WHat am I doing with my life

When Tony said he was going to bring in Steve’s friend, you insisted on joining. Steve was one of your closest friends, more like a brother. You knew how much it crushed him when you signed The Accords. How much of a betrayal he saw it as. But you had to disagree. 

You never wanted to hurt his friend. You were there when SHIELD fell, when the helicarriers exploded, when the Winter Soldier dragged Steve from the river. Barnes was a victim, you knew that. You had sympathy for the man. But running away would get you all nowhere.

Steve rambled on about some psychiatrist and how he had orchestrated the entire debacle the team had found themselves in. Your interest peaked, trying to listen in and hear him out. Maybe he was right, maybe this was a misunderstanding and you could all talk it out.

Before Steve could finish, you saw a tall figure dressed in a black suit leap out from the trucks behind him. Suddenly, you were on your feet. Rushing to provide backup as the men exchanged false pleasantries. 

“Y/n,” Steve said. It was kind, no malice present as he watched you stand beside Tony. A somber and bittersweet smile spread across his face.

“Hi Steve,” you said.

Your focus fizzled as they went at it. Your eyes darted around the lot, taking in all the cars, planes, jets, and helicopters. Every nook and cranny of the space had to be accounted for. Tony wasn’t dumb enough to confront Steve alone, why else would you be there? No doubt Steve had the same thoughts.

Your eyes narrowed in on the large glass windows of the building behind Captain America. A pair of red goggles caught your attention. With a deep breath, you focused, allowing your sight to harden and zoom in on the figure. A blue haze clouded the outskirts of your peripherals as your vision became clear. Up on the top level of the building stood Sam, Redwing close behind him. Beside him was a man you’d only caught quick glimpses of. James Buchanan Barnes, Steve’s best friend, the Winter Solider. 

The last time you saw the man he was someone else. Dressed in harsh layers of leather, an assortment of guns strapped to his person, and a thick mask covering half of his face. Your chest tightened as you took him in now. You couldn’t put it into words, but he looked different. A good different.

You felt your focus being pulled back to the task at hand when you heard Tony begin to shout.

“Underoos!” He shouted.

You watched as Steve’s shield was yanked from his hands by a thick stream of web fluid. A flash of red and blue flew by, encasing his forearms and hands in the same material before landing on a cart with a flourish.

“Nice job, kid!” Tony said.

Tony had mentioned to you that he had a little bit of backup you wouldn’t know. But this was something else.

The “kid” before you began to ramble, his young voice slipping out as he thanked Tony for his new suit. You muffled your chuckle with your hand as you watched the two go at it, the boy showing just how starstruck he was.

“Cap-Captain, big fan. Spiderman,” he said, gesturing to himself. Tony continued to try to refocus the kid, but he seemed too awestruck. He continued to wave and greet everyone before his attention fell on you.

“Wow, you’re Dark Room,” the kid said as he gestured to you. Behind the mask, you just knew he was gawking. You couldn’t bite back your giggle as the boy stammered.

“You’re so cool, like one of my favorites!” he said.

“Thanks, kid,” you said, shooting him a friendly smile.

Spiderman continued to ramble on- how you were so cool and pretty, and had the best powers. You just rolled your eyes and smirked. The kid was a charmer. Tony seemed to be done, however.

“Okay, you can annoyingly flirt with her later. Just, good job,” he said, finally silencing the boy. You chuckled, shifting your focus back to the fight you never was coming.

-

You raced through the empty airport, chasing after Sam and Barnes as fast as you could. You knew the others had their hands full on the tarmac, someone had to stop Barnes from escaping. Spiderman was almost too eager to join you.

Finally catching them on the top floor, you paused as you watch Spiderman smash in through the window, knocking the two men down. With a small laugh, you made your way over. Just in time to catch some more of that Spiderman chatter.

“Whoa, you have a metal arm? That’s awesome dude!” He said, stopping Barnes’ fist with his hand.

“Kid!” You said, trying to get him to focus. Before you could reach him, you saw Sam begin to swoop in behind him.

“Don’t worry Ms, I’ve got this all hand-” he couldn’t finish before Sam flew in and snatched him from the ground. You could hear his snarky comments as Sam dragged him further through the airport.

While the two continued their spat, you paused in front of Barnes. For the first time, you could get a good look at him. He was tall, taller than you remembered. A good bit of stubble speckled across his jawline. No, you couldn’t even call it stubble. More like a soft beard. 

His hair was the same as before, but frankly more fluffy and smooth. His expression was soft and less harsh than last time. But his eyes drew you in the most. So vibrant and wide. Taking in the fight as if the assassin had never seen one before. You scoffed, pulling his attention from the two fighting to you. His eyes roamed over you, head to toe, scanning you in his mind. Finally, he landed on your face, his eyes locking with yours. You prayed he didn’t catch your eyes glow from nerves. Damn, he was cute.

“Barnes, right?” You said, slowly walking over to him. You could see the anxiety written across his face as he took a small step back.

“And who are you?” he asked.

“Oh, you don’t know? I’m the girl you kicked in the ribs three years ago,” you said, with a smirk. Realization seemed to wash over him as if he was recalling thievery day right before your eyes.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t…I’m sorry,” he said. You continued to close in on him. “But I don’t do that stuff anymore.”

“Fair,” you said, stopping in your pursuit. He seemed to relax for a minute as your steps paused. “I mean that’s not what you’ll remember me for anyways.”

“What will I remember you for”

“Being the girl who drags your ass into custody,” before he could process what he said, you swung. 

He dunked, narrowly avoiding your shot and backing away. Before you could make another move, he dove for your leg. His metal arm shot out, trying to knock you off your feet. He wasn’t quick enough for you, though. Suddenly his arm froze, twitching by your calf.

“What the hell?” he asked, trying to move his arm. He looked up to see the strong yellow glow emitted from your iris’ as you smirked at him. 

“What? You didn’t think you were the only Hydra experiment, did you?” you said, smiling at him. His eyes were lost, looking at you again trying desperately to remember you. Digging through the jumbled mess of memories in his hand, hoping something would come up. He had to have known you.

“How are you doing this?” he asked, his look that of curiosity rather than fear. The emotion you were often met with. “Sensory manipulation. Sick huh?” you said with a smile. Before he could respond, you released his arm and gave him a soft kick in the chest, sending him back on his ass.

Barnes was quick to his feet, about to come back at you when a large sign fell from above you. You froze as the thick purple-colored steel came crashing down. Your feet were suddenly lifted from the floor, your body falling back away from the destruction. Two strong arms were wrapped around you, pinning you to the ground. Looking up, you saw Barnes.

Gently, he eased you to the floor, removing his arms from around you. You were stunned, lost for words. This was the same man who had bombed the UN just days before? You were pulled from your daze when you caught his cheeky smile.

Just as fast as he had saved you, he was gone. Racing off in the direction of Sam and Spiderman. You gathered yourself fast, jumping to your feet and brushing yourself off. Your legs carried you after him, as quickly as they could.

His thick silver arm grabbed some of the debris of the sign that had just tried to crush you. With precise aim, he launched the debris at Spiderman. The kid latched onto a nearby beam with his web fluid, just dodging the shot.

As you began to catch up to Barnes, ready to avenge yourself, you heard the kid shouting.

“Hey buddy I think you lost this!” he said. 

You spotted Barnes hiding behind a pole, slowly peering out in surveillance. You stopped yourself as you saw the large debris flying straight back into the pole. Quickly, you ducked to the side to avoid the collision. Barnes ran, the sign smashing the pole behind him in sparks. 

“Hey kid!” you shouted in annoyance as you got up. You spotted him perched on another beam up by the ceiling.

“Oh sorry, Ms! Didn’t see you there. I didn’t mean to hit your pretty face,” he said, frantically. When Sam came up behind him to knock him down, you almost chuckled. Somewhat deserved. 

The two continued at it, Spiderman ultimately pinning Sam down by his arms against a railing. You caught sight of Barnes once again, giving the kid a nod of agreement as you went after him.

“He likes you, huh?” Barnes asked as you ran at him, swinging with a hard fist. You missed, him grabbing your arm and yanking you away from him. You flipped out of his hold, gaining your footing before charging back at him. Your eyes glowed as you focused on his hearing. The man was quickly doubling over, hands over his ears as he tried to stop the ringing you sent through his ears. While he was down, you ran up and kicked him down. Your hands found his, pinning him to the linoleum flooring below you.

“Jealous, pretty boy?” you asked, leaning in.

“Of a kid? I don’t think so,” he said. Your guard was down as you stared at his spirited blue eyes. Before you knew what was happening, you were on your back and Barnes was running towards Sam.

A crash caught your attention. You shook yourself off, stumbling up as you made your way to just below where Spiderman was perched. From your spot under the pole, you smirked, looking down to take in the kid’s work. A floor below you, surrounded by smashed glass, Sam and Barnes were stuck to the floor in web fluid. This time, you couldn’t hold in your laugh, a loud giggle escaping your lips at the sight.

Behind you, you could hear Spiderman rambling before suddenly being flung out the window by Redwing. You ran up to the railing to see Sam with his hand on the control. The two men were on their backs, surrounded by debris, and still had in them to trade snide remarks.

“You two bicker like an old married couple,” you said, crossing your arms and leaning forward to rest on the railing. Barnes rolled his eyes, you just sent him your best heart eyes. 

“Please,” he said with a scoff.

“Lotta back talk from a guy who just got pinned by a teenager!” you said.

Sam signed before giving you a soft smile.

“Hey Y/n,” he said, his restrained hands giving you a small wave. You returned the gesture, taking a moment to catch up with your friend.

“Hey Sam,” you said. 

“How’s your cat?” he asked. Barnes wore a confused look on his face as he watched the two of you. Two skilled fighters mid-confrontation taking a moment to chat about a goddamn cat.

“Good. How’s your partner?” you asked, gesturing to Barnes.

“Annoying,” Sam said with a grimace of frustration.

“Maybe, but he’s cute,” you said. Barnes’ attention quickly shot to you. Making eye contact with you from his place splayed out on the floor. You just shot him a wink before taking off, making your way to the stairs.

—

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