Theatrics (Bucky x Reader)
“Anytime?”
“Mmhm” you hummed in agreement over your cup of lemonade. “For some reason, I just have a natural talent for crying on command.”
You and Clint were sitting on Tony’s balcony with your feet over the edge. The summer had been relatively disaster free so you were finally getting to know certain team members. You already knew Tony, who recruited you, and Steve really well because they were the first people you met, worked, and lived with. You’d fallen in love with Bucky the instant you met him, and after a week of flirting and reassuring him you wouldn’t be scared off by his past, you were a couple. That was months ago. Bruce and Peter were nice and they always explained their latest projects, which was fascinating so you spent quite a bit of time with them.
On the other hand, you knew Clint and Natasha lived in the tower, but you never saw them. They were always away on missions or other SHIELD business. So when you finally got the chance to catch up with them, you took it. Which is what lead to this conversation.
“Can I see it? I bet Nat can cry on command, but would never do it.”
You nodded. That woman was scary. She would definitely go for fear before she’d try to trick anyone into letting their guard down by giving her sympathy. “Sure.”
You opened your eyes wider than normal to get the tears flowing and made your bottom lip tremble a little bit. “I can’t believe you would do this to me.” You spoke in a cracked voice full of emotion. “I just. I try so hard…” Your breath hitched.
“Barton.”
You both jumped at the deep voice directly behind you, reflexively assuming defensive positions. You spun around just in time to see Bucky grab the front of Clint’s shirt and yank him around. His eyebrows were pulled together and his lips formed a thin line. He glared directly at Clint’s face. You saw his arm, the flesh one, twitch like he was going to take a swing at your teammate.
“Bucky! No!” You yelled out and rushed toward him to grab his wrists. Once you touched him, he immediately dropped the aggressive body language. His first concern was always making sure you were safe, and he did his best to never scare or, even by accident, harm you.
“But he…” Bucky gestured at your face. He had just come back from the grocery store with Steve when he heard your voice outside with his enhanced hearing. You sounded so broken. Before he knew what he was doing, he had thrown the bag on the table and was on the balcony. The sight of Clint grinning at your despair set him over the edge.
I’m going to kill him.
“He didn’t do anything. I’m fine.” You looked into his eyes and spoke with confidence. “I was showing him one of my acting skills - crying on command.”
Bucky released Clint, who stood there with his arms up. Having the most feared assassin of the century angry at you was enough to spook even the most cool-headed spies. “I really didn’t do anything. I swear.”
Bucky glanced between the two of you and his expression became guilty. He knew you wouldn’t lie to him.
“I’m so sorry Clint, I didn’t mean to-“
“-No problem man. I’d react the same way if I saw someone making someone I care about cry.” Clint made a dismissive gesture and made to leave. “I’m gonna help Steve with the food.”
You suppressed a laugh knowing Clint’s ‘help’ was just stealing a bag of chips and escaping to the air vents.
“Thanks for defending me.” You beamed up at Bucky.
“I shouldn’t have reacted that way. I’m-“
“-Don’t worry about it. Really. We should actually go help Steve though. Clint isn’t.”
Bucky cracked a small smile at that. You reached for his metal hand and intertwined your fingers before moving toward the kitchen. He tensed for a second before relaxing. You saw his eyes light up at the gesture. You only hoped you could convey just how much he meant to you, and how much he was worth enough to get it through his head one day.