-warnings: yelling, angst w/ a happy ending, bob gets scared, crying, mentions of past abuse
-word count: +/- 1800
definitely a little angsty but there will always be a happy ending on this blog, don't fear!! i'm so soft for the two of them.
requests are OPEN as of right now. let me know if you want to be added to my general taglist, or just for wintersentry stuff. shoot me a message, comment, send an ask, sent an encrypted morse code message, write it on a brick, whatever u want. this is barely beta’d just a forewarning.
MCU masterlist here.
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The sound of bucky’s footsteps behind yours has never been more irritating. your deep sigh makes it known as you open the door to your shared apartment in the watchtower.
“I just don’t understand!”, Bucky says. “Why didn’t you tell me Val asked you to talk to Sam?”
His brows are furrowed as his eyes meet yours. You toss your keys on the kitchen counter, which gets Bob’s attention from where he’s reading in the living room.
“Because Bucky! We were all busy with our weekend trip! I knew I wasn’t going to talk to him about it anyway, so it just slipped my mind!”
you throw your hands in the air before rubbing them across your face.
Bucky crosses his arms as his eyes narrow. The two of you are so tense you don’t pick up on Bob who’s now in the corner of the kitchen. He’s sitting at the kitchen table, criss cross in the chair.
Bucky scoffs and rolls his eyes.
“i mean, shit, y/n. I feel like that’s something i should fucking know about!” he raises his voice.
deep down, you know it’s just because him and sam are tense right now. still, that’s not a reason for him to be an ass to you.
“stop acting like i didn’t tell you on purpose! when the fuck have i ever deliberately withheld information from you?” your jaw is clenched by now.
bucky’s flesh hand slams down on the granite countertop, and it’s loud. it makes bob flinch, but the two of you are too worked up to notice.
“maybe because you were going to talk to him about the new name and didn’t want me involved!”
he’s full on yelling at this point. his cheeks are flushed as his eyes stare into yours. before you speak, bob stammers “uh.. guys, can- can you not-“
in the heat of the moment, you don’t register his quiet plea. you know how tense he gets when people argue in front of him, especially the two people he cares for most.
“for fucks sake, bucky. get over yourself!” you yell. “you need to talk to sam and work through whatever pissing contest the two of you are in. stop acting like what val asked me to do is the reason the two of you are on the rocks!”
your breathing is heavy and you take a deep breath before bucky’s voice is echoing through the kitchen.
“you don’t get it!” a black and gold vibranium finger points in your direction. bucky's eyes are wide with anger. “he-“
“please… just stop.. stop!” bob interrupts with a whimper. the two of you look over to where he’s now curled in on himself on the wooden kitchen chair. the shakiness of his hands is obvious when they push their way through his curls. with glassy eyes and a quivering bottom lip, he continues.
“guys- please. st-stop... s'too loud” it’s easy to hear how tight his throat is as he pleads.
“shit”, you mutter. by the time you get to the chair bob is in, your shoulders are sagging and your frown has gotten deeper.
bobs eyes are frantic as they go back and fourth between you and bucky, as if he’s making sure neither of you are a threat to him. the two of you learned early on how deeply he associates yelling with physical violence.
his fearful eyes are full of tears when they lock with yours, and you softly speak.
“m’sorry, hun. i shouldn’t have yelled.”, you take note of how he’s gripping the table so hard, you won’t be surprised if it breaks under the pressure. "i was just frustrated with buck, but still, I shouldn't have raised my voice".
bucky has made his way over, too. bob's eyes screw shut and he begins to ramble.
“i- i didn’t.. im sorry, it just scares me when- when you guys yell like that.” his voice cracks. you know bob, and you know that he must be trying so hard not to break down in this moment. bucky's hand brushes your lower back, a silent apology, before he kneels down in front of where bob's sitting.
the stubble on bucky's jaw catches the light when it clenches, and you know he's working through his own load of emotions in his head. he's sorry for yelling at you instead of just talking, he's anxious about his relationship with sam, but above all he's guilty for upsetting bob. his heart cracks as he thinks back to bob's room in the attic. one of his strong hands moves to rest on the side of bob's calf over his sweatpants, slowly, as to give him warning. his thumb strokes over the muscle.
frantic eyes shoot down at the contact, but he doesn't move an inch.
"bob, I am so, so sorry." bucky swallows. "I should've just spoken to y/n before raising my voice", his eyes glance up to lock with yours. "y/n, angel, I'm sorry for getting so heated."
you let out a breath you didn't know was trapped in your chest. bucky's once raging eyes are now full of regret and the need to make things right with his two loves.
"s'okay, buck.", your fingers dip down to his head and brush through his hair. it's grown out, now. the waves prominent after his shower earlier this morning.
a wet sniffle brings your attention back to bob. his slender fingers are twisted into the soft material of his sweater. well, your sweater, before it was scouted by bob for his growing collection. his thumb and index finger repetitively skip over each other as he wills the constriction of his throat to dissipate.
"just scared me.." his voice is small. for a split second, he feels like the frightened boy in the attic, but the thought slips away at the feeling of bucky's thumb stroking his leg. silently, he welcomes your tender hand on his shoulder. you pull his upper half into your torso.
bob's occupied hands leave their safe haven of sweater sleeves to make a new home in your thick sweatshirt. the scent of your shared suite floods his nose and works to calm his restless mind. your other hand brushes back his curls before resting against the nape of his neck.
his forehead falls forward and rests against your belly. a handful of whimpers leave bobs lips and then a heartbreaking, broken sob.
"we never meant to scare you, lovey."
"not for a split second, bob.", bucky sighs and stands up.
"can i hold you, sweets?" his voice is patient.
bob nods into your belly. bucky's arms wrap around his waist and his creased forehead rests against bob's shoulder.
"you're okay." his voice is low but soothing in bob's ear. "you're safe, always safe with us... our sweet love..."
you run a hand through bucky's hair too. his weight against bob presses him even more against you. bob's sobs eventually turn into quiet cries.
reaching behind you, you drag the chair beside you flush against the one bob is sitting in. his tear soaked face moves from your belly to the tender skin of your neck.
your eyes lock with bucky's, both filled with guilt. your hands cradle bob's head close, and bucky presses himself further against bob's back. one of bob's hand's shifts behind him to grab the fabric of bucky's shorts.
bob's cries have changed from those of fear to those of sadness. sadness for his younger self for having to survive that, because god knows there was a period of time he would've been happy to depart that gloomy world he was trapped in.
after a few minutes, a pitiful "m'sorry" takes you by surprise.
"bob, we're sorry. we should've acted more like adults.. in a way that actually reflected this relationship."
"i try to- to just be normal. to not let.. silly things like this affect me. i try so hard" his voice cracks, almost like a plea.
"it- what you went through was awful, bob. it's okay that it affects you, even if it affects you forever. we're here, we love you, and we're sorry if we made you feel, even for just a second, that this house is anything like the one you survived", bucky's words shock you. not the validity of their truth, but in their weight. bucky is typically one for meaningful glances and reassuring touches, not profound monologues.
bucky's lips press against the back of bob's neck. "we will spend every single second, until our very last second, proving that to you. our touch will be forever filled with love and promise, no matter how upset we get, bob. we love you. i love you. i love you so much more than you've been conditioned to comprehend. i will spend every fucking second showing you how to understand that."
his words have your throat a bit tight, too. bob's tears have stopped flowing, he's too preoccupied with remembering how to breathe as bucky vows his dedication.
you clear your throat, willing your voice to be clear. "no more yelling".
both your boys' blue eyes meet yours.
"we call time-outs from now on. we stop and go walk, or shower, or.. or anything. anything but yelling."
bob whispers, "I'd like that.." his fingers wipe away the remnants of his tears that lay atop his thick lashes. "a lot", he adds. he sits up fully, and turns to where he can see bucky better.
"thank you, bucky. for- for loving me. a-and showing me it's safe here, with the two of you. it's... i've never been happier. i've never had anything like this, like us." he twists to look at you for a second, you nod with encouragement. vulnerability is somehow so nerve wracking for bob, although it's all he's known for as long as he can remember.
"don't thank me for that", bucky's voice is stern. "it's the easiest thing i've done, loving the two of you".
a smile creeps onto bob's flushed face.
"i love the two of you more than... anything. i don't even know how to describe it.", he whispers.
bucky leans towards your curly-headed boyfriend and presses his lips against his. a giant hand rests against bob's cheek, his thumb tracing a sharp cheekbone. the kiss is slow and you can feel the love pouring from it. a happy sigh leaves bob's lips as he gives all control to bucky. when he's finally proved his point, he pulls away and presses a quick kiss to the slope of bob's nose.
"we've got you sweets. always."
bob turns to you, hands reaching out to pull you closer.
"love you, y/n." he murmurs. your lips meet his in a love filled kiss, just like the one he shared with bucky.
"m'always gonna love you, honey. always gonna take care of you", you promise when you pull away. you push up on your knees to lean towards bucky, who's watching the two of you with a soft smile.
"I'm sorry for yelling, babe."
"me too, angel"
he pulls you in with the same gentle hands that previously cupped bob's cheeks.
"no more yelling", he says. you know without question that it's a sacred promise now.
