make_it_hurt | Closed RP with [herbestdisguise]

He didn't react at first to the people coming into the aisle, still staring at the cereal boxes like they were some fantastic alien creatures.

Then Natasha started firing her gun and he jumped, the world spinning then locking back into place. He still didn't move, though, just watching, swaying on his feet. His hands curled into fists.

She moved swiftly, pulling him after her as she created a path strewn with bodies. She wasn't fucking around, her shots were lethal if anyone looked like a threat.

She couldn't be sure how aware he was of everything, how much focus he had, but she knew she had to at least get him somewhere relatively safe for him to come to. Her apartment was out and, in all honesty, she would probably be finding a new one before the day was through, but she couldn't think of where to go off the bat.

People were following them already and she knew that, at this point, it didn't mater where they went as longa s they got away from the hostiles.

She held his right wrist as she pulled them into a crowd, not expecting it to offer much cover but enough to give her a minute to consider what her next move would be.

He let himself be dragged along behind her, brain processing everything that was going on without acknowledging or acting on any of the information.

Once they were in the crowd he stayed close to her, looking around warily. Then he said, very softly, "Steve..." Steve was probably in Stark Tower. In theory, they would be safe there.

"That's what i'm thinking," she agreed, moving them very carefully so as to keep with the crowd. "We just need to get there."

It wasn't too far but she wasn't entirely comfortable taking a cab and while walking was possible, it wasn't ideal.

Puling him into a shop, she dug out her pone from a pocket, dialing Steve. "I swear to god, Rogers, if you don't answer..." She was keeping her eyes peeled as she waited, hoping that they had, for the most part, lost their tail.

He looked around the little store as they waited for Steve to pick up. There was a single teenage boy, face full of pimples, sitting behind the counter. There were no customers.

He curled his hand tighter around Natasha's.

Finally, Steve picked up. He sounded a bit out of breath. "Hey, Natasha, what's up?"

"You're going to want to come and pick ups up. Now. Just do it,I'll tell you details later. Tell Stark to track the phone, we're going to be on the move. Call when you're close."

Maybe she was being paranoid but when people start making moves and trying to turn them into targets, she doesn't care how paranoid she's going to look.

Steve hesitated, obviously a bit surprised. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm on my way." He hung up the phone. He'd been in the shower but was getting out just as the phone rang. He threw on his clothes even as he called Tony to track down Natasha's phone.

He, though, wasn't too happy about it. He looked at Natasha and asked, "Steve? He's... going to come here?" Steve was going to see him? He pulled his hand out of Natasha's. "No, I... I can't. I..." He swallowed hard, biting on his bottom lip almost hard enough to draw blood.

"It's going to be fine," she assured him. "I know you don't want to see him but right now we need him, okay? We'll get safe, then get out and find somewhere new to lay low. But for now, we need to go with Steve."

She felt guilty putting him through this if he didn't want to be, but there wasn't much leeway in options and she sure as hell was not going fuck around with chances at this point.

"I'll be with you th entire time, we'll find somewhere dark and quiet for you too, if you want. You just gotta work with me a little."

He trembled, hard. "I... I don't..." He knew they weren't safe. Knew they needed to get somewhere safe. But he couldn't let Steve look at him like this. Couldn't let himself be seen. He didn't want to be seen by Steve." He took a step back from Natasha, curling his hand to his throat.

He was an instant from running, his heart hammering in his throat.

"All right, all right. How about this I get in touch with him and tell him just to leave us the car. Would that work?" He doesn't have to see you, he just needs to drop off the car."

She's trying not to crowd him but she reached out one hand nonetheless, brushing fingers lightly against his arm. "We'l work it out. He doesn't have to see you but he'll chase you if you run, you know that. He'll probably find you before I do."

He jerked away from her touch, still unsure. The shop boy was looking pretty alarmed now, sitting up straighter.

He flinched and turned, closing his eyes tightly. "No... No, I can't, I..."

He felt like he was being squeezed from all sides, like he was caught in a trap. He looked around the little store, looking for any way out at all. He couldn't see any. The only way out was through her. He turned back to her, terror written on his features. He swallowed hard and this time when he bit down on his bottom lip he really did draw blood.

She tries nto to be frustrated, not at him but at this situation in general. She knows it wont' help anyone but she was running low on ideas.

"Okay," she started, keeping her hands to herself. "WHat do you want to do. Do you want e to tell him not to come?"

There's a sinking feeling in her chest that says they're low on time and something has to be done soon but hell if she knows what that was going to be.

"No, no, I..." He looked at Natasha desperately. He didn't know what to do. Didn't know what he could do. They were out there, looking for him. But Steve was coming.

Finally he swallowed, tasting blood in his mouth from his bitten lip and said, voice shaking, "Tell me what to do. I-I don't know... what to do." He stared at er with side eyes.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Don't run unless I tell you to. That's the first thing you're going to do.'

She moves to the front window, peering outside. Everything appeared to be normal but she wasn't fooled so easily. Like hell she was going to believe things were all right until they got backup.

She turned back to him. "We're going to wait for Steve,he's going to help us get out of here but you can hide in the back of the shop," she shoots the kid a look, daring hi to argue. "Until we've secured the area. Then you and I will get into the car and get the hell out of dodge."

He nodded. He glanced at the boy again, then looked to the back of the store. There was maybe a place he could hide where Steve couldn't see him. Still, he looked to Natasha for direction. This was easy enough to fall into - letting somebody else make the decisions for him, telling him where to go and what to do. This was just another mission.

She went towards the back of the door, peering inside the area. There was a small side room no windows and a dim light. It would do for their needs.

"Stay here," she ordered, pointing to he room. "I'l come and get you when we can go."

He nodded and closed himself into the room - it was basically a closet. Like his closet. He felt his breathing deepen as soon as he was alone and surrounded so closely on all sides.

Steve was just getting out of the car. He was carrying his shield. He checked his phone then stepped into the shop.

He glanced over at the boy behind the counter who, wide-eyed, pointed towards the back of the store. Steve headed back there. "Natasha?"

"Hey," she greeted, heading towards the front and meeting him in the middle. "Thanks for coming." Not that she'd been expecting him to do anything else but she was still grateful.

"How do you feel about helping us get out of here while completely avoiding seeing anyone you know but me."

"Uh, yeah, sure, it should be possible." Steve hesitated. Bucky apparently still did not want to even see him. It sting, but not as bad as it once had. "You want to just take the car? I can take the subway back or something." Nothing else was coming to mind right away, as far as plans.

"He's not hurt or anything, is he?"

"Yeah, the car would be good." She offers a smile. "Thanks."

She looks back to the door nodding. "He's fine, We got out before anything could happen."

Steve nodded and passed over the keys. "Good, that's good... I suppose you'll be taking him to your floor with you?" He really wanted to see Bucky, but knew that his friend still didn't want to see him. Natasha had said he wasn't afraid, but Steve thought that maybe he was. He must have been, to be avoiding Steve like this. He only had a problem with seeing Steve, not talking to him, so Steve still wasn't quite sure what to think.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I've got a few places we could go that are still in the city. I'm not sure taking him back there would be the best thing right now. We might go for a day or two while i get things set up but we'll see."

She pushed a few strands of hair from her face. "I'll keep you posted on our location, I promise."

"He'll be safer in the Tower, 'Tash. HYDRA won't be able to get to him there." Truthfully, Steve didn't like Bucky being close to loose in the city, with only Natasha keeping him from roaming and possibly getting picked up by HYDRA again. He wanted to help Bucky as best he could but he still wasn't convinced that just keeping Bucky in the city was the best way to do it. He needed somewhere he wouldn't be able to get out of.

"Look," she said. "I can handle him and we've been fine up until this point."

Taking in a breath, she looked at Steve. "I get that you want to keep him close but I don't want to have him caged up. At least if he's not in the tower, he has some sense of being able to make the choice of coming and going."

"Are you sure giving him the ability to leave is a good thing? He's obviously not stable... If he leaves not realizing what he's doing and gets himself hurt or even killed..." Steve shook his head. "I think he needs to go back to the Tower and stay there." This was obviously something they weren't going to be able to agree on.

Steve sighed and folded his arms over his chest. "Why don't you ask Bucky? Let him choose."

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