Chapter Text
"Bucky, stop..." You giggled sleepily, nose wrinkling up as you felt a rain of wet kisses fall on your face. He didn't stop, though, and you tried to shove him away, but your hands landed on a silky, furry mass. You opened your eyes and sat up, greeted by the sight of an excited Blondie, her tail fanning the air as she wagged at you.
"Oh, hi, Blondie." You smiled and gave the dog a hug, her tail whipping viciously enough to make her whole body shake.
"Blondie, that's enough," you heard Bucky call. He came into the room, holding a plate in one hand and a cup in the other. "I told you to wake her up, not harass her."
Blondie whined, then let out a woof in protest.
"No, I said that's enough. Go lay down in your bed, I'll feed you in just a minute." Bucky responded.
Blondie let out a grunt, then hopped off the bed and went padding into the living room where her bed was located. You heard her flop down, and Bucky smiled at you as he handed you the plate.
"Here, doll. Last time we had breakfast in bed, we didn't actually get to eat it." He grinned at you and kissed your forehead.
"Thanks, Bucks." You took the fork he offered and began working on the hashbrowns first. He sat down on the bed beside you.
"I called Cass and asked her to come over and keep you company," he started. "Steve and I have a couple of things we need to take care of."
"I thought you were gonna take me out today," you glanced up at him, one eyebrow arched.
"Y-yeah," he stammered. "I will, but I really need to handle some business with Steve." Why did he seem so nervous...? "I'll see you this evening, I promise. Just- hang out with Cass for a bit, she said she wanted to see you anyways."
"Bucky, what's wrong? You're acting awfully jumpy."
"What? Who's jumpy? I'm not jumpy!" He laughed sheepishly, then hopped up. "I'm gonna go feed Blondie!" He hurried out of the bedroom, but not before you noticed an oddly shaped lump in the pocket of his jeans. What the hell was going on?
You simply shrugged and returned to your food, taking your time in eating. It was a decent breakfast. Not what Cass would make for you, but it was good enough. It made it more special since Bucky made it for you, even though he wasn't exactly an iron chef or anything.
"Alright, doll, I gotta go!" Bucky scurried back in and gave you a quick peck on the lips. "Bye, love you, see you later today!" He grabbed his jacket and all but ran out the door. You watched him go, a frown on your face. What had gotten into him...? Oh well.
You ate, got cleaned up and dressed in some of the extra clothes you kept in Bucky's closet, and were just finishing up with your hair when there was a knock on the door. You opened it up to see Cass and she flashed you a smile.
"Hey, chiquita! Ready to go?"
"Go?" You tilted your head. "Go where?"
"I'm taking you on a girl's day," she answered, leaning down to pet Blondie as the dog trotted over to greet her. "I figured we could use some relaxation before we get back to the clinic full time."
"Ugh, tell me about it," you groaned, rubbing your temples. "I love my job, I really do, but it sure takes a toll on you."
"I feel ya," Cass nodded. "So, you ready to go or not?"
"Sure, just let me get my purse." You grabbed your bag, slid on your coat, and took Blondie around the Tower until you managed to convince Thor to keep an eye on the dog while you were gone.
"Come on," Cass tugged your hand as the two of you finished the elevator ride to the first floor and headed out to where she had parked her car. "There's this new little shop I found, I think you'll like it."
~
"Cass, can we please get something to eat now?" You practically begged as you drug along behind your too-enthusiastic friend, several bags in your hands. "We've been shopping all morning and it's past noon..."
"Alright, alright," she laughed. "I'm hungry anyways. Let's find something quick, I have a surprise for you later this afternoon."
"Uh oh." You dropped your bags into the trunk of her car. "There's a few people I don't trust when they say they have a surprise planned: Tony, Clint, and you, just to name a couple."
"You wound me!" Cass gasped in mock hurt, then grinned as you both got into her car. She got it started up, then flipped through her music, finally settling on a Slipknot playlist. The speakers boomed dully with the tune of Eyeless as she headed away from the shopping center.
"Isn't there a Thai place not far from here?" You asked.
"I think so," she nodded. "There's a cafe I know of too. It's a little bit further, but they have amazing soup and stuff. Whatever you want, I don't care. I'll eat mostly anything as long as it doesn't eat me first."
"Soup actually sounds good." It was cold and the thought of a nice, hot meal was quite appealing.
Lunch didn't take too long, and you had barely finished eating before Cass hauled you off to the car again, ignoring your protests and questions of where she was taking you. She simply drove, and your questions were answered when she parked in front of a spa.
"Seriously, Cass? What is all this for?"
"Why? Do I need a reason to spoil my best friend?" She looked at you and then winked. "Maybe I'm trying to steal you away from Bucky. Is it working?"
You laughed as the two of you got out of the car. "Maybe. You do have a pretty nice butt after all."
"Course I do," she boasted, putting an extra sway to her steps as she walked ahead, opening the door for you. "Not to mention the fact that I can cook way better than him."
"You've never eaten his cooking," you said.
"No, but have you seen how hungry the man is all the time? It's cause he can't make himself decent food."
You rolled your eyes as you stepped into the spa. It wasn't very busy, and you imagined that was because it was a holiday. How she had found a place open on New Years was beyond you, but you weren't about to complain, especially not when you ended up getting an amazing full-body massage. It wasn't as fun as the ones Bucky gave you, but it was much more relaxing.
Two hours later, you left feeling like a puddle of human goo. You slid yourself into Cass's fire-red car, melting into the seat. "That...was amazing," you sighed dreamily.
"I'm glad you liked it," she smiled at you.
"Wait, didn't you do it too?" You asked as you glanced over at her.
"No," she shook her head. "I don't really like for people to touch me. Steve's about the only one who can get away with regular contact."
"Why the hell did you bring me if I was the only one who was going to be enjoying it then?" You frowned. The day's events were really starting to confuse you. All this odd behavior...from both her and Bucky. And now that you thought about it, Thor had been the only other Avenger that you had seen...
"Cass, what's going on?"
"Mustn't tell," she sang. "Don't worry about it, okay? Just trust me this time. Let's go back to my place, we need to get dressed."
"Get dressed for what? I'm already dressed!" You were starting to get agitated. Everybody was acting weird, no one was answering your questions. "What the hell is going on?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Cass simply laughed. "Trust me. Okay?"
"Fine," you huffed, crossing your arms as you leaned back into the seat once again.
_
"And...finito!" Cass stepped back and grinned proudly. "Alright, check that out and tell me what you think."
You turned to look at yourself in the mirror, and your jaw dropped. You looked hot! Sure, you were usually pretty damn cute, but holy hell, you wanted to slap your own ass.
"Cass, when did you learn to do make up like this?"
"I may or may have not resorted to some rather shady business to survive before I was able to get an actual job," she shrugged and then just went back to grinning. "You look pretty."
You were wearing the new dress you had gotten, the dark blue material heavy and warm. You had new brown boots that went up to your knees, laced up neatly in the front, and with your hair swept up elegantly and your makeup damn near flawless, you felt like some sort of wintery princess.
"I'm still confused," you admitted to her. You glanced out the window. It was only about 6 o'clock, but with the time change and it being winter, it was already getting dark outside. "If we're going somewhere, shouldn't we go ahead and go before it gets too dark?"
"Don't worry, we're going." She gave you another grin and then you followed her out to her car once again. It was quite a bit darker by the time she stopped at Central Park. She got out, and before you knew it, she had vanished.
"Cass?" You looked around, pulling your coat tightly around you. "Where the hell did you go?" You saw a tiny light several feet away, and you went towards it. When you reached the light, you noticed that it was a small candle. You glanced around and saw another little flame, and another, and another...
"What the fuck?" You frowned to yourself, stuffing your gloved hands into your pockets, but curiosity got the better of you and you followed the winding trail of candles. You didn't know how long you had been following the trail when you rounded a bend in the sidewalk and froze in your tracks. There, in front of the Angel of the Waters fountain, illuminated by dozens of more candles, stood the Avengers, Cass by Steve's side, and, in front of all of them, Bucky.
"Bucky? Guys? What's going on?" You asked nervously.
You heard a familiar bark and Blondie came bounding towards you, holding something in her mouth. She gave it to you eagerly, because she loved to play fetch, and you noticed that it was an envelope. A slobbery envelope. There was just a small note inside that simply read: "My daddy has a question for you." You gave the envelope back to Blondie, and moved towards Bucky.
As you approached him, he reached into his jacket pocket, fished out a small box, and sank down to one knee. He gave you that smile, that smile warm enough to melt away the snow on the ground around you.
"Doll, I was going to wait until March on the anniversary of when we met, but I couldn't wait any longer."
You felt your heart pounding in excitement, apprehension; all sorts of emotions were flooding through you. You let him continue.
"Blondie told me she wanted a mom, so," Bucky inhaled deeply, "Dr. (L/N), will you marry me?"
"You stupid ass!" You jumped on him, hugging him tightly and burying your face in his neck. "You had me worried about you all day, you acted so weird this morning!"
"So is that a yes?" You could hear the grin in his voice.
"Of course it's a yes!" You pulled back and smashed your lips into his and he wrapped his arms around you, holding you as he stood up and all but crushed you against his chest.
Blondie bounced around the both of you, barking and wagging her tail in excitement. You even thought you saw Tony wipe a tear from his eye, but when you asked him, he told you that it was merely a snowflake that had gotten stuck to his eyelashes. Everyone else teared up, though, and they weren't ashamed to admit it. Except for Loki. He just rolled his eyes and was rewarded with a thump upside the head by Thor who was sniffling happily.
~
"Can we consummate the marriage ahead of time?" Bucky smirked at you. "I always did like to be early."
"Bucky!" Steve yelled.
"I bet that's not the only thing you're early with!" Tony screeched.