#she’s knocked him off the platform - they both know he’s lost - and he goes ‘carolina-‘ in SUCH a soft voice

[fischiee]

when york reveals to carolina that he’s helping tex and you can hear the emotion in lina’s voice when she says “what are you doing here? why are you helping her“ is something that means so much to me

she’s just so taken aback and horrified that someone she trusts and cares about so much would willingly side with tex, not to mention the fact that it’s /york/ who she loves but won’t let herself be with and he’s just confirming all of her worst fears - that love destroys and you will always be hurt and betrayed by the ones you let close

[buckyscrystalqueen]

The Cards: Part 8

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, angst, fluff, mentions of past abuse by readers ex.

Word Count: 5,349

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well now this just isn’t fair.” David called out as you got out of Scott’s car at David’s gem store and outdoor sluice. “You can only have one soldier and I’m keeping the other one.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re gunna be sleeping on the couch tonight, mister.” Scott teased as he shut the drivers side door with a laugh. You heard Sara tell Steve that they were married as Bucky got out, put Chloe down on the ground and handed you her carrier.

“So, what do you got going on for us today?” You called out as David crouched down to get love from his favorite puppy in the world.

“You guys are in luck. Not only do I have my usual bags from Arizona but I just opened up a deal with a guy in Virgin Valley and one in Montana. I’ve been neck deep in opals and sapphires for weeks!” You nodded as he stood up and headed toward his shop. It was partially a metaphysical store like yours but he focused a lot of his energy on jewelry and the four 40 foot long, dual sided mining sluices out front. While his passion was gemstones in general, he choose to run a ‘tourist trap’ for the money.

“Are you always this busy?” Bucky asked as he looked over at the large group of about 50 people spread out at the mining tables.

“Ha! This is nothing.” He led your group toward the covered patio on the side of his store and in through the employee entrance. “It’s only Tuesday. Come Friday, these bitches won’t have a place to even sit. Now, I know you need to restock.” He said as he pulled out a thick binder of crystals he could order for your store and dropped it on the counter. “Why don’t you two manly men look around while we knock out business before pleasure.”

“Why do you have to pick on them?” Sara asked as Bucky and Steve awkwardly wandered away with Scott.

“Because it’s fun. Now, what do you need?”

“Right now; tumbled anything. We can’t keep anything on our shelves anymore. I’m at the point where I am thinking about moving locations just to put more product in the store.” David nodded as he grabbed a notebook from under his counter.

“You stock the basics locally, right? Rose, clear, fluorite…”

“Yea, I get those from my North Carolina guy. I call you for the good stuff… like black tourmaline because it goes like hotcakes…”

“Oh! I had someone asking about Super Seven and dumotierite last week.” Sara said as she turned to look at you.

“And if you can find some more of that chrysocolla ajoite I would love that!” David nodded as he wrote the names down as fast as you and Sara were listing them. After about thirty more names, you and Sara looked at each other. 

“I think that’s about it.” She said as she tilted her head, trying to jog any other crystals you needed from her memory.

“Oh, salt lamps. The ones my other guy has are all garbage.” David nodded as he added it to the bottom of the list.

“Alright, I’ll call my girl. You just paying me?” You nodded as you looked over the list.

“Yea, just email me the invoice once you get it.” He nodded as he ripped the page off the notebook and folded it up.

“Pleasure doing business with you as always. Now let’s get to the fun part.” You called Bucky’s name and waved the two men over as you headed outside. “Don’t let her drink that water!” David snapped at Scott; who was holding up Chloe to drink from the running mining sluice. He looked over at you with wide eyes as he moved your dog away from the small waterfall before she could drink from it.

“You’re gunna kill my child, you butt.” You said as Scott set Chloe down on the ground.

“She looked thirsty. It’s just water.”

“So is this.” David said as he held up a bottle of water and a bowl. “Good doggie water. Bad doggie water.” He said as he pointed at the sluice. Scott rolled his eyes as David poured the bottled water into the bowl and put it down on the ground with a laugh. “So, what are you thinkin’?” He looked up at you as he put the cap back on the bottle water.

“Well I have two super strong men who totally won’t mind lifting the 5 gallon buckets.”

“What am I lifting?” Bucky asked as he stepped outside with Steve.

“Just some sand and gemstones. We’re gunna show you two how to go this.” Sara said as she pointed to the mining tables.

“Do you have the Montana bags and the Virgin Valley bags separate?” You asked. David nodded as he gestured to the boys to follow him.

“I’m assuming you want one of each?” You nodded as you and Sara moved over to the rail to look. David had hundreds of buckets of various sizes lined up on a wooden platform. They were all color coded not only by location of where the dirt came from but price as well. “VV is in the green bucket, Montana is blue, and Arizona is red.” David said as he pointed to the three rows of five gallon buckets at the end.

“Which do you want, doll?” Bucky asked as he and Steve looked over at you for direction while Scott handed you some hand shovels.

“Green comes to me and blue will go to Sara. I think you two will appreciate the red one, babe.”

“You reselling what you find?” David asked as the guys grabbed the buckets. You, along with the rest of your group were slightly distracted by the two guys as they lifted the 70 pound buckets with ease.

“Umm… yea, sure.” You said as Bucky smirked at you.

“Should we take our shirts off and do it again?” He teased as he headed toward the far table.

“Yes.” All four of you said in unison.

“And to think they get to sleep with that every night.” Scott said as you all watched Bucky and Steve put the buckets down by the table.

“It’s so much better when they don’t have a shirt on.” Sara said as she nearly undressed Steve with her eyes. “We got to see them in the pool the other day…”

“And in those wetsuits yesterday…” You chimed in.

“Are you guys gunna show us what we are doing or just stand there all day?” You and Sara shook yourselves out of your daze and headed over to the table.

“I’ll have Chloe inside while I put in that order.” David called out after you.

“Put the buckets on the invoice too, please.” You called after him as you had Bucky move your bucket toward your tree stump stool. David nodded as you and Sara handed the boys their mining pans; a wood box with a metal sheet on the bottom with tiny holes that allowed the dirt to pass through but not the gemstones.

“So this is super easy.” Sara said as she got a shovel of dirt and put it in the tray while you grabbed some plastic containers from Chloe’s carrier. “Pour a shovel full of dirt in the pan, set it in the water and gently move it back and forth.” The guys nodded as she demonstrated.

“The tricky part is some gemstones like peridot and garnet are gunna be tiny. So tiny that you could miss them.” You said as you handed Sara two containers across the two sluices; which were only about a foot and a half wide each.

“So typically, every three or four scoops, you usually use your finger to pick through the little rocks that are left at the bottom to find the crystals. We usually put those in necklaces and sell them at the store.”

“And if you can’t get them out of the little mesh holes or aren’t sure if you’re looking at rock or crystal, just ask. Sara and I are pros at it by now. This is the cheapest and most fun way to restock the store of raw stones.” You said with a laugh as you put your and Bucky’s containers on the ledge between the two sluices. The guys nodded and got to work.

——

“So what’s this one?” Steve asked as he washed off a stone and held it up. Bucky looked up from the piece of citrine he was cleaning.

“Um… sodalite?” You smirked as you looked up from the opal in your hand.

“Yep. You’re getting good at this, baby.” You said as you nudged your boyfriend with your shoulder. You set the opal in your overflowing container and grabbed your last spoonful of sand.

“Look at this one.” Sara said as she reached across the table and handed you the rough blue sapphire that was about the size of a quarter. You whistled as you dipped it in water and rubbed your thumb across it.

“Keep that one.” You said as you handed it back to her. She nodded as she put it off to the side with a couple other sapphires and a few opals you were keeping.

“Care if I keep this one?” Bucky asked as he washed off a big piece of amethyst.

“Absolutely. You two are more than welcome to keep any of them you want.” You held out your hand and he put the rough point in your palm. He lingered there for just a moment; wrapping his fingers around your hand and you looked up at him with a smile. Neither of you said a word as he pulled his hand away to do the last bit of his bucket.

“This was surprisingly a lot of fun.” Steve said as the brushed at the little stones at the bottom of his box. “I’m glad I decided to stay.”

“I am, too.” Sara said as she glanced over at him. You and Bucky both looked up as she leaned into his side and helped him get a piece of garnet from the mesh. You smiled as the two of them seemed to get lost in their own little world for a moment.

“Kiss her.” Bucky coughed and you whacked his arm. Sara and Steve both blushed and pulled away from each other as Bucky chuckled.

“You’re such a jerk.” You said as you washed off the last opal your bucket had to offer. 

“What I coughed?” He joked as he put his last piece of rose quartz in the container. You shook your head as you looked through the rocks on the bottom of your and his trays. As you were grabbing a couple pieces of peridot from his tray, Bucky gently elbowed you in the side. You looked up at him and he pointed at Sara and Steve who were sharing their first kiss. You fought back the urge to ‘awe’ out loud and you let them have a moment.

“Alright, people can see you.” You teased when they rested their foreheads on against each others.

“You two need to get a room.” Bucky said as he stood up and grabbed the empty buckets.

“Oh, my God, I hate you both.” Sara groaned as she poured the last bit of dirt in her tray. You shrugged and grabbed the two full containers of gemstones from your side.

“We aren’t the ones making out in public.” You joked as you set the containers in the bottom of Chloe’s carrier. You looked up just in time to watch Steve punch Bucky hard in the arm, causing your boyfriend to simply laugh. “You like him.” You said to Sara in a soft sing song voice once they were out of ear shot. She looked up at you and nodded.

“Yea, him and his cute butt.” You laughed as you grabbed the other two containers while Sara picked up the handful of crystals you were keeping.

“As long as your happy babe.” You said as you put your bag over your shoulder and headed up toward the office.

“We gotta take Chloe out.” Scott said as you opened the back office door. “She’s been whining at the door.”

“Um… alright.” You said as you pushed the door open and let Sara walk past you. “What, did you miss mommy?” You asked your dog as she jumped at your legs. You and Scott walked over to the grassy area by the car and Chloe relieved herself before running around for a minute. 

“You look so much happier than the last time I saw you.” Scott said as you watched Chloe roll on the sun warmed grass. You smiled and nodded as you looked up at him.

“I didn’t know this kind of happiness existed, honestly.” Scott smiled as he pulled you in for a hug.

“Well, super hero or not, he hurts my baby and I’ll kick his ass.” You laughed as he pulled back to look at you. “I’m so happy for you, honey.” You smiled as he bent down and kissed your forehead.

“Hey! Get your own dame.” Bucky called out as the rest of your group headed over to the car. Scott scoffed and looked over at Bucky.

“Pu-lease. There is no contest who she would choose.” He and Bucky both looked at you with their eyebrows raised and knowing smiles. You shook your head and looked up at Scott.

“Let me just put it this way. I will always love you but I had to buy new chairs AND fix a wall on the same day because of him.” Bucky blushed slightly as Sara burst out laughing. Scott fanned his face and grabbed your shoulder.

“Ooo Lord, child. You go right on ahead and pick him.” He teased as Bucky whistled for Chloe.

“I’ll see you guys later for Zumanity.” David said as he gave you a quick kiss on the cheek. You nodded as you opened the front door for Bucky.

“You’ll be paying for that one later tonight.” He growled softly as he gave you a chaste kiss. You bit your lip and closed the door as how you would be paying for it flashed through your mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That show was…” Bucky said as you, him, Scott and David walked out of the New York, New York hotel after the Zumanity show. He shook his head and whistled, causing you to laugh.

“It was amazing.” You wrapped your arm around Bucky’s waist and headed down the strip.

“Where did Sara and Steve disappear to?” David asked as he took Scott’s hand and fell into step beside you.

“Steve was a little uncomfortable with the subject matter.” You told him with a small laugh.

“So he’s a slight prude… and he’s dating our Sara?” Scott asked with a laugh. 

“That should be an interesting combination.” David agreed. “Oh look, the Bellagio show is starting.” You looked over to where David was pointing and smiled. Bucky took your hand as the four of you headed toward the fountain show. He and Scott both used their size to get clear views for you and David. You couldn’t help but smile as the man you loved wrapped his arms around your waist and rested his chin on your shoulder.

“Just so you know…” he growled in your ear as he gently kissed your neck. “I haven’t forgotten you put our sex life out there to people it doesn’t concern. And that show…” he chuckled softly as he took a half step forward and pressed his hard cock against your lower back. “Made your punishment so much worse.” You bit your lip to hold back your moan as he kissed your neck once more.

“So, I’m kinda tired.” You squeaked as you looked over at Scott and David. “I’ll call you tomorrow for dinner?” Your friends gave you a knowing smile at your tone and the look on your face.

“Tired my ass.” David chuckled. 

“Don’t break the bed.” Scott chided with a laugh as he gave you a hug. You smiled at your friends.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You said as Bucky put his hand on your lower back. He said goodbye to your friends as he guided you away from the Bellagio.

“You’re just making it worse for yourself.” Bucky growled with a smirk as he wrapped his arm around your waist. “And this dress… doll, this dress isn’t helping your case.” You felt him bunch the fabric of the loose yet form fitting knee length dress you borrowed from Sara for the night in his hand at your hip. 

“Bucky…” You moaned as heat pooled in your core. He chuckled and shook his head.

“Oh no, doll. You did this to yourself.” You sighed wantonly as he guided you into your hotel and he chuckled as he guided you toward the elevators. He pressed the button and wrapped his arms around your waist. “This isn’t helping your case either.” He said as he reached up and dragged his metal finger from your neck down the slight bit of exposed cleavage. You shivered as the doors opened in front of you.

“James…” He walked your forward into the elevator and hit the button for your floor.

“Keep begging, doll.” You moaned as he spun you around and pinned you up against the wall. His lips ghosted across your throat as he wrapped his hands around your wrists and held them above your head against the wall. He looked at you with a knowing smirk as he brushed his nose against yours.  “God, you’re so beautiful.” He crashed his lips to yours and grabbed your hips. When the elevator door opened, he hiked up your dress, ripping the material up the side and lifted you up off the ground. You wrapped your arms around his neck as he carried you down the hall.

“Buck…” You whined as he stopped at your door. You tugged at his hair and kissed down his jaw as he unlocked the room door. His cock lurched against your soaked pussy as he threw the door open.

“Fuck (Y/N).” He growled as he kicked the door closed and carried you to your bedroom. You nodded as you kissed your way up to his lips and pushed his jacket off his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground by the couch. Your shoes hit the tile floor by the dining room table as he completely ripped open the back of your dress.

“Babe!” You squealed as he tossed the material to the side.

“I’ll buy a new one.” He said as he tossed you on the bed. Chloe leapt off the pillows to get out of the way as Bucky froze; his eyes wondering up and down your body hungrily. You propped yourself up on your elbows as a smart smirk crossed your face.

“Weren’t expecting this one, were you baby?” You asked as he looked at the tight corset you had on under your dress. 

“Holy shit.” He lurched forward and slammed his lips to yours as he crawled up the bed over you. You ripped open his button down, sending buttons flying as you wrapped your legs around his waist and arched your hips to grind them against his.

“Please…” You whined as you pushed at the material. He sat up and smirked as he grabbed the front of your corset.

“I’ll buy you a new one.” He said as he ripped the corset open. You yanked his belt open and scrambled to get the button and zipper undone. You used your hands and feet to push his jeans down as he tore the corset out from under you and tossed it across the room. He took a minute to really look at you as he stood on the side of the bed and kicked his jeans and shoes the rest of the way off. 

“God, I love you, baby.” He said as he reached up and pulled your panties off slowly. You smiled as he kneeled on the bed between your legs. You touched your fingertips to his cheek and ran your hands back to tangle them in his hair.

“I love you, Bucky.” He smiled as he leaned down and captured your lips with his. His soft, gentleness only lasted a few seconds as he teased your slit with his fingers. You gasped as he slid his cool, metal middle finger in your pussy. He added a second as thumb circled your clit.

“This is lettin’ you off easy baby doll.” He said as he looked down at you; watching your face twist with pleasure with a smile on his face. “But it won’t last long.” You gasped as his fingers picked up pace; pumping into you at a nearly inhuman speed as he brought you right to the edge in a matter of seconds.

“Jay…” You arched into him as your orgasm peaked. With an evil chuckle, he pulled his hand away and shook his head.

“Oh no… not yet.” He said as he moved between your legs and used his hips to hold you down. He bracketed your head with his arms as you whined and tried to push your hips against his to get any sort of friction.

“Bucky, please… please, baby. I need you.” You whined as you ran your hands through his hair. You gave it a strong tug as he slowly rolled his hips against yours. He growled as he leaned his head forward; letting you tug even harder.

“I’m not letting you win with that one tonight.” He growled as his cock twitched against your clit. “You have been a bad girl.” A whine escaped your lips as you ran your nails down his back.

“Bucky, please!” You begged as you wrapped your legs around his waist as desperation began to seep in. He smirked as he moved his hand and gave you a sharp smack on the ass.

“Be a good girl for me and wait.” He said with a smirk as he slowly ground his hips against yours. You let out another whine as you tried to shift your hips to get a better angle. He sat back abruptly and smirked down at you as he slowly stroked his length. “Do you want me to stop?” 

“No, please!” You nearly shouted as you reached for his shoulders to pull him back down to you. “Please baby, I’ll be good.”

“You’ll be good?” He asked as he ran his fingertips over your sweat dampened chest. You nodded as he circled your nipples with the pad of his thumb. “I can’t hear…"

“Yes, I’ll be good.” You gasped as he dragged his fingers down your stomach. He brushed his fingers just above your clit and you knew he was testing you; seeing if you would move toward him. It was a game he loved to play because he knew it drove you mad. He watched you closely with a smirk on his face; loving every moment knowing how crazy he was driving you; his version of payback for pulling his hair.

“Are you gunna keep telling people about our sex life?” His blue, lust blown eyes met yours as a smirk spread across your face.

“Yes.” He groaned, lined himself up and slammed into you. You shrieked in pleasure as he gave you only half a second to adjust.

“That’s my bad girl.” He growled as he grabbed hold of your waist. He slammed his hips into yours and smirked. “You like the wait as much as I do.” You nodded as you reached up and tangled your hands in your hair.

“I really do.” You groaned as you pulled him down toward you. Your lips captured his as he put his hand on your lower back; lifting you up to get a deeper angle. Your gasp was lost in his mouth as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders. He kissed his way down your jaw as he held your hips just where he wanted you.

“I know you do whatever you can to turn me on on purpose.” He growled over your moans as your orgasm approached. “You love it when I bring you right to the edge…” You back arched and your whole body tensed as he forced himself out of you with a groaned laugh.

“Fuck this.” You growled as you shoved him onto his back with every once of strength you had. You straddled his waist and he lined himself up. You slammed down onto him and flipped your hair back. “My turn.” You growled as you put your hands on his chest for support. He grabbed your hips and groaned as you picked up a punishing pace.

“Fuck baby girl!” He shouted as he thrust up into you. Your body shook as you curled your nails into his chest. 

“James… fuck, James…” Your breath caught in your lungs as your orgasm slammed into you. Your walls gripped his cock and your vision went white. You barely registered Bucky flipping you back onto the mattress as you gasped for air.

“Keep comin baby.” He growled as he reached between your bodies and rubbed his thumb over your clit. Stars danced across your vision as your sweat and cum soaked, trembling thighs gripped Bucky’s hips.

“James!” You grabbed the headboard for support as he pounded into you; chasing his release. You felt the wood and cloth headboard give way under your hands as he growled out his release and everything went black.

“There’s my girl.” You heard Bucky chuckle as you opened your eyes. You rolled your head to look up at him. “You forgot to breathe.” He joked as he brushed his thumb across your cheek. “You OK?” You nodded as you looked down at the pieces of wood in your hand.

“I broke the headboard.” You said with a laugh as you showed him the pieces before tossing them off the side of the bed. He chuckled and shrugged.

“I ripped the sheets… all of them.” You picked your head up and looked past him at the shredded comforter under you. You sighed as you laid your head back down on the pillow.

“Expensive sex.” You could feel the aftershocks of your orgasm rocking your muscles as a smile spread across your face. “How long was I out for?” Bucky laughed as he gently pulled out and rolled off of you. 

“Minute. Scared the shit out of me.” You huffed a laugh and rolled yourself on your side to lay on his chest.

“Sorry baby.” He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and kissed your forehead.

“Just breathe next time. I thought I seriously hurt you.” You smiled as you propped your head up on his chest.

“I’m sorry, baby but I promise… you did everything right.” He chuckled and leaned forward to give you a kiss. You heard the jingle of Chloe’s collar as she jumped up on the bed. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back and ran his hand through his hair.

“We need to take her out.” He said as he snapped his fingers so she would come over to him. You nodded as you reached up, picked her up and laid her on his chest.

“We need new sheets, too. And a blanket. And we probably are gunna have to pay for a new headboard.” You said as you laid your head on his shoulder. He chuckled as you scratched the top of Chloe’s head.

“At least I wasn’t the one who broke it this time.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“So what happened here?” You looked back at Sara and smiled as you took a sip of your coffee.

“Broke the headboard.” You said casually as you watched the hotel maintenance staff carry out the broken headboard.

“He broke…” Your smile got even bigger as you shook your head.

“He is responsible for the sheets. Headboard is all me… the bigger question is where were you last night?” She froze halfway to her room and bit the side of her cheek.

“No where.” You ‘mmhmm’ed as you went back to your email.

“So guess what I learned this morning while you were not sleeping with Steve.” You said as you picked up Chloe off the couch next to you, put her on the pillow on your other side and pat the cushion next to you. She tossed her heels from the night before into her room and walked over to the couch as you pulled up your voicemail. You hit play and put it on speaker as she sat down.

‘Hey (Y/N), Mike Miller. Listen, umm… Chris is dead. Suicide, couple days ago. I know you don’t really care but… well… you should take a look at his will. I emailed it to you. Call me back, OK? Hope everything is going well with you.’

“That’s your old law partner, right?” Sara asked as you scrolled through your emails on your laptop. You nodded as you brought up the email from Mike.

“He left me everything, Sara.” You pulled up the document and turned your laptop toward her. “The condo in New York, the house in Napa, the cars, the cash… he even graciously gave me back my Hamptons house.”

“Holy shit…” You nodded as you pinched your lips together.

“Yea… how the fuck do I explain this one to Bucky? This is blood money, Sara…”

“This is not blood money, (Y/N). Just like the restitution he gave you wasn’t blood money either…”

“Yea, and it took me 14 trips to Vegas to spend it all so I…” Sara laughed as she moved your laptop off your lap and took your hands in hers.

“Honey, good Lord! You make it seem like our vacations were a hardship on you.” You rolled your eyes and sighed.

“It doesn’t feel right…” She shrugged as she brushed her thumb across your cheek.

“Honey, it’s just money. It’s like winning the lottery…”

“Yea, but how do I explain that to Bucky? I mean, the ex that tried to kill me just gave me enough money and property to keep me comfortable for two lifetimes because he feels guilty about it. How do you…”

“You just have to tell me the truth, doll.” You sighed as you looked at Sara’s bright smile.

“He’s been behind me the whole time, hasn’t he?” She nodded.

“We rode the elevator up together.” You growled as Chloe jumped off her pillow to greet her daddy after his morning work out.

“She’s right, you know.” Bucky said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the bar and picked up Chloe. “It’s just money.” He flopped down on the couch next to you as he downed half the bottle of water in one gulp. “And the houses… well… you can sell them if you don’t want them…”

“Oh, hell no. That Hamptons house was mine.” You said. “The Napa one can go and I’d rather die than live on the Upper East Side again.”

“I’ll take the Napa house.” Sara said as she took your coffee from you. You looked over at her sarcastically and she shrugged. “What? It’s Napa!” 

“And the money? Doll, you could finally open up a bigger shop like you’ve been talking about. Put that so called ‘blood money’ to good use to help more people who need both of your expertise.” 

“And now we can go on that Australia trip we have been talking about for years. We could become the only store in New York to sell rough crystals and herbs, hand picked by us from around the world.” Sara said excitedly. 

“I would actually quit bartending to be a part of that.” Bucky said as he scratched Chloe’s belly. “Personal muscle, ya know.” You smiled as you reached over and squeezed his arm. You nodded as you looked at him and Sara.

“Alright. Let’s do it.”