One Night Stand (A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction)

Bruce Willis

She was pacing distractedly behind me, ranting quietly to herself, but I could hear her loud and clear thanks to my serum enhanced senses. I waited at the edge of the alley, hidden in the shadows, scanning the street for potential threats before we moved again. She had forced me to stop, sweating and panting, cursing me for making her run for so long and hard. I had forgotten that she wasn't like me, she was a normal person, she would need rest, especially after running for 13 blocks, and I had finally relented and ducked her into an alley to take a breather I didn't need. I had been too preoccupied with getting her to safety to think about the fact that she might need rest.

"This is exactly why I didn't want to date because just my luck I sleep with the guy who has Russians after him that want to also kill me now," she muttered to herself, talking to no one in particular. I figured this was how she was coping with the stress, scolding herself. "I should have known. I should have known. I am going to kill Iris for this!"

I leaned against the bricks and winced as pain shot through my side. I reached into my jacket, touching my lower right side where the pain was centered, pulling my flesh hand back to see blood smeared against my fingers. That bastard must have hit me after Jade had taken off, he had pulled a gun on me and I hadn't gotten the second shot off quick enough before he had fired, the one that hit him right in the chest. I hadn't waited to see if he was truly dead, I had to get to Jade before she ran too far. I knew there was another team in the area, a back up if the first wasn't successful. That was standard procedure, they never sent just one team, unless it was me. It was them that I was looking for now. They wouldn't stop unless they got to her or me. I knew the bullet was still inside, I could feel it, the adrenaline rushing through me the only thing making the pain tolerable. I wouldn't start to heal until it came out, but I couldn't get it out until I got her to safety.

"Jade."

She hadn't stopped pacing and was still muttering to herself. "I just wanted to go home and watch Stranger Things and eat ice cream. Is that too much to ask? Is it really too much to ask to not almost be kidnapped?"

"Jade."

She continued to ignore me, making me push off the wall and walk to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing eye contact. She tensed when I touched her, looking up at me with wide panicked eyes, her mouth hanging open slightly. I tried to keep my face and voice soft, knowing that she was panicked and terrified, that I had effectively turned her life upside down which was the exact reason that I had planned to stay away.

"Jade," I repeated again. "Listen to me very carefully. We have to keep moving. I have to get you off the street before the second team finds us. Okay?" She nodded slowly looking dazed. I wasn't sure if she had actually heard anything I said. "It's going to be okay," I promised trying to ease her fears. "I wont let anything happen to you."

She blinked, like she was seeing me for the first time, her face setting into a frown. "This isn't me. I can't do this. I am not Bruce Willis. I can't be Bruce Willis. I cannot fight off villains, Russian or otherwise."

I really wanted to ask her who Bruce Willis was, figuring he must be some hero from this time period, but it was not the time. I had to get her moving again. I had to circle back so we could get to Steve's motorcycle. There was a rendevouz location for these exact situations, a safe house, a motel just outside the city, room A1; it would have medical supplies, food, weapons, and cash stashed there. It was something that I had set up with Steve when I had finally come home after being on ice, knowing that even though I was mostly better, I had been one of Hydra's best assets and they wouldn't let me go. I was so used to running, hiding, trying to be free. The possibility that I would need to run again had never left my mind. I had to get her to that motel, to safety, and call in to Steve for back up and extraction.