| 𝘽𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙊𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙨 |

|Person|

I don't super love this one, but didn't want to go without giving an update :)

Warning(s): none

You stood in the community kitchen in the compound, humming along to the music playing in your headphones. You wouldn't categorize yourself as a morning person, but this morning you found yourself fully awake and making breakfast for yourself.

"Y/N! You're up early." Your eyes shot over to the elevator, walking out was Steve with a warm smile spread across his face. Directly on his heels was Bucky with a brooding look.

You let out a laugh, taking off your headphones, "I'm just as surprised as you are. How was the morning run?"

Steve leaned against the island table across from you, "Pretty good, it's a bit chilly this morning, but nothing we couldn't handle."

Your eyes made their way to Bucky, who was staring at you emotionlessly. When your eyes met, he quickly shifted his attention to the empty wall beside him. Bucky was known to be quiet around many of the Avengers. With the exception of Steve and the fights he'd pick with Sam, Bucky was the strong, silent type. You, however, never let up. You were intentional to greet him when you would cross paths going to the training room or going to mission briefings. It often only led to scowls and grunts from his end. If you were lucky, he'd give you the dude nod, but rarely anything more. 

"Good morning, Bucky," you called as you began to walk towards him heading to the dining table with your breakfast in hand.

Bucky blinked before returning your gaze. He gave you a tight-lipped smile. His attention shifted to Steve, "I'm going to go shower."

"You don't need my permission," Steve chuckled, searching the cupboards for a meal. Bucky turned and walked towards the stairs that lead to rooms.

You let out a light sigh before taking a seat at the table. You knew Bucky would probably talk to you eventually, you just had to give him time. You found him intriguing... cute even. Was it the fact that he was quiet and observant? Was it the way he looked at you when he thought you didn't notice? He certainly wasn't too bad to look at...

"What are you thinking about?" Natasha asked, walking into the dining room with Wanda.

You shook your head, not realizing how deep in thought you were in. "Nothing, really," your eyes darted to Wanda who gave me a knowing smile.

"Y/N thinks Bucky's cute," Wanda said bluntly, taking a seat next to you.

You rolled your eyes, "Really wish I could block my thoughts." Wanda grinned.

"The Winter Soldier, huh," Nat thought to herself for a moment, "Didn't think you'd be into guys like him."

You nudged Natasha, "I'm not... into him. I'd just like to get to him. But I don't think he's interested in knowing me as more than a coworker."

"Give it time, Y/N," Steve's voice carried from the kitchen. You jumped a little; you had forgotten he'd been in the other room the whole time. 

Steve leaned against the doorway between the kitchen and dining room, his classic Captain America smile plastered on his face.

"You know, it's rude to eavesdrop, Rogers," Natasha glared jokingly.

"That's interesting coming from you, Romanoff," Steve retorted with a smirk. He continued, "Bucky is still trying to get used to everything. I know he appreciates that you always say hi to him," Steve walked over and placed a hand on your shoulder, "He'll come around eventually."

You put your hand over Steve's smiling up at him, "Thanks for the pep talk, Cap." Steve laughed before walking back into the kitchen.

"Alright, hurry up and eat so we can go train. I'm off to go warm-up." Natasha announced before getting up from the table.

[Time skip]

You found yourself back in the dining room. The clock read 3 AM and you had a mission's report that needed to be done for later that morning. You cursed yourself for procrastinating again as you rubbed your temples and let out a sigh. You knew if you worked in your room, you would be tempted to crawl into your bed and fall asleep. So,  you sat under the dining room light, working as fast as you could.

Suddenly, you heard a floorboard creak. Your eyes dart towards the sound, spotting a figure standing in the darkness of the living room.

"Who's there?" You asked, softly but sternly. The figure hesitated before walking into the light of the dining room. A pair of familiar blue eyes met yours, "Bucky, you scared me."

"Sorry," he muttered, "I didn't think anyone was going to be down here."

You nodded before directing your attention back to your work. You noticed he walked over to the table and sat down with you. Your eyes left your computer screen, looking up only to notice Bucky was looking at you. You couldn't read his face, but his eyebrows were furrowed but there seemed to be a gleam in his eye.

Bucky broke the silence, "What's keeping you up?"

You nodded towards your computer screen, giving him a small smile, "I left this mission report until the last minute." Bucky shifted his eyes to the table, nodding slowly. 

"What about you," you asked, "You have a run with Steve in a few hours."

Bucky held his silence, almost searching for the right words. "Nightmares," Bucky stated.

You nodded, your eyes moving to a speck on the table, uncertain of what to say next. Steve had told you about Bucky nightmares: often flashbacks from his time as the Winter Soldier. Some nights you heard his screams and sobs through the walls of the compound. You had always felt bad, you just didn't know how to approach him.

You felt Bucky's eyes on you again, and again, you met his gaze. You raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"I'm trying to read you," Bucky replied.

"Wait, why?" You chuckled, half shocked. 

Bucky shrugged, his eyebrows furrowed together, "I don't get you. Like I don't understand why you always make an effort to talk to me when all I can manage is to shrug you off."

You shrugged but a kind smile grew on your face, "I don't know what to tell you, Barnes. I know you get a lot of crap from Tony and Sam... and you don't really talk much. I just think you deserve to be treated like a person."

After a beat, Bucky suddenly stood up and began to walk away. "Bucky?" you called from behind him, "Was it something that I said?"

You began to follow him when he suddenly stopped in the middle of the living room. You slowed your pace but continued to walk until you were right behind him. Even in the darkness of the room, you were able to see that his shoulders were moving slightly. Bucky sniffed and moved his hands to his face.

Your body moved faster than your brain. Before you had a moment to process your actions, your body was already against his back. Your arms wrapped themselves around his torso. As you hugged him, you felt him tense slightly before settling into the embrace.

You don't know how long you stood there for, but Bucky soon took a step forward and turned around to face you. The distant light from the dining room was enough to reveal Bucky's red eyes, his face ridden with stray tears.

"I-" Bucky began.

You interrupted him by pulling him into another hug, you two now facing each other. "It's okay. You don't need to explain a thing."

Bucky settled into the hug. He wrapped his arms around your shoulders.

"Thank you, doll," he muttered.

You squeezed him tighter. That mission report could wait─ Fury would understand.