Chapter Text
"No."
Tony rolls his eyes, leaning forward in his chair to rest his elbows on the table in the meeting room, looking between you and Bucky. "You haven't even heard what the mission is —"
You steel yourself, crossing your arms over your chest like a child during a temper tantrum. "No fucking way, Tony. I'm not working with him."
Bucky scoffs. "You're no ray of sunshine."
You spin in your seat to face Bucky, glaring daggers at him. "At least I didn't nearly get you killed — I'm healing fine, by the way, thanks for asking."
His face falters, just for a moment, before he returns a stone-cold glare and you turn back to Tony.
"I'm not working with someone who doesn't understand the concept of backup, Tony," you say. "Can't someone else take my place? I hear Clint's great with a bow and arrow."
Bucky nods in agreement. "Maybe Steve's free. He got back last night."
"Don't you dare bother him, it's his day off," Tony warns. "We're going to The Met to see a new exhibit that Steve's very excited for tonight, and if you two idiots ruin this for him with whatever this weird..." he waves his hands at the two of you"...unresolved sexual tension is, I'll personally lock you two up in a shared cell on the Raft."
"But —"
"Look, I don't want to hear it!" Tony says, the exasperation clear in his voice. "Things happen. We've all messed up before," he says, looking pointedly at you, and you slide down in your seat. That's fair. "It's one single day of looking out of binoculars. An NYPD officer could do it. There's literally no way you two can fuck this up."
"I might kill him," you warn Tony. "I might actually snap and kill him. He's so annoying. And he's always... staring," you turn and, true to your word, Bucky's watching you with narrowed eyes. "Like that!"
Bucky leans forward in his seat. "You know, I wouldn't usually say this to a lady — but you're a real bitch."
Tony groans. "Real classy, Barnes."
"Asshole," you seethe, staring him down. "Gonna check you back into whatever retirement home you wandered out of. I'm sure they really missed you at Bingo last week —"
"Jesus!" Tony interjects, cutting you off mid-sentence. He stands up, straightening out his suit. "I don't care how you guys feel about each other. I don't even care if you really do kill each other. Just do it after the mission."
He slides a file across the table, watching you and Bucky scramble for it. Bucky gets to it first, shooting you a self-satisfied grin that annoys you to no end, and you sit back, crossing your arms back over your chest.
Tony sighs, rubbing at his temples in frustration. "Children."
So, the surveillance mission is a bust.
You've spent twelve unpleasant hours with Bucky breathing down your shoulder, fighting to get the binoculars out of your hands, and silently brooding like it's his job — you're even hanging out by the hotel bar, the lobby directly in your line of sight in case the arms dealer you're tracking shows, but you've had no luck. Still, you suppose that it's better that the uneventful day has meant you've had no need to use your powers. They haven't been the most... reliable recently.
You peek down at the watch on your wrist — 12:17 AM — and let out a yawn before you hear Bucky's deep voice coming through the comm link in your right ear.
"I don't think he's gonna show," Bucky grumbles. It's the first thing he's said in nearly an hour. "Better call it a night."
You glance up at the security camera he's no doubt watching you through, sending a smirk his way. "Past your bedtime, Grandpa?"
"Ha ha," he deadpans. "Meet me at the car."
You look down at your full glass, raising it slightly into the camera's line of sight. "I'm not done with my drink."
"So?"
"So, this is a super fancy scotch that Tony so generously just paid for," you explain, knowing you're being stubborn for no reason. "And I'm not done with it."
"I'll leave without you," he threatens.
You let out a little laugh, fishing in your pocket for the car keys before holding them up so that he can see. Bucky sighs on the other end, and you can nearly hear his eye-roll before the comm link crackles off.
After a few minutes, Bucky wordlessly slides onto the barstool next to you, an annoyed look on his face. He's a far cry from the Bucky you catch glimpses of around the compound, laughing with Steve and the others. He takes the beer you've ordered for him without so much as looking at you, and it's like his unpleasant mood is infectious.
"You're welcome."
He turns slightly to face you, motioning toward your now only half-full glass and gruffly speaking. "Just finish that so we can go."
"You know, sometimes I wish you were never pardoned," you say pointedly, downing the rest of your drink. "Then I wouldn't be stuck with you on this stupid mission — I mean, an empty Iron Man armor could make better conversation."
Bucky scoffs, taking a long swig of beer. "God, you're such a brat."
"Whatever." You can feel the flush of your cheeks at the way he basically growls the words. He really shouldn't still have this effect on you after everything he's done, but you can't help it. "Let's just get out of here —"
That's when it happens. Someone recognizes him. Obviously. Because a baseball cap is not equivalent to "going undercover", which you'd think an ex-HYDRA assassin with a not-so-stellar public image would know.
"Hey, Winter Soldier!"
You catch the way Bucky's face falls at the sound of the man's angry voice, his eyebrows furrowing and his lips pressed into a tight frown. You can tell he's bracing for the worst, imagining that this must be someone whose loved ones he's put in the ground. It makes your heart break.
"Hey, fucker — I'm talking to you!"
You let out a gasp when something hits Bucky in the shoulder. He, of course, doesn't flinch, but you spin to the side just in time to see the now-empty glass that's been thrown at him shattering on the floor by his barstool.
Bucky sees the anger on your face before you feel it burning inside of you. He puts a hand out to stop you from getting out of your seat. "It's not worth it. Let's just pay the tab and get out of here."
You look at him in disbelief. "Seriously, Barnes?"
The man behind them laughs. "You're really playing at being an Avenger, huh? After everything you've done?"
Bucky sends you a warning look that you promptly ignore, pushing his hand aside as you turn around. The man looks disheveled as he walks over, maybe a bit drunk, and definitely missing a few brain cells — you suppose this is what Darwin meant when he coined the term 'natural selection'. No one with real survival skills would deliberately provoke the Winter Soldier like this.
"Do you really think you can change?" the man sneers, but Bucky only downs his beer, fishing a twenty-dollar bill out of his pocket and slamming it onto the bar. He looks resigned, hiding behind the curtain of his brown hair. Still, the man continues talking. Does this guy ever shut up? "You're a monster. You'll never change."
You look at Bucky incredulously. "Does this happen often?"
"Please," Bucky says softly, but you're seeing red. You know the answer's yes just from the look on his face. "Just leave it alone."
"No one will ever give a fuck about you, other than when they’re cursing your name," the man spits — and then he literally spits at Bucky. "Winter fuckin' Soldier. Cap should have just killed you —"
Something snaps in you. As soon as the words leave his lips, your fist connects with his jaw so hard that his head spins. When he looks back at you, his lip is split and bleeding, but that doesn't stop him from throwing a weak punch that you easily sidestep. You get one last punch in, breaking his nose — you’re certain of that, because his nose gushes red the moment your knuckles connect with it — and knocking him out, before Bucky's pulling you back, his vibranium arm wrapped tightly around your waist.
You take a deep breath, looking around the hotel bar. The cell phones in the bystanders' hands aren't lost on you. People have been recording this. Fuck. You can already see the headlines in tomorrow's paper. FOX News is going to have a field day with this.
"Someone call an ambulance for the asshole."
You wrench yourself from Bucky's hold, wordlessly heading for the exit. The sound of his boots on the marble-tiled hotel floor is the only indication that he's following until you're at the car and out of earshot of anyone else.
"What the hell was that!" Bucky shouts, furious. "I told you to leave it alone —"
"Are you serious? Are you actually mad at me right now?" you ask, letting out a laugh of disbelief. "Did you not hear what he said?"
"Of course I did. I also heard myself tell you to drop it!" he replies, running his hands down his face. "Why don't you you ever just listen."
"Why don't you ever stand up for yourself?" you counter, and he doesn't offer an answer, going silent for a moment. Your green eyes search his and you catch a glimpse of that familiar spark of self-loathing. "It's because you think it's true, isn't it? What he was saying?"
Bucky still doesn't answer, and you shake your head, making your way to the driver's side and fishing the car key out of your pocket.
"You're an idiot." You scoff, opening the door before looking back at him, standing on the sidewalk. "And for the record — not that I care or anything — but no one should ever talk to you like that. Not even me. Not even when I have a reason."
You get in the car and slam the door behind you, but Bucky doesn't follow immediately. It's confusing, but he can't help smiling to himself just a little.
“FRIDAY, pull up the footage from last night."
Tony doesn’t have to show you. You’re already acutely aware of how massively you’ve fucked up. Wanda woke you up bright and early to tell you that you’ve gone viral; she came prepared with an angry twitter thread from Ben Shapiro about how enhanced Avengers like you threaten personal freedoms to hate-read and no less than twenty different TikToks to prove that part of the audio from last night's fight has become a trend on the app. Still, seeing the footage on the big screen in Tony's office is sobering.
“Maybe I spoke too soon. Jinxed you. Maybe you’re cursed," Tony quips. "Have either of you unearthed any Indiana Jones-style cursed items within the last week? Be honest. Because I really don’t understand how else you two could have messed up so colossally."
"Shit," Bucky replies, feigning concern and looking between you and Tony. "Stark, I've got the Crystal Skull in my back pocket. You don't think —"
You stifle a laugh, pleasantly surprising him. He looks to you with a perplexed look, but the hint of a smile tugging at his lips. But who can blame you? Since when does he know about Indiana Jones?
"Great. Just Great. Now's the moment you decide to have a personality." Tony scoffs. "I don't think you understand the severity of the situation. This —" he motions to the screen, the video paused on you mid-punch, knuckles bloody and a tooth flying out of the man's mouth. Okay, so maybe you look a little unhinged. "This is circulating on every news channel. All over the internet. Twitter, Facebook, Reddit — you name it."
You lean back in your seat with a determination not to apologize that Bucky can't really understand. Although, he supposes taking the easy road isn't really your style.
"I went easy on him."
"You beat up a civilian, kid," Tony retorts. "A civilian! He's in the hospital with a with a broken nose and a concussion —"
"That he earned," you add, staring him down. Tony lets out an exasperated groan. He looks like he could strangle you with his bare hands. "Look, I'm not apologizing. I'm not sorry. If you'd heard what he was saying about Barnes —"
"I did. He was an asshole, but you're an Avenger. You're supposed to be above beating up drunk civilians who run their mouths," Tony explains, calming down and taking a break from pacing to sit across from you at his desk. "I recruited you because I figured you knew better. I'm just... I'm disappointed."
Bucky sees your façade falter when Tony voices his disappointment. He doesn't miss the way you stop staring Tony down, looking anywhere but his eyes and tugging absentmindedly at the sleeve of your sweatshirt.
"She gets it, Stark," Bucky interjects. "Lay off her. It was my fault anyway."
You have no idea why it makes you so angry, Bucky standing up for you like that. Maybe it's the months of refusing to be in the same room as you. Maybe it's because it reminds you of how kind he can be when he isn't dead-set on making you miserable.
"I can defend myself, Barnes," you snap at him. "I don't need you to protect me."
"Yeah?" Bucky asks. "You were doing a bang-up job, doll."
"Who says that! No one talks like that!" you shout back in disbelief, annoyed at the smug look on his face. "And for the millionth time, don't call me doll!"
"Well, this is going about as well as expected." Tony's unamused. Mediating your fights has become far too common an occurrence in his life. He pans over to Bucky when a tense silence finally forms between the two of you. "Don't even get me started on you, Barnes — you're a super soldier with a high-tech vibranium arm. You couldn't just drag her off before she started trouble?"
Bucky's quiet for a moment. Maybe he liked the idea of someone other than Steve fighting for him. Maybe it was hot watching you throw a punch for him. And maybe he froze just a little, the words "Cap should've just killed you —" rattling through his mind on a loop that still hasn't quite ended.
"I know better than to get in her way," Bucky replies with a shrug. "Can't really afford to lose another arm."
You nod in agreement. "Looks like we've got everything settled, so if you're done yelling at us, I told Natasha I'd meet her in the training room to —"
Tony lets out a laugh, stopping you before you leave your seat. "Oh, that's cute. You think..." he shakes his head, like he's just heard the most irreverent joke. "You're not done here. I called you two in to talk about how we're going to fix this."
Bucky looks confused. "Which is... how exactly?"
"Glad you asked," Tony replies. "FRIDAY, would you let Miss Price in please?"
Your eyes go wide. Valerie Price is Tony's public relations girl. The one who writes the speeches he inevitably decides to ignore (see: the 'I am Iron Man' fiasco of 2008) and goes to bat for the Avengers on national television using her sharp tongue and law-school-dropout debate skills. She's hell on high heels, and willing to do just about anything to fix situations like these.
"Absolutely not. I hate doing PR. I hate interviews," you say suddenly. "And Val? Really, Tony? Her plans are always —"
"Extremely effective?" Valerie Price finishes for you, sauntering into the room with her iPad and a good amount of files in her manicured hands, a pen tucked behind her ear. "Thanks for the endorsement."
"Exploitative," you correct her.
Val's entirely unbothered, setting her files down on the side table, before turning back to you and Bucky. "Not like I wanted to spend my weekend cleaning up your mess, but after last night, you two have a serious image problem."
Bucky rolls his eyes. "Stark —"
"Why are you talking to him? He's not going to help you," Val interrupts, pulling some statistics up onto the screen behind Tony. "I'm the one with the plan."
You don't really care enough to listen to her explain that Bucky's approval rating as an Avenger was already pretty low, even with the weird internet cult of fangirls obsessed with him. You only perk up when Val starts talking about you.
"You had overall generally positive reception by the public before that... outburst. People sympathize with your backstory and they love how involved you are with community outreach and global volunteer work. The public went wild over your time helping out in Sokovia with Wanda."
Bucky's surprised to hear that, although it makes sense that he hadn't heard of your time in Sokovia. That had been before he'd joined the Avengers, his mind still not entirely his own.
"How many times have I told you to stop sending paparazzi after me," you say, your eyes glowing that familiar white, Tony's 'Best Director' mug starting to float a few inches off of the table, unstable as coffee splashes over the rim and right onto his files. "I hate it when you do that. When you use me for the publicity and —"
Bucky places a hand on your wrist. His touch is annoyingly grounding, and when you send him a sharp glare, he pulls his fingers from your skin like he's just been burned.
"Calm down," Tony says carefully, grabbing his mug out of mid-air. You take a deep breath, clenching your fists beneath the table, your eyes settling back on their original shade. "Look, Val's got a plan. It's a good plan. Would you just listen?"
You sigh, sitting back in your seat, and you can feel Bucky's eyes watching you carefully for some sign that you're okay and not going to lose all control of your powers. You'll listen, but you're not happy about it.
"Good news! You two are now dating," Val says, passing each of you each a manila folder. Your stomach lurches. You aren't quite sure you've heard her right. "Or, as far as the public's concerned, you have been for a while."
You let out a sarcastic laugh. "Okay, I'm going to need to borrow Clint's hearing aids, because there's no way I just heard that right."
Bucky's equally shocked. "Yeah, no."
"It's the best way to handle this," Val explains, looking at you. "I know you had your reasons, but all anyone's focused on is that you beat up an innocent civilian. The only reason he's not pressing charges is because Tony's paying his medical bills."
"I —" You're not quite sure what to say, so you look down at your hands and settle for, "Thanks, Tony. I appreciate it. You didn't have to."
Tony sends a smile your way. "No problem, kid. But this... you two have gotta do it. And convincingly. It works, if you think about it — you're in love with Barnes, so when that man started insulting him, you got upset and lost your cool."
"It helps Barnes too," Valerie adds. "Being in a relationship makes him seem less like a brainwashed assassin and more like a regular guy. It humanizes him."
You're stunned to silence, which admittedly doesn't happen often. Tony's right, it does make sense, but it hits just a little too close to home for your taste.
"One short tell-all interview, accidental run-ins with the paparazzi while you're on dates, staying at each other's places overnight, team ups on a few missions here and there," Val explains. "Just keep up the charade until the media upset passes or the next alien army attacks New York City."
Bucky shakes his head from beside you. "This is crazy."
"Agreed." You add. "No way I'm pretending to date him. I don't even like him. He's got the personality of a brick wall, no one's going to believe we're dating."
"Because I'm so attracted to you," Bucky snarls.
He ignores the pang of hurt that bloomed in his chest at hearing your words. He tries not to care, tries to push away the upset feeling, but it's never been that easy when it comes to you.
You stare at him for a moment before pushing your chair back roughly and standing up. "I'm out, Tony."
"Fine." Tony sighs as you turn for the door. "I didn't want to do this, but if you won't at least try Val's plan, I'm sidelining you until this passes."
You halt mid-step, clenching your jaw, but refusing to turn around.
"As of right now, you're not an active Avenger," Tony adds. "No training, no missions. I don't care if a horde of evil androids shows up in your bedroom, you don't get involved."
"Seriously? I've worked my ass off for this team," you seethe, turning to face Tony. "I deserve to be here just as much as anyone else —"
"Do you?"
You're staring Tony down for what seems like the hundredth time today. He already knows you can't resist the challenge, especially not when your position as an Avenger means so much to you. Tony knows that.
It comes as no surprise to him when you say "I'll do it."
"Great!" he says enthusiastically, turning to Bucky. "Barnes?"
"Just until it passes?"
Tony nods. "Just until it passes."
Bucky hesitates. He looks curiously to you, but you offer him no indication of what you want his answer to be. You avoid his searching eyes completely.
"Okay. Yeah. I'm in."