"Please don't go."

It was hard to resist those words when they came from the mouth that owned that smile; a smile that reached his eyes and made them alight with just enough mischievousness to make you see what he would do to make you stay. You had been talking to Bucky almost the entire time that you had been at the tower, all but forgetting that there was an entire team to introduce yourself to.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Barnes, but the party's over," you smiled back, waving your hand casually towards the rest of the team as they said goodbye to their guests. "I don't think it would be polite to overstay my welcome. Besides, it's late and Captain Rogers is about to let my ride leave without me."

Bucky turned and looked at the group for a moment, then back to you, but his expression had changed to almost desperation to keep you there. "Okay, how's about I take you home instead? I really just want to talk more, I promise." He reached down and took your hand in his, hesitantly at first, but once it was in his possession it felt as if he was holding onto you for his life. "It's so easy to talk to you, and I'm not ready to let you go yet."

"Please don't go."

"Begging won't help, Buck. You have a mission to get to and I need to train with Nat," you replied with a long yawn, rolling over to look at the small pout from your super soldier. "Aw, I'm sorry," you chuckled, running your thumb gently over his bottom lip. "We can't lay here all day. I'm surprised Steve hasn't started banging the door down yet as it is."

"Screw Steve."

You pulled back with wide eyes and a smirk, watching as it began to register in his mind what he had just said. "Is that an order, sir?"

"Shut up," he growled, grabbing your waist and pulling you tightly against him, burying his face in your neck with a deep breath as if he were committing your scent to memory. He began kissing your neck softly, creating goose bumps on your skin. "Five more minutes."

"Five more minutes," you sighed, with no desire to argue.

"Please don't go."

"Steve set up a guest quarters for me. I need to get out of here, Buck."

"How many times can I apologize for this?" he asked, his voice elevated to a yell that would scare anyone else. For every item that you threw into your bag, he grabbed others around the room to keep from you. "I swear, I wasn't undermining you! I was only trying to protect you!"

Trying to make it clear that you didn't want to hear any excuses, you rushed towards him and pulled your clothes from his hands and threw them towards your bag harshly. You reached up to push against his chest to force him back, but he grabbed your hands before you could connect. His touch on your skin was enough to finally make you crack, yanking them away with enough force to scratch your hand on the cold metal from his. "I don't need you to protect me! I've been with this team for over a year now, and I can handle myself! You got in the way and someone could have been hurt! That's on you!"

"I know, I know," he said quietly, making an effort to maintain control and holding his hands up in front of himself in surrender. "I'm sorry. I just...I don't...I was scared."

"Welcome to my world, Buck. Every time we go out there, or you go without me, that's where I'm at." His admission took the fight out of you, and your body showed it; your shoulders dropped and your muscles began to relax as your adrenaline lowered with each breath. You wanted to accept him and his reasoning, but the offense was still too new. He stood silently and watched you take your bag and move towards the door, willing himself to not chase after you. "I think you should take this time to think about that."

"Please don't go."

"(Y/N), move it," Steve called to you from the jet, waving you towards him impatiently. "We're on the clock. Kiss your boyfriend and let's get outta here already."

"I'll be back soon, Buck. You're worrying for nothing."

He wasn't looking up at you, but rather at his fingers intertwined with yours as his thumbs caressed the soft skin on the top of your hands. He was nervous, but you weren't sure why. The mission was going to be fast; so fast that it really only needed you and Steve to go. You had grown accustomed to this from Bucky, but today seemed a bit more out of character than usual.

"I know, I can't help it," he mumbled, "Steve told me the details. I just worry that any mission could be the last, and I couldn't..." Bucky's voice faded slightly, finally looking up at you when Steve cleared his throat behind you to speed the goodbye along. "Just be careful."

"Always am."

Bucky stood in place and watched the jet leave, and would stay there until your return only a few hours later, just as he did with any mission that took you from him. The only thing that would calm his nerves was to see you as you came off the plane and when he could hold you and feel you in his arms. Until that moment, his mind would torture him with the worst possible scenarios. This mission took both you and Steve together, so his mind was particularly cruel in showing him terrifying options.

He jumped to attention when the hangar doors finally opened and the jet entered its landing pattern. He jumped again when Bruce, Tony and Natasha ran in to join him, watching anxiously as the jet door lowered. "What's going on?" he asked cautiously, feeling his heart start to pound. "Banner, which one is it?"

Before Bruce could reply, Steve emerged from the jet with you draped in his arms, unconscious and bloodied, looking as pale as Bucky had ever seen anyone with any sign of life in them. He bolted forward to take you from Steve, but he held tight and continued past him towards the infirmary. "Buck, just follow me, I've got her."

"Yeah, I can see how well you've got her! What the hell happened?"

Without a reply, Steve laid you on the table and backed away, staring at the blood that covered his hands, turning them over and looking at them as if they were foreign to him. "She took the hit for me," he whispered. "Why would she do that?"

Bucky hadn't heard him and pushed past to be next to you as they worked frantically on your injuries. He watched the monitors over your head, listening to the sound of your heartbeat and finding himself unable to hear anything else. He leaned down and rested his forehead against yours, wishing desperately that he could give you his own strength, hoping that contact would somehow share it with you.

"Please don't go."