, to stop thinking and focus on putting one foot in front of the other. The pure physicality of it allowed circling thoughts get unstuck and let her to just be for a short while. Not this time though. Her thoughts kept returning to James.

Going for a run had seems like her best option when he had clammed up for the hundredth time – to give him some time alone and allow her to relax more. But for a fraction of a second he’d reacted like she’d slapped him when she’d suggested it.

Keep reading

[jamesbarnesrp]

After a bit, Natasha came back, smiled--maybe real, maybe not-- and asked how his book was.

Bucky looked  up from his book and said, “It’s good. I like it.”

He hiked a thumb toward the table. “There’s still food. I ate most of the pelmeni, but left all the blini for you.”

Sitting up, he took her pillow out from behind him, where both their pillows had been propping him up, replaced it with the folded blanket he’d taken from the antechamber, and lay back down.

“If the bakery folks got an order, we can’t be certain it isn’t imminent. I’m gonna head over to their house and watch. Foot traffic in their neighborhood will have quieted down by now. If it’s business as usual, they’ll probably head over to the bakery around 3 or 4 AM and I’ll take up position on the rooftop again. 

“Thing is, we can’t know if they’re passing the order on to someone else. If they already did it from home, we’re screwed, but since they got their order in person, I bet they’d pass it on in person, too, and probably not in their safe house. Ya never know, though.”

He closed the book and put it down. “This is turning out to be an operation that needs a team and more gear, but we accomplished the objective. Something is definitely going on here. Being in the right place at the right time to find out more than that, or stop anything, is gonna be tricky with only two people.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Don’t Start a War: Bucky and Natasha (Closed rp)

[supersecretblog]

It didn’t come as a surprise to Natasha when James closed up again after her again arguing against him letting the Winter Soldier take the blame. She wanted to tell him that doing so wouldn’t protect Steve like he thought it would, it would only mean that the chance of Steve ever publicly working with him grew ever slimmer. Because what he wanted, what he needed was, ways to prove that the former assassin was working to redeem himself, not the cause of further destruction. The target might be bad guys these days, but all the public would see was the dead and none of the benefits that came with it.

It annoyed her too. Even if it wasn’t a personal thing for her like it was with Steve, she still grew steadily more annoyed each time James suggested taking the blame. They had their problems, but he was an extremely competent man and she wanted to keep working with him. But Natasha’ reputation was bad enough as it was with her file widely available on the internet. She didn’t want something as trivial as PR limiting who she could and couldn’t work with.

And to be honest when their teamwork did work, she was having more fun than she did with most other people. Even if she couldn’t put her finger on why.

“The borscht is very good,” she said with a smile. Standing up, she stretched and put the empty borscht container in the trash. “I’m going for a run before I go stir crazy. Save me some of that for when I get back,” she said, pointing at the rest of the food.

If she wore a hat under the hoodie, she wouldn’t have to wear the wig, just the veil. A run would clear her head. And she needed a clear head to relax in this tiny room.

[jamesbarnesrp]

Yeah, he didn’t piss her off at all. Perfectly natural to go for a run in the middle of dinner because being inside for three hours was so claustrophobic, never mind that they’d been outside for twelve.

She probably thought he was questioning her judgement...which he kind of was.

Bucky finished his shashlik, regretting that he’d spent as much as he had on a dinner that was being left to get cold. Once he’d opened the container of salmon pelmeni, he changed his mind. Damn. That was delicious.

After eating most of the pelmeni, which he didn’t feel at all guilty about, Bucky took a shower, put on a clean t-shirt and pants, grabbed a blanket from the antechamber, and lay down on his side of the bed to read a book he’d picked up while he was out.

It was something about robots  by a guy named Azimov. The used bookstore guy had been shocked speechless that he hadn’t read it, so it was probably pretty good.

[jamesbarnesrp]

Don’t Start a War: Bucky and Natasha (Closed rp)

[supersecretblog]

Natasha studied James for a few seconds. Would it seem worth it to him? It was hard to tell, they’d already disagreed on things that seemed to have surprised both of them.

“I’ll owe them a favor. Depending on what they dig up, it might not be a small one. But since we’re dealing with someone who might be Russian intelligence and might not have aged since the 60s, I’d say it’s worth it. Especially if that was a command not a pass-phrase.” It might come back to bite her in the ass, but at least that would be more manageable than this if it blew up.

“And I know you don’t want to hear this, but Steve wouldn’t forgive me if I went along with the Winter Soldier taking the blame.” She shot him a wry smile and shrugged. “ I’m just not strong enough to stand the look of disappointment he would give me 24/7 and I’m far too comfortable to begin a new career right now.”

She had finished the borscht and she let the container dangle between two fingers before continuing in a more serious tone. “I meant what I said though. I wouldn’t suggest it if I thought it was a bad idea or too big of a risk. You’ve brought your intel to this mission, let me provide some too.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Bucky wanted to object. He  wanted to say that he’d never make an open-ended deal like that unless it was personal--unless someone’s life was on the line. Not to identify a spy. Not when he had other options.

He didn’t. Instead he nodded and ate his shashlik, because even as the words had been leaving his mouth, it had occurred to him that the way he’d chosen to ask her about it had been the ghost of him in the past, when his approval or disapproval would have mattered, and when he probably wouldn’t have thought twice before giving his opinion and expecting it to have weight.

Maybe her contacts were better people than his. He wasn’t her trainer anymore. Hell, he hardly even remembered that and she was the Black Widow.

Didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be paying attention to the fallout, and goddamn it, he didn’t like her making a deal like that.

Bucky looked at Natasha. “Good shashlik. How’s the borcht?”

Steve’s desire to protect him from his past might become a problem if it limited actions he needed to take. He’d better think about how he was going to deal with that.

[jamesbarnesrp]

Don’t Start a War: Bucky and Natasha (Closed rp)

[supersecretblog]

Natasha closed the laptop when James returned. It was good timing, because she was getting more than a little annoyed with going through database after database and getting zero results.

“Well, I’m glad, because I’ve got nothing,” she said with a sigh. “I can run the name, but if it’s fake, it probably won’t give us much. Let’s hope I have more luck with her picture.”

She stretched and slid to the edge of the bed. There was another option, but that meant calling in a pretty big favor. One she couldn’t be sure would pay off. Mulling it over, she went to the kitchen to get a couple of water bottles, putting one on the table for James, and picking up one of the containers with borscht. The other chair was close enough to the bed that she could stretch out and rest her feet on it if she slid forward a bit.

“There’s someone I could reach out to,” she said. “They’re in Kiev and this will cost me, but since you recognized him, it would be worth it.”

She looked over at him with a crooked smile. “And just to be clear, I wouldn’t suggest this if I didn’t want to do it or didn’t think it was worth it. Will probably have to leave for a while though.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Bucky paused as he opened a container of shashlik and looked at her, the lines between his eyes deepening. “Would it seem worth it to me? Do you have to leave to do something for them? Give them something?”

He put the container down. “If you do, there are other ways we could handle this, even if they’re ways you and Steve don’t prefer. As far as the Russians know, the Winter Soldier is off grid, unaffiliated, and a rogue agent.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Don’t Start a War: Bucky and Natasha (Closed rp)

Bucky rapped lightly on the door to the apartment and announced himself before unlocking the door and going inside. After leaving his bag and coat in the antechamber, he went into the main room and flopped down in the leather chair against the wall.

“I got a name--Karl Vlacic. Don’t think it’s his real one, but that’s no surprise. No sense of familiarity to it, anyway. He’s staying at the Dvinn, in a room on the third floor, room number unknown.”

Putting a large bag of take-out from a Russian restaurant on the small table by the window, he said, “I kept watch outside for a couple hours. A woman went into the hotel about twenty minutes after his return. I don’t know if she met the target, but she looked kinda familiar, too. No idea from where or when. She left after about an hour.”

Bucky pulled his second camera from his pocket, and tossed it on the bed. “I got pictures.”

He opened the bag and started taking containers of food out, along with paper plates and plastic utensils. “You find anything?”

[supersecretblog]

Setting up shop in Svatove (Natasha & Bucky)

[supersecretblog]

Natasha bit her lip to keep from laughing. Yeah, this was definitely more like it. “Are you sure?  You don’t want to do a quick sketch, just to make sure all that newfangled technology doesn’t suddenly crap out on you?” she asked, her voice high and breathy, but with a smile on her face that was decidedly less innocent.

She focused on the feed as the two men talked again, but it was just more pleasantries before the customer left. Every single word got written down all the same. She might not know which ones were important right now, but that would hopefully change in the near future.

James was clearly aware that revealing themselves just for a piece of paper wasn’t an option – he had mentioned the other strategy as something he once would have done, not something he was planning on doing now. But it still highlighted how very different their methods were. Killing everyone would solve the problem of getting their hands on the paper, but it would open them up to a whole host of other problems. She was in it for the long run and she had people besides herself to consider.

And they didn’t even know if the piece of paper was of any use to them without the means to translate it.

She shifted to face him as much as possible in their current positions. Craning her neck to look up and back at him was fine for quick glances, but this was the first serious lead they’d gotten and she wanted to give him her full attention.

“No, I don’t see a way either, but then even if there was some way to get it, it might not be of any use to us. Even if we could decode the information, there’s nothing to indicate it’s something that urgently need to be taken care off. Let’s see if we can figure out who the customer is and something about his background before we do anything. I have access to a few databases that might yield some results.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Bucky lifted an eyebrow. “You’re assuming that they would have died before I got the information, but since I have no desire to do that anymore, it’s kinda moot.”

He raised the binoculars again.  “He’s out of sight of the bakery. I'm going to get on his trail and find out where he’s holed up. What name he’s using, if I can.”

After putting his surveillance gear in his bag and handing Natasha the camera, Bucky took off his balaclava and put on the photostatic veil. “I think we better hope we find out something about the contact, because I don’t think that was just a pass-phrase. I think it was a command.”

Giving his head a shake, Bucky said, “Wish I had a fucking clue why I think that. Without knowing where that comes from, there’s no way to know if I’m right, or just mixing things up. Maybe even remembering something that isn’t real.”

“See you back at the apartment.” Bucky picked up his bag and moved to the roof exit in a crouch, then down the stairs to the street.

[supersecretblog]

Setting up shop in Svatove (Natasha & Bucky)

[supersecretblog]

Now that was more like it.

Natasha liked to push people and nothing made her happier then when they pushed back. With a sense of humor as wry and, at times, dark as James, the two of them should be able to have a lot more fun when they got past the walking on eggshells stage. She smiled widely before mimicking zipping her mouth shut and throwing the key away.

Because of this newest and very positive development, she didn’t point out to James that there was no way Steve was as comfortable with the thought of James moving out as he seemed to be. Because that was between the two of them. Instead she said, “Of course, I’ll make sure the paper trail meshes with the new identity you’re getting.”

The minutes ticked by, turning into hours as the sun made its way across the sky. She kept on noting times and key-phrases, more to remember it for later than to go over – they had the recordings if anything needed to be checked again.

James switching the binoculars out for a scope alerted her before the owner of the bakery had time to greet the new customer. The old man didn’t sound tense when speaking, but he did sound less relaxed compared to how he spoke with other customers. It could just have been chalked down to this one being a man of statue in the area, but if James recognized him, that definitely wasn’t just it.

“Nothing out of the ordinary so far. Just standard small talk ‘hello’, ‘how’s it going’, ‘can’t complain’.”

Paper bags rustled and she pressed the earpiece closer to her ear to make sure she got every nuance of the words exchanged. This was the first interesting customer they’d spotted the entire day, it needed her full attention.

“Nothing that—Wait, “ she said, pausing to replay the inside of the shop in her head. “Did you see any Knyshi when we were there? Because I didn’t, but the customer apparently just got the last eight of them.”

There was no way to figure out what it was code for without some kind of base-line, but there was no doubt in her mind it was code for something.

She looked up when James mentioned Russian intelligence. This was very bad if that was the case. While they weren’t officially still after the Black Widow, she had no doubt that could change if she was caught meddling in their affairs. And they wouldn’t even need an excuse to go after the Winter Soldier.

“You remember anything about him that could hint at an identity? We need to find out who he is. If he really is that old, this could be a bigger mess than anticipated.” She frowned. “Try to get images of him from as many angles as possible. We might be able to dig something up if we can recreate a face scan of him.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Without looking at Natasha, Bucky said, ‘Nah, why waste film? I’m not waiting for him to turn to face me again, at all, before taking more pictures with the large storage computer camera, of a type that I’ve been using for at least a decade.’

Ah, there. he was turning to  the left, allowing Bucky to get that side as well as the right that he’d gotten when the guy entered the bakery. And now he was looking out the window to the front. Done and done. "There we go. One former soviet flyboy and possible KGB agent, captured by the magic camera for posterity.”

Bucky glanced at Natasha. “Kynshi, huh? Even if there were some there, tucked in a corner, they wouldn’t be ordered here as much as in the west. Not enough Jews in this part of Ukraine for knish to be everywhere. Probably why they chose that.”

He put down the scope and camera, switching back to the binoculars. "I sure am wondering what that ‘eight’ refers to. Could be a number of people involved or targets. Could mean something is imminent and ‘eight’ is a pre-planned instruction. Hell, it could just be the password and the real information is on the piece of paper. No damn way to know.”

Lowering the binoculars, Bucky looked at Natasha. “The woman took the paper from the old guy and went into the back. If I was still the Winter Soldier I used to be, I’d just get over there and take it before they can do whatever they’re going to do and destroy it, but....” 

Bucky’s voice trailed off and he went back to looking through the binoculars before he picked up that bloody thread, again. “I wouldn’t have cared about revealing my presence if it furthered the mission, and killing everyone in the bakery to get rid of witnesses wouldn’t have been a problem. I’m not seeing a way to get that paper without blowing our cover before they get rid of the evidence.”

[supersecretblog]

Setting up shop in Svatove (Natasha & Bucky)

[supersecretblog]

Natasha smiled warmly. “Well, Mr. Barnes, then I appreciate the sentiment and thank you for it. But you should know that I wouldn’t have been willing to share a bed, let alone a room, if I’d thought you’d try anything. With a knife or without. Sleep on top of the covers or under them, whatever makes you happy.”

Separate bedrooms would probably have made him happier, but that would have been weird for a young couple and they couldn’t risk arousing suspicion. She’d go for a run when they got back. As it was she was itching to move and the tiny apartment left little space to work out in. With a good long run, she’d get less fidgety and James would get some time alone.

It wouldn’t do anything to change the sleeping arrangement, but it might make it a tiny bit less uncomfortable.

“And we keep pushing you into situations where you’re surrounded by people you barely know or want to get to know. I’m sorry, this can’t be easy for you. Steve mentioned that you had talked about getting a place outside the Avengers facility. If you still want that when we get back, I’ll talk with him about it. See if we can’t get that to work.”

Natasha still wasn’t sure James wouldn’t just leave if he deemed it necessary, but living at the facility didn’t prevent that, it only meant they would noticed it a bit sooner than if he lived by himself. No reason to force him to live where he didn’t want to just for the early warning.

“You’re not an easy man to get a read on, and it can be hard to figure out what you want too, but that’s what getting to know one another is all about. Polite is good, but just tell me when I’m bugging you and I’ll tell you if you’re being an ass. Maybe it won’t be as tiring then.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Bucky gave a nod. “Okay, I can do that.” He smiled at her, even though only his eyes were exposed. “You’re bugging me. Can we not talk about this anymore?”

He turned away from her again and resumed his watch of the bakery.

“About me getting a place...nothin’ to talk to Steve about. I’m doing it, he knows I’m doing it, that’s all there is to it. I could use your help with the paper trail, though. It’s kinda like that alarm on the door. I can get the job done, but your way would be cleaner.”

It was hard to actually mind that they’d talked. Things definitely felt more relaxed, but it still gave Bucky a prickly feeling to have put himself out there like that. It felt like he’d exposed a weakness. Only the fact that it was Natasha, and maybe Steve, who would know was all that made that okay.

After that, hours passed in the way that they do when doing this kind of surveillance--with quiet focus and attention to small details. He figured Steve was wrong. People really can eat that much rye bread.

It was about four in the afternoon before anything really got Bucky’s attention. He put the binoculars down and picked up a scope fitted with a camera, taking a few pictures of the conversation going on inside. “The guy who just came in looks familiar, but I don’t know if he’s ex-KGB, Russian military or Russian Hydra. What’re they saying?”

The unknown guy put a pieces of paper on the counter like he was handing over details of a large order--and they gave him a bunch of bags, but Bucky noticed that the man behind the counter didn’t glance at the paper more than once, and only when he picked it up.

“Either this guy makes the same order all the time, so they don’t have to look at it, or the note he put on the counter is something else.“

Bucky had a sudden mental picture of himself in very different Winter Soldier gear, talking to the man in the bakery about an airplane. It was a fighter jet--new one.... He recognized it more than remembered that meeting. It was an MIG 21F, one of the first, he thought, and that made this memory from 1959.

“I don’t think this is a Hydra op. It might be Russian intelligence. I’m pretty sure that guy was Soviet Air Force when I met him, and who knows what else. He had connections. 

“Thing is, that was in ‘59, so he should be a hell of a lot older than he is. Something might be scrambled.” Bucky grimaced. “Then again, maybe he’s a robot, or alien, or something. Who the hell knows anymore, right? And I don’t suppose any of that really rules out Hydra, either. but something is telling me he’s not. Can’t tell you why I think that, though.

[supersecretblog]

Setting up shop in Svatove (Natasha & Bucky)

[supersecretblog]

Natasha looked up and returned James’ gaze. He looked completely sincere and even a little bit annoyed. Huh. His behavior had shouted awkward at her, but that clearly hadn’t been his intention.

“Well, that’s good. You just didn’t seem very comfortable, sleeping on top of the covers and fully dressed. Looked like you were ready to bolt.”

But then he hadn’t said anything about being comfortable, he’d just said that the room and the bed wasn’t a problem. He hadn’t said if her presence was the problem.

Even if he used to be a soldier and used to the lack of privacy that came with it, that was a long time ago. He’d spend most of the last two years alone. Just because she was perfectly okay with sharing a small space with someone she barely knew, that didn’t make it any easier for him. She had learned the hard way to claim your privacy inside your own head in the Red Room. It wasn’t something most people were capable of to that degree.

Plus if Steve’s initial behavior around her was anything to go by, then her being a woman didn’t exactly help things.

“If I’m the problem, just say so. I won’t get offended. It’ll be easier to look like a happy couple if we aren’t walking on eggshells around each other.”

The mission failing just because the two of them couldn’t communicate wasn’t an option. If he shut down again because of her poking, she would just have to only discuss the mission with him and leave everything else unsaid.

[jamesbarnesrp]

Bucky’s eyebrows rose. “Bolt? No, I was trying not to look like an asshole. Not be watching you get ready for bed, or make you think I might try something funny by crawlin’ into bed with ya. Especially since it was just a few weeks ago that you didn’t seem sure I wouldn’t stab everyone in their sleep.

“If there’d been a sofa, I would have slept there, but there wasn’t, so it seemed like an okay compromise. You got the bed, I didn’t have to sleep on the floor. I was plenty comfortable. I’ve sure slept worse places.”

She was thinking he didn’t like being around her, though. He didn’t want her to think that, and yeah, he’d been a little uncomfortable, but not for any of the reasons she thought. 

There were things he wasn’t going to talk about, like the fact that they had a past that she remember squat about, but he had to say something. He didn’t want her to think they couldn’t work together. This was the only part of his life that felt normal right now and he didn’t want to lose it. 

Last time he’d talked about something personal, she hadn’t reacted like he expected, though. It was a risk.

Fuck it.  She asked.

“Look...it’s not you, it’s everyone, including Steve. Sometimes I don’t know what the fuck any of you want from me, or what you expect me to say. I do know when what I say or do is wrong, and then I have to figure out what the damn problem was. Half the time, nothing I can come up with makes a hell of a lot of sense. It’s fucking tiring. Sometimes I’ve just had enough of it.”

[supersecretblog]

Setting up shop in Svatove (Natasha & Bucky)

[supersecretblog]

Natasha snorted. “Yeah, I think I got that.” She couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or not that James felt he needed to make sure she got the joke. It was nice that he wanted to ensure there wasn’t another misunderstanding, but it spoke volumes about their previous interactions that he felt like it was necessary.

The thought of a Hydra complaints department made her smile, though. “Might make life easier for other companies’ complaints departments. The serial complainers would be dealt with permanently if a bit harshly.” She looked at him with a deadpan expression. “That was also a joke. Most complainers don’t deserve to die. Shooting them in the knee will be fine.”

Letting the grin fade, she listen in on the two women chatting with the owners, before she looked back up at him. “Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but kneeling for hours can’t be comfortable either. Let me know when you need a break.”

She jotted down the time and key-phrases exchanged during the transaction.

“The upside to working in teams is that you don’t have to pull the load all by yourself. It can even make up for the bed-sharing and loss of personal space,” she said with a crooked smile.

[jamesbarnesrp]

Bucky gave a genuine laugh when she talked about shooting complainers in the knees being enough, if a quiet one suitable to their location and purpose there.

Then she went back to the room thing, though. She clearly thought there was more of a issue than there was. Why?

Sure, it was kind of exhausting being around another person all the time, trying to figure out what they expected and how they wanted him to act. Any person. It didn’t bother him, though.

What the hell was he supposed to do, watch her get ready for bed? Strip down to his skivvies and hop under the covers and let her wonder if he was gonna try to put the moves on her? Never mind the difficulty of trying to sleep like that....

His solution had been practical. She got the bed. He got to be comfortable, not on the floor, and make it clear that he had no improper intentions. Also far enough away not to tempted to think about what else they could be doing, but that was beside the point.

He couldn’t figure out what she thought the problem was. 

Bucky lifted his gaze from the bakery and looked at her. “The room isn’t a problem. Neither is the bed.”

[supersecretblog]

Setting up shop in Svatove (Natasha & Bucky)

[supersecretblog]

Sitting down next to James, Natasha took the balaclava with a smile when handed it to her. “Thanks.”

Considering how little it took for them to go at each other, it was kind of amazing how well they worked together when they didn’t. He was professional, well prepared, and so dangerous that she didn’t have to worry if he would make it out alive if they encounter hostiles. Working with competent people was always a pleasure, no matter the circumstances.

“You keep watch, I want to familiarize myself with the baker jargon around here,” she said tapping the earpiece. “See if something stands out. But we can take turns.”

The sky was a brilliant blue, the breeze gentle, and the mission still in such early stages that the possibilities seemed endless. Life couldn’t be much better.

She sighed and shifted to get more comfortable. “I have to say, I’ll be sad to discover that they really are Hydra. That was quite possibly the best sochniki I’ve had in years.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

Bucky gave her a flat stare. “We’ll let the baker live.” His lips quirked upward after he said it, but she couldn’t see that with the balaclava. Better make sure there wasn’t a misunderstanding, “That was a joke.”

Strapping on a pair of tactical knee pads, he knelt facing the wall and held the binoculars were just over the top. 

“They are really good at baking. If Hydra’s upping their game to include sales, we better hope it’s all that good. The complaints department would be damn lethal.”

Bucky adjusted the range and focus so that he could both see the exits and in the front window. Things were quieting down now that the initial rush was over. 

“I’ve got eyes on the target. Nothing going on but a couple of babushkas buying apple cake.” He turned to look at her. “Ya know, you’re probably a little short for this. You wouldn’t be able to kneel and it would hurt like hell after a couple hours, just crouching over. Maybe I better stay on this.”

[supersecretblog]

Setting up shop in Svatove (Natasha & Bucky)

[supersecretblog]

Natasha stepped closer to the door to look at the alarm and shook her head. “I really don’t get why people pick something like this. It’s like they want you to break it.”

She slipped her phone from the inside pocked in her jacked. “I mean, at least It’s not one of those magnetic locks that any kid can fool with a fridge magnet, but an alarm that can be controlled wirelessly might as well be.”

A few taps on the phone changed the setting on the app to match the model of the alarm. “Just off the top of my head, there are three apps that could work an alarm like this. I bet they haven’t even updated the software.”

The alarm beeped once and changed to green to prove her point.

Holding the door open, she smiled at James. “After you.”

[jamesbarnesrp]

It was a pleasure to watch Natasha work. Her skill pleased him.

Bucky gave her an answering smile when she opened the door, nodding his appreciation before crouching low and moving toward the edge of the building, and the low wall that was meant to discourage maintenance people from falling off through idiocy.

Sitting on the gravel rooftop with his back against the edge wall and out of sight from view below, Bucky opened his equipment bag. He took out the mission laptop and headphones, putting them to one side. Then he got out a pair of binoculars, leaving one set in the bag, and two grey balaclavas. 

Bucky put one on before holding the other out to Natasha.

The balaclavas were lightweight, quite breathable for something that was both intended for risky tasks and resistant to flame or incendiary devices, and would help them blend in with the rooftop when looking over the wall. 

He’d brought both grey and black ones with him to the Ukraine, but the grey were most appropriate for this building at this time of day.

Bucky looked at Natasha.  “You want to monitor the bug or watch the shop?”