This was written for the Matchmaker challenge over at the gameofcards Landcomm on LJ. I was given the pairing Bucky/Maria.

It also fills the "trapped together" square on my hc_bingo card located at my LJ.

Since I had a deadline on this, it is unbeta'd. I hope to have someone read it over soon, and fix any mistakes. As it is now, all mistakes are mine.

Also, this is the first fic I've written in almost a year, and it's the first time I've really written Bucky and Maria, so I hope I got the characterizations right. I do hope you enjoy.

This isn't really a crossover fic, but that was the only way that I could put Bucky's character in the pairings/characters section.

This is a het and slash fic, but the slash is mild to the point of almost being non-existant.

There is some strong language, so please remember that when reading. There are slight spoilers for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the first season of Agents of Shield.

"You have got to be kidding me! This is the second time this month my tower has been attacked!"

"It's a rather obvious target, you know. I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often."

"Shut it, Barnes, and help me get this door open!"

Bucky used his metal hand to slowly pry the door to Tony's workshop open. The room had been locked down upon the building's breach and Tony hadn't been able to get inside since.

Just as the door finally slid free, an explosion rocked the floor, and the wall opposite the door exploded toward them. Bucky grabbed Tony and shoved him through the door just as the debris hit and he was thrown through the door. He landed awkwardly on this metal arm just as the ceiling caved in around him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Pepper, are you sure this is a good idea? I'm not sure he's ready."

"Maria, you'll never know if you don't try. He needs to get out of the tower."

"He's been out of the tower…"

Pepper interrupted, "Avengers missions don't count. I'm talking about his everyday life."

Maria was quiet for a moment then smiled. "He has been getting restless. Maybe it will be good for him… for us."

Pepper smiled back and then stood. "Would you like something to drink?"

Before Maria could answer, there was a muffled boom, and the windows shook. Almost immediately, the alarms in the building went off and the offices went into lockdown.

"What the hell was that?" Maria asked as she stood and headed toward the door.

"JARVIS?" Pepper asked, but there was no answer. She then picked up her phone and called Tony. When he answered, she put the phone on speaker.

"Pepper, this isn't the best time."

"What is going on, Tony?"

"We're under attack. You should be safe there."

"What about you? Are you okay? What about the others?"

"It's just me and Barnes here. Steve was down in the gym last I knew. No one else is here."

Maria finally spoke. "I'm headed up there. Do you know who it is? How many here are?"

"They did something to JARVIS. I haven't been able to get to my suits. I don't know who they are or what they want. I haven't actually seen anyone."

There was another explosion, this time louder, and it could be heard clearly over the phone.

"Shit! Damnit, I have to go. Maria, find Steve. Bucky's okay."

The phone disconnected.

"Pepper, I need to get into my office. All of my stuff is in there."

Pepper pointed up at the vent. "That's the only way."

"Barton?"

Pepper nodded and then wrote a number on a piece of paper. "Here's the code for the vents. Enter that and you can get just about anywhere in the building."

Maria thanked her and then used a chair to climb up to the vent. She entered the code and then crawled in. She entered her office and got to work making calls.

There was another explosion as she was arming herself. That one was much closer, and the entire building seemed to shake. She climbed back into the vent and put her earpiece in. She tried calling both Steve and Bucky, but didn't get an answer from either. That's when the worry set in. She stopped and took a deep breath. She couldn't let her feelings get in the way. She steeled herself for the fight ahead and then started moving again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tony came to with a groan. He was lying face down on the floor. He did a quick check for injuries, and other than a pounding headache and some general aches and pains. He then tried to open his eyes and he couldn't see much. There was a haze in the air, and it was dark. He then remembered the explosion and that he wasn't alone.

"Barnes?"

When he didn't get an answer he tried another tactic.

"Bucky? If you can hear me, say something."

He waited and was about to call to him again, but was finally greeted with a soft groan.

"What did I tell you about calling me Bucky?"

"Fine, whatever. Are you okay?"

There was a slight delay before Bucky spoke again.

"I'm trapped under something. Can't see what it is. Damn… can't move. Something's wrong with my arm."

"What do you mean, something's wrong with your arm? Which arm?" Tony said in a slightly panicked tone.

"Which arm do you fucking think?" Bucky snapped. "I've got pain in my left shoulder, and I can't get my arm to move. You think I'd be lying here if it was working?"

Tony took a deep, steadying breath, and then tried to get up. There was just enough room for him to get up onto his hands and knees. He crawled in the direction he heard Bucky's voice, and stopped when he touched Bucky's flesh arm.

It wasn't completely dark, as there were cracks in the debris and light from the window on the other side of the destroyed room was shining through. Tony found Bucky's hand and closed his hand around it. Bucky tensed almost immediately and tried to pull away, but Tony wouldn't let him.

"Stark? What are you doing?"

"Just give me a minute. I don't exactly do well in small, cave-like spaces."

They were both quiet after that; the quiet only interrupted by the ringing of a phone nearby.

"Stark, that's my phone. It's in my right pocket. Can you reach it?"

"Yeah. Don't kill me if I grope you though… there's not exactly a lot of light in here."

Tony felt his way to Bucky's hip and then pulled the phone from the pocket. He touched accept and turned on the speaker, and as calmly as he could he said, "Hello."

"Tony? This is Maria. Where's Barnes? Where are you?"

"Slow down. I'm fine. We're in what's left of my workshop. Barnes is trapped under some of the debris. I'm going to try and figure out a way to free him, and then hopefully get us out of here. There's no power in here."

"Okay…" She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, and then she continued. "I found Steve. He's all right. We're a few floors below you, but it's going to take a while to get to you. Everything is a mess, and we haven't been able to get a response for JARVIS."

"If I could get to a computer, I could figure out what happened, but I think this room is a total loss. I'm so glad I moved the bots to the lab." He paused to take a breath.

"Tony? Are you really okay?" Steve asked through the phone.

"I will be once we're out of here. I have a hell of a headache, but it just feels like after I've gone a few days without sleeping. Just get here."

"We're working on it," Steve said before Maria took back over.

"Can I speak to Barnes… alone?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute."

Tony took the phone off speaker and put it in Bucky's right hand. He was able to move his arm enough to put the phone close to his ear.

"Maria?"

"Are you okay, really?"

"I don't hurt anywhere but my left shoulder, and my arm is inoperable. I think my shoulder is dislocated."

"But that means…"

"I know what the hell it means," he snapped. "Shit… it's just frustrating. I should be able to move. This doesn't happen to me."

"Well it is… Just take a deep breath and listen to my voice, okay? Remember those breathing exercises we were working on? It'll help… at least until me and Steve can get there. Stark is going to try and get you free, and maybe if he's not too brain damaged, he can figure out what's wrong with your arm. We'll be there soon, so just breathe."

Bucky laid there and just listened as Maria guided him through his breathing. Her voice was all there was in the world. Time seemed to stand still, and he drifted.

Tony kept up a litany of nonsense as he worked with the things around him to try and free them both.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It took nearly an hour, but Steve finally broke through the debris field. Maria was standing next to him. They were followed closely by Clint, Natasha, and Sam.

Tony had managed to get Bucky out from under the piece of wall he had been trapped under, and was examining his arm. As soon as Tony saw Steve, he stood and gingerly walked toward him.

"Took you long enough. I almost had us out of here."

"Yeah, I'm sure you did, but I'm here now, so you can relax."

Tony's knees buckled in that moment and Steve caught him just as he passed out. Steve lifted him up and said, "I've got to get him down to medical. Are you all good here?"

"We'll be fine, Cap," Clint said.

Meanwhile, Maria was kneeling down next to Bucky. He was unconscious, but the phone was still lying next to his ear. She didn't try to wake him, but she did bend down a place a kiss on his temple.

"Come on, let's get him out of here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bucky woke suddenly, and tried to sit up. He was immediately pushed back down, but the hands weren't rough. Maria was standing over him, her hands on his chest.

"Calm down. You're in medical."

"Maria? How?"

"I called in reinforcements. We got to about an hour after I called. You've been out ever since. It's been about four hours."

"My arm?"

"A piece of debris had knocked the joint loose and wedged itself in. Once Bruce removed it, it was just a matter of relocating the joint with the metal. You should be fine in a few days, but it will be sore. Stark said that it didn't look like anything was damaged, but he'll check it over."

"Who did this?"

"We don't know yet. There was nobody in the building. Looks like they sent in some kind of virus to shut down JARVIS, and then they launched missiles at the building. No one's claimed responsibility yet, and Stark is still working on JARVIS."

"So whoever did this is still out there?"

"Yeah, but don't you worry about that right now. Coulson's got his team working on it."

They both took a moment before saying anything else. Bucky was trying to process everything that had happened. He then looked her into her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah, I'm good. I should be the one asking you that."

Bucky winced as he tried to move. "Yeah, the shoulder is sore, but nothing I can't handle."

Maria gave him a serious look and said, "You will tell me if you can't. No more of this lone wolf routine. You aren't alone anymore."

"I know."

They lapsed into quiet for a while. Maria clasped his metal hand. He had at first found it hard to believe that someone could like it, but she had convinced him otherwise. She couldn't really explain it in words, but it was somewhat comforting to know if was there.

"So, how about you come and stay with me for a while once you get out of here?"

"I'm not sure that's such a great idea."

"I don't think you're going to have much of a choice. It's either that, or Stark will try and put you up in some swanky hotel."

"That's even a worse idea. I guess I don't have a choice, then."

She leaned over and kissed him gently. It wasn't something they did in public often. Bucky was still uneasy and unsure of his feelings.

"That wasn't so hard. So now that you'll be out of the tower, how about we go out somewhere. Just you and me."

"Maria…"

"It's just an idea. You've been restless. I think it'll help."

"I'll think about it."

"That's all that I ask. This is all a bit new for me too. We'll figure it out."