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willalove75 · 1 year ago

Note

Love your work! Would you write Rebecca X Female!Reader , where she's working as an assistant coach or something clever but R is very shy and introverted ( Ted is like a father figure ). But when on the pitch next to Ted, R is a complete opposite . Rebecca is intrigued ? She's also protective of R, enjoys having her and Keeley in the office , maybe flirty . Reader is like Kara Danvers from Supergirl ☺️

Thank you SO much!!!💕💕

And I love this so much! Thank you for the request! I hope you like it!!💕

A/n: I don't know anything about Kara Danvers or Supergirl so I'm sorry if I don't hit the mark on that😅😂

Gif source

When Rebecca first hired you as an assistant coach, she didn't think too much of you. Your references were good, you knew the game better than most people she's met, you were quiet, nice, very girl next door type. Even though she wasn't sure how well you'd fit in with the rest of the managers given they were all pretty outgoing men, she took a chance and it paid off.

Whenever there was a meeting Rebecca noticed that you only ever spoke when spoken to. You were quiet but thorough with your analyses, strategies and had great opinions.

For whatever reason, Keeley immediately took a liking to you and started dragging you into Rebecca's office for "girl talk." For the most part, you just listened, only giving your opinion on things when you were asked. Rebecca was curious how someone so quiet was such a great coach to a particularly rowdy team. But she admired your softness, she loved hearing you laugh and when you spoke, she hung onto every word you said. She's been pretty busy since you were hired and she wasn't able to watch you during trainings so she really had no idea how you operated on the pitch.

Finally, Rebecca found a free afternoon to finally observe training before the first match of the season. She quietly made her way out into the stands and took a seat, her eyes trained on you.

Before training that morning, Coach Lasso asked the group what you all thought the team should focus on today. Piping up, you suggested that the team should work on the finer details of their footwork. Of course it was important to learn new plays, perfect the ones they already knew, but you felt like the boys needed a refresher on the basics.

Coaches Lasso, Beard, Roy and your other assistant manager, Nate, all paused for a moment before agreeing. The boys' footwork had become a bit sloppy, messing up passes, missing goals, all because they weren't kicking the ball with the precision they should be.

Ted and the rest of the guys all agreed and even let you take the reigns for training for the day. It wasn't something you'd done before here at Richmond, but you were really excited to finally show everyone why you deserve to be here.

Rebecca watched as the boys ran a basic play, unsure why you all decided to run such a simple play, but she kept watching to see what happens.

Colin passes the ball over to Sam and even though it looked like a solid pass, Colin wasn't using the proper technique, something Rebecca wasn't paying attention to, but you definitely were.

As soon as Sam got the ball you blew your whistle and everyone stopped.

"COLIN!" You scream across the pitch. "DO I HAVE TO CALL ROY'S NIECE TO COME OVER HERE AND TEACH YOU HOW TO KICK THE BALL?"

The managers all held back a laugh, Roy and Beard smirking with approval, and the rest of the team busted out into laughter. Rebecca on the other hand, was in shock. The sweet, quiet girl she'd gotten to know was replaced by an assertive, confident coach, a side of you she didn't even know existed. She was even more enamored with you now than she ever was before.

"Oh come on coach! It was a fine pass!" He argued.

"'Fine' won't win the whole damn thing! If you want to be 'fine' then drop down to the lower levels of the league!"

The teams laughter fades and a few of the guys whistle and you hear a few mutter "oh shit".

"Run it again!" You say, blowing the whistle again.

"Fuckin' cunt." Colin murmurs under his breath.

The boys reset and start the play over, Colin gets the ball and passes it to Sam again with a perfect execution, giving Sam the opportunity to sink the ball right into the net.

"There we go! That's what I'm talking about!" You yell before blowing your whistle.

Walking out onto the pitch you walk up to Colin and pat him on the back.

"That was perfect! Did you feel how you had way more control when you connected with the ball this time?" You say as you imitate kicking a ball.

"Yes coach, I see what you mean."

"Good! Because when you hit it just right, you don't have to worry about trying to control where the ball is gonna go, you can focus on putting as much or as little power behind the kick to get it to your teammate. Just like you did with Sam, the ball got to him faster and he was able to sink that puppy straight into the net before the other team knew what hit 'em!"

Colin nods at you and you give him another pat on the shoulder before you turn away. Walking back over to the coaches, you see Rebecca sitting in the stands watching. A blush creeps across your cheeks as you give her a little wave and she waves back. You can't read her face, you're not sure if she's impressed, indifferent or unhappy with your coaching style. As training continues you try not to focus on Rebecca and direct your attention to the boys on the field.

Rebecca watches you as training continues. She sees Ted wrap his arm around your shoulder for a moment and says something to you. He spoke too quietly and she's sitting too far away to hear what he said, but she notices you relax a little before he pulls his arm away.

When training was finally over, you all head back inside, Rebecca had left at some point, although you're not sure when. In your office, you're going over a few new plays you've come up with, seeing which player would best fit each position.

"Well howdy there boss!" You hear Ted say as the sound of heels clicking across the floor enters the office. "What'd ya think of today's trainin'?"

"I must admit I was quite impressed." She says.

Looking over your shoulder, you see Rebecca lean up against the door connecting your and Ted's offices.

"Y/n, I almost couldn't believe that was you out there." She says playfully.

The blush creeps up again and you let out a nervous giggle.

"Oh, yeah, thank you."

Rebecca raises and eyebrow at you and flashes you a smile.

"Come up to my office after work, Keeley and I are going to be spending some time up there today."

"Oh? Yeah, of course. Thanks for the invite."

Rebecca smiles at you again and walks out through the locker room.

"Colin, coach l/n really ripped you a new one out there." Isaac says.

"She was such a bitch! I kicked the ball perfect the first time." Colin responds, visibly annoyed.

"I would show your coaches some more respect if I were you, Mr. Hughes." Rebecca says with daggers in her eyes.

"Oh, Ms. Welton, yes, of course, I'm so sorry." He says, obviously taken by surprise because he didn't see her there.

"Even I could tell that first kick was utter garbage." She says before walking away.

Could she really tell? No, absolutely not. But Rebecca knew what you were doing and trusted you. She also was not about to let the players trash talk their coach, especially the only female coach. That was not going to fly in her locker room.

After work you head up to Rebecca's office to find her sitting on the couch with Keeley.

"Y/n! I'm glad you came!" Rebecca says, her face lighting up a little when she sees you.

"Of course, thanks for the invite." You reply with a soft smile.

"Come in, come take a seat," Rebecca moves closer to Keeley, opening up a spot next to her. "would you like a glass of wine?"

"I would love one, thank you."

Rebecca hands you a glass after you sit down and you take a sip, your eyes flickering between the two women.

"I have to say, I'm still shocked that that was you out on the pitch this afternoon." Rebecca says as she takes a sip.

"What happened on the pitch?!" Keeley asks.

"Our sweet, quiet little y/n became this loud, assertive coach. Those boys listened to her as well as they listen to Roy."

"No shit! So you're like an entirely different person when you coach?"

"Um, I guess." You say, the blush returning once again.

"She absolutely does." Rebecca says. "I was impressed, really."

For some reason, that took you by surprise. You didn't think you could ever do anything to impress Rebecca.

"Really?"

"Absolutely, the way you commanded the team was incredible."

"Oh my god I bet it was so hot watching you get all assertive like that!" Keeley says, causing your blush to deepen.

"I don't know about that." You mumble.

Rebecca shrugs a little and smiles at you and you take another sip of wine.

As the night progresses, the three of you talk, laugh and genuinely enjoy each others company. The wine loosened you up a bit and you're talking a little more freely than you usually do. Something that both Rebecca and Keeley seem to be happy about.

"Oh! I wanted to ask you y/n, what did Ted say to you on the pitch this afternoon?" Rebecca asks.

"When?"

"After you yelled at Colin, he put his arm around you and said something to you."

"Oh," you say, blushing once again. "he just said that I was doing a really good job and that he was proud of me."

"Aw I love Ted!" Keeley says. "He's such a sweetheart."

"He's a really good guy, it's nice to have someone so supportive on the pitch."

"I can imagine! It must be tough being the only chick out there."

"It's not too bad, I mean sometimes the guys say shit but I don't let it get to me."

Rebecca stiffens when she hears you say that the team makes comments to her. She doesn't even realize it but her grip on her wine glass tightens.

"What do they say to you?" Rebecca asks.

"Honestly I don't really pay attention, sometimes they're just teasing me, sometimes they like, pretend hit on me, say stupid things. The usual things that immature athletes usually say."

"That is absolutely unacceptable." Rebecca says, her tone growing more serious.

"It's okay really-"

"No it's not, you're their manager, they should respect you just as much as they respect the other managers."

"I guess." You say, shrugging.

"No, no, they absolutely should. And if it continues there will be hell to pay."

"Rebecca, really-"

"No babes she's right," Keeley chimes in. "you absolutely deserve the same amount of respect that the other coaches get and it's some sexist bullshit that you're not getting it."

Coming to terms with the fact that this is absolutely a losing battle, you smile at the two women.

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate it."

Rebecca wraps her arm around your shoulders and pulls you into her. The moment her skin touches yours your heartbeat quickens. AS she pulls you closer you're engulfed in her perfume. It's a beautiful, no doubt expensive, scent. It automatically relaxes you even though your heart still feels like its beating out of your chest. You look up at Rebecca and she looks down at you and smiles. Immediately her gorgeous green eyes captivate you and you get lost in them for a moment. Opening your mouth to speak, you realize your throat has gone dry so you grab your wine glass and take a sip.

"We got your back babes!" Keeley says.

"We absolutely do." Rebecca says, smiling down at you.

Later that night you lay in bed unable to fall asleep. The moment Rebecca wrapped her arm around you replays over and over again on a loop. You've never felt like that before and you can't figure out why. Was it because she's your boss? Not really. How about because she saw you in your coach mode earlier? Nah. What the hell made you so nervous in such a pretty woman's arms!

Right after that thought passed through your mind it hit you. You liked Rebecca, a lot. Way more than you ever thought or would have admitted to yourself.

Shit. You had a crush on your boss.

The next morning Rebecca calls a meeting with all of the coaches and the team. Everyone gathers in the conference room and you sit in one of the chairs, fidgeting nervously because you think you know why you're all here.

"Good morning everyone, I'm sure you're all wondering why I called this meeting this morning."

"Colin I told ya, you gotta use soap when ya shower mate!" Jamie says, making the entire team laugh.

Rebecca glares at Jamie and he shrinks back in his seat.

"Sorry Ms. Welton." He mumbles.

"It was recently brought to my attention that one of the managers here has not been given the same amount of respect as the others. Something that I witnessed myself in the locker room yesterday." She says, staring daggers at Colin, who also shrinks into his seat. "Every manager on this team, assistant or otherwise, deserves your respect and I will not tolerate anyone on this team disrespecting them in any way. If I find out that any one of you are making fun of, ostracizing or disrespecting any of the coaches on this team you will be benched for the first five games." The team takes a collective breath in, they're all a little intimidated by Rebecca and they don't take her threats lightly. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Ms. Welton." They say in unison.

"Wonderful, now unless anyone has any questions or concerns, you all are dismissed."

Ted turns to you and the other coaches, a confused look on his face.

"What the heck was all of that about?"

The coaches shrug their shoulders and you stay silent. The guys on the team have never said anything in front of the other coaches so you're not surprised that they didn't know they weren't treating you all that nicely.

Everyone leaves the conference room and you head to your office. The day goes by pretty quickly and the threats Rebecca made seem to have stuck because the boys are giving you less attitude than they normally do. When the day is finally over you make your way up to Rebecca's office to thank her for putting her foot down.

You knock on the door and hear her on the other side.

"Come in!" When she see's you after you open the door, her face lights up again. "Oh! Y/n! What a wonderful surprise." She says with a smile, closing her laptop. "Please, sit." She gestures to the chair in front of her desk.

You take a seat and drink her in for a quick moment. Her hair is pulled back elegantly so you can see every beautiful feature of her face. Her green button down shirt, that's showing off her perfect breasts just enough to tease you, makes her eyes pop. If you could, you would sit here all night and just look at her.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asks with a smile.

"I just wanted to thank you, for earlier today."

"Oh you don't have to thank me! It's absolutely unacceptable to disrespect the people that rank higher than you. I wish you had told me sooner, I'm so sorry you've been dealing with that for so long." Her green eyes look sad, not like the pitied you, but sad that you've been treated like shit from your players.

"Yeah, I just tend to take things as they are. I don't like making waves."

"Well if anything like this ever happens again, I hope you do."

"Thank you, I will."

"I was surprised that Ted and the other coaches didn't even know. They can usually pick up on those things quickly."

"Yeah, the guys were pretty discrete when it came to them insulting me or something."

"Did you tell anyone? Like a boyfriend or-"

"Oh no, I don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh?"

"I'm not really, into guys so much." You say as you feel your cheeks starting to get warm.

"Oh." Rebecca says, almost surprised.

"I'm guessing you weren't expecting that." You say with a laugh.

"Uh, no, honestly, I was not." She also says with a laugh.

"I mean, come on, I'm a football coach for a men's team, it's kinda obvious."

"Well when you put it like that!" The two of you laugh for a minute.

Her laugh is amazing, it fills your chest with so much joy. If you could have it played on repeat for hours, you would.

"Anyway, thank you again for doing that, it means a lot."

"Of course, I can't let my staff, no less my favorite employee, be harassed by the team."

"Aw, thanks." You say, smiling at her. "I'll let you go-"

"I was just about to leave, walk with me to the carpark?"

"Of course."

The two of you walk out of the building and into the carpark in a comfortable silence. The sky is dark and there's only a few cars left, including her driver and your car. Rebecca turns towards you and you mirror her action. She tucks a strand of hair behind your ear and gently cups your face. Without realizing it, you unconsciously lean into her hand, when you realize what you just did your eyes widen. Rebecca only smirks and her thumb caresses your cheek.

"If I wasn't your boss," She says softly, as if she's talking to herself while she's admiring you.

Her hand leaves your face and you grab hold of it with yours.

"Even if you are, I wouldn't mind." You say, just as softly, with a smile.

Rebecca looks at you with a bit of surprise in her eyes, she was never expecting you to say that. She's had the feeling that you had a crush on her for awhile now, long before you realized you did. And she's secretly been admiring you from afar.

The thought of dating an employee sounds so incredibly unprofessional to Rebecca. But at the same time, you're not just any employee.

"I must say, I'm torn on the matter." She says with a small smile.

"Well, give me a chance to ease your worries." You say with a confidence you haven't had in awhile.

Rebecca picks up on your sudden burst of confidence and a smile crosses her face.

"Alright then, Friday night, 7pm, I'll pick you up?"

"Perfect."

"It's a date."

#willalove75 #hannah waddingham #rebecca welton #rebecca welton x reader #ted lasso #wlw fanfic #rebecca welton fanfic #ted lasso fic

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sjsmith56 · 4 months ago

Text

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

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