Work Text:
Bucky's not naturally a worrier. Not really, not for anyone else except a select few individuals that he dutifully kept close. And when you waltzed into his life, he found himself constantly worried about you. Everything and anything about you, he found himself completely and utterly concerned with. Eventually, he'd learned to back off a little. To trust that you were an adult and could take care of yourself.
But today, he can't talk himself off that ledge.
That off-putting feeling of wrongness.
And he's getting really worried about you. You went on a mission earlier, texted him as you landed that you were going to the corner store and then you were coming right back with an hour to spare for your movie night. You were supposed to come right back.
Right back.
And that was over two hours ago.
Now it's 6:30, and he's been anxiously waiting for you since you were supposed to meet him an hour ago for your weekly TV watching night. There's an uneasiness settling in his gut, you've never been late for you weekly tradition with him before.
It feels off, not just that you're gone. It's everything. It's that you're not texting him minute-by-minute, play-by-play. You're not calling him asking what snacks he wants even though you know that he likes those sour gummy worms you got him one time.
It's strange, and he's not one to ignore that gut feeling that's kept him alive all these years.
"Hey, has anyone seen-" Bucky starts to ask the room filled with various teammates.
"Barnes, we got a problem," Tony urgently interrupts him, nudging his head and pulling him into the conference room. "Just got an anonymous tip- thought you should see it."
"Go ahead," he says, though Tony's not really holding his attention as much as you are.
"I want you to stay calm," Tony says, clicking the link. The large screen is suddenly filled with a video of you. You, completely unconscious in some unknown location.
"When was this sent?" Bucky demands, standing up so quickly that his chair goes skidding across the floor.
"Team, I need everyone in here. Code, uh, missing teammate," Tony announces over the intercom. Though not fast enough for Bucky- within 60 seconds, most of the available team is here: Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Sam, Wanda, and Vision.
"What happened? Who's missing?" Steve asks as the last person to rush into the room.
Tony opens the link again, showing the clip of you once again. "I have an anonymous link- that's all we have so far."
"Okay, what if it was doctored?" Bruce asks. "That doesn't mean she's missing."
"Yes, it does," Bucky grits. "She went to the store two hours ago. We were supposed to meet at 5:30."
"And it's only," Bruce looks down at this watch. "6:35. She could just be late."
"It's Thursday?" Sam asks. "Golden Girls night- she wouldn't be late for that."
"That's what I said," Bucky agrees.
"We're gonna get back to the fact that you two watch Golden Girls together," Tony remarks. "But Barnes and Wilson are right. She's not responsive- her phone was turned off. I think we need to find her and find her fast."
"Okay, so where do we sta-"
That's when a new video starts loading on the screen. "What the hell?" Tony says, violently tapping buttons trying to get his technology back.
"Hello, Avengers," a masked man eerily announces. "I think I have something that belongs to you."
All the lights turn on in the room the masked man is standing in and just behind him they see you. You're being held in a large glass-like container and still completely unconscious with a large black collar around your neck.
That's when Tony gets a call from an unknown number.
"Answer it," Bucky demands.
Tony nods, picking up his phone and putting it on speakerphone. "Who is this?"
"You chose the wrong person to steal from, Avengers," the man eerily speaks like he knows they're all listening. "Now you're going to give me the artifact you stole back. Or I'll kill your pet."
"Damn it. Give her back. Give her back or so help me, God-" Bucky barks.
"You're in no position to make threats. I'll send you the coordinates. Oh, and you may want to hurry- I have a lot of fun planned for your friend."
You're engulfed in darkness, the heaviness of your limbs is finally fading. As you finally regain feeling in your limbs, you jolt to your feet. "Oh, look who is awake!" A man in front of you exclaims. "I think I'll keep this camera on- you can watch how you kill one of your own," he remarks then hangs up.
As the man moves out of frame and zooms in on you, they can see as you try to take in your surroundings. You're in a clear glass container, shackled to the bottom of it. There's a large pipe leading into the box. "What's going on?" you groggily ask.
"The Avengers have taken something of mine. In return, I've taken their little pet."
"And I'm the little pet?" you ask, pointing your finger at yourself in disbelief.
"Yes."
Your hand flies at the glass, instinctively pounding on it and trying to get a feel for the sturdiness of it.
"Ah, ah," the man tsks. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You break the glass, if your friends decide to try any heroics- I'll press this button and kill you instantly."
"Ooooohhh," you exhale shakily, though it sounds more out of amusement than fear. "James' going to be so mad...You know he's always telling me I need to be more careful. I think this is the kind of thing he's talking about."
"This is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about," Bucky shouts at the screen.
"You know she can't hear you, right?" Steve asks, putting his hand on Bucky's shoulder.
"I imagine they'll all be upset when they watch you slowly drown," the man says, sending another fresh wave of dread over Bucky.
"This containers gonna fill up with water?" you ask, pointing to the large pipe leading inside the container. "And they're watching this right now? Like you're filming this?" you question plainly, pointing at the camera.
"Correct."
You turn to look at the camera placed behind the man. You wave gleefully. "Hi, guys! Don't worry I'm okay!"
"You won't be for much longer."
And just like that ice cold water is rapidly funneling into the large glass container. You can't contain the yelp that leaves your mouth when your feet are hit with the most ice-cold water you've ever felt. It almost sends Bucky over the edge. You stick your hand out and try to channel your abilities, but it's useless. The man's head nudges to the collar on your neck, the man taunts, "You're powerless here."
"Hey, um Mr. Villain Man?" you shakily chatter. "I'm sorry I'm being rude, what's your name?"
"That's none of your concern," he hisses.
"Oh okay, I guess. It's just- the water's really cold."
"An incentive for your friends to move quickly."
"Don't worry. We'll get her back," Steve promises Bucky, who refuses to tear his eyes away from the screen.
"After she freezes to death or after she drowns?" Bucky snaps.
"Well this here- this is one of the reasons I have tracking devices on all of you. Just give me a minute and I'll find her," Tony says, already tapping away on his screen.
"Wait, what?" Steve challenged. "You have tracking devices- On all of us?"
"Of course I do. For this very reason," Tony shrugs, only half paying attention to Steve.
"How did you manage to hide tracking devices on our person?" Nat questions, slightly freaked out that Tony managed to chip her.
"Easy. Different spots for all of you. Microscopic, you can't even tell that they're there," Tony touts.
"Well, where's her's?"
"I put it in the charm on one of her bracelets."
"Her friendship bracelets?" Sam asks.
"Yes?"
"Who the hell got a charm?" Sam demands, holding up his wrist. "And why didn't I get one?"
Everyone looks down, examining their own bracelets. Everyone except Bucky, who doesn't need to look because he knows his bracelet like the back of his hand. Just like he knows the charm hanging off of it.
"You mean this charm?" Bucky asks, lifting his arm and gently flicking it knowing it'll piss off Sam even more.
Sam's mouth drops a little and he shakes his head. "I'm not gonna lie. That hurt- that stings."
Bucky rolls his eyes and turns back to the screen. "Tony," he urges, watching the way you're already shivering, though he knows you're doing your best to put on a brave front.
"Just give me a minute," Tony hisses.
"So, we're just going to wait?" you ask, letting your eyes wander around the room.
"Yes," he man sighs in frustration.
"Soooo," you start again, kicking your foot through the cold water and making it splash around. "Do you do this a lot? Kidnap Avengers?"
"You're hardly an Avenger," the man laughs bitterly. "You could be the most powerful being on this Earth and yet you settle for being their little sidekick."
"I like working with my friends."
"Hmm...and where are you friends now? How long did it take them to realize you were gone?"
You shrug, your words coming through uneven breaths. "I don't know. But I do know, that James will scold me for this after I get out of here." You turn to the camera. "Hey, when I get back can you guys tell me if I used that word right? James likes to scold me."
Bucky looks down pinching the bridge of his nose. While the man talks to you again, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, Steve told me that James doesn't show affection like most of us. He's actually kind of grumpy, but I think he yells at me because he cares."
"Or maybe he's not as good of a friend as you think?"
You ponder that for a moment. And Bucky's heart drops, his stomach twists with the thought that you could even doubt how much he cares about you. "Nah," you wave your hand dismissively. "I mean sometimes he's confusing. And I don't really know how much he likes me, but I know that he does."
"So naive, thinking they'd give you the time of day if you couldn't do the things you can do."
"That's not true. They're all nice to me- they're my friends," you reply defensively.
"Are you always this irritating?"
"Hey, you asked and I answered." Then you look down, the water already reaching around your knees. Your breath is shaky and you feel the freezing water all around you- so cold that it feels like it's burning you. "And according to Tony, yes I am."
"Tony," Bucky impatiently urges again. "If you don't find her in the next minute, I'm taking that artifact and I'm giving it back."
"Can you just be patient? I'm doing the best I can."
You're waist deep in water, watching as the man picks up your wallet from the same table that the camera is resting on. He flips it open and start rifling through it's contents.
"You carry a picture of the Winter Soldier, interesting," your kidnapper says holding the picture up to the camera. It's a picture of you and Bucky. The two of you are on the couch, both fast asleep, curled up into each other. What the cute little captured moment in time didn't show was that Sam had taken the picture, woken Bucky up with the shutter of the camera, and then proceeded to get chased by Bucky for taking said picture. "And one of your little friends."
"Yeah, you know for a bunch of superheroes it's really hard to get everyone still enough to take a picture."
"I got it," Tony announces. And as quickly as the words left Tony's mouth, Bucky's up out of his chair before anyone says anything else.
"Hold on, Bucky," Steve interrupts, blocking Bucky's exit. "We still need a plan. We can't just go in there gun's blazing."
"You want me to hold on?" He says gesturing to the screen, the water now reaching up to your waist.
"You heard the man, he gets a whiff of anything funny and he'll kill her. We have to be smart about this," Steve reconciles.
"Fine," Bucky snaps. "But we figure it out on the jet."
And It takes much too long for Bucky's liking before him and Steve are standing outside of the building you're apparently being held in. He's practically vibrating with desperate anticipation, all he needs is the cue from Tony.
"You're going to have 30 seconds to get her out," Tony says into Bucky's ear piece. "If he has a generator set up they usually take a minute before they kick in, and if he has a fail-safe set up..."
"I get it," Bucky curtly replies. "I'll go straight to her- Steve you get the control just in case I don't get her out in time."
"Don't worry, we'll get her out."
"You've got 30 seconds. Starting...now," Tony announces, all the power in the surrounding area suddenly out.
When Bucky runs in, he runs straight to the container. Your head is completely pointed up and you're on your tiptoes trying to keep your face above water. "Don't worry. I'm going to get you out of there."
Your eyes flicker down to see Bucky standing there, swearing he's going to get you out. Then you take one last gulp of air before you're completely submerged in the container. Bucky punches the glass, once, twice, three times and nothing.
"20 seconds, Barnes."
"Will you shut up?" Bucky snaps. He takes a deep breath and with all of his strength, he punches the glass as hard as he can. Finally seeing a large crack appear, he concentrates on the very center until water is pouring out all over the floor. He pays no attention to the water pouring out and drenching him, he grabs you and picks you up in his arms. Your lips are blue, you're shivering so hard that it seems more like shaking, and you're breathing is so uneven it frightens him to his very core. "I got you. Don't worry- I got you."
"I need a blanket," he calls, running you to the jet where Tony, Bruce, and Dr. Cho are waiting for you. "Jesus, you're freezing."
"Doll, can you keep your eyes open for me? Talk to me," he says, gently stirring you.
"I'm sorry- I got kidnapped," you chatter, barely able to breathe. Your eyes flutter shut as you take in the feeling of being in Bucky's warm arms, the knowledge that you're finally safe. At least, that's what it feels like to you. Like your just giving in to the darkness, letting it soothe you. Until Bucky shakes you awake again as he runs you up the ramp and up into the small room they've got waiting you you.
"FRIDAY, vitals," you hear Tony call.
"Blood pressure and pulse are dangerously low, body temperature is down to 85 degrees," FRIDAY announces.
"Put her down, Bucky. We've got her," Bruce says, but Bucky refuses desperately wanting to hold onto you.
"Bucky, you've got to let them work," Steve interjects, trying to pry you from Bucky's grasp. "She'll be fine, but you need to let her go."
Bucky nods and finally lets Steve lay you on the table. "I'm staying here," Bucky grunts.
"Just stay out of the way," Tony states, already completely focused on the task at hand. Bucky reluctantly takes a seat, never once taking his eyes off of you. He cranes his neck over Bruce and Tony trying to get any indication that you're going to be okay.
And he watches...
When they cut off your favorite yellow shirt.
When they hook you up to an IV with warmed saline.
As they cover you in heated blankets.
"She's crashing," Bruce calls. And only then does Bucky have to look away when they pull out the small crash cart and try to resuscitate you. Involuntary tears slip out of his eyes as he clutches his hair.
This can't be it, it can't be, he chants to himself.
Clear, they call the first time. Then the second. By the time he hears it the third time, he's sure he's lost you. And for the longest second of his life, he hears complete silence as they listen to the monitor you're hooked up to. Then they hear it, the sound of your heart still beating in your chest. And he's thanking God that just one time he gets to be the lucky person. That for once he doesn't have to lose.
He's next to you the entire time. Once you're stable in the hospital, he's tucked under the blanket with you. When the doctor tells him that skin to skin contact is best for warming, he does it without hesitation, though he doesn't actually take off any of your clothes. His forehead is dripping sweat with the amount of warmth surrounding the two of you and he still refuses to move an inch. Even when Sam makes fun of him for it.
And when you wake up in the hospital, the first thing you are aware of is the heat source right next to you. Without even opening your eyes, you find yourself cuddling further into it, making Bucky's heart flutter.
"Doll?" he whispers, feeling you beginning to stir.
"James," you croak, your tired eyes slowly opening.
"I'm here."
"Without a shirt on?" you quietly chuckle, feeling his bare skin against your arm.
"Sorry, they said skin to skin contact was best," he sheepishly replies, grabbing his shirt from the nightstand.
"I didn't say I had a problem with it," you mumble, stopping his movement. He sighs in relief against your head, putting his arm around you and pulling you even closer. "You're never going to let me go to the store alone ever again, are you?"
"Not a chance."
"Okay," you peacefully hum against his bare shoulder.