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Ever since Steve had managed to get through to Barnes and bring him back to the compound things had been…well they hadn’t been great. There was tension thick in the air as people tiptoed around the Winter Soldier. Tony had been a great help though, his BARF technology helping Barnes get his head straight and with the help of other world renowned scientists they were able to deactivate the trigger words.
With that done the tension eased a bit.
You, however, did not get on with Barnes at all and he wasn’t your biggest fan either. The two of you had rubbed each other wrong since day one. You weren’t sure exactly what it was about Barnes that frustrated you so much but he had the ability to make you go from happy to pissed off in a matter of seconds.
Steve had tried to get the two of you to at least tolerate each other but you couldn’t be in the same room as him for longer than three minutes before an argument broke out. It wasn’t even anything important you were fighting about, sometimes it was about you eating the last piece of food he’d been saving, or him purposefully putting your favourite mug in one of the highest cupboards.
The arguments held no real meaning but the heat was there. The two of you couldn’t stand each other, which is why when Steve told you about your newest mission you were stumped.
-
“Y/N,” Steve sighed as he looked at you with wide, blue eyes.
“No.” You stated, plain and simple. “There is no way I am going on a mission alone with Barnes. We’d kill each other before we even arrived at the base.”
“Y/N,” Steve tried again but you were quick to cut him off.
“I’m not going, you can’t make me!” You were well aware you sounded like a child throwing a temper tantrum but you didn’t care. The mission was delicate enough considering it was HYDRA and whilst you definitely didn’t have it as bad as Barnes did with them, there was still history there that you would much rather ignore forever.
“You have to go, Y/N/N, I wouldn’t ask if there was another option. You know that.” Much as you hated to admit it, he was right. Steve and you didn’t always see eye to eye but you knew he had your back when it counted.
“Why me and him?” You asked, the fight leaving you.
“Buck knows HYDRA better than anybody else, he’s going to be able to get you both in and get the info we need before blowing it up. We need you to verify the information, the experiments they’re working on are the same ones they did to you. Also, if things go south then your talents are going to come in pretty useful.” Steve explained.
Years ago, so long ago that you couldn’t remember a time you hadn’t been there, HYDRA had taken you. You, yourself, meant nothing to them, you weren’t a bargaining chip, a tool for blackmail, you were nothing. You were someone who could go missing off the face of the Earth and nobody would notice.
From then on they experimented with something that held more power than human kind should have. It made some go crazy, many were killed by the sheer power but you…you had survived it and the power had created a whole array of mutations within you. There was the mind reading, the telekinesis and the ability to enchant minds, then you had the super speed, super hearing and super healing and on top of that there was the ability to teleport.
Whatever they used on you to make you like this they were still doing to other people, using them as weapons. Only it wasn’t working the way they wanted it to and there were sightings of HYDRA attacks where the attackers exploded.
The Avengers had been targeting HYDRA bases at an increasing speed, so they were getting desperate and sloppy in their attempts to recreate what had happened to you.
“Fine, I’ll go but can’t I just go alone, I mean I can teleport.” You smirked, causing him to roll his eyes.
“Yeah, you can teleport when you know where you’re going. I’m not risking you losing limbs just because you don’t like Buck.”
“I’d take a missing hand if it meant not spending time with him.” You outright grinned at the look Steve was shooting you.
“You know, if you gave each other a chance you’d realise how much you have in common.” Steve told you before he left the room causing you to let out a sharp laugh. You couldn’t even imagine getting through one conversation with him without an argument.
It was going to be a long mission.
-
The entire flight over to the HYDRA base was exhausting. You had sat in the furthest possible seat away from him the entire flight and shoved a pair of headphones in. Barnes had rolled his eyes at you but pulled out a lengthy book to read.
Four hours in and you were getting antsy. You’d never been particularly great on planes to begin with and since you could teleport to most places after seeing the general area through pictures or videos, you’d grown used to not travelling like this. It was so slow compared to teleportation.
You stood up from your seat with a groan and walked over to the bar that was installed on the plane.
“Drinking before a mission, pretty irresponsible Y/L/N.” Barnes chimed in causing you to roll your eyes. You downed the small amount of liquid that was in the glass before turning to glare at him.
“God forbid I have a drink before we spend the night in a rundown motel, Barnes.” You shot back, really not in the mood to deal with Barnes right now.
“Oh c’mon, don’t tell me you don’t wanna get stuck in. Sooner we get in, the sooner we can go our separate ways.” He said.
“Trust me, nobody is counting down the seconds until we can leave each other faster than I am.” You snarked back causing him to roll his eyes. He placed the book down and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Stop being dramatic.” He replied, causing you to laugh.
“Trust me, I’m being deadly serious right now. Anyway, we can’t go in guns blazing tonight. This isn’t a regular ‘go in, blow up a HYDRA base and leave’ job, this is us needing information, we need to know how they’re doing these experiments and most importantly we need to get the civilians out.” Steve had been clear when he gave you both this mission, as necessary as it was to blow up the HYDRA base, it was more important to get the victims out. Get everyone to safety, even if it means leaving this base.
“I know, I know.” Bucky grumbled, his Brooklyn accent coming out stronger than usual with the words causing you to look at him, only being used to hearing the Russian accent he tended to favour when arguing with you.
“Let’s just do our job and then we don’t have to see each other again.” You said before going back to your seat at the end of the plane.
-
It was freezing.
That was the only thought you were capable of as you stepped off the plane. You were somewhere in nowhere, Russia. Somewhere way off the radar, the weather alone was enough to stir you away.
Thankfully there was a small town, it was a trek away from the HYDRA base but this was as close as the two of you could get before there were no signs of civilisation. You struggled to shoot a smile at the driver as you got out of the cab, your lips were frozen.
Barnes left you outside as he went in to book a room. Surprisingly for a small town in the middle of nowhere, most of the car park spaces were taken and you crossed your fingers hoping that that didn’t mean the motel was booked up.
Thankfully Barnes came out of the reception area holding a pair of keys and gestured for you to follow him. You tugged your bag further up your shoulder before following him to the door, cursing him in your head at how long it took him to open it.
However, you both stopped short in the doorway as you took in the room. It was a small room, the only thing in there was a small kitchen, an armchair, a coffee table and a bed.
A bed.
As in singular.
One.
God you were going to kill Steve.
“Great.” Barnes muttered as he stomped into the room, throwing his bag on the floor. You followed after, agreeing with the sentiment.
“I’ll take the chair, you take the bed.” You said as you placed your bag on the armchair, grimacing at the stains on it.
“No, no, it’s fine. I don’t need as much sleep, you take the bed.” Barnes insisted, causing you to raise an eyebrow. You figured this would be the one thing Barnes didn’t fight you on.
“Barnes, the chair’s tiny, you wouldn’t even fit on it.” You weren’t wrong, the chair looked like something designed with a child in mind. Barnes’, admittedly impressive, physique would struggle. “Besides you might not need as much sleep but you need to be on your game tomorrow.”
“I’ll be fine, take the bed.” Barnes argued again causing you to roll your eyes.
“Barnes it’s late, I’m tired and cold and I really don’t feel like arguing. You take the bed, I’ll take the chair. End off.” You said before rooting through your bag, pulling out a pair of pyjamas and your toiletries. “And have the heating on by the time I come out.” You said before disappearing into the bathroom.
Bucky grumbled to himself as he watched you close the door but went to do as you asked. He could feel the cold even with the serum running through him so he dreaded to think how bad you were feeling it.
“Great.” Bucky grumbled for the second time in as many minutes as he discovered that the only heater in the room was broken.
“Fuck it’s cold.” You muttered as you left the bathroom.
“The heaters broke so I’d get used to it.” Barnes said before taking his turn in the bathroom.
You glared at the broken heater for a moment, dreading the night to come. You already tended to run cold and didn’t take well to the colder climates.
With a sigh, you turned and took the thinner blanket from the bed before settling down in the armchair. You wrapped the blanket around yourself as best you could but knew it would be useless in blocking out the freezing cold air.
Barnes came out of the bathroom and paused to look at you. You were pale and looked miserable. He went to offer you the bed again but before he could say anything you were talking.
“Go to bed, Barnes.” He did so, reluctantly, feeling guilty which was a new feeling when it came to you.
-
For hours you had tried desperately to sleep but it was useless. The cold was too much and you felt yourself shaking as you tried to keep your mind active and focusing on anything but how cold you were. It was all in vain though as you shifted again trying your best to find some source of warmth.
Bucky too was awake. The cold was harsh, he felt the chill deep within his bones and frowned as he heard you shift and sigh in frustration.
Without overthinking it, he sat up and turned the lamp on causing you to screw your eyes shut for a moment before opening them again to find Barnes looking at you in concern.
“You’re shaking.” He said and as much as you wanted to argue, as much as you didn’t want to seem weak in front of him, you could hardly deny it.
Bucky frowned as he took in your shaking form, the frown deepening when he saw the blue tinged lips.
“C’mere.” He said softly, gesturing to the place next to him.
You shook your head. It was bad enough you were this weak in front of him, you refused to give him the upper hand, though you struggled to figure out what game he was playing.
“Y/N,” He began, causing you to look up at him again, he’d never used your first name, “Would you be so kind as to share the blanket with me? I’m freezing, you’re freezing. Just one night and we never have to talk about it again.“
You looked at him, really looked at him. You could see no ulterior motive and no threats were visible. He seemed genuinely concerned which you knew wasn’t right but at the moment you were too cold to care.
“Fine.” You agreed, wincing at your hoarse sounding voice.
You made your way over to the bed and climbed in, sighing in relief as Barnes wrapped the blanket around you, the heat from Barnes feeling like heaven right now.
Bucky smiled as you cuddled further into the bed. Before he could stop himself, he was wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you close so you were tucked against his chest.
“What are you doing?” You asked quietly, tensing at the close contact.
“Making sure you don’t freeze to death.” He said, though it didn’t feel like the whole truth to him.
“Please, we both know you hate me.” You chuckled before having to clear your throat. Bucky grimaced, having a feeling you were going to be really sick in the next few days.
“I don’t hate you, Y/N/N,” He whispered, something about the cold air and feel of your body against his made him want to talk to you, make you see he didn’t hate you, “I mean, you manage to push every one of my buttons and sometimes I’d love to wipe that smirk of your face,” He chuckled causing your lips to twitch into a smile, “but at the same time, I look forward to our arguments, I like them, I like spending time with you even if you do make me wanna pull my hair out.”
You laughed at that, turning your head to face him. As you thought about it yourself, really thought about it, the more you realised just how much you too looked forward to bumping into him. That sharp tongue of his matching your remarks faster than anyone else, keeping you on your toes constantly.
“I suppose I don’t hate you either.” You admitted, just as quietly, like you were sharing your one of your deepest secret, maybe you were.
“You sure do got a way with words, doll.” Barnes joked as he ran his metal fingers down your arm.
“Shut up, Barnes.” You said, hoping he’d blame the flush on your cheeks on the cold.
“Call me Bucky.” He insisted with a soft smile. You hesitated a moment before nodding and cuddling into him.
“Goodnight…Bucky.”
“Sweet dreams Y/N/N.”