Blades & Ballet | Bucky x Reader

Twenty-Three

Walker paces the floor as we wait for Sam, slowly growing more impatient as every minute passes. Every so often, he stops ahead of me, peering around my body through the doorway I'm guarding.

"Uh-uh. No, no, no," Walker finally says. "This is a bad idea."

"It hasn't been ten minutes, John," I tell him. "Just sit tight."

"Don't do that," Walker orders as he continues to pace. "Don't patronize me."

"He knows what he's doing," I state.

Walker stops for a moment at the back of the room before turning on his toe, marching toward me and the door.

"I'm goin' in," he declares.

Before he gets halfway, Y/n steps in front of him, grabbing his wrist and twisting it behind his back. She kicks him in the back of the knee, forcing him to the floor and using her bodyweight to hold him there.

"Let Sam do his thing, Captain," she threatens.

Walker fights against her as he tries to stand, but Y/n only pulls his wrist higher, and Walker stops struggling. He glares up at her, and with a smirk, Y/n releases him. Walker lunges for her, but I get to her first, pulling her out of the way as I step between them.

"Don't even think about it," I warn.

Walker glances between us, scoffing. "You need to control her."

"She doesn't need to be controlled," I retort, voice low.

"This is all really easy for you, isn't it?" Walker asks. All that serum runnin' through your veins."

Y/n pushes past me to stare Walker down. "You have no idea what he went through for a serum he didn't even want."

Walker's eyes flick between us, a smirk growing on his face.

"Oh, I see what's going on," he laughs, turning to me. "How was she?"

Y/n bristles at my side, but neither of us answer him.

"Barnes, your partner needs backup in there," Walker reasons. "Do you really want his blood on your hands?"

I hesitate, and Walker pushes past us, heading up the stairs with Hoskins following close behind. I catch Y/n's eye before the two of us go after them.

Walker leads us through the church and into a small room, where we find Sam and Karli talking.

"Karli Morgenthau, you're under arrest," Walker states.

"So, this is what that was?" Karli demands, slowly backing up toward another door. "Tricking me until your backup arrived?"

Sam tries to reason with her. "No, Karli wait—"

"Nah, I think we had enough time to talk," Walker interrupts.

He moves to grab her arm, but Karli strikes him, knocking him into Sam before sprinting through the door. I chase after her, leaping up a flight of stairs as she rushes to the balcony. She jumps over the banister, landing on the floor of the room below where mourners still gather. I follow her through the crowd, pushing through the people as they try to block me.

I lose sight of Karli as she leads me into the basement, but I keep moving forward until I reach a boiler room, where Sam and Y/n appear from the other side.

"Shit," Sam pants, hunched forward as he catches his breath.

"I lost her," I inform them.

"This place is a maze," Y/n mutters.

Suddenly, we hear gunshots, and we follow the noise to find Walker standing over Zemo's unconscious figure, surrounded by broken vials of serum. A moment later, Hoskins runs in from the other doorway.

"What did we miss?" Sam asks.

Walk doesn't answer and glances at his partner before leading him out of the church.