Spam for littleguyfrombrooklyn

[endsinafight]

Bucky'd been fidgety throughout the debriefing with Fury, even if he hadn't moved a muscle as he listened to the mission -- another HYDRA target, smaller, on a remote island in the Pacific. Not the usual setup, which made him uneasy from the get-go. But there was something else, something nagging at him, something in Fury's tone that told him there was more to this mission than he was willing to divulge. It wasn't a surprise. Fury might not be HYDRA, but in some ways his methods were so similar that it felt like being back there anyway. He definitely believed in the need to know principle, and obviously he didn't feel like they needed to know whatever it was he was holding back. His gaze darted to Steve, wondering if he'd picked up on it, too.

But if Steve had, his expression didn't betray his thoughts.

He pressed his lips together as they were dismissed, Fury addressing him as the others agents involved in the mission filtered out of the room. "Barnes. Hang back a minute."

And there it was, he thought, meeting Steve's eyes only briefly before lingering as Fury requested. One the door was shut again, the other man turned to study him.

"You have a different mission while they're disabling all of HYDRA's operating systems and containing the operatives."

Bucky studied him just as intently, his voice flat when he responded. "Who'm I eliminating?"

If Fury was surprised by his response, he gave nothing away. "Your target is Katya Belyakov."

"Who is she?" His voice was wary.

"You sure you wanna know the details, Barnes?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"If you're asking me to murder someone, yes," Bucky said, jaw tightening.

Fury regarded him for a long moment. "Essentially, she's the of the most dangerous people in the galaxy. Mind control abilities that she's utilized to force others to commit her dirty work. She's likely being accompanied by a former SHIELD operative who turned out to be moonlighting for HYDRA, Grant Ward. I'd prefer him to remain alive. He's got a lot to answer for."

Every muscle in Bucky's body tensed at the information about Belyakov, but also the name Grant Ward, his stomach turning in recognition.

"Ah. See you're familiar with him then."

"Unfortunately," Bucky responded stiffly, struggling to maintain his composure. "I'm assuming this isn't an optional mission." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"You knew when you signed the dotted line that there's no such thing here, Barnes. Is there a problem? Or do I need to go over the fine print of your contract to refresh your memory?"

Fuck you, he thought. "No, Sir. Am I free to go?"

"You're dismissed."

--

An hour later, he was suited up in his tac gear, breathing steady and even despite the wild pounding of his heart as he boarded the quinjet with a team he didn't know or trust, and the only person on the earth he truly did.

Comments

[endsinafight]

Bucky watched as Steve rearranged himself, finally moving to rest his head on Bucky's chest. It was usually the other way around, at least in this century, but the position felt familiar to him nonetheless. He hesitantly moved his right hand up to card through Steve's hair, breath hitching at the seemingly easy declaration. He rested his head down on the pillow, swallowing a few times before managing to echo the sentiment. "Love you, too," he whispered.

"Sleep."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve murmured something that might have intended to be a sentence, but just came out as a garbled bit of warmth, smothered by drugs and sleep and pain. He rubbed his cheek against Bucky’s chest, like a cat, and buried his smile in his chest. He was out in moments, snoring lightly.

[endsinafight]

When Steve drifted to sleep, Bucky followed soon after, however unintentionally. He'd hit his limit for the day, apparently. It was a couple hours later when he woke up, body stiff and uncomfortable from his squished position in the bed, but he didn't dare move and wake Steve. The guy needed all the rest he could get so he could heal faster.

His hand was still cupped around the back of the other's neck and for a long time he simply laid there, unmoving, listening to the quiet sound of his breathing. Involuntarily, his gaze dropped to Steve's bandaged hand and his chest tightened a little. The fact that he still had it was a good sign. A great sign, even. It was one more thing to add to his list of regrets, though, because if he'd just followed Fury's order to begin with, Steve wouldn't have even been injured. An inaudible sigh escaped him.

Right. Fury. Still had to figure out how to deal with that.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve woke up, all at once. Maybe it was some minute twitch of Bucky’s or just the serum having worked through the anesthesia, but one moment he was asleep and the next he was awake.

He blinked, aware first that he was on top of Bucky. It was only after a moment of smiling about that the pain in his hand hit him like a truck.

“Ahh, fuck,” he said under his breath. He tried to sit up, looking at his hand and twisting the hand a little to see what he could feel. Nothing but pain, really.

[endsinafight]

Bucky let him sit up, grimacing at the obvious pain that he was in, and he reached out, pressing the nurse call button on the bed. "Slow, deep breaths," he said softly. He couldn't take Steve's pain for him -- if he could, he would -- but he could try and help him through it. He had some experience in that area, after all. "Try not to move it. It'll make it worse." He also knew that it was almost impossible to follow that directive, because when you were in pain there was this strange desire to see what made it worse, like poking your tongue where a tooth used to be.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve took a deep breath and tried to push out the pain with his air. It was only moderately successful.

He shifted on the bed to look at Bucky and squinted at him. He could feel that he probably looked terrible, drawn and pale, but Bucky didn’t look much better.

“How’re you?” Steve said, slurring a little. “Talk to anybody?”

[endsinafight]

"I'm fine," he said automatically, searching Steve's tired eyes. "Don't worry about the rest right now. We got time to figure it out." Probably. He had his doubts that Fury would sink so low as to try and snatch him right out of Steve's hospital room while the other man was recovering. He glanced over his shoulder.

"Nurse is gonna be on the way in." He reached out with hesitance, smoothing some of Steve's hair back and off his face. "Sam and Natasha are waiting to see you, too." He felt like a bit of an asshole for hogging all the visiting hours time to himself when he knew they were waiting to see him, too. He dropped his hand away, and sat up slowly, stretching as best he could.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“They can come in,” Steve said, easy. “But stay? Please. I want you near me.”

Steve liked seeing Bucky, liked getting to see his face—but he was also responding to the palpable thrum of anxiety Bucky had betrayed about Fury, about the mission, about everything. He wanted his eyes on Bucky at all times, in case the universe tried to bullshit him again.

The nurse from before came in. She didn’t react in any way to their uneven perch on the bed or the cuddling that was going on.

“Hi, Captain Rogers,” she said, cheerfully. “Now that you’re up, feeling up to being transferred to a normal hospital room? I think you’ll be able to talk the docs into letting you go tomorrow, but you won’t escape our clutches tonight.”

“Are they familiar with the serum?” he said, hopefully. “I heal very fast.”

“Yep,” she said, popping the p. “If it was me, I’d be here four days, so count your blessings.”

[endsinafight]

Bucky scraped his teeth over his lower lip, nodding his agreement at that. "I'll let 'em know and come right back." He moved his right hand around to his back, pressing on it and popping it loudly as the nurse came back in. He held his breath, not sure what to expect when she spotted him there on the bed, the indent very telling of how he'd been recently positioned.

"He's in a lot of pain," he told her even as he reluctantly rose to his feet, turning to glance at Steve with raised eyebrows. "And you, don't argue. If they say you need to stay til tomorrow, that's what we're doing." He gave him a knowing look.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“My pain is maybe a four out of ten. Maybe. Probably a three,” Steve grumbled.

He followed Bucky with his eyes, a little anxious about the idea of him leaving.

“You guys can meet us in Captain Rogers’s actual hospital room,” she said, giving Bucky the location. “I just need to wheel him up.”

“I can—“

“No,” the nurse said, smile not wavering. “You’re staying in that bed and I’m pushing you.”

[endsinafight]

"An easy six out of ten, given your reaction when you woke up," Bucky corrected him, looking completely unimpressed by his grumbling. The familiarity of this had him feeling more than a tad nostalgic for their days of their youth. He paused at the door, nodding at her words. "Thank you. I'll see you up there."

He shot Steve a warning look. "Behave yourself, Steven." He glanced back at the nurse. "He gives you any trouble, you let me know." And he made a mental note to grab her a cup of coffee on the way up to the room.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“I’m a grown-ass superhero,” Steve said, quoting Sam when Sam was telling him to be less of a mess. He absolutely wasn’t whining.

“I will absolutely tattle,” the nurse said to Steve. “And it seems Mr. Barnes has your number.”

Steve scowled, but he forced his typical grumpiness down a moment to call out once more for Bucky.

“Buck. Be fast. Please.”

[endsinafight]

It was a struggle to contain the grin that wanted to break loose at the whining by said grown-ass superhero in the bed. If Steve folded his arms across his chest and stuck out his lower lip in an actual pout, Bucky wouldn't have been surprised. Amused, but not surprised.

He winked at the nurse before turning toward the door, pausing at the hint of anxiety in his best friend's voice. He glanced back at him, giving a quick nod, expression softening slightly.

"You'll barely notice my absence."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve really didn’t want Bucky to go, but there was something wonderful about watching him grin at Steve’s whining and wink at the nurse and genuinely be more lighthearted. Maybe Steve just had to lean in to the bad patient energy.

“Okay,” he said, mildly. He sent Bucky a look, where he thought about how much he loved him and he hoped the man could read it on his face.

The nurse got him ready for transport and pushed him to the other room, waving goodbye to Bucky cheerfully as she went.

[endsinafight]

Bucky rubbed a hand over his face as he headed down the hallway toward the waiting room, holding his breath at the sight of the room that was now overflowing with the team they'd gone on the mission with, Natasha, Sam, and now also Wanda and Clint. He looked around, then scratched the back of his neck, feeling horribly out of his element.

"They're movin' him to a regular room. Probably release him sometime tomorrow," he said, and Wanda closed her eyes in obvious relief. "He's still a little out of it from the drugs and they'll probably be givin' him some more soon. But uh, I think he's up for visitors if a couple of ya wanna see him."

"You two have been here longer," Clint said amicably, nodding at Nat and Sam.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Sam turned to the others, including the rest of the team.

“I’ll pass along y’all’s best wishes, if you want to head home. Sounds like he’s through the woods,” he said. He couldn’t imagine that Steve particularly wanted the see the whole troupe. Wanda and Clint would probably be welcome, but the rest of the guys were colleagues at best.

Sam also took a moment to study Bucky. He looked marginally more relaxed. It was good he got some time alone with Steve.

[endsinafight]

The rest of the team began nodding and rising to their feet, murmuring their relief that Cap was going to be all right. They filtered out of the room and down the corridor toward the exit, leaving Bucky alone with the remaining Avengers.

"I'll take you to him," he said, nodding his head at Clint and Wanda to acknowledge their arrival. He shifted his gaze to Natasha and Sam, holding his breath for a few seconds. "He just woke up. Haven't really had a chance to talk to him about anything. Probably oughtta wait a bit for that." Because frankly Steve's recovery was more important to him than the rest at the moment. He turned and headed back toward the elevator, pressing the button to take them upstairs to where the nurse had let him know she'd be taking him.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Natasha nodded simply. It had not passed her by that Bucky’s accent was stronger and even though he seemed tired, he was speaking more fluidly than he had been. Frankly, she thought it was healthy that he was focusing on Steve’s recovery above anything else.

“Lead the way, JB,” Sam said. He had the urge to clap him on the shoulder, but he resisted. “I bet he was glad to see your face, huh?”

They both trailed after him as he lead them to Steve’s room.

Steve, when he saw them, smiled—only a little tightness around his eyes.

“Aww, you guys didn’t have to come all the way out here, I’m fine. They said it’s only a formality that they’re keeping me,” he said.

[endsinafight]

Wanda and Clint trailed behind Nat and Sam, Clint's arm draped around the girl's shoulders, knowing how worried she was. She'd grown close to Steve in the last few months, looked at him like a pseudo-brother, he was pretty sure. He gave her a friendly, reassuring squeeze as they headed into Steve's hospital room.

"Of course we did," Natasha responded with a raised eyebrow. "Though I have to request that you stop landing yourself in the hospital. We're more than willing to hang out with you when you want to see us, Steve."

Bucky moved farther into the room, sitting down on the window ledge to give the others plenty of room to visit and be comfortable and himself enough space that he didn't feel like the walls were closing in on him.

"How are you feeling?" Wanda asked quietly, approaching the bed and looking at his bandaged hand.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

“Honestly, I’m fine,” he said to Wanda, trying to relax his smile, look content. He’d been busy refusing the massive doses of painkillers the nurses were offering him, so he was in quite a bit of pain. If he was being honest, Bucky’s estimate of being around a six or seven was right. But, he had too much to do to medicate to that extent. “No one ever died of a broken hand.”

He smiled over Wanda’s shoulder at Bucky. “Bucky saved my life, so, I’m pretty grateful for that.”

[endsinafight]

"Thankfully not," Clint agreed with an easy smile. He glanced over at Bucky and then back at Steve. "We're not gonna linger long. Probably need your rest."

Bucky nodded slightly at that, meeting Steve's eyes momentarily and holding his breath. He wasn't sure he'd define Steve's hand as broken so much as shattered, but he didn't say that.

"I'm glad you're all right," Wanda said sincerely. "Um, do you guys need me to keep Monet tonight? It's no problem."

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve perked up. “Do you think you could bring her? Are service dogs allowed at the hospital?”

Steve had been thinking for awhile about Monet as a service dog for Bucky. She didn’t have any training, but he’d seen her do the same things that he’d seen the dogs at the VH do for other vets. He’d not mentioned it to Bucky, of course, and when he realized what he said his eyes widened a fraction and he glanced at Bucky a touch guiltily.

[endsinafight]

"Oh." She smiled at that, nodding. "I think she has to be, with the ADA."

"And even if not, who's going to tell Captain America that he can't have his dog when he's trying to recover from an injury he got while trying to rid the world of evil?" Clint's voice was light and he grinned.

Bucky gave him a small, reassuring smile, but remained quiet. Truthfully the idea of having Monet there made him feel a little better, even if she wasn't actually there yet.

[littleguyfrombrooklyn]

Steve relaxed a little at Bucky’s positive reaction and Wanda and Clint’s affirmations.

“Could you bring her?” he said, hopeful. “And, uh. As long as you’re coming back, could you bring a couple of burgers too?”

[endsinafight]

"No problem," Clint assured him, resting a hand on Wanda's shoulder. "We'll grab the dog and some grub." He glanced over at Bucky. "How about you? Need anything?"

Bucky shook his head. "I'm good. Thanks," he said quietly.

Wanda gave him a gentle smile and headed for the door. "We'll be back soon."