When Bucky got a message from Fury saying that he wanted to see him in his office; he immediately knew that he was going to come back here pissed after. Meetings with Fury were never good, especially private ones. 

Steve and him had just been half-heartedly watching a movie on Steve's laptop in his room, and he really didn't want to leave. He explained to Steve that he would be back shortly, and he gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before he regretfully got up and made his way downstairs. 

The tower was eerily quiet, but it was always like this the night before a mission. Everyone was trying to get as much sleep as they could. Everyone except for Steve and Bucky, who found it a lot easier to fight if they didn't have to wake themselves up first.

He took the stairs up to Fury's office, and knocked on the door lightly when he had reached it.

"Come in," he heard from the other side. He took a deep breath to prepare himself, and carefully opened the door. 

Fury sat at his desk with various pieces of paperwork scattered in front of him. He lifted his head from the paper he was reading, and made eye contact with Bucky who was standing in the doorway uneasily, "come in and take a seat," he said simply.

Bucky nodded, and took the seat across from Fury.

"Look, James," he started; sensing his uneasiness, "I'm going to make this as quick and painless as possible."

"You're going to make what as quick and painless as possible?" he questioned.

"I don't want you going on the mission tomorrow."

"What do you mean you don't want me going on the mission?" he didn't understand. He had been cleared to go on missions for months now. It took a lot of convincing, and a lot of trials, but he was cleared to do it.

"I mean that I don't want you going on the mission. We haven't dealt with a Hydra base this big, and powerful in years. It's dangerous. Especially for you."

"That doesn't make any sense. If it's that dangerous, why would you send in the team with one less member?" he asked irritably.

"Because this member has a history with Hydra, and I don't think it's safe for anyone to send him in there."

"I thought we already went over this," he complained, "I'm stable. I can handle it."

"I can't ignore the possibility that at least one of them knows how to flip your Hydra switch, James. We can't afford to lose you. I don't know how easy it would be to get you back."

Bucky huffed. He had a point. He had a very valid point that would not be easy to fight, "they need me. I know how Hydra works better than anyone. This is something that we need the whole team for."

"I'm sure they'll manage one mission without you."

"But-"

"I'm not discussing this matter any further."

"Fury I-"

"The discussion is over, James."

Bucky bit back his tongue. He got up from the chair, and exited Fury's office without another word. He couldn't say anything more without losing his cool. He made his way back up to Steve's room fuming. Fury couldn't do this! Well, he could do this, but he shouldn't! Steve and him always worked better when they were together. He hated the idea that Steve would be on his own. It made his stomach turn. 

He entered Steve's room, and sat down on the bed beside him with his arms crossed. 

Steve looked up from his sketchbook, and seeing Bucky's expression brought concern to his face, "what's wrong, Buck?"

"Apparently Fury thinks I'm not capable of going on the mission tomorrow," he said through clenched teeth.

Steve put his sketchbook down, and sat up, "what do you mean?"

"He said that this Hydra base is too strong. He's afraid I'm going to go off the rails."

Steve grabbed his hand in an attempt to make him feel better, "Fury knows what he's doing. He has a good point. You never know what these Hydra members are going to know. One of them may recognize you. They may even remember how to wipe you again."

"You agree with him?!" he hated getting mad at Steve, but right now he was finding it way too hard not to be. 

"Bucky I don't want to lose you again. I think sitting this one out is a good idea."

"But, I need to be there for you. I need to help you. What if there's too many of them?" his mind was always full of these 'what if?' scenarios. They scared the hell out of him. 

"Relax Buck. It's nothing I can't handle. I'll be able to focus a lot better knowing that you are here, and you are safe," he tightened his grip on his hand, and tried to give him a reassuring smile.

"God, I hate how practical your thinking is."

***

Three hours. They had been gone for three hours. Bucky couldn't take it. His anxiety levels were through the roof. What if something had gone wrong? He checked the tracker on his phone for the billionth time, but this time something was different. They had split up. Normally when they did this, he would go with Steve. There was only one problem here. Bucky wasn't there. Steve had gone on his own! He promised Steve that he wouldn't do anything stupid, but right now stupid was his only option. Steve couldn't take these guys on by himself. 

He quickly pulled on his combat gear, and rushed downstairs to the garage. He kept a big enough gap between him, and Fury's office. He couldn't risk getting caught. Sure, Fury could check the tracker, but by then hopefully, it would be too late. 

Once in the garage, he hopped on his motorcycle, and sped off as fast as possible. He weaved through traffic, and continuously glanced down at his phone to check that he was going the right way. 

He stopped the bike so abruptly that he flung gravel out from under his back tire. The tracker had led him to an old factory. It looked abandoned from the outside, but he knew better than that. He had never seen this one before. Not from what he remembered at least. He took a deep breath, and prepared himself to do the one thing he promised himself he would never do. He was walking straight back into a Hydra base. 

***

Luckily the team had already cleared the entrance, so it wasn't all that hard for him to get inside. He checked his phone, and saw that Steve was still in the same room. All he had to do was walk down the hallway to his left, and Steve would be in the last room to the right. 

He resisted the urge to run down the hallway. He had to be stealthy. He didn't know how many soldiers were left standing. He stayed against the wall as he walked, and mentally prepared himself to fight at any given moment. He was only inches from the room now, and his heart-rate sped up when he tried to listen in order to catalog the situation, but it was almost completely silent inside. He rounded the corner, and his breath stopped. Steve was pinned to the wall by one of the soldiers. His shield had fallen to the ground beside him, and he was struggling to breathe against the man's forearm digging into his throat. He ran towards them, and punched the man so hard that he fell to the ground instantly unconscious. 

Steve swayed and nearly fell on his face, but Bucky caught him before that could happen. Steve coughed and struggled to catch his breath, but when he finally did; he looked up at Bucky in confusion, "what the f*ck are you doing here?" he asked hoarsely.

"It's good to see you too."

He leaned away from Bucky now that he had regained balance, "Seriously. What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here."

"I'm here because I was worried. You guys split up, and you were alone. I guess my instincts were right because if I was here just a minute later, you'd be toast."

Steve frowned, "I had him on the ropes."

"I know you did. Now let's go finish this."

"You sure you good?" Steve asked. He didn't like the idea of Bucky being here around so many Hydra soldiers. It was dangerous. It was stupid.

"I'm good. I'm not the one who was nearly choked to death a minute ago."

Steve picked up his shield and looked into Bucky's eyes. He was scared. He could see right through him. Shit, "Let's go then."

***

They managed to clear the whole base, and they even gained some intel on where another one could be. The mission was a complete success, and Bucky couldn't be more relieved. He was exhausted, and bruised just about everywhere, but none of the soldiers seemed to recognize him. Fury and Steve had been worried for nothing. As always. They pulled up to the tower, and everyone exited except for Steve and Bucky. 

"Buck. You're going to have to deal with Fury sooner or later. It's best to just do it now."

He sighed, "I'm not going to approach him about it. I'll wait for him to approach me, and hopefully, he won't."

"Oh, he will. You know he will."

Bucky looked down at his shoes. He was procrastinating big time, but he had good reason.

Steve placed a hand on his shoulder, "let's go."

Bucky turned to face him and gave him a quick kiss.

"Bucky now is not the time for kisses. Now is the time to face the consequences."

"I had to just give you one last kiss. Just in case I don't make it."

Steve shook his head and grabbed Bucky's arm to pull him out of the van, "you're being overdramatic. I'm sure he's not gonna be that mad."

"You're right. He couldn't possibly be that-"

"Barnes!" Bucky turned his head and came face to face with a very enraged fury, "Get your ass up to my office! NOW!" Nick didn't even wait for an answer. He had turned around, and was already marching back into the tower. Bucky looked back at Steve for reassurance.

"You're doomed, buddy."

The brunette frowned, "wow. Thanks for the support."

"Hey, you're the one who didn't follow the rules."

Bucky turned around, and made his way to the door. He definitely wasn't coming out of this alive.