howlingplayground | The Memening... Soulmate/Arranged Marriage Bucky Only

Not the first time she's been told that.

She nods, understanding. "I can help with some of that." Obviously, she doesn't know his entire history, but she's read the files and talked to Steve enough. That would be a conversation for their drive. Not in public, though.

No, he supposes not.

Definitely a conversation for their drive. That they should start getting ready to get back to. "Want me to drive for a while?" He asks. She's been driving for hours, and he does have directions for the HYDRA safehouse in his mind. It might be easier if he drives, and she rests.

She thinks about it for a moment before nodding. "Sure." It would make sense. Even after eating, it would be better for her to rest some before taking another driving shift. He also knows where they're going.

That decided, she tucks more fully into her meal. Better not to linger too long, after all.

When they're done, he walks with her to let her pay for the meal, having left a decent tip for the nice waitress.

Leaving his hand on the small of her back, he can't help but notice they're getting a little attention from people. Some of the old timers are surprised to see a man so solicitous, a few of the women are checking both of them out, and there's a couple men getting dirty looks from their wives for checking her out.

Once they're outside, he doesn't relax. He doesn't like the openness of the area. Sliding behind the wheel, he starts up the SUV. It's time to get back on the road. "Ready?" He asks, looking at her.

It's impossible not to notice the eyes on them. Natasha feigns ignorance, however. She smiles kindly at the waitress, looking lovingly up at Bucky as they leave. They play the sweet couple roles quite well, actually.

Once they're out the door, her face falls back to her neutral look. She wastes no time getting in the passenger seat. "Ready." Nodding, she angles her body so she can see him better. "So, Sergeant Barnes, what do you want to know?"

They play the couples role almost too well for his comfort. He can't get attached. He can't get close. She's dangerous, but even she can be taken down. Even she can be hurt.

He rubs the back of his neck. "Not really sure," he admits. "And I'm no longer a Sergeant." He points out as he pulls back onto the freeway, headed toward Louisville. They'll reach it in a couple of hours. They blend in with the rest of the traffic headed west.

It is dangerous. She likes dangerous. She also likes putting him off balance. What? It's fun.

She shrugs, "Fair enough." Leaning back, she puts her feet up on the dashboard and looks out the window. "A lot has changed in the past few decades." She muses. Turning her head, she watches his face, "How do you feel? Being out from under someone else's control."

"Feet off the dash." He says, automatically, not knowing he's echoing Steve from not that long ago.

He shakes his head. "I'm not." He doesn't explain though. The codewords are still in his mind, buried there, where some enterprising asshole can find them.

Her eyebrows shoot up. "Deja vu."

She obliges him and lowers her feet, smirking as she turns to look at him again. "No? Well, I'm not going to control you. So at the very least, you're safe here."

He doesn't look at her for the Deja vu comment. He doesn't want to know. He's holding it together and the food and sleep helped, but he's still strung out a bit from before.

"You can't stop them if they try." He points out, sighing. "And I don't want you to. If they do, just run." He knows she won't, but he needs to know she's protected at least a little.

She'll explain later. Maybe.

Raising an eyebrow, she tilts her head at him. "You know that's not going to happen, right? Seriously. He should know her better than that.

She's not good with the explanation part of things, sometimes. He won't hold his breath.

He sighs. "If it happens, you won't be able to stop me. No one will." He says. "They can control me, very, very easily." He doesn't look at her. "And I don't want you hurt."

Sometimes. Maybe she'll feel generous one of these days.

Growing serious, her smile fades. "I know. But I have a better chance than most. Besides... I have a feeling you'd rather be dead than under their control again." She pauses, turning to look out her window. "I would."

He doubts that'll be any time soon.

He would rather be dead than under their control. He'd rather have his head shot out from her, than put his hands on her and hurt her or anyone else. He's done enough damage. "Then promise me this." He says, softly. "You'll drop me and run." He knows she'll understand. He'd rather it be her, than anyone else, because somehow he knows she understands.

Rude.

She looks back at him, then, eyes searching his face for a moment. She understands, of course. If the Red Room still existed and she was taken by them, she'd want someone to do the same. She also knows that Steve wouldn't make that promise. Finally, she nods. "I promise."

But true.

Steve absolutely would not. He'd do something brave and heroic and try to break Bucky free. And that might cost other people their lives in the meantime. And that is just unacceptable. When she nods, a knot in his chest loosens.

"Thank you, Natalia." He says, softly, keeping his eyes on the road.

She promised knowing full well that it would destroy her friendship with Steve if she honored it. But there are things he doesn't understand, this is one of them.

She smiles, nodding. "You're welcome." Pausing, she rests her head on the headrest, still looking at him. "What should I call you? Bucky? James?" Another pause. "Soldat?"

He knows it'll hurt Steve, but Steve will just have to understand. They weren't wide-eyed kids anymore. Sacrifices sometimes had to be made for the greater good. This is one of them.

He manages not to flinch at the last. "Bucky works." He says. Does it matter what he's called? Does it matter who he is? Not yet. Not to him.

It's true. She understood that quite well, having made such sacrifices plenty of times in the past. Only one of them left a sour aftertaste in her mouth. But this wasn't about her, or Drakov's daughter.

Bucky it is. They settle into a comfortable silence. If he doesn't break it, she'll close her eyes and doze for a little while.

He lets her sleep as he drives, silently, down the highway. The wheels of the car barely make noise as they rush them toward their destination. As Louisville's lights appear off to the right, he glances over at Natalia. She'd come after him, even when she shouldn't have. She'd done things and said things that let him know, she was one of the best.

Finally, pulling up to a dingier hotel where no one will ask questions, he reaches over and touches her shoulder. "Natalia. We're here." They've both spent nights in worse.

Her dreams are a mix of memories and strange allusions to reality. Their tattoos made several appearances throughout. She wasn't one go put much stock in dreams, but it gave her a clear impression that they were important.

She slept more deeply than she should have. She should have been on high alert, ready at a moment's notice. But she doesn't wake until he touches her shoulder. As soon as he does, her hand flies up to grab his wrist. A conditioned response he's sure to understand. Once her eyes open and she recognizes who's touching her, she releases him. Shoving the concern about how unaware she'd been to the back of her mind, she looks around. Ah. A hotel. She nods. "Alright." Glancing over at him, "You sure you want to stop? I could drive for a while."

He doesn't even flinch when she grabs his wrist. He's more surprised that she doesn't pull a gun or knife on him. He isn't worried about it. She needed the rest, so does he, but he can rest tomorrow. Tonight, there are other things to do.

"We're about two klicks from the safehouse." He says. "No reason to run further now, until I can get some funds, and a few other things." He says, gently. "I'll hit it and then we'll see."

In the position she fell asleep in, getting a hand on the potential assailant was more important than getting to one of her weapons. Besides, she's pretty damn deadly with her bare hands.

She nods in response. Slipping out of the car, she goes to the trunk to grab her bag before heading to the office. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she checks to see if he's following or staying with the car. Either way, it doesn't take her long to secure a room. The only rooms available only have one bed. She made the choice to get the room, anyway. They'd figure it out later. With a nod to the clerk, she left to find their room (and retrieve Bucky if he hadn't followed).

He watches her go, and looks at the hotel. He's slept in worse, being under his handlers and... His eyebrows furrow. Sometime in the past. He's not sure when, though.

Seeing her come out, he gets out of the car and locks it. They won't be using it again, anyway. He'll grab something while he's out tonight. It's dark, but not late enough for him to leave yet. Once they're in the room - and he's cased/inspected it - he scrubs a hand over his face. "You should eat. I'm going to sleep a couple hours, and then go... retrieve things."

She should tell him about the air vent sometime. They could swap terrible sleeping places stories.

She let him do the work securing the room. He needs to feel the security more and she trusts his eyes. Once he's finished, she tosses her bag on the bed. "Alright. I'll grab some supplies while I'm out. Do you need anything?"

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Ignore my lack of icons <3

Always <3

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