#this is a common occurrence for them i think | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dameronspector · 1 day ago

Text

Philophobia (Part 10)

Pairings: Joaquin Torres x Stark!Reader, Sam Wilson x Platonic!Reader, Bucky Barnes x Platonic!Reader

Chapter Summary: You try to find information on Rhodey and call the biggest asshole for help, Karli and Zemo are a pain in the ass, all of you get a special visit from the Dora Milaje, John Walker is annoying and you hate him, Joaquin is a sweetie pie who loves you so much, you end up hurting our bird boy unwillingly.

Warnings: Cursing, Angst, FLUFF so much fluff, Tension (no smut), Revisiting Past, Mentions of Depression and Phobias, Isolation, Loneliness, Talks of a Funeral, Guns/Bullets, Injuries, Concussion, Bruises, Jealous!Joaquin, Sam and Bucky are worried dads, Joaquin loves Reader so much, Joaquin is whipped, A Special Cameo, Nicknames, This is a long one. that’s all I think!

AN: nothing really, except this one is really cute hehe

“Stark, I’m in the middle of-”

“Where’s Rhodey? And don’t say you don’t know anything about that. We both know, that you’re the only person who has eyes everywhere.”

Fury sighed heavily on the phone.

The moment Pepper told you that Rhodey was missing, your mind went straight to Nick Fury, the only person in this country who had his eyes everywhere and in everyone’s business. Especially when it came to people like Rhodey, who were government officials.

“Fine. I do know. But I can’t tell you anything right now.”

Your blood boiled, irritated with his constant state of unbothered attitude, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I can’t tell you anything right now. It’s confidential. You’re not new to this business, Stark.”

You closed your eyes in annoyance. It was never easy with this man.

“Alright, fine. But if I don’t get my uncle back safely, I’ll give you something to worry about, Fury.”

“Are you threatening me?”, Fury let out a disbelieving chuckle.

“Why? Are you scared?”, you challenged him back. He knew you could be as reckless as your dad if you wanted to be.

“Relax. He’s alive, if that makes you feel any better. Just figuring out how to bring him back. And no, I can’t elaborate on that right now. You’ll just have to wait.”

You clenched your jaw tightly, reluctantly agreeing to his terms.

“Yeah, alright. You’ll keep me updated, though?”

A beat passed.

And he finally replied, “Yes, I’ll try.”

You huffed through your nose and cut the call, pinching the bridge of your nose after. You wouldn’t be getting any sleep for a while now.

Your phone buzzed with a notification again. Harley had texted you that the suit will be arriving to your doorstep in approximately 10 seconds.

As if on cue, your watch informed that the suit was here.

You made your way over to the main doors and there it was, the sleek red and gold of the armour glinting in the light, the blue arc reactor in the middle glowing brightly, like it was never broken down.

For a minute, it felt like your dad was inside the suit. The sight of him roaming around the living room in one of the suits was a common occurrence, and the times when he wore it to help Peter out, fighting against Thanos, or save Pepper—all of the moments flashing in front of your eyes like it was a short film.

Involuntarily, your eyes filled with tears, the fact that he would never step out of one of these suits, after doing something crazy and typically Tony Stark, made your chest ache with a pain so profound.

You didn’t notice Joaquin coming up next to you in your trance. You didn’t notice how he saw your body lock up and eyes turn glassy, the emotion and pain swimming in them sending a sharp pang of hurt through his own chest.

His eyebrows scrunched up and he slowly put a hand on your shoulder, making you jump in surprise. Your teary eyes shifted to look at him, his worried face intently focused on you.

"Hey, you okay?", he asked lowly, the hand on your shoulder shifting to rest on your shoulder blades.

You swallowed against the lump in your throat before nodding, "Y-yeah. I'm good. Sorry-um. This is Mark 50, Mark 50, this is Joaquin", you sniffled and pointed at the suit, introducing it to Joaquin like it was a real person.

In a way it was, the suits and the robots were as much as a part of the Stark family as Rhodey or Happy. They were, truly, your siblings and you hated how right Sam was about that.

Joaquin noticed the shift in you and immediately switched his mood, "Damn. Lookin' good", he greeted the suit, a hand extended in front of it.

He wasn't expecting the suit to actually listen and shake his hand in return, a metal fist enclosed against Joaquin's human hand, the suit's helmet tilted to the side like it was nodding.

Joaquin looked at you with wide eyes, face lit up with excitement, "Whoa!"

That made you laugh quietly, heart fluttering in your chest by looking at the wide smile on Joaquin's face.

He was so cute.

"Yeah. Dad used to command it before, but Harley must've programed it to respond to any commands and rewired it's systems to be operated by FRIDAY", you looked at the suit with a fond smile, completely missing the sour look that passed across Joaquin's face.

"Let's go inside. And Joaquin, could you please pull up Sam and Bucky's location? I’ll just thank Harley for his help", you shifted away from the threshold, the suit and Joaquin following closely. Joaquin stared at your back like a lost puppy before reluctantly sitting down at the couch with his laptop propped up on the arm rest.

You rang Harley back, taking a seat next to Joaquin and watching his pretty hands type away on the keypad.

Pretty hands? where did that come from-

"What’s up, Buzz."

"Hi, Haz. Thank you for working on the suit in such less time", you begun sincerely.

Joaquin clenched his jaw. You noticed that and quirked an eyebrow before Harley broke your train of thought.

"You owe me a treat and a new headset", Harley replied casually, and you could hear loud cheers in the background.

"Wait a minute, headset? Didn't you get a new one last month? And where are you, boy?", you chided him.

"Uhh...I may have blasted mine accidentally while working on the suit? And I'm at a football game right now", you could just picture his stupid shrug right now.

Your eyes widened, "Harley did you destroy my lab?! I swear to god- and why are you skipping your classes-"

"Oh my gooood, your lab is fine! There might be a small hole in the wall but otherwise, it's all good! And you're welcome! Come back home and treat me to lunch and a new pair, mkay? I gotta focus on the game now, byeee!"

And he ended the call.

You stared at your phone with your mouth agape before bringing your watch up to your face, "FRIDAY, give me a status update of the lab?"

FRIDAY pulled up a small screen, a footage of your lab visible on it. The footage showed the exact moment Harley accidentally pushed the wrong button and activated the blasters, destroying his precious headset and a small chunk of your wall paneling, the gaping hole standing out against the white and gray interior.

You pinched the bridge of your nose and groaned loudly, Joaquin, who was already looking at you, decides to finally speak up.

"Who is this guy?", he blurts out and immediately regrets it, his hand clenching into a fist.

You looked up and sighed, "Just a stray that my dad picked up long ago and now he's my problem."

Joaquin looked at you in confusion. You smiled fondly.

"He's like the twin I never had, you know? Dad met him in Tennessee in 2013, during the Mandarin attacks. Harley basically saved my dad from starvation and hypothermia, let him stay in their family garage for the night. He was a smart kid, helped dad fix his suit, uncover the Extremis program, and helped track down the Mandarin in Miami."

Joaquin's eyes were wide with wonder, "Whoa."

You chuckled, "I know right? He must've been barely 11 years old. Even supported my dad during his panic attacks and PTSD. Dad was so impressed with this little guy who was practically helping him save the country, that he became a surrogate father to him. Gave him a scholarship and, later, an internship, brought him home during Christmas the next year, and that's how we became friends. I was an only child, so he was the closest thing to a brother to me", you finished with a sweet smile.

Joaquin relaxed. Harley was like a brother to you, there was nothing to be jealous of. Now that that was out of the way, he was happy and impressed with Harley and his presence in your life. He had saved your father’s life at only 11 years old and had given you a feeling of siblinghood. He knew how special a bond with a sibling could be.

Joaquin felt like he could get along with him.

His curiosity got the best of him and he asked, “That’s…really cool. He seems like a nice guy. But, why’d you call him Woody the other day?”

You let out a delightful laugh, one that made your eyes squint and crinkles appear next to them. One that made Joaquin’s heart race and cheeks red.

“We were just two Disney obsessed kids, okay? Spent half of our time watching the animated movies. Toy Story and How To Train Your Dragon stuck out because, Woody and Buzz, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut, were way too similar to us. So those were our nicknames for each other. Never grew out of them”, you finished with a nostalgic smile.

Joaquin ducked his head and smiled, happy that you had these sweet memories as a child.

“Why did you abruptly leave when I was talking to him?”

Joaquin whipped his head up, “Huh?”, nervousness bleeding through his tone and you knew you had him there.

“Why did you leave, Joaquin? You even tensed up when I was talking to him right now”, you tried again in a softer voice.

Joaquin scratched the back of his head sheepishly, eyes looking down at his laptop to avoid your observant gaze, “Uh-I…I was-”

You pursed your lips to stop the smile from spreading, “Jealous?”

And there was the word vomit that you were expecting, “No! I wasn’t jealous. I just- I didn’t know- I didn’t want to force you into anything with me, you know? So like, I thought, maybe you already had someone so- I didn’t want to—And you looked so happy—”

You stopped him from spiralling any further and covered his mouth with your hand, shutting him up effectively. His brown eyes stared at your hand in surprise before looking at you, his soft lips brushed against your palm and you almost shivered.

“It’s okay.”

His eyes widened, head tilting to the side as if he was asking you to repeat it again.

“I mean, I don’t mind that you were jealous”, you repeated quietly, swallowing to get rid of your nerves. It’s been a long time since you opened up to someone like that. You weren’t sure how Joaquin would react to it, your heart was beating out of your chest, hands were shaking and turning cold at the same time.

Before your overthinking could get worse, Joaquin wrapped a hand around your wrist and slowly tugged it down, a thumb rubbing soothing circles against your heartbeat, sparkling eyes flickering all over your face.

“Is that so?”, he asked softly, a stray curl falling apart from his neatly gelled hair and resting on his forehead.

He was so handsome, it hurt.

You nodded shyly, face heating up with nervousness and excitement, both.

He slowly leaned in, a hand coming up to cradle your cheek when there was a beeping sound coming from his laptop, the two of you jumping apart at that.

You cleared your throat while he gently removed his hand from your face, leaving a cold feeling behind. You almost sulked at that when he swooped in to press a kiss to the swell of your cheek before turning back towards the screen.

You blushed hard and thanked whatever force that was out there, for making him turn around at that moment.

“Shit. Walker and Hoskins have tracked Sam and Bucky down”, Joaquin cursed.

You snapped out of your day dream and leaned closer to him to look at the screen.

“What? How’s that possible?”, you murmured as you watched the two dots follow Sam and Bucky around.

“I got no clue. But this can’t be good. I don’t trust Walker”, he muttered, his voice scratchy.

“Yeah, that makes the two of us. I knew this was gonna happen, which is why I called in the suit”, you confessed and he looked at you in confusion, his warm breath hitting your face because of how close you were to each other.

“What? Why?”

“I’m going after them. I’ve got a bad feeling ever since they left”, you admitted and bit the inside of your cheek.

Joaquin’s face fell, “(Name), no. You’re literally recovering from a rib injury that you got a few hours ago. You’re supposed to be resting right now”, he chided you gently, face twisted in concern.

You stared at him for a moment before softening, hands framing his face carefully. Joaquin closed his in contentment.

“I have the suit for a reason, Quino. It’s got the suture spray and FRIDAY will keep you updated with my vitals, in case something goes wrong. And Sam and Bucky will be there, too. I’ll be okay, I promise”, you cooed gently.

He opened his pretty eyes and stared at you in worry, a dent appearing in between his eyebrows because of how much he was stressing them.

“You’ll let me know if anything goes south?”

“I swear.”

“And you won’t do stupid shit?”

You gave him a guilty smile, “I’ll try”, and pressed a thumb in between his brows, smoothing the dent away before squeezing his cheeks in between your palms. He grabbed your wrists in his hands.

“I’ll give you access to FRIDAY. She’s directly connected to the suit so you can talk to me, and track me through her, okay?”

He nodded, his head moving up and down in your hands.

“Anything else?”, you prompted him to open his eyes.

He looked at you for a moment and said, “Can I kiss you?”

You blushed and whispered, “Yes.”

He didn’t have to be told twice. He put his hands on your cheeks and brought you closer to him, lips pressing to yours in a gentle embrace, thumbs smoothing the skin below your eyes.

The kiss wasn’t desperate or needy, it was gentle and reassuring, as if he was trying to savour the way your soft lips felt against his but at the same time, needed comfort that you’d be okay.

He pulled away after a few moments, pressing one last kiss on the corner of your mouth.

“Go save our dads”, he murmured against your cheek and you burst out in giggles, nuzzling against his face in return.

You flew to the location where Sam and Bucky had gone for Mama Donya’s funeral. After commanding FRIDAY to compress the suit, it took the shape of a red and gold bracelet with blue accents that went on your wrist alongside your watch and you walked the rest of the way, not wanting to draw too much attention.

The funeral was held in a closed off factory or a community center of some sort, the building filled with large machines and huge halls, scattered with food supplies and tables full of clothes, bags, pots and other essentials. It was clearly a camp for the refugees.

It was way too quiet when you got in, and Joaquin informed you about the heat signatures a few feet ahead. You slowly made your way over to the main hall’s entrance, the view blocked by 2 rusted machines that looked like unused boilers, and a blue suit came into view—Walker.

Your expression soured as you approached him and noticed Zemo being handcuffed, Bucky standing guard in front of a door, meanwhile Walker and Lemar were pacing back and forth.

“Wow, I wasn’t told that there was gonna be a party here”, you quipped and the four of them whipped their heads up in your direction.

“What—Kid, why are you here?”, Bucky asked in concern.

“Great, we have another trigger-happy child to look after”, Walker sassed.

“The call is coming from inside the house”, Walker glared at you and opened his mouth before you waved him off, “Anyways. Buck, where’s Sam? You guys okay?”

You walked over to where Bucky was standing and leaned against the door.

“Yeah. He’s inside, trying to talk Karli down.”

You nodded in understanding, it was very much in character for Sam to do that, his natural instinct to care for people and the professional experience of being a counselor helping him out.

“And why’s this clown here?”, you murmured and gestured towards Walker.

Bucky sighed, “He thinks Sam is doing a mistake by talking to Karli. Says we should just arrest her or worse.”

You rolled your eyes in irritation before John started breathing heavily. Bucky exchanged a look with you.

“Is he high? What the hell is wrong with him?”, you asked Bucky, who chuckled.

“Ignore him. Why'd you join us? You’re supposed to be resting. Did you sneak out? Did Torres not stop you?”, Bucky rapidly asked one question after the other, his eyebrows scrunched deeply.

You narrowed your eyes, “I don’t need anybody’s permission. And relax, old man, I told him to track me and gave him access to FRIDAY. And here”, you pulled back your dad’s leather jacket’s sleeve and showed him the bracelet, “I got the suit as a backup.”

Bucky looked down at your wrist in doubt, “How?-”

“I’ll tell you later-”

“Uh-uh. No, no, no. This is a bad idea”, John spoke up and paced around in panic.

You quirked an eyebrow.

“It hasn’t been ten minutes, John. Just sit tight”, Bucky drawled out in boredom.

“Don’t do that. Don’t patronize me”, John gritted his teeth.

You stood up straight and looked him in the eye, noticing his restless body language, “Dude, you need to calm down.”

“He knows what he’s doing”, Bucky referred to Sam.

John glared at the two of you, “I’m goin’ in. This is all really easy for you, isn’t it? All that serum runnin’ through your veins. Barnes, your partner needs backup in there. And you”, he looked at you with eyes, “not everybody has the privilege of living in ignorance and having a back up ready. Do you really want his blood on your hands?”

You clenched your jaw, your eyes hardening in anger, “Watch it, John”, a hand moving to your bracelet before Bucky stopped you. You stared at him in disbelief.

John smirked before pushing Bucky out of the way, Lemar choosing to stay behind for now.

You watched John leave and broke your hand away from Bucky’s grip.

“Bucky, what the hell?”, you chided him, his jaw clenching tightly at that.

“I know. Just- be careful. Lay low, I'll go after him", Bucky instructed, you gave him a curt nod and ran in the opposite direction, Bucky taking off after Walker and Lemar following closely, ready to stop Bucky. Zemo was the only one left behind, and he took that opportunity to break free from his handcuffs and follow Walker and Karli himself.

You ducked behind the staircase, observing the scene closely before making any moves. You knew Sam would be upset to see you here, but you weren’t going to sit back and watch them get ambushed by Walker or, god forbid, the Flagsmashers.

“This is what that was?”, Karli’s upset voice rang out in the empty hall.

“No, wait—”, Sam tried to placate her, his hands held out in a peaceful gesture.

“Tricking me until help came?”

“We had enough time to talk—”, Walker stopped Sam while Lemar tried to restrict Bucky. You clenched your hands in anger.

“Nazi", Karli spit at Walker and pushed him against Sam, bringing him down with him and a few pots and pans scattering in the wake. Bucky pushed Lemar off of him and ran in the direction of Karli.

You pressed the small button on your bracelet and let the suit wrap around you, the blue screens coming to life inside the helmet, FRIDAY's voice alert and ready.

"FRIDAY, track down Karli."

"Ok, Boss."

And you blasted off, whizzing through the building. Her and Bucky jumped through the staircases, the serums running through their veins helping them run faster and scale heights. Bucky dropped down behind her, landing in a room that was filled with people drying their clothes around and meandering about, they looked at you in alarm and gasped when you swooped in behind Bucky in a blur of red and gold.

Bucky whipped his head behind as he ran, relaxing when he noticed it was just you and ran faster, matching Karli's pace with you close on his heels.

The doorway made way to a dark, brick walled space, surrounded by flights of stairs and metal railings, low light passing through the windows on the opposite wall.

Bucky ran up another series of stairs and you paused, looking around in confusion, "FRIDAY, where is she?"

"Second floor, in the boiler room. Last door at the end of the hallway."

And you took off, reaching the second floor and noticing a brown door at the end of the hallway. Flying close to the door, you turned the suit back into the bracelet by pushing on the reactor and straightened yourself before opening the door, which gave you a clear view of Karli from the railings around the platform.

Descending from the stairs, you tried to keep the noise to a minimum as you followed Karli closely, ducking behind storage shelves and large pipes.

She suddenly stopped, staring at something or someone across her, her breathing laboured. You furrowed your eyebrows.

And suddenly, a gunshot went off, a bullet ricocheting off a pipe, making a loud clang. Your eyes widened as you pressed the bracelet and let it cover your hand in a partial gauntlet, arm raised in defense as you slowly stood up and saw the perpetrator- it was Zemo.

"Fuck", you cursed under your breath. All of you had stupidly left Zemo behind.

"(Name), what are you doing?", Joaquin's urgent voice came in from your ear piece.

You closed your eyes in regret. Thankfully, you didn't give him access to video yet or else he would've not given up until you backed away.

"Joaquin-I'm okay. FRIDAY, shut off comms until further notice", you guiltily informed FRIDAY.

"Wait, no-don't do this, (Name)-", his voice called out before FRIDAY ended the connection. You would definitely regret this later but you needed to focus here, for now.

A series of gunshots went off, Zemo backing Karli into a corner while you covered yourself with a huge crate right behind Zemo, keeping your blaster trained at him.

Karli jumped over a table and used it as a cover, the contents on the table scattering on the floor and that's when you noticed.

The blue glass vials. The serums.

Zemo slowly made his way over to the table while keeping Karli on gun point. You raised up and followed him, wanting to keep him away from the vials and Karli. He fired another shot and almost missed Karli's hand, her quickly ducking behind the table and his eyes went towards the vials rolling around.

"Is this what I think it is?", he asked Karli.

"Zemo, don't!", you cried out and he whipped around, his gun still raised but lowering it when he saw you.

"Let me do this, (Name). This has nothing to do with you", he warned you lightly before turning back towards the vials. He crouched down before picking one up, Karli's distressed face popping out from behind the overturned table.

"No, no...", Karli whispered and Zemo shattered the vial in his hand, it breaking in tiny pieces, the blue liquid spilling on the stone ground, turning it damp.

"Zemo, stop it, I'm gonna blast you, I swear", you raised your arm, the gauntlet powering itself when a door opened and a man came out, Karli making her way up to escape. You forgot the serum then, knowing that they weren’t as important as Karli’s coordination with Sam and to this mission.

"Karli, wait!", you ran towards the stairs, catching up with her when she suddenly turned around, pulling your arm close before pushing you harshly.

She ran away while you lost your balance, the heel of your foot slipping off the step. Your stomach coiled in itself, that feeling of free falling engulfing you.

A sound of metal hitting something echoed in the still room but you couldn't see it as you closed your eyes tightly, waiting for the ground to hit you for the second time since yesterday.

But it never came. Instead, rough gloves and the feel of kevlar on your cheeks greeted you, hands helping you get off the stairs before making you sit on the ground, releasing you immediately and the sound of footsteps walking away hit your ears.

You heart was pounding in your ears, the brief scare of falling had shaken you up, your eyes still shut tightly. Taking a deep breath in, you opened them to see that Zemo was unconscious in front of you, Walker stood next to a pile of water bottles with his head titled, looking at something in his hands.

Had he saved you from falling?

Just as you though that, the door above opened once again, Sam and Bucky walking through it while Lemar rushed in from the other entrance behind Zemo.

You were breathing loudly, eyes meeting Sam and Bucky's from across the room, nodding to let them know that you're okay.

"What did we miss?", Sam asked John in exasperation, Bucky scowling next to him and the four men exchanged a look with each other.

"You okay?", Bucky asked you as you walked next to him.

"Yeah, he-"

"What are you doing here? I told you to rest. The doctor told you to rest!", Sam chided you, a frown tugging his lips.

"I know, I'm sorry-"

"Oh, now you're sorry. What if you'd been injured, or worse? What was I supposed to tell Pepper or Rhodey?", Sam stressed. In his panic, he thankfully didn't notice the way you and Bucky froze at the mention of Rhodey.

"And how did you even get the suit?"

"Yeah actually, I have the same question", Bucky chimed in, staring you down with narrowed eyes.

You shrugged casually, "I have contacts", and gave them a smirk.

Sam shook his head in disbelief and Bucky huffed out a laugh. Zemo was stumbling behind the three of you, his right temple bruised and red.

"I didn't think I'd ever say this, but maybe I need to thank John for that", you quipped and the two men next to you chuckled in agreement.

"He also saved me from falling when Karli shoved me", you confessed and they look at you in confusion.

"Who? Walker?", Bucky asked in disbelief and you nodded.

"Well, colour me surprised. They do say, a broken clock is right twice in a day", Sam joked.

You shook your head and chuckled.

"You guys go ahead. I'll join you", Bucky informed you before walking back to the building. Assuming he was most likely going to ask around for information, Sam and you made your way back to Zemo's place with a wincing Zemo in tow.

As soon as you entered the living area, you were greeted with a sulking Joaquin, headphones over his head that made a dent in his otherwise fluffy curls, eyes intently focusing on the screen of his laptop, lips set in a frown and hands constantly fidgeting with the keyboard. His arms strained against the tight t shirt he was wearing and you felt your breath hitch at the sight.

There was also an ache in your chest. You hated that you had shut him out like that but you didn’t do well with distractions. Not when you were trying so hard to prove yourself to Sam, that you’d be useful. But, those are just excuses, you suppose. He didn’t deserve that in anyway.

Sam made his way over to him while Zemo went into the kitchen, likely preparing a cold compress for the bruising.

Patting his back, Sam brought Joaquin’s attention back to the present and he jumped lightly before removing the headphones, wide eyes looking up at Sam in alarm.

“Oh-Hey. You’re back? Where-”

He looked around Sam and spotted you, perfectly okay, wrapped in your father’s jacket, hands playing with the bracelet nervously.

Sam took notice of this frantic behaviour from Joaquin and turned to look at you, the nervousness radiating off your body and quirked an eyebrow.

“Uh…you good, man?”, he asked Joaquin while squeezing his shoulder, Joaquin reluctantly looking away from you to answer Sam.

“Um- yeah. I’m good. How-how did it go?”

Sam sighed, “Well. Walker’s dumbass ambushed us. Karli felt betrayed and she escaped. And Zemo broke the vials of the serum.”

Joaquin looked at Zemo, noticing the way he was swaying and stumbling over his feet and let out a low whistle, “Did he get his ass kicked?”

Sam snorted, “Walker threw the damn shield at his head. Knocked him out for sometime and bruised the right side of his face.”

Joaquin breathed out a laugh in response. Sam patted his back again and sat down on the chairs lining the kitchen island to work on his laptop, leaving you and Joaquin staring at each other longingly from across the room.

Zemo came over and laid down on the couch opposite to Joaquin, a towel over his eyes and a drink in his hand.

You averted your eyes away from Joaquin before joining Sam at the island, sitting down next to him and staring at the laptop idly, lost in your own thoughts. Sam was sending a text to Sharon, warning her about Walker and asking her to keep an eye on him.

“Were you ever offered it?”, Zemo asked Sam, who looked at you in confusion.

“What?”, he asked Zemo.

“The serum.”

“No”, Sam replied and went back to his work.

“If you had been, hypothetically, that is, would you have taken it?”

You stopped fiddling with your bracelet and looked up in surprise, the loaded question from Zemo taking you off guard.

Sam turned around to look at Zemo and instantly replied, “No.”

You slowly smiled with pride. Joaquin looked at Sam with stars in his eyes.

“No hesitation. That’s impressive,” Zemo grunted and sat up, pulling away the towel from his eyes to look at Sam.

“Sam, you can’t hold out hope for Karli. No matter what you saw in her, she’s gone. And we cannot allow that she and her acolytes become yet another faction of gods amongst real people. Super Soldiers cannot be allowed to exist.”

You stiffened up, his words holding some truth yet his way of tackling the issue rubbed you the wrong way.

Sam grimaced, “Isn’t that how gods talk? And if that’s how you feel, what about Bucky? Blood isn’t always the solution.”

Right after that the door opened, Bucky walking through it with irritation bleeding from his every step.

“Something’s not right about Walker”, he announced and walked around you and Sam, throwing his jacket into a chair and picking out a glass from the cabinet, pouring himself some whiskey.

“You don’t say”, Sam quipped.

“No, I agree. He was being really fucking weird. Twitchy and always on the edge…”, you added, suspecting your worse fear—Walker took the serum.

“Well, I know a crazy when I see one. Because I am crazy”, Bucky added in self deprecation. You pursed your lips.

“Can’t argue with that”, Sam joked and you noticed Joaquin stifle a laugh.

“Shouldn’t have given him the shield”, Bucky throws at Sam and you frown, a hand coming up to pinch your nose.

“Not this again”, you groaned and Sam turned around to look at Bucky in disbelief.

“I didn’t give it.”

“Well, Steve definitely didn’t.”

You looked up in shock, “Dude?!”

Why did have an attitude all of a sudden?

And as if the devil sensed the rising tension, the doors flung open, revealing the last person you wanted to see.

“All right. That’s it. Let’s go. I’m now ordering you to turn him over”, John’s loud mouth announced himself as he strutted in, a stupid smug smile on his face, Lemar walking next to him.

You actually preferred Lemar over John. Atleast he didn’t spew bullshit at random times.

Sam sighed in exhaustion and met John halfway.

“Hey, slow your roll. Shield or no shield, the only thing you’re runnin’ in here is your mouth. Now, I had Karli and you overstepped. He’s actually proven himself useful today. We’ll need all hands on deck for whatever’s comin’ next”, he said and pointed at Zemo who walked over to the kitchen.

Bucky leaned on the countertop meanwhile you felt a warm hand on your forearm, shifting your intense stare away from John to to look at Joaquin standing next to you, his jaw clenched.

“How do you want the rest of this conversation to go, Sam? Huh?”

Sam stared at Walker and Walker let out a breathy laugh.

"Yeah. Should I put down the shield to make it fair?", John belittled Sam and you clenched your fists, eyes hardened in anger. Sam scoffed.

Just as John went to rest his shield by one of the pillars, a spear zipped past him, lodging firmly into the pillar right next to John's head.

All of you turned around in shock to see that a Dora Milaje warrior was standing in the corner of the room. You let out a laugh and Bucky shifted. Joaquin was too starstruck to even move, Sam looked at her in shock and fear.

Two more Doras entered from the main door, the clinking of their silver jewelry and armour rippling across the room in a pleasant way, their bodies held with grace and poise, the orange and patterned traditional armour fitting them royally, unimaginable power and stealth oozing off of their shining skin. Their sharp eyes pierced through Walker and Bucky sat up uncomfortably.

A Dora clinked her spear against the ground and looked at Bucky directly, saying something in Wakandan isiXhosa that was clearly not funny as Bucky ducked his head in shame. You exchanged a serious look with Joaquin, standing up in alarm.

"Release him to us, now", the warrior demanded, her voice serious and firm in warning.

Nobody spoke, except-

"Hi. John Walker, Captain America."

Except this dumb fucking man.

You rolled your eyes and shut them in embarrassment, Joaquin's mouth agape in disbelief. Sam laughed and looked at the three of you, his face lit up with shocked happiness, like he couldn't believe his was happening.

When the Dora didn't respond, John looked around the room and ran his stupid mouth again, "Well, let's uh- put down these pointy sticks and we can talk this through, huh?", he said in a fake happy voice.

"Oh my god", you whispered lowly.

"Hey, John, take it easy. You might wanna fight with Bucky before you wanna tangle with the Dora Milaje", Sam tried to warn Walker.

"They're gonna lay you down in 2 minutes max, man”, Joaquin added. You scoffed in humour.

John looked at you two blankly before turning around and running his mouth again.

"The Dora Milaje don't have jurisdiction here-"

Your eyes were so wide you were sure they would burst, if that was possible. Joaquin let out a choked gasp next to you.

"The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction, wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be", the warrior conceded and stared down Walker with her sharp and vigilant eyes.

"I know that's fucking right", "Hell yeah", you and Joaquin muttered together.

Sam smiled and Bucky still looked constipated. You assumed it's because he was going to get his ass handed to him by the Doras as well.

Just when you thought that it was over, Walker did something even worse.

"Okay. Look, I think we got off the wrong foot", he replied smugly and tried to casually put his fucking hand on the warriors shoulder.

You and Joaquin grimaced and slapped your foreheads in unison.

"He's dead", you whispered in shock.

And he was, indeed, dead because the warrior pushed his hand off her shoulder with the spear and kicked him so hard in the stomach, that he hit the lodged spear harshly, and fell down, her partner pulling up her own spear in defense.

You gasped as John picked up his shield and the warrior spinned over him before stabbing his shield. The one who kicked John threw the third Dora her spear, who caught it mid air and attacked Lemar.

The three Doras kept hitting the two men with their spears, choking them and pinning them down, the grunts and groans and glasses shattering being the only sounds heard.

Sam backed up in shock, Bucky walked over to stand next to him smugly, his arms crossed around his chest.

Meanwhile you and Joaquin stared at the fight in wonder, awed at the fighting style of the Dora. They moved like it was a dance, not breaking any sweat or huffing and puffing, their movement precise and every attack purposeful.

Zemo sipped on his whiskey casually, like this wasn't any of his concern.

"We should do something", Sam mumbled to Bucky, who just pursed his lips and watched the scene unfold.

"Looking strong, John!", Bucky taunted as John got smacked by the spear once again and you let out a chuckle at that.

Bucky kept staring the fight smugly, his lips molded into a silly smile with his arms crossed.

Sam shook his head, "Bucky...", he called out in warning. Bucky looked at him before sighing, the warrior pinning down Walker and driving her spear straight into his face.

You let out a gasp, Joaquin holding you by the shoulders and then-

A vibranium arm shot out, stopping the spear before it hit John.

"Ayo-", Bucky twisted the spear away and Ayo, the warrior who kicked John, grunted, as she tried moving it out of Bucky's hand.

"Ayo, let's talk about this!", Bucky tried to reason but Ayo grunted once again, twisting the spear away, Bucky bringing up his flesh hand to stop her movements.

The other two Doras kicked Lemar and he dropped down in pain, one of them raising their spear before Sam rushed in to stop it, the warrior jamming in her spear's end into Sam's chest instead.

"Joaquin, we need to stop them-"

"No. Listen to me this once, please", Joaquin stopped you firmly, his hands pulling you back against him. You pouted.

The warriors kept attacking the four men, grunts and clangs echoing across the room and suddenly a spear shot out towards Walker's hands, passing through the straps and trapping the shield into the wooden table, Walker standing up with empty hands.

Ayo and Bucky's fight escalated and suddenly, she pressed a hand onto his left shoulder, where his metal arm met his flesh and-

The metal arm dropped down with a clink.

You gasped, Joaquin stared at the scene with fear and Bucky looked at Ayo with disbelief and slight betrayal, his eyes blown wide.

You walked over to Bucky, Joaquin making his way towards Sam.

You stood next to Bucky with a hand on his back, watching Ayo open the bathroom before announcing, "He is gone. Leave it."

The Dora handed the shield back to Sam and walked out just as gracefully as they had entered.

That's when you noticed that Zemo was missing. You frowned. How did you miss him slipping away?

"Did you know they could do that?", Sam asked as Joaquin helped him up, making his way towards you and Bucky.

Bucky furrowed his brows and you stared at him in worry, the vibranium arm's inner gears moving as Bucky prepared it to be fitted back into place. He inserted it into the purple grooves on the place where his armpit is supposed to be and the arm clicked, Bucky's clenched fingers making it whirr as he set it.

"No", he rasped out and moved his arm in a circle, making a clanking noise as it set.

You exchanged a worried look with Sam.

They walked over to the bathroom, leaving you behind with Joaquin. You clasped your hands in front you and Joaquin tucked his inside his pockets, both of you observing Sam and Bucky silently.

After a couple moments of awkward silence, Sam informs you that him and Bucky are going to look out for Zemo. You cursed inwardly as you realised you’ll have to be alone with Joaquin for sometime now.

You just hoped he wasn’t too mad about your little stunt.

You were scouring through the kitchen cabinets to find something to eat when you heard footsteps behind you.

You turned around to look at Joaquin, who had left the bedroom a while after Sam and Bucky left.

In a way, you had decided to give him some space, the dent between his eyebrows kept growing the longer he was around you. You just couldn’t gather the courage to speak up to him because what would you even say to the most patient and understanding person around you whom you just pushed away because you couldn’t multi task?

He walked around you to get a glass of water, his body language casual and unbothered, avoiding eye contact with you throughout. You sneaked a look at him and chewed on your lower lip, deciding to simply ask him what’s wrong.

“Are you upset with me?”, you mumbled loud enough for him to hear.

He paused drinking, hand hovered in the air. He gulped it down heavily after a moment, before putting the glass down. Your eyes lingered on his adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

“Uh-no. What made you think that?”, he murmured and cleared his throat, arms crossing around his chest and making his muscles bulge and veins strain.

You narrowed your eyes at him, putting your hands on the hips.

“You’re a horrible liar, did you know that?”

Joaquin winced and scrunched his nose. You sighed and leaned against the counter top, your arms holding your torso in comfort now.

“Look…I’m sorry, okay? I just—I get overwhelmed easily and I-I just wanted to prove to Sam and Bucky that I can be useful, that I want to help. I can’t help it”, you let out a breath.

“When you called, I couldn’t comfort you and keep an eye on the mission at the same time. It’s just how I am. Did this before when dad was around and he’d get upset at me every time”, you chuckled lowly, the memory of him scolding you for not updating him during a fight vivid. Joaquin’s lips twitched at that.

“Every time someone close to me is in some kind of danger, it’s like I have this uncontrollable impulse to jump in to protect them. And I know, I said I won’t indulge in field work before joining you guys but…they’re family. I can’t just…leave them out there to fend for themselves. Not when I can still help”, you confessed in a small voice, the vulnerability of your words weighing you down.

Joaquin’s eyes softened then, because he could perfectly understand how you feel. Everything he did, he did it to prove himself to the world, to his mom, grandma and his sister. and most importantly, to Sam. That weight crushed him almost everyday, but Sam’s endless support and strength and the inherent trait to help the ones in need kept him going.

He supposed it was, in a way, worse for you because you’d lost your family members and you couldn’t do anything to save them. That is a burden that he wished on no one. And how he wished, that someone as pure hearted and loving as you, would have never experienced this.

His heart did a little lurch after taking in your dejected and small form. He crowded your personal space, making you look up in surprise, your glossy eyes wide, eyebrows furrowed and a frown tugging your lips down.

Joaquin tilted his head like a puppy, his brown eyes looking at you with fondness and sympathy, “It’s okay, angel. I understand.”

Your mouth fell open. He forgave you? And called you angel?

“What?”, you blurted out like a loser.

Joaquin smiled gently, “It’s okay. I get what you mean. I understand you. You don’t need to apologise to me. Not now, not ever, okay?”

Your bottom lip quivered and nose tickled, a telltale sign of crying. You quickly swallowed the tears and nodded, a hand coming up to brush against your nose.

Joaquin stared at you with thinly veiled love and affection in his eyes. He was so gone for you, it was a little scary.

So he did what he did best when words failed him.

He held out an arm to grab your hand and pulled you in gently, the other arm going around your waist to bring you to his firm chest. When you were close enough, he brought both of his arms up and hugged you, a hand splayed against your back and the other one holding you close by your shoulder.

You froze for a moment before burying your face into his chest, arms going around his waist and squeezing him tightly. You breathed in the comforting scent of fresh laundry and citrus, your favourite, and closed your eyes in relaxation, nuzzling against him like a cat asking for more pets, your forehead touching the warm skin by his collarbones.

Joaquin leaned his head against yours and let out a content sigh, a hand rubbing your back soothingly and you forgot all your problems for a moment.

Both of you were happily wrapped in your little bubble, unaware of the shit that was about to unfold around you.

Chapter 11

AN: AAAAHHH I love this chapter so much plsssss!! Please like and reblog and let me know your thoughts! 💙

taglist: @og-baby-ob14 @lilmrsramirez-stan

@thejadevvitch @giona45-5 @melaninqueen04

@i-heart-marvel @fayxv @noble-17 @yvonne-dump @borhapparker @mosshead-z @alanis-altair @ethereal-athalia @joaquinsgf @spideybrie @parkersjoy

sorry if I couldn’t tag anyone/reply if you wanna be added or removed from the taglist!

#joaquin torres x stark!reader #joaquin torres x you #joaquin torres #fluff #danny ramirez #marvel cinematic universe #angst #joaquin torres x reader #sam wilson #joaquin torres fluff #sam wilson x platonic!reader #bucky barnes x platonic!reader #marvel #the falcon and the winter soldier #Philophobia #bucky barnes #john walker

119 notes · View notes