Everyone living and working in the compound is assigned a partner, like a buddy system, in case of emergency. Darcy didn’t think this policy was serious nor in effect. Bucky is, of course, assigned to Darcy. He, being one of the most capable people on the team, and she, being one who’s seen a lot but somehow doesn’t judge people for it.
Steve thought it was a perfect match. In fact, it was his idea, and he pushed for it when he and Tony started to create the Emergency Pairing System.
Bucky protested, questioning Steve’s reasoning with a very loud, “What if something happens and whatever is left of Hydra comes after me and she gets hurt? Why won’t you put her with Thor or anyone else who’ll put her in less danger?”
“Seems like that is exactly why she should be with you.”
“No. She shouldn’t.” Bucky shot daggers at Steve with his eyes.
“Yes, she should Buck. She’s seen more than any civilian should, and she still keeps it together when things go South.”
Buck scoffed.
“You know," Steve said, as he arched a brow at Bucky. "She’s the one that tased Thor.”
Bucky’s glare didn’t falter.
“And she still brags about it.” Steve added with a grin as he left.
**********
Loud screeching and bright lights wake Darcy from her sleep.
“Good, Lord! What now!?” She stumbled to find her sweater through the strobe light effect that her room was now encompassed in.
“F.R.I.D.A.Y.?”
Nothing.
“F.R.I.D.A.Y.!?” Her tone becoming higher with her second call to the friendly A.I.
“Shit. Shit. Shit.”
She found her jeans, her shoes, and reached for her taser. Barely audible over the sirens, there was pounding on the door to her quarters. Her heart beat nearly out of her chest as she slowed her movements, moving to the side of her door, preparing herself for whoever or whatever was about to burst through.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
“Shit.” She breathed out, inaudible to her own ears as the alarms continued their assault on her ears.
She flicked the locks open on the door about to twist the knob from the side, when half the door came flying into her room. Darcy ran and slid behind the couch as the rest of the door came down. She could see splinters of the door spread across the floor from underneath the couch. And then, boots, combat boots. ‘Great, that tells me a lot,’ she thought to herself at the sight of the black books. ‘At least there was only one pair.’ One person, thing, whatever – she could easily take down. She had multiple charges for her taser; Stark outfitted it a few weeks after she moved into the compound. If there was more out in the hall, well, she couldn’t see that far. Hell, she could barely hear anything, though she thought she heard yelling. Hoping it was just her head messing with her, she prepared for her first strike.
Darcy wasn’t strong compared to the others, but she wasn’t one to go out without a fight. She moved up just above the edge of the couch, still on her knees, pointed her taser, and pulled the trigger.
Direct hit. The barbs of her taser hitting her would be attacker in the right shoulder.
She gasped as she realized what, or more importantly, who she had just attempted to tase.
“Fuck! Bucky!?” She moved from behind the couch, trying to yell over the alarms, “How are you not down?”
He stared down at her, expression blank, as he waited for the sparks of electricity to stop in order to pull the barbs off his arm.
“I’m sorry! Bucky? Are you okay?” She continued to yell, trying to hear herself.
He didn’t say a word as he walked up to her, taking her by the elbow, and walking back towards her room.
“Buck! Wait! What’s going on?”
When they reached her room, he closed the door, moving her plush, over sized arm chair to block it. He knew the chair wouldn’t hold back anyone like Steve or Hydra’s bigger thugs, but it would slow down more than a few, and that’s what he counted on. He moved towards Darcy, checking her for injury, when she was cleared to his liking, he moved to her closet. Unknown to Darcy, Bucky had hidden a 'go bag' in the very back of her closet. He grabbed the bag, turned, and thrust it into her hands, pointing to her dresser, before moving towards the window, peeking around from the side of the curtains. He could see figures running this way and that, too regulated to be scared civilians.
Darcy threw a few more tasers and charges into the bag, another sweater, extra glasses, a burn phone, loaded visa gift cards she kept on hand just in case, and last, but not least, her great grandmother’s rosary. Bucky quickly strode back to her, putting his hands on both her shoulders, looking her in the eye before nodding just once, and waited. She nodded back, not fully understanding, but finally giving up on trying to use her voice.
Satisfied, Bucky moved swiftly to the small space of wall next to her closet, throwing his metallic fist into the wall. He hit the wall, over and over, until there was a hole just large enough for them to squeeze through, one by one. Bucky went first. Darcy following as he held his hand through the whole in the wall to help her through. Darcy couldn’t tell where they were going, or where they even were. Luckily, for them, once Bucky had moved into the facility he memorized its layout and various routes through it; an old habit he was once again glad he had.
Bucky lead Darcy through service routes she didn’t even know existed. With each corner he neared, he slowed, holding his flesh hand out behind him, slowing Darcy as well, checking for clearance before continuing. Darcy soon became used to his movements, finding comfort in his repetition. Until they came to the last corner. Bucky stopped Darcy and took back the bag, pulling out a gun and a few clips. He handed her back the bag, helping her put the bag over her shoulders, and securing it. Her hands started to shake lightly but her face held strong. He took a step closer to her, wrapping an arm around her, holding her close for a moment. He parted from her motioning for her to keep low and a few steps behind him as they go, not fully knowing what or who would be outside in the surrounding woods.
Looking around the corner, Bucky saw no one and moved forward towards the rear service door. He slipped the door open slightly, taking quick glances side to side; only three men visible. The man closest to the door was two strides away. Bucky quickly wrapped an arm around him and used him as a shield as he took down the other two, Darcy following in toe. When they reached the wood line, he punched his human shield unconscious, and checked again for more agents near the building. Before he could stop her, Darcy started running at full speed once she was near the tree line, not looking back or waiting for Bucky’s all clear, barely able to see where she was going, adrenaline fueling her.
Bucky easily caught up to her and slowed her to a stop. She instinctively wrapped her arms around him holding him close as she caught her breath. She clung to him, trying to ground herself. He held her, carding the fingers of one of his hands into her hair, taking the opportunity to take in the woods around him, checking for more danger.
“Darce.” He whispered into her hair. “You need to breathe. You’re alright.”
She nodded as her pulse continued to slow, not trusting the steadiness or volume of her voice.
He continued, barely audible, “Now. You still have your taser?”
She nodded.
“And it’s loaded?”
She nodded again.
“Stay calm. Someone is behind me.”
His hand moved to cradle the back of her head allowing him to look down into her eyes for the first time since they left the building. Her face was mostly blank.
“On my signal. Are you ready?”
Darcy nodded again, maintaining eye contact as she moved her arms, mimicking rubbing his back but really adjusting the taser from her sleeve to her hand.
“Now.”
Bucky moved his right, using his left arm as a shield for Darcy as she peeked around his shoulder and fired the taser.
The figure clad in a stealth suit seized at contact, falling to the ground. Once the man stopped shaking Bucky rushed to him, taking his weapon and ear piece. He nodded at Darcy, reaching out for her to take his hand as they continued into the woods.
**********
Through the ear piece, Bucky could mostly hear static. Over time, he pieced together that Steve and the Hulk were cracking skulls and not taking names. Bucky smirked as he relayed this information to Darcy, saying that it would only be a few hours until they could start heading back.
“Oh, okay, Buck.”
“Darce?” He squeezed her hand that he already held, realizing how cold she had gotten. “Damn, doll, you’re freezing.”
“Naw, I’m fine. I’m not really cold, I don’t think.” Darcy shivered involuntarily.
Bucky shook his head at her, smirking to himself, searching through the bag for the blanket. “Well, what if I’m cold?”
“Ha. I doubt that. You and Steve seem to run hotter than most, even when it's freaking cold.”
“Fair enough. But come here, we’ll bunk down for the time being. You need to rest.”
“Isn’t there some secret mini fort out here in the woods?”
“Nope. ‘Fraid not.”
“Really? I thought Tony or someone would have put one in. Like, a safe house? Something?”
“Why have a safe house right next to the base?”
Darcy just shrugged in response.
“Besides, if there was one out here, in the middle of all these blind spots, it’d be a bitch to keep secure.” Darcy started to shiver again. “Come here.”
Darcy took a few steps closer to him, still looking around in case anyone was still coming for them.
“Darce, it’s ok. No one’s coming this way, we just have to wait it out till the sun rises or till Steve or Sam find us.”
She nodded again, her teeth beginning to chatter.
Bucky sat with his back against a large tree, pulling out Darcy’s last minute sweater and handing it to her. She took it by trading it for her taser, her hand sore from constantly clutching it. Bucky placed the taser to one side, his gun on the other, and waited for her to finish donning her second sweater. When she was done, she looked from side to side, still not trusting the night.
Bucky reached up for her hand tugging her towards him, “Come on, doll. Let me warm you up.”
Darcy’s legs felt like lead and she crumbled into a sitting position in front of him. He pulled her closer, her back resting against his chest, laying the blanket over them before wrapping his arms around her waist.
“This alright?” Bucky gruffly whispered into her hair again.
His voice sent shivers down her spine as his warmth started to invade her. “It’s good. How are you still so warm? You’re like a machine.”
“I’m almost always warm. But I’m not a machine. Well, not all machine.” He said, as he flexed his left hand at her side, rubbing and tickling lightly.
Darcy lightly laughed in reply, “I hope you don’t mind that I really want to cuddle the shit out of you right now, Buck.”
He chuckled, “I don’t mind, doll, take all the warmth you need.”
He wrapped his arms tighter around her after she settled further into him, tucking her head on his chest near his neck.
Before he knew it, Darcy had stopped shivering and drifted off to sleep. Bucky kept awake as dawn approached. His stolen ear piece had remained silent for a few hours. He knew it was only a matter of time before it’d be clear to go back to the compound or someone would come looking for them.
**********
Eventually Bucky started to doze a little in the warmth shared between him and the still sleeping Darcy. A low hum woke him from a shallow sleep.
“Aren’t you both adorable? So this is how to keep you out of a fight, huh?”
Bucky glared at Redwing, as Sam’s voice came from it’s speakers.
“Huh?” Darcy blearily looked around as the noise woke her too.
“Sam? Is it over?”
“Yep, you two love birds can come back to the nest!”
Bucky raised his gun, “Doll, cover your ears.”
“No, Bucky, don’t shoot it!” Darcy chuckled, knowing his distaste for the mechanical bird. “Redwing is adorable in its own rights, I guess.”
“Hey man, leave him out of it!” Shouted Sam, “I’m just telling you all is clear. I’m not the bad guy in all this.”
“Fine.” Bucky lowered his gun, slowly, while maintaining his glare at the bird. “Any injuries?”
“One guy got lucky and Steve’s got a black eye that should clear up easily enough. But besides that, the holes you left leaving, a few busted cars courtesy of the bigger, greener Banner, and one sad attempt on Tony’s vault door.. Nothing that can’t be fixed.”
“Good. We’ll be back to the base soon.”
"Aight. I’ll let Steve know you’re on your way.” And with that, Redwing flew off back to the compound.
Bucky slowly removed his arm that was still wrapped around Darcy’s waist as she stretched, and looked around the forest, taking in the striking difference that morning brought. Bucky stood up first and holstered his gun before helping Darcy up.
“Well, as weird as that was, thank you, Bucky. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so safe while feeling so scared.” Darcy went up on her toes and pecked a small kiss to Bucky’s cheek.
A light blush spread through Bucky’s face as a smirk formed. “You handled yourself rather well.”
“But?”
“But, I think I owe Steve an apology.”
“What?” Darcy shrieked in disbelief. “What are you talking about? Was this just an exercise? Or what-“
“I’ll tell you over breakfast after a shower, okay, doll?” Bucky laughed as he slung the bag over his shoulder and took Darcy’s hand in the other, tugging her toward the compound.
Darcy fell in step with him, a slight blush adorning her features as well.
“Okay, Buck. Whatever you say.”