Now That I See You
You dreamed of Bucky. Like a lot. Not all of it sex, but quite a bit of it sex. In some dreams, the two of you were just sitting on the couch, in some, you were in a field of flowers, in some, you were arguing about something irrelevant like whether or not there could be purple, testicle-chinned aliens who want to destroy half the universe because life is too greedy to sustain itself.
You weren’t even sure you had woken up. There were bright lights, and many of your dreams were well-lit. You were in a bed, which also wasn’t unusual, but you weren’t naked, which was. You began to focus in, the sound of a heart monitor steadily beeping behind you, the IV in your hand twinging as you tried to flex your fingers, an ugly-ass floral pattern decorated the ceiling behind a bright-ass light. You had grunted without feeling it come out, and you heard a shuffle from the corner of the room before a familiar pair of crystal blue eyes were hovering over you. “Hey, you’re awake.”
You felt yourself smile before you realized it was because he was smiling. He looked like shit, bags under his red, swollen eyes, a slight grease buildup in his hair, and frankly he smelled a little. You blinked, taking like 3 solid seconds to open your eyes again. “You look like shit.”
He chuckled and pulled a chair over, taking your non-IV hand in his. “Yeah, well, you haven’t exactly been around to remind me to take my shower.” His voice was a little hoarse, and the tip of his nose was red. He’d been crying.
You turned your head to look at him, blinking again. You wiggled your fingers in his and smiled again. “I guess graduation got a little derailed.”
He rolled his eyes and smiled wider, just staring at you.
A few minutes passed before the doors open and Strange walked in with the woman from before in tow. She leaned over you, checking your bandages, checking your IV. She asked you the routine questions, “How you feeling, are you in any pain, can you follow my finger,” etc., etc. She seemed please with the responses you gave her.
Strange was hanging back, arms folded across his chest, smiling slightly. You noticed he was looking at Bucky holding your hand, and you followed his gaze, smiling. Once Christine was done checking you out, she put her stethoscope back around her neck and smiled, announcing she was going to leave you guys alone.
“I’m going to go get something to drink from the vending machine,” Bucky said softly. You turned and smiled at him, nodding, and he squeezed your hand before leaving.
You looked back at Strange and raised your eyebrows. “What the fuck happened?”
Strange recounted you fighting Felton, and told you that Wong had managed to find out that he had been a sorcerer before, before any of you had come to Kamar-Taj, and that’s how he had overpowered you. He told you about your injuries (namely, a punctured lung, a scratched heart, internal bleeding, and two or three broken ribs.) You listened silently, waiting for him to finish. He moved over and sat in Bucky’s seat before he took your hand and pressed something into it. You looked down and felt tears well up in your eyes and you smiled up at him. You brought the ring to your chest and struggled to hook it back around your neck before he moved to help you. He glanced at the door to make sure nobody was coming before he leaned in and smirked. “He hasn’t left your side once in six days.”
You blushed and smiled softly, reaching up to hold the ring. The door opened, and Bucky came back, a soda for him, a coffee for strange, and a cup of water for you. Strange let him sit back down before he left through a portal, telling you to call him when you were better.
You sipped your water slowly, regarding Bucky. “So. Six days, huh?”
Bucky looked back at you, leaned back in his chair. “Yep. It’s Sunday now.”
You smirked at him and sipped your water again. “No wonder you look like shit.” If you weren’t currently on a morphine drip, you could’ve sworn he was blushing.
Xxx
You were well enough to leave by the following weekend, and you went home to the complex the old-fashioned way (i.e., Tony’s private jet.) When you arrived, you saw that everyone had gotten together to throw you a welcome home party, and you were overjoyed to see everyone again. The party lead on to around 2am before most everyone called it quits or went to their room to do something else. You and Bucky were left alone in the living quarters. You had insisted that you absolutely needed to bake cookies, so you were in the kitchen working on that while Bucky was scrolling through the TV channels. He stopped after a few minutes and you smiled, hearing a familiar melody. It was Tangled, again, but around the scene where Rapunzel and Flynn are being chased into the quarry and almost died.
You were kneading the dough when the boat song came on, and you were singing, mostly to yourself. You came to the part where Flynn begins to sing,
All those days chasing down a daydream,
You made it halfway through the first beat before you realized Bucky was singing
All those years living in a blur
You put the dough down and turned around, surprised to see him standing only a few feet away, looking directly at you. You blushed furiously under his gaze.
All that time never truly seeing
Things, the way they were
You started to ask what he was doing but he stepped closer, and the words froze in your throat.
Now she’s here shining in the starlight
He took another step closer
Now she’s here suddenly I know
He was just a foot or two away now, close enough you could smell his cologne over the smell of the dough, his eyes never leaving yours.
If she’s here it’s crystal clear
He was in front of you now, close enough to feel his warmth.
I’m where I’m meant to go
You were blushing furiously, not sure what to do but Bucky reached up with his human hand to cup your cheek. You swallowed hard and looked up at him, instinctively pressing your hands against his chest. Under your shaking breath, you joined him in singing the end of the song
And at last I see the light
And it’s like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it’s like the sky is new
And it’s warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once everything is different
Now that I see you
Now that I see you
And as the song came to a flourish, Bucky swept a strand of hair behind your ear, moving his hand to the back of your neck. He leaned down, slowly, gently, until his forehead rested on yours and he closed his eyes. “Y/N, I…” He swallowed hard, trying to find the words before you stretched up, pressing your lips to his, your hands moving up to his shoulders.
He started laughing softly, grinning against you and he lifted you up against him, swinging you around once. He set you down again gingerly, as if you might break, and you moved your hand along his vibranium arm to entwine your fingers with his. “I love you, too,” you whispered.
He pulled back for a moment, and at first you were afraid you had misunderstood the situation (but, like, fucking how?) Bucky reached behind him to the kitchen island before he presented you with a small gift bag, in your favorite color, identical to the one he had given you before you left. You looked up at him, blushing, before you reached inside. You pulled out a small black velvet box, and when you looked up at Bucky to ask him what it was, he was smiling gently, moving to kneel in front of you. You gasped softly and tears stung at your eyes before you looked down at the box again. Slowly, you opened it, hands shaking, and upon seeing the simple silver band with the one solitary, circular diamond in it, the tears spilled over your eyes and your hand came up to cover your mouth. You looked at him, trying not to cry, your hand concealing a giant grin. “Bucky, you aren’t proposing are you?”
Bucky was smiling at you, his own eyes misted over, and he reached up to take the hand down to him. “Y/N YL/N, I have loved you since the moment I saw you. You have been my best friend, my rock, my inspiration. When I thought I had lost you, it destroyed me and as I sat in that waiting room, I decided that if you came out, I would never lose you again. I guess what I’m trying to say is, well, do you think you could do me the absolute honor of becoming my wife?”
You took in a shuddering breath before nodding, trying not to sob, and he grinned from ear to ear, blue eyes shining. He took the ring and slipped it onto your finger, a perfect fit, before you threw your arms around him, almost tackling him to the ground. Behind you, applause burst out and you squealed, turning to see. Everybody was standing there, all of them smiling, Steve and Strange’s grins the widest of them all. You laughed and turned back to Bucky. You wiped your eyes hard before pressing your forehead against his, just laughing.
Xxx
The wedding was several months in the making after Bucky proposed. Too damn long, if you asked yourself. But when the day was here, you almost couldn’t believe it. Your dress was perfect. It fit you like a glove and made you look like an angel. You wore a simple white rose in your hair and a sheer veil was pinned under your bun. Your makeup was perfect, and you had managed to get one of the best nights of sleep in your life the night before so you were well rested on top of all that. You looked like a goddess.
Wanda and Natasha had helped you get ready, but some of the girlfriends had popped in throughout the day as well. Christine in particular had been super excited to see you, as she and Strange had finally gotten back together so she was now like a sister to you.
It was a few minutes before the music was to begin. You had heard people shuffling through to their seats through the door to your room in the church. The only guy who had come in to see you was Strange. Since Steve was obviously Bucky’s best man, you thought it only right that Strange, the closest thing to family you have, would be the one to walk you down the aisle. When he saw you, you could’ve sworn he teared up for a second before he locked it back up and smiled. “You look amazing,” he said. You smiled and leaned in to hug him, chuckling when he uncharacteristically kissed your cheek before he squeezed you. He pulled away and put his hands on your shoulders, face serious. “This is it. Are you ready? It’s not too late to run.”
You rolled your eyes and smiled. “I’ve been ready for years.”
He smiled and nodded. He opened a tiny portal to tell the DJ to start the music (because, y’know, texting him or walking out of the door was just not good enough.) He closed the portal and walked with you to the door before he helped you pull your veil down and held out his arm for you to take. You reached up to clutch Bucky’s ring, taking a deep breath to calm yourself down. It would do no good to burst into a fit of giggles in the middle of the aisle because you were too excited. After a moment, you slipped your arm through Strange’s and nodded.
The aisle was decorated with white and purple flower petals which matched the flowers that were bunched on the end of each pew. The entryway to the chapel had been tastefully decorated with strings bearing pictures of you and Bucky throughout your lives (someone had even found some baby pictures of him,) leading up to a picture of the two of you in fancy clothes, leaning over a circular table with a candle and a rose in a vase at a restaurant, both of you beaming like idiots. You smiled at it and wiped your eyes quickly, looking ahead of you. The bridal music began and everyone stood and turned towards you. You giggled, excitement burning through every fiber of your body. All of the Avengers were here, even Thor and Loki, and everybody was wearing their best. Even Banner had managed to wiggle into a suit, and even if he did look ridiculously uncomfortable, he looked awesome, and Tony had insisted on buying Peter a designer suit which he wore with pride next to May.
You and Strange stepped forward down the aisle, and he squeezed your hand, smiling at you from the side. You smiled back before you let yourself look towards the alter, heart pounding in your chest.
Steve was wearing a fitted black suit with a purple bowtie and cummerbund. His hair was coiffed to the side and he had combed his beard neatly. He was grinning, his unnaturally perfect teeth glinting in the light. You couldn’t help but smile back, glancing down at your feet for a moment before looking back up. Stepping out from behind him was Bucky. He had trimmed his hair neatly so that it framed his face a little better. His suit was the same shade white as your dress, but he also wore a purple bow tie and cummerbund. He had his hands in front of him, fiddling with the watch that Steve had gotten him, but his eyes were on you, wide with adoration and awe, his mouth spread in an open-toothed airy grin. It took everything in you not to just sprint towards him, but Strange’s hand tethered you to now, to this moment.
As you two approached the humble alter, Strange took your hand from his arm and pressed a soft kiss to the back of it, smiling at you like a big brother might. You smiled back before he took his seat and you turned towards Bucky. He took your hand in his vibranium one and together you turned to face forward. Steve crossed around to stand in front of you, having been ordained specifically for this wedding, a small binder in hand. He took a small breath and smiled at the two of you before he started the ceremony, “Dear friends, we’ve gathered here to witness the union of Y/N Y/L/N and Sgt. James Buchannan Barnes. And boy has it been a long time coming.” You and the audience had a short chuckle.
It was a short ceremony. You and Bucky had written your own vows, and neither of you could make it through without crying. As Steve handed Bucky the rings, Bucky lifted your veil and a new wave of tears filled his eyes, making new tears sting at yours.
“Bucky, do you take Y/N to be your lawfully wedded wife, to care for her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and forsaking all others from this day forward?”
Bucky nodded, wiping his eyes before he grinned, slipping a second band onto your ring finger. “I do.”
“Y/N, do you take Bucky to be your lawfully wedded husband, to care for him in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and forsaking all others from this day forward?”
Your voice cracked as you said, “I do,” and slipped Bucky’s ring onto his vibranium finger, and Steve barely had enough time to pronounce you two man and wife before Bucky had swept you up in his arms, spinning you around as he kissed you with all the love in his body, your friends cheering raucously for the both of you.