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tricksters-captain · 6 years

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Bucky Barnes imagines - Mixed Signals

AN: Inspired by Ruth B’s song ‘Mixed Signals’ (Link here) It’s not as sad as the song though. I don’t know if this is any good because I haven’t written Bucky in over a year.

Summary: There’s always been something between you and Bucky and you two tried to fight it due to you being Tony’s daughter but things just keep coming back to the two of you.

Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes x reader, Tony Stark x Daughter!Reader

Word count: 3,598

Warnings: Age gap but reader is of legal age.

You heard the knock at your door. It was gentle but definite.

You sighed and lowered your head, wiping your tears away.

You forced yourself to your feet and shuffled towards the door; your hand took hold of the handle but you didn’t open just yet.

You knew exactly who it would be and you didn’t know if you could face him again.

You remembered meeting Bucky for the first time officially and from there it just went downhill. Pretty Cliché, yeah, you knew.

The first time you saw him, you became transfixed with his eyes. His shaggy hair may have covered them as he was introduced into the compound but for some reason you couldn’t look away. And then there was this cute little nervous smile as Steve tried to crack a poor joke to make Bucky feel a little less uncomfortable but it probably didn’t work.

Being the youngest Avenger was difficult but being the young Avenger that happened to be Tony Stark’s daughter was even worse.

Even though you were technically an adult, Tony used his parental authoritative powers over you and tried to keep you away from Bucky Barnes for as long as possible could due to the whole civil war thing but eventually there was a mission which you couldn’t go on and neither could Bucky so you two ended up spending some time together.

You had broken your leg whilst training and that meant you were under house arrest whilst the rest of the team was on the mission and that also meant you weren’t allowed to move very much since Tony wanted you to heal asap. He hated you being immobile almost as much as you did.

“Remember, I have cameras around this whole facility so if you even try to move that leg I’ll know and I won’t hesitate to fly back here, (Y/n).” Tony warned you as he handed you the bowl of popcorn you asked him to get you.

“You know I’m not twelve, right?” You reminded him, Tony scoffed and turned his back on you, stalling.

“Please just leave now, you’re already late.” You pleaded all the whilst trying to hide your amusement at your old man’s worry.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay because I can. I can still withdrawal from the mission, I mean they don’t really need––”

“––GO!” You pointed behind you to the door and laughed at your father’s frantic behaviour.

“Fine.” Tony put his hands in his pockets and left without looking back but you knew he was worried, he was just trying to play cool playboy persona like he usually did.

Now, the thing about a broken leg, it meant you had a full leg cast which meant you couldn’t move at all without your crutches, which then meant that when you got up to go refill your popcorn bowl you made it over with the bowl on top of your head but when you wanted to return to the couch, you had a little difficulty.

You tried everything to get back to the couch but in the end resorted by throwing your crutches across the room back to the couch and then trying to slide along the floor whilst holding the bowl.

You hadn’t even made it a quarter way to the couch when Bucky walked into the main living space of the compound.

He furrowed his eyebrows at you but couldn’t help find your struggle slightly amusing.

“Are you gonna stand there or are you gonna help me?” You asked as you gave up, lying down flat on the floor completely.

Bucky walked over to you and picked up the popcorn bowl first then offered his arm to you. You wrapped your hands around his forearm and he lifted you up to help you onto your foot.

“You alright?” He asked as you wobbled whilst trying to get a better hold his arm as he waited to walk you over to the couch.

He was patient as you hopped over to the couch, gripping onto his arm like the railing on a staircase.

He helped you sit down and then handed you the bowl of popcorn and that was your first real interaction with the man.

Of course over the next few days you had plenty more, especially with your broken leg being very problematic with everything you wanted to do.

He became your temporary support as he helped you around the compound with the wheelchair that Tony had left you so it made travel much easier for you.

You enjoyed those first couple days alone with Bucky, he was quiet and didn’t like to talk as much as you wanted him to but it was early days.

You remembered sitting in the kitchen in your wheelchair with your leg propped up as Bucky made you both lunch. You were eating raspberries that you had placed on the tips of all your fingers like how you used to when you were much younger and Bucky smiled at you as you quietly hummed along and tapped your foot to the Tessie O'Shea’s ‘I Fell In Love With An Airman’.

You knew Bucky appreciated you playing older music around him as he hadn’t quite gotten the hype of modern day music just yet.

You wheelchair happened to be situated by the fridge-freezer and unfortunately for Bucky, that meant you being next to the fridge magnets and as you took a few of them you decided to hop over to the counter where Bucky was preparing your food and pull yourself up onto the counter top.

He didn’t take any notice of what you were doing until he felt the fridge magnets on his arm.

He looked over to you with furrowed eyebrows and you were just moving the magnets around so that they where in the places you wanted them.

You only looked at Bucky’s face when you took the sandwich he just made and took a bite into it as if you hadn’t just decorated Bucky’s metal arm with magnets.

“What?” You asked him as he continued to stare at you.

Bucky took a moment before answering.

“Nothing.”He shook his head slightly, looking back down to the counter.

“What?” You chuckled, smiling at him as he kept the magnets on.

“It’s just... You seem to be the only one here who doesn’t treat me like I’m a piece of thin glass.” Bucky admitted,

You stopped chewing and placed your sandwich down.

“Well, it’s because you’re not.” You told him in all seriousness.

Bucky’s eyes flickered up to you then back down to his food, a small smile on his face.

Even though those first few days were uneventful, they were comforting. Spending time with Bucky made you realise that he was just a broken guy trying to heal. You didn’t physically interact and you didn’t talk much but having his presence there instead of Tony ushering you off to do something in order to stay away from Bucky was nice.

But that was a while ago now.

After your leg healed and you could start training again, you found yourself in the gym similar times to Bucky and it wasn’t coincidental.

You’d be lying if you said you just happened to wonder into the gym and had no clue Bucky was going to be in there. Especially when Bucky had a few specific times that he liked to go to the gym and you varied between those to make it seem like you weren’t purposely working out the same time he was.

You had to admit the man was beyond impressive and your admiration of his skill was the reason you even asked for help with training but that didn’t end well at all.

It started with you asking Bucky to help you out in some hand-to-hand combat and even thought he was worried he might hurt you, he agreed.

You two were just practising and all seemed well until you had Bucky pinned down on the floor with his head between your thighs as you had just taken him down with your legs.

Bucky grasped hold of your thighs and threw you off of his neck and swiftly climbed on top of you, holding your wrists to the ground.

That’s when Tony walked in.

“What is going on here?” Tony asked, his overprotective father instinct kicking in as he saw Bucky hovering merely inches over his only daughter.

Bucky climbed off you immediately and helped you to your feet all in one swift action.

Tony’s eyes darted between you and Bucky as you panted from the fight that had just been interrupted.

“(Y/n), leave the room for a minute please.” Tony commanded, but you just raised your eyebrows at him with your hands on your hips. “Do you really want me to repeat myself?” Tony asked, sounding far more pissed off than before.

You gave in, rolling your eyes very obviously as you picked up your water bottle and towel before leaving the room. You knew the consequences of disobeying his direct demand wouldn’t be very fun for you so you didn’t take the risk.

You did, however, hover at the door to listen in.

“Listen here, Bucko, I want you to stay away from my daughter. Just checking that you hear that or do you want to turn your hearing aid up? You need to stay away from my daughter or else there will be consequences and no one, not even Steve, will be able to help you if you decide to ignore my threat because yes, this is a threat.” Tony threatened Bucky without even giving any room for Bucky to respond.

“We were just training.” Bucky argued in his defence,

“Sure, sure, right. Well, I’ve seen the security footage, buddy, of the days you spent here with my daughter and you two got awfully cosy with each other so here’s me warning you for the last time, stay away from my daughter.” And with that, Tony left.

You hid behind the corner so he didn’t see you but as soon as you could see he was gone, you returned to the gym.

Bucky’s eyes met yours and hen he sharply averted them and went to leave the gym.

“Bucky...” You called after him but he had to ignore you.

And like that, your dad broke your heart. Bucky stayed away from you as much as he could and it surprisingly hurt.

Until one night when Steve had gone out of town with Wanda and Bucky had one of his night terrors.

You were sat on your window sill, your knees to your chest as you listened to the insects outside with your window open just a slight.

It was late, around 2/3am but you couldn’t sleep and that’s when you heard one of Bucky’s throat-tearing screams.

You knew that Steve and Wanda not being here meant that Bucky had no one to wake him up or soothe his nightmares like Wanda could so you rushed down the hall to his room in just your cotton pyjama shorts and one of your dad’s t-shirts that you had stolen from him years ago.

You flung open his bedroom door to see him, clinging onto the bed sheets beside him with his head thrown backwards into his pillow as he screamed at the ceiling. Veins pulsed in his neck and arms and your first immediate instinct was to wake him up.

You clambered onto his bed and reached forward pushed down on his shoulders, which did nothing. You shook him vigarouslu but the man was tense, and you called out his name which after a couple attempts woke Bucky up.

Bucky gasped, his eyes snapping open and his hands took hold of you, flipping you over and pinning you down much like he did in the gym weeks ago.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s me. It’s me. Buck, it’s me.” You whispered as he stared down at you with fear and panic in his eyes.

As he came back to the world and realised who you were he released his grip and sat up, away from you.

You watched his bare chest rise and fall as he tried to catch his breath.

“Are you okay?” You asked him, sitting up yourself.

Bucky didn’t answer.

“Buck.” You cautiously moved forward and reached towards his face, cupping his cheek which forced Bucky to look at you.

His eyes were blood shot and his lips parted at the affection you were showing him.

“It’s okay now. It was just a nightmare” You assured him.

You watched his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, his throat clearly sore and dry from his screams.

You stood and got him some water and he had moved to the edge of his bed with his head in his hands by the time you got back.

“You wanna talk about it?” You asked as you handed him the glass.

Bucky shook his head, taking a mouthful of the water.

“Do you want me to stay?” You asked, this time more scared of the answer ‘no’.

“You can’t.” Bucky spoke for the first time since he woke up.

“Well, why don’t I just stay until you fall asleep? So, you don’t have to be alone.” You suggested, edging closer to the bed.

Bucky looked up at you as if he was contemplating saying yes.

However, before he could answer, you climbed into bed with him, lying down beside him as he pulled your arm around him, holding your hand in his as you spooned.

You closed your eyes, trying not to breath on his back too much but in all honesty, Bucky liked feeling your breath against him as it reminded him you were actually there.

You both ended up falling asleep and that’s where your ‘relationship’ started.

You didn’t exactly know what to call it or what was happening with Bucky as it never came up in conversation.

It became habit to sneak into Bucky’s room every night and just sleep beside him, nothing more, just sleeping. Tony didn’t have a reason to check the surveillance so he never found out.

And then during the day, it was a side glance here and there and an accidental touch of the hand or brush of the shoulders but no actual communication in front of the others because of Tony.

However, it wasn’t all cute teen tv show moments. Other times, Bucky was confusing and if you went to brush your hand against his, he’d withdraw it. Or one day he wouldn’t look at you at all until it came to the evening and even then he could be quiet. He’d suddenly become cold and you had no idea why.

It was almost like every time you got a bit closer to Bucky, he pulled away metaphorically and literally. He was opening up only to close again like a venus fly trap. It was getting under your skin, not that you’d admit it.

But on the warmer hand, you have had a few late nights where you played cards or checkers on his bed, trying to muffle laughter and talking quietly, listening out for footsteps.

Those were the moments where Bucky would just lie back and admire your smile, he found himself in way deeper than he’d like but that wasn’t the thing that worried him.

His main concern was your age and your connection to Tony. He had already caused enough problems between the Avengers and he wasn’t ready to cause another civil war.

“(y/n)?” You heard your father call your name which is what made you leave you room.

As you were making your way down the hallway, you were too busy reading an email on your phone to notice the oncoming body and you collided with Bucky.

“You alright?” He asked as he held your arms to steady you. You were about to respond when Tony rounded the corner.

“(Y/n)! Honestly, that girl....” Tony words drifted off as he saw you and Bucky close together once again.

You pulled away but Tony’s face hardened at Bucky anyway.

“You know what? I thought I said stay away from my daughter but clearly––” Tony stepped towards Bucky and you stepped in between the two men.

“––Hey! It was an accident, I crashed into him because I wasn’t looking where I was going.” You cut him short by explaining what happened.

Tony closed his mouth but continued to glare at Bucky, forcing Bucky to be the one who walks away.

“What is wrong with you?” You muttered to your father before following Bucky out to one of the balconies in the compound.

“Hey... Bucky...” You called his name as you approached him.

Bucky looked over his shoulder at the mention of his name but he didn’t move from his position of leaning on the banister.

“Look, I’m sorry about my dad.” You leant on the balcony beside him, staring ahead exactly like he was.

“It’s not your dad, (y/n). It’s you. I can’t be with you, I can’t keep doing this, risking getting turned on again.” Bucky’s response shocked you into silence. “Look, Steve said moving in here would make things easier for me but it all it has done is make things worse.”

“What?” You finally found something to say,

“I’m sorry.” Bucky meant the apology, but you didn’t realise that. You also didn’t realise it but at the time what Bucky was saying was hurting him as well.

The fights he had with himself over you were ridiculous. The amount of ‘I need you’ and ‘no I don’t’ arguments he had were enough to exhaust a man.

You nodded your head and backed away from the man, the knot in your throat tightening.

Bucky didn’t watch you walk away but when he could tell you where gone, he ran his hands over his head and sighed deeply.

“You alright, bud?” Steve patted his hand on his best friends back, causing Bucky to snap up straight and lie.

“Yeah, fine.”

“No, you’re not. You also happen to be just as bad a liar as you were in 1945 so spit it out.” Steve teased Bucky, leaning with his back to the view so he could face his friend.

Bucky remained silent for a couple seconds, debating whether or not he should talk about it.

“Does it happen to be about a certain young coworker?” Steve asked, and Bucky just smirked slightly, huffing in response. “You know, Tony’s a piece of work but (y/n), she’s the closest to the kindest person I’ve ever met. It’s sometimes hard to believe she’s a Stark but just because someone says you have to stay away from her, doesn’t mean you have to.” Steve started to explain,

“Tony––” Bucky went to argue but Steve cut him short.

“––Tony will get over it. Now, go talk to her before you ruin your chance completely.”

“I can’t believe you! Honestly!” You stormed up to your father with tears stinging your eyes.

“There are plenty of guys––” Tony hadn’t even looked up from his work when you entered.

“––Dad!” Your outburst caused Tony’s head to snap upwards. He removed his glasses when he noticed the redness of the threat of tears.

“All my life I have trained and taught by you at home. I have obeyed and listened and never broken your rules but I’m not a kid anymore. I joined the Avengers because you asked me to not because you forced me to because you can’t force me to do anything anymore because guess what?! I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions and you’re gonna have to deal with them! If you can’t do that then I guess you’ll never see your daughter happy again. Or a matter of fact, you may never see your daughter again at all.” You couldn’t help but let the tears escape your eyes as you rose your voice, and you hated your dad seeing you cry so you stormed out immediately after.

You went to your room and picked up a duffel bag. You needed space, to get away from Tony, to get away from Bucky. It was time for you to be independent again, you had fallen back into your teenage ways living in the compound with your dad around.

You picked up the picture of you with the team but as you went to put it in your bag, you dropped it, the glass in the frame shattering across the floor.

You collapsed down on your bed and broke down again.

You sat there for a few short seconds in silence until you heard something you didn’t want nor expect –– at least for a while.

You heard the knock at your door. It was gentle but definite.

You sighed and lowered your head, wiping your tears away.

You forced yourself to your feet and shuffled towards the door; your hand took hold of the handle but you didn’t open just yet.

“(Y/n).” You heard Bucky’s voice. Surprised, you opened the door. You thought it was gonna be your father.

“What do you want?” You asked him, a little colder than you meant to.

Bucky swallowed, much like he usually does when he’s nervous, but then he hugged you.

He pulled you tight against him and instead of fighting him off, you just hugged him back, burying your face into his neck.

AN: This is a little bit shit because I started writing it and then realised I didn’t like it but wanted to finish it so don’t go too hard on it. I haven’t written Bucky Barnes since Christmas of 2016. I want to write some more Bucky and I promise it’ll get better but I’m just trying to wear this in like an old pair of shoes that I haven’t worn in a while. You just gotta get warmed up.

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