Sleeping Bucky

You plonked down on the soft inviting couch, with a pizza box and a can of Coke in your hands. It was nearing 2 a.m. and all the other Avengers in the tower were seemingly asleep in their rooms. You were often restless at night and had wandered into the kitchen, only to find a box filled with just the crusts of leftover takeout pizza on the counter. Clint knew you had a habit of eating people’s crusts and often left out a box full of them for you.

You shivered and dragged a blanket over your shoulders, nestling back into the cushions of the couch. Crossing your legs and tucking your feet in, you opened the box excitedly and began munching on the soft crust. Suddenly you heard a clatter and glanced behind you. Bucky crept out of the kitchen moments later with a glass of water in his metal hand. You didn’t even notice him walking in. He looked up; only just realising you were there, almost dropping the glass.

“(Y/N), what are you doing up?” he stage-whispered, unsure of how loud he could talk without waking the others. You lifted the cardboard box above your head and grinned, taking another bite.

“Pizza, you want some?” you said, your mouth half full, patting a spot on the couch beside you. Bucky wandered over and frowned slightly at your appearance. Your hair had been thrown into a mess ponytail at the top of your head and you were dressed in loose pants, fluffy socks, and an oversized, faded green t-shirt. He turned his gaze to the box and scowled.

“It’s just the crusts,” he moaned, dropping down next to you. You gasped dramatically.

“Just the crusts? Bucky, my friend, these are not simply crusts, these are the tragically ignored beauties of the art of pizza!” you exclaimed, waving a piece around in your hand and taking a bite. You shoved the box at him and he cautiously picked up the end of a slice.

“Who ate the rest?” he said, surveying the dough hesitantly. You shrugged and he sighed, nibbling at the edges.

“It won’t bite as much as I do, Buck,” you smiled, grabbing the can of Coke and snapping the tab open. The release of air let out a satisfying crackle and the soft drink fizzled quietly. Bucky rolled his eyes and dove in, glancing at you every once and a while. You chugged the cold liquid quickly, containing a burp. You hadn’t known him for long, and you didn’t care what you looked like around him, but you thought it was quite rude to belch right in front of the poor soldier.

“It’s probably none of my business, but did you purposely buy a shirt that’s five sizes too big for you?” he asked. You flicked your eyes down, staring at a fleck of dirt on the floorboards intently and playing with the hem of your shirt. You didn’t reply for some time, until you felt Bucky’s gaze shift from you. I suppose it’s not a big deal to tell him.

“No,” you said eventually, taking a deep breath. Bucky looked at you again, frowning at how pale your skin had gone. “It’s my brother’s. He’s a good few years older than me and moved out before I was even a teenager. Then, because of his job, he moved countries a lot, and I moved here, so we haven’t spoken or seen each other in quite a while. He gave me a couple of his old t-shirts and hoodies that he didn’t have space for before leaving, and I wear them a lot because they still smell a bit like him.”

You gave a soft smile, still looking at the ground. You remembered all the times he teased you about being so much shorter than him, and how you always looked up to him, wishing you could be like him when you were older. He was your inspiration, and you never told him that enough. A tear found its way out of your eye and you quickly sniffled and tried to wipe it away before a hand reached up and caught yours. You looked up, tensing, to see Bucky staring at you, grasping your hand tightly, with a look of concern in his eyes. You gave him a weak smile and he pulled you towards him into a tight hug.

You softened at his embrace, his skin emanating a smell of soap and sweat, not the overpowering kind, but a comforting, masculine scent. You wrapped your arms around him, the blanket falling off of your shoulders. You felt so safe in his arms and you never wanted to let go.

“Thanks for the pizza,” he whispered in your ear and you giggled lightly, pulling away from him. He reached up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear. So cliché. You couldn’t help but blush at his stare. God, he’s so attractive. You had developed a crush on him the moment Steve brought him to the Avenger’s Tower but you knew that he was still slightly unstable. You cursed yourself for thinking about him that way, there’s no way he could ever like you, and especially the way you looked like right now.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked suddenly. You snapped out of your reverie and blinked.

“What?”

“You looked a little…distant for a minute,” he smirked. You blushed and looked away.

“Nothing, I was just thinking how you’ve opened up a whole lot more since you moved here, you’re kind of becoming more like your old self again, it’s nice,” you smiled sweetly, taking a bite of the forgotten pizza crusts.

“Thanks doll,” he winked, stealing your can of Coke off the table and downing the rest of it. Your playful glare was interrupted by a yawn and you covered your gaping mouth with your hand. It took a moment to realise that you were almost sitting on Bucky’s lap and scooted back quickly, afraid that he might think you were too close. He frowned slightly at the sudden movement but relaxed his features when he saw a blush creep up on your cheeks.

“You wanna sleep?” Bucky said, stretching out on the couch beside you. You stared at him as he threw an arm over the back of the couch.

“H-here?” you exclaimed, your eyes widening. Bucky laughed at your expression and nodded, looking you in the eye. The thought of cuddling up next to Bucky had come into your mind a lot more than you’d like to admit and now that the opportunity had arisen, you weren’t going to pass it up. You lay down next to him, resting your head on his chest as he dragged the blanket back over the both of you. You snuggled closely to him as he wrapped his arms around you and your eyelids dropped, slowly falling asleep to the steady sound of Bucky’s heartbeat as he held you tighter.

~

You woke up to the sound of the whistle of a kettle and the smell of bacon cooking. You groaned and went to rub your eyes with your hand, only to find it stuck underneath something heavy. You squinted to see a metal arm draped over yours. It was attached to a snoring Bucky, who was still sleeping soundly. You lightly lifted his arm and wiggled out from his grasp, rolling onto the floor with a flop. You stood up and stretched, wincing as your muscles popped. Glancing back at Bucky, you couldn’t help but smile at how cute he looked with his hair a mess and his mouth slightly open. You wandered to the kitchen to find Steve standing over the stove, turning over a batch of sizzling bacon and sipping on a cup of coffee.

“Hey Steve,” you said groggily, reaching up and taking your favourite cup down from the press. As went about making a cup of tea, you caught Steve looking at you and smirking. You gave him a questioning look.

“Sleep well, (Y/N)?” he winked uncharacteristically.

“Are you implying something, Capsicle?” you asked, narrowing your eyes as you took a sip of the hot cup of tea in your hands.

“No… Just I saw your sleeping arrangements this morning,” he said, nudging you lightly. You blushed and looked into your cup. “I..um…I think that’s the best night sleep he’s had in long time, no nightmares or anything.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, he isn’t the best at sharing his feelings and stuff, but it’s pretty obvious that he likes...” Steve began before Bucky walked in, leaning against the doorframe.

“Likes what?” he asked, a smirk playing at his lips.

“Tea!” Steve blurted out. “(Y/N) makes a great cup of tea.” Bucky narrowed his eyes at Steve and walked into the kitchen, taking a seat on a chair by the breakfast bar.

“The trick is lots of sugar,” you grinned, elbowing Steve before stealing a piece of bacon from the plate he was dishing up. “I could make you some if you want, Buck.”

“Sure thing, doll,” Bucky winked and you grabbed a cup and made him some tea, dumping three spoons of sugar into it. You handed him the cup and he took a sip and sighed, smiling. “Just as sweet as you.”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Steve said as he wolfed down his breakfast, taking his coffee cup with him. When he was gone, you took the seat next to Bucky and broke the piece of bacon and handed him the bigger half. He smiled brightly and threw it into his mouth.

“Miss (Y/L/N), you’re requested to be in the lobby for a mission in a half an hour,” a clipped English accent called out over an intercom system. You sighed and gulped the rest of your tea down; ignoring the way the scalding liquid burned your throat.

“Thanks J.A.R.V.I.S.,” you said loudly and heaved yourself up off the chair. “Catch you later, Bucky.” You leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Before you turned around you could have sworn you saw him raise his hand to touch the place you kissed him with his human hand.

You skipped out of the kitchen and towards your room, getting changed and ready for your mission, but all the while thinking about last night and how good it felt to be in Bucky’s arms.