He’s not completely useless. (One-Shot)
Summary: Bucky and Y/N don’t really get along great, but even the quick witted comments can’t hide what’s really going on. A mission gone awry proves that maybe there is more in common to the two than they like to admit.
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader (Enemies to fluff)
A/N: Ok, I was watching BB99 (as I do) and came across a quote that I could not stop laughing at and had to put it into a one-shot. However! This one really got away from me. At first it was just going to be quick witted and funny, but turned sentimental and fluffy at the end. So please enjoy and PLEASE ALWAYS tell me what you think!! xoxox
Prompt: “He’s not completely useless… He can be used as a bad example.”
“OK, our entry point is on the northeast side of the ship. We still haven’t been scouted, but as soon as we make contact, don’t be surprised if our chances of going in quietly get corrupted,” Steve briefed the team.
The mission consisted of intel on resources of enhanced beings that were being used for evil agendas. What’s new? Long story short, they needed to get their hands on the information and wipe it from the bad guys inside.
“Nat, you’re going to get into the intel base and work on getting the information to our hard drive and wiping it from theirs.” She nodded her head in agreement. “Clint, you’re her backup. The place is crawling with its own backup. So, in order for her to get what she needs, I need you to make sure no one gets the jump on her.”
“You make it sound like they’d even have the opportunity to,” Y/N shrugged and leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed in front of her. Nat and she shared a casual high-five before Steve continued.
“Better safe than sorry. Plus, this way, Nat can worry just about getting the intel and not being shot at,” Steve added, placing his hands on his belt buckle. Classic Stevie.
“Where do you need me?” Wanda asked.
“You’re with me. We’re on ground control. Sam is taking to the sky to keep an eye on from above. And, Y/N.”
“Yes, my sweet Iced Americano?” she fluttered her eyelashes for extra effect, but he was used to it and didn’t blink an eye.
However, Bucky was scoffing loudly behind her, making sure she heard his never-ending annoyance with her personality.
“You’ll be on the ground with me and Wanda, but I want you on the opposite side of the deck to survey before meeting us. From what we’ve gathered, we have about 150 men on this thing,” Steve continued his pep talk as a blueprint of the ship came up on the projector behind him. “The goal is to get in and out without being seen, so try and keep it quiet. I know that may not be the case, so if the tides turn, get out of there and get back to the hovercraft. Got it?”
“What about me?” Bucky spoke up, sending the blonde a questioning look.
“You’re not even assigned to this mission,” Y/N answered without turning to him, feeling the glare from the blue eyes that sat behind her.
“Then why am I on this jet?” he retorted mockingly.
“You walked on here and refused to get off,” Steve said, sending him a deadpan look. “Even though you just got back from a mission last night with a major concussion and bruised ribs.”
“Yeah, you’re useless,” Sam spoke up, making Y/N burst out a single loud laugh.
“I’m not useless. Just cause I can’t be on the ground doesn’t mean I can’t help,” Bucky bickered, crossing his arms across his chest and falling back in his seat in a huff.
“Yeah, come on, guys. Give him some credit,” Y/N said with over-dramatic, pouty lips. “He’s not completely useless…”
“I don’t like this…” Bucky looked at her with concern that his nemesis was taking his side. Everyone shared the same look of confusion.
Looking back at Steve, her previous pout formed into a snarky smirk.
“He can be used as a bad example. How about that?” she twisted in her chair.
“You’re a little-” Bucky sat up, slamming his hand on the table.
“Here we go again,” Clint rolled his eyes.
“Please. Continue your sentence,” Y/N matched his tone, turning inches closer to his face.
“Please, don’t.” Steve cut them off. “Both of you cut it out. I don’t understand why you always sit next to each other when you are constantly on the brink of cutting the other’s throat.” His hand slid down his face in frustration.
“It’s because we want to slit the other’s throats that we sit next to each other,” Y/N emphasized, never breaking eye contact with the trained killer in front of her. “Makes it easier when you don’t have to jump across a table to make the move.”
“As if you would be fast enough,” Bucky copied her playful smirk that was anything but playful.
“I urge you to test that assumption at your earliest convenience…. Sarge.”
The entire group let out a shared groan at the bantering that was 24/7.
“Either follow through with your threat or sleep together already. We’re tired of the whole facade that you guys hate the other,” Nat rolled her eyes as she took her feet off the table.
“I’d never!” Y/N shouted in a rage.
“Not even if she was the last person on earth,” Bucky said right after.
“If I were the last person on earth, you wouldn’t have that issue, would you?” Y/N retorted with a bitchface, always having to get the last word in.
Preparing for yet another comeback that would most likely backfire, Bucky opened his mouth before he was instantly cut off.
“Enough. We don’t have time for this!” Steve said sternly. “We’re out in the next 10 minutes. Suit up and get to your positions. Bucky, you stay up here and stay on comms. You’re going to be our direction coordinator. Keeps us out of people’s views and helps Nat navigate through the levels to get where she needs to be. Got it?”
Everyone nodded or answered back in agreement before splitting up and going to get ready. Of course, Bucky couldn’t let her go without a swift kick to Y/N’s chair that made her jut forward as she stood. Turning back to give him the signal of slitting his throat with her middle finger before walking away.
“Wanda and I are clear,” Steve announced in the comms. “Just waiting for word back from Nat. Barton? Romanoff? What’s your ETA?”
“Working on it, Cap. This system isn’t as easy as we were hoping. Lots of firewalls and security systems I’m having to break through,” she answered back.
“No chance of having to fight off anyone yet?” Sam asked.
“No, surprisingly, we haven’t been caught,” Nat said with shock.
“Spoke too soon,” Barton came through. “I’ve been made, and it looks like we aren’t the only ones with walkie-talkies in our ears.”
“Shit!” Y/N was heard from a distance.
“Y/L/N! You good?” Steve asked, halting as he and Wanda were still in the clear for now.
“Uh, yeah,” she answered, not too sure. “I’m still breathing, so that’s a win…” There was a pause after she let out a pant and groaned. “Well, for now, at least.”
Bucky had followed orders up to this point. He had directed everyone to where they needed to be, and they had done well at staying out of the crew’s eyesight until now. Sure, he had a concussion, and when you get a head injury at SHIELD, you’re usually out for the next month or so.
However, Bucky healed fast, and he never understood why that rule applied to him. I guess he had never really needed to worry about it, as Bruce would always write him off as fine by the next day, but since it had just been last night and he was still technically healing, he shouldn’t be on a mission now.
But he was seeing in 4K practically, multiple heat signatures start to surround and make their way to where Y/N was. Barton and Nat would be fine. They had each other, but Y/N was about to be drastically outgunned.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Bucky ran a hand through his hair as he debated on his next move.
“Rogers, Maximoff?” He asked in the comms. “Can you guys make it your way to Y/L/N on the other side?”
“Have a situation ourselves now!” Steve responded in between labored breaths as he punched and kicked his way through the fleet of soldiers.
“I’m grounded. I won’t get there in time,” Sam answered, also through grunts.
“How did this go south so quickly?” Bucky moaned as he went to get his tactical gear.
“Listen, don’t worry about me. I’m fine!” Y/N shouted, but it didn’t sound fine. “Just a small stab to the arm. Nothing horrible.”
“Jesus,” Bucky sighed in defeat.
“Now’s not the time for sarcasm, Y/L/N!” Steve groaned.
“Well, sorry for trying to lighten the mood about getting stabbed! Jeez, you try to give people a laugh,” she sighed.
Bucky looked down from where he was in the helicarrier and saw that she was being pushed into a stairwell with at least eight men coming at her.
“How come I’m always saving your sorry ass,” he mumbled to himself before jumping the plane and landing into the water right next to the spot she’d be cornered.
Within a minute, he was already on the boat, headed to where Y/N would have been cornered.
A few men came out of nowhere and attempted an attack on him, but didn’t stand any sort of chance as he stomped his way to rescue his nemesis.
Upon reaching for the door handle to crank and make an entrance into the stairwell, it opened, and an exasperated Y/N walked out.
She raised her arm in defense, and her stance staggered before she realized who it was.
“Oh, hey,” she casually twirled her knife, which was riddled with blood, and placed it in her holster. “What are you doing down here?”
“There were like ten men that followed you in there. How did you-?”
“No time for questions. There were some men at the bottom of the stairwell, too, and they weren’t too happy with me dropping their friends down there with a knife in their sternum,” she pushed him out of the way and quickly started to redirect them to a new corner outside. “Here. Come on!”
Once she was out of the doorway’s way, she quickly started running along the side railing.
“The goal is to get to the other side of the boat and help out our team. No sense in having two different fights on different sides of the boats. We can just have one where they are,” she shouted over her shoulder. “Plus, it sounds like a party over there.” She somehow was able to wink back at him.
Seconds after turning back around, Bucky didn’t prepare for her to drop to her knees and slide as a man came out of a corridor and immediately swung.
Gracefully out of harm’s way, Bucky took the chance on the man who hadn’t expected him, kicked him in the back of the knees, making them buckle, and threw his head hard into the metal railing next to him.
“Awe, thanks. You gave a guy a concussion for me,” she swooned, standing up and walking backward as she focused back on the mission. “How’s your concussion, by the way? Does Rogers know that you jumped ship to save my life, or are we waiting for that surprise at the party?”
“I wouldn’t call beating people up and fighting a legion of evil agents a party,” Bucky said in a low tone as he jogged to catch up with her.
“Really? I would. I mean, considering we do it for a living, it’s better to look at it as a party than a mission. Seems so grey and boring,” she said, making a snoring sound with the last word.
“You’re annoying,” he shook his head.
“Annoying? Yes,” she agreed before skillfully taking down yet another surprise attack and, once again, with the poise of a famous gymnast, landing in a perfect position. “Badass? Even more. Admit it. You love the combo.”
“Why are you flirting with me? You’re always trying to push my buttons,” he rolled his eyes, passing her.
“I figured flirting would push your buttons,” she shrugged, jogging to catch up to him and nudging his shoulder with her own. “How about it, stud?” she batted her eyelashes.
“Cut it out,” he shoved her away, but not with nearly as much force as he could have. Really, he just was hoping that she didn’t see the slight red tint coming up on his cheeks in the night. “We’re on a mission.”
“Correction. At a party,” she pointed. “And there’s the rest of the guests,” she nodded her way to where Sam, Wanda, and Steve were taking on the last bit of bad guys. “Damn, I guess we missed it. I knew the south side of the boat would be more fun. Should have played rock paper scissors with Wanda.”
Bucky just turned and gave her a confused mixed with concerned face at her disposition of the night.
“Ow,” she said nonchalantly, looking down at her arm. “Oh, almost forgot about that.”
“Wait, you really got stabbed?” he asked, now worried, looking at the arm she was. But the black tactical suit she was in made it hard to see the damage. It did look really ripped up, though.
“Why would I joke about that?” she said with a huff as she poked the damage. “Shit. That hurts.”
“You were joking about it, and you joke about everything,” Bucky rolled his eyes, taking the injury in his own hands and carefully moving the cloth away from the cut as much as he could. “And stop poking it.”
“I’m trying to assess it. That’s different.”
“Poking can be a form of assessment.”
“Actually, six. My birthday was today. Just missed my party too. Bummer.”
“Sure.” He just sent her a dead stare before going back to the cut.
“It’s fine, Barnes. Leave it alone. Let’s just get the rest of the team and head out,” she tugged her arm away. Her funny mood disappeared almost instantly and went back to passive.
He furrowed his eyebrows at the change but followed the direction she went to check on the rest of the crew.
Everyone was back in the helicarrier and headed back home to call it a night. The team had been sent to the medical part of the ship to be checked and, once cleared, was let go to relax until they got home.
Y/N had been a hard ass, eventually being convinced to get stitches done and then immediately went on her own, not talking to anyone after the mission.
Something was off, but Bucky couldn’t put a finger on it. He had retraced everything he said and didn’t come up with anything overly passive-aggressive than their usual banter.
Once back at the compound, everyone went to shower and take care of themselves before a nice late-night movie night. That’s the thing with having this job as long as you did. After a mission like that, a movie night to finish off the night was the best way to decompress sometimes.
“Where’s Y/L/N?” Bucky asked when he came into the room, and everyone, including Peter Parker, Tony, and Bruce, was also there.
“She was still in her room last I checked,” Nat shrugged, tucking her feet under her.
“Bucky, can I talk to you real fast?” Wanda asked, nodding her head to the kitchen.
“Uh, yeah, sure,” he agreed, following her.
She made sure the coast was clear before continuing.
“Listen, I know you and Y/N have your moments,” she started.
“That’s putting it lightly,” he chuckled deeply.
“But, well…” she hesitated.
“Wanda, what’s going on?” he asked.
She looked back to the den where everyone was and then back at Bucky.“It’s her birthday today,” she said softly.
“What?” he questioned. “Why didn’t she say anything? Why didn’t anyone say anything?”
“Because no one knows. She has a fake birth date on her records. Her birthday isn’t one she cares to remember. She has some pretty tragic things to pair it with,” Wanda answered.
Bucky processed it. It had to be pretty fucking bad to change your credentials with SHIELD and not get caught. Clearly, she didn’t want anyone bringing up the date.
“Why are you telling me this?” Bucky asked, clearing his throat.
She sent him a soft smile in return. A knowing smile.
“Cause I know you put on a face, Barnes. You guys bicker and get at each other all the time, but both of you care about the other. Each of you understand pretty well what the oppisite went through,” she crossed her arms in a cozy manner. “She may not be 107, but she had a lot of history like your own. You both bond over it more than you think. You just need to talk.”
“I doubt I’m the first person she would want to see right now. All I do is aggravate her,” he ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head.
“You both aggravate each other. No lies there,” she huffed out a laugh. “But Bucky, she admires you.”
“Me?” he said in complete shock.
“I’m not going to say much, just because she’s never really told me, and I’ve found out from other ways… But… With everything you’ve been through, she sees you as strong and resilient. She all but hopes for the same for her, and even though she doesn’t see it, she is that.”
“She’s the most stubborn, hardass fighter of a woman. How can she think I’m strong and resilient?” he continued to shake his head in disbelief.
“That’s not a question for me. And maybe not a question for now, but I think you should go talk to her,” she motioned her head to the hallway that led to the rooms.
He followed her eyeline and paused as he thought about what she was getting at.
“Do or don’t. That’s up to you. I’m just letting you know what’s going on if she’s not going to,” Wanda shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll see you at movie night.” She grabbed a bag of M&M’s next to the potluck of sweets they gathered for nights like this, and headed out. “Or not.”
Bucky watched the auburn-haired woman’s figure leave the room and tried to rack his brain together. This was a lot of new information for someone who he thought had hated him for at least a year.
They hadn’t known each other long, but in the short time they had, Y/N’s teasing and quick wit brought out his own, causing the two to have a not really on-purpose arch nemesis type of relationship to the other.
Sure, he was hard on her and never really showed his soft side or was really ever friendly to her, but he did worry about her. I mean, in most missions, he was always shown she was more than capable of handling herself, but something about imminent danger and her together, rubbed him wrong.
She was just as capable as Nat at getting out of sticky situations unscathed, and for some reason, he never worried about Nat but always worried about Y/N.
Maybe there were some underlying emotions for her. He wasn’t exactly sure what, but something lay there.
Next thing he knew, he was knocking on her door ever so softly for a man with a metal arm.
“Who is it?” she called out.
He was going to answer but realized she probably wouldn’t answer the door if she found out it was him. Again, she was probably the last person she would want to see, even if Wanda had tried to convince him otherwise.
Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe this was taking too far of a jump from where they were. Maybe-
“Usually, when some ask who’s there, the only people who don’t answer are murderers and robbers. Which one are you?” she quirked her head to the side as she opened the door mid-pondering.
“Neither,” he answered quickly. He raised a bag of Reese’s thins and looked at her weirdly. Or at least it was weird to her because it almost looked nervous. “You weren’t at movie night, so I figured I’d bring you a snack.”
She looked at the bag and then back at him. Her eyebrows pinched together in skepticism.
“What’d you poison it with?” she asked slowly as she stared at the unopened bag.
He rolled his eyes. His normal demeanor coming to the forefront.
“I didn’t poison them. I just know they’re your favorite, and I figured you’d want them,” he jutted the bag out further to her.
She took a second to accept it but eventually did.
“Thanks…” she dragged out.
He noticed the stitching on her arm was bleeding through her bandage and also noticed that her hair was wet as if just out from the shower. From the looks of it, she was trying to wrap it back up and was failing.
“How’s the cut?” he pointed out.
“Oh, um,” she looked down at it and quickly tried to cover the butchered cleanup she was attempting by shrugging the jacket she had on back up to her shoulder. “It’s fine. It should be healed up in no time.”
“Not with that kind of care,” he shook his head, pushing into her room without her invitation.
“Hey!” she shouted, not really fighting him coming in. “You can’t just come barging in here with sweet treats and forcefully-”
“Shut up and let me help,” he said in a normal voice—no actual agitation behind it.
“This is my room. You can’t tell me to shut up,” she pouted, still trying to hide the arm he was trying to get to.
“I just did, and I’ll do it again if you don’t sit down and let me fix this,” he rolled his eyes, pushing her toward the couch in her room. “Sit.”
“Or what?” she challenged. Surprisingly, all it took was one death glare reserved specifically for people who wanted to define him. He didn’t usually use it on her like you would think, but when he did, most people didn’t fight him. “Fine. I was tired of standing anyway.”
In silence, he grabbed the pieces from the medical kit sitting on the coffee table next to him and patched up the wound. After some ointment and proper wrapping, she wasn’t going to have as much of an issue sleeping tonight.
“Why?” was all she asked when he clipped the tape and gently patted it on the gauze.
“Why, what?” he questioned.
“Why are you being nice?” she said with one pointed eyebrow.
“I-I,” he started but quietly stopped. “I figured you didn’t have a great day and thought something as simple as fixing your cut the right way and some candy would help.”
“You’ve never cared if I didn’t have a good day before,” she tilted her head as he avoided eye contact.
“‘You don’t have to. You show it.”
“That’s not true,” he let out a breath.
She sent him a stern look as if saying, “Really want to fight me on that?”
“OK, fine. Maybe I act it, but I don’t mean it.” He stood up and put the supplies away.
“Why the change of heart?”
“Wasn’t a change of heart. Change of heart means I had to not care to begin with. I wanted to help,” he tried waving off as he distanced himself some from her.
She didn’t say anything in return. He could hear the deafening silence from behind him as his back was turned to her, not sure how to handle the situation. He knew it was too much, too fast.
“I’ll go. I’m sorry,” he said, moving to the door.
“How’d you figure it out?”
He froze at that but didn’t turn to look at her.
“Don’t act coy. I know, you know,” she let out a bitter laugh. “Wanda told you, didn’t she? She’s the only other person who knows. Not even Nat and her super spying could figure it out if she wanted.”
He paused as he heard her shuffle to the edge of the couch and sit on the arm of it as it let out a squeak.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” He finally turned back to her.
“I have my reasons. Reasons to say that making a new day to celebrate my birth is a lot better than trying to make this recurring one of a nightmare more bearable.”
Looking at her, she looked defeated. She was fiddling with the rings on her hand and looking down at the distraction.
“How so?” she again asked with a sour laugh.
“If this day correlates with anything that I know and understand, it’s not one you want to remember but unfortunately are forced to remember… Just like they hoped.”
“Hit it on the head, Sarge,” she nodded after a minute.
“I’m sorry,” he said eventually.
“Why? You’re not the one who tortured me until I passed out over and over again every day for ten years. And to be extra evil made me do despicable god-awful things on my birthday just to make sure I really wouldn’t forget,” she looked up with a straight, emotionless face. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”
“I know. But you deserve an apology.”
“From the people who did it. Not someone who went through the same thing,” she shook her head, looking back down.
He wasn’t sure if now was the time for the next action he took, but he couldn’t just sit by and watch as she fell into a hole that he knew all too well. One that he brought up and one that he brought attention to.
Bending in front of her in a squatted position, he forced her hung head to look down at him.
“You are not what they made you.”
She didn’t break the offered eye contact but instead took the chance to survey his face for any and all tells.
He meant it. He meant it with all his might. He wanted to believe it for himself. For all she knew, this was something he repeated to himself in the mirror in the morning to get by every day and still had never fully convinced himself.
But he believed it for her.
“Why do you have so much faith in me?” she asked.
“Because if I didn’t have faith in you, I wouldn’t have hope for myself.”
The truth was painfully genuine. He meant every word he had said to bring her out of her despair, and she could tell. She had never expected such reassurance and kindness from a man who was nothing but annoyed and fed up with her ways in the time they knew one another. But this was something else.
He cleared his throat, realizing the tension that had built in the room, and practically suffocated on it as he stood up.
“I’ll leave you alone. I understand if you want the night to yourself. It’s been a long day,” he ran a hand over his scruff before quickly moving to the door.
“Want to watch a movie?” she asked, halting him in his steps. He turned back with a look that asked if she meant it. “I know you’re a Hobbit fan, and I promised a friend of mine I’d watch them to educate myself more on wizards…”
“I could use a helpful guide through the fandom. I heard it can be confusing,” she smiled.
“You’re sure?” he asked, stepping back over to test the waters.
“I mean, if you want to watch Mean Girls for the thousandth time with the team, you’re more than welcome to, but-”
“No, no,” he waved off. “I’d prefer this a lot more.”
“Great. Go grab those two blankets over there, and I’ll get it started,” she instructed as she grabbed the remote.
He smiled as he watched her get the couch ready for the movie binge and did as asked.
“Ok, I guess I lied. Maybe you really aren’t completely useless… Reeses?” she asked once they settled on the couch next to the other, already taking a bite of her second one.
