#injured bucky

[cherriontop]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Joaquín Torres, Sarah Wilson (Marvel), Redwing (Marvel) Additional Tags: Bucky Barnes Whump, Guilty Sam, Sam Blames Himself, Injured Bucky, Hospital, captain america sam, ex winter soldier bucky, Post tfatws, Canon Compliant, Mentions of Riley, sam has ptsd, snappy sam, Worried Sam, redwing is a pal, so is torres, sam cares a lot about bucky Summary:

Sam wakes up falling.

Usually it’s the other way around. Usually, he falls when he goes to sleep, eyes closed and at the mercy of his brain. Usually he dreams of falling, right there beside Riley, helpless and all too aware of the fate that awaited below him.

Now, though, his eyes open sluggishly, and wind whooshes around him as he spins in the air, wings hanging uselessly on his back. The ground is still far away, and somewhere above him, there’s the whooping of helicopter blades, and then there’s someone else careening towards the ground just like him, though far less graceful without wings.

Bucky.

Written for the @allcapsbingo Square I4: Salvage yard

[5ummit]

by allie_lynee

[alienoresimagines]

Bucky, very seriously: You need to stop doing weird things to cope with the stress. Going outside might help. Buck: I went to the park today. Bucky: There you go! I hope you got something from that. Buck, opening his coat: This duck.

[jasmines-library]

Just forget about it.

WHUMPTOBER 2023: Prompt: ‘conditioning’

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: As part of the winter soldier program, all you’ve know is how to kill. After years of being left in cyrofreeze, you are finally let out and are given a mission; to protect. You follow it to the t. Until a certain familiar face shows up to get you out of there. (I suck at summaries ok?)

Warnings: Torture, mind control, fighting.

Word count: 2.8k

MASTERLIST ⛤ WHUMPTOBER WORKS

🕸 ⋆ ⁶𖤐��� ࣪⋆🕸

The room was cold, and you couldn’t see anything besides the white fog that rose slowly in front of your face as your mind snapped back online. It hurt too, as your brain began to receive signals again from your pain receptors, your body lit up like it was being stabbed over and over again by a thousand tiny needles. They dug into every inch of your body,  burning in your veins. Everything seemed too loud; your thoughts which raced at a thousand miles an hour, the harsh tones of the men surrounding you, the loud clunking of the machines. It made you miss the blissful silence you had been engulfed in for who knows how long.

When the door to the chamber hissed open, and the cold clouds of ice dissipated away, you squinted at the bright light which flooded in. When your eyes adapted, you stared grimly at the man before you. He was all too familiar, though he looked significantly older. It was the face of the man who had tortured you and shaped you into what you were; an unstoppable weapon. He smiled darkly at you as you tried to move away, though you were still restrained by the metal cuffs that pulled you tight against the back of the chamber. You had been in this position before, but something was different this time. This time you remembered. You remembered the feeling of the harsh grip on your arm as you were dragged back into where you would be put back into a deep, meaningless sleep. You remembered the cold and then pain- tenfold to what you were feeling now. But you also remembered a face. One with hard features; long dark hair and firm blue eyes, but often with gentle intent. Something nagged at you that you shouldn’t be able to remember that.

The man stepped towards you, the shit eating grin still plastered on his face. “Hello my lotus.” He spoke to you, his Russian thick and unmissable. “Oh how I have missed you very much. It was such a shame when we had to put you back in cryofreeze. I have missed your pretty face very much, but not to worry. I have a job for you, my lotus.” He lowered his voice. “Let’s just hope we don’t have another little mishap. Hmm?”

He leaned down towards you and you took it as a chance to spit in his face. “You fuck yourself.”

He blinked, wiping away the spit from his face before turning back to you. “You are going to regret that, soldat.” 

There were more hands on you then, freeing you from the restraints and dragging you through the room. With what little energy you had, you squirmed but that only resulted in a kick to the ribs to settle you down. 

They brought you to an open room, industrial looking of sorts. It was large with machines for all sorts pressed against the walls. In the centre of the room, raised on a circular platform stood a chair. The fabric of the chair was torn and frayed beneath the harsh light above it. You writhed as the men dragged you towards it. You kicked and screamed like a child as you struggled to get away. The chair held too many unwanted, painful memories. When you were forced onto the old leather and bound once again by metal cuffs on your forearms, the familiar man stepped before you and grinned, trailing his hand along your jaw. 

“Let’s hope you learn to obey this time, soldat.”

With that, he turned to slam the heavy doors to the room. You heard the locks whirr as they clicked into place, as he moved away into some part of the room that you couldn’t see from where you were sitting, leaving you with another man whom you didn’t recognise. He stepped forwards, ensuring that you were secure. 

“Begin.” You heard from behind you. 

There was a shuffling across the room, followed by a whirring of the machinery you were strapped to as it started up. Then you were consumed by a blinding pain. You let out a blood curdling scream, which ricocheted off of the tiled walls. Thrashing and writhing, you tugged on the metal cuffs. They dug into your skin and you tried to escape the pain that radiated in your head and raced through your body. It was a thousand agonies at once. When you thought you couldn’t take any more, the pain amped up. Your head pounded and your eyes burned against the light. Your fingernails scraped along the leather as your back arched. Blood dripped from your nose and your ears. You could taste its copperness as it spilled over your chapped lips and into your mouth. 

Then, it all stopped. 

Your body slumped back against the chair with what little energy you had left. Your limp body heaved for air. You swallowed thickly; your throat was raw. 

The man slunk forwards from wherever he had retreated to in the room. Your body froze when the string of russian words began to slip from his mouth. 

“Purify.”

You tensed, eyes wide as you looked around the room.”

“Brass. Hang. Illustrate.”

You thrashed, trying to cover your ears with your hands, but to no avail. 

“Noiseless, twelve, evanescent.”

“NO! No..” You cried. These words would be your undoing. Once they had been uttered there was no going back. You couldn’t go back. 

“Illustrate, beserk.”

“NO! STOP IT!... Please.”

“Connection.”

Your mind went black. No feelings, just the urge to follow orders. Thoughts, but no control or freedom over what they were. Your bloodied body relaxing in the chair. Thousands of memories of your training and your experimentation flooded your head. You raised your head to look up at the grey haired man. “Ready to comply.”

“Good. We have a mission for you, Soldat.”

~~~

Shoot, kill, protect. Shoot, kill, protect. 

That was all that went through your mind and you slunk around the corners of the base. It had been infiltrated by a group of highly-trained superheroes. They were hardly subtle, despite how much they tried to be. Your enhanced hearing allowed you to hear their footsteps echoing across the halls. Pressing yourself up against the wall, you waited until they had rounded the corner. You were lingering only a few feet away from where Zola had locked himself away to prepare for his escape. You were not only guarding him, but also the files that he possessed. Little did you know that that was not all that the Avengers were hoping to find. 

When the footsteps rounded the corner, you were greeted with a redhead woman. Before she could move any further, you had your hand wrapped tightly around her throat, pinning her against the wall. You narrowed your eyes, pressing your gun to her abdomen. She delivered a harsh blow to your stomach, which despite your strength sent you keeling backwards. 

“I’ve got eyes.” She muttered something else into her comms, making an advance towards the room, but you grabbed her leg and pulled her to the ground. Her head hit the floor.

Scrabbling for your gun, you were up on your feet in seconds before another two pairs of footsteps reached the end of the corridor. This time, it was two men that rounded the corner. Bucky’s heart almost stopped in his chest when his eyes landed on you. He felt as though he was going to be sick. Mechanically, you readied yourself into a fighting stance. Racing towards you, they both advanced towards you. You ducked under the arm of the taller one before using the wall to propel yourself towards the other. The small hallway became a blue of bullets and limbs as the three of you fought. The movement of one of them was well placed. He seemed to know all of the counters to your moves. It was the red star on his silver arm that caught your attention. And that small distraction was all it took for the man to knock you down and plaster you to the floor. 

As you kicked, trying to get a good hit in on the man, he studied your face. It flashed with recognition. Your piercing eyes would never leave Bucky’s memories.

“Y/n?”

You flinched at the small mention of your name, but your programming was too strong. Shoot, kill, protect. Your fingers reached for your gun which he had knocked out of your hands. Your fingers inched along the floor, but then there was a firm grip on your wrist keeping it still. You squirmed.

Bucky tried again. He couldn’t quite believe that you were in front of him. Your face hadn’t changed much since the last time he saw you but you looked older, more tired. “Doll?”

You stiffened. The name cuts through your programming like a knife in butter. His face came flooding back to you, some memories good, some bad. He was there when you were at your lowest, you were there when he was at his. The two of you had been together through thick and thin, supporting each other through what little good and what masses of pain you had experienced. You furrowed his brow, scanning his face. His blue eyes were still the same, but he looked different. Kinder. Calmer. 

“Bucky?”

“Yes!” The super soldier nearly cried. “Yes doll. It’s me. It’s Bucky.”

He eased his touch a little as you melted against him. His touch became tender like you remembered it to be as he cupped your face with his non metal arm. 

There was a commotion behind you. The sound of bullets filled the air and your programing shifted to the front of your mind again. With Bucky’s loosened grip on you, you managed to wiggle out from under him and scramble towards the open door. The other man had managed to slip away and infiltrate the room where Zola had barred himself in. You raced in, your finger poised on the trigger. You raised it, aiming at the offender in the room. Though something was stopping you from pulling the trigger as you so normally would under the soldier programing. 

Zola frowned angrily. “Kill him.” He spat.

Your hand shook as your mind fought itself. One part of you screamed at you to just pull the trigger. The other, more sane part of you told you otherwise. 

A pair of hands wrapped themselves around your waist, pulling you away from the scene. You tried to fight against them, but also enhanced by the serum, Bucky’s strength was on par with yours. 

“Get off of me.” You growled. 

His grip was firm as it moved to your shoulders.

“Hey, Hey calm down.” 

You tried to kick at him, but it was pointless. 

“You’re ok doll. It’s me.”

You stilled, relaxing in his arms again.

“I’m gonna get you out of here Doll. I promise.”

🕸 ⋆ ���𖤐⁶ ࣪⋆🕸

<- DAY EIGHT ⛤ DAY TEN ->

🏷️ Taglist:

@senjoritanana

@deans-spinster-witch

@amaryllis23

[sjsmith56]

Letting Go

Summary: Bucky is critically injured, trapped in a building destroyed by a bomb. He orders his team to leave him behind but they refuse and Peter calls for help. It comes from several sources.

Length: 5.4 K

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Peter Parker, Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne, Wanda Maximoff, with cameos by other Avengers, named OFC (seen in flashbacks).

Warnings: Bucky injured, feeling unworthy, accepting death, good and bad memories, medical emergency.

Author notes: Believe it or not I dreamed the first part of this and wrote down a summary as soon as I woke up so I wouldn’t forget it. This one shot imagines a post-FATWS Avengers that brings in several of the newer characters as well as some older ones. Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World have not happened.

⏳ ⌛️

If he had to do it all over again, Bucky would have made the same decision. Leading a mission with the newest Avengers under his supervision, meant that he felt responsible for their safety. It was his choice to enter the building first, assessing the risk before they came in with him. Just as it was his choice to tell them to leave him behind after the bomb went off, an event that sent tons of debris raining down on him. Now, as he laid injured in the dark, with his metal arm twisted and lodged behind him and both his legs broken he knew he wasn't getting out alive. Those who had worked with him before, specifically Peter and Yelena, begged him not to make them leave but he made it clear.

"There is nothing you can do for me," he said, with what he hoped was finality. "It's too risky for even a sorcerer and with Dr. Strange off somewhere in the multiverse I don't think he can activate the time stone and reverse this."

He stopped for a moment to cough, feeling the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, likely from bleeding internally.

"Bucky?" asked Peter over the comms. "What about Cara?"

Cara ... his girlfriend of 8 months that he planned to propose to. This would devastate her, but she knew the risks, being a SHIELD employee herself.

"Tell her I love her and that I'm sorry," he replied, then he refused to answer his comms after that.

Outside the team sat, despondent. Shaun, Joaquin, Kate, Yelena, and Peter looked at each other, feeling sick inside. Then Peter strode into the quinjet and asked Friday to patch him through to the Avengers compound.

"Sam? We need help." He filled him in on what happened and what Bucky ordered them to do, explaining none of them wanted to leave. "We don't leave a team member behind. I don't care if he made it an order. It's not right."

As Sam listened to Peter, he got Carol Danvers' attention. After listening to the gist of the conversation between him and Peter, she asked Friday to alert the remaining Avengers to suit up. She also asked Friday to contact Wong, thinking they were going to need some magic to rescue Bucky.

"Peter, stay there," he said. "We're on our way and you're right, no matter what, we don't leave a team member behind."

⏳ ⌛️

It's strange where your mind takes you when it's the only thing still working. Practically immobilized in the dark, close confines of what Bucky accepted was his tomb, he thought back over his life. The first twenty years went by fast, not surprising considering it was so long ago and he wasn't even sure he had regained all those memories back. He thought of his mother's hands. Not an unusual thing because they were always busy. Housewives in the 1920s and 1930s were always on the go and his mother was no different; washing clothes by hand, ironing everything, including the sheets, cooking, baking, darning, soothing a fevered brow when he was sick, tying his necktie the first time he wore one. He sighed at how much he missed her, wished he had been able to see her just once before .... If he had just been man enough to tell her he loved her before he left for England, the last time he saw her, or Dad, or Rebecca when she was still young. At least he saw his sister again before she died. That meant something.

Then he thought of Cara, a bright moment in his life when he met her, although he didn't think so at the time. He had returned from a mission and forgot about the comms pieces that were still in the front chest pocket of his tactical suit, given to the staff responsible for cleaning them, and repairing any damage done to them. Taking his time in the locker room by having a long, hot shower, then getting dressed at his own pace, he was surprised to see a strange woman waiting for him outside the door.

"Sergeant Barnes?" she asked, looking him in the eye, even though she was a good six inches shorter than him. "I'm Comm Tech Laskey. You were supposed to return your comms pieces on your return."

"I thought I did," he answered.

"No, Sergeant." She checked the small tablet in her hand. "You returned your weapons to the armoury, and your tactical suit to Uniform Maintenance for cleaning and repair but the person taking in communications equipment didn't check them off and there is no sign of them. Until they are returned, you're financially responsible."

"You're kidding, right?" She stared at him. "I guess I left them in my tactical suit. Why don't you go there?"

"Not my responsibility."

"Listen, Laskey, is it? I'm tired and hungry and really need a beer. Can't you just go check for me this one time and see if they're in my uniform? I promise I'll make it up to you and that it will never happen again."

"This one time?" She looked at her tablet again. "You used that excuse four times on my predecessor. She left me notes on not taking you at your word. I don't want to know how you made it up to her, but I'm not her and think that you asking me to do your job is taking advantage of your position. Now, I can either declare them missing and have you invoiced, or you can go right now to find them and bring them to me in Communications. Those are your options, Sergeant. I'll give you 10 minutes."

She turned around and walked away, not looking back even once. He watched her, wondering why the previous tech left. He had made it up to Marin, taking her for drinks at least once. Laskey had to be wrong that he didn't turn in his comms equipment four times. It wasn't that many times, was it? With a sigh, he headed towards Uniform Maintenance, explained his problem, and was given his suit to examine. The earpieces were still in his front chest pocket.

"Good thing you came now, Sarge," said the cleaner. "Was just going to process your suit. It would have wrecked those. Someone told me those are worth 5 grand a pair."

He looked at the two small earpieces in his hand, not believing they cost that much. Returning to the communications department, he entered, looking for Laskey but he didn't see her. Seeing a guy sitting in front of several computer monitors in a secure room he knocked on the window. The guy flipped a switch to speak with him.

"Yes, Sergeant, what can I do for you?"

"I'm here to return my comms pieces to Comm Tech Laskey," he said, holding up the two comms pieces.

"She's gone for the evening," said the guy, Martino. "She waited for you then said your 10 minutes was up. Sorry, you'll have to give them to her tomorrow. I'm not authorized to unlock the door so I can't receive them."

A rumble above him interrupted his train of thought and he strained to see what was happening in the darkness. Then a large piece of debris shifted, landing on his right arm. He could hear the snap as the pain of his arm being broken shot up from his forearm, making him scream in agony. Fuck, he was completely trapped now, every part of him broken or pinned in place.

"Bucky?" Peter's voice was in his comms piece. "Was that you?"

"I ordered you to go," he gritted out between clenched teeth. "Why are you still here?"

"We're not leaving you behind," said Yelena. "Help is coming."

"What did you do?"

"We called for help and it's coming," replied Peter. "Now, what's your status?"

"Damn it," muttered Bucky. "I gave you an order."

"Yeah, and I ignored it," answered the younger man. "You can discipline me later. Now, what's your status, Bucky?"

Angrily, he breathed several times then calmed himself. "Both legs broken, my metal arm is pinned behind my back, and I can't move it, and that scream was my right arm being broken by a piece of debris landing on it. I can taste blood coming up into my throat, so I likely have internal bleeding. The building is unstable, Peter. They won't be able to do anything."

"You let them figure that out," said the younger man. "Don't give up yet, Bucky. Please."

He closed his eyes, unnecessary in the dark but it was the only thing he could still do in the circumstances. He felt as helpless as he did when he came to after falling from the train. Everything was broken then, except for his left arm, which was gone. It was true he survived that, and the hypothermia that should have killed him, if he didn't already have the serum flowing through his veins. But something told him that this time the serum wouldn't be enough to keep him alive.

The sad thing was that he was okay with it. He really was. He was older than he had a right to be, had done terrible things that had sent other men to death row for less. His defence of involuntary mind control and torture was accepted for his pardon, but that was little comfort to the families of those he killed. Even though he made his amends a big part of him always felt that he got away with murder. That was the same part of him that was telling him to let go, to accept that this time, he had to pay the piper. Why couldn't Peter just obey orders?

You know why.

Great, now he was hearing a voice in his head, and it wasn't coming from the comms.

"Why?" he whispered, not wanting the others to hear him.

He had to watch Tony Stark die, then his Aunt May. Don't you think if he left you behind to die that it would hurt him as much as those deaths did?

"I don't mean that much to him. I barely talk to him."

You mean more to him than you know, Bucky, and he means more to you than you realize.

He had nothing to say to that because he couldn't see it. Peter was still a kid, living in Queens, trying to get the marks to be accepted into engineering at college, while still patrolling the streets at night and being an Avenger.

You don't see it, do you?

"See what?" asked Bucky, out loud.

"What did you say, Bucky? Are you okay?"

"Sorry, just thinking out loud," he replied to Peter. "Has your help arrived yet?"

"No, but they'll be here in a couple of minutes. They're just getting some things sorted out first."

Bucky closed his eyes again and tried to calm his mind.

You're a survivor, Bucky. Peter looks up to you, because you went through hell, and you survived it. You're a good leader who treats everyone with respect like the sergeant you are. You're fair, firm, and you make sure that everyone knows their job before you take them on a mission. If anyone gets hurt, you're the first one there, the first one to assure them that they'll be okay. He admires you for that. So do the others.

A scoff erupted from Bucky's lips, causing him to cough and he tasted blood again. Personally, he didn't want to believe what that inner voice was telling him. He barely said anything to the younger ones. They were always on their phones, or playing video games; silly pastimes in his mind. Still, Peter helped him set up his smartphone without making him feel stupid or out of touch. It still impressed him that the kid was stronger than him, even though he was a lot shorter and lighter than Bucky.

He often reminds you of Steve, doesn't he? Except without the anger. Orphan, living on his own on a shoestring budget, until you and Sam convinced him to live at the tower. He helps people who have been pushed around, and you admire his mind, because it reminds you of you, when you were younger and still had hopes of college.

Well, maybe there was some truth in all of that but as far as Bucky was concerned, it wasn't enough to warrant Peter disobeying a direct order and bringing in help. He probably called Sam, first. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation.

"Bucky? How you doing, man?"

Well, shit, speak of the devil.

"Sam. I assume Peter gave you a status report, so I won't repeat myself. I don't think I'm getting out of this one."

"You let us assess the situation before we make that decision. I've got Carol, Thor, Wong, Hope, and Scott here. Bruce, Dr. Cho, and a couple of paramedics are on standby to treat your injuries. We've set up a little trauma centre just to stabilize you before we transport you to the tower."

"The building is really unstable, Sam. Whatever you do can make it worse for me."

"Buck, we know." Sam's voice was more serious. "We've got a couple of structural engineers here to determine the best way to get that debris pile off of you. Hope and Scott are going to fly in and try to get into your space to make a scan of your situation. Then we'll make a plan of action. We're not leaving you behind, you hear?"

Despite his stoic acceptance of his fate, Bucky couldn't help the little sob that erupted from his throat. It took a lot to get his single word answer out.

"Okay."

He didn't know how long it was before he was aware he wasn't alone. A small light approached him in the darkness, revealing Hope carrying Scott. She had a light on one arm with a small scanner on the other, while Scott carried the same sort of scanner. She hovered over Bucky's face and flipped her face shield up, making her face visible to him.

"Hey, Buck," she said. "Scott is going to stand on your chest. If it hurts, you let us know. While he scans this pocket, I'm going to your sides and underneath to scan there. Just relax. Sorry, I know you can't really do that."

He nodded his head slightly, but didn't say anything. As she left, Scott activated the light on his arm.

"I'm not too heavy for you, am I?" he asked as he began to laser scan the space Bucky was trapped in.

"No, it's not too heavy," replied Bucky. "I'm sorry to bring you in here. I don't think much can be done for me."

"Well, it's easy to feel that way when you're the one who's trapped." Scott looked back at him. "Understandably so but it always amazes me that even in the most backward areas, when there's a landslide or an earthquake and people get trapped that they are still able to rescue people with just their bare hands. We have a full team out there and a couple of cranes setting up to lift debris off from above you. It's kind of like a 3D jigsaw puzzle or more likely a house of cards that we're taking apart, without destabilizing it. It's challenging but with the right moves and respect for the task, it can be done. I have faith in us, Bucky. You just have to trust us to do our jobs. Your only job is to hang on."

"I don't know how much longer I can do that." Scott turned so he could see Bucky's face. "I'm bleeding internally. If it's bad enough I don't know if the serum can heal it before I bleed out."

"Do your best."

There was no answer from the former assassin for a while as Scott continued scanning. He kept checking on Bucky's face, making sure he was still conscious. Turning towards Bucky's face after a few moments, Scott noticed that he had relaxed completely, and his eyes were closed. Putting the scanner down he moved closer and tapped Bucky's cheek.

"Hey, Buck, you still with me?"

A small groan followed by his eyes trying to open was his answer. He was slipping away.

"Sam! He's losing consciousness. What do I do?"

He could hear Bruce and Helen discussing what could be done to bring him back. They all involved Hope flying back, getting a stimulant in an injector, then bringing it back and jamming it into Bucky's neck but it might not be in time and the effect wouldn't be enough if they didn't enlarge the injector. Then Scott thought that perhaps a pain stimulus would work.

"Hope! Get up here, I need you," called Scott. She appeared from the side moments later. "Sting him. He's losing consciousness and I figured a pain stimulus would bring him back. I don't have anything on me, but you do with your stingers. It won't hurt him, but he should feel it."

"Do it," said Bruce, who had been listening in. "It's the only thing we've got to offer and it's better than nothing."

Aiming at Bucky's cheek, Hope fired on him. The response was minimal, so she did it again and this time Bucky opened his eyes.

"That hurt," he mumbled. "What did you do?"

"Sorry, Buck," she answered. "You were passing out and we need to keep you conscious. I stung you."

"Cut it out." Then he grinned lightly. "It's okay. You did what you had to."

She returned to scanning underneath while Scott continued his scan. He looked at Bucky frequently, not wanting to miss the signs of him passing out again. Then he cleared his throat.

"Buck?" He could feel the super soldier's eyes on him. "I've heard you wanted to get into engineering when you were young. You know I'm an electrical engineer by training. What field were you interested in?"

"Mechanical," answered Bucky. "I was always interested in how things work and worked a lot on engines. But the Depression pretty much wiped out any chance of going to college. I quit school to work on the docks. It didn't require a lot of thought, but it paid the bills."

"What about Steve? What was he into?"

"Art. He could draw anything. He spent a year in art school then ran out of money to continue." Bucky was silent for a moment. "So, you left engineering to become Ant Man?"

"Not exactly," replied Scott. "I worked for a corporation that was robbing its customers and kind of stole from them to give back to the people they were stealing from. One thing led to another, I got caught and I spent a few years in prison. Couldn't get a job when I got out, then I got involved with Hank Pym, became Ant Man and here I am."

"You did prison time." The disbelief was strong in Bucky's voice as he always thought Lang was a bit of a softy.

"Yeah, I managed. I kept my head down, didn't rat anyone out, tried to stay pleasant. It seemed to work. It's where I met Luis ... you've met Luis, haven't you?"

"The guy that can't shut up? Yeah, he's hilarious."

"Hey, he's been a good friend and has had my back whenever I've needed him. That's worth a lot in this world."

Bucky felt bad about being dismissive. By everything he had heard about Luis, he had been a good friend to Scott, helping him bring in some dangerous people.

"I guess he's kind of your Steve in that you watch out for each other." He watched as Scott continued scanning. "It's good to have someone like that in your life."

"Like Sam. I know on the surface that you two are always bugging each other, but he'd drop everything to help you and so would you." Bucky grunted. "Don't deny it. It's why you're partners."

"Co-workers."

Scott laughed. "Okay, have it your way." He finished his scan and came close so that Bucky could see him. "Right now, that co-worker is looking over the results of my scan and figuring out with the others where to start saving your life. Hope, are you done?"

"Yes, I've already transmitted the data." She was quiet for a moment. "You know, Scott, I think with a little nudge we can help Bucky free his left arm. I just need to size up slightly and raise him enough so that he can pull it free. Bucky, do you want to give it a try?"

They cleared it with Sam, who, along with the others, was looking at the scans. There was concern that they could destabilize the debris pile, but Bruce was also concerned that Bucky had already lost consciousness briefly. Scott pointed out that with both of them there, they could enlarge themselves quickly enough to push the debris aside and open up access to Bucky. It wouldn't be pretty, but it could get him out sooner.

"Remember, I did it at the compound after Thanos blew us up and we were buried underground," he said. "We won't let him get hurt any further."

"Alright," said Sam. "Do it, but be prepared for both of you to go giant sized."

Hope returned to an open spot below Bucky, while Scott remained on his chest, although he changed his footing somewhat so that if he went large, he wouldn't step on the super soldier. She counted down from three, then Bucky could feel his body lift slightly, and then a slight tug on his left arm. It moved a little, then he felt more pressure on his back as Hope pushed him further up. Suddenly, his arm was free and by his side. He flexed his hand, then the pressure beneath him eased as Hope shrank down.

"It's free," he said. "Thanks."

Then everything went black and silent.

"Guys, what's going on?" asked Bucky. "Where are you?"

"It's okay, Bucky," said a familiar female voice.

A red glow appeared near him, and he saw Wanda, sitting cross-legged in the dark with him.

"Wanda? What are you doing here? It's dangerous."

"You're not trapped, Bucky," she answered, in her soft melodious voice. "At least, the inner you isn't. Your body is and right now, Scott and Hope are trying to revive you while the others are ready to have them go giant size just to get you out of there. I just wanted a chance to talk to you face to face before they wake you up. I've been with you since you first were trapped."

"That was your voice in my head, wasn't it?" he asked. "You know how I feel about that."

"I know, and I'm sorry for invading your privacy but I hated that you seemed to have given up. The younger Avengers were so upset when you told them to leave you behind. I felt their distress. Shame on you for not thinking that you're worth it."

"You know what I was and what I did."

"I know because I did things that were just as bad or worse; things that I'm truly sorry for." She was right beside him now, red tendrils of light snaking off her body and dissipating into the dark. "You've done a lot of good since HYDRA and have more than paid back your dues. You're respected, people care about you, and someone loves you very much."

"Cara will move on," he replied. "She deserves better."

"Hmmm," she voiced. Then she brought up an image of Cara in the air. "She doesn't think so. In her eyes, you're someone who makes her feel like she's the most beautiful woman in the world. Let's continue with the memory of when you first met her. I was enjoying that until the building fell on your right arm."

The morning after he tried to return the comms pieces, Bucky got up early and waited outside the office, until the first staff member came in, Cara Laskey herself.

"I have the comms pieces," said Bucky. "I tried to return them last night, but you had already gone."

She unlocked the door without comment, then went to the counter and pulled out a form. Putting her hand out to Bucky, she examined the two earpieces, then wrote a note on the form before turning it towards him and handing him a pen.

"Sign here. You're accepting any penalties that might have accrued for the late return of classified equipment. I'll submit this to the supervisor, and you'll be hearing what the penalty is."

He looked at her, dumbfounded. "You're kidding, right? I just handed them to you. It wasn't my fault that it took me longer than 10 minutes to get to Uniform Maintenance, explain why I needed my suit and then go through the pockets before returning here to find you already gone. This is bullshit."

"Sergeant Barnes, may I remind you that there is a code of conduct in place governing interactions between frontline and support staff. I don't have to take this kind of verbal abuse from you."

He ran his hand over his face, breathing heavily, then he looked down at her, noticing for the first time, she had flecks of gold in her hazel irises.

"You're right, I apologize," he said. "I would just like to ask respectfully, that you verify that I was here to return the items last night, then was here first thing in the morning to return them. Considering that I made every effort to get here on time, I just object to a penalty being assessed arbitrarily. Surely, there must be some leeway, in the spirit of inter-departmental cooperation."

A small smile graced Laskey's face, then she looked down at the form, picked it up and put it through the paper shredder.

"Since you put it that way and asked so nicely, I'll make an exception this time," she said. "Just don't forget them again."

"That was smooth," said Wanda. "So how did you get from inter-departmental cooperation to wanting to ask her to marry you?"

"I wish I knew," said Bucky. "It just seemed that I saw her more around the compound. It was formal between us at first; she called me Sergeant Barnes and I called her Comm Tech Laskey. Then I stepped outside one night and she was changing her tire. It went flat during the day, and she was having a hard time getting it done in the dark as the light above where she parked had burnt out. I offered to help if she lit up the scene with her phone flashlight. We talked and found we liked some things in common. I told her to call me Bucky and she said to call her Cara." He smiled. "We began having coffee together, worked out together, and then I'd wait for her to finish work to see if she wanted to join us for drinks."

His voice trailed off as he thought about them meeting as a group for drinks. She wasn't the only support staff that came out, but she was the one he always tried to sit beside. Then one Friday night, the place they went to had dancing and one of the weapons techs asked her to dance. As he watched her dance with the guy, he couldn't stop feeling angry. Why was she dancing with him? He wasn't good enough for her. The guy bragged about his body count all the time in the locker room.

"Sam saw it, didn't he?" Wanda asked him gently. "He told you to stop wasting time and ask her to dance yourself. So, you did. What was the song again?"

"Holding Back the Years," replied Bucky. "Not a romantic song at all but that voice and the feeling behind it just got to me. I held back from opening myself up to others for so long, afraid of hurting them but with her, it was suddenly clear that I wanted her in my life. I kissed her, right on the dance floor and she kissed me back. That was eight months ago."

"So why were you so ready to leave her behind?"

He didn't answer for the longest time. "I was angry at myself for not telling her how much I love her. I've had the ring for a month working up the courage to ask her to marry me. She keeps me honest. Doesn't take my bullshit. She makes me laugh and when we're together, making love, it's like the first time every time. I learn something new about her every day. I guess, I figured if I gave her up then it wouldn't hurt so much if I didn't make it. It doesn't make sense, I know. I don't want to die, and I don't want to lose her."

"So, you do think you're good enough for her?"

"I'll spend every day of our lives together being worthy of her." He looked at the young woman who had her own HYDRA story. "Can you send me back?"

"Of course," she smiled. "I just wanted to make sure that you don't want to let go of life, that you really wanted to go back, and not just to Cara but all of them. They're all fond of you, Bucky, and even love you. It's because you're worth loving. It's why Steve risked so much to find you and make sure you were free."

"But he left."

"Yeah." Her face softened. "Sometimes, the people who love us have to make a hard decision. He chose to leave you for reasons only he really knows. You're choosing to stay because you love these people, and they love you. That's a good thing, Bucky. Love is always a good thing."

🩺

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the tears flooding them. When he opened them, he was inside a tent, with Bruce and Helen hovering over him, while a paramedic was holding paddles in the air, and another had a mask over his mouth squeezing air into his lungs.

"Normal sinus rhythm," said someone. "He's conscious."

Bruce came closer. "Bucky?"

He nodded. "How long was I out?"

"Over a minute. Scott and Hope went giant and cleared the debris pile, while Wong levitated you out of there and directly into the tent. Your heart stopped and we had to shock you three times. You gave us quite the scare." He nodded to someone out of Bucky's view. "We're going to transport you directly to the compound via a portal. You need surgery to repair a bleeding artery. Plus, we have to set the breaks in your legs and right arm."

They transferred him to a gurney, strapping him on, and putting his IV bag on a stand. An oxygen mask was placed over his mouth, then the two paramedics began wheeling him towards the portal, while Bruce and Helen followed. The other Avengers were lined up before the portal. He heard murmurs of good luck from them, plus received numerous smiles. Putting his hand up when it got to Peter, he grasped the younger man's hand.

"Thanks," he said softly. "You're still in trouble but we'll talk later about it."

Peter smiled. "Sure, Bucky."

With another wave to Scott and Hope, Bucky nodded, and the gurney went through the portal, coming out to the medical centre surgical suite. They cut his gear off and he had the thought that the uniform tech wouldn't be happy with him. It made him smile. Then he thought of another thing.

"Make sure Cara gets my comms earpieces," he said out loud. "Don't want to get in trouble with the woman I love."

There were chuckles at that, and he relaxed. As soon as he woke up from this surgery, he was going to tell Cara he loved her and wanted to marry her. It was then he remembered something Wanda said. How did she know he wanted to ask Cara to marry him? No one knew, not even Sam.  It really didn't matter because Wanda was right. Love was a good thing. It was everything.

One Shots Masterlist

Please support the author by reblogging.

[majorbuckyegan]

nothin' but blue skies from now on.

WIP: chapter 8/10; post war, past relationship, getting back together.

>> read on ao3 here. <<

He propped a cushion underneath John's knee to keep it elevated, wrapping the ice pack around it as well as he could, “So-” He started, glancing back up at John, “Henry knows about us.”

[anachilles]

“anyone know if buck made it?!”

“john egan, your two o’clock”

[red-panda-png1]

Winteriron Headcannon

We all know that sometimes Bucky intentionally breaks his metal just to have an excuse to go see Tony.

This time, Tony is prepared and has a whole ass new metal arm for Bucky, painted a deep purple color (just like plums), and with a built in system that alerts Tony when it's damaged. Bucky can't say no, but at the same time he doesn't want to stop seeing Tony this often, which is why a week later, they have this conversation: Tony: Go out on a date with me Bucky: W-what? Tony: You threw your arm to the aligator enclosure at the zoo. So either you wanted to play a weird game of fetch, or you wanted to see me.

Bucky:...

Bucky: How does Friday sound?

[sleepy-hyperfixations]

Kidd, to Bucky: Bucky, your smile is really pretty and it's lovely to see.

Kidd: But You're making replacements walk into things.

[reginaphalange2403]

The hiding an injury trope always hits the fucking mark for me. Like character A trying to not make it noticeable all day cause they don’t wanna be a bother or they want to appear tough, and then B finding it and being pissedTM at first but then soft and comforting about it PLSSS that’s the sweet spot😣💓

Somebody write one for me🧍‍♀️

[cherriontop]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Brock Rumlow, Jack Rollins Additional Tags: Mob AU, shield is a mob, hydra is a mob, infiltrated shield, Friendly Fire, backstabbing, steve bucky sam and nat are all on the same team, Injured Bucky, Injured Steve, Injured Sam, drug deal, Drug deal gone wrong, Steve rescues Bucky, lots of people getting shot and stabbed, not too graphic though, traitors rumlow and rollins, getaway, Revenge Summary:

After being shot by a supposed team member, Bucky realizes that the Shield mob may have some internal problems.

Written for @stuckybingo Square B4: AU: Mob/Gangsters

@buckybarnesbingo Square U2: AU: Mafia/Mobsters

[1u11ablues]

6/Not Like This (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Prompt: Not realising they're injured, Unhealthy coping mechanism, 'It's not my blood."

The blood thrumming in your ears provided a soundtrack of your escape. Someone had smuggled alien weaponry into the underground community you frequent to indulge in not so savoury habits—away from your superhero status teammates above.

And, yes, a little too much alcohol might have lowered your tolerance towards being blatantly scammed around the gambling ring; maybe you might've flipped the table in a fit of anger; but neon bullets fired at you were not how you expected for them to deal with it.

Unfortunately, a certain offer had been the only thing ringing in your head as you try to escape the rain of bullets, and you find yourself knocking at Bucky's apartment at 2 in the morning with the intention to hunker down there for the night. You're not leading those trigger-happy folks to your place, that's for sure.

But Bucky had spent a good part of his life dealing with the kind of people after you, so at least it wasn't the worst of choices that you'd made that night.

"Jesus, Vice," he cursed as he opened the door with his shirt freshly donned, "what in the hell are you doing out here this late?"

Before you could answer, your feet shuffled through the borders of the entrance, almost tumbling down if not for the metal arm supporting you up. "Are you hurt?" You remembered running into some stalls during your escape, but nothing much after that. Your hands pat down your shirt. A wet patch to your left- Was there a food stall back there?- throbbed as if you were stabbed. And the pads of your fingers stained dark red in the dim lighting of Bucky's apartment. "I don't know," you shrug, "whatever that is, it's not mine." "Vice-" "Don't call me that-" The doorway tilted. Your legs gave out from beneath you. And Bucky's quick thinking saved your mug from making personal contact with the floor beneath you. "When I said you could come here anytime-" You scoffed. A pained cough followed soon after. Turns out you hadn't done such a good job avoiding the neon bullets like you thought you had. The extent of your injury wasn't disclosed to you, but as soon as the high of the escape subsided, everything hurt like a motherfucker. The bullet ate through flesh and replaced it with some kind of charred substance—and you've spent the better part of your mornings being tested on by Bruce and an over-enthusiastic Tony. "I did not mean 'lead your trouble to my door for me to take care of,' idiot."

[whiskeywinter89]

What's that one bucky x reader fiction where they're bitter enemies for some "unknown" reason (lol) - like when he first arrived they got along but that changed - and reader just got back from a solo mission where they'd picked up some hydra scientist only to be immediately send on a emergent mission with bucky. They'd barely had time to shower before loading up and realized they were starting to feel really sick. Reader powers through it not wanting to be weak and just hoping to get the mission over with, and is quiet in the car ride from the landing point to the base. Which is atypical. They're heading back when Bucky realizes that they're declining fast and it turns out that the reader got hit with some poison or toxin or something and didn't realize it while on their mission and behind the scenes shield has to scramble to get the antidote from the doc the reader captured.

[imtryingandtired]

Okay so I’m getting invested in Disneys Zombies series again and checked out the re-animated shorts, and I lowkey hope they end up doing a full animated zombies show, mostly because it’d be fun to see the episodes of the different seasons kind of be follow ups to the movies.

There’s this one fanfic called Zombies: the series by callmeLy/ @unusual-ly and I imagine it following a similar structure.

I have some ideas, so comment if you want to hear them or comment your own episode ideas

[sjsmith56]

Across the Waters - Chapter 26, Lord Buchanan

Summary: A delegation from the southern lands brings word of the existence of a supercomputer requiring Bruce’s expertise. An incident at their destination involving Magnus threatens everything.

Length: 5.3 K

Characters: Princess Maria, King Steven, King Thorn, Lord Buchanan, Bruce Banner, King David, Prince Arthur.

Warnings: Theft of Magnus, injury to Magnus, parent fury resulting in physical discipline to child.

Author notes: Brooklyn and the lands to the north and east are higher in elevation than in our world. New York City and New Jersey are under water. Most of the east coast of the U.S. was destroyed by the calamity. This chapter begins the third part of the book, introducing new characters that will share much of the story of Lord Buchanan. It’s where the muse led me.

<<Chapter 25

⛵️ 🌅

The delegation from the Kingdom of Blue Waters that met with King Steven the following day set the stage for the biggest transformation to be felt in the kingdom. Originally enemies who had been duped by Prince Loke into attacking his brother and by extension King Steven's kingdom they became the missing piece of what was needed to mount a joint effort to destroy the asteroids that threatened their world.

The leader of the delegation, Princess Maria, was a no-nonsense woman who had obviously trained as a warrior from a young age. As the only child of the king she had also been educated to a degree unseen in most women of her social rank. Her intellect was keen and she had publicly disagreed with her father over his decision to follow Prince Loke into battle against the northerners. For that she had been imprisoned until the remains of his army barely made it home. The public outcry against the old king had been so strong that he had abdicated in all but name and turned over the running of his kingdom to his daughter. It was her, who upon hearing of the desire for coffee by the northerners had encouraged the pedlars to learn what they could about their distant neighbours as part of a simple trade relationship. From their tales of the scientific discoveries and inventions that were flowing from the creative minds in the north she began searching out the modern women and ancient structures alike in her own realm. Like the northern kingdoms she learned they had also received an influx of modern women into their kingdoms, all with technological skills and knowledge that had long been lost to them. When word of the discoveries of ancient structures in the northern kingdoms reached their ears via the coffee pedlars who had undergone the long journeys back and forth between their kingdom she ordered the nobility to begin searching their lands for ancient structures as well. Two missile silos had been found, as well as the remains of libraries, hospitals, and observatories. They had also witnessed the close encounter of the large meteor that exploded in the atmosphere and from their own observations had concluded that the space threat was greater than any other.

Barely three days into her delegation's visit she made the decision to enter into an alliance with King Stephen and King Thorn to pool their scientific resources together. It happened after two specific events. First was the demonstration of the Queen's Guard put on just for her on the first day, with Queen Peg leading them. The Queen shared her experiences of being a soldier and leader of men in her own world before landing in this one, then impressing the warrior princess with her views of women having equality with the men of this world. Next, with King Steven and King Thorn she met with Bruce Banner at Lord Buchanan's castle after travelling there. Despite his size and skin colour she handled the meeting with candour, asking him questions about his intellect. He was impressed with her scientific knowledge, asking if she had learned from modern scientists. She acknowledged it then asked to see the computers; her eyes widening when she saw them, resulting in her peppering him with questions.

"How do you power them? Where did you get the software to reformat them? What calculations are you running on them?"

He answered all of them then asked why all the questions.

"They discovered a super computer in a kingdom we are allied with," she said. "Our combined scientists have tried to get it to work but have been unsuccessful. We believe it belonged to the ancient's space agency and is in a city once called Abilene, the next kingdom over. There are indications it was moved from its original location in a place called Houston before the asteroid impact that sent a massive tidal wave over the southeastern part of the country that existed at that time. The King and Queen would have come on this trip but she is late in her confinement, and he has his own share of civil unrest. They charged me with representing them. Is it possible you could travel there and try to get it working again?"

"That's a long way and I'm too big to ride a horse," said Bruce. "What are the land conditions between there and here?"

"Not good," she admitted. "We use ships, transport our horses on them, arriving at one of their coastal settlements. My father's kingdom is based in what was Atlanta according to the modern worlders at my palace. It had a higher elevation and was further inland than Houston so it became a refuge from the waves. Much of what was the southern part of the country is under water now although it is quite shallow in places."

"Have you found any television or video cam equipment in your searches?" asked Bruce. "Any transmission towers still standing?"

"Yes, quite a bit of equipment," she replied. "The towers I would have to check. What are you proposing?"

"Site to site broadcast," said Bruce. "Your computer experts could show me what they are doing, the commands, the responses, etc. and I could give them real time suggestions."

"Would my scientists know how to set that up?" she asked.

"I'm sure they would," replied Bruce. "But it is contingent on connecting the transmission towers and that might take time we don't have."

"We don't have the resources," she admitted. "That's why we've asked for metals in trade so that we can fabricate solar panels, wind turbines and the like."

"Salvage," said Bruce, thinking out loud, then explaining his thought. "Let me run some simulations. We know that people survived the tidal wave in this area but to the west which is significantly lower elevation the area was decimated. Our highest elevation here is about 2200 feet and slowly goes higher the further north and east we go so the wave wasn't that big when it reached here. If the original impact was closer to the Gulf of Mexico that's where the highest tidal waves would be. It would sweep everything in a path inland then the surge back would drag debris with it. I can make an educated guess where you could find the remains of wires from the original transmission towers."

A slow smile spread across Princess Maria's face. She looked at King Steven, King Thorn, and Lord Buchanan. "We must have an alliance," she said. "There is just no other answer. This man, Dr. Banner, is brilliant and if we're going to save our world from any more impacts I need him to help get that super computer working. Our scientists, based on records they've found in Abilene believe that the space agency knew about this killer asteroid, their words, not mine, and were desperately trying to come up with a plan to send the missiles there. They faced pushback from the military over it and that was what ultimately killed them. They had all these missiles and no way to reprogram them without the military's help. There is no organized military now, except what each lord has but you have three full missile silos and we have found two. The empty silo, that commander tried but he didn't have the right ... what is the word?"

"Trajectory," said Bruce. "Because he didn't hit it in the right spot he was only able to break a small piece off it and it wasn't enough. If they were tracking that one then they were likely tracking more of them if they were using a super computer. She's right; I need to be there onsite. That machine can out perform all the computers I have set up here in a fraction of the time. We need to get it running. How long will it take to get to Abilene by boat and then walking?"

"Two weeks, minimum," she said. "We can build a cart for you. There are teams of oxen that can probably pull your weight so you wouldn't have to walk."

Bruce looked agonizingly at King Steven, King Thorn, and Lord Buchanan. The King made it easy for him.

"Go," he said. "If that computer can do so much more and give us that much information then that is a priority. You have trained Stark, and the others well and they can probably do much while you're gone. We can start looking for those transmission towers, perhaps even build some of our own on higher ground. Princess, you are welcome to take one of the ham radios with you. Bruce can set it up. Their range is much greater than the regular radios. That way we can keep in better contact. An alliance it is for us. Thorn?"

King Thorn stuck his hand out and she took it firmly, shaking it in return. Then she shook King Steven's hand.

"Would you object if I came?" asked Lord Buchanan. "I have travelled by ship before. I've been to the Holy Land. I can search out other trade opportunities, goods, food stuffs, natural medicines."

"That would be acceptable," she said. "Your wife will not object?"

"I wouldn't say that but she is a modern woman and a Queen's Guard," he said. "She understands the need to serve the kingdom and she is well equipped to manage my estate's affairs."

Three days later Bruce Banner and Lord Buchanan, along with his horse Magnus were all on a ship heading south. It would take a week to get to Atlanta, where the Kingdom of Blue Waters was centred. They would take on provisions then go on to the west to what had been Texas in the ancient world. Long-distance messenger falcons had already been sent requesting a cart be built to accommodate Bruce Banner. The falconer had whispered the directions to the creatures, sending three in case any were injured along the way. Princess Maria affixed her seal to the message they carried so her people would know the order came from her.

When they arrived in Atlanta after a week Magnus became unruly and it was necessary for Buchanan to ride him off the ship first then gallop him for some time to release his pent up energy. Princess Maria watched the horse with interest during the journey, impressed with his stature, recognizing his superior bloodline.

"Do you think Lord Buchanan would be interested in his horse being offered to stud while we pick up provisions?" she asked Bruce. "He is a magnificent beast, one of the finest stallions I have ever seen. I have several mares that should be in heat right about now. Their foals would be fine horses that would invigorate our herds."

"He might agree just to get rid of some of Magnus' nervousness," he said. "He is quite particular with the horse. Only he, his wife and best friend have ridden it."

"I will ask," she said, "I have something to offer in exchange he might be interested in."

Later, in her palace, she introduced the two men to her father, the King. He was impressed by Bruce's size and colour but after a time seemed to retreat into himself and eventually the Princess called for his attendants to take him to bed.

"Our modern doctors say he has dementia," she said, sadly. "It was why he was so easily led by Prince Loke's delegation to join him against your kingdom. At least once that fiasco was over he had enough of his senses to make me his regent."

"My father had it also," said Buchanan. "He lived long enough to see his first grandchild, my daughter, then he died shortly after. I was thankful for that much. Dr. Banner tells me you are interested in Magnus as a stud. He has had his share of trysts with other mares on my estate but all have taken place in an open paddock, with no restraints. Are you comfortable with that?"

"My mares have been bred that way before," she replied. "I have a gift to reciprocate if you agree. Taste this."

She poured each of them a half glass of a dark amber liquid. Bruce smelled his and smiled, downing his in one gulp.

"That is very nice bourbon," he said. "How old is it?"

"This particular bottle is from one of many casks found after the calamity," she said with a smug smile. "It was dated 2023. The King's spirit maker has replicated the process to make an acceptable Tennessee style whiskey. For as many mares as your Magnus can mount while we reload the ship I will give you a full cask of the aged product for yourself, one for your king and one for King Thorn, plus an agreement to ship a significant amount of the replicated product to your kingdom on the return trip. Here is the replicated product."

She poured from a different bottle and toasted their health. Banner downed his in a single gulp, indicating it wasn't bad as a replica of the original. Buchanan tasted both, indicating he could see the superiority of the first drink but that the second would be liked by many. The Princess added that the liquor could be used in cooking, giving a distinctive taste to many recipes which she could also provide. If the product proved popular then she could enter into negotiations with the King for a formal agreement. Buchanan agreed and they went out to introduce Magnus to his harem. He didn't disappoint, mounting more than a dozen mares in the afternoon that had been teased first by a young stallion to make sure they were ready. Princess Maria was both pleased and impressed with his efforts, celebrating the great horse’s efforts with a meal of ribs using a bourbon sauce that both Buchanan and Banner found tasty. A courtier arrived to say the ship had been provisioned, the tide was high and about to turn so they loaded Magnus back on. The princess loaded her mare then they themselves boarded before the ship's captain set a westerly course towards the setting sun.

With a strong easterly wind they made the journey in three days, having to pick a specific course to avoid shallower portions of the sea. A delegation from the King of the Western Plains was there to greet them. As promised a large cart pulled by a team of eight oxen waited at the dock to carry Bruce. He felt like he was on display but was treated with deference by the officials and ignored the stares as they rode the dry and dusty road to Abilene. The King, a tall well built man with hands like a mason waited outside the lab where the super computer was housed. He was dressed in workmanlike clothes and admitted he was a hands on type of man, except for the computers as he still didn't quite understand them. He also was quite taken by Magnus, having already learned of the stallion’s prowess with the Atlanta mares. He offered to buy him from Buchanan, an offer that was refused with a smile. When they entered the building Bruce turned to the King in surprise.

"You have air conditioning?" he asked. "How?"

"The same pipes that bring up heat from deep inside the earth in the winter bring up cooler air in the summer," he replied. "With the fans powered by the sun we are able to distribute the air throughout the building. We use ice in the super computer lab as well to further reduce the temperature. When we first failed to make it run it was thought that was the problem but it is something else. Please, come and wash up. We have clean suits for you to wear inside the lab."

They entered a washroom and all of them cleaned up, put head coverings on over their hair then donned white coveralls before entering the lab. It was significantly cooler in there but Bruce was sure it was cold enough. He was introduced to the team and before they could ask he told them where his PhD was from pre-calamity. Accepting his CV they began telling him everything they had tried in programming, trouble shooting and environment. As they began to get more into the workings of the computer Buchanan, the Princess and the King began to feel left out and the King motioned for them to leave the scientists to work on their own. Outside of the lab they removed the coveralls and the King invited them both to ride to a nearby residence to eat and drink. They stepped out into the heat of the sunny day where the monarch ordered the grooms to bring their horses. They looked at each other uneasily before sharing what the problem was.

"Your Majesty, your horse and Princess Maria's horse are still here but the Prince took the black stallion," said the head groom. "He said you were buying it for him and he wished to try it out. He has been gone this half hour."

Before Buchanan could say anything the King exploded in fury. "Blasted child!" he fumed, then turned apologetically to Buchanan. "My Lord, I am sorry. My eldest is a most obstinate and headstrong boy. He coveted your horse from the moment he heard of it. Now he has shamed me once again by taking it without permission. I will send my King's Guard for him. We will find him and your steed. I promise."

He gave the order to the King's Guard and retreated back inside the air conditioned building to wait. As Buchanan paced angrily back and forth the King tried his best to make amends but the proud Lord said nothing, just showing his fury on his face. At last, the commander of the Guards entered the building with news.

"We have found the Prince and the stallion," he said hurriedly, eyeing Buchanan as he reported to the King. "The Prince is fine but the stallion is injured. I am sure the Royal Veterinary College can treat him for his injury."

Buchanan whirled on the King. "In our lands a horse thief is no better than a murderer," he said angrily. "If I found him on my land I would be within my rights to run him through with my rapier. Pray that the injury suffered by Magnus is not a serious one."

The King took the outburst with grace. "It is our law as well, Lord Buchanan," he replied. "This isn't the first time my son has shamed his station. It will be the last. Commander, order your men to take Prince Arthur into custody. He will never be fit to rule if he insists on behaving this way. Provide Lord Buchanan a horse to ride. Come, sir, let us see what damage my fool son has done to your magnificent beast."

A horse was provided and the three rode out with the Guard commander. The Prince, sitting in the shade and drinking a beer rose insolently as his father and the others approached. Buchanan almost struck the boy when he dismounted the borrowed horse but instead he went straight to Magnus who favoured his left front leg. A veterinarian was already there. The King did strike his son and ordered him arrested for horse thievery.

"Why Father?" he asked as he was bound. "If the horse was mine why should I not ride him as I please?"

"Because he was not yours!" roared the King. "There was no purchase. My offer was refused and you in your arrogance stole that which did not belong to you. You are a horse thief and my hands are now tied as you must be punished as one."

"But I am a Prince," said the boy. "Do not I have station or rank above ordinary people? Am I not permitted to take what I want for that is how I have been raised, that all this will be mine someday."

"You foolish child," said the King. "That horse comes from another kingdom, here on a diplomatic mission. It isn't mine to give and it wasn't yours to take. No man's horse is yours to take even as a prince or a king. The kingdom would have been yours but you have shown you cannot be trusted to conduct yourself accordingly. I disown you and strip you of your rank and privilege. You are no son of mine.  I have no son."

The King turned from the boy and strode to where Buchanan and the veterinarian were still assessing the injury. He ignored the pleas of his son as the guards took him away. The veterinarian began wrapping the left front forelimb of the horse and Buchanan stood, his hand stroking Magnus' neck.

"It is a tendon injury," he said to the King, "but she is unsure if it is a strain or a tear and will wrap it to reduce the swelling. We must get a wagon to transport him to your stables so she can ice the leg. This horse has been my closest companion for ten years. I found him in the Holy Land and we bonded like brothers. Only I and two others have ever been allowed to ride him by his consent. I see the marks of a whip on his withers and excessive pull on the bit. I'm sorry but your son ...."

"I am sick with shame," said the King. "He is my only son and I admit I let him get away with much. But this, this is too much even for me to overlook any more. Please, let me gift you one of my finest horses to ride while you are still with us and take home with you when you return. It is the least I can do."

"Do you plan to execute him?" asked Buchanan, his anger cooling. "Is there no other punishment for a headstrong foolish boy?"

"Banishment perhaps," said the King. "But he has no idea of how to look after himself, no idea how to conduct himself as an honourable man. I have failed him."

"Perhaps he can return to the Broken Lands as a foster," suggested Princess Maria. "No one would know who he is and he could learn to be a good man. I think he would have a good teacher."

She looked directly at Lord Buchanan as she spoke, who coloured and shook his head. "I am still too angry with the boy to even consider fostering him," he replied.

"Yet I heard several stories of your sense of justice and moral code," she said. "For a man born as a peasant you seem to have the respect of many noble born Lords in your kingdom. Perhaps what the boy needs is to be taught how to be a prince by someone who knows what it is to be low born."

The King said nothing, his shame still too great to even ask if Buchanan would entertain the idea. An oxen drawn cart arrived to carry Magnus back to the king's stables and the three mounted their horses after Buchanan helped Magnus step onto the cart. He rode closely on the borrowed horse, beside the cart for the entire trip while the veterinarian stood with his horse, keeping him calm. When they arrived at the stables Buchanan went with her to make sure that Magnus was properly set up. The veterinarian, a modern woman, looked hopefully at Buchanan.

"Magnus took the trip well," she said. "I hope it is just a strain. He is a beautiful horse and I will do my best to heal him."

He nodded his head gratefully then took the saddle which had already been removed from the horse's back and placed it on the saddle rack beside his stall. Taking his saddle bags in his arms he was led by the King into the palace. Word had already reached the Queen about her son's crime and it was said she had taken to her bed, being in the last month of her pregnancy with what was now hoped to be another son, after four daughters. Wordlessly the King showed Buchanan to his rooms and bowed before he left to console his wife. A dresser came out of the bathing room, informing Buchanan that a warm bath had been drawn for him.  The man offered to take the saddle bags to remove his clothes and press them before wearing. Buchanan informed him there was a trunk as well and the servant assured him it had already been unpacked. When he had undressed and slipped into the warm soothing waters he looked at the dresser, Jose, who stood at the ready.

"That is a different name, and you speak with an accent," said Buchanan. "This is not the kingdom of your birth?"

"No, M'Lord," he replied. I come from further south, a mountainous country, under no king's rule. I was fortunate to come here, even more fortunate to get a position in the palace. Someday when I have enough saved I will open a coffee plantation."

"It is this kingdom that grows coffee?" asked Buchanan.

"No, it is in the lawless country where it grows although I have found places in this kingdom that with careful preparation of the soil and the addition of good shade plants it may be possible to grow the coffee plants," he answered. "Since the influx of modern women the demand for good coffee has grown so it is worth it to invest in such a venture."

"What can you tell me about the Prince, truthfully?" asked Buchanan. "You may speak frankly in my presence. I give you my word it will remain between us."

"He is a troubled boy," said Jose in a low voice. "As the only son and heir to the kingdom he has been subjected to great pressures since he was a child. They even started looking for a wife for him before he was ten years of age. His mother coddles him, his father is overly strict and the result is a boy that doesn't understand the limitations of a prince or a person. Is it true he stole your horse and injured it?"

"It is true," replied Buchanan. "Yet it has been suggested I may be able to help the boy by fostering him in my estate far to the north and teach him to be a good man and a good ruler. I admit my first instinct was to run him through with my rapier but I am a guest in these lands and that would be unacceptable. The thought of having him live with me is ... unnerving."

"It would unnerve me also, M'Lord," said Jose. "I will leave you to your thoughts and have these travelling clothes cleaned."

"Thank you, Jose," said Buchanan. "I appreciate your candour."

Buchanan bathed, then was assisted into clothes for dinner after. They spoke no more of the young prince but it weighed on his mind heavily. He found out where Bruce was being housed and knocked on his door but was told he still worked in the computer lab. Of all the people whose counsel he wanted Bruce's voice was sorely missed. In the hallway on the way to the dining hall he met with Princess Maria and offered her his arm as a gentleman.

"I apologize for putting you on the spot," she said. "It was not meant to force you into taking an unruly boy into your care but part of me believes there is still something in him that can be redeemed. King Steven told me that he was fostered with you and your father and that he was not the best of children either."

"No, he wasn't," replied Buchanan, "but his nature was one of a prankster, not a criminal. Princess, I have an unrelated question for you. You export coffee to us but I have learned that the coffee comes from a lawless country. How do you acquire it?"

"It is true that much coffee comes from the mountainous region immediately to the south," she admitted. "There are also lands further south, a month's journey by ship whose rulers are more in line with ourselves. We deal with them more than the lawless ones. But for the right price anyone can make an arrangement with those bandits who control that region. I just chose not to as they are not to be trusted. King David is attempting to set up his own plantations but the plants require just the right conditions and it is difficult to replicate it in this land."

They arrived at the dining hall where Buchanan was introduced to the Queen and her four daughters. She was large with child and Buchanan noticed her eyes were puffy from the news of her son, the Prince. Nothing was said of the boy through the meal. After it was concluded the King asked Buchanan to come to the stables for an update on Magnus' condition. Unfortunately there was no change and Buchanan returned to his rooms disheartened by the news. He opened the door to his rooms, surprised to see the Queen and one of her ladies in waiting seated beside his window.

"Your Majesty," he bowed respectfully, "this is most unseemly and I must ask you to leave my rooms."

"Lord Buchanan, my lady in waiting will stay with us to assure you that all is proper," she replied. "I would speak to you about my son, the Prince. First, I am sorry he stole your stallion and injured him. You must understand that I had trouble conceiving and carrying a child to term, losing three children before he was born. It made me an anxious mother and I excused a lot of poor behaviour from him as he grew. His father tried to correct him but we worked at cross purposes and the result is what you witnessed today."

"Your Majesty," he began but she held her hand up as tears formed in her eyes.

"I understand Princess Maria suggested he go back with you to be fostered and taught how to be a good man," she said, her voice beginning to break. "I beg of you to consider this. He is my only son as I carry another daughter according to our soothsayer who has never been wrong. Our laws do not allow a woman to succeed the throne and if he is disowned or executed the kingdom will be passed on to my husband's cousin who has already threatened to do away with any trade agreements we have with other kingdoms. He is also anti-technology and has indicated he will destroy the super computer. Please sir, Lord Buchanan, I beseech you to help my son."

He took a deep breath, feeling sympathetic for a mother's plight. "Madam, I can only promise to consider it," he said, unwilling to commit. "You have given me much to think upon. I seek another's counsel before I make my decision and will not make it lightly. That is the only assurance I can give you at this time."

She nodded sadly and her lady in waiting extended her arm to her Queen to assist her to stand. With great dignity the pregnant woman walked past him without words and left his rooms. When she left he summoned Jose.

"The Giant, is he still at the super computer?" he asked, to which Jose nodded. "I wish to be awakened the moment he returns. Can you make sure that happens?"

The servant assured him he would stay up himself. Buchanan dismissed him and began undressing himself. Then he made a decision and put his jacket back on, deciding to see one other person before he saw Bruce.

Chapter 27>>

Series Masterlist

Please like and reblog if you enjoyed this chapter.

[majorbuckyegan]

"Burning" and "lean" for the wip guessing game <3

Ty!! These are both from Blue Skies <3

Burning

“After Bill called, I figured I'd try and cook us dinner. Thought it might take my mind off it if I just kept busy.” John shrugged, shuffling slightly closer to him, “Ended up burning myself on the dish when I took it out of the oven, then I cut myself cleaning up the glass. Nothing wild.”

Lean

He didn't bother getting John's crutches for him, simply letting the other man take his arm so that he could lean his weight on him as they slowly walked through to the bedroom. Once they were there, he helped John sit down on the bed, sitting down next to him, “Is your knee alright?” He asked.

Send me a word, any word, and if it’s in my WIP I’ll answer your ask with the sentence or line it appears in.