HEARTBEAT
BUCKY BARNES × READER
Summary: Bucky enters in the reader's void and realizes that breaking up with you was the worst decision he ever made.
warnings: bad writing, english not my first language! maybe angst. reader daughter of tony stark. memories of his death.
part two of Heart shot
..............................................................................................
The next morning, you put on your comfortable uniform—the one you hadn’t worn in a long time—kissed Alpine’s white fur, and followed the group… the Thunderbolts, as Alexei insisted on calling them.
You stopped in front of the tower that had watched you grow up, then crossed the street with the team and entered the small convenience store. Leaning over the counter, you smiled at the old man who’d been working there for years.
“What are you up to this time? Haven’t seen you in years,” he said.
“I left some of my dad’s stuff in there, but those people won’t let me in. Can you believe that, Mr. Wilbury?”
Your voice softened into that tone—the one Bucky knew too well. You always used it when you wanted something. He remembered it vividly… how much it turned him on when you used that pleading voice while grinding on his lap and whispering, "Please, soldier.” You were the only one who could call him any nickname and get away with it, because he knew you never meant it in a bad way. Soldier. Old Man—okay, that one he didn’t like so much, and it usually earned you a good smack on the ass, but that’s another story. Sergeant Barnes. Or the classic: "Oh my God, the Winter Soldier wants to fuck me. Someone stop me—actually, no. Don’t. Let me be happy." You’d screamed that once, and he had forgotten all about his tragic past.
“She gets what she wants just by asking. Didn’t break a single thing. How the hell is she the most stable one here when she looks like she’s eighteen?” Ava grumbled. John shook his head, watching you disappear behind the counter and go down the hidden stairs—only to get shoved by Bucky a second later, making him stumble.
“Fuck man...” John muttered.
“Don’t stare too long,” Bucky warned without even looking at him, his eyes fixed only on you as he moved forward.
“Uh, Friday? Can you deactivate the cameras in Elevator A, please?” you asked, stopping in front of the rusty old elevator at the end of the hallway. You pressed your finger lightly to the bridge of your nose, lost in thought. Bucky noticed. That little habit hadn’t changed.
“She still has that thing with her?” Alexei asked. You laughed. If anyone else had referred to Friday as that thing, you’d have told them to go to hell. But Alexei got a pass.
“Yes. She’s linked to all my gear.”
“Your girlfriend’s got expensive taste too, Soldier. Fancy couple.”
Silence fell as the elevator doors opened. You sighed and turned slightly to glance at them before stepping inside, leaning lazily on the railing. One by one, they followed. You ended up sandwiched between Bucky and John, with Yelena in front, next to Alexei and Ava. The elevator felt tighter than it was. Everyone stood stiff. You and Bucky kept shifting, uncomfortable. It sucked to be there. None of you knew Valentina was already waiting.
“You didn’t expect the fight to be here, did you? What a surprise. This place wasn’t cheap, but at least the view’s great,” she said, pouring herself some champagne. “I knew you’d show up. But with Yelena and Ava in the mix, I thought it would be more… violent. Congressman Barnes. Never thought your political career would end here. Captain America that didn’t quite make it.”
John went for his weapon, but Bucky stopped him with just one word:
“Walker.” And you thought it sounded sexy as fuck. He looked sexy too. But that wasn’t the point right now.
“Y/N Stark. Well, that explains how you all slipped in so easily.”
“Cut the crap, Valentina,” you snapped.
“It’s cute, really. I sent you all to kill each other, and now here you are—teaming up against me. With Santa Claus and her.”
“Where’s Mel?” Bucky asked. Your brow furrowed. Jealousy hit your chest hard. It made you want to gag.
“Mel’s having some… trust issues,” Valentina said. That was all she managed before Bucky lunged with his vibranium arm. She laughed as he failed miserably. “I’m not alone. Robert?”
Bob came down the stairs in a ridiculous suit, with ridiculous hair, looking like a completely different man from the one you knew. You’d been in college together a few years ago—before you were taken by Hydra, tortured, and had your biological development frozen. Bone growth and all.
“Wait—is that Bob? Dude. You really went there? Oh my God. Did you dye your hair?”
you asked, breaking the tension. Bob smiled shyly. You meant something to him once. You protected him, believed in him. You even got him a full scholarship. But then you were kidnapped, and… yeah.
Fifteen minutes later, you were all exiting the same elevator. Bucky was slumped over Alexei’s shoulder, missing an arm, dazed. The streets outside were chaos, filled with screams. You stood there, your head aching, your chest tight.
“You knew him?” Bucky asked, adjusting what was left of his arm. You shrugged, watching the road like you were sensing something strange.
“From college.”
“From college?”
“Who’s Mel?” you asked back, changing the subject. Bucky let out a bitter laugh.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what? I’m just concerned, okay? Bob’s powerful. People like that don’t stay in the hands of anyone trying to control them.”
“And how the hell do you know that about him?”
“Oh, come on. We were friends,” you said, rubbing your temple.
“Friends,” he repeated with venom. You laughed dryly.
“Why were you talking to that Mel girl with such a soft voice? You like her?” you snapped, sounding genuinely pissed. Bucky narrowed his eyes.
“Maybe I do. And what if I do?”
He was provoking you, and you took the bait, even though you knew better. Being away from him so long was screwing with your head.
“Yeah? Then go to her, James.”
You turned on your heel, walking away from the building.
“Maybe I will. You said it yourself—we don’t know each other anymore!” he shouted.You looked back with a fake, sugary smile.
“Well, go fuck yourself too, James.”
“Hey! Stop!” he shouted—but before you could react, you stepped into a void.You dropped into a scene you hadn’t seen in years. You kept walking, starting to recognize the pattern. It didn’t make it hurt any less. Watching it all over again still burned.On the other side, Bucky looked back at the others just as a giant Sentinel flew across the sky, carrying New York with it.
Without thinking, Bucky leapt into the void. If it meant death, so be it—he had to find you.Yelena followed, and soon Bucky was trapped inside his own worst memories. Hydra. Torture. Screaming. But then—he saw you.
He found a memory with you, and he stayed there.
You were nine years old, watching your mother get stabbed to death. You screamed, helpless.Another portal opened—and Yelena, John, Alexei, and Ava followed.
“How the hell did you get here?” Bucky asked.
“She’ll know how to reach Bob,” Yelena said, watching the scene unfold.
The memory was full of guilt. You looked twelve, curled up in a hallway while Tony screamed at Pepper behind a door.
“She’s just some silly little opportunist!”
“Tony, that’s your daughter. Have you looked at her? The only difference between you two is that she’s alone. Her eyes are exactly like yours.”
“Well, you take care of her! I don’t want to!”
He stormed off, and the scene reset.Bucky hadn’t known about Tony rejecting you. You’d always said good things about your dad. His chest ached seeing that small, unwanted version of you.Another paradox shattered, and a worse memory appeared—you strapped to a machine, like an animal. Screaming. Begging them to stop. Crying until you passed out. And then it restarted. Again. And again.That’s when Bucky found you—your eyes hollow, expression nearly identical to his. From that moment, he swore he’d protect you.But then he failed.
“I didn’t know,” someone whispered.Bucky just nodded, jaw clenched tight. He didn’t trust himself to speak.Then another portal opened—and jealousy burned in his gut. You and Bob. In bed. Naked. Tangled up like more than friends. His head on your chest—the same chest Bucky had once claimed as his.
That’s mine, he thought, seething.
“what...” Yelena muttered.
“Wow,” John added, earning immediate glares.
“This is my last week here,” you whispered, fingers in Bob’s hair.
“What?” he asked, raising his head—his head. Not Bucky’s.
Mine, Bucky thought again. And this time, it hurt.Bob lifted his head from her chest — the same chest Bucky used to rest on — but the touch was different, the warmth wasn’t the same. That wasn’t him.That’s mine.Bucky screamed inside his own head.
" okay. I didn’t know that" Yelena murmured beside him, uncomfortable.
“You’re leaving me?”
“Bob…”
“You’re giving up after telling me not to?”
“Bob, I… I can’t do this. My head is literally so fucked up rigth now. ”
He stood up, got dressed, and walked out the door, leaving behind a crushing weight on your chest. When the scene reset, Bucky looked for the exit, muttering
" Let’s get out of here. "
Another scenario appeared. Now, Bucky saw you rolling your eyes at Tony and letting out a loud sigh.
“I hate you. More than anything in this life.”
You shouted as you stormed down the hallway.Like a time break, the scenery shifted. You were in space. That moment when everything had gone right with Thanos. You laughed, happy—until you saw him.Tony.Lying lifeless on the ground.You ran to him, stumbling like a madwoman and collapsed at his feet.
“Dad?” You called out, and Tony looked up at you with one last soft smile, took your hand, and pressed it to his right cheek.
“Hey… we won.” Your voice cracked with despair.
Peter was crying behind you, Pepper too, and that’s when it hit you—and you started to cry for real.
“Hey, hey… I’m sorry.”
You repeated, shaking.
“I’m sorry. You can’t leave yet, Dad. I dont hate you, i need you.”
A sob escaped your lips as you hugged him tight.
“I need you. You can’t do this to me, please.”
Your desperate pleas echoed through the battlefield like a prayer no one would answer.
Bucky hated seeing it. But when the portal scene came, it was worse—because then, he saw himself.
You were getting up from the couch sweetly that night. Your hair down, curls falling softly over your shoulders, wearing the pajamas you knew he loved. He had just gotten the paperwork and signatures—it was official. He was the new congressman of Brooklyn, New York.It was supposed to be a good night. But he ruined it.He kept wondering why that memory was so vivid in your mind, as if the guilt belonged to you.
You had poured two glasses of wine for when he arrived. He saw you waiting, glancing at the door, a bit embarrassed, curling into the couch until the sound of the keys finally reached your ears. “Friday?”
“It’s him now, Y/n,” the AI answered.Your gaze dropped to Bucky, and forcing a smile — fake but warm — you walked toward him gently, always so delicate.
“I was expecting you earlier,” you said in your soft voice, too soft for him.
He didn’t even look at you. Not once. And you felt the rejection, the same one you’d felt once before.
“I guess this is how things are now,” he said, voice cold and empty.
It broke him, knowing those were his last words to you that night.You gave a nervous chuckle, tried to brush it off, then walked up to him, took off his jacket, and gently placed it over the chair.
“I hope not. I was hoping to spend the night with my fiancé.”
Bucky closed his eyes—he knew what was coming.— We shouldn't be watching this.Bucky tried to pull the group away, but it was too late.
“If you still have a fiancé,” he said.
" Oh shit. " Ava muttered, and Yelena nodded in agreement.
" You bastard. You broke up with her. "
Bucky rubbed his face with both hands, then looked back at the scene, seeing how pale he looked—like he’d seen a ghost.
“Ha… silly,” you laughed awkwardly, but Bucky didn’t smile.
“What’s wrong?”
“What is it?”
Bucky saw what he hadn’t noticed before—how you stepped back, slowly, as if giving him space.
“Bucky?”
“Look, I don’t think we should do this anymore.”
“Do what?”
“This… fake little domestic game.”
“What the hell does that mean? Is that what this is to you?”
Your voice was hurt, offended—but now, from a different point of view, he saw you breaking.Your eyes welled up with tears, and you wiped them away before he turned around.
“What are we doing then?”
You opened your mouth but closed it again, shaking your head in disbelief.
“Are you serious?”
“We’re not getting married, Y/n. We’re not having kids. We’re not living until we grow old, because guess what? We don’t get old. So if this isn’t a game, I don’t know what is.”
His words hit you, and a sob escaped your lips.Watching the scene, Bucky felt his own lip tremble, his hands ball into fists, his mind screaming at himself.He ruined it.He shattered you—the most important person in his life—into pieces.
" Let’s get the hell out of here too. " Bucky smashed the mirror on the table and saw you through it. He stepped through the other side of the portal, leaving the scene behind—leaving you in a storm of tears and brokenness. When the group found you with Bob, all Bucky could do was stare at you, full of regret.He needed you like air—and yet, he had treated himself like a toxin, pushing you away from your pure oxygen.When Valentina announced you as the new Avengers, all you wanted was to crawl under your blankets and cry yourself to sleep.The memories burned.The wounds hadn’t healed.They were raw.
Alive.Haunting.Shifting uncomfortably in bed, you let out a sigh, rubbed your face, and collapsed between the sheets.You wanted to disappear.
To punish yourself for helping with something that wasn’t even your job.You drifted off for a moment, only to jolt awake from a nightmare.Without thinking, you grabbed your phone—your fingers dialing before your brain could stop them.
" Doll? "
" Shit, I… I called without thinking. I’m sorry. "
" What are you doing up? "
" Just… tired. "
" Then you should be asleep."
" I can’t. But I’m okay. Sorry. Bye. "
You hung up on him.Bucky tried to call again, but you didn’t pick up
.So he came to you.
Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Your heart almost stopped.
You walked slowly to the door, breathing uneven, eyes still burning. And there he was—Bucky, in a hoodie, hair tousled from the wind, eyes locked on you.
" You hung up on me. "He wasn’t angry—just… broken.
" I didn’t want to bother you. "
" I care about you. Way more than I ever said. " His eyes were red. Bucky had been crying. " I fucked everything up. I fucked you up. I ruined what we had because I was scared. I messed it all up—how I left you, how I left myself, because I can’t sleep without you."
" Buck…"
" I care about you like hell, and it kills me knowing I’m the reason you’re hurting. "
" No. You’re not. You’re not, Buck. " Now you were both crying on your doorstep.
" It’s ridiculous… I thought I was the problem. That maybe I wasn’t enough for you. That you deserved someone with more experience. But then I realized—I just want you. In my bed. Every night. And you weren’t there. "
You broke down, and Bucky pulled you to his chest, wrapping you in the kind of hug you desperately needed.
" Today… I needed you more than anything. And you weren’t here and... its just so bad not having you here "
" I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you. More than my own life, doll. I’m sorry. "
You didn’t know if this was your happy ending.But you knew, somehow—you were going to be okay.
..............................................................................................
soooo fucking clingy. Hate that but I spent too much time here.
