Snow
Bucky is walking to school, head down, shoulders shivering, along the icy road. He’s nearly there, only a few more minutes of walking ahead of him, when he hears shouting behind him. A feeling of dread courses through him and he tugs the thin hood over his head lower.
Its cold, freezing in fact. But the thin, threadbare jacket was the only thing he could find that morning before he bolted out the door. He shivers harder as a fierce wind slices right through the material.
Blood is caked across his ice cold knuckles. If he can just make it to the school he can clean up and make it to class and no one will be the wiser about what transpired at breakfast that morning. The shouting gets closer and closer and closer until it rushes past, two people pushing by on either side of him, each shoving on either arm. He slips on the ice, his back smacking roughly into the ice.
For a moment he just lies there, staring at the ice white sky. Tears prick his eyes. God, could his day get any worse?
“Go on without me guys!”
Y/N.
He squeezes his eyes shut. Even better. She gets to see him dirty and injured, lying on the cold ground.
“Hey, c’mon Y/L/N! Barnes’ll be fine. He’s a big boy.” Bucky doesn't move, keeps his eyes closed, and stays on the ground. It’s Rumlow and Wilson. They had been racing with Y/N to school as they often did. Only Y/N had slowed when she saw Bucky.
The dull crunch of ice sounds, coming closer. He can only hope it isn’t one of the boys. “I’ll see you guys at school. Go on ahead!”
“Whatever! See you at lunch!” They start running again, their footsteps fading.
He opens his eyes as Y/N leans over him. Her face takes up his entire view, the sky making a depressing background. She smiles sadly, tilting her head to the side, “Hey Buck.”
“Hey doll.” His voice is rough and heavy. She reaches out one hand to him which he takes and lets her pull him up.
“Rough morning?” He's shaking hard now, teeth chattering, and concern creeps in her eyes.
“You could say that.” He answers as she takes in his black eye and bloody hands. The skin of his throat and collarbones is mottled yellow and green. “Rough weekend more like.”
Gently she pulls his hood back and brushes the ice away from his dirty clothes. She laces her fingers with his. “Let’s ditch Buck.”
“What?”
“Yeah! C’mon, dad’s went away with one of the athletes to a competition for the week. I’m staying with Sam but I still have the key to our apartment.” She smiles and tugs his hand. “We can make hot chocolate and build a blanket fort and no one can tell us we’re too young for those scary movies dad keeps hidden in the closet. Aaaannnnddd we can prank Ms. Milson. She’s got a new cat. Besides you need to get warmed up properly.”
He shakes his head. “But your perfect attendance. Your goal was to finish sixth grade without-,”
“So?” She smiles. “I’m freakin’ twelve years old, I’ve got forever to be perfect. I tried being a good kid and I lasted ‘til December so let’s go!”
He thinks she’s already perfect. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She bounces on her toes and smiles widely at him. “C’mon! Pleassseeeeeee-,”
“Okay, okay, okay!” He knows she wanted to go all year without missing a day. He knows she has a bet with Stark and Rhodes about it. He knows she’ll get shit about messing it up. He still lets her pull him in the opposite direction of the school.
When they get to her apartment, dingdong ditching on every floor on the way up, she steers him into the bathroom. “You look awful. No one that is filthy is allowed in my blanket fort.”
“Y/N…I, uh,” he bites his chapped, bloody lip. “I don’t have any other clothes with me and these are dirty. You don’t need to-,” he starts ashamedly, an embarrassed blush coating his cold cheeks.
She shakes her head. “My cousin was here a few weeks ago remember? He left some of his stuff. You can wear it.”
Silence falls between them for a second. “Thanks doll.”
“Where’s Stevie? Isn’t he supposed to check up on you on the weekends? I was wondering why you never made it to the gym. Paul was worried about you and daddy too-,”
Bucky shakes his head, “He, uh, he’s sick again.”
“Bucky…” she whispers. “Please let me tell somebody-,”
“No! Y/N, no! You promised me, you-,”
She pats his arm, but looks like she might cry. “Okay. I know, I know. Then I’ll go get the clothes and you’ll not fuss about it or make a scene when I clean up your hands and face. Got it?”
He swallows back tears. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.”
~
When he’s showered and cleaned up and in clean clothes they build a blanket fort in the living room and turn up the heat in the apartment until they know they’ll get in trouble for doing it.
“Dad’s got a sixth sense when it comes to the thermostat,” Y/N says as she settles next to him in their dark nest. “How are you feeling?” She asks, handing him a mug of hot chocolate.
He takes a sip and lets Y/N lean into his shoulder. “A lot better.”
“Good. School sucks anyways.”
“You love school.” Bucky says leaning back into Y/N.
She shrugs. “That’s true. I do.” She snuggles further into him and he only feels better, more loved, warmer. Something he never feels at home but always feels with Y/N. “But it kinda sucks when you aren’t there. No one to go to the Principal’s office with. Brock makes it worse, Tony talks too much, Sam and Steve never get caught.”
For a while they just sip their chocolate and stay quiet. He closes his eyes and tries to absorb the silence and peace as best he can, and his time alone with one of his favorite people.
Between the heat of the apartment and Y/N’s warm weight against his side, and her hand in his he actually starts to feel sleepy and safe. She sits aside their cups eventually and scrunches down with him on the soft blankets layered on the floor. “You’re okay here.”
“I know.”
“You’re my best friend.”
“I know.”
“And I love you a lot and I’ll always be here to help you.”
He doesn’t say anything for a second, his throat too tight. “I know.”
“Good.”
They nap for so long that Sam’s father Paul comes looking for them. School was let out hours ago and even though they usually took their sweet time about getting home, causing trouble in some other part of the small city, it was longer than usual today.
When Paul opens the front door, the blanket fort is partially disassembled and Y/N is sitting on the couch drawing, Bucky on the other end, which Paul assumes is a still sleeping Bucky.
“Y/N did you two go to school today?”
“He had a rough weekend.”
“Don’t let it become a habit.”
“Yes, sir.”
He turns down the heat and leaves, calling out something about dinner being at seven at his place down the street. "Where you should be," he mentions before the door snaps shut.
“Is he gone?” Bucky asks. She nods. “I don’t want to go home.”
“Come here.” He turns on the couch and they squish together so tightly it’s almost uncomfortable. “You can stay here. You can always stay here. I know dad wouldn’t mind.”
He starts to push away from her, panic rising up his throat. “You didn’t tell him did you?!”
“No,” she grabs his hand and twists their fingers together. “No, no, no. I want to but I won’t because I promised. But dad loves you too and he wouldn’t have a problem with it. Okay?” She wiggles against him, bringing them closer, and making Bucky feel just a bit better, his heart rate slowing.
He nods against her cheek. “Okay.”
“Wanna look at my sketches? I don’t think they’re very good yet but I’m working on it.”
“I’m sure they’re beautiful, doll.” He murmurs as he takes the sketchbook from her.
He goes through the book slowly, telling her everything he loves about each drawing. But when they finish his hands start to shake because he knows that their moment of peace is coming to an end and he’ll have to go back home, at least for the night. But she covers his hands and asks if he’s hungry. “We’ll stay here, me and you. I can make chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese from the box. Paul’ll understand.”
Bucky thinks they’re probably going to get hell from Paul tomorrow and a lecture from her father when he gets back but he still agrees. But he hates his home and he loves Y/N. So, he smiles in relief and helps her make their dinner.
They sleep together in her bed that night and go to school together the next morning after stopping by Steve’s to see if he’s feeling any better. He likes living with her, walking to school with her.
Everything is good and safe with her. And the best part is that he knows she feels the same. He doesn’t feel like a burden because he would do anything for her and vice versa.
And that in itself is comforting because Bucky knows it’s something that’ll never change.