Imagine If You Assembled the Avengers: Volume 1

This Was Never The Plan (Avengers x reader)

Bucky had spent the morning showing off as many pictures of you as he could, or as many as the team would put up with, awaiting your arrival at the tower. "I can't believe this little twerp is all grown-up," he told Steve with a small crack in his voice. "I still see her as this little kid every time I look at her."

Natasha grabbed one of the pictures from the pile, smiling briefly before returning it and taking another. "She looks like a great kid, Barnes."

"Ha!" he scoffed, "don't let that innocent face fool ya. The kid can be a holy terror."

"Wow, I can't possibly imagine where she would get that from," Steve smirked, "no idea at all."

Bucky raised his hand to his chest in mock disbelief at Steve's claim. "Listen here, punk. I'll have you know that I am a very good influence with an innate sense of paternal instinct."

Everyone in the room looked at Bucky silently, Steve with an eyebrow raised and a laugh threatening to escape at any moment. "Fine," Bucky relented, "I did the best I could, alright? What the hell did I know about raising a kid?"

"Hey, one-armed wonder, you gonna come down here and get me or what?"

A bright smile lit up Bucky's face at the sound of your voice, quickly jumping up and running towards the elevator to meet you. "Yep, that's my girl!"

~~~

It had been a month since that day when you arrived at the tower, and already you had taken your place on the team, a great source of pride for your stand-in father. Today was the day of your final test; taking down his best friend. You had told Steve to treat you no different than anyone else, and he was really taking you seriously. You felt the ache of fatigue in your entire body, but that wasn't about to stop you.

"Alright, Captain Spanglepants. It's about time we finish this."

"Couldn't agree more, you little shit."

Bucky laughed out loud, nudging Natasha with his elbow as they watched intently from the landing above the gym. "Wow, they really do love each other."

"Yeah, I can tell?" she said with a slight inflection of disbelief. "Oh," she perked up and slapped his arm in excitement, "here she goes! Watch, I taught her my move." Natasha peeked over the ledge, ready to see her new protégé in action. "Come on, kid," she whispered.

Steve anticipated the move, knowing that you had been training with Romanoff, but you were still able to get your legs wrapped firmly around his neck despite the nearly foot and a half of height that he had over you. He put up a bit of a struggle, but the move was foolproof and he eventually went to his knees on the mat, landing on his chest with a huff as you dug your knee into his back and secured his arms behind his head.

"You give up?" You pushed his face harder into the cold floor and smiled when you heard Natasha cheering for you from above. "Take your time. I could do this all day."

"That's my line," Steve groaned, suddenly freeing one arm and kicking his leg out to flip you off from his back. You landed on the mat with a hard thud that knocked a breath from your chest and had you seeing stars. You were shocked that he had overtaken you so easily, now with his full weight pinning you with no foreseeable way to escape.

"Dammit," Bucky mumbled, "I thought she had him for sure."

You tapped Steve's arm to signal your defeat, and he released you to help you stand, smiling down at you with a satisfied grin. "You've come a long way, (Y/N), I'm impressed, really." He reached over to you and ruffled the hair on the top of your head, as if you were still just a little kid. You smiled at the gesture, mocking contentment when you grabbed his arm and kicked out his leg, flipping him onto his back with a resounding smack on the mat.