That-Sokovian-Bastard // Avengers Imagines

Sneaking Off - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Words: 1184
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader
Featuring: Steve, Sam, Clint, others mentioned
Warnings: lil angsty, swearing, crying, talk of anxiety
Requested
Summary: After the Civil War between the Avengers, Team Cap is on the run and hiding out. They're finally stationed in a place for longer than they expected, but where does Bucku keep sneaking off to?
Author's Note: tbh there was more angst than I anticipated. Post-CACW (also written right after cacw came out so I didn't know where everyone went exactly after it)

*Edited*

---

Bucky was happy with where his team was being stationed. It was a small enough town that they could easily hide out there, especially with the government on their asses. At this point, they had just enough offenses to call for their arrest, and for some reason, the whole "saving the world" thing didn't cover what they were wanted for.

It seemed that "not signing the Accords" was the first offense, which would have been overlooked as a thanks for saving the world. But when The Winter Soldier joined the team, the tables were turned as they had a murderer and ex-HYDRA worker with them. But what really crossed the line was when Cap broke into the floating prison and got his team members out of there.

And as much as the government didn't want to go after the other half of the Avengers, they had to. If they wouldn't retire, then they were criminals that needed to be caught. And even though the Accord-Signing Avengers didn't want their friends to be in trouble, there was no way to stop the government or the other part of the team from doing what they were doing. And even if Tony wanted to call Cap, he knew he couldn't. It was too dangerous.

But if being on the run wasn't enough, technically, Cap wasn't Cap anymore. Bucky felt horrible about that since Steve gave up the title when he fought Tony and left his shield behind. No matter how many times Steve told Bucky it wasn't his fault, Bucky still lost sleep over how guilty he felt.

But he had grown to love the small town they were hiding in. He could walk around and not be harassed about what he did in his past. But the best part was that no one had any idea where they were, so they were able to live in peace for at least a few weeks. It was certainly longer than any other place they had been at.

"Everyone, we have to go," Steve ran into the hideout on a random day. It was actually three months since they ended up in that town.

"What do you mean?" Wanda asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Someone posted about us; we probably only have a little time left until-"

"Maybe we should think about retiring," Clint cut Steve off.

Everyone went silent, shocked by what Clint said. Everyone agreed that they were doing this for the good of the world, and if there was a problem Tony's side couldn't get to, then they were the most qualified to help out. But with all the running around and close calls, everyone had thought about giving it all up at least once.

"You really think so?" Sam chimed in, torn between his thoughts.

Clint shrugged. "I miss my family, and I'm sure all of you wish you could walk around without being afraid for your life, don't you miss it?" He asked but got no response from anyone else.

Steve sighed and called the group together. "We can discuss retiring another time, but we need to get out of here before we have to worry about our lives. So please, let's start packing. Sam and Scott, look for a new location," Steve instructed, and Bucky began to worry about what this would mean.

"Steve, do you think we'll ever come back here?" Bucky followed him into another room.

"Probably not, now that everyone knows it exists and that we hid out here," Steve explained as he started to fold his few pairs of clothes, "Why?"

Bucky quickly got scared but couldn't tell Steve why. He couldn't leave this town; maybe retiring was the best thing for him. But in his head, he thought it would only make things easier on the people after him; he was still The Winter Soldier, people still wanted to arrest him.

"No reason," Bucky lied and ran out of the makeshift base before freaking out. Moving around so much had made anxiety appear out of nowhere, and it was not something he ever wanted. He thought that, maybe, this would be the one town they could stay hidden in. It was gold, but too good to be true. And like the poem says, nothing gold can stay.

---

The group split into two to travel a little quieter. Sam, Steve, and Bucky traveled together, while Clint, Wanda, and Scott went together. Since Sam and Scott both knew how to get to the new location, it was obvious why they were separate. They also took different routes and were set to be there in only a matter of hours. With Steve driving for the one group, it made things a little easier on Bucky; he didn't have to deal with talking to Sam. Well, besides all the complaining the two would do.

"Steve, we need to make a stop before we leave this town," Bucky told him and only got a strange look in return. "Trust me, give me just a few minutes, then we can be done here forever," As much as it hurt to say, Bucky promised his friend. He could almost feel his heart breaking, and he wasn't even to the hard part yet. Bucky was already so broken; he wouldn't know what to do after this.

Steve obliged, and even Sam didn't complain. He could tell Bucky was upset and let him deal with it; Sam would have wanted the same thing if he was in Bucky's spot. Sam didn't even know what was going on; no one did, but he stayed quiet the whole drive until the special stop.

All three boys got out of the car at a house near the outskirts of town, unsure of what was happening. Bucky walked up to the door while Sam and Steve leaned against the car, watching Bucky.

You opened the door, surprised to see Bucky on the other side. "Buck? We weren't meant to meet until tonight-"

"I have to leave," Bucky blurted out.

"W-what?" You gasped, afraid of what he was going to say. 

"We were exposed, and now we have to leave. I'm not sure if we'll ever be back," Bucky started, tears forming in his eyes.

"No, no, you can stay here with me; it'll just be the two of us-"

Bucky sighed, cutting you off. "Doll, you know that's not how it works," He put his hands on your shoulder, "Maybe someday we will be together again."

"Don't do it," You whispered, looking into his eyes. Bucky leaned in to kiss you, and as his lips were on yours, you realized that this could be the last time you ever kissed Bucky.

"Holy shit," Steve whispered, looking over to Sam, "This is where Bucky has been sneaking off to."

"How did he get someone before me?" Sam gasped, then looked away in disgust.

Bucky pulled back, staring at your tear-stained face and you looked at his. "Goodbye, doll," He told you and turned to walk away. You were so speechless that you didn't even get to say goodbye back to him.