Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Nineteen

After saying goodbye to my bunkmates, I join the group of soldiers relocating to London to await further orders. A day later, Steve and I stand in the SSR Headquarters, waiting for Colonel Phillips finish a meeting so that I can tell him what I know.

Located underground, the Headquarters shares similarities with the HYDRA base, with its brick walls and steel beams holding up the structure, but this building feels nothing like the factory I was kept in. The room we stand in is brightly lit and open, divided into sections by desks and metal shelving units, and the entire space feels warm.

"Ah, Nurse Y/l/n," Agent Carter states as she comes to collect us, her voice laced with a soft English accent. "It's wonderful to meet you at last. My name is Peggy Carter."

"Nice to meet you, Agent Carter," I smile.

"Please, call me Peggy," she responds. "Now, if you could follow me, they're ready for you both."

Peggy leads us down a hallway and into a briefing room, where a large map sits on a table in the centre.

"Nurse Y/l/n, Captain Rogers," Phillips greets us in turn before speaking to me directly. "I hear you know where the other HYDRA bases are."

"Yes, Sir," I nod. Colonel Phillips gestures to the map and I begin marking down the locations.

"...The fifth one was here in Poland, right near the Baltic," I say, marking the location on a map, "And the sixth one was... about here, 30, 40 miles west of the Maginot Line. These are the ones that were on the map I saw, but HYDRA shipped all the parts to another facility."

"And you're absolutely sure about these locations?" Phillips questions.

"With all due respect, Sir, I had nothing to look at for four weeks besides that map. I could draw it for you if you'd like."

Phillips chuckles as another officer takes the map away, and I flinch at his sudden appearance.

"Anything else we should know?" Phillips asks.

"Yes," I reply. "They are in possession of something called the Tesseract. According to Zola, they used it to make weapons."

"Agent Carter, coordinate with MI6," Phillips orders as he begins walking toward the other side of the room, "I want every Allied eyeball looking for that main HYDRA base."

"What about us?" Peggy asks as we follow him.

"We are gonna set a fire under Johann Schmidt's ass," Phillips states. "What do you say, Rogers? You think you can wipe HYDRA off the map?"

"Yes, Sir," Steve replies. "I'll need a team."

"We're already putting together the best men."

"With all due respect, Sir, so am I."

The energy in the bar is light and cheerful, and the group of men nearby are singing along to the music being played on the piano.

Dugan takes a swing of his drink before setting it down on the table we're gathered around. "So, let's get this straight—"

"We barely got out of there alive," Jones interrupts, "and you want us to go back?"

"Pretty much," Steve answers.

After some consideration, Falsworth, Morita, Dernier, Jones, and Dugan agree to help Steve take down the HYDRA bases.

"See? I told you," Bucky states, his arm draped across my shoulders. "They're all idiots."

"How about you?" Steve asks him. "You ready to follow 'Captain America' into the jaws of death?"

"Hell, no," Bucky replies with a light chuckle. "That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight, I'm following him."

Steve laughs.

"I want in," I state.

"What? No!" Bucky argues. "It's too dangerous!"

"I'm coming with you," I demand. "You can't make me stay here."

"Y/n, you don't have any military training..." Steve states, trying to reason with me. "You could get seriously hurt, or even killed..."

"You've been through enough," Bucky adds. "They'll probably send you home with an honourable discharge."

My stomach drops at the thought of returning home without my best friends.

"Why? So I can sit around worried about you two?" I spit. "No, I'm not being left behind again. Nothing out there could be any worse than what I've been through already. Besides, you could use a nurse on standby."

"She's got a point," Dugan mumbles, taking my side of the argument. "Having a nurse with us could come in handy."

Bucky shoots him a glare but breathes a deep sigh, realizing that he's fighting a losing battle.

"I guess you're coming with us then," Bucky concedes before turning to Steve. "But you're keeping the outfit, right?"

"You know what?" Steve replies. "It's kind of growing on me."

Our group laughs, returning to our cheerful and carefree manner.

Suddenly, the singing in the bar stops and we turn to see Peggy standing in the doorway wearing a fitted red dress and her brunette hair perfectly styled. Spotting us at our table, she makes her way over.

"Captain," she says in greeting, addressing Steve.

"Agent Carter," he replies, standing from his seat.

"Howard has some equipment for you to try," she tells him. "Tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good," Steve confirms.

"I see your top squad is prepping for duty," Peggy states, looking around our table. The men at the next table have resumed their singing and our group has joined in.

"You don't like music?" Bucky asks her, his arm still around my shoulders.

"I do, actually," she answers, her gaze never leaving Steve. "I might even, when this is all over, go dancing."

"Then what are you waiting for?" I ask her.

"The right partner," Peggy replies, turning to go. "08:00, Captain."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be there," Steve replies as he watches her walk away.

"Something you want to tell us, Steve?" I ask as he sits down, a knowing smile on my face.

Steve just laughs and shakes his head.