Imagine If You Assembled The Avengers: Volume 2

It Always Ends in a Fight (Barnes x reader)

"(Y/N)?" Bruce approached cautiously. "What kind of a cramp? Like something is wrong with the baby kind of cramp?"

"No, I said I'm fine," you waved them off harshly, returning your focus to Bucky. "Steve, help me push him to the surgical area. I'm right behind you, I just...I have to scrub in," you stalled, turning to go to the bathroom while he took his friend away. Once you were out of their sight, you doubled over and tried to slow your breathing, trying to focus on staying quiet under the pain. "It's just stress," you whispered to yourself, "just calm down, (Y/N). He's going to be okay. You have to do this. It's just stress."

"(Y/N)," Steve appeared suddenly next to you, taking your arm gently to help you stand, "tell me."

"I can't lose them both today, Steve," you answered in a whisper, your voice shaking as much as his hand on you was now, "so I'm going to need you in there with me. Suit up."

~~~

It could have been days, or even weeks that Bucky had been out after Steve had brought his broken body home to you to repair, but he had no way to know for sure when his eyes finally opened. The room around him was filled with monitors beeping and the smell of antiseptics and medications stinging his nostrils; he was also feeling very terrifyingly alone.

"(Y/N)?" he groaned, his voice scratchy and barely audible after days without speaking. "Steve?"

"Hey, man," Steve answered, "you finally decided to join us." He gave Natasha a quick kiss to her forehead before turning his chair to face Bucky instead, "how ya feelin'?"

"Like hell. Where's (Y/N)?"

Steve's smile fell just slightly, but not so little that his friend didn't take notice. He cleared his throat nervously and glanced over his shoulder to Bruce, who looked away just as quickly as if to bring his attention to Natasha instead and avoiding the topic all together. "We've kind of...confined her to her room. She needed a break after all of this."

"Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine, Buck."

"Meaning no," he answered angrily now, reaching up to rip the IV from his arm, tossing monitor cords aside and sitting up abruptly with a grimace and a sharp wince in pain. He didn't let it slow him for more than a second, pushing past Steve on his way to see you for himself. Bruce was next to try to stop him, putting himself into Bucky's direct path.

"Barnes, lay down. You're in no shape to leave this room."

"Move, Doc."

"You're going to undo all of the work that (Y/N) did to save you. Are you really going to take that risk of her seeing you do it? Are you going to be that ungrateful?"

"That's not what I'm doing," he growled in reply. His metal hand closed tightly in response to his anger and the plates of his arm began to shift, a detail not lost on Banner as his eyes drifted to it to watch. "Doc, please move before I do something that I don't want to do."

"I could say the same," Bruce countered, allowing his eyes to take on the familiar green glow as they looked back, pleading his teammate to stop. "I'll win, Bucky, and she'll just have to come back to fix you all over again. Please, just go lay down. I'll get her here, alright?"

"Buck, he's right," Steve added, slowly moving across the room and taking a place just behind him, "come on. I'll go get her myself."

Bucky looked from Bruce and to Steve, considering his next move; they were both right, he was too weak yet to fight, but the voice in his head was so loud and hard to ignore; it wanted him to push through, the only goal being to see you with his own eyes. He considered the outcome if he reinjured himself just to see you and the berating you would have ready. He definitely didn't want that, and ultimately, he decided to relent; his shoulders dropped as he let out a loud sigh, turning to Steve to allow his friend to give him a hand back onto his gurney.