Cold as Ice - WinterWidow One-Shots

from one side comes another

Summary: it's Captain America: Civil War, but if Natasha and Bucky had escaped the Red Room together and Bucky was still framed.

What had started out as a simple training mission very quickly went awry. She knew all it took was a single misstep, one foot out of line and everything could come crashing down, but she'd thought they would be alright. It was supposed to be simple, after all. It was why she and Rogers had felt fine leaving Wanda and Sam to act individually and rely on comms.

She hadn't expected a bomb to go off and Wanda to accidentally destroy a building over the bazaar. She hadn't expected to come home so battered and bruised, worried about international retaliation. She hadn't expected a visit from General Thaddeus Ross the following morning, demanding that they all be held accountable for their abilities.

It was a disaster, she knew as much from the moment the General had walked through the Compound doors. When they were suddenly presented with an accords of sorts and an invitation to Vienna for a UN council meeting, she knew it was only a matter of time before things got even worse.

"I'll go."

She'd volunteered immediately. Diplomacy was her specialty. It had been even before the Avengers were formed and before the collapse of SHIELD. It only made sense that it continued to be her area of work when she knew all the right ways to weave her words and twist the politics to meet their needs instead of being bent around to meet the needs of politicians.

"I'll go too."

It was unsurprising that James wanted to join and after a nod from Rogers, it was settled. They were on a flight that night to Vienna, a single duffel bag to share between them and not nearly as much preparation as Natasha would have wanted.

When they arrived at the UN building in the morning, unease itched under her skin, and wariness danced in James's eyes. The whole thing felt wrong―from the timing to the faces present, she couldn't find it in herself to let down her guard and James seemed to feel the same.

"Stay down here," she murmured as they entered, guest badges beeping happily. "I'll find you when it's finished."

James nodded, eyes already scanning the perimeter.

Squeezing his hand, she let go and made her way up to the conference hall.

It wasn't hard to find. There were more international leaders gathered in the single room than Natasha had ever encountered in any other situation. Aside from the hearing after the fall of SHIELD, she'd never been in a room with so many politicians when no one was a target for a mission.

She shouldn't have been surprised when, part way into the meeting, things got even worse.

There was a bomb, of that much she was certain. What she wasn't certain of, however, was why or how. Security had been strict and she'd hardly gotten through with her widow's bites alone. She'd had to leave all of her other weapons outside and James had had to argue with his arm. Nevertheless, a bomb had gotten through and now she was desperately trying to get people to safety. People who wanted to restrain her; to control and monitor her just like her handlers had in the decades past.

She'd hardly gotten anyone out when she finally got word of who had done it.

"Impossible," she argued fiercely, scowling at Sharon who couldn't help but frown. "I was with him all morning. Besides, James would never―"

"I know," she interrupted evenly, "but that's not what people are believing."

Reaching for her phone, she pressed on James's contact and waited. It rang and rang and―went to voicemail. Her breath caught in her throat even as she knew James would never, never do something like that. Especially when he knew that she was within the target zone.