The Feeling's Mutual | Bucky x Reader

3 | A deal

"I didn't kill anyone!" You spread your hands wide from where you sat at the meeting table.

"That's not the point," Tony stated, leaning over the table opposite you, his finger pressed to the wooden surface for emphasis. "You disobeyed direct orders. How are we as a team supposed to count on you if you don't do as you're told?"

"How am I as an Avenger supposed to prove my worth if you won't let me fight?"

Tony opened his mouth but stopped himself. The others sat around the table, watching the argument unfold. You leaned forward in your chair.

"You needed help. We helped." You gestured to Bucky, who sat in the far corner silently observing. "And we won."

"I told you to stay."

"I'm not your dog." You were on your feet in a split second, leveling your eyes with his the same way you had in battle. "And last I checked, you're not exactly known for your obedience either, so sorry if I don't sit or roll over when you want me to."

Tony looked taken aback, not meaning to compare you to an animal. "Y/n-"

The door suddenly burst open and Clint and Nat poured into the room. The archer held up an item in his hand. "We found something."

Following your mission success yesterday the Hydra facility was now being swept. What was found was either destroyed or handed over to SHIELD, but this was different. It was an old VHS tape marked with writing you couldn't make out.

Tony suddenly looked reluctant. He turned back to you, and the look in his eyes told you he didn't want you to see what was about to be played. You defiantly slumped back in your seat and crossed your arms. Given the feelings you'd just expressed, he couldn't bring himself to tell you to leave.

The tape was plugged into a modern player, which converted it into a high quality image on a giant transparent screen on the wall. After the initial flash of white, the head and shoulders of a person appeared.

Your blood ran cold. You could never forget that sharp face and those round reflective glasses.

"Greetings, Earth's mightiest heroes," a grating voice spoke in a heavy European accent. A voice that made your hairs stand.

"If you have found this tape, then you have done as expected. I congratulate you on your victory. However, I regretfully must inform you that cutting off one head of a hydra is futile: two shall always take its place."

The figure rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "But sacrifice is necessary. The facility you decommissioned was weak, as were its workers. I thank you. But I did not make this tape simply to express my gratitude. This tape is a message; for Project Fox."

Bucky watched as you slowly rose from your seat. You looked caught between running for your life and attacking the screen. Your hands were fists.

You stared into the figure's glasses, vividly recalling the black apathetic eyes behind them. Next he addressed you directly.

"It has been some time, daughter. I have no doubt you have grown stronger, but you are equally foolish to believe I am merely a thing of the past."

Your heart thudded in your chest. An entirely different adrenaline kicked in, and you felt your nails grow into claws.

"Your treachery has not been forgotten. You cannot outrun your sins. This tape is only the beginning. The beginning of your end. Hail Hydr-"

The audio was cut short as you swept a clawed hand across the screen, tearing up the glass and delicate wiring with sparks and crackles. The screen stuttered and died.