[avadatothekedavra annie_stark I had too much fun with this.]
Maybe Bucky's just imagining things, but there are a group of girls two tables down with his face on their shirts.
So Bucky takes his coffee and leaves.
And so do the girls.
Now he's definitely sure his face is on their shirts because every time he looked back, they had their shoulders back and big smiles on their faces.
Bucky l makes it to the tower, runs up the stairs and presses his face against the glass once he reaches the main room.
The girls are still there.
"Buck?" Steve stands from the couch, carefully setting down his news paper and walks over to him. "Is everything o-"
"Those girls," He points downwards, where a few others have gathered. "They have my face on their shirts. And they followed me here."
Steve laughs and pats Bucky on the shoulder. "It looks like you have a fan club."
"What?" Bucky turns too fast and ends up smacking his forehead against the glass. "I have a fan club? But why?"
He shrugs. "Everyone in the team has one."
When Bucky looks back, they're gone and he's left staring at the spot for an hour until Steve makes him go lie down.
___
Bucky and Steve had been sent on a recon mission. They were ordered to stay out of sight, don't interfere with the enemy.
Things had been going according to plan, until the large man spotted them and left. Steve had cautioned to be careful, that this may be a trap, but Bucky didn't listen and kept going.
It turns out it was a trap. Steve had shoved Bucky to the side, his shield taking most of the punch, but he had still be thrown backwards into the harbor.
"Steve!" Bucky shouts, then gets a very hard kick to his side and slams into a building. He's on his back, dazed from hitting his head on the concrete, when a dozen or so figures appear out of nowhere and begin fighting the man.
Again, Bucky's not sure if he's hallucinating. One of the figures delivers a final kick to the mans face, knocking him to the ground unconscious.
Then another one lifts his head and slides a pillow underneath, patting his forehead softly before they all bow and disappear.
____
Bucky wakes up in the tower with a bandage around his head. He remembers the mission, the events, the mysterious shadows who had saved him.
"Can you believe it?" Steve's voice drifts into the room, and Bucky sits up and sees his silhouette next to Tony's. "He has his own fan club."
Tony laughs. "More like a protection squad."
"A Bucky protection squad, huh? Well, then they've earned a new member, because I'm joining."
