summary: you're sent on a mission with the only person in the avengers that you don't get along with: bucky barnes. to make matters worse, you have to go undercover as a married couple, thousands of miles away in poland. you can only hope everything goes okay.

word count: 3.0k

warnings: experimenting mentioned, torture too if you squint. not beta read so if there's a typo.. idc.

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you knew something was up the moment natasha gave you a look when you stepped into the briefing room. steve stood in the front of the room, looking over the mission report. sitting down next to natasha, you furrowed your brows at her as she kept giving you that 'i know something you don't, and i know you won't like it' look. "what?" you whispered, your lips curling into a frown.

"what? i'm not doing anything." she replied, smirking at you as bucky and sam made their way into the room. you bit back a groan, glancing at steve from the corner of your eye, who you found had already been looking at you with a sheepish look.

truth be told, you didn't hate bucky. you just hated the way he acted. to you, he was stuck up, rude, and didn't know when to shut up. he also just didn't compliment your personality, which made things objectively worse. he was just too broody for you, and it made your skin crawl. steve cleared his throat, pulling you out of your thoughts.

"we've been getting pings, intel, and tips on a potential hydra base in poland." steve started, pulling up a hologram of a map of a small section of the country. "after having redwing do a fly by and looking into it, we have reason to believe that the base is underneath the village." he spoke, rolling his shoulders back and looking back at us. sam smiled and gave that look– you know the look– before telling us all to thank red wing. this earned him a chorus of groans, but you laughed and smiled at him. "tell red wing i said thank you," you said, nearly missing bucky rolling his eyes. just as you were about to say something to him, you decided to be the bigger person today. you know, turning a new leaf or something like that.

the room quieted down and the attention was turned back to steve, who still had a serious look on his face. "as i was saying, the base is thought to be underground, meaning we need to go undercover. we cant just barge into a village that small and expect them not to jump ship." he said, setting his tablet down. you swore he never let go of the thing. "that being said, tony, natasha and i decided that we'd send two of you while the rest of us keep tabs from the outside." he explained, glancing at you for a quick second. it was so fast you almost didn't register it. this made you frown, especially since natasha had that look on her face. "y/n and bucky, you two are going to be doing undercover recon in the village, kazimierz dolny." he said, that sheepish look coming back on his face.

"repeat that?" you said, shoulders slumping as your gaze switched between steve and natasha. "you and barnes will be undercover as a married couple. and before you say anything, it'll be good for you two. the more you like each other, the easier we can all flow as a team." she smiled, looking at you with a smug look. you could hear sam chuckling to himself.

"no way." bucky spoke up, crossing his arms and glaring at you. you scoffed and rolled your eyes, falling back in your seat. "before you two start going at each others throats, i signed off on it. yes it was tony's idea, and yes natasha had her deal of meddling in it, but i agree. it'll be good for you two and for the rest of us." he smiled, looking between you and bucky. "besides, natasha and sam will be in warsaw looking for more intel. they're only an hour away from each other." the blonde explained, crossing his arms. that was his way of saying his word was final.

sighing, you relented. "fine. when do we leave?" you asked, already dreading the whole trip. "a few hours. go do whatever it is you do to get ready and be at the quinjet by twelve noon." he smiled, picking his tablet back up. "you're all dismissed."

while you were quick to get out of the room, you heard bucky giving it to steve. he was just as upset, if not more upset than you were about this whole ordeal. walking into your room, you saw a text from nat about a dress code and things to do and not to do while in the village. they were old fashioned and borderline amish, so you'd have to be on your best behavior. groaning to yourself, you began packing your bag, half tempted to just go off the grid and avoid the whole mission together. but this was for the safety of the planet, right? you had a duty to protect people, and you signed up for it. you could get through this. you could do it.

you spent the next two hours mourning your bed and whining to wanda about the mission. she gave you some tips on how to act and what to do while in the village, most of them being based on her childhood in sokovia. you bid her goodbye, for now, and promised that you'd check in with her whenever you were able to. making your way to the quinjet, you found that natasha and sam were there, but bucky and steve had yet to arrive.

"excited?" natasha, asked, giving you a cheeky look as she nudged you with your elbow. you glared at her, thanking sam as he took your bags and loaded them into the bag compartment. "no, but i know you are. i'm still mad at you, by the way." you grumbled, crossing your arms.

"oh, come on. it can't be that bad. do you even know why you don't like him?" she questioned, raising a brow. "he's annoying, rude, stuck up, doesn't know how to say thank you–" you listed, stopping as the aforementioned man and captain america walked towards the quinjet. you sighed, running your hands over your face and turning to face them. you were half hoping bucky would talk him out of you two going and hopefully replace someone. you didn't mind going to poland, it was just who you were going with. "thank you again for agreeing to do this." steve said, his voice low as he spoke to you. "i know you don't like him, and he doesn't like you, but i hope this trip can hopefully get you two acquainted." he said, smiling kindly. he was like a big puppy dog. "i didn't agree, but you're welcome. if i die, it's your fault." you huffed, patting his arm gently. he gave you an earpiece before saying goodbye to you, leaving you alone with bucky.

natasha and sam were already settled in the pilot seats, chatting away. you shifted uncomfortably in your own seat, crossing your arms as you looked at bucky. "have you ever been to poland?" you asked, trying to strike up even the smallest conversation. he glared at you, annoyance written all over his face. "no." he grumbled, glaring at you. you frowned, eyes darting across his face. "why do you always have to be so difficult? i'm just trying to have a normal conversation with you." you hissed, narrowing your eyes at him. "me? difficult? this is coming from the princess who can never keep her mouth shut." he growled, his brows furrowing. "excuse me?" you asked, flabbergasted. "you heard me." he smirked, leaning back in his seat. "it sounds like you're projecting, soldier. i'm not the one who follows steve around like a lost puppy in hopes he won't leave me." you said. for a moment, you could see something flicker in his eyes akin to shock and hurt, only for his gaze to harden and his jaw tighten. "at least i'm wanted." he spat, turning his head away from you. you frowned and huffed, ignoring the pang in your chest at his words. you couldn't be upset when you had said something as equally hurtful to him. forget about turning your new leaf– you were just eager to get this mission over with, and it hadn't even started.

the flight, other than your mini argument with bucky, was okay. you read for the brunt of it before natasha peeked into the back and told you guys you needed to change into your new 'village clothing'. it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, other than the fact that you had to wear a floral button up dress that went above the knees, accompanied with a pink sweater. (think: mary's dress from silent hill 2) bucky wore a button up shirt with a blue polo and some khakis. you had to give credit where it was due– he looked good. you quickly brushed that thought out of your mind as you landed in warsaw, where you and bucky would have to take a cab to kazimierz dolny.

"are you two ready?" sam asked as natasha handed you and bucky wedding bands. they were beautiful, the silver band wrapping around a small diamond. smiling, you shrugged. "i guess." you said, listening to bucky sigh. "sure."

stepping off the quinjet, you two carried your bags and flagged down a cab. you let bucky do most of the speaking, since your polish was a bit rusty. you were able to make out the words 'wife' and 'budapest', but that was it. unfortunately, the driver spoke english.

"you two have been recently married, yes?" he asked, smiling at you two. you smiled and nodded, begrudgingly taking bucky's hand. he kept the metal one in his pocket to avoid attention.

"we got married two years ago and decided it was time to start fresh, you know? away from the pressure of our parents and such." you answered, looking out the window. the driver laughed, nodding in agreement. "ahh, yes yes. though, i must warn you," he said, his smile fading ever so slightly as he continued speaking, "the people of kazimierz dolny are not the most.. ah, how must i put this.. normal people of poland. though, i feel they will accept you with open arms." he smiled. it seemed like he was avoiding adding more to what he knew. you glanced at bucky, and you both shared a frown. surprisingly, neither of you bothered to pull your hands away, and stayed like that for the rest of the car ride. when you did move your hand, you had to bite back a frown at the loss of contact.

by the time you two got there, it was around 7:30, and you were ready to take a nice bath. you thanked the driver and let bucky take your bags as you looked around the house you would be staying in temporarily. the only issue you saw was that there was one bed. sighing, you knew your temporary solace was ruined. "i'll take the couch." you said, taking your bags from bucky. "i'm not complaining." he shrugged, setting his bags to the side while you put your things into the drawers of the dresser.

just as you were making dinner, someone knocked on the front door. you turned your head and made eye contact with bucky, making your way towards the door. letting him open the door, you two were greeted by your neighbor, an older woman holding a plate of cookies.

"cześć!" she greeted, smiling at the two of you. you smiled back and took bucky's arm, pinching him slightly so he would smile as well. "hi! i'm assuming you're our new neighbor?" you asked, taking the cookies from the woman. she nodded, seeming very eager. "tak, when i found that i would be getting new neighbors, i couldn't contain my excitement!" she beamed, cupping her hands together. "where are my manners? what are your names?" she questioned, her blue eyes looking between the two of you.

"my name is y/n, and this is my husband, james." you smiled. did you call him james on purpose? yes. one, to get under his skin, and two, you didn't know if the people in this little village knew about the infamous winter soldier. speaking of which, he would definitely need to shave and cut his hair a bit.

she gasped, her eyes crinkling with her smile. "young love is so beautiful. you two look lovely together. oh, he compliments you so well. i hope you treat her good, young man." she laughed, giving bucky a slightly stern look. "trust me, i make sure she's very happy." he said, flashing a grin at the old woman. despite your feelings towards the brunet, you could feel your cheeks heating up. "what is your name, miss..?" you asked, leaning in slightly so bucky wouldn't be able to see your face. "aleksandra." she smiled. she was clearly very proud of her name. "i wont keep you two any longer. i know what you young ones like to get up to." she teased, backing away. "it was nice meeting you!" you called out, blushing softly. "stay safe!" bucky added. once she was out of sight, he was quick to rip his arm away and stomp off. you shut the door and scoffed at his antics.

"you're such a baby, you know that? and you need to shave. and cut your hair." you said, pointing at him as you made your way to the stove to continue cooking. he frowned, his lips curling into a frown as he looked at you. "i'm not a baby. and why should i?" he asked, watching as you turned around and resumed what you were doing. "because. what if someone recognizes you? if there is a hydra base underneath our feet, who says there's not hydra agents crawling around the town? and if there is, what if they recognize you? you'll only be a liability." you explained, turning the stove off and plating the food. bucky went silent at this, probably realizing that you were right. you set his plate infront of him before sitting down across from him.

dinner was going well, for the most part. the tv played quietly in the background, and bucky surprisingly thanked you for the food and offered to to the dishes. you took this time to take a quick shower and change into your pajamas before going downstairs and setting the couch up. bucky said nothing to you as he walked to the master bedroom. as you turned a lamp on and began to read, you could hear the sink turn on. was he shaving? you shook your head and continued reading for about half an hour before bucky padded into the living room and looked at you. he was shirtless, his hair wet and his face mostly bare. you guessed he couldn't fully let go of the beard. stopping yourself from staring at his chest, you looked into his eyes, raising a brow.

"what?" you asked, shutting your book. "can you.. can you help me cut my hair?" he asked, placing a hand on the nape of his neck sheepishly. you sighed and stood up, walking towards the bedroom with bucky trailing behind you. once you two got in there, you had him sit on a stool as you started to dry his hair. on his neck, there was a small cut from him shaving.

"you can't even shave correctly?" you asked, sighing as you tilted his chin up. pressing your hand to his neck, you began to heal the cmall cut, hoping it wasn't too cold for him. ice powers were the one 'special' thing about you. you could heal, damage, block, everything you were expected to do. it was one thing about you that made you closer to him than you liked to admit. while he was used as a tool to carry out hydra's assasinations, you were used as a tool to further their experiments and genetic knowledge. you may have looked normal, but you were what others would classify as a mutant. hydra experimented on you after your parents gave you away for some quick cash, and you would later learn that it got them nowhere. they died soon after giving you away.

hydra's experiments brought out your mutant abilities, and when they realized you were an organic, biological mutant.. it only got worse. while what they did to you wasn't nearly as bad and gruelling as what they did to bucky, it still left a mark on you that even your ice couldn't heal. you pulled yourself out of your thoughts and looked to see the cut gone. "better?" you asked, pulling out a hair dryer. he grunted, watching as you plugged it in and turned it on. "am i okay to touch your hair?" you asked, looking at him through the mirror. a look of surprise washed over his face before he nodded and looked down. he looked vulnerable, and it was almost cute– not in a creepy way, though. it did feel creepy that you thought he was cute.

drying and cutting his hair took close to an hour. partially because you didn't want him to snap at you for touching him wrong, and there was a chunk of hair you wanted to cut off. instead of it being below his collar like it was before, it was just above his shoulders with layers. "there." you said, using the blow dryer to get the extra hair off him. "it.. doesn't look as bad as i thought it'd be." he said, steel blue eyes meeting yours through the mirror. you smiled and unplugged the blow dryer and put it in the drawer before standing up and putting your hands on your hips. "okay, get out of here. i need to sweep." you said, watching as he stood up. no other words were exchanged as he left you to clean, and you missed the way his eyes lingered on you for just a bit too long.

by the time it hit 9 o' clock, you were setting up your couch bed. while you offered to take the couch, you knew the bed would be infinitely better than this. sighing, you cooled the pillow with your hands and laid down, turning the lamp off. closing your eyes, you decided that maybe this wouldn't be that bad. you could only hope that you weren't wrong.