You hadn't realized that your hands were shaking at first until Steve pointed it out when you took the tablet from him. He was gracious enough to keep it quiet, but his look of concern was hard to hide from a table of highly observant people.

"(Y/N), something wrong?" Bucky asked, "you look uncomfortable with this. Is everything okay?"

Tony looked up from his own work now, raising a single eyebrow as he studied you, "yeah, (Y/N), you look a little green. You feeling alright?"

"Guys, I'm fine," you sighed, giving Steve a warning glance to leave it alone. "I just...uh...skipped breakfast...that's all."

"Well you had better remedy that, because we fly in twenty." Tony stood with the rest of the team following his lead, conversing quietly and slowly making their way from the conference room. Steve held back and continued to watch you, now beginning to make you uncomfortable.

"Let it go, Rogers," you said in a flat tone, trying to stand to leave but stopping under his tight grip of your arm. "Hey, I said, let it go."

"Of all the people that I've worked with, you are the one who never gets rattled. I need you to be honest with me, (Y/N), or I can't trust you."

With a quiet groan, you closed your eyes and squeezed the bridge of your nose in frustration and now a building anger towards your Captain. He wasn't backing down, but you knew that if you said anything that he would pull you from the mission; you also knew that you were the only one who could finish it. You had been with HYDRA for years before defecting to SHIELD, and now to the Avengers; this was the mission that you had been prepared for. A mission that only you and Nick understood fully, with details you couldn't share even with your own team.

"Like I told you, I skipped breakfast. I'm fine." With that, you stomped deliberately from the room, not looking back but hoping that he wasn't following you. Steve stood and gathered his supplies as he considered what he was going to do. He needed you, definitely, but he also worried that there was something going on that would jeopardize either you, the mission, or both.

His eyes followed you as you walked down the hall and towards the hangar bay. "You're a terrible liar," he mumbled to himself, following you a few steps behind with his mind still racing.

~~~

"So, you do anything fun Saturday night?" Bucky asked lightheartedly, dropping down into the seat next to you. "You turned down my offer to take you out, so there must have been something really great happening to miss out on all of this," he smirked.

"Yeah, I went to bed early."

He shook his head with a small grin, reaching around to secure his safety harness, then turning to check yours as well. "Okay, grandma. I get it, you like your naps." His hand slid under the belt to your right and pulled firmly to be sure it was connected tightly, but you slapped his hand away with a huff.

"Barnes, knock it off. I know how to do it."

"Well, we don't want you falling out again."

"That was your fault, if you remember?"

Bucky lifted his head and took on a look of reflection, as if he were playing out the memory in his head, but quickly shook the thought away. "Nope, I don't remember anything of the sort."

The jet lifted and cleared the tower; you closed your eyes and rested your head in an attempt to clear your mind for the task you were about to take on. You would go head-to-head with the leader of HYDRA. Your knowledge of their systems and protocols gave you a significant advantage over the rest of the team, and you were able to forge clearance codes and identification for yourself to gain unlimited access. You were the only one who could make it convincing.

"Are you scared?"

"Are you kidding?" you quietly replied, your eyes still tightly shut.

"Well, you look nervous. Your hands are shaking." Bucky tried to rest his hand over yours to calm them, but you immediately pulled it away. "Hey, talk to me, (Y/N). There's something going on that you aren't telling me. You tell me everything."

"Please, Buck, I need to concentrate."

All he could do was nod and sit quietly, returning his hand to yours and holding steady when you tried to pull it away again. Steve had set you up on a blind date with Bucky, even though you were already on the same team; he was proud of being able to keep you both in the dark about who you were meeting. You had been dating for only a few months, but you both knew that Steve knew what he was doing when he brought you together, and that this relationship would stick.

It wasn't long before it was time to land, and you finally opened your eyes at the sensation of the jet lowering to it's destination. You took a few deep breaths and reached down to unfasten your belts and secure your weapons hidden deep within your stolen HYDRA uniform.

"What if my disguise isn't enough? What if they recognize me?"

"They won't," Steve said over his shoulder, trying to reassure you. "You look nothing like you did when you were a part of HYDRA. Just follow the plan, use the ID and codes, and get to the office as fast as you can. We'll be on stand-by here if you need us on this side, Tony and his team are in a jet on the other. No matter which way you run, we're here."

Bucky squeezed your hand to get your attention, using his metal hand to turn your face towards him. "You've got this, (Y/N). You're ready." He leaned in for a quick kiss before helping you stand. "If anything goes wrong, we're gonna be there."

"If I get stuck, I just have to think, 'What would Han Solo do?'" you mumbled to yourself.

"You're such a nerd," he chuckled, kissing you one more time before you left his sight.

~~~

Getting through the first three levels of security was easier than you had anticipated, leaving only one more; the entry to the office that held HYDRA's number one. You walked up to the guard with as much confidence as you could gather and held out your ID badge. "I have an appointment."

"No one gets an appointment," he said coldly, examining the card you had handed him. "not without me knowing about it."

"Last minute plan. Here," you paused, holding out your phone, "my confirmation."

With a skeptical glance he took it from your hand, reading the message on the screen carefully before returning it to you. You could feel your heart pounding and hoped your anxiety didn't show on your face. It took everything you had just to keep your breathing even.

"Fine," the man huffed and returned your phone, "I need to take a fingerprint and retinal scan."

Your heart was now almost slamming through your chest; you never checked if they had deleted your retinal scan when you defected from HYDRA. After the fingerprint was collected, you clasped your hands behind your back and leaned forward to the scanner, one finger hovering over the emergency call to your team that was imbedded in your watch.

"You're clear."

This was it. You had made it to the moment that had your nerves wound so tight that everyone had noticed despite your best efforts. You reached for the door but it opened without a touch; once inside the office you took a deep breath, holding it as the large leather chair behind a desk on the far side of the room spun around to bring him to face you.

"Hello, (Y/N)."

"Hello, dad."

He stood and moved around the large desk towards you, his height much more intimidating than you had remembered it to be. "I knew it would be you. Who else would SHIELD send in to kill me but my own daughter? The only person they thought that could get close enough to me to do it. That's why you're here, isn't it?" He slid his hands in his pockets, looking much too relaxed for someone who knew what was about to happen. "They forgot one thing, however."

As he moved closer you reflexively stepped back and side-stepped towards the nearby window. You wouldn't be able to make an escape through the door, so the hard way out was all you had left. "What's that dad? What did we forget?"

"That you've tried to kill me before. And that you've failed before."

"I won't fail this time," you growled, pulling your gun from your back and firmly holding it steady towards him. "My hands aren't shaking anymore, like they did then. You've killed so many more people since that day, dad. I've regretted not being able to do this sooner."

"You were never strong enough for HYDRA," he spat out, "you're barely strong enough for SHIELD." He began to take hard and quick steps towards you, making you raise your gun more and plant your feet in place to prepare for the kickback of your weapon.

"You should really decide what you want your last words to be. What do you want the final words of the greatest leader of HYDRA in the modern age to be before I put this bullet between your eyes?"

He grabbed your weapon and held it to his forehead, fully believing that you wouldn't do it. It would come to be his final mistake. His lips curled into a sneer and his eyes grew dark as he spoke, sealing his fate.

"What a disappointment you've become."

~~~

"Go, Steve," you panted, running full speed into the back of the jet, "go now, they aren't far behind!" You all but collapsed into your chair, this time allowing Bucky to secure you. When he pulled his hand away his eyes widened at the sight of your blood on it.

"Steve, she's injured!"

"I'm fine," you whispered, still trying to catch your breath, "it's nothing, just a scratch."

"Why didn't you call us for help?"

"Because I had it. Obviously, Barnes, I'm here aren't I?" Again you slapped his hand away and held yours up to keep him from helping you any further. "Just leave me alone, alright?" you snapped. He pulled back in defeat and looked to Steve, confused and now completely worried about you.

"Hey Buck," Steve called out, "could you come take the controls so I can talk to her?"

"I don't want to talk."

"She doesn't want to talk," you both said in unison. Bucky still beginning to stand when he saw Steve make his way towards you, sliding into the pilot seat and away from the conversation.

"Well she's going to." The Captain knelt down in front of you, looking up until you would finally turn and meet his eyes. "(Y/N), what's going on?" His deep blue eyes had a strange way of getting you to open up to him, as they did with others on the team as well, but you could never get away with silence when he looked at you this way and he knew it.

"The job is finished," you whispered, "I just want to go home. I don't want to do this anymore."

His head snapped towards Bucky and back to you, completely shocked at the words he never expected to hear from you. You had committed your life to SHIELD and the Avengers, and of anyone on the team, he thought that you would be the last to turn away. "(Y/N), you aren't serious. Are you?"

As you thought about leaving them, tears began to sting your eyes and slowly roll down your cheeks. You couldn't look at him, or at Bucky, like this. It was ridiculous that you were crying in front of them, on a mission, and you were embarrassed. But they wouldn't stop. When Steve took your hands, it only made them worse and now you were fully engulfed in sobbing. "He was my dad, Steve," you whispered. "That's why it had to be me."

His jaw set and his eyes became angry at your revelation; no one had told him this before. Fury had kept another secret from him and all he could do was try to keep control of the rage building inside of himself as he watched you struggle with your own barrage of emotions. He was tired of the secrets that were always kept from him, and was just tired of being tired. Steve released your hands and returned to the pilot seat, resting his hand on Bucky's shoulder as he looked out the windows at the clouds passing by.

"I need you to keep an eye on her. She wants to leave, and honestly, I don't blame her at all."

"Wait," Bucky whispered harshly to keep you from hearing, "what the hell is going on? What do you mean, she wants to leave?"

Steve looked down at him, still full of rage but now turning to sadness the more he thought about what had just happened and the role he played in the pain you were feeling so acutely. "Buck, we just ordered her to kill her own father."

Part 2

Immediately after the jet landed and the door opened, you ran from the hangar and to your room, with Bucky quickly following so he could try to stop you from leaving. He was calling for you to stop, but you consciously tried to block him out, knowing that seeing or talking to him would only make this harder and would likely break your resolve. Once you reached the door to your room, he was there, grabbing your arm to hold you back.

"Damn super soldier speed," you mumbled to yourself, "Buck, let go."

"(Y/N), please wait. Talk to me. Don't leave us, please." He still wasn't releasing you, his grip almost too strong and beginning to sting your skin. "I need you to stay."

You squeezed your eyes shut and yanked your arm firmly to release his hold with a small grunt, "Bucky, I'm sorry. I have to focus on what I need to do, please understand that." Still refusing to look at him, you pushed your door open and slammed it shut behind you with as much force, hoping that he wouldn't try to follow.

Of course, Steve was right behind Bucky, joining him as the door closed but pushing him aside so that he could attempt to talk to you about your plans and what it meant to the team. He wouldn't openly admit it if asked, but he also wanted to know what it would mean for his friend if you left, worried that it could affect him more than either of you realized.

"(Y/N), I need you to open the door," Steve said calmly, doing his best to hold in his anger.

"Go away, Steve!"

"I can't do that, (Y/N). I'm your S.O., and you will open it now. We need to talk about this."

"You need to mind your own business!"

"(Y/N)," he said calmly and evenly, "I didn't know, okay? I had no idea that he was your dad. I swear. Just let me in."

"Fuck off, Steve!"

Steve sighed and turned to Bucky, completely exasperated and angry with his lack of progress with you. He rubbed his hand over his face in frustration and lowered his voice to whisper to himself, "I'm gonna end up kicking this door in, and Tony isn't gonna let me hear the end of it."

"Steve, is that really-"

With a quick glance to his friend, he planted his foot firmly against the door, sending it flying into your room with a crash that shook the floor beneath your feet. Steve turned back to him, completely straight-faced yet looking slightly pleased with himself. "Yes, absolutely necessary."

"Have you completely lost your mind?" you yelled, rushing forward to stand facing him, your fists clenched at your sides, "I said not to come in here! I thought you were the one with manners around here!"

"Where do you think you're going?"

"What part of 'I'm leaving' isn't sinking through your thick skull, Steve? It's not your concern where, you only need to know that I won't be here." You turned to return to your packing, frantically throwing your clothing and other random items into your suitcase. "I need to distance myself from the Avengers as far as I can. I need to become someone else."

Both Steve and Bucky took a few steps towards you, but you shot them a warning glare that stopped both men quickly in their tracks. Steve nodded his head for his friend to try to talk to you, knowing that he was unlikely to get any farther himself.

"(Y/N), we can protect you here. If you leave...if you hide...what if something happens and we can't find you? I can't let that happen to you."

"I'm sorry, Buck," you whispered, your voice cracking, "I'm sorry that I don't see any other way, and that this has to end for your safety as much as my own." You were trying to hold your emotions in check, beginning the process of distancing yourself from him, beginning the pain that felt as if it were tearing you in half. "You can't change my mind."

"(Y/N)..."

"No, you guys, listen to me," you said sternly, throwing your last few items into the suitcase harshly and yanking the zipper around it. "one of two things are going to happen now. My dad was the head of HYDRA, and now he's dead. I'm the one who killed him, and they all know it. Either they're going to kill me, or they're going to take me and brainwash me into their new leader as his successor. Do you understand me now? Do you see why I need to disappear? Either option isn't an option for me."

"Where will you go?" Steve asked quietly, giving you a small nod of understanding. He knew that the Avengers could do their best to protect you, but any mission involving HYDRA would become problematic if they needed to keep you safe from them at the same time; your presence could compromise the job.

"Where I hope that you'll never find me, Steve."

~~~

Six months after that day, you had taken on your new identity; you changed your appearance as much as you could, moved to a small town under a new alias, and fulfilled one of your childhood goals; opening your own small but successful bakery. Sure, it was quite the stretch from being an Avenger and saving the world, but that's exactly what you needed; to get as far away from that life as possible. Your life had become a bit routine, but there was a comfort in it, knowing that you were safe, and that your friends didn't have to worry about you anymore. Knowing that Bucky would never see you become a person that he hated.

After opening your shop for the day, you heard the door bell ring almost right away. You pulled off your apron and quickly washed the frosting from your hands to make your way to the front to greet the first customers of the day.

"Good morning! How can I help you?"

A small boy of about five years old ran out from behind his mother and towards your display case, excitedly jumping and pointing at your latest designs. "Mommy! I want those! I want all of those! They're so cool!"

"Okay, honey, just calm down," she laughed with a sigh, looking up at you. "Word is out that you've made these, you know. The kids are coming for you, so I hope you're ready."

"Wow, I had no idea they would be so popular!" You pulled open the case and took several cupcakes out one by one, taking care to not disrupt the carefully decorated tops, "so which one is your favorite?"

"Iron Man!" the boy hollered with a huge grin across his face, "he's my favorite!"

You smirked, remembering when you had made these exact treats for the team, Tony whining that your likeness of his suit wasn't quite right. "Yeah, Iron Man is pretty awesome," you agreed, "but I'm more of a Winter Soldier girl, myself."

"I like Captain America," his mom chuckled, then leaned in to whisper to you, "he's so hot. All of those muscles...and those eyes..."

"Okaay," you smiled awkwardly and turned your attention back to the little boy, "so here you go, sweetie. Carry them really carefully, okay?" After taking payment from his still-distracted mother, you returned to the kitchen to finish a fresh batch of cookies. Only minutes later, the door rang again.

This time, when you walked to the front, you gasped at the man waiting for you, fighting the urge to run in any direction other than his. "(Y/N), I like what you've done with the place. Very homey." He ran his finger along the sparkling glass of your display case, looking at each item carefully, "I like the Black Widow one. I'm a little hurt that I'm not in there though, to be honest. I think I have a fantastic face for cupcakes."

"What do you want, Nick?"

"They know you're here."

You took a deep breath, feeling a slight shake throughout your chest, "Who does? HYDRA or the Avengers?"

"Sweetheart, if it was HYDRA, you'd be dead by now and this little town would be wiped off the map." He walked around behind the counter and opened the case, taking the Widow cupcake he had been staring at, shoving his finger into the frosting before putting it in his mouth. "You're a tough one to track down."

"That was the point, you idiot," you groaned, taking the treat out of his hand and throwing it into the nearest garbage. "Get out."

"Rude, (Y/N). I was enjoying that."

"You didn't pay for it."

Nick nodded and smiled at you, but it wasn't genuine. "Well here," he paused, grabbing a new one and throwing a twenty dollar bill on the counter, "keep the change." He reached into the case one more time to pull out one with the likeness of Bucky on it, setting it in front of you and making his way back out the door. "He's not an Avenger anymore, so you can stop making those." Nick always knew how to work the dramatics, and that this would definitely get your attention.

"What do you mean he's not an Avenger anymore?" you called out to him, now hurrying to reach him before he left. "Nick, what happened? What happened to Bucky? Where's Steve?"

"When you told him that HYDRA would come for you, he disappeared. Since then we've had report after report of HYDRA bases being destroyed, with no survivors left behind. Steve is out there trying to find him, but Barnes stays one step ahead. We need you to help us track him down."

"Because he knows how to stay one step ahead," you mumbled to yourself, "he knows how Steve works." You ripped off your apron and turned the door sign to 'closed'. "Dammit, Fury. It's been six months. Clearly I'm not cut out for undercover if you could still find me."

"I'm not the one who found you," he smirked, pointing out the front window of the building towards a waving Tony, a sideways grin on his face. "I'm only here because I wanted a cupcake. Just wave back to the nerd so we can be on our way, please."

~~~

"Well, kids, unless you know another guy with a fully metal left arm, I think we've got him," Clint announced, turning the jet towards the signal on his map. "I'm bringing us in, but if you want to go in stealth, I suggest you jump."

You began to secure your gear and put on a parachute as Steve stood nearby and watched, looking like he had something to say but was holding back. You hadn't spoken to him in the week since Nick brought you back to the tower, not really knowing what to say.

"Spill it, Rogers. You suck at keeping quiet, so let's have it."

"This is your fault."

You almost dropped your gun on the ground at his words, the shock of them taking you aback. "Excuse me? What part of this, exactly, is my fault?"

"He's out here taking on HYDRA alone because you left. He thinks that the only way to get you back is to take them out one by one until they're gone."

"Well, he's not wrong."

"This isn't funny, (Y/N)," Steve huffed, taking a step closer to you with his arms crossed over his chest authoritatively. "He can't do this alone, and now we have to stop him."

"I never said this was funny. But in no way is this my fault," you pressed back, "you and Fury sent me in to do that job. So, your fault," you hissed, emphasizing your words with a harsh poke to his chest.

"Guys...come on..." Clint groaned from the pilot seat.

Steve's hand reached up and pushed against the center of your chest, pressing you into the jet wall. He was toe-to-toe with you now, looking down at you with a face growing redder with anger with each breath. "I told you that I had no idea that he was your father, (Y/N). Stop holding that against me."

"Get your hand off me, Steve," you said quietly, "now."

"Hey, guys," Clint interjected again, "if you could maybe wait to kick each other's asses for just a few more minutes, we're over the drop zone."

Pushing the Captain back and away, you stepped past him to the door and hit the button to open it, immediately dropping into the sky without so much as a glance back to see that anyone else followed you.

Clint turned the chair around to look at Steve just as he was about to jump after you, a small smirk on his face, "So, Cap, it doesn't sound like you two are gonna exchange friendship bracelets anytime soon, huh?"

Steve sighed, watching you fall into the distance below him. He knew that he was wrong and that he was only speaking out of fear of losing his friend again, but in the process he was losing another. As soon as this was done, he would make things right. Without looking back or saying a word, Steve stepped off the jet towards you.

~~~

"You two take the far entry, I've got this side," Steve commanded, as you and Natasha made your way to the assigned infiltration point. "Barton said there's only two plus Bucky in here, so we should have the advantage."

"No, Steve, we don't," you warned, "with HYDRA, the minute you think that way, you don't have the advantage. You have to be ready for anything and everything. They don't have rules, they don't take prisoners, and their own lives mean nothing if they can win. If Bucky's alive, it's for a reason."

"Point taken," he nodded. "Alright, move in."

The entry to the facility was easy; frighteningly easy. Steve met you and Nat quickly, looking around for signs of where Bucky might be. "I've got a bad feeling about this, Cap. We should have met some resistance by...now..." you faded away as the end of a gun was suddenly pressed against the back of your head. "Oh, there it is."

"All of you, move it or I blow her pretty little head off."

Giving Steve a small shrug, you smirked, "at least he was nice enough to say I'm pretty." You didn't fight as you were pushed forward and brought to a room in the center of the structure, with Steve and Nat being pushed behind you. When the door opened you gasped, seeing Bucky bound to a chair that looked nauseatingly familiar to you; they were going to wipe his memory again.

"Steve," you whispered, "do you know what that is?"

"Of course he knows what that is, (Y/N)," one of the men barked out, "but now that you're all here, you've completely ruined my plans. That really pisses me off."

"Well I'm terribly sorry," you scoffed, "but our whole goal here really is just to piss you off. So hey, go us."

The man walked up to you and studied your face, grabbing your chin and turning it side to side. You heard a low growl come from Steve's throat at the man's touch, but he didn't move, much to your relief. "I know who you are," the man whispered to you, his tone cold, "I know exactly who you are. You're (Y/N)." He backed away slowly, still looking at you, now as if he were slightly scared of you now that the realization had come to him. "You were to be the next leader of HYDRA. But, (Y/N), I have some bad news for you. At your absence, I've taken over, with plans to make HYDRA so much more than you ever could."

"Sure, since my goal was to completely destroy it, you're not far off."

"And now that's all ruined! Again, because of you!" he hollered, waving his gun wildly in the air. "You know full well what has to happen now, (Y/N). I have four Avengers here, all together in one room. HYDRA has plans in place for how we approach a situation like this. Isn't that right, my traitorous friend?"

As he continued on, you tuned out his voice and looked around the room, finding what appeared to be a large fuel tank against the far wall, with piping extending from it and across the ceiling, branching off into multiple directions over your head. "Steve," you whispered to him again, nodding your head towards it, hoping that he would catch on to what you were thinking. They meant to destroy it all with you inside. You communicated to him as best as you could without words, tracing the piping along the ceiling with your eyes so that he would follow. When his eyes widened at the realization, he began to look slightly panicked.

"Boom," you mouthed to him, then looking to Bucky to try to get his attention as well. Once the four of you had miraculously all reached the same conclusion, you turned your focus back to the man who was still going on and on about the world under HYDRA and some other nonsense that you chose to ignore.

"You know, as intriguing as this is, we would all just prefer if you could get on with it. Unless your plan is to kill us with boredom, because I think that might be working."

"Your father was right," he snarled, pressing himself against you, "you really are a disappointment. You could never lead HYDRA. You're weak and misguided. You don't see the world for what it really is, believing that the Avengers can stop us. Cut off one head-"

"Yeah, we know," Steve huffed sarcastically, "we all know. Heads everywhere."

The man backed away from you and raised his gun towards the tank, doing just as you had anticipated. "You know what has to happen, (Y/N), don't you? There can be no chance for your survival."

Steve leapt forward past you and into the path of the shot, but you had the same idea at the exact same moment, pushing him down just in time to save him. The sounds of fighting filled the room, with Natasha and Bucky working seamlessly together. Steve rolled over towards you, yelling something that you couldn't quite make out as you faded in and out of consciousness. Your hearing became muffled and spots filled your vision until you finally succumbed to rest.

~~~

When your eyes opened again, you were in the comfort of the tower infirmary, surrounded by much of the team as they waited for you to wake. Bucky was asleep and snoring in the chair to your left, with Steve doing the same to your right. Natasha appeared to be in a deep conversation with Nick, while Bruce and Tony pointed at monitors over your head. You looked up at the numbers that flashed across the screen, relieved to see that your vital signs were normal.

"Look at that," you groaned, "I'm gonna live after all."

"What?" Steve gasped, sitting up quickly in a half-asleep stupor. "What happened?"

"Good morning, you giant idiot," Bucky sighed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and running his hand through his disheveled hair. "Don't you dare pull shit like that again."

"Says the man who took on HYDRA alone."

"Still."

Now more awake, Steve stood to stretch his muscles from sleep in the uncomfortable chair, shifting to sit on the edge of your bed when he finished. He took your hand in his and grimaced at the IV that was secured into your skin. "I hope that doesn't hurt too much."

"Why, did you put it in?" you chuckled softly, your voice still gravelly and hoarse.

"Yeah, sorry. I think this might be only the second time I've gotten one right." His expression changed and his eyes became sad, furrowing his brow as he thought about what to say. The last time you had spoken hadn't gone all that well, in fact, it was a complete disaster, and he wasn't sure if you would forgive him or not. "Listen, (Y/N), you were right, I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault, not even close." He paused and waved his hand over you, a smirk now growing, "unlike this here, which is completely your fault."

"You're welcome, by the way."

He stood and pressed his lips to your forehead, whispering quietly, "thanks, doll." Steve nodded to Bucky and walked away, giving you two time to talk for the first time since you left six months ago.

"So...are you having much pain?" he asked sheepishly, not knowing where to start. "Can I get anything for you?"

"Buck, come on. You're mad at me, and that's okay. I deserve it."

"No, you don't. You saved Steve. You saved all of us. How could you think that I could be mad at you?"

"Well, I left without really saying goodbye. That wasn't fair to you."

He shook his head energetically and took your hand, his other turning your chin to face him, "(Y/N), I'm not mad, okay? I'm just thankful that you're okay. We all are." Bucky looked down at the floor with a grin, a mischievous laugh building in his voice, "we all think you're crazy too, but that's a different story." After a few moments when he looked up again, his expression returned to a serious one, "Steve should've taken that hit, not you. His body can handle it better than yours."

"I couldn't be a disappointment to him too," you mumbled, "and not to you."

"What is that supposed to mean? You never have been and never will, (Y/N). Just because your dad and that HYDRA has-been said that to you, it definitely doesn't make it true." Bucky stood at your side and leaned down, gently pressing his lips to yours as if he were afraid to hurt you, then rested his forehead against yours. "That will never be true. You're everything, (Y/N)."