the team doctor || bucky barnes (EDITING IN PROGRESS)

16.

Edited 8/27/25

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴏɴɢ: ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀʟʟᴀᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴏɴᴀ ʟɪꜱᴀ - ᴘᴀɴɪᴄ! ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪꜱᴄᴏ

"𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐬."

~

VALERIE DIDN'T SLEEP THAT NIGHT.

No, not because they were busy doing other things. And not because she had been catching up on research.

She didn't sleep because of what he said after.

She had put her clothes back on, the fluorescent lighting of the lab making her feel insecure, and felt her cheeks begin to flush. She didn't know how these things were supposed to proceed afterward.

Sure, she had one-night stands. Never with a colleague, though.

"Um," She spoke. "W--What--"

"I can see the wheels turning up there, Doc." Bucky settled back into the leather chair. "We just needed to get that out of our systems. Don't overthink it."

She furrowed her brows. She was not expecting that.

But what was she expecting? For him to be in love with her? She shook her head at herself. Had she forgotten every interaction they had up until this point?

"Right." She cleared her throat. "You know what, take the night off. I don't need to do any research tonight."

Bucky looked at her with his brow raised.

He slowly got up from the chair. "Are you sure?"

"Yep." She offered a fake smile.

"Alright."

With that, he walked out. As soon as the door closed, she buried her face into one of the blankets and screamed. What the hell was she thinking? Having sex with one of her patients/research subjects?

She cursed out loud.

But hell, it was amazing. She grew goosebumps just picturing the act they had just committed together. But it meant nothing. He made that very clear. Just something to get out of their systems.

He knew better, though. As he walked to the elevator, he rubbed the back of his neck. What the fuck was wrong with him?

He must be. He knew he had no intention of being with Valerie, knew how he'd treated her, knew exactly what she thought of him.

And yet... he couldn't resist.

She was intoxicating in every way—her mind, her presence, the way she challenged him. That confrontation in the room thirty minutes ago? He wasn't backing down. Not then. Not ever. If he had, he would have questioned his own judgment in ways he wasn't ready to face.

He forced himself not to think about her feelings. Had she felt slighted? She seemed fine, even though she'd practically told him to leave. Maybe it was just her way of sidestepping the post... aftermath.

He told himself that was the truth.

Now, he just hoped things could go back to normal.

<>

They did not.

A mission occurred the next day, saving both Bucky and Valerie from having to decide if they'd meet in the lab that night again. She wasn't sure she could handle him coming back in so soon. Not when the table had seen things it never needed to.

After two days, the team returned. The mission had been successful, she gathered, as the team returned unharmed and happy. She was about to leave the common area when Tony called after her.

"Not so fast, Doc."

She turned slowly, suddenly feeling more paranoid in front of Tony than ever before. He had to know. Somehow, he found out. And she'd be fired.

"Team meeting in five." He simply said.

"Sure," She smiled.

Letting out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, she smoothed down her cardigan and stepped into the boardroom. Her eyes found Bucky instantly. His hair was tousled, stubble edging back onto his jawline—a clear remnant of the mission—and, admittedly, she wasn't complaining.

He watched her with unwavering attention as she claimed the only open seat, directly across from him. She crossed her legs, the smooth skin beneath her skirt catching his gaze, and dared to meet his eyes. Immediately, she regretted it when he tilted his head just so, that slight cock suggesting amusement—or something darker.

Leaning her elbow on the chair's arm, she let her face rest against her hand, shooting him a pointed glare. Her silent message was clear: she was not entertained. Shifting her attention to Tony, she delivered her focus with every ounce of control she could muster.

Her subtle defiance seemed to irritate him, but Tony knew better than to react. This wasn't the 1940s; this wasn't a man molded by old-world rules. He wasn't the same man anymore.

He had real baggage now, the type of baggage that weighed as much as an anchor and threatened to drown whoever was holding on to it.

And he wouldn't do that to her.

"So, kids," Tony clasped his hands together. "We have some exciting things happening soon. Someone from IT will be coming later this week to give us a fun little seminar on how to use our, drumroll please, brand new team phones!"

Everyone gave him a blank stare.

"We just got new phones not even six months ago," Nat spoke.

"I still haven't figured out how to close out all my apps," Steve sighed.

"No, no, these are equipped with completely different technology." Tony retorted. "Better technology."

"Jeez Louise," Steve sighed.

Valerie noticed Bucky roll his eyes. She noticed he never used his phone, and if he did, he looked extremely exasperated. To the pair's defense, it must be hard waking up decades later to find technology had seriously advanced.

"When is the seminar?" Sam asked. "I think I'm busy that night,"

"Tomorrow," Tony said. "And attendance is mandatory. No pizza party if not."

"Couldn't this have just been said over a team text?" Nat sighed.

A chorus of agreeing words rose into the air and Tony clapped again.

"I will have order!"

"Do you think he knows this isn't a classroom?" Wanda whispered to Valerie.

She giggled, burying her smile into the sleeve of her cardigan. Bucky couldn't help but glance over, noticing how straight her teeth were and picturing them on his neck. He shook himself out of it quickly enough to divert his eyes when she glanced back at him. She pretended not to catch his stare, looking back at Tony.

He knew she caught him, though. He could see her turn her head toward him out of the corner of his eyes, and he wanted to talk to her but didn't quite know exactly what he was going to say. Before he could figure that out, the meeting was over, and she was one of the first ones to walk out the door.

He was fucked.

~

hehe