AN: Thank you for reading and for your comments. Usual disclaimer applies here, as it always does, it's all fan work only. This one is really a Bucky and Andi chapter
Warning: There's depiction of some aggression and violence in this chapter.
Chapter 17: Safe in Your Arms
'Good morning, soldier. You looking for a date?' Bucky grins at the words, not turning around, muttering, 'yeah, maybe, you offering?' Andi swings into the office, perching on the corner of his desk. 'I could be.'
He spins in his office chair, looking at her fully, 'oh, it's you, sorry, thought it was someone else,' he jests and she rolls her eyes, 'oh, ha-ha.' She watches him, then whispers 'hi.' Bucky looks her up and down, she's been gone four days and he kicks himself for missing her so much, but he's not about to admit it.
'Miss me?' She asks dreamily and Bucky shakes his head, leaning back, 'barely,' he lies. Andi smiles smugly, folding her arms and winking at him, 'I can see through you, anyway, I am big enough to admit it and I missed you. Barnes, you are a sight for sore eyes.' Bucky feels heat grow in his face, he admires her confidence and ability to vocalise her feelings.
He looks down, hiding a blush, coughing 'how was the trip?' Andi swings her legs off his desk in excitement, 'amazing, Chicago is wonderful, it was so much fun.' Bucky appears sceptical, 'thought it was a work trip?' She swallows, 'well, there was hardly anything for me to do, so that's why it was so great.' He scoffs at her and she continues, 'Tony cut some ribbons, I stand aside and clap, I tell him where we are needed next and in-between I did a couple tours and gallery visits. You should come next time, it's basically a free vacation.' Bucky raises a brow, 'I've been pretty busy here too.' Andi softens, looking at him, 'I know, I heard what you did for Mia, she said you were great.' She stands and walks closer to him, placing a very precarious knee on the chair between his legs and leaning over him. She places both hands on the top of his chair and leans down, covering him with her hair, 'admit it, you missed me,' she whispers and Bucky stares hard at her. He can feel her breath on his cheek, smell her chapstick on her lips, her flowery perfume surrounding him and he almost moans aloud. She laughs a little thinking she's won and then he quickly grabs her waist and pulls her into the chair and onto his lap. Kissing her fiercely, she never flinches at his metal hand cupping her cheek. Her other leg lifts off the ground and the chair squeaks as it leans backwards. Bucky is too engrossed in the moment to care but Andi panics. She quickly forgets, as he grips her waist, her light grey Stark polo shirt rising up.
His hands snake under her shirt and stroke at her ribs, trailing further and higher. Andi leans back granting him access and quickly remembering where they are. She looks up, hoping Wilson didn't sneak in with a bowl of cereal. Relieved to see they are still alone, she leans back down to kiss him again.
Her eyes then land on a fawn pair on the other side of the office blind. She stills 'crap, think we've been spotted.' Andi wipes her mouth and climbs off slowly and clumsily, Bucky peers around confused, but notices Victoria arriving at the open door. 'Sorry to interrupt, just needed to get some paperwork signed. I'll just leave it here.' She splutters the words, shoving the documents on the corner of a desk and quickly leaving, keeping her head down as she marches away.
'Fuck,' Bucky mutters, covering his face and leaning back. Andi eyes Bucky, 'well that was awkward and frosty, you need to apologise to that poor girl.' She straightens her shirt and then her hair, 'she wants to be your friend.' Bucky watches her as he shuffles uncomfortably, rearranging himself and sighing. 'I don't want to apologise,' he pouts. Andi shakes her head, chuckling at his childish face. She leans down again and kisses his lips softly, 'I love you.' He makes eye contact with her, mumbling 'thanks.'
Andi looks to the hallway, 'we should shut the door, good job I work for the boss.' Bucky just eyes her, dreading word of this reaching Tony. 'How's your guest list coming? We missed the deadline.' Bucky stares up quickly, pretending, 'yeah, real good, yours?' Andi puts a hand on her hip, 'yeah, better than yours, you liar!' Bucky promises he will look at it soon.
Andi starts for the door, looking back at him, 'oh, is it a boy or a girl?' Bucky opens his mouth and can't believe she nearly caught him out. She laughs and shouts 'I'll break you, Barnes,' as she leaves. He sits there for a while, muttering 'I know you will.'
…
Bucky finds himself amongst a sea of computers, a range of voices chattering, a vast number of colleagues but he's only looking for one. He assumed wrongly that spotting his communications officer would be easy. He can feel eyes on him and whispers wondering why he is there. Looking around, someone scurries past, one of many Stark employees, 'you!' Bucky barks. He won't admit it, but he enjoys torturing some people, reminding them who he is.
'Where is…Victoria… yeah, Victoria.' He decides he can't remember her second name and settles for just the first. Folding his arms and waiting for the young tech analysist to scurry off and find her. The young man stares at him, scratching his arm nervously, 'who?' Bucky just shrugs, when he realises nothing is going to happen he continues, 'where are the communication operatives?' The guy laughs, 'oh, not here, you're in the wrong place, dude.' Bucky eyes him, shutting him up and challenging him to laugh again. 'Take me,' he demands. He smirks a little, picturing Steve begging him to lay off and be polite. Colleagues are watching the interaction, looking terrified and Bucky thinks doesn't hurt them.
Bucky follows the scurrying man, through a maze of computers, reaching a grey door. 'They are in there…' Bucky waves his hands, 'and? Show me.' The guy nods, sighing nervously, holding the door open and allowing the Sargent through. Bucky looks around, huffing at the sight of more computers, all be it less than the last three rooms. 'This is mission control,' the young man tries to joke.
Row on row of screens, desks littered with cups, toys, plants. He observes the set-up, disgusted by the mess, 'how do they do their jobs?' He asks no one in particular and the colleague answers, 'I have no idea. They are a bit precious about anyone coming in here… ' Bucky ignores him. 'Uh, who were you after again?' Bucky rolls his eyes at the poor memory of these people. 'Victoria, communications Victoria.' The guy shuffles down to the front, taking the steps quickly, feeling like a waiter, 'this is her, I believe.' Bucky eyes the desk, unlike the others, it's tidy, no personal affects, no dirty mugs. He finds that he is either a great admirer of her professionalism, or he's now really concerned she's hiding something. He feels the colleague beside him trying to ask a question, 'you may go,' Bucky allows and he all but runs off.
Bucky pokes about a little more, resting a hand against her chair, it's barely warm. He tugs at a drawer and wonders what's come over him, this is too personal and invasive, not to mention not polite. He slams the drawer closed but then wonders what he just saw. Checking the room is still empty of staff, he drags the drawer slowly open again, reaching for a picture of Victoria with a man. He can't quite figure out what bothers him about it, she did say they broke up. He can't imagine holding onto an ex's picture. Love 'em and leave 'em echoes around his head and he winces at the cocksure, teenage Bucky voice in his head.
He hears her before he sees her, 'hey?' He looks up and spots her coming down a side staircase, a warm drink in her hand. He quickly drops the image and pushes the drawer shut with his outer thigh.
She smiles at him, he thinks he got away with it. She stops at her desk and placing the drink down, perpendicular to her keyboard, straightening everything. He notes the non-personalised mug, an array of comedy and satirical cups filling the other desks.
'I would have made you a drink, to what do I owe this visit?' Bucky struggles to remember what he is doing there, burying his hands in his pockets. She interrupts his panic, 'coffee break, by the way. I didn't kill everyone, in case you're wondering. Just a quiet day down here. Not that, I'm not complaining!' She looks about the empty hall and he attempts a laugh, but turns serious, 'I came to apologise. For missing our engagement.'
She appears shocked and surprised, 'no, I'm sorry. If I came on too strong, I just wanted to know the person I'm speaking to a little more.' Bucky shakes his head 'no, it's me, not you.' He cringes and she laughs, 'can we just forget it, start again?' Bucky exhales and nods, 'I'd like that. The doofus I've had in my ear for two weeks is crap.' She stifles a laugh, 'I'm going to take that as an indirect compliment.'
Bucky shrugs, 'you busy?' She looks startled, stuttering, 'now? Uh no, no, not busy. Like I said pretty quiet. Why?' Bucky starts up the steps, 'I'm giving you that tour.' She watches him make for the exit and shakes herself, going after him, abandoning her warm drink 'umm, sure, I'm coming.'
…
'I'm really not the best person for something like this, I only go where I have to go,' Buck confesses as Victoria strolls beside him. She smiles at him, making notes in a journal of the floor numbers, key codes, conference room names. 'Thank you so much for this, it's great to get to know this place some more and you, of course.' Bucky stares at the ground, sighing, 'not much to know really.' She stops, catching his attention, she seems offended, proclaiming 'not true, you're Bucky Barnes, look at what you've come back from.' Bucky stares at her in shock and embarrassment, 'you're not going to sing a song are you?' He jokes, trying to ease his tension, she blushes deep red. 'No, no singing, but I read about you.' It's Bucky's turn to stop, 'on that internet thing? Yeah, don't believe everything you read.'
He keeps walking and she catches up with him, 'no, in my history book, at school.' She cringes, eyes widening, hiding her face 'that makes me sound fifteen with a crush, I just mean, your story is one to celebrate, ultimate survival, I think it's incredible.' Bucky scratches his head, 'thanks, I guess.'
'I'm sorry, I'm making it weird again, my ex said I'm too intense.' Bucky just nods, not wanting to go there, he points idly over to the right 'uh, there's a stairwell across there and then an elevator, that leads to the staff quarters.' He's not sure why he mentioned that and he's glad when she doesn't write it down.
'So, uhh, how was your training?' Bucky asks in desperation, anything is better than talking about him. She lights up, strolling beside him still, 'yeah, fascinating, really helpful. I can't wait to get inside your head and show you what I can do.' It sounds sinister and Bucky tries to quieten his dramatic side, her giggle awakening him from that dark thought. 'Where's the labs? Can we see that? Or R&D?' Bucky is unsure, 'I don't really go there, Stark is an acquired taste.' She laughs at him, 'I don't want to eat him, Bucky. Just look around. R&D and all that. My dad's an engineer, so...' He watches her, her doe eyes gazing up at him, her grin trying to charm him, 'right, ok, I guess we could make our way there.' She hisses in excitement a little beside him and they continue. Bucky subtly checks his watch, bored and tired of making small chat. He catches her grinning from the corner of his eye and he feels bad, she seems genuinely kind and interested, he knows he should cut her some slack.
'So, you like it here?' He asks her and she nods with excitement, 'it's so different, the pressure is high, that's for sure. I think that's why they put me with you, you do a little less than the others, I think they think I'm a calming influence.' Bucky bites his lip, annoyed by the insinuation that discussion goes on around him about him. 'Stark and Captain Rogers have FRIDAY, I believe, but I was told you like the personal touch.' Bucky scoffs, 'it's not right, relying on a robot in the field.'
Victoria looks over at him, admiring his long hair, he seems troubled and she wonders what to say. 'How's the wedding plans going?' Bucky closes his eyes and she knows she picked the wrong topic. 'It's fine.' She stares at the ground glumly and he calls, 'hey, sorry about earlier, you know, Andi and I…' She waves him off, 'please. If I was her, I'd do the same.' She's suddenly horrified at the implication, 'not with you, just if my boyfriend was… you know, never mind. I barely saw anything.' Bucky nods, spotting a stairwell entrance, 'you ok with stairs?' Victoria nods and creeps under his arm as he holds the door open for her.
…
Tony pulls up his metal mask and blows on the welding tool, as the last spark extinguishes. He tugs his gloves off one finger at a time and turns around, knocking on the window to the prep area. Andi looks up from typing on a laptop and he beckons her in.
'Blondie, you looked busy, for once' he comments as she enters. She smirks, 'well you were, so thought I better try, just squeezing in some dinners with Pepper, she called me, fancies Thai, and sometime this decade.' Tony eyes her dryly, 'yes, thank you, we can't all be love's young dream.'
'Speaking of, I am done here.' Tony whips the helmet off and nods at the black and gold metal arm. 'I should deduct this from your pay, it would be cruel to do it to Barnes, when he doesn't even know.' Andi winces, bending beside the metal limb and sighing, 'I know, but I'm scared, what if he hates it?' Tony shakes his head, looping back to in front of her, 'not an option, kid. You swore he wanted and needed one. Told me your safety depended on it, my facility depends on it, I can't pay for many more taps and door knobs the man breaks.'
Andi folds her arms, feeling cold, 'why do you even have this out! I thought you were done.' Tony looks at her, 'I'm never done.' Andi sighs, ignoring his constant innuendo, 'problem is, he's like you. Stubborn. Won't admit he need's this.' Tony rubs his facial scruff, 'well, Fury tells me he needs it and I don't like to upset him. Just kidding, I really do. But if you don't break this to Barney the scary dinosaur soon, someone else will and I won't be as nice about it. So do the right thing and convince him that this is good news.' Andi bites her lip, anxious he won't see it that way, 'think of it like an upgrade, a Ford to a Ferrari.' Andi watches him swan around, rinsing his hands at a sink and looking back at her, 'those are cars, by the way.'
Tony waltzes back her way, placing a hand roughly on her shoulder, 'also, it's really important to me that you know, Barnes and I are nothing alike.' She looks at him surely, 'that's what you think!' She shakes away from him, staring back at the metal arm. 'Want me to put it in a gift box? Surprise!' Andi blanks him, suddenly feeling the weight of this, what was she thinking. She turns to Tony quickly, 'can you just give it to him? Call him down here, tell him it's policy, arm updates?' Tony shakes her by both shoulders, 'wake up, there's no arm policy, God, you are a bigger bullshitter than me! Besides, he only comes down here when I'm out of earshot…' Tony pauses, 'or not, oh shit.' Andi looks up at him quickly, 'what? Shit, what?' Tony nods to the door, 'and today apparently.' Andi glances over and can hear Bucky talking with someone, his back to the door, about to push through.
'Fuck! What is he doing here?!' Andi shrieks, she looks at Tony in terror, he brushes her off, 'it's fine, don't get worked up, now's your chance, go get him.' He gives her a nudge and Andi panics, 'he's going to take this badly, think we were conspiring… but we weren't, I was trying to help, he needs help, the arm is broken, it's just making his life harder…' Tony is enjoying her panic somewhat, 'got a plan? Because he's coming in.'
Andi rushes over to the door, swinging it open and almost falling out. Bucky gazes down at her, a small chuckle on his lips fading as he notes her harassed state. They make eye contact and he's trying to nod at something, but she can't make it out and continues, 'what are you doing here, Bucky?' He tilts his head, 'Victoria and I are on that tour and she wanted to see the labs, is it a good time?' Andi snaps, 'no! Nope!' He's surprised by her outburst, she's always begging him to visit more. 'It's just, Tony's working, he's a real artist, needs to be alone.'
Bucky stares at her, unsure what's going on, she's never stopped him going in and this morning they nearly got to it in his office, something is off. He licks his lips and squints at her, lapping up her tales, 'hmm.'
He tries to see past, Andi pulls the door tight to her, just her head sticking out. 'Tony's really busy.' Bucky gives up, sighing 'fair dos, we will get out of your hair, Banner about?' Andi shrugs, 'dunno, maybe you should just go, it's all dull down here, try R&D up top.' Victoria steps out from beside Bucky, waving a little. Andi nods, sniffing, 'alright, Vicky? Good to see you, now's just not a great time, something just blew up, Tony's pretty pissed.'
There's an intentional clatter behind her and Tony shouts, 'I'm so pissed.' Bucky folds his arms, completely seeing through his girlfriend, but deciding to find out later, she's at least assisted in cutting this damn tour off. 'Right, sure thing, we will leave you to it. See you later.' Andi thanks him with her eyes, surprised by how easy that was, he hand flinches to reach for him, but Victoria is watching the pair keenly. The communications agent makes chat and excuses, 'it's fine, another time…' Andi watches them leave, Victoria asking more questions and suddenly she feels terrible, nearly calling him back.
Closing the door and leaning against it, she shuts her eyes, 'bad person, such a bad person.' Tony calls over, 'the worst.' She opens her eyes slowly, 'just put that thing away, I need to talk to him first, not whip it out like a magic trick.' Tony shrugs, 'you can do that, I'm going for a break.' Andi looks up, 'we just had lunch!' She turns to her boss, spotting the lab door open and Bucky stood there. One hand bracing against the the white door, peering around the room and landing on her.
Andi's eyes widen, praying he hasn't seen anything, but his straight lip and furrowed brow confirms he's seen all he needs to. 'Bucky…' She rounds a work bench walking closer to him, he immediately steps away from her, 'what is that?' Andi shuts her eyes, searching for a good lie. When she can't find one, she sighs, 'it's an arm, your arm, maybe.' Bucky stares at the metal limb, Andi watching him.
He seethes, folding his arms, neither one of them moving, 'we talked about this and it was a hard no.' Andi exhales, feeling hot all of a sudden, 'I know it was, but it's getting worse, I heard about last week, it got stuck, it stopped... and in the kitchen the other…' Bucky ignores her, remaining still. Andi is unnerved by his halted and quiet demeanour, 'you're mad at me,' she states coyly. Bucky doesn't even look at her, still staring firmly at the arm. Andi thinks maybe he is receptive, 'you want to look at it? Try it maybe?'
It's clearly a bridge too far, because he storms forward, kicking a stool in his wake and suddenly he is close to her face. 'You told me you'd let it go,' he hisses at her. Andi is on edge, she hasn't seen him this worked up for so long. 'Bucky, please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for… it started as a gesture, a nice idea.' He steps closer, indirectly forcing her back against a bench, 'you swore to me.' Andi sniffs a little, feeling hot tears sting her eyes, 'I'm sorry. I really am, I told Tony about the issues and he started working on it. I meant to tell you, I tried to tell you… he said they tried when you came back, but you weren't…' Bucky shakes his head, looking away and then refocusing on her, 'you tried to tell me?' Andi swallows, nodding, 'please don't hate me, it's all for you.' Bucky steps back, 'don't! Do not blame your hero complex on me, you can't fix everything, you can't just design me as your ideal boyfriend, Andi! This is it, fucked arm and all. This is who I am now.' Bucky shakes his head, turning away and pacing. Why couldn't she leave it alone, why didn't he leave it alone? Half way down the hall he released he was irked about the interaction and wanted to know what was at play now, not later. He told Victoria to wait for him and he returned to the lab.
Andi follows him, 'no, I know. I love you, everything about you, but you deserve better. Tony, he offered…' Bucky roughs his hair up, his wild eyes finding her, 'you and fucking Tony, he's not some sort of God, Andrea, get over it…' Andi hesitates, shocked 'what? Is that what you think I feel?' Bucky pauses, then lashes out and clears a desk with his metal arm.
Andi screeches in horror and covers her mouth, the sound of broken glass echoing around the lab, 'seems like it works fine to me,' Bucky announces, flexing his fingers. Andi stares at the mess on the floor and then looks to Bucky, his eyes trained on the arm, she suddenly steps in front of him. 'Please, don't do this, please, please.' Bucky stares her down, 'move.' Andi begins to cry, pleading, 'no, please, no.' He eyes her, the defiance in her is weak, like a flame in the wind, struggling to withstand. 'Move,' he barks louder. She bites her lip, shaking her head, her cheeks wet with tear tracks. Bucky turns, sighing 'fine.' She sighs out thinking he's leaving, giving up, walking away.
He turns away and clocks her desk and bashes a fist on it, 'you swore you'd leave it alone.' Andi shivers at his cold tone, 'I know I did.' Bucky looks at her desk, a picture of them tacked to her computer screen. Her crap all over the place, three dirty mugs, notebooks, a dead plant, his mind cataloguing everything. He spies wedding magazines and his lip curls in relit anger. He kicks the desk leg, stating lowly 'you're a liar then.' He twists and swipes the contents on to the floor, her screen bouncing and cracking as it hits the ground.
Andi screams and begs him loudly, 'stop! Stop it!' Bucky ignores her, stepping through the mess on the floor. Andi knows she's done wrong, but she just needs to calm him down, 'please, Bucky, this was only because I care, stop it now, you're going to get fired or hurt. Please?' He hears her words, but doesn't care.
Victoria appears at the door, running in, looking around at the mess, covering her chest with a palm, 'oh my God.' She looks to Bucky and then back to a red faced Andi. She thinks about stepping inside, but the floor is littered with glass and damaged items. 'What happened? I was waiting…'
'Barnes, you naughty boy,' Tony jokes as he strolls in, sipping his coffee. 'This looks like fun, I guess he didn't take it too well.' He nods over at Andi, 'you ok, PA?' She agrees sharply, wiping her face, Bucky stares at him, nostrils flaring.
'Bucky?' A small voice calls and Andi snaps her head to the girl at the door. 'Oh Christ,' Andi mutters, 'Victoria, you should go.' Tony peers over, 'wait, Barnes has a friend? Does she also have an appetite for destruction? Got a baseball bat behind your back?' Victoria shakes her head shyly. Bucky refocuses on the arm, exhaling and growling, turning to look at Andi aggressively, 'you swore to me!' Andi throws her hands up, 'why do you keep saying that? A year ago I said "hey Bucky, maybe get a new arm, that one's causing you a few issues." You said no, we disagreed and I've watched it get worse, making your situation even harder. I love you, I would do anything to make your life easier.' Bucky snaps, poking his chest 'then listen to me, Andrea!' Andi calls in frustration, 'don't call me that!' He seems to soften, 'please, don't push me away, no Andreas, it's me. I'm not one of them, I'm not trying to control you. It's me.'
He just stares at her, nobody sure what he's thinking.
Victoria's voice calls to him again and Andi rolls her eyes, 'your fan club is calling, Bucky.' He smirks dryly at her, 'grow the hell up.' Tony grins, looking between them, 'this is fun, you should come down here more often, Barnes. I assume you will be clearing up as well?' Bucky stares at the billionaire, marching for him, as Andi once again steps into his path, standing between the two men. Bucky stares down at her, 'once again, you are in my way. Move.'
Tony watches on in quiet shock, exhaling, 'look, you're over reacting, this is basically on me. Fury has been telling tales on you, all those pesky arm issues in the field, blah blah blah.' Bucky gazes past Andi, focusing on Tony, 'you had no right.' Tony huffs, 'I have all the rights, I literally paid for your mattress, probably your porridge. Now apologise to your girl and take your other girl, I mean really, two? Anyway, you should go, I'll bill you for the damage.' Bucky steps back, glass crunching beneath is feet, Andi winces, feeling like she's being made to decide, stay with Tony or go with Bucky.
'Bucky…' she calls weakly, reaching for him, her shattered monitor a wall between them, 'I'm sorry, I really am, it's honestly not how it seems.' He looks down at her small pale hand, gripping his metal one and he shakes her loose, 'careful, it's broken.'
He leaves, brushing past Victoria and she watches him go, looking back into the lab at the devastation he has left. She eyes the crying blonde and the waving billionaire and urgently retreats, 'I need to… uh, yeah. See ya.'
Victoria chases down the hall after Bucky, 'hey, wait!' He keeps walking and she follows after him, ignoring all her protocols for working with him. She knows better than to approach him in this state. She reaches for him, despite knowing she should never do so. 'Bucky!' He stops and turns to her quickly, shaking her off and lashing out 'stop calling me that! I don't even know you!' She pauses, swallowing, 'ok, but that doesn't mean I can't be your friend.' Bucky glares at her in a stunned silence, 'I don't need more friends, you're nobody' he spits at her.
Victoria can feel her heart racing in her ears, wondering what he might do to her. 'What was that?' She's so timid and even Bucky can't shout at someone that petrified. 'I don't want to talk about it, if you want to be my friend, leave me alone.' Victoria remains still, watching him, her eyes trace him and she coughs, 'uh, Bu… your arm.' He peers down, following her gesture, noting his arm is twisted in an unusual position. He growls and grips it, a mechanical crack echoes as he turns it correctly.
Victoria looks away, offering him space. She asks, 'did something happen when I was away? In the field? I heard…' Bucky grunts, 'nothing I can't deal with. I don't need your help' She nods, thinking back to the mess he caused, how scared Andi looked and how terrified she felt.
'She was right,' she whispers, still not looking at him. Bucky knows she means the arm. He waves her off, pointing between them 'this was a mistake, I don't do tours, I don't do friends and this is why I don't do fucking labs, always someone waiting to tear you apart and stitch you back together.'
'You should go, you shouldn't be around me, I'm a hazard.' When she looks back, she just sees his retreating form.
…
Andi is knelt on the floor, scraping glass into piles, her tears have subsided, but her face remains damp. She blows her hair away, her breath shaky and inconsistent. A dustpan is offered over her shoulder and it shakes as Tony demands, 'take it, save your hands.' Tony stands looking down at her with folded arms, 'well, I can't wait to attach an arm to that guy, what a gent.' Andi sniffs, sitting back on her heels. Tony watches her, she's not listening to him and he crouches next to her, 'did he hurt you?' She shakes her head, 'he wouldn't hurt me.' Tony looks about at the mess, 'well, maybe not you, but he did a number around here. This is my favourite lab.'
'I should report him.' Andi looks up panicked, 'don't. Please, it was my fault, he did ask me to stay out, I went too far, I always go too far. You know his history, his file. Fire me.' Tony raises a brow, 'that's very honourable of you, but you're the best PA I've had, outside of Pepper, so maybe we should just keep this between us.' She's grateful but it doesn't show. She looks up, closing her eyes, 'God, I always do this, I push him. I wanted to help, make a decision he couldn't, be his right hand, so to speak.' Tony flicks a piece of glass away, 'did you tell Rogers?' She shakes her head in shame, Tony thinks about it, 'generally, I find if you haven't told Captain Authority something, it's because it isn't a good idea. Ask yourself WWSRD.'
Tony peers back over his shoulder, the arm still propped on an undisturbed desk. 'Maybe he doesn't hate it, it's still in one piece.' Andi glances over, 'wishful thinking, I think.'
Tony reaches out and picks something up. Slowly passing her the image from her screen, the tatty picture of her and Bucky. 'Look, go find him, sort it, I'll get maintenance on this, but only this once. I should sit here with a cocktail and watch him clean it up.' Andi accepts the picture, staring at it sadly. She looks back to the arm, Tony turns serious 'as my PA, I'd like you to invite Sargent Barnes to a meeting to discuss replacing his malfunctioning arm. Think you can do that?' She agrees, no self-confidence that she actually can.
Tony watches her, he's never seen her so deflated or wounded. 'No more UFC down here, please.' He stands and leaves, calling to FRIDAY regarding the clean-up.
…
Bucky sits in the basement for hours. His back propped against the cold brick wall. Knocking his head back forcefully. He thinks about what happened, his rage at Andi, the audacity that she made a call he couldn't. He doesn't know what upsets him more, that she made the decision or that he failed to. He looks down at his damaged arm, wondering why he clings on to it. Nobody should keep something that's broken.
He knows she's right, he does need a new arm, he's making his life unnecessarily difficult. He pictures how scared she was, he recalls her affects flying across the room, smashing to the ground. He can see her stood between him and Tony, standing up to him, fighting to calm him, to protect his job.
He throws his head back a little hard, knocking the wall behind again. Closing his eyes, he wonders where she is now. They ate lunch down here for almost a year at one time, he's certain she knows where he is. She's either giving him space, or she's done this time. Bucky can't blame her, he acted unstable, out of control, only problem is, he wasn't acting. He's angry that he let himself get to that point, he knows he can't solely blame her.
He questions what the big issue is about Stark. He finds him arrogant, but it's more than that. Him offering to help feels wrong, like he's taken enough from the rich playboy already. Bucky doesn't over think it, Tony being the least of his worries.
He flexes his fingers, focusing on his left hand, made of metal. He imagines a wedding ring there in the future and laughs darkly, knowing that won't work. He wonders if Andi will even want that now.
He pulls himself up and returns home, it's just beginning to get dark outside.
When he arrives at the long hallway to the rooms, he stops, spotting Andi sat cross legged against his door.
Andi looks to her left, a pair of legs beside her, black clad, pockets at the knees and she knows who it is. She doesn't look up, the deep voice asks 'why didn't you go in?' She shrugs, muttering, 'I didn't want to assume, I didn't know if I was still welcome.' His metal hand appears in her eyeline, offering to pull her up. She accepts and staggers to her feet.
Eye to eye with her, he can see that her hair is looser than earlier, nervously plaited in places. Her eyes are red and she seems tired. He reaches past her, keeping eye contact and holding his key card against the door. Pushing through and nodding for her to enter, Andi turns and slowly walks in. She instantly feels bad, her stuff is everywhere and it feels wrong, just something else she may have forced on him. She's been sat there considering if he will still want to marry her, maybe he's had a rethink.
Andi doesn't know what to say, does she start with apologies or keep it formal and invite him to the Stark arm meeting.
'I'm so sorry, I should have listened to you,' she admits, stood lonely in the centre of the lounge area. Bucky nods, staying a few feet apart, 'I agree.' Andi bites her lip, wondering if that's it. Bucky stammers, 'I'm sorry too, the lab, your desk, that was a dick move.' Andi shrugs, softening, 'I can't blame you, it's your arm, your life. Here comes this nosey blonde getting involved.' He agrees with the slightest of nods, 'but you were right, I need that arm.'
Andi's face stills in surprise, amazed at the turn around. 'Admitting it is the tough part,' he offers, she looks at him with pity and he hates it. 'Truth is, I'm quite attached to this one. You know, at one point it was all I had. No name, no belongings, no family.' Andi can feel tears forming in her eyes, looking down and watching as they drip onto the carpet. Bucky feels embarrassed admitting that and struggling to watch her so upset. 'But I'm truly sorry for how I reacted.'
Andi shakes her head quickly, 'you were right, I was wrong. I want you to have the fullest of lives and I thought that was something I could do for you. Tony has all this money, he doesn't always seem to know what to do with it and… oh God, it's not charity, I didn't mean that.' Bucky steps in closer, tilting her chin up to look at him, 'you make my life full.' Andi appreciates the words, but she can't quite believe him. 'Look how I made you feel, react even!' Bucky shakes his head, 'that's on me, but from here on out we need to be upfront.' Andi pleads, 'I'd never lie to you. Do you umm, still want to get married?' She looks terrified at what he might say. Bucky licks his lips, admitting 'more than anything.'
Andi drops her head against his chest, murmuring into him, 'Tony wants to see you about the arm.' Bucky panics, 'he's pulling the offer?' She shakes her head against him, 'no, he wants to talk fitting, whenever you're ready, he asked me to book you in.' Bucky relaxes and suddenly realises how much he needs this.
Bucky pulls away, 'do you still want to get married?' She nods desperately 'of course.'
'There is something else that I should tell you,' Andi quietly confesses, staring down again. Bucky holds his breath, panicked by what this could be, 'the wedding is medium in size, it's not really small anymore.' Bucky scoffs and Andi justifies, 'I've been looking at numbers and my guest list, I just want to be honest, I don't want to hide anything from you.' Bucky appreciates her honestly, stroking her hair flat, 'medium's ok, thank you for warning me.'
Bucky stares at his arm, admitting 'I called my therapist's office this afternoon.' Andi looks up quickly, 'why? You were doing so well, only once a month, you felt good about that.' Bucky laughs at her, 'come on, kid, we both know why.' She stares at him sympathetically, secretly enjoying the endearing nickname. She nods, 'ok, whatever you want.' He touches her cheek with his flesh palm and she knows he not truly relaxed, careful not to touch her with his damaged hand.
'We good?' She asks, he nods, confirming 'yeah, we're good.'
Andi sniffs, dropping her face into his cradling palm 'you were very sweet, giving Victoria that tour, I should go apologise. What must she think of me?' Bucky just shrugs, he can't think about that right now. He drops his hand and they stare at one another. Bucky looks like he might say something, licking his lips slowly.
Andi spins and announces, 'I need to go, Mia needs me, we are doing some paper-mache fish thing.' Bucky panics, Andi places a hand against him, 'we are good, I promise. This was always planned, I might stay there tonight, but I'll see you tomorrow? At work. I love you.' She leans in and kisses his cheek softly, it lacks her usual fun and flirtation, but it's soft and caring. She squeezes his hand and Bucky watches her leave, stopping to wave at the door. He eyes the clock, knowing it's a bit late for arts and crafts.
…
The next morning, Victoria is unpacking her bag for the day, filling her desk drawer with snacks. She pauses, noticing a mug on her desk. It's brand new, with a kitten on the front and she picks it up slowly, peering around, in case someone left it. Inside is a folded up piece of paper, pulling it out slowly, she replaces the mug on the desk. She un-crinkles it and reads the note,
'I'm sorry about yesterday, enjoy the mug. Bucky'
She's touched by the sentiment and the effort, she checks her watch, it's five am, so he must have been here even earlier. She folds the note back up and places it in her drawer, beside the picture of her ex-boyfriend. Grabbing the mug happily and heading to make her first coffee of the day.
AN: Thank you for reading! Andi obviously meant well or believed she was helping in some way, but she can't control the timing and the speed of decisions here, that's all on Bucky. A little bit of upset between the happy couple and the biggest incident for Bucky since the bathroom scene in Story 1.
Next chapter is a lot lighter and a fluffy one with Rosie at the centre.
Stay safe xx
