pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader, Coworkers to lovers
summary: You and the Captain are exposed to a heavy dose of sex pollen and he has to figure out a way to tell you.
warnings: Smut in later chapters, use of 'Y/N’, blood, horny thoughts
word count: 1.3k
“Easy, easy.” Steve tells you as he gingerly places you on the bed in the infirmary. The fluorescent lights blind you now that can no longer hide your face in the crook of your Captain’s neck.
You probably shouldn’t have done that, H.R might have some things to say about that if they ever found out.
“Thank you, Steve.” You eek out, squinting up at him.
“Don’t mention it.”
His uniform is caked in dust, maybe ‘caked’ is a bit much. You can still see the dark blue of it. Sweat has carved streaks through the fine dust at his temples. His hair, brown in the soft light of the residential suites of the compound, is now a stark blond. The traitorous fluorescent lights must be shining through it. He looks like he’s got a halo. Your hero has a halo.
You’re staring at him. You quickly avert your gaze and look around the sterile room to keep yourself busy.
Steve’s deep voice cuts through your embarrassment, “Doctor Cho.”
Dr. Helen Cho briefly takes the both of you in and lets out a heavy sigh. The sight of you in this bed with your Captain at your side is a familiar sight.
“Captain. Agent.” She snaps on a pair of blue latex gloves.
“Doctor.” You hope that that’ll put an end to the civilities, because your suit is starting to fuse itself to your sweat soaked compression garments. The sooner you can get checked out, the sooner you can have a nice, hot, luxurious shower. You can smell your body wash already.
“What happened?” Doctor Cho asks before she flashes a piercing white light directly into your pupils. Ouch.
“A building fell on us.” You answer through gritted teeth. You raise your right hand to cover your eyes when Cho moves onto palpating you all over, checking for broken bones.
“No, that’s not what happened at all.” Concern colors Steve’s voice.
“Well, what the hell happened then?” You remove your hand from your face and see that there’s blood on the palm of your hand. Was that there before? You reach for your face again but Steve gently restrains your hand before you can finish your investigation.
“Don’t touch that. A rogue hydra agent bashed you in the head with the butt of his rifle. You don’t remember that?”
“No. I guess not.”
Steve averts his gaze from you and looks to Dr.Cho.
Cho moves to your left side and swipes a rough alcohol pad on the inside of your left arm. She inserts a tiny needle into a vein and places a small strip of adhesive to hold the needle in place. You watch her screw the end of the I.V into the tube leading up to the saline bag at your head.
“She might have a slight concussion. We’ll have to keep her overnight for observation.” She explains casually, cleaning up her station as she goes. If she’s not worried then there’s no reason that you should be either.
“Whatever you think is best, doctor.” Steve says.
Cho rips open another tiny packet and gingerly swipes at your face. The room grows so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. You can’t even hear Steve breathing at your side. He gently squeezes your hand, watching Cho with the eye of a hawk. You hadn’t even realized that he was still holding your hand. But now that you have, your fingers start to tingle. He must have your blood on him. You can see that the blood on his neck is yours and not his like you initially thought.
Damn, you’re going to have to get him something special for Christmas this year. You feel a surge of guilt at having given him a last minute gift last year: A mug from your personal collection.
“Wait, if a building didn’t fall on us then why are you covered in dust?” You raise a shaky hand and childishly point to his soiled uniform. He briefly glances down at himself as if for the first time.
“Oh, I threw my shield at the man that clubbed you and this gas canister that he had on him exploded. Don’t worry about it.” Steve gingerly brushes the top layer of dust off.
“Are you okay?” You try to read the truth in his eyes before he has a chance to school his features. In your Captain’s eyes, he has an obligation to worry about everyone, but no one should dare concern themselves with his well being.
“I’ll be alright, doll-agent. You just focus on getting better.” He pats your hand in the most platonic manner possible and gently lays it by your side.
“I’m going to go up to your room and bring you some clean clothes and toiletries.” Steve awkwardly clears his throat. No, he’s tired. He gets twitchy when he’s tired. That one took you a while to figure out.
“That’s okay, ‘Cap, Nat can do that. You should go shower 'cause I’ve taken up too much of your time as it is.”
Don’t think of him showering. Don’t. That’s unprofessional. Don’t think about hot water cutting rivulets through his abs, dripping it’s way down, down, down…
You shake the dirty thoughts out of your head and give Steve the most innocent smile you can muster.
“Right...Doctor. Cho, keep me updated on her.” His voice is back to being authoritative and detached, and you feel a little colder.
“Yes, Captain.” Cho throws over her shoulder while she flits around you.
Steve turns at the door to give you one last look before nodding to himself and striding out.
A moments of silence passes between you and doctor Cho, you try not to think about how your hand is still tingling.
“He’s quite attentive.” Cho whispers to you.
“Hm?” You return your gaze to the restless doctor.
“Captain Rogers, he cares about you. He looked sick with worry”
Your heart flip flops in your chest, “Well,” you pick at a hangnail “he cares about all of us. He’s a good leader in that way. I couldn’t ask for a better Captain.”
“I’ve never seen him carry anyone else in here.” She opens up a packet of butterfly band-aids and reaches for your head wound.
Steve has carried other people into the infirmary. You can swear that he has.
“Well, I’m more clumsy than anyone else on the team so…” That was pathetic. An awkward, half-assed chuckle escapes you.
“You have a temperature.” Cho announces.
You almost get whiplash from the change in conversation but you’re grateful that you don’t have to continue down that line of questioning.
“Is that normal?” You wonder
She moves to the foot of your bed and picks up your chart to note something down.
“Not usually. I’m not sure that you even have a concussion.” She looks up at you, “How are you feeling?”
You look within your body and find that, overall, you feel completely fine. Other than the sore spot on your forehead, all is well. You don’t even feel feverish.
“I’m good.” You chirp. “As a matter of a fact, I feel great! I feel like I can run a mile.”
You sit up in your bed but the room starts to dim, so you lay your ass back down.
“Okay, maybe a half mile.”
Cho hides a snicker behind her hand, “We’ll keep you overnight for sure. I’ll schedule an MRI for you in the morning, just to be on the safe side, but I think that you should be fine.” She places your chart back into its slot and removes her latex gloves.
“Okay. Thank you, Dr.Cho. And…if Ste-Captain Rogers comes by…” You trail off, not sure how to finish that sentence.
“I’ll let my team know that he’s on your visitors’ list.” She winks at you before swiftly leaving the room.
You curl onto your side and try not to feel too embarrassed.
pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader, Coworkers to lovers
summary: You and the Captain are exposed to a heavy dose of sex pollen and he has to figure out a way to tell you.
warnings: Smut in later chapters, use of 'Y/N’, blood, horny thoughts
word count: 1k
Previous Chapter
Steve’s POV
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, what a day. I thought that we would be back home by lunch time, but when was the last time things went the way I expected them to?
The compound is silent, all of its residents either asleep or out having lives. Something that I should look into. Probably. I wonder if Cho has any updates for me. Where is my phone? I can never seem to keep it from wandering off on me. Would Cho text me with an update, or would she call? A call feels more appropriate.
“Hey, Punk.” A voice greets out. I flick the light switch and find Bucky rising from the couch, his pajamas wrinkled up. He must’ve been sleeping out here again.
“Hey, Buck, I can’t really talk. I gotta hit the showers and go check on Y/N.”
“What happened? Is she alright?” Concern colors his face and I feel a little guilty for trying to run out on him.
“No, she’s fine. Doctor Cho thinks that she might have a slight concussion, so they’re keeping her overnight.”
I unzip my uniform down the center and a small puff of dust floats into the air, until it reaches my nose and I have no choice but to let out a forceful sneeze.
“Woah, woah! What is that?” Bucky’s alarmed tone pulls all of my attention away from locating a Kleenex for myself. I have never known him to raise his voice like that. I can see him take a tiny step backward.
“It’s just some residue from an exploded oxygen tank.” Now that I have given voice to my suspicion it sounds ridiculous. I have no way of knowing that it was an oxygen tank. I didn’t even get a good look at it before it exploded…
“Did you touch anyone?” Bucky takes another step backward and I can feel a private panic start to rise in my chest.
“Is it poisonous? Deadly? Buck, please tell me it’s not deadly.” I can’t help but reach for him but he bounds into a back flip over the couch. That was unnecessary. He stands to his full height, now halfway across the room, and schools his face into a neutral expression. That’s never good.
“Just answer the question, Steve. Did. You. Touch. Anyone?”
“Y/N…I had no choice, I had to carry her out of the building. Is that bad? Will she be okay?”
Bucky scores his fingers through his hair and blows out a sharp exhale.
Did I kill her? I should go check on her right now, because if it’s bad news for me…”
“I have to go.” I zip up my uniform and go to grab my keys. Where are my damn keys?
“Steve! It’s not deadly, Y/N will live. But, buddy you’ve been dosed with,” He clears his throat, averts his gaze, “sex pollen. And now Y/N has been too and prolonged physical contact after exposure causes…a sort of, um…”
He’s at a loss for words. I’m at a loss for words. Sex pollen. Y/N and I have been exposed to fucking sex pollen.
“A sort of what, Buck?” I can’t feel my feet anymore.
“Bond. And the pollen is stronger if you’re bonded. With your pre-existing, shall we say, feelings? I imagine that the effect will be magnified tenfold.”
Tenfold.
Bucky plops himself on the couch, his head in his hands. I don’t even have the energy to do the dance of denying my feelings for Y/N right now. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.
“How do I fix it?” I hear the words echo through the room and my throat sticks to itself when I try to swallow down my panic.
“You have to...you and Y/N have to…you know.” He does a vulgar gesture with both of his hands and all the blood in my body rushes to my face. I unzip my uniform again and take it all the way off. The damn thing was suffocating me.
Y/N and I have to have sex or else we’ll…
“What will happen if we don’t…?” I repeat the vulgar hand gesture.
“Oh, you don’t want to find out, Steve.” Bucky rises from his seat and takes a tentative step towards me.
“Damn it, just tell me!” I shouldn’t yell, why did I yell? Bad Captains yell. I should apologize. Where’s Y/N? I should find her, make sure that she smells as delectable as I remember. My dick twitches at the thought of feeling the heat radiate off of her neck, warming my face before I run my tongue up her neck to her ear. I wonder what she tastes like.
“Steve. Steve! Steve! Focus on me, bud. If you two don’t…take each other to pound town,” we both wince at the word, “sorry, heard it as soon as it came out. If you two don’t…you’ll spend two weeks being deliriously horny. When it happened to me—God this is embarrassing—I fucked every person that I made eye contact with for longer than 5 seconds. Hydra made sure to keep the person I had bonded with away from me. I tore down the facility looking for him but…By the time I came down from the drug, I had lost 40 pounds from all of the…cardio.” His voice trailed off.
I let all of the information sink in.
“Jesus Christ, Buck. That can’t happen!” I’m yelling again, damn it.
“I know, which is why you need to talk to Y/N ASAP. You’ll probably want some privacy while you two…work this out.” Buck smacks his teeth and rocks back and forth on his heels, his hands tucked into his armpits.
I have to tell Y/N that we have to have sex. I’m sure that’ll go over well. “Hey Y/N, it’s me, your, Captain. Listen, I need you to put your hot little mouth on my cock and suck until I cum down your throat. Then I need you to lay in my bed and let me hear all the different sounds you make while I fuck you to tears.”
My God, these compression pants are restrictive.
Bucky snaps his fingers in my face and draws me out of my reverie.
“Steve, did you just have a nasty day dream about Y/N? Because if so then that means that the clock is ticking. You gotta move, bud. Now.”
Summary: He was always there, a deadly presence that would remind you of your place in this world. What will become of you when you are forced to live and work with the man of your nightmares?
Pairings: Bucky Barnes X Reader
Word Count: 4,532 ( I got carried away)
Warnings: language, angst, major character death, suicide, drinking, VERY sad Bucky
A/N It’s the end of the line guys, the final part of ‘Sweetheart’, it’s bittersweet for one, because this journey has been a long one, but it’s my longest series as of today and I'm quite proud of it. I hope you guys enjoyed the ride. My asks are open! as are my requests!
Part 11 Part 12
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You couldn’t breathe, your lungs were shriveling up for sure, perhaps you never really knew how to breathe to begin with. The sweat from your forehead was running down into your eyes, stinging them, forcing you to furiously rub your eyes. You chuckled when you remembered Sam getting you that hideous outdated head band for you, you had laughed and crinkled your nose at the puke green color. It would be mighty handy as of now.
You clutched your chest as you stared at the deep red wrestling mat underneath your sneakers, you couldn’t hear yourself gasping for air, the overhead speakers that were blasting DMX drowned out your choked breaths. You tried to remember all the tactics Tony had taught you, take a deep breath in, count to three, then exhale, do that again and again and again and again, until you can hear something other than your own heart beating.
You tried to take a deep breath but it was interrupted by a choked hiccup. At this point, you began to freak out, you couldn’t do this, perhaps you were having a heart attack and stupid fucking breathing techniques were useless. Your back hit the cushioned mat, were the gym lights always this bright? Was there always this ringing sound that made you feel like your head was going to explode? Everything was turning into this huge blur of confusion
Then Bucky was there, surely this was a dream, but he never looked this distressed, he was shouting at you and you’ve never been more confused. Why did he look so scared?
“....Y/N! Hey! Sweetheart you’ve gotta get up” Bucky shouted, you could hear him
“What?” You whispered and he looked beyond relieved
“Don’t ever do that to me again” he sighed, pulling you into a sitting position, pressing your head against his chest where you could hear his heart hammering away,
“Bucky, what happened?” you asked, fisting his shirt in your hands as he clutched on you
“You were having a panic attack, I was in the kitchen when Friday told me you were hyperventilating”
You stared ahead in confusion, you don’t remember what could’ve possibly triggered the attack. You were focused on the punching bag in front of you. A mantra replaying itself over and over in your head.
Jab. Jab. Kick. Breathe
Jab. Jab. Kick. Breathe
The whole monotony of the exercise gave your mind reprieve and, unfortunately, enough emptiness for it to wander to your childhood. You could only remember the death murder of your parents. You had been trying so hard to remember something from when you were a child, before Hydra got their grubby hands on you. Before you became damaged goods.
Bruce’s words were now echoing in your mind. “She’ll begin to forget things, from her earliest memories to her most recent ones, until..”
“I’m forgetting, Bucky” You whispered, your voice sounding the smallest it could possibly be
“Shhh, it’s ok, baby, I got you” he was rocking you back and forth, holding you so tight, as if that would keep all the pieces of you from shattering apart. And for awhile it worked.
Until you both realized he couldn’t hold you every second of every day, but god bless his soul, did he try.
You managed to convince him to let you go on a mission without him. It was fine until towards the end of the mission, when you forgot half of your training and managed to get yourself shot in the gut.
That’s what it took for Bucky to ‘Condemn’ you from going on any more missions. You would never tell him that the reason you stopped going on missions was because you wanted to spend some quality time with him before your time was up. Bucky went on about two more missions before he decided that spending time with you was more important than bashing heads in.
For Now
Tony & Steve were reluctant to give him time off. They had asked him to file a report, asking for the time off and how long he’d be off for. He gave them an unimpressed look, still clad in his uniform, he was tired and sticky, all he wanted to do was see you and hear you laugh.
“I need the time off because my girlfriend is dying and I’ll return when she’s back on her feet” His words were cold and blunt, they hung heavily in the air after he slammed the door shut behind him.
When he got to the room, you were asleep. You had been sleeping a lot lately, you were always tired. But when you were awake, Bucky would just talk for hours, sometimes you would laugh and sometimes you would cry when you realized how much he meant to you, how lucky you were to have found the gem that is James Buchanan Barnes. By now, the memory deletions came with a searing migraine, leaving you on your knees, clutching your head and screaming until the veins in your face felt like they were going to burst.
The pain reminded you of the chair
The first time it happened, you were making fun of Bucky’s man bun while he poured you both a glass of cherry wine. He spilled the drinks on his grey sweater before dropping the glass on the tiles beneath him when he saw you shaking and crying on your knees.
After that, he got even more protective of you, if that was even possible. Wanda had suggested that you both take a vacation for yourselves after she’d noticed the tension in Bucky’s movements and the dark bags underneath your eyes.
You both agreed, reluctantly, planning to spend two weeks in Vienna. Doing snobbish things and going on ‘vampire hunts’. Before you both left for the airport, you were convinced that you had left the oven on. You left Bucky in the car, telling him you’d be back in two shakes.
After 5 minutes of waiting impatiently in the car, Bucky decided to check out what the hold up was, he found you in the kitchen, on the ground, convulsing uncontrollably. Bruce had told him that this could be a possibility in this whole...process.
He doesn’t know when he freaked out more, when you were seizing or when you went still, all your muscles going slack. He thought he lost you, right then and there. He’s a highly trained assassin, he could lie his way into hundreds of situations, he can kill a man without as much as a second thought, but in that moment, he was a little boy.
He was weak
He had absolutely no clue on what to do. He was too panicked to see your chest rising and falling. Luckily, Sam wanted to drop off a parting gift for the both of them, when he arrived he saw their car in the driveway, both the front doors open and the engine still running, the door to the house was open and he could hear quick rambling, it sounded like Bucky but he couldn’t be sure.
“Y/N, please don’t do this” Bucky was talking so fast it was hard to understand what he had said
Sam used his CPR training he had learned, while Bucky called an ambulance. You didn’t wake up for three days, each day that went by, the doctors got more and more nervous walking into your room, working under the scorching glare of a stressed Winter Soldier was unsettling, to say the least.
After you woke up, you avoided the topic like the black plague, like you didn’t know you were getting worse, you were tired of hearing about Bruce’s progress on finding an antidote for you.
You had given up hope
They kept you in the hospital for another day, keeping you under a watchful medical eye. When nightfall came, things went from bad to worse. You had a heart attack at 3:43 A.M then you flat lined at 5:22 A.M, your body was failing and there was nothing anyone could do for you. Bucky was still holding out hope, putting all of his faith on Bruce.
When the doctors told you that there wasn’t much they could do, other than making you comfortable, you wanted to go home, you didn’t want to die in such an impersonal place, you wanted to die in your home. You knew wanting Bucky to be with you in your last moments was extremely selfish, you can’t imagine having to watch him wither away right in front of you, but you needed him.
Just as much as he needs you.
The more time had passed, the more Bucky wanted to spend it with you.
He decided to spend every waking moment with you when he came back from a grocery trip to find you in bed. You were asleep of course, but he didn’t know that, you were so pale and your frame was thin, you hadn’t been eating much lately and it showed, it seems that you had lost your appetite. Your fingers were so cold, his heart fell to the floor, he thought he had lost you while was out grabbing some fucking yogurt.
That was until he heard your annoyed voice, questioning why he was clutching your hand so tight.
“Bucky, I like having all my bone unfractured” you croaked, your voice rough from sleep. He stared at you, dumbfounded, and glad before he loosened his grip on your hand.
After you spent days in bed, staring at the ceiling, writing letters to Bucky for after you were gone, then gave them to Natasha for safe keeping, giving her specific instructions for when to pass them off to Bucky.
Natasha didn’t cry when she clutched the letters in her hand, standing by your bedside, avoiding any eye contact with you.
“Nat, hey, look at me” you begged lightly
She met your gaze and her emerald eyes were shining with unshed tears, no words were exchanged.
They weren’t needed
She crawled into bed with you and you held her until she was asleep, well you tried, you fell asleep before her and when you woke, she was gone, replaced by your boyfriend.
You decided that since you could remember Hydra’s top secrets, what with being their hard drive and all, that you would tell everything you knew to Fury, one last kick in the balls to those fuckers. Bucky would sit in on these sessions, holding your hand and making sure you were ok throughout the whole process. On the way back home, you requested he stop by the park near your house, wanting to get some fresh air
“Buck” you breathed, after you both sat down on a weathered down wooden bench, facing the river
“Y/N” he chuckled sarcastically, holding your hand
You chuckled and tucked a stray piece of hair behind his ear, smoothing your hand over the thick beard on his jaw
“I’m so glad to have met you, James” you smiled at him, truly admiring everything that was James Buchanan Barnes, his frame was slimmer, he hadn’t been working out, ever since you went to the hospital, his blue eyes sadder than you would prefer. The bags under his eyes were giving yours a run for their money. You haven’t seen him sleep in a long time, you fell always fell asleep before him and he was always awake when you opened your eyes every morning.
The first few times you caught him staring, you complained, telling him how creepy it was, but you stopped commenting when you realized that you felt safe sleeping when you knew he was looking over you
“Y/N…” he groaned, already knowing what you were going to say, he’s been avoiding this
“No, you listen, and you listen good” you demanded, putting your foot down, you just needed to get this out.
“You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, I may not remember much, but I do remember what you mean to me, and everyday you show me what I mean to you, in the way you remind me about such minute things, things that would surely aggravate someone else.”
He laughed at that and you smiled at the sight, having gone a long while without seeing the deep dimples that only appeared when he truly smiled
“And I appreciate you thinking that I’m worth all of this heartache, and confusion, I want to say thank you for loving me, even though I know I’m not the easiest person to love”
There were silent tears, rolling down your cheeks, you weren’t sure if they were happy tears or not, you’re just happy to have spent any time in the presence of this man. He put his hands on the sides of your face, swiping both his thumbs over your cheeks, wiping the tears away
“Every moment I’ve spent with you is a taste of heaven, there’s no better love, than your arms, there isn’t a line I wouldn’t walk for you, I’ll hold your hand when the thunder comes rumbling through” He whispered, his breath fanning over your face, before he planted a lingering kiss on your forehead. You shut off all your senses and just felt his presence, the warmth he radiated, his faint scent, the security and love he provided so freely.
“I love you, Y/N”
After that, you both retreated back home, he made a bowl of popcorn while you were washing your face up. You laid in bed and waited for him to return, the book he had been reading to you the past few weeks in your hand, you both agreed on just reading two chapters a night.
When he came back, he offered you the popcorn, which you politely declined and waited patiently while he did a run through of his nightly routine. After he was finally done, you cuddled up to him, your shins tangling with his as you put your cheek to his bare chest.
“Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”
He read an excerpt, truly you didn’t know what the book was bout, you just spent this time listening to his voice and running your fingers over the smooth expanse of his chest, occasionally you would brush your fingers over the metal hand that was holding the book up.
“Baby, are you even listening?” Bucky laughed, as you hadn’t noticed that every other word he said was ‘butthead’
“Hmm? Yea of course” You lied, giving him your best puppy eyes as to distract him from your lack of attention for the book
“Do you want me to continue?” He asked, turning to you fully, you weren’t done enjoying the sound of his voice, and to be honest you weren’t sure if you ever would.
“Yes please!”
He gave your temple a kiss before continuing
It was getting harder to pay attention, even to the sound of his voice, his voice sounded far away in a tunnel, and your eyes were so heavy. You couldn’t feel your toes, and the rest of your legs quickly followed.
It was happening.
“I love you, Bucky” You said lightly, that was the first time you said it.
The last time you said it.
He didn’t pull his attention away from the book, when he squeezed you closer and whispered it back into your hair
“Nowadays most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes.”
He continued
He kissed you goodnight when he noticed that you had fallen asleep, the same as you always did. When he woke up, he shook your leg to wake you up, but you didn’t, he supposed he could let you sleep in for another hour while he ran around and did his morning routine. After he was done brushing his teeth and washing his face, he popped two slices in the toaster for your morning toast.
It was time to wake you up.
“Y/N, hey, baby wake up, you can’t sleep all daaaay” He teased, pecking your face with kisses, he frowned when you didn’t even stir
“Hey” He shook your shoulder
Nothing
Ok, no need to panic, although it was terrifying, this wasn’t the first time he thought you had died. So he did the little checklist he made up in his head for time like this
Feel your hands.
They were cold, but your hand were always cold, that’s why you would call him your personal space heater.
Check your breathing
Nothing
Feel for a pulse
Nothing
Ok.
Now it was time to panic
“Y/N!” He shouted, shaking your shoulders, you weren’t waking up
Surely, he was just panicking again and you would wake up, groggy and annoyed with him.
You had to
He tried everything to wake you up, but nothing was working
You were gone.
He felt like he was going to throw up, he couldn’t stand the thought, much less the sight of you, lying so still. He stumbled out of the room, he didn’t know where he was going, but he had to get out of there. He ran into Steve. Who was quite confused.
“Hey, Buck, what’s going on?” Steve inquired, his voice was too light for his liking, didn’t he know the pain that Bucky was in?
Bucky was mumbling and stuttering something under his breath
“What? I can’t understand you” Steve moved in, placing his hand on Bucky’s shoulder
“DON’T, Touch me!” He roared, causing Steve to take a couple of steps backward
He then went back to mumbling fast under his breath, the same as a mad man who hadn’t had his daily pills that keep him right
“She’s gone. she’s gone. she’s gone”
“Bucky, what’s going on?” Steve was growing more worried by the second, he hadn’t seen him this bad since...since his first days out of the hands of Hydra, this was bad. Where was Y/N? They’ve been attached at the hip for what seems forever now. Steve put two and two together, Bucky’s new ascension into madness and Y/N’s absence.
He didn’t want to leave Bucky alone, not like this, but he had to make sure that his prediction was wrong, that you had actually made a miraculous full recovery over night and everything could go back to normal. But the more he looked at Bucky, the more ridiculous that thought seemed.
He ran to your room, just to make sure you were okay, he would come back to Bucky before he even noticed that he was gone. When he got there, your blankets were a mess and it almost seemed like you were drowning in the heaps of sheets. If you were alive, the commotion would’ve woken you up for sure. He pushed that thought to the side. You looked so pale, oh so pale, you were fragile he could see, it was in this moment that he realized how truly sick you were, because you’re such a strong woman, it’s hard to imagine you so vulnerable, so small.
He knew.
He lost one of his friends, and he doesn’t know if Bucky will ever be ok after this.
Just when he thought about Bucky, a gut wrenching scream could be heard through all the floors of the compound. Everyone could feel it in their bones, that a part of him just died. He screamed and cried until Sam found him on the roof, worried that his friend would permanently damage his vocal chords. He refused to come down. Even when it started raining, fat heavy drops falling onto his head. It felt fitting. The sky was crying along with him, mourning your loss together with him.
He didn’t come down when his stomach began grumbling, he didn’t come down when he started shaking from the cold, he didn’t come down when he ran out of tears, he didn’t come down when the sun started stinging the skin of his shoulders.
So the team tranquilized him and dragged him back inside, it required a team effort getting him inside.
He didn’t talk for the longest time, he was so absent it felt like they had lost Bucky too. He never joined them for team bonding, but he did throw himself into the missions he went on. With no regard to his own safety, he turned himself into a killing machine, the job would get done faster that way. So he could go home and lie in bed, smelling your clothes and crying when he wondered if he had done enough for you, if he could’ve said ‘I love you’ more, if he could’ve given you more back massages.
There was a knock at his door, but he didn’t have the energy to get up and talk to anyone.
“Y/N wrote these for you, and instructed you to open them according to how much time had passed since her...she really wanted you to have these” Natasha’s voice echoed through the door.
His interest was piqued when he heard your name, after he heard her footsteps retreating, he went to the door to find 3 letters , all of them with your handwriting on them.
3 Days, 3 Months, 3 Years
He opened the one that said 3 days, his hands moving slowly, afraid to damage the neat envelope they were encased in.
James,
Oh my dear, sweet, James
I am so sorry you are reading this, because that means I’m gone
I want you to know, that in no way are you at fault for this, there is nothing more you could’ve done, you did everything in your power. You made me feel happy, you made me feel confident, and most important of all, you made me feel loved.
Something I never thought I deserved, but you were so selfless to give it to me, and I was more than happy to indulge myself in your surreal presence.
While our love was short lived, though I could spend an eternity loving you and still believe it wasn’t enough time, you make me selfish Bucky, all I wanted was you and I got my wish, and I can’t thank you enough.
Thank you for letting me love you so carelessly, but most of all, thank you for loving me back so selflessly.
You deserve the world
Love, Y/N
He stared at the letter for what felt like hours, he could hear you saying these words, he could feel your warm breath tickling his ear. His knees gave out under him and he landed flat on his ass, his back to the foot of the bed. He stared at the letter until his eyes stung, observing every single stroke of every letter, imaging you writing this with your favorite pen, the one you always kept with you, although you usually made Bucky carry it in his pocket when you went out.
He put the letter on the dresser, he wanted to read what the other ones said, but he was devoted to honoring your wishes. He turned the light off in habit, not because he was actually expecting to go to sleep.
3 Months later
By now he was speaking, very minimally, only enough to get the message across. Small talk was completely lost on him, he didn’t want to waste any time on mindless conversation.
Your funeral was coming up.
He knew it would happen eventually
But, burying you meant that you were truly gone.
It took awhile to plan your funeral because the government had came in a week after your passing, claiming that they had a right to use you for experiments and what not. Some bullshit about advancing in all the fields of science. They had been in a huge legal battle and for the meantime, your body was lying in a morgue.
He decided that he wasn’t going to go, it was all too real, after a large argument with Steve, he began to second doubt his choice. If you were here, you would probably slap him upside the head for not being there to make sure that Vision called you ‘One Bad Bitch’
He went, but he was at a distance, far enough to make sure that Vision went through with the promise he had made to you one night during a party. After he heard that, he left, he couldn’t stand to see you lowered into the ground. He couldn’t just stand by and watch while they threw dirt over his whole world. He drank his way through Tony’s stash, he was tired of thinking all the time, he was tired of being so present during his own pain.
After his 5 bottle of whiskey, he realized he could open your second letter, he grabbed two bottles of vodka before making his way to the bedroom. It was right where he had left it.
Bucky,
Not to sound self-absorbed but it must have been a tough couple of months-
He scoffed at your gross understatement
“You could say that” He mumbled before taking another gulp of the bottle
You better not be drinking, I swear to god, I will come back and haunt you myself. Please don’t ruin everything you are, I know the grief is over bearing right now. But please don’t rob the world of your presence
I got to enjoy it and I’m sure there is someone else out there that, deserves you, just as much as I needed you.
You’re important Bucky
The world is heavy on your shoulders right now, but it won’t always be that way
I love you
Y/N
God he missed you so much
He just wanted to be with you, he wanted to hold you again, he wanted to make love to you again, to feel your skin against his, he wanted to hear your voice.
He just wanted to be with you again.
He put the card on his dresser, he sat on the edge of the bed, deep in thought as he clutched the bottle of his reprieve in his hand.
He could be with you
These thoughts hadn’t made themselves present ever since Steve found him, at least they weren’t as strong, and when he met you, there was absolutely no reason to have them.
He grabbed the pistol out of his nightstand drawer
This was his only way back to you, this was his only way to end his suffering, to finally get some rest.
Through the tower it was quiet, everyone was at the wake, for a moment, you could hear a pin drop.
Then a loud sound of a gun being fired echoed through the tower, the sound ringing through out the space, until the silence overpowered the tower again.
He could be with you once more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
A/N IM SO SORRY, but what's in that last letter though? Tell me if you want to know what the last letter said
Summary: Bucky falls in love with the wrong person, and people end up getting hurt.
Word Count: 1, 501
Pairings: Bucky X Reader (In future parts)
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I huffed out a breath as I plopped myself down onto the plush cushion, picking up ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Apparently it’s “an American classic, you uncultured swine”, as Tony so eloquently put it. Who wouldn’t read it after that compelling argument?
“Scout, you piece of shit” I muttered quietly as I followed along with the main character’s adventures
“Dude, do you HAVE to react to everything you read?” Sam groaned, slamming the newspaper he was reading onto his lap
I mocked him in a childish voice before returning my attention to the book.
Ten minutes passed by in silence, with the occasional rustling of paper and me sighing in annoyance when things didn’t go the way I had hoped they would
“You fellas haven’t happened to see a flying squirrel in here, have you?” Tony asked, strolling in fully suited up in one of his newer suits, his face the only part of his body showing. He seemed to be holding in a laugh.
“A what now?” I wondered, completely bewildered and curious
“A flying squirrel that’s…..about….human size” he snorted, looking around the room in search of this nightmarish creature
Sam & I looked at each other, confused out of our minds at what the hell this man was on about this time, before either of us could respond, I heard the ceiling crack before someone fell through. Pieces of the ceiling crumbling around them, they were wearing a dark grey suit, one similar to Natasha’s but this one had flappy fabric underneath the arms….similar to that of a...flying squirrel.
“Tony, I think I found who you were looking for” Sam announced, looking at the person on the floor before looking back to Tony, who was slowly backing out of the room, staring intently at the body, which started groaning and moving, displacing the rubble around them.
“Y/N” Tony whispered, not moving from his spot
The person who I now assume is named Y/N, froze, going completely still
Tony started taking slow deliberate steps backwards, within seconds, Y/N is on her feet.
“Stark, you son of a bitch!” She yelled, speeding after the billionaire who was now making his way towards one of the many windows, he jumped through one, the sound of glass echoed through the room, briefly followed by some very loud cursing before the girl jumped out after him.
Sam & I stared at the window before looking at each other, shrugging, and returning to our respectable pieces of literature.
*2 Weeks Later*
“Everyone be on your best behaviors, these are really cool people & I don’t need you guys fucking around” Pepper announced as she flattened out a cow lick in Tony’s hair
“Is that why we’re wearing these monkey suits?” I asked as I loosened the ridiculous bow tie I was wearing.
Unfortunately, Pepper noticed me do this and she immediately made her way over to me and tightened it, much to my displeasure.
“You all look nice, now stop fussing” She scolded, straightening out invisible wrinkles on her dress that would probably cost a year’s worth of groceries for the team (i.e. A LOT).
Before anyone else could complain, there was a knock at the door, springing Pepper into action.
“They’re here!” She squealed like a schoolgirl
“I didn’t know Pepper could hop, I just thought that was a thing her body wasn’t capable of doing” Sam whispered in my ear, making me snort aloud
We all lined up like good little ducks, a few feet behind her, grumbling amongst ourselves while we still could.
She opened the door to reveal a tall man, thick scruff coated his jaw, black glasses that framed his eyes, thick black hair that sat perfectly on his head, the slight breeze from outside allowed me to smell his cologne without moving an inch, he smells of a smoked maple wood with a hint of lavender. I quit evaluating him the moment I realized I was doing it.
He handed the bouquet of assorted flowers over to Pepper before giving her a kiss on the cheek, which caused a light blush to crawl over her cheeks, I could see Tony grinning at the guy before giving him a tight hug.
I smiled as best as I could when giving him a handshake, he moved down the line, giving handshakes and cheek kisses as he went
“Where is she?” Pepper asked as she peeked outside, presumably looking for the missing guest.
“She saw some flowers she thought you guys would like” The man who’s name I have yet to learn announced, a small smile on his face
Just then, the woman in question rushed in, slightly out of breath, clutching a couple of sky blue roses in her left hand
“I’m sorr- Iiiii’m over dressed” She huffed as she looked down at her sundress and to everyone else who (in my opinion) were unnecessarily overdressed
“Sweetheart, I told you it was formal” the man whispered lovingly, giving the woman a brief forehead kiss before leading her toward us
“Yea, well, I wanted you to be wrong” She whispered back
“I’m Alfonso Herrera, but my friends call me Alfie, and this-” He looked at the woman again
“Is the love of my life, Y/N”
“Holy shit! YOU’RE ceiling girl!?” I found myself questioning...loudly
“Holy shit!” We thought we’d never know what you looked like!” Sam joined in, being the only person to have witnessed that event
“Ceiling….girl?” Y/N asked, tilting her head slightly, a look of realization crossed her face when she realized what we were referencing to.
“Oh man! You guys saw that?” She shook her head, seemingly a bit embarrassed at this newfound information
“Yea, you’re a total badass B T dubbs” Sam announced, giving her shoulder a light punch, this got her to giggle & tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“Oh! Before I forget” Y/N laughed, ripping a rose in half and gently placing it into Steve’s suit coat pocket, she ripped half the stem off another rose, putting it into Wanda’s hair.
She moved down the assembly of superheroes, an infectious smile gracing her face, even when she got to me, her smile was still intact. She pulled Tony’s handkerchief out of his pocket and replaced it with a rose “Won’t be needin’ that” she whispered, she then gave a full rose to Pepper
“I know it’ll only be alive for a few more days but it’ll look nice in your room for the meantime” She grinned
“Thank you, Y/N” Pepper smiled
“Now who’s hungry?” Tony asked, we all immediately made our way to the dining room
We all sat around the dark mahogany table, everything looked delicious but I had a distraction sitting to the left of me. She smelled of blossoming roses and fresh lemon.
3 courses later and a half eaten cheesecake, Wanda brought up a question I didn’t know I wanted to hear
“How did you two meet, Pepper?” She motioned her fork between Y/N and Pepper
“Ill tell it!” Y/N giggled excitedly, clapping her hands as she slid her plate a few inches away
“Oh gosh” Pepper chuckled, lightly shaking her head
“I used to work at this flower shop, and Pepper would come in literally everyday-” She paused and laughed to herself “I thought she had a thing for me. I flirted with her for a little bit-just to test the waters - oh don’t look at me like that Tone! I had to make sure my theory was right, before I let her down easy” She spoke so eloquently, it was almost impossible not to give her your undivided attention.
She went on to explain how Pepper explained that she worked in a business that demanded fresh flowers, they had laughed about it and the rest was history
When dinner was over we all said our goodbyes, I watched as Tony gave Y/N an endearing kiss on the cheek. I kept my distance and stood in the wings, weary of ruining this light atmosphere with my personality. While I was distracted, someone came behind and tapped me on the shoulder
I quickly turned around and grabbed at their wrist
I was met with shocked bright eyes, it was Y/N
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry” I apologized quickly, she smiled seemingly unfazed
“You're quite the character, James” she whispered
“I had barely said a word during dinner” I smiled nervously
“Exactly” She chuckled, placing her empty glass on the counter
“...it’s Bucky by the way” I whispered, having gained back an ounce of confidence
“You look like a James to me” she chuckled as she headed towards the door, assisted by her husband
“We should do this again, ceiling girl” Sam shouted when they were halfway down the stairs
“Oh, I’ll be back, bird brain” she laughed
Goddamn, hopefully we would do this again, sooner rather than later
Ceiling girl was quite the character