May I ask for a Bucky x reader: When a mission goes sour, the guilt was thrown upon her like a ton of bricks! It had been readers first time in the field, but still a comrade had been hurt due a stupid mistake! She knew that they blamed her, that she was a failure, a matter of no worth or their concern. When the public scolding was done, reader was told to stay in her quarters. After packing all her stuff in her suitcase, and cleaning the room and locking the door, she simply ties the noose , that was gonna solve all the teams problem- her spot in the team would be replaced with someone better. At least that was a comfort- that everyone would be alright, after she was gone. Because no matter how they despised her now, she loved them all with every ounce of her being...
Forgive Me (Bucky Barnes x Reader)
A/N: Thank you for the request! As a person who loves to write angst a lot, this was an interesting challenge for me! I changed a few things that were in the request, but they are fairly minor in terms of the overall plot. This is pretty intense, especially in the middle, but it does have a happy ending! Hope you all enjoy! :)
Warnings: Angst, Steve being a complete d*ck, dark themes (suicide)
“You never learn, do you?”
A hand grasped my shoulder, and I spun around to find the honorable Steve Rogers seething in anger. His jaw was clenched as he glared down at me. “Why can’t you ever think about anyone other than yourself?”
“I wasn’t being selfish. I thought I had the shot!” I shoved his hand off of me in a matter of seconds but stood my ground. “It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t know that there was another sniper above us.”
“No? I thought you were all about being the hero.” Steve snapped, taking another step closer to me in a way that almost felt threatening. Almost. But I did not dare even blink as the super-soldier invaded my personal space. “Isn’t that what all the papers have been saying?”
I tried my hardest not to wince at his words. Truthfully, I had no desire to interact with the press at all. It was just my misfortune for a stray reporter to find me as I was coming back from my morning jog and demand a statement from me. At the time, I found no harm in it. I simply told him that I enjoyed my job and that I loved being able to help people for a living.
They asked a question or two about working with the others, and of course, I tried to answer as honestly as I could. I loved all of them, and this had by far been the best job that I had ever had. At most, I jokingly commented about the hours being intense. But of course, that greasy-haired reporter decided to twist the truth, and the story spread like wildfire.
Now, I was the egocentric bitch who couldn’t work well with others. The disconnect from the others happened fast. First, it was Natasha who had stopped replying to my texts. Only days later, Wanda was giving me the cold shoulder and it was all downhill from there. It had been hard to gain their trust at all, and now it was all gone. Despite being on the team for quite a while now, they did not want to hear a single word I had to say.
Well, all of them but one.
And that was, of course, Bucky Barnes. The man who I had married in secret just under a year ago, and the only person in this whole tower to trust a word that came from my mouth. He believed me with no hesitation and tried his hardest to convince the others of the truth. But after those efforts failed, Bucky just tried his hardest to make sure we all could coexist, even if that meant only seeing each other when we needed to leave for a mission.
And god, did it hurt to live this way. It did not feel like living, just merely surviving. I could hardly focus on my work anymore, and after watching my husband's body drop with a bullet lodged in his shoulder only an hour previous, I did not know if I could handle it anymore. I certainly wouldn’t if they could not save his life.
I felt my jaw begin to clench as I glared up at Captain America with as much anger as I could muster. Fear was beginning to consume me, and I refused to let any of them see it. “I did not ask to be the hero, but I had to pull him away to safety. What did you want me to do?”
“What did I want you to do? I wanted you to have taken the bullet instead!”
It felt as if Steve had backhanded me across the face. Honestly, I would have preferred that. It would’ve hurt less that his words did. My eyes tore away from him, and bounced around the room, watching the others just simply stare in silence. No interference, no sympathy, no emotion at all except for the same anger that Steve had.
It felt as if my heart had split in two. I loved all of them like they were my own family, and now… it was like I was just another stranger on the street at best, and a nuisance at worst. Either way… my life did not matter to them.
“Well…” My throat grew thick with the threat of tears, but I fixed my gaze on Steve, praying that they remain hidden. “I’m sorry that I can’t take his place, Steve. I’m sure it would’ve made things a lot easier for you.”
Steve remained silent, his expression still hard and cold. And as I glanced at the rest, I was greeted with nothing more than a scowl. Perhaps I had hoped that my tears would at least bring some sort of emotion to them, but they did not. And I did not expect them to.
I turned around and began to walk away, ignoring the piercing eyes that followed each step I took. After rounding the corner, I felt the first tears begin to fall. But I refused to let myself fall apart, not when Bucky’s life was still at risk. After a handful of minutes of walking, I approached the med bay, watching silently as the doctors began to bandage his shoulder. Removing the bullet took less time than I had anticipated, and I finally let myself release a breath of relief as I watched them lay him carefully on the bed.
“Ms. Y/L/N?” I pulled my eyes away from Bucky to see Dr. Helen Cho approach me, a small but confused smile on her lips. “I’m surprised to see you here. Any injuries you need to be attended to?”
“No.” I shook my head gently, glancing at Bucky again. “I’m here to check up on him. “
“He is going to be fine. The bullet was removed and he just needs a few days of bed rest at most. The serum certainly helps with the healing process.”
“For the time being, I am only letting family in.” She gives me a sympathetic smile. “But I will let the rest of you come in after he wakes up. It shouldn’t be too long.”
I couldn’t imagine having to run into the others while visiting Bucky, not after our last conversation. It would be a disaster, and although I knew how important it was to him that we kept our marriage a secret for my safety, I had to see him.
“I’m his wife.” I finally admitted, almost laughing at the surprise on Dr. Cho’s face. “We got married last year, and haven’t told anyone else yet.”
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” She smiled and gestured for me to come in. “I wouldn’t expect him to wake for a while, though.”
“That’s okay. “ I walked across the room to where he lay, my heart aching at the sight of his bandaged right shoulder. “I just needed to see him.”
If she had said anything else to me, I did not hear. All my focus was on Bucky, my heart aching even more as I saw the bruises that were speckling his face, including a nasty black eye. I leaned down and gently kissed his forehead, feeling my lips tremble against his skin before pulling away.
I took a seat in a chair next to his bed, gently taking his right hand in mine as I simply watched him sleep. Despite the relief in knowing that he would recover, the ache in my chest remained as painful as it had only minutes previous. Perhaps Steve was right… it would’ve been easier if I had taken the bullet instead of him. It would’ve certainly been a much smaller funeral.
“Oh, baby…” I could barely manage to murmur, my tears finally beginning to fall free as I sat next to him. “You have no idea how badly I wish it would’ve been me. I would trade places with you in a heartbeat if I could.”
The words felt so broken and bitter, but I knew them to be true. There was nothing that I wouldn’t give to have traded places with him at this moment, regardless of how Steve or the others felt about me. After all, Bucky had gone through, he deserved to live a full, happy life. And I would gladly sacrifice my own to make it happen.
And perhaps it would be for the better if I did. Bucky would still have Steve and the others. He would still be happy here. And that was all that I ever wanted for him.
“I had to tell Helen that we got married… that was the only way she would let me in.” I sighed softly, already imagining the look on his face when he found out. “It was a little funny how surprised she was. I suppose it makes sense. How did a girl like me wind up marrying a man as wonderful as you?”
I could already hear Steve’s voice echoing down the hall, and I closed my eyes, preparing for yet another confrontation with him.
“I have to go, Bucky. I love you so much.” I stood up and gently kissed his forehead once more before making my way towards the door leading out of the med bay. I turned once more, glancing blurry-eyed at my husband’s unconscious figure in bed before moving into the hallway. “I pray you will forgive me one day.”
The words felt heavy, and truthfully, so did my soul. It was my fault that he was here, and that guilt would follow me forever.
The moment I stepped out into the hallway, Steve Rogers had just begun to round the corner to approach the med bay. He paused, his eyebrows furrowed, almost questioning why I was there in the first place. But he just shook his head, bumping past my shoulder harshly before entering the room where I was only a minute earlier. I closed my eyes, praying that I would not start crying for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
“Glad to have you back, Buck.”
My eyes flashed open, and I turned to see that my husband had finally regained consciousness, smiling brightly despite having been shot in the shoulder only hours previous. I felt both Wanda and Natasha brush past me, not nearly as harsh as Steve had but still as dismissive. The giggles and good-natured laughs between all of them made my heart ache even more but reminded me that I was right.
He was surrounded by so much love, so many familiar faces. It seemed that all Bucky knew these days was laughter and happiness, and the thought of that made me smile. The pain from his past was finally beginning to disappear, and this new chapter in life was beginning.
Without looking back into the med bay, I began to walk toward the elevators, wanting nothing more than to escape this tension. It wasn’t until I reached my room and had turned on the water to my shower that I realized how tired I was. The person looking back at me through the mirror was indeed a shock.
Strands of Y/H/C hair wildly sticking all over the place, a solid bruise painting the skin of my jaw. It had been a rough day, and I looked like I certainly had an awful one. But it was my eyes that truly took me aback.
It wasn’t the red that rimmed them or the soreness of my eyes that caused me to freeze. It was the exhaustion and hopelessness that they held.
The women before me in the mirror appeared to be broken, shattered. And I certainly was.
Not even the warmth of the water or the scent of my favorite body wash comforted me. My tears had ceased, but the emptiness inside remained. I quietly pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt before climbing into my bed. It felt oddly empty, considering that I shared a bed with Bucky most nights. But I eventually found some sort of comfort, laying quietly in bed wrapped in blankets while staring at the ceiling.
My last conversation with Steve played over and over again in my head, particularly his last words to me.
“What did I want you to do? I wanted you to have taken the bullet instead!”
I slowly rose from the bed and walked into the bathroom, greeted with a much more presentable image of myself in the mirror. With shaky fingers, I opened the mirrored door, finding all of my familiar toiletries inside. I slowly pulled the bottle of painkillers from its place on the shelf and shut the door. I leaned against the opposite wall, and slowly sank to the floor, my eyes closing once more to prevent tears from falling.
Perhaps a bullet was more of what Steve had in mind, but death did not care which way we came to lose our life. And quite frankly, neither did I.
The first thing I remembered after starting to regain consciousness was the sound of my bride's voice. Her words were soft murmurs, almost as if my head was underwater. “Oh, baby… you have no idea how badly I wish it would’ve been me. I would trade places with you in a heartbeat if I could.”
Y/N’s voice was broken, tears lingering behind her words that she desperately tried to hide. She carried guilt that did not belong to her and I wished so desperately I could get myself to wake up completely and hold her.
It was my fault we hadn’t noticed the sniper above us. The entire mission was chaos before this had happened, bullets flying and more HYDRA agents appearing by the second. Our target was only a couple dozen feet away and Y/N did not hesitate to step forward to shoot. The sniper had been fast, but I had been faster, able to push her out of the way and take the bullet directly to my flesh shoulder. I couldn’t remember much after that, just the sounds of my wife crying as she tried to drag me to safety and then the voices of the others that boarded the jet.
“I had to tell Helen that we got married… that was the only way she would let me in.” She sighed softly, but with a hint of a laugh emerging in her next sentence. “It was a little funny how surprised she was. I suppose it makes sense. How did a girl like me wind up marrying a man as wonderful as you?”
If I had been fully conscious, I would have rolled my eyes at her last statement. It was quite the opposite, as much as she tried to deny it. Before Y/N, I had never imagined this life. Falling in love, getting married, perhaps a few children a few years down the road. I didn’t think I deserved this happiness, but I was thankful to have it.
“I have to go, Bucky. I love you so much.” I felt her soft lips against my forehead, and I knew I was only seconds from fully regaining consciousness. “I pray that you will forgive me someday.”
Forgive her? There was nothing to forgive. Sure, this had been a terrible day, but I made that choice. She did not deserve to carry that pain with her. But with that, her voice disappeared and I heard new voices grow louder. I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the brightness of the white lights above me.
“Glad to have you back, Buck.” Steve Roger’s face came into my line of vision and I smiled at the sight of my closest friend.
“I guess I got lucky this time, eh?” I couldn’t help but joke about this now, knowing that I had survived what could have potentially been my last day on Earth.
“Lucky would’ve been you avoiding the shots, to begin with,” Steve replied, and I rolled my eyes. Before I could speak again, Natasha and Wanda came into the room, friendly smiles already lighting up their faces.
“I guess the Winter Soldier isn’t completely invincible, huh?” Natasha teased.
“I suppose not.” I laughed, looking at both of them brightly. “Thanks for coming to visit. Although I shouldn’t be here much longer today.”
“IF your shoulder is healing well, Barnes.” Dr. Cho’s voice chirped, stepping close to inspect the bandage. “You will be on bed rest for a few days, though.”
“I can live with that,” I responded, accepting my fate of time off. It couldn’t possibly be that bad.
I frowned, looking around and not seeing her face anywhere. “Where’s Y/N?”
The three of them looked surprised at my question, not expecting it.
“I’m not sure. She may have gone to her room.” Steve shrugged, seeming indifferent to this conversation.
“Nothing happened.” Steve’s voice was defensive, and his brow furrowed. “Why are you so concerned about Y/L/N?”
“Why have you continuously treated her like she doesn’t belong here with us?” I snapped, feeling uneasy about what had happened between the four of them when I was unconscious. “She earned her place here as much as I have.”
“The way she has spoken to the press about us and her job has made it hard to be all warm and friendly with her, Bucky.”
“You would rather trust a nosy journalist over your friend?” I scoffed, unsurprised that Steve was holding this grudge still but worried that things have gotten worse. “That speaks more about you than her.”
“Y/N does not belong here, Buck. “ Steve shook his head slowly, essentially ignoring my words from only moments ago. “She certainly did not belong with us on that mission today. That was abundantly clear.“
I froze at his words, understanding the implications behind what he said. Steve blamed her, and by the looks that Natasha and Wanda were giving me, he was not the only one.
“Bucky, she was being arrogant. She-“
“This was not her fault, Steve.” I glared at him, ignoring the slight throb in my shoulder as I moved to sit up further. “She had the shot. We didn’t see the snipper in time, and I pushed her out of the way. This is on me.”
“Bucky…” Natasha sighed and parted her lips to speak, but the sharp look I gave her silenced her immediately.
“No, I don’t want to hear it. The way you have all treated her is absolutely disgusting. And most of that has been when I was around. So, tell me, Steven, why isn’t Y/N here right now?”
The room went quiet, the three of them glancing at each other uneasily.
“No more bullshit, Steve.” I snapped, nearly seething with anger as he continued to dance around my question. “Tell me what happened.”
Steve looked at me, his eyes beginning to water and his mouth beginning to open to speak. But the sound of FRIDAY chose the perfect timing to interrupt.
“Sergeant Barnes, your wife is showing signs of severe distress. She is currently located in her room on the third floor. “
“Your wife?” Steve’s voice was nothing less than shocked and even sounded a little disgusted. But I did not wait around to address him again.
It took only a matter of seconds to make it out into the hallway, despite numerous protests from Natasha and Dr. Cho, and took what felt like an eternity to make it to Y/N in our bedroom. Each step felt heavier than the last, my pulse racing as the last words she spoke to me rang in my mind.
"I pray that you’ll forgive me someday."
The door hit the wall with a loud smack, but I frankly could not give a damn about what potential damage it inflicted on the wall. “Y/N? Doll, where are you?”
Soft sobs echoed in the bathroom, and I immediately opened the door leading inside it. My heart dropped as I found Y/N collapsed on the floor, a bottle of pills loosely grasped in her hand. The lid had been popped off.
“Baby.” I sank to my knees in front of her, taking her face in my hands urgently. “I need you to tell me how many you took.”
Y/N’s bottom lip trembled, and she tried to look away. But I refused to let her, gently pulling her back to look at me. “Doll, how many-“
“I couldn’t do it.” Her voice was weak, tears still steadily falling down her face. “I-I tried, but I couldn’t.”
“Okay, sweetheart.” A wave of relief rushed over me at her words, but the sight of my wife falling apart on the bathroom floor only made my heart ache more. “Can you give me the bottle?”
Her eyes flickered to her hand holding the bottle, fingers tightly clenching the plastic. But Y/N nodded slowly, lifting her hand to place it in my grasp. The moment it touched my hand, I placed it on the counter and gently moved to pull her into my arms.
Y/N’s body trembled as she cried into my chest, and it took everything in me not to do the same as I whispered repeatedly into her ear. “You’re going to be okay, baby. I promise.”
After some time had passed, I quietly moved the two of us back into the bedroom, placing her onto the mattress before climbing in next to her. She lay quietly for a few moments with her head resting against my good shoulder before she lifted her head to look at me. The soft Y/E/C eyes that I had fallen in love with were red with tears, filled with a pain that nearly broke me in two. “I’m sorry, Bucky. “
“Sssh.” I gently pressed my lips against her forehead. “You don’t need to apologize.“
“I do,” Y/N mumbled, sniffling softly. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. You getting shot, and then you find me here. It should have been me.”
“Baby, stop. It wasn’t your fault.” I shook my head at Y/N’s words, gently tipping her chin up to gaze down at her. “You can’t blame yourself for this. I made that choice. I will always put you before me.”
“It’s not just me who thinks I’m to blame.” Her voice was a broken whisper. “The others, Steve - “
“What did Steve say to you?” I interrupted, already feeling tense at the mention of his name.
“He told me that I was selfish…” Y/N finally admitted quietly, her eyes looking everywhere except at me. “He thought that I was trying to be the hero, dragging you back to the jet after what happened. And he thought… that it should’ve been me.”
The hurt in her voice did not even compare to the expression in her eyes. It was as if she believed them, accepting the terrible things they said without a second thought. And I had not been there to stop this from happening.
“No, you are not.” She let out a small snort of amusement, giving me the same reassuring smile she had given me thousands of times before that only served to mask her pain. “That man is your best friend. How could you function in the 21st century without him?”
“This isn’t funny.” I scolded gently, my eyebrows furrowed as I gazed down at her. “You are my wife. I do not care if it's Natasha or even Steve who says these things. You do not deserve to be treated like this, especially because of things you never said.”
“Bucky, I have done everything I can to try to convince them that what was printed in that article wasn’t true.” Y/N’s smile faded as she took my left hand in hers, squeezing gently. “They will never believe me. And I realize now that this is how things will be. “
“No. It cannot be like this anymore, doll. “ I shook my head, my own tears finally bubbling to the surface at her words. “Look at what happened today… it nearly destroyed both of us. “
“What if Steve was right?” Her blunt response tore right through me. “I was hurt when he said that he thought it should’ve been me, but… at least things would have been easier. No one here would care if I came home or not. “
“Do you have any idea how devastated I would be if something happened to you?” I whispered brokenly. “My priority, always, is to keep you safe. I will take a hundred bullets to the chest if it means that you are safe, and you are alive. “
“Your happiness should be a priority, Bucky.” Y/N sniffled, sitting up and resting her back against the headboard. “They make you happy. Steve, especially. Who am I to stand in the way of that?”
Out of everything that she had said, this stung me the most. Of course, I was happy around everyone else in the tower. I had become good friends with most of them and was the closest with Steve. But nothing would ever compare to the happiness that Y/N had given me. I had never expected to find love, and I honestly thought I did not deserve to. But falling in love with her was so easy, and it brought me more joy than anything my life in the 40s ever had.
“You make me happy.” I sat up next to her and took her hand in mine again. “Always. I have loved you since the day we met, and I plan to spend the rest of this life with you. If they can’t accept that, we can spend it away from here.”
“Bucky…” Y/N sighed, the wheels in her mind clearly beginning to turn.
“I’m serious.” I gently place a kiss on the top of her hand and smiled at her. “I promise you, I won’t be giving anything up. You are my happiness, doll. Wherever you go, I go. “
She nodded slowly, her eyes beginning to pool with tears. But for the first time this evening, her eyes were filled with hope and happiness.
I smiled and cupped her face, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to her lips. “I love you too, doll.”
A/N 2: I was conflicted on the ending. I wasn't sure if I wanted to have Bucky confront Steve, but this was already over 4k words lol. Anyway, if any of you are interested in a part 2, let me know. I think this works fine, but I think I kinda suck at writing endings. XD.