Chapter Text
(y/n) walked into the common room, spotting a grumpy, gloomy fella by the counter, sipping on some whiskey.
"Hey Buck, have you seen Nat by chance?"
He shakes his head, his eyes narrowing as he takes another drink.
“She left for a mission earlier. Why you‘re looking for her?“
(y/n) walks over to the fridge.
"Just some girl stuff, nothing special. How come you stayed behind this time?"
Bucky shrugs, leaning back on the back side of the stool.
"Someone's gotta take care of these kids here. I can't really leave the Compound in the hands of fresh recruits. That would simply be calling for trouble."
He simply says, swirling the ice inside the glass.
"Heyyy"-(y/n) retorts-"There's not one single recruit under the age of 20. We aren't kids."
Bucky simply rolls his eyes at your statement, leaning his head back slightly.
"Yeah, but a lot of them still have the emotional maturity of 12 years olds if you ask me.“
He comments, half joking and then takes another sip from his glass.
"Just tell Nat to call me if you happen to get through to her before I do. She will know what the drill is."
You say as you fetch some strawberries from the fridge before turning to Bucky.
"I'm going back to my room. Had a pretty rough mission last night and I could use some rest and natural fructose. If you need anything, let me know."
“Wait.“
Bucky suddenly calls out after you and you see him sit up straight as he glances at you. His voice is much more quiet than usual, almost as if he’s unsure of himself as he speaks, as if he’s not used to talking too much, or that softly in general.
“How… how bad was the mission last night?“
He asks you, his face is still grumpy but there’s something in his eyes that almost looks like concern.
"It's not the mission's fault. I made a reckless decision and got a hard punch to the abdomen. But don't worry, I'm already feeling better."you said, doing your best to be convincing
Bucky doesn’t really look convinced by your statement, eyeing you up and down, his gaze almost analyzing like he always tends to do, almost expecting to see something that shows you're injured - but he doesn’t actually look too worried.
“And you’re sure you don’t need me to check it for you? Punching in the abdomen can cause some pretty ugly injuries. I’d hate to see you suffer because you’re too stubborn to ask for help.“
(y/n) rolls her eyes at his sudden concern
"Relax Dad, I'm fine."
Bucky scoffs softly at your comment and rolls his eyes again, his expression still grumpy as usual.
“Don’t call me that, I’m not a dad.”
He simply replies, letting out a small grunt as he moves around on the bar stool a little.
(y/n) snorts.
"You sure do act like one. Always so brooding and grumpy."
Bucky let out another huff at your statement and rolls his eyes again, letting out a heavy sigh afterwards as he takes another sip from his whiskey glass. He can’t deny that your comment is true.
“Yeah well someone’s gotta do the brooding in this team…”
He responds with a grumble, his eyes still fixed on you and there’s again that hint of concern in his gaze as he looks you up and down again, trying to check any injuries that might be hidden by your clothes.
"Don't worry. I'm booted from the next few missions until further notice."
Bucky lets out another soft huff and then nods a bit. A part of him feels relieved about the fact that you won’t be injured further due to a mission but another part of him feels almost uneasy, as if he wanted to watch over you himself even though he’d never admit it.
“That’s good.“
"Anyways, I'm out. See you around Bucky."(y/n) said
Bucky is about to respond with a simple “Sure.” but he suddenly stops himself. He wants to tell you to “Take care“ but he doesn’t want to seem too soft. So instead he just nods, giving you a small wave with his metal arm.
“Yeah… see you around kid.“