Sebastian Stan Short Stories

Bucky Barnes [26]

"And there was only one bed..."

Requested by Wife_of_SexySeaBass

*

"I would kill for a hot shower and a 12-hour nap," I muttered. Bucky glanced from me to the unconscious combatant at my feet and back again. "Okay, that may have been a poor choice of words. But I'm really tired and feel like I'm covered in grime."

"Well, we got what we came for. Let's get out of here," Bucky said.

I followed him out of the building the same way that we came in. He had a USB drive tucked into a pocket, filled with files from a server farm deep in the building. It had been well guarded, and there was a lovely trail of high-quality guards who were now unconscious and in need of medical care. Most of the guards I had taken down would probably wake up with nothing more than some deep bruises and bruised egos, but Bucky sometimes struggled with keeping his super soldier strength under control while fighting. Chances are a few of his take-downs would need a stay in the hospital to recover.

Once we were outside, we made for Bucky's motorcycle. It had been a gift from Steve, something to remind Bucky of his old self. It was an old-styled Harley with a fancy electric motor, courtesy of Stark Industries. It was nondescript and quiet enough to be used for missions, and he loved the thing.

"We have a hotel right?" I asked. Bucky started the bike's engine, and I sat down behind him and put my arms around his middle. "Please say we do."

"Address is already in the GPS," he laughed.

~

We arrived at our hotel a little over an hour later. It was in the opposite direction of our base of operations, but it had been especially chosen as a safe house for that reason. It was a nice and unassuming sort of place, welcoming even in the dead of night.

"I'm going to stow this somewhere out of sight if you want to go ahead and get our rooms," Bucky said. We both swung ourselves off the bike and the engine quietly turned itself off.

"What makes you think there are two rooms?" I teased. Although Bucky and I had come to our own realizations about our relationship, we had tacitly decided to keep it under the radar. Couples on missions were considered a hazard at best, but we worked too well together to let ourselves be separated.

"Steve always has and always will be a little oblivious to romantic stuff," Bucky quipped. "Love him to death, but he was an awful wingman. He's probably clueless."

I left Bucky to push his motorcycle into some hidey hole and went inside to find an employee. The night manager was completely asleep behind the check-in desk, but after I dropped my miniature overnight back on the counter he jumped out of his seat. "Need the keys to a couple rooms."

"Uh, yeah. Of course. What's the name?" he asked.

"Rogers," I deadpanned. He flipped through a binder on the desk and finally produced a key. Half the reason why this little hotel had been picked was because they didn't have Wi-fi or even a damn computer. Their phone number was on a few travel websites, but reservations had to be called in.

"Here you go, Mrs. Rogers," he said happily. 'Mrs. Rogers' didn't escape my attention, but I ignored it. He handed me a single key attached to a tchotchke of a key fob.

"Is there only one key?" I checked.

"One key per room, and there's only one reservation under the name Rogers."

Bucky came through the front door before I could comment, and the desk clerk looked terrified. Bucky cut more than an imposing figure, especially dressed in all black and looking like the poster child for an illicit motorcycle gang. 

"Got the keys?" he asked. I nodded and held up the single key. Bucky didn't bat an eye. He shot a quick smile at the desk clerk, possibly trying to comfort the poor thing.

"Room is up the stairs and to the left," was the only thing he said in response. Bucky took my bag off the counter, held it in the same hand as his own, and followed me up the stairs. We walked down the hall, his free hand on the small of my back, until I found the room number that matched the one on the key fob.

"I think he figured it out," I said to myself after I opened the door. Bucky stepped into the room after me, having missed my realization. "I think he's testing us."

"Who? God?" Bucky asked.

"No, Steve."

Bucky practically snorted then stepped around me. He dropped his bag to the floor and then flopped onto the bed, the only bed.

"I hate to say it, but you're probably right," Bucky said. He propped up on his elbows and gazed at me, some combination of playful and fatigued.

"The desk clerk called me Mrs. Rogers, we're in a room with one, king-size bed, and there's a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket over here," I pointed out, jerking my thumb over my shoulder at the small chest-of-drawers behind me.  Granted the ice had thawed and the champagne was probably room temperature, but I was half-tempted to pop the cork and chug it. "Pretty sure we got the honeymoon package."

"Maybe Mrs. Rogers is Steve's way of telling you he's got the hots for you," Bucky teased. His smile turned into an outright grin, and I took a few seconds to doff my shoes, jacket, and cross-body holster. Then I joined Bucky in bed, laying on my stomach next to him. I folded my arms under my head and turned to face him while he rolled to his side.

"Or Steve figured it out, went to Sam for advice, and this is what they came up with," he brain-stormed.

"Half a night in a hotel with one bed between us?"

As if on cue, both of our watches beeped. I pushed up off my hands, and the watch face lit up. A holographic message scrolled in the air over my wrist, and Buck read it. Extraction ETA TBD. Have fun kids ;) -love Sam and Steve.

"Yeah, I think they know," Bucky told me. He threw his arm over my back and pulled me against his chest suddenly. I couldn't keep myself from laughing and smiling at his antics. "Theoretically, how long do you think we can stay here before they show up?"

"This has Sam written all over it, so probably no more than a week before curiosity kills the cat and he comes looking for us," I guessed. I cuddled into his hold, and he curled himself around me. "I say we wait them out and see what kind of room service this place offers."

Bucky hummed a short note of agreement and began undoing the fastenings of my watch. Once it had been tossed to the far side of the room he took his off as well.

"Now we can play dumb when they ask why we ignored their messages," he said. He began to kiss the side of my neck, knowing full well how ticklish I was, and I started to wonder whether I would owe Sam and Steve my thanks for sending us to a hotel in the middle of nowhere for an indeterminate length of time. As Bucky pulled the collar of my shirt out of the way, those thoughts disappeared. 

*

Author's Note:

Gold star for anybody who can find the Tom Hiddleston reference. 

Also, Wattpad's spell check feature tried to replace 'tchotchke' with 'hotcake' and 'Bucky' with 'Becky.' Which is why writers have trust issues.