I'll trade the moon for the sun;

[soldieronwards]

Who| Bucky Barnes [616] (soldieronwards), Matt Murdock (guardiandevil), Natasha Romanova (assassinat), and Skye (risewithit)
What| Adventures on the run.
Where| After the prison breakout, in one of Jolie's drag clubs.
When| The four days following breaking Natasha out from prison.
Warnings/Notes| Possible references to torture and other violence.

The plan goes off flawlessly. It's almost enough to make Bucky worry that it was too easy. He would worry, really, if not for how glad he is that Natasha is all right and so is everyone who went in to rescue her.

Skye interferes with the security as well as she can in the limited time frame they have, which is enough to impress him. Bucky and Matt make their way into the prison to pull Natasha out, and Natasha herself stops only to rough up a guard on the way out. Bucky doesn't ask her why. He has a few guesses, all of them boiling down to the certainty that the guard in question had it coming.

When it's time to flee the prison, all four of them have to go together. There's no more operating apart, taking direction from above. There's only the quick, quiet flight through the sewers; the emergence into an alleyway where they all cover up their faces; the hurried flight to the club where the stylist told them they'd be safe, for a time.

At that point, it's oddly anticlimactic to find themselves in the back corridors and dressing rooms of a drag club. The glitz and glamor could not be more different than the atmosphere of the prison. Welcome back to the Capitol, Tributes.

But at least it means they can be themselves again--or rather, they can put on different masks. They can joke around and exchange information casually. They can let down their guard just a little--as much as any of them ever do.

Comments

[soldieronwards]

She'll see him in the mirror first as he leans over to hand the nearest queen an elaborate Capitol-style pair of false lashes, casually making small talk as he does so. "You ask me, strobe lights on your eyes doesn't sound like such a good idea. But you gals go ahead and suffer for your art."

And then his gloved hands are on Natasha's shoulders. "You look like a bouquet of flowers in a street full of neon signs, darlin'."

His voice is still casual, but there's that hint of stress to it that only she can easily pick up. He's hiding behind his own masks here, and his right hand trembles just a little against her.

[assassinat]

"Don't tell me of all the things, this atmosphere is what troubles you." She speaks boldly so she doesn't have to speak of her own problems, leaning her head in just enough to let her hair fall against his knuckles.

"If you're afraid I'll get strange ideas here, I assure you the thought has crossed my mind before. Hard to not picture you all dolled up, love."

Especially since she's already gone through the effort to clean up the other Bucky Barnes. Her mind thinks of him briefly, frightened for his well-being as well as the rest of the Avengers. At least she can rest easy knowing none of them were stupid enough to come for her.

"Not bad for a breakout. You did well."

[soldieronwards]

"I always knew you had exotic tastes." His voice is dry, but still lighthearted enough. Better to talk about himself in a glittery dress than to dwell on what's upcoming.

But then she's bringing up serious matters anyway. Well, it's not like he could have avoided them forever. Leaning in a little, he says, "Not just me. Sorry, Nat. It would've been better if I could've taken the whole ordeal on myself, but that wasn't in the cards this time. Too many people here who give a damn about you."

[assassinat]

"Color me surprised that you're still willing to work with others." It isn't as if the dead can continue to work with their teammates and as far as she's concerned, that's what he agreed to do before they ended up here. Work in the shadows, alone, and assist her when needed.

At least he fulfilled that last part well enough. Her pride still feels sore from it all, but there were no opportunities for escape on her own. Even in the chaos of others being rescued, who would stop for a redhead stranger with a score like her's?

"Jealous?"

[soldieronwards]

His hands on her shoulders stiffen a little.

That is what he agreed to do back in their world, isn't it? Work alone, with only Natasha at his side. It seemed like she was all he could possibly need--the only person in the world who truly understood him and knew what to say to him at all times. He'd been all right with it. The shadows had always been the right place for him, somewhere in between and without the pressure of so many eyes upon him, and if he was in them with Natasha at his side, he was home.

But here--here there are no shadows. Everywhere he goes, there's a camera trained on him. What's the point in suffering that alone when there are so many others in the same situation?

"The Gamemakers force my hand," he finally says. "It's almost enough to make me a team player again. What about you?"

[assassinat]

The conversation is already strained, but she can't back down from it now that it has been brought up. Turning the other cheek is one thing, but deflecting from this conversation will be seen as cowardly. Too much of her pride aches so she can't risk alienating it entirely.

"What can I bring to a team here?" Not much, they both know that.

While the question itself is a line cast with bait he'll ultimately chomp down on, this isn't the fish she wants to catch. He has opportunities to swim upstream while she sinks and while he's not opposed to being dragged down with passionate sighs, Natasha's already selfishly anchored herself into her position.

"It's best I keep my distance from the others, you know why that is."