Nothing Personal - Bucky Barnes x reader

Prologue

Chapter content: fluff, language

Word count: 971

*****

"You've got to be fucking joking."

Sam let out a huff, the corners of his lips twitching as he tried to suppress a grin. "I told you," Sam stated pointedly. "He's not gonna do it."

"It doesn't matter if you want to do it or not, we have to work on your public image," Jess, the head of public relations for SHIELD, explained with a look of disdain on her features.

Next to her sat Maria Hill, her arms crossed over her chest and a similar look of annoyance on her face. Clearly, she had better things to do than argue with a grown man about PR. "We've already found a girl, and she's willing to deal with you. You should be thankful," she grumbled, clearly wanting to end the conversation there.

"I should be thankful? For you controlling my life?" Bucky scoffed, leaning back in his chair with an all-too-familiar scowl on his face.

"Come on, Buck. I thought you were a ladies man. Now you've got a girl and you didn't even have to try!" Sam attempted to sway Bucky's seemingly rigid stance on the matter.

"Yeah, 80 goddamn years ago. I've got other shit to deal with instead of a girlfriend that I don't even know. Are we done here?"

"James, just give it a try. Please." Jess was never one to beg, but the pleading look in her eyes conveyed her desperation well enough.

Bucky's jaw tightened as he rose from his chair, glancing over at Sam one final time before giving a nod and exiting the conference room.

***

Your lip was caught between your teeth when Jess stepped out of her office. "Y/N, hi! So sorry to keep you waiting!" she greeted with a bright smile.

"Oh, it's no problem!" you reassured her, pulling her into a brief hug while mirroring her bright smile.

"Are you ready? How are you feeling?"

You shrugged, pulling away from her hug to glance around. "I mean, I'm definitely nervous. I just... I just hope that he doesn't hate me for this, y'know?"

Her smile faltered for a second before she regained control over her expression. "You'll be fine, Y/N. Everything will be just fine."

You ignored the obvious hesitance in her voice, instead just giving a nod in response. Silently, she led you over to the conference room. After rapping her knuckles on the wooden door twice, she opened the door and stepped aside to let you in.

You kept your gaze on the floor as you walked in, standing there awkwardly until Jess spoke once more. "James, this is Y/N Y/L/N. Y/N, this is James 'Bucky' Barnes."

Your gaze shot up to the man across from you.

Geez, you thought his death glare was bad in photos.

You gulped down the nerves and held out your hand with a bright smile, allowing your eyes to flicker over his features for a brief moment. "It's nice to meet you."

He just let out a huff, taking your hand in his rough grip and shaking it once before dropping his hand back to his side.

An embarrassed blush creeped onto your cheeks and a heavy pang of something you couldn't place, something harsh and unpleasant hit you right in the chest.

"Right," Jess muttered, sensing the tension that settled in the room. "Uh, obviously you know Sam."

You turned to the man who was tucked away in the corner of the room, a wince still on his face from the previous exchange. "Of course," you hummed, walking over to him and pulling him into a tight hug. He hugged you back tightly, and you were grateful that the whole day wouldn't be filled with awkwardness. Just most of it.

"How's my best girl been?" he hummed. "it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Far too long, Sam. But I've been good. And I've seen that you've been good, too, Mr. Captain America." You beamed up at him, playfully shoving his shoulder.

"Sam," Bucky spoke up, cutting your moment with Sam short. "Can we have a little chat?"

Sam gave you a look before slipping away from you and following Bucky out into the hallway. Jess gave you a shy smile as the two boys immediately began to bicker just outside the door. Clearly, she was trying to think of something to say to draw your attention from their words, but both of you were too curious about what the men were saying that you both stayed silent.

"You know her, Sam?" Bucky hissed, trying to keep his voice down to no avail.

"What, do you think I'd let them just throw you into a relationship with some random woman?" Sam scoffed. "We grew up together. She's a super sweet girl, someone who'd be good for you."

"I don't need someone to decide who is good for me. Especially is the person who is good for me is some obnoxious ray of sunshine."

"Dude, you haven't even talked to her!"

"I'm good at reading people, Sam."

"Clearly not good enough."

You shifted from foot to foot, keeping your gaze on the floor as the men continued to bicker. "So I'm assuming he wasn't as on board with it as you told me he was," you voiced, letting out a sigh.

"Trust me, Y/N, he'll come around. It's just a weird situation, and you both are adjusting to it in different ways."

"This is adjusting?" You nodded to the door, where the men (boys) were now full blown arguing.

Just as she was about to speak, the conversation outside fell silent, and both men walked into just moments later. Sam gave you a sorrowful glance while Bucky kept his gaze averted from you.

She glanced at the two men before looking back to you. "See? Adjusting."