CATWS: Part One
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader
Word Count: ~3k
Summary: Back in action with Steve Rogers, you two uncover that there's more to SHIELD than you originally thought. Even Nick Fury doesn't trust anyone, and that's a big deal. When the threat of HYDRA looms over Steve's head, he recruits you, Natasha, and newbie Sam Wilson to help take down one of the biggest organizations this world has ever seen. It's not so easy, especially when your past comes back to haunt you.
Warnings: canon violence and angst
MCU Rewrite Masterlist
Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3
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"So, since we last saw each other, you destroyed Greenwich, destroyed Miami and Malibu, and almost killed the president."
Fury sits across from you and crosses his arms over each other, and your mouth drops at the accusations.
"I didn't almost kill him. That one doesn't count. Miami and Malibu were all Tony. Yes, I'm throwing him under the bus. Greenwich... I'll take the brunt of the blame for that one if that makes sleeping better for you."
Fury takes out a file and flips through it, and you bite your lip nervously.
"Rogers told me you wanted to work for me?"
"If you'll have me." You pause. "Look, I admire SHIELD and what it does. I want to help people, you know, without opening portals in the sky and almost killing the president." Fury raises an eyebrow and you smirk. "Can I work for you with Steve? I hear great reviews."
The door to his office opens and Natasha walks in. You lean back in your seat and look her over shamelessly. Natasha's hair has grown since the last time you saw her, and it sits in a straight bob that goes just past her shoulders. She's wearing skinny black jeans, a white spaghetti-strap top, and a gray leather jacket. You whistle lowly and she fights a blush.
"Here's the last report from Steve."
"Damn, you're still beautiful."
She turns to you. "We had a thing, but you left."
"I'm here now. Why don't you say we give it another go?" you smirk and wink.
"You're still cute but no."
"You say that now," you chuckle.
She turns and leaves the room, and you shamelessly check out her ass.
"Fine, you can come work for me," you turn to Fury, "but I don't want to get a call from HR about harassment."
"Me?" You grin. "Never." You get up and start walking to the door. "You won't regret this."
Steve's apartment is downtown but still close enough to the city that you can walk there. After leaving Fury's office, you head back home to Steve. He's in the kitchen making dinner when you walk in.
"Hey, I'm home!"
"In here!" You take off your jacket and hang it on the hook by the door before joining Steve. He's stirring sauce in a pot, and he lifts the wooden spoon toward you. "Here, come taste."
You lean over the counter and taste the sauce right off the spoon. "Yum. Delicious. Have you been practicing cooking?"
"What else am I going to do with my spare time? How did it go with Fury?"
"You're looking at the newest SHIELD member. We're work buddies again."
"Lucky me," he smiles.
"I passed that pretty nurse in the hallway on the way up."
"Don't start."
"What? It's been a while for you, has it not?"
"Way to deflect from your own feelings."
You sit down on one of the barstools. "What do you mean?"
"How long has it been for you?"
The realization hits you like a train. It's been... years. The last person you were with was Loki. Thinking about the last time you saw him makes your chest heavy with hurt. Everyone around you is eventually going to die and you're going to be the only one left. Even Steve will die. You look down and fiddle with your hands.
"Yeah, it's been a while," you whisper.
"Tell me what you're thinking."
"Oh, just thinking that I have no clue what I'm doing. Not anymore. When I left Earth to go with Thor and Loki, I had it good with Loki. We were reconnecting in a way that I thought would make him want to stay. Then he died... I think. I reconnected with Tony after Greenwich and spent months basically trying to get him and Pepper back together. I don't know. I guess I'm just lonely."
"I know someone at work. Brock Rumlow. You'd like him."
You smile and shake your head. "I don't need relationship advice from someone who is stuck on a woman for eighty years."
"This is why you're single."
You laugh as Steve plates the food.
"You don't get it, Steve. I'm practically immortal. Sure, I'll die one day, but I was born in the year 900... on a different planet. I've gone through life seeing so much death. I thought I could be selfish just once with Bucky. I thought he was the one... Then he died. I thought I could live a long life with Loki... Then he died. It feels selfish of me now to take some human away from having a fulfilling relationship. I don't age. They do. I can't grow old with anyone. They'll be eighty and I'll still look like this. The only people who won't die on me in eighty years are you and Thor. I love you, Steve, but not like that... and I don't go back for seconds."
You set the table while Steve gets the rest of the food ready.
"On that sad note," you smile, "do you want to come running with me tomorrow?"
You take a bite of food. "Do you mean to say, 'Do you want to beat my ass in running tomorrow?'"
"Oh, you're on. I've been getting faster every day."
"I'm not human."
"Okay, hotshot. We'll see who is the fastest tomorrow."
Before the sun was even up, you and Steve were out in the National Mall doing laps around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. So far, you and Steve are neck and neck. Once he finishes a lap, you're right behind him. Then you get ahead and he's right behind you. By the time the sun has risen, you and Steve pass by a black man running at a normal speed... for a normal human.
"On your left," Steve announces right before you and he passes him. You and Steve do another round and come across the black man once again. "On your left."
"Uh-huh. On my left. Got it."
Again, you and Steve do another lap, gaining on the same man as before. He can hear your footsteps and starts running faster as if he'll be able to keep up with both of you.
"Don't say it! Don't you say it!"
"On your left," Steve grins.
"Come on!"
The man slows down when he realizes he can't keep up and decides now is a great time for a break. When you and Steve round the corner, you slow down to talk to the man.
"Need a medic?" you smile when you approach him.
"I need a new set of lungs. You two just ran like thirteen miles in thirty minutes."
"I think we can do better next time," you pant.
"Okay, take another lap right now. Both of you." The man waits and looks around sarcastically. "Did you take it? I'm assuming you did."
"You have no idea," you grin.
The man is wearing a veteran sweatshirt that Steve notices immediately.
"What unit are you with?"
"58, Pararescue. Now I'm working down at the VA." The man lifts his hand for Steve to shake. "Sam Wilson."
"Steve Rogers."
You shake his hand next. "Y/N."
"Yeah, I kind of put that together. I saw you on the news about the mess in Greenwich, and a few years back at the Grand Prix." He looks at Steve. "It must have freaked you out coming home after the whole defrosting thing."
"It takes some getting used to. It's good to meet you, Sam."
You and Steve turn to leave but Sam stops you.
"It's your bed, right?"
"What's that?"
"Your bed, it's too soft. When I was over there I'd sleep on the ground and used rocks for pillows like a caveman. Now I'm home, lying in my bed, and it's like..."
"...lying on a marshmallow," Steve finishes. "Feel like I'm gonna sink right to the floor." Sam smiles and nods. "How long?"
"Two tours. You must miss the good old days, huh?"
"Things aren't so bad. The food is a lot better. No polio is good. The internet is so helpful. I'm living with my best friend. I've been reading that a lot trying to catch up."
"Marvin Gaye, 1972, 'Trouble Man' soundtrack. Everything you've missed is jammed into one album."
"I'll put it on the list."
Steve takes out a small notebook from his pocket. He carries it with him everywhere. The list also includes things like I Love Lucy, the Moon Landing, Berlin Wall (up + down), Steve Jobs (Apple), Disco, Thai Food, Star Wars/Trek, Nirvana (Band), and Rocky (Rocky II?). You peer over his shoulder and smirk at the list.
"That's a cute list."
"Shut it." A text message comes through that reads: Mission alert. Extraction is imminent. Meet at the curb. :). "Alright, Sam, duty calls. Thanks for the run. If that's what you wanna call running."
Sam laughs. "Oh, that's how it is?"
"That's how it is," Steve smiles.
"Okay. Any time you two wanna stop by the VA and make me look awesome in front of the girl at the front desk, just let me know."
"We'll keep that in mind."
A silver car pulls up to the curb, and you look to see Natasha sitting behind the wheel. The window rolls down and she smirks at you three.
"Hey, guys. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil."
"That's hilarious," Steve rolls his eyes playfully.
"I think she means me. I'm much older than you," you say.
Steve opens the passenger door for you and you get in, and he takes the back seat. Sam leans down to look at Natasha through the open window.
"How are you doing?"
"Hey," she nods.
"Can't run everywhere," Steve comments.
"No, you can't."
Natasha rolls the window up and pulls away from the curb, merging into traffic. You look at her and smile flirtatiously.
"Hi, Natasha."
"I'm not here to flirt with you."
"Shame. I am."
The mission is fairly simple. There is a SHIELD vessel in the middle of the Indian Ocean that is overrun by pirates. You're not sure if they know the ship is from SHIELD or not, but your mission is to extract all the hostages safely. It's going to take a lot more than just you, Nat, and Steve to complete the job, so you're going in with the Strike Team led by Brock Rumlow. After getting to the airport and changing into more acceptable clothing, you board a plane that is now on its way to the Indian Ocean.
"Y/N, meet Rumlow," Steve introduces. "Rumlow, this is my oldest friend, Y/N."
You know exactly what he's doing. You turn to Brock and give him a kind smile.
"It's nice to meet you." You lean closer to Steve and drop your voice. "It's not gonna happen."
"Okay, gather around." Brock's men gather alongside you, Nat, and Steve. "The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them ninety-three minutes ago."
"Any demands?" Steve asks.
"A billion and a half."
"Why so steep?"
"Because it SHIELD's."
"How many pirates?" you ask.
"Twenty-five, top mercs, led by this guy." Brock puts up a holographic photo of the man. "Georges Batroc. Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He's at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. This guy's got a rep for maximum casualties."
"What about the hostages?"
"They're mostly techs. There is one officer, Jasper Sitwell." He pulls up a photo of Jasper. "They're in the galley."
"What's Sitwell doing on a launch ship?" Steve mutters. "Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you'll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow and Y/N, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pods, and get 'em out. Let's move."
"STRIKE, you heard the Cap. Gear up."
The door to the jet opens and you look down at the icy waters below. It's not time to jump yet, so you're just waiting for your cue. You put the earpiece in and check to make sure it's working. Everyone chimes in until it's confirmed that the comms are working for everyone.
"Did you two do anything fun Saturday night?"
"I took Steve to Atlantic City and made him relax on the beach. The ladies couldn't stop staring at him."
"Don't tell her that," Steve chuckles.
"We're taking a trip to New York this weekend. You should come with us. It could be fun," you offer.
"I'll think about it."
"Coming up by the drop zone, Cap," the pilot says.
"You know, if you ask Kristen out from Statistics, she'd probably say yes."
"You should. She's cute," you encourage. "What are you, too scared?"
"Too busy!"
Steve jumps out of the plane without a parachute, confident he will land in the water without injury. You turn to Natasha and hold out your hand.
"Will you take my hand so I can plunge us both safely into the waters below without injury?"
Natasha laughs but takes your hand anyway. You wink at her before jumping out of the airplane without a parachute.
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