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[delusionalwriterr]

Gym Buddy

Pairing: Beefy!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You have a hard time keeping your eyes off of your gym crush.

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: none

A/N: Shoutout to my gym girlies out there, this one's for you 🫵🏻

Masterlist

———

“What are we hitting today?” your friend asks you as you both enter the gym. You look over to the receptionist and greet him with a smile. Adjusting the gym bag on your shoulder, you turn to your friend and shrug. 

“I was thinking legs?” you suggest as the two of you head to the locker area. You usually go to the gym alone, but today was thankfully one of the rare occasions your schedule aligned with your friend’s so you took this opportunity to invite her to the gym with you— something you used to do back when you were still in college. 

Your friend nods in response before beginning to stuff her locker with the stuff she didn’t need, you mirroring her actions. “Quads, hams, glutes, or all of the above?” she chuckles, pulling out her shaker bottle and scooping in some pre-workout. 

“I did quads last time, are you cool with hams and glutes?” you ask to which she nods again. “But you can do quads if you want.” 

This time she shakes her head, “Nah, you know me. I can never say no to a good glute workout.” She turns to her side and nudges your hip with hers, drawing a chuckle from you. 

You walk towards the workout area, your eyes scanning the room and immediately stopping by the benches. You feel your heart hammer in your chest as you watch him do bench presses— his chest puffing out and leaving no room for imagination thanks to the compression shirt he was wearing. 

Bucky Barnes started going to your gym a few months ago, and to say you were shocked to see him there the first time was an understatement. Not that you were complaining though, but you practically fell off the treadmill you were using when you saw him walk in for the first time donning an oversized shirt, a pair of sweatpants, and a baseball cap. 

Safe to say that he is definitely your gym crush, and you would be lying when you say that you look forward to going to the gym just to see if he was there. 

Your gaze stayed on him as your friend led you to the Smith machine. You glance at his face, eyebrows furrowed in concentration and mouth letting out huffs of breath as he raises the 100kg dumbells above him. 

Goddamn. 

Your attention is brought back to your friend as she begins loading the bar with a few weights to start your first exercise. You snap out of your daze and help her by loading up the other side before finally beginning. 

Taking turns, the two of you did a few sets of back squats, but your mind was definitely elsewhere. You desperately tried not to look at Bucky for too long, afraid that your friend might notice or worse, you get caught by Bucky staring at him. 

“Okay, what’s up? I feel like you left your brain back at home,” your friend joked as you took a break before starting your next exercise. You roll your eyes, taking a swig from your water bottle, ignoring her question. 

Your eyes subconsciously trail to Bucky, once again. This time, he was hunching over the bench as he stared at his phone, chest rising and falling at a steady pace. Your friend follows your gaze and hums in realization. 

“Ah, I see,” she pipes up with a smirk on her face, “you got hots for the Avenger.” 

You laugh softly, turning back to her and shrugging your shoulders. “Guilty as charged.” 

“Why don’t you go for it?” she pesters, causing you to rapidly shake your head. “No way, I’m scared he might just glare at me or something.” 

She scoffs before beginning to look for other plates to load the smith machine. She looks around your area only to find none that would suffice for your next exercise. So she scans the gym in search of heavier plates only to find a stack of 25’s that were conveniently placed beside Bucky. 

She smirks before trudging her way towards him despite your attempts to pull her back. “Come back here!” you whisper sharply, but ultimately give up once she reaches him. 

You see her gently tap Bucky on the shoulder, prompting the super soldier to turn and face her. You feel your whole body tense and your face starts to heat up. You watch as your friend points to the stack of plates beside Bucky and you see him nod and begin to stand up. 

Oh god, is he coming over here? You thought to yourself. Sure enough, you see your friend and Bucky each pick up a plate and head towards your direction. Your eyes briefly meet his, causing you to turn away and act busy by scrolling through your phone. 

You feel your heartbeat quicken as you see them grow closer through your peripheral until they are standing right in front of the machine. “Thank you so much!” your friend smiles as they both load the weights onto the bar. “I would’ve asked my friend to help me out, but the pre-workout hasn’t kicked in for her, you know?” she jokes, earning a soft chuckle from Bucky and a glare from you. 

“It’s no problem,” Bucky says, gaze shifting between the two of you, a shy smile on his lips. “Have a nice workout,” he adds, before heading back over to the benches. 

Your friend turns to you, a wicked smile on her lips. “See? He won’t bite,” she chides, causing you to roll your eyes before heading to the machine to start RDLs. “Unless you’re into that sort of stuff,” she continues, earning a smack on the shoulder from you. 

“I’m never working out with you again.” 

—

The next few days were not as uneventful as you’d hoped. You thought by going to the gym alone like you usually do would mean that you’d have more time to just subtly watch Bucky from across the room without worrying about any friends that would force you to interact with him. 

But just a few days after your initial interaction with Bucky, you were put in a situation where you had the chance to look at him up close once again.��

You were doing tricep pushdowns on the cable machine when you felt a hand tap you on the shoulder, causing you to jump. You turn around to meet the pair of blue eyes you so desperately gazed at all the time. 

You were frozen in your spot as you took in how attractive he looked in his compression shirt, arms bulging by the sleeves. You were snapped out of your daze when you realized he was talking to you. “I’m sorry, what?” you asked sheepishly, removing one of your earphones. 

Bucky smiled shyly in return. “Are you using the other cable?” he asked, pointing at the machine next to you. You shook your head, heat rushing to your face upon the thought of him working out beside you. “No, go ahead.” 

He smiled again before positioning himself beside you and starting his workout. You tried your best not to get distracted by the godly sight next to you, but you didn’t muster enough courage to talk to him after that. 

The next time you talk was the week after that. You were doing a particularly heavy set of dumbbell shoulder presses (while keeping note of Bucky somewhere behind you doing bicep curls). It was already your third set, and you were aiming to push out 12 reps until you started to feel your weaker arm give out. 

You braced your core harder as you pushed yourself to get the last rep in until you saw Bucky drop the dumbbells he was holding to rush behind you. “I got you,” he mumbled, lightly placing his hands just below your triceps to give you stability. 

You tried to ignore your heart that was hammering in your chest as you were finally able to fully lift the dumbbells over your head. You moved to lower them to put them down, but Bucky suddenly wrapped his hands on your wrists. “All you, give me one more.”

Jesus Christ. 

You pushed yourself one more time, ignoring the pain in your shoulders as you gave it your all. Once you finally put the dumbbells down, you turned to him. “Thanks,” you smiled, which Bucky returned. 

“No problem,” he replied, but before you could say anything else, he was already walking back to his spot to continue his set. You were extra energized to workout that day. 

Which brings you to a week after that. You were just stepping out of your car when you spot Bucky getting off his bike. You subtly watch as he took his helmet off, and revel in the way he tied his hair into a small bun by the nape of his neck. 

God, you were down bad. 

You were too busy trying not to drool and fail to notice that he was actually staring back at you. It wasn’t until he gave you a shy nod when you snap back to reality and return the gesture but throwing him a sheepish wave. 

“What are you training today?” he calls out as he watches you take your gym bag from the trunk of your car and slung it on your shoulder. “Oh, I’m doing pull today. What about you?” you ask, silently hoping he was planning to do the same. 

“Mind if I join you?” he asks which practically made your heart do backflips. Trying to hide your giddiness, you give him a short nod as you and him begin to make your way inside the gym. 

You enter and greet a few familiar faces as Bucky follows suit before stopping in front of the lat pulldown machine. “Are you okay with starting with this?” you ask. 

“What, no warm up?” Bucky asks in return, prompting your cheeks to heat up. “I don’t warm up,” you start, “And before you lecture me, I know it’s bad… I’m just too lazy to do it.”

He chuckles softly at this as he begins to take off the sweatshirt he was wearing to reveal that he was wearing a muscle tee underneath, leaving almost no room for imagination. “S’okay. I’m too lazy to warm up sometimes too.” 

You laugh as you take a seat in front of the machine, pick a favorable weight, and begin your set. You weren’t going to lie to yourself, the thought of Bucky Barnes standing just beside you to watch you do your set was both nerve wracking and motivating at the same time. Sure, you wanted to impress him with the amount of reps you could push out, but the way he was staring at you was also making your knees grow weak. 

Thankfully, you finish your first set with minimal struggle before standing up and gesturing for him to go next. “That seemed a little too easy for you,” Bucky began, “I know you can lift heavier than that, doll.” 

You try to ignore the way your stomach flipped upon hearing the pet name and reply with a playful scoff instead. You take a swig from your bottle as he starts his set. While lifting the whole stack, you admire the way his back muscles expand and contract without focusing too much on the soft grunts that were leaving his mouth. 

Did it suddenly get too hot in here? 

After a few more workouts and taking turns checking each other out, you both decide to end the day with a set of hammer curls. You watch in awe as he begins to work with a pair of 80kg dumbbells, making your weight look puny. 

“If you don’t mind me asking,” you huffed as you continue your set. You see him slightly turn his head towards you in acknowledgment. “Given that you literally have a serum that makes you… you know, strong enough to lift a truck—“ he laughs at that, “why do you still work out?” 

He ends his set and places his dumbbells back on the rack. “Well it sort of feels like therapy for me. When I go to the gym, it’s like— are you done with these?” he stops, pointing at the dumbbells you placed down while he was talking. You nod and before you could protest, he picks up the pair with one hand and places them back on the rack for you. “Anyway, when I go to the gym, I can forget about everything, you know? It feels nice to leave the rest of the world behind and pretend like everything is normal in my life,” he finishes. 

Bucky lifts his metal arm in front of him. “This doesn’t really help with that though,” he adds, letting out a sad laugh. Your heart clenches at his sentiment, but before you know it, you blurt out, “Do you wanna get coffee after this?”

You widen your eyes at your sudden forwardness. A few weeks ago, you could barely approach him to ask help in re-racking weights, but you also never really imagined you would one day do pull with him, too. So this was sort of like a seize the day kind of thing. 

Bucky, too, was caught off guard with your invitation. He never really talked to anyone when he went to the gym, preferring to just keep to himself, but there was something about you that pulled him closer. Maybe it was how friendly you were with everyone in the gym or how he saw you continuously push yourself to your limit in every exercise you do, but he was always intrigued by you. 

His therapist told him to step out of his comfort zone more, so with a smile, he replies, “Only if you let me be your gym buddy from now on.” 

Your smile reaches your ears as you offer him your hand, which he gladly took, “Deal.” 

———

A/N: This really gives off crack energy, but hope you liked it either way ◡̈

[delusionalwriterr]

See Her Smile

Pairing: College Athlete!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: With Bucky being new to relationships, he’s still trying to learn how to handle things. But how does he handle things when you’re going through something you don’t even know how to handle yourself? 

Word Count: 5.1k

Warnings: signs of depression, angst, fluff

A/N: GUESS WHO’S BACK FROM THE DEAD Y’ALL. i missed writing so much, but life keeps giving me reasons not to T_T this fic is based off of See Her Smile from Tick, Tick... Boom! it's been stuck in my head all week, and i couldn't help but write something about it.

Masterlist | Prompt List

–––––

You hear Nat cheer beside you as you watch Steve catch the ball that was thrown to him. “That’s my man!” she exclaims as you take a swig of water, watching the football team as they prepare for an upcoming game. 

This wasn’t your normal scene. If you’d ask your freshman self if she’d be willing to sit in the sweltering heat to watch sweaty men push each other around, she would laugh it off and turn back to binge watching her favorite show on Netflix. It wasn’t until you started dating one of the university’s linebackers, Bucky Barnes, did you even begin to consider watching football matches and turning up to their practices all together. 

“Come on, lighten up! Your man’s over there too,” Nat pipes up, briefly looking over at you before turning back to watch the team. You chuckle as your eyes land on his figure. You couldn’t exactly see his face, but you were able to spot him in the field considering you’ve been dating for about 4 months now. You let out a cheer as you watch him tackle another player to the ground. His head snaps towards the direction of your voice as he stands up.  You can’t see it, but you knew he was smiling. He puts his hand on his chest before pointing at you, his way of saying, “That one’s for you!”

You grin, cheeks heating up at his gesture as you feel your chest swell. Nat turns to you, a sly smirk on her face as she sips her iced coffee. “I take it that things with you two are going well?” she asks, making you tear your attention away from the field. You grin even wider before answering, “Yeah, things are great.”

You have to admit, you’d never think you would end up dating a football player– and when Bucky approached you one night at a random party to ask you out, you halfheartedly said yes, expecting that he would just take you to a random sports bar and try to hook up with you the same night. Fortunately, the date went better than expected with him bringing you to his favorite taco truck downtown and driving you to one of those retro drive-in movie theaters. However, he failed to check what movie they were playing that night and had the both of you watch a random Scandinavian film with no subtitles. In the end, the two of you decided on staying in the car and get to know each other more with the movie long discarded in the background. 

Eventually, you ended up going on a few more dates after that and got to know how sweet he really was. Sure, he was still a jock and was still getting a hang of being in a committed relationship, but you could see him actively put the effort in it so you were more than happy. 

You hear their coach blow his whistle, signaling the end of their practice which prompts you and Nat to jump from your seats and head down to the field to meet Bucky and Steve. Nat gets there first, crashing into Steve’s embrace, almost knocking him over. You laugh at the interaction before your eyes land on Bucky’s. With his helmet off, you have the opportunity to finally see his face. His hair was flat from his helmet with a few strands clinging to his forehead, the eye black on his cheeks smudged due to the sweat, and his mouth stretched into that boyish grin you grew to love. 

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?” he asks playfully as you approach him. He puts his helmet down to wipe the beads of sweat on his face. “Just looking for some hot jocks to kiss,” you tease, earning a laugh from him before he wraps his arms around your waist. “Find anyone you like?” he plays along. You smile, snaking your arms to the back of his neck. “Oh, yeah, I got one right here,” you giggle as you pull him into a kiss. It was soft and slow, and you could taste the saltiness of the sweat on his upper lip, but you didn’t care. 

“Hello to you too, dollface,” you hear him mumble between your lips before pulling away.  “I’m taking Steve to that new pizza place that just opened near campus, come with us?” he asks, shaking his head which elicited droplets of sweat to fly towards you much to your disgust. “You’re such a boy for doing that,” you grumbled. “But yeah, count me in.”

He smiles, but before he could get another word in, Nat interjects, “Count me in, too!” 

Bucky shakes his head, “Nuh uh, you’re not invited. Steve told me how sick he was of you and how loud you snore when you sleep.” Nat gasps before playfully hitting Steve in the chest, earning an “ow” from him. “You told Bucky?!” she shrieks, but before she could protest even more, Steve pulls her into a kiss, muttering a quick “I love you”, then runs towards the shower room. Bucky turns back to you, giving you a swift kiss. “Pick you, guys, up in 20.” 

As he was leaving, he looks back over at Nat and lets out a few loud snores, prompting her to throw a handful of dirt towards him. “Screw you, Buchanan!”  

–––––

A few days later, Bucky walks out of the field, his bag hanging from his shoulder, a cold breeze brushing through him as he begins to walk back to campus. “Hey, Buck, solid practice today,” Sam Wilson, one of the tackles, pipes up from behind him. “Yeah, man, good job today,” Bucky replies, giving his teammate a fist bump. “Me and Parker are gonna grab a few drinks, you coming?” 

Bucky laughs, the thought of Parker getting tipsy over a few pints entering his mind. He shakes his head, “I’ll pass tonight, man. Might go see my girl.” 

Sam smirks before clasping a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “Alright, see you around.” 

“Hey, take care of Parker, alright? Don’t want his aunt to find out he got wasted over a few cocktails!” Bucky calls out, earning a cackle from his teammate as he walks away. 

He checks the time to find out practice ended a few minutes early so he sends you a quick message, knowing you’re probably still in class. 

hey doll practice finished early

want me to walk you to your dorm? i should be able to swing by to pick you up from class

He waits for a few minutes before hearing a ping from his phone, gaze immediately falling to the screen. 

no need. didn’t go to class today wasn’t feeling well. 

oh? you want me to bring you some soup?

no its ok. thank u tho

anything for you, baby

do you want me to come over tho? 

maybe next time, bucky. sorry

Bucky frowns, taking notice of the difference in the way you typed. You were colder than usual and you’d usually want to see him even when you weren’t feeling the best. He’s a bit disappointed too, wanting to take care of you until you get better, but knows to respect your wishes. So he brushes it off. 

He shoots you a quick text saying he hopes you feel better soon before messaging Sam to say he’ll catch up with him and Parker in a few. 

Looks like he’ll take up Sam’s offer after all. 

–––––

Bucky cranes his neck over to the bleachers, but frowns when his eyes land on Nat sitting alone. You didn’t come to his practice today. Bucky would’ve been fine about it, but he knows you didn’t have any conflicting classes at this time and you would’ve messaged him beforehand if you weren’t able to come for whatever reason. 

“Maybe she’s still feeling under the weather,” Steve reasons, following his best friend’s gaze towards the seats.  

Bucky nods absentmindedly in response, “Yeah, I guess so.”

He was trying so hard to hide the fact that he was getting increasingly worried. He also doesn’t want to seem too clingy considering you’ve only been seeing each other for a short time. He’s only been in a handful of serious relationships before, and most of them happened when he was still a clueless teenager in highschool. You were the first person he was willing to be fully committed to after a few months of fooling around in college so he definitely does not want to screw things up.

After practice, he asks Nat if she knew where you were only to find out that Nat was just as clueless as he was. With a huff, Bucky fishes his phone out of his pocket. 

missed you at practice today. still feeling sick? 

“Hey,” Steve calls from behind him, Nat trailing closely behind. “Nat and I are gonna go study at the library, see you there?” 

Bucky snorts. “By study at the library you mean get frisky by the shelves at the back? Yeah, I think I’ll pass.” 

Steve laughs as Nat drags him away from the field, patting Bucky’s back comfortingly before fully parting ways. This action goes unnoticed as Bucky’s eyes remain glued to his phone, waiting for your reply. 

A few minutes pass and he grows antsy. He hesitantly types another message. 

baby? 

This time, you read the message, but still don’t reply. Bucky runs his hand through his hair, a sign that he was growing anxious. He looks around the field, desperately trying to find someone to talk to so he could take his mind off of you. To his dismay, the rest of the team either left or were still in the showers. 

Bucky thinks about his next move. 

i’m coming over. 

He quickly stuffs his phone in his pocket and practically sprints over to your dorm, a million things racing in his mind. His chest tightens at the thought of you being in trouble, not really knowing what to expect when he sees you. If he sees you. 

Bucky shakes his head to get rid of the image of him turning up at your dorm only to find it empty– he wouldn’t know where to begin looking for you considering you won’t reply to his messages. This is the first time you acted like this towards him, and Bucky tries to recall everything he’s said to you lately, attempting to think of anything that could have upset you. His pace slows down as he begins to question if he was overthinking things, his mind tricking him into thinking that he was being too clingy and it might turn you off. But with the absence of your replies and the assurance that you’re okay, Bucky’s strides become bigger and he picks up speed towards your dorm. 

A head of brown hair meets his gaze as the door to your apartment swings open upon his knock. “Hey, Wanda,” Bucky greets your roommate, chest heaving and beads of sweat adorning his forehead. “I’m sorry for barging in all of a sudden. Is she..?”

Before he could finish his sentence, Wanda nods, opening the door wider for him to come in. Bucky nods his head as he enters. “She’s in her room,” Wanda mumbles before closing the door behind him. 

Bucky mutters a “thank you” before walking towards your door, about to turn the handle, but hesitates for a second. Slowly taking his hand off the brass knob, he raises a hand and places two soft knocks on the door. “Doll,” he calls, loud enough that he’s sure you hear him, but gentle enough to not startle you. When he doesn’t hear a reply, he continues, “Can I come in?” 

A few seconds later, a soft click from the other side fills his ears. Bucky takes this as a signal to slowly turn the knob and peak inside. He barely caught a glimpse of you walking back to your bed before he sees you pull the covers back to climb in, reassuming the position he figured you were in before you unlocked the door. 

Bucky steps inside and if it wasn’t for him shutting the door behind him, separating the two of you from the noises outside your bedroom, he wouldn’t have heard the sniffles that were coming out of your mouth. Your back was facing him, but he can clearly tell that you were hugging your knees to your chest as you tried to control your breathing, desperately attempting to conceal your cries. 

“Baby…” he breathes, approaching you cautiously and planting himself by your feet. Only then does he catch a glimpse of your face, your eyes puffy and cheeks tinted pink, presumably from crying for an extended period of time. Bucky frowns upon seeing you in this state. He’s seen you cry before, but it was usually from a sad movie or being stressed with homework. He doesn’t know why you are crying now, but he’s determined to find out. He places a hand on one of your calves and begins to rub soothing circles on it. “Did something happen?” 

You shake your head, not trusting your voice as you begin to wipe the tears that were still trickling down your cheeks. “Wanna tell me why you’re crying?” Bucky persists, eyes still fixed on you. You shrug and the room falls silent as you close your eyes.   

Bucky hears you take a deep breath before finally piping up. “Just feeling a little down,” you mumble, voice hoarse and barely loud enough for Bucky to catch. He moves his hand from your calf to one of your feet, giving it a soft squeeze before beginning to slowly press on its sole, easing the tense muscles and giving you a brief moment of peace. 

Bucky tries to think of what to say, but is interrupted by the sound of his phone going off. Clicking his tongue, he grabs his phone to find a text from Pietro.

hey wya? im at the study hall 

Cursing to himself, he suddenly remembers that he and Pietro agreed to meet tonight to work on a project they were partners in. Typing a quick reply to say that he’s on his way, he turns back to you before leaning over to press a kiss on your temple. “We all get blue sometimes, doll. We just gotta hang on, you know?” he attempts to comfort you, tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “I gotta run, promised Pietro we’d do that project tonight. But I hope you feel better soon, baby. If you need anything, just text me, okay?” 

–––––

You don’t text him at all that night. 

In fact, if it wasn’t for the good morning text Bucky sent the next day, Bucky thinks you wouldn’t have texted him at all. Your replies grew colder and you became more distant, and Bucky was suffering. 

“Dude, what’s up? If you’re not busy being a total grump, you’re staring at your phone like you’re expecting something to pop out of it,” Steve points out as he, Bucky, and Nat sit in the cafeteria to have lunch. Bucky grumbles before slamming his phone face down on the table and sliding it away from him. “It’s (Y/N),” he starts, “she’s been acting off for days now.”

Steve and Nat share a look before Nat pipes up, “Have you tried asking her why?” Bucky scoffs. “Well, duh!” Bucky exclaims, running his hands through his hair. “I went over to her’s last night, but she just told me she was just feeling a little down.”

“And what did you say?” Steve asks. Bucky’s eyes meet his friend’s as he sighs. “I told her everyone gets sad and that we should just hang on. I left after that because I had to do that history project with Maximoff.”

The table falls silent and Bucky begins to zone out, thinking that the conversation would end there, but is quickly brought back to reality when something hits him dead center in the face. “Ow!” Bucky shouts as his hand flies up to cradle his nose. His eyes land on the table, a bread roll laying in front of him, causing his gaze to shoot up at the red head sitting across him. “Did you just throw a bread roll at me?” Bucky asks, his eyes wide with disbelief and confusion. 

“Well, duh!” Nat mocks, rolling her eyes at the brunette. “I always thought football players were dumb because of how much trauma their heads go through every game, but you’re on a whole ‘nother level, Buchanan.”

Bucky blinks. “Care to elaborate?”

Nat lets out an exasperated sigh before Steve butts in, “She’s obviously going through something, Buck. You can’t just tell her to suck it up.”

“Hellooooo!” Nat interjects, waving her hand in front of Bucky’s face as if what they were pointing out was the most obvious thing in the world. “She isn’t some jock going through a losing streak or something, actually be there for her, you know?” 

“Would you cut me some slack? It’s the first serious relationship I’ve been in since highschool, I’m still getting a hang of things again,” Bucky glares. He eyes the bread roll in front of him before giving in and grabbing it to take a bite. Nat watches him, a look of disgust adorning her face. 

The three of them sit in silence as Bucky contemplates on what to do. He picks up his phone to see no new messages from you, but his eyes catch the time. He knows you don’t have classes right now, and he figures you would just be in your dorm. He doesn’t want to ruin things with you, so he jolts up from his seat, catching the attention of the couple in front of him. “I’m gonna fix this,” he mumbles to himself before storming out of the cafeteria to head over to you.

“Atta boy!” Steve calls after him.

Bucky can feel his heart in his throat as he shakily knocks on your front door. To his surprise, you answer the door this time. His mouth starts to form a smile, but quickly turns into a frown when he takes in your form. At first, his heart skipped a beat when he noticed that you were wearing one of his shirts which was too big for you, the hem of it ending just by your thighs, and the bottom of one of his boxers peeking through it. 

But once he caught the way your shoulders were slumped and the dark circles around your eyes, he knew better than to celebrate. “Hey,” he exhales, flashing a sad smile, “can I come in?” 

You nod wordlessly before leaving the door ajar and making your way towards the couch. Bucky steps inside, shutting the door behind him before following suit. He sighs when he sees you on the couch, knees tucked closely to your chest and you watch whatever show is playing on the TV, eyes in an absent daze. 

He takes a seat beside you, draping an arm across the back of the couch only for you to launch yourself towards him like it’s a reflex. You wrap your arms around his waist and bury your face into his chest as he instinctively encases you in an embrace. Bucky’s heart breaks as he hears you rack out a sob, his thumb beginning to rub circles on your shoulder. 

He gently places a kiss on your forehead as he feels his shirt become damp with your tears. “I’m sorry for leaving so soon the last time I was here,” he mumbles, lips still pressed to your temple. 

You don’t answer back right away and Bucky is forced to listen to you cry, his heart shattering after every noise that comes out of your mouth. 

“It’s just a drag,” you say between sniffles, “the world’s so mean.” 

Bucky furrows his eyebrows, not really understanding what you mean, but tries to think of something to say. His conversation with Steve and Nat replay in his mind as he desperately thinks of a reply, determined not to mess things up like last time.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, testing out the waters. He takes note of your silence and whispers, “Something’s breaking my baby’s heart and I wanna know what.” 

You let out a soft huff. “That’s the problem. I don’t know why I feel so down.”

The room falls silent. Bucky could hear his heartbeat in his ears, he felt his hands grow sweaty, his throat became dry, and his eyes began to prickle as tears started to form. He prays to whoever was listening before he asks. 

“Is it me?” 

“No, god no,” you shoot up, detaching yourself from him much to his dismay. Your eyes wide as he stares back at you with the same expression. Bucky looks down and begins to fiddle with his hands, another nervous tick of his, and you realize why he’s been so persistent about finding out what was making you upset. 

Bucky was afraid that he was the reason you’re in pain. 

You attempt to pacify his thoughts by placing your hands on both sides of his face. Bucky lets out a shaky breath as he leans into one of your hands, peppering it with feather-like kisses. You give him a teary smile. “It’s just that life’s so hard sometimes, you know?” 

Bucky gives you a smile in return, a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes as he stares at you, trying to dig through the deepest parts of his brain to come up with something, anything, that could possibly make you feel better.

But before he could, you remove your hands from his cheeks and place them on your own as you wipe tears that you didn’t even know were flowing down your face. You stand up, causing Bucky to look at you in confusion. “You should go.”

“What? No,” he protests, standing up following you as you begin to walk towards the front door. Bucky’s mind is racing. 

Come on, dumbass, say something. Anything!

He opens his mouth, “Baby–”

“I just need to rest, Buck,” you interrupt, opening the door. “It’s not you, I promise.”

You press a kiss on his cheek as he looks down at you with sad eyes. 

You let out a small smile, “I’ll text you, okay?”

–––––

But you don’t.

You don’t text him even the day after that. 

Bucky’s mind was spinning. He felt absolutely helpless, and if it wasn’t for the harsh sound of a whistle filling his ears, he wouldn’t have snapped out of his daze. 

“Barnes!” the voice of his coach was enough for him to remember that he was in fact in the middle of the football field in the middle of practice. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you lately, but if you can’t pull yourself together then you’re benched for the next game. You hear me?” the coach shouts from across the field. 

Bucky nods absentmindedly before shouting back, “Sorry, coach!” 

He shakes his head, trying to retain focus and deciding to pay you one more visit later. Bucky didn’t know what to do nor say, but he sure isn’t leaving your dorm without mending things. 

He sets those thoughts aside for now, and turns his attention back to his team. 

Bucky figured he had totally zoned out during practice because it was only when Steve sat beside him did he realize that practice was over. “(Y/N) still not feeling okay?” Steve asks, sympathy dripping from his every word as he looks at Bucky whose eyes were going through all of the unanswered texts he sent you today. 

good morning, doll

hope you’re feeling at least a little better today :) 

–

don’t forget to eat

<33 

–

just finished my trigonometry exam lol pretty sure i flunked it 

–

call me if you need anything, okay?

– 

found out parker has a gf lmaooo

i kept denying it til he introduced her to the whole team 

you’d like her :) she’s smart like you 

–

i miss you

please text me back 

–

heading to practice 

i miss you so much, doll 

Bucky drops his head in his hands, tears threatening to spill. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Stevie,” he croaks. “I just wanna see her smile again.” 

–––––

He’s met with Wanda again as the door to your dorm swings open. “Is she here?” Bucky stutters, not even bothering to apologize for showing up unannounced. Wanda shakes her head, “No, she’s been gone since last night.”

Bucky’s eyes widen as he swears he almost felt his heart stop at Wanda’s words. His breathing quickens and his chest grows tight as Wanda ushers him into the apartment. “What do you mean she’s been gone since last night? Has she talked to you today?” Wanda shakes her head again, “I’ve been texting her since this morning, but she hasn’t replied to any of it.” 

Bucky runs his hands through his hair as he begins to think about what could’ve happened to you. He starts to make a list of who to call, frantically trying to think of ways to locate you. This was it, he thought. This was how he lost you forever. If he just knew what to say at the right time, if he had just been a good boyfriend to you, this wouldn’t have happened and you wouldn’t be gone. 

He can’t breathe, his mind begins to scramble and his vision turns foggy. Bucky clutches a hand to his chest to try and ground himself, forcing himself to think. 

Think, Barnes, think! 

Just as he was about to dial 911, they hear the sound of keys rattling from the other side of the door causing both his and Wanda’s heads to snap towards its direction. Bucky holds his breath, uttering a dozen prayers in his head, hoping that it was you. 

It’s only when he sees you walk through the door did the tears finally start to flow. He bounds over to you and instantly throws his arms around you, pushing your head towards his chest. Bucky silently thanks whoever granted his prayers as one of his hands fly to rest behind your head before placing a bruising kiss on your forehead. After this, he rests his chin on top of your head and looks up, desperately trying to keep any more tears at bay. 

“I’ve been worried sick, doll, where were you?” he asks, trying to hide the fact that he’s been crying, but the crack in his voice gives it away. “Hmpff mff humff,” he hears you mumble against his chest, drawing a teary chuckle from him as he pulls away. “Sorry, come again?” 

“I went over to my parents to try and cheer myself up, I’m sorry I should’ve told you where I was going, I had my phone off the whole day and—”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Bucky laughs breathlessly, pulling you back into him. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

He sees Wanda slowly retreat back into her room to give you space. The two of you stand there in silence, holding each other as you relish in the feeling of being in each other’s arms. 

“I don’t know if I’m okay, honestly,” you say, quietly. 

“And that’s perfectly fine, too,” Bucky replies, cradling your face in his hands. “Listen I know I haven’t been dealing with this as best as I could but—”

“No, Bucky–”

“Let me finish, doll. I know I'm still trying to find my footing with all of this, but I want you to know that I'll be here no matter what, okay? When you’re happy, when you’re sad, or even when you don’t know what you’re feeling.”

You smile at him gratefully, resting your hands on top of his. “I don’t know what’s been going on with me recently. I think college is just getting to me or something. It feels like I always wanna find the rain even on a sunny day, you know?” 

Bucky continues to stare into your eyes, sadness glazing over them. You shake your head and begin to pull away, “Forget it, it sounds stupid–”

“Woah hey, no,” Bucky interjects, placing his hands on your hips. “It doesn’t sound stupid. I may not fully understand what you’re feeling, but I’m here, aren’t I?” 

You shake your head. “I really don’t wanna drag you into this, you have so many things on your plate–”

You’re interrupted by Bucky placing his lips on yours, engulfing you in a kiss so passionate, it takes your breath away. 

“But I’m in it for the long run with you,” he mutters against your lips. 

You stumble because for the months you’ve been together, the future never really fell into conversation between the two of you. With your schedules being so hectic, you and Bucky wordlessly settled with just going with the flow, and you were fine with that. But upon hearing the words leave Bucky’s lips, you began to think what this meant. 

Bucky tenderly places his hands back on your cheeks, rubbing them softly in order to soothe you. “If it feels like life is dragging you down, then hang on ‘cause I'll be your bodyguard,” he starts, earning a soft chuckle from you which urges him to continue.  “If you feel like the whole world is a red flag, then I'll be with you to look for the green, and hell, if you wanna find rain on a sunny day then I’ll be there to dance all through the pain with you, doll.” 

Tears start to flow down your face, once again, as you smile. You smile in a way that Bucky hasn’t seen from you for the past few days. He smiles back. 

“But you gotta try to talk to me, okay?” he pipes up, wiping your tears with his thumbs before pressing another kiss on the top of your head. “I know I’m a meathead, but I promise I wanna try to understand what you’re feeling so I can help.” 

You nod against his lips as Bucky lets out a breath. You stay that way for a while, and Bucky was already satisfied with how the conversation turned out, vowing himself not to push you further into talking things out. It isn’t until he hears you mumble the words he’s been longing to tell you for so long that he feels his world come to a halt. 

“I love you.” 

This is the first time these words were uttered between the two of you, and Bucky feels his chest tighten again, but this time, it was due to an overwhelming sense of joy. He pulls you tighter against him before breathing out, “I love you too. So much.”

It was then Bucky realized that he didn’t need to mend things when you’re feeling this way. As much as he’d like to take away the pain, he knew that reminding you that he’ll always be there despite it is, and always will be, enough.  

–––––

A/N: hope you guys liked this one! highly recommend listening to the song itself, cuz it brings me so much comfort and i hope it brings you comfort too! <33

[delusionalwriterr]

I’m glad you like it! ❤️

Heartbeat

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: “Call one of your exes and ask them why it didn’t work out.”

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: none

A/N: italicized text indicates a flashback!

Masterlist | Prompt List | buy me a kofi

“Call one of your exes and ask them why it didn’t work out.”

Your blood ran cold as soon as the words left the producer’s mouth. You didn’t even want to be a part of this, you had your friend, Nadia, to thank for that. It was a normal day at work, you were sitting quietly at your desk as you typed away in your computer until she went up to you and said that she’d signed you up to take part in some social experiment. “What’s it about?” you asked, only to see her shrug her shoulders in reply.

So here you were, your phone in front of you as you sat in a room with two producers behind a camera.

“What?” you asked, dumbfounded by the task that was assigned to you. One of the producers smiled kindly, pushing her glasses up as they glided down the bridge of her nose. “Do you have someone in mind?”

You let out a huff of air, cursing at how fast you were able to think of someone to call, hating the fact that even though it ended a few months ago, he was still on your mind as if he had never left.

So with a sigh, you nodded. The producers smiled wider and gestured towards your phone, urging you to pick it up and dial whoever’s number you wanted to call.

With trembling hands, you grabbed your phone and scrolled through your contacts as you prayed that you’d find out that he’d block you so that you wouldn’t have to endure hearing his voice without your heart having the right to quicken its pace.

However, bile started to creep up your throat as you heard your phone ring whilst staring at his contact name.

Ring, ring, ring…

“Hey, how are you, doll?” he greeted, making you smile. “Hi,” you replied, resting your phone on your shoulders, “I was just calling to ask you if you’re gonna get home late. Nadia wants to take me out for some drinks because of some guy that broke up with her.”

You heard him chuckle from the other end, a sound that you’ve grown to love over the past three years. “I’m actually heading home as we speak, but don’t worry about me, baby. Go have fun.”

You frowned into the phone, “But what about our plans?”

“You call sitting on the couch while binge watching Gossip Girl ‘plans’? That’s another reason why you should go out with Nadia tonight,” he teased, causing you to grumble.

After sensing your reluctance, he suggested, “Tell you what, if you’re too scared to say no to her, I can call her and say that we have other things to do.”

You let out a triumphant squeal which quickly died down as he continued, “Or I can pick you up and drive you to wherever you’re meeting her so you could be there for your friend, then come up with a fake emergency so you can go home a little earlier.”

You pondered on the thought, but ultimately agreed. “What would I do without you?”

He laughed. “Crash and burn.”

After a few seconds of ringing and no answer, you let out a breath of relief before pressing the end call button. “He’s probably busy with work,” you reasoned, much to the producers’ dismay.

“Do you still keep in touch?” glasses asked only to have you shake your head. “We sort of cut each other off after the break up,” you replied, fiddling with your phone, “guess it hurt both of us too much to stay friends.”

“How did you meet?”

You smiled.

“Americano for (Y/N)?” the barista called over the counter. You rose from your seat and walked over to where he stood. “Thank you,” you smiled, grabbing the cup and taking a sip as you walked back to your table.

As you resumed work on your laptop, you couldn’t help but overhear the conversation the man beside you was having on his phone. “I’m telling you, Steve, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me or you’ll go grey before you’re supposed to,” he spoke sternly, his eyebrows creased and forehead furrowed. There was a short pause, indicating that the opposite party was speaking.

“Yeah, because the chances of a six foot tall Avenger getting mugged in the streets of New York are so high,” he retorted sarcastically. Avenger, huh? That’s why he seemed so familiar.

“Whatever, man. I’ll call you in a few. If I don’t, assume I got kidnapped since you’re pretty good at thinking that I can’t fend for myself,” he grumbled as he ended the call and slammed the phone on the table.

He was taking a sip from his coffee while staring intently at the wall across from him when you decided to pipe up, “Boy trouble?”

He chuckled, “Men, am I right?” You shared a laugh as you turned back to your laptop, expecting that the conversation would end there, but the man ended up continuing. “It’s my first time going somewhere else alone other than whenever I go to my therapist so he’s extra worried. It ain’t my fault I got fed up with the people I’m living with,” he shrugged.

You laughed softly. “What domestic problems do Avengers have anyway? I always just imagine Cap having trouble deciding what suit he should use or Iron Man getting rust off his suit.”

The man beside you cackled, clutching his chest with his gloved hand. “That’s amazing,” he sighed, wiping a stray tear from his eye as you beamed with pride.

“I’m Bucky,” he said, extending his hand out to you.

“(Y/N).”

As the producers were about to let you go, your phone on the table started ringing. Dread filled you completely as you stared at his name.

You let it ring for a few more times, unsure of what to do until one of the producers shouted, “Answer it!”

So you did.

As soon as you accepted, his voice filled your ears, filling your heart with both warmth and dread. “Hey, I’m sorry I missed your call. I was training with Sam. Is everything okay?”

You inhaled a sharp breath before uttering, “Yeah, hey. I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

Another beat of silence. “Why didn’t we work out?”

“I don’t understand why you need to leave,” you pleaded as you desperately tried to prevent the man in front of you from continuing packing his things. The two of you were currently in your shared bedroom as you watch the love of your life slowly walk out of it.

“I’m just keeping you safe,” Bucky grumbled as he continued to stuff his clothes into a worn out duffel bag he found under the bed.

“Safe from what? Bucky, just please tell me what’s going on.”

“Safe from me, okay?” he replied as he finally turned to you. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he stared into yours who were equally as teary. “I love you with all my heart, but it’s not safe for you to be with me any longer, okay?” he whimpered, walking over to you before delicately placing his hands on both sides of your face.

“I don’t understand,” you cried as he desperately tried to wipe your tears that were flowing down your face. He sniffled, looking up and seemingly attempting to blink back a few tears of his own before pressing a firm kiss on your forehead. He closed his eyes and inhaled your scent one last time before muttering, “You will soon.”

After what seemed like an eternity, Bucky answered.

“I was in a rocky place at that time and I really didn’t want to drag you into all of that,” he said, voice unsure of why you suddenly called him after months of radio silence.

You looked over to the producers who were looking back at you expectantly, but before you could reply, Bucky continued. “I was having a hard time finding out who I really was when we were together and I felt like it just wasn’t fair to you.”

You nodded, even though he couldn’t see you. Gripping the phone, you summoned all the courage to reply. “You know I was always willing to stay with you. No matter how rocky things were.”

You heard Bucky let out a soft laugh, a sound you’ve been craving to hear for the past months. “You’ve always been stubborn.”

You smiled into the camera, satisfied with how things turned out. But just as you were about to say goodbye, Bucky spoke. “How are you, doll?” he asked in a voice that sounded so unsure, so afraid that you might react negatively and block him, never to call him again.

But no. At this point, you could feel your heartbeat in your ears and your stomach in your throat. It was as if all those memories you’ve tried to forget for the past months came rushing back upon hearing a single word. A word that has haunted you at night with his face attached to it, a constant reminder of a love that was lost.

With a shaky breath, you replied, “I’m good. You?”

You looked over to the producers who were just beginning to piece together who it was you were talking to and laughed. Soon enough, Bucky answered.

“Doing better than I was before,” he said, contently.

You smiled. “That’s good, I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you, I’m happy for me too,” he replied, causing both of you to chuckle.

“Ask him if he loved you,” glasses ordered.

“Did you love me?” you complied, already knowing the answer.

“With my whole heart,” Bucky replied almost immediately as you beamed with pride.

“Ask him if he would ever consider getting back together,” one of the producers mouthed, making you shake your head violently. The other producer countered this by nodding equally as violent. “Yes!” they mouthed.

“No!” you mouthed back. Just then, Bucky’s voice sliced through the room. “Hey, doll, listen, I gotta head back to training before—“

“Would you ever consider getting back together?” you interrupted, instantly regretting it. Bucky fell silent on the other end as you shrunk back into your chair, ready for the ground to swallow you whole. You made a mental note to kill Nadia after this.

“Would you?” he asked back.

“I asked first,” you retorted, earning another chuckle from him only this time, it was more nervous.

You hear him draw a sharp breath. You closed your eyes, preparing for whatever he was about to say next.

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since the day I left.”

You froze in your seat. Your eyes flew to the producers who held excited grins on their faces as you struggled to form sentences. It was as if the world had stopped spinning just as your brain stopped functioning upon hearing those words from the man you missed dearly. Your mind was racing as you thought of a million things you could say as a reply, but for some reason, your body acted faster as your finger flew to your phone and ended the call.

“What, why did you end it?!” glasses exclaimed, fumbling with her clipboard. You stuttered, mind completely foggy, “I don’t know.”

“Call him back, dummy!” the other producer shouted and before you knew it, you were calling his number once again.

It didn’t even finish the second ring before he picked up. “Oh, thank god. I thought I scared you off,” Bucky sighed in relief.

You shook your head, “You could never scare me off, Buck.”

Unbeknownst to you, Bucky smiled at that. “So, would you? Consider getting back together?” he asked, a little quiver making its way into his voice, giving it away how nervous he was.

You smiled. “In a heartbeat.”

I was watching those videos from this channel on youtube where they ask people to call someone and got this idea lmao hope you enjoyed it!

[delusionalwriterr]

Heartbeat

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: “Call one of your exes and ask them why it didn’t work out.”

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: none

A/N: italicized text indicates a flashback!

Masterlist | Prompt List | buy me a kofi

“Call one of your exes and ask them why it didn’t work out.”

Your blood ran cold as soon as the words left the producer’s mouth. You didn’t even want to be a part of this, you had your friend, Nadia, to thank for that. It was a normal day at work, you were sitting quietly at your desk as you typed away in your computer until she went up to you and said that she’d signed you up to take part in some social experiment. “What’s it about?” you asked, only to see her shrug her shoulders in reply.

So here you were, your phone in front of you as you sat in a room with two producers behind a camera.

“What?” you asked, dumbfounded by the task that was assigned to you. One of the producers smiled kindly, pushing her glasses up as they glided down the bridge of her nose. “Do you have someone in mind?”

You let out a huff of air, cursing at how fast you were able to think of someone to call, hating the fact that even though it ended a few months ago, he was still on your mind as if he had never left.

So with a sigh, you nodded. The producers smiled wider and gestured towards your phone, urging you to pick it up and dial whoever’s number you wanted to call.

With trembling hands, you grabbed your phone and scrolled through your contacts as you prayed that you’d find out that he’d block you so that you wouldn’t have to endure hearing his voice without your heart having the right to quicken its pace.

However, bile started to creep up your throat as you heard your phone ring whilst staring at his contact name.

Ring, ring, ring…

“Hey, how are you, doll?” he greeted, making you smile. “Hi,” you replied, resting your phone on your shoulders, “I was just calling to ask you if you’re gonna get home late. Nadia wants to take me out for some drinks because of some guy that broke up with her.”

You heard him chuckle from the other end, a sound that you’ve grown to love over the past three years. “I’m actually heading home as we speak, but don’t worry about me, baby. Go have fun.”

You frowned into the phone, “But what about our plans?”

“You call sitting on the couch while binge watching Gossip Girl ‘plans’? That’s another reason why you should go out with Nadia tonight,” he teased, causing you to grumble.

After sensing your reluctance, he suggested, “Tell you what, if you’re too scared to say no to her, I can call her and say that we have other things to do.”

You let out a triumphant squeal which quickly died down as he continued, “Or I can pick you up and drive you to wherever you’re meeting her so you could be there for your friend, then come up with a fake emergency so you can go home a little earlier.”

You pondered on the thought, but ultimately agreed. “What would I do without you?”

He laughed. “Crash and burn.”

After a few seconds of ringing and no answer, you let out a breath of relief before pressing the end call button. “He’s probably busy with work,” you reasoned, much to the producers’ dismay.

“Do you still keep in touch?” glasses asked only to have you shake your head. “We sort of cut each other off after the break up,” you replied, fiddling with your phone, “guess it hurt both of us too much to stay friends.”

“How did you meet?”

You smiled.

“Americano for (Y/N)?” the barista called over the counter. You rose from your seat and walked over to where he stood. “Thank you,” you smiled, grabbing the cup and taking a sip as you walked back to your table.

As you resumed work on your laptop, you couldn’t help but overhear the conversation the man beside you was having on his phone. “I’m telling you, Steve, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me or you’ll go grey before you’re supposed to,” he spoke sternly, his eyebrows creased and forehead furrowed. There was a short pause, indicating that the opposite party was speaking.

“Yeah, because the chances of a six foot tall Avenger getting mugged in the streets of New York are so high,” he retorted sarcastically. Avenger, huh? That’s why he seemed so familiar.

“Whatever, man. I’ll call you in a few. If I don’t, assume I got kidnapped since you’re pretty good at thinking that I can’t fend for myself,” he grumbled as he ended the call and slammed the phone on the table.

He was taking a sip from his coffee while staring intently at the wall across from him when you decided to pipe up, “Boy trouble?”

He chuckled, “Men, am I right?” You shared a laugh as you turned back to your laptop, expecting that the conversation would end there, but the man ended up continuing. “It’s my first time going somewhere else alone other than whenever I go to my therapist so he’s extra worried. It ain’t my fault I got fed up with the people I’m living with,” he shrugged.

You laughed softly. “What domestic problems do Avengers have anyway? I always just imagine Cap having trouble deciding what suit he should use or Iron Man getting rust off his suit.”

The man beside you cackled, clutching his chest with his gloved hand. “That’s amazing,” he sighed, wiping a stray tear from his eye as you beamed with pride.

“I’m Bucky,” he said, extending his hand out to you.

“(Y/N).”

As the producers were about to let you go, your phone on the table started ringing. Dread filled you completely as you stared at his name.

You let it ring for a few more times, unsure of what to do until one of the producers shouted, “Answer it!”

So you did.

As soon as you accepted, his voice filled your ears, filling your heart with both warmth and dread. “Hey, I’m sorry I missed your call. I was training with Sam. Is everything okay?”

You inhaled a sharp breath before uttering, “Yeah, hey. I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

Another beat of silence. “Why didn’t we work out?”

“I don’t understand why you need to leave,” you pleaded as you desperately tried to prevent the man in front of you from continuing packing his things. The two of you were currently in your shared bedroom as you watch the love of your life slowly walk out of it.

“I’m just keeping you safe,” Bucky grumbled as he continued to stuff his clothes into a worn out duffel bag he found under the bed.

“Safe from what? Bucky, just please tell me what’s going on.”

“Safe from me, okay?” he replied as he finally turned to you. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he stared into yours who were equally as teary. “I love you with all my heart, but it’s not safe for you to be with me any longer, okay?” he whimpered, walking over to you before delicately placing his hands on both sides of your face.

“I don’t understand,” you cried as he desperately tried to wipe your tears that were flowing down your face. He sniffled, looking up and seemingly attempting to blink back a few tears of his own before pressing a firm kiss on your forehead. He closed his eyes and inhaled your scent one last time before muttering, “You will soon.”

After what seemed like an eternity, Bucky answered.

“I was in a rocky place at that time and I really didn’t want to drag you into all of that,” he said, voice unsure of why you suddenly called him after months of radio silence.

You looked over to the producers who were looking back at you expectantly, but before you could reply, Bucky continued. “I was having a hard time finding out who I really was when we were together and I felt like it just wasn’t fair to you.”

You nodded, even though he couldn’t see you. Gripping the phone, you summoned all the courage to reply. “You know I was always willing to stay with you. No matter how rocky things were.”

You heard Bucky let out a soft laugh, a sound you’ve been craving to hear for the past months. “You’ve always been stubborn.”

You smiled into the camera, satisfied with how things turned out. But just as you were about to say goodbye, Bucky spoke. “How are you, doll?” he asked in a voice that sounded so unsure, so afraid that you might react negatively and block him, never to call him again.

But no. At this point, you could feel your heartbeat in your ears and your stomach in your throat. It was as if all those memories you’ve tried to forget for the past months came rushing back upon hearing a single word. A word that has haunted you at night with his face attached to it, a constant reminder of a love that was lost.

With a shaky breath, you replied, “I’m good. You?”

You looked over to the producers who were just beginning to piece together who it was you were talking to and laughed. Soon enough, Bucky answered.

“Doing better than I was before,” he said, contently.

You smiled. “That’s good, I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you, I’m happy for me too,” he replied, causing both of you to chuckle.

“Ask him if he loved you,” glasses ordered.

“Did you love me?” you complied, already knowing the answer.

“With my whole heart,” Bucky replied almost immediately as you beamed with pride.

“Ask him if he would ever consider getting back together,” one of the producers mouthed, making you shake your head violently. The other producer countered this by nodding equally as violent. “Yes!” they mouthed.

“No!” you mouthed back. Just then, Bucky’s voice sliced through the room. “Hey, doll, listen, I gotta head back to training before—“

“Would you ever consider getting back together?” you interrupted, instantly regretting it. Bucky fell silent on the other end as you shrunk back into your chair, ready for the ground to swallow you whole. You made a mental note to kill Nadia after this.

“Would you?” he asked back.

“I asked first,” you retorted, earning another chuckle from him only this time, it was more nervous.

You hear him draw a sharp breath. You closed your eyes, preparing for whatever he was about to say next.

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since the day I left.”

You froze in your seat. Your eyes flew to the producers who held excited grins on their faces as you struggled to form sentences. It was as if the world had stopped spinning just as your brain stopped functioning upon hearing those words from the man you missed dearly. Your mind was racing as you thought of a million things you could say as a reply, but for some reason, your body acted faster as your finger flew to your phone and ended the call.

“What, why did you end it?!” glasses exclaimed, fumbling with her clipboard. You stuttered, mind completely foggy, “I don’t know.”

“Call him back, dummy!” the other producer shouted and before you knew it, you were calling his number once again.

It didn’t even finish the second ring before he picked up. “Oh, thank god. I thought I scared you off,” Bucky sighed in relief.

You shook your head, “You could never scare me off, Buck.”

Unbeknownst to you, Bucky smiled at that. “So, would you? Consider getting back together?” he asked, a little quiver making its way into his voice, giving it away how nervous he was.

You smiled. “In a heartbeat.”

A/N: I was watching those videos from this channel on youtube where they ask people to call someone and got this idea lmao hope you enjoyed it!

[delusionalwriterr]

Bucky: If you pay me $10 right now, I will sob at your funeral. Sam: Are you saying you need money in order to grieve when I die? Bucky: Uh…no. Sam: Did you just hesitate?

[delusionalwriterr]

bucky had the long hair (AND ALPINE (MY BELOVED)) in the fatws comics there was no reason to deny us of that apart from the fact they hate us and won't let us have nice things bc we gays got too bold in getting stucky acknowledged by mainstream media

-gay jewish bucky/arnie roth anon

It feels like cruel and inhuman punishment that this is what would could have had and we got dudebro bucky instead

[delusionalwriterr]

i reaaaally enjoyed this! i’m glad this was the first writing challenge i participated in <3

ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴄʜᴀʟʟᴇɴɢᴇ ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀʟɪsᴛ

𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞! 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭!

𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞!

𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟔𝐭𝐡 - 𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟑𝟏𝐬𝐭

𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝟏𝟖+. 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭.

: ̗̀➛ 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐲 @buckys-left-middle-finger "𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝?"

: ̗̀➛ 𝐓𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐲 @buckies-dolle “𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭.”

: ̗̀➛ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐲 @lfnr-blog-blog-blog “𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.”

: ̗̀➛ 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐛𝐲 @mutants-and-soldiers “𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝.” “𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭.”

: ̗̀➛ 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐬, 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 @delusionalwriterr "𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦."

: ̗̀➛ 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 @marvel-3407 "𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮."

: ̗̀➛ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 @lunarbuck "𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤."

: ̗̀➛ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐲 @sgthufflebadgerinthetardis “𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐢… 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦.”

: ̗̀➛ 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐲 @littlelioncub43 “𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨, 𝐩𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬."

[delusionalwriterr]

NEW YEAR NEW GIFS | Day 25: favorite dynamic

Sam Wilson & Bucky Barnes

[delusionalwriterr]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) — dir. Joe Russo & Anthony Russo

[delusionalwriterr]

prada: @tomholland2013 is “in the Mood for Prada”. Discover more of the #PradaSS22 campaign via link in bio. Photography @davidsimsofficial Creative direction @ferdinandoverderi

[delusionalwriterr]

Andrew Garfield lied about not being in No Way Home for 2 years

[delusionalwriterr]

uGHHH I LOVE THIS CONCEPT SO MUCH!!

Peter Parker x Reader

Summary - Reader is friends with Spider-Man, completely unaware of his real identity. 

Warnings - None

Word Count - 1,978

A/N - Just something cute and fun! I felt like writing a little Peter x Reader banter! Hopefully you enjoy it. :) 

Keep reading

[delusionalwriterr]

Hello please reblog this if you’re okay with people sending you random asks to get to know you better

[delusionalwriterr]

🎉🎉🎉 YESSSSS 🥳🥳🥳 congratulations my dearest!!!! happy happy 200 you deserve that and so much more

i would like to request light of my life steve rogers + jealousy 😌 and please make it as fluffy and/or angsty as you want

MWAH 😘 love you!!!

jeal·​ous

adj • \ ˈje-ləs \

1 : Feeling or showing an unhappy or angry desire to have what someone else has.

2 : How Steve feels when he sees what you have with Clint.

word count: 2.7k (I broke my rule, whoopsy)

warnings: just a bit of angst, a slightly weird pov shift at the end.

a/n: Ahhhhh, bestieeeee! I love you so much too, thank you for putting in a request! I know jealous!Steve is your thanggg, so I was so excited to write this up. I hope you like it!!!💖💖💖 (in terms of canon, this takes place sometime before Age of Ultron, before people knew Clint had a family. Also, I have not watched Hawkeye yet, so I'm sorry if Clint seems a bit ooc, loll).

“May I help you?”

Steve focused again, meeting your eye in the bathroom mirror from where he stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. You narrowed your eyes at his reflection playfully, a stray spot of toothpaste still at the edge of your mouth, and he fought the urge to wipe it away for you with his thumb.

He grinned back at you, straining against the weight that held down the corners of his lips. “I’m good right here, thank you.”

You just chuckled at him, returning your attention back to the bottles on his sink. Steve liked watching you complete your skincare routine; he liked watching you do anything. The deliberate precision of your movements, the order of operations you never deviated from, the calculated furrow of your brow, as if everything had to be as pristine and perfect as the experiments you did in the labs. He liked everything about you, down to the very last detail.

He supposed that was why it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest.

“Did you have fun tonight, baby?” you asked, squeezing a clear-looking gel onto your finger and dabbing lightly under your eyes.

No. “Yeah, I did. Tony never disappoints.”

You scoffed, dabbing under your other eye. “I wouldn’t give him too much credit. Pepper definitely does all of the heavy lifting for those parties.” You capped the gel tube, moving onto a tub of moisturizer, the one that always made his pillows smell like you.

“Did you have fun?” he asked, though he already knew the answer. Apparently, the elephant on his chest had friends, his ribcage splintering under the building pressure of their weight.

Your eyes lit up as you worked the cream into your skin, your grin widening just a bit. “Yes, surprisingly,” you muttered, smoothing wide circles over your cheeks.

“You looked like you were having fun.”

You paused, offering him a quizzical look through the mirror.

“With Clint.”

That’s when you completely bloomed, a wide smile bisecting your face, your nose scrunching up in the way that always made his knees weak, a giggle escaping your throat. You shook your head, rolling your eyes at some memory of the party he couldn’t reach.

“That man is nuts,” you said, your voice warm and tender, pumping out a few dollops of lotion onto your palms and rubbing your hands together. You finally turned to face him, your gaze running straight through him without the obstruction of the mirror.

His chest cracked at the sight of you standing in the middle of his bathroom wearing one of his old SHIELD t-shirts, the jagged spikes of his fractured bones piercing through his vital organs.

You were so beautiful, you whittled him down to nothing.

You tilted your head at him, crossing your arms with a wry expression. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Steve shrugged, trying for another grin. “I like looking at you. Sue me.”

You smiled again, but it wasn’t the same, it wasn’t as bright as it had been just moments before. Suddenly, he couldn’t pull in a proper breath.

You turned to pick up all of your toiletries from the sink, gathering them in your arms to place them back in your overnight bag. You were only staying for the night, and you didn’t like leaving a mess in his apartment, or so you always told him. But he wanted to stop you, to pluck each bottle and tube and brush from your hands and line them up next to his lone toothbrush and can of shaving cream.

He took a sharp breath. “Congratulations, by the way,” he said, the words falling like boulders onto the tiled floor.

You stopped short, frowning at him. “For what?”

“Cho’s fellowship,” he prompted.

Your eyes widened, panic swimming through your irises. “How do you know about that?”

He swallowed hard. “Clint told me tonight.”

Heat blazed through him as he relived the moment, the way the news had just casually slipped from the archer like butter, the way he had pretended like he already knew. Getting a fellowship with Helen Cho was the dream for any scientist at Stark Industries, and you were chosen as one of the lucky few.

He just hadn’t heard about it from you.

You sighed, your shoulders deflating listlessly. “I told him not to tell anyone, he has such a big mouth for a spy,” you said, tucking some of your products under your arm. You looked up at him sheepishly, biting at your lip. “It’s not even set in stone yet. I just heard from a friend who heard from someone else that my name was on the list. I didn’t want to tell anyone until it was official.”

“Except for Clint.”

He hated the amount of times Clint’s name had crossed his tongue already.

Your shoulders lifted nonchalantly, your eyes brightening up again. “Well, yeah. ‘Cause he’s Clint.”

‘Cause he’s Clint.

Steve knew what it felt like to be shot, he knew what it felt like to have scorching metal tear through his flesh and ligaments mercilessly, and yet, he would rather that pain than the one he felt now, the gnawing, twisting pain that left him feeling hollow and helpless and lost. He looked down at his feet, at your perfectly painted toenails, at the hairline crack in one of the tiles, anything but your face, pushing off the doorframe and nodding weakly.

“I should probably get ready for bed, too,” he mumbled, making his way into the hall. He wasn’t even sure where he was headed, passing his bedroom door entirely.

“Wait a second,” you said, grabbing his arm. He relented under your touch, allowing you to maneuver him to face you. He still couldn’t look at your face, his eyes settling on the edge of your collar bone. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said, and it sounded like a lie even to his own ears.

You stepped closer to him, gently coaxing his chin up until he was forced to look you in the eye, a small wrinkle between your brow that he would have kissed away on any other day.

“Don’t do that,” you told him softly, firmly. “Don’t hide. Not from me.”

It was impossible to hide himself from you, always had been. From the moment he met you, you could read him like a newspaper, the parts of him he thought were impenetrable unfolding into your palm like old, weathered parchment. You saw him in a way that made him feel seen, that tethered him to this century with fledging roots that promised to grow.

But you were the one who truly belonged here, a vision of modernity and the future, science and innovation. He was an artifact, a relic of the past, an alien stranded on a planet that would never quite be home. There wasn’t anything he could truly offer you, nothing that you couldn’t get somewhere else and in better form. An ocean of time and circumstances was between you and him, and he wasn’t sure he could ever make it across the expanse.

“Steve, talk to me,” you whispered, placing your other hand on his chest, right over his heart. His throat closed in on itself.

“Do I make you happy?”

A myriad of emotions crossed your face in response to his question, each one tugging at your features until they didn’t quite know where to go or what to do. Your hands fell away from him, hanging lifelessly at your sides as your face finally settled on concern. You opened your mouth to say something, but he beat you to it, his pulse racing at what might come out of you might say.

“I see how you are with Clint,” he explained, looking down at his feet again. “I see how you are with everyone, but especially him. You two...you just click. You laugh and joke like it’s nothing, like you have this secret language no one else understands. He knows everything about you, and I feel like I’m always trying to catch up, somehow. You two click in a way we don’t and I just—”

But your hands were on him again, and you stole his breath, your fingers brushing his hair away from his forehead delicately. You didn’t say anything, waiting for him to finish vomiting out his thoughts, but the words were lost to him, his thoughts consumed by the lines of your face, the celestial brushstrokes that had made the masterpiece in front of him, threatening to bring him to his very knees. He slumped against the wall behind him, a hollow thud echoing through the hallway, your hands never leaving him.

“Steve,” you said softly, that one syllable twisting and curling around his neck like a rope. “How long have you felt this way?”

The answer fizzled out in the back of his throat, shame crawling up his spine from the look on your face. He had always felt this way when it came to you, waiting and bracing himself for the other shoe to drop. The last time he had felt even half of what he felt for you, he had woken up and lost everything, and now he had even more to lose.

He couldn’t find his voice to answer you, and you seemed to understand, your fingers continuing their ministrations along his hairline. You frowned, biting at your lip in that way you did whenever you were figuring out one of those equations or formulas that looked more like hieroglyphs to him than anything else. You started and stopped a couple of times, your lips forming around words that were piecing themselves together on your tongue, deliberate, precise, in the order you willed them to be.

“I am close with Clint,” you finally said, looking at him straight in the eye, your gaze unwavering. “But my relationship with him doesn’t even come close to the relationship I have with you. There’s no overlap, whatsoever. First of all, Steve, he’s old—”

“I’m old,” Steve said, giving you a look.

You returned the look right back to him, your fingers pressing lightly into his scalp. You sighed, long and low, your breath fanning over his collarbone and sending a luscious tremor down his spine.

“Secondly,” you continued, passing over his objection. You sobered then, your expression becoming withdrawn, and Steve wanted nothing more than to pull you back out again, to expend all of his serum-gifted strength to close the distance between you and him. “I was a nervous wreck when I found out about the fellowship. I was a mess, and Clint has always been good at cleaning up my messes. I didn’t want you to see me that way.”

Steve opened his mouth to interject, but you barreled on, the words tumbling out of your throat like an avalanche.

“I don’t think I want you to see my mess because you’re you,” you said with a tiny shrug, your voice even tinier. “You’re Steve Rogers, you’re Captain America, you’re everything. And I guess I’m just waiting for the day when you realize all that. When you realize you can have anyone you want, and not someone so...someone so me,” you concluded, letting out a sharp huff of air. Now you were the one looking down at your feet, your hands beginning to slide from his body in defeat.

But he caught them, grasping both your hands in his and keeping them secure against his chest. You looked up at him, and his heart soared at the small grin on your lips. It was barely there, but he held onto it for dear life.

“Clint is like, I dunno, a dad to me. Figuratively speaking, of course,” you said quickly, as if you were correcting yourself. “I’ve never had that, and I don’t think I need a fatherly figure, but,” you looked at him earnestly, willing him to understand. “Clint’s always been there for me. He helps me see the bigger picture, and I do need that. But more than anything, anything in this world, I need you, Steve. And that terrifies me, it terrifies me to no end, but you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You don’t have to catch up to anyone, you’ll never have to because I—”

You stopped short, and Steve held his breath, waiting.

“Because you...what?” Steve whispered, his eyes scanning over your face for any indication of what you meant.

But you stayed silent for a moment, thinking back to something else you had told Clint a few weeks ago, another something you had told him before Steve.

“Just tell him,” Clint said dismissively, folding a sparkly pink sweater that was about five sizes too small for him, tossing it onto the haphazard pile of laundry on the dining room table.

You groaned, burying your face into a pile of mismatched socks. “It’s too soon.”

“Says who?” the archer said, throwing one of Lila’s frilly skirts at your head.

You glared at him, but he was unaffected, chuckling as he folded a pair of Cooper’s pants neatly.

“It’s too soon,” you repeated, holding up a sock, Thomas the Tank Engine smiling up at you. You swore the thing was mocking you.

“Are you sure you really love the guy, then?” Clint asked, tossing a stray sock at the pile in front of you.

You were poised to tell him his laundry wasn’t your responsibility, but your mind needed calming, so you dug into the pile, searching for Thomas’ lost twin.

“Yes,” you whispered, your voice shaking a little. “I do love him. So much.”

“Then just tell him,” Clint said simply, so casually that you wanted to dump the entire basket of clothes on the table onto his head. “Life is short, carpe diem, all that crap. You tell the people you love that you love them when you still can.”

You never understood how uncomplicated things were for Clint, how clear-cut his mind worked, how black and white he saw things. It was infuriating.

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” you said, continuing your search in the sock pile.

Clint paused, shaking his head at you and flinging a pair of Laura’s leggings over his shoulder like a dish towel, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at you like he at once wanted to shake you and give you a comforting hug.

“Hate to break it to you, kid, but it is that simple. You’ll learn soon enough that a lot of things in life are just as simple, but I guess that perspective only comes when you’ve lived a whole lot of that life. Besides, you have nothing to worry about. The guy is head over heels for you, he’s just overthinking it, too.”

Your hand stilled in the pile of socks, squinting your eyes at him. “You sound so sure about that,” you deadpanned.

“I am.” Clint shrugged again, grabbing one of Cooper’s soccer jerseys from the basket. “Wanna know how?”

“Please, put me out of my misery.”

“I know for a fact that poor bastard has it bad for you,” Clint said, his tone steady and confident. “I know it because the way he looks at you is the same way I look at my wife.”

He did that, then, stopping everything to look over at Laura through the kitchen doorway as she explained something to Lila at the counter next to her. As if she could sense her husband’s gaze on her, she looked up, meeting Clint’s eye, and you swallowed a sigh at the look of pure, unbridled love the two of them shared.

Did Steve really look at you like that? Was it possible?

You looked down to find that the missing sock was in your hand, Thomas’ lost companion smiling up at you contently, relieved. One half of a whole finally found.

“Because you what?” Steve asked again, his hand snaking up your neck, finding its home at the curve of your cheek.

The words were at the tip of your tongue, burning the tip of your tongue bright and hot, but you managed to smother them out. Now wasn’t the time; maybe soon, but not now.

“Because I’m glad you’re here. With me,” you told him, the truth of it rolling off your shoulders like a dead weight.

He smiled, really smiled for the first time that night, and you folded yourself against his chest, right where you belonged.

Follow @sweets-ficlibrary to know when new stuff drops!

[delusionalwriterr]

Natasha Romanoff returns to Ohio BLACK WIDOW (2021) Deleted Scene

[delusionalwriterr]

Brews, Bludgers, and Banter

Pairing: Gryffindor!Bucky Barnes x Gryffindor!Reader

Summary: You and Bucky Barnes were known for your rivalry around campus, but after a series of events, you begin to question if it’s even a rivalry at all.

Word Count: 6.1k

Warnings: BULLYING, discriminatory remarks (mudblood), swearing, banter, fluff, y/n rolls her eyes a lot LMAO

Prompt: “come to me, all right? whenever you have a problem.”

A/N: this is my entry for @strwbrrybucky’s writing challenge! this was the first ever writing challenge i entered and i had a lot of fun writing so, thank you so much for letting me join :)) i hope you don’t mind that i made it into a hogwarts au hehe

Masterlist | Prompt List | buy me a kofi

“One, two, three, four…” you counted as you carefully stirred the contents of your cauldron, making sure to follow the instructions stated in your textbook. Beside you were your other Gryffindor classmates who were also trying to brew an Elixir to Induce Euphoria as instructed by your Potions professor. After stirring, you peaked in your textbook to read the next set of instructions:

4. Add a sprig of Peppermint to counteract side-effects

5. Add Sopophorous Beans

6. Add Wormwood

You followed, putting all the ingredients into your cauldron, ensuring that everything was measured correctly to avoid any mistakes.

7. Stir six times anti-clockwise or until the potion turns yellow

You hurriedly stirred the potion as it was stated in the yearbook, desperate to finish brewing. Your professor stated that whoever successfully brews the elixir first would get a vial of Felix Felicis or Liquid Luck, so you were determined to be the one to get it. Just as you stirred for the sixth time, the potion turned yellow, making your eyes grow wide. “Professor!” you shouted, immediately raising your hand to catch his attention, but upon doing so, you noticed that he was already looking over someone else’s cauldron.

And that cauldron belonged to no other than Bucky Barnes.

Your professor took a closer look at the potion, examining it thoroughly. Soon enough, you saw him give a nod of approval towards Bucky before turning to the class, “We have a winner!”

The class remained silent, still focused on their own potions and seemingly not caring about the Felix Felicis while you let out a groan. So close.

You watched as your professor handed the vial over to Bucky as he held a smug grin on his face. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Students began piling out of the classroom as your professor shouted last minute remarks, but failed to catch the attention of the students who were eager to get to their next classes. You had a free period next so you took your time to fix your things before heading to the Study Hall to review for an upcoming test.

As you were gathering your books, you felt someone’s presence behind you and turned around only to be met with your long-term rival himself, Bucky Barnes, who had the same smug grin on his face earlier. You scowled immediately as a response. “What do you want, Barnes? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just pour this boiling hot potion on you right now.”

He chuckled in response. “Aw, lighten up, (L/N). Have some of that potion you just brewed if it even works,” he teased, only causing you to grow even more annoyed. You turned away from him and continued to fix your things, the sooner you could get out of there, the better. “Maybe I should brew you a wit-sharpening potion so you could think of better comebacks,” you retorted, earning another laugh from him.

You see him move his way in front of you again, “I’d be honored, doll, but I have more important things to do than stick around and wait for you.”

You scoffed, finally picking up your things before meeting his eyes. “Says the one who stayed behind just to rub his win in my face. I’m touched, really,” you replied before moving past him and leaving the room before he could get another word in.

You stepped into the busy corridors filled with students hurrying to get to their classes as you fight against the current, heading to the Study Hall. From behind you, you heard your name being called by a voice that was all too familiar. “Wait up,” Wanda panted as she caught up to you, fixing the blue and brown scarf around her neck.

“Hey, Wanda,” you smiled as both of you continued along the corridors. “Where are you headed?” she asked. “Study Hall,” you answered, earning a gag from her. You scowled, “What now?”

“Y’know, you study too much,” Wanda chuckled, playfully trying to steal the books you were carrying only for you to dodge her by turning away. “And that’s coming from me,” she continued, gesturing to her Ravenclaw robe. “If you just came here to give me shit, just go away,” you retorted, shoving Wanda jokingly which she reacted to by hitting a nearby pillar exaggeratingly. “Ouch, (Y/N)! If I’d known you were gonna be so grumpy over losing a potion brewing contest to Barnes, I wouldn’t have approached you in the first place!” she cackled. You rolled your eyes at that statement as both of you entered the Hall.

Unlike the corridors, the room was less quiet, filled with students trying to study in peace. “How’d that get to you so fast?” you asked as the two of you took your seats. “News travels fast, I suppose,” she shrugged, watching you open a book. “Speaking of Barnes, I heard he was aiming to be Quidditch captain next year.”

You rolled your eyes again, “So what?”

“Aren’t you aiming for captain too?” Wanda asked, quickly ducking her head in a book as she saw the professor that was in the Hall turn her head towards the two of you. You nodded. “Yeah, but he won’t be a problem. Have a little faith in me, would you?”

“I do!” Wanda exclaimed.

“Shh!” the teacher exclaimed back.

You and Wanda cringed, throwing an apologetic look to your professor. “I do,” Wanda repeated in a more hushed tone, “I’m just so tired of having to watch you be at each other’s throats all the damn time.”

You chuckled lightly. “Just because you’d rather have Vision’s tongue down yours does not mean you need to comment about what I do with mine.”

“Shut up!”

“Ladies!”

“Sorry, professor.”

You adjusted your uniform as you and the rest of the team entered the field, ready to practice. Your captain set down the case that contained the equipment before explaining the game plan to the team.

You were a Beater which means that you needed to keep the Bludgers away from your teammates as much as possible. You were surprised when you tried out for the team and got put into the position you were in now, mainly because girls don’t usually get placed as Beaters, and also because of how much your captain trusted you to hold you responsible for preventing any possible injuries in your team.

“Alright,” the captain said, having just finished explaining today’s agenda, “Let’s do some stretches before getting started.”

All of you nodded before dispersing across the field and individually warming up before starting practice. As you were in the middle of your arm stretches, a voice called you from behind. “Psst, (L/N)!”

You instantly rolled your eyes before turning to meet those of the person’s you hated to see the most. “What is it now, Barnes?”

“Heard you were aiming for captain next year,” he said as the two of you continued to stretch.

“What’s it to you? Scared I’d beat you like everything else?” you retorted, earning a hearty laugh from him. “Beat me? Sweetheart, that wasn’t the case at potions earlier.”

For a brief moment, you paused, stunned at the new pet name he called you. When did he start calling you that? You felt your cheeks heat up as your gaze fell to the floor, mind too hazy to think of a witty comeback. You opened your mouth to speak, but no sound came out as you struggled to find words to say. Luckily, your captain decided that it was finally time to start practice, saving you from any further embarrassment.

With his blow of the whistle, the case opened, the Quaffle, Bludgers, and the Snitch all flying out and going every which way as you and Bucky took off on your brooms, you immediately going after a Bludger and Bucky taking his place by one of the goals.

The Bludger you were after was heading right towards your Seeker, Peter Parker, so you quickly hit it with your bat, causing the Bludger to fly in another direction. “Thanks!” Peter shouted before wizing away to find the Snitch. You nodded in reply, still not trusting your voice after your encounter with Bucky earlier. You fly around the field, trying to focus on your role which is to hit Bludgers away from your teammates at all cost. You and your counterpart were able to hit a few, other times the teammates had to dodge them on their own, but you were holding up pretty well. That was until you caught Bucky staring at you from his side of the field. Just as you prevented a Bludger from hitting your captain, your eyes locked with his for a brief moment before you turned away, your name being called by another teammate.

You flew towards them quickly, hitting the Bludger away which caused it to hurl towards Bucky as a result. You immediately started to fly towards it on instinct, but you suddenly decided to stop mid-way and just waited for Bucky to meet his fate. With a smirk on your face, you watched as the Bludger met the side of Bucky’s head, bouncing off of him with a loud “thunk!”

“Ow!” Bucky screeched as you flew past him, a triumphant grin plastered on your face. “Keep up, Barnes, you’re supposed to avoid those things!” you taunted, circling around him in an attempt to annoy him even more. You saw him scowl at you as he rubbed the sore side of his head whilst trying to keep the Quaffle from getting into any of the hoops he was guarding.

“Last time I checked, that was your job, dumbass!” Bucky bellowed as you flew away from him, clutching your stomach as you almost fell off your broom from laughing too hard.

Practice continued on as normal for a few hours after that until your captain eventually called it quits, sending you all away back to your common rooms to rest and recuperate. You spent the rest of the day in the library, trying to finish up on the day’s homework until curfew came, and the prefects ushered you out of the library and into your respective common rooms. You were supposed to start studying for tomorrow’s test in your room, but your roommate, Natasha, was snoring a little too loud that night. So with a huff, you took your books and tiptoed to the common room downstairs for some peace and quiet.

You expected to enter a silent room, with only the crackle of the wood in the fireplace being heard, but to your surprise, you were met with soft snores and the sight of Bucky Barnes passed out on the couch. You walked over to get a closer look at him, your eyebrows drawn together in confusion— why was he there? You took note of how his hair was tousled and mouth slightly open, a bit of drool trickling out the side. You grimaced at the sight before noticing how the fire beside him illuminated the side of his face just right, accentuating his jawline and highlighting his cheekbones. Your eyes trailed down to the light stubble that covered the bottom half of his face, he decided to let it grow out this year, it seemed, compared to the clean-shaven look he sported last year. You liked it, you admitted to yourself. Maybe a little too much.

Your thoughts were interrupted when you heard the soft snores turn into light groans, his eyebrows knitting together, almost looking like he was in pain. You froze in your place as he started to mumble out words that sounded like broken sentences, but upon coming closer to understand what he was saying, you could make out a few words like “stop”, “please”, and even short sentences like “let me go”.

Concluding that he was having a nightmare, you ultimately decided to wake him up. Placing a hand on his shoulder, gently rocking him awake, Bucky jolted up with wide eyes as his chest heaved. You watched him frantically look around the room, seemingly trying to find the culprit that was making him suffer in his dream, but upon seeing that no one was there, he visibly relaxed.

However, his eyes widened again and his shoulders tensed upon realizing that you were there, standing above him. “What the hell are you doing here?” Bucky asked, his voice raspy from sleep. You rolled your eyes for the millionth time today, “It’s a common room for a reason, idiot.”

“So you just watch people while they’re sleeping?”

“You looked like you were having a nightmare so I woke you up, but now that you’re being such a bitch about it, I wish I didn’t.”

“Oh,” Bucky mumbled, his shoulders unstiffening upon the thought of you waking him up from a nightmare, ultimately saving him from his suffering, “thanks.”

You grumbled before gesturing for him to sit up so you could sit. “You wanna talk about it?” you asked, taking a seat beside him. Bucky cleared his throat before his hand flew to his head to fix his hair. “With you? Never.”

You scoffed, “Asshole.” You knew better than to push him, so you just opened one of your books and started reading, finally doing what you had originally intended to do. Silence filled the common room, an atmosphere you couldn’t quite determine enveloped the two of you as you sat on the couch.

Bucky was looking around, trying to find something to say to break the silence, but decided against it in order to prevent himself from getting embarrassed even more. This was the first time you saw Bucky having nightmares. Although he had been dealing with them since first year, he managed to hide it from everyone around him in order to preserve his typical brave Gryffindor persona. So to have someone, let alone his rival, see him in such a vulnerable state was not a good look for him.

Bucky cleared his throat again, preparing to say something, but was cut off by you holding out a book towards him, eyes never leaving the one you were currently reading. “Figured you haven’t studied for that history test on the Witch Trials yet because of how busy you are ruining everyone else’s day,” you muttered.

Bucky repeated your statement in a mocking tone, prompting you to shoving the book in his face, effectively hitting his nose. “Ow,” he mumbled, rubbing it before grabbing the book from his lap from which it fell. “That’s the second time you’ve attempted to seriously injure me today,” he brooded.

“Don’t be such a baby about it,” you replied as he opened the book and started reading. “And I would do it again in a heartbeat,” you followed with a teasing tone, causing him to hit you in the arm with the book you gave him.

“Ow! That hurt!”

“Don’t be such a baby about it.”

“Alright, class, so today we’ll be talking about non-verbal spells and as its name entails, these spells require no incantations in order to be casted. So can anyone tell me if it is easier to cast a spell with or without an incantation?”

Both you and Bucky’s hand flew up. “Yes, Barnes.”

You groaned.

“With, sir. Non-verbal spells are generally harder to cast, but it really depends on what type of wood your wand is made of. Alder is the best for it,” Bucky answered. The professor hummed in approval before affirming his answer and continuing with the discussion.

“Show off,” you muttered under your breath, enough for Bucky to hear and send a wink towards you.

The moment was cut short when the professor started to list names of students who’ll be partnered together in order to practice casting: “Romanoff and Wilson, Rhodes and Carter, (L/N) and Barnes—“

Great.

Once again, you turned to Bucky who mirrored the annoyed expression on your face as the students started finding their own areas in the classroom to start practicing. You begrudgingly walked to a corner of the room with Bucky tailing behind you as you whipped out your wand. “Ladies first,” you offered as you gestured for him to go.

He rolled his eyes before grabbing his wand and waving it towards you. To his dismay and your surprise, nothing came out of the wand, leaving the both of you staring at nothing. You raised your eyebrows at him, almost mockingly as he stared at you back with an even more annoyed expression. You opened your mouth to speak, a snarky remark ready to leave your lips, but you stopped when Bucky put his hand up, “Not a word.”

You snickered before pointing your wand towards him. Please work, you thought to yourself before waving it whilst mentally casting the incantation. You stared at Bucky, waiting for the spell to take effect and let out an excited squeal when it did.

Bucky looked at you questionably, not feeling anything different. He half expected to be flung across the room or start floating out of nowhere, but it wasn’t until he looked at his hands that he noticed small, pus-filled spots started appearing all over his skin. His eyes widened as he ran towards the nearest mirror while your boisterous cackling still echoed across the room. Bucky let out a surprise yelp upon seeing that his whole face and body was now covered with pimples and other students started to notice too.

Bucky turned to you, fuming. “You pimple jinx-ed me?!” he exclaimed.

“What are you talking about? I see no difference!” you replied, clutching your stomach as you doubled over in laughter.

“Oh, shut up!”

Thankfully, the spell wore off in just a few minutes after that. Unfortunately, Bucky wasn’t able to cast a non-verbal spell on you which he deduced to be because of how embarrassed he was from the pimple thing so he couldn’t fully concentrate. Nevertheless, your professor called it a day when the bell rang, signaling that it was now lunch time.

Which brings Bucky to the Great Hall, munching on a chicken leg angrily as he ranted to Sam Wilson while they both sat at the Gryffindor table. “She just gets on my nerves, man. You have no idea,” Bucky grumbled as his friend nodded understandingly.

“I don’t know, Buck, that pimple jinx thing was pretty hilarious,” Sam chuckled, earning a glare from the other Gryffindor. He eyed Bucky curiously as he continued to brood while eating his lunch before piping up, ““You know, for someone who claims to hate (Y/N) you sure do talk about her a lot. Not to mention how much you guys like getting all up in each other’s faces.”

Bucky threw another dirty look over to Sam before replying, “I don’t hate her. I hate losing to her. And everyone knows closeness establishes dominance.”

Sam scoffed. “Yeah, sure, dominance. How about the competitive banter, does that establish dominance too?”

“Mhm.”

“The playground insults?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, how about the longing stares?”

“Exactly– what? What longing stares?” Bucky asked, his head whipping around to look at Sam, utterly perplexed. What did he mean?

Sam let out a laugh before placing his hand on Bucky’s shoulders. “I’ve seen the way you look at her when you aren’t busy trying to beat her at literally everything,” Sam explained, prompting Bucky to roll his eyes. Then, subconsciously, his eyes landed on your figure. Your back was facing him as you were talking to Natasha, but he could already feel the hatred bubbling in his chest, or was it something else?

“See? Exactly like that,” Sam pointed out, snapping Bucky out of his days. “Like I absolutely hate her with every fiber of my being?” he asked. Sam shook his head. “You know, people often confuse love with hate because they’re very similar things.”

Bucky resisted the urge to say anything else, allowing him to continue. “I’m willing to bet my broomstick that your heart beats faster and your face grows hot everytime you see her–”

“Yeah, because I don’t like her.”

“How are you so sure that you don’t?”

Bucky didn’t know how to answer that.

“Wait, so he almost accidentally stepped on a Moke?” you clarified as you and Wanda walked through the corridors which were, once again, filled with other students who were scurrying to class. Wanda chuckled in response. “I don’t know what to tell you, Pietro’s something else.”

You nodded in reply. “Indeed, he is. Care for Magical Creatures sounds fun, though.”

Wanda groaned, “Is this another way of telling me how much you hate Divination?” You held your hands up defensively, “Hey, you were the one who forced me to get this stupid elective with you anyway.���

As if on cue, you stopped in front of the room where Divination class was held as you hesitated to enter. Wanda rolled her eyes before pulling you inside and finding a seat.

All tables which had two chairs were already occupied so Wanda was forced to sit with Sam Wilson while you settled with Brock Rumlow as your seatmate.

“Good afternoon, class! Today, we’ll be talking about Tessomacy…” your professor trailed as you took out your notebook, not to take notes, but to start doodling.

You couldn’t care less for excelling in Divination frankly because Bucky wasn’t here to compete with you so you settled with drawing silly images of him bumping his head on a Bludger. However, your artistry was cut short when your professor ordered you to take your partner’s tea cups and read its leaves.

You looked over to Rumlow who was already sporting a look of disgust before shyly grabbing his cup as he hastily grabbed yours.

You examined the remnants of the tea, rotating the cup in every possible way to see if anything matched the symbols listed in your book. You looked over to Wanda who seemed to be having an equally difficult time in figuring out Sam’s tea leaves as Sam watched her amusingly.

Looking back to Brock’s cup in your hands, you come to notice that it resembled the Club. You cleared your throat before gingerly showing Brock his leaves, “I think you got the Club. Based on the textbook, it means some sort of attack so be careful.”

Brock looked at you and scoffed, hands still clutching into your cup. “You know what I see in yours?” he asked, but before you could even answer, he spoke again. “I see a filthy little mudblood who doesn’t even deserve to be here,” he seethed, venom lacing his every word.

The room suddenly grew silent over hearing the derogatory term after many years. You were also as equally stunned as you thought everyone in your year has grown out of using that word.

Yes, you were a muggle-born wizard, but it wasn’t something you were ashamed of. However, judgemental comments couldn’t be avoided, especially during the first few years in Hogwarts, but you got used to it. But you hadn’t heard that word for a few years now, so hearing it once again felt fresh. Just like how it felt all those years ago.

A familiar sting filled your eyes as you struggled to blink back tears.

Brock continued to stare at you with nothing but hostility, waiting for you to make your next move. It wasn’t until you heard your professor reprimanding Brock that you felt yourself stand up and run out of the room, into the empty hallway.

Your footsteps echoed along the corridor as you ran to the nearest bathroom, repeatedly wiping your eyes as an attempt to stop the tears that didn’t seem to stop flowing. They blurred your vision so much that you failed to see someone in front of you, only noticing their presence as you bumped into their shoulder.

“(Y/N)?” the voice, you recognized to be Bucky’s, called. Frustration accumulated in your chest, knowing he’d tease you later on after seeing you cry, but you just brushed past him, too tired to deal with him right now.

Bucky’s gaze stayed fixed on your form. He heard your sniffles and noticed your puffy eyes, but he didn’t bother to stop you and ask what was wrong, figuring that it would be best to leave you be.

But when Sam told him what had happened that afternoon, on their way back from Hogsmeade, he was furious. Bucky felt anger strangely bubbling in his chest and heat rushing to his face as he stormed off to find Rumlow. He didn’t know what he wanted to do or what he was capable of doing, but one thing's for sure: no one calls you a mudblood.

Much to his delight, he manages to spot Rumlow on his way back from Hogsmeade as well. With full force, Bucky grabbed Brock by his robe and slammed him against a nearby cobblestone wall, catching him by surprise. “What the hell, Barnes?!” Rumlow exclaimed, his eyes wide upon seeing Bucky’s chest fall and rise rapidly.

“You think it’s okay to go around calling people mudbloods?” Bucky huffed in between breaths. Rumlow looked over Bucky’s shoulder and towards Sam, silently pleading for help only to have Sam shake his head in disapproval.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Rumlow stuttered, only causing Bucky to tighten his grip on his clothes and slamming him against the wall once again. “Cut the crap, Rumlow. I know what you did. Stay away from her, you hear me? You stay the fuck away from her or I’ll make sure that’s the last thing you’ll ever do with your sorry ass,” Bucky muttered through clenched teeth.

Brock nodded rapidly before Bucky let him go, sending him scrambling to get away from him and Sam as Bucky’s chest continued to heave with anger. Sam quietly approached his best friend and put a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t you think that was a little too much?”

Bucky said nothing and only turned to Sam before shrugging the hand on his shoulder and continuing the walk back to Hogwarts with Sam following closely behind.

Little did the two know that you and Wanda were just right behind him, having witnessed the whole thing. Wanda clutched her box of Exploding Bonbons, one frozen halfway to her mouth, “Did he just—“

“Yeah,” you gaped.

“He really—“

“Uhuh.”

Because of this, you decided to thank him that night.

In the early hours of the morning, you tiptoed your way into the common room, expecting him to be there once again. Fortunately, he was there sitting by the fireplace, reading what seemed to be the textbook for Potions class.

You cleared your throat, alerting him of your presence, causing his head to snap towards you. His shoulders were tensed, but ultimately relaxed upon seeing that it was just you. “What do you want?” he asked, voice laced with tiredness.

“Calm down, will you?” you sighed, already annoyed by his attitude. You slowly approached him, prompting him to move and make space for you on the couch. You sat down. “I just wanted to thank you for today. Wanda and I saw what you did to Rumlow.”

You noticed Bucky’s eyes grow ever so slightly in size, possibly shocked that you saw what happened. However, he shook it off and feigned apathy. “He’s always been a dick anyway.”

You scoffed, but this time, it wasn’t hostile like the others. This time, it was merely playful and almost affectionate in a way. “You just can’t accept the fact that you did one nice thing for me,” you commented, prompting a soft laugh from Bucky. You laughed too.

“Touche,” he said, a smile that was friendly unlike the other smiles he’s given you in the past.

The room was then engulfed in silence with only the crackle of the fire being heard as Bucky’s face turned solemn. “But come to me, all right? Whenever you have a problem,” he said in a voice that was barely above a whisper, almost as if he was afraid you might hear it.

But you did. And it completely caught you off guard. You sat across from him as you struggled to find the right words to say.

For years, all you could remember about Bucky was that he was hell-bent on beating you at everything while being sure to throw in a few insults here and there. The last time he was this nice to you was back in first year when he heard that your broomstick got destroyed, but after that, it was all rivalry.

Swallowing the knot in your throat, you managed to croak, “Yeah, you too, Bucky.”

Bucky smiled and you smiled back. It was only then that Bucky really noticed how gorgeous your smile was. It was then Bucky realized how beautiful you are when you weren’t busy putting curses on him or hitting him with Bludgers. It was then Bucky’s stomach dropped upon realizing that what he was feeling for you was definitely not hate.

He cleared his throat once again before swiftly standing up. “Ahem, I should probably head to bed. Big game tomorrow.”

Your face dropped before mirroring his actions. “Right, yeah, me too,” you mumbled, dusting off your sweater as you began to walk towards the left side of the room as Bucky headed to the right.

“Goodnight.” “Goodnight,” you muttered to each other, before realizing that you were both going the wrong directions towards your dormitories. Slowly, you both turned around to walk as swiftly as possible the right way, bumping into each other during the process.

“Oh, sorry,” you said, letting out a breathy laugh as he did the same. “Goodnight, (Y/N),” Bucky chuckled before finally heading to his room. You called back, “Goodnight, Bucky.”

Bucky cursed as another Quaffle flew past him and entered one of the hoops, garnering another point for the opposite team. That had been the fifth time he missed which was anything but normal for him, much to his captain’s dismay.

The keeper was almost completely out of it, his mind elsewhere and far away from the game that was happening in front of him. His head was foggy from last night’s events with you— how you smiled at him genuinely for the first time in a while, how sweet your voice was when you bid him goodnight, and how fast his heart was beating when—

“Barnes!” the captain shouted just as another Quaffle flew past Bucky, allowing Slytherin to have a 10-point lead now. Bucky groaned internally as the captain approached him, the knuckles gripping his broomstick turning white with frustration. “What is wrong with you today?!”

Bucky shook his head and waved at him dismissively, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Almost ironically, a Bludger flew right past his head before hitting the nearby watchtower, startelling the audience perched onto it. Both Bucky and the captain’s gaze trailed to where the Bludger came from which led to you staring back at them with guilt and embarrassment. “Sorry! Should’ve caught that,” you admitted sheepishly, causing the captain to shake his head before flying away.

“Watch out!” a voice from behind you exclaimed. You braced yourself for whatever was coming to you, but it never came as you saw another Bludger fly past your head from the corner of your eye. You turned around to thank whoever hit it which turned out to be Pietro, your co-Beater. “Thanks, Pietro,” you smiled. He gave you a curious look in return. “Are you okay? You usually don’t let any Bludger get past you.”

You sighed, looking around to see if any of them were coming back. Thankfully, there were none. “I know, I know. Just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

Pietro raised an eyebrow. “Well, you better get it out and focus on winning the game instead,” he smiled before flying away, seeking out any other Bludgers to hit.

You rubbed your hand across your face. You were out of it too. Bucky was all that’s on your mind ever since last night and for the first time in a while, the things you wanted to do to him were anything but hostile.

“Bludger!” one of the Chasers shouted, making you whip your head to follow it before noticing that it was headed towards Bucky. You gripped onto your broomstick and flew as fast as you could, Bat in head. “Bucky!” you tried to shout as a warning, but it was too late. The Bludger managed to hit him dead on the head, instantly knocking him out and sending him falling to the ground.

The game halted as everyone watched in shock as Bucky Barnes landed on the ground, unconscious.

Bucky slowly opened his eyes, immediately squinting at the sun’s rays that were penetrating the window. He looked out to see that it had already begun to set, meaning that the game was long over. He tried shifting from where he laid, only to notice that there was a sling around his arm and… you sleeping on the side of his bed?

His eyebrows drew together in confusion. What were you doing here?

With a voice still groggy from sleep, he managed to croak out your name while slightly nudging you with his leg, causing you to jolt awake. Bucky jumped at the sudden movement.

He watched you look around the room, almost as if you forget where you were in the first place, but your eyes instantly softened when they landed on him, making his heart skip a beat. “Bucky,” you began, breathing a sigh of relief. Bucky watched as you took in another breath before beginning, “I’m so sorry. My head wasn’t in the game this morning and I didn’t notice that the Bludger was heading straight towards you and before I knew it, you were falling and I didn’t know what to do–“

“It’s fine, sweetheart, take a breath. What happened to the game?” he interrupted. You thanked whatever god who was listening that he didn’t hear your breath hitch in your throat upon hearing the pet name again.

“They paused it for the time being. Headmaster Fury said they’re just gonna bump it to next week,” you answered. Bucky groaned, resting his good arm on his forehead. “Ugh, great. I’ll never be Quidditch captain at this point.”

The room was silent as you contemplated on what to say. “I really am sorry. I swear I didn’t let that Bludger hit you on purpose,” you pleaded, hoping that he wouldn’t hold this against you. Your chest tightened as he let out a sigh. “Don’t worry, I get it. My mind wasn’t really focused on goal keeping either.”

The room was silent once again.

“Did it have something to do about us last night?”you managed to ask, your voice barely above a whisper. Your heart fluttered when Bucky let out a chuckle. “I think it had something to do about you in general, doll.”

You didn’t say anything in reply, your gaze instantly falling on your hands that laid on your lap with his hands not far from yours. It took you everything in your willpower to prevent yourself from just reaching over and placing your hand in his. However, your thoughts were interrupted when he spoke up, “You like that, don’t you?”

You tore your gaze away from your hands to look at him only to realize that he was already looking at you, his typical playful grin adorned across his face. You rolled your eyes. “Like what?”

“Whenever I call you a pet name. You claim that you don’t, but you always look down when I do. And you only look down when you’re flustered.”

You raised your eyebrows, almost as if you were challenged by his statement, but in reality, your heart could beat out of your chest.

Managing to hide it, however, you replied, “So you’re picking up on my mannerisms now? Damn, Barnes, didn’t peg you to be such a simp.”

Bucky snorted. “Shut up.”

The room was enveloped in silence again, but this time, it was comfortable. Just like how it was during those late nights you spent in the common room.

Suddenly, you felt his hand slowly creeping into yours, seemingly testing to see if you would retract away from him. But you don’t. Instead, you grab onto his hand, savoring how warm it felt against yours and rubbed your thumb against the back of his palm in soothing circles.

And just like that, it was almost as if all the animosity and all the misplaced hatred you had for each other evaporated into thin air.

You smiled at him, and he smiled back. “Rest up, okay? It’s no fun when I don’t have anyone to cast pimple jinxes on.”

It was Bucky’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Is that concern, I’m detecting?”

“No, Nurse Cho gave you some medicine earlier. You’re just loopy.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

A/N: likes, comments, and reblogs are highly appreciated <3 i’m hoping to get to 600 followers soon :DD thank you so much to everyone who likes my writing, it means a lot to me <33

[delusionalwriterr]

i wasn’t going to share this but here