Summary: Itâs been almost a year since you left Bucky for cheating on you. You missed him so much you convinced yourself you could just be friends with him. After having lunch with him in a local diner you made some rules and convinced him too that a friendship was possible.
Pairing: Mob!Bucky x Reader (who I call Maggie, Mags or Magdalene because I donât like Y/N)
Bucky got in the car, stupid smile on his face that he couldnât shake. Â He checked his phone for the first time since this morning. Steve had called him eight times along with several other people. He had missed tests and had three voicemails waiting for him. Â What was going on?
The first thing he did was call Bucky, even though he was already turning onto his street before it started ringing. âWhatâs up man, stalker much?â
âSomethings up Buck. Something major and not good. Your dad was here. He waited for like 2 hours before he finally left. I donât know whatâs going on, he didnât want to talk to anyone but you. Just get here man.â
âIâm pulling in the drive nowâ He hung up, put the car in park and climbed out. Scott was still in the driveway detailing cars, he tossed him the keys. âBusy day, eh?â
âSeems so, sir.â He caught the keys and went back to work without another word. Keeping his eyes on the car almost the whole time. Bucky was used to that. Most people treated him that way ever since he took over as boss. He didnât know if it was intimidation or respect but now wasnât the time to go into it with Scott.
Steve was waiting for him when he stepped in the door from the garage. The stupid smile was gone from his face. âWhatâs going on? Why is everyone blowing up my phone?â
âI donât know. Your dad left one of his men in your office to make sure he got a call the second you got home,â he lowered his eyes âand to make sure you didnât leave once you got here.â
Bucky stormed off to his office. Walking through the door he found Leo, his father right hand, he had been as long as Bucky could remember. If he left Leo here to babysit whatever was going on was something big, and sudden. Everything was under control last Bucky checked, and he checked daily, sometimes twice or three times.
âHello there, Leo.â Bucky walked over and shook with hand. He immediately stepped behind the desk. Leo deserved respect but he also needed to be reminded who was in charge. Â He felt naked standing behind the desk in a t-shirt and jeans. He only ever entered the office or any sort of business with a suit on. âHow can I help you today?â
âYour father would like a word.â With that he pulled out his phone and video dialed his father. Almost immediately he answered. Leo handed the phone across the desk to Bucky. Leo sat back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and silently waited. Bucky ran his fingers through his hair trying to pull it back. He sat up straight and opened his mouth to begin.
âYou really stepped in it this time, boy.â Leo tried to conceal a smirk, but failed. Bucky saw this and tensed. âAll work on the docks has stopped this this morning. Most of the men didnât go in today. Not our men, of course they were there. But you know most of the men werenât loyal to us, they only did our work because we paid well and that money made our families rich. Want to tell me what happened between yesterday and today?â
Bucky let out a deep sigh and chuckle. âThis is nothing. This is Drax. He came into one of my clubs last night. He wanted this. He disrespected me. Rambling on and on about how the whole my empire was supposed to be his. You wouldnât happen to know anything about that would you?â
âFoolish rambling from a stupid boy. Heâs talking about things that go back generations, when this whole town was divided up between the first four families. Heâs just being petty because over time we have built an empire and their family has been reduced to doing our bidding for most of their income. Â They know they are fully reliant on us to keep food on the table. If this is all that it is, take care of it. But do not start a war. You know how fragile this system is. One missed step and this all blows up.â With that the screen went blank.
Bucky stood up and walked around the desk toward Leo. He held one hand out to give him his phone and the other to shake his hand again. âThank you for stopping by again, Leo. Is there anything else I can do for you?â
âThat will be all. Thank you, Mr. Barnes.â He shook his hand sternly and turned and left.
 âFUCK!â He slammed his fist down on the desk. He hated this. Not the workers not working or the entitled idiot behind it that he could handle. He would enjoy handling that.  As much as he loved violence he loved manipulating people even more.  He wouldnât even break a sweat dealing with these issues. He hated that he looked weak and childish. A t-shirt. A fucking t-shirt. And it was evening and he had no idea that everything had been shut down all day. All because he had run off and ignored everything. Ignored everything but you.
His brain was glazed over as he walked back to his chair, sat down, turned the back of the chair looking out the window and leaned back. He let out a sigh of relief. God, it had felt so good to back in your presence. Somehow you always had that effect on him. Like nothing was that dire or that it would all always work out. It was just enough though, not enough to disconnect him from reality or make things dangerously comfortable.
Steve cleared his throat pulling Bucky to reality. âIs the world ending? Are we at a critical level ten? I know about the ports. How bad is it? And where were you anyway?â
Bucky continued looking out the window. It was early autumn and the sun was already setting. âNothing we canât handle. That idiot from last night kicking up shit.â There was a long pause. âI was with Maggie.â
Steve let that settle in. He didnât know which way to go with this information. He waiting to see if Bucky would say anything, and when he didnât âRight then. What do we do now to fix this? Whatâs our first step? Samâs not here anymore. I think we got one or two guys down in the pit. How many do we need?â
He turned to face Steve, finding him sitting in one of the chairs just across the desk. âWith you and me we should only need four or five more guys. Ones we trust completely. This should be a simple task to clean up but I donât want any mistakes. As for what we need to do first, I need to go buy a book. Then we can head down to the docks. Tell the guys to get here as soon as they can. Iâm going to step out to run an errand, make a few calls and see where we need to be, when I get back we can head out.â
âRight boss. Anything else?â Steve knew. Bucky had never been foolish or careless when it came to his balance between work and you so he wasnât worried. If Bucky said it was no big deal, no need to rush, then he didnât worry either.
âJust need to change my clothes, but I can handle that on my own too. Lock the office when you go out.â He stood up and walked around the desk to the bathroom. He looked in the mirror was we walked through to the bedroom. He stopped at the site of his reflection. No wonder you treated him like he was harmless, he looked like a homeless man. He turned on the sink and threw some water in his hair, followed by gel, then he combed it into place. He moved on to the bedroom closet and pulled out a scarlet red suit and began to change. After checking himself one more time in the mirror, happy with the result, he walked out the door.
Bucky walked into the garage. He wasnât in such a rush this time so he stopped and looked at the row of cars, deciding which one to take. Thatâs when he saw Scott in the corner cleaning up this work space. He placed a last set of keys in the box and locking it.
âWhich one do you think then?â Scott didnât startle at his sudden voice, he just put his hand back up to the box, unlocked it and stared at the keys for only a moment. He pulled a set of keys out and tossed them to Bucky, âTake the i8. All the class none of the pompous. The ionic silver will get great against your suit.â He turned back and locked the box again and turned to walk off.
âHey Scott?â He stopped and turn towards Bucky. âI got better work for you than this. We can talk about it in a couple days. Tell Hope to put you on my books. She runs the house, sheâll know what to do. Thanks again.â Bucky climbed in and backed out of the drive.
Be drove to the closest book store. Along the way he called his head guy at the port and got the name for the head guy for the hired workers. In his conversation with him he was able to get a time and place to meet to have a meeting to sort all of this out. He hung up the phone Justas he was pulling into you complex. He stopped at the gate and gave his information to the guard at the gate. He hoped the turnover in that position hadnât left his with someone who didnât know him. Luck was with him tonight and he got right through with a little small talk to soften up the guard.
He parked the car and trotted towards the elevator. There was more skip in his step then he would ever admit to anyone. He could follow the rules if it meant you were in his life, even in the smallest way. He could follow the rules. But then again, some rules were made to be broken. He dropped the book just outside you door and walked away.
He got back down to his car and grabbed his phone. Before he called Bucky to get everyone set to meet he sent one text.
âHey friend. I figured out what book itâs going to be. Check your door step. This way I get you for three. Donât worry. Itâs an easy read.â Send.
It wasnât until you were walking through your front door that you realized how gross you felt. You hadnât gone home between jogging and the diner. All the sweat had long since dried to your body and your hair had frizzed out in every direction. You had checked you phone right after driving off from the diner. A missed call from Nat, she wasnât one to obsess, if you didnât answer she never called twice. A few text from Wanda, probably work. You would answer them after a long shower. You giggled when you thought about the last few hours.
Bucky looked to handsome, so relaxed. The clothes probably helped with that. Never outside of the house, usually not outside of the bedroom had he ever been in jeans and a tee. It hugged his whole body in all the best ways. Tight around the arms and pressed to his chest. His broad chestâŠ.pecksâŠ.all the way down his torso. Perfectly hard chiseled abs. you could feel yourself tighteningâŠ..around nothing. You took a deep breath and moaned it back out.
You turned on the water to start warming. You walked back into your room grabbed iPod and took off your shoes in the bed room. Walked back into the bathroom, set up the music, undressed and got in the shower. The hot water always felt so good. You lost track of time again underneath it.
Your time with Bucky had almost gone better than planned. He was very receptive to you suggestion of a friendship. You laid down some ground rules. He had said I few things that touched the line but you loved it. At one time you lived for it. But this could work. The rules were good, the rules were made.
You scrubbed and shaved and washed your hair as the music played on. You lost all track of time. It didnât matter you had nowhere to be and no one to check into. You would send Oliver a text later in the evening to let him know you were home safe and going to sleep but you did not expect a reply. Â It didnât bother you, this was how it always went when he went away. You actually welcomed it this time, more time to figure things out with Bucky. To figure out what it all was and maybe if you did that you could find a way to tell Oliver. Oliver knew you past with Bucky. Well, he knew enough to know how badly he had hurt you and he knew enough to stay away from him. Not that Bucky would EVER do anything to him. Bucky knew that if he did it was sever what thin strands still held you together.
You turned the water off mindlessly, after you ran out of things to do. Stepped out and wrapped a towel around you, another one in your hair, grabbed you phone and stepped into the bedroom. You climbed under the sheets to finish drying off and checked your messages.
You were right about the texts from Wanda, work. Except the last one, asking you if you wanted to go out Thursday night. You didnât respond to any of them but decided to call Nat back. She said she called about lunch, which you had totally forgotten about. You apologized and the next twenty minutes were spent catching up about work and yoga and family. You had met freshman year of high school, Wanda too. Since then the three of you had been in and out of each otherâs houses countless time, more like sisters than friends. When the conversation dipped thatâs when Nat asked if you wanted to go out Thursday night. She had met some new guy on the internet and wanted to go someplace public to meet him the first time. You smiled and laughed a little. You knew she was embarrassed to admit she met him online, but agreed all the same. She had been just as close to Bucky and Steve as you had almost. Practically loving at his house on the weekends, Wanda too. She and Steve had gotten incredibly close, it hurt her too to walk away. But she was brave and strong and stoic. She never let her hurt show in front of you but you knew it was there. The conversation ended and you told her you loved her and would check in by Wednesday to see what place she picked to meet up at. The wheels in your head were already making other plans for Thursday.
As soon as you hung up the phone dinged alerting a text. You opened it without looking and read. It confused you until you checked to see who it was from. A phone number. You couldnât bear to save it into your phone again but you knew whose it was. You jumped out of bed forgetting you werenât dressed and ripped open the door to find a single book with a bookmark set on the top of it. A piece of paper folded into a flower. How very like him, always fidgeting with little things.
You picked up the book and turned the spine over to read it. Inkheart. You had heard of it before, you thought, but never read it. You stood up and walked back into your apartment, closing the door behind you absently as you began examining the back of the book. Hardback, Bucky knew you, It was the only way you read when it wasnât internet reading. Bucky didnât care as long as it was in his hands. He preferred paperback because, regardless of the size of the book, he always managed to fold it in half and get it into his back pocket. He always had a book on him. You walked into the bedroom and tossed it on the bed. 5:45. That was late enough to order dinner in and curl up with a blanket and read all night. You threw on some grey cotton pants and a tank top and climbed into the chair in the corner of your bedroom.
You nestled in with your legs draped over one of the arms and opened the doordash app. The salad you hardly ate at lunch had been the only thing youâd eaten all day. You were starving. Not that it played a role in what you would order. Nights like tonight, when you were all alone, no presser to be anywhere or anyone, you always ordered like you were feeding more than four. You went with sushi and hibachi. What you didnât eat tonight would make a good breakfast for you. Then you stared at the screen trying to figure out what to say. You wanted to be clever but not intriguing but not too personal, this was only a friendship after all. You wasted too much time typing and deleting over and over. This shouldnât be this hard. Fine!
âRun run as fast as you can James. Iâve already started reading.â Send.
Bucky checked his phone as we was walking into one of the warehouse off the dock. He smiled when he read your message but immediately wiped it from his face and pushed through the door, putting his phone back in his pocket. He was going to lose some sleep tonight and he was already tired.
Steve had gotten four other guys to go with. Two had come in the car with Bucky and Steve, the other two were already in the warehouse. This was Buckyâs warehouse. He had an office in the back and a secure room. This is where men were brought, tired and kept, when he needed to get answers in a more physical way. He walked in to find everything already in order. There were four other men in the building seated at a large table on the other side of the wall.
One was considerably older than the others. Two were very large, probably just there for protection. The last man looked to be about the same age as Bucky. He had a leaner build than any of the men in the room and a resemblance to the older man.
Bucky stepped in front of the rest of his men and put his flesh hand out. The older man looked down at it, taking in the bruises and cut, then reached out and shook it.
âThank you for meeting me here this evening. I apologize for not getting to you sooner. I was tied up with other obligations, nothing more pressing than this. Again, Iâm very sorry for the delay.â He put a cunning smile on his face when speaking and sat to face the other man. âI have to say it is an honor to meeting with you Mr. Banner. I donât believe I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with you directly. Let me assure you I will do what is necessary to rectify this situation. Please let me know where the problem lies.â Bucky leaned back and took in the room. Moved his eyes slowly, it appeared that the old man had his full attention but Bucky was taking to opportunity to sort every possibility of how this could go bad and play out.
âYou had a run in with my son last night. Some broken bones, bruises, cuts, the lot. I cannot stand for this.â
The man waved his hand and continued speaking. âHis fault, I know. He had no business being where he was, which tells me he was there on purpose. But, he is my son and you knew that. That makes his off limits, and to the severity of what you did was uncalled for. I require another fifteen percent to continue this arrangement.â
Bucky said nothing. He picked up a pencil from the table. Placing the point down he began to spin it in his fingers a few time, looking at it intently. He wet his lips, dragging his lower lip through his teeth, ending with a light smack. âI canât agree to that. But you knew that. Youâre trying to take advantage of a situation that only started because of someone on your end. I donât disagree with what you said. The question at this point is, Is you son just an idiot or was this planned.â Banner opened his mouth to protest but Bucky continued on. âItâs doesnât matter at this moment. Iâll give you three percent and any extra room is yours to fill if you can set up your own suppliers on the other end. That sounds fair to me. What do you think?â
âI think it sounds like the best offer Iâm going to get. I thank you for your generosity. I will tell you this Mr. Barnes do be careful of the all the little people to step on the way to the top. Your family has a habit of doing such things. I thank you for your time in resolving this. I would hate to have gotten angry. You really wonât like me when Iâm angry. I will keep my son from doing anything that hasnât been approved by me first. Thank you again.â With that be walked out, all of his men in tow.
After they were completely out the building Steve and Bucky immediately got up and walked into the office. They both sat, opposite each other with a desk between them. Bucky checked his watch before he leaned back in the chair. Â âWell, I wonder what he meant by all of that. Empty threats or something to be concerned about?â
âI donât know. Theyâve never been a problem before, but that doesnât mean they canât start now. We need to get some intel. Figure out who his men are. Routines, things like that. â
âSure thing boss. Iâll get a couple guys on the in the morning, unless you need it sooner. Any one you want in particular?â Steve leaned back in his chair, pulled a small notepad and a smaller pencil out his pocket, he always had it on him. Â He was a bit out fashioned like that. He always wrote things down, never put them on his phone. Â He had gotten in the habit of carrying these items around early on because Bucky would ramble and give instructions out of the blue and he didnât want to miss anything.
Bucky looked down at his phone again. No new messages. âTomorrow is fine. Hey, what do you think about Scott?â
âThe guy that works in the garage? Nice guy, I guess. Works hard thatâs to be sure. Â Why?â
âHeâs smarter than we think. Not in a bad way, heâs honest, just too smart to be doing what heâs doing. Figure out how we got him. If it checks out put him on this, see how he does.â He picked the phone up from the desk and turned the screen to face him, no messages. He set it back face down. Â âIâll call my dad when we leave here and get him off my back. Anything Iâm not thinking of just now?â
âI think thatâs everything. So howâs Maggie? Wanna talk about it?â Steve leaned in putting his elbows on his legs.
âFine.â Bucky smiled and glanced at his phone again. He was being so transparent. He made a mental note to stop. âSo I may have text her last night when we got in, when I was drunk. But for all my trying of the past month, my well thought out gifts and messages and letter, it was drunken idiot me that got through.  We just had lunch, we, she, decided we can be just friends.â Steve laughed out loud at this. Who were either one of them fooling? âI told her I can follow whatever rules she give meâŠâŠâŠâŠI love her Steve. Iâm completely lost without her.â
The smile fell from Steveâs face. âI know man. I know better than anyone. You put on a good face and held up your end, no one noticed. I mean I noticed of course because I am your very best friend.â He said with a chuckle. âReally man, I know how hard it was on you when she left. Â If this is what you want Iâm happy for you. That is if you think you can handle it. But I now you, you think you can handle anything. Donât let her get you lost, or string you along. I donât want to have to beat up a girl.â He joked.
âYeah, I think youâre a bit confused. Thatâs girl code youâre thinking of with the whole kicking asses thing. But youâre right man.â He ran his hand down his face pulling on his chin then closed his mouth back. âI know. But you know sheâs not like that. Sheâs not like me, manipulative.  If she says she wants to be my friend she means it. And if she means it, it means she misses me. And if she misses me, well thenâŠâŠ But Iâm trying to think pure thoughts.â
âHA! Now that is a joke Buck. You havenât had a pure thought since freshman year. But ok, ill pretend with you. I wonât give you hope by telling you itâs only a matter of time if you can keep it in your pants long enough. Besides, I miss Nat and Wanda. Too much of a sausage factory at your house without them.â He stood up and poked his head out the door. âEveryone else is gone. Iâm out of here. Iâm going out again tonight with Sam. Wanna join?â
âNah, Iâm good. Iâm tired and I have a book to read. Hold up a sec. We came together. Just drop me off at home and you can take the car.â Bucky looked around the desk. He did this every time he walked away from work, to make sure he didnât leave anything out that didnât need to be seen. He laughed at himself and shook he head. The desktop was completely empty, he hadnât been doing any work. He really was distracted by you, more so than he needed to be.
 Steve pulled away the second Bucky shut the door. The full brunt of tired hit him when he walked through his bedroom door. He barely got his coat off then collapsed onto the bed. He laid there for a few moments before he dug his phone out of his pocket. He swiped it open and reread you text a couple of time. You were so adorable. He could hear the playful tone in your voice as you said something like that. He closed his eyes and saw you hand wrap around the bicep of his flesh arm. We werenât intimidated by his metal arm. More than once it had been an object of kink in the bedroom but most of the time if went unnoticed. He loved that. It was a useful tool in his line of business but given the choice he would he whole again. But you always made a point to touch his flesh. You wanted him to feel your heat. His body started reacting to the thought of you first. His dress slacks were already a tight fit but now that he was so hard it was almost painful. He didnât want to leave this perfect thought of you. He pressed his eyes closed tightly and he unfastened his pants and pulled them down. In all the movement and trying he lost you anyway. He let out a grunt which sound more like a growl and his eyes shot open.
âFine!â he growled again. He forced himself off the bed and trudged into the bathroom. He took off his shirt and under shirt and leaned on palms on the counter, standing in briefs. He looked into the mirror and saw the shower behind him. âCouldnât hurt.â He thought, and dropped his briefs to the floor.
Bucky shower was custom. They both were. Well, the whole house was. He designed most of it himself, with some help from you. After he told his father it would step up the next thing he did was buy some land and find a contractor. He started dating you soon after but most of the decisions had been made by the time you felt comfortable enough to put your two cents in. It was about the size of an elevator. Glass front doors and a built in bench on two of the other walls. It had fourteen shower heads. Four rain panels on the ceiling, six upper faucets and four mid body, and countless combinations on how to use them.
He turned them all on except the rain panels and stepped in. The only light he had on was coming from the bedroom. He leaned one forearm against the tile and put his face under the running water. The second he closed his eye you were there.
Your legs were wrapped into his on the sofa in his office. He stared never moving, staring at the paper in front of him, but his eyes didnât leave you. You opened the book he handed you and started reading. You didnât ask any questions, he remembered thinking that one another one of the moments he fell in love with you. Â You were his perfect fit.
His mind flashed and you were in his bed with him. Your head resting on the pillow next to his. Your faces a foot apart and you were smiling again, and laughing. Your hand reached up and tucked a strand of hair back behind his ear, staring into his eyes unrelenting. His flesh hand ran down his body and gripped his member. He began stroking slowly.
âWe have to get up at some point.â You pulled yourself a little closer to him. âWell, I do at least. Wanda will already be there and I know she doesnât mind but I always get a look from her. And Iâm sure you have things to get done too. Youâre a very important man you know.â Your hand rested on his jawline and fingers wrapped around his head behind the ear. Your thumb rubbed on his cheek bone. He quickened his pace. He breathe becoming ragged.
He started you a little when he rolled on top of you. You loved to feel the full weight of him covering you. You giggled. Bucky pressed his lips into yours. There was a desperateness in his kiss, begging you to stay. Â You bit his lip as he kissed you, his fingers intertwining with yours. He growled into your ear as he worked his mouth around your neck, his metal hand running down your torso. Your hips bucked a little to get him closer to you. Closer but not close enough with all these clothes on. Your hand was still on his neck. You used the thumb on his cheek to pull his chin, his gaze of you.
âI love you James Barnes.â Innocence and truth in your eyes. His grip tightened as he felt his orgasm rush over him and down his hand. He gasped you air and he finished his last stroke. His chest hurt. He hadnât thought about you since you walked out, not like this. He pushed you back, closed his eyes and as he plowed his way through countless women when you left. He gasped again, trying to catch his breath in the heat and humidity of the shower.
âI love you too Mags. More than even I ever knew.â He said out loud to himself softly. He was going to make you his again. He finished rinsing off, turned the water off, and stepped out. The mirror was steamed up. He grabbed a towel, wrapped it around himself and walked into the bedroom again. The first thing he did was grab his phone.
âSorry pretty girl, busy night. Just getting started now. How many people did you order dinner for while sitting there all alone?â He sank into the bed and opened his paperback book.
You got the text immediately. You almost dropped your book snatching up the phone to read it. You knew exactly what the answer was but made yourself wait 6 minutes before sending your reply back. âNone of that pretty girl stuff James. And like two rolls and a chicken and steak hibachi dinner. So, three?â
âYou have no business with all that food by yourself. Let me come over and help you eat it. I promise ill only bit the food.â
You giggled when you phone chimed in response seconds later. You mind screamed. âYes! Yes! Come over! Come over and eat whatever you like!!â your cheeks hurt as big as you smile was. Your fingers trembled a little when you typed your reply.
You own giddiness kept you from typing coherently which delayed your reply. âIf I let you eat all my food now what will I eat at two am when Iâm still up reading.â
âIâll order you more. Come on baby. We can read the book together. I promise to keep my hands to myself.â
All pretenses dropped you replied right away. âThere is no way you can be reading with all of this texting. And no. Empty promises James.â
There it was again, his name. You only ever call him by his given name, never Bucky. He loved that. Â He knew it was a long shot but he had to try. âOk pretty girl. Whatever you say. Â You make the rules. Iâll be up reading if you want to chat, friendâ
âFriend huh? You donât have to be weird about it. Besides you were already creepy when you left gifts on my doorstep. Dork. I loved it, youâre the best. Now get to work. Iâd hate to finish before and have to wait.â
âWhatever you say pretty.â
Reading his text was the last time you used your phone that night, completely forgetting to text Oliver.
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