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

20.

Edited 8/28/25

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴏɴɢ: ɪᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇꜱ ᴛᴡᴏ - ꜰɪᴊɪ ʙʟᴜᴇ

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞."

~

VALERIE MEANT WHAT SHE SAID.

She swore it. Every word. Yet somehow, the simplicity she'd expected unraveled the moment she tried to live by it. The very next day, Tony announced the team would have a full week off from missions. Just her luck.

"I'm serious," Sam laughed. "She's glowing!"

Valerie blushed as Cody patted her leg. They were sitting with Sam in the common area, the boys playing each other in Mario Kart. From across the room, Bucky bit back a smirk.

"Whatever you're doing, keep it up, Valerie," Wanda called.

Her stomach twisted in knots. She was a terrible person, truly. She tried to remind herself that she and Cody weren't exclusive. And, it wouldn't happen again. Valerie felt her team device buzz softly in her cardigan pocket. She picked it up, reading the new message.

You heard her.

She shot Bucky a sharp glare, catching him perched next to Steve with that infuriating, smug smirk plastered across his face.

Didn't know you knew how to text. She wrote back.

"Barnes and Harris," Tony entered the room, pulling both of them out of their nonverbal battle.

"Yes?" She asked, deleting the text and standing up.

"Fury is on his way, he wants to see the two of you."

A chill ran down her spine as she trailed Tony into the hallway. Ever since that night, a gnawing paranoia clung to her—someone might find out. She didn't know how it could happen, but with Tony involved, nothing seemed impossible.

"What about?" Bucky asked as he joined them.

"Your experiments?" Tony rose a brow. "What else?"

Valerie let out a breath. "Of course. I'll go grab my research notes and meet him in the conference room."

She hurried down the hallway, her heart racing as she silently prayed to any higher power that this moment would finally reach its conclusion. Her research lab was in disarray from the ongoing project she was developing for the team, but she managed to locate her notes on Bucky tucked neatly in their designated folder.

She exhaled in relief—until a sharp intake of breath froze in her throat. Bucky was right behind her, moving with a quiet, deliberate presence that made her stomach twist.

"Stop doing that." She snapped.

"You're really going to pretend that idiot is the reason you're—what did Maximoff say—'glowing'?" he drawled, eyes locked on hers with that unnerving intensity.

Her breath caught. "I had a great time last night," she murmured.

"And an even better one afterward," he countered, smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

She hummed, tilting her head slightly. "Hard to compare the two."

"Really?" His voice dropped low, teasing. "Because it sounds like one involved maybe dinner and drinks... and the other involved you almost coming on your kitchen counter."

A flush of heat pooled in her stomach at the memory alone. He lifted a single finger, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze. Her frown deepened.

"Tell me he makes you feel what I do," he challenged, his tone heavy with a mix of dare and desire.