Chapter Text
2014
Oliviya Bessonova sucked on her lollipop, leaning back against a wall, eyes trained on the man who strolled down the aisle of the Smithsonian lost in thoughts as his eye wandered over the exposition in front of him. With a smirk and a low huff she straightened her pose, shoving her right hand inside her jacket pocket where one of her blades was hidden. She stopped and stood right beside him as he stared at a picture of himself as a still scrawny kid.
“Time did you good, Cap.” She said before shoving the lollipop back into her mouth. His eyes widened as he looked at her, who had her eyes trained on the panel in front of them. Her smaller figure was clad in leather, her golden bronze hair up in a ponytail, falling out of her ball cap through the gap above the back strings. His eyebrows furrowed together as he whispered, grabbing her elbow. “Liv? What are you doing here?”
She pulled her arm smoothly from his grip and smirked at him before locking their arm together to start walking again. “You shouldn’t call attention to us. Just keep on going.” She smiled at some people passing by them as Steve glanced around nervously before shoving his hands inside his jacket pockets, bending his head down a little.
“You didn’t answer my question.” He pondered as she took the lollipop out of her mouth and dropped it in one trash can. They heard a disembodied voice speaking around them.
“The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice. Denied enlistment due to poor health, Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare.”
Olivia shrugged one shoulder casually as they watched the kids posing in front one of the panels that showed how much Steve had developed after taking the serum.
“Sestra had called me. Said I could be of help.” She glanced at him and cocked her head before shrugging again to look ahead once more. “I was in the country, so…”
“Natasha called you?” he frowned again. She tsked and pushed him slightly, getting him to start walking again. Steve caught one boy starring at him knowingly and smiled softly before pressing his finger in front of his lips, asking quietly for his silence. The boy nodded, still astonished and Liv raised an amused eyebrow at them still walking along the soldier.
Steve let out a deep breath as they stopped in front of the Howling Commandos panel. Olivia watched him quietly as she also subtly glanced around the room looking for any possible threat.
The voice from the speakers continued. “Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission: taking down HYDRA, the Nazi rogue science division.” When her eyes caught the exposed items and behind them the picture of those brave men, Olivia stopped breathing for a moment, the color drained from her face. Steve frowned as his eyes passed over her as he nudged her towards the next segment. “Are you alright?”
She swallowed hard and blinked a couple of times, urging her body to obey and display the indifference that years of training in the Red Room had taught her. With a small smirk, she followed him. “Sure.”
He looked skeptical for a moment before stopping to watch another display. Liv stood there by him, face trained in a mask of indifference, but she could feel the droplets of sweat betraying her as they ran down her forehead and dampened her whole body.
“Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of this country.”
Steve was too lost in his own thoughts to notice the flash of grief and surprise that ran through her face as she read what was written in front of her: Bucky Barnes: 1917-1944. Swallowing hard she stared at the picture of a younger version of a face so well known to her.
2025
Olivia glanced at her image down the lobby mirrors and sighed, rubbing her right hand down her thigh to check her concealed weapons under her black designer nightgown. With an annoyed sigh she looked at Natasha, raising her eyebrow. “Tell me, why are we doing this, again?”
Nat rolled her eyes at her older sister before placing a hand at her shoulder to guide her outside towards their awaiting limo. “The PR team says it’s a great time to use their promotion to get into the graces of the public opinion.” She shrugged a shoulder as they sat inside the vehicle. “Plus, there’s a big party afterwards. Free drinks and a lot of fun.” Her cynical smirk met Liv’s one as the latter shook her head.
The drive was silent as both women got immersed on their own thoughts. Liv’s impassive face would never show how upset she was about this whole movie stuff. What would they be showing anyway? What the damn would they really know about what happened behind the curtains? Sure, she’s heard about movies being made about Thor, Iron Man and even Captain America before, but she had never given them a second thought. What would they know?
Natalia would only scoff when asked about their appearance in the movies and Olivia would never ask her about it again. Or never dare to watch it herself. But now, there they were, on their way to meet the others to the premiere of the second Captain America movie. Drinking her shot in one go, she placed the empty glass on the small tray across from her at the limo before staring out the window, avoiding her sister’s eyes on her. What would they know? She wondered again as the lights of New York City turned into a blur outside the car windows.
Controlling her breathe, she still could fee her heart racing inside her chest. No one could tell, though, about her inner turmoil if they looked at her. Maybe Natalia or Yelena, but they wouldn’t tell. Not her sisters.
As they got closer to the premise, Olivia wondered one more time why had she agreed to come and be a part of it. Would she manage to watch everything happen again? What could actually be in that movie? Would they know about The Red Room? What she, Natasha, Yelena and the others had to endure there? Would they know about what happened behind the scenes of the Battle of New York? How they had got to gather their pieces and move on another time? Would they know about Steve and the search for his oldest friend in the world and all they’ve endured to find him and break him free? Or would they know how it’s been to deal with all that Thanos’ shit? To almost die to prevent that from happening just to have you ass handled to you and lose half of the family you’ve gathered after a life of solitude? She snorted; she doubted it. Or maybe they’d try to show people how it’s been after the final battle; the one she had to go and fight without Natasha, secretly hoping to die this time, only to find her family coming back to her, fight along them one more time just to watch everyone leaving after Thor snapped his fingers to get rid of Thanos and his goons – to be alone again.
Olivia’s chest tightened as she recalled watching the grimy soldier turning his back to her as he cradled his flesh arm to his chest and walked away without a glance back, following Steve out of the battle field. That’s been the last time she saw him; well, them. Natasha was brought back by Steve when he returned the stones, she knew that. But she’d never seen Steve or Bucky again after that day which made her wonder if they’d be there at the premiere.
The car hauled to a stop and the door opening brought Olivia back to the present. Holding the hand that was offered to her by the valet, she stepped out of the vehicle to follow Natasha towards the red carpet. A small frown twisted her forehead for a split second at the amount of people gathered there and the loud noises of screaming coming from the fans as the music and clicks tried to muffle them. Taking a deep breath, she let the smirk and smoldering eyes appear to mask her emotions behind the face that was taught her ages ago as her trade mark as a Black Widow.
Trained eyes searched the crowd for any danger as she followed Natasha along, stopping for a few pictures but denying interviews with a small smile before moving forward. Soon they were standing close to Tony Stark, Rhodey, Clint and Sam for more pictures, apparently the only Avengers to show to the event, as the guys replied a few questions the reporters were asking them.
Olivia shifted a little, shaking her head to shove her hair behind her shoulder, but stopped dead on mid movement as her eyes caught sight of him. Soldat? Bucky? Was he really there?
Standing in the red carpet wearing a black suit, hands inside his pockets and staring at the cameras as the press took picture after picture of him, was a man with longish brown hair and deep blue eyes with a built and stature that made her blood run cold for a minute. Bucky! Liv’s insides churned and she almost left to go and meet him, but a hand on the small of her back prevented her from moving. Her eyes met Clint’s and his very curt shake of his head got her frozen on her spot. They both faced the cameras again and she felt Natasha’s cold hand touch hers for a brief moment behind Clint’s back before they all walked ahead again as a group towards the main area close to the movie theatre.
Soon enough, before Liv had a chance to talk to Natasha or any of the others, another group of people joined them in the packed hall. A small blonde girl resembling Nat and a brunette resembling herself amongst them. Three strongly built guys followed them shortly: a skinnier tall one with a beard and amazing blue eyes, a gentle funny black one and the tall brunette Liv had seen earlier. Introductions were made before the now large group was asked to pose for pictures together. Olivia found out the girls were really the ones that dubbed as herself and Natasha for the movie. The other ones were the ones who played Steve, Sam and Bucky, or, as she found out, Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan. The resemblance was amazing although she could see clear differences from them to her friends. Despite that, When Sebastian stood right in front of her, hand reaching out to shake hers and eyes dropping into hers, she froze on her spot. Blood running cold, she had to swallow hard before smiling and forcing her hand to obey and grab his for a quick handshake. Bucky! Her mind seemed to scream at her, although her body knew it wasn’t him.
Sebastian was a bit shorter, his eyes had not that glint, he was not so strong built, shoulders not so broad, his hair was shorter and lighter and he was missing the stubble and, of course, the metal arm. His smile was gentle and sweet and although Olivia has seen the gentler smile Bucky could manage, Sebastian was lacking the storm and torment that had always painted Bucky’s face. That’s not him! Not him! she kept repeating to herself as her cold hand held his.
The longing glance shot at him confused Sebastian for a moment but it was gone in a second as his own insides grew hotter. His hands were shaking a bit, still nervous with the whole premiere thing plus the fact that he was meeting the real heroes right now. Never in his life had he thought he’d be in that spot one day, but he was nothing more than thankful. What was supposed to be a one role had turned into an eight movies contract and he was hopeful that his life would grow better from now on, but, as a perfectionist and passionate actor he only hoped he could do James Bucky Barnes justice with his acting. He was kind of disappointed when he learned that Bucky would not be there as would not be Steve, but standing in front of the little bunch of the Avengers now, he, as the other actors, felt like a nervous starstruck teenage fan.
Sam and Anthony were cracking jokes that lead the group to smile for real as they regrouped to pose. Camilla Luddington and Scarlett Johansson were required to pose along the real Black Widows for a few shots and then Sebastian was standing behind Liv and Camilla as Chris stood behind Nat and Scarlett. Shit! Olivia was cursing internally as the hot blooded left hand of Sebastian squeezed her partially naked waist as they posed. Years of training had not prepared her for that. She was thankful when it was all over and the group scattered around before heading to the theater.
“I hope we can talk later.” She heard a baritone sexy sweet voice speak close to her ear and goosebumps erupted in her flesh. Turning her head quickly she met those deep cerulean eyes and her brain short circuited for a moment, again. Her lips parted and the air got stuck in her lungs. “Yakov.” She whispered, turning her hand into a fist before she could reach for him. His small smirk broke the spell as he pushed his head back, hands sliding inside his pockets. Olivia blinked before schooling her face one more time. Clearing her throat, she leered at him, cocking her head. “Of course.”
Her velvety voice made him shiver and his eyelids dropped unconsciously. Olivia smirked; she loved when she could make the Soldat look like that. Her Soldat. Her Bucky. Sebastian swallowed hard too, straightening his back. “See you at the party, then?” Olivia was lost in his blown pupils and nodded, forcing the smile into a smirk on her lips. “See you then, Soldier.”
Sebastian shuddered briefly, his breath caught in his throat for a moment. He cleared his throat and smirked back, balancing on the balls of his feet. “I hope you enjoy the movie.” Liv’s eyes darted down his body and she had to swallow as her brain registered the difference. It’s not him! Shaking the feeling, she met his eyes again. “I will.” Smouldering eyes and smirk back on, the Black Widow stared at the young actor for another moment before Natasha’s voice broke the spell. “Сестра, пора идти.” (Sister, time to go).
As the women left, Sebastian brought a hand to his forehead, trying to regain his composure. “What the hell was that?” Mackie’s voice broke the spell, causing Seb to look back at his friend and sigh. “Gonna try to find out at the party.” The small smile died on his lips as his friend replied. “You know she’s a Black Widow, right? A real one? You don’t mess with these girls, my friend. One wrong move can cost your life. Or…” he glanced down and nodded his head towards the other man’s lower half. “Your little soldier down there.”
Sebastian grimaced before rolling his eyes. Chris Evans laughed behind them, clapping his left boob in the process. Shaking his head, Sebastian shoved his friends in front of him so they could walk towards the theatre. “Shut up.”