#twistedteatime

What was worse than that…was the brief flicker across Natasha’s face when he said you weren’t answering and then the increasing agitation she tried to hide as they flew back to the Compound. She hid it but he saw it. He saw it and she refused to say anything.

Steve and Sam were noticeably off about it as well. Yet instead of not saying anything they tried to reassure him. That…was the worst.

“She’s probably just…busy.” Steve said and gestured with his hands, one more at Sam to help him come up with something else to say.

“Probably digging out another old recipe to torture us with. She didn’t answer me back for four hours when she was working on that cake.”

“It’s been 3 days.” Bucky said and he shut his mouth.

“I’m sure she’s fine, Buck.” Steve said as reassuringly as he could.

It didn’t work.

“She’s not gonna go running off and get into trouble.” He added and Bucky nodded.

“No. She’s not you.” He agreed but they all frowned and looked on in shock when they landed and saw a beaten, slightly charred, and bloodied Tony there to greet them, “What happened?”

“Well, funny thing really. It was like that whole mission you went on was a distraction to get the most HYDRA informed people as far away as possible.”

“Where is she?” Bucky asked, his mind racing with everything that could have happened, how injured you could be, if you were alive, who did it, what he would do if they hurt you, and so much more that it took Steve’s hand on his shoulder to stop the thoughts from spiraling darker.

“Well…” Tony started, knowing who he was talking about as they all knew about his attachment to you, “Uh…we…don’t…really know. Her tracker keeps pinging to a location in Jersey…”

“So why haven’t you gone there to find her?” Sam asked, pointedly glancing at Bucky as his face went blank and he twitched.

“We have. She’s not there. The tracker isn’t there either. Can’t find it.” Tony answered and Steve spoke.

“Why does she have a tracker, Tony?” he asked, rather pointedly as he held Tony’s gaze.

It was accusatory. Bucky knew why. They all did. Tony had habits. Ones that did not sit well with Steve Rogers and they’d clashed over it more than once.

This wasn’t the time for it right now.

“I don’t care why she has one, why isn’t it where she is?” Bucky asked.

“Thank you. See? Barnes knows his priorities.” Tony said to him, fully accepting the escape tunnel Bucky gave him from answering, “We were hoping Nat could tell us. She knows our little psycho archivist the best. Two peas in a pod. You might have the hots for her, Barnes, but Romanoff knows her far better.”

They all looked at Natasha. Bucky was too worried to deny what Tony said or to even get flustered at it. He needed answers.

Now.

“Well it depends on where in Jersey it took you and what happened here.” She answered and Tony nodded.

He went on to describe the incident. Just as they arrived at the HYDRA base communications shut down and the alarms regarding some of the more sensitive contents of the archives started blaring. The base was indeed meant as a distraction and the target HYDRA had set its sights on happened to be situated in the Archives.

Since losing SHEILD they lost not only a substantial part of their access to intel but several items that they were very interested in retrieving. The HYDRA base was not the only distraction they set up to achieve their mission in retrieving what they wanted. Several were initiated over the course of several hours that kept Tony, Clint, Bruce, and every other Avenger quite occupied and the compound quite not occupied.

“So you left the compound undefended?” Steve asked bluntly.

“No. I sent the kid here to keep an eye on things and there’s several people we’re still trying to get the webbing off of to question. I warned him ahead of time to make sure they couldn’t bite down on anything, he did, but he was the one to head down and find that they were after the archives. Most of the archivists were in the safe room. Three were not. You already know who one of them was. One of the others was Reggie Smith. We found him later tied to a tree stump further up the river and gagged with a note pinned to him.” Tony explained, “Apparently he’s a mole. Not for HYDRA exactly but for a company working with HYDRA out of Idaho since the 70s. He swears he didn’t know it was going to cause an incident with HYDRA and begged me not to tell any of you, particularly the Manchurian Candidate here…and he was sobbing something about pigs.”

“Who’s the other archivist missing?” Nat asked with a calm and amused smile.

“Shelly ‘Contraband Bra’ Duty. She dropped her tracker in Yonkers so I’m not sure where she is either. We’re running scans on every camera in the tristate area to track down both, but…it’d be faster if Nat could just tell us.”

“Where in Jersey?”

“A really creepy old family theme park. Stuff of nightmares.” Tony answered and she nodded, “Know it?”

“Yep.” She said and started walking back towards the jet, “You run the security footage?”

“They cut the main feed but the backups caught everything.” Tony said as he followed her along with Steve, Sam and Bucky.

“What it’d show?” Sam asked as he glanced at Tony warily, “She alright?”

“I need to give her a raise and question our resident spy a bit more next time I hire one of her friends.” He said and handed over a tablet while Steve just chuckled knowingly.

Bucky looked at the screen as Sam hit play and watched. He was worried. It didn’t get better watching the video.

You were sitting at your desk working when the sirens went off. You didn’t panic, you just sighed. Bucky knew that sigh immediately. You were annoyed. Not scared, not worried, just annoyed and it only grew as Reggie snuck out from the doorway.

You didn’t say anything to him, you just reached into your desk and pulled out a pistol, loaded it with a dart, and calmly shot him with it, dropping him face first onto the hard floor. The look on your face was one of pure annoyance, especially as you pulled out a different gun and loaded a clip into it before hitting print on the computer. The sirens blared in the background as you took the papers, folded them, and tucked them into your pocket.

“What…the…she is way too comfortable with this.” Sam said and Natasha laughed.

“Knowing her it’ll get better.” She said and Sam looked at Bucky as Bucky looked at him while watching the video continue.

You hoisted Reggie up, slinging his arm around your shoulder as Shelly and a group of HYDRA soldiers showed up just as the archive doors all bolted shut and locked down. Bucky watched, worried, and then stared in complete shock as you spoke to them. In Russian.

“Hail HYDRA. This idiot tripped the back up alarms and got darted before I dragged him out. He knows nothing of the plans, but he’ll serve as a suitable distraction to lead them away.”

“You’re lying. You’re not a known operative.” Shelly replied warily and you rolled your eyes.

“This is why you continue to fail in rising in the ranks. You don’t pay attention to details. Two. Needle. Sugar. Wire. Five. Sunny. Homer. Poseidon.” You replied and the other soldiers lowered their weapons and saluted as Shelly’s jaw dropped.

“You’re Echidna.”

“Obviously I’m Echidna.”

“Then why did you stop me from getting the recipe!”

“Because it was obvious and done sloppy. You’re lucky I didn’t eliminate you as a result for your lack of discipline. It was shameful to see how little you pay attention to details. Every detail matters! That fool Pierce didn’t think details mattered! His hubris cost us nearly everything! What fool doesn’t think the detail of our prized asset being the former best friend of that goody goody Captain America was a detail worth paying attention to? See where that got us?! Sloppy and I’ve had to spend far too much time taking matters into my own hands. Now move. Stark will be sending in the annoying pubescent spider child soon. You three. See that he does not follow while we arrange for a delay.”

“Yes, Grand Mistress!” the soldiers replied, saluting you again, and Natasha snickered.

“What is she saying?” Sam asked and Bucky answered, “No…no way she’s HYDRA.”

“Please tell me there’s more.” Natasha said with a smile at Tony and he nodded swiping the screen to the next video.

Shelly was in complete awe. Rattling on and on about how honored she was to be in your presence. You just nodded, dragging Reggie along until having to go through a door. You handed him over to Shelly. She nearly dropped him and you just shook your head disgusted before taking him back once the door was open.

She apologized and when Peter came into the screen she followed your lead, “There’s a bunch of them in the archives trying to get through the doors!”

“Is he alright?” Peter asked and you nodded.

“He’s fine. We’re taking him out of harm’s way. The med bay’s locked tight. I never finished my tasks down in Archives and something was rattling around in the vents.” You said to him, shifting Reggie’s weight onto your shoulder towards Shelly.

“Mira still in HQ? I thought I heard the emergency meeting call.” Peter said and you nodded.

“Yeah. Alarms went off. We’re headed out that way for a safe ejection from the danger.” You replied and he nodded before swinging off and Natasha snickered again.

“I knew getting them to play that game was a good idea.” She said while laughing and Tony sighed.

“You corrupted my kid.” He said and she rolled her eyes, “That’s the last video we have, though.”

Sam just shook his head. Beyond frustrated and confused.

“So why is she in New Jersey? Now I know she can take care of herself. To a point. She’s friends with you and you say she can, Steve doesn’t worry too much about her, Thor is afraid of her, Loki likes her, and the list goes on down the line until you get to the cyborg here who is practically in love with her…even if he looks as confused as I am. How is she so calm? Please tell me she’s not really HYDRA.” Sam asked before Bucky could and Natasha answered.

“No, she’s not HYDRA, but that’s what her line of research is. Top to bottom.”

“After what happened with Fury, Pierce…everything…I wanted to know more without anyone really knowing I was looking into it.” Tony explained and gestured at Natasha, “I needed someone that knew how to handle themselves and how to protect things at the time. Nat recommended our little psycho librarian so I hired her to do that and put her on the job researching things once I learned she’s fluent in Russian, German, and Crazy.”

“So that’s why you have a tracker on her?” Steve asked and Tony shook his head.

“No, and she knows about it. She agreed to keep it after she found it. She probably told Shelly about it to gain trust.”

“Likely.” Natasha agreed, “She’s not stupid and she’s highly manipulative. She takes her job seriously no matter what it is even if you think she doesn’t.”

“But why New Jersey?” Sam asked again and she smiled.

“You’ll see.”

“I don’t want to see, I want to know.” Bucky said and she just smiled more, “Nat, c’mon. My head’s starting to hurt.”

“You’re ruining my fun, Barnes, but fine. The fun park belonged to one of her former bosses. Irish mafia. She was hired on as security for his daughter and saved her life from a runaway donut truck. He’s retired now. Has a flower shop in Queens, but he gifted her the fun park as a reward for saving his daughter’s life because it’s a safe house. Knowing her…she’s got Shelly locked in a closet while she’s watching a movie. She has a bigger screen in there than Tony does.”

“What?” Tony asked, staring as they all did, even Steve.

“I did not know about the safe house.”

“But you knew she worked for the Irish mob?!” Sam asked and Steve nodded, “And you’re okay with that?!”

“She’s not now.” He said and Sam just looked at Bucky then shook his head.

“Forget I asked.”

“What’s this have to do with me?” Bucky scowled and several minutes later was looking at the dilapidated, run down, and rusted remains of a family fun park with the others.

“Where’s the clown with the bloody knife?” Sam asked as he looked around, “I know there’s one here somewhere. This place screams ‘murder clown’.”

Bucky couldn’t even argue with him. He wanted to. Oh, he wanted to, but he just couldn’t.

Because it did.

Even though he recognized the style of everything as being very reminiscent of his and Steve’s childhoods, it screamed “there’s a psychopath with a kitchen knife hiding around the next corner”. Chipped paint on rusted metal. A soft, gentle, eerie creaking of a loose hinge in the wind. Dried up leaves blowing in the wind. Empty, falling down concession stands. Graffiti sprayed ride walls. Dark doorways where the door was hanging from the hinges rocking in the breeze.

He didn’t want to agree with Sam. Not one bit. Bucky just couldn’t help it.

“So how do we get in?” Tony asked as they followed Natasha through the horrorscape she had brought them to.

She wasn’t even phased. It didn’t surprise Bucky. It didn’t surprise anyone. Not with her. They’d have been surprised if they’d have been surprised.

“It’s accessed under the merry go round.” she answered and Sam raised his eyebrows at the structure up ahead.

“You mean the thing with the melted unicorns painted with blood red horns and fangs on it that looks like it’s a gateway to the nether realm?” he asked and she nodded.

“That’s the one.” She said and stepped up onto the platform and to the center column where she accessed a secret panel and punched in a long alphanumerical code.

They watched the center column open up wider, revealing a set of stairs down. She just smiled as they stared and gestured at them to head on in. They did so, in Sam’s case a bit reluctantly.

Three quarters of the way down they heard a high-pitched scream. Sam jumped. They all did but Bucky recognized it. Not as yours, but as the kind he’d heard back before the war in dimly lit movie theatres where Boris Karloff was on the screen.

Tinny, brassy, classic horror music played down the corridor as they stepped into it. It was long, clean, and grey-painted concrete, but it was nothing like what was above them. Mostly.

A door next to them began mumbling and thumping. A body slamming against it. Hard.

“What the fuck?” Sam asked as they looked at it and Natasha looked at the keypad on it before typing in a code.

A disheveled, muddy, tear-stained, gagged, and broken-heeled Shelly burst out of it onto the floor. She was bruised. Mostly by her own doing and gagged with what looked to have been Reggie’s tie. A tooth was missing from her mouth.

“G-gghaahh! Ga-aaggh!” She gurgled past the spit-soaked fabric up at them as they looked down at her.

“Hello, Shelly.” Tony greeted and she looked at him, “Where is Y/N?”

“Aaaaaahhhhh!” she responded, shaking her head rapidly, “Nnaa naaa naa nnaaa naaa!”

“Damn…what did she do to you?” Sam asked her and she shook her head more, her hair coming undone from its bun and flapping against the floor, leaving more muddy streaks.

“Uh uh! Uh uh! Ooery! Ooery!” she sobbed and Natasha just shook her head and looked down the hallway as the ending credit music stopped and they heard a popcorn machine, “AAHhhh! Cmmin’! Geggie!”

“Whatever your girlfriend did to her…it was fucked up.” Sam said to Bucky and he just blinked, not exactly sure how to process it.

He was torn between being impressed, curious, and worried. Whatever you had done had obviously worked. Shelly was HYDRA, maybe not the best, but she was still HYDRA and whatever you had done had broken her in ways HYDRA likely couldn’t.

Or at least in ways they never thought to try.

That itself was a bit…worrying.

Yet Bucky couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride at how you handled the situation and yourself. He wanted to pick it apart, find a reason to yell at you for putting yourself in danger. Yet…in a way…you hadn’t.

You manipulated your way out of a dangerous situation, took down two agents, and removed yourself to somewhere you knew was safe. It wasn’t like you stuck around to fight off an incursion. You had gotten up and removed yourself to safety. Like he had told you to do.

He knew perfectly well that hiding under your desk would not have helped in that situation. Protocol during situations like that were also for civilian members of staff to get to a safe room or get out as fast as they could. You had technically done both.

He stepped over Shelly to make his way down the hallway. The others could deal with her. He needed to find you. To see you were alright.

He followed the sound of the popcorn machine to a room with an old sign over it that read: Theater Room. Bucky opened it. Then he blinked.

It was exactly what it said it was. It wasn’t set up exactly as a modern one but an older one. In the corner stood a popcorn machine…and you. You also happened to have a gun pointed at him.

The emotionless, blank, and fully ready to pull the trigger look in your eyes instantly eased out when you spotted it was him. So did all the tension from your body. Even as he made his way over to you with a glower set on his face shaking his head you just relaxed and set the gun down on the counter next to you.

“Hey, Bucky.” You greeted him as he marched his way over, steel blue eyes boring into yours, and you knew you were in trouble because you couldn’t figure out what was running through his mind.

He was just focused on you as if mentally chanting that he was going to get you. All you knew was that he wasn’t going to hurt you. Bucky would never do that and you knew it.

So when he reached you and pulled you into his arms, you didn’t tense up, you just relaxed into him more. Especially as he just held you against him, enveloping you with his frame. His arms around you, his chin on your head, tucking you against him as he let out a relieved sigh.

You felt his body relax as you wrapped your arms back around him, silently reassuring him that you were alright. That you were there. That you trusted him.

He was silent, just holding you, his left arm wrapped around your waist securely while the other one gently caressed your head. You knew he had been worried. You knew he would have been from the moment you left, but you did what he had told you to do the day he had brought you coffee.

“If HYDRA ever comes…just…promise me you’ll get out and as far away as you can.” He said, looking at you, serious, and you nodded, and you meant it.

“I promise, Bucky.”

“I’m okay, Bucky. I promise. I’m okay. She broke my phone at one point and I lost hers somewhere in the woods. The phones here don’t work anymore either or I’d have called.” You said and he nodded as he looked down at you, searching your face for any signs of injury or you playing anything down; it just made you smile up at him, “I’m right here, Buck. Safe and sound. Though if you ask Shelly I very much am not of sound mind.”

He let out a soft huff as his lips curled upwards, his right hand gently caressing your jaw and face. It felt good, warm, sweet, and soothing. So soothing and you let yourself relax into it and into him more.

Bucky knew it wasn’t often you did this. You didn’t just relax into anyone or let them see past the indifferent façade you put up. You didn’t have to say it. He knew you were as happy and relieved to see him as he was to see you.

You were, too. Three days hoping he was alright. Three days hoping everything was going to be alright. Three days getting as much information out of Shelly as you could.

She figured out you weren’t the Grand Mistress before you got to the park. She put up a bit of a fight. Yet it was clear she had never been trained to fight in heels on uneven and soggy ground.

Neither were you but you at least had the sense to kick them off before slamming her head into a tree by her hair. It was raining at the time. You were both covered in mud by the time you knocked her out.

You were so filthy you looked like you were just born from the mud pit in Isengard the Uruk Hai were birthed from. The sight of you, and the sight of you dragging an unconscious blonde bimbo by the foot through the mud was enough to scare the absolute shit out of a group of teenagers. If you weren’t just completely done with the entire ordeal you probably would have laughed.

You didn’t, though. You were too exhausted to do anything other than drag her to the carousel and into the safehouse where you tied her up and shoved her in the first closet with a keypad on it.

Then you took a bath. Then you started a movie marathon. Mostly to keep your mind off of things. Like Bucky. You knew the tracker would lead them to you eventually. You just needed to wait and stay calm…and not think about Bucky.

“I was…I was so worried.” He said softly and you nodded even as you reached up to gently hold his head in your hands.

“I know. I was, too, but I’m alright. Are you alright?” you asked and Bucky nodded.

“Yeah. I’m alright. Now. I mean…I have a lot of questions about all of this, but I’m alright.” He replied and you smiled up at him, just happy he was there and alright and with you, letting him see that you were when he looked down at you.

At least until you heard the door open again and Steve walked in with Natasha. Then the walls went back up. You liked Steve; Natasha was effectively your best female friend, but you only ever let Bucky see straight in. That was his and as he smiled it was clear that he knew it was his and his alone.

“Which one is this?” Natasha asked as she gestured at the screen and Bucky looked at it as the opening credits started.

“The Return of Doctor X.” You answered, “Mister Mickey loaded this place with pretty much every classic movie from the 30s and 40s before he turned it over to me.”

“Your old boss?” Steve asked and you shook your head.

“Nah. His dad. He forbids me from calling him Mister O’Malley, so I call him Mister Mickey. I’m not arguing with a 100-year-old former mobster that still knows how to wire things.” You answered and he and Bucky looked at you, “What?”

“You worked for O’Malley?” Bucky asked and you nodded.

“I worked for his son. Mickey Junior. He’s retired now from that. He took over the florist shop Mister Mickey ran…even if Mister Mickey is still in there every single day yelling at him about how he’s not doing it right.” You answered and they looked at you, “What?”

“They’re both over 100. You argue with them.” Natasha pointed out curiously, and you shrugged.

“Well, yeah. They don’t count. Steve was a human Bomb Pop for like 60 years and Bucky was the human equivalent of a Freeze Pak. Put it in the freezer, take it out, have it make something cold, put it back in the freezer before it thaws too much. They don’t count as over 100.”

Steve just started laughing as he shook his head. From amusement or exasperation, you didn’t know. You were leaning towards amusement.

“A human Bomb Pop? Really?” he asked and Bucky looked at him.

“Well at least you’re edible.”

“I bite those things in half. You want me to bite you in half or would you rather be the thing I want up against my aching body parts?” You asked him and he nodded.

“You got a point.” He replied and they looked as Sam and Tony walked in, Tony whistling at the set up.

“I pay you too much.” He said and you looked at him.

“After what I went through and prevented for you I want a raise.” You retorted and he nodded.

“Deal…but I want to reoutfit this place so it’s…a bit more up to speed. What is this? A bomb shelter from the 50s?” he asked and you nodded.

“Yes. Cold war ended and they outfitted it into a safehouse and then they outfitted it into…a place to send their kids so they wouldn’t go into clubs to get in trouble or abducted. Only thing fully updated in here is the kitchen. Plumbing sucks. It could definitely use an upgrade, but this place is mine. I change that and you’ll have a centenarian ex-assassin that isn’t named Bucky Barnes sending you flowers with surprises. I’ve already had to talk him down from talking to Bucky.”

“He remembers me?” Bucky asked and you nodded with a little smile.

“Mhmm…I’ve heard aaaallll about you…and his sister…and her friends…and their friends…and their sisters…” you replied and he looked at you wide eyed opening his mouth to explain before shutting it and then opening it a few times, trying to think of what to say.

You let him sweat about it a bit.

“He also remembers Steve and still laughs anytime he sees a picture of him because he can’t stop thinking of him as ‘that scrawny punk that didn’t know when to just shut up’.” You said and patted his chest as Tony helped himself to the popcorn, “I assured him that you are a perfect gentleman and that you regularly help chase ungentlemanly men away from me so I don’t get in trouble for punching them. That soothed him enough to not want to ‘talk’ to you. I’m not sure if I’m disappointed about not getting to watch him threaten you or not.”

“Why’d you stop working for them?” Tony asked and you answered as he sat himself down in one of the chairs.

“Katherine got married and moved across the country shortly after the donut truck incident. I didn’t want to move to the land of Bigfoot so I chose to retire about the same time Junior did. I was a bridesmaid at her wedding where I ended up throwing her ex-best friend out of the reception and into the water hazard of the golf club it was at.

“I also broke her cheating ass ex-boyfriend’s fingers and kicked him in after her when he tried to ‘handle’ me. Then Mickey the third came out and sent me back in to calm Mister Mickey and Junior down. I’m sure you can imagine what they wanted to do to the two people that broke their princess’s heart to little shattered pieces before her new husband picked them up and glued them back together. I had to calm him down, too.

“When I tell you I understand how hard it was for Bucky to manage pre-buff Steve…he’s why. Billy is a scrawny twig man that will fight anything that upsets Katherine. Even if it can pummel him into the ground. The next day they gave me this place and a great severance package for my exemplary service.”

“You two…” Sam said and gestured to you and Bucky several times, “Belong together. You’re both crazy.”

“Yeah…but at least we aren’t boring.” You countered and grabbed some popcorn, “Now shut up, I wanna watch this.”

“Alright.” He said and as soon as everyone was sat down, you had a thought.

“What did you do with Shelly?”

“Nat put her back in the closet.” Tony answered and you nodded.

“What did you do to her?” Sam asked you and you looked at him slowly, silently, blinking blankly, “Or do I not want to know?”

“Did you see the haunted fun house on the way in?” You asked and he shook his head slowly, “Well…that’s what I did to her. I put her in there…and locked her in it for twelve hours. Not my fault she’s gullible. Besides. She ruined my favorite shirt. I’ll never get the mud out of it.”

“Shh. Movie.” Bucky said, pointing at the screen with a popcorn box in his hand.

“Fine.” Sam sighed and sat back with everyone to watch the screen.

Bucky’s left arm was around the back of your seat for a few minutes. Eventually it slid down to pull you against his side. You couldn’t help smiling as he did or at how the cool metal of his fingers felt gliding over your arm gently. It was just an absent reminder that he was there and that you were there with him. Silent comfort for you both.

About halfway through the movie he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to your cheek, just next to your ear before whispering into it, “You still owe me dessert, doll, but maybe I should take you out to dinner first so I don’t get sent flowers.”

==========

Master List: Scorpio AU

Previous Story: Coffee

Next Story: Flowers

A/N: Like I said at the start I'm working on something else. It's much larger and a lot different. It'll be in 3rd POV with a named OC. Something of a what if rewrite of Winter Soldier. As of posting this it's about 26k words in length, I still don't know where I'm stopping it, and I have plans of going back in and adding more while editing once the skeleton is done. I may post up the master list/summary/general gist of thing for it I may not.

You were annoyed because you knew what was coming. Bucky was possibly the most protective boyfriend you’d ever had. You loved it, you really did, because it made you feel safe, cherished, and adored. He never let a day go by that he didn’t tell you in some way that he appreciated everything you did, that he cared for you, found you the most beautiful woman on Earth, the sexiest woman on Earth, and once you two became physically intimate he never let you feel unwanted in anyway.

After the HYDRA incident he took you to dinner. Properly. A nice, quiet, intimate dinner that had been the most romantic and respectful date you’d ever been on.

He even gave you flowers. From the O’Malley’s shop and explained he had talked with Mister Mickey. It was sweet and so was he, but he made it very clear he was tired of the secrets about what you were capable of doing.

So you told him over the course of a week. It relieved him to know you were capable of taking care of yourself in multiple unusual ways. So you knew what was coming.

Questions about how you wound up tied to a chair in a vintage store’s basement. Questions about why your lip was bleeding. Statements about how the panic button he had you carry around now was a good idea. Statements about how he knew your source now.

All you wanted to do was go get flowers for your sick neighbor and pop down to your secret source of records for a bit on your day off.

Simple. Quick. No drama.

Drama decided differently.

You ran into Katherine at the flower shop. She was visiting, pregnant, and you got to talking for a bit before inviting them along with you. Well, technically you invited Katherine. Mister Mickey and Mickey Junior invited themselves to keep you ladies “safe”. “Safe” wasn’t code for actual safety but code for keeping Katherine from buying the entire store out. You knew this and accepted it without revealing their actual intentions when Katherine protested that you were enough to keep her safe.

“I’m retired, besides…you can cry and con them into buying you more stuff.” You reminded her quietly causing her to laugh and agree.

It was nice. At least until a bunch of balaclava wearing assholes decided to rob the store. You hit the panic button immediately and got Katherine out the back door as quickly and safely as possible, handing her your phone to answer Bucky’s questions while you distracted them away from her. Ten seconds after that you were held up at gunpoint and directed down into the basement with the other patrons and the owner.

You tried to warn them not to do it. Instead of listening to your sage advice they slapped you across the face and busted your lip. You just licked the blood off and shook your head.

Then Mister Mickey started to laugh. Hard. Like Warwick Davis in the Leprechaun horror movie.

“What the fuck’s so funny old timer?! You get a rise out of me slapping the shit out of this bitch?!” one shouted at him and Mister Mickey just laughed again.

You knew why he was laughing. You knew why his son was laughing even though your lip was still bleeding. The debate on telling them why they were laughing raged in your head but ultimately Mickey Junior decided to speak first.

“Y’know…” Mickey Junior started as he stopped himself laughing, “I get it. Yer new to this, wanna make a name, cause fear, stake some territory…but…boys…you really shouldn’ta hit the lady. You shoulda listened to her. She was tryin’ ta save you from what’s comin’. That is why my Pa’s laughin’ like that. He knows what’s comin’.”

“And it’s why I’m annoyed. After the HYDRA incident it took me a month to convince him I didn’t need to carry a knife, a gun, and a panic button connected straight to him everywhere. Though being trapped in his apartment for a week was quite entertaining.”

“We don’t need the details.” Mickey Junior sighed and you looked at him.

“Mister O’Malley, get your mind out of the gutter. I mean watching his cat be his living alarm clock and workout partner. She sits on his back while he does pushups and meows at him like a coach.” You retorted, hearing the creak of a door overhead again, “Now…now I’m going to have to hear about how right he was about the button.”

“You…” Mister Mickey wheezed and coughed a bit, the sound covering a footstep overhead he likely knew about because his hearing aid was turned all the way up, “You really shouldn’ta hurt her. You have no idea what’s comin’…and yeah…that…that’s why I’m laughin’.”

“Oh we’ll do more than hurt her after we’re done with you!” another one snarled and you sighed.

“You really shouldn’t have said that.” you said as you glanced at Mister Mickey who nodded then braced yourself as the door behind your captors was kicked clear off its hinges.

Mister Mickey just laughed. So did his son. You just did your best not to at the look on their faces when Bucky walked in. Especially as Bucky looked absolutely furious to begin with, then his blue eyes landed on your lip before locking on your eyes ice cold.

“Which one?” he asked you and you looked at the one that did it then pointed, having slipped your hands out of the restraints and the guy looked at you.

“Your knots are shit. I warned you. You hit me. I didn’t know he’d be here this fast, but now that he is…you have one more chance to stop all this and rethink your lives.” You said as Bucky pulled off his gloves nodding, angry, removing any padding they provided, “You though…you’re about to lose a hand. He’s right-handed by the way, baby.”

“Who the fuck are you?!” one of them asked but the other ones just dropped their guns and put their hands in the air, terrified, “Oh c’mon! He’s one guy!”

“Afternoon, Barnes!” Mister Mickey greeted and Bucky sighed with an irritated growl, shaking his head at you and pointed out the door while glancing at the ones that had surrendered.

“Out. Now.” He said and they all took off, leaving just the one standing there that had hit you, “Y’know, doll, I love you an’ everythin’ but…you’re gonna have to work real hard to convince me to let you out of my sight again after this.”

“I have several ideas but I’ll spare Mister O’Malley.” You replied and Mickey Junior just shook his head as various screams were heard outside.

The one remaining assailant made a move for you. Bucky didn’t hesitate. Neither did you and another scream was added to the others with a loud crunch.

The screaming didn’t stop as Bucky dragged him up the stairs by his ankle as he held his now crushed hand. It was a circus afterwards. Police. Questions. EMTs. Spiderman. Bucky’s scowls. Your scowls.

“Go on. Get it over with.” You sighed after getting your phone back from Katherine and walking down the sidewalk with him.

“The button was a good idea.” He said and you nodded, “I know you can handle yourself, sweetie, but this…”

“This was strange. It’s a dingy little vintage shop. What the fuck did they actually want? They didn’t even touch the register. They just wanted to know where some dog statue was.” You said and he nodded.

“I know. It’s weird. That’s what I was gonna say. I know you can handle yourself and you know when to call for help, which you did right away. This was strange.” Bucky agreed and you nodded and leaned into him when he wrapped his arm around you, the vibranium one, a.k.a the one you weren’t getting away from, “I want you to start carryin’ the gun again though.”

“And there it is. The gun would not have helped in this situation.” You protested but nodded when he looked at you pointedly, “The knife might have, or the tranq pistol, but that’s Stark’s and is single shot only unless he develops one with a clip…and he doesn’t do weapons development for the masses anymore. Only his own stuff.”

“I’ll talk to him about it.”

“WHY were you here so fast?” you asked him, blinking, “With Spiderman?”

“We were in the area with Strange lookin’ for something that turned out to be a weird lookin’ dog statue. Spiderman said he’d seen somethin’ like it in a shop so we were on our way there anyway.” He answered and you shook your head.

“Strange’s level of things is above my paygrade. I do not want to get involved in the mystic stuff.” You sighed and he shook his head as you neared his motorcycle.

“Neither do I and I’ll pretend I didn’t see the collection of records in there.” He said and smirked a bit, “If you think you can convince me to.”

“Hmm…maybe.”

*******

He had reports to make. You did, too, just for being there when everything happened. So, you were responsible and did your report and made sure he did his as well.

Then you began your plan of convincing him. Not that you needed an excuse to make him melt underneath you. It was just a bonus.

You loved how he looked at you when you sat in his lap and let him run his hands over you as you worked your hips against his. You loved the way his blue eyes would lock on yours while lowering yourself onto him slowly, letting him fill you inch by inch. You loved either way it could go from there.

It didn’t matter if he took control and set the pace, his hands guiding you up and down, whispering praises into your ear as you moaned, overwhelmed with how perfectly he fit inside of you. You loved it. Especially when his hips would push up into yours, swiftly, hands holding you still or pulling you into each thrust firmly until you burst. At least once. Bucky insisted on you having at least one orgasm before he would allow himself the same.

Even if you were in charge. Even if you were setting the pace, your hands on his chest or in his, fingers laced, bouncing up and down. He insisted and he refused to cum until you did.

Every time.

Sometimes it turned into a battle. You hadn’t won yet, but you didn’t care if you hadn’t won yet. Feeling him holding himself back as he plunged in and out of you, rubbing your clit in sweet, tight circles, a determined glint in his eyes was worth losing every time. The orgasm itself was worth it every time and so was feeling him hold your hips down as he filled you right after.

The first time you told him he could he had asked if you were sure. Explaining modern birth control you assured him you were very sure; besides, you wanted to feel him. Which you did. Several times.

You loved that, too. He always made sure you were happy and comfortable every time. Naturally, you did the same, and even if he was determined to make it difficult to walk later, you never let the nights end until you made him explode. At least once.

That was a battle he hadn’t won. You didn’t let him even if he said a night was all about you. No. He was going to cum at least once before you were done. Preferably inside. Though you’d let him get away with cumming on your clit on occasion.

So you didn’t really care much about convincing him to forget about the records in the shop. You just wanted to show him how grateful you were for him and how much you adored him.

So you did.

Bucky didn’t need an excuse, and he knew he didn’t need an excuse to ask you for it. He just liked teasing you. Feeling you wrapped around him, walls drenched, clenching, fluttering and his was a dream come true.

He loved your body, every curve, every dip, valley, rise, and muscle. Most of the time he wished he had more hands. That way he could hold your hips, squeeze your breasts, rub your clit, and caress the rest of you all at the same time.

Still, Bucky tried his best, always trying his best to give you what you deserved. You were so good to him, so sweet, understanding, loving, loyal, and his. He hated to think about anything happening to you. He knew he could get a bit protective, but he couldn’t help it.

Really he didn’t need to be convinced about anything, he just wanted an excuse he didn’t need to put you on your back halfway through and start thrusting in and out slow and deep. Every inch buried in you before pulling every inch out just to bury it in you again as his lips found yours and pressed kiss after kiss to them. He knew you loved this the most. Nothing made you feel better, or him better, than making love to you.

So he did.

Not just once, either.

He wasn’t content with only once. As much as he had teased you about convincing him to forget about something he was more intent on making you forget.

Kissing your lips tenderly he sunk himself in and out as many times as it took until you could barely remember what had happened earlier. You didn’t forget it entirely. You knew it happened. You just couldn’t think of any feeling other than the pleasure, love, and safety Bucky was giving you.

Moaning his name you neared yet another climax as his bed creaked, your depths so soaked in slick and your combined pleasure you could hear each thrust just as much as you could feel it. You knew there was no one else that could ever make you feel like this, so good and so loved.

The moment his lips met yours again, his tongue tenderly slipping against the cut on your lip before sliding along yours, your orgasm hit, and so did his. It wasn’t the last.

Far from it.

*******

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A/N: It's been a while since I've done smut or sexy time for the reading of others, but there. I can't keep stringing you all along forever. (Well I could but that'd be mean).

I'm still plugging away on my other fics. Howling Witch is currently up to 90k and it's not edited or done yet.

Feel free to comment, like, reblog, send asks, messages, whatever.

Here is the MASTER Masterlist if you want it.