and time, is frozen (ao3) - Hazloveshisboo
steve/bucky
G, 2k
Summary: Bucky comes down with a mild cold and it's Steve's job to take care of him.
Bloom in a Garden of Love (ao3) - hopelessly_me
bucky/clint
T, 5k
Summary: Bucky's holding on to a weird secret- for some reason he keeps coughing up rose petals. He thinks maybe he can hide it until events take a terrifying turn.
I Don't Get Sick (ao3) - jusvibin1
bucky/tony
G, 242
Summary: Bucky gets sick and Tony turns into a mother hen.
If My Body Had A Say (ao3) - orphan_account
steve/bucky
G, 1k
Summary: “What-?” Confused, Steve tries to piece together what he did wrong, what set Bucky off. What part of what they just did triggered his trauma. Going through it in his head, he can’t think of anything they haven’t done every other time.
“I got really nauseous all of a sudden.” Bucky offers in explanation. He breaths slowly through his nose, not looking at Steve as he talks. Every muscle looks tensed up and he shivers violently.
---
Just another sick!Bucky fic
I'll Always Keep You Safe (Until My Last Breath) (ao3) - Sexy_Avengers17
bucky/clint
N/R, 3k
Summary: Bucky gets sick and it’s up to Clint to take care of him in more ways than one.
let me take care of you (ao3) - JehBeeEh
bucky/steve/tony
T, 400
Summary: The super soldiers are sick. Tony just wants to take care of them.
Lost in a Library (ao3) - Stromesquad
steve/bucky
G, 2k
Summary: Steve gets woken up by a phone call late at night during finals week. Bucky is sick and somehow managed to get lost in the library...
My Hero (ao3) - smolsicky
steve/bucky
G, 1k
Summary: Bucky falls in to an icy pond and Steve saves him. they both catch a cold in the process.
Role Reversal (ao3) - cablesscutie
steve/bucky
G, 845
Summary: Prompt: Imagine Bucky getting sick during the war and Steve taking care of him.
Steve’s Daddy Pants (ao3) - Babybucky1943
steve/bucky/clint
M, 2k
Summary: Clint and Bucky both come down with a stomach bug. Steve has to take care of them.
The Asset and The Fever (ao3) - Introvertatheart
steve/bucky
G, 1k
Summary: Bucky gets a sudden fever overnight. Steve worries that it could be something more than a simple fever.
Waging My Wars Behind My Face (ao3) - orphan_account
steve/bucky
G, 1k
Summary: Everyone but Steve and Bucky follow her out of the room. Bucky is too busy rubbing his eyes again, and Steve is concerned. There’s pain written all over his face, and the way he keeps rubbing his eyes and temples and squinting points to a migraine.
---
Bucky has a migraine that he tries and fails to hide before a mission
Warnings: Bucky is sick and mentions being horny, language, implied smut.
Based off this prompt from @prunes-said-bucky:
Word Count: 588
Notes: Prompt written for @the-ss-horniest-book-club Thank you so much once again!
You whistled as you strolled through the wide hallways of the compound with a silver tray in your hand taking Bucky's breakfast to his room.
For the past three days, Bucky has been sick with a cold; high temperature, sore throat, chesty cough and congested nose. Despite his stubbornness, you did tell him to keep warm during his mission in Siberia with Steve, and advised to take a jacket just in case.
Steve came back to the compound just fine because he listened to you and took his thick jacket with a faux fur trim on the hood. Bucky owned the exact same jacket. Bucky and Steve were like twins; same boots, same leather jackets, same jeans.
Bucky had come off worse, already having the tingle in his throat by the time they got back. By then it was too late, despite him reminding you constantly that, "super soldiers don't get sick, doll." This is proof that super soldiers, do in fact get sick but you do love a 'I told you so' moment. Besides, he was so adorable with his little blocked up sniffles that you would coo about every time you passed him a tissue.
You stopped outside of Bucky’s room and kicked the door open with your foot. The curtains were still closed and if you listened closely Bucky was attemping to imitate some wild animal on heat. It sounded like he was trying to breathe through his stuffed up nose to no avail, I mean, I bet not even a little bit of dust could get through that snot factory. By your memory of partly living in this room with him, you knew where his desk was and set the tray down to open the curtains.
“Good morning Buck!” You greeted as the sick man squinted as he attempted to peel his eyelids open.
“Mornin’.” He replied, his voice rough and raspy. He rested a hand on his chest as he yawned, which caused him to erupt into a coughing fit. You rushed over to his side and helped him to sit up and you grabbed the orange juice off the tray so he could take a sip.
“Here, have this.” You tell him, handing him the glass. He mumbles a quiet thank you and takes a long sip. Sighing when he’s done and puts the now empty glass on the night stand.
“What time is it?” Bucky asks, looking around for a clock he never bothered to buy. You checked your watch and sat on the edge of the bed.
“It’s almost 9AM. Tell me how you feel.” You place the back of your hand on his forehead and rip it away when you feel he’s still burning up.
“Well, I wanna fuck your brains out until you’re a whimpering, squirting mess underneath me.” He says with a complete straight face. You on the other hand, can’t stop the grin and the shake of your head.
He’s a typical man, afterall.
“Buck. I- I meant with your cold but wow, you’re such a fucking charmer.”
“M’ serious doll. I’m so fuckin’ horny and I can’t stop thinking about ya. Please help me, I’m your boyfriend.”
“I can’t, you’ll get me sick.” You giggle when he pouts and gives you those puppy dog eyes that work every single time.
“Look, I promise. If you get sick because of me, I’ll gladly return the favour and fuck the cold outta ya. Now please, take off your clothes and come sit in my lap.”
step 1: doodle sick bucky cuz u sick
step 2: forget about it for six months
step 3: open it back up in 2020 because sick is a meme now
step 4: abandon any sense of narrative and just make it a lighting exercise
step 5: get drunk by yourself at ur quarantine party of o n e
step 6: fuck with the lighting you just made
step 7: slap ur name on that fucker
prompt- It’s flu season and even the winter soldier isn’t equipped enough to fend it off.
warnings- none... language maybe?
——————————————
“Bucky you need to lay down,” you state annoyedly, watching your sweaty boyfriend as he continues to kick the socks off of punching bag in front of him.
“No can do, doll. I gotta work out,” Bucky wheezes out as he tries to avoid your gaze.
You mutter out a quiet string of curses at his stupidity and roll your eyes. Yeah, Bucky was a super soldier, which means it was technically impossible for him to get sick. Yet, after a weird experimental day in Tony’s lab, he’s been as sick as a dog... And as stupid as one while he tries to ignore his weakened state. It’s been three days of non-stop sneezing, coughing, runny noses, and the occasional session of vomiting. You wouldn’t have minded taking care of Buck, except he has refused to admit that he’s sick and any attempt of you helping him flew out the window.
“Bucky you’re gonna pass out if you don’t stop this shit,” You say angrily and walk up to punching bag, holding it still and putting your hand out to stop Bucky from hitting it again, “I’m serious, you need to stop.”
Bucky sighs, his breathing extremely labored as he glares down at your short frame, “Trust me y/n, I think I know my limits,”
“Yeah well I think you’re full of shit and that you should go take a nap,” You snap, a cold scowl set on your face.
“Baby why are you so upset-” “Bucky you’re sick. Believe it or not, whatever Tony did to you the other day gave you what we normal people call ‘the flu’ which means you need to rest, or you’re gonna wear yourself out and you’re gonna get even worse and even though you’re basically invincible or whatever it’s just gonna build up and-”
Bucky stopped your rambling by walking over to you and tightly embracing you in a hug. It would have made you feel a little better but when you began to feel Bucky’s body shake, and the cold feel of not just his metal arm but his flesh arm as well, it just upset you even more.
“Sweetheart, I promise I’m okay. You don’t need to worry,” he comforts before letting out a few violent coughs.
“Please just come with me? Just for a little bit and then you can finish your workout,” you beg, anger leaving your mind and getting replaced by pure worry.
Bucky thought for a moment before letting out another sigh and nodding his head, his tired eyes finally giving in to stare into your worried ones, “Thank you puppy,”
“What have I told you about calling me that little girl?” he grumbles out, eyebrows furrowing in slight annoyance.
“The same thing I’ve told you about calling me little girl,” You smile up at him softly, happy that he agreed to rest for a bit.
Bucky rolled his eyes jokingly, “alright, that’s fair. C’mon honeybun,” he chuckles and goes to pick you up but you quickly step back, making Bucky look down at you with a hurt gaze.
“M’sorry bub, but whatever you have might be contagious and if it’s making you feel this awful then it honestly might kill me so... I just wanna be careful until I can talk to Tony,” you say and grab his hand, trying to make the sickly soldier feel a little better.
“I guess that makes sense,” he mumbles quietly, sniffling a little before leading you out of the gym.
“Let’s go out into the living room so you can lay down on the couch while I make you some soup,” Your voice was light and you (kind of) accidentally spoke as if you were talking to a child. In your defence Bucky was acting like one.
“I’m not five,” Bucky mutters grumpily, clutching your hand tighter to feel closer to you. He already missed not being able to touch you more.
“Really? I didn’t notice,” you state simply, a joking smile painted onto your lips.
Bucky repeated your comment in a mocking tone but continued to follow you into the living room. You lightly pushed Bucky’s shoulder, making him roughly sit down on the couch before laying down with a heavy groan.
“I promise I’m fine doll. I don’t get sick, doll. I’m a super soldier, doll” you mock loudly, walking away from the chuckling man on the sofa as you head over to the kitchen.
While you began to make some chicken noodle soup, you thought it best to call Tony and ask him what the hell he did to your boyfriend. The phone rang a few times before he picked up, “What’s up kiddo?”
“What kind of disease did you put in Bucky and how do I get rid of it?” You ask, annoyance laced into your voice.
Tony inhaled an awkward breath as he thought about the answer to your sudden question, “well, that is a good question... That I may... not exactly... well I might not really-” “Oh come on, Tony! did you seriously give my boyfriend a mystery disease?”
“Well it’s not exactly a mystery disease, seems to be like a regular flu that has the ability to take down a super soldier...” he trails off weakly.
“Is it contagious? Cause I really don’t wanna die from trying to take care of him,” you mumble, trying to focus on keeping the small pot of soup from boiling over.
“No, definitely not. I made sure to keep it infectious so that way no one else would get it, I’m working on a cure right now,” he states before you hear a few glasses clinking and other noises in the background.
“Aren’t you supposed to be a computer nerd? Why the hell are you trying to mess with peoples bodies now?” your voice grumbles out and you roll your eyes.
“Okay first off, rude- I’m literally a genius, not a computer nerd. Second, it’s not that hard to understand, especially since Banner is down here helping me,” Tony tries to defend himself but he just makes you sigh again.
“Ah c’mon Tony, why’d you have to bring me into this?” Banners voice was heard in the background as Tony tried to shift some of the blame onto him.
“I’m gonna punch both of you so hard the next time I see you,” The threat that left your lips was not to be taken lightly.
“Yep, understandable. We’ll try and figure it out ASAP. See ya kid,” Tony says quickly before hanging up the phone, leaving you to finish up the meal and dish it out.
As you walked out into living room, a frown immediately set itself onto your face when looking at the sad scene in front of you. Bucky was curled up on the couch, shivering violently with a layer of sweat now coating his pale skin. He let out a quiet grumble as you crouched down in front of him, the hot bowl of soup held in your hands.
“Puppy, this’ll make you feel better. Need you to eat a little bit of it,” you mumble quietly, gently running your hand through his hair and moving a few strands away from his face.
“No... Don’t wanna puke again,” he quietly refuses your offer, eyes closing at the soft touch of your hand.
“Want me to go get you a blanket? You’re shivering really bad,”
Bucky didn’t answer, just continued to shake like a leaf and let out little whines. You took that as a yes and quickly put the bowl of soup down on the glass coffee table, immediately going to your room to get the heaviest blanket you had, plus another one just in case. After you had made it back to the living room, you made quick work of sitting Bucky up on the couch and tightly wrapping him in the two soft blankets you had found. His head lazily fell back onto the cushions of the couch, grumbling out incoherent sentences and trying to burrow into the warm material.
“You gotta eat something bubby. It’ll make you feel better cause it’s warm and will calm your stomach,” you say, picking up the bowl of soup and getting a spoon full of the steamy goodness, “Just a few sips, please?”
Buck turns to face you, eyes opening slightly to look at the spoon full of soup like it was acid, “no,” he grumbles childishly.
“Bucky come on, I know you’ve forgotten what it feels like to be sick and how to deal with it but this will help you,” you groan out frustratedly, “Please, puppy? For me?”
Bucky gave you a small pout before parting his lips slightly, allowing you to slide the spoon into his mouth. As he swallowed the liquid, Bucky’s eyes closed at the feeling of warmth it brought him. The sickly man shifted to lean into your body and you smiled contently at his affection. You continued to feed him small portions of soup and only stopped when Bucky’s shivered did. After a bit, you had laid down on the couch and Bucky had laid down with you, half of his body resting on top of you, including his head that was pressed into your chest. Your hands found their way into his hair, brushing through it gently while you continued to ask him about his symptoms. Bucky weakly brought one of his hands to yours and moved it down to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to each knuckle.
“M’sorry I didn’t listen to you lovie,” he mumbles out quietly and continues to kiss your hand.
Your free hand begins to run across the expanse of Bucky’s toned back, lightly scratching it and making him let out a small whine, “It’s okay, bub. Just remember that you don’t need to be a big strong man all the time. Love you bunches so I really don’t mind taking care of you.”
“Love you more, baby.” he says, moving to look at your face.
“You know, Tony said that it was an infection... So I won’t be able to contract anything just in case you wanna-” Before you could finish your partly joking comment, Bucky made the small move to be level with your face and quickly pressed his lips to yours, moving his hand to rest on your cheek.
Your hands move to tangle themselves back into his hair, genty pulling as bucky nibbles your bottom lip. It lasted until you ran out of breath and just had to pull away, but that didn’t stop Buck from moving down to the edge of your jaw and continue his affections there. “Bucky...” A small whine escapes your lips and your fists tighten around his soft hair.
“Haven’t gotten to love you all day honeybun, gotta take advantage of it,” he grumbles out, shoving his face into the crook of your neck and leaving cute little kisses all over.
“Alright kids, playtime is over, stop being gross,” Bucky slowly lifts his head to look at Tony in annoyance as he makes his entrance.
Bucky gave you one last affectionate nip on your jugular before slowly sitting up, closing his eyes to calm the dizziness in his head that was caused by a mixture of kissing you and sitting up. A small pout fell onto your puffy lips, immediately missing Bucky’s touch and quickly sitting up to snuggle back into him. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into his lap, pushing his nose into your hair and letting out a content sigh.
“I’ve made the cure,” Tony states flatly, not enjoying the lack of response to his presence.
“Congrats to fixing the problem you caused,” you sass back, a small smile on your face as the genius glares down at you.
“You know I don’t have to give this to you? I could chuck this out the window if I wanted to,” Tony says matter of factly, holding out a little green pill for you to see.
“But you won’t because you love me like I’m your own child,” You laugh lightly, getting up from Bucky’s lap and walking over to stand in front of Tony.
“Sorry to tell ya this kid, but my love goes as far as a distant niece... at the most,” he says quietly, a wide smile on his face as he carefully hands you the little tablet of medicine.
“Thank you Uncle T,” You smile down at your boyfriends cure before looking back up at Tony and giving him a quick peck on the cheek which he quickly returns.
“See ya around kid. You’re welcome old man,” Tony turns his attention to the ill man that was still slouched on the couch, pointing an aggressive finger at him.
Bucky returns his interaction with a weak thumbs up and a strangled cough, “That’s gross and I’m leaving,” the billionaire states quickly before exiting the room in a very precise manner.
“You ready to get better puppy?” you ask softly and go back to straddle Bucky’s lap.
“If it means you stop calling me that, then yes,” he chuckles deeply, taking the little pill from your hand.
“You love it, and I know you do,” you mumble quietly before kissing all around Bucky’s scruffy face.
His chuckles didn’t stop as he set the pill in his mouth and swallowed, trying to ignore your distracting actions, “You’re right baby, I do love it. Almost as much as I love you,”
A light giggle escapes you before Bucky ducks his head to snatch your lips into another kiss. His arms wrapped around your waist once again as he pulls you closer to his warm body. The loving interaction has you swooning with adoration while you happily deepen the kiss.
“Love you so much puppy,” you mumble between kisses, breath quickly becoming ragged.
Bucky bites down on your bottom lip as the cute nickname falls out lightly, “love you even more, little girl,”
The rest of the day was spent watching movies, eating an ungodly amount of popcorn, and going through multiple boxes of tissues as Bucky slowly made his recovery. The night came quickly and weaved a feeling of exhaustion into your brain before moving on to Bucky and making him lose focus on the movie that was currently playing. You had fallen asleep rather quickly and were comfortably huddled into Bucky’s chest. This wouldn’t have been a problem for him, except for the fact that half of his legs were hanging off the other side of the couch. So, he sucked it up for a little bit, making sure you were in a deep stage of your slumber before he made the executive decision to move the slumber party to his room.
Bucky tightly held your sleeping form in his arms while he make the journey to his room. It didn’t take long for him to get you tucked into bed, making sure to change you into more comfortable clothes before stripping down to his boxers. You weren’t able to sleep well if you weren’t close to Bucky, he knew that quite well and found it best if you made contact with his chest so you could hear the quiet thump of his heart. Bucky pulled you close to him before covering your tangled bodies with the heavy comforter and resting his chin on the top of your head.
“Goodnight lovie. I hope you know how much I love you,” he mumbles quietly, mainly to himself, a small grin quickly making its way to his lips as he felt your arms and legs subconsciously wrap themselves around his toned chest and waist.
“Love you lots,” you murmur, almost silently.
The small statement left Bucky feeling elated as he drifted off to sleep along with his lovely little girl.
“I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for the, ah, care package.”
It took Steve a few seconds to recall that he’d left some assorted items outside Bucky’s door. “Oh, right, right. I hope you’re feeling better.”
Right on cue, Bucky’s nose twitched and his eyelids fluttered shut. Steve waited patiently.
***
[[this is a continuation, so read chapter one here!!]]
Thin Walls
Chapter Two: Meeting
***
A knock on Steve’s door startled him, despite having been awake for the past few hours. He’d woken at 5 a.m., got dressed, went for a brief run, and was currently sipping a smoothie he’d prepared himself. Internet, so helpful. The knock pushed him out of his thoughts.
Steve opened his door to his neighbor, who looked disheveled and half-asleep. “Hi,” Steve began. “You must be 3B?”
The other man smiled gently, brushing the long, dark hair out of his eyes. “Yeah, I’m Bucky. Nice to meet you, 3A.”
“Steve,” he supplied, offering his hand.
Bucky accepted and they shook. “I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for the, ah, care package.”
It took Steve a few seconds to recall that he’d left some assorted items outside Bucky’s door. “Oh, right, right. I hope you’re feeling better.”
Right on cue, Bucky’s nose twitched and his eyelids fluttered shut. Steve waited patiently.
“Hh’RFFSHH! Ahh... hahh...” Bucky clearly had to sneeze again and he wasn’t tortured for long. “Heh’KHSHOO! Ah, shid. Do you hab a t-tihhh— tissue?”
He was holding his nose with a hand when Steve remembered it was him he was talking to.
“Oh right, yeah of course, of course. Come in.” He stepped aside, letting the other man in. “Bathroom’s on the left.”
“Thags.” Bucky closed the bathroom door behind him but Steve could still hear him miserably gurgling into a tissue. There was a toilet flush, followed by water running.
Bucky came out of the bathroom, nose red and irritated. “Man,” he said, crossing his arms. “The water coming out of your sink is ice cold.”
Steve could see the goosebumps on the other man’s arms and tried not to stare at his tight-fitting T-shirt.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I forgot to mention that the pipes are backwards, so you actually have to turn the hands to the side that’s labelled cold in order to get hot water.”
Bucky gave him a quizzical look.
“It’s weird, I know,” Steve answered sheepishly. “How long have you lived here? Your plumbing’s probably the same.”
“Huh. I moved in about five months ago, I think. So far, I’m not impressed.” Bucky’s laugh sounded like a bark, which then almost instantly turned into a fit of coughing.
“That doesn’t sound too good.”
“It’s really... fine,” Bucky replied, still trying to catch his breath. “Sounds... worse than it is.”
“Well,” Steve said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. “You wanna sit down or something?”
Bucky nodded, holding up a finger. “Sorry, I’m gonna— hh’SHUHHH! Hur’ESHOOO!” He stumbled backwards and dizzily found himself on the couch.
“Bless you,” Steve offered. “You always sneeze in two’s?”
“Not always, but this cold’s kicking my ahhh... ahhH! My ass.” He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. “I’m sorry,” he added, looking at Steve through itchy, watery eyes. “I’m absolutely shit company right now.”
“No, not at all. Can I get you something? Water, coffee, tea?”
“Sure. Actually, tea sounds really nice.”
“Great. Feel free to turn on the television too, the remote’s on the table.”
As Steve was putting the kettle on, he heard Bucky chuckle. “You’ve been watching Bridget Jones?”
“Yeah, I had some catching up to do.”
“Catching up?”
Shit. “Yeah. I was uh, on active duty for awhile. I missed a lot.”
“Oh.” Bucky nodded. “It’s a great series.”
“I gotta ask though...” Steve began, placing the steaming cup of tea in front of Bucky. “Mark or Daniel?”
“Oh, Mark, definitely.”
“Agreed.” Steve sat adjacent Bucky and kicked off his shoes. “Have you seen the second film?”
Bucky shook his head before snapping forward. “Heh’SHHHH! Hehh... ehhH! Eh’TSHSHHH!”
“Bless,” Steve gave him a sympathetic look. ”Are you in any mood to watch?”
“Yeah, of course. Thad sounds perfecd.” Bucky punctuated his reply with a very liquid sniffle.
“Hang on,” Steve jumped up as the title screen presented itself. “I’ll go grab the tissues.”
“Thags,” Bucky said, sniffling behind his hand. “Thad’s so dice of you.”
Steve was glad Bucky couldn’t see his blushing face at the moment. “Sure. You want a blanket, too?”
“Whad, you’ve kdown be for 20 bidutes and you already kdow be so well. Id’s abazing.”
Steve returned with the tissues and blanket, the latter which he handed to Bucky. “Just let me know if you need anything else.”
“You’re a really good caretaker, you kdow thad righd?”
Steve shrugged. “It’s been said a few times.”
As Renée Zellweger appeared on the screen, Bucky kicked off his shoes and curled into the couch. It was around this time that Steve wished Bucky was sitting just a little bit closer to him. Close enough to put his head on Steve’s shoulder, perhaps.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Captain America (Movies)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Characters: Sam Wilson (Marvel), Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes, Natasha Romanov
Additional Tags: Wrong number, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Meet-Cute, First Meetings
Series: Part 28 of Meet-Cute AU's
Summary:
Steve thinks that maybe his date with Natasha wasn't a total failure, but after dialing the number she'd given him at the end of the night, it looks like he was so, so wrong. The guy on the end of the line though, seems to need a little bit of help and it costs nothing to be nice...
If there’s one thing Bucky hates more than watching and worrying over Steve being sick. Its admitting he’s sick and needs attention.
Especially when it reaches the point of being obvious because Bucky doesn’t take it easy when he starts to feel awful until he’s as sick as a dog.
Today was one of those days.
Bucky could tell he was going to have trouble hiding it from Steve the moment he woke up, already having to breath through his mouth and sweating through his shirt. “Oh god…” barely escapes past his lips as his voice cracks, his throat burning.
Sitting up in his bed, reaching over for his phone and checking the time, his stomach drops at the time: 10:47 am. If he had wanted to have a fighting chance at saying he wasn’t sick, it had gone out the window by checking the time. Steve’s usually up at the butt crack of dawn, but Bucky doesn’t usually waste a day in bed, not unless they both do it together.
Letting out a soft sigh and dropping his phone back down, he rubs his face as he climbs out of bed, a throbbing headache ensuing as he gets to his feet. Taking a moment to steady himself, he takes in a breath before heading for the bathroom.
At the very least maybe a shower would make him feel somewhat better.
Heading out into the hall and listening for Steve, a frown forms on his face as only silence reaches his ears. He wasn’t in their room with him, and as he checks the kitchen first, he finds a note waiting for him on the fridge.
☆ Buck,
Went on a morning run with Sam before heading over to the children’s hospital for the day, take care and I’ll see you tonight for dinner.
Love,
Steve ♡
Another sigh releasing tension Bucky wasn’t even aware he was holding, he lays the note down on the counter before heading back to take a shower like he’d originally planned. At the very least he didn’t see why it was such a big deal to meet Steve for dinner, but he could worry about that later.
However taking a shower probably wasn’t his best idea. Standing in a bathroom full of steam, already feeling dizzy and congested, where it didn’t even help clear his head, but perhaps made it worse.
By the time he was out of the shower and dressed in sweats, it was already nearing noon. Had he really been that out of it that he’d spent nearly an hour in the shower? Well, he wouldn’t put it past him. At least Steve wasn’t there to see him stumbling through the day when he’d rather climb back into bed.
Hell, he might just do that until tonight after he eats something, just to have something in his stomach. Heading back towards the kitchen, looking through the fridge, the pantry, even the cabinets and finding nothing appetizing, or even thinking he could keep down. Groaning as he searches through the last set of cabinets, his eyes catch the box of cereal stuffed in the back of it.
Reaching back and grabbing the box of sugary cereal, he pulls it out to find his eyes tearing up and lips pouting. Good lord, why was he such a baby when he was sick and alone, and yet still didn’t want Steve there to take care of him. However, at the very least, the cereal pulls at his heart strings, he knows that Steve doesn’t love overy sugar things, not all the time at least.
Taking the box of cereal and heading to settle into the couch, he wraps a blanket around his shoulders as he turns the tv on. Opening the box of cereal and turning it to a movie, one he doesn’t even make it back from the commercial break from as he’s already drifting off to sleep once more, even the 11 hours he slept last night not being enough to keep up with how exhausted he really is.
-
Flinching at the knocking on the door, Bucky groans as he rolls onto his side, pulling the blanket up more around him and knocking the abandoned box of cereal on the floor. “Go avay, Steeb!” he mutters tiredly, only on the edge of consciousness before where he is hits him. Shooting up and everything going black for a moment, he squints in the dark towards the clock to find it nearing 9 pm.
Shit. He had missed going to dinner with Steve.
Turning towards the door as it was being unlocked, a frown was already forming on his face as Steve walked through the door, all done up in a suit…. Was today something more than Bucky had realized?
“Bucky, I thought we were going to meet at 7-” Steve pauses on his way in, taking in the sight of Bucky. And one look was all it took for pity to form in his eyes and his whole demeanor changing.
Not having any of that, Bucky takes a pillow from the couch and flings it at him. “What? What aboub it Steeb?” Even the huff didn’t sound as threatening as Bucky hoped, now only earning a chuckle instead of a pitiful look.
“Oh, baby. Hey, why didn’t you tell me you were sick?” Steve asks as he takes the hit of the pillow, taking off his shoes and closing the door behind him. Watching as he heads over to the couch and sits at the other end of it, calming oceans stare at him as the fight quickly deflates from Bucky’s shoulders.
“I’b not sick.” However the answer was accompanied by a cough, and that by no means helped prove his point of not being sick. If anything, it only made Steve look at him with all the more love in his gaze.
“Sweetheart, you could have told me, we can reschedule our anniversary dinner, it’s no- Bucky?” The immediate shift in Steve’s tone, the way he scoots closer and is immediately cupping his cheek, a worried frown pulling at his face. Bucky hates it.
What he hates more though, is himself. He had missed their anniversary dinner. One Bucky had been looking forward to for weeks and had done most of the planning himself. Goddamn him. Goddamn being sick. Goddamn the tears filling his eyes and falling down his cheeks.
“I- I’b so sorry, Stevie,” his voice cracks on the very first syllable and then the tears fall harder. All he had wanted was to treat his best guy right. He couldn’t even do that right. Hell, now he’s the one sick after all the times in the past, before Steve was given the serum. He had planned a whole night, more than just dinner, and now he’d messed it up and missed it, all because he was feeling just a little under the weather. A sob catching in his throat, he shakes his head before lowering it on Steve’s shoulder as he guides his head down, pulling him into his arms.
“I’m so sorry… I just, I’m sorry.” Bucky can’t utter out more than an apology, a weak one at that.
However, Steve doesn’t seem to think he needs one. “Bucky, hey, it’s okay, shhh. I don’t need any fancy dinner, or night out, or anything special to know that you love me. All I need is you. Because you’re the thing that makes me happy, Buck. You. Nothing else.”
Going to mutter out another apology, it gets caught in his throat as Steve presses the back of his hand to Bucky’s forehead. Wiping hair out of his face, Steve presses a soft kiss to where his hand had been. “You’re burning up, let’s get you to bed.”
Guilt still clawing at his chest, Bucky shakes his head, a sputtered breath escaping past his lips. “Stevie, please-” that’s as far as he gets before Steve is shushing him softly.
Lifting his chin so they’re eye level, Steve puts a hand to the back of Bucky’s neck, massaging gently. “I’m going to take care of you, okay?” Waiting for Bucky to speak now, he gets no answer more than looking towards Steve’s arms, exhaustion lingering in his eyes.
Opening his arms up to him and letting Bucky fling himself into them, he holds him close and pulls the blanket back over his shoulders, letting him get the rest of his tears out.
Lord only knows how many times Bucky has let himself fall apart in front of Steve.
“Just let me take care of you, Buck. You’re okay. I love you so much sweetheart.” Running a hand up and down his back, placing a kiss to his hair, Steve holds him close. Bucky does nothing more than bury his head into the crook of Steve’s neck, letting himself be held.
At the very least until he calms down enough and is nearly passed out in his arms.
Gently guiding him back against the couch, startling him awake, Steve gently cups his cheek. “Hey, you’re okay. I’m going to get you some socks, have you eaten anything today?”
Taking a moment to let what Steve had said sink in, Bucky shakes his head before glancing to the floor where the box of cereal had fallen. Following his gaze, Steve picks it up before standing, “I’ll make you some soup, you stay put.”
Watching Steve head off down the hall before returning with a pair of fuzzy socks to put on his feet, a blush fills his cheeks, not that one could tell, he was already burning up, and a light grin settles upon his lips.
Wiggling his toes before Steve heads off to the kitchen, he settles back into the couch, listening as Steve works.
It’s not even ten minutes later when Steve returns to the couch, bowl of soup in hand, to find Bucky out cold once more.
Placing the soup on the coffee table and settling on the couch beside him, he pulls Bucky back into his arms. Letting him adjust and snuggle against him. “My, steebie…” A soft smile pulling up on Steve’s face, he pulls the blanket around Bucky more and brushes his hair out of his face once more. Pressing a light kiss to his hair, gently rubbing his back, Steve couldn’t imagine spending his evening any other way.
Especially with the way Bucky wraps his whole body around his as if he was a koala, a small grin on his face. If snuggling up to Steve helped alleviate his pain, then by all means Steve would stay and never move again.
Bucky had done so much for him when he was sick, hell, Steve had been a nightmare. But that never stopped Bucky from caring for him.
“You and me. We’re together ‘till the end of the line, pal.” pressing a final kiss to Bucky’s temple, leaning back into the couch, it’s not long before he’s asleep too. There isn’t anywhere Steve would rather be, because home to him isn’t a place. It’s a person. Bucky has always been, and always will be his home.
