xstarker

[xstarker]

i'm terribly curious what john said to bob in this scene. my guess is "you're alright." but i'm terrible at reading lips.

also didn't notice him leaning against bob before that but i thought that was extra sweet. ❤

[xstarker]

Do you know how fucked up your team has to be for Bucky Barnes to be the most stable member

[xstarker]

i want 50 avengers tower fanfics of the thunderbolts on my desk by morning do you hear me

[xstarker]

I loved Thunderbolts*, that moment when you have to defeat god with a knife and a gun

[xstarker]

propaganda that I will definitely be falling for:

-starker

~ mystisophia 🍒

[xstarker]

another hairstyle + Alpine🐾

[xstarker]

Your Ghost Knows Me

Pairing: Avenger!Bucky x Avenger!Reader

Summary: On a mission to dismantle a Hydra base, Bucky’s activation codes are triggered. And what does he do without a kill order?

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: mind control; non-consensual behavior (not sexual but bodily autonomy themes); possessive behavior; gun violence (implied, not graphic); threats of violence; emotional manipulation (unintentional); PTSD; trauma responses; forced proximity; mentions of Bucky’s past; Hydra

Author’s Note: I'll never get tired of a possessive Winter Soldier!! Honestly, I should write about him more often. Anyway, this absolutely iconic request is from my sweet dear!! Thank you so much, and I hope you'll enjoy ♡

2k Drabble Challenge Masterlist | Masterlist

There is always something quiet about Bucky when he looks at you before the mission begins. Quiet in the way thunder is quiet just before the crack. As if he is holding something inside himself too loud for the world.

You always say his name and he would look at you like he’s afraid to blink.

You don’t think you’re supposed to notice the way he hovers at your side. You’re not supposed to feel his shadow, stitched to your steps. But you do. You always do. Because Bucky Barnes does not know how to stay subtle. Not with you. Not when he thinks you might not make it out of this alive.

Your mission is to break into an old Hydra base with heat still humming through the walls and ghosts still hanging from the rafters.

The team drops in like rain. Controlled chaos. Clint on the left flank. Sam from above. Steve on the right flank. Nat somewhere in the dark.

You are light-footed and fast and smart and alive. Bucky stays behind you. Always behind you. Watching your six. He never lets you fall.

And you get the proof of this for the thousandth time when he throws his arm out and grabs your vest to yank you back hard enough to make you gasp. Your heart stutters in your throat. You stumble, twist, spin - and crash into him.

There was a tripwire. You almost walked into it. And Bucky saw. He sees everything.

“You okay?” He breathes, voice low, not quite touching worry but brushing the edges of it.

“Yeah,” you whisper back. “Thanks.”

He nods. Says nothing. Keeps moving.

You press forward into the maze of concrete and metal that is the Hydra base, gun raised, heart playing the drum in your ribs.

Bucky slows.

You glance over at him. “What is it?”

He stares at a rusted door, barely ajar. A soft static pulses from within, like an old radio dying in slow motion. The sound crawls down your spine. Your skin prickles.

“Bucky,” you start, reaching for him. “Let’s move.”

But he’s already walking toward that door with narrowed eyes.

The room is dark. Cold. Frost is on the walls like a memory that won’t let go. A machine in the corner makes low noises. Wires twitch on the floor like veins ripped from a corpse. The air stinks of metal and mildew and something old. Something wrong.

And then it speaks. A voice, thick with static, seeps out of the machine. A voice you don’t understand. Not really. You can’t make out the words, but you know them. You know what they mean.

“Желание. Ржавый.”

You spin around, heart rushing up to your ears, calling his name, but it’s too late.

“Семнадцать. Рассвет.”

Bucky stands frozen.

Stone. Steel. Silence.

His face is slack. That haunted stillness takes over.

He isn’t gone. But he isn’t Bucky anymore.

“Печь.”

His eyes go distant. Flat. His face cracks into something you’ve only seen in nightmares. No fury. No fear. Just absence.

“Доброкачественный.”

“No,” you breathe. Your heart forgets how to beat. “Bucky,” you basically yell at him. Nobody even knew there were still functioning systems here. But they’d been waiting. Planning.

“Девять.”

“Bucky please snap out of this.” You know it’s useless. You don’t know why you say it.

“Возвращение на родину.“

Your hand trembles around the grip of your weapon as you force yourself to jump out of the shock your limbs are locked in. You raise your arm and aim. You pull the trigger. One.

“Один.”

Two.

“Грузовой вагон.”

Three.

Four times.

The machine sparks. Cracks. Screams. A dozen red lights blink and die like stars going out. The voice cuts out, perhaps wanting to give a command, a final breath of Russian strangled by silence. And it slams into the room like a body.

For a heartbeat, for a breath, you think it’s over.

You hope it’s over.

But his name dies on your tongue when you turn back to him.

Bucky doesn’t speak. He doesn’t blink. He doesn’t breathe like a man. He doesn’t look at you - he tracks you, the way a sniper does. As if you’re a piece of intel.

Sam’s voice crackles over the comms. “Hey. We heard something. Everything good over there?”

You can’t answer right away.

Your voice is lost.

Because Bucky Barnes is gone.

And the Winter Soldier is standing in his place.

It takes you a minute to explain your situation and you hear the tremor in Steve’s voice when he tells you they’re on their way.

You try to breathe around the panic growing like thorns in your chest.

You whisper his name, again and again, as if it’s a spell that might pull him back. But the Winter Soldier does not know your voice.

Does not know you.

And when Steve finally rounds the corner, face pale, shield up, Bucky growls.

Low. Subhuman. A warning without words.

“Woah, woah- easy,” Steve says, holding up a hand. He looks at you. “He’s- He’s not gone. We’ll fix this. We can bring him back.”

You don’t know how promising he tries to make this sound.

But Bucky shifts his body, in front of you.

He plants himself between you and everyone else, like a wall, like a weapon.

Like a threat.

No orders. No hesitation. Just instinct.

He scans Steve’s hands. Sam’s gun. Natasha’s eyes.

Every time someone even twitches in your direction, he angles his body tighter around you, metal hand flexing. His breathing is shallow. Sharp.

He has no words. No explanations. He doesn’t seem to need them.

You try to take a step forward, away from his back. He moves with you. You stop. So does he.

“Please,” you whisper. “Bucky. Come back.”

But he doesn’t flinch.

Not for the begging in your voice. Not for the heartbreak in your eyes.

But you know he doesn’t hear you. He only hears the ghosts in his blood. The machine in his brain. The purpose Hydra seared into his bones.

“Alright, this can’t-“ The moment Sam takes a step forward, Bucky moves.

He grabs you. Not roughly, not violently, but fully. As if the air between your bodies has never existed. As if he’s made of magnets and you’re the only thing that ever pulled him north.

His metal arm anchors around your waist, his other hand at your shoulder, your spine, your hip - everywhere, all at once. He places himself between you and the others again and makes sure to keep you there as if you are a holy thing. His breath is ragged. Feral.

“Bucky,” Steve tries. There is something pained in his tone. Also something warning. “Let her go.”

But he doesn’t listen.

Because there is nothing left to listen to.

No more commands. No more codes. No more voice in his ear.

So he seems to have written a new directive into his mind and that is you.

You are the mission now. You are the purpose, the protection, the last thing left when everything else burns.

His hand is wrapped around your wrist so tightly, it makes your breath hitch. But you don’t pull away. You can’t. There is something in his eyes. Something not Bucky but not nothing either.

Not the soldier.

Not the man.

Just this animal of loyalty. Of violence. Of need.

You try.

God, you try.

You speak to him in pieces. In whispers. In words coming from trembling lips and bruised hope.

“Bucky,” you plead.

Soft. Like maybe softness will do it. Like maybe he’ll come back to the sound of your voice wrapped in love instead of command.

But he doesn’t.

And he doesn’t let anyone near you.

Not Steve, who takes one careful step and ends up with a knife lodged in the floor in front of his foot.

Not Sam, who reaches out and gets a warning growl that raises the hairs on your arms.

Not Natasha, who tries to circle behind, quiet as a whisper - and is met with the barrel of Bucky’s gun aimed clean between her eyes.

You frantically call Bucky’s name.

“Hey- easy,” she says, voice low. “Nobody wants to harm your girl, Barnes.”

He doesn’t blink. He doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t care.

He tightens his grip on you, fingers locking around your arm like a shackle. You try to find a piece of Bucky still breathing in there.

But all you see is possession.

He steps back into the shadows, pulling you with him, shielding you with his body as if the world is trying to take you and he’s the last wall still standing.

No one sees you now.

Because he won’t let them.

He moves you behind crates. Walls. Corners. Shadows. Always putting something between you and them. Always hiding you. Not out of shame. Not out of fear.

Out of possession.

Out of protection.

Out of a command he gave himself.

You are a mission. A precious object. A singular order sculpted into the ruins of his memory.

You hear Steve’s heavy sigh. His quiet and deep voice. The pain in it. “We need to sedate him.”

The next thing you pick up is the click of a safety releasing.

Bucky’s gun is pointed and ready.

He would kill for you right now.

He would kill them.

All of them.

Within the blink of an eye.

For you.

“No,” you croak out, voice breaking. It feels wrong to call him Bucky. It feels wrong to call him Soldat. “Please don’t! Don’t do this!”

You don’t know if it’s something in your voice or something in your tense stance against his back, but he slowly lowers his gun, slowly turns his head to stare at you.

Empty.

Unreachable.

But somehow not cold.

And then his hand rises. Flesh fingers trace your jaw. So gently it nearly breaks you.

It’s not affection. It’s assessment.

He’s checking. For wounds. For weakness. For threats, you might be hiding beneath your skin.

You breathe as if forgetting how to.

You try to shift. Just a little. Just to look behind him. Just to meet Steve’s eyes, Sam’s, Natasha’s, Clint’s - who finally got his ass here as well.

But Bucky moves. Fast.

A hand around your chin. Tilting your face back toward him.

Eyes narrow. Jaw locks.

You know what it means.

He doesn’t want you to look at them.

He doesn’t want you to speak with them.

He doesn’t want you to think of them.

You are his now.

Because something in his mind burned the world down and left you standing in the wreckage, and he needs something to hold onto. Not just anything. Not just anyone. You.

You try again.

Whispers, again.

“I have to talk to them-”

He shakes his head. Once. Sharp. Final.

“No,” he growls. Not language. Not word. Just a sound scraped from somewhere too deep and too far gone.

You flinch and he feels it.

His grip grows stiff.

Your body goes still.

He doesn’t want to hurt you. But he doesn’t let you go.

You catch the glint of Steve’s shield out of the corner of your eye.

They haven’t moved in minutes.

They’re waiting.

They’re watching.

They don’t want to hurt him either. But they will if they have to.

“Don’t,” you murmur. “Don’t come closer. Don’t- don’t try to talk to me, he- he doesn’t want that.”

You hear Sam lower his weapon, just a hair. “We can’t leave you like this.”

You want to cry. You want to scream. You want to pull Bucky into your arms and shake him until something clicks and he remembers you. Remembers himself.

But the Winter Soldier only seems to be remembering his duty. Violence shaped into protection.

And right now, that protection looks like isolation.

You. Alone. Tucked behind crates and corners and silence and his broad shoulders.

You speak anyway. Because you have to. Because he’s in there somewhere. Because he might not hear the others, but maybe he can still hear you.

“Bucky,” you speak. Swallow. “They’re not the enemy.”

His hand twitches on your arm.

“They’re your friends.”

He tightens his grip.

“They’re my friends.”

He releases another deep and gravelly sound.

His body is tense, electric, fury held in the cage of his bones.

“Please,” you say. You hate the sound of your own voice now. You sound like you are shattering in slow motion. “You don’t have to protect me from them. You don’t- I’m not-”

You breathe out shakily.

Your lip trembles. Your eyes sting.

Because he’s looking at you as if he would kill the whole world to keep you safe. And he doesn’t even remember who you are.

You press your forehead to his chest. His body doesn’t move.

He’s breathing faster now. His pulse thrums under your cheek.

But he lets you stay there.

That has to be something.

Behind Bucky, someone whispers your name. Carefully. Cautiously. As though if they say it wrong you’ll be ripped out of this moment and Bucky will hunt them all down.

You lift your head.

Bucky sees it.

Sees the way your eyes pull toward Sam’s voice.

Sees the way you’re still trying to hold onto them. Still reaching.

He doesn’t like that.

He hates that.

His hand finds the back of your neck. He pulls you into him, hides your face in his chest. Your shoulders lock. His body shields you like a fortress of flesh and metal and confusion. As if your gaze is a window, and he is closing the shutters.

You are not theirs anymore.

And he will not let you be.

[xstarker]

Ava: I stabbed a guy with a fork today

Yelena: Was it self defense?

Walker, laying on the floor with a bandage on his arm: You both know it wasn’t.

[xstarker]

more thunderbolts* tweets + some thunderbolts* gc texts !!

[xstarker]

[xstarker]

Gorgeous ll Bucky Barnes x reader

warnings/tags: non, fluff, total fluff, fem reader, drinking word count: 1226 a/n: wrote this in an hour because i saw an edit of bucky to this song on tiktok and couldnt get it out of my head

It had been a long time since you’d been to the tower—maybe a year or two. A robot had nearly taken over the world (well, nearly decimated it, but details).

The tower still looked as it always did: people rushing around, trying to make something of themselves under the Stark name. The only difference now was that the Avengers had moved upstate. In an official capacity, anyway.

Stark still liked to host his parties at the tower, much to the dismay of his security.

When you got the invite, you rolled your eyes and ignored it. But then Pepper texted you to come, and you sighed, found a dress, and now stood in the middle of a sea of rich people.

Tony called out your name as he stumbled into you; he shook you, lifting you off the floor for a second.

“Tony,” you greeted him, giving him a small hug.

If there was one thing Tony Stark was, it was eccentric.

“No drink? Have mine,” he said, pressing his glass into your hand.

“You’re already drunk,” you snorted.

“I’m convinced Nat is giving me watered-down shit,” Tony replied seriously. “You have this. I’m going to get the real stuff.” He wiggled his brows. “Oh look, there’s Capsicle and his assassin buddy.”

He pushed you in Steve’s direction. Steve greeted you with a smile. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I didn’t either,” you replied, taking a sip of the drink Tony handed you. You scrunched your nose. “This is not watered down.”

“Tony?”

“Tony,” you confirmed with a nod. “Here, you take it. It tastes horrid.”

“Then have mine. It’s something strawberry.” You swapped glasses, clinked them together.

“Oh, this is my friend Bucky,” Steve said, turning you to face the man who was watching you both.

If anyone asked why you choked on your drink, you’d say it was because you drank too quickly.

The truth was: Bucky was a gorgeous man. Tall, dark-haired, and too handsome to be real. Ocean-blue eyes that made you feel like you were drowning. Your breath hitched—you couldn’t look away. His hair fell around his face, sharpening his already rugged features. His broad shoulders were hugged by a fitted black shirt that had to be a size too small. It was ridiculous. How was this man just that handsome?

“A pleasure,” you said, holding out a hand that you hoped wasn’t clammy. Internally, you were on fire. He looked way too cool to be at this party. Full offence to the rest of the Avengers.

“The pleasure’s all mine, ma’am.”

His hands were calloused and firm, but soft enough to feel like a pillow to your own. His hand engulfed yours and you were pissed. Even his hands are hot.

“Ma’am?” You snickered, trying to ignore your thoughts. “Very Steve of you.”

“Bucky’s my friend from the war,” Steve explained quickly. You blinked at him, then looked back at Bucky, who was glancing between you both. If he looked at you for more than a second, you were sure you’d implode.

“That… makes sense,” you said, swallowing down your drink. “I’m going to get another. Want anything?”

“Whisky on ice?” Steve asked Bucky, who nodded.

If you took two shots at the bar, no one knew. Except Natasha, who raised an eyebrow. You shook your head, hoping she wouldn’t ask.

You returned with their drinks and your own, which you stared at instead of looking at Bucky.

Pool was played. Your body relaxed as the night went on. You were convinced Sam was cheating, but since he was on your team, you said nothing.

“Switch?” you heard and thought nothing of it—until Bucky stood at your side instead of Sam. You took another sip of your drink, bracing yourself.

“You want to go first?” he asked. You just nodded silently, not trusting your voice.

If you watched him lean over the pool table, that was between you and God. If you sighed when he grinned at Steve after potting a ball, you hoped no one heard. You were furious. There was no way this man was real. You didn’t know if you were mad that he was gorgeous, or that he wasn’t yours.

You snapped upright at your own thought.

Sam moved a ball with the back of his stick and you pointed at him. “That’s cheating!”

“I didn’t even touch it,” Sam said, offended.

“You’re lying. I saw it with these two eyes, man.”

“You sure? Pretty sure you were checking out Buck’s ass.” Sam grinned as he took his shot.

Your face burnt. But before you could respond, Bucky answered coolly, “Don’t call me Buck.”

He disregarded Sam’s comment like it was nothing.

Your thoughts spiralled. Why didn’t he react? Did he know? How obvious were you? Was he ignoring it because it was awkward? Oh god—what if he hated you now?

Unconsciously, you drifted closer to Bucky like he had his own gravitational pull. Your team won and you threw up a finger in Sam’s direction.

“In your face!”

You ducked into the bathroom. As you washed your hands, your thoughts raced. Did he have a girlfriend? Whoever she was, she was lucky. If he didn’t—why not? You pressed your cold hands to your cheeks, trying to ground yourself. The bathroom definitely made you feel more drunk than you actually were.

When you stumbled out (from the shoes, not the alcohol), you unfortunately bumped into the plague of your thoughts. Bucky.

“You alright there, doll?” His hands burnt against your bare arms—even the one made of metal.

“Doll?” You echoed. “I… doll.”

If you’d short-circuited, it must’ve shown—his face turned worried.

“I’m okay,” you rushed out with a quick nod.

He smiled, and your insides melted. “Good. Wouldn’t want you getting hurt.”

“Are you single?” You blurted.

His eyes widened. Yours did too. And before he could respond, you spun on your heel and rushed down the corridor.

The landing pad was blessedly empty. The rails were up, the wind was sharp, and the New York skyline was hazy in mist.

“So stupid,” you muttered, leaning over the rail.

It had to be the alcohol. You hadn’t acted like this since high school. First, you could barely speak to him. Then you asked if he was single. And every time he looked at you, it was like your whole body went up in flames. Maybe that was his superpower—making people fall for him.

The door opened.

You didn’t have to look to know who it was.

“Oh god,” you mumbled, not realising he could hear you.

He walked over, sleeves rolled up, eyes drifting across the skyline before landing on you.

“I am so sorry,” you began, already rambling. “I shouldn’t have asked that earlier. It was stupid. And I’m sorry about Sam’s comment. The question just came out like word vomit and I couldn’t stop it, and running away was definitely worse, and I’m just—really sorry.”

He stared at you with those blue eyes again. His hair was pushed back, showing more of his face.

“I am,” he said. “Are you?”

You blinked. “What?”

“I’m single. Are you?” He repeated, hands in his pockets.

You blinked again. Deer in headlights. You opened your mouth to say something—anything—but just nodded instead.

He smiled at your expression. “May I take you out to dinner, then?”

You nodded again, stiffly. What in the actual fuck was happening?

“Let’s get back inside before you catch a chill,” he said, holding out his arm. Without thinking, you took it.

“You’re pretty cute, you know.”

You grinned and looked away, a shy smile tugging at your lips. “You’re gorgeous. It should be illegal.”

He laughed, head thrown back, as you both walked into the party again.

You glanced up at him, studying him for a moment.

He truly was gorgeous.

[xstarker]

Gosh I love them

[xstarker]

[xstarker]

I don't know where it came from but I saw these hd photos posted on Twittter and oh my heart

I'm still not over how she found him so easily. Or maybe Bob was looking for her too.

[xstarker]

i have so many of these

[xstarker]

it's hallucinations

[xstarker]

mission accomplished

english ao3 ❄️ spanish ao3 ❄️ masterlist

ship: bob reynolds x f!reader (x the void)

summary: after you faint in a mission bob discovered that you're not dating bucky and finds the perfect opportunity to ask you to hang out with him

word count: 3k (+6k counting the second part)

c/w: hurt/comfort, fainting, needles, misunderstanding, lack of communication, post-canon (and written before watching the movie, edited version after watching it: ❄️)

a/n: this is almost plotless tbh, I just put together some scenes and concepts I had in mind and character study/headcanons & I got lazy at the end, this was supposed to be longer, I'll post a second part later because I loved the interactions I wrote there so far

"It's literally you," said Bucky mockingly.

"I don't think I could build a castle with one stomp," she replied, playing along.

"Have you ever tried?" he asked.

"No, but..."

To the girl's right was Bucky, to her left was Bob, on her thighs was the almost empty popcorn bowl and in front of them was the television with Frozen. It was a film that Bucky, because of his age and his past, had never seen, but he knew and knew it was very famous so it was on his watchlist, and his best girl friend, teammate and flatmate had the same powers as one of the main characters, so he had decided to watch it once and for all. The others had already seen it, but still joined him on the couch of the living room. The others were away from the base, which was normal: John had a wife and very young child, Alexei had been locked up in prison for about twenty years, and Ava and Antonia had been controlled and isolated by their circumstances, so when they had a chance to go out and have a normal life in their free time they took it.

Suddenly they heard footsteps and hooves coming into the room, and then there they heard someone press the switches to turn on part of the living room light near the hall. It was obviously Yelena, bundled up with the intention of taking Fanny for a walk.

"Can I go with you?" asked Bob as he watched his friend bend down to attach the leash to the dog's collar.

"Yeah," she replied as she stood up, and he got up from the couch, leaving the other two standing there alone.

It was winter, so it was obviously cold. The two of them were bundled up as they walked the dog around Central Park, their hands in their pockets as they talked. When they were alone they usually talked about the team, specifically Bucky and _______.

Bob loved the latter very much. And he also liked the former, he was a good man he admired and was grateful to him for helping him in the past and making him a better person. But he couldn't help feeling jealous, not just because he wanted her all to himself but because of how insecure he was — he thought it was more likely that she had feelings for Bucky than for him, and obviously he also saw it as possible that Bucky was in love with her. In the moment before, watching Frozen with them, he couldn't help but feel that his presence was in their way, that they would rather be alone and cuddling. Luckily for him he was saved by the bell.

"You should have stayed and watched the movie with them," Yelena said slightly annoyed by her friend's self-sabotage, but at the same time holding back her laughter. She averted her eyes from her dog running away behind the tennis ball she'd thrown her well away seconds before to take a quick glance at her friend next to her, and passed her smile on to him.

After _______ she was the one he felt most comfortable with and was closest to so he confessed this secret to her, and she always encouraged him to confess his feelings and told him that she clearly reciprocated his feelings, but he didn't listen or believe her.

"Am I such bad company?" He replied a little mockingly as she shook her head silently and went back to watching her dog, catching the ball in her mouth.

"I know worse," she said sarcastically and nudging him affectionately, and Bob knew exactly who she was referring to.

______ also loved Bob. They had been through all kinds of situations together. She considered it normal to fall in love with him, but she also considered it normal for him to fall in love with Yelena and vice versa. And she was also her friend and considered her a good woman, but she couldn't help feeling jealous of the closeness between the two of them.

Bucky and ______ were literally in the same situation as Yelena and Bob, talking about the others and trying to convince her that Bob felt the same way about her and that she should be encouraged to hit on him or ask him out on a date.

"Don't get so worked up about it," Bucky told her as _______ leaned back at the kitchen island, watching as he quickly scrubbed the bowl of popcorn they had eaten with Bob's help earlier. The mood had been tense since the latter had gone after Yelena, as if she were another dog.

"Who says I'm thinking about them?" and he looked at her annoyed, saying "Really?" with his eyes. "I'm just waiting for him to propose first, I'm an old-fashioned woman," she joked as he put the bowl in the sink, though she wasn't partly lying.

"In my day women used to propose too, you know?" he decided to say, playing along as he dried his hands with a towel.

"What a liar you are," she laughed as she went over to hug him, and he returned the gesture as they heard the door of the house open and close, and a couple of footsteps. A few seconds later she broke away from him and turned to see who was approaching them: it was Bob.

She tensed, hoping he hadn't heard anything, and he tensed at the sight of her hugging and being hugged by Bucky, but they both tried to hide it as best they could.

"Hey, how was the walk?" he asked as Yelena and Fanny appeared on the scene as well.

"Good," he replied, "are you guys done with the movie yet?"

"Yeah," she replied as Bucky and Yelena gave each other a quick glance, trying not to laugh at the situation. Sometimes, alone together, the two talked about their best friends and the clear amorous tension between them, but they never confirmed to each other that either of them confessed to being in love with the other, keeping the confession a secret.

The team was assembled in full for yet another mission, this time in the southern hemisphere, in a well-insulated laboratory in the middle of an Australian desert. It was hot as hell, and the worst offender was ______ — it didn't help that she was moving around, the suit she was wearing and that not all the rooms in the building were air-conditioned. Her powers had disadvantages in that she couldn't tolerate the heat at all well and had to be well hydrated at all times — she was melting.

One last shot from Yelena a few metres away from her and mission accomplished, that was what the blonde said through her earpiece to warn the others who were in other locations, but all she heard was the gunshot, and even though she was in front of her she heard it in the distance as her vision began to darken.

"Yelena, I'm fainting," she announced as she tried to hold on to one of the tables in the lab where they were, drawing her friend's attention. She couldn't even hear herself.

She turned quickly when she heard it, and saw her friend's lips turning white as she slumped to the floor. Luckily for her, she didn't hit her head too hard because it fell on one of the corpses they had killed seconds before, either with a gun or by sticking weapons made of ice. Yelena ran to her and crouched down to her level to hold her in her arms.

"______ has fainted!" she announced through her earpiece.

"What!?" asked a voice familiar to her, but Yelena couldn't tell if it was worried Bob or angry Void.

He was the first to arrive at their location, followed by the others (except for Alexei who was in the jet, waiting for them).

"The blood isn't hers," Yelena reported as the most powerful of the group took her in his arms and scanned her up and down, reassuringly. She knew that, especially for him, the blood stood out too much on her suit, "and luckily she hadn't hit her head."

"Quick, to the jet," Bucky said as Antonia grabbed what they had come to steal.

The jet wasn't the best place to give medical assistance, but at least they could give her serums with IVs, and there was air conditioning and fresh water, which everyone could use.

Antonia stowed the stolen items and sat in the passenger seat next to Alexei to help him and turn on as much lighting as possible, so it would be easier to find her veins and stick her. Ava pulled out some towels and quickly threw them on the floor so she could lie there and be comfortable, while Bucky went to get the serums and John got a fresh bottle of water. He laid down _______ and stepped away, leaving the others to do their thing but mostly to hold his hands over his head and go around blaming everyone for what had happened and swearing to kill them if her situation got worse — there was no longer any doubt for anyone present, the present was Void and not Bob. They chose to ignore him, letting the insults and threats go in one ear and out the other, but they felt his anxious gaze upon them.

Ava crouched down, pinning her knees behind her teammate's head, and lifted her up for John to give her a drink of water, who was in the same position as her but to her right, while Bucky prepared the serums and needles. When she had drunk enough water, with Yelena digging her knees into the passed-out woman's left to remove her gear, she unzipped the front of her suit a little to cool her down further.

Then Ava laid her back down and the blonde squeezed her arm tightly with her left hand and began tapping the veins with the fingers of her right hand as John stepped back to make room for Bucky to do the same as Yelena on her right arm. The IVs were punctured, the serum bags were left on her abdomen and Antonia turned off the lights above her so that she wouldn't disturb them while she slept. Bucky continued to sit next to her, and Ava got up to drink water next to John.

"Will you shut the fuck up?!" Yelena asked Void as she approached him, trying to keep the volume down even if it was a little lower than he was. "This is nobody's fault, it's a fucking heat stroke!" she reminded him, stepping in front of him. "If you're so worried about her, shut up and let her rest," she whispered seriously and firmly as she looked him in the eyes and grabbed his shoulders. Void wasn't as fond of this one as Bob was, but after ______ she was the one he could stand the best of all those present, so he listened to her.

Perhaps it was the poking or the shouting of Void, but the young woman came to her senses for a moment. At first she barely heard anything and had trouble opening her eyes. She turned her neck (which she noticed was resting on a small towel soaked with cold water) towards her favourite voice and the first thing she saw when she was able to focus her eyes as the blurring stopped was Yelena in front of what she thought was Bob, with her hands on his shoulders and him staring into her eyes. She didn't like what she saw.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty, are you all right?" Bucky asked as he realised she had woken up, although she clearly wasn't completely awake. It was obvious from her facial expression how exhausted she was, and that she was still not fully conscious. It caught not only her attention, but that of the others, who, except for the pilots, turned to look at her.

"Tired..." she whispered as she grimaced and closed her eyes again, as even the dim light bothered her. She couldn't see Void looking worriedly at her and approaching her. "Mission accomplished...?"

"Yeah," John replied.

"Don't worry about it and get some rest, you deserve it," Ava said.

They didn't have to prod her much, she quickly fell asleep again, with the others calmer about her condition and silent so as not to wake her again. When they arrived in New York she was still asleep, but Bob woke up. They removed her IVs and when they got home it was Bucky who carried her to her room and laid her on her bed, even though he wanted to do it himself.

"Bucky, can I... stay with her now?" Bob asked him when the older man came out of her bedroom, after laying her down on her bed. Ava and Yelena were inside, changing her into fresh, comfortable clothes while Antonia went to deliver the stolen goods. "I know... you two are very close," he said nervously, "but you've already been taking care of her on the jet and you should rest," and it was partly true, but he didn't want to take care of her just because he thought Bucky deserved some rest, "let me take care of her," and instantly he saw Bucky smile, and as always, he thought the worst — he thought he was laughing at him, but in fact he was doing it in a loving and genuinely happy way. "I didn't mean to offend you, I'm sorry," he said even more nervously and apologetically.

"No, don't be," he shook his head, trying to wipe away his smile but failing in the attempt. "But... did you really think that she and I... are dating or something?"

"Um yeah, didn't you...?" he asked confused. "It depends on the day, really," he shrugged, "but yeah, sometimes, yeah."

"No, no! She's all yours, don't worry," he tapped him on the shoulder, and he knew from his smile and the look on his face that he knew. "I know you'll take good care of her," he said before he left, not only referring to that day.

He stood in thought, happy to have the way clear but confused that he had realised his feelings for her, wondering if the others had noticed too, and especially her.

The next time she woke up was in her bedroom. She woke up slowly, and noticed that she was wearing one of her pyjamas and that the window was open, so it was cool. When she opened her eyes she saw that the light was dim, with one of her lamps on. She turned her neck and saw that the bedroom door was closed (so that she wouldn't hear noises that might wake her up and so that the heat from the heater wouldn't come in) but that she wasn't alone — Bob was sleeping as a ball in her chair, resting his elbow on the armrest and his cheek on his fist, covered with blankets and warm from head to toe, with a hat included.

She looked at him for a moment, smiling. Then she got out of bed and moved slowly and quietly to the window to close it, and then to him to cover him well, but the movement woke him.

"Hey," he greeted half-sleepily, happy and yet confused to see her awake and up, tucking him in.

"Shit," she cursed, pulling away from him quickly, "did I wake you? I'm sorry."

"No no, don't worry about it," he said as he sat up properly, "How are you?" he asked as he reached down for a bottle of water on the floor beside the chair. "You had a heat stroke and fainted," he informed her as he handed her the bottle.

"I'm better now," she said as she pulled the cap off the bottle, "thank you," she said before raising it to her lips, and as she drank she noticed that she was wearing plasters on the inside of her elbows.

"Bucky and Yelena shot you up with serum in the jet," he reported as he saw her eyes go to these.

"Oh yeah, Ithink I remember..." she said as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"And she and Ava put you in your pajamas."

"I thought so," she said smiling sideways, but then her face saddened. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for everything."

"No no," he hastened to say worriedly, getting up to sit next to her, "it's normal, it could have happened to any of us, don't worry."

She knew it probably hadn't happened to him in particular, but she appreciated his attempt to cheer her up. She smiled apologetically at him and dared to lean her head on his shoulder, and he did the same, leaning his head on hers and holding her hand, interlacing their fingers and stroking it with his thumb.

"Look, you need to cheer up," Bob said suddenly and pulling his head away from hers but still holding her hand, and he didn't even believe himself what he was saying at last, but he really wanted to cheer her up and it was the perfect opportunity to offer her some time alone together, "so this weekend we're going out, wherever you want and it's on me, okay?" he said smiling sweetly at her.

"Okay," she said laughing quietly, "thank you."