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I can do this. Bob thought to himself as he prepared himself. There was a voice in the back of his head saying 'why would a girl as beautiful and feirce as her want to be with you?', but he ignored best he could. He had finally decided to just bite the bullet and tell Yelena that he loved her. Romantically, that is. Sure the whole team loved each other (though they often acted as if they couldn't stand the thought of being in a room together for more than ten minutes), but he loved Yelena in a way that was nothing of the familial sorts. He wanted her to know, even if she didn't feel the same for him. He gathered his wits and walked into the commons area of the tower. "Yelena, can I talk to you for a bit?" He asked. "Of course Bob." She responded, but made no attempt to get up. "Um, alone, please?" He further explained. Yelena let out a drawled "Oooh!" before getting up and following the man to his room.
"What is it you wanted to talk about in private, Bob?" Yelena asked. Bob took a deep breath and said exactly what he had planned, "Yelena, I need to tell you something. I love you, more than I probably should. I love you romantically. I want to be with you if you feel the same. It's alright if you don't. I'm totally fine being just friends." Yelena was silenced.
- - - - - -
Yelena knew this would be a hard conversation the second Bob asked to talk in private. She wasn't stupid, she knew that when a guy asks to talk to you alone it usually means that a proffesion of love is coming soon. Lord knows she never thought it would come from Bob. She thought her and Bob were like siblings. Turns out, Bob didn't have the same mindset. She waited a second to gather her thoughts before responding. "Bob, you're amazing, really, but I don't feel the same way as you. I'm sorry to let you down. If it makes you feel better, I've never really liked anyone romanically anyway." She explained carefully.
"So, no?"
"No."
"That's alright."
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It was hours later and Yelena was lying in bed overthinking once again. She felt horrible for not loving Bob the same way he loved her. Yelena wondered over and over agian why she couldn't just love like other people. She wondered for so long in fact, that her mouth became dry and she was in need of a glass of water. This led her to the kitchen where she found Bucky, doing the same as her. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked. "Yeah. Just overthinking about stuff." she responded. "What about?"
Yelena wasn't sure if she should be telling this seemingly apathetic man about her deepest insecurities, so she tested the waters by saying "Bob told me that he loves me romantically." Bucky didn't react much, letting a silence wash over them. Finally, he says, "I figured he did. You should see the way he looks at you." This made Yelena feel even worse. "I don't love him that way though. I get that he's a great guy and that there's no reason to not love him, but I just can't." Bucky was about to respond, but Yelena had already started talking again. "And what if I don't love anyone like that? I've never felt romantic attraction like other people. I think maybe my brain is broken."
"Yelena, your brain isn't broken."
"If my brian isn't broken, that just makes me an emotionless robot, which is almost worse."
They fell into an awkward silence as Bucky tried to find the words to assure his comrade that she wasn't broken or a robot. Finally, he had put together something to say, "Yelena, you are not broken. You are not a robot. Do you love your dad?"
"Of course I do."
"What about your sister, did you love her?"
"I loved her a lot."
"Do you love Bob in any way?"
"Yes."
"There's your answer. You do feel love and emotion, just not romantic love. That's totally okay." He finished. Yelena stared at him. "You're sure?"
"Sure as the sky is blue."