The Coffee Shop Girl ~ Bucky Barnes

Bonus Chapter: Meeting Nat

"Clint, it's 3am."

"Yeah, I know Kat, but I need you to come in."

"Aren't you on a mission?"

"I just got back. That's what I need help with, there's a woman here, she tried to kill me."

Well, that was certainly one way to get Katia's attention. Scrunching her nose up, she rolled over and pressed her phone closer to her ear.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but I need you here ASAP."

"Right, okay, just give me a moment to wake up."

"Don't you dare go back to sleep, Torres."

Katia stuck out her tongue, knowing Clint would get the idea even though he couldn't see her. She heard the soft click in her ear and she dropped the phone onto the bed beside her, running her hands over her face. On one hand, she could roll over and go back to sleep, perhaps after stuffing her phone into a pillow to make sure Clint didn't bother her again. On the other hand, she sort of had a moral obligation to see what was going on at SHIELD, and if Clint needed her help then it was really all she could do to try her best.

Groaning, she pulled herself upright, scraping her loose hair into a wonky bun and forcing herself to get out of bed. It barely took her two minutes to throw on the clothes she had left there the night before and less than ten minutes later she was locking the door to her flat with her phone stuffed in her pocket and tortoiseshell glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose.

She silently apologised to her neighbours as she started the engine of her motorbike, knowing that more than a few of them would be cursing her out for making such a racket in the early hours, but Katia didn't own a car and she would much rather bike to work than walk.

By the time she got to SHIELD, Katia was feeling a lot more awake, and she hoped she didn't look quiet so much like a zombie as she swiped her card in the scanner, stepping through the doors into the empty lobby. Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick message to Clint.

Where are you? There's no-one here.

Interrogation rooms.

The reply came almost instantly and Katia frowned as she began to head in that direction, her feet carrying her quickly down the stairs and through the hallways until she finally saw the group of men standing outside the room.

"Katia," Clint called out as he spotted her, looking incredibly relieved. His face was covered in scratches and dried blood crusted his tactical vest. He still had his bow slung across his back, and Katia caught the glint of a gun in his belt as he turned to her.

"Clinton Barton, what on Earth have you been doing?" Katia gestured at the blood and Clint just shrugged.

"I completed my mission, well sort of. I may have brought the target back with me instead of killing her."

Katia rolled her eyes; that was just like Clint. He had the worst habit of adopting literally any stray which came his way. That was exactly how he had ended up with Lucky, the half-blind golden retriever who had been a casualty of a SHIELD mission. It had taken approximately thirty seconds for Barton to announce that he was taking the animal home with him, and he had been smitten ever since.

"Who is she?" Katia asked as she stepped up to the glass, staring through it at the woman sitting at the table on the other side. She was dressed in tactical gear not that dissimilar to Clint's, though there were significantly more weapon holsters around her waist and just about anywhere else they could be.

"Natalia Romanova, she's a Russian agent, works for the KGB." Fury looked as irritated as ever, it was clear he didn't exactly approve of Clinton's decision to bring the woman back with him.