For Better Days | B.B. Oneshots

Fears Within

The road was a clear one-way. The target was at the front and there were 3 more tailing it. In a few swift movements, Bucky revved up his motorbike and took the three tailgates out and swerved his bike to a stop. He took aim on the target, readying himself to fire when he spotted something in the distance — a tall blonde figure standing in the middle of the road, all the way across.

Chloe stood tall and confident on the road, watching the car racing towards her.

So many thoughts ran through Bucky's head in those seconds and they all brought him to the verge of a good spiral. The ex-Winter Soldier...spiraling.

And yet Chloe remained like a statue on the road, waiting.

Eventually, the car was forced to swerve violently off the road. A bright blue wall appeared out of thin air and the car crashed straight into it.

The blue glow in Chloe's eyes faded seconds after the blue wall came down. In a few more minutes, the sound of Bucky's bike drew closer.

"Chloe!" His voice was filled with anger. He got off his bike carelessly and stalked over to her. "The hell are you doing here!?"

Chloe wasn't phased by his anger and merely looked to the side. Their targets were climbing out of the broken, crashed car. "Speeding things up, what else?"

Bucky grabbed her arm and turned her attention back to him. "Get out of here!"

"I'm gonna need you to stop," Chloe said calmly, her fingers digging into his flesh hand gripping her arm. "We got what we needed."

Bucky knew she was right. The targets were secured and he would easily transport them back to Valentina, but that was not the point and Chloe knew it.

"She told me the mission and I wanted to help," Chloe said like she had read his thoughts. "The quicker we do, the less you have to see her face, right?"

Her smile, while beautiful as always, didn't help the situation. Bucky still hated that she was there. Unfortunately for him, Chloe was very apt at upholding his hard stares. They no longer phased her.

"I'm bringing them back. You get out of here," he said with a finality in his voice.

"Seriously?" Chloe sighed, annoyed, and watched him head off towards the crashed car. This man and his ideas...

"Go home, Chloe!"

~0~

It would be days later when Chloe heard about Bucky again. She expected him to pop by her place for a better explanation about his poor attitude at work but according to Valentina, he was going to be very busy for a while.

Chloe waited an appropriate time before deciding enough was enough. She tolerated Bucky's choices but not when he crossed lines and this was one of those moments.

She knocked on his door one evening, letting him know that she was not going to leave until he let her in and they talked. Just like she knew him, he knew her and he knew that she was not kidding.

And so Bucky opened the door and there she stood, confident and yet clearly annoyed with him. The fact he was still sporting fresh cuts and bruises did nothing to calm her down.

"Guess that means you finally finished the mission?" she said on her way inside.

Bucky closed the door behind her and walked in behind her. "I was going to...call..."

Chloe turned around, shooting him an 'are you sure about that?' kind of look. "Acting like we've never done this before is not going to get you out of trouble, James." She turned away and walked into the hallway, disappearing.