Author's Note: This will be a three chapter ficlet. The first chapter was written in response to a prompt. Prompt - Bucky/Darcy Bucky falling in love with Darcy but is too scared to pursue a relationship because he is afraid the part of him that is still The Winter Solider will hurt her. He has nothing to worry about however because that part of him has made it his mission to protect her at all times. Something happens to make him realize this (Darcy getting kidnapped etc.).
Recognizing the Truth
Bucky stood in the gym, fists pounding an even rhythm into the punching bag. He carefully monitored his strength. This wasn't a time for destruction – he was trying to prove to himself that he could contain the killer – the monster – within. It was almost meditative; the steady beat of the exercise. His body relaxed into the motion.
Unfortunately that left his mind free to wander where it would. And wander it did – straight to the dame who'd been haunting him for weeks now.
He didn't know Steve's opinions, but the current fashion of rail thin or athletically lean women simply didn't make the cut for him. Sure, he'd looked, even glanced twice, but none of them drew his attention for long. His brain and libido were still very much back in the old days when women had curves and were proud of them. A man could get lost in exploring those curves…and he had once upon a time ago. Never did meet the girl – the one he'd give up a bachelor's life for – but it didn't stop him from enjoying the scenery. Now the scene came in sharp edges…curves were out. He could only shake his head at the "modern" man. Who the hell wanted an angle when a curve could be had? If those curves happened to package a good intelligence, a loyal heart, and a shy smile? So much the better.
Trust him to meet the one girl in New York who could hit every button – curves, brains, heart, and smile.
Sometimes he hated his life.
Darcy Lewis could make a pin-up girl green with envy. He was man enough to admit her curves were the first thing to catch his eye. Be a damned shame if a figure like that couldn't be acknowledged and admired. He might have even considered making a play – if she didn't come with a six-foot-three, two hundred plus pound adopted big brother putting out warning glares in all directions.
Seriously – until he finally met the elusive and lab-bound Doc Jane, he wondered if Thor and Darcy were an item.
With the 'hands off' ringing loud and clear, he kept his greeting at a friendly level and that gave him time to see the shy, nervous smile. Darcy didn't talk much during her first few weeks at the Tower. It took him a bit, but he finally realized she felt completely out of her depth amongst the agents, heroes, spies, and geniuses littering every corner of the place. Being stuck at the Tower until everyone felt comfortable with his 'rehabilitation' gave him a unique opportunity to befriend the young woman and she finally admitted her concerns.
A few weeks ago…
"It's just…well, in New Mexico and even in London, it was Jane and Erik and Thor," she told him as they shared a plate full of nachos. "Two geniuses and one Thor…I could handle it – especially since by the time we were all in one place, Jane was like a sister and Erik kind of took the father-figure place."
"And Thor?" he asked curiously.
Darcy chuckled. "Thor's Thor," she told him with a slightly deeper smile. "He's this…golden retriever puppy of a guy when he's in a good mood. All he wants is to have the people around him happy and healthy." She shook her head. "It's hard not to like Thor…and once he adopts you? You're family. End of story."
"It became a family thing?" he pushed a little, wanting to make sure he understood.
"Yeah, exactly," she agreed immediately. "So, you know, it wasn't that bad. Jane and Erik might be geniuses, and Thor's both brainy and brawny, but none of them do the real world well. Thor's too new to it and the other two are too science-y, lost in their own thoughts somewhere two miles above everyone else. I fit, you know?" She blinked her big green eyes at him and he nodded without speaking. "I could handle the mundane, common sense stuff, and if it was a little bigger than me, well – Thor's good at taking directions and likes to help out." She sighed. "It's different here."
"How so?"
"I just…I don't know where I fit. JARVIS handles half the stuff I used to, and now we've got these extra hands suddenly at our disposal, so I end up not having much to do most of the time. The others fit, sure – Erik is a genius, Jane is a super genius, and Thor is an Avenger. Me? I mean – what do super heroes and super spies need with a poli-sci grad?" Her lips twisted a bit and he repressed the desire to reach out to soothe away the distress he could see there. She lifted one shoulder. "I thought about trying to go back to school, but when I toured one of the campuses, I realized I didn't fit in there either. All these people were running around with their worst concerns being a grade or the rent money or their next project. What am I worried about? Aliens, mad scientists, and super villains – all of the people, organizations, and things trying to take over the world - that's what I'm worried about." Anxious eyes rose to meet his dark gaze. "If I'm not needed here and I don't fit there, where the hell am I supposed to be?"
Back to the present…
Something about that lost look tugged at him. He hadn't been able to get it out of his head and he began to look her up whenever he had a free moment. She helped him catch up on history and movies – the stuff his handlers never thought their prize assassin needed. Most of the team joined them for movie nights, and something in his heart lifted with pride as Darcy included him among the very few people she drifted between.
It lifted even more as she began to blossom and find her place inside the Tower.
Hopefully she never learned about the words he dropped in a few ears – namely Steve, Nat, and Pepper's.
Her intelligence snared him next. She might consider herself average, but she could hold her own in debates on movies, books, and politics with anyone in the tower. Maybe she couldn't do the complicated science and math their geniuses thrived on, but being able to keep up with a political debate between agents and spies was nothing to sneeze at.
It was her loyalty that really sealed the deal for him. When a handful of scientists talked down to Doc Jane, Darcy drafted Barton and Stark into retaliation. She approached Nat about taking that asshole Ross down a few pegs when he tried nosing after Banner. Let some socialite start badmouthing Stark and suddenly the woman found herself persona non grata with the elite…not that he'd found out how she'd pulled that one off yet. She did her best to take care of everyone – even the newcomers like Doc Betty and himself.
It was no wonder Thor and Docs Jane and Selvig hovered over her so much.
Still, despite everything she did for all of them, he was floored when her protective instincts included him.
A major news chain published an article about the Winter Soldier. It wasn't a positive one. It all but called him a snake in the grass, a time bomb waiting to happen. Darcy went on a five minute rant before stopping in the middle of the media room and marching out. Twenty four hours later he discovered some backdated paperwork showing him to be an employee of Stark Enterprises and the newspaper being attacked by the full legal power of SI backed by the indomitable and somewhat frightening will of Pepper Potts.
Yeah, yeah…frightening. He was almost positive that woman could take over the world without mussing a hair. Throw in JARVIS… yeah, no. He planned to stay on the good side of both of them.
She'd done that – for him. He knew it had been Darcy. It had been the final straw…the last sliver of his heart stolen away by a modern day pin-up girl who had no clue of her real value.
A gentle alarm sounded.
Bucky shook his head as he stopped pounding on the bag. He leaned his forehead against it and took in several deep breaths as his body began to cool down. Every fiber of his being told him to go after her, pursue her, but his head…
The newspaper had been partially right. There was a bomb – it was in his head. Зимний Солдат – Zimniy Soldat – Winter Soldier…that part of him still existed like a shadow in his mind. It made a part of him cold, calculating. Buried deep in his mind was the knowledge that the Soldier part of him had already determined the best way to take out most of the Avengers. Banner and Thor would be problems, but they would be significantly less of a threat with their team and lovers destroyed.
Bucky shoved himself away from the bag, a snarl rising in his throat. That right there – that very potential – that was why he couldn't follow the directives of his heart. He couldn't pursue Darcy. She was too important for some one night stand, but anything else…
Soldier might wake up one day and hurt her.
And that would be the final death knell of James Buchanan Barnes.
Bucky stalked off to his room, rushing through a shower before heading to the communal kitchen in only a pair of sweatpants and a towel around his neck.
"Doesn't anybody around here wear clothes?" Tony Stark's voice rang out as Bucky stepped through the kitchen door.
Bucky glanced over to see the inventor genius sitting at the bar with a sandwich and some indescribable pile of wires and metal. "What's the matter, Stark? Too much competition around here these days for you?"
"Ha!" Stark scoffed. "I have a beautiful lady. I don't need to compete." He raised a brow. "It's not my fault you're either too blind to see who you've got or too stupid to go after her."
Bucky's temper fired, but as he opened his mouth to argue, a loud claxon began sounding. Professional masks slipped over the faces of both men. JARVIS's voice rang out through all of the speakers. "Panic alarm sounded. Verifying identification…it is confirmed. Miss Lewis has activated her panic alarm and homing device."
Ice slithered through Bucky's veins. For a moment, briefly, he considered fighting it, but as JARVIS displayed a map on the nearby screens, he could feel the Soldier part of him identifying and weighing each of the potential routes and hidey-holes in the area. Something clicked within him and the familiar sensation struck him.
Soldier had a mission – locate and retrieve the handler.
The cords which had been tightening around Bucky's chest suddenly loosened and he sucked in air as understanding flared in his mind. He didn't just want to try a relationship with Darcy…he loved her. He loved the muted brilliance of her mind, her instinctive drive to help people, and yes, her gorgeous face and figure. Above all else he loved the heart that poured itself out for others without expecting anything in return.
Soldier didn't understand love – the cold calculation required to do his job meant love was nothing more than a mere intellectual exercise – but since Soldier was a part of Bucky and Darcy was important to Bucky, he had to figure out a way to slide her into his logical, ordered world. She wasn't one of the doctors or the scientists, and she didn't have the power to be one of the bosses. She took care of him – found ways to make sure he had what he needed, even if it wasn't weapons and finances. That made her his handler. This was something Soldier understood.
The handler was his source of supplies and his main point of contact in case an evac was needed. Therefore the handler had to be protected at all costs. If that meant becoming a full ally with his previous enemies – so be it.
Darcy had become Soldier's mission.
A feral smile slipped over Bucky's lips as his gaze met Stark's. Stark blinked at him and gave a slow nod. "Okay, wild man, better put something on if you're coming with us."
Less than ten minutes later the Avengers' Quinjet lifted off from the roof of the Tower. Thor flew escort with Iron Man, easily surrendering his seat beside Captain America to their newest teammate.
Villains of the world beware – a Soldier is coming out to play.
