After having the Compound destroyed by Thanos, the new Avengers Compound was under construction and so you and Steve decided to get an apartment together and, of course, with Bucky.
You and Steve had been inseparable from the moment you met and you were well aware of how important Bucky was to Steve, so you had no problem living with him.
You had been in Romania with Steve to help Bucky, and Germany, and you had ran away with him, and you had been to Wakanda a handful of times when Steve went to visit Bucky when it was safe. So, you knew Bucky a bit. Actually, you've had massive heart eyes for that man from the moment you first saw him, but you never did anything about it. Both of you were Steve's best friends, his family, and if Bucky didn't feel the same you really didn't want to make things weird for Steve.
There was this weird tension between you. The good kind of tension. With lingering gazes and small touches and smiles, the small gestures, the moments when you found Bucky late at night sitting in the living room, looking like shit after having another nightmare and you made him some tea and put something on the tv to keep him out of his thoughts for a while… Which Bucky deeply appreciated, especially since you didn't push him to talk about it. He was comfortable around you, and that was something that didn't come easily for him these days.
Had Bucky been the confident, charming young man he once was, he wouldn't have hesitated to do something about said tension, but he wasn't. And you were Steve's friend, so he didn't want to fuck it up.
Steve, bless his soul, seemed completely unaware of what was going on and he just thought his two best friends got along really well.
It was Steve who suggested taking Bucky to Coney Island now that the weather was nicer, so there you were between two massive super soldiers, with Steve's arm casually draped on your shoulders while he talked to his old friend, who had his hands inside the pockets of his leather jacket.
"So, where do you wanna go first?" You asked the brunette, his long hair getting on his face with the breeze. You took a hair tie from your wrist and silently offered it to him with a smile.
He thanked you with a court nod and hummed pensively as he tied his hair in a bun. It was getting too long, but you'd said you liked how it looked a couple of times so he let it be.
"Uh… Cyclone? Wanna see how Stevie holds up now he's all big and healthy." Bucky said with a smirk, looking up at his blonde friend as he tried to tease him.
"I'll have ya know that I didn't throw up last time we were here." Steve rushed to defend himself, faking being offended.
"But don't spoil it for him!" You nudged Steve's side with your elbow, chuckling as the three of you started heading towards the roller coaster.
You ended up sitting in the cart with Bucky, Steve sitting alone in front of you. The guys initially wanted to sit together but the seats weren't wide enough for both of their stupidity beefy bodies to fit. Hell, even you and Bucky were a tight fit, your bodies completely pressed against each other.
"This feels just like the back of that stupid tiny car Steve stole in Germany." You said with a sigh as you waited for the rest of the people to get in, looking at Bucky with amusement.
"Yeah, not his best moment." Bucky chuckled, trying to make some space for you, even if he was more than okay to have you that close.
"Guys, y'know I can hear you, right?" Steve turned on his seat to give you two a stern look, which you responded to by showing him your tongue, making laughter bubble in Bucky's chest.
"I don't remember these being so small. Last time we came here I had to hold you in place, remember?" Bucky commented once his laugh died down.
"It was a nightmare, I really thought I was gonna fly ou-Oh, it's starting." Steve was cut short when the ride started moving, turning around and getting ready.
"You nervous?" Bucky leaned towards your ear, his low tone making goosebumps rise on your skin.
You bit your lip and you shook your head, looking away from his face. He playfully nudged your arm with his, not taking it away afterwards.
"I don't know if we should trust something made in the 20s." He commented as the ride started to get close to the top.
"Bucky, you're literally ten years older than this thing." You said with a chuckle.
You went to look back at him just when the cart started to tilt down, making you yelp and grab onto Bucky's hand as the ride dropped down.
"I thought you weren't nervous." Bucky chuckled once you went up again, adjusting your hands so he could grab yours better.
"Shut UP!" You ended up screaming into the next drop, making both super-soldiers laugh.
Bucky didn't let go of your hand the whole ride and neither did you. And neither of you commented on it. He helped you out of the ride, his hand still on yours as you got off the cart still laughing.
It was only when Steve turned his attention back to the two of you that your hands dropped to each other's sides, yours going to put some of your hair behind your ear and Bucky's casually going back to his pockets.
"How was it?" Steve asked Bucky with a wide smile, his hair terribly messy from the ride.
"Just like the old times." The brunette responded, giving you a side glance and smiling to himself as you started walking out of there. It kinda was like the old times, him, his best friend and a gorgeous dame by his side. Except, unfortunately, you weren't his date.
"Where do you wanna go next?"
Bucky ended up wanting to go on almost every ride in the park and both you and Steve gladly indulged him. Bucky usually wasn't as gloomy and brooding as he was when you first met him, but you'd never seen him have that much fun, his face glowing from laughing and his hair mussed from all the rides.
Steve was definitely happier than ever, seeing Bucky like that and finally having some well deserved fun like regular people. Especially after over a decade of constant fighting and running.
You, on the other hand, while having a very good time with them, were starting to struggle to keep your heart from getting out of your chest from all the fluttering. Up until now, it had been moderately easy to keep your feelings for Bucky in check, but he was more his old charming flirty self than the snarky awkward Bucky you were used to (and adored) and that was way harder to ignore. It was harder to ignore how he had held your hand on the Cyclone, how your hands brushed while you walked side by side, how he whispered things in your ear even when you could've heard him fine without doing that and gave you that smug smile of his. You could see a little bit of that Bucky Steve had talked to you about so many times.
Steve had been recognized by some kids and had told you two to run while you could while he handled that, knowing Bucky wouldn't like a lot of attention directed at him. Bucky grimaced as you both watched a small crowd form around your friend. Not wanting to simply stand there waiting, you scoped your surroundings for something to do. Once you got it, you tugged at his sleeve, redirecting his attention to you.
"It'll be a while before they let him go, how'bout I win you something?" You said with a playful wink, laughing at the dumbfounded expression on his face after he heard you.
"Doesn't that work the other way around?" He said with a raised brow, letting you guide him to the stand with the cute cat plushies you thought he would like.
"You gonna feel emasculated if I give you a gift?" You said teasingly, walking backwards towards the stand so you could still watch him.
"More like I'd like to win you something." He confessed with a side smile, looking at you with fondness. He thought he was going to be able to keep his feelings in check but, perhaps he couldn't do that anymore.
You stopped on your feet and opened your mouth to say something, only to end up biting your lip and sighing lightly.
"Well… we can win each other something, then." You suggested with a shrug of your shoulders, your hand letting his sleeve go and trailing down his arm to hold his hand.
You looked behind him to see how Steve was doing. Still there with the kids. Bucky turned slightly to check what you were looking at but ended up being urged to walk again by the tug of your hand in his.
He smiled, his gaze moving from your back to where your hands met before he picked up his pace. His flesh hand, free on his side, was starting to sweat inside the leather glove. It seemed like two were finally doing something about this thing between you and he was getting giddy and nervous. He felt weird, good, like… fuck, he felt young again doing this silly thing with you.
You chose the game where you have to clear a pyramid of cans with balls and, because Bucky was always a gentleman, he let you go first.
You decided to get only 2 balls, the minimum, confident in your /skills/. Then, you got ready to throw the first one, debating between using your telekinesis or not.
"No powers, Y/n... cheating s'wrong." Bucky said after he felt the hair on the nape of his neck rise (something that always happened when you did your thing), leaning from behind you to whisper in your ear. You knew he was smiling from his tone alone.
You showed him your middle finger without even turning to see him, making him laugh and take a step back to give you some space. You could do 'no powers' just fine ,so you adjusted your stance, took a deep breath and aimed at the cans.
Bucky whistled behind you, impressed when the pyramid crumbled down with just one throw. "That was a great throw."
"Right? And you thought I was gonna cheat…" you sighed dramatically as you turned on your feet to face him. Bucky chuckled and apologized briefly. "C'mon pretty boy, pick a prize." You winked at him, pointing behind you with your thumb.
Bucky's cheeks rapidly flushed pink at the name, but he played along, staring pensively at the assortment of stuffed animals hanging from the ceiling.
"Hmmm, I think I'll go for a white cat. Y'know, like Alpine."
You asked the guy running the game for the cat Bucky wanted and handed it to him with a triumphant smile on your face.
"Here you go, great choice."
"I have great taste." He tilted his head, raising his eyebrow at the same time he gave you a teasing smile. It was your time to blush. "Keep it for me, I have to win ya something now and I don't think I can top your throw." He said with a wink of his own before walking past you to shoot his shot.
You scoffed behind him, crossing your arms around the stuffed animal as you watched him. Your throw had been excellent but you knew Bucky had already been a great marksman before he got the serum.
And, as expected, Bucky threw the ball perfectly and made all the cans fall to the ground, same as you.
"I thought you couldn't top my throw." You said teasingly, walking up to his side.
He simply shrugged and casually wrapped his vibranium arm around you. "C'mon, pick something, the cat's mine." He said as he grabbed the cat's large head and carefully pulled it out from your embrace.
"Okay, okay! I… will get that cute fluffy wolf over there, please." You said, trying to ignore how you felt a rush of warmth to your cheeks. You offered him a cheeky smile when he raised his eyebrow at you.
"Didn't know you liked wolves." Bucky said, his tone deeper, while he got the fluffy white wolf plushie and offered it to you, dropping his arm from your shoulders so he could face you. You immediately missed feeling his arm around you. The vibranium wasn't warm, but his absence left you colder.
"I mean… I am particularly fond of one in particular." You looked at him through your lashes, trying to suppress a smile, your head tilted to the side.
Bucky licked his lips, about to say something, when Steve interrupted.
"Hey, guys. I swear that crowd just got bigger and bigger." He said as he approached the pair, sighing loudly with his hands on his hips. "Anyway, wanna go eat something?" Steve pointed somewhere behind him, ignoring the evident moment you were having.
"Uh, sure."
"Yeah, yeah. Eating sounds good." You and Bucky said nonchalantly at the same time, pulling away from each other now that the moment was gone.
Steve and Bucky got a lot of food. Like, a lot. And yeah, you were used to them eating like a family of 7 but it was fun to see them try everything they saw available and compare it to what they used to eat when they came to Coney Island back in the day.
At some point, you had complained about your feet hurting and Bucky had to remind you how he warned you should've worn your old boots instead of the new ones 'cause they were already broken into. But even with his 'I told you so', he patted his lap for you to put your feet up to give them a rest and he kept his metal hand on your calf as he chatted with Steve, mindlessly drawing soft circles on your jeans.
After getting stuffed with food, Steve suggested getting on the Wonder Wheel before going home. Absolutely refusing to get on the swinging ones in fear of throwing up everything you ate, you opted for the regular carts outside the wheel. You got in first, holding close the wolf Bucky had won for you. Speaking of the brunette, he got in next to sit by your side again, leaving Steve the seat behind yours.
You were distracted looking at the view when you felt Bucky's warm and callused flesh hand tentatively reaching for yours. You looked down at your hands to find that he had taken the glove off. Your gaze looked up to his face to find him looking back, smiling fondly as his fingers stroked yours, interlocking them. He was just going for it. You smiled back, feeling butterflies in your stomach. By then you had already forgotten why the fuck you hadn't done this sooner. You also had forgotten to enjoy the view from the wheel in favor of keeping your eyes on the massive man sitting next to you, who appeared intimidating to the rest of the world yet was so soft and cute with his cheeks flushed red and his small smiles.
Steve had been doing what you were supposed to be doing, enjoying the view, when he looked to the front again and found you and Bucky ogling at each other.
"Oh." He said to himself, a small smile on his face when he realized what was going on. "Y'know Buck, when you said this was just like the old days I wasn't expecting to end up being the third wheel again." He said with a dramatic sigh, amusement clear in his voice.
You felt your face get warm in an instant, your eyes widening and making Bucky laugh after you had been pulled away from your moment once again. He gently squeezed your hand before slightly turning on his seat to look at his friend.
"Shut up, punk." Bucky said with a breathy chuckle. "You introduced us, that's on you."
"So, you and Bucky." Steve said from his side of the island counter in the kitchen while he was making some tea. Alpine hopped on the counter when she heard his human's name and meowed. Bucky was the last one showering and she had been waiting for him outside the bathroom until Steve mentioned him.
"Don't worry, we haven't fondued." You joked while you scratched Alpine's chin.
"I don't know why I tell you anything." Steve sighed dramatically as he placed a mug in front of you. Ever since Steve had told you that story you'd been using the term to tease him.
"Because we're besties and that story is hilarious." You smiled proudly at him before sipping on the tea he made for you.
"I guess it is…" He nodded in defeat, a small side smile on his face. "I just wanted to say I think it's great. You two, I mean." He said to redirect the conversation.
"Well thanks… I mean, nothing's happened, but yeah." You said, looking down at your tea as you made the liquid swirl by just moving your index finger.
"Then make it happen. I don't know when it started but I know what I saw back there." He said with a pointed look before drinking from his mug. He heard the water being turned off, and he thought that was his cue to leave to give you some alone time. "Just… don't fondue on the common areas."
"Wha-Steve!!!" The corners of Steve's mouth tugged up, happy with your reaction when he heard you exclaim his name. He then simply picked up his tea, wished you goodnight and retreated to his room.
You were sipping on your half empty cup on the couch when Bucky came out of the bathroom, a cloud of steam framing his body. He had gotten dressed with some sweatpants and a t-shirt that was getting wet at the shoulders from the droplets falling from his hair. He had it pushed behind his ears and his cheeks looked flushed from the heat, looking so good you almost dropped the mug on your hands.
Alpine shamelessly abandoned your lap to run towards Bucky and rub against his legs. You pouted as you watched her leave and Bucky smiled, bending over to scratch her small head before heading to the couch to sit with you. Alpine followed him and stretched herself on the armrest. You took your legs off the couch to give him space but he just laid them back on his lap, his now bare hands stroking your bare legs.
"Don't look all sad, you already know I'm her favorite." Bucky said with a smug smile, his hand trailing under one of your legs, softly massaging the flesh. He had been ignoring every time he wanted to touch your soft skin like that for a long time. Now that it seemed okay to do, he was going to do it as long as you allowed him.
"Hmm." You got comfortable on your side of the couch, enjoying Bucky's ministrations on your legs. "I get it. I'd run to you every time I saw you if you did this regularly." You said, wiggling your toes when his hands move to massage your foot. He remembered your feet had been hurting for hours and he wanted to soothe your pain.
Bucky huffed a laugh, looking down at what he was doing. "I can do that."
"You have a thing for feet or what?" You joked, lifting your free foot closer to his face only to be fastly grabbed by his metal hand and put back down gently on his lap to resume his work, unbothered.
"Nah, just have a thing for you." He said faking being nonchalant about it, moving to soothe your other foot. It was easier to say it if he wasn't looking at you.
"You can't just say stuff like that. Where's the romance?" You teased him, shoving his shoulder without much force, acting like your heart hadn't started pounding inside your chest at his confession.
Bucky licked his lips, amused by your comment, and slowly stopped his movements to glance at you.
"You'll have to forgive me, I haven't flirted with anyone since 1945."
"That's alright, I already liked you when you were just broody and awkward all the time." You said teasingly, finishing your tea and making the mug travel through the air to leave it on the sink. Bucky was already used to it but seeing things fly around the house gave him more than one scare when he first moved in, having thrown a knife at something dying past him more than once.
Bucky huffed anda tugged at your ankle to pull you closer to him, making you yelp and giggle, ending up sitting on his lap, his metal arm wrapping around you for support.
"You can't just say stuff like that." He joked, recalling your previous words, his eyes narrowing before you both chuckled together.
"Shut me up, then." You dared him once the laughter died down, your gaze dropping to his lips, then going back to his eyes.
Bucky licked his lips again, his flesh hand leaving your thigh to cup your cheek before leaning towards you, getting closer. Before his lips could meet yours, he stopped for a moment.
"For the record, I don't want to shut you up, just really wanna kiss you."
Not wanting to waste another second, you fisted the fabric of his shirt to pull him in, your mouths finally meeting each other in a slow, passionate kiss.
Bucky worried for a second he would be too rusty and would've forgotten how to kiss, but once he felt your hands snake to the back of his neck to pull him even closer and the way you seemed to melt in his arms, any worry he had went away.
He felt your fingers playing with the ends of his hair and purred into the kiss, inevitably making you smile. You slowed down, your lips now tenderly brushing against his, enjoying how soft his lips were and how perfect they felt against yours.
Bucky's fingers softly brushed against your jaw and neck, his vibranium hand caressing your side. You then caught his lower lip, gently sucking on it, making Bucky groan, his hold tightening around you. You weren't even using tongue yet and you made him feel like he was on fire. Being like this with you woke up feelings that were long lost inside him. And this was just your first kiss. You had just sucked his lip.
He had to break the kiss, overwhelmed for a moment, giving you another one before pulling away enough for him to look at you.
"You okay?" You asked once you saw his face, your thumb stroking the nape of his neck, his lips slightly parted and puffy from being loved and his gaze fixed on yours so intensively.
Bucky then exhaled a breath he didn't know was holding, the hand on your jaw twitching slightly for a second. He wasn't able to respond. He /was/ okay. Fuck, he was way better that. He swallowed before finally nodding and giving you a small smile.
You smiled back at him and moved one of your hands to cup his cheek before leaning in to peck his lips.
"You sure? If it was terrible you can say it. I'll only be mildly devastated." You said jokingly, wanting to make sure he was actually fine without making it awkward.
"God no, you're perfect." He rushed to say, his cheeks turning red at how fast he just said that. "I haven't kissed anyone in almost 80 years, doll. Just needed a moment." He smiled again for you.
"Doll? Isn't that what you called the ladies back in the day?" You raised an eyebrow at him.
"I can think of something else if you don't like it." He said sheepishly. He had called you that without even thinking about it, like it was something natural for him.
"Hm… like what?" You said playfully, but you knew it didn't matter. Whatever pet name he called you would have you melt into a puddle of goo on the floor for him.
"Like 'my girl', maybe?" Bucky said with a smirk, equal parts proud and impressed with himself.
"Fuck, Barnes, that was smooth…" You bit your lower lip, Bucky's thumb moving to carefully free it from your teeth and running soothingly across it as he smiled at your comment.
"S'that a yes?"
"Of course it is." You pulled him in once again to kiss him, clashing your lips against his, both of you pouring all of your affection into it.
Bucky's arms held you closer to him as you both deepened the kiss, your tongues exploring each other's. You wrapped your arms around his neck, once again playing with his now damp hair. Bucky felt the goosebumps rising on his skin and wondered if you were aware of how much he enjoyed having his hair played with. One of his hands moving up and down your thigh, his grip tightening for a moment when you playfully liked his lips and giggled. God, he loved that giggle. He kissed you hungrily in response, euphoric from the overload of good feelings bubbling up inside him. He wasn't even sure he ever felt like this with someone before the war and he didn't know how to show you. Definitely not with words.
Suddenly, you felt Bucky stand up, carrying you bridal style, and you let out another yelp, bursting into laughter.
"Shh, Steve will get mad if we wake him up." Bucky whispered as he started walking down the small hallway to his room.
"What are you doing?!" You whispered in his ear, trying to contain your giggles.
"Don't know yet." He honestly said, simply focused on taking you to his room.
"Are we going to…?"
"If you want to, absolutely." He smiled down at you.
"I definitely want to." You agreed and licked your lips at the thought before you opened the door with your powers.
Suddenly, Bucky's enhanced hearing heard Steve groan a complaint, so he started laughing.
"What?"
"Steve's awake." He let you know with an amused sigh, carefully dropping you on the bed before paying attention to what Steve was saying in the other room. "He says 'Oh, God. Please, don't." He reported as he sat down beside you, running his hand up and down your side.
"Steve! Don't start cockblocking!" You exclaimed with a groan.
Bucky chuckled and got in bed with you, snaking a hand around your back to pull you closer, urging you to lay almost on top of him. "S'fine. It's been 80 years, I can wait." He concluded with a kiss on the tip of your nose, making you scrunch it.
You sighed dramatically in defeat, snuggling up against his thick yet soft body, so warm and inviting, a hand sneaking inside his shirt to stroke his skin. "Okay… but we're gonna buy him some earplugs tomorrow." You concluded and placed a kiss under his jaw while your hand drew shapes on his ribs.
Bucky smiled, closing his eyes as he let himself enjoy your caressing. "We're gonna need the best ones we can find."
You chuckled and buried your face on his neck. "Definitely." You nuzzled his skin, peppering small kisses below his ear, your leg moving from in between his to lay higher up.
Bucky took a deep shaky breath, his hand gently gripping your thigh, trying to pull you even closer, even if it wasn't possible. The sudden feeling of your tongue tentatively licking the side of his throat made him shudder and swallow as he felt himself starting to get hard.
"Doll…"He breathed out, almost inaudible.
"Too much?" You whispered, pulling your face away from his neck to check on him.
He shook his head, then mouthed Steve and pointed to the wall with his finger before putting his hand back on your thigh.
You glanced at the wall he shared with the blonde's room for a moment before looking back at him, a mischievous smirk appearing on your face. You lowered your head to bring your lips closer to his ear, teasingly nipping at his earlobe. "You'll have to be really quiet then, pretty boy." You whispered against the shell of his ear, your lips brushing against it while the hand under his shirt trailing down his abdomen.
Bucky's eyes fluttering close in anticipation at the feeling of your teasing fingers getting inside the band of his sweatpants.
He took a second to mentally apologize to Steve, knowing where this was going, before preventing your hand from going further down and rolling you in bed, getting on top of you.
"Let's see if you can be quiet first, doll."