Infatuation | Bucky Barnes

Chapter Five

Every muscle in Catherine's body was screaming as she flipped Natalia's body onto the floor for the sixth time that day. She had been training for hours with the Widows and it didn't seem like their handlers were going to be letting them stop anytime soon. Or at least until someone died. That usually happened once every few weeks. You would pretend not to notice them drag a bloodied body of a young girl off the mat. Inside though, you were screaming and wondering if you would be next. Catherine had successfully evading killing anyone so far.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead before extending her arm to help her friend out. Friend. It was a strange word. It was a word that she never thought she would use, but Natalia was her friend. Her only friend unless she counted the Soldier. He was only her friend when people weren't watching. Both of the girls fought to catch their breath and eyed the water fountain that was being guarded.

"You know," Natalia spoke quietly to Catherine. "I'm going to beat you one day. I'll probably have to catch you being distracted, but I'll still kick your ass."

"I don't get distracted." Catherine said, trying not to smile. A smile would raise suspicions.

"Is that so? What about when your Zima walks into the room?" Nat asked.

"Nat, don't." She hissed. She didn't want anyone hearing their conversation. Especially hearing the nickname for her handler. Personal connections were not allowed.

"Relax. I'm not going to tell anyone. I mean, it's kind of obvious. Your eyes never leave him if he's in the room. You turn into this giggly little girl around him." She continued to tease.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She tried to play it off. "Besides, relationships are strictly forbidden and he's too old for me."

They stopped in front of the water fountain, but neither of the handlers moved. They were only allowed to have water at certain intervals. It had something to do with training their bodies to be able to fight even if they were in dehydration mode. Catherine thought it was utterly inhumane, but so were most of the things Hydra carried out. Her eyes landed on Artem, one of her father's right hand man's. She could tell he wanted to move, but didn't.

"Seriously?" Natalia asked.

Catherine's eyes widened and she turned to look at her. They both knew they were not allowed to speak to the handlers a certain way. "Natalia, it's fine. We'll be okay."

"No. It's fucked up. They expect us to train for hours and become perfect. How can we do that without basic needs?" Natalia went off and turned back to the two men. "You know I can make you move."

Catherine knew that had been as mistake when the man next to Artmen reached up and punched Nat in the nose. The contact caused her to fly back against the mat. She glanced over at Artmen who was about to say something, but didn't. She was angry. They had no right to touch them, but she wasn't in the mood to fight them. Instead, she just turned to help Natalia up. When she stood up, a steady stream of blood came gushing out of her nose.

"She needs medical attention." Catherine told the men.

The man who punched her scoffed. "Take her to the bathroom. She's fine."

"Мудак. (Asshole.)" Natalia mumbled once they were out of earshot.

There was a small bathroom that they were allowed to use when training and luckily it was empty as they walked inside. Catherine instantly wet a paper towel and handed it to Natalia to help clean her nose and face off as well as stop the blood.

"You're an idiot. You know that, right?" Catherine told her.

Natalia shrugged her shoulders. "I don't regret it. He deserved it anyways."

"Well, one day I hope I have the courage you have." She said with a smile. Then she noted the way Natalia's face changed. She seemed more serious than Catherine had ever seen her.

"Catherine," Natalia paused as she tried to find the right words. "Things are about to change. Things are going to happen. You're going to hear things about me that are untrue. I just wanted to let you know that you've been a good friend."

Catherine shook her head at the vague words she was using. "I don't understand."

"I know. You might never understand, but...don't tell anyone anything. Okay?" She asked.

"Okay..."

Natalia drew her in for a hug. "Take care of yourself, Cat."

Then, Catherine watched her leave. She still wasn't sure what Nat meant, but she trusted her. She tried to shake the conversation off as she walked out of the bathroom. The training room was mostly empty which meant they had been dismissed. She squared her shoulders back trying to ready herself for the conversation she was about to have with her papa. She was fifteen and had lived a very sheltered life. Her father wanted to be able to send her on missions soon, yet she had not experienced the real world yet.

At fifteen, Catherine was what Hydra would call an 'asset,' but there were other words for what she had become. An assassin. A killer. Dangerous. However, she did not think of herself as any of those things. To her she was just...her. Even if she wasn't allowed to be herself. She had learned to keep her mouth shut most of the time. The more questions she asked, usually the worse the answer would be for her. She was watched carefully.

Every move she made. Everything she ate. How much she trained. It was all heavily scrutinized. She didn't fully understand why. Perhaps she was valuable. Perhaps she was too fragile. She could fight. She could kill. She could outsmart just about anyone in the room. But why was she still being held back from missions and seeing the world? She had so many unanswered questions.

She stopped outside of her papa's office just like she had done a thousand times before. However, she didn't know if she had ever been that nervous before. She lifted her knuckles to the door and light tapped it before waiting for his voice. Like she had changed, her parents had also changed. Her papa had more gray in his hair. More lines from age and stress. Her mother looked even worse, almost sickly, but she knew not to bring it up.

"There's my girl." Her father greeted her happily and motioned for her to sit. "I heard there was trouble this morning during your training? I swear, Dreykov doesn't know how to keep his girls in line. I bet you're a great example of what they could all be."

"It was...handled. I think she learned her lesson." She tried her best to ignore his words.

"Now, what can I do for you?" He asked.

Catherine clasped her hands tightly and let out a shaky breath. "I wish to leave the base."

Karpov stared at her for a moment before beginning to chuckle. "We've talked about this. It's too dangerous."

"I-I understand, but I think seeing the real world, even if it's for a few hours would be beneficial for my training. There's this Christmas Market mama has told me about that's only a few hours away. She said that you two used to go there together all the time. I wanted to see it for myself. I promise I'll be careful."

Karpov considered her words. She was right. She needed to see the real world. It would be a good test to see how she reacted. "Okay. I will consider your offer, but there will be rules. The first one being that someone of my choosing will go with you. When I am ready, I will send someone to your room."

"Thank you, Papa!" Catherine said excitedly and ran over to hug him.