Work Text:
Since that September evening, you and Bucky had been inseparable. Classes were started and ended with Bucky walking you to and from class, and vice versa. And now that exams were over for the semester, it meant that your home away from home, also known as your parents' house, was calling you and beckoning you to come for Christmas.
With how little you saw your family since transferring, it was almost mandated by your mother that you needed to come home for the holiday season. Despite Bucky's invitation for you to stay at her family's house for Christmas, you missed your own family and the warmth that the Southern Californian city of San Bernardino could offer.
Bucky dropped you off at the airport, holding your suitcase in her tight grip, dragging it around the busy airport until your 11 am flight started to board. She was wearing one of your oversized hoodies, one that looked more form-fitting on her taller frame than it did on you.
"Gonna miss you so much," She murmured into the hug, her lips brushing against your neck. "Do you have to go?"
"It's just a week," You reassured her, ruffling the hair at the back of her head. "We'll call as much as we can, and then we'll do presents for each other when I get back, okay?"
"Okay," Bucky conceded, straightening up and pulling away. "Kiss for the road?"
"Fine," You rolled your eyes lightheartedly, standing on your tiptoes to reach her lips, and placed a soft, yet quick, peck to her cupid's bow.
"Tease," She growled, dipping her head and pressing a passionate kiss to your lips. The taste of her coconut lip balm invaded your senses, making you sigh into the kiss as Bucky used her dexterous fingers to pull you by your free locks closer to her.
Time seemed to slip away in this moment, and so did any worries you might have. The hustle and bustle of the airport seemed to disappear as Bucky moved her hand away from your suitcase and to around your waist. Her cold digits peaked underneath your puffer jacket, trying to feel as much of your skin as she could before you left.
There were nights where Bucky would curl up beside you under the covers, her hands barely touching your skin and watching goose bumps appear as you shivered. You were sure that this was Bucky's favourite part of you. Being skin to skin, feeling every part of you in a way that wasn't just sexual, but sensual, loving as she mapped every mole, every freckle, every skin tag and scar, and categorised it methodically in her brain for later.
You both barely slept apart now, only on the nights when Bucky would have volleyball practice in the morning, just knowing that she wouldn't get up if she was wrapped around you or vice versa. Despite being the nicest feeling in the world to wake up next to your girlfriend, it could be paralysing sometimes, especially when important things were on in the morning. Bucky still struggled to get up, needing multiple alarms, while you were the one who would usually have to shake her awake and motivate her to get up.
Suffice to say, you were late more times this semester than you had been in your entire life.
Fortunately, you had followed in the weird tradition of being at the airport too early. Especially since Bucky borrowed her family's car so that she could spend as much time as possible before you boarded.
"Now boarding Frontier Flight F9 2503 to Los Angeles. Please ensure you have your boarding pass and carry-on luggage with you for weighing when you board."
"That's me," You murmured, pulling away with a soft pop of your lips. "I should start getting in line."
"Okay," Bucky frowned, pulling away almost immediately like your skin had become poisonous.
"Jamie," You huffed softly, using her government name as you tilted your head with a small, sad smile as you looked up at her. "We're going to be okay. I promise."
"Pinky?"
"Pinky promise, My Love," You smiled, wrapping your pinky around hers. "I'll send you all my outfits, anything I see that reminds me of you, we'll Facetime every night. I'll be with you all the time."
"Except physically," Bucky grumbled.
"And that's okay," You replied. "It'll be a week just before you know it."
"I'm gonna miss you, Sweetheart," Bucky whispered, the admission making the frog in her throat palpable as she tried to swallow down everything. "So much."
"I'm gonna miss you just as much," You pressed a soft kiss to her palm, before letting her go.
"Come back in one piece, okay?" She tried to smile.
"I'll try my best."
You found yourself stripping off layers and layers of clothes as soon as you landed. The Sunshine State was clearly not giving in to the idea of a white Christmas anytime soon. The tarmac almost sizzled as the plane's wheels hit the ground. Once the seat belt sign was turned off, the plane erupted into chaos as people scrambled to get their luggage and off the aircraft as quickly as humanly possible.
Message to: Bucky❤️
just landed! miss you already!! 🫶🫶💕
Message from: Bucky❤️
miss you more, come back now, pretty please? 😢
Message to: Bucky❤️
Attached Photo
no! it's so warm here!
Message from: Bucky❤️
:( bring some back with you
You waited patiently, in no rush to get up from your seat, since you would be ordering a taxi from the airport to your home when you were ready, not wanting to rush, and inevitably overwhelm yourself by having one pre-booked, or worse, asking for someone to pick you up.
Eventually, the plane was almost empty, with just you and a few others now collecting your belongings from the overhead lockers. The flight attendant thanked you for your patience on your way out, and finally, you were met with the beaming hot Californian sun in your eyes. You put your sunglasses on and trudged down the metal stairs to the tarmac, dragging your suitcase behind.
The airport was cool, the air conditioning working overtime to accommodate all of the guests and locals now arriving back in the state. The linen skirt you wore had been perfect for the trip, having layers of stockings underneath that were swiftly removed before you landed, now allowing you to feel the breeze between your legs.
With gratitude, you walked past the check-in luggage collection, glad that you had only packed the essentials for this trip and that you just had your carry-on.
Message from: Bucky❤️
i miss u already ❤️
Message to: Bucky❤️
miss you more, about to order an uber out of here
Attached Photo
Message from: Bucky❤️
YOURE SO CUTE IN YOUR GLASSES AND HEADPHONES 😭😭😭
need my baby home NEOWWW
Message to: Bucky❤️
facetime tonight?
Message from: Bucky❤️
if i ever say no, just know that i have been replaced by an alien LMAO
ofc sweetheart, wouldn't miss it for the world!!
You held your phone to your chest with a sigh. Within three months of dating Bucky, you had fallen head over heels for her. For her smile, her laugh, her sense of humour, how she teased you for every little thing that you did, how your Californian accent sometimes slipped when you were tired, and she'd start immediately trying to wind you up until you pouted your lips and she'd stop, kissing your face all over while pinching your cheeks closer together until they were duck lips.
How she understood you and your feelings, your thoughts and emotions. In previous relationships, you had been scared to voice your needs, but more importantly, your worries, but with Bucky, she would open the space up, talking to you about the most fundamental parts to make your relationship a success, and for once in your life, you could see this relationship with her going places.
So now it was getting difficult not to let out those three words. Other things have slipped past, of course.
"You're my good luck charm." You texted her after your exam went well.
"You know I care about you, right?" You murmured to her while she made dinner for the two of you, your hands wrapped around her waist as you buried your nose into her back.
"I was so worried," You whispered to Bucky when she got hit in the head during practice and was concussed, being the first one to run across the court, not caring if another ball was coming your way.
"You're my everything," You drunkenly admitted while she swayed with you to her favourite 40s songs in the small, clear space of the dorm room.
"Our birth charts say we're compatible as hell."
Suffice to say, you were honestly hoping she would say it first. After all, you knew that she loved you more than anything; her actions and texts in this current moment and seven hours before when you left were more than enough to indicate just how strongly she felt about you. But Bucky wasn't necessarily the type of woman to say her feelings; she liked to show them with physical affection and well-thought-out gifts.
"They came out with the new Hibiscus Lego set I know you wanted." She shrugged nonchalantly as you got back from class to find the box sitting with a bow on the coffee table.
"I wanna take you to this authentic as hell Mexican place for dinner next week," Bucky hummed as she slipped a take-away menu into your palms. "Sounds good, yeah?"
"We're going for a picnic," Bucky smiled, squeezing your hand with her own as the other held a closed picnic basket. "I know you hate food-related surprises. I promise you I got you your favourites, okay?"
Bucky was the only one who had ever made you feel secure in such a short time. You knew within the first week of you both dating that you were gone for her, that you'd do anything to keep that warm feeling inside your stomach, the glee that you felt when she texted you and the empathy you felt for her when she was having a shit time at class. You could listen to her talk for hours about movies, even ones that you weren't particularly interested in, she made you want to watch them because it made her happy sharing her interests with you, too. While she'd read your articles from the school paper, snipping out your section and putting it into a not-so-secret box that she tried to hide from you.
The connection you felt with her was going stronger and stronger each and every day you spent with her, and you knew, for lack of a better phrasing, that you were cooked. And as much as you pretended that it was just her who was going to miss you this week away, you knew that you were feeling just as bad as she was.
You just didn't want her to see how upset you were. For once, you wanted to be the tough one in the relationship. To be strong so that she felt like she could be strong also. And yet, as you booked the Uber to go back to your childhood home. You couldn't help but feel as though you were getting further and further away from her, and that wasn't doing anything for your heart, already feeling the tight compress of your sadness around it.
The drive was quiet, besides the one wired ear pod you had in, playing 'I Love You' by Fontaines D.C, the third song in the playlist Bucky had made for you. What was initially supposed to help your yearning for your partner only made it worse as you stared out the Uber window.
Highway 405 turned into 105, then the 605 as Interstate 10 became East-bound. The blocked suburbs of San Bernardino were easy to navigate, watching every street sign come and go until you arrived on an all too familiar road.
The Uber parked outside of your house, putting the trunk up for you to take your suit case out of. You quickly typed in the review, 5 stars, and let your bag's wheels make the all too familiar sound of scratching against concrete. The plastic buckled against the curb as you pulled it up onto the driveway.
The house was quiet, as expected, just the soft sounds of the air con sitting just below the ceiling on the wall. It was almost 4pm, and with exhaustion from the early start and now being three hours behind New York time, you were starting to feel the small effects of jet lag upon you.
The house hadn't changed much in the four months you'd been gone, just a new coffee table and the whole downstairs living room being rearranged. You wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the first time your mother had rearranged the furniture while you were gone.
Your old room, however, looked exactly the same. Bare off-white walls with a built in wardrobe, a bed in the middle and a desk by the window. Without a second thought, you were taking your clothes off down to your underwear and shirt, and trying to find the spare pair of pyjamas you had left behind those months ago.
Message from: Bucky❤️
miss you :(
Message to: Bucky❤️
miss you too! i'm home, wanna call?
Message from: Bucky❤️
yeth pls
Facetime Video Call from: Bucky❤️
Accepted.
"Hi," You immediately greeted her, still looking around for your pyjamas as you placed the phone on your windowsill.
"Hey, Pretty Girl, I've missed you," Bucky smiled back through the phone as she leaned it up against the backsplash in the kitchen back at the dorm. "Just eating dinner at the moment."
"What are you having?" You almost yelled out as you dug through your cupboard, trying not to pull clothes out, but instead and with surgical precision, get to the pyjamas that you were sure were at the bottom of the drawer in your cupboard.
"Just made myself a sandwich, wasn't too keen on cooking or ordering anything," She shrugged.
"You feeling okay?"
"Yeah, just miss you a lot, Sweetheart," Bucky murmured into her hand, watching you through the camera. "I haven't seen your old room before, it's nice."
"It's way too bright in here," You huffed in frustration, finally finding your pyjamas, and going off camera to change out of the clothes and into something clean, and not covered in aeroplane feel.
"Don't know why you're hiding when I've seen everything before," Bucky teased.
"Shut up," You scoffed, before coming back into the frame, this time with a singlet and some short shorts on.
"Better. I missed your face, Baby," Bucky hummed. "How was the flight?"
"A bit turbulent at the start, but after that it was okay," You smiled, flopping down onto your bed. "How'd you go returning your parents' car?"
"It was all good, stayed for lunch, which is probably why I'm not too hungry at the moment, and just having a sandwich for dinner."
"That's good," You replied, moving to rest your head on the pillow. "Might have a nap."
"Wish I could have one with you," Bucky sighed. "I'm gonna miss you so much this week."
"I'm gonna miss you too," You reminded her softly. "Talk later?"
"Yeah, Sweet Girl, sleep well," Bucky murmured.
"Thanks, Babe." You had to physically stop yourself from saying those three special words, hanging up as soon as 'babe' came out of your mouth.
The next five days in the lead-up to Christmas were hectic, between shopping for family members and helping your family to start preparations for Christmas lunch, you were exhausted at the end of each day when it was your time to call Bucky. You attempted to sprinkle little texts throughout the day when you got a small moment of peace to yourself, like in the car, on the toilet or while everyone was distracted with their own things.
And when everyone stepped out at 10 pm on Christmas Eve to see the Christmas lights on people's decorated houses, you took your opportunity to say no and finally have a bit of space to breathe.
Message to: Bucky❤️
miss you
are you awake?
wanna hear you :(
Message from: Bucky❤️
i am now :)
Your forefinger quickly pressed the button in the top right corner of the iMessage app. You clicked it, immediately going for the top option, and setting the phone on your pillow.
"Hey," Bucky sang, her sleepy voice a reprieve from your social exhaustion. "How's my Sweet Girl doing?"
"Your Sweet Girl wants to be with you right now," You mumbled, the side of your face almost pressed into the pillow, not caring that your nightly routine hadn't been completed, let alone started. "Miss you."
"Miss you more."
"It's not a competition, Jamie," You huffed, yet smiled. You loved these moments where she teased you, despite every eye roll, every 'I hate you' and every 'shut up', you could never cease the pulsing in your heart whenever you heard her tone change into that taunting tone.
"Never said it was, Sweetheart."
You remained silent, not out of any wish to make her feel bad, but genuinely at a loss for words. God, you fucking loved her, and anytime soon, she was about to make those words slip out of your mouth. And it would be easy, so fucking insanely easy to just say it now, and potentially face the idea that she didn't love you like you loved her. Or even worse, that it would ruin everything. Because if she didn't feel the same way, you were sure it was going to ruin you, break you down from the inside out and leave you a wreck.
"How's your day been, Pretty Girl?" She asked softly, coughing to clear her throat.
"Yeah, good, busy as hell," You yawned. "Went to the mall without headphones, biggest mistake of my life."
"Oh no, are you feeling okay now?" Bucky replied.
"Yeah, now that it's just you and me, I feel way better," You paused. "I always feel better around you."
"Funny, because I was going to say the exact same thing," Bucky chuckled. "I didn't think that I'd miss you this much. But every time I turn to tell you something or go to kiss you, especially in bed, I have to realise I'm just hugging my pillow and you're 2401 miles away from me."
"You calculated it?"
"Yeah, thought it might help ease it, I didn't realise how far away California was."
"Could be worse," You hummed softly.
"Yeah, we could be oceans apart."
"And if we were, I'd do whatever it takes to come see you," You promised.
"Pinkie promise?" Bucky mumbled. "Even if I was 10,000 miles away?"
"Especially if you were 10,000 miles away. I pinkie promise," You assured her. "I'm holding up my pinkie for you, by the way."
Bucky couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, the noise like music to your ears, and a rush of warmth in your lungs like the best part of inhaling a cigarette, the rush, the heat and the feeling in your head, pure utter bliss.
"You make me so happy," You sighed. "You know that?"
"I'd like to hope that I do," Bucky joked, but her tone quickly softened when she realised how serious you were being. "I do— I know. You make me so happy, too."
"Stay on the phone with me, please."
"Anything for you, Sweet Girl."
You got up from your bed, took your phone with you to the bathroom and began to brush your teeth. For once, it felt normal, just to listen to Bucky breathe while you did normal things. The past five days had tired you out, but there was just two days left to go. Christmas Day and Boxing Day, then you'd fly out early on the 27th. You couldn't wait.
Christmas Day was just as much chaos as you expected, with both of your parents rushing to get all the food done in time for the rest of your family. You tried to stay out of their stampede as much as possible, letting yourself sleep in for the first time since leaving New York.
You had become used to sleeping in in Bucky's arms, struggling but ultimately being the one to get out of bed when you needed to get away from your body heat mixing together and becoming overwhelming. You spent the late morning getting ready and replying to Bucky's 'good morning' text message with as many emojis as you could find.
Message from: Bucky❤️
merry christmas !! 🎄🎄🎁🎁
just two more days until you're home!!
can't wait to see you sweet girl
i've missed you so much…never gonna let you go when i get my hands on you 😈😈
Message to: Bucky❤️
merry christmas honey!
missed you more!
maybe i'm into that ;)
Message from: Bucky❤️
you're so cute 😭😭
kicking my feet rn
Message to: Bucky❤️
#the cutest
how did you sleep?
Message from: Bucky❤️
not as good as i would if you were here
Message to: Bucky❤️
even with all my tossing and turning
Message from: Bucky❤️
once you get to sleep, you're actually pretty still!
Message to: Bucky❤️
i don't think i'm sleeping that well either
woke up with the funkiest headache and tangled pretty badly in the sheets
Message from: Bucky❤️
that's no good baby :(((
are you feeling okay now?
Message to: Bucky❤️
yeah, drank like a fuck tonne of water tho 😭
Message from: Bucky❤️
you gotta listen to your body more 😭 😭 😭 😭
Message to: Bucky❤️
i know i know 😭
i will pay better attention to my water intake
Message from: Bucky❤️
thank you
can't have my baby feeling bad
i wish i could keep chatting but i've gotta go to lunch now
talk later?
Message to: Bucky❤️
ofc ❤️❤️❤️
You put your phone down once again to continue getting ready, not wanting to distract your insanely hot girlfriend by messaging her while she was busy. In thought, you contemplated telling her now. It could be your little Christmas gift to her, like "hey Merry Christmas, I'm so fucking in love with you and have been pretty much since we've started dating!" or "heyyy can we talk when you get the chance?". Both options were sure to give her a heart attack bigger than ever before, and you'd honestly rather see that in person. How her features would shift, how her hands would grip onto yours, how she'd bury her face in the crevice between your neck, hiding away from the world in your skin for the little time she had, and telling you in a soft whisper that she loved you too.
That was the best-case scenario. Because, despite how secure you felt in this relationship, the first one you'd ever felt this safe in, the little voice nagging you in the back of your mind made you think that yes, her features would shift, but she'd remove her hands, take a step back and sigh: "how could I ever love someone like you?". And after all is said and done, you could picture in your mind how much her breaking up with you would destroy you.
With Bucky, the emotions were intense and off the charts, your love for her ever bursting in your creative writing assignments in classes, some that you'd show her, others you'd keep closer to your chest in fear of being perceived as overly obsessive. But that's how you felt, obsessed. You loved every bit of her, and you wanted to be able to both show and tell her that each and every day. You wanted to be there for her on the good days and the bad. The days when she pulled a muscle or was in pain from practice and needed a bath drawn. The days when class was a shit storm. You wanted the little wins and the big ones. You wanted everything with her, and so the idea of rejection, even though you could tell yourself it was silly, worried you more than you'd like to admit.
You pulled your fingers from your mouth, now looking at your ruined Christmas themed nails, subconsciously chewed away in your anxious and deep thoughts, jagged edges that needed to be filed away and chipped bits of paint that needed to be soaked in acetone and messily repainted with the help of another. Normally, Bucky would help you with painting your dominant hand, but she wasn't here, so, after careful deliberation, you chipped away the paint with the remaining length on other nails until they were free from red, white and green.
Message from: Bucky❤️
rate my plate ⭐
Attached Photo
You smiled, as you always did when she texted you random bits of her life when you weren't with her. Meals, animals, plants, funny street names. All of it. You loved all of it.
Message to: Bucky❤️
hmmmm
4/5 could use more mayo 😁
Message from: Bucky❤️
you and your mayo obsession 🙄🙄🙄
you're so lucky i think you're cute
Message to: Bucky❤️
you think i'm cute huh?
Message from: Bucky❤️
you know i think you're cute
you know what else i think you are
sexy, gorgeous, beautiful
mine
my pretty baby
Message to: Bucky❤️
shut up or ill miss you more :,(
Twenty minutes went by with no response; the message sat on delivered as every so often you checked your phone whilst preparing your suitcase for the flight in two days. Tomorrow was supposed to be filled with shopping with Boxing Day sales starting early and ending late in the evening, giving you no other time than now, when you were most likely to be motivated, to ensure you knew where every item of clothing was, where everything you needed to take back to New York with you was kept so that on Saturday, all you'd need to do is squeeze all of the stuff you bought on Boxing Day into the small suitcase, get ready, pack your toiletries away and call an Uber back into the city.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
You couldn't sleep…again. The evil red time on your phone stared at you. 3:47 am. At least another hour before you had to get up. Your leg muscles ached, and begged for the mercy of never having to walk again, and your back hurt from standing in lines all day, waiting to purchase the bargains you had managed to find for yourself in the pile of products that didn't appease you.
It was 6:47- now 6:48 am back home in New York, and you could almost hear the snooze on Bucky's alarm being pressed for the third time this morning, pleading with her to get up and start the day, or to just click awake and stay in bed. You could almost picture her, half awake, groaning with her hair in her face, hugging her pillow like there was no tomorrow.
With a soft groan from your lips, you sat up in your bed, shifted your legs to hang off the side of your bed as you adjusted to being upright all of a sudden. A wave of dizziness almost overwhelmed you as you grabbed your headphones from the bedside table.
Your feet brushed against the carpet, almost itching them as you began to rub them back and forth against the fabric. You stood up once you were ready and sure you wouldn't just fall back into bed, and padded into the bathroom. The fan activated as soon as you turned on the light, overstimulating you with both brightness and noise.
"It's too early for this shit," You muttered to yourself. Your hands swept over your face, rubbing the yellow crystals out of your eyes before dragging your digits against your skin and staring at yourself in the mirror. "I look like a fucking corpse, Jesus."
You quickly set to work, splashing water on your face to make yourself look somewhat alive, which didn't necessarily help, but the cool liquid against your cheeks managed to wake you up just enough to see what you were working with. A buzz vibrated in your pyjama shorts pocket.
Message from: Bucky❤️
GOOD MORNINGGGGGGGG
JUST WOKE UP AND HOPE YOU SLEPT GOOD
EXCITED TO SEE YOU TODAYYYY
I'VE MISSED YOU SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH
finally getting my sweet girl back in my arms
Message to: Bucky❤️
just woke up!!! good morning!!!
feeling like ass but what can you do
Message from: Bucky❤️
oh no baby :(((
we will get your favourite take in tonight and i'll run you a bath as soon as you get home!
does that sound okay, bubba?
Message to: Bucky❤️
thank youuuuuu :(
you're too good to me :((
Message from: Bucky❤️
erm actually
you're too good for me
you take care of me all the time, you are one of the most amazing people i have ever met and i'm so happy to be with you
i've been an absolute wreck this week without you! everyone's noticed, especially at christmas lunch 😭😭😭
i genuinely cant wait to see you and hold you and kiss you and hug you and everything in between again
Message to: Bucky❤️
you've become such a sap since we started dating
Message from: Bucky❤️
shut up
so have you
Message to: Bucky❤️
i already was a sap
Message from: Bucky❤️
then you've become a bigger one
i'm gonna go run some errands before i pick you up from the airport
text me when you're boarding <3
Message to: Bucky❤️
of course! will do!
You set your phone down on the countertop as you put your headphones in. The blue light of the screen bringing you closer and closer to a state of alert as you scrolled through the playlist you had made for Bucky, full of songs that you had made for her this time, when you had exchanged playlists. You finally settled on 'infinite source' from Deftones' new album, the riff at the beginning feeling electric in your ears and your heart as you thought of her.
You weren't necessarily thinking of anything specific, just the way you could tell when she was excited about something from the sound of her voice, and how she could make you melt in a second. You focused on everything. From the first time you spoke, you felt a spark, whether you knew it was romantic at the time or not; it didn't matter, that connection was still there. And that string, the invisible string, pulled you two together until you didn't need it there any more, you could tug Bucky towards you by yourself and vice versa.
You got ready, almost picturing Bucky next to you, brushing her teeth with you, doing her skin care and her makeup alongside you, kissing your forehead, your hair, your chin, your lips, your neck, teasing the hell out of you.
Fuck, you loved her so much; it almost hurt.
Your wallpaper blared at you, an old digital camera photo of the two of you kissing at a party, your hand on her face as Bucky's rested on the curve of your waist, multicoloured lights contrasting against the darkness of the night.
It took you a while to get going, but once order had been established, it was easy enough to follow the small steps you had set for yourself. As you did your final checks over each and every part of the house you had touched for the belongings you may have accidentally left behind, the taxi that you scheduled prior arrived, the headlights beaming through the curtains of the house.
You hauled your suitcase outside, hoping that the next time you were here, Bucky would be here with you too.
The airport was quiet, quieter than you anticipated. But you figured that with how slow people were moving, they were just as tired as you, ready to go home or to their next destination for the holiday season. The suitcase dragged behind you, hitting your ankles every so often, sending you into another round of discomfort.
You just wished you could teleport.
Snapping yourself out of your thoughts, you bought yourself an overpriced energy drink. One that you were all too familiar with, having spent deadlines drinking it until the morning sun rose, with Bucky calling you an idiot when you started to have heart palpitations.
The white can sat cold in your hand as you wandered through the airport, feeling the restless energy now induced from sleep deprivation. Each lounge had a slightly different layout as you waited for your gate to be announced, so you could sit there instead. You passed stores that wouldn't be open for another couple of hours, sitting in darkness with clear gates protecting the goods.
Your gate was announced soon after, to which you found it with ease, having spotted it earlier in your wandering. You sat by yourself, watching as airline staff began to prepare to start the boarding process, and your phone quickly became more interesting as you scrolled mindlessly on YouTube shorts, letting your brain have a rest while you waited to board.
Fortunately, the boarding started on time with people beginning to queue at the front desk like their lives depended on them being first in line. You on the other hand, knew that your seat wasn't going away, and trying to get onto the plane first was just going to rush you more than you'd like.
Message to: Bucky❤️
about to board!
T-Minus 7 hours till i see your sexy butt again
The read receipt didn't show beneath your message before you turned your aeroplane mode on, the flight now completely full and ready for take off. Your eyes trailed to the sunrise in the window, now starting to burn your eyes with its brightness, you knew it would only get worse once the plane was in the sky.
Once the plane was at an acceptable height, you shut the window and closed your eyes, 'just resting', you told yourself before you fell into a slumber.
The overhead announcement that they had safely arrived at JFK domestic airport was what woke you up. Once again, you waited for everyone else to get off the plane, there was no rush to get up when you knew it would only overwhelm you.
The wheels of your suitcase rolled against the tarmac and then the cool tiles of the building. You were grateful that you had brought your jumper with you, rather than tucking it away into your suit case because the New York winter was freezing in comparison to the sunny skies you had once been in.
You turned your phone off of aeroplane mode as you stood on the escalator to go upstairs to the exit.
Message from: Bucky❤️
im here waiting for you!
no rush baby take your time!!
You ignored that last one, immediately picking up your suitcase and trudging up the moving stairs, not caring if you almost tripped on one as you rushed to go find your girlfriend.
And there she was, standing there with a huge fucking sign in one hand, and flowers in the other. In big chalk markers and painted letters read: "I love you."
"Bucky!" You rushed, not caring who was looking, as you ran across the room, wrapping your arms around her waist as she struggled to put the sign down without hurting you.
"Hey, my sweet baby," She hummed, her chin brushing your shoulder. "I missed you."
"I missed you more," You sighed, before pulling away, one of your hands still lingering on her hip. "What's all this?"
"I've been meaning to tell you for a while," Bucky chuckled nervously, you had never seen her this nervous, not even for a match with professional volleyball scouts watching her every move from off the court. "Just couldn't find the right time, but I love you- I'm in love with you."
You couldn't help the smile, nor the laugh you let out, or the tears that began to drop from your eyes.
"I didn't say the wrong thing, did I, baby?" She frowned, her hand coming to your cheek, rubbing the tear away with her thumb.
"No, no. Of course not, you could never say the wrong thing, Jamie," You assured her, subconsciously leaning into the warmth of her hand. "I was literally going to tell you the exact same thing."
"Well, go on, Sweet Girl, I wanna hear you say the words," Bucky grinned, dropping the flowers as gently on the ground as she could manage to put her other hand to your other cheek.
"I love you, Bucky."