Imagine If You Assembled The Avengers: Volume 3

Everybody Knows (Barnes x reader)

(It's not about the DCEU as the source, it's about the song)

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded

Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed

Everybody knows the war is over

Everybody knows the good guys lost

Everybody knows the fight was fixed

The poor stay poor, the rich get rich

That's how it goes

Everybody knows

"Please step back."

You were standing at T'Challa's side with Steve Rogers next to you, watching Shuri as she began to prepare Bucky for removal from his cryotherapy chamber. The energy in the lab was palpable, filled with anxiety and worry, but also filled with preparation for who Bucky would be once the doors opened. There were guards at every point, in case this went badly and he tried to fight, but Steve was convinced that it wouldn't be a problem. He willingly moved closer to his friend as the lock released, despite your hand on his arm to hold him back.

"He's my friend," he whispered to you, though it came out as if more for himself than anyone else.

"Captain, use caution," T'Challa added, taking a step forward in kind. "We will know very quickly where his temperament lies, and which mind he possesses. We are prepared for any outcome that presents itself, but we will treat him with care should he not be healed as we have hoped."

All Steve could do was to nod along to the king's words, almost mindlessly as he watched the cold steam evaporate to give him the first good view of his friend that he had seen in far too long. He looked like Bucky; he looked peaceful and content there, as if he had merely taken a long nap. It was reassuring to see, but Steve wouldn't be fully comforted until his best friend's eyes opened. When they did, he wasn't disappointed in the sight, and he could finally take a breath that he had been holding since the first time he left Bucky behind in Wakanda.

"Captain," Shuri nodded, "you can talk to him if you would like."

"H-hey, Buck."

"Steve," he answered back in a raspy, dry voice. He coughed away both the discomfort and his nerves, giving the greeting a better try. "Steve. Wow, that was one helluva nap, huh?"

"You can say that again," Steve agreed.

"That was one helluva nap," Bucky repeated, a smile curling at the edges of his mouth.

"Yep, he's cured," Steve sighed, reaching out to give him a supportive hold as he stepped out of the chamber. "Alright, take it slow."

"I'm...good..." he answered, but Bucky's attentions were no longer on Steve, rather now drawn to you; he looked at you with a million questions flashing through his mind, and worn in his expression so readily that he didn't need to speak a single one.

"Hello, Sergeant Barnes," you greeted with a step forward and a hand extended, "I'm (Y/N). T'Challa and Shuri have asked that I stay with you during your recovery until you feel ready to leave Wakanda. We have a small home ready for you just outside of the city, where you won't be disturbed and can focus more clearly."

Bucky was quick to step away from Steve and towards you, readily taking your hand with a firm grip, "(Y/N), please, call me Bucky. The pleasure's all mine, but I thought I was past the age for needing a babysitter."