The Lost Converse
Pairing → Bucky Barnes x Reader
Characters → Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, other Marvel characters are mentioned.
Summary → Last nights party was a bit of a mad one, what do you do when you wake up in someone else's bed?
Word Count → 3k
Warnings → Alcohol consumption, hangover, waking up in a stranger's bed, memory loss due to drinking but its fun and fluffy in the end :) mischievous Alpine…
Betas → @bccky & @kalesrebellion // all mistakes are my own.
Prompts → Lost shoe at a party - @tarithenurse for their 1k follower celebration writing challenge thingy!!
SSB2021 Square Fill → Pulling a blanket over them when they sleep @star-spangled-bingo
A/N → Hope you like this one - I've written a fair amount of angst lately so have something that's a bit more fun! & a huge shoutout to Vee @bccky for bouncing ideas around and helping me getting the story on the right track!
As always, comments and reblogs are appreciated💕
Firefly’s Masterlist
The thumping motion in your head made you wince, and the light streaming through the haphazardly thrown curtains had your eyes scrunching in an instant. The dryness in your throat had you reach out blindly to your side for water and only finding an empty nightstand. You groaned as you hauled yourself up, the hangover churning in your stomach.
A glance to your other side showed a dark-haired man lying away from you on his front, fast asleep. Luckily for you, even though you had scrambled to get out of the sheets, you were clothed. Well, partially, you only had a shirt and a pair of boxers on.
Wait, boxers?
You frowned at the suddenly offensive item of clothing and inspected them. They were a decent pair of Calvin Klein’s. They must belong to the stranger, right?
Your fuzzy brain screamed at you as you tried to recall the events of the previous night, but it was just a drunken blur, and thinking back was causing too much strain.
Looking around the room, you spotted your jeans on the floor, and as you slipped out from the cover, they caught on your foot. You dropped with a thud and grimaced at the pain shooting through your knees. A quick glance at the man in the bed showed him to be still settled and undisturbed. You audibly sighed in relief, then clamped a hand over your mouth when he turned over onto his back, but thankfully, he remained asleep.
That was when you looked at his face for the first time, his body no longer concealed.
It was James Barnes, your best friend’s boyfriend’s roommate. And there he was, lying on the bed that you had only been in just a few minutes prior. The next thing you saw was the mouth-watering abs that peeked from his top that had accidentally raised during his sleepy movement.
Your eyes involuntarily went wide.
Oh no, oh no no no no!
You internally berated yourself as you tried to remember, how could you have been that drunk? To not even remember how you ended up here, at all?
A wave of nausea roused the memory of tequila and many, many other shots that were well past the count you had tried to keep. That was all on Natasha and Sam.
But this whole situation was a completely inaccessible memory and more than likely your fault. Of course, you had a crush on him, but this was most definitely nothow you wanted to go about it. You wished that you’d at least be able to remember 'the deed' if anything did happen.
Finally, you succeeded in untangling yourself from the sheets and were able to gather up your clothes from various parts of the room. You ducked out of the bedroom, slowly pulling the door close to not make any noise.
It felt comical trying to tiptoe from the bedroom to the bathroom, you knew the route easily enough from your many visits with Natasha to see her now-boyfriend Steve, but with the unconscious bodies sprawled out everywhere in the hallway randomly, it was a little more difficult.
Luckily enough, the people who were crashing on the couch and floor weren’t anyone you recognised, but you couldn't be too careful when you were doing the walk of shame.
You spotted your satchel next to the TV and grabbed it before you dived into the bathroom, locking the door. A wave of relief washed over you.
You’d made it to a place that could be considered neutral. Nobody had seen you sneak out of James’ room, so it was as if you had never been in there… if you didn't tell anyone, of course.
Once you pulled on your outfit from the night before, you shoved the borrowed top and boxers into your bag. Fortunately, it had been a casual party, so simple jeans and a t-shirt were appropriate. You had the decency to wash his clothes before you returned them, but you’d have to think of a way to bring it back, maybe Natasha or Steve would help.
All of that you'd think about later because right now, all you wanted was some painkillers, a gallon of water and your own warm, comfy bed.
Unfortunately, there was only one issue, and it was the shape of your converse. You groaned and glared at the solo sneaker on the bathroom floor, swearing to yourself that you had grabbed both.
Even though you tried to think of a way to get home without your second shoe, you knew it was difficult, if not impossible to walk through New York with nothing on your feet. You had a little more dignity than that, not that you were showing it with how you’d woken up in a man’s bed with no recollection of how it happened.
With a quick splash of cold water on your face and a deep breath later, you were ready to find the missing item as quickly as possible. You twisted the lock with a soft click and slowly walked out of the room, your socks muffling the sound of your footsteps. If anyone could see you now, you looked exactly like a creeping villain in the Scooby-Doo cartoons.
After a few minutes of looking around the living room and kitchen, you realised that the only logical place it could be was in James’ room... and it was the last place you wanted to go back to.
The embarrassment of not remembering and dealing with the whole 'morning after' talk, just wasn’t something you wanted to deal with in your current fragile condition.
You tip-toed to his door and gently pushed it open, peering in ever so slightly and noticing James was still fast asleep on the bed, rolled back over with the sheets wrapped around him like a burrito. Your stomach sank with disappointment - you wouldn’t mind seeing his face and that little delicious sliver of torso again, but you reminded yourself that now was not the time to whine, you had a mission at hand.
One - Get the converse.
Two - Get out.
Three - Hope that James doesn't remember anything... or at the very least, has the decency to not bring it up the next time you see each other.
You snuck around the room, which was a lot cleaner now that the sheets had been moved back onto the bed and around him. You’d find the shoe in no time, for sure.
Which, of course, wouldn't happen. Luck was not on your side today.
You huffed as you dropped to your knees once more to check under the bed. A glimmer of hope came in the familiar silhouette of your shoe just out of reach, so you flattened down and stretched out your arm. A blur of white fluff whizzed past you with the laces between her teeth, dragging the converse to the other side of the bed.
You instantly straightened up and hit your head on the edge of the bed frame, making you wince. The pain made the thumping in your head ten times worse, and you decided that now was as good a time as any for the floor to split open and swallow you whole. You rolled onto your back and stayed there with your eyes closed, waiting for the inevitability of James waking up.
“Alpine, give Y/N her shoe back.” A deep gravelly voice came from the bed, it was stern but gentle for a scolding.
You stealthily peeked an eye open and saw that James was sitting up against the headboard, a soft smile on his lips. His hair was in an adorable fluffy mess, sticking down on one side from where he'd slept on it. The sheets were pooling at his waist, and you couldn’t help but ogle at the cotton top that was tightening across his chest and biceps before you forced yourself to look away.
“Looking for this?” James asked huskily pointing to the converse being held protectively by Alpine.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” You reached over and grabbed the converse before Alpine could get her claws on it again, “and yeah, I was looking for this. Um, about last night-”
"-Don't worry about it,” James interrupted.
You shook your head, “please let me finish. I just want you to know that this,” - you gestured between you two with your index - “wasn't something I thought would happen, and erm, I'm not really sure what this means.”
You looked away, the embarrassment heating up your cheeks as you tried to ignore the nerves causing your stomach to flip instead of the alcohol.
“Nothing happened,” James commented, supposedly agreeing without much concern.
You twisted around to look at him with a raised eyebrow, not sure if you had heard correctly, “What do you mean?”
James smiled, a dimple forming on his cheek as he recalled the previous night’s events.
Bucky couldn’t believe his eyes, it was only the third time he had met you but there you were with Alpine on the sofa, the cat neatly snuggled in your lap.
He wasn’t sure what to think or do, or who he was more jealous of.
Was he jealous of you? The way his cat had made a connection with you quicker than any of his friends, apart from Steve but he lived in the apartment too, it was a given.
Or was he jealous of Alpine? The way the cat had so easily wormed her way into your heart, and how your fingers gently stroked through the white fur.
He was jealous of you both, he concluded to himself. He would never admit how he felt for you. His friends had already ridiculed him for his crush and Steve had consistently encouraged him to get to know you better, to do something about it. He always chickened out, you were way out of his league and probably didn’t feel the same about him.
But tonight, had been different, he could feel your presence more than ever before.
It was in the way your eyes lingered on his face a few seconds longer or the way you sent him a sheepish smile when he’d catch you staring. Your laughter made him feel warm and the attempt to dance in the kitchen was a sight to behold, even if he could tease you about the terrible dance moves later.
Bucky noticed you were too drunk when you started stumbling around the living room and slurring your words. He signalled to Steve, and he came over instantly, “Think we need to put this one to bed.”
Steve nodded, “Come on, Y/N, it’s time for you to rest your little head. Your room okay, Buck? I’d offer mine but Nat’s staying over tonight.”
Bucky gulped inaudibly but nodded, helping Steve carry your out-of-balance body to his bedroom.
You were going to be in his bedroom, on his bed, sleeping? He didn’t know if he’d be able to cope with you so close and he knew that the couch was off-limits. Sam lived on that thing whenever he dropped in saying it was the best part of the whole apartment.
Steve gently placed you onto Bucky's bed, and you attempted to remove your t-shirt, which Steve immediately stopped. The growl you gave him made Bucky chuckle and call your attention straight to him.
“I can’t sleep in my clothes.” You whined, the blank look in your eyes making you look even more adorable with the little pout.
“Well, you can wear these, if you want.” Bucky pulled out a top and boxers and threw them your way and he swore that you grinned at him, but your face was hidden in an instant as you slumped onto Steve’s shoulder.
“Okay boys, let me sort her out.” Natasha appeared in the doorway, making a beeline for her best friend.
Steve and Bucky headed back into the party, the latter heading straight to the kitchen to get another beer, to hopefully help him forget about the beautiful woman lying in his bed and how, at some point tonight, he’d have to join her if he didn't want a backache from sleeping on the floor.
Upon his return to the lounge, Natasha was already sitting in Steve’s lap and with a quick glance down the hallway, Bucky saw that his bedroom door was closed. But another surprise was Alpine pawing at the wood panel.
Bucky’s heart melted at the sight of his cat pining for the person behind the door, and he decided what the harm would be in letting Alpine check in on you, for the former's sake of course. He slowly opened the door, hoping not to disturb you if you were asleep.
Alpine instantly rushed past him and jumped up onto the bed. She did a little walk around before settling by your feet at the end of the mattress. Bucky’s mouth went dry and was unable to move from his spot. If you had super hearing, you’d be able to hear his heart thumping in his chest at the sight of you hugging onto his pillow, wearing his clothes.
Looking like you were his.
Bucky pulled a blanket over your legs then shuffled back to look at you and Alpine. Maybe one day, he’ll have the courage to ask you on a date. And maybe, just maybe, Alpine would be the catalyst to whatever might happen between you two…
Bucky clarified that there was no funny business and that you just went to sleep, “And that’s what you get for mixing your drinks without proper supervision, I warned you that Sam could be a menace.”
You remained silent and chewed your lip, appreciating the way he’d looked out for you when most people wouldn’t. It warmed your heart at the thought of him being the one to care, the uncertainty that painted your features was replaced with a smile, even if you were still mortified by your drunken antics.
“But I see now that waking up in a stranger's bed might have made you panic.” James rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly then got off the bed, putting on a pair of jeans.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” You muttered, the heat on your cheeks sizzling from your embarrassing behaviour, “but thank you, for not letting me make a fool of myself, well, more than I already did.”
“S’all good.” James grinned.
You stood up, not quite sure what to do next. With your bag hung over your shoulder, you headed to the door, “Well, I guess I’ll be off then, goodbye James.”
“You can call me, Bucky. It’s what friends call me.” He commented.
“Well, if you consider me a friend,” You looked back at him with a small smile, “see you around, Bucky.”
You did hope that you’d see him again because, even though you tried to fight it, your little crush on the man was growing with each second that you spent in his company.
A soft small body began weaving between your legs, “oh hey, Alpine.”
“She does that when she's hungry, I’ll see you out.” Bucky motioned out into the hallway like a gentleman.
Bucky stopped abruptly and you almost collided into his side, your hand immediately grabbing his arm in surprise. You couldn’t help admiring the thick muscle underneath and you subconsciously bit your lip.
“About time,” Steve sighed, sipping from a coffee mug, in his spot on the couch, “We thought we’d have to send Thor in to wake you both.”
Natasha chuckled and put an arm around Steve’s waist, “I’ve seen how Y/N is first thing in the morning, wouldn’t risk sending him in. He’d come back like a mewling quim.”
You dropped your hand from Bucky’s arm, but it wasn't long before he interlaced his fingers with yours. You looked up at him, heart thumping in your chest and he winked, legit winkedat you.
He headed straight for the kitchen and literally pulled you along with him. You caught Natasha’s mouth drop in surprise, which later turned into an impressed smirk as you shrugged in her direction with a grin.
Alpine remained at your ankles until Bucky placed the bowl on her designated mat, and she instantly nudged his hand out of the way and began eating, leaving you and Bucky in the kitchen in awkward silence. That was until your stomach began to grumble, very loudly, like it always did in situations like this.
Bucky gave you a lopsided smile, “Do you wanna grab some breakfast? I’m starving too.”
His eyes looked so stunning that you could get lost in them. You already had done that, if you were being honest, on the rare occasion that you were close enough to see the brilliant blues, just like now.
You grinned back and nodded, a little too eagerly at first, then you laughed, “yeah, that would be nice.”
“It’s a date then,” Bucky winked, again, setting off the butterflies in your stomach, “there’s a great diner a couple of blocks away.”
Steve shouted from the hallway, “Tash, we’re going to Peggy’s Diner. You owe me ten bucks, he finally asked her!”
You both groaned and rolled your eyes at the intrusion, but really, you couldn’t complain as you were still able to spend more time with Bucky.
He pulled you closer to him by your waist, whispering in your ear that caused a shiver to run up your spine, “I’ll take you on a proper date later, just us. Promise.”
fin.
As always, comments and reblogs are appreciated💕
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