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Prompt: “I can’t believe you found my dog! Please take this reward.” Pairing: Bucky x Reader Summary: Your best friend is lost, thanks to a snafu at your apartment complex. Your hunt to find her leads you to a smooth-talking army vet. P.s. there is a little cursing. Categories: Angst (over losing your pet), flirty fluff This is my entry for @bionic-buckyb ‘s 5k au challenge!

“Mr. Goodlow, that is a rule set by the federal government and I have no control over it.” Your chair slid back and your head dropped to your free hand, as, yet again, he chewed you out for his mistake. Ramona gave you a sympathetic pout from the other side of your shared desk. After more of the same explanation, he relented when you refused to break the law for his health benefits. As you hung up the phone, you swirled around to your friend, “Why am I here?” “Money…” She answered without turning around. “…employees who treat you like shit, and me.” She flashed you sparkly smile over her shoulder. “Right.” You scoffed, shaking your head as you turned back around to your computer. On the side of its screen was a post-it note with a sketch of your beloved dog, Lira. It was an impromptu sketch you had done, but it was your favorite. Her fluffy, wiry fur was perfectly wild and you had captured her soulful, deep eyes. Looking at it reminded you that you had her waiting for you at home. Smiling, you were about to get back to it when you noticed the soft buzz of your phone. It was your apartment complex. You pushed out from your desk, before calling to your cube mate, “Hey Ramona, I’ll be right back.” You flashed her the phone while leaving the office. Ducking through the hall and throwing out half-hearted greetings, you stumbled into the phone booth. “Hello?” Voice shaking, because your heart was racing thanks to the rarity of this type of phone call and the rarity of that type of cardio. “Ms. Y/L/N?” “Yes?” The attitude was organic, but not necessarily meant to executed. You fidgeted in the booth, waiting. “Ms. Y/L/N, I am sorry to tell you that your dog got out of your apartment while the fire alarms were being checked.” The only thing that kept you from crumbling into a sobbing mess was white-hot, searing anger. You hadn’t received any notices about the fire alarms being checked today. Then the most sickening thought came to your mind, she was running across streets. You had never considered suing someone before in your life. “Ms. Y/L/N?” The voice on the other side broke you out of your spiral, “Is anyone looking for her?” “The maintenance man tried to follow her, but lost her once she made it out of the complex towards the Hewlett subdivision.” “I’m on my way, but this conversation is not over.” You couldn’t think of anything else to say. You even hung up the phone before the young woman could respond Trembling and seething, you came out of the phone booth wanting to fly straight home, but you needed to get your things and let your boss know. Back through the hall, you acknowledged no one. Adding insult to injury, you jammed your hip into the corner of your desk, per usual, but this time a string of colorful curses came out. Ramona flipped around, pulling her headset off, eyebrows creased, “What’s wrong?” “Lir..” You went to speak, but when you tried to say her name your vision blurred with tears and a sob caught in your throat. “I have to go…” You took a breath, grabbing your things. Ramona stood up and got your purse out of its normal resting spot. “She got out.” Ramona nodded and followed you out as she handed you your last items, “I’ll let Jaime know. Let me know if you need any help.” You gave here a nod and a soft thank you as you left, catching a “Good luck!” as you made it to the elevators. After twenty minutes of driving, you wanted to check and make sure she hadn’t come home, but when you got there it was just the maintenance man who’d let her out. Face hot and breath barely on the inside of controlled, you parked your car and sent up a silent prayer in hopes that you wouldn’t say something too cruel to the man. It was a much needed prayer, because he was by your side from the sidewalk to your door throwing apologies, but you couldn’t hear them right now. He even threw in a sob story about his kids losing their dog not two weeks ago. Before going inside to grab her leash and some treats, you mustered up all of the decency your mother instilled in you and turned to the culprit, “Where did you see her last?” “Hewlett Dove Street, that subdivision by that school.” When this was all over, and your normal demeanor came back to you, you would probably regret how hard you slammed that door in his face. Thankfully, he was gone by the time you reemerged. You trotted back down the stairs and decided that going on foot would be the best choice. You’d be able to get to her faster when you saw her, you’d be able to check in back yards and under things, and it’’s a split second decision, so you’re going with it. The Charleston heat was baring down, but that Atlantic ocean air kept it at bay just enough to make it slightly pleasant. An hour after she had gotten out of the door, you were jogging past the Hewlett Dove sign. You entered this subdivision knowing that there was absolutely no way you were leaving without Lira. Shamelessly, you called for her. At the top of your lungs, bellowing her name. If anyone was outside, they were shown her picture. Your head ached from twisting and arching and you couldn’t tell if your chest was tight from the exercise or anxiety. Doubt was starting to creep in. You were wondering how long it had been, but were terrified to look at the clock. Up until this point you’d been able to keep the what-if’s at bay, but physical and emotional exhaustion were setting in. You paused on the sidewalk. Every influx of air, every expansion of your chest ripped your soul apart. Like whispers in your ear, the dark depths of your mind taunted you. She was the one thing your were responsible for, and you lost her. You promised to protect her and odds are she’s hurt. Your hands went to scratching your shoulders and eyes were darting around the neighborhood. You’ll never find her. You don’t even know if she came this way. “Excuse me.” A frail voice broke you out of your trance. You flipped around to find an elderly woman on her porch, on the house just behind you, “Are you looking for a dog?” You weren’t expecting that question and your brain filtered it like a foreign language. You mulled it over in your head for a couple of seconds, in the meantime glaring at the woman, hands latched to your shoulders, and body twisted. Finally your eyes shot open, “A-a do-dog? Ye- ya- yes!” You sputtered out, stumbling over your feet as you began towards her house. As you were crossing the yard, you felt the rain drop. You glanced across the sky in time to see the lightning. You hadn’t noticed the storm clouds. You hopped onto the porch, “Did you see her?” You flashed her picture on your phone to the woman. “I didn’t, but the young man down the street came by saying he had someone’s dog at his house.” She adjusted the phone to get a good look. “Oh yes, that looks like the picture he showed me. He looks an awful lot like my Georgie did. Sweet little wiry thing, I miss him. Yup, I remember that bright green collar.” Again, it was hard to believe her words. Finally, a smile broke across your face, “Can I give you a hug?” She let out a belly laugh, “Of course, sweetheart.” As you embraced you thanked her and she put a hand on your shoulder, “They mean so much to us. Now…” She pointed you down the street. “James Barnes lives on Dunn Cove, just one street down.” You flashed her a wide smile and nodded, but just as you turned to leave thunder rumbled throughout the neighborhood. The rain started misting, “She completely shuts down during thunderstorms.” “She’s in a safe spot. He’s a good man..” She let out a tiny giggle, “Despite him being a damn yankee.” You had just made it down the steps when your mouth dropped open with a shocked laugh. You turned around with an amused look and the thickest southern accent your could muster, “My poor dog’s with a yankee during a thunderstorm?” She laughed some more and shook her head, “Who am I to talk? I married one when I was eighteen and those were the most extraordinary seventy years of my life because of that man. Oh, James has a silver Jeep with a US Army sticker on the back window sitting in the driveway.” The rain was now pouring, as you waved a goodbye and headed towards Dunn cove. The journey took about five minutes, but when you turned the corner you saw the longest cove on this planet and no jeep. Alright, James, where the hell is your Jeep. You started to curse the man out loud. “What the hell, James?” You jogged up to the next driveway, only to get more pissed off to see that it was empty. “Come on, James. You couldn’t have said last house on the right or across from the only house with a freaking brick mailbox. Nope, Mr. Barnes has to say “silver Jeep in the driveway”…” you threw up the air quotes as you stomped along the sidewalk, “Well, James, that means I have to go to every freakin’ house and look down every freakin’ driveway of the longest freakin’ cove in the world and it’s raining.” You let out a long groan seeing the red Camry down this driveway. “If I get struck by lightning…” You flipped your head to glance across the street and finally saw it. “Hey, look! A Jeep.” You crossed the street, not missing the fact that it was parked at the very top of the driveway. That jerk could’ve at least backed it up. You caught the army sticker as you made your way to the front door. You rang the door bell with a huff, “Good guy my ass” The door swung open and your mouth went dry. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a black loose-fitting Brooklyn tee. His shirt camouflaged his torso, but if his arms were any indication, he was built. It was his eyes, though, that did you in. A smokey blue framed by dark brown hair and stubble lining his jaw. Ya know, you could be grateful to the man for taking in your dog. “You here about the dog?” You normally found New York accents irritating, but his was so smooth it nearly made you forget about the monsoon beating down behind you. A crack of thunder snapped you out of it quick though. You cleared your throat and fumbled around your pocket for your phone, “Uh, yes…” You showed him your favorite picture of the two of you at the beach, “Please tell me that’s the dog you have.” He crossed his arms around his chest and leaned in close. His forward movement wafted whatever was leftover of his cologne from the day towards you. Despite the chill on your skin, his scent sparked a warmth in your chest. As he was examining the picture, you were trying to maintain composure. Then he cracked a smile and glanced up at you, “That’s her. I’ve been calling her Layla.” He backed into the house motioning you in. You let out a relieved sigh, pushing wet strands of hair behind your ear, “Close…” You brushed past him, grazing his chest as you passed the door frame, “It’s Lira.” “Lira? Like Turkish currency?” He came up beside you, smirk on his face, hands on his hips, and just a few inches taller than you. You tried to control the smile on your face by sucking your bottom lip into your teeth, but it failed. You turned towards him, “Turkish, Syrian, Romanian, formerly Italian and Venetian. She’s valuable.” He nodded and inched forward, “It’s a beautiful name. Of course…” He left your side, walking deeper into the house. You followed him into his living room when he flipped around, “It’s not near as beautiful as your name.” Heat flushed your body as you shook your head and moved closer to him. “Ok, that was pretty slick.” You came to a stop in front of him just in time to see his tongue skirt between his lips as he was staring at you, “Y/N. The lady around the corner said your name was James.” “That must have been Candice. Long black hair? Sort of smelled like cinnamon?” You nodded and hummed in agreement. “I go by Bucky, but she likes calling me James.” “Alright, Bucky. Let me guess, Lira has wiggled her way underneath something.” He took a deep breath expanding his chest to the limits of his shirt, the outline proving he was, indeed, built. When he let go of the breath, his chest disappeared into his shirt and your hands desperately wanted to follow. “Ya, we were just chilling on the couch. I figured she was hungry, so I was feeding her some chicken when this storm hit and she scrambled into my room and under my bed. That was about twenty, thirty minutes ago. Here, I’ll get you a towel and my room is just down that hallway to the left. You can probably get her out.” He jogged off the opposite direction, and you were suddenly cold, but you made your way down the hall, ready to get your eyes on Lira. His room, along with the rest of his house, was generally well kept. There were some clothes on a chair, but the floors were spotless. You paused for a second in the doorway. A t.v., a desk with a laptop, and a few pictures were about all he had in there. “Here’s a towel.” The sudden voice behind you sent a jolt down your spin and a light squeak out of your throat. Bucky grabbed your elbow to steady you.He let out a short laugh, “Shit, doll, I didn’t mean to scare ya.” You let out a quick breath to steady your heart and shook your head, “My nerves are a little fried from today.” “I understand that.” He gave you the towel as he released each your arm. You wiped the water from your face and the ends of your hair as you made your way to the bed. “Lira?” You went to your stomach, and just on the other side was your fuzzy mess. “Hi, baby!” She let out a low whine and inched forward, stopping when thunder rolled in the distance. “Come on, Lira, let’s go home.” You pulled a soaked treat out from your pocket and that was it. She ended up in your lap, chomping down on her favorite treat, and you couldn’t help but let a single tear slip down your cheek. Bucky stayed propped up against the door frame, “You can either let me drive you home or borrow some of my dry clothes. You’re gonna get sick.” You glanced at the man and seriously debated your answer. “It’s been a long day. We should go home.” You all but whispered as you clipped her leash onto her harness. The three of you loaded up in his jeep and joked about how you had cursed him while looking for his house. “But, I did find your dog.” Bucky raised up his pointer finger as he parked in front of your apartment building. “Yes, you did.” You smiled as she slept in your lap. “I’m surprised she even came to you, let alone sat on your couch and ate chicken out of your hand. She was abused before I got her and doesn’t even trust my family. They don’t trust her.” “Maybe it was easy for me because I didn’t know. Sometimes knowing about the past affects the way you are around them.” You swiveled your head around to look at him, “Seriously, thank you.” Another one of his smirks broke across his cheek, “No problem. I do have one request though.” Amused, you leaned your head against the head rest, “I do owe you one.” He moved forward, “I want visiting rights.” You let out a laugh and rolled your eyes, “Of course, you can have visiting rights.”

#kaits5kauchallenge #buckyxreader #@bionic-buckyb

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