Bucky Barnes

Life around S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers compound was never quiet. Phones constantly rang, agents rushed through halls with files in hand, missions came and went, and news about the Avengers spread across social media faster than anyone could keep up with. But some things never changed—people still paid attention to appearances.

You and your boyfriend were the couple everyone seemed to admire. Always together at events, always smiling in public, always looking happy. People around the compound thought you had everything figured out. Some admired what you had, others envied it.

And you played your part perfectly.

Because nobody knew what happened when nobody else was around. Nobody knew about the way he hurt you, the way his words could leave invisible cuts, the way he took advantage of your kindness and slowly made you feel smaller than you were. Nobody noticed the bruises hidden beneath sleeves, the forced smiles, or the way you had learned to patch every crack before anyone could see them.

You had become frighteningly good at pretending.

Good at smiling when you wanted to cry. Good at acting normal. Good at convincing everyone that everything was okay.

Working for S.H.I.E.L.D. as Tony Stark's lawyer had naturally made you part of the Avengers' world. Meetings, paperwork, damage control, legal disasters—especially legal disasters. That's how you knew them all.

Including Bucky Barnes.

But knowing someone and knowing someone were two different things. Bucky mostly kept to himself, and you had never really been close. Just occasional passing conversations, small nods, brief interactions here and there.

Until today.

You were walking through the busy halls of the compound, your mind somewhere far away as agents and staff moved around you in a blur.

Then suddenly—

thud.

You walked straight into someone.