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He shouldn’t have let Barton change his mind, but Barton had a good argument for him to do it. Bucky should have walked the other way when the archer asked if he could drive an “old-school” tractor. Watching the Barton Family Farm wasn't how he wanted to spend his vacation. Barton had to know more people that could house-sit and scare overconfident teenagers away than him.
He hated it here. And yes, Sam, he embraced Grumpy Cat as his spirit animal.
First, his flashlight gave up the ghost, and now it started raining. Didn’t get him wrong, he enjoyed her company, but he really considered if sitting in a cornfield at night in the rain was worth meeting the infamous Darcy Lewis. He should have asked Nat for a meeting with the astrophysicist. Owing her a favor looked more favorable than his current situation.
“Bucky, are you still there?” The com in his ear cracked to life. Her voice sounded concerned. He didn’t like it. He preferred her sarcastic tone.
“Yeah, doll. Don’t worry. Your little green men hadn’t abducted me. Only the batteries of my torch died.”
He heard her groan.
"Jokester. You and I both know aliens, and we both know that crop circles aren't their style. The circles have other causes."
"I know. I watched enough documentaries to know it’s people with too much time and too little else to do."
"Yeah, let's hope your documentaries were right, Bucky. Please, keep your eyes open. I want to catch the culprits that ruin Clint's harvest under our watch."
Okay, maybe sitting in a cornfield wasn't so bad. He finally got to meet Darcy Lewis. The stories he heard about her didn’t do her justice. Sadly Sam was right once again. Darcy and Steve should never be in the same room together, at least not alone. The world wouldn’t survive it, and Sam and he would have to clean up the mess those two made.
A noise brought his thoughts to a sudden hold. Click-Clack. Click-Clack. Bucky got up, listening. Where did it come from? Was that a green light he saw?
Suddenly, someone or something tipped him on the shoulder. He turned around, screaming into the brightly illuminated face that looked at him. Jumping back, he tripped and landed on his butt.
All this talk about crop circles and aliens the last two days wasn't good for him.
“Are you okay, Bucky?” Darcy took her headlamp off, looking concerned at him sitting on the ground. "Jamie Lee Curtis would be proud of your scream."
“God, doll. Don't spook an old man like that. Especially when I thought I saw something.” Bucky took the hand she offered and got off the ground. Not that he needed her help, but the skin contact helped calm him. He certainly still knew how to impress the ladies. "Who is Jamie Lee Curtis?"
The click-clack noise was back, interrupting their conversation.
They looked at each other before following the noise, seeing the green light again.
They stepped into a crop circle.
"That wasn’t there 5 minutes ago."
Wide-eyed, Darcy and Bucky looked around, desperately searching for the originator.
Bucky sniffed the air. "Does it smell like rum and raspberries? Didn't you tell me space would smell like raspberries because of the ethyl formate?"
“Yeah, the milky way definitely would.” Darcy investigated the bend crop when they heard giggling. At least it sounded like giggling to them.
"Hello! Anyone out there?"
Darcy barely finished her question when, out of nowhere, a green light raced skyward above their heads.
Darcy's forehead wrinkled, looking uncomfortably. "People with too much time and too little to do, eh?"
Bucky didn't know what to say. Sam was right again for the third time tonight. He would never tell him. It's always one of the big three, androids, aliens, or wizards.
He was ready for another vacation, best somewhere without crops and aliens.
Hidden in the cornfield a little further away, Loki pressed a finger over his lips, signaling his brother to be quiet. Thor had to press both hands over his mouth to keep the laughter in. Their reactions were worth it. Loki was right. Using the Bifrost wouldn’t have been that funny.