To Go Unseen (A Natasha Romanoff Story)

47 [in transit]

Later that day, Bucky worked through a transfer with the hospital, waving Natalia’s Avengers ID around because he knew it could get her anything and everything she needed, even an immediate transfer, and then he closed his eyes and pointed at a map and decided they were headed to Chicago. So that night, Steve and Clint and Bucky accompanied a very bruised Natalia onto a small, private plane provided by the hospital, headed for Illinois.

“We’ll keep moving around,” Bucky was saying. “Yelena won’t know where to go next.” Natalia had her eyes closed, the medication making her weary, and she mumbled something in response that no one could make out. Bucky swallowed and rubbed his palm. “You’ll be okay,” he told her.

“Mm mmhmm Jamessss,” she said and he leaned over the cot she was lying on and pressed a kiss to her head. He brushed hair off her forehead.

“Rest,” he told her. “Just, go back to sleep, okay?”

“You’re going to have to kill Belova eventually,” Steve pointed out and Bucky swallowed. He was still looking down, his eyes on Natalia’s face, her delicate, closed eyelashes, her pink mouth, the bandages on her face recently changed with the help of a nurse on the hospital plane.

“Yeah,” he said. “Believe me, I’ve already tried. She’s slippery. Offing her is almost as hard as it would be to try and off Nat.” He looked up at Steve. “And that’d be pretty hard.”

“Have you got a plan?” Steve asked.

“We’ve alerted SHIELD,” Bucky said and shrugged. “She’s on their hit list, so… That’s something. To be honest, uh,” he hesitated and made a face. “I don’t know what to do.”

Clint, who had been pretty silent for the most of the trip, leaned in and Bucky watched him take Natalia’s non-injured hand.

“She’ll get out of it,” he said quietly, holding Natalia’s hand tightly. “She’ll fix it. She always does.” Bucky didn’t know how to respond.

“Yeah,” he finally said weakly.

They arrived in Chicago in the night and moving jarred Natalia awake as they got her back into the new hospital. She reached up and took Bucky’s arm, dragged him down so his face was near hers and then she kissed his cheek weakly. Then, in her drugged half-sleep, she mumbled in his ear.

“I would say yes, you know,” she slurred. “I would. If I were someone else.”

“If you were someone else, I wouldn’t have asked you in the first place,” Bucky said, tears stinging in his eyes, but she just hummed and her fingers on his arm loosened and he stood back up and looked away because, for the third or fourth time that day, he was going to cry and he hated it.

He grabbed Steve, dragged him outside of the hospital room with him, and then before Steve could say a word, Bucky threw his arms around him and squeezed him and let out a sob and, confused, Steve began to hug him back.

In the morning, Natalia didn’t say anything to Bucky about what she’d said that night. Bucky didn’t know if she even knew she’d said it, but he didn’t say anything either. He wouldn’t let her order from the hospital cafeteria. Instead, he went out into early morning Chicago and bought her something himself and brought it back; an egg sandwich and a coffee from the place down the street.

Clint watched him buzz around Natalia all morning, watched the panicked looks he threw to Steve and the extra lengths he went for her, and at first, Bucky had been confused. Clint was staring, it was borderline rude.

Did he realize he was staring? (Probably not. He didn’t seem like a rude person.)

Was it the arm?? (Bucky, in his haste, had not picked out a long sleeved shirt and he was not wearing gloves.)

Was it the way Bucky continuously looked like he’d cry again? (Because he did. And he might.)

And as soon as he had become fed up and was about to say something to Barton, Barton beat him to it and stunned him.

“You’re a good guy, Bucky,” Clint mused quietly and Bucky turned around and looked at him.

“What?” He said. Clint nodded down to Natalia.

“You really… You’re good to her,” he said and Bucky didn’t know what to say.

“Thanks,” he said sarcastically. “But I didn’t need your approval.”

“I know, I know,” Clint said and leaned back in his chair, raising his hands defensively. “That’s all I’m saying. You’re a good guy.”

“Well…,” Bucky said, and couldn’t think of anything to say next. What was Clint getting at??

Clint just shrugged now and folded his arms and looked away and Bucky looked at Steve, who shrugged too, and stood there, confused.