"Wanda you owe me 120, I own Marvin Gardens." Clint held out his hand as Wanda grudgingly handed him an 100 and a 20.

"You're lucky I'm not cheating and moving the dice where I want them." She grumbled, not enjoying the fact that her pile of money was decreasing from Clint's several properties.

"Alright Y/n, your turn." Sam announced. Wanda handed her the pair of dice.

"I swear to god Sam, if I land on your boardwalk-"

"You'll have to pay up that's what." Sam snickered, watching her roll the dice around in her hand.

Y/n took another quick glance towards Bucky, something she had found herself frequently doing throughout the evening. She knew from the start he didn't exactly want to be there, and would have rather stayed cozied up in his own room alone. Despite that, he seemed to be enjoying the game as the night progressed. He even started becoming more competitive, especially after Sam managed to trade in his houses for a couple hotels.

Y/n threw the dice onto the board. "Seven."

She counted under her breath as she moved seven spaces, letting out a relieved sigh after landing on her own property.

"You know what?" Y/n narrowed her eyes, a grin spreading across her lips. "Pass me three houses."

"Getting bolder I see." Pietro chuckled, placing Y/n's colorful Monopoly money in the bank.

"I need to step up my game." She shrugged. "I'm done saving up all my funds."

She sat back and took a sip of the margarita Wanda had made for her. She tossed Bucky the dice and grinned slyly. "Your turn Barnes."

He felt his cheeks grow pink at her staring, holding her hand out for him to take the dice.

"Right, sorry." He murmured, taking them from her. "I guess I gotta step up my game too."

Sam let out a laugh. "Buck, you've spent like, a third of your money throughout this whole game. What the hell are you saving up for?"

Bucky frowned. "Hey, this has always been my strategy. Just be patient." He let the dice tumble off his hand onto the board.

"Eleven."

"One, two, three, four, five..."

He paused as soon as he realized which square he was approaching. Y/n followed his gaze and snorted. "You gotta finish your move!"

"Six, seven.." He teasingly skipped over a square, earning a scold from Wanda. She flicked her hand and placed his figurine on go to jail square.

"Hey!"

"I know you were stalling." She giggled as Bucky grumbled and placed his figurine onto the jail square.

"I guess I have some time to kill while I wait three turns." Bucky chuckled, standing up. "I'll be right back."

They all collectively nodded and went on with the game.

"Wait Bucky you can roll each turn for a double-" Clint stopped when he realized that Bucky had left the living space completely.

"Wanda leaned over to Y/n, nearly tumbling into the game board as her tipsyness took over. "Y/n would you do me a favor and grab me some chips from the pantry."

"You got it." Y/n beamed, making her way to the massive pantry filled with mostly junk food, if it weren't for Sam and Clint who insisted on buying real food as well.

She ruffled through the box of different chips and pulled out a bag of plain Lays, Wanda's favorite. After making her way back to the group, Y/n noticed Bucky had yet to return to the game. She tossed Wanda the bag of chips, who gave her a cheerful "thank you" as she caught it.

"Go grab your new best friend and then come and take your turn." Wanda winked, earning a shove from Y/n's foot.

Y/n circled the floor, resorting to asking FRIDAY on Bucky's whereabouts when he was nowhere to be seen. She then paused, and considered an idea of where he might be.

She was right.

"I feel like the game doesn't actually have an ending." Y/n stepped onto the terrace, letting the sudden rush of the breeze wisp through her hair.  "I guess being in jail is almost like a break."

"Y/n..." Bucky let out a surprised gasp. "Sorry, I'll be back in a sec."

Y/n joined and stood beside him, leaning against the ledge and admiring the view. "Funny how we're always having these encounters out here, like two loners."

"I wouldn't say you're exactly a loner." Bucky nudged her playfully.

Y/n smiled softly to herself. There was a solid difference from being alone, and feeling alone.

She looked over to him "Y'know, if you don't wanna play anymore, you can just tell us. I mean the game is honestly dragging on at this point."

"It's not that." He said quickly. "I've just been feeling... tired. That's all."

Y/n studied his expression carefully, always able to perceive a lie as soon as it escapes someone's lips.

"I get it." She shook her head and smiled earnestly. "You don't have to feel bad."

Bucky appreciated Y/n's tenderness, but she couldn't possibly understand. He shouldn't be constantly worrying her about his personal problems.

"I'm fine Y/n. Let's get back to the game so I can take all of your guy's money." He grinned as he slid opened the glass door, gesturing for her to enter. "After you."

"Why thank you sir." She giggled, stopping to wait for him before heading back to the living room, where the group was waiting for them.

"Since you took so damn long, you ended up losing four turns instead of three." Sam threw Bucky a smug grin, which was returned with a typically Bucky eye roll that he found himself doing 80% of the time when he was around Sam.

The game continued for another hour and a half, with Clint and Wanda both running out of cash, and eventually Pietro when he landed on one of Y/n's expensive properties.

That left Bucky, Sam and Y/n, all growing slightly more drowsy as the game went past midnight. Wanda, Clint and Pietro eventually all retreated to their bedrooms, bidding the three stubborn players a good night.

"Getting a little tired Y/n?" Sam taunted, throwing an empty solo cup in her direction.

"No way Birdbrain." She sneered, rolling the dice. "We started this game and we're gonna finish it."

"With me winning of course." Sam added, to which Bucky let out a laugh . "Oh we'll see about that."

Just as Bucky was about to roll, FRIDAY began booming a message above their heads.

"An emergency has been detected in the city. A potential shooting in Central Park. There may be potential casualties."

"Shit." Y/n sprung up, hurrying to the exit.

"I'm coming with you." Bucky followed suit, with Sam standing up behind him. "Since I was the last to get up, doesn't that mean I win."

"Shut up." Bucky groaned, joining Y/n in the elevator.

Sam grabbed his wings while Y/n and Bucky entered one of the S.H.I.E.L.D vehicles, speeding to the park.

Sam had already managed to arrive at scene, where several pedestrians were kneeled on the pavement path with their hands behind their heads.

"Over there." Y/n pointed from the passenger's seat, directing Bucky to the crowd.

They joined Sam who was standing face to face with a man dressed in an all black suit, with a mask shielding his identity, and most notably the rifle gripped in his hands.

"Sir drop your weapon immediately." Sam ordered, not fully expecting him to do so, as most criminals are never willing to comply."

"Mr. Barnes, and yes..."

"Y/n Y/l/n."

Y/n shared an uneasy glance with Bucky, before tightening her expression. "Sir let these people go, whatever it is you're planning should not interfere with their well-being."

"Oh so I see you give orders now? It is hard to believe that only a few years ago you two were the ones following your superiors like a couple of dogs." He sneered, a thick Slovak accent tainting his voice.

Bucky clenched his fist, the metal plates in his arm whirring as he drew back his fist. Y/n clutched his hand in hers, keeping her eyes on the malicious man in front of them.

"Sir, we're going to have to ask you again. Drop your weapon." Y/n repeated, keeping her voice steady and as neutral as possible.

The man shrugged nonchalantly, circling the crowd of people and switching his aim to their direction. "Sure, I'd certainly be happy to. Just as long as one of you soldiers come with me."

He nudged his head in Y/n's direction. "What about you dear Y/n? You haven't been on the team for nearly as long as anyone else. If Sergeant Barnes were to leave, I'm sure his best friend Steve Rogers would be deeply despaired of his absence."

Y/n bit her tongue as tears threatened to spill from her glassy eyes.

"He's just bluffing." She thought to herself. "His only goal is to get under my skin."

"Don't you dare say that bullshit to her again." Bucky seethed through his teeth. Y/n turned to him, his tone catching her off guard.

"You're not getting either of them." Sam spoke clearly. "Now why don't you quit the cliché shit and let these innocent people go before we knock that smug grin right from your face that I know is under that stupid mask of yours."

The man stopped his pace, turning to each of them. "Any last considerations?"

He smirked at their silence and pulled out a small device from his pocket, tracing the buttons with his gloved fingers. "Well, perhaps next time then."

Y/n's attention snapped to the nearby fountain, a tiny red light emitting from the depths of the water. "THE FOUNTAIN!"

She sprinted towards it and dove her hand into the water, snatching the hidden explosive that was set to go off in a few seconds.

She tossed it to Sam who was already in the air and flew as high as he could, hurling it up high enough to not cause any damage to the city or the people.

Y/n and Bucky watched in horror as thick flames ignited the once peaceful New York skyline. Thank God for Sam's ability to get it up and far away in such little time.

Bucky glanced to find Y/n no longer by his side. Instead, she was facing off against the man, who she had easily managed to catch up to.

She pulled back her arm and landed a solid punch to his face, hearing the snap from his now broken jaw, and shoved him into the base of a lamppost. Bucky gently bumped Y/n to the side and stood over the man, grabbing him harshly by his jacket when he saw that he was just barely alive.

"Who the hell do you think you are." He said, his voice dripping with hatred.

The man simply let out a weak laugh, pointing to Bucky's arm. "It will always be there."

Y/n's fist drove straight into his head, her actions purely out of rage. "NO!" Unknowingly, she had pushed Bucky out of her way to land another blow to his face, hard enough to be potentially fatal. Bucky grabbed her shoulder gently, hinting that enough was enough. She let her muscles relax, nodding as she watched the man slip out of consciousness.

"Hail... HYDRA." The man choked out, before letting his head his the concrete with a dull thud.

Y/n shakily turned to Bucky, her eyes meeting his.

"Bucky."

"I'm getting those fucking files."