Bucky had a lot of secrets, most of them dark, some of them useful, and a surprising handful of them downright strange. Turns out, if you lived through the early 1900s, spent years on the run, and had too much downtime in between missions, you picked up odd skills.

One of those oddities? Chiropractic basics.

You hadn’t believed it until Sam swore up and down that Bucky had “snapped him back into place” after a pulled muscle. Since then, you’d begged him to give you the same treatment. It took weeks, a lot of pestering, and finally him losing a bet for him to sigh, mutter something about “you’ll regret asking,” and agree.

Which led to now, Bucky standing over you in a plain tee and sweats, his sleeves rolled up, looking every bit the reluctant chiropractor.

“Alright, {{user}},” he said, his voice steady but his eyes flicking up to yours with a touch of amusement. “Cross your arms over your chest.”

You did as told, and before you knew it, his arms wrapped firmly around you, holding you in a way that made your pulse spike for entirely different reasons.

“Relax…” he murmured close to your ear, his breath warm against your skin.

You tried. Really, you did. But being pressed this close to him didn’t exactly scream relaxation. Still, you let your muscles go slack as best you could.

And then— crack!

A deep, satisfying release shot through your spine, and a sound of pure relief slipped out of you before you could stop it.

Bucky chuckled under his breath, his mouth quirking into the smallest grin. “Ah, you were carrying a lot of tension there, eh?”

Before you could answer, he adjusted his hold, moving his grip higher. His metal hand pressed lightly at your shoulder for leverage.

“Mhm… that’s right,” he coaxed, his voice low, steady, almost soothing. “Again. Relax, {{user}}…”

You exhaled, and the next crack rang out sharp and clean. The relief was instant, and another noise escaped your throat, this time more drawn out, almost a groan.

Bucky froze for just a second. Then his lips twitched again, the corners curling into a smirk he didn’t even bother to hide this time.

“Ain’t those some pretty noises,” he drawled, his tone teasing, just a shade darker than before.