"I'm not made for this life, I can't live the way I'm not supposed to." [mature themes throughout] disclaimer - this does not follow any specific timeline in the MCU, everyone is alive unless stated!!

[Bucky Barnes x Fem Reader] Everyone can love. Not everyone lasts.

in which james buchanan barnes falls for an ex-shield operative and he can't seem to stop leaving her [bucky barnes x fem!oc] [post ca:tws → tfatws] [slowburn lovers reunion] © -𝐣𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫

in which a girl goes from ghost to family, and she has to live with the terrible miracle of being chosen [bucky barnes x fem!oc] [the avengers x fem!oc] [post captain america: civil war au] [slowburn, found family, angst&comfort] © -𝐣𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫

in which james buchanan barnes experiences love through memory and dream. [bucky barnes x fem!oc] [alternating pov] [pre ca:tfa → post endgame au] © -𝐣𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫

in a world where mandatory therapy is the price of freedom, bucky barnes keeps his head down and follows the rules. until he notices her. always early. never talking. smirking like she knows something he doesn't. ⋆˚࿔ but when her "loose ends" collide with his amends list, contact turns into proximity... and proximity turns into something neither of them knows how to survive. ⋆˚࿔ ⤷ ゛{ 𝙩𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙬𝙨 𝙚𝙧𝙖 | 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩-𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙥 𝙖𝙪 } ˎˊ˗ 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙭 𝙊𝘾, 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩 & 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩, 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙢𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩/𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩, 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙩 *𝙞 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 , 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣

in a world where howard stark has a genius sister, the war doesn't just make a soldier. it makes a trio. steve rogers is the compass. bucky barnes is the heart. maxine stark is the spark with grease on her hands and sarcasm on her tongue, fixing radios, fixing rifles, fixing the people she loves because it's the only kind of praying she knows. ⋆˚࿔ but the future they used to joke about doesn't survive the 1940s. her lover falls from a train and the world calls it death. her best friend disappears into the ice and the world calls it heroic. and max gets too close to hydra's protocols, sees the pattern behind the cruelty, and hydra doesn't kill her. hydra keeps her. because she's useful. because she's leverage. because she's the one thing the winter soldiers body will still recognize when his mind won't. ⋆˚࿔ ⤷ ゛{ 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 → 𝙘𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙪 } ˎˊ˗ 𝙗𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙭 𝙊𝘾, 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩 & 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩, 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙢𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩/𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩, 𝙝𝙮𝙙𝙧𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧, 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮

"I kneel into a dream where I am good and loved. I am loved. My hands have made some good mistakes. They can always make better ones." - Natalie Wee Bucky has to spend six months locked up with a stranger. His teammates went on an international press tour and left him behind. They hired someone to supervise him, per the conditions of his pardon- a roommate, they said. A roommate? In which: Bucky's heart slowly thaws, he develops a soft spot for his idiot roommate, he discovers his vibranium arm is extra-sensitive, he rediscovers that whole 'sexual attraction' thing, he has Not Great mental health including nightmares and therapy, he has a complicated relationship with his ex, he really enjoys blowjobs, he deals with the backlash from his criminal trial, he addresses internalized guilt and shame, he gets laid for the first time in decades, he deals with jealousy, he digs up old feelings, he cuts his hair, he takes pain meds and traumatizes everyone in the room, aaaaaand more. Told (mostly) from Bucky's POV.

"I don't need your help." "Your screaming at 4am tells me otherwise."

You were supposed to be out with your friends-dressed up, laughing, celebrating your 23rd birthday. Not bleeding on the sidewalk in the middle of a downtown explosion. Not waking up in a hospital bed, confused, aching, and staring straight into the eyes of a man you'd only seen on screens. He wasn't supposed to be there. But neither were you. Bucky Barnes had no reason to remember you. You weren't an agent. Not a genius. Not anyone important. Just the girl who'd thrown herself between a child and falling debris, and ended up with fractured bones and scars she couldn't see in the mirror without flinching. But he came back. Again and again. At first, you thought it was guilt. Then you realized... it was something else. Now, your life is anything but normal. Secret training sessions. Shadows that follow you home. Enemies whispering your name like you matter. Like you're the crack in his armor they've been waiting to find. And still, when everyone calls you his weakness... He leans in close and whispers: "You're the only reason I haven't given up." You didn't choose this world. But maybe-just maybe-you'll survive it for him. Hi! Just a quick note before you start: this story doesn't follow the original timeline or canon. English is not my first language, so please be patient with any mistakes. Also, I don't own any of the characters - I'm just here to have fun with them. Hope you enjoy the story!