Stay
Later that night:
“I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal!” Bucky handed Y/N a glass of wine as he tended to the steaks on the stove. “You and Clint have fought over the years, but this seems like a really big deal, missing his and Laura’s anniversary.”
Earlier in the afternoon, she’d let slip that she wasn’t going to be joining Steve at the Bartons’, which was completely out of character for her. In the absence of her surrogate fathers, Clint Barton was always Y/N’s advocate--a brother in all the ways that mattered. She gave no explanation, just that she didn’t feel like going.
Y/N took the glass and groaned, “Look, can’t I just want to spend some time with you since you just got back?”
He took the steaks off the stove, flipping the kitchen towel over his shoulder, “If that’s the only reason, why don’t I just come with you?” He hadn’t ended on bad terms with the rest of the Avengers. Even he and Tony got to a good place before everyone went their separate ways.
“Because I don’t want to share you with everyone just yet?” She was beaten, and they both knew it.
He flashed a smile, kissing her nose. “Not even close. Spill.”
They sat down at the dinner table and were quiet for a few moments before she said, “With my new...abilities...it can be a little overwhelming in places with a lot of people, or where there are a lot of emotions. I love Clint and Laura, but the last time I saw them, we all kind of got into it, and I’m just not ready to face the emotional wake.”
Bucky sighed, unsure what to say. He’d never encourage her to be uncomfortable, but he also knew how much Clint meant to her. “All right. We don’t have to go. Thank you for telling me.”
Dinner and the subsequent movie was uneventful. He’d picked one called “The Notebook” thinking it was going to be somewhat familiar to him because of the setting. But toward the end, he realized the mistake he’d made.
Though they went to bed in their respective rooms, he awoke around 3 in the morning to his phone buzzing.
“What’s wrong? Why are you calling me from a room over?”
She sniffled, clearly having been crying, “I didn’t want to wake you suddenly. Can you come in here?”
He was out of the room and across the hall without so much as ending the call. She was sitting up in bed, with her arms wrapped around her knees.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” He wasn’t so much as wearing a shirt, and he really hoped she didn’t mind.
Sobs wracked through her whole body as she buried her head in her knees. “You were dead, and Clint and Steve and Nat and my dad and Uncle Phil were gone. I was back in the home, and no one was coming for me.”
Bucky walked forward to kneel by her bedside. “Hey, shhh. It was a dream. It was just a nightmare. I’m here, I’m not leaving you, not ever.”
She looked up from her knees, long enough to grab his hand, “I don’t want to go back. Please, don’t let them take me back.”
He squeezed her hand with both of his, “I’m no longer the Winter Soldier, but I’d tear apart the world before anyone could take you away. I promise.”
In all this time, he never knew her time at the group home before she was adopted was so difficult for her. It made sense, seeing as Nick Fury himself risked everything to get her out. They sat together holding hands for a few minutes before she wiped her face.
“Ducky?”
“Mmm?”
“Could you stay with me? I don’t wanna make you--”
Y/N couldn’t finish her sentence before he hopped up and into bed beside her. “Yes.”
She settled down into the covers and laid herself against his chest. Bucky kissed the top of her head and said “I’ll keep you safe. Get some rest.”
“I love you,” she murmured, already slipping off into deep sleep.
The next morning, they were both startled awake by the sound of the front door slamming open. He whispered for Y/N to stay in bed while he went downstairs to investigate.
Silently, Bucky slipped down the hall and into the stairwell. None of the alarms were going off, how was that even possible? Just as rounded the corner and ran right into Steve, he let out a loud, “Jesus!”
Steve grinned, “No, just Steve,” he looked Bucky up and down. “I see you managed to stick around.”
“What the hell are you doing back, I thought the party was tonight?”
“Plans kind of...uh...changed a bit.”
Before Bucky could ask for anymore details, a pissed looking Clint Barton barged through the front door and up the stairs, barely pausing to look at either he or Steve.
“Y/F/M/LN, YOU COME OUT HERE THIS INSTANT.”
Steve looked over, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, Barton didn’t take Y/N’s absence very well.”