Traitor ~ Bucky Barnes

Pawn

It has been a month since Katherine has been regularly seeing Bucky. He comes twice a week for fruit. It had even become a habit to where he sometimes does not pay. Katherine wants him to trust her; so far, it has been working.

Their conversations are usually small. It consists of; how was your day? Enjoying the weather? Any plans today? Then one of them would throw in a flirty comment.

Today, however, she was going to test the waters a bit. She was going to ask Bucky on a date, just something simple. If she could get him alone and on their own time, the trust would solidify even more. This was a game to her; the game was called how far can I get with Bucky. He was an unknown player in the game.

Bucky approached the fruit stand; he saw Katherine checking someone out. She always intrigued him; the way she made him feel was surreal. Seeing the person had left, he went to her saying "Hello, Katherine" A bright smile consumed him at her sight.

Her attention went to him; seeing him was another step to the finish line in her game. Seeing him smile, she returned one back. "Hi, have you come for more fruit?" she asked. The answer was obviously yes. There would be no other reason for him to come. Little did she know, he was coming to the stand for more than just fruit.

"I actually came for something a bit more." he said. Katherine grew confused at his words. It was either he was flirting or was serious. "I was hoping you would join me for coffee tomorrow? As a thanks to all that you have given me."

Katherine was shocked; Bucky unintentionally rolled the dice for her. Oh, this was perfect, not only was she going to go on a date, Bucky was the one to propose it. This proves to her that Bucky trusted her. It even proved that he was a little too invested in her.

Looking down, Katherine gave a slight chuckle. "I would like that," she said in response. Bucky then smiled at her, agreeing. He did not expect her to say yes, considering they barely knew each other. Should Bucky not be doing this? Yes, he should be laying low. But, no one has found him in the year he has been there.

"Great! What fruit do you have today?" he said. His eyes were grazing over the fruit they had out. For him, plums were his favorite, but they seemed to be all gone. Katherine, however, had a surprise for him. She was going to use this as leverage to ask him on a date. But that was taken care of.

Turning around, she went to her bag, pulling out a cloth full of strawberries. "I actually brought some strawberries from my garden for you" that was a lie. Before her shift, she went to the store and bought some. She handed them to Bucky, who gladly accepted.

"Wow, thank you." he said. He looks among the strawberries; they looked good, in his opinion. It was sweet; she had gathered some berries just for him. His smile was brighter than ever.

"They are rich in antioxidants and can help with blood pressure." she said.

Looking back up at her, Bucky thanked her again. She indeed was a kind person; she made him feel less like a killer and more human. Now he even had a little date with her. Even though it probably was not the best idea. He truly wanted to; he could not get her off his mind. It was something about her.

"Does noon work for you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes it does!" she responded. Her smile was genuine at this moment. Not because she had feelings for him. But because she could find out more, and that meant one step close to her goal—the end of the Avengers.

"Great! I will meet you at the café over there," he said as he pointed. Then, slowly backing away, Bucky smiled at her and left.

~

"Things seem to be going great." said Zemo through the phone. It was true things were moving slowly, but they had promising ends.

"Well, after giving him free fruit for 3 months, things are moving accordingly." she said. Both Zemo and Katherine planned everything out. After the Battle of Sokovia, it took 2 months to decode essential files of SHIELD and Hydra. Then, they found Bucky at that time. Now 3 more months in, Katherine was getting closer to Bucky.

"You know he asked me on a date?" she said.

Zemo did not know what to say exactly. He wanted her to get close, but this may be pushing it. Then again, if he fell for her, that would be good leverage. However, he did not want to use his daughter like that. "Remember Katherine why you are doing this." he said.

His words stuck within her; of course, she could not lose focus. The little romantic gestures Bucky makes are one-sided. He was a simple pawn in their plan; nothing would change that. It was all a game to her. A fun little game to gain leverage over Bucky and over the Avengers. Then she could see them crumble like Sokovia did like her family did.

"Don't worry, he is just a means to an end."