Work Text:
“Doll, you ready?” Bucky’s voice rang out through your shared apartment.
“Almost!” You called out, closing the clasps on your earrings. You ran your hands down your dress, pressing out a stubborn wrinkle that had appeared when you were putting the finishing touches to your makeup. You slipped on your heels, which you knew you were going to regret later tonight, but that was a problem for future Y/N. You exited your bed room to see Bucky pacing by the door. “Buck?” You asked.
He turned and his eyes widened at the sight of you. “Doll, you look beautiful.” He said, closing the gap between the two of you to wrap his arms around your waist and press a quick kiss to your forehead. You sensed something off with him, based on the erratic rhythm of his heartbeat and the emotional waves you could feel flying off him.
You smiled up at him, “Thank you, are you okay?” You asked, concerned that this event would bring up feelings that he had been processing for a while.
“I’m good.” He answered quicky. “Just nervous, I feel like I shouldn’t be a part of this. The Winter Soldier shouldn’t be the same place as Captain America.”
You cut him off, “You have every right to be there, as a Howling Commando, as Steve Roger’s best friend, and as one of the hero’s who saved the universe from a raging purple lunatic. Besides, we can’t miss an event that has free food.”
He chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”
“I know I am.” You winked, turning to the door. “Sam’s here.”
Bucky sighed, “Here we go.” He offered his arm to you as you made your way to the door. He opened the door before Sam had the chance to knock.
“I hate when you two do that, damn.” He grumbled, he stood before the two of you in a black tuxedo.
“Someday you’ll sneak up on us.” You said with a wink.
“Not likely.” Bucky muttered.
A limo was parked in front of your apartment building. You raised your eyebrows at Sam. “Don’t look at me. Pepper insisted that we take a limo and I wasn’t going to argue with her.”
You nodded, it had been almost a year post Thanos. Pepper was strong, but no one wanted to argue with her after losing Tony. Perhaps they had given her maybe too much power over their existence. But her husband had sacrificed himself for the entire universe. So she could take all the time she needed to heal.
Sam slid in first, followed by you, then Bucky. You sat sandwiched between the two men, who had come to some as semblance of friendship in the time since Sam was given the shield. You knew Bucky was not jealous of Sam by any means, he did not want any part of being Captain America. Helping Sam, that he could do. In some odd ways he seemed to believe it atoned for his sins as the Winter Soldier. You leant back in your seat, the limo filled with silence, which was rare for these two. You wondered what the deal was.
Bucky shifted so his hip was no longer against his, he mentally smacked himself as you gave him an odd look. It wasn’t like him to pull away from any kind of contact, he glanced up and Sam smirked at him. What he would give to be able to throttle him……. But that was not going to be the focus of his night, you were. The velvet box in his pocket grounding him. He watched you settle into conversation with Sam and remained silent.
He had met you during the time of conflict between Tony and Steve. You had pulled him back when Steve and Tony were at each other’s throats. You had pushed him behind you when they got closer. He was confused, to say the least, first that someone would protect him, and that person would be human. At least, that was what he had thought you where when he first met you. After being in Wakanda, he realized that you weren’t entirely a human. You had telepathic abilities, which was why you had been there when they took him out of the cryostasis.
You had been able to sense the links in his brain that had been set up by Hydra. Your abilities to sense helped the Wakandan team to begin working on his mind. You stayed with him through his recovery, often showing up to his hut in the middle of the night when he was pulled back into his memories, back to the Soldier. One night would remain in his memories eternally.
He was taken back to the night that he was deep in a Soldier nightmare. The nightmare of the Starks. He was slipping, he could feel the Soldier clawing at the door he had slammed shut and locked. No, no, not again. He was thrust into the past against his will.
“Barnes?” You had felt a shift in him, back into the Soldier. You entered his hut cautiously. He didn’t answer, you could feel the energy swirling around him, darkness swallowing the light. You stopped outside his bedroom door, you had always felt apprehension at passing through his room, but you couldn’t let that stop you. You pushed into his room, he was in the center of the bed, covers thrown to the side. His hand wrapped tightly in the sheets. Sweat coated his body, his dark hair sticking to his forehead.
“NO!” He screamed, your heart breaking at his voice.
You wasted no more time staring at him, “Barnes,” You murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed, next to his hand. You reached out with your mind. “Come back, Barnes.”
You were thrown into his mind, feeling his panic, his shame. The Soldier turned to you, as he often did, you could feel the snarl it gave. James began to calm to ground himself, reaching out to your energy, retreating from the Soldier. You felt the Soldier return to his locked door.
His eyes opened and they took in the woman sitting on the edge of his bed. “Y/N.” He whispered, his hand reaching out and grasping yours. His fingers threaded through yours, this was the first thing he always did when he was pulled out of his Soldier nightmares. He craved contact and you wouldn’t deny him that.
“Welcome back, Barnes.” You said, brushing your thumb against the back of his hand. “Where did you go?”
“The 90s, the Starks.” He turned away from you, “I should have let Tony kill me.”
You removed your hand from his and reached out, placing your hand on his face and turning his eyes back to yours. “It wasn’t you, it was the Soldier. It was what they created.” You murmured, stroking his cheek. His hand reached up and he pushed your hand away.
“But he is a part of me, and I couldn’t stop him.” Tears collected in his grey eyes.
“It takes time to fight your inner demons. And yours were supercharged and given the chance to run your life. Having demons doesn’t make you inherently evil.” You stated, moving further onto his bed, placing your hands on either side of his face. “In the heart of it all you are a good man.”
He let out a sob, “I….”
“Do not even start that bullshit with me. I have looked inside of you, you know what I’ve seen? A man who will go to the ends of the world to protect those he loves. A man who gives so much more than he gets. A man who survived hell and came back up.” You snarled, E/C eyes unmoving as you stared into his. “You are a damn good man and I wish you could see yourself through my eyes.”
His arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you against his bare chest, he burrowed his face into your hair. This was something unspoken between the two of you. The contact, the feelings. But he always pushed you away. If there was one person in the universe he could not afford to hurt it was you. “Please don’t go.” He begged.
“I’m not going anywhere.” You murmured, reaching out with your mind to soothe him. You felt his heartbeat slow and his breathing turn to soft snores. Your pulse synced with his as his hand made its way up to your back.
This is where you had found yourself most nights. Wrapped in his arms listening to the sound of his slumber, using your abilities to guard him from the Soldier. Bucky’s subconscious mind was more susceptible to allowing a takeover. If your telepathy could bring him enough peace to get sleep.
Multiple times through this Shuri had found you wrapped up with Bucky, “You two should just move in together.” She said after she walked in on you wrapped up together in bed after the Stark nightmare.
James’ face turned bright red as he looked at you. Expecting you to fight Shuri on this.
“You know, it might not be such a bad idea. Then I wouldn’t have to do battle with the goats at two o’clock in the morning.” You said, pulling yourself out of his arm and sitting upright on the edge of the bed.
“So it’s settled, we’ll move Y/N’s stuff in today.” Shuri giggled, skipping out of the room.
“You don’t have to do this.” James said.
“When are you going to get this through your head, I want to.” You answered, resting your hand on his cheek. Barnes remained silent on this, you could see the wheels turning in his mind. “Now I have to go get my things, because once Shuri has an idea in her head there is no stopping her, roomie.”
He groaned, knowing you were right. “I’ll start making room for you.” Running his hand through his hair, he sat up. “And you can call me Bucky. People who live together don’t have formalities, doll.”
And that was the moment that you both silently recognized that there was something more than friendship between you.
It was comfortable, living with you. You opened his eyes to everything he had missed from the decades in Soldier Mode. Films, books, and music. No matter how much you introduced him to modern music, he still clung to the styles of the past. On multiple occasions he had pulled you into the yard to dance with him under the stars. Those were his favorite moments with you, just swaying to the music, his past would drift away. Holding you he could feel hope for his future. Peace in his present.
“Buck, baby?” Your voice pulled him from his memories.
“Yeah, doll?” He asked, rubbing his eyes with his flesh hand.
“You ready?” You asked, nodding to the limo’s door. Sam had stepped out, he hadn’t even noticed.
His metal hand wrapped around yours, “I’m ready.”
You entered the museum hand in hand. Nodding to Sam as you passed, a smirk on his face. The museum was filled with people in formal wear. Music floated in from the hall, World War II regalia littering the walls.
Pepper caught sight of the two of you and closed the distance. “James, we’ll have you open the gala with a dance. As the only living original member it’s a great press moment.” She turned on her heel, you and Bucky following her. When you made it to the hall you were impressed. They had opened the center up to allow for a large dance hall. You glanced around the room, highly doubting that you had seen this much red, white, and blue ever in your lifetime.
“Goddamn.” Bucky murmured behind you.
“Pep doesn’t hold back.” You whispered. Taking in the room, a band was set up on stage.
Nervous energy swirled around Bucky, you tightened your grip on his hand, “I’m okay, I promise.” He glanced up at the band, “I’ll be right back.” He made his way over to the singer and shook the man’s hand.
Confusion flooded your system. Bucky, approaching someone, without prompting? Sam came up on your left. “Look at our baby, off on his own. It brings a tear to my eye.”
You reached out and smacked his chest. “Asshole.” You muttered.
“That’s Captain Asshole, thank you very much.”
You rolled your eyes, keeping watch over Bucky, who was smiling and joking with the singer of the band. He was comfortable, you could sense it, even though there was a tinge of nervousness in his system. The Soldier had stayed deep inside him for so long, but old habits died hard and you always kept a tether to Bucky, monitoring. When Bucky had realized this you had expected him to be mad, maybe an outburst of the Soldier, but that never happened. He wrapped you in his arms and thanked you, for protecting him, for backing him up.
Bucky turned back to you and waved, you gave a small wave back to him. “Awwww, you and Frosty, so cute.” A voice came from behind you.
“Shuri! What are you doing here?” You asked giving the young woman a quick hug.
“You think I wouldn’t come to Pepper’s fundraiser?” She answered. You glanced around, realizing that a majority of the Avengers were here. Bruce in the corner, Clint and his wife at the appetizers table, Peter dancing around the room armed with his cell phone. It was odd, you had all been together multiple times since Tony’s funeral. But usually that was for meetings on the state of the world.
Pepper walked up to the microphone on stage, Bucky turning away from the singer to stand next to her. You had to marvel at him, there had been a time when he couldn’t even see Pepper without going into full fight or flight mode. Seeing him standing tall on stage reminded you of how many battles he had won. “Good Evening.” Pepper began, causing the crowd to grow silent. “I would like to thank you all for being here tonight. The preservation of history has always been a passion for Stark Enterprise. Tony would have been so glad to see all of you here. This expansion of the Captain America exhibit will be dedicated to Howard Stark.” She paused and took a breath. Bucky tensed beside her, she placed a hand on his shoulder. “So open your checkbooks, sign on those dotted lines, and remember, donations make great tax write offs.” The crowd chuckled. “To open our gala tonight, Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes will open the dance floor.”
“And that’s my cue.” The singer said from the other side of the stage. As Bucky made his way off the stage to you. He held out his hand and you placed yours in his, letting him pull you onto the dance floor. “Sergeant Barnes requested this song for tonight, so here’s hoping I do it justice.”
Bucky pulled you into him, one hand placing yours on his shoulder, then moving to your waist. You rested your head on his shoulder. “So you requested a song for tonight?”
“I did.” He answered. “And that’s only the beginning of the surprises tonight.” His hand tracing circles on your back and the singer began his tune.
“In this world of ordinary people,
Extraordinary people.
I'm glad there is you.”
You breathed in as you listened to the singer’s lyrics, Bucky’s grip tightening on your mid-section, bringing you closer to him. You heard his voice softly singing along with the singer. He had sung a few times before while you were dancing, but you could feel his intent rolling out of him in waves. Your telepathic connection filled with love.
“In this world of over-rated pleasures,
Of under-rated treasures,
I'm so glad there is you.”
“I’m so glad.” He whispered into your hair. “God, doll, you’re the best thing to happen to me.”
“I live to love, I love to live with you beside me,
This role so new, I'll muddle through with you to guide me.”
He guided you around the dance floor, you could feel the eyes of the whole room on the two of you, but you only focused on Bucky. Memories of your days teaching Bucky about technology in Wakanda came up to the surface. You chuckled as you remembered one that ended in a smashed computer and an irate Shuri.
“In this world where many, many play at love,
And hardly any stay in love,
I'm glad there is you.”
“I love you.” He whispered into your hair. His grip loosening as he spun you out then pulled you back against his chest. You looked up into his blue eyes.
“I love you too.”
“In this world where many, many play at love,
And hardly any stay in love,
I'm glad there is you.”
“Which is why I need to do this.” He pulled away from you, nervous energy spiking.
“Buck….”
“It’s okay, doll.” He murmured. Reaching into his pocket and kneeling down onto one knee. The music dimming into a quiet instrumental. “Y/N. I’ve loved you since the first time we met. You have helped me piece myself back into my old self. Teaching me all about the present. So….. Y/F/N, will you marry me?” He opened the box, showing a simple, but beautiful, diamond ring.
“Hmmmm…. That’s a tough one.” You murmured, a small flash of panic racing through his eyes. “Yes, I will marry you.” You answered, bending down and placing a kiss to his lips. He pulled away, a wide smile on his face. He took your hand and slipped the ring on your finger before pulling you back into his chest. The crowd erupted into cheers.
You buried your face in his chest. As you heard Sam yell out, “About damn time!”
You felt Bucky chuckle and the singer’s voice broke through the crowd.
“More than ever, I'm glad there is you.”
Bucky repeated the words into your hair as he rested his head on top of yours. The nervous energy you had sensed from him all night and you felt yourself wrapped in the energy that was just purely Bucky. You noticed Bucky stiffen.
“Babe….?” You asked.
“He came.” He whispered, you glanced up at his face and followed his eyes to the elderly man in the corner of the room. A smile graced the man’s face and he nodded to the two of you. “Steve.”
You looked up at your fiancé. “Go on.” You said, pushing him towards his best friend. You felt tears in your eyes as the men embraced.
“Barnes is a lucky man.” You heard Pepper’s voice behind you.
“No, I’m the lucky one.” You murmured, watching the men looking around the room. Reminiscing no doubt, to the naked eye, it probably looked like a grandson and grandfather. But you knew, it was best friends who finally got their moment to celebrate their victories.