Soft Robotics ✧ Bucky Barnes

(unstable[2.08]);

"Grace, if you turn on that Driver's License song one more time, you're fired," Tony said that afternoon.

"I'll listen to anything else," Bruce added.

"No one understands me!" I said dramatically. "I'm gonna let Peter play Mr. Brightside again."

"Nice," said Peter.

Bruce groaned.

"I'm taking your music shift, Grace," Tony said.

I rolled my eyes as he pushed past me and turned on an AC/DC song.

"Pop quiz," he said to Peter. "Name the band."

He'd started giving Peter pop quizzes on all sorts of things, both tech related and completely inane, ever since he'd started being around more, since his summer vacation started.

Peter's eyes widened, the way they always did when Tony asked him something he didn't know. He looked at me. Zeppelin, I mouthed over Tony's shoulder.

"Led Zeppelin?" he said.

"I can't believe you cheated and you were still wrong. Why would you trust Grace? Of all people?"

"She's a genius!" Peter argued.

"Thanks for defending me," I said. "But I actually take it as a compliment if someone thinks I seem like I know nothing about Dad Rock."

"Dad Rock?" Tony said. "You're fired."

"Finally, I'm free."

A few minutes later, when we'd gone back to work, and Bruce and Tony were in the room next door, Peter hovered next to my computer. "Dr. C?" He said hesitantly.

"Hm?" I turned to look at him.

"I just wanted to ask if you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I frowned. "Why? What makes you ask?"

"It's just 'cause you kept playing Driver's License."

I wasn't sure if I was more tempted to burst out in laughter at the observation or tears at his genuine concern. "Aw, hey, thanks for checking on me. I'm good, though. Go put Mr. Brightside on repeat and see how long it takes for one of them to come yell at us."

"It won't take long!" he said, and went over to change the music.

I couldn't help but text Wanda an explanation of what had just happened, that Peter could tell I'd just been rejected because of that particular song choice. She didn't seem as amused as I thought she would be, and instead she showed up in the lab an hour later, Nat trailing behind.

"What happened to boundaries?" Wanda asked. "I'm a supervillain now; there's no going back."

I ushered her and Nat into the break room, which we barely used, so no one else could hear.

"He set boundaries," I said. "We had a whole thing. We weren't gonna touch at all."

"I tried to do that with Steve on the last mission and we were naked in record time," Natasha said.

"Does that comparison mean you and Steve are like me and Bucky? The same kind of relationship?" I changed the subject as soon as I saw the chance.

"Colleague-friends who hook up sometimes? Sure."

"Uh, no, I meant more star-crossed and in love."

"You and Barnes aren't star-crossed. Nothing is preventing you from being together other than him."

"Do you guys believe in soulmates?" I asked suddenly.

"Ew! Boo! No!" Wanda said as Nat threw a coaster from the counter at me.

;

They hadn't understood what I meant. The more I thought about soulmates that day, the more I realized that Bucky wasn't mine. We were too different, and not in a romantic, balanced sort of way. We were incompatible, unstable, destined for radioactive decay.

It was nobody's decision but mine when I sat down with him that night to tell him. I wasn't following anybody's advice.

I faced him on the opposite side of the couch, my elbow on the back of it, my head resting against my palm. "I can't be here anymore," I told him.

"The Tower? Or with me?" he asked. Hand running over his jaw—never a good sign.

"Well, both. But I have to stay in the Tower," I said. "I'm just gonna go back to Nat's. Well, I haven't actually asked her. But I think she'll be—"

I was nervously rambling, and he cut me off. "Okay. Do what you need to do."

That was the most discussion I thought he was going to give me. So I got up, threw my stuff in my little suitcase, and started toward the door. I was planning on just showing up at Nat's, and if she wasn't there, I'd go to Wanda's, and if she wasn't there, I would just take the elevator up to Tony and Pepper's floor.

"Grace." I stopped at the door. My stomach sank. I really thought we were done talking. He continued. "Do you still love me?"

"Yeah," I said.

A long pause. "How long do you think I have?"

"What do you mean?"

"How long do I have to figure shit out? Before you stop loving me?" He asked me that like he was actually doing the math.

"What do you mean 'figure shit out?'"

"I was thinking," he said. "And I need more time to think. So I wanna know how long I have before you'll stop wanting to be my girl and I'll have lost my chance anyway."

I opened my mouth to talk, then closed it again. Then settled on, "How the hell should I know?"

He swallowed. "Can you let me know when it stops? Just so I'm not always wondering?"

"You want me to...let you know when I'm not in love with you anymore?"

"Yeah. If you get a minute. Text me or something. Or tell Steve to—"

I made a little frustrated noise, and then took a deep breath. "Yes. Great. I'll shoot you a text. Awesome. Do me a favor? Don't give me any updates in return."

A/N: omg ik y'all are prolly mad but Bucky asking for a time limit on how long he has to figure his shit out is actually progress for him.