favorite crime (b. barnes)

the penthouse

The rest of Iris' birthday passed in a haze. She skipped out on dinner, claiming she was tired and wanted to rest. Sarah said nothing but packed up some of the roast beef she made and sent her on her way. Tony got home an hour later with the entire cake Sarah baked. 

Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes left the house at one in the morning, knowing full well where Loki Laufeyson would be. They found him at MJ's, the only bar in Long Grove, drinking himself stupid. "Hey, man, are you sure we want to pick another fight with this motherfucker?" Bucky asked, hand on Steve's chest to hold him back from unleashing his rage in one go. Steve stared determinedly at Loki's head. "He put his hands on Iris, Buck. I can't let the asshole get away with that." Bucky sighed and removed his hand. "Lead the way, Rogers." The boys made their way inside, heading straight for the bar and sitting on either side of the black-haired boy. 

Loki let out an exhausted sigh as he set down his beer, staring at the reflection of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes in the bar mirror. "To what do I owe this visit, boys?" Bucky said nothing while Steve just continued to glare at Loki. "Did you ever put your hands on her like that before tonight?" Steve asked darkly. Loki scoffed and brought the beer up to his lips taking a sip before setting it back down harshly and fixing his gaze on Steve's glowering one. "Not that it's any of your fucking business, Rogers, but no." Steve's gaze fell from Loki's face but never once wavered. Bucky's clenched fists loosened but he remained with his eyes fixed on Steve, insuring that his friend didn't do anything stupid.

Loki looked down at the bar top, a smirk forming on his face as a thought popped in his head. "Does it bother you, Rogers," he started, the smirk only growing wider, "to know that I'm the one who gets to feel her skin and taste the best parts of her? Does it bother you that every night, my name is on her tongue and not yours?" Steve's blood began to boil at how he talked about her, and Loki saw how enraged he was. Bucky noticed too, getting off his seat and slowly inching towards Steve. Loki met Steve's eyes, the smirk turning into a wicked smile. "I'm sure if you asked her nicely, Rogers, the little slut would open her legs for you too. I know all I had to do was give her a smile and a compliment and she was writhing under me, begging for more. But that's what I get for fucking a whore." 

Bucky's fist collided with Loki's jaw, the blow strong enough to knock him off his stool. Steve was up and on top of Loki's scrambling body, turning his around and delivering another punch to the face. Two other bar patrons pulled Steve off of Loki, and Bucky delivered one last kick to the ribs before pulling Steve out of the two men's arms and leading him out of the bar. As they walked back to the Rogers' residence, Bucky let all the things that fuckwad said mull over in his head. If Steve hadn't made him promise not to bring any of that gang shit over to his hometown, Bucky would've probably done more than just deliver one punch and a kick to the ribs. He'd have fucking murdered the bastard.

"Why didn't you do more?" Steve finally broke the silence when they were two blocks away from the house. Bucky looked to his friend in confusion. "What do you mean?" 
"I mean, why didn't you hit him more?" Bucky just let out a scoff and shook his head. "You're fucking kidding me right? You made me swear not to bring any Shield shit to Long Grove. You know I could've killed the motherfucker, but I didn't. I didn't kill him out of respect for you." Bucky was pissed. He was seething at the fact that Steve expected him to go full Winter Soldier on Loki after everything. 

Steve let out a long breath and stopped walking. "I'm sorry, you're right. I was just angry. Iris is just like my little sister, and it makes me so mad that she's so blind to what a piece of shit this Loki guy is." Steve and Bucky stood on the sidewalk for a while, the latter listening for his friend's breathing to calm down. After what felt like an eternity, Bucky spoke up. "I will gladly go Soldier on him if that's what you want. You have to know what you're asking for Steve; you know that once I start, I can't stop until the job is finished."