all the good things
pairing: bucky barnes x reader
summary: bucky's been more than a little happy recently. sam thinks it has something to do with the pretty girl on the team.
author's note: based on a prompt and idea sent in by a lovely anon of mine, "i haven't seen him smile like that in ages." hope u like it x
It was a stupid lie.
One that Sam thought would be funny and harmless and okay, maybe a little cruel, but harmless regardless.
It was supposed to be harmless.
Because Bucky never smiled like that. Never looked so happy.
And Sam noticed it.
He noticed it the morning they had to leave for Germany.
“Plane’s all loaded. Tony said he’ll meet us in Berlin. Everyone ready?”
Clint groaned, “We’ve been ready since your five a.m. wake up call, Rogers.”
“Why was that necessary again?” Natasha asked.
Steve narrowed his eyes, “You know why.”
“We’re not always late, Steve. Cut us some slack and Clint - Clint don’t you dare take my spot. This is like Moscow all over again —“
Sam zoned them out because he noticed Bucky standing there. Right by the door with his hands twitching and he knew something was up.
Something that involved a really pretty girl, dragging herself in all late with heavy, sleepy eyes. You looked like you hadn’t slept all night and something about it made Sam want to laugh.
He didn’t though.
He couldn’t.
Not when you dropped your head on Bucky’s chest like that.
Sam watched as his hands stopped twitching.
“‘m so tired.”
“Yeah? Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed up so late watching those reruns,” Bucky pointed out.
You grumbled something and Bucky laughed.
“I got her bag, man.” Sam interrupted.
Bucky looked over at him and nodded.
“I got her,” he quickly said, without thinking. “Got you, right, Y/N?”
“Mhm. Got me, Buck.”
Bucky smiled and Sam noticed that smile didn’t move from his face for a long time. A good twenty minutes. He didn’t know why he was paying attention to them so much. Maybe because he knew something was there. Something good was there between them and Sam liked when his friends had good things.
Even if those good things came during a ten hour plane ride.
“Alright, so Fury set us up in this hotel across the club. Tony said it gets pretty crazy around there, so going undercover will be no problem. However, we do need to watch out for these guys,” Steve handed out some profiles. “Ex-assassins. Pretty intense. Last Fury heard of ‘em they were in Chicago doing some high intel work for —“
You walked in, yawning and took a seat right next to Bucky. To everyone else, it seemed normal. You always sat next to Bucky and you always looked like that when you did. All bright-eyed and happy. Sam just didn’t know if the team knew what that was because they were too focused on Steve.
Sam focused on you though.
Focused on the way your head fell on Bucky’s shoulder and focused on the way Bucky moved his hand so you could look at the profiles together.
“Sleep well?” Bucky murmured.
“Yeah, yeah. Missed you though.”
Sam acted like he couldn’t hear them.
Like he hadn’t heard them.
But he had and he did and he needed to talk to Steve about it because he couldn’t be the only one noticing them, right? Everyone had eyes just like he did so they must have noticed.
They must have.
At least Steve would’ve.
“There’s something going on between them,” Sam tried explaining to Steve in the middle of the market. They were in some farmers market in the middle of Berlin. “I’m telling you, man, you —“
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Yeah, Bucky’s —“ Steve sighed. “He’s tryna figure it out. Doesn’t think he deserves her.”
Sam took a sip of his coffee.
“And you haven’t tried convincing him that he does? Just - just look at em’” he nudged his head over to you.
You were walking around the market with Bucky beside you. It looked like you were trying to keep an eye out, get a good glimpse of the area surrounding the club, but really couldn’t when one of the workers stopped you. Stopped to talk about some fruit he was serving and Bucky stopped too. Wrapped his arm around you from behind and rested his chin on your shoulder.
Sam knew he had to do something when you reached out and instinctively tangled your hand in Bucky’s hair. The worker said something that made you two laugh and Bucky turned his face into your neck to stop from laughing too much. From smiling too much.
“I haven’t seen him smile like that in ages.”
“Me too,” Steve agreed.
So Sam had to do something. He had too and alright, maybe he hadn’t gone about it the right way, but it got him where he wanted and that’s all that really mattered.
Sam swore he’d never seen Bucky so pissed off before though.
“Is she getting it?” Bucky asked.
They were at that stupid club. The one that was about to get ransacked by those ex-assassin assholes if they didn’t move fast enough. Bucky was at one end of the bar while you were at the other, trying to get some code from some German guy. Sam passed by to make sure things were going smoothly.
“Yeah, she’s trying too. He won’t stop flirting with her though.”
“Flirting?”
“Yeah.”
Sam watched as Bucky’s gaze fell.
“Is she flirting back?”
“Think so. Think she’s trying to get his number and code in one go. Pretty impressive if you ask me.”
Bucky’s fist clenched and Sam mentally praised himself. He shouldn’t have because yeah, he lied, but it was harmless, okay? And just because you weren’t flirting with stupid German guy didn’t mean he couldn’t lie about it because stupid American guy wasn’t making any moves either. So, getting him a little pissed wasn’t going to hurt anybody.
Except maybe the ex-assassin assholes who walked through the door. Sam believed Bucky knocked all five of them out in less than ten minutes.
Steve didn’t even have to come in and Clint and Natasha stayed on the roof. Tony too.
No one got hurt the entire night.
Except maybe Bucky.
And you because the next morning on the plane Bucky wouldn’t speak with you.
“Hey, Buck,” you greeted. “Someone didn’t come to my room last night to watch our reruns.”
Bucky didn’t respond.
“Buck?”
You looked at him.
“Hey, Buck, I’m talking to you.”
You tugged on his sleeve and he didn’t budge.
“Grumpy,” you teased. “Grumpy, hey, we don’t take off for another 10 minutes so why don’t stop staring out the window and look at me? Hm?”
“Don’t you have some German guy to text?’ Bucky shot back. “Real shame if he didn’t hear from you before you left the country.”
Bucky wanted to scoff. He wanted to scoff so bad.
“German guy? What German guy? Buck I —“
“Can’t even reply to my text when we’re one floor apart, but you’d do long-distance with him?”
“Long-distance? Who said anything about long distance and what German guy?”
You waited for him to say something and he didn’t.
“What German guy, Buck? And would you stop grumbling things under your breath and just look at me? Please.”
Your hand went to his jaw and you turned it to face you.
Bucky removed your hand from his skin.
You sighed and a part of you wanted to be irritated, it really did, but he was just upset. He looked really upset and you didn’t want to make him more upset, so you didn’t push. Not too much anyway but there was still a misunderstanding and you needed to fix it.
Now. You needed to fix it now.
So you got up and took a seat on his lap. Right on his thigh and rested your back on the window.
“That isn’t safe.”
You wrapped your arms around his neck, “Pretty sure I’m safer here than there. Don’t ya think?”
Bucky didn’t say anything.
You held back a grin.
“Now how about you tell me what’s got you all grumpy? Hm? I can see that little crinkle on your forehead and you know —“ you smoothed it out with your thumb. “You know how much I don’t like that.”
“Y/N…”
“I can’t fix it if you don’t talk to me, Buck. Communication, remember?”
He remembered.
“You could’ve told me you wanted to…see other people. I know we aren’t together and I know it’s stupid that I’m being like this and if you want to be with German guy than —“
“What German guy?”
Bucky looked away from you.
“What German guy, Buck? There was…is no German guy. There’s no one but —“
“That guy from the club. The one you were flirting with.”
You were taken aback for a moment and stayed quiet. Really, you didn’t know why you stayed as quiet as you did for as long as you did, but Bucky must’ve thought that he was right when you did. That your silence was an I caught you moment because he started moving you off his lap. Started unwrapping your arms from around his neck but you stayed put.
“I wasn’t flirting with him. I would never —“
Bucky scoffed.
And you’d be mad, you really would, but he was just hurt. He was hurt so you leaned forward and nudged your nose against his cheek. Against his stubble.
“Hey, grumpy, don’t do that. You know I’d only flirt with you.”
“Sam said —“
“And Sam jokes a lot. What makes you think he wasn't joking?”
Bucky didn’t say anything.
“You really think I’d do that to you?”
Bucky sighed, “No, no I know you wouldn’t. I guess it just —”
Sam cleared his throat and Bucky’s head shot to him. There was a smug grin on his face and Bucky immediately went, “I’m gonna kill him.”
“No you’re not.”
“I am. I can’t believe he would...you really...“
And he didn’t have to continue for you to know what he wanted to say. You really didn’t flirt with him? You really didn’t want him? It was written all over his face and all you had to do was tighten your arms around his neck. Card your fingers through the back of his hair for him to get the message.
His head fell on your chest.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“Am crazy about you, darlin’,” he looked up at you. “Just thought I lost you before I could make you mine.”
You stopped breathing.
“You wanna be mine, right?”
You blinked for a few seconds then pushed him back into the seat, kissing him a little too hard. Yeah, grumpy, I wanna be yours, you squeaked out because you were that excited. That giddy and Bucky laughed against your lips. Laughed and pressed his lips against that beautiful smile of yours even harder because he’d only been dreaming about kissing you like this for months. You even wanted to add that you’ve wanted to be his, well, since the first time you caught him watching reruns of that stupid baking show you always turned off.
Because to you it was too intense and fast and your life was already like that. Already too chaotic, but to Bucky it was calming. He found it calming so you started watching it with him.
She didn’t even leave it in the freezer long enough. How did she expect it to hold itself together? It’s chocolate, not glue, you’d always say. Always go on some tangent and Bucky really liked it. Found you funny and comforting and it really could've just been your voice. Your voice was sweet and smooth, but it wasn’t just that. It was you and all of you and he fell in love with all of it.
All of you.
Just like you fell in love with him when he rested his head on your shoulder and fell asleep right between you one night.
“Got me, Y/N?”
“Got you, Buck.”
So, the kiss felt like that. Like sleepy nights and baking shows and home and just everything good.
Sam could tell.
After all, he liked when his friends had good things.
Even if he had to make a few harmless lies to get them.
