Guarded Heart

The next morning Bucky tried to get out of bed without waking Y/N but he wasn't that graceful. As he reached for the doorknob she spoke up "Where are you headed to so early?"

He turned around to see her looking at him with one eyebrow raised "It's just a breakfast thing, doll, nothing for you to worry about."

"You mean a meeting with Loki to discuss how to find and deal with Zemo?" She glared at him "You know damn well I want to be there. Don't make a habit of trying to hide things to protect me, I'm not that girl."

Bucky sat on the bed next to her "I won't but right now your body is still healing and yesterday-"

She shook her head "No. We aren't going there. Yesterday was a bad day but I shouldn't have let it all get to me like that. Fainting at the cemetery like some damsel in distress" she scoffed "my father would be so disappointed. I'm sorry you had to see that but appreciate the support." She turned to get out of the bed "Give me 30 to clean up and I'll be ready to go."

Bucky looked at her concerned "You know it's ok to be overwhelmed, you've been through so much and barely given yourself time to recover. You can trust me to handle things while you heal. Keep pushing so hard and you really will collapse."

Y/N just glared at him as she went into the bathroom. After 10 minutes struggling with her clothes and hair she threw her brush at the mirror and slid down the wall to the floor, crying angrily. A few minutes later she heard knocking on the bathroom door. She sighed and tried to ignore it but came again, more insistent.

"Y/N? Bucky said you might need some help getting ready"

Hearing her mother's voice just made the sobs worse.

"Sweetheart? Its ok of you need help. We all need help sometimes. Can you unlock the door so I can help you?"

Y/N sighed and wiped the tears from her face then reached up to unlock the door. Her mother slowly opened the door and saw her daughter sitting on the floor with red swollen eyes.

"Oh, Y/N. Let me help honey." offering her hand then pulling her up when she reached out. Once Y/N was standing she pulled her into a hug. "I know it's all a mess right now but it will get better. Let me help you get ready for your meeting." She knew better than to suggest Y/N stay here and let Bucky handle things.

Even when Y/N was little she was stubborn and tried to keep going regardless of what her body told her. They once found her mucking out stalls when she was 6 and supposed to be in bed with a high fever.

After a few minutes Y/N was dressed with her hair fixed and a hint of make-up. "Thats much better. You should get something to eat before you go, you know how these things can drag on." She looked her daughter in the eye "I know you won't listen but try not to over do it ok? Let Bucky know if it's too much." then pulled her into a soft hug.

Y/N nodded and spoke softly "Thank you, Mama. I'll try."

She grabbed her purse and put her phone in it then headed downstairs to see that everyone was up and rushing about to get ready to leave.

Bucky came up to her with a coffee "Vanilla creamer, right?" And smiled at her.

She nodded and gave him a small smile as she took her coffee.

"You look beautiful but you always do."

She shook her head "You're sweet but obviously delusional." She saw George and Steve waiting by the door to the garage and smiled at them. "You all waiting on me? Sorry I took so long but I'm ready to go."

George smiled "Worth the wait. You let one of us know if it gets to be too much. I'm sure Loki wont mind if we take regular breaks."

Y/N smiled and shook her head "Thank you but I'll be fine. I'd rather get this handled and move on with our lives."

George nodded, impressed with her tenacity and opened the door to the garage for her.

They said goodbye to her mother and Winnie before climbing into the SUV and heading to Loki's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Loki's house the table was covered with breakfast foods. He held a chair out for Y/N to sit.

"Are you sure you're up for this, love? You can trust me to ensure your interests are considered. You know-"

Y/N shook her head "No! I'm fine. Please don't treat me like I'm some delicate flower who can't handle herself."

Loki pulled back "I'm sorry, I'm just concerned."

She held the tears back "I know, I'm sorry for snapping. It's just-" she paused and dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

Loki rubbed her back "It's alright, pet. Just know that everyone here will understand if you need to take breaks or rest."

She shook her head "I know but I don't want to be seen as the broken woman who needs breaks and rest to handle her business. I have to be strong and keep going. It's what my father wanted." She looked in his eyes. "I'll be fine." Pleading with her eyes for him to believe her.

"Very well" Loki went to sit and cleared his throat.

"If you all have your food and drinks I think we should get started."

Everyone nodded and grunted in agreement and Loki started

"I think we're all agreed that Zemo needs to be handled immediately. So we can move on to how he is handled.

Does anyone have any insight into where he might be staying? There's been no trace of him at his house or Pierce's property. I'm not sure where else to look."

Bucky spoke up "Does he have any other properties? Or maybe one of Pierce or Dreykovs offices or warehouses? I'll go door to door if I have to."

Yelena sighed "There is a safehouse, in the Catskills. Well more of a compound. Used to be one of those family resorts like in Dirty Dancing. We- Dreykov used it while he was plotting against the Barnes and Y/L/N families. And for his trafficking business, plenty of space to keep the girls and no one around for miles."

Bucky nodded "That sounds promising."

Yelena shook her head "It's gated like a military compound but better armed and with a maze of tunnels beneath. A frontal attack would be the worst play, we wouldn't stand a chance."

Loki nodded "I'm assuming you know your way around there?"

Yelena nodded "We used to stay there when Natasha-" she stopped herself quickly "I'm sorry, I-"

Hela covered Yelenas hand gently "It's alright pet"

Yelena blushed "We uh, we spent many sleepless nights wandering around to learn where everything was. Snuck out a number of times too." She quieted and thought for a moment "There is a tunnel that comes out on the outside of the fence. I don't know if Dreykov knew about it, he was too busy working to find his way. I remember it wasn't on the blueprints. If Zemo doesn't know about it that tunnel might be our best way to get in."

Loki looked around the table to read the room, then nodded. "Very well, then I need you to draw the plan up, the best you can remember."

He looked at Y/N who was obviously crumbling then back to Yelena

"How much time do you think you'll need?"

Yelena shrugged "A couple of hours maybe. I'm not sure. If we could get a copy of the blueprints that would help."

"Very well. Lang? Y/N has bragged about your hacking skills. Do you think you can get a copy of those blueprints from the county?"

Scott nodded "Yeah, gimme like an hour. And I need the address."

Yelena gave Scott the address and everything else she could remember, then he went to work on his laptop.

Loki showed Yelena to his office and the drafting table he rarely used since his desire to become an architect was pushed aside when Thor abdicated. He left her alone to work on the plans and returned to the table.

Loki looked at Y/N "Come on love. This will take some time so I want you to lay down and rest for a bit."

Y/N glared at him and snapped "I know you're trying to help but I'm fine. I won't look weak in front of everyone."

Loki gave her a warning look. "It's not weak to need time to recover from a serious injury. If you don't allow your body to heal you will break down eventually.

You know Barnes didn't even participate in his family business after his accident until she showed up. He was wasted most of the time after that. At least until he met you."

"Well, I'm not Barnes and the business didn't have this kind of shit to deal with back then. I'll be fine."

Pietro broke in timidly "He's right boss. No one will look down on you for it. Just rest for a little while."

Y/N looked at his leg "I'm not sure you're in any place to talk to anyone about taking time to heal."

Pietro grinned "Maybe not but I wasn't hurt as badly as you are. I didn't lose people I love either. Please, I'll rest if you do."

She sighed loudly "Fine but someone better get me before you start making plans. Wake me up if you need to."

Pietro smirked "I'll try but you are a bitch to wake up." He looked around until he saw Bucky "Barnes, can you take her to the den to rest while we wait?"

Bucky smiled "Of course. Whatever she needs."

Y/N rolled her eyes "Not fair of you to gang up on me but fine. I'll go."

She showed Bucky to the den and sat in the recliner, putting her feet up. Bucky sat back into the couch and closed his eyes for a minute.

He was startled awake by Pietro "Looks like we have it Barnes. You want to wake her up or should I?"

Bucky grumbled, he hadn't meant to doze off "I'll get her"

He stood up and stretched before gently rubbing her right shoulder "Hey doll, we're ready."

She mumbled "Five more minutes" then stretched and adjusted herself before her light snores started back up.

Bucky chuckled softly "Come on sweetheart. We have the blueprints and everyone is ready."

She started "Blueprints?" before her brain caught up and her eyes opened to see his bright blue eyes looking at her. She felt an familiar warmth in her core, then closed her eyes and shook her head, leaning forward to sit up. "Right, blueprints. I'm up."

"Do you need any help, doll?"

She opened her eyes and glared at him.

"Sorry, sorry. Just trying to help. I'll be in the dining room waiting for you."

"Alright, I'll be right there."

At the table most of the group was going over the plans and Yelenas drawing of the tunnels, speaking softly.

Y/N walked in and sat in her seat from earlier, yawning. Bucky put a cup of coffee in front of her and she smiled at him, which warmed his heart.

Loki took over the meeting and they spent 3 hours discussing their options. Sometimes politely but often broke into arguments over tactics.

Some were all for stealth while others preferred rushing in guns blazing.

It was almost dinner time when they finally found a compromise that everyone grudgingly accepted. The meeting ended with everyone headed home for food and rest before meeting at the Barnes early in the morning to drive to the closest estate to where Zemo was holed up. Then wait for nightfall to go in and finish this war once and for all.

On the drive back to his parents, Bucky tried to figure out how to discourage Y/N from joining them without making her upset enough to go alone. Which is why her first comment on the plans left him speechless.

"You should use me as bait."