#fire and ice bucky barnes x ofc

[hiraethblack22]

Fire and Ice. (Bucky x ofc)

Here I am with the continuation of the story Breathe Underwater. Your responses have inspired me to write a mini-series called "Fire and Ice". However, we begin the story at the moment when our characters meet.

MASTERLIST of FIRE AND ICE: HERE!

IMPORTANT: I won't use Y\n but the lead character will be given a name and will be a fully formed character. Set in a time where everyone is still alive and Bucky is free of the hydra.

Warnings: violence, blood, torture, and manipulation. Vulgar language. The story will contain adult content. Probably a whole lot of Smut.

Summary: Thirteen is a HYDRA pawn, a soldier, a spy and an assassin. A wraith. Chosen because of her powers and transformed into the perfect weapon. (enchanted!reader) What happens when her mission becomes locating and eliminating The Winter Soldier?

-> CHAPTER TWO <-

CHAPTER ONE: Exit Music (for a film)

“What do you think happens now?”

A voice broke through the fog of images that were plaguing my mind.

We had sat in silence, my feet naked in the lake's cold water, as the house slowly emptied behind our backs. I had walked away absent-mindedly, unseen by the procession of family members within the old family home, dropping onto the dirt as soon as I reached it, my black funeral clothes still on, staring at the sun slowly sinking into the water.

My brother crouched beside me—hands on his knees, head bowed down. The familiar colour of his blond hair stung painfully in my chest—the same shade as our mother's. It was a weird feeling seeing him like that; Michael was always composed, elegant, and kept himself as a royal would.  As I watched him, I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind. Seeing him vulnerable, without the usual stubbornness that bore his eyebrows and his chin always high and spoiled look in his eyes, it was like seeing him without a mask, seeing him through different eyes, and made me feel closer to him. As we sat there together, I felt a sense of unity between us that I hadn't felt in years, and for the first time, it felt like our relationship could only get better.

My brother was a copy of her. Our father used to joke about it before he died, saying that Michael had been too busy growing up clinging to our mother’s skirt, which had shielded me from her, preventing me from taking after her even a little bit. I resembled my father with my brown hair and eyes and the slight nose hump beneath the freckles. As a child, it was hard to witness— confining me to watching their love from the corners of the rooms and behind impenetrable doorways. It was as if a trench had been built between us, and thus I had grown up with my father and with his interests in horses and golf, yet part of me did wonder whether he did it out of pity or out of guilt, the fault of having a spouse who preferred the male heir. Then, as the years passed, I discovered I could occupy a different space in the lives of our family. And that was it. 

“When we die,” Michael followed, his eyes never leaving his hands, “where do you think we go?”

I shrugged. I had no energy left in me to speak or even think. But I also didn't want to drop into the catatonic state I was in last time. “Our father would say that when a person dies, they go to a beautiful place.”

“Do you believe it?”

I nodded, taking his rough hands in mine. "He’d tell us to stick together."

“My beautiful place is here. With you.” Michael stared into my eyes, and I had never seen a more resolute look on his face. I felt my heart swell with love and gratitude. His words echoed in my mind, and I couldn't help but smile. I knew that no matter what happened, we would always have each other's backs. And in that moment, I knew that there was nowhere else I'd rather be than right there with him. "We will be together forever, sister. Trust me.” He kissed my hand, and we went back to watching the sunset. A soft smile curled my lips. We were going to be fine.

***

“Thirteen!”

A blow to my stomach made me jump, desperately gasping for air. My eyes shot open just in time to see the tip of the boot flashing straight towards my nose. I raised my arms, barely blocking the blow to my face. The force of the impact knocked me backward, slamming my back against the bars of the prison cell. Gasping for air, I struggled to calm my pounding heart and better acknowledge my surroundings. The stale, musty smell of the cell filled my nostrils. I tried to stand up, but my legs felt weak and unsteady. I stumbled to my knees, supporting myself with my hands against the filthy floor.

And there it was—the sad, cruel, bitchy reality. 

The man laughed viciously, clapping a hand on his chest—right over the symbol engraved in his dark uniform. Hydra. The cureless poison, the undetectable illness you couldn't feel, until it killed you. 

“Your time has come.”

The sweet haze of the dream vanished in a blink, drained by the cruel truth of life. The man in uniform fisted a hand around my hair, hauling me to my feet.

“You’re such a delicious thing, I almost feel sorry for you,” he said, closing the distance between us. The liquor on his breath made my empty stomach clench in disgust. He passed his tongue on his lips like an animal trying to seize its prey-his eyes dark and cruel. I struggled against his grip, but he was too strong. I felt sick with fear and revulsion. “Almost.” 

He yanked my hair, dragging me behind him like a broken doll. Like every week, the time had arrived. I tried to steel myself for the inevitable, but my body trembled with dread. I felt a scream building in my throat, but it died before it could escape. This was my life now—a never-ending cycle of pain and misery at the hands of monsters who took pleasure in my suffering.

I gazed at the cell beside mine. Inside, the woman huddled on herself, her eyes wide with terror. I knew what was coming. The man would take her next when they had finished with me, just as it had happened so many times before.  

She was grasping the bars, tears streaming down her dirty cheeks. The terror in her eyes mirrored my own. Her lips trembled, trying a few times before the words broke free from her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she hissed, her voice broken and rough. 

Before I could even think about whispering back that everything would be fine, we were in the corridor, walking fast towards the stairs. The darkness was the sole thing I had known down in the cells of Hydra, except for the only occasion when they sent me out there for a mission; but, even if I was outside, breathing fresh air, watching the blue sky, or feeling the comforting warmth of the sun on my skin, I yearned for the darkness of the cells once more, where I knew it was me suffering and not the people I was sent after. It was a familiar feeling, one that I had grown accustomed to over the years. The cries and pleas of the people I was sent after were too much to bear. In the cells, it was just me and my nightmares. 

One after the other, the cells held men, women, and children. All of them were scared and huddled together for warmth and comfort, clinging to each other to survive. Victims of a fucked-up system. 

As I passed by each cell, I couldn't help but wonder how many more innocent lives would be lost before someone would come and save us. Even when the cruel voice in my head screamed that nobody would come for us, the world had forgotten us. I remembered the day a mother was taken away from her daughter, dragged to one of these rooms, and never came out. Her screams echoed through the halls as she was dragged away. The girl clung to me, begging me to save her mommy. It broke my heart to know there was nothing I could do but offer comfort and promises of a better tomorrow. They were lies; they came for her some days later, and I'd never seen her again.

Some soldiers had tried to escape and revolt against the captors, but it was all pointless. They were made an example of; I still heard their screams, their prayers, and their cries in the silence of the night. 

I was hauled into a room. The lights were so bright that I shielded my watering eyes, but the unforgiving strength in my hair didn't pay any attention to my pain, especially not when he was going to inflict much, much, more.

“Place it on the chair and power up the machine.” 

I cried out, trying to plant my feet firmly against the ground, trying to claw the hand that was dragging me to the chair. He simply laughed, handling me like a temperamental child.  I could feel the fear rising in my chest, making my heart hammer in my ears. I knew what was coming next—the machine, the cold metal in my neck, and the head splitting ache. The thought of it made me shudder. But there was no escape. 

 “Come on, don’t be difficult.” The man threw me onto the chair. Still laughing as he fastened my wrists to the chair's armrests and wrapped the belt around my head. Another pair of hands tied my legs to the chair. The man pressed his fingertips on my face, stretching the corners of my lips. “Give me a smile.” 

I was trapped, bound to the chair, and not even allowed to close my eyes in defeat. I couldn’t fight; I couldn’t speak, but they laughed as I cried and screamed, praying in my mind that someone would come and rescue me. 

The science team tortured me with the promise to murder my brother if I fought back. Treating my sorrow as their own private, amusing show. The experiments were never ending. I didn’t know what they were looking for or what they were trying to shape my mind into. The only things I knew since they had captured me were hunger, pain, and regret, as they had dressed me in their uniform and forced me to commit atrocities.  

“You are a special one, Thirteen.” A woman appeared before me, holding a syringe. The liquid in it was shining brightly, its warmth moving and waving around the syringe like flames. “We gave you this power, and you have tamed it. The previous twelve could not endure its existence in their organisms, not even for a single moment, but you..." She smiled as if fascinated—her eyes shone in a weird light; was it excitement? Or was it the familiar grip of a delusional mind? "You have hosted the flames for years, gracing the world with their wonder.” I watched the syringe come closer and closer, until I felt the familiar pinching of the needle. As the liquid coursed through my veins, I felt a sudden rush of energy and clarity. The world around me seemed to come alive in a way that I had never experienced before. 

The world grew louder; I could now hear the buzzing noise of the computers, the soft breathing of the guards standing all around the room, the stable heartbeat of the science woman before me, and the scent of the food she had eaten. My mind raced, and I struggled to keep my thoughts in order. “Bending the world under the fist of Hydra.”

They made me steal, and lie, destroy governments, cancelling entire cities from the maps. Kill and slaughter. Whatever was that they injected in my veins, it turned me into their puppet. They pointed and I attacked, without whispering, without questions.  Relapsing my life into a routine of lessons that made me more lethal—Magic and dancing alternating with combat, weaponry, poisons, and construction of explosives. And yet, all of that was pointless when it all came down to them. I became clay in their hands, to be shaped according to their sick desires. They had beaten me until I couldn't move, broke my bones until I was nothing more than a pile of shattered flesh and bones. And then they implanted thing thing inside of me, something dark and foreign that filled me with bloodlust.

The pain was excruciating; every inch of my body felt like it was on fire. If I tried to fight them, it could mean the end for the only person left in this world who meant anything to me. So I lay there, broken and defeated, as the pain threatened to swallow me whole. 

Michael’s safety had given me the strength to stare quietly as they beat, broke, and shattered my body and mind. Letting them put this thing inside of me. I had no chance of escaping—not when it could risk the life of the last remaining person I had loved.  

I felt reality shift. The world spun faster. The uncomfortable sensation of my body turning inside out. The woman before me—whose name I’d never had the privilege to acknowledge—she split into two before becoming one again, swaying to the left and then to the right in a constant waltz that made me want to claw my eyes out of my head.  She smiled and turned serious a couple of times, watching my trembling body with fascination. “You made me a monster.”

“No, thirteen.” She pinched my chin. Her eyes shone in a red light, piercing into my soul, before returning to their usual blue shade. I tried to speak, but my throat felt tight and dry. I couldn't find the words to express the fear and confusion that consumed me. The woman's grip on my chin tightened, and I winced in pain. “I made you into an asset.”  

My mouth parted, quivering over the frantic breathing pattern that possessed my body. My thoughts ran feverishly in my head, confusing words and sounds rooted in my soul, speaking cruel words in dozens of different languages.  

“Thirteen?” 

The voice echoed in my head, clinging to the roots of my being. 

"Ready to comply."

Gloved hands emerged before me, so white that they seemed to shimmer in the neon lights. I was freed from the restraint that kept me confined to the chair, allowing me to rise to my feet. I rolled my shoulders, stretching my neck—not because I felt any pain; I felt nothing at all—but in preparation for the mission. 

“New mission. Locate and kill,” she said, presenting a photograph before me. “The Winter Soldier.” 

I need to thank everyone who commented and liked the previous part and the ones who asked to be tagged in this next part.

It's certainly not what you expected to read, but we'll get to that specific passage in a couple of chapters. I wished to give you a deeper insight into the characters and the plot.  @thefandomplace @bonkyandsteebluver @billihill - let me know if you still wish to be tagged to the next parts!

This is a test chapter, to see how readers react to the story and to allow me to figure out in which direction to proceed. Let me know what you think and if you would like to be tagged in later parts!

[sheerfreesia007]

Marvel Spooktober #1

Title: Marvel Spooktober #1

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC!

Author: @sheerfreesia007​

Prompt: Familiar

Words: 2,669

Warnings: Mention of fire

Permanent Tag List: @paintballkid711, @fioccodineveautunnale, @phoenixhalliwell, @linkpk88, @weirdowithnobeardo, @athalien

Gif Credit: @lost-shoe

The city streets were as busy as ever and as Bucky exited his apartment complex he found himself sticking to the side of the building to stay out of others’ way. He was on his way to lunch with Yori and he was eager to see the old man. They had slowly been working on their relationship ever since Bucky had confessed he was the man who killed Yori’s son. At first he was surprised that Yori wanted anything to do with him but he was so grateful for it. Looking down at his watch he saw he had fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant to meet with Yori. A breeze blew along the street and Bucky pulled the collar of his leather jacket up closer to his face. He then turned to begin his walk to the restaurant. But as his eyes traveled along the pavement he spotted a flash of black fur at the opening of the alleyway next to his apartment complex.

Moving to the alleyway Bucky watched as three small black balls of fur came into view. Crouching down he got a closer look at the tiny black kittens. The three of them were wrestling together and with his movement towards them they all turned their heads in sync to stare at him curiously. All three were black as night and the only identifying feature was their differing eye colors. Bucky tilted his head to the side as he took in their appearance. The three were all entangled together to make them look like a large black fur ball with three heads side by side. But what was so fascinating to him was their eye colors, the far left kitten had a left amber eye and a right ice blue eye. The middle kitten had two ice blue eyes. And the far right kitten has a left ice blue eye and a right amber eye. It was as if they were connected together by their eye colors. Bucky could feel himself starting to fall into some sort of trance as he stared into their unblinking eyes that he could’ve swore had started to glow.

“Clo! Lach! Atro! Get your asses up here or so help me I’ll summon Hecate to take you all back!” shouted an aggravated sounding voice from above. Bucky felt as if a bucket of ice water was dumped on him pulling him instantly out of his trance like state. Bucky snapped his head up to see a woman with wild curly raven black hair leaning over the metal railing of the fire escape at her window. She was as entrancing as the kittens were as her curtain-like hair hung around her face as she peered down at them. Bucky jolted back a little as the kittens all sprung up from their cuddle pile and began racing towards the dumpster. He watched in quiet awe as the three kittens jumped and climbed their way up to the fire escape where the woman stood still peering over the side at them. “Honestly can’t keep you three contained for the life of me.” the woman muttered before turning back to Bucky with a wave of her hand. “Sorry Mister!” she called out to him and Bucky nodded before waving his hand at her. She nodded her head at him in return and ushered the kittens back through the window before disappearing herself. Bucky was left standing at the entrance of the alleyway feeling as if the warmth had seeped from his body, he shook his head slightly before pulling his jacket collar back up to his face and began the walk to the restaurant to meet Yori.

*-*-*-*

The next time he saw the three kittens again was about two weeks later on his way into the apartment complex. He had just returned from a mission with Sam overseas and he was exhausted. All he wanted to do was crawl into his bed and sleep for days, possibly even weeks if he could manage it. As he trudged in through the front door of the complex the security guard greeted him and let him know that the elevator was down for service causing Bucky to groan tiredly before changing his course to the stairwell.

Entering the stairwell Bucky slowly began his ascent to his floor while holding onto the handrail. By the third floor he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of being watched and stopped at one of the landings to look around the stairs. Not seeing anyone it wasn’t until he looked up towards the higher floors, that’s when he spotted the tiny black heads of fur peering down at him through the stairwell bars. Bucky was shocked to see that the kittens had grown slightly bigger already since the last time he had seen them. He couldn’t tell how big they had gotten but their eyes were now more proportionate to their heads. He stood there staring up at the cats as they silently watched him while slowly tilting their heads to the side. Chuckling softly Bucky shook his head and began the climb to his floor again, the feeling of being watched never leaving him. 

When he made it to his floor he noticed that the cats were on the landing just above him and they were still watching him silently. He leaned against the railing and peered up at them curiously as well, each cat was sat at a different railing and they all had their heads poking through the bars. Oddly enough they were in the same configuration when he had first seen them, the far left cat had the left amber eye and right ice blue eye, the middle cat had the two ice blue eyes, and the far right cat had the left ice blue eye and right amber eye. There was tension in the air as the staring contest continued between them all but it was all shattered when the door by the cats opened suddenly and Bucky heard the familiar aggravated tone of the woman once more.

“Stupid elevator had to go on the fritz all because the damn cats couldn’t contain themselves.” she grumbled out to herself and Bucky watched as she came into view as she made an angry screeching noise when she spotted the cats in the stairwell. “Speaking of the devils! You little heathens! Get your asses back inside the apartment! I swear I can’t wait to be rid of all three of you!” she snapped and hissed angrily at them. Bucky watched amused as the cats darted and raced around the woman as she tried to usher them back through the door without much success. He chuckled softly and the woman instantly halted her movement before whirling on her heel to stare at him defensively. Bucky quickly lifted his hands in faux surrender to show her that he wasn’t there to hurt her.

“Didn’t mean to scare you.” he said and she snorted softly at his words.

“You couldn’t if you tried.” she muttered softly and Bucky was taken aback by her candor.

“Was just noticing the troublemakers as I was on my way up to my floor.” he explained to her and she looked down at her feet where the three cats were now entangled as they peered down at Bucky. The image of the woman dressed in a deep maroon colored dress and stockinged feet with her long raven hair hanging around her face in wild untamed curls and the three black cats at her feet almost knocked Bucky back as if someone had punched him. It was an eerie and ethereal image that shocked Bucky to his core and made him want to gravitate towards them all, almost as if he was being willed subconsciously to go to them. Suddenly the woman shook her head and the feeling of needing to be close to them lifted from Bucky instantly.

“Enough of that.” she softly chastised the cats who all looked up at her almost imploringly. “Yes, they are a bit of trouble. Sorry if they bother you.” the woman excused as she smiled crookedly at him from her spot.

“No bother at all. I like their eyes, it's kinda cool that they seem connected.” Bucky said as he gestured to the cats at her feet.

“They’re sisters.” she told him as an explanation and Bucky nodded his head at her words. “This one’s named Clotho, this is Lachesis, and that one’s Atropos.” she told him with a knowing smile and Bucky furrowed his brows at the names.

“Interesting names.” he said and the woman laughed in a deep rich mysterious laugh that had Bucky smiling softly at her.

“Maybe one day I’ll tell you the meaning behind them.” she said with a grin and Bucky nodded his head eagerly.

“I’d love to hear it.” he said and she grinned while nodding her head.

“Well it was nice to see you again, soldier.” she said with a wave of her hand before turning back to the door to her floor and ushered the cats through before looking over her shoulder at him and winking. Bucky stood there for a few moments more feeling his body fill with excitement from their interaction. As he turned back to the door for his floor he suddenly realized that he didn’t get the woman’s name but she seemed to know him since she had called him a soldier. Bucky wondered quietly if he’d get to see them all soon again as he walked onto his floor and towards his apartment no longer feeling exhausted.

*-*-*-*

The next time he saw his upstairs neighbor was the night of the fire in the apartment complex, Sam and Joaquin had been in his apartment with him briefing on their next mission when Bucky had smelt it, fire. He had furrowed his brows at the faint smell before the fire alarms began blaring loudly throughout the complex. Joaquin quickly stowed away all of their maps and plans in his backpack before the three of them had exited the apartment and began ushering everyone towards the stairwells at either end of the hallways. Bucky and Sam opted to split up and head upwards to make sure that everyone got out of the complex while Joaquin called in back up and the fire department as he helped others down the stairs.

Bucky took the stairs to the floor above and opened the door quickly, three full grown black cats came tumbling out of the doorway and Bucky moved back slightly so as not to step on them. The cats all sat in front of Bucky as he held the door open and saw that the fire was coming from this floor and more specifically from a door three doors down from the stairwell door. He frowned softly and looked down at the cats before looking back to the door. They all sat there watching him silently in the same order as they normally were in whenever he saw them.

“Let me guess that’s your apartment.” he grumbled out softly and the middle cat tilted it’s head to the side curiously. Sighing softly Bucky stepped through the door and the cats followed swiftly. “Your Mom wouldn’t leave you if there was a fire, she’s not like that. She’d complain about getting you all out but she’d still get you out.” Bucky said as he walked down the hallway towards the flickering door with the cats on his heels. He turned to the cats and gestured for them to stay put before he spoke. “Stay.” he said firmly before turning back to the door and opening it with his metal hand.

Fire was licking the walls as it climbed upwards to the ceiling, Bucky stared in amazement as the fire moved along the walls to the ceiling but didn’t seem to be burning anything. The only thing truly burning in the apartment that Bucky could see was the potted plants that were scattered around the large living room area. In the middle of the living room sat the woman with the wild raven curly hair. Bucky slowly began to move towards the woman as she sat crisscrossed in the middle of the room with her eyes shut and her lips moving rapidly but too silent for him to hear. 

Bucky could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing at attention as he watched the woman continue to speak without being able to hear her and it made his stomach drop with caution and wary. Something was definitely not right here and he couldn’t really put his finger on what was going on. But he still moved to her side because he was worried about her well being. When he placed a hand onto her shoulder she gasped loudly and her eyes flung open as her head tilted up towards him.

“Are you okay?” Bucky asked loud enough to be heard over the flames, but as he darted his eyes around the room he noticed that the flames were starting to lessen and disappear all together.

“Oh my goodness! Shit! I did it again! Are you okay? Is everyone else okay?” The woman began to ramble and Bucky turned to see her looking around worriedly before she dashed away from him and came back with a fire extinguisher in her hands. She moved past him and to the plants that were burning and began to douse them with the fire extinguisher. Bucky followed her and took the fire extinguisher from her hands and moved her so that she was behind him as he extinguished her plants. When he was done he turned back to her and saw that she was looking around worriedly still before turning to him. 

“Are you okay?” he asked again and she nodded her head at his question.

“Yes, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I was meditating.” she said, finishing her sentence lamely with a lie that Bucky could detect easily.

“You were meditating?” he asked incredulously and she eagerly nodded her head with wide eyes. “And your apartment caught on fire but didn’t burn how?” he asked, wondering how she was going to lie her way out this. Something clattered along the floor behind him and Bucky whirled around to see the three cats wrestling on the floor near the front door.

“I’m so sorry about this.” the woman said and Bucky turned back towards her with confusion racing through him.

“Wha-” he began to ask when suddenly he blacked out.

*-*-*-*

The sound of fire truck sirens filtered in through Bucky’s consciousness and he groaned as he slowly came to. His eyes fluttered open and he saw Sam and Joaquin gazing down at him worriedly. There was also a paramedic at his side checking his vitals. Bucky grunted as he sat up fully and spotted the raven haired woman not far from where he sat in a stretcher. She stood there dressed in a purple dress with a wide brown leather belt and small black boots covering her feet, her raven hair lay in a thick heavy curtain down her back and she held a wicker basket that held the three black cats. They all stared at him and a soft smile formed on the woman’s lips, she winked at him before pressing her index finger to her lips to warn him to be quiet. She then turned on her heel and began walking away from the large crowd of people standing outside the apartment complex as fire fighters walked out of the building announcing that it was a false alarm and everyone was free to go back inside.

Bucky shook his head gently as his eyes darted back to where the woman had been walking away and saw that she had completely disappeared from view. He tried looking for her but Bucky somehow knew that he’d never find her and her three cats again unless they wanted to be found.

[rebeccccccaaa]

ᴄᴀᴛ’s ɢᴏᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴛᴏɴɢᴜᴇ?

__________________________

ᴄᴀᴍ ʙᴏʏ/ʀᴏᴏᴍᴍᴀᴛᴇ! ʙᴜᴄᴋʏ ʙᴀʀɴᴇs x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀᴀᴜ

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: You have always been more modest not really ever having time to explore what could have been some sort of sensual alter ego and when Bucky finds out hes determined to bring the sex goddess in you out.

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs: slight fluff if you count flirty bucky, smut ofc (minors dni) [cam boy bucky (slight tipsy bucky and reader in the beginning); brief male masterbation (bucky has his door open during a session); fem!rec oral; hair pulling; spanking; real dirty talking; strong language, degradation; loss of virginity/ virgin reader but not innocent, touch starved reader, and overstim, overall pretty rough but aftercareeee]

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ’s ɴᴏᴛᴇs: sorry in advanced if you don’t like iced coffee lol

_____________________________

“There’s no way; you’re such a fucking liar,” Bucky threw his head back with laughter.

“I knew I shouldn’t have fucking said anything,” you scoff, rolling your eyes before standing up with annoyance.

“No! Don’t go, come on. I didn’t mean it like that,” he chuckled.

“Yeah right,” you scoffed.

“Can I ask why?”

“I mean, honestly. I just never really had time. Although, I did avoid sweaty football players all of high school, but being in uni I just want to grind and grind, you know? Finish school and get my degree. I don’t really have much time going out and getting laid,” you explained.

“Shit, does my… ‘side job’ make you uncomfortable? I didn’t realize how you would feel about it being a vir-”

“Buck, I’m a virgin, not innocent,” you chuckled.

“Damn straight,” Bucky laughed.

“Let me help you,” he said, making you laugh out loud.

"With what?" you asked in disbelief.

"Let me take your virginity. 'S better than fucking some random drunkard in a one night stand, and let's face it, you're not getting a boyfriend anytime soon."

You couldn't help but keep laughing at what he was saying.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“You’re so full of shit, Barnes,” you snorted, too drunk to notice that Bucky wasn’t laughing.

“Offer stands whenever, pretty girl.”

That was four weeks ago.

Since then, you feel like the tension between you and your roommate was especially thick since your tipsy confession. You couldn’t tell whether the things Bucky would say now were intentionally inappropriate or you just had a dirty mind. He seemed to always be shirtless; always.

“Did all your shirts catch fire? No, they got stolen, huh?” you joked.

“Har, har. Don’t be such a prude, pretty girl.”

“I’m not a prude,” you mumbled; at least he had the muscles to flaunt.

One quiet Friday evening, you sat in your room working away at your desk. You had been at it for a couple hours and as much as you wanted to throw in the towel you were so close to finishing everything you needed to finish this weekend. You went to the kitchen to grab a snack, maybe make a coffee, before drilling for the last hour to get everything done.

“Hey, pretty girl,” Bucky said, standing with a glass of whiskey in hand. He always drinks before filming.

“Gettin’ ready for your… stuff?” you asked.

“What stuff?” he asked cheekily, making you roll your eyes.

“Yeah, I haven’t posted anything in a couple weeks and my subscribers are thirsty,” he told you.

“I can only imagine,” you joked.

“Well, baby, I’m in the next room if you wanna stop imagining,” he said flirtatiously

“Fuck off. I’m just here to get coffee,” you smirked, grabbing the things you’ll need from the fridge.

“Well, then I’ll leave you to it,” Bucky said, smacking your ass hard before leaving for his room; you scoffed rolling your eyes at his antics.

You turned around making the coffee itself mindlessly before you grew slight concern when you had yet to hear the door of Bucky’s bedroom to shut. He always kept his door shut whilst you wore headphones blasting music so you wouldn’t have to listen to his unnecessary moaning and cursing. You silently begged the machine to hurry it’s brewing as Bucky began talking and moaning to his audience.

You gritted your teeth hearing him so clearly. Your breathing quickened and you felt your cheeks heat up. You hated how you wondered if he really was as vocal in bed as he portrayed online. You hated the way your stomach flipped and the tingle between your thighs. You’ve never felt so aroused before, you didn’t know what to do.

“Fucking hell,” he groaned, and you swallowed the dry lum in your throat.

You don’t even know how long you stood in the kitchen listening to Bucky. You were incredibly aroused, wetness pooling between your thighs. Your hands gripped at the counter desperate to not let your knees buckle as he got closer to his release.

“God, fuck you James,” you mumbled to yourself.

You couldn’t take it the groans he practically was screaming from his room. You stomped your way to his room to yell at him to close the door. You were enraged but you don’t really know why. Bucky’s side job never bothered so much until now and truthfully he wasn’t really to blame for how turned on you felt hearing him.

“Can you close the goddamn door?” you yelled approaching his bedroom.

“I hate to interrupt but I can fucking hear you- in the… kitchen,” you trailed off.

Bucky sat on his bed completely nude. His cheeks were red and his forehead had a layer of sweat as did his very smooth and very toned chest. Your body completely froze. It’s not that you hadn’t seen a man naked before. You’ve watched porn during the more stressful and lonelier nights, but Bucky was beautiful.

“Care to join?” Bucky breathed with a stupid smile.

“Jesus,” you gasped.

“I ain’t forget about that offer, pretty girl,” Bucky stood, chuckling when you visibly trembled.

“Whatcha say? You ready to finally deflower?” Bucky walked closer to you with a devilish smirk plastered on his handsome face.

“I’m sorry-” you stumbled over your words.

Your stomach fluttered from nervousness and arousal, your skin bursted into chills despite how hot and sweaty you were beginning to feel. You kept your eyes trained to anywhere but Bucky’s assets.

"What's wrong, pretty girl? Cat's got your tongue?" he teased.

"James," you said sternly.

"Baby, I can make you feel so good. All you have to do is say the word," he whispered in your ear, making you shudder.

You know deep inside you that this wasn't a good idea in the long run. It sounds so tempting now but what would happen afterwards? What would happen to your friendship?

"Stop thinking so hard. Just let me make you feel good, please," he begged.

His hands caressed your sides and you couldn't resist squirming; he hasn't even touched you.

"I can tell you're starving. Itching to be touched by someone. Those lonely nights with a laptop and your fingers isn't enough. I can help you, pretty girl. Give you so much and more; give you nirvana. Just say the word," he spoke slowly, sensually; you were damn near shaking just from his words.

"Please," you whimpered.

"Please what?" he teased; Bucky was drunk off the power he had over you.

"Fuck me. Use me. Ruin me," you begged.

"As you wish."

Bucky grabbed the back of your neck smashing his lips to yours. He grinded his hips into you and you feel his hard on digging into you. Your fingers dug into the soft skin of his chest leaving small red marks and scratches littered.

Bucky moved his hand up behind your head, curling his fingers in your hair pulling harshly. his lips instantly attached to your neck biting and sucking to mark you, so you remember he was the one who made you feel euphoric in the coming days. He wants you to remember this night.

"Shit, that feels so good," you sighed.

"That's just the beginning, pretty girl. Get on the bed," he demanded.

You scurried to bed tearing your shirt and shorts off leaving you in your dark lacey undergarments.

"It's like you were ready for me to fuck you," he chuckled darkly.

He crawled up the bed to you like an animal hunting and taunting its prey. You couldn't help but nibble on your bottom lip, anxious for what was to come from Bucky.

His hands gripped your waist firmly pulling impossibly close to his body. He kissed you again and you swore you could stay like that forever. His lips felt so soft again yours, you melted against his body from pleasure.

His hands circled your back and pulled at the bra clasp before swiftly undoing it and letting free. You shrugged your shoulders to your ears allowing the straps of the bra fall gracefully down your upper arm before Bucky curled his finger over the front and tossed it aside to admire your chest.

Your shoulders subconsciously caved in, embarrassed to be so unclothed in front of someone for the first time. Again, you weren't innocent but anyone would still be nervous for their first time. Bucky smiled softly at your timidness; his hands rubbing your sides slowly and comforting to help ease your nerves a bit.

"You are so gorgeous, baby."

"Don't get sappy, Barnes," you joked; but in reality you don't need another reason to fall deeper for him. Not that you're falling to begin with.

"Yes ma'am," he grinned.

He flipped the both of you over so you laid on your back. His hands gently kneaded your breasts pulling moans from you with every squeeze. He leaned down, taking a nipple in his mouth, sucking and biting your perked buds, circling his tongue around. Your back arched into him and you think you can handle the pleasure but you find yourself involuntarily getting higher and higher. Moaning and gasping louder every time Bucky would bite down hard on your nipple. The last straw was when Bucky brought his fingers between your thighs and barely pressed against your aching clit that you fell suddenly over the edge crying Bucky's name.

"Did you just-"

"Fuck, I'm sorry! I don't know what happened. I- Everything just-"

Bucky cut you off with a deep kiss.

"Don't be sorry," he chuckled.

"It's really hot that I was able to make you cum by just playing with these beauties," he flicked your nipples and squeezed your breats making you tremble.

“Shit, too much,” you whined.

Bucky ignored you once again, dipping his head back down, flicking his tongue over your overly sensitive buds. The squeal you made made Bucky chuckle darkly but he didn’t want to torture you so his lips trailed slowly down the valley of your breasts to you belly and hip bones. His fingers curled over your panties dragging them slowly down your legs.

“Fucking hell, pretty girl. You’re dripping. You’ve just been aching for me to get my hands on you for a while, huh?” Bucky taunted.

“Please,” you whimpered.

“Absolutely gorgeous.”

Bucky’s hands rested against your knees pushing them as far as they could go before diving in you like a starved man. Truthfully, Bucky had dreamed of this moment since he met you for the first time moving in. As the days, weeks, and years went by, the urge to resist kissing and fucking you stupid was getting all to much. But now he finally has you under him, at his mercy and he was determined to pleasure as much as he could before getting his cock anywhere near you.

Bucky brought his fingers to circle your entrance, waiting until your legs were nearly shaking from the teasing. As he pushed his fingers past your folds, he brought his mouth down again kissing right above your clit. You gasped and sighed in pleasure as he pumped his fingers in and out of you heavenly.

“Shit, feels so good. So, so good,” you moaned.

Bucky’s tongue brushed over your clit and you couldn’t resist bucking your hips, pushing his fingers deeper inside you. Your back arched off the bed and your hands shot to his head tugging on his dark locks harshly. Bucky’s moans from your tugs vibrated against you and you knew you weren’t going to last any longer.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum Bucky! Shit!” you shrieked.

“Come on, pretty girl. Be a good girl and come all over my fingers,” he said.

Seconds later, you reached your high, crying Bucky’s names again as if it was the only word you knew how to say. Your head practically dangled off the bed, scooting closer and closer to edge desperate to pull away from Bucky’s talented mouth.

“God, you’re beautiful when you fall apart like that,” Bucky mumbled against your heated skin.

Sweat lined your forehead and your chest, your hair was scattered across the sheets like a maniac, and your skin along your neck down to your inner thighs was littered with little bruises and bite marks from Bucky. You looked ethereal.

“One more. Can you give me one more?” Bucky asked softly.

“Fuck,” you whimpered.

“Such a good girl. I know you can, come on.”

Bucky gently flipped your body over, laying you on your stomach. He kissed down your spine, whispering sweet and kind things to you. You can’t even register what he’s saying because his godly erection is poking your ass and you're practically aching again to be railed by him.

“So eager for my cock, aren’t ya? Already being such a greedy little whore.”

“Please, Bucky,” you begged, wiggling your ass against his crotch.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’m gonna fuck you so good; gonna ruin you for anyone else,” he whispered in your ear before biting on your earlobe.

He stood tall on his knees behind you gripping your hips, roughly pulling them flush against his pelvis; you pushed yourself up on your hands. He grabbed his aching cock, the tip red and leaking with precum. Bucky doesn’t even know how he was able to last so long without cumming but he did and now all he wants to do is cum deep inside you.

“Ready, pretty girl?” he teased, rubbing your cheeks softly with his hands.

“Fuck me good, James,” you moaned.

Bucky lined his dick with your entrance slowly pushing the tip past your folds. The burning sensation caused you to hiss and tense around Bucky, who instantly stopped his movements.

“No, it’s ok; you’re just bigger than I was anticipating,” you fussed.

“It’s ok. If it’s too much you tell me to stop,” Bucky told you.

“No, don’t stop, please!” you whined.

“Don’t get greedy,” Bucky warned.

“Think you can handle all of me?”

“Fuck,” you muttered.

He pushed his hips further in you slowly, careful to not hurt you. His hands ran slowly up your body before curling his fingers through your hair and pulling your head up. Once he bottomed out, he rested for a minute until you were ready for him to move.

“Holy fucking hell, baby. Feel so good wrapped around my cock, shit,” Bucky groaned above you.

“I feel so- full.”

“‘S like you were made for me, pretty girl.”

Bucky’s hips began to move faster and faster pulling moans from you that was music to his ears. Bucky relished in your sex. He used every ounce of willpower in him to keep control but you felt so heavenly, so sublime. He couldn’t hold back any longer. You could tell that Bucky was holding back and you didn’t want him to. He pleasured you twice already, it was his turn to feel good and if letting go would do that for him you would let him.

“Come on, Bucky. Fuckin’ ruin me!”

“Don’t say shit like that,” he grunted, still thrusting his hips.

“I can take it, baby. Use me,” you told him.

Bucky’s hips stilled only for a second before you felt a sharp stinging on your right ass cheek.

“You want me to fuck you like a whore? Fine, I will,” Bucky growled before pulling out and flipping you over.

Bucky rammed his hips into you fast and rough. His hand went to wrap around your throat squeezing the sides and your eyes rolled back. Tears brimmed your eyes and you cried out over and over again. You felt used, corrupted, violated. You love it.

“Fuck, yes!”

“Shit, I’m gonna fucking come,” Bucky groaned.

Bucky released your throat before dipping his head in the crook of your neck. His groans and moans were muffled by your skin. Your hands wrapped around his neck and your legs too wrapped around his torso pulling his body flushed against yours. Your nails ran down Bucky’s back; he breathed in sharply through gritted teeth before moaning loudly in your ear from the pleasurable sting.

Chasing his release along with yours, Bucky’s thrusts became relentless. Animalistic. Feral, even. Everything felt overwhelming. It didn’t take much longer until you felt Bucky’s stuttering thrusts and the spurts of warm cum coating your velvety walls. Bucky completely relaxed on top of you, his breath heavily hitting your sweaty skin. You scratched his back softly coming down from your own high breathing equally as heavily.

“You feeling ok, pretty girl?” Bucky asked quietly.

“Yeah,” you whispered with a stupid grin on your face.

“You did amazing, you know?” Bucky kissed you softly; your stomach fluttering at the action.

“What now?” you couldn’t help but ask.

“Now, I’m going to take care of you,” Bucky said, hopping off you and the bed.

You laid there breathing slowly now. You didn’t have the energy to move at this point. Your inner thighs burned deliciously and the soreness began to be more apparent all over your body. Bucky came back with a warm towel and bottle of water from the kitchen. He cleaned you up with the towel and you could help the soft moans and whimpers that escaped from you. Once you were cleaned, Bucky helped you sit up and held the now open water bottle for you to hydrate yourself. You couldn’t shake the butterflies and chills you got from Bucky’s stare. He couldn’t take his eyes off you anymore; like you hung the moon and stars for him.

“What?” you asked shyly.

“Nothing,” he grinned.

“Come on. You’ve gotta go pee,” he said carrying you in his arms towards his bathroom.

“No, I just want to go to sleep already,” you whined, voice muffled in the crook of his neck.

Bucky sat on you on the toilet and waited for you to… do your business. You just sat there squirming, and shaking from the cold that hit your body.

“Come on. You have to,” Bucky explained.

“I know, but I can’t pee in front of you. I’m shy,” you mumbled.

“Seriously, I just fucked-”

“Bucky, please,” you cut him off.

“Oh alright. Come back to bed when you’re finished, pretty girl,” Bucky said before leaving you.

You couldn’t shake the smile off your face. He was being so caring and nice to you, it warmed your heart. You felt a bit of heartbreak however wondering if this was just a one time thing. You cleaned yourself again and washed your hands before snatching one of Bucky's t-shirts that laid on the floor. When you came out Bucky was fiddling with his camera that was still set-up and your heart dropped.

Had he recorded the whole thing?

“I was gonna delete all the footage, but in all honesty you look so fucking sexy. Might keep it for myself,” he said winking.

“You recorded the whole thing without telling me?” you asked, tearing up.

“I didn’t mean to. I’m not gonna post it anywhere. You sorta screamed my name a few times so footage ain’t good anyway,” he said, making you scoff and roll your eyes.

“Hey, hey. I’m kidding. I’ll delete all of it, I promise,” he cupped your face.

“Come here; I gotta do one more thing for you,” he said, laying you down on the bed once again.

“What are you doing?” Bucky grabbed another towel and some scented lotion placing it on his bedside table.

“I’m gonna give you a massage. You’ll be less sore tomorrow morning. I’ll admit I was a bit rough,” he said, kissing your belly as he lifted his shirt off your body.

“You do this to all the girls you sleep with?” you teased, not really wanting an answer but you’ll play a part if it keeps from being humiliated because of feelings.

“Only the pretty girls,” he says, fully referencing his nickname he gave you a while ago.

“And how many pretty girls might you have?”

“There’s only one,” he whispered; his hands massaging along your back slowly, sensually.

“She must be really lucky,” you whispered too, afraid of speaking too loud.

“If anything, I’d say I’m the lucky one.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, she’s… she’s perfect. Beautiful. Smart. I could go on about her.”

“She sounds like a prude,” you joked.

“She was,” he chuckled.

“But trust me, now she’s a real feisty and sexy woman,” Bucky said before biting down hard on one of your ass cheeks.

“Ow! Bucky!” you squealed, making Bucky laugh.

Bucky tossed the towel away and placed the lotion back on the bedside table before grabbing the blankets and crawling under them with you. He held you close, entangling his legs with yours, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

“You mean all that?” you asked barely audibly.

“Yeah. I do, pretty girl.”

“You don’t have to delete the video,” you smirked, making Bucky laugh out loud.

He kissed your forehead snuggling closer to you, letting peaceful sleep envelop you both.

=============================

ᴛᴀɢʟɪsᴛ: (For all my work)

@mathletemadison​

@buckybarnes101-blog​

@l-sofiamia-l

@pluto-grl

@partr1dge

@stefans-wife

@cordeliaswhore

@fleurlovesbucky

@povsmarvel0720

@missroro

Bucky Barnes Taglist:

@stolenxkissess

@bucknastayyy38

[thorne93]

Masterlist

Updated as of 10/8/2022

Crossovers:

Unforseen Chasm (X-Men and Avengers) - Loki x Reader / Tony Stark x OFC

Fire and Ice (X-Men and Avengers) - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Caught in the Act (Criminal Minds and Supernatural) - Spencer Reid x Reader

Things Left Unsaid (John Wick and The Night Manager) - John Wick x Reader x Jonathan Pine

Past Vs Present (Loki and Star Wars) - Loki x Reader x Anakin Skywalker

The Newcomer (The Covenant & Witches of East End) - Chase Collins x Reader

Aftermath (Avengers and XMen) - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Inside The Criminal Mind (Criminal Minds and Dexter) - Spencer Reid x Reader ft. Dexter

Supernatural:

Dean:

Three’s Company - Dean x Reader x Sam

TD Challenge - Dean, Crowley (no pairing)

Together Forever - Dean x Reader

Happy Birthday - Dean x Reader

Smut / NSFW Drabbles

One Hell of a Surprise - Dean x Reader

Sam:

Crazy in Love - Sam x Reader

Three’s Company - Dean x Reader x Sam

Castiel:

His Hero - Castiel x Reader (Best Friends)

Jack Kline:

Inexplicable Fate - Jack x Reader

Crowley:

The Saddest Thing about Betrayal - Crowley x Reader x Lucifer

TD Challenge - Dean, Crowley (no pairing)

Lucifer:

The Saddest Thing about Betrayal - Crowley x Reader x Lucifer

Benny:

One Year - Benny x Reader

Team Free Will:

Goodbye - Dean, Sam, Cas, OC’s (no pairing)

A Gift for a Friend (Smut) - Dean x Lois (OC) x Cas, Lexi (OC) x Sam

Marvel:

12 Days of Christmas ft Thor, Remy Lebeau, Peter Parker, Dr. Stephen Strange, Pietro

Stan Lee University  

Unforeseen Chasm - Loki x Reader / Tony Stark x OFC

The Stars Made Us - Charles Xavier x Reader / Stephen Strange x Reader

The Choice is Yours - Loki x Reader / with alternative endings with Bucky Barnes or Dr. Strange

Charles Xavier/Professor X:

The Explanation - Charles x OC (self)

Hard Headed - Charles x Reader

Closing Time - Charles x Reader

Trouble in Paradise - Charles x Reader / Stryker x Reader

Signs - Charles x Reader (featuring other X-Men)

United We Stand - Charles x Reader

Days of Future’s Past - Charles x Reader

Table Turn - Charles x Reader

The Right Path - Charles x Reader (Erik friend)

Silver Lining - Charles x Reader

Undying Love - Charles x Reader

Steve Rogers/Captain America:

Once Upon A Dream - Steve x OC

Homesick - Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes

Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier

Homesick - Bucky Barnes x Reader x Steve Rogers

To Protect and Serve - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Don’t Make Me Do This - Bucky Barnes x Reader

No Matter What - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Missed Connection - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Helping Hand - Bucky Barnes x Reader / Loki x Reader

Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver:

Unusual Upbringing - Pietro x Reader

Peter Parker/Spiderman

Chance Encounter - Peter x Reader

The Reason - Peter x Gwen with Reader best friend

Accident - Peter x Reader

Loki Laufeyson/Odinson

Unforeseen Chasm - Loki x reader / Tony Stark x OFC

Savior - Loki x Reader

Faith - Loki, Thor, Reader (No pairing)

Helping Hand - Loki x Reader / Bucky x Reader

It Was Written in Song - Loki x Reader

Anything for Love - Loki x Reader

Something There - Loki x Reader

The Choice is Yours - Loki x Reader

Gambit / Remy Lebeau

Stranger In A Crowd - Remy/Gambit x Reader

Deadly Mistake - Remy/Gambit x Reader

Howard Stark

Awkward Moments - Howard Stark x Reader

Tony Stark

Awkward Moments - Howard Stark x Reader (Ft. Tony Stark)

Unforeseen Chasm - Loki x Reader / Tony Stark x OFC

Teacher’s Pet - Professor!Tony Stark x Reader (smut au) / Professor!Bruce Banner x Reader

Thor Odinson:

Faith - Thor, Loki, Reader (No Pairing)

Vision

It Never Ends - Vision x Wanda, Reader x Vision

Clint Barton/Hawkeye

Paranoia - Clint x Reader

Vision

It Never Ends - Vision x Reader / Vision x Wanda

Bruce Banner

Teacher’s Pet - Professor!Bruce Banner x Reader (smut au) / Professor!Tony Stark x Reader

DC Comics

Insulting - John Constantine x Reader (and OFC)

Criminal Minds:

Best Teacher Award - Spencer Reid x Reader

Fox the Fox - Spencer Reid x Reader

Nerves - Spencer Reid x Reader

Green Eyed Monster - Spencer Reid x Reader

What Are We Gonna Do? - Spencer Reid x Reader

Watch It - Spencer Reid x Reader

Inside The Criminal Mind - Spencer Reid x Reader (ft. Dexter Morgan)

Star Wars:

Revenge of the Jedi - Anakin x OC

Opposites Attract - Kylo Ren x Rey

Sherlock (BBC):

Curious Conundrum - Sherlock Holmes x Reader

Original Stories:

Until I See You Again

Actors:

James McAvoy

Decisions, Decisions - James McAvoy x Reader x Tom Hiddleston

Congrats, Grad - James McAvoy x Reader

Just My Luck - James McAvoy x Reader

Tom Hiddleston

Decisions, Decisions - Tom Hiddleston x Reader x James McAvoy

Lies and Slander - Tom Hiddleston x Reader / Sebastian Stan x Reader

Woes of the Heart - Tom Hiddleston x Reader / Keanu Reeves x Reader (Past)

Be Careful - Tom Hiddleston (Seantor!AU) x Reader / Bill Skarsgard x Reader

Learn From The Master - Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Custody Battle - Tom Hiddleston x Reader (w/ Keanu Reeves ex)

So It Goes… - Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Whirlwind Romance - Chris Evans x Reader / Sebastian Stan x reader / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Sebastian Stan

Lies and Slander - Sebastian Stan x Reader x Tom Hiddleston

Don’t Say Yes - Sebastian Stan x Reader

Why Her? - Sebastian Stan x OFC (Chris Evans x Reader / Chris Evans x OFC)

Lost and Found - Sebastian Stan x Reader

Knight in Shining Armor - Sebastian Stan x Reader

First Impressions - Sebastian Stan x Reader / Hayden Christiensen x Reader

Old Flame, New Problems - Sebastian Stan x Reader / Hayden Christensen x Reader

Be Careful - Tom Hiddleston (Seantor!AU) x Reader / Bill Skarsgard x Reader (Ft. Sebastian Stan)

Blessing - Sebastian Stan x Reader

Whirlwind Romance - Chris Evans x Reader / Sebastian Stan x reader / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Parenting Fail - Sebastian Stan x Reader

Broken Wedding Bells - Sebastian Stan x OFC / Sebastian Stan x Reader

Keanu Reeves

Woes of the Heart - Keanu Reeves x Reader (Past) / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Custody Battle - Keanu Reeves x Reader (Past) / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Chris Evans

Why Her? - Chris Evans x OFC / Chris Evans x Reader

Whirlwind Romance - Chris Evans x Reader / Sebastian Stan x reader / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Hayden Christensen:

First Impressions - Hayden Christiensen x Reader / Sebastian Stan x Reader

Old Flame, New Problems - Hayden Christensen x Reader / Sebastian Stan x Reader

Chris Hemsworth:

Smut/NSFW Drabble

Tom Holland:

Number One - Tom x Reader (Smut)

Bill Skarsgard:

Be Careful - Tom Hiddleston (Senator!AU) x Reader / Bill Skarsgard x Reader

Unexpected Guest - OFC x Reader / Bill Skarsgard x Reader

Jared Padalecki:

Not Your Fault - Jared Padalecki x Reader

Not His - Jared Padalecki x Reader

Jensen Ackles:

That’s Why - Jensen Ackles x Reader

Once Upon A Time (TV Series):

Who Will Win? - Jefferson x Reader

Split:

This Isn’t Stockholm - Kevin/Dennis…etc x Reader

Tag Team (smut) - Barry and Dennis x Reader

Victor Frankenstein:

Not What You Thought It Was - Victor x Reader

Fantastic Beasts:

The Softest Fire - Newt Scamander x Rosaline Vaughan (OFC)

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Forever

One Shot: How To Dismantle Bucky Barnes

Intro: Bucky is acting kinda stressed out. Both Sam and Katie thinks they know what the problem is. The only issue is, how to fix it? Easy when you’re a Stark with a very manipulative mind…

Warnings: Bad language. Smut! (NSFW) and no under 18s.

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x OFC Jen O’Donahue, Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Rogers (nee Stark)

Ok so this takes place in the SSB universe after the events of Endgame, later on in 2024. You don’t have to have read that series to understand or enjoy this but the characters will make more sense if you have.

This is based on @jtargaryen18​ ‘s master piece “How to Dismantle Steve Rogers” and I thank her WHOLEHEARTEDLY for letting me use her format and idea. And I’m not gonna lie, I had a lot of fun with this one!!

If you are currently reading Stark Spangled Banner as it is being reposted then this contains MAJOR SPOILERS and I recommend you wait until you’ve finished so you don’t spoil anything!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Stark Spangled Forever Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 September 2024

“You’re an idiot…” Sam’s voice carried up the hallway to the kitchen as they entered the Rogers household “A total, moronic idiot…” “Quit it Sam.” Bucky’s voice dripped with annoyance. Katie glanced at Steve who arched an eyebrow at his wife the pair of them wondering why they had given them an access key each…

“I didn’t think it was possible but you actually are as dumb as you look.” Sam snorted.

“One more word out of you and I’m gonna kick your stupid, seagull ass-”

“Err, we can hear you in here!” Steve called loudly, cutting his friend off “And there are young ears about.”

There was some muffled grumbling, followed by what sounded like someone being shoved into the wall before Bucky walked into the kitchen, face dark as thunder. Sam followed behind, grin spreading from cheek to cheek as he rubbed at his chest.

Bucky stopping to gently tickle Rori’s cheek where she sat in the high-chair, her legs flailing as she was still in the bouncer seat, not being big enough or old enough yet to sit up. She gave him a huge smile which melted his heart as he returned it.

“Hey Sweetie!” he grinned, and she waggled her legs and arms excitedly. After a few more soft words to his god-daughter he turned and ruffled Jamie’s hair as Sam offered the 4 year old a hi-five which he eagerly took.

“Damned Buck!” Katie looked at him from where she was plating up food. “You get a hair-cut?”

Bucky flushed slightly and ran his hands through his short crop “Yeah…”

“Looks good.” she smiled and he beamed at her.

“Fancied a change.” he shrugged.

“Hasn’t worked, you’re still a dumbass.” Sam said.

“What’s a dub-mass?” Jamie piped up from his seat at the table. Steve gave an exasperated groan.

“Nothing honey.” Katie said, dropping a plate of stir-fry in front of her son as Steve shot Sam a glare “Uncle Sam is just being silly, don’t worry about it.”

Jamie shrugged, placated by the food and began to tuck in. Katie dodged round Steve making her way to the stove, whilst her husband grabbed the pre-expressed bottle and unfastened their 4 month old daughter from her chair. She grabbed eagerly at his beard as he sat down at the table and began to feed her, smiling softly as she eagerly took the milk, her eyes focussing all the time on his.

“You guys want eats?” Katie asked, looking at the two men. “I made plenty.” It was a stupid question really, as both men nodded eagerly and dropped into the spare seats round the table. Once Steve had finished feeding Aurora and Jamie was cleaned up and in the lounge watching TV, Katie dished out the adults’ food before she handed them a plate each. She gave Rori her rabbit comforter toy to keep her occupied and they all began to tuck in.

No more was said about Bucky’s encounter with the hairstylist until much later, when Jamie was tucked up for the night and the 4 adults were on the veranda round the fire pit, Rori snoozing in her basket which was stood on the stand just inside the kitchen door where Katie and Steve could see her clearly.

“Where’s Emmy?” Sam asked and Katie snorted as Steve shifted slightly.

“She’s on a date.” he grumbled.

“With who?” Bucky asked.

“Parker.” “As in Peter Parker?” Bucky frowned “The Spider Kid?”

Steve nodded.

“Punk.” Bucky snorted.

“Aww he’s a good kid.” Katie said, “Leave him alone.”

“She’s too young.” Steve grumbled and Katie laughed.

“Baby, she’s sevenet this year.”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t care.”

Katie shook her head and watched as Sam and Bucky were bickering again.

“Ok, what is going on?” she frowned “Sam why you giving Buck such a hard time?” Sam grinned “Because he is an idiot. He went on another date with Jennifer last night, and then she asked him back to hers…and he literally burned the poor girl.”

Bucky growled at Sam “I swear to God…” “Burned?” Steve frowned.

“Yeah, get this…he’s walked her home and she asks him in, so he goes in, and then he does a bunk.”

Bucky glared at him “That’s not what happened…”

Katie frowned, she hadn’t spoken to Jennifer that day and was quite surprised, actually, that if something had gone wrong her friend hadn’t called.

“Buck!” Steve sighed, shaking his head. “You promised when you started dating you wouldn’t let this get awkward…”

“Oh Shut up Stevie.” Bucky snarled out his name “Just because you’re all loved up now, let’s not forget how hopeless you used to be around dames. Do you really want me tell the story about the Chorus Girl who tried for 3 months to get a bit of the old Star Spangled D and you were too fucking dumb to realise?”

Steve narrowed his eyes as Katie and Sam looked at each other with glee.

“No.” He glared at Bucky, at the same time his wife and friend nodded.

“Yes,”

“Absolutely.”

“Oh Captain Rogers, I think I have something in my eye!” Bucky said, his voice airy as he imitated a women, batting his eyelashes ridiculously “Oh Captain Rogers, can you zip my skirt up for me, its stuck and I’m scared I’ll rip the material…Oh Captain Rogers, I just got caught in that rain, I’m all wet and my top is sticking to me…” “Fuck off.” Steve said, as Sam and Katie both laughed. Bucky looked at Katie shaking his head. “And you tell me this Punk he made the first move on you?” he shook his head “You must have been really fucking obvious…” “Well, it took him long enough.” Katie grinned as she stood up, dropping her arms round Steve’s neck and pecking his cheek.

“What is this? Pick on Steve night?” Steve pouted as his wife headed over to the bar at the side of the veranda, pulling out 4 more beers.

“Just like every night.” Sam chuckled.  

She gave a beer to Sam and then Steve, both of who thanked her before she made her way over to Bucky was positively glowering. She handed him a beer and he looked up at her mumbling a thanks.

“Buck.” She consoled softly, whilst Steve and Sam were bickering well naturedly “They’re only teasing.”

He sighed “I know, I just…didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“And that’s not because you were with Jen, obviously.” She raised her eyebrows. “Dreams?”

He raised his eyebrows in a confirmative manner.

She sat down next to him. “That have any bearing on why you cut your hair?” He gave a small chuckle “I swear to God you can read minds.”

“No, just people.” She smiled

“I just, well I wanna feel more like me, you know?” he shrugged.

She smiled “Yeah, I get it. You know, if it makes you feel any better Steve had nightmares for years you know. About the War, crashing into the ice.”

He looked at her “Yeah?” “Yeah.” she nodded.

“How did he get them to stop?”

“Honestly?” she smiled “Sleeping with me. Said having me in the bed made him feel safe.” Bucky snorted “Yeah, not sure Steve would go for that somehow.” Katie smacked him gently round the back of the head and he laughed, before his face became serious again. “They’d stopped in Wakanda.” he signed, looking at the label on his bottle. “But since coming back…” “You think we didn’t have them post the Last Stand?” she looked at him. “Jesus Bucky, I kept re-living that moment I thought we were all dead for months and seeing Tony snap over and over again…” She trailed off, taking a deep breath “We’re human at the end of the day, it’s natural and you have horrors in your past that even the most sympathetic of people cannot begin to comprehend.”

He bit his lip and looked down at his lap.

“Look, if you ever wanna talk, about anything without these two being around…” she jerked her thumb at Steve and Sam “You know where I am.”

“Thanks.” he said, flashing her a smile. She patted his knee gently and then stood up, making her way over to where Steve was sat, dropping onto his knee lightly.

Draining his beer Bucky stood up “I’m gonna take off.”

Steve frowned “How come?”

“Tired.” he mumbled “Katie, thanks for dinner.”

“Any time.” she said, making to stand but he waved her away.

“I’ll see myself out.”

Grabbing his jacket he strode over the patio, up the steps and into the house.

There was a pause as the 3 of them watched him go.

“What’s up with him?” Steve asked.

Before Katie could reply, Sam chipped in.

“He’s backed up.”

“What?” Steve frowned.

“He needs to get laid.” Katie replied, shrugging.

Since everyone had returned, she had seen how Bucky was getting more and more uptight, especially around her and Steve. Whenever Steve had shown her a bit of affection she had noticed his friend would avert his eyes or make an excuse to leave the room. And she knew it wasn’t because he was uncomfortable around PDAs or anything like that. No, it was frustration. That his best friend was getting some and he wasn’t. 

Then, one evening last year she’d noticed a subtle change in his frosty, outward demeanour when Jen had come round for dinner.

And thus, Katie Rogers plan to dismantle Bucky Barnes had been born.

Step 1- The Right Bait

Setting it up had been easy.  Katie had instantly spotted the attraction between the pair. She’d seen the chatter at the dinner table, the way Jennifer had tucked her hair behind her ears when Bucky was talking to her, a Double Tuck nonetheless.  So, a few months into the new year, once things had settled down after Steve had taken his 15 year holiday back in the 50s through 70s, Katie had seized the opportunity to send Bucky to Jennifer’s coffee shop- Has-Bean. She knew Monday’s were delivery days for the woman, and 9 times out of 10 Steve went along to help her out with the heavy lifting because Steve Rogers was nothing if not a gentleman, and after seeing her struggle one Monday when they had called in for an early morning coffee, had taken it upon himself to help out. But not that Monday. Oh no, Katie had used her pregnancy to her advantage, claiming she wasn’t feeling too good and she’d been clingy, real clingy, giving Steve no alternative but to stay at home. But rather than leave Jenifer in the lurch, Katie had suggested to Steve that maybe Bucky could help.

So Steve had asked him to go along.

And he had.

And Bucky kept going each Monday from then on. Without fail.  

But there had been no date arranged. So Katie had stepped it up a little bit. On Steve’s birthday, the Rogers’ had hosted a gathering for their friends and family. Casual enough to be relaxed, but in the same breath everyone had used it as an excuse to don a nice outfit. They had stood in the garden watching the fireworks and Bucky had given Jenifer a hesitant kiss on the cheek. The red head had flushed and, emboldened by champagne, asked Bucky for a real kiss. And in the dark of the garden, away from prying eyes (or so he thought, as Katie had seen everything) he’d obliged. And a few days later they’d gone on their first date.

Problem solved, right?

Wrong.

Katie really tried not to be nosey, she really did. But she’d enrolled Brooke, Jen’s daughter and Emmy’s best friend into keeping her up to date on happenings, the teenager being over the moon her mom was finally dating again. But so far Brooke had brought her no news that Bucky had even entered their home, let alone that things were progressing slightly beyond the dating stage despite the fact they were now almost 3 months down the line. 

Katie knew that, despite what Steve had told her about Bucky before the war,  Bucky wasn’t in this for a quick hook-up. Yes he was still the cheeky James Barnes of old, but she knew from the times he had opened up to her that he wasn’t that person to chase a skirt for simple gratification anymore. Whilst under mind control with Hydra, to keep him satisfied they either brought him women or taken him to women. Willing paid women, yes,  but the memories of the quick fucks on dirty mattresses in cells and run down whore houses stuck with him and made him feel sick. Since then there had been one woman, in Bucharest, that he’d sort of had a thing with but that had been cut short when he’d found out she was married. He hadn’t needed that sort of trouble so he had ended it. 

So, with all that in mind, plus the fact Jennifer wasn’t the type for a casual hook up either, it wasn’t totally surprising that things were going slow, but 2 and a bit months of dating was just fucking ridiculous. Even her and Steve had ‘done stuff’ before that! And it wasn’t like the chemistry wasn’t there. Katie had watched the two of them when she saw them together. Bucky eyed Jennifer with a thirst Katie had seen a few times in Steve’s eyes when he was having filthy thoughts. A stare at her ass or tits here, the biting or licking of a lip there all confirmed to her the fact that the Winter Soldier was backed up.

Sam had called it.

And Jennifer wasn’t the problem. When Bucky wasn’t paying attention the red head looked at him like she wanted to climb him like a tree. 

So what exactly did she need to do here?

“You ok?” Steve asked, jerking her from her thoughts with a squeeze to her thigh.

“Yeah, sorry, was just thinking.” she smiled at him, thinking back to the first time her and Steve had made out after a baseball game and a few drinks in a bar…

And then she had a plan. A brilliant plan.

She knew just what to do…

Step 2.  Proper Motivation

Letting out a sigh Jen served the next customer, lost in her own little world. She’d been seeing Bucky now for a few months and was still trying to get her head around that. She was seeing Bucky Barnes. The Winter Soldier, Avenger. But she had quickly realised that behind the legend and the gruff exterior he was just, well, sweet.

She’d first met Bucky one evening at Katie’s house and had enjoyed his company, but it wasn’t until a month or so later when he had turned up at the coffee shop in Steve’s place that she’d really talked to him properly. 

“Well, well, well, you decided to pay me a visit!” Jennifer grinned.

“Yeah,  err…hi!” Bucky smiled at her “Steve mentioned he normally helps on a Monday and seeing as he’s not available I thought I’d offer, you know, with the delivery…”

She beamed “You are a life saver!”

He’d helped her move the boxes and unpack, sharing easy chat with her about her business, New York in general, his time in the 40s with Steve…and by the end of it her cheeks were aching from laughing in a way she hadn’t laughed in years.

“Anyway, I think that we’ve earned a break” she said after they’d finished an hour or so later.  “What can I get you?” she gestured to the menus written in chalk on the wall above the machines.

“What’s good?” he asked, frowning slightly.

“Everything, I make it.” she smirked and he gave a huff of a laugh “But it depends. You got a sweet tooth?”

“I’m not averse to the odd bit of sugar.” he grinned back, and she’d felt her cheeks flush at the fact he was flirting with her.

She let out a soft laugh, smiling. “In that case I recommend the caramel macchiato, and one of my mint choc brownies.” “You’re the expert.” he winked.

“Take a seat, I’ll bring it over.”

Bucky had continued to help out every Monday, without fail, but it wasn’t until New Year’s Eve that anything had happened. After they had shared a soft kiss, he’d asked her on a date, and she’d gleefully accepted. So they’d gone to restaurants, done the whole New York sightseeing thing (which was more for his benefit as it had all changed so much), been to the theatre, seen movies, had lunch…and it had all seemed to be going well. 

Jenifer hadn’t dated since the death of her husband some 15 years ago, so this was a huge step for her. But Bucky had made it easy. He was old fashioned, he liked to open doors for her, let her pick where they ate, pulled out her chair for her, all the things she had seen Steve do for Katie. He always walked her back to the apartment above the shop, but never pressed to come inside, seeming content to kiss her goodnight at the door. It was endearing how shy he seemed. But then, 2 nights ago something had changed.

And it had descended into a cluster fuck.

In the middle of the afternoon she had been forced to cancel their date for the afternoon as the member of staff who was due to cover was ill. But Bucky had surprised her and brought the date to her. Armed with some Thai food he’d shown up at closing time, cheeky smile on his face. He had helped her finish up, meaning she was done in record time and then they’d sat by the counter with their food, the conversation flowing as it always did…until he had stolen the last steamed dumpling.

“Hey, I was gonna eat that!” she pouted.

“Snooze you lose.” he quipped and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“That isn’t very chivalrous, Sergeant…”

His eyes had darkened as he’d bitten off half of the offending item before offering her the other half. She’d taken it, her eyes locking onto his, and then before she could even register what was happening Bucky was kissing the life out of her. His hands had gripped her hips, hers fisted in his hair which was loose, his stubble rubbing her face raw. It was delectable, exciting, and then as his hands had brushed the strip of skin that had been exposed just above her waistline she had shivered at the feel of his touch, one flesh, one metal, but both equally gentle…it was exciting, or so she had thought.

He’d pulled back suddenly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Huh?” Jennifer’s head was a whirl of lust and she was struggling to understand what had just happened? Why did he just stop?

He ran a hand through his dark hair, cheeks flushing, his eyes were sad as he avoided her gaze.

“That was uncalled for,” he muttered. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” She asked again.

Bucky had simply taken a deep breath, pressed a kiss to her forehead before he stood up and headed towards the door. Was he embarrassed? No, she could see from the look on his face that wasn’t it.

“Buck?” She jumped up to follow him to the door. “It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong…”

He turned and smiled at her softly. God she loved that smile.

“I’ve got an early morning. We have a meeting with the DOD so I’d better go.”

With that he was gone.

Jennifer made all sorts of excuses for him in her head. Maybe he was tired. But the further into the night she got, the more she began to think she was fooling herself. She wasn’t in Bucky Barnes’ league. Maybe he just wasn’t interested.

Her gloom carried into the next day compounded by the fact he hadn’t called or messaged at all. She had contemplated calling Katie to see if she knew what was going on, but had decided to leave it a day or so to let Bucky get over whatever issue he had.  But after almost 36 hours there was no contact whatsoever and she was getting a little antsy. 

“Hey!”  a familiar voice called and she looked up, smiling, as Katie pushed the buggy containing her goddaughter over to the counter.

“Hi!” she beamed. “What brings you down here?”

“I came to ask a favour.” Katie smiled “Well, sorta. Long story short I need a night off. From being a mom…I was kinda hoping you’d be up for a few drinks.” “Tonight?” Jennifer asked 

“Yeah.” Katie nodded “I thought Brooke might like to stay at ours and they can annoy the shit out of Steve like normal.”

Jennifer ponded the invitation for a moment. It wasn’t like she had any other plans. And if she was honest, a good blow out and a chat might be just the thing.

“Alright.” she nodded “What time?”

“Why don’t you come to mine for 8ish and we’ll get Steve to drop us off?” Katie smiled. “Em and Brooke will be ok with Jamie for a little while, Rori can sleep in the car seat.”

Jennifer nodded,  “Sure…” and then her attention was taken by another customer.

“I’ll leave you to it.” Katie smiled, heading back out of the shop. As soon as she was gone she picked up the phone and called Sam.

“We’re on…” she said simply, before she smirked and headed towards her car.

****

Bucky walked besides Sam, hands shoved in his pockets, fists clenching slightly. He really didn’t want to be out tonight but Sam had insisted. Mind you, it had given him an excuse to avoid going to Steve’s to watch the game. He loved Steve like a brother, he really did, but recently the way the blonde punk fawned over his wife was starting to set his teeth on edge. His hands on her back or hips when he passed her, a soft lingering peck on the lips here and there, the way she sat on his lap and he ran his hand up her thigh…Living with them had been torture towards the end. He was grateful for them putting him up for how long they did, and he knew they hadn’t been doing it on purpose but his ears were sharp… and it seemed like the lucky son-of-a-bitch was getting some every goddamned night, and sometimes in the morning too.  

He was happy for the Punk, he really was but, simply put, he was jealous, even if he hated admitting it. Not because he wanted Katie per-se (although he wasn’t blind-Katie was an attractive woman) but because he craved some form of tender touch and he’d almost gotten some 2 nights ago.

Almost.

When he had first met Jennifer 7 months ago on Steve’s doorstep she’d instantly blown him away. She was stunning, long legs, curves, bright green eyes that sparkled with mischief and a smile that made the world stop.  And then he had gotten to know her during the time he spent helping out at the shop and realised that she was funny, clever, with an outgoing spirit that he loved. He’d wanted to ask her out on a date almost immediately but it wasn’t until July 4th at Steve’s birthday bash when she’d asked him for a proper kiss instead of a peck on the cheek when he had finally plucked up the courage to do so, no longer fearing the rejection.

And so he’d taken her out. Weekly in fact, every week since. And still helped at the coffee shop. Everything about the woman put him at ease. She helped him catch up on a lot of things she had missed, and when he stumbled on things he wasn’t familiar with or didn’t understand she didn’t instantly launch into an explanation unless he asked. For which he was grateful. It made him feel less inadequate that way.  

And she was tactile. And it was nice, Bucky hadn’t known anything but harsh physical contact for longer than he cared to remember. But Jennifer seemed to enjoy toughing him. She’d take his hand, lay her head on his shoulder as they walked, and then that time in the restaurant where she had brushed her ankle against his and then gently touched his knee as she stood up to go to the bathroom…well he wasn’t proud of it but he’d had a raging hard on for the rest of the date.

2 nights ago she’d cancelled on him, with a genuine excuse, so he’d taken the initiative and turned up at the shop with a takeout to help her close up. He’d stolen the last steamed dumpling, and then she’d teased him, calling him Sergeant which was enough to send a spike of desire right through his body and he’d acted before he’d thought about it, gripping her hips and pulling her to him, kissing her hard… and then he’d felt her tremble when his hands had brushed a strip of bare skin just about her jeans. He’d scared the shit out of her. So, he had made his excuses and bailed.

“Frosty?” Sam asked, and Bucky turned to look at him. He’d stopped outside a bar.

“Sorry, miles away.” Bucky shrugged, following him in. And no sooner had he done so he stopped dead.

“Hey, is that Katie and Jen?” Sam asked, and Bucky had to do a double-take honestly because at first, he didn’t recognize her. He had no issue with the way Jen normally dressed around him, figure hugging jeans, feminine tops or dresses and jackets that showed off her curves, and the way that fiery red hair normally fell around her face and shoulders…to him she was stunning as she was but there, right now?

Jesus fucking Christ. 

Her hair was twisted back in some form of bun, showing off her neck and shoulders which were bare thanks to the strapless, knee-length pale blue dress she was wearing, which had a slit up the right side through which he could see a perfect flash of alabaster thigh. Her lips were stained a bright red, like the women of his time, her legs bare, high heels on her feet. 

Next to her, Katie was sat wearing a floating gold dress, chatting to another one of the men, laughing as she turned to Jennifer and said something, causing her to laugh. Her face lit up with a smile as she replied and then turned to the man on her right who gently put his hand on the base of her back.

What. The. Fuck?

Bucky’s fists clenched as he watched Jennifer lean closer to say something to him, and the man nodded, laughing, before he waved to the bar tender, hand still on his girl. Before he could march over there and demand to know what was going on, Jennifer stood up and said something before she headed out to the bathroom. 

Before Bucky could stop himself, he marched after her.

**** Jen had started the night off feeling a little bit uncomfortable. She’d shown up to Katie’s dressed in a pair of tight, black cropped trousers and a white low cut vest top but there’d been an accident involving a glass of red wine when Katie had tripped on something and managed to throw it all down her. Her best friend had been so apologetic and mortified, but it wasn’t a complete disaster. Katie had a wardrobe that would make most celebrities jealous and in no time she had convinced Jen to try on the dress she was now wearing. It was a bit much for a Friday night out in Brooklyn bars but Katie was dressed up too so she supposed it was nice to make an effort every once in a while. Plus, she felt good in it. Which was nice considering how shit she’d felt the other day when Bucky had bailed on her.

A quick restyle of her hair to compliment the cut of her dress and they were on their way, Steve dropping them at their bar of choice and telling them to have a good time. They’d walked into the bar, ordered a bottle of wine and sat on the stools, where Jen had opened her heart and told Katie everything that had happened with Bucky. Katie had listened, sympathetically and then added her own pearls of wisdom suggesting that Bucky was a lot more shy than people expected. Their conversation had been cut short when two men had joined them, Katie jumping up to hug them both before introducing them to Jennifer as 2 of her old colleagues from SHIELD. The two men had been nice, included her in the conversation, and Jennifer had found herself actually enjoying their company. The dark haired one, a man called Ben,or Lawson as Katie called him, was interesting and had been entertaining her with a few tales of Katie at SHIELD, but then he’d started getting a bit touchy feely. And, despite the clear lack of communication from Bucky she still considered herself his. So she’d excused herself and gone to the bathroom. 

After re-doing her make-up, she was seriously considering heading back to the apartment and pulling on a pair of comfy pyjamas and settling with a nice bottle of rioja in front of the TV. Wondering if Katie would actually care, she snapped her purse shut, pulled open the door and did a double take as she found Bucky right outside it. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest and she didn’t miss the way his gaze flew up and down her body as she stepped closer.  

“Buck, hi.” she greeted him “What are you doing here?”

“I was out for a drink with Sam, wasn’t expecting to see you. And from what I just saw at the bar I’d say it was clear you weren’t expecting me to either.” Oh shit. He was mad. 

Jen swallowed hard “That wasn’t…that wasn’t what it looked like.”

“No?”

“No.” she shook her head “I don’t even know that guy, he’s a friend of Katie’s from work, well her old work, SHIELD…” Bucky didn’t say anything, he merely held her gaze. She knew how it looked. Worse she was dressed as she was, making her feel a little bit uneasy as she never wore outfits like this normally. She glanced at Bucky, he was dressed in a simple black button down and black jeans, looking damned good, but his entire body language was off. The shy, gently Bucky Barnes she knew had been replaced by someone else. He was harsh, angry, even.

And then she felt herself getting mad.

This was the man that had darted out of her apartment the other night, and hadn’t even called her. And now he was here, getting all pissy because some guy had shown her a bit of attention?

Fuck that.

In that split moment Bucky saw her whole body language change, from one of a kid being caught with their hand in the cookie jar to a parent who was about to deliver a very stern telling off. And he wasn’t wrong.

“Actually, I don’t have to explain myself to you.” she folded her arms, mimicking his stance. “You ran out on me 2 nights ago. You haven’t called, anything…” Bucky swallowed, and momentarily he felt a little sideswiped, but he fast recovered his composure.

“So you just what? Go on a date with someone else?”

“This isn’t a date you dickhead!” she practically snarled “I’ve never me the guy before, but for the record, it’s kinda nice to be wanted you know what I mean? Now if you’ll excuse me…”

Wait? Is that what she thought? That he didn’t want her? Fuck, no, that wasn’t right.

He reached out and grabbed her arm gently to stop her leaving and she turned to face him. Once more his eyes skated up and down her body and before he could stop himself he had pulled her to him, so she was flush against his body.

“You’re supposed to be my girl.” he whispered, looking into her eyes.

“Am I?” she swallowed, her voice shy, meek almost. And fuck, that turned him on even more.

“Yeah…”

“Then I am, fucking hell Bucky…” she groaned, her lips meeting his in a fierce kiss. He backed her up against the wall, his thigh planted firmly between hers as much as it could thanks to the tight dress she was wearing, the kiss intensifying until the pair of them jumped apart as 2 other people came into the corridor to use the bathroom, smirking as they passed the couple.

Bucky looked at her, shaking his head “The other night…” he began “I know I scared you��” Jennifer frowned “No you didn’t.” 

“You were shaking.” Bucky said “There’s no need to pretend what…” “Bucky Barnes I’m a grown ass woman.” she said sternly “I think I know what I was feeling…”

His eyes widened, so if she hadn’t been shaking in fear…then…oh. 

Oh.

“And I know what I want…” she smirked, grabbing the shirt just underneath his collar and spinning them around. Backing up, she dragged him into the ladies and pushed him into a cubicle, locking it behind her. As soon as she turned to face him, Bucky had her pinned against the door, his hands skirting up her dress, gently teasing the outside of her thighs as she kissed him, hard, hands running through his hair.

“For the record…”she pulled back, tugging on the short locks a the top of his head “I’m liking this…”

A low growl rumbled in his throat as he pushed her skirt up over her hips, planting his thigh in between hers. She let out a moan as he pushed up into her spot, the harsh denim grinding on her spot. She was soaked already, and when his fingers hooked into the top of the very skimpy lacy underwear she was wearing, her clit throbbed from the slight pressure as he tore the garment easily in half, tossing it to the floor.

“Fuck…” Jennifer mumbled as his lips caught the pulse point on her neck, her head falling back against the cubicle door as his fingers slid into her folds, one circling her clit. 

“This what you want?” he asked, his breath was low.

“God, yes…” she muttered as his fingers picked up the pace. He inserted on inside, and her head fell onto his shoulder as he curled it forward against her spot. It was such a fucking turn on to see her trembling at his touch, trembling he now understood in a good way. With his other hand he pulled down the top of her dress, freeing her breasts and he gave a groan as he realised she wasn’t wearing a bra. He gently rolled one nipple in between his teeth, his other hand still fucking her gently and she let out a gasp.. 

“Bucky for God’s Sake just fuck me already…” 

He grinned at her, removing his hand.

“Yes Ma’am…” he said, as her hands flew to the buckle on his belt before opened his jeans, her fingers pushing them and his boxers down, allowing his cock to spring loose.

“You got any…” he began and she shook her head.

“No need, I got that covered…and I’m clean so as long as you are…” she looked at him and he nodded, as he gently hooked his hands under her knees and lifted her so her legs were round his waist. Once more he claimed her mouth with a heated kiss, swallowing the groan she gave as he pushed into her.  

Jesus…her heat almost paralysed him, but after a second or two to let them both adjust he began to move, slowly at first, gently finding a rhythm that suited them both.

“I’m going to make you feel so good, Sweetheart.” he said and she groaned again as he gently rutted up into her, his mouth finding her breasts again. The noises she was making were turning him on even more as he picked up his pace slightly, and the more he gave the more she wanted. 

Soon the bathroom was filled with the sinful sound of skin on skin, moans and groans, and the rattling of the cubicle door as Bucky fucked into her again and again. Her hands were in his hair, up his back, under his shirt, gently tracing the scars on his shoulder from behind but he didn’t give a fuck, in fact, in a twisted way he liked the feel of her soft touch over the raised skin. He continued to slam into her again and again, lips kissing down her jawline, neck, across her collar bone and down to her breasts again, and she gave a loud squeak. 

“God I wanted you so fucking much…”She gasped, bringing his head up to kiss hers again, her hands on his cheeks.

“Feeling’s mutual doll” he moaned into her mouth, the noise of the door behind them was rattling even louder. 

Jen felt her core tightened as a wave of pleasure swelled within her. Her shoes were somewhere on the floor as her heels dug into that ass she had admired for so long, nails scratching slightly at his skin as her hands slid under his skirt again. The door behind her continued to squeak, grind, and rattle.

“I’m…”

“You going to come for me?” Bucky asked as he kissed down her neck, biting at her collar bone. She nodded with a groan, and her head banged back against the door.

“Shit, Bucky…” and then she clamped around him hard as her release took her. Her entire body shook as the white hot tendrils coursed around her from head to toe, the entire world spinning. Bucky gave a strangled groan that bubbled from the depths of this chest, and he clutched her to him, tightly, hips stuttering as he shuddered with the utter intensity of it all.

A very loud groan and then a scream erupted from Jenifer as the door collapsed behind them, and sent the pair of them falling. In a flash Bucky wrapped himself around her, pivoting so that his back hit the floor first and Jenifer fell against his chest.

There was a moment’s pause before she began to laugh, and Bucky couldn’t help but chuckle as well as she looked at him and he helped her to her feet.

“Erm…so we broke the door.” She said between her laughter as she adjusted her dress, smoothing back her hair as Bucky did up his pants, tucking his shirt back in. 

He ran his hand over her hip, up to her neck and pulled her back in for a softer kiss and when he pulled away he was amazed at how relaxed and less tired and stressed he felt. 

Who’d have thought it? All he needed was a good fuck.

But now as he looked at the woman in front of him he realised fucking wasn’t enough. He wanted to take her home and lavish affection on every inch of her body.  

“Was that okay?” Jennifer asked, looking at him “I know it’s not exactly how a first time together should be but…” “Are you kidding?” Bucky chuckled, pulling her into his arms. “That was incredible but you’re right. I’d really like to take you home and do it properly, a little more caring maybe…as soon as I can.”

“My apartment’s free…” she whispered, as he kissed her again before he pulled back and grinned.

“What are we waiting for?” he asked, and with a last glance down at the broken door, she took his hand and led him back into the corridor. 

As they walked across the bar it didn’t escape Bucky’s notice that Sam was sat with the two men Jenifer had explained were friend’s of Katie’s, and that his best friend’s wife was nowhere to be seen.

And it all clicked into place. He realised he had been well and truly played. ‘Mrs Rogers, you cheeky little minx…’

3. Closing Analysis

“And he’s gone!” Sam smirked, watching Bucky stalk across the busy bar area after Jennifer “I gotta hand it to you…it would seem that Steve isn’t the only Rogers with a plan.”

“Yeah, I’m intrigued…” Evans said, draping a hand over her shoulder, “How did you know it would work?”

“Remember that time, years ago, when Steve and I had been on the baseball, and you commented on how Rumlow had been eye-fucking me all night?” she turned to her former sniper partner. He nodded “Well let’s just say it sparked something in Captain America that night.”

Evans and Lawson both chuckled. 

“And on that note…” Katie said, draining her glass as her phone flashed with a message from her husband “My ride home is here.”

“Seems Jen isn’t the only one with a super soldier waiting to ravish her…” Lawson quipped. 

Katie smirked “That and I have no intention of being here when they come out and realise we set the whole thing up.” “We?” Sam asked. “You were complicit…” she said, draining her glass. She turned to give Evans and Lawson a hug.

“Good to see you boys, stop by the house soon, come say hi.”

“Best get your chef on Nova.” Evans grinned, “You owe us.” “Oh admit it.” she smirked “You enjoyed the thrill of being on a Covert Op again.” “Think it’s Tin Man that’s gonna be enjoying that particular thrill…” Sam quipped, making her snort. 

“If they make it that far…” she smirked, pulling on her jacket. “Night boys.”

She made her way outside and over to the Audi, climbing into the passenger seat.

“Hey baby, you have a nice time?” Steve asked as she leaned over to give him a peck.

She grinned “Yeah, although not as nice as Bucky and Jen it would seem.” “What did you do?” he asked, looking at her suspiciously. 

“Nothing…just gave them a friendly shove…” she said, pausing as she felt her phone vibrate in her bag. It was a text. from Bucky 

“Expect a bill for a toilet cubicle door…”

She gave a loud laugh and showed it to Steve who groaned, shaking his head.

“Oh it’s not like we never fucked in a bathroom before.” she laughed, and he was about to reply when he stopped and grinned, nodding out of the windscreen. Katie followed his gaze as Jen and Bucky came out of the bar, hand in hand, and straight to a waiting cab. As Bucky opened the door to let Jenifer in he turned slowly to his right, locked eyes with Katie and raised his metal hand, leaving a single digit extended in her direction. The middle one to be exact before he grinned climbed into the car.

“You know, you don’t need to look so smug about it…” Steve said, a smile playing on his face as he eyed his wife who sat back in her seat. She gave him a shrug, smirking and he chuckled as he pulled the car away from the kerb. 

Ok, so she’d clearly underestimated the ex-assassin, maybe he had twigged it had been a set up. But that didn’t matter. Her plan had worked.

Katie Rogers had just successfully dismantled Bucky Barnes. 

[samthemarvelfan]

Hard Day’s Night: One Shot

Summary: CEO!Bucky is a dick. He takes out his frustration on the one person he shouldn’t have. Honestly? The dude just needs to get laid.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC, feat: Wanda Maximoff

Warnings: Angst, Smut!

A/N: This is just a small idea that hit me outta no where! I hope you enjoy! 18+ please!

Taglist: @iheartsebastianstan @jjlizz @stuckysbabe @sk493494 @lefoutoir @nickangel13 @marvelismysafezone @lilulo-12 @warmvanillafeels @star-spangled-beard-burn @ravenesque @pinknerdpanda @wintersoldierissucharide @snapcapquartet @ellen-reincarnated1967 @unlistedpond @my-drowning-in-time @supernaturalwintersoldier @kimvmarvel @roseboho @disaffectedbarnes​ (strikethrough means the tag didn’t work! I’m sorry!)

Your heels echoed through the halls of the empty lobby. A sound you’ve come to enjoy, because it meant you can enjoy your morning in peace.

It was calm—serene, even. The best part of getting here a full hour before your co-workers; having your coffee in peace and watch the sun come up over the Hudson.

You’d ditched the heels the second you got to your floor, no way you’d suffer in those things and not have anyone around to see you in them.

The ‘refreshment room’, as you’d been instructed to call it, was always fully stocked with snacks, essentials, and coffee. You hummed to yourself, deciding on an iced vanilla latte. Being sure to stir it carefully, not wanting to splash it on your white top.

You were about to take that first delightful sip, when you heard someone walk in behind you.

“Would you look at that, just the person I wanted to see.” The voice called from behind you.

You have got to be shitting me. You grumbled internally.

Clearing your throat, you turn around, plastering on the fakest work smile you could.

“Mr. Barnes, I didn’t expect to see you so early.” You greet, smoothing our your black pencil skirt.

James Barnes was the foremost author of the decade. 12 Novels, a TV series, and a screenplay—I guess the guy liked to keep busy.

“Could’ve fooled me.” He said curtly, gesturing to you stocking-clad feet.

You felt heat rise to your cheeks with embarrassment. “Oh. I’m sorry, Sir. I’m just usually alone this early and I thought—“

“You thought you’d treat my office like it’s your home?” He quipped.

You shook your head quickly, “No, no I was only—“

“Forget it. Listen, these sales reports? They’re horrendous. Who taught you how to summarize an account?” He was already in a mood...and it wasn’t even 7:30.

You cleared your throat in an attempt to control your temper. “To be fair, I’m not an account executive. I was filling in for Sam, and you asked me to do them.”

He scoffed, “Oh I see, it my fault you’re incompetent.”

Your jaw dropped.

“Incompetent? I do every assignment you ask of me, most of which are above my pay grade. I do them to the best of my ability, and when something isn’t up to the ‘Barnes Standard’, I’m chewed out for it. Regardless if I’m even trained in the job or not.”

He threw the file on the table next to you, before gripping the back of a chair, leaning forward on it.

“Is that how you see things? Tell me then, Miss Monroe, what would you like? Me to hold your hand through every aspect of your job? Or maybe just do your job for you.” He said sarcastically.

That’s. It.

“How about you learn how to treat your employees! Maybe then you wouldn’t go through so many! How many secretaries have you been through this year alone, hm? ‘Cause I’ve met at least 6.”

You couldn’t stop the word vomit. James Barnes was an awful boss. He was crass and arrogant, and looked down on everyone.

But he pays well. You thought to yourself.

After watching you for a moment, Mr. Barnes suddenly stood straight up, grabbing the file from the table top.

“You can go home. Your skills aren’t needed today.” He spat.

A pit opened in your stomach. Did you just get fired? For speaking your mind?

Time to grovel.

“I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry. I can—“

“You can go home.” He said, turning his back and leaving you.

Your legs felt like they were going to give out on you. You had one of the most respected authors as a boss, a job most people would kill for, and you couldn’t just keep your mouth shut.

“Fuck.” You whispered with tears in your eyes.

You didn’t even grab your drink. You just picked up your heels and your bag, and did the proverbial walk of shame to the elevators.

“Just put a fucking dress on and come out.” Wanda shouted through your phone’s speakers.

“Wanda, I’m not in the mood! For all I know I was just fired from a very well paying job. All because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.” You groaned, flopping backward on your bed.

She sighed, “Even if you were, who cares? Do you really want to keep working for that asshole?”

She was right. Was money really worth getting verbally accosted everyday?

“Fine. I’ll get dressed, but I reserve the right to wallow if I get an email telling me I’ve been canned.” You bargain.

Wanda laughed, “Deal! Now go get ready. Wear a dress. The navy one!”

You pressed end, and stood from your bed.

That navy dress Wanda mention was a showstopper, but was it really pub appropriate?

Velvet, long sleeves, a deep v neck to accentuate your curves. Pair it with black heeled booties and you felt unstoppable.

Hair curled, burgundy lips, and the right perfume. You made a mental note to thank Wanda for pulling you out of your funk.

“Two more, please!” Wanda shouted at the very attractive bar tender.

The pub was full of people and the music was blasting through the retro jukebox perched against the wall.

“Thank you for making me do this.” You say to her.

She smiled, “I know you, don’t I? I know when you need a push in the right direction.”

The bartender returned with your shots of tequila, and you all too quickly downed them.

“I’m a good fucking employee.” You slur, feeling the effects of your 3 previous shots.

She nods, “I know! I mean, I don’t know...but I bet you are! He’s crazy, to not see that.”

You were about to reply, when you see a man looking at Wanda. His eyes flitting between her and smiling shyly at his drink.

“I’m going to go down to the other end of the bar, and I’m gonna order a beer. It’s probably gonna take a loooong time.” You say dramatically.

“What?” She asks confused.

You nod your head behind you. “He’s cute. And he definitely thinks your cute. Don’t worry, I’m only a dozen bar stools away.” You wink, stumbling off the stool you’re currently perched on.

The other end of the bar is further than you thought, but thankfully, there was one seat left open.

“Can I sit here?” You ask the person beside it.

They paid you no mind, “Go ahead.” He grumbled.

You glanced at the bartender, “Beer. Bottle, not a glass, please.”

The person next to you scoffed.

“Something funny?” You ask.

He laughed again, genuinely. “That’s my order too.” He replied without looking at you.

You stare a bit longer than would be soberly required. When his featured start to seem familiar. You quickly turn back to face the bar.

Not here. He can’t be here.

“I was wondering when you’d recognize me.” Mr. Barnes said causally.

Your heart pounded in your chest. Of all the fucking bars in Manhattan, he chooses this one?

“Sorry, I’ve just never seen you outside of work. How long have you been here?” You asked, praying he’d only just arrived.

He sipped his beer, “Oh I think I arrived around shot number two.” He smiled.

James Barnes smiled.

“You saw that, huh?” You ask, feeling the blood rush to your cheeks.

He nodded, fiddling with his bottle.

“Figured your day musta been pretty rough when I saw number four.” His voice was somber, almost ashamed.

“Mr. Barnes, I—“

“Bucky. Please, we’re not in the office.” He said, finishing the last of his beer.

You smiled shyly. “Speaking of...” you sipped at your drink, “Am I...did you...was I—“

“Fired?” He asked.

You nod.

Bucky -gosh that’s weird to say- laughed, “No. I just wanted you to stew in fear for a little bit.”

Typical James Buchanan Barnes. “That’s kind of you.” You seethe.

He put a hand on your back. “Relax. I realized I was being an asshole about 3 minutes after those elevator doors closed, and I knew you wouldn’t answer if I called.”

He raised a hand in the bartender’s direction, and in seconds had another beer. “I know I’m...difficult at best. That’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have taken my frustrations out on you. I’m sorry.”

Bucky’s hand slid from your shoulder back to the beer in front of him.

You nod at his sentiment, “Thank you for saying that. I’d thought I’d get an email telling me to pick up my things.” A nervous laugh escaped you.

He shook his head, “God, no. I don’t think that office could run without you. Logistical Liaison is a made up position, but I invented it for a reason. I need someone who knows how to run things when I lose control.”

Bucky tipped the bottle towards you, “and that’s you, Ella.” He hesitated, “Can I call you that?”

You giggle, and nod. “Like you said, we’re out of the office.”

A silence fell between the two of you. It was comfortable. Surprisingly comfortable.

“You look beautiful, by the way.” Bucky suddenly spoke. It was a hushed tone, meant only for you.

“Oh yeah?” You replied.

He nodded, “I wanted to say that a lot earlier, but then it would look like all I was doing was hitting on my employee.”

“Wouldn’t want that, would we?” You quipped.

Was he flirting? Were you flirting?

His eyebrows raised in agreement as he nursed his beer. “No we would not.”

The two of you had 3 more drinks between you; a beer and jack and coke for Mr—Bucky, and a Jameson on the rocks for you.

Now you stood on the brisk Manhattan streets, waiting for a cab.

“I gotta say Ella, you’re so different. You’re much different than I’d thought you’d be.” He said, clearly feeling the effects of the booze.

You surprisingly weren’t as drunk as you’d usually be at this point. Perks of eating pizza before going out.

“You’ve thought about me, huh?” You ask slyly.

Bucky’s cheeks redden. “I might have. You're so kind. You’re kind to everyone at that godforsaken office. You help anyone who needs it and you’re always professional, no matter the circumstances. You’re a good person. I know you are.” He thumb swipes tenderly over your cheek.

Now it was your turn to be timid. “And you, Mr. Barnes, have a way with words.” You smile, playfully slapping your clutch against his shoulder.

Bucky flagged a taxi down, “Come on, share my cab. I don’t want you going home alone like this.” He offers.

You nod, agreeing you’re probably not in the best shape to be alone in a cab at damn near midnight.

After giving the cab driver your address, you relax, leaning against Bucky’s shoulder.

“This was fun. I’m glad I ran into you.” He said lowly.

You glance up at him, “I never thought I’d say this, but me too. I had fun, and bonus, I’m not fired!” You jest, and share a laugh.

A short while later, the cab pulled up in front of your brownstone, and Bucky helps you out.

“Well, this is me.” You say, sadness coating your words.

Bucky nods, “I’m kinda bummed. I don’t want this to end.”

You let out a small breath.

Now or never, Ella. You think to yourself.

“It doesn’t have too.” You say boldly.

He looks at you, a new glimmer in his eye, before waving the cab on, sending the driver away.

“Guess I’m not always professional after all.” You say, shyness making its way back into you voice.

He put his hand on the small of your back as you walked up the steps to your front door. “I think I can make an exception for tonight.”

You pushed the door open. “Just tonight?” You ask.

Bucky looks at you, slipping his hand around your waist. “That’s up to you, Doll.”

Your back pressed against the front door. His nose nuzzled yours. “Are we doing this? Cause I’ll be honest, If we do what I think were gonna do, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”

His warm lips moved to you neck, leaving bites and wet kisses up to your jaw.

“James.” You breathe.

This seems to work him up. His mouth moves to yours, soft at first. Longing.

You tangle your fingers in his hair, tugging at it slightly. Bucky takes this as an okay for his hands to roam your figure.

“I’ve watched you.” He says between kisses. “The way you float around that office.”

Kiss.

“I’ve seen you look at me, too.”

Kiss.

“The way you bite that lip. Mmm, I think I want a turn.” He nips at you again.

You push off the wall and tug his hand to follow you.

The door to your bedroom is pushed open agonizingly slow. You get the impression he doesn’t like being teased, so of course you have to tease him.

Bucky’s hands are on you again, finding the zipper to your dress. It hits the floor and he steps back, admiring the view.

“You’re killing me, Sugar.” He moans, seeing you topless.

Heels kicked off, you crawl backwards into your bed. He ditches his shirt and pants, and he crawls up your body.

“Can I taste you?” He asks seductively.

Your eyes meet his; cerulean pools of lust drawn you into him.

“Yes. God, yes.” You beg.

He smirks. His lips attaching to the skin above your breast, before taking your nipple into his mouth.

You let out a feral moan, “Oh.”

His lips trace a line down your torso, stopping above you panties.

“Now who’s teasing who?” You breathe.

In seconds, your aching heat was exposed to him. “Baby, baby, baby.” He whined.

Bucky attached his mouth to your throbbing clit, sucking it gently.

“Fuck.” You groan. Grinding your hips upwards.

He puts his hands on your belly. “Don’t move.”

You’re panting, gripping the bedsheets. “James...Oh my God I’m—I’m.”

“Let go,” he coos, “I’ve got you, Sugar.”

At his behest, you come undone. An explosion of ecstasy exploding in your belly.

“Come up here.” You pant.

Bucky smirks as he attaches his mouth to yours.

You press your hands against his chest urging him to lay on his back.

In a fluid motion, your straddling him. Grinding your heat onto his cock.

“You’re a little tease, you know that? I should punish you.” He nips at your breast.

You smirk, lifting yourself just enough for him to slide into you. He was buried to the hilt when he grunted into your ear.

“So wet. So tight. So perfect.”

You rode him like there was no tomorrow. Feeling that familiar burst building in your abdomen.

Bucky lifted you from him, knocking you to your knees and slipping in from behind you.

“James.” You moan.

“I know. C’mon Doll, give me one more. Together.”

He pounded you harder and faster, chasing his own release. Bucky snaked a hand between the two of you, fingering your clit.

“I’m gonna cum. Oh my God, I’m cumming!” You shout.

Bucky’s groans became rhythmic, matching his strokes. You came—hard. Feeling the his warmth spill into you as he lay his chest against your back.

You both flop back. Panting like you’d run a marathon.

“Holy shit...” you breathe.

Bucky leaned over and kissed your head.

“I think I realized why I was such a miserable bastard.” He jokes between breaths.

“Oh yeah?” You ask.

He nods, “I needed to get laid, and I needed it to be you.”

You leaned over and kissed him. “Well, what’s gonna happen on Monday?”

“Based on that? I should fucking promote you.” He jokes.

You slap his chest. “I’m serious! I don’t want this to get weird.”

He grabbed your hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it softly.

“It won’t. I promise. In all honesty, I had planned on asking you out at some point—this kinda just happened first.”

You looked up at him as he closed his eyes peacefully. He really was handsome; a tortured writer in his prime.

“Ask me.” You say suddenly.

Bucky opens one eye. “What?”

“Ask me. Ask me out.” You urge happily.

He looks at you for a moment, before smiling wide. “Miss Monroe, would you like to go out to dinner sometime?”

You leaned on your elbows, kissing his lips longingly.

“I would love to Mr. Barnes. I have to make sure my boss doesn’t need me to work overtime. He’s a real hard ass, ya know.”

Bucky chuckled, “Is he? Might have to knock some sense into him.”

A smirk lands on your lips, and you wink. “Just make sure you leave his mouth alone, that’s precious cargo.”

[wizardofrozz]

Put to the Test

Summary: Rosalia and Bucky meet at a famous Tony Stark party when Rosalia joins the Avenger, but something doesn’t quite feel right.

Warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption, mention of implied smut

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC

A/N: I’m a little nervous about this series; I love it but I’m anxious about anyone else liking it lol. Also, flashbacks are in italics.

Chapter 1: Well, hello

My eyes fluttered open as the sun peaked through my window across the room. I blinked, feeling unrested and groggy before rolling over check the time: 7:50. I rolled back over, groaning, praying I could fall back asleep for a little longer. I laid in bed for a few more minutes, but my chances of sleeping again were long gone. I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes before swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, getting up to stretch. I shivered at the sudden chill in the air; apparently, no one thought to turn the heat on in the compound last night; I rolled my eyes, grabbed sweatpants and a hoodie before heading for the kitchen. I walked through the doorway, and the smell of brewing coffee greeted me, but I didn’t see anyone in the kitchen. I looked around for clues to who else could possibly be awake this early. I shrugged and made my way to a stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen and sat down, waiting for the coffee pot to beep, letting me know it was done. After a few minutes, I felt sparks explode across my shoulder and travel down my arm; I gasped, sitting up straighter, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. I knew exactly who was awake at this point and turned in time to see him sit on the stool next to me.

           “Morning, Bucky bear,” I smiled at him. A goofy, groggy grin spread across his face, and his eyes sparkled when he looked at me.

           “Morning doll, what are you doing up so early?” he stretched his arms over his head as he spoke, testing the strength of the tank top he had on as it struggled to keep his broad chest covered.

           “I couldn’t sleep anymore. I slept like shit anyway, so I guess I’ll be making it through the day of caffeine and willpower.” I glanced over at the coffee pot wishing it would brew faster.

           “Well, looks like we might need another pot of coffee. I slept like shit too, couldn’t stay asleep no matter how hard I tried,” he glared at the countertop before glancing up at me.

           “Phantom pain again?” I reached over to touch him but decided against it at the last minute, but he didn’t seem to notice. He answered with a grunt as he rubbed his left arm before sighing and putting his head down on the counter.

           “You’d think after all this time, it would stop hurting. I guess the cold nights don’t help,” he stood up suddenly and walked over to the coffee pot when it finally beeped. He grabbed a cup out of the cabinet, filled it with coffee, caramel sauce, a handful of ice cubes, and topped it off with milk before sliding it across the island to me.

           “Aw, Bucky, you remembered,” I smiled at him as I took a sip and sighed, thank god for caffeine. “Hey, aren’t you going to have some too? You made it.”

           “Yeah, but I’m going to jump in the shower quickly,” he made his way around the island, “don’t drink it all without me.” He smiled and reached out to touch my arm but stopped short, frowned, then cleared his throat and headed for the shower. Once he left the room, I sighed, cursing that damn compromise we made weeks ago. I think back on it periodically; it was over a month ago, my first night at the compound, which happened to be a famous Tony Stark party.

 ***

I was excited; I’d finally get the chance to meet the entire Avengers team after hearing about them from Nat endlessly. Knowing Nat for as long as I have meant that when she was welcomed to the Avengers, I heard all about them until I was asked to join Earth’s Mightiest Heroes too.

           “Hey, you ready?” Nat said from my doorway where she was leaning. “Woah, look at you, these guys are going to lose their mind,” she smiled as she walked in and continued to check out my outfit. I picked out a short sleeve, tight, floor-length, black dress speckled with glitter; I slid on the heels Nat let me borrow.

           “Well, I have to make an impression, don’t I?” I smirked at her before turning back to the mirror to finish putting my earring in.

           “Oh honey, you’re going to leave an impression those men will remember until the day they die.” I laughed as she wandered over to my bed and sat down.

           “Oh, come on, I doubt these guys will be that fixated,” I said as I turned away from the mirror and looked at her.

           “Well, I guess we’ll see then,” she smirked and stood.

           “Okay, so who else am I meeting tonight?” I asked, walking towards her.

           “You’ve met Rogers, Tony, Clint, and Wanda already, so that leaves Peter, Thor, Sam, Bruce, oh and Bucky,” she nodded when she was sure that was everyone.

           “Well, let’s go. I need a drink,” I looped my arm with hers, and we headed for the party. “Wait, who’s Bucky? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention him,” she didn’t answer; she just smiled and led me towards the steps. We walked down the steps, and the party was in full swing by the time we made it there. As we got closer to the bottom, something inside me forced me to look at the middle of the room, where a group of men stood talking; my eyes fell on one of them, at that exact moment he turned his head. His eyes darted around the room; I knew he felt me looking at him, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him no matter how hard I tried. Finally, he looked up at the steps, and our eyes met for a brief moment before Nat snapped in front of my face.

           “Hey, earth to Roz,” I shook my head and looked at her.

           “Sorry, I’m just captivated by all this,” I lied as I smiled at her.

           “Oh, I know, Stark never skimps on a party, but you’ll get used to it. The first party can be overwhelming,” she laughed as we reached the bottom of the steps. She stood on her toes to look over the crowd before grabbed my hand and pulling me with her. “Come on; I see the guys.”

           “Nat, you’re going to rip my arm off,” I laughed as I followed her. We made our way through the crowd before stopping short in front of the group of men I saw from the steps.

           “Hey guys, I want to introduce you to Rosalia, Roz for short. Stark finally managed to get her here.” She turned to me and smiled before introducing them. “This is Thor,” she pointed to a large man standing at the center of the semi-circle of men, he was huge, handsome, and he knew it.

           “Pleasure to meet you, Thor Odinson,” he reached for my hand, bending down and placed a kiss on the back of my hand without breaking eye contact. I assumed I was blushing, but my face never warmed, but I did smile at him.

           “This is Sam Wilson,” Nat pointed to a shorter, handsome man who looked tiny standing next to Thor.

           “Hi, nice to meet you; Natasha talks about you a lot,” he shot me a flirty smile and shook my hand.

           “Then we have Bruce,” this time, Nat touched his arm instead of just pointing. I made sure to make a mental note of that so I could bug her about it later.

           “Hello, Dr. Bruce Banner, Nat has told me a lot about you,” he had a friendly smile, but he seemed very jittery.

           “Then there’s Peter Parker,” I looked at where she pointed and saw a young boy, who could only be about 16, that looked like he just saw an angel.

           “H-Hi, nice to meet you, you’re beautiful,” his cheeks turned red when everyone else laughed, but I smiled at him.

           “That’s very sweet, thank you,” he smiled, and his face flushed a deeper pink before Nat grabbed my attention again.

           “And finally, this is Sergeant James Barnes,” I followed where she was pointing too, and my eyes fell on the man I saw from the steps. His beautiful blue eyes were what caught me off guard, along with how physically intimidating he was. He had broad shoulders, along with massive, muscular arms. I noticed he moved his left arm oddly as he switched his drink to his left hand to reach out and shake my hand.

           “Please, call me Bucky. I haven’t gone by Sergeant in a long time,” he smiled at me and grabbed my hand. The most intense feeling I’ve ever experienced came over me; time seemed to stand still. My whole body felt like it was on fire, but thankfully, not in a painful way, almost comforting. It felt like every nerve ending in my body was firing simultaneously, and the sensation took my breath away. I could tell by the awed look on his face he was feeling the same thing. Finally, we both let go, and reality came rushing back, and we were standing in the middle of the party surrounded by the rest of the Avengers. I quickly looked at Bruce, Sam, Peter, Thor, and Nat, but no one seemed to notice what just happened, but I didn’t have much time before Nat grabbed my arm and pulled me towards to bar.

           “I want a drink. I know you could use one too” luckily, she was facing away from me.

           “You can say that again,” I whispered as I followed her. We ordered our drinks, and I tried to shake off what just happened before Nat started asking questions.

           “So what do you think?” she said as she took a sip of her drink.

           “So do they only hire attractive men,” we giggled before turning our back on the bar. “So, what’s with you and Dr. Banner?” I raised an eyebrow and smirked at her.

           “When I figure that out, I’ll tell you,” she smiled then looked over at Bruce. I followed her gaze and noticed Bucky wasn’t standing there anymore, I started to scan the room, but I didn’t make it far when someone cleared their throat behind me.

           “Can I join you for a drink?” his deep voice sent chills down my spine, but I turned to find Bucky standing behind me. He towered over me by at least half a foot; I glanced back to where Nat was standing, but she was already walking away towards where Steve had walked into the room, throwing a shitty smile over her shoulder.

           “Yeah, I’d like that,” I threw back the rest of my drink. “I could use another if you do,” he smirked and nodded.

           “What’s your poison?” he asked as he leaned closer to hear me over the music.

           “Whiskey on the rocks, please,” I smiled as he pulled back.

           “Oh man, a woman after my heart,” he smirked again and ordered our drinks. We grabbed them off the bar then he motioned for me to follow him to the end of the bar. We stood there for what seemed like hours, drinking and talking until we realized that the party was starting to die down. I don’t know what came over me, but I leaned towards Bucky and stood on my toes to get closer to his ear.

           “Why don’t we continue this party upstairs, my room?” I moved back and winked; a smile spread across his face. He threw back the last of his drink and stretched his left arm out to let me go first. I noticed the odd movement of that arm again but shook it off and headed for the steps that led to my room; I felt him following close behind. We finally made it to the door of my room; I opened it and stepped aside so he could walk in; I noticed that somewhere along the way, he had loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt. He caught me looking and winked as he made his way through the doorway; I looked up and down the hall to make sure no one saw us before slipping into the room, closing the door, and leaning against it. He stood in the middle of the room, and oddly enough, he wasn’t looking at me; he was looking around the room. Bucky must have felt me looking at him because he turned his attention back to me; he smirked and took a few steps closer.

           “You really blow my mind, you know that?” the smile had vanished from his face, but his pupils grew, trying to take in as much of me as he could.

           “No, I didn’t. Why don’t you tell me why Sergeant Barnes?” I moved my face closer as I talked. A low, almost growl came from his chest, causing me to shiver. Our faces were so close that if one of us even twitched, our lips would touch. For a moment, I thought I said something that upset him because he moved away a few inches, but then his lips crashed into mine. The force of his body moving forward pushed me up against the door; his whole body held me against the door. My fingers found the belt loops of his suit pants; his hands settled on either side of my head against the door. The only thing that was off was the insane sensation that tore through me the second our lips touched; it startled me so much I opened my eyes at the same time Bucky did too. I stared into his eyes for a few seconds before he moved back suddenly, and I stumbled forward. I caught myself trying to catch my breath and noticed that Bucky had stumbled back too and was sitting on my bed, with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath too.

           “What the fuck was that?” he said through deep breaths.

           “I was about to ask you the same thing,” I replied, panting. After a few more seconds, our breathing evened out, and I pushed away from the door, moving to the corner of the bed opposite Bucky. “I-I’ve never felt anything like that. Can I assume you’re feeling the same thing I am?”

           “What do you feel?” he turned his head towards me with a concerned look.

           “I-it’s like someone, I don’t know, released hundreds of thousands of butterflies loose inside me, but they are all on fire. Like every nerve ending is ready to explode,” I turned my face away from him, praying that I didn’t just embarrass myself.

           “Wow, that’s a pretty perfect explanation,” he let out a breath that he was holding in and relaxed some before scooting closer to me, just far enough that we weren’t touching.

           “What does this even mean??” my head was spinning; I had no idea what was going on. We sat in silence, stuck in our heads before we both turned and opened our mouths to talk at the same time. We both giggled and looked away before finally looking at each other again; something about him brought a weird feeling over me. He seemed so familiar. “Okay, so what are we supposed to do, Bucky?” I tried to keep my voice even.

           “I don’t know; this may sound weird, and please tell me if it does, but I don’t want this to stop. Something inside me keeps screaming for me to stay here, near you,” Bucky trailed off and looked at the floor. I almost reached out to him, but we needed to get through this conversation without getting sidetracked.

           “It’s not weird because I was thinking the same thing,” his head shot up, and our eyes met. The relief on his face squeezed my heart; he sat up some and turned his entire body towards me, and I did the same. “I’ve never experienced anything like this before. I don’t want to just shut the door on it either, but we have to try and figure out what it is because, don’t get me wrong, it’s the most amazing feeling, but it’s not normal. The world we live in, Bucky, it makes me worry it’s not innocent,” I sighed.

           “I agree. I want it to be innocent. A sign we are supposed to have met, but I’m not that native,” a frown grew on Bucky’s face, but when he turned his face towards me, he tried to hide how he felt. We both turned our bodies, so we were facing the door again, in hopes of hiding how we felt from the other. “What do we do? Stay away from each other?”

           “I was thinking about digging into S.H.I.E.L.D files and see if I can find anything. Maybe there is a record from our pasts that can shine some light on this,” I moved my hand back and forth between us.

           “Good idea, but does that mean we stay away from each other? Or can we continue where we left off,” he smirked, leaning closer.

           “Sadly, I think holding back until we have some more information would be best, just in case. But when do we just accept it and move on? When is it enough time? I don’t want to wait forever for something that we may never have an answer to,” I had started to wring my hands as I spoke.

           “I wish you weren’t right, part of me wants to argue, but with everything that I’ve seen and been through, I can’t help but worry. Let’s give it a few weeks; if we can’t find anything, maybe we can talk to Bruce and see if he can run any tests, see if anything weird shows up,” he looked hopefully.

           “Okay, deal, keep our distance, no touching or anything, and if we can’t find anything, we’ll go to Bruce. I do think we should keep it to ourselves until we either know something or have to tell someone,” I sighed and looked at the floor, trying to hide my disappointment.

           “Yeah, I think that’s for the best, but do we have to stay away until then? Can’t we meet a couple of times a week? No touching, but I’d like to get to know you,” he looked at me, but I didn’t meet his gaze. Every fiber in my being screamed to say yes, but something still made me feel like I should say no.

           “Fuck it, yeah, a couple of nights a week we can go for a walk or whatever we want and talk. If we find out that it's fine, we aren’t going to turn to dust or some other crazy shit, it would be helpful to know each other,” I smiled. He laughed, I mean really laughed, and nodded his head.

           “Deal,” he said through chuckles. I smiled at him; I yearned to run my hands through his shoulder-length hair, just touch him in some way. As if he read my mind, I felt fireworks explode up my back and down my leg when his hand found my thigh. I didn’t realize how close he was until I turned my head, and our noses almost touched. Every nerve ending in my body was alive, my entire body was on fire, and everything felt incredible. Bucky’s breath on my face felt like pure bliss, and I couldn’t stop myself from moving my hand up to the collar of his open shirt. I ran my hand over Bucky’s collar bone then back to the base of his neck before running my hand up to his neck to his hair. A sound came out of Bucky that was a mix of a gasp and moan; I didn’t realize his other hand was moving up my back until he roughly grabbed the back of my neck. “Sorry, but right now, I don’t care about what we agreed on,” the words came out as a growl. He pulled me to him at the same time as I grabbed a fistful of his hair to do the same. Our lips met, and I felt like I might burst; he kissed me like he might never get to again. I opened my mouth, and his tongue slid in, dancing with mine. I smacked his hand off my leg with my free hand, then pulled myself on top of him, straddling him. Bucky moaned into my mouth before releasing his grip on my neck, running his hands up my legs instead. My body felt like it was vibrating from the constant sparks exploding all over me until I noticed an odd sensation on my right leg. We finally pulled apart, but I touched my forehead to his; the only sound in the room was our heavy breathing.

           “Okay, we have to stop until we know what’s going on,” I weakly giggled as I played with his hair.

           “As much as I don’t want to, I have to say I agree,” he sighed through deep breaths. I opened my eyes and saw that he was already looking at me; I pulled my head back some to get a better look at him as I climbed off him to stand back and admire him. He moved his arms behind himself to hold his weight up; the sleeve on his left arm rode up, and I saw what looked like black metal; I turned my head slightly to try and get a better look.

           “Bucky, what’s wrong with your arm?” I said softly, not taking my eyes off it. For a split-second, fear flashed across his face, but when our eyes met, it disappeared. He stood up and started to unbutton his shirt, and thank god he has a tank top on under it to reveal metal that started at his shoulder.

           “Yeah, I should probably explain this,” he looked at the floor.

***

          “Damnit,” Bucky’s yell snapped me out of the memory. I turned around and saw him standing in the doorway to the kitchen, rolling his left shoulder while rubbing his hair with a towel in his right hand.

           “Goddamn Bucky, you scared the shit out of me,” my breathing steadied again when he pulled out the stool next to me and heavily dropped onto it.

           “Sorry, doll, apparently multitasking isn’t one of my enhanced abilities,” he smiled over at me. I shook my head and finished my coffee just as he decided to shake his head like a dog.

           “Bucky!” I yelled, trying to shield my face from the cold drops of water. He doubled over laughing, holding his side; I punched him in the arm before starting to giggle myself.

           “Okay, shithead, very funny,” I stuck my tongue out at him, which only made him laugh harder.

           “I can’t say I’m sorry because I’m not,” he finally said through giggles. He stood up, still laughing, and went to get himself a cup of coffee, then brought the pot, caramel and milk over to me. “Hey, we haven’t had a chance to have any of our dates this week. Want to go sit outside and talk for a while before we have to get ready to head out for our mission?” he poured our coffee then set it back on the coffee maker.

           “Yeah, I’d like that, as long as you don’t fling water at me again,” I smirked before mixing my coffee.

           “No promises,” he winked. He had already changed into a t-shirt and dark cargo pants, so that was my cue to do the same.

           “I’m going to change quickly. Can take my coffee with you, and I’ll meet you out there?” I asked, handing him my coffee. He nodded and made his way to the front of the compound.

Series Masterlist | Chapter 2

Taglist:

@criminalyetminimal​ @kendallthesimp​ @marvelfansworld​ 

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Forever: How To Dismantle Bucky Barnes

Intro: Bucky is acting kinda stressed out. Both Sam and Katie thinks they know what the problem is. The only issue is, how to fix it?

Easy when you’re a Stark with a very manipulative mind…

Warnings: Bad language.

Smut! (NSFW) and no under 18s.

Pairings.

Bucky Barnes x OFC Jen O’Donahue, Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Rogers (nee Stark)

Ok so this takes place in the SSB universe after the events of Endgame, later on in 2024. You don’t have to have read that series to understand or enjoy this but the characters will make more sense if you have.

Feel free to check it out: Stark Spangle Banner Masterlist (Series is complete but One Shots will be ongoing…)

This is based on @jtargaryen ‘s master piece “How to Dismantle Steve Rogers” and I thank her WHOLEHEARTEDLY for letting me use her format and idea. And I’m not gonna lie, I had a lot of fun with this one!!

Hope you enjoy…as always please leave comments and re-blog. 

SSF Masterlist // WIYPT Masterlist

September 2024

“You’re an idiot…” Sam’s voice carried up the hallway to the kitchen as they entered the Rogers household “A total, moronic idiot…” “Quit it Sam.” Bucky’s voice dripped with annoyance. Katie glanced at Steve who arched an eyebrow at his wife the pair of them wondering why they had given them an access key each…

“I didn’t think it was possible but you actually are as dumb as you look.” Sam snorted.

“One more word out of you and I’m gonna kick your stupid, seagull ass-”

“Err, we can hear you in here!” Steve called loudly, cutting his friend off “And there are young ears about…”

There was some muffled grumbling, followed by what sounded like someone being shoved into the wall before Bucky walked into the kitchen, face dark as thunder. Sam followed behind, grin spreading from cheek to cheek as he rubbed at his chest.

Bucky stopping to gently tickle Rori’s cheek where she sat in the high-chair, her legs flailing as she was still in the bouncer seat, not being big enough or old enough yet to sit up. She gave him a huge smile which melted his heart as he returned it.

“Hey Sweetie!” he grinned, and she waggled her legs and arms excitedly. After a few more soft words to his god-daughter he turned and ruffled Jamie’s hair as Sam offered the 4 year old a hi-five which he eagerly took.

“Damned Buck!” Katie looked at him from where she was plating up food. “You get a hair-cut?”

Bucky flushed slightly and ran his hands through his short crop “Yeah…”

“Looks good.” she smiled and he beamed at her.

“Fancied a change.” he shrugged.

“Hasn’t worked, you’re still a dumbass.” Sam said.

“What’s a dub-mass?” Jamie piped up from his seat at the table. Steve gave an exasperated groan.

“Nothing honey.” Katie said, dropping a plate of stir-fry in front of her son as Steve shot Sam a glare “Uncle Sam is just being silly, don’t worry about it.”

Jamie shrugged, placated by the food and began to tuck in. Katie dodged round Steve making her way to the stove, whilst her husband grabbed the pre-expressed bottle and unfastened their 4 month old daughter from her chair. She grabbed eagerly at his beard as he sat down at the table and began to feed her, smiling softly as she eagerly took the milk, her eyes focussing all the time on his.

“You guys want eats?” Katie asked, looking at the two men. “I made plenty.” It was a stupid question really, as both men nodded eagerly and dropped into the spare seats round the table. Once Steve had finished feeding Aurora and Jamie was cleaned up and in the lounge watching TV, Katie dished out the adults’ food before she handed them a plate each. She gave Rori her rabbit comforter toy to keep her occupied and they all began to tuck in.

No more was said about Bucky’s encounter with the hairstylist until much later, when Jamie was tucked up for the night and the 4 adults were on the veranda round the fire pit, Rori snoozing in her basket which was stood on the stand just inside the kitchen door where Katie and Steve could see her clearly.

“Where’s Emmy?” Sam asked and Katie snorted as Steve shifted slightly.

“She’s on a date.” he grumbled.

“With who?” Bucky asked.

“Parker.” “As in Peter Parker?” Bucky frowned “The Spider Kid?”

Steve nodded.

“Punk.” Bucky snorted.

“Aww he’s a good kid.” Katie said, “Leave him alone.”

“She’s too young.” Steve said simply and Katie laughed.

“Baby she’s 17 this year.”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t care.”

Katie shook her head and watched as Sam and Bucky were bickering again.

“Ok, what is going on?” she frowned “Sam why you giving Buck such a hard time?” Sam grinned “Because he is an idiot. He went on another date with Jennifer last night, and then she asked him back to hers…and he literally burned the poor girl.”

Bucky growled at Sam “I swear to God…” “Burned?” Steve frowned.

“Yeah, get this…he’s walked her home and she asks him in, so he goes in, and then he does a bunk.”

Bucky glared at him “That’s not what happened…”

Katie frowned, she hadn’t spoken to Jennifer that day and was quite surprised, actually, that if something had gone wrong her friend hadn’t called.

“Buck!” Steve sighed, shaking his head. “You promised when you started dating you wouldn’t let this get awkward…”

“Oh Shut up Stevie…” Bucky snarled out his name “Just because you’re all loved up now, let’s not forget how hopeless you used to be around dames. Do you really want me tell the story about the Chorus Girl who tried for 3 months to get a bit of the old Star Spangled D and you were too fucking dumb to realise?”

Steve narrowed his eyes as Katie and Sam looked at each other with glee.

“No.” he said, at the same time his wife and friend nodded.

“Yes,”

“Absolutely.”

“Oh Captain Rogers, I think I have something in my eye…” Bucky said, his voice airy as he imitated a women, batting his eyelashes ridiculously “Oh Captain Rogers, can you zip my skirt up for me, its stuck and I’m scared I’ll rip the material…Oh Captain Rogers, I just got caught in that rain, I’m all wet and my top is sticking to me…” “Fuck off.” Steve said, as Sam and Katie both laughed. Bucky looked at Katie shaking his head. “And you tell me this Punk he made the first move on you?” he shook his head “You must have been really fucking obvious…” “Well, it took him long enough…” Katie grinned as she stood up, dropping her arms round Steve’s neck and pecking his cheek.

“What is this? Pick on Steve night?” Steve pouted as his wife headed over to the bar at the side of the veranda, pulling out 4 more beers.

“Just like every night.” Sam chuckled.  

She gave a beer to Sam and then Steve, both of who thanked her before she made her way over to Bucky was positively glowering. She handed him a beer and he looked up at her mumbling a thanks.

“Buck…” she said softly, whilst Steve and Sam were bickering well naturedly “They’re only teasing.”

He sighed “I know, I just…didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“And that’s not because you were with Jen, obviously.” she said, raising her eyebrows. “Dreams?”

He raised his eyebrows in a confirmative manner.

She sat down next to him. “That have any bearing on why you cut your hair?” He gave a small chuckle “I swear to God you can read minds.”

“No, just people.” she smiled

“I just…well I wanna feel more like me, you know?” he shrugged.

She smiled “Yeah, I get it. You know, if it makes you feel any better Steve had nightmares for years you know. About the War, crashing into the ice.”

He looked at her “Yeah?” “Yeah.” she nodded.

“How did he get them to stop?”

“Honestly?” she smiled “Sleeping with me. Said having me in the bed made him feel safe.” Bucky snorted “Yeah, not sure Steve would go for that somehow.” Katie smacked him gently round the back of the head and he laughed, before his face became serious again. “They’d stopped in Wakanda.” he signed, looking at the label on his bottle. “But since coming back…” “You think we didn’t have them post the Last Stand?” she looked at him. “Jesus Bucky, I kept re-living that moment I thought we were all dead for months and seeing Tony snap over and over again…” She trailed off, taking a deep breath “We’re human at the end of the day, it’s natural and you have horrors in your past that even the most sympathetic of people cannot begin to comprehend.”

He bit his lip and looked down at his lap.

“Look, if you ever wanna talk, about anything without these two being around…” she jerked her thumb at Steve and Sam “You know where I am.”

“Thanks.” he said, flashing her a smile. She patted his knee gently and then stood up, making her way over to where Steve was sat, dropping onto his knee lightly.

Draining his beer Bucky stood up “I’m gonna take off.”

Steve frowned “How come?”

“Tired.” he mumbled “Katie, thanks for dinner.”

“Any time.” she said, making to stand but he waved her away.

“I’ll see myself out.”

Grabbing his jacket he strode over the patio, up the steps and into the house.

There was a pause as the 3 of them watched him go.

“What’s up with him?” Steve asked.

Before Katie could reply, Sam chipped in.

“He’s backed up.”

“What?” Steve frowned.

“He needs to get laid.”Katie replied, shrugging.

Since everyone had returned, she had seen how Bucky was getting more and more uptight, especially around her and Steve. Whenever Steve had shown her a bit of affection she had noticed his friend would avert his eyes or make an excuse to leave the room. And she knew it wasn’t because he was uncomfortable around PDAs or anything like that. No, it was frustration. That his best friend was getting some and he wasn’t. 

Then, one evening last year she’d noticed a subtle change in his frosty, outward demeanour when Jen had come round for dinner.

And thus, Katie Rogers plan to dismantle Bucky Barnes had been born.

Step 1- The Right Bait

Setting it up had been easy.  Katie had instantly spotted the attraction between the pair. She’d seen the chatter at the dinner table, the way Jennifer had tucked her hair behind her ears when Bucky was talking to her, a Double Tuck nonetheless.  So, a few months into the new year, once things had settled down after Steve had taken his 15 year holiday back in the 50s through 70s, Katie had seized the opportunity to send Bucky to Jennifer’s coffee shop- Has-Bean. She knew Monday’s were delivery days for the woman, and 9 times out of 10 Steve went along to help her out with the heavy lifting because Steve Rogers was nothing if not a gentleman, and after seeing her struggle one Monday when they had called in for an early morning coffee, had taken it upon himself to help out. But not that Monday. Oh no, Katie had used her pregnancy to her advantage, claiming she wasn’t feeling too good and she’d been clingy, real clingy, giving Steve no alternative but to stay at home. But rather than leave Jenifer in the lurch, Katie had suggested to Steve that maybe Bucky could help.

So Steve had asked him to go along.

And he had.

And Bucky kept going each Monday from then on. Without fail.  

But there had been no date arranged. So Katie had stepped it up a little bit. On Steve’s birthday, the Rogers’ had hosted a gathering for their friends and family. Casual enough to be relaxed, but in the same breath everyone had used it as an excuse to don a nice outfit. They had stood in the garden watching the fireworks and Bucky had given Jenifer a hesitant kiss on the cheek. The red head had flushed and, emboldened by champagne, asked Bucky for a real kiss. And in the dark of the garden, away from prying eyes (or so he thought, as Katie had seen everything) he’d obliged. And a few days later they’d gone on their first date.

Problem solved, right?

Wrong.

Katie really tried not to be nosey, she really did. But she’d enrolled Brooke, Jen’s daughter and Emmy’s best friend into keeping her up to date on happenings, the teenager being over the moon her mom was finally dating again. But so far Brooke had brought her no news that Bucky had even entered their home, let alone that things were progressing slightly beyond the dating stage despite the fact they were now almost 3 months down the line. 

Katie knew that, despite what Steve had told her about Bucky before the war,  Bucky wasn’t in this for a quick hook-up. Yes he was still the cheeky James Barnes of old, but she knew from the times he had opened up to her that he wasn’t that person to chase a skirt for simple gratification anymore. Whilst under mind control with Hydra, to keep him satisfied they either brought him women or taken him to women. Willing paid women, yes,  but the memories of the quick fucks on dirty mattresses in cells and run down whore houses stuck with him and made him feel sick. Since then there had been one woman, in Bucharest, that he’d sort of had a thing with but that had been cut short when he’d found out she was married. He hadn’t needed that sort of trouble so he had ended it. 

So, with all that in mind, plus the fact Jennifer wasn’t the type for a casual hook up either, it wasn’t totally surprising that things were going slow, but 2 and a bit months of dating was just fucking ridiculous. Even her and Steve had ‘done stuff’ before that! And it wasn’t like the chemistry wasn’t there. Katie had watched the two of them when she saw them together. Bucky eyed Jennifer with a thirst Katie had seen a few times in Steve’s eyes when he was having filthy thoughts. A stare at her ass or tits here, the biting or licking of a lip there all confirmed to her the fact that the Winter Soldier was backed up.

Sam had called it.

And Jennifer wasn’t the problem. When Bucky wasn’t paying attention the red head looked at him like she wanted to climb him like a tree. 

So what exactly did she need to do here?

“You ok?” Steve asked, jerking her from her thoughts with a squeeze to her thigh.

“Yeah, sorry, was just thinking.” she smiled at him, thinking back to the first time her and Steve had made out after a baseball game and a few drinks in a bar…

And then she had a plan. A brilliant plan.

She knew just what to do…

Step 2.  Proper Motivation

Letting out a sigh Jen served the next customer, lost in her own little world. She’d been seeing Bucky now for a few months and was still trying to get her head around that. She was seeing Bucky Barnes. The Winter Soldier, Avenger. But she had quickly realised that behind the legend and the gruff exterior he was just, well, sweet.

She’d first met Bucky one evening at Katie’s house and had enjoyed his company, but it wasn’t until a month or so later when he had turned up at the coffee shop in Steve’s place that she’d really talked to him properly. 

“Well, well, well, you decided to pay me a visit!” Jennifer grinned.

“Yeah,  err…hi!” Bucky smiled at her “Steve mentioned he normally helps on a Monday and seeing as he’s not available I thought I’d offer, you know, with the delivery…”

She beamed “You are a life saver!”

He’d helped her move the boxes and unpack, sharing easy chat with her about her business, New York in general, his time in the 40s with Steve…and by the end of it her cheeks were aching from laughing in a way she hadn’t laughed in years.

“Anyway, I think that we’ve earned a break” she said after they’d finished an hour or so later.  “What can I get you?” she gestured to the menus written in chalk on the wall above the machines.

“What’s good?” he asked, frowning slightly.

“Everything, I make it.” she smirked and he gave a huff of a laugh “But it depends. You got a sweet tooth?”

“I’m not averse to the odd bit of sugar.” he grinned back, and she’d felt her cheeks flush at the fact he was flirting with her.

She let out a soft laugh, smiling. “In that case I recommend the caramel macchiato, and one of my mint choc brownies.” “You’re the expert.” he winked.

“Take a seat, I’ll bring it over.”

Bucky had continued to help out every Monday, without fail, but it wasn’t until New Year’s Eve that anything had happened. After they had shared a soft kiss, he’d asked her on a date, and she’d gleefully accepted. So they’d gone to restaurants, done the whole New York sightseeing thing (which was more for his benefit as it had all changed so much), been to the theatre, seen movies, had lunch…and it had all seemed to be going well. 

Jenifer hadn’t dated since the death of her husband some 15 years ago, so this was a huge step for her. But Bucky had made it easy. He was old fashioned, he liked to open doors for her, let her pick where they ate, pulled out her chair for her, all the things she had seen Steve do for Katie. He always walked her back to the apartment above the shop, but never pressed to come inside, seeming content to kiss her goodnight at the door. It was endearing how shy he seemed. But then, 2 nights ago something had changed.

And it had descended into a cluster fuck.

In the middle of the afternoon she had been forced to cancel their date for the afternoon as the member of staff who was due to cover was ill. But Bucky had surprised her and brought the date to her. Armed with some Thai food he’d shown up at closing time, cheeky smile on his face. He had helped her finish up, meaning she was done in record time and then they’d sat by the counter with their food, the conversation flowing as it always did…until he had stolen the last steamed dumpling.

“Hey, I was gonna eat that!” she pouted.

“Snooze you lose.” he quipped and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“That isn’t very chivalrous, Sergeant…”

His eyes had darkened as he’d bitten off half of the offending item before offering her the other half. She’d taken it, her eyes locking onto his, and then before she could even register what was happening Bucky was kissing the life out of her. His hands had gripped her hips, hers fisted in his hair which was loose, his stubble rubbing her face raw. It was delectable, exciting, and then as his hands had brushed the strip of skin that had been exposed just above her waistline she had shivered at the feel of his touch, one flesh, one metal, but both equally gentle…it was exciting, or so she had thought.

He’d pulled back suddenly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Huh?” Jennifer’s head was a whirl of lust and she was struggling to understand what had just happened? Why did he just stop?

He ran a hand through his dark hair, cheeks flushing, his eyes were sad as he avoided her gaze.

“That was uncalled for,” he muttered. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” She asked again.

Bucky had simply taken a deep breath, pressed a kiss to her forehead before he stood up and headed towards the door. Was he embarrassed? No, she could see from the look on his face that wasn’t it.

“Buck?” She jumped up to follow him to the door. “It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong…”

He turned and smiled at her softly. God she loved that smile.

“I’ve got an early morning. We have a meeting with the DOD so I’d better go.”

With that he was gone.

Jennifer made all sorts of excuses for him in her head. Maybe he was tired. But the further into the night she got, the more she began to think she was fooling herself. She wasn’t in Bucky Barnes’ league. Maybe he just wasn’t interested.

Her gloom carried into the next day compounded by the fact he hadn’t called or messaged at all. She had contemplated calling Katie to see if she knew what was going on, but had decided to leave it a day or so to let Bucky get over whatever issue he had.  But after almost 36 hours there was no contact whatsoever and she was getting a little antsy. 

“Hey!”  a familiar voice called and she looked up, smiling, as Katie pushed the buggy containing her goddaughter over to the counter.

“Hi!” she beamed. “What brings you down here?”

“I came to ask a favour.” Katie smiled “Well, sorta. Long story short I need a night off. From being a mom…I was kinda hoping you’d be up for a few drinks.” “Tonight?” Jennifer asked 

“Yeah.” Katie nodded “I thought Brooke might like to stay at ours and they can annoy the shit out of Steve like normal.”

Jennifer ponded the invitation for a moment. It wasn’t like she had any other plans. And if she was honest, a good blow out and a chat might be just the thing.

“Alright.” she nodded “What time?”

“Why don’t you come to mine for 8ish and we’ll get Steve to drop us off?” Katie smiled. “Em and Brooke will be ok with Jamie for a little while, Rori can sleep in the car seat.”

Jennifer nodded,  “Sure…” and then her attention was taken by another customer.

“I’ll leave you to it.” Katie smiled, heading back out of the shop. As soon as she was gone she picked up the phone and called Sam.

“We’re on…” she said simply, before she smirked and headed towards her car.

****

Bucky walked besides Sam, hands shoved in his pockets, fists clenching slightly. He really didn’t want to be out tonight but Sam had insisted. Mind you, it had given him an excuse to avoid going to Steve’s to watch the game. He loved Steve like a brother, he really did, but recently the way the blonde punk fawned over his wife was starting to set his teeth on edge. His hands on her back or hips when he passed her, a soft lingering peck on the lips here and there, the way she sat on his lap and he ran his hand up her thigh…Living with them had been torture towards the end. He was grateful for them putting him up for how long they did, and he knew they hadn’t been doing it on purpose but his ears were sharp… and it seemed like the lucky son-of-a-bitch was getting some every goddamned night, and sometimes in the morning too.  

He was happy for the Punk, he really was but, simply put, he was jealous, even if he hated admitting it. Not because he wanted Katie per-se (although he wasn’t blind-Katie was an attractive woman) but because he craved some form of tender touch and he’d almost gotten some 2 nights ago.

Almost.

When he had first met Jennifer 7 months ago on Steve’s doorstep she’d instantly blown him away. She was stunning, long legs, curves, bright green eyes that sparkled with mischief and a smile that made the world stop.  And then he had gotten to know her during the time he spent helping out at the shop and realised that she was funny, clever, with an outgoing spirit that he loved. He’d wanted to ask her out on a date almost immediately but it wasn’t until July 4th at Steve's birthday bash when she’d asked him for a proper kiss instead of a peck on the cheek when he had finally plucked up the courage to do so, no longer fearing the rejection.

And so he’d taken her out. Weekly in fact, every week since. And still helped at the coffee shop. Everything about the woman put him at ease. She helped him catch up on a lot of things she had missed, and when he stumbled on things he wasn’t familiar with or didn’t understand she didn’t instantly launch into an explanation unless he asked. For which he was grateful. It made him feel less inadequate that way.  

And she was tactile. And it was nice, Bucky hadn’t known anything but harsh physical contact for longer than he cared to remember. But Jennifer seemed to enjoy toughing him. She’d take his hand, lay her head on his shoulder as they walked, and then that time in the restaurant where she had brushed her ankle against his and then gently touched his knee as she stood up to go to the bathroom…well he wasn’t proud of it but he’d had a raging hard on for the rest of the date.

2 nights ago she’d cancelled on him, with a genuine excuse, so he’d taken the initiative and turned up at the shop with a takeout to help her close up. He’d stolen the last steamed dumpling, and then she’d teased him, calling him Sergeant which was enough to send a spike of desire right through his body and he’d acted before he’d thought about it, gripping her hips and pulling her to him, kissing her hard… and then he’d felt her tremble when his hands had brushed a strip of bare skin just about her jeans. He’d scared the shit out of her. So, he had made his excuses and bailed.

“Frosty?” Sam asked, and Bucky turned to look at him. He’d stopped outside a bar.

“Sorry, miles away.” Bucky shrugged, following him in. And no sooner had he done so he stopped dead.

“Hey, is that Katie and Jen?” Sam asked, and Bucky had to do a double-take honestly because at first, he didn’t recognize her. He had no issue with the way Jen normally dressed around him, figure hugging jeans, feminine tops or dresses and jackets that showed off her curves, and the way that fiery red hair normally fell around her face and shoulders…to him she was stunning as she was but there, right now?

Jesus fucking Christ. 

Her hair was twisted back in some form of bun, showing off her neck and shoulders which were bare thanks to the strapless, knee-length pale blue dress she was wearing, which had a slit up the right side through which he could see a perfect flash of alabaster thigh. Her lips were stained a bright red, like the women of his time, her legs bare, high heels on her feet. 

Next to her, Katie was sat wearing a floating gold dress, chatting to another one of the men, laughing as she turned to Jennifer and said something, causing her to laugh. Her face lit up with a smile as she replied and then turned to the man on her right who gently put his hand on the base of her back.

What. The. Fuck?

Bucky’s fists clenched as he watched Jennifer lean closer to say something to him, and the man nodded, laughing, before he waved to the bar tender, hand still on his girl. Before he could march over there and demand to know what was going on, Jennifer stood up and said something before she headed out to the bathroom. 

Before Bucky could stop himself, he marched after her.

**** Jen had started the night off feeling a little bit uncomfortable. She’d shown up to Katie’s dressed in a pair of tight, black cropped trousers and a white low cut vest top but there’d been an accident involving a glass of red wine when Katie had tripped on something and managed to throw it all down her. Her best friend had been so apologetic and mortified, but it wasn’t a complete disaster. Katie had a wardrobe that would make most celebrities jealous and in no time she had convinced Jen to try on the dress she was now wearing. It was a bit much for a Friday night out in Brooklyn bars but Katie was dressed up too so she supposed it was nice to make an effort every once in a while. Plus, she felt good in it. Which was nice considering how shit she’d felt the other day when Bucky had bailed on her.

A quick restyle of her hair to compliment the cut of her dress and they were on their way, Steve dropping them at their bar of choice and telling them to have a good time. They’d walked into the bar, ordered a bottle of wine and sat on the stools, where Jen had opened her heart and told Katie everything that had happened with Bucky. Katie had listened, sympathetically and then added her own pearls of wisdom suggesting that Bucky was a lot more shy than people expected. Their conversation had been cut short when two men had joined them, Katie jumping up to hug them both before introducing them to Jennifer as 2 of her old colleagues from SHIELD. The two men had been nice, included her in the conversation, and Jennifer had found herself actually enjoying their company. The dark haired one, a man called Ben,or Lawson as Katie called him, was interesting and had been entertaining her with a few tales of Katie at SHIELD, but then he’d started getting a bit touchy feely. And, despite the clear lack of communication from Bucky she still considered herself his. So she’d excused herself and gone to the bathroom. 

After re-doing her make-up, she was seriously considering heading back to the apartment and pulling on a pair of comfy pyjamas and settling with a nice bottle of rioja in front of the TV. Wondering if Katie would actually care, she snapped her purse shut, pulled open the door and did a double take as she found Bucky right outside it. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest and she didn’t miss the way his gaze flew up and down her body as she stepped closer.  

“Buck, hi.” she greeted him “What are you doing here?”

“I was out for a drink with Sam, wasn’t expecting to see you. And from what I just saw at the bar I’d say it was clear you weren’t expecting me to either.” Oh shit. He was mad. 

Jen swallowed hard “That wasn’t…that wasn’t what it looked like.”

“No?”

“No.” she shook her head “I don’t even know that guy, he’s a friend of Katie’s from work, well her old work, SHIELD…” Bucky didn’t say anything, he merely held her gaze. She knew how it looked. Worse she was dressed as she was, making her feel a little bit uneasy as she never wore outfits like this normally. She glanced at Bucky, he was dressed in a simple black button down and black jeans, looking damned good, but his entire body language was off. The shy, gently Bucky Barnes she knew had been replaced by someone else. He was harsh, angry, even.

And then she felt herself getting mad.

This was the man that had darted out of her apartment the other night, and hadn’t even called her. And now he was here, getting all pissy because some guy had shown her a bit of attention?

Fuck that.

In that split moment Bucky saw her whole body language change, from one of a kid being caught with their hand in the cookie jar to a parent who was about to deliver a very stern telling off. And he wasn’t wrong.

“Actually, I don’t have to explain myself to you.” she folded her arms, mimicking his stance. “You ran out on me 2 nights ago. You haven’t called, anything…” Bucky swallowed, and momentarily he felt a little sideswiped, but he fast recovered his composure.

“So you just what? Go on a date with someone else?”

“This isn’t a date you dickhead!” she practically snarled “I’ve never me the guy before, but for the record, it’s kinda nice to be wanted you know what I mean? Now if you’ll excuse me…”

Wait? Is that what she thought? That he didn’t want her? Fuck, no, that wasn’t right.

He reached out and grabbed her arm gently to stop her leaving and she turned to face him. Once more his eyes skated up and down her body and before he could stop himself he had pulled her to him, so she was flush against his body.

“You’re supposed to be my girl.” he whispered, looking into her eyes.

“Am I?” she swallowed, her voice shy, meek almost. And fuck, that turned him on even more.

“Yeah…”

“Then I am, fucking hell Bucky…” she groaned, her lips meeting his in a fierce kiss. He backed her up against the wall, his thigh planted firmly between hers as much as it could thanks to the tight dress she was wearing, the kiss intensifying until the pair of them jumped apart as 2 other people came into the corridor to use the bathroom, smirking as they passed the couple.

Bucky looked at her, shaking his head “The other night…” he began “I know I scared you…” Jennifer frowned “No you didn’t.” 

“You were shaking.” Bucky said “There’s no need to pretend what…” “Bucky Barnes I’m a grown ass woman.” she said sternly “I think I know what I was feeling…”

His eyes widened, so if she hadn’t been shaking in fear…then…oh. 

Oh.

“And I know what I want…” she smirked, grabbing the shirt just underneath his collar and spinning them around. Backing up, she dragged him into the ladies and pushed him into a cubicle, locking it behind her. As soon as she turned to face him, Bucky had her pinned against the door, his hands skirting up her dress, gently teasing the outside of her thighs as she kissed him, hard, hands running through his hair.

“For the record…”she pulled back, tugging on the short locks a the top of his head “I’m liking this…”

A low growl rumbled in his throat as he pushed her skirt up over her hips, planting his thigh in between hers. She let out a moan as he pushed up into her spot, the harsh denim grinding on her spot. She was soaked already, and when his fingers hooked into the top of the very skimpy lacy underwear she was wearing, her clit throbbed from the slight pressure as he tore the garment easily in half, tossing it to the floor.

“Fuck…” Jennifer mumbled as his lips caught the pulse point on her neck, her head falling back against the cubicle door as his fingers slid into her folds, one circling her clit. 

“This what you want?” he asked, his breath was low.

“God, yes…” she muttered as his fingers picked up the pace. He inserted on inside, and her head fell onto his shoulder as he curled it forward against her spot. It was such a fucking turn on to see her trembling at his touch, trembling he now understood in a good way. With his other hand he pulled down the top of her dress, freeing her breasts and he gave a groan as he realised she wasn’t wearing a bra. He gently rolled one nipple in between his teeth, his other hand still fucking her gently and she let out a gasp.. 

“Bucky for God’s Sake just fuck me already…” 

He grinned at her, removing his hand.

“Yes Ma’am…” he said, as her hands flew to the buckle on his belt before opened his jeans, her fingers pushing them and his boxers down, allowing his cock to spring loose.

“You got any…” he began and she shook her head.

“No need, I got that covered…and I’m clean so as long as you are…” she looked at him and he nodded, as he gently hooked his hands under her knees and lifted her so her legs were round his waist. Once more he claimed her mouth with a heated kiss, swallowing the groan she gave as he pushed into her.  

Jesus…her heat almost paralysed him, but after a second or two to let them both adjust he began to move, slowly at first, gently finding a rhythm that suited them both.

“I’m going to make you feel so good, Sweetheart.” he said and she groaned again as he gently rutted up into her, his mouth finding her breasts again. The noises she was making were turning him on even more as he picked up his pace slightly, and the more he gave the more she wanted. 

Soon the bathroom was filled with the sinful sound of skin on skin, moans and groans, and the rattling of the cubicle door as Bucky fucked into her again and again. Her hands were in his hair, up his back, under his shirt, gently tracing the scars on his shoulder from behind but he didn’t give a fuck, in fact, in a twisted way he liked the feel of her soft touch over the raised skin. He continued to slam into her again and again, lips kissing down her jawline, neck, across her collar bone and down to her breasts again, and she gave a loud squeak. 

“God I wanted you so fucking much…”She gasped, bringing his head up to kiss hers again, her hands on his cheeks.

“Feeling’s mutual doll” he moaned into her mouth, the noise of the door behind them was rattling even louder. 

Jen felt her core tightened as a wave of pleasure swelled within her. Her shoes were somewhere on the floor as her heels dug into that ass she had admired for so long, nails scratching slightly at his skin as her hands slid under his skirt again. The door behind her continued to squeak, grind, and rattle.

“I’m…”

“You going to come for me?” Bucky asked as he kissed down her neck, biting at her collar bone. She nodded with a groan, and her head banged back against the door.

“Shit, Bucky…” and then she clamped around him hard as her release took her. Her entire body shook as the white hot tendrils coursed around her from head to toe, the entire world spinning. Bucky gave a strangled groan that bubbled from the depths of this chest, and he clutched her to him, tightly, hips stuttering as he shuddered with the utter intensity of it all.

A very loud groan and then a scream erupted from Jenifer as the door collapsed behind them, and sent the pair of them falling. In a flash Bucky wrapped himself around her, pivoting so that his back hit the floor first and Jenifer fell against his chest.

There was a moment’s pause before she began to laugh, and Bucky couldn’t help but chuckle as well as she looked at him and he helped her to her feet.

“Erm…so we broke the door.” She said between her laughter as she adjusted her dress, smoothing back her hair as Bucky did up his pants, tucking his shirt back in. 

He ran his hand over her hip, up to her neck and pulled her back in for a softer kiss and when he pulled away he was amazed at how relaxed and less tired and stressed he felt. 

Who’d have thought it? All he needed was a good fuck.

But now as he looked at the woman in front of him he realised fucking wasn’t enough. He wanted to take her home and lavish affection on every inch of her body.  

“Was that okay?” Jennifer asked, looking at him “I know it’s not exactly how a first time together should be but…” “Are you kidding?” Bucky chuckled, pulling her into his arms. “That was incredible but you’re right. I’d really like to take you home and do it properly, a little more caring maybe…as soon as I can.”

“My apartment’s free…” she whispered, as he kissed her again before he pulled back and grinned.

“What are we waiting for?” he asked, and with a last glance down at the broken door, she took his hand and led him back into the corridor. 

As they walked across the bar it didn’t escape Bucky’s notice that Sam was sat with the two men Jenifer had explained were friend’s of Katie’s, and that his best friend’s wife was nowhere to be seen.

And it all clicked into place. He realised he had been well and truly played. ‘Mrs Rogers, you cheeky little minx…’

3. Closing Analysis

“And he’s gone!” Sam smirked, watching Bucky stalk across the busy bar area after Jennifer “I gotta hand it to you…it would seem that Steve isn’t the only Rogers with a plan.”

“Yeah, I’m intrigued…” Evans said, draping a hand over her shoulder, “How did you know it would work?”

“Remember that time, years ago, when Steve and I had been on the baseball, and you commented on how Rumlow had been eye-fucking me all night?” she turned to her former sniper partner. He nodded “Well let’s just say it sparked something in Captain America that night.”

Evans and Lawson both chuckled. 

“And on that note…” Katie said, draining her glass as her phone flashed with a message from her husband “My ride home is here.”

“Seems Jen isn’t the only one with a super soldier waiting to ravish her…” Lawson quipped. 

Katie smirked “That and I have no intention of being here when they come out and realise we set the whole thing up.” “We?” Sam asked. “You were complicit…” she said, draining her glass. She turned to give Evans and Lawson a hug.

“Good to see you boys, stop by the house soon, come say hi.”

“Best get your chef on Nova.” Evans grinned, “You owe us.” “Oh admit it.” she smirked “You enjoyed the thrill of being on a Covert Op again.” “Think it’s Tin Man that’s gonna be enjoying that particular thrill…” Sam quipped, making her snort. 

“If they make it that far…” she smirked, pulling on her jacket. “Night boys.”

She made her way outside and over to the Audi, climbing into the passenger seat.

“Hey baby, you have a nice time?” Steve asked as she leaned over to give him a peck.

She grinned “Yeah, although not as nice as Bucky and Jen it would seem.” “What did you do?” he asked, looking at her suspiciously. 

“Nothing…just gave them a friendly shove…” she said, pausing as she felt her phone vibrate in her bag. It was a text. from Bucky 

“Expect a bill for a toilet cubicle door…”

She gave a loud laugh and showed it to Steve who groaned, shaking his head.

“Oh it’s not like we never fucked in a bathroom before.” she laughed, and he was about to reply when he stopped and grinned, nodding out of the windscreen. Katie followed his gaze as Jen and Bucky came out of the bar, hand in hand, and straight to a waiting cab. As Bucky opened the door to let Jenifer in he turned slowly to his right, locked eyes with Katie and raised his metal hand, leaving a single digit extended in her direction. The middle one to be exact before he grinned climbed into the car.

“You know, you don’t need to look so smug about it…” Steve said, a smile playing on his face as he eyed his wife who sat back in her seat. She gave him a shrug, smirking and he chuckled as he pulled the car away from the kerb. 

Ok, so she’d clearly underestimated the ex-assassin, maybe he had twigged it had been a set up. But that didn’t matter. Her plan had worked.

Katie Rogers had just successfully dismantled Bucky Barnes. 

@the-omni-princess​  @momobaby227​ @geekofmanythings16​ @angelofhell-666​ @thewackywriter​ @marvelfansworld​​   @cobalt-gear​  @asgardlover75​ @jennmurawski13​​​   @jtargaryen18​​ @saiyanprincessswanie​​   @navispalace​​ @patzammit​​   @joannaliceevans-fanficblog​​   @icanfeelastormbrewing​​ @djeniiscorner​​   @ayamenimthiriel​​   @coldmuffinbanditshoe​​   @disneylovingal​​ @madzmilllz​   @sgtjaamesbaarnes​

[need-a-fugue]

Why Not? - Chapter Ten

Summary: With a garage to run and a young daughter to, well… run after, Bucky Barnes doesn’t exactly have time for dating. And with his relationship track record – and the constant meddling of a certain overbearing best friend – he’s not so sure that’s a bad thing. But then he meets Annie – a rather insistent, pretty damn cute fellow car enthusiast – and it’s got him asking himself, despite all his hesitations, why not?

Author’s Note: Written for Little Darlin’s Mystery AU Challenge. Thanks to @sourpatchkidsandacokecan​ for triggering this… sprawling thing simply by supplying me with the prompt of Mechanic!AU for Bucky. It’s taken on a life of its own already… look at what you’ve done!

I'm so sorry it took so long to update... I got a little sucked into a different WIP that I've been obsessing a bit over. But here we are, the final chapter!

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC

Warnings: Bit of angst, mostly fluff. Some bad language words…

“Come on,” Annie intones – practically whines – as both hands come up to wrap around his wrist. She gives a sharp tug, lets out a dramatic groan, and then plants her high heels and pulls on him with all her might.

But Bucky’s feet remain cemented firmly in place, his eyes still lingering on the throngs of well-dressed, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous people behind her as they casually saunter into the country club. The corner of his mouth ticks up ever so slightly, lopsided grin blooming as he watches her antics from his periphery, catching sight of the pretty pink chiffon of her dress blowing in the soft breeze as she leans heavily back and lets out another huff while continuing to manhandle him.

“Uh-uh,” he mutters, shaking his head slowly, methodically. “No way in hell am I going in there.”

She pulls herself upright and gives him a disappointed look, bottom lip protruding in an overdone pout. “You promised.”

He shrugs, twisting his hand easily in her grip to wrap his fingers around hers. “Changed my mind.”

There’s a cheekiness to his gaze – and a brilliant hue to his crystal blue eyes – that she recognizes immediately. It’s the same vague, teasing look he gives his daughter whilst telling her that dinosaurs used to keep sabretooth tigers at pets… and made wooly mammoths use their tusks to clean their litter boxes. Or when he insists that ice cream for breakfast is against the law, and he’s keeping her out of jail by giving her waffles instead.

It’s a look Annie’s had directed her way a time or two as well, the playful flash in his features doing more to set her ablaze than just about anything else – save maybe seeing him slide out from under a car, covered in grease and sweat. Those moments when he sneaks up behind her while she’s washing dishes, gives her a swift and startling slap on the ass that every time causes her to nearly jump out of her skin? There’s that glint burning in his gaze as she turns to coyly chide him. Or when she bemoans being tired after a long day and a late night, only to feel his fingers trail slowly up her thigh, setting her flesh to tingle and singe? Sure enough, when she rolls over in bed, it’s that look she’s met with, impish anticipation painting his features.

It’s a look that has already become adored and craved by her. And freely given by him. A gesture, an unspoken admittance of affection that – in just these few short months – has managed to work its way into a new, shared vernacular.

She steps closer to Bucky, the slowly setting sun beating harshly on her back as she presses herself to his chest. “What if I change my mind about coming home with you tonight?” she asks with a sly smile, eyes fluttering flirtatiously up at him. “I mean, if I go in there alone, chances are, I’ll find some handsome, rich man and go home with him instead. Let him whisk me away in his Ferrari.”

Her mere presence coupled with the unseasonably warm temperature causes sweat to build beneath his collar, and he reaches up with his free hand to tug at the suffocating tie. “If he’s got a Ferrari, I can’t blame you,” he breathes out casually. “Go for it.” He drops his palm down to her hip, taking in the cool silkiness of her dress. “But you’re not gonna find anyone in there more handsome than me.”

She pulls back with a sudden – utterly enchanting, he can’t help but think – laugh and slaps him in the chest. “Cocky much?”

He merely wiggles his brows at her, earning an eyeroll – amid a beautifully dimpled smile – in response.

“C’mon,” she breathes out then, spinning round and twining her fingers with his before setting off towards the celebration. “You’re my officially RSVPed plus one. There’s no backing out now. It’s the law.”

He bites back a short chuckle, lets out instead a rumbling growl, but easily relents just the same, this time allowing himself to be pulled forward towards the massive gardens ahead. “I don’t know any of these people,” he whines pathetically, plodding behind her with heavy feet.

“You know me. And Tony,” she supplies, forging on without casting a glance back at him.

He rolls his eyes restlessly. “Last time I saw your boss, he was practically dusting for prints in my garage.”

“So dramatic,” she mocks thickly, accepting a program from one of the ushers as they enter the sprawling garden. She stops short once inside, Bucky very nearly ramming into her from behind. “It looks amazing,” she lets out in a low, astonished tone, the very tenor of which shoots a wide grin across Bucky’s face. She spins to look at him, her eyes inadvertently ticking round to take in more details of their surroundings. The lush, green topiaries looming on all sides. The big, beautiful lilies and orchids encircling the seating area. The perfectly placed fairy lights streaming from the tall trees. The giant pergola up front where a terribly well-dressed justice of the peace is already stoically standing. “This is exactly like what Pepper requested,” she mutters delightedly. “She must be so happy!”

He tugs her off to the side – out of the way – as more people stream in. “Well, it is her day, right?”

Annie nods, small hum spilling from her lips as she turns and drags him off towards the pristine white chairs, marching ever closer to the pergola at the front. “Tony said that if I sit any further back than the third row, I’m fired,” she tells him when his heels begin to dig in yet again.

And again, he yields, a deep, rather comic frown pulling on his face as they lightly push their way through the other guests. “So Stark is the bridezilla,” he mutters, no question to his voice.

She leads him into the seats, across a few already sitting – oddly familiar-looking – people before plopping down with a huff. “Ugh,” she drones, completely ignoring his comment and instead straightening her skirt beneath her before letting out a long, weary sigh alongside the very simple utterance, “It is hot.”

“You’re hot?” He turns on her with wide eyes, tugging once more at his tie, trying – and failing – to slide the sleeves of his suit jacket up his forearms for just a little air. “If they say anything more than just I do, I might freakin’ melt out here.”

A soft, clever smile rolls across her face. “But you’ll look good while you do it,” she says, reaching up to flatten his lapel before giving a single, terse nod. “I like you in a suit.”

He lets out a small scoff. “Don’t get any ideas, doll.”

“Any ideas?” she intones, grin only growing. “We’re at a wedding, Buck. I’m getting all sorts of ideas.”

His eyes blow wide for the briefest of moments, mouth falling agape and head cocking towards her as an anxious trilling buzzes through his brain. But then he sees the teasing turn to her lips, the tightness in her jaw as she works to hold in a bout of laughter. And he releases a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding as an exasperated, “Very funny,” slips from his lips.

The bright, airy chuckle she’d been holding so tightly to spills out, her fingers dropping to splay wide over his knee. “Relax. I promise I won’t propose to you at the end of the night.”

His face drops, and along with it, his voice. “Might not mind you proposing certain things,” he mutters with a shrug.

A quick bark of a laugh has his eyes veering automatically back up at her, locking onto her mirthful gaze. “Fine,” she eases out after the giggles begin to fade. “Maybe I’ll propose something.” Then she shifts in her seat, turning towards him, her face mere inches from his. Her eyes take on a somewhat solemn quality as she tells him, voice dropping nearly a full octave, “I’m not one of those super-sentimental, sappy girls who’s going to get all weepy just because we’re at a gorgeous wedding.” Her eyes tick over to the waiting pergola, a wistful air wrapping around her tone. “Or because I genuinely love the two people getting married. Or because,” she looks back at him, something clenching and burning deep in her core as she catches his bright blue eyes. “Because I love the fact that you actually came here with me.”

A tight breath hisses between his teeth. “Jesus, doll. You keep looking at me like that, you might just turn me into one of those super-sentimental, sappy girls,” he tells her before throwing an arm over her shoulder – despite the heat – and settling back with her body nestled close to his.

000

In the weeks following what had since been dubbed FLU: Revenge of the Toilet, Annie and Bucky had not only grown closer, but more… solid.

That rather rough Wednesday night – when everything seemed to go wrong and all of their insecurities were laid bare – had been a bit of a turning point in their relationship. Looking back, both of them would likely say that it was, in fact, the beginning of their relationship. Before that night, they were dating. They were two people who talked and laughed and hung out… and were – undeniably, categorically – attracted to one another. But after, they became so much more.

For Annie, the defining aspect of that evening – the thing that convinced her they were about to head down a new path together – was simply the fact that Bucky had pushed. He forced a conversation about whether or not she could handle his messy life, felt the need to because – I really like you – he was beginning to see a place for her in his future. That, coupled with the fact that he never asked her to leave, clearly never wanted her to leave, served to quiet Tony’s well-intentioned warning – You’ll never come first, you know – that always seemed to linger in the back of her mind.

Maybe that would still be true at times. Maybe it should be true, especially when the one she’d be competing against for that top spot was a four-year-old girl. But in that moment – that night – Bucky had made it abundantly clear that she was his priority.

Needless to say, she had stayed the night after all. After a rather intense and achingly long make out session that resulted in swollen lips, a bit of beard-burn, and a broken coffee maker; a quick everything’s good here check-in phone call from Steve and Natasha; and too much lukewarm Indian food, Annie ended up coiled around Bucky’s hulking form, breathless in his bed, sweaty sheets sticking to naked flesh as her exhausted body drifted off to sleep. It was blissful and hot, and above all else, it just felt… right.

The next morning, on the other hand, wound up being less than stellar. She woke cold and alone, sprawled atop an otherwise empty bed, pulled from her slumber by the muffled sounds of retching emanating from behind the closed bathroom door.

She cared for Bucky that day – much to his chagrin – helped him shower and dress, cleaned his toilet, even ran to the store to stock up on Gatorade and ginger ale. And she allowed him to care for her as well – to come and fetch her and take her home, clean her up and keep her hydrated – when she blew chunks all over her desk at work two days later.

And that is what became the defining moment for Bucky.

It had all been a somber sign of things to come. Sickness. Hardship. Going to bed on cloud nine and waking the next morning with a faceplant to the dirty ground. It was all the things that he’d been afraid might happen. Burdening Annie with the cumbersome task of caring for a stubborn patient – I see where Lana gets it now – and the painful domesticity it bore. Having to do the same for her, just looking at her pale skin and hooded eyes, wiping the sweat from her brow, all the while knowing she was sick because of him. Having to break plans – the first plans they managed to make that didn’t involve chicken soup and Netflix – when a rather green-looking Natasha brought Svetlana over two days early because Steve’s horrendous retching was making the little girl cry.

But they made it through just fine. It was oddly easy, in fact… easier than he ever expected it to be. Caring for one another. Wanting to care for one another. It had been too damn easy.

If he were to be completely, unabashedly honest, Bucky would have to admit that this degree of ease… of comfort and simplicity – because that’s really what it is, isn’t it? Just a bizarrely uncomplicated, effortless sensation? – was not something he’d ever had with any other woman before. Even with Nat – whom he’d loved long before Lana came along, though admittedly not in the way that allowed two people to forge a life together – it had never been easy. She was strong and independent and wholly her own person. Her strength reeled him in and turned him on. But it also terrified him. Still does. Showing any vulnerability in front of Natasha Romanov – despite her telling him repeatedly that she can see right through his cocky façade – is not a thing he has ever been willing or able to do.

And with other woman too, he’s only ever allowed a certain side of himself – or perhaps a select few sides – to be glimpsed. More often than not, he’s shown them the charming, self-assured smile, imbued every movement, every word with the seemingly subtle confidence that he could see turned them to mush. But never, that he can recall, had he shared with them his struggles. No, instead he’d wear that charm like armor, a beguiling indifference that got him laid while still keeping his heart safe. And after Lana was born, once he realized his heart had become even more precious – more full and seemingly fragile now that his baby girl lay inside – an utter air of detachment was added on as an extra, thicker layer of protection.

He’d tell women about himself – what he did for a living, where he grew up. He’d share with them that he loved cars, loved screwball comedies, loved his daughter more life itself. He’d let them into his home and his bed. But his heart – and most of what made him truly him – was simply off limits.

He never really realized how much of his time was spent walking on eggshells around the women in his life, cautiously selecting which pieces of information to reveal, which parts of himself – if any – to lay bare. He’d never realized quite how hard it had been to be himself… to be real and genuine and – God help him – vulnerable with women.

Until Annie came along and made things so damn easy.

000

The music is surprisingly… intense. For a wedding reception, at least. The not-so-subtle beats of AC/DC and Metallica permeating the air for a good hour or so before slowly tapering off into some more appropriate rock ballads. “Tony got to choose the tunes for the cocktail hour,” Annie whispers to him with a smirk. “Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon.”

But for Bucky, the predetermined cocktail hour expands well into the post-dinner lull, his general wariness of large crowds and unease with small talk driving him to keep his hands and lips busy with drinks for as long as humanly possible. He gets it down to a science… sip easily at the watered-down drink in his hand to keep from having to say more than a few words to any of Annie’s overeager – borderline neurotic – coworkers. Then slip back over to the bar, taking his sweet-ass time to get a refill.

He’s on his fifth lap now, taking a break to sit at the far corner of the open bar. He watches from afar – head ducked, fleeting smile stifled – as Annie laughs and talks and mingles with a handful of work friends, her kind eyes ticking his way every few moments in quiet – easy – reassurance. And with each tender glance he feels a new wave of adoration wash over him, a steadily undulating current that both buoys him and threatens to drown him in the depths.

“You’re drinking the cheap shit,” he hears from over his shoulder. His hand grips the crystal tumbler of bourbon a little tighter as he slowly spins on the stool, raising a brow at the suspiciously unaccompanied center of attention. Tony ticks his chin toward his glass before calling the bartender over and saying simply, “Break out the Pappy Van Winkle.”

“The what?” Bucky asks, his eyes following the bartender’s cautious steps as he makes his way around to the back of the bar, throwing furtive glances over his shoulder as he goes.

Tony rolls his eyes and lets out a small grunt before dropping into the seat beside him. “Stupid name, wholeheartedly agree.” He tugs at his bowtie, unfurling it in one quick swipe and flinging it down atop the mahogany bar. “But it’s the best. Or…” he shrugs. “One of the best. Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”

Bucky’s eyes narrow – not unkindly, but certainly suspiciously – as he watches the bartender return with two tumblers and a bottle that his fingers curl around as though it were the freaking holy grail. “Shouldn’t you be out there mingling with all your high-society guests?” he asks once they’re left alone with their drinks.

Tony raises his glass, holding it high with an expectant sort of impatience. “C’mon,” he mutters fitfully. “I just married the love of my life. Toast me.”

The corner of Bucky’s mouth quirks up into an amused grin, a quick snort of a chuckle spilling out as he brings the bourbon up and clinks Tony’s glass. “Congratulations,” he deadpans, the smallest gleam in his eye revealing the depth of his sincerity.

“Thank you.” Tony pulls back and sips at his drink, a look of pure comfort spilling across his face as his Adam’s apple bobs.

Bucky brings the bourbon to his lips – slowly, cautiously – and lets the amber liquid slide inside, coating his tongue, his throat, his soul in the most delicious burn possible. “Damn,” he breathes out, staring wide-eyed at the drink in his hand. A delicate trace lingers as he swipes his tongue along his bottom lip, head shaking slowly. “Damn.”

Tony chuckles under his breath. “Probably shouldn’t have introduced you to good ole Pappy,” he declares. “Like sending someone who’s only ever flown coach across the ocean on a private jet.”

“I’d settle for business class,” he smarts with a frown.

Tony nods, another small chortle spilling out of him. He takes another sip and cheats out on his stool, gazing across the large dancefloor in front of them until his eyes light on the tall strawberry blonde, dripping with white silk, a glass of champagne in her left hand that sets a sparkling backdrop for the platinum band clinking delicately against it. “Nah,” he mutters, grin growing as he watches his new wife throw her head back in a carefree, delightful bout of laughter. “Why settle when you can have the best?”

Bucky’s shoulders pull into a quick shrug, his gaze sweeping out to find the object of Tony’s attention before returning to settle on the drink in his hand. “Not everyone can afford the best,” he mutters a bit under his breath.

Tony turns to him with a disappointed glare. “You do realize I’m not actually talking about bourbon, right?” He lets out a long, exasperated sigh and settles in, placing his glass on the bar and leaning close to the man beside him. “She’s ruined you, hasn’t she? Annie,” he clarifies when Bucky’s brows curl in confusion. “Can’t go back to the cheap shit after getting a taste of her. Am I right?”

Something akin to a growl pulls from his chest, his jaw ticking tightly to the side. “Don’t talk about tasting my girlfriend.”

And Tony just laughs. Loudly. Haughtily. Slapping Bucky on the shoulder as he goes. “Relax, will ya?” he chokes out before swallowing down the snickers. He shakes his head with a fond sort of amusement. “Metaphor, Barnes.”

“Yeah,” he mumbles, hint of agitation still in his voice as he brings the glass back to his lips and lets the liquor wash away the remnants of his irritation.

“I was watching you before,” he states simply, mirthful eyes still trained on the rather uncomfortable looking man before him. “The way you look at her, eyes following her around like a little puppy dog.”

Bucky’s lips press tightly together into a small snarl.

“I’m a genius, you know,” he lets out vapidly before giving a quick shrug and reaching up to pop open the top button of his starched, white collar. “Doesn’t take a genius to see what I saw, though.”

“Oh, yeah?” Bucky bites out, perhaps a bit harsher than intended. “What’s that?”

A smug smile, a stifled laugh, a short, incredulous snort… that’s all the answer he really needs. But Tony says it anyway, never one to pass up the opportunity to be heard. “You’re smitten. Intoxicated. You’ve had the Pappy and – you’ve gotta admit – nothing’s been sweeter, smoother… easier going down.”

He flashes him a stunned look, his stare reflecting something between confusion and accusation. And his lips part, jaw popping open to emit nothing but dumbfounded silence.

“Love’s a good thing,” Tony tells him, his voice light and airy, flitting atop a soft laugh. “Annie is a damn good… thing,” he finishes, frown forming as he realizes what he said. But he shakes it off, a look of you know what I mean flashing Bucky’s way. “She tell you about the promotion?” he asks, curiosity lacing his tone.

Bucky sputters a bit, the swift change in topic causing him to reel. “Uh,” he thinks. Promotion… promotion. “Yeah,” he utters finally, once his brain catches up. “Yeah. Something about… operations…” He shakes his head. “Or operational… something.”

Another snort of a laugh. “Operations manager for our new Innovative Tech Division.” He shakes his head with an almost annoyed air. “Up and comers are the worst. They all think they’re the hottest shit, each of their ideas the most… innovative. I find them… exhausting.” He narrows his eyes pensively. “Actually I find them to be the most irritating little shits on the planet.” He issues out a quick scoff and downs the rest of his drink before returning his gaze to Bucky. “Annie says they’re too much like me and that’s why I hate them. But I don’t buy that. I love me.” He shrugs. “Anyway… figured she could go unleash some of that insight on them. Help them all get their shit together and function like a team. Or, hell, I’d settle for just function.”

Bucky lets out a soft snicker, crooked smile blooming. “Want her to clean up more of your messes,” he muses thickly, taking another pull of bourbon.

Tony flattens him with an uncharacteristically serious stare. “It’s what makes us a good team.” He turns on his stool to bodily face the man before him, brows knitting tightly as a contemplative expression washes over his face. “I can only function in a world tempered with chaos… need it to be able to find the answers that just swirl around in the air. I make messes. It’s part of my process. Annie, she likes to… clean things up. Organize them. Fix them. She’s good at it too.”

Bucky’s lips pinch tightly together, his head slowly bobbing in a pensive nod as a sudden swell of doubt rises in his gut. “She likes order,” he says, almost to himself.

“Nah,” Tony mutters. “She just knows that sometimes order is what you need to make things more… palatable for others.” Bucky’s brows twist tightly together, utter befuddlement tugging at his features. Tony stifles a laugh as he catches the look. “What she likes is the mess. Because it gives her something to fix. She likes the challenge.”

“The challenge,” he repeats, his shoulders deflating, head drooping. “Great. Just what every guy wants to hear… I’m a challenge to be around,” he murmurs under his breath.

“Give her some credit,” Tony mutters drolly, pulling Bucky from his haze. “If she didn’t want to be challenged, she’d shack up with one of the boring-ass intellectuals down in accounting. Lord knows enough of them have tried. She saw your ramshackle little garage, saw you racing all over the place to fix things…”

“My garage isn’t ramshackle,” he interrupts with a frown.

“Every time I went in there the place was overbooked, you had some new project going on – ”

“You brought me those projects,” he defends a bit heatedly.

Tony merely shrugs. “Tools and grease everywhere,” he goes on. “A business partner who comes and goes as he pleases. Some teenager trying not to break shit in the back…”

“Hey, Peter’s a good kid.”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I know. I’ve heard.” He stares Bucky down, his deep brown eyes holding a steely edge. “Barnes, I have heard everything about you. About how great you are with early model fuel-injection systems. How generous your are with your regulars… working out financing and payment plans and other nonsense that’s just gonna land you in the poorhouse. How patient you are with working around other people’s schedules. How wonderful you are with your kid,” he finishes with another overdone roll of his eyes. “Yeah, you got a little bit of chaos surrounding you,” he goes on with a tender note. “And she likes that.”

“You’re saying she likes me because my life’s a mess,” he mutters, only a hint of a question to his voice. “She wants something to fix.”

“Your skull really that thick?” he asks with a raised brow. “I know you’re not a genius like some people…” Bucky rolls his eyes and snorts, both actions being completely ignored by Tony as he goes on to say, “You fix cars. She fixes people. You clean up after a kid. She cleans up after me. You hold together a complicated little family unit, work to make it, well, work. She’s about to do the same with a group of arrogant young prodigies. She’s not trying to fix you. She’s not looking to be challenged by you. Barnes, you idiot… she wants to be challenged with you.”

000

As the party slows, the night growing long and stretching out towards its inevitable end, Bucky finally leaves the bar and returns to their table. The other Stark Industries’ workers that had been surrounding them before, smothering Bucky with their enthusiastic welcomes and long-winded inside jokes that drove him to the silent corner of the bar to begin with, had all filtered off to either take over the dancefloor or simply retire for the night. It’s only Annie now, a vision in pale pink, the loose curls around her face coiling tightly at her temples due the unseasonable humidity. She rests heavily in her seat at the empty table, head propped on her fist as her eyes trail along the smaller – yet still substantial – crowd before her. The sweetest smile rests on her lips as she placidly watches people dance, laugh, talk, and just be.

Bucky flops down in the chair beside her, scooting a plate piled high with two different types of cake and a heaping scoop of fruit covered in chocolate sauce – because apparently there had been a chocolate fountain sitting at yet another dessert buffet on the opposite side of the room all night – over between them. Her smile grows into an excited, toothy grin as she accepts the proffered fork and stabs through the mountain of sugar, trying to capture all of the sweet treats into a single bite.

“Finally get tired of keeping yourself sequestered?” she asks just before popping the fruit-laden cake into her mouth.

He lets out a small chuckle and spears a chocolatey strawberry with his own fork. “Kinda backfired on me,” he murmurs, swiping his tongue around some of the dripping chocolate. “Your boss found me.”

She laughs indelicately, almost snorting around the massive bite of dessert as she chews and effortfully swallows it down. “Yeah,” she says with a nod. “I saw.” Her fork returns for another serving, playfully batting his away to get at a plump blueberry sitting atop a mass of vanilla buttercream. “Could’ve been worse. Gary from accounting found his way over here.” Her head drops dramatically back, a mocking – and loud – snore pulling from somewhere deep in her chest alongside a theatrical moan. “Sooooo boring.”

Bucky can’t help but laugh at that, his wide smile settling into something fond and familiar as he watches her sigh and slouch forward and focus once again on the dessert, taking another too-large bite and leaving a smear of frosting along the corner of her mouth. “You tired?” he asks, reaching down and plucking a naked raspberry from the pile, raising it up to swipe along her lip, using it to clean her mess before he pops it into his mouth with a wink.

She cocks her head at him and grins, eyes crinkling at the edges as she finishes chewing. He reaches out with his thumb to clear off the remnants of icing and chocolate pocking her bottom lip, and she lets her eyes blink slowly shut, head drooping a bit once she swallows. Bucky unfurls his hand, palm opening to easily accept her flushed cheek as she nuzzles into him. “Is that a pickup line?” she asks, leaning over the edge of her seat, gradually fading into his warmth. “You want to put me to bed?”

He laughs – the sound light and airy and wonderfully melodic to her ears – and scoots his chair closer, wraps an arm around her and tugs her casually to his chest. “Maybe.”

Her eyes flit open and take in the twinkling fairy lights above, each tiny, haloed bulb melding masterfully in with the night sky. “Thanks for coming with me tonight, Buck,” she murmurs languidly as her head rolls back along his shoulder.

He lays a chaste kiss atop her head and pulls her a little closer with his left arm, his right hand still absently stabbing at fruit with his fork. “Any time, doll.”

She shifts beside him, turns her head just enough to be able to catch a glimpse of his face. Her eyes shine with something akin to mischief as she says, “I have a friend who’s getting married in December. We went to high school together so everyone I grew up with will be there.” Her eyebrows wiggle almost maniacally, the look equal parts terrifying and endearing.

“Great,” he deadpans, swallowing down a chortle. Then, “Ah, you know what?” oozes out of him in an easy cadence. “Yeah, I think I have Lana that night. Probably can’t make it.”

“I didn’t tell you the date,” she says, blank face just barely cracking as a sneaky smile threatens to tug at her lips.

“Yeah, well,” he breathes out. “I’m a busy guy, you know.”

She scoots a bit closer, her hip splitting his knees apart as she settles in and wraps her arms around his center. “You’re not that busy,” she intones, dropping her face to his chest and letting out a small yawn. “Or did you forget that I updated your calendar myself?”

No, he hadn’t forgotten. He actually – silently – thanks her daily. Every time he gets an alert on his phone… a reminder about swim lessons, soccer practice, a change of days with Lana. Or a notification – complete with embedded heart emoji – telling him exactly where to be and at what time for their date that evening. She had – now that he thinks about it – somehow managed to already calm the inherent chaos in his life, easing the strain of the everyday.

“Hm,” he hums out casually as his fingers weave into her hair. “You know, I’m pretty sure that calendar told me just the other day that Lana’s starting gymnastics next month…”

She pops up excitedly, coming to life in his arms as she presses her palms into his chest and pushes off of him. “I know!” she enthuses, turning a beaming smile his way. “I’m so excited for her!”

The corner of his mouth quirks up, soft chuckle spilling forth. “Well, that’s good, I guess,” he mutters cheerily, all the while shoving down the butterflies that so often burst to life in his gut when she’s around. She’s excited for my baby, he thinks, grin growing wider from just that one thought. “But I was trying to point out that I’m sure I’ll be way too busy for any more weddings.”

Her bottom lip pushes out into a pout, pensive look tugging at her features as her eyes narrow. “Nah,” she says after a moment of seeming contemplation. “We’ll make it work.”

“Oh, we will?” he questions amid a laugh.

She drops back into him, her head colliding with his collarbone and causing a harsh grunt to sound, cutting off his laughter. “Of course we will,” she mumbles into his chest, the sound of her voice muffled but the feel of it edging into him, vibrating through his chest and colliding with his heart.

He squeezes her a little bit tighter, his fingers trailing softly along the bare skin of her neck, swiping down over her shoulder in a delicate trace. He drops his lips to her hair once more, breathes in the now familiar scent of coconut shampoo… smiles when he gets a swift hit of Lana’s lavender detangler too.  

“I think,” he breathes out, low voice slowing trailing off. She curls deeper into him and gives a small hum by way of encouragement. But he doesn’t go on, can’t quite form the sudden, overwhelming thought into a coherent sentence. He releases a long, hot breath into her hair, the statement that had only just cracked forth and dropped through a chink somewhere in his armor now lodging in his throat.

I love you.

She pulls back and gives him a curious, almost worried look. “You want to go home?” she asks, her voice soft, achingly tender.

He offers a fond, closed-lip smile before tugging her back to his chest, nuzzling her close, and tucking her head beneath his chin. I love you. The words are now tickling the very tip of his tongue, smacking ceaselessly atop the roof of his mouth. I love you.

But… not yet. Not here. “Home,” he muses serenely, hums softly into her hair. A deep sigh spills from his lips, and along with it – carrying a note of practiced ease – he utters plainly, “Yeah, doll. Why not?”

[fanfictionaries]

Thank You

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC (platonic), Bucky Barnes x OFC

Summary: Things are difficult for Annie after the snap, more than anyone realized. 

Words: 2K

Warnings: Swearing, suicide, depression, grief

Author’s Note: I’ve been in a really weird head space all weekend. I had to channel it all through this bit of writing. I bawled like a baby writing this, so I hope you like it! 

***

It was a quiet night in Brooklyn. The nights always seemed so quiet now. Now that everyone was gone. Annie was sat on the fire escape, trying not to shiver at the light breeze that blew past her. It was mid-November and the weather was beginning to have a bite, especially at night. She hugged the jacket tighter around herself. His jacket. She liked to imagine that it still smelled like him, but after so many months of constant wear, it pained her to realize that the only scent it held was hers. It was one of the many things she had still relucted to give up. To move on from. She tried to remember the times that they would sit together out there and just look up at the sky. They would talk for hours about what life was going to be like for them. Now, all of that was gone and it was her. Just her.

On the outside, she really did look like she had it together. After everything was said and done, she’d taken a week to really grieve. To shut herself away and cry, but very quickly after she realized that nothing was going to change what had happened. Especially after Steve and the others had returned to tell everyone that Thanos and the stones were gone. Any hope of any of them returning was gone. She’d gone back to work. She’d connected with the friends and family that had survived. Hope, she told them. Hope for a better future and a brighter tomorrow. The ones they loved were gone, but they were still there. It was a gift and they shouldn’t squander it. The people they lost would want them to continue on. Everyone praised her. They told her they were encouraged by her strength. Grateful for her ability to rise above the grief and be there for those that could not.

She was such a liar. It was getting harder every day. Harder to lie through her to teeth to everyone around her. Harder to pretend like every moment that he wasn’t there didn’t feel like a slow, torturous death. Who was she to tell people that they should move on? She still lived in the same apartment they had shared. All of his things sat where he’d left them. The book he’d been reading still sat on the counter. The socks on the bathroom floor still laid behind the door. The sheets on their bed the same ones since before he’d left. They hadn’t been changed in almost a year and while Annie knew it was gross and unhygienic, she just couldn’t bring herself to take them off.

Slowly she dragged herself back through the window and into her apartment. Her feet and legs numb from the cold almost giving out under her. Tired. She just felt so tired all the time. Entering the small bathroom of the one-bedroom apartment, she stared at the toothbrush in the cup next to hers. His toothbrush. A deep and aching pang shot through her chest and she had to brace herself on the counter to keep from collapsing. Looking up into the mirror, she tried to recognize the person staring back, but it just felt like a stranger. A person she did not know. A tired, broken person. How could no one else see it?

All day long, she wore a mask of acceptance and happiness when in reality it was just that. A mask. And she couldn’t do it anymore. So many people had gone. Disappeared. What was one more?

She didn’t know if it was fate. Destiny. God? That made Steve decide to come by that night. He hadn’t been by since he’d gotten back from Wakanda. Since they’d lost everyone. Annie always assumed it was too hard for him. She didn’t blame him; she knew exactly how hard it was. She knew exactly how hard it was to be in a place that used to be so full of warmth and love and for it to feel empty. Foreign. Cold.

Steve had knocked on the door, holding some Chinese takeout from down the street and a 6-pack of beers. Annie wasn’t expecting him, but Steve knew that she was home most nights and that she often forgot to eat dinner. It was after the 5th time knocking that he began to worry. It was too early for her to be in bed. She could have been out, but something just hadn’t felt right to him. Pulling out his keys, he used the spare they had given him for emergencies only. The apartment was cold and dark. The lights were out and the window in the living room open, letting the chill fall air in. Setting his stuff down onto the kitchen island, he rushed to close the window and then looked around him. It was quiet.

“Annie?” he called out into the depths of the dark space.

Turning on a few lamps, he felt an unease take over him as he took in the space. Every trace of him was still left untouched; clothes, keys, wallet, all of it sitting like he’d never left. Dishes sat piled high in the sink. Mugs and cups littered the coffee table and counters. Peeking into the bedroom, he found piles of dirty clothes and a stale scent in the air, like he’d opened a time capsule.

“Annie?” Steve called again; this time louder.

Entering further into the room, he saw the bathroom light on and the door slightly ajar. He didn’t have to walk into the room, to feel his stomach sink and know that whatever was in there wasn’t going to be good. He rushed towards the door on instinct, falling to his knees on the cold tile when he saw what was behind it.

“Oh Annie. No,” his voice wavered and cracked as if his heart was being ripped from his chest. He pulled her limp body off of the tile and into his arms.

“What did you do? Huh? What did you do?” he asked, looking down at her closed eyes and parted lips. The orange prescription bottle next to them caught his eye. Picking it up, he looked at the label through teary eyes. Pain medication. From when she had broken her arm a year before ice skating. She had refused to take it. It was empty.

“No, Annie. Come on,” he shook her. He needed her to wake up. God, he needed her to wake up. He shook her harder, tapping her face with his open hand. Nothing. He tapped her again, this time bordering on a full-on slap, but he didn’t care. He just needed her to wake up.

“Wake up, Annie. Wake up. Don’t do this. Don’t do this.”

“Steve?” it was quiet. A whisper.

He looked down, her eyes open the slightest fraction, bleary and unfocused. It wasn’t much, but it was something. It was her.

“Come on, sit up sweetie. Sit up,” said Steve, propping her up so she leaned head-first into the toilet.

“I need you throw it all up. Come on, that’s a good girl,” he had pleaded and cooed as he shoved his fingers down her throat, forcing her to wretch up the vile pills. And she did. They sat there on that bathroom floor until Steve was sure that she’d thrown up every last pill and every bit of stomach acid left in her. He’d placed a wet wash rag to her forehead and had her take tiny sips of water until she was finally coherent enough to be moved to the couch.

She was shivering, but her color was coming back and her vitals seemed alright. Apparently, he had gotten there just in time. Any longer and the pills would have dissolved more into her system. Steve turned the heat up in the apartment and grabbed every blanket he could find, before wrapping her and pulling her onto his lap on the couch. They sat there for hours. Neither of them saying anything. Just them and the silence and a cold, empty apartment.

“I’m sorry,” said Annie, her apology faint but cutting through the thick air around them.

She felt Steve take in a deep and shaky breath, “Why Annie? After everything, after everyon-” he choked on the words, swallowing thickly, “I can’t lose you too.”  

The words hung in the air, filling Annie with an emotion she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Anger.

She flung herself from the blankets and Steve’s embrace and began to pace the room. “Why?! Why Steve?!” she yelled, really yelled at him; the man in front of her stunned into silence by her reaction.

“Do you honestly have to ask me why?! I am drowning Steve. I’m fucking drowning without him. I don’t eat. I don’t sleep. I can barely get myself out of bed in the morning because it means having to face another day without him and no one has noticed,” Tears began to stream down her face, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. The dam had burst, and everything came rushing out. Everything she had been keeping in for the last eleven months.

“Every day I walk out that door and I put on a smile and I tell people that everything’s going to be okay and that we should move on, but I can’t. I can’t! It’s like there’s this black hole where my heart used to be and any day it’s just going to swallow me up and…”

She felt her knees buckle under her and she collapsed to the floor, holding the worn jacket tighter around, “I just miss him, so much.”

“Oh Annie,” Steve’s voice was a whisper of sadness and regret as he rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms, “I’m so sorry. I should have been there. I should have been there for you. I should have known-I just, I miss him too. I miss him too.”

They stayed like that, wrapped into each as they both sobbed, finally feeling like they could express the loss they had both been feeling for so long.

They had found themselves on the floor the next morning. Their backs ached, but their hearts felt lighter as sunlight filled the small space around them. Then they got to work. Sheets were changed. Dishes were cleaned. Clothes were washed and put away. Annie had even found the will to put the radio on again as they worked. They scrubbed the tiny 900 square foot apartment till it shined. But most importantly, his things were put away. All his books, his clothes, his keys and wallet, stored in boxes and put away in the closet. The two had made the unspoken decision that she would no longer live in a museum of what once was. A new day and a new future. For both of them.

Annie had just stepped out of her room, freshly showered and dressed when she saw his jacket laying across the back of the couch. Slowly, she approached it, touching the soft brown leather with her fingertips.

“I figured…” Steve spoke up, walking up behind her, “not everything had to go. It’s okay to still hang on to somethings.”

Annie nodded, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as tears began to well in her eyes. She clutched the jacket to her chest, hugging it tight and bringing it up to her face, she realized that it smelled like him once again. She swung around, looking at Steve with a confused expression.

“How—"

“I may have found some of his old cologne when I was cleaning out the bathroom. I figured you’d—oof!” Steve was cut off by Annie as she flung herself into his arms, hugging him tight.

“Thank you,” she spoke into his chest.

[rogueobservation]

BLACKBIRD: CHAPTER TWO

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC

Summary: Before there was a Black Widow, there was a Blackbird; the most talented and famed spy of the Red Room and Hydra’s darling, Valerie. She was Steve Rogers’s greatest love and the Winter Soldier’s partner-in-crime. With the disappearance of Bucky Barnes and the fall of Hydra, Steve finally learns the truth and lies behind his oldest friend and his best girl.

Warnings: Angsty as hell. Bad Language. Description of past physical abuse, wounds, violence, and murder. 

A/N: And she lives! First off, I want to give a shout out to the most wonderful and patient person, @rogrsnbarnes​, who’s been such an absolute crutch these past few weeks. Wouldn’t have made it to the finish line without you, angel. Thank you. Second, I’m so, so sorry for the delay. This was an absolute beast of a chapter that I could never (and still don’t believe) get perfect. But writing isn’t supposed to be perfect, is it? (Also, new Blackbird banners! Hope you like them. It’s sort of a summary for what’s to happen each chapter.) I put in a little easter egg for Blackbird’s spinoff series at the end. Blink and you’ll miss it. (Hint: You can read the parallel version of the end scene here.) Feedback and comments are always much appreciated! Please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

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Previously...

It happened so quickly. Valerie stumbled backward, smashing into the television hard with her back, hand tightening around the trigger of her gun as she raised it at him. She glanced at his outstretched hand with her wide, horrified eyes. He hadn’t even touched her. Her breathing was shaky and uneven. Time seemed to stop and for a second her mask slipped, showing Steve the broken woman that hid underneath. It mirrored the expression Bucky had given him on the Helicarrier four weeks earlier. The decades of being with Hydra had changed something in her — fractured something deep inside both of them. And it was all noticeable in their eyes. 

Her voice betrayed her and broke, “Do not touch me.”

Her eyes met his and goosebumps went down his neck. He was startled by her reaction. Every nerve in his body called on him to take her in his arms, comfort her and never let go, but he knew he couldn’t. She didn’t want it.

They watched for what seemed to be a lifetime as she gathered together her pieces again, tucking them back into place and slipping back on her stoic expression as if nothing had happened. Pushing herself off the tv, she walked towards the front door, “Goodbye, Steven.”

Steve didn’t move an inch, staring at the spot where she had stood until the door shut behind her and the echoing sound of her heels down the hallway faded. He looked at his reflection in the television screen and let out a loud sigh, burying his face in his hands and falling back on the couch.

In the quiet of his apartment, he wondered if he’d ever see her again.

London, England. October 1943.

Tender Carolina blue and honey orange spread across the skyline, clouds smudged against the horizon like white streaks of paint. Rotting leaves skipped down the cracked sidewalk, crunching underneath his heavy boots as he went. Even a few doors down, Steve could hear the faint tune of a piano and the off-tune rendition of a Bing Crosby song come from inside the crowded bar.

The sudden neon of Whip & Fiddle’s sign shined in firey red and yellow against the shadowy building; a beacon of promised warmth against the frigid October weather. He took the stairs two-at-a-time, pulling open the massive oak door. Heat rushed out, flooding his system. He sighed in bliss.

It was packed wall-to-wall; six dozen soldiers squeezed into a single room with their comrades and female companions. They were packed in tight from the circular bar top in the center of the room to the half-timbered walls of the popular watering hole. It was a vast sea of tan, green, and brown with spots of color spread throughout from taffeta dresses. Laughter and smoke drifted amongst the crowd. A steady buzz of voices over the need for a drink and a break from the war.

It was a rare sight, something Steve didn’t know he was missing until then.

“Hey, Stevie!”

His head whipped around, drawn towards the back of the room, catching against a pair of smiling, cobalt eyes. Bucky Barnes was waving, standing at a round table, a dimpled grin splitting his face, pint of beer in hand, white froth teetering over the edge with his movements. Steve returned the gesture and started to weave through the crowd to him... until he saw her.

He stopped short.

Her right arm brushed against the side of Bucky’s slacks, slim fingers absently tracing the rim of the glass of water in front of her. She was mid-conversation, talking across the table to Gabe Jones and Jacques Dernier; full, carefully drawn, ruby lips moving rapidly in perfect French.

The other commandoes sat around the table, leaned in close to her, mesmerized.

She had that classic kind of beauty. Dark. Enigmatic. Like some lost Hollywood actress. Thick, dark hair cascaded down her back in waves; a stark contrast against the baby blue dress she wore. The neckline was low, letting him glimpse at the gold crucifix that dangled about her neck, twinkling each time it caught in the lambent, gaslit lantern that sat on the center of the table.

Jacques replied and a peal of laughter bubbled up her throat, smooth and honeyed, nose crinkling in the most wonderful way possible. A warmth came from Steve's bones then and spread throughout his body like a sudden fire, heart beating fierce against the cage of his ribs.

He had never seen anyone as maddeningly beautiful as she was before.

Shouting his name again, Bucky’s voice knocked him out of his stupor. Steve forced himself to look away from the women, meeting Bucky’s gaze once more; amusement danced in the depth of those familiar eyes, a knowing smirk plastered across his face. Blood rushed to Steve’s ears, turning them the same shade of red as his windburnt cheeks. Busted.

Quickly, he shouldered the rest of the way through the crush of people.

“See something you like, pal?”

Steve rolled his eyes at the quip, pulling Bucky in for a brotherly hug. “Shut up.”

Bucky laughed and clapped him between his shoulder blades as his gaze drifted down to the woman. Her conversation was abruptly cut as Jacques and Gabe greeted the Captain. The woman looked over her shoulder, blinking up at the Brooklyn boys with an elegant, arched brow.

Steve’s mouth parted in awe. She had black eyes; so molasses brown to the point that they resembled two pools of ink, devouring light in their intensity. They were completely hypnotic, capturing his full attention instantly. He’d never seen anything quite like it.

“Steve Rogers, meet Vallerina Boschetti,” Bucky introduced. “Vallerina, Steve.”

She pressed her lips together, glancing at Bucky. “Vallerina? What are you? My father?” she chided in thick accented English, voice low and velvety. A beat of silence passed as her eyes shifted to Steve. For an instant, she studied him, a look of appraisal, drinking him in brazenly.

A shiver raced up his spine as he felt himself flush.

There was a sudden surge of subconsciousness that came over him as he stood there before her in his stiff Army dress uniform; shiny metals and decorations worn on his pressed-to-perfection Ike jacket out of pure respect for his country rather than his pride. But then she gave a quiet hum of approval and all his anxiety subsided as quickly as it had came. Her eyes lifted to meet his once again, the most exquisite smile he’d ever seen blooming across her face. She extended a hand.

“Call me Val.”

Brooklyn, New York. 

His eyes jolted open, automatically searching the room in a bleary gaze. It was dark except for the black-and-white episode of I Love Lucy that mutely flickered across the television, illuminating his living room dimly. For an instant, he was in a world without a decade... then the memories returned – the coldness of the ice, the lonely black oblivion, the future – and he gathered his bearings. 

A sheen of sweat clung to his skin; white t-shirt stuck to his broad chest. His right hand was clenched into a fist, painfully pressed against his cheek, propping up his head, elbow on one of the cushiony leather arms of his desk chair. His back ached from sitting in one place for too long and the watch on his wrist said it was forty-five minutes past three in the morning. 

Jesus, he thought, time for bed. But when he went to stand something shifted in his lap. Glancing down, he saw it. Her file — Val’s file — and recalled what he had been doing. Rereading; going over every detail that the file had to offer for the hundredth time. 

It was open to a report from late July of 1988 after they both had come from a stint in cryostasis. N. L. was written at the bottom (the initials, Natasha had said, of a handler). 

In the dim, he could make out the words:

Oh, the bird! God. There was a slip-up when we pulled her from cryo today. She had been asked twice and refused twice to differentiate for us whether Sergeant Barnes or the Asset held the reigns upon being pulled from cryo. Instead, the bird snatched the pen out from Dr. Klemme’s lab coat pocket, using it to kill five guards within a ten-second timeframe. A pen. Only a pen… with a speed that could have rivaled Hermes. Under different circumstances, I would have praised her for such a thrilling act, if it had happened during a mission, but she rebelled and killed five of ours instead. Several more guards died while trying to restrain her, not to mention the fact that she tried to make a move for me with her stolen and bloodied ballpoint pen. A surprising act, I might add. It’s been several years since she’s tried anything against me… 

Punishment was swiftly issued for both her and the Asset (I would have put her in the hole if the mission to Pakistan wasn’t so pressing – so she might learn the severity of her actions – but equal punishment to the Asset will do just as well, if not quicker. To hurt him is to hurt her). 

That managed to put her back into right mind. Training was followed directly afterward and, despite the fresh wounds, her fighting capabilities were more flawless than ever. I’m always (as are the handlers before me, no doubt) in awe at the effortless talent she exhibits. Almost near inhuman. It shouldn’t be real, but it is. She’s flesh and blood and mortal and Hydra’s… To me, it seems she doesn’t comprehend the extent of her supreme talent still. Not even after all these decades with it. Not how agile or graceful — better than any of the Bolshoi — or how she’s the most deadly weapon this green Earth has ever seen. She doesn’t see how easy she turns violence into an art form... Oh, our very own Angel of Death... Yes…

Steve’s eyes strayed from the text to the left-hand corner of the report where two yellowed photographs were. They had been taken after the “punishment” had been issued. Less gruesome than the other photos in the files, Val’s and Bucky’s, but managed to haunt him more than the others had; as much to do with the way she stared unflinchingly into the camera, the emotionless look held in the fated depths of her inky eyes, as if she was numb to the violence against them both, and how tightly she clung to Bucky in the aftermath. Along with the report from N.L, there had been a detailed description of what the “punishment” had entailed. 

They had left Bucky clothed in his regulation suit, while Valerie had been forcefully stripped naked by the guards. Then, they were restrained to metal chairs opposite one another. Valerie had been blasted several times with scalding hot water. In between blasts, she was forced to watch as a guard beat Bucky black-and-blue with his baton, which earned him a dislocated shoulder. She had been beaten too, after him, gaining a handful of dark bruises and a few broken blood vessels from a blow to the head, turning her right eye a violent shade of scarlet. 

Child’s play compared to the other punishments that they endured while in the service of Hydra.

The foremost photo clipped to the report was grainy and faded. Val was mid-scream, steam radiating off her skin from the recent blast of scalding water. Her dark hair was stuck to her face and she was yanking on her restraints, trying to free herself, as the guard’s baton landed on Bucky’s shoulder. In the other, only the back of Bucky’s head could be seen. Val’s hands were gripping his back, holding him to her protectively, glaring at the camera. If only looks could kill...

It was a stark contrast to the photos that were clipped to the next report. They had been taken a day after the beating. She was in the middle of masterfully pulling off yet another mission; schmoozing a few members of the Pakistan parliament in a beautiful velvet gown, diamonds dripping from her ears, while at a ball. 

Her bloodied eye and once-marred skin were now back to normal — erased in the night by the enhanced serum flowing through her veins. A charming red-lipped smile graced her features, beguiling the men that stood around her, staring at her with a moth-caught-in-a-flame look. Entranced. Completely oblivious that a snake had invaded their garden. 

Once upon a time, Steve thought, I had been in their place.

On that frigid October night seventy years ago, he and Val had talked about everything under the sun; easily sliding in and out of a plethora of topics, exchanging laughter and stories. She had spun him a picture of her life before the war (a story that he had once believed but now knew was pure fiction); that she was originally from Spain, but defected to England, moving to London, when she was ten with her father. With the war in full bloom, after she had turned of-age, she went to service for her adopted country, starting as a switchboard operator, but quickly advanced, becoming the private secretary for Colonel Chester Phillips at twenty-three, traveling with him and the 107th Infantry Regiment during which she met Bucky, quickly becoming close friends. 

Steve had been so smitten with her by the end of her story that he couldn’t remember asking her if she wanted to dance nor when she agreed. But he reminded vividly everything afterward; the brightness of her grin, the way her dress felt under his fingers, the ivy-white river of her scalp between dark locks, the dip in her hips — everything. For him, the night had seemed like one long, drawn-out moment and still, it hadn’t been long enough. Almost dreamlike. 

One second he had been dancing with her and the next, the commandos were deciding to call it a night and he was interjecting as Bucky offered to walk her back to her apartment, her coat already in his hand. No, I’ll walk her, Steve had said. It’s on the way back to mine anyway. But it wasn’t and Bucky knew it though he said nothing. Even now Steve’s heart raced at the thought of how the rest of the night had went; the charged silence between them as they walked back towards her apartment; the way her eyes glittered with the shared hope for something more as she invited him upstairs for a cup of coffee to warm him up before the walk home. Oh, please it’s the least I could do… 

Needless to say, that night had been memorable and it hadn’t been for the cup of coffee. 

It was so cliche, even to him, but he had been shamelessly in love with her by dawn. 

It was hard not to be.

She was gorgeous and refreshing and vivid and so human with effortless charisma and charm. She was just... magnetic. That smile, those ink-black eyes. No one stood a chance against her. Not even the legendary Captain America. 

Steve liked to believe that she had felt the same way about him… but then again she hadn’t been real. The woman he had met that night, Vallerina Boschetti, wasn’t a real person. No, it had all just been a smokescreen, a ploy. The first alias of her blooming career as a Hydra spy. Of the woman he had fallen so hopelessly in love with seventy years ago. 

Steve threw the file down with a sigh and walked around his desk, crossing through the living room and into the kitchen, putting on a pot of coffee, all thoughts of going back to bed thrown out the window. He tried to distract himself from his thoughts by making breakfast even though it was such an ungodly hour of the night. He fixed several pieces of that and a giant bowl of cereal. He ate in the dark, at his large, glass dining room table that sat off to the right of the kitchen and tried focusing on the muted episode of I Love Lucy that played on the opposite side of the room, but soon gave up as the thoughts of Val nipped at his mind like a small dog.

There were so many things about her that were different, but outwardly she had looked the same. One of the most notable differences about her – apart from the fact that she was now alive and that he now understood her to be a Hydra spy and not a secretary for the SSR – was the name change; from Vallerina to the more modern, Valerie. (All her alias started with Val.) 

If he was honest, he was still coming to grips with it all. 

The name change, the occupation change. The fact that she was a legend to the intelligence community, a Hydra ghost, one of the most wanted people in history, and alive. She and Bucky were alive – risen from the dead! But they weren’t the same people he loved and remembered. No. They were entirely different. Val had been a ruse all along, reclaimed in late 1944 by Hydra and had not gone “missing” like he had thought. Bucky had been denied of death after his fall from that damned train, had his mind stolen from him, and against his will was turned into a ruthless killing machine. Both of them had been dragged down the furthest corners of hell, molded like clay pottery into two of the most feared people in history; hardened with callous memories by the cruel hands of their handlers, painted in the blood of their victims. 

It had nearly torn him apart to learn what had become of them while he had been under the ice. God, when Natasha had handed him those files–

Natasha, he suddenly remembered. Fuck.

He had completely forgotten to tell her of the developments — that Val had turned up in his apartment. He had been in such a state after she had left, half-believing that what had happened had even been real. Steve ran a hand through his hair and swore. 

He, Nat, and Sam had formed an unofficial search party for Val and Bucky after they had vanished into thin air after D.C, scouring their files for clues to where they could have gone; searched Alexander Pierce's house, finding his home-office and bedroom ransacked. The first thing they had checked was the security surveillance that covered the grounds of his house. They had caught a glimpse of her walking into the house through the front door in her bloodied uniform before the camera feed cut to black. They had searched what had been left of Pierce’s scattered possessions, finding that she had stolen several files off his computer and clothes from his closet, both men’s and women’s (It had appeared to look that Valerie had been living in his house; her shampoo in his shower, a few tubes of lipstick, stray hairs of hers on the sheets). 

What they had found in Pierce’s house had been the only lead in a string of dead leads. 

Well, until she popped up in his living room two nights ago. 

God, he really needed to tell Natasha and Sam about the developments. 

Steve sat at his table a moment longer, making his mind then and there before quickly getting up, putting his bowl of half-eaten cereal in the sink and going to get dressed. 

Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

It was ten minutes past five in the morning when he knocked on her door. A long moment passed before he heard the faintest hint of activity come from inside; the soft, barely audible sound of bare feet against wooden flooring. Another minute came and went before the bolt turned and the door opened. Natasha Romanoff was dressed in a silk royal blue robe, short red hair tousled from sleep. The Glock she carried with her daily was in her right hand, ready for use if necessary. Steve gave her an apologetic look, immediately regretting coming. 

“I–”

“Who is it?”

To Steve’s utmost surprise, Sam Wilson came around the corner from the hallway, absently scratching at his bare chest with a half-asleep expression. He was dressed in only a pair of boxers and came to a complete halt when he saw the Captain in the doorway, visibly sobering up.

Sam cleared his throat awkwardly. “Hey, man.”

An embarrassed heat graced Steve’s features as he glanced between the two of them with a wide-eyed, almost scandalized expression. Natasha didn’t even blink, unfazed. She watched as Steve opened his mouth, then shut it before opening it again. “I’m not even going to ask,” he said briskly. “I–” He glanced down the empty corridor and then back at her. “Can I come in?”

It took one look at Steve’s face for her to know something serious was going on; drawn brows, tempestuous eyes, the reluctant expression on his face. Without a moment’s hesitation, she opened the door wider. He stepped in from the corridor, awkwardly standing off to the side as Natasha shut the door and padded across her dark apartment to the kitchen. Flipping on the bright overhead light, she glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’m making tea. You want some?”

He shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. His gaze drifted around her apartment as she began fiddling with a copper-colored kettle in the kitchen. He had never been inside her apartment before though he had been at her building several times, picking her up from the lobby on his way to the tower before a mission and dropped her off when they came back but she had never invited him up. He didn’t blame her though or asked why. He understood the need for something normal in their line of work. A piece of their life that was apart from work. 

It was a reasonably sized space; spartan and impeccably clean with warm tan walls throughout. As far as he could see, it was bare of any decorations save for a coatrack by the front door (with Sam’s coat hanging up). Two black leather couches sat across from the front door, in the living room, around a dusty flat-screen tv with a matching black coffee table and a large Persian rug. 

Steve caught Sam disappear down the hallway out of the corner of his eye. He reappeared a moment later in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and leaned against the entrance into the kitchen. Natasha turned on the stove for the kettle before opening a cupboard near her head. 

Steve shifted from one foot to the other, not sure how to broach the information he had come to share without alarming them and thoroughly pissing off Nat. But then he figured getting it over with and saying it bluntly – let the chips fall where they may – was the best way possible. 

“So, uh,” he said, at last. “Last night… Val visited me.”

The mug Natasha had reached out to grab dropped to the countertop with a loud BANG! It had been a miracle, Steve thought later, that the mug hadn’t shattered into a million pieces then. 

Natasha’s head snapped around, her surprised cat-green eyes connecting with his. “What?”

The Bronx, New York.

A sudden slant of bluish light came from the boarded-up windows of her safe house, aiding her as she padded across the room where a large duffel bag sat beside a mattress on the floor. She fished out an empty thermos from inside along with a packet of instant coffee and a half-empty bottle of water, pouring the last of its contents inside the thermos with the powdered caffeine. 

Pulling out the switchblade from her front pocket, Valerie stirred together everything as she made the small strides back to the center of the room, retaking her seat on the decades-old scarred oak flooring. She crisscrossed her legs and absently wiped the switchblade against her faded cut-offs before flicking it shut, shoving it back into her front pocket. Her black eyes narrowed as she refocused on the huge world map taped to the exposed brick wall across from her; meticulously color-coded pins were tacked to specific points of interest all across it: white for the last locations of high-rank Hydra officials; green for sleeper agents; yellow for safe houses; blue for known active bases; pink for abandoned ones. A strip of paper was tacked to each location with a list of names of players that were, to her best guess, still at the locations. 

She had spent her first two days in New York coordinating the names and locations with the files she had stolen from Alexander Pierce’s house and the wealth of knowledge she had amassed over the seventy-plus years while in the service of Hydra as their Blackbird.

In a different world, she would have been labeled as an information junkie. 

But it was just a habit she had been forced to learn when she had trained as a spy; to learn as much about your targets and surroundings as possible. She did it almost subconsciously now. 

She knew a lot about a great many things, both useless and important. Stock prices, general history, on and on, but what she was best at was Hydra. Off the top of her head, Valerie could list each person in the organization, both current and past, all the way back to the beginning; give their full name, rank, notable facts. She knew of every base ever inhabited by Hydra. She was, quite simply, the encyclopedia of all-things Hydra. 

Valerie's gaze shifted to the right side of the map where Russia sat. A new white pin was tacked to the city of Penza where, six days prior, Kolesov Petrovich, the highest-ranked Hydra official, who had been set to take over as the next leader of the organization, had been murdered. 

Three other white pins sat on the floor in front of her alongside a sheet of paper detailing the rest of the information she had obtained from Steve Rogers two nights ago about the three other murders of high-ranked Hydra officials that had occurred in the four weeks since D.C: 

Doctor Jakob Klemme: top-scientist from 1967 until desertion in 1988. Turned up 26 years later, dead, killed by unknown in an abandoned base somewhere in Europe. 

Stephen Hersh: originally Dr. Klemme’s assistant. Took over Klemme’s role after Klemme’s desertion in 1988. Hersh was taken out of Soldat’s close circle in 1998. Has not been seen nor heard of in several years. Last known whereabouts: base in Odesa. Turned up recently, killed by unknown in an abandoned base somewhere in Europe.

Emil Behm: general from 1992 to death by unknown in an unknown abandoned base in Europe.

She had no specific location and no details regarding the cause of death. It didn’t surprise her that Steve (nor Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson. She knew they were working with him) couldn't see what was happening. They couldn’t see it. They didn’t have the knowledge that would let them see even the faintest hint of what was happening. They were most likely brushing it off as an inside job, perhaps the uprising of lesser agents that sought revenge over their higher-ups in Hydra after the failure of Project Insight. But she knew better.

The four murders had more in common than that the victims were important officials within Hydra and had been left in abandoned bases. No. They were all apart of the line of succession. 

A secret group of elite high-rank generals and top-scientists known as the Hydra five. They were the second-highest level of the complex, monarchy-like power structure within Hydra, acting as counsel to the head leader of the organization. 

For the last decade, that had been Alexander Pierce, but with his death during Project Insight, the next member in the order of succession would have taken his place automatically. The lucky man: Kolesov Petrovich, one of the four dead officials. With his death, leadership would have passed onto Jakob Klemme, also one of the four dead officials. On and on, down the order of succession. Each high-ranked official dead except the last one: Ben Krüger, a top-level scientist. 

Whoever was murdering the officials were going down the order of succession, leaving Krüger the next target. But the strange thing – the thing she couldn’t understand – was that only people who were apart of the line of succession knew of the list (the only exception to the rule being her; she had found out about the list early-eighties by a former member and handler). Now, it might have been possible for Krüger to be the killer but was very, very unlikely. Krüger was not only squeamish to the sight of blood but near blind. And he was old – ancient. Perhaps he told someone about the list, hired them to kill the people on the list so he could be next, be leader. 

Valerie had a hard time imagining that. 

Something was eluding her. Something just beyond the surface of what she could see, right in front of her nose; so close she could sense shapes, but couldn’t bring the picture into focus. Who could it be? An ambitious, rogue agent? Someone not even Hydra? Or was this something entirely different? There was something about this, the four murders, that made her uneasy. 

Valerie focused her gaze left, on Europe, and sat still while her brain worked at top speed. 

Klemme, Behm, Hersh, Petrovich, she thought. Three left in abandoned bases in Europe, one in Penza, Russia. Penza base was abandoned in 1981. Not a place of significance, certainly. Why there? Why any of the bases?

She could feel it in her gut, that nagging instinct, that something was deeply wrong but what?

Sighing, Valerie sipped her coffee. 

Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

“Do you know what they taught us in the Red Room?”

Natasha Romanoff asked in a neutral tone, steadily looking Steve Rogers in the eye. It was a rhetorical question, he knew, so he waited silently and met her gaze. She was sat across from him at the breakfast nook in her tiny kitchen, betraying nothing of what she felt. He knew her well enough to know she was upset with him for waiting so long before coming to tell her about Val’s sudden reappearance. They didn’t keep secrets from each other. Especially about this.

After the confession, Natasha had sprung on him, hounding him relentlessly with one question after another until his brain felt like it was going to split in two. The hairline cracks of a headache had begun behind his eye by the time he was walking them through everything, giving a word-for-word recount of his exchange with Valerie. All except for the part where she had reeled away from his touch as if it was a flame come to burn her. It hadn’t felt right to share that with them.

"Psychological manipulation,” Natasha continued after a long moment. “We were trained to determine a target’s weakness, exploit that weakness, and extract information. And Valerie’s the greatest at it. It’s the reason she’s the crown jewel of Hydra. It’s why the intelligence community believes that she’s the greatest spy to ever live.” She leaned over the table on elbows. “She’s your Achilles heel, Steve, and she knows it. Do you get that all she had to do was glance at you and she was able to gauge how you felt about her? – that you’re angry and sad and love her still. She used it all against you and you never realized it.” Nat paused. “I’m sorry, Steve, but you need to understand that she’s not the woman you love or the one you remember. She’s the Blackbird of Hydra! A weapon and most importantly, a spy. You cannot trust a thing she says.”

“Good liars stick close to the truth, Nat.”

“Maybe, Steve, but there’s a very big difference between a good liar and her. I mean, we’re talking about the most elite spy to ever walk, Steve. Not an ordinary person. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning than you figuring out whether or not she’s lying. I wouldn’t even be able to tell. She’s that good.” Natasha said. “All we know is that she baited you with what we can only speculate is the truth – that she’s been searching for Petrovich since D.C.”

“Sounds to me like she’s going after Hydra. Revenge, maybe?” Sam asked. He was sat beside Natasha, calm and leaned back with his arms folded over his chest. He glanced from Steve to Nat and Steve saw something akin to love in his eyes. He couldn’t believe that they had been seeing each other, possibly even dating, right under his nose for god knew how long.

Natasha shook her head. “No, revenge isn’t her style.” A few seconds of silence passed before she spoke again. “We can’t trust a thing she says, but let’s assume for a minute here that what she said about not being with Barnes is true. That means whatever she’s doing, she’s doing it alone. What happened to Barnes? Where did he go? Why isn’t he with her? I don’t think she’d leave him without good cause to. According to the files, they’ve nearly inseparable since 1945.”

“Maybe they got separated during all the chaos in D.C,” Sam offered. 

“No, they were together,” Steve said. “She grabbed women’s and men’s clothes from Pierce’s house after D.C. Something happened from that point to two days ago when she showed up.”

A long pause drifted through the room. Minutes dripped by until it hit Natasha. Of course. “She always puts his safety first, their files show as much... she willingly left him, making them both not only harder to track but keeping Barnes out of danger. She wouldn’t risk him getting caught – or his freedom, more importantly – while she’s hunting down who she needs from Hydra.”

“So,” Steve broke in, piecing it all together, “she’s cleaning house then – finishing what we started in D.C. Petrovich would have had the latest information about the sleeper agents that are still out there, all the high-rank officials and officers that pose a threat to the both of them. Petrovich would have led her right to everyone. We know she stole files from Pierce’s house, but those would be weeks old at this point. Almost useless now. Hydra’s agents would have scattered after everything, gone into hiding like she said. We've been data mining Hydra’s file since D.C. We have the latest intel. She broke into my apartment in hopes to find some of it.”

The Bronx, New York.

The beginnings of dawn burst through the cracks in the panels of wood nailed to the windows. 

Muttering a swear in frustration, Valerie rubbed her smarting eyes with thumb and forefinger. She glanced once more at the map, hardly able to concentrate. How long had she been awake? Three? Four days? She didn’t know, only that her body ached with how exhausted she was, begging her to go to sleep. Valerie glanced at Penza, Russia, again before taking a deep breath and decided it was best if she called it a night – or day, at this point – and resign for now.

Leaving her thermos behind on the floor, Valerie padded across the opposite side of the room where her mattress sat, crawling beneath the single thick blanket that laid on top. 

She was asleep within thirty seconds.

Washington, D.C.

Four weeks ago: January 13th, 2014. 

“–and I know you don’t want to have to listen to her – you hardly know her – but trust me on this, okay? She knows exactly what to do. I trust her with my life, therefore you should as well.”

Her brows creased together as she looked up beneath her thick lashes at him. Bucky hadn’t said a word since they had arrived at the Smithsonian, to the Captain America exhibit. A protest, she guessed, of his disproval to this plan. He never needed to say anything when he was with her. She had learned long ago, in their seventy-odd years of partnership, how to communicate with him without ever having to exchange a single word. He could express so much through his eyes.

And right now, she could see a storm building behind them; dark clouds rolling in. He didn’t like this plan of hers in the least bit, they read. He had expressed as much back at the motel. They had stayed awake the entire night, going back and forth over the subject (mostly her than him).

Valerie wetted her lips and sighed, crossing her arms. “You and I both know that I don’t want to leave you, but this is how it has to be,” she said carefully. “I need you to understand — for both our sakes — that I’m not abandoning you, okay? I promised you seventy years ago that I would protect you above everything and I plan to keep that promise. It’s my job to protect both of you, and if we stay together, then we’re making it easier for them to find us. If they were to take you again, we both what they’ll do – finish what he didn’t all those years ago. I don’t know what I would do then because I–” Her voice cut abruptly. Looking away for a moment, she recollected herself then continued. “I cannot lose either of you… You’re my family, Buck – I’m your family.”

The crestfallen look on his face deepened as her words sunk in, cobalt eyes darkening as his newfound emotions surged within him. It was only a little less than twenty-four hours since the beginning of the end; when she found Bucky after the Helicarriers had fallen from the sky. She didn’t know what propelled her to go, but she had strangely found him back at the bank where Hydra had been keeping him for the last month-in-a-half since they had arrived in D.C. 

He had been soaked-to-the-bone from the river, surrounded by the dozen dead bodies of the technicians and soldiers that had stayed behind at the bank for his return. But Project Insight had failed and he – her Bucky – had been rattled out from the depths of his subconscious by none other than Steve Rogers on a godforsaken Halicarrier. 

For the first time in two decades, he was himself again. Albeit, a fractured and damaged version, but himself nonetheless. His mind was a fried circuit, but amid the broken fragments and scattered pieces, one thing remained unscathed in the rubble. Val. His V. Memories of her were whole and intact. Some from a time long ago, before the horrors of Hydra, while others… 

The occasional sharp edge of a memory, blurred slightly by all the blood, all the bodies, all the anguish caused by their hands…

Valerie saw the familiar distant in his cloudy eyes and put a hand on his arm, bringing him from his thoughts. His voice when he spoke was rough and low. “What if you don’t come back?”

It was a fair question. Something they both had been tiptoeing around for hours, but it was inevitable. 

“Look at me.” When he didn’t, she reached up on the tips of her toes, cupped the sides of his face, gently turning his head down to look at her. “We’ve been through far worse than this – been in situations that were similar and maybe weren’t for as long, but… this is familiar,” she said softly. “I can’t promise you that I’ll ever return nor that I won’t die in the process, but know that I will be doing everything within my power to find my way back to you. As soon as I can.”

Valerie searched his eyes and opened her mouth as if to stay something else, but nothing came. She sighed then and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a bone-crushing hug. His strong arms automatically locked around her waist, holding her to him as close as possible, both grasping at the sense of security that the other gave – the feeling of home. When she tried to pull away, his grip tightened, his face getting lost deeper in the crook of her neck. Tears brimmed her eyes, but she blinked them away, pulling herself together for him. Always for him.

She mirrored his actions, fisting the back of his jacket tightly, tucking her face into his neck, letting his smell engulf her — leather, gunpowder, something so distinctly Bucky — as her left hand reached up, scratching gently at the nape of his neck in the soothing manner he liked. 

“It’s still you and me… longer than forever,” she mumbled against his ear before drawing back, looking at him one last time. His stormy blue eyes held so much emotion. It was overwhelming, trying to convey everything that he couldn’t say; speaking volumes without ever opening his mouth. Her hand lightly skimmed the harsh line of his scruffy jaw before lastly cupping his cheek. He leaned into her touch. “I love you, Buck.”

“Love you, too, V.”

A watery smile crept on her face. She was so convinced that James Buchanan Barnes was the other half of her soul; her brother-in-arms and partner until the end of time. And now she had to go and cut the invisible string that had threaded them together for the past seven decades. 

This is how it has to be, she told herself.

Leaning up on the tips of her toes again, she pressed a kiss right below his cheekbone, lingering for a long minute, selfishly trying to hold on to the last piece of solace that was left for her in this bleak world. It took her a minute to muster to the strength to pry herself away from him, ignoring the way his hands reached out to grab her as she walked away.

Her stoic expression slipped on with practiced ease as she pulled down the aviators that rested on the top of her head. She paused in the crowd for half a second, casting a glance over her shoulder, catching a pair of pale blue eyes that watched her from the back of the room. They belonged to a short, dark-haired woman with doll-like features, who wore a faded jean jacket and sported the same forlorn expression as Bucky. The ache in Valerie’s chest worsened. 

Afterward, she couldn’t remember anything that happened after she had forced herself to look away from those pale blue eyes but the pain of separation; torn apart into a thousand pieces. Everything blurred, became indistinct as she was turned into bloody confetti, melting into the current of people as naturally as one breathed. Out of the exhibit, away from them. Her family. 

***

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***

Tagged: @dontforgetthepieh @softhairbarnes @alexfayer @jalapenobarnes @apersonwithhope @rogrsnbarnes @tomhardy41 @dilaila95 @ramblerumble 

[avengerscompound]

Finding Home - Chapter 17

Finding Home: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist Previous //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x OFC (Daisy Adams)

Word Count:  2017

Warnings:  Angst, mentions of torture, violence, major character death, mentions of sexual abuse/rape, pregnancy, smut (vaginal sex, oral sex, pregnancy sex, Bisexual MMF threesome)

Synopsis:  Daisy Adams has abilities. She can read minds. Force her thoughts onto others. As a child, she is taken by Hydra and raised as a weapon. Daisy finds another and speaks to him in his dreams. He has been taken too. He wants to return to the man he loves. Can she get them back together? Will she even want to once she realizes that she’s falling in love?

Chapter 17

I woke suddenly, gasping for breath as the strong scent of ammonia felt like it stabbed me in the face. I blinked my eyes. Steve was cradling my head and looking down at me. I glanced around. I was lying on one of the stretchers kept on board for emergencies. They’d covered me in a blanket. Bucky was holding James, who was sleeping against his chest.

“Daisy?” Steve said.

I went to speak but my voice caught in my throat. Bucky appeared beside me and handed me a bottle of water. I took a sip and looked between them.

“We’re here,” Steve said. “We need to end this. Then maybe we can go home together. Jamie’s sleeping, but we can’t leave him alone. You need to look after him.”

“Okay,” I said, my voice cracking.

“If they come, do what you need to.” He said.

Steve kissed me on the forehead and let me lie back down. Bucky put James down beside me and I snuggled up to him. Bucky pushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Stay safe.” He said and kissed my forehead too.

“Come back again,” I whispered.

I half-watched them stand in the door as the ramp opened letting the cold Siberian air blow through the jet. I had trouble focusing though. I just felt weak and still not quite here. Steve put his hand on Bucky’s shoulder and they laughed. I closed my eyes.

The next thing I was aware of was the sound of jets. It sounded like the Iron Man suit. I scanned and felt Tony. I scrambled to my feet and staggered to the ramp opening it. Tony was facing it hands raised ready to fire, but when he saw me he lowered them again.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“I am not going to let you take them, Tony,” I said, ignoring him.

“That’s not why I’m here.” He went to move and I shut down his ability to walk.

“Stop right there.” I tried to yell, but my voice just came out as a croak. “You’re wondering what just happened. I shut down your motor functions. Try and use FRIDAY and I’ll shut down your brain. Why are you here?”

“Who are you?” Tony repeated.

“Fine don’t tell me.” I scanned him, sifting through his thoughts. Saw how he found the doctor was fake. How he’d set Bucky up. That Tony just wanted to fix this. I let him go.

My vision went hazy and I swayed on my feet. I turned on him and turned to get back into the jet. “Who are you?” Tony asked for the third time.

“Doesn’t matter. Go help them. I’ll fix that later.” I said, my voice barely audible to myself. I doubt he could have heard it.

I closed up the ramp and collapsed back next to James. He had stirred a little and was shivering. I pulled the blanket up over him and snuggled against him again. He wriggled around for a moment and stilled his head lolling back and his mouth open. I closed my eyes.

The next thing I was aware of was the ramp opening and Steve supporting Bucky onto the jet. I tried sitting up but my head swam.

“What happened?” I asked. “Did the other soldiers do that?”

Steve sat Bucky down next to me. His arm was missing and his pain was so bad that it felt like mine was too. James woke up and started crying. He felt it too.

“It was a setup. Stark did that.” Steve answered. He went to the jets stores and took out handcuffs and walked back down the ramp. Jamie and Bucky were shivering.

“Shh… Jamie. It’s okay. You can block his pain out. You just have to think.” I said, stroking his head.

Jamie turned to Bucky and touched his leg. The pain Bucky felt suddenly eased right back. It was still there, but it was like Jamie had just dimmed the pain receptors.

“Not what I meant, but that works I guess,” I said.

Bucky lay down next to us on his back. James crawled onto his chest and lay down, I covered them both with the blanket.

“You’re bleeding again,” Bucky said, linking his fingers with mine.

“So are you,” I replied. “Tony did this to you? I let him go. He was here to help.”

Bucky shook his head. “We were set up. I deserved it. Daisy, I wish you’d just killed me back when we were in Hydra.”

“Bucky – I …”

He cut me off. “I know.”

Steve returned to the jet. He took James from Bucky and took him to the cockpit. I closed my eyes and let the jet’s engine send me back to sleep while I held Bucky’s hand.

I woke being lifted onto a gurney by a group of people. I panicked and lashed out, my mind pushing them away. I blacked out.

The next time I woke I was lying in a hospital bed. There were machines beeping and everything was very white. I looked around and saw Bucky sitting up in a bed next to me. He was dressed in white and they’d done something to the stump of his arm. He smiled at me when he noticed I was looking at him.

“Hey, doll. How are you feeling?” He asked.

I went to speak but I couldn’t quite find my voice. Bucky got up and picked up a box of juice from a tray in front of him. He hopped out of bed and brought it over to me, sitting on the side of the bed. I sat up, took it and drank. I cleared my throat and tried again.

“Where are we?”

“Wakanda. In the palace.” Bucky said.

“What?” I said furrowing my brow. This didn’t make any sense.

“Do you remember the guy in black, dressed like a cat?” Bucky asked. I nodded. “That was the king of Wakanda. He offered us a safe place to recover. You can have your baby here.”

“But why? And where’s Jamie?”

Bucky laughed. I hadn’t heard him do that before. Ever. It made me feel light and my heart hurt. “Jamie is with Steve. King T'Challa offered us this safe house because he is a good person and he wanted to do the right thing.”

Bucky rested his hand on my leg. I looked down at it and then back up to him. “I missed you so much, Bucky,” I said, and I started to cry.

Bucky shifted up the bed and wrapped his arm around me, patting me on the back. “I know. I know. But look at what you did. You changed your life. You got away from Hydra. You have a beautiful son. And Steve.”

“I don’t have Steve anymore. You do.” I said. Saying that out loud hurt.

Bucky’s face fell. I tried to read him but he held me out.

“Daisy, you gotta take a break with your powers. Let yourself heal.” Bucky said. “You wanna know what’s in my head I’ll tell you. We don’t have secrets. Do we, doll?”

I shook my head and he leaned in and kissed me. I pulled back away from him. “Bucky. I can’t … what are you doing?”

“I spoke with the doctors. They’ve agreed to put me on ice again.” He said. “I love you. I love him. But for now, you’re going to have to be enough for each other. I can’t risk someone turning me into The Soldier again. I just can’t do it.”

I reached up and put my hands on his head. “I’ll fix it. Get him out of there.”

Bucky’s eyes went wide and he shook his head in real panic. “Stop!” He yelped.

I looked at him confused.

He sighed deeply. “They scanned you while you were out. Doll, your powers are killing you.”

“It’s okay. I swear. They’re just acting up. Like you said, I need to rest. Please don’t go under again. I can fix this. Just give me time.” I pleaded with him.

He held my face in his hand. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll stick around to meet this guy.” He moved his hand to my belly. “I regret not being there for you when you were pregnant last time. If they think you’re well enough to fix me after the baby is born. I’ll let you. Otherwise, I just need the peace. I need to know I am not gonna hurt anyone else.”

Bucky was let out of the hospital wing that day. They had set us up with an apartment in the palace. So he and Steve went and stayed there while they continued to run tests on me.

Steve and Bucky would come and see me every day while I was in the hospital. They’d bring James. I had wondered if maybe he’d start talking if I wasn’t around all the time, but he seemed to be belligerently refusing to.

Turns out, my abilities were burning out my brain. Which sucked because turning them off was harder for me than keeping them on. They were looking at ways to undo the damage. Including the possibility of replicating the Super Soldier Serum in the hopes that the healing factor it induced might fix the problem. They’d taken blood from both Bucky and Steve to see if they could replicate it. The main concern was the serum’s history of increasing violent tendencies. If they were even able to replicate it, it could be a mistake me taking it.

For now, I just had to hope my resting and not actively using my abilities at all would allow me to heal enough on my own.

Each time Steve and Bucky came to visit they seemed more of a couple. They would come in holding hands. They’d do that annoyingly cute couple thing where you just had to sneak touches. I was happy they had each other but it hurt too. I knew that no matter what they’d be my family, but I’d lost them.

Bucky came in alone one day. He said Steve was going to bust the other’s out of prison. I was a little shocked, to be honest. I guess maybe Steve was capable of more chaotic good that I had thought.

Bucky sat up on the bed behind me. He was wearing white cotton and he seemed lighter that he had for a long time. I rested back against him as he stroked his hand over my stomach. I was only just starting to show, and there was the slightest swell that his fingers danced over. Jamie was curled up against my side. He was very clingy when he came to visit.

I sighed.

“What is it, doll? You sick of being in here?” Bucky asked.

I shook my head.

“Hey, no secrets. Remember?” He said.

“You and Steve. You’re … you’ve been together.” I said. I meant it as a question. It came out as a statement.

“Yeah. We have.” Bucky answered. There was a pause and neither of us said anything. I could feel his mind racing. Wondering if he needed to say sorry, or explain himself or leave it at that. “Daisy … Steve and I …”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. I – You belong together. I just don’t know where I belong anymore. I kind of feel like you’re part of me, Bucky. We shared our thoughts for 20 years. And Steve - we …” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “I’m tied to both of you. Now, what do I do?”

Bucky kissed the top of my head. “I love you, Daisy. This is all a mess. I still plan to go under ice though. Steve’s going to need you.”

That hurt my heart in so many ways. I had started thinking he’d changed his mind. The thing that hurt worst was the idea that it was somehow my job to be Steve’s back up plan. The problem was, I’d do it. I’d do it in a heartbeat.

// NEXT

[ohstardust]

Love Controls Everything

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (Unnamed OFC) Summary: When every taste, scent, feeling, emotion, every thing has been tarnished with negative memories, we need someone to help us re-learn how to love them again. Words: 1.1k A/N: Another drabble turned into 1k at 2am, oops? I just needed to get something written so I hope this isn’t too boring or rubbish or dull. Title: Say You Love Me by Jessie Ware

The taste of mandarin cheesecake, on a humid September afternoon, had been a pivotal and defining moment in their relationship, or rather it was from her standpoint. Her heart fluttered upon seeing the fresh dessert sat on a patterned side plate as it chilled in her refrigerator, he’d known it was her favourite, a silly admission one evening after a mindless debate over cake versus ice cream. I’m happy to settle for a tin of drained mandarins over a vanilla cheesecake, Bucky. Honestly, I’m easy going, I don’t ask for much she grinned over her tea whilst he fondly rolled his eyes and pulled her legs into his lap to allow her to stretch out over his sofa. Her taste buds tingled as her tongue wrapped around a forkful from a generous slice she’d offered herself, enjoying the sweet after many months of swearing off it. The negative memories were subsiding, and she knew Bucky hadn’t left this for her with ulterior motives. There was nothing more to the gesture than treating her with something he knew she loved, there was no unspoken apology tacked onto it, no I messed up so here’s something I know you’ll love to make up for my wrong doing, he did it because he wanted to, not because of an obligation to curb his guilt. She’d known in that mouthful that she loved him, and that he loved her too. There was no question about it, no doubt in her mind. It wasn’t just cheesecake, there was more meaning to it than that. Her left hand picked up her phone off the kitchen counter whilst her right curled around the fork to break off another bite, the prongs tucked into a piece of fruit. She captured an image of herself eating the bite with a warm and lazy smile pulling on her lips and fired it off to her boyfriend, No tinned fruit or plain cheesecake in sight? What did I do to deserve this? Her phone buzzed almost instantly, You were just being you. Good enough reason for me. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Bucky’s cologne had been too much to be in their early dating days, it wasn’t overly strong or pungent, but the familiarity of the scent had thrown her off balance and brought on a swift migraine, bringing an end to their third date much sooner than either would have liked. It took three weeks for her to admit to him that it reminded her a lot of her ex-boyfriend’s cologne, and she meant no disrespect or offence to Bucky; it was just a lot to take in after how that relationship had ended. He’d been so taken by her that early on in their relationship that he’d told her he would change it if it bothered her that much. She knew then that any guy willing to give something up to make life a little easier for her, was worth persevering for and trying harder to see further than her past. She insisted that that wasn’t the reason she’d told him, she wanted to be honest and not make him doubt her interest in him, she was just recovering from a painful break up, he needn’t change anything about himself. As the months wandered on, her nose would press into his neck and the scent of his fragrance became warming and comforting and Bucky. It was pleasant and homely and instead of being repelled by it, she welcomed it and enjoyed the way it clung to his too-small shirts and his sun kissed golden skin. He was slowly reconfiguring everything she’d come to dislike, or associate with negative memories, and made her subconsciously enjoy them and love them for their subtle significance in their lives. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Falling in love with Bucky had been one of the hardest, yet easiest, feelings and experiences she had encountered. He wasn’t perfect, nor was she, nor was anyone for that matter. But that was irrelevant, he was attentive and loving and that was what made everything about the shift in her feelings for the long-haired brunette, easy. The hardest part had been allowing herself to admit it, to actually believe that she had found someone that wouldn’t hurt her like she’d been previously hurt, that this man she adored with all of her heart could actually love her the way she deserved be loved. He gave her the hope and happiness she had yearned for for as long as she could remember. The last time she’d dared to love anyone had hurt her to the point she feared she would never love again, didn’t feel that she was capable of giving her heart over to someone again, unsure whether she’d be able to survive any further pain. Her ex-lover had certainly done quite a number on her and that had made her hesitant, in both allowing herself to feel anything, and trusting someone new. But the cheesecake and the cologne and many nights sharing a bed, being intimate, hand holding, handwritten post-in notes, rosé wine, pasta dishes, they all had a different meaning now that they’d been shared with Bucky. The negativity, snide comments, sniggers, protests, had long since given way to smiles, happiness and love. She enjoyed everything she’d one told herself to dislike or push aside, Bucky had helped her enjoy the little things again and cast a rose-tinted glow over everything that had been shaded in grey. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ “I love you,” Bucky admitted earnestly, her head rested again his chest, cradled between his palms. She pulled her head back to take a second to look into his eyes, she could see the raw emotion and honesty emanating from them, the love and fondness bottled up in cerulean orbs that bored into hers. His thumbs brushed her cheeks and his eyes blinked slow as the width of his smile increased despite her non-verbal response. He could see it as clear as day, etched all over her face, neither would ever have to say those words again if they continued to look at each other as they were in that serene moment. “I love you, more than I ever thought possible.” His kisses were passionate and longing and they both kissed with echoed unspoken words. You’re everything to me. You’re my past, present and future. You’re worth all the pain of the past. And then one of the most important memories Bucky re-wrote for her, was one early August morning, from the comfort of cool, crisp white sheets on their bed when he uttered the four words that had once haunted her and made her bolt from a loveless partnership, Will you marry me? With no hesitation, she nodded emphatically, and grinned and laughed and cried and kissed her love with the promise of an equal future of re-learning to love everything their life could offer them, together. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Please let me know what you think! Likes, comments and reblogs are all greatly appreciated xo

[captainamericasbeard]

A Long Road- Ch 1

Pairing: Bucky x OFC

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: Mild violence

Summary: While recovering in Wakanda Bucky meets a deadly stranger who needs to learn how to heal.

Part 2

My eyes snap open but my brain is still in a haze. Images race before my eyes and I squeeze them shut again, biting down bile. I see Captain America fighting off a dozen of my guards. A surge of hate in the pit of my stomach as his face swims in my mind. I see Black Widow, the legend I was spoon fed as a child, freeing me from my straps. ”What were they doing to her” she quizzes the air as she takes in the instrument tables surrounding my bed. Burning me alive I think in response. Even now the flames lick the edge of my vision and reach for my skin. The Red Room is on fire. 

I squeeze my eyes tighter and take in my surroundings with my other senses. It's clean, I can smell antiseptic. I hear the quiet hum of electricity and the clicking of keys. I sense the soft footsteps and rustling movement of a half dozen bodies.  There’s a low murmur of voices in a language I don’t recognize. How is that possible? I know them all… My eyes open again, slowly this time. I’m wary of being overloaded with too much information. 

I’m in a lab surrounded by equipment I don’t recognize. Lab techs in white coats flit around me, ghosts trying to avoid my gaze. Once again I'm strapped to a table. Always restrained, I think, I must be as dangerous as they say. I begin to analyze the room, looking for exits, guns, testing my straps. The leather and metal creak under me. A young girl appears at my shoulder. Dark skin, dark eyes, hair falling in long braids, she can’t be older than 19. She smiles at me, an attempt at reassurance. 

“Don’t worry, you’re safe.” Her accent is thick, central African I decide. “My name is Suri, what’s yours?” I ignore her question and continue looking around. I can see the dark blue of Cap’s uniform and the black of Romanoff’s behind frosted observational glass. My eyes lock on the super solider and I begin to pull at my restraints in earnest. There’s a fire in my gut telling me to strike this man with everything they put inside of me. 

“Calm down,” Suri says anxiously, “no one here is going to hurt you.” She glances up quickly giving silent orders to a lab tech out of my field of vision. When she looks back at me I lock my eyes on her’s. She begins to instinctively back away as she realizes I’ve chosen my target. I’m nearly free of the leather straps around my wrists. Suddenly there’s a needle in my arm. 

My left arm snaps free at last and I swing my hand up to the tech who is attempting to administer a sedative. I catch him by the throat and hold his gaze as I choke the air out of his lungs. As he loses consciousness I fling him to the ground and snap the restraint on my other arm. I sit up quickly. My body is quickly ridding itself of the remains of the drug cocktail my handlers used to control me. I bend over begin to work on my ankle restraints, throwing guard after guard off of me as a second thought. 

I’m on my feet and moving towards the exit when I'm surrounded by my team of so-called rescuers. Captain America stands in front of me, his only weapon is his broad body blocking the only exit to the lab. His mouth is moving but I’ve blocked out the sound of his voice and am assessing my surroundings. Widow is on my left, her stance wide, her hand hovering over the gun in her hip holster. A third man I don’t recognize is on my right, his fists clenched and ready to strike. I feel like a trapped cat and every muscle in my body is tensed for the strike. 

I feel him coming behind me before I ever see him. His form swims in my peripheral mind, tall and broad. I aim to swing a kick around at my attacker’s head but my arms are pinned across my abdomen and my wrists held tightly by one hand that’s human and one that's not. I thrash and howl with pain and feel his grip relax reflexively. I take advantage of his weakness and aim to crush his foot with mine. He throws us to the ground with me on top of him and pins my legs with his. 

“Now!” He shouts to Suri who has waited just out of my reach with a needle full of clear liquid. I have to give her credit for her bravery. All the other techs have fled, but this her lab and she has a job to do. She darts forward and plunges the needle into my arm pumping sedative into the muscle thats straining against my captor. I can feel his advantage slipping as I work my arms out of his grip. A few more seconds and I’ll be free to show him exactly what kind of weapon they created to replace him. A few more seconds…

But then I'm the one who’s slipping away. Darkness creeps to the edge of my vision and my eyes fill with fear as I realize I'm losing control. My movements become weaker and less effective and he’s redoubling his grip on me even as I drift away. “It’s going to be ok,” he whispers gruffly in my ear as I lose consciousness completely. 

“Ok Sargent Barnes, you can let her go. She’s safe now.” Suri says as Bucky examines me without relaxing his grip, checking to see if I’m faking. My breathing is shallow but steady and my head rests limp against his chest. “I promise, Bucky. This sedative was created for you while you were being treated with us. She’s out,” the princess reassures. It’s her use of his nickname that lets him know she’s sure. 

“Get her into chryo as quick as you can. We don’t know what kind of regenerative capabilities she has,” Bucky warns as he gently lays me back on your table. His gut is filling with guilt at what he’s just had to do to me. He can still remember what it feels like, being trapped and drugged like an animal. Being out of control. “What’s her name?” He asks softly.

“She won’t have one, only the one they gave her,” Nat says stepping forward. “Thanks for stepping in Bucky. She’s clearly been trained to recognize us as a threat.” Bucky nods stepping away from the bed to look at the man on the ground. Techs have surrounded him and are scanning him with medical equipment, healing his vocal cords even as he regains consciousness. “I should’ve been faster. She’s stronger than we realized. How did you even get her out?” "We think they’d just been working on her, she was pretty sedated.” Cap chimed in, stepping forward to greet his best friend, “Things went south fast. There is no Red Room anymore, not in Moscow at least.” 

“The Red Room? I thought they trained assassins?” Bucky looked quizzically at Nat, forgetting to be delicate about her past.

“We got intel through some of my old contacts in Kiev, they want to be in the Winter Solider business. A lot of groups have been trying to reproduce what Hydra did with you and it looks like one of them finally succeeded,” she shrugged, glancing over at me.

“Well I’m glad you got out,” Bucky replies wrapping his arms around Steve’s shoulders in a quick hug, “all of you.” He looks back down at the me. They’ve wheeled in a cryogenic sleep chamber and are attaching monitors to my chest and arms. My eyes flutter. 

“Don’t worry Buck, they’ll get it out of her. They’ve got you semi stable.” He says smiling.

“Yeah, but I wanted to be fixed. She doesn’t. She’s every inch a weapon. Who knows how much of her is left in there.” Cap doesn’t know how to respond. He’s taken back by the concern in his friend’s voice and the care in his eyes. Especially towards someone who just tried to kick him in the head. Cap claps his hand on Bucky’s shoulder and squeezes reassuringly. “Come on man, we’re going to go debrief and then you can show me this farm you’ve been going on about. Goats? Really?”

Bucky smiles and the corners of his eyes crinkle but they don’t move away from my form now being lowered into the chamber. 

“Don’t worry Sergeant Barnes, I’ll let you know when she’s safely under. She’ll be in good hands with us.” Suri reassures as Cap turns Bucky towards the door. He manages to meet Cap’s gaze. 

“Yeah, goats. And they have names.” The group laughs at a now domesticated Winter Solider as they move out of the lab. Bucky offers one last glance back but the medical team has surrounded my chamber, blocking me from view. Suri looks down at me, her brown eyes blazing with determination. “I don’t know your name but I know you can hear me. I also know this isn’t who you were born to be, it’s who they made you, like a spear beaten into shape. I will get you out, I promise.” Her voice lingers on the edge of my consciousness. I’m fighting to wake up but slowly my veins fill with ice as the people around me try to freeze out the fire they set in me long ago. Which will win? I wonder as you slip under the waves, fire or ice? 

Thanks for reading. Leave some love.

[thorne93]

Masterlist

Updated as of 8/10/2020

Crossovers:

Unforseen Chasm (X-Men and Avengers) - Loki x Reader / Tony Stark x OFC

Fire and Ice (X-Men and Avengers) - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Caught in the Act (Criminal Minds and Supernatural) - Spencer Reid x Reader

Things Left Unsaid (John Wick and The Night Manager) - John Wick x Reader x Jonathan Pine

Past Vs Present (Loki and Star Wars) - Loki x Reader x Anakin Skywalker

The Newcomer (The Covenant & Witches of East End) - Chase Collins x Reader

Aftermath (Avengers and XMen) - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Inside The Criminal Mind (Criminal Minds and Dexter) - Spencer Reid x Reader ft. Dexter

Supernatural:

Dean:

Three’s Company - Dean x Reader x Sam

TD Challenge - Dean, Crowley (no pairing)

Together Forever - Dean x Reader

Happy Birthday - Dean x Reader

Smut / NSFW Drabbles

One Hell of a Surprise - Dean x Reader

Sam:

Crazy in Love - Sam x Reader

Three’s Company - Dean x Reader x Sam

Castiel:

His Hero - Castiel x Reader (Best Friends)

Jack Kline:

Inexplicable Fate - Jack x Reader

Crowley:

The Saddest Thing about Betrayal - Crowley x Reader x Lucifer

TD Challenge - Dean, Crowley (no pairing)

Lucifer:

The Saddest Thing about Betrayal - Crowley x Reader x Lucifer

Benny:

One Year - Benny x Reader

Team Free Will:

Goodbye - Dean, Sam, Cas, OC’s (no pairing)

A Gift for a Friend (Smut) - Dean x Lois (OC) x Cas, Lexi (OC) x Sam

Marvel:

12 Days of Christmas ft Thor, Remy Lebeau, Peter Parker, Dr. Stephen Strange, Pietro

Stan Lee University 

Unforeseen Chasm - Loki x Reader / Tony Stark x OFC

Charles Xavier/Professor X:

The Explanation - Charles x OC (self)

Hard Headed - Charles x Reader

Closing Time - Charles x Reader

Trouble in Paradise - Charles x Reader / Stryker x Reader

Signs - Charles x Reader (featuring other X-Men)

United We Stand - Charles x Reader

Days of Future’s Past - Charles x Reader

Table Turn - Charles x Reader

The Right Path - Charles x Reader (Erik friend)

Silver Lining - Charles x Reader

Undying Love - Charles x Reader

Steve Rogers/Captain America:

Once Upon A Dream - Steve x OC

Homesick - Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes

Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier

Homesick - Bucky Barnes x Reader x Steve Rogers

To Protect and Serve - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Don’t Make Me Do This - Bucky Barnes x Reader

No Matter What - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Missed Connection - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Helping Hand - Bucky Barnes x Reader / Loki x Reader

Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver:

Unusual Upbringing - Pietro x Reader

Peter Parker/Spiderman

Chance Encounter - Peter x Reader

The Reason - Peter x Gwen with Reader best friend

Accident - Peter x Reader

Loki Laufeyson/Odinson

Unforeseen Chasm - Loki x reader / Tony Stark x OFC

Savior - Loki x Reader

Faith - Loki, Thor, Reader (No pairing)

Helping Hand - Loki x Reader / Bucky x Reader

It Was Written in Song - Loki x Reader

Anything for Love - Loki x Reader

Something There - Loki x Reader

Gambit / Remy Lebeau

Stranger In A Crowd - Remy/Gambit x Reader

Deadly Mistake - Remy/Gambit x Reader

Howard Stark

Awkward Moments - Howard Stark x Reader

Tony Stark

Awkward Moments - Howard Stark x Reader (Ft. Tony Stark)

Unforeseen Chasm - Loki x Reader / Tony Stark x OFC

Thor Odinson:

Faith - Thor, Loki, Reader (No Pairing)

Vision

It Never Ends - Vision x Wanda, Reader x Vision

Clint Barton/Hawkeye

Paranoia - Clint x Reader

Vision

It Never Ends - Vision x Reader / Vision x Wanda

DC Comics

Insulting - John Constantine x Reader (and OFC)

Criminal Minds:

Best Teacher Award - Spencer Reid x Reader

Fox the Fox - Spencer Reid x Reader

Nerves - Spencer Reid x Reader

Green Eyed Monster - Spencer Reid x Reader

What Are We Gonna Do? - Spencer Reid x Reader

Watch It - Spencer Reid x Reader

Inside The Criminal Mind - Spencer Reid x Reader (ft. Dexter Morgan)

Star Wars:

Revenge of the Jedi - Anakin x OC

Opposites Attract - Kylo Ren x Rey

Sherlock (BBC):

Curious Conundrum - Sherlock Holmes x Reader

Original Stories:

Until I See You Again

Actors:

James McAvoy

Decisions, Decisions - James McAvoy x Reader x Tom Hiddleston

Congrats, Grad - James McAvoy x Reader

Just My Luck - James McAvoy x Reader

Tom Hiddleston

Decisions, Decisions - Tom Hiddleston x Reader x James McAvoy

Lies and Slander - Tom Hiddleston x Reader / Sebastian Stan x Reader

Woes of the Heart - Tom Hiddleston x Reader / Keanu Reeves x Reader (Past)

Be Careful - Tom Hiddleston (Seantor!AU) x Reader / Bill Skarsgard x Reader

Learn From The Master - Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Custody Battle - Tom Hiddleston x Reader (w/ Keanu Reeves ex)

So It Goes… - Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Whirlwind Romance - Chris Evans x Reader / Sebastian Stan x reader / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Sebastian Stan

Lies and Slander - Sebastian Stan x Reader x Tom Hiddleston

Don’t Say Yes - Sebastian Stan x Reader

Why Her? - Sebastian Stan x OFC (Chris Evans x Reader / Chris Evans x OFC)

Lost and Found - Sebastian Stan x Reader

Knight in Shining Armor - Sebastian Stan x Reader

First Impressions - Sebastian Stan x Reader / Hayden Christiensen x Reader

Old Flame, New Problems - Sebastian Stan x Reader / Hayden Christensen x Reader

Be Careful - Tom Hiddleston (Seantor!AU) x Reader / Bill Skarsgard x Reader (Ft. Sebastian Stan)

Blessing - Sebastian Stan x Reader

Whirlwind Romance - Chris Evans x Reader / Sebastian Stan x reader / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Parenting Fail - Sebastian Stan x Reader

Broken Wedding Bells - Sebastian Stan x OFC / Sebastian Stan x Reader

Keanu Reeves

Woes of the Heart - Keanu Reeves x Reader (Past) / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Custody Battle - Keanu Reeves x Reader (Past) / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Chris Evans

Why Her? - Chris Evans x OFC / Chris Evans x Reader

Whirlwind Romance - Chris Evans x Reader / Sebastian Stan x reader / Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Hayden Christensen:

First Impressions - Hayden Christiensen x Reader / Sebastian Stan x Reader

Old Flame, New Problems - Hayden Christensen x Reader / Sebastian Stan x Reader

Chris Hemsworth:

Smut/NSFW Drabble

Tom Holland:

Number One - Tom x Reader (Smut)

Bill Skarsgard:

Be Careful - Tom Hiddleston (Senator!AU) x Reader / Bill Skarsgard x Reader

Unexpected Guest - OFC x Reader / Bill Skarsgard x Reader

Jared Padalecki:

Not Your Fault - Jared Padalecki x Reader

Not His - Jared Padalecki x Reader

Jensen Ackles:

That’s Why - Jensen Ackles x Reader

Once Upon A Time (TV Series):

Who Will Win? - Jefferson x Reader

Split:

This Isn’t Stockholm - Kevin/Dennis…etc x Reader

Tag Team (smut) - Barry and Dennis x Reader

Victor Frankenstein:

Not What You Thought It Was - Victor x Reader

[diinofayce]

Shadows on the Horizon - 12

Pairing: Winter Soldier! Bucky Barnes x OFC! Layne Hardin | Word Count: 2.7k | Warnings: Language (Layne has my terrible driving habits). | A/N: This is a sequel to my story Like a Whisper in the Night | Shadows on the Horizon Masterlist

Steve and Bucky both looked up with startled expressions when Layne barged suddenly into the room. She looked wildly at the two of them sitting on the couch, a football game on mute in the background as they sipped at the beers in their hands and chatted. Both men tried to slowly set their beer down out of sight, while it had bothered Layne much less lately, both recalled a few nights prior.

Bucky’s gaze surveyed his girlfriend. Her cheeks were flushed and her chest heaving for breath with exertion so she had obviously been sprinting for a bit, her brown waves were messy and wild and her eyes were shifting between their normal caramel brown and liquid gold. She licked her lips and tore her gaze away from them to look around the room and then slammed into the bedroom with the same wild force.

“Go bag? Buck, have you seen my… fuck the other room,” Layne was calling from their bedroom, dresser drawers opening and slamming closed. She came running from their room and shot past them back into the hall and the door to her old apartment slammed open.

Bucky and Steve were both on their feet and following her to the other apartment. She was kneeling on the floor, throwing old clothes from the last mission out and shoving new clean clothes in. She spat a lock of brown hair from her mouth before growling in frustration and piling it all on the top of her head with a black binder from her wrist.

“Doll, what’s going on? Where are you goin’?” Bucky asked with trepidation.

“I have to go with Danny to Minnesota. Oh, shit, that’s right. FRIDAY? Can you tell Agent Sweet that if she wants on a quinjet to Minnesota we leave in,” she stopped to check her watch drawing out the word, “Seven minutes.” At the AI’s confirmation she continued to rush about the small room gathering her things.

“Seven minutes? Layne what happened?” Steve asked, stepping forward.

“You can’t just go off to Minnesota,” Bucky said at the same time. For a moment he thought she was leaving him, that she had made him tear down these walls in his head and now she was going to go back to the Midwest and leave him here to figure this out by himself. The fear that gripped his chest was cold like ice as he prepared himself for the worst.

Layne bristled and finally stood, tossing her bag over her shoulder and raising her chin at Bucky defiantly. Now that her hair was pulled up and her jaw strong he could see the black and purple hand print across her throat and he flexed his vibranium fingers out of reflex before shoving both his hands self-consciously into the front pocket of his jeans.

“Neither of you are my commanders on this. This is still part of my mission, I’m still in charge,” Layne answered coolly, which caused Bucky’s eyes to widen in realization.

There was a strong flash of possessiveness that tore through Bucky, stronger than anything he had felt before. He didn’t like that she was so willing to just take off without telling him where she was off to or when she would be back or that she was okay leaving without him. It was ridiculous, they had been on separate missions plenty, but now that the Soldier was more integrated with him it seemed he had different feelings on the matter. He raised his flesh hand up to his head and pressed the heel of his palm into the hallow of his eye socket. He hissed in slight pain and frustration, but shook it off quickly. Carding his hand up through his hair to remove it from his face he glared back at Layne who’s look of defiance had changed to one of shame.

“I’m not trying to command you to do anything, you just gotta fill us in,” Bucky growled, trying to fight down the urge to grab her up in his arms and lock them both in their apartment.

“I’m sorry, Buck, a lot happened in the last few hours and I…forgot,” Layne said lamely, her cheeks flushing extra red with embarrassment and regret. “The mutant girl we captured from the base in Russia? She’s my niece, Michael’s oldest.”

Neither Steve or Bucky knew how to process the bomb she just dropped on them.  

“How?” Steve asked dumbly.

“They really dropped the ball on sex education in the forties, huh?” Layne asked frustrated and checked her watch.

Steve opened his mouth to fire a snarky reply back but Layne cut across him.

“Natasha can fill you both in, she was there at the debrief. Long story short Michael gave Madeline up to Hydra, whether on accident or not I don’t know. But it sounds like both of her younger siblings also have powers and if they find out we might never find the children. I’m having Madeline taken up here to rest and then she’ll be going to Xavier’s Academy upstate. I’m going to bring the children there as well.

“This whole thing has cost me, like, five minutes you guys, I really gotta go. FRIDAY? Can you also get a cleaning crew in here immediately?”

Steve jumped back as Layne approached them assuming she would just rush out down the hall, but she stopped in front of Bucky. She reached out to stroke his cheek and he flinched back causing her hand to freeze in midair. Realizing what he had done he reached up immediately and took her hand in his and pressed it to the side of his face.

Layne smiled softly at him and tilted her head. “Would a kiss for good luck be pushing it right now?” she asked.

Bucky smirked and leaned down to press his lips against hers. They were just as soft and plush as he remembered and he raised his metal hand to cup her face before remembering her throat and pulling away. She caught his metal hand and brought the palm to her lips, giving it a soft kiss.

“Don’t stress about it, Bucky. Thanks for the luck.”

“Yeah, well, I’m coming with you, so I don’t know how lucky it’ll be,” Bucky quipped back.

“Bucky, no,” both Layne and Steve said at the same time. Bucky frowned at them both and rolled his eyes in that typical petulant way of his when he thought everyone else was being stupid. It was an eye roll that was mostly saved for Sam or Tony.

“Bucky, yes. You’re not going to face your family without me. Besides, I need to get out of here for a bit. It’s only been a few days but I’m feeling stir crazy,” Bucky argued already going back into the apartment.

“Bucky, we don’t have time!” Layne shouted after him, waving to Steve and trying to make her way to the elevators before him.

“To argue about it? You’re right, we don’t,” Bucky answered, already running out after her with a backpack already on while strapping a gun harness around his waist, two Glocks already snapped in. “Why can’t I open the gun safe, by the way?”  

“Steve!” Layne called back, looking for assistance.

“You’re the mission commander here, Agent Hardin. It’s your call,” Steve passed off holding his hands up in surrender.

It was a little selfish of him, but he really hadn’t been able to spend any time with Natasha since her return from her undercover mission and he knew, he just knew, that Bucky would bitch and mope all night if Layne left him behind. The talk the two men had had been a good one, a lot of air had been cleared and it was almost like old times; if you ignored that the minute Steve picked up the bottle opener Bucky’s eyes flashed cold as he plucked it from Steve’s fingers having considered it a weapon or that now he was totally okay with propping his boots up on the coffee table - something both of their ma’s would have swatted them upside the heads for. You know, the little things. He felt moderately confident at letting Bucky go, knowing that Layne and Danny combined would be enough to handle any situation that may arise with the former assassin.

Layne glared at the two men, her lips pressed in a thin line and her nose crinkled with irritation. “You have plenty of guns on the jet. You do not leave my side, Barnes,” Layne demanded, poking her finger into his hard chest.

“Wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else, doll,” Bucky drawled with a winning smirk on his lips before pressing up on the elevator to take them to the flight decks.

~*~

The team all stood in the cock pit as Bucky got the okay through air traffic control at MSP to land on a private strip. Layne turned away from the careful eye she had been keeping on her boyfriend, an eye that he had been pretending he didn’t notice, to look over at Susanna who was standing there with a makeup sponge and some liquid foundation.

“Were you having someone pick you up or did you want me to order you an Uber?” Layne asked, unlocking her phone and plugging in Tony’s credit card number that she had long since memorized for the rental car at the airport. She raised her chin so that Susanna could do her best to cover the dark bruise. It wasn’t that Layne was ashamed of it, but she figured the less questions that could be lobbed her way from her family or authorities the better. She was worried it would come across that she didn’t always have control and that was the exact opposite image she needed right now.

“I’m gonna come back you up first. We’re family, I’ll take off after I know you guys are safe in the air with those kids,” Susanna stated, her brows furrowed in concentration as she tried to blur the lines.

Bucky focused on landing the jet, thankful for the distraction so he wouldn’t have to watch Susanna work to hide Bucky’s lapse of control.

Layne smiled gratefully at her best friend, but her gaze quickly returned to her phone as she received an email from Pepper with all the legal documents giving full custody to Cheryl due to child endangerment. Layne quickly forwarded them to Cheryl to print off so she could meet them at Michael’s house with them. Since it was a Saturday the children would be with her brother, Cheryl had tried to come up with some excuse to keep the kids with her for the weekend but Michael was apparently more insistent than normal to have them.

The landing and disembarking went smoothly, they even managed to dodge any extra unwanted attention in the airport making it to the rental car kiosk and getting out onto 494W without any issue.

“We lucked out that it looks like Michael took a promotion and moved to the main University of Minnesota campus, it looks like he’s living in St. Louis Park now. The drive to Mankato sucks,” Layne grumbled to herself as she checked her blind spot and hurriedly merged lanes, cutting a car off successfully to the sound of a blared horn.

“Okay, hun, you’re in the Midwest again, you have to drive less like a New Yorker,” Susanna pleaded, her hand reaching over the seat and squeezing Layne’s shoulder from her spot behind the driver.

“Well, if everyone wasn’t such a terrible fucking driver and would just get out of my mother fucking way,” Layne seethed, her eyes never leaving the road in front of her as she checked her side mirrors, then her right blind spot, and passed the car in the left lane. She was easily going thirty over the speed limit as she took the exit onto Hwy 100.

“It’s good to know you haven’t grown out of your road rage,” Danny muttered weakly, his skin taking on a green tinge as he rolled his back window down so he could take in deep breaths of cold air in attempt to abate the nausea.

“Doll, do you want to pull over so I can drive?” Bucky asked softly, his hand gripping the oh-shit handle above the door in a white knuckled grip.

“No way, no offense babe but you’re a terrible driver,” Layne scoffed as she made another erratic pass of the car in front of her.

~*~

“Okay, here’s the plan. Danny I need you to stick to the shadows, if you can suit up real quick somehow please do - I’m going to need you on backup. Susanna, you’re with me. Bucky, get away driver,” Layne doled out positions as they turned onto Michael’s block.

Daniel immediately reached into the back of the SUV and zipped open his backpack, pulling on his hooded jacket and grabbing his mask. Sue checked the pistol in her holster and made sure everything was in place where it needed to be in case of emergency. Bucky, however, whirled to look at Layne furiously.

“No. You’re the one who said that I wasn’t supposed to be leaving your side,” Bucky argued.

“Bucky,” Layne sighed, taking a hand off the wheel to rub a spot in the middle of her forehead where tension was starting to build. “Michael is already going to be on edge when we show up, Cheryl beat us there with the paperwork and a police officer. The last thing I need is for you to come murder strutting your way out and start growling like an alpha dog.”

“Yeah, save that for the bedroom, big shot,” Susanna teased, winking at the super soldier who shot her a withering look but chose to ignore her comment.

“And if he is working with Hydra?” Bucky asks.

“Bucky, you’ll be in the fucking car parked in front of the house. You’ll be able to be there in five minutes. Daniel will know immediately if something is wrong and let you know and then you can come in with your guns blazing.”

“Speaking of me, wanna slow down and let me out here?” Daniel asked, sliding his mask over his face and pulling up his hood.

Layne pulled over and Daniel slid out of the car barely making a sound, Bucky didn’t want to look too impressed but as he watched the man shift and melt into the shadows between the houses he couldn’t help a small flare of respect and also challenge. As Layne pulled back out onto the street and rounded the corner she sucked in a nervous breath at the sight of Michael, Cheryl, and two police officers out in front of the house. Lucas was leaning against the police car playing on his phone while Rosaline stood behind her mother, holding Cheryl’s hand in a desperate grip.

Even though they couldn’t hear anything, they could see Michael screaming at the officers who were trying to keep him separated from his ex wife. Layne pulled the black SUV up behind the police car and turned it off.

“If I let you get out and walk around the car all threateningly to get into the driver side instead of just sliding over will that make you feel better?” Layne asked.

Bucky chewed on that option for a bit, his eyes glinting with cold steel as he surveyed the scene in front of them. Looking up and down the street he could spot neighbors with their faces pressed against their front windows, some of the teenagers were hanging out their bedroom windows recording with cell phones. He looked at Layne who was watching him expectantly and then back out the window where Michael had stopped short as he noticed his baby sister and her ex-assassin boyfriend were in the front seat of the vehicle.

“No, he noticed me already and I don’t want Hydra to know we’re both away from the tower,” Bucky admitted. He knew Layne was making the correct calls, but for some reason it was harder for him to give up control now that the Soldier was more apart of him. The Soldier was used to working alone and a part of him hated taking orders despite the fact that that was what Bucky was more than okay doing. “You’re mission lead. I’ve got your backup.”

“Thank you. Ready, Agent Sweet?” Layne asked, locking eyes with her eldest brother.

“Got your back, Commander.”