The Mimic

188

"Take that! And that! And-"

"Pete. I don't need a running commentary." Bucky sighed, already regretting his decision of helping Peter. The kid was definitely great at defending, he couldn't deny that, but the constant narration was starting to get to him. Now, if it was y/n narrating, he wouldn't mind one bit. Hell, her narration usually made him smile, but Peter was bugging him. It was probably because he was so conditioned by Sam to make fun of the kid.

"Right, sorry!" Peter quickly apologised, swinging above and around Bucky to ensure that no aliens could touch him or the gauntlet. He was so proud of himself. Bucky had chosen him. The grumpy old man that y/n always dragged around had chosen him. It was absolutely because Peter was the only person around that he trusted enough to defend him, but even that was a big achievement. Bucky trusted him, wow.

The pair had actually covered a lot of distance together. Thanos' army were only focused on the gauntlet, which meant that they paid no attention to Peter until they were inevitably webbed in the face. Plus, without having the gauntlet strapped to his chest, the kid was able to move far more freely. He could create little web tripwires, swing around without the fear of being chased, and, of course, tie the aliens up in his webs. It was great. The only downside was the fact that he had to be very careful not to hit Bucky with any of his webs, which was hard with the super soldier constantly moving.

"So, what do I call you? Mr Barnes just feels weird..." Peter rambled. Instead of continuing to make battle commentary, he had decided to opt for small talk. He had far too much energy to stay quiet. "Hey! Weren't you in the army with Steve?" He asked, webbing a few aliens in the face as he waited for a response from Bucky. "Y/n said that you were!" Peter exclaimed, answering his own question when the super soldier never responded. "Should I call you Sergeant Barnes? Is that better?"

If he hadn't been sprinting across a battlefield, Bucky would've put his head in his hands by now. The rambling was sweet, but it wasn't something he needed. They were fighting against an army of murderous aliens, and Peter was trying to make small talk. He debated on just taking his earpiece out to focus better, but he knew that wasn't something he could do. Bucky had to make sure that if y/n needed him, he'd be there. "Just call me Bucky." He grumbled. It wasn't the time to debate names, but he was grateful that y/n had told people about his title as a Sergeant. It was a title that he held close, but not one that many used anymore.

Peter audibly gasped, causing Bucky to chuckle slightly as they continued to run. "Really? I can call you Bucky?" He asked excitedly. He knew that he could call anyone by their nickname or first name if he wanted to, but it didn't feel right. Aunt May had always raised him to be respectful. He never wanted to step on anyone's toes, so to be given the green light from Bucky meant the world to him. "Are you sure? It doesn't feel right, I-" Peter rushed out, cutting himself off as he worked on webbing a few aliens that were starting to get a little too close. "I don't even call Mr Stark his real name-"

Bucky rolled his eyes as he listened to Peter continue to ramble, a fond smile beginning to appear on his face. He thought that he'd shut Peter up by allowing him to call him by his nickname, but apparently not. "Don't make me change my mind!" He warned, glancing back at Peter for a split second. It was nice to see him so excited and happy about such a small thing. It reminded him of y/n. Maybe that was why the pair got along so well.

Peter nodded, grateful that his mask was hiding the beaming smile that was painted across his face. "I won't, I promise!" He reassured, desperate to keep the privilege of calling Bucky his nickname. Around y/n, he had called Bucky by his nickname, but it was never to the super soldier's face. "Peter and Bucky, the gauntlet dream team!" He exclaimed confidently after a few moments of silence. It was obvious that he'd been thinking of the next thing to say, desperate to carry on the small talk. The kid couldn't stay in silence, his mind moved way too fast for that. It helped distract him and made sure that he didn't get overwhelmed - which was pretty easy on a battlefield.

"Nuh uh. Nope." Bucky suddenly snapped, shaking his head at Peter's mention of a 'dream team'. He couldn't have that on his reputation, Sam would bully him for years. "You've at least got to put my name first. I'm the one that came up with the idea of you helping me, y'know?" He tried to reason, praying that Sam wasn't listening in on the earpiece. He was already risking his reputation with Sam for even talking to Peter, he couldn't have him hear about their dream team. "If you're going to call this a 'dream team', I'm going to make you call me 'Sergeant Barnes' instead." Bucky warned, trying to act snappy just in case Sam was listening.

"Okay, okay!" Peter surrendered, not wanting his 'name privileges' to get revoked so soon. "We'll brainstorm it." He grinned, not wanting to completely give up on a team name. It was fun thinking of a good name, even if it meant that he had to be super careful with whatever he wanted to say. "How about-"

Peter's voice on the earpiece suddenly cut off, being replaced with nothing but heavy static.

Bucky frowned, continuing to run with a tight grip on the gauntlet. "Pete?" He called out, concern beginning to grow as he slowly moved into a spot where he could stop running. This wasn't just Peter cutting himself off. His earpiece had broken. Something had happened. "Kid, are you there?" Bucky called out, worry starting to fester in his chest as he finally turned around, only to see that Peter was nowhere to be seen.

And that was when Bucky heard heavy footsteps behind him.