Chapter Text
The bracelet had been Bucky’s idea.
After the third underwater incident.
And the fifth.
And the seventh.
And the time Steve had casually mentioned he’d once stayed down for twenty-four minutes while training.
That conversation had nearly killed Bucky on the spot.
So now Steve wore a waterproof vital monitor around his wrist whenever he used the pool.
A sleek black band connected directly to Jarvis.
Heart rate.
Oxygen levels.
Movement.
Everything.
Steve hated it.
“It makes me feel like I’m on parole.”
“It makes me feel like you’re not dead.”
“Bit dramatic.”
Bucky had stared at him.
Steve had wisely shut up.
So the band stayed.
Most of the time it wasn’t a problem.
Steve would disappear into the pool.
Bucky would sit nearby.
Jarvis would quietly report that all vitals were normal.
Everyone stayed happy.
Then one Tuesday afternoon everything went wrong.
Bucky was in the gym.
Natasha was in the kitchen.
Tony was annoying Bruce in a laboratory somewhere.
And Steve had gone to the pool.
Nobody thought twice about it.
Until…
BEEP.
Bucky froze mid-rep.
The alert came directly through his phone.
His stomach immediately dropped.
Because the band only sent alerts for abnormal readings.
His hands were shaking before he’d even unlocked the screen.
CAPTAIN ROGERS - EXTENDED SUBMERSION ALERT
26 MINUTES UNDERWATER
Bucky stared.
Once.
Twice.
Then looked again.
Twenty-six.
Twenty-six minutes.
For a moment his brain simply refused to process it.
Then panic hit him like a freight train.
The weight crashed onto the floor.
People shouted behind him.
Bucky was already running.
“JARVIS!”
“Yes, Sergeant Barnes?”
“What’s happening?!”
“Captain Rogers remains submerged.”
Bucky nearly tripped.
“IS HE OKAY?”
There was a pause.
Far too long of a pause.
Bucky hated pauses.
“His vitals are unusual.”
The world stopped.
Bucky’s heart dropped straight through the floor.
“What does unusual mean?”
“Captain Rogers’s heart rate has slowed significantly.”
“Oh my God.”
Bucky was sprinting now.
Full speed.
Hallways blurred.
Doors flew open.
People jumped out of his way.
The alert had apparently reached everyone else too.
Natasha appeared from another corridor.
“What’s wrong?”
“Twenty-six minutes!”
“What?!”
Together they ran.
The pool doors burst open.
Bucky skidded to a stop.
And there he was.
Steve.
Still sitting at the bottom.
Cross-legged.
Motionless.
Twenty feet beneath the water.
Exactly where he’d been every other time.
Except now Bucky couldn’t breathe.
Because twenty-six minutes wasn’t normal.
Even for Steve.
The bracelet around Steve’s wrist flashed faintly underwater.
Monitoring.
Tracking.
Beeping.
Bucky looked toward the ceiling.
“Jarvis.”
“Yes?”
“Heart rate.”
“Twenty-three beats per minute.”
Natasha swore.
Bucky felt sick.
“That’s not possible.”
“Captain Rogers’s physiology remains unique.”
“JARVIS.”
The AI paused.
Then…
“It is considerably lower than his normal resting rate.”
That was enough.
Bucky was already tearing off his shirt.
“Nope.”
“Bucky…”
“Nope.”
He kicked off his boots.
“I’m getting him.”
Natasha didn’t stop him.
Because frankly she was getting worried too.
Twenty-six minutes.
Twenty-six.
The others were arriving now.
Tony.
Clint.
Bruce.
Everyone crowding around the pool.
Everyone staring at Steve.
Nobody liking what they saw.
Bruce frowned.
“He hasn’t moved.”
“Exactly.”
Bucky dove.
The water swallowed him instantly.
Cold.
Silent.
He swam hard.
Straight down.
Faster than he’d ever gone before.
His chest hurt.
His heart hammered.
Because all he could think about was finding Steve unconscious.
Finding him too late.
Finding…
No.
No.
No.
Bucky reached the bottom.
Grabbed Steve’s shoulder.
And shook him.
Nothing.
Pure terror exploded through him.
“Steve!”
No response.
Bucky grabbed both shoulders.
Shook harder.
And suddenly…
Steve’s eyes opened.
Immediately.
Clear.
Alert.
Completely awake.
Bucky almost punched him.
Instead he pointed violently upward.
NOW.
Steve looked confused.
Then noticed the panic on Bucky’s face.
The genuine terror.
And immediately pushed off the floor.
They surfaced seconds later.
The moment Steve broke through the water Bucky grabbed him.
Both hands.
Hard.
“What happened?!”
Steve blinked.
“What?”
“TWENTY-SIX MINUTES!”
Steve froze.
“…Oh.”
“Oh?!”
Everyone around the pool looked furious.
Or terrified.
Or both.
Steve looked around.
Then spotted the bracelet.
“Oh.”
The realization hit.
“The timer alert.”
“The timer alert?!” Bucky practically shrieked.
Steve immediately knew he was in trouble.
Real trouble.
“I didn’t realise it had been that long.”
Bucky looked like he might cry.
Which instantly wiped every bit of defensiveness from Steve.
Because this wasn’t anger.
This was fear.
Raw fear.
“I thought something happened.”
The words came out rough.
Steve stopped breathing.
Bucky’s hands were still gripping his shoulders.
Like if he let go Steve might disappear.
“I thought you’d passed out.”
Steve swallowed.
“Buck…”
“Twenty-six minutes.”
His voice cracked slightly.
Nobody missed it.
Not a single person.
The room went quiet.
Steve’s face fell.
Because suddenly he understood.
Bucky hadn’t come running because he was annoyed.
He’d come running because he’d been scared.
Really scared.
Steve reached up.
Covered one of Bucky’s hands with his own.
“I’m sorry.”
Bucky looked away.
Still angry.
Still frightened.
Still shaking.
“You scared me.”
Steve nodded immediately.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
The words were quiet.
But they hit hard.
Steve stared.
And for a second he saw it.
All the things Bucky didn’t say.
The decades of losing people.
The fear.
The memories.
The certainty that one day he’d turn around and someone he loved would be gone.
Steve’s expression softened completely.
Without hesitation he pulled Bucky into a hug.
Still soaking wet.
Still standing in the middle of the pool.
“I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Bucky hugged him back immediately.
Too tight.
Like he couldn’t help it.
“Don’t do that again.”
Steve rested his forehead against his shoulder.
“Okay.”
“Promise.”
“I promise.”
Above them Jarvis spoke.
“Would you like me to lower the alert threshold to twenty minutes?”
“FIVE!” Bucky shouted instantly.
Steve groaned.
“Bucky.”
“FIVE.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“FIVE.”
“Jarvis”
“Alert threshold changed to five minutes.”
Steve closed his eyes.
The others started laughing.
And Bucky, still refusing to let go of him, looked entirely satisfied.
Because if Steve was determined to spend half his life pretending to be a submarine, then Bucky was determined to make absolutely sure he came back up every single time.