request: Bucky and reader having a lovely relationship then boom bala bing, angst on Xmas day cause Steve hates the reader and Bucky takes Steve's side even tho reader and Bucky have been together for a long time and trust is there? You can change it in anyway, just what I've been thinking of for a long time but it's not my style to write.
pairing: bucky barnes x fem!reader
summary: you thought you and bucky would last forever. but steve wouldn't let that happen.
word count: 1,092
warnings?: angst, no happy ending, steve's a major asshole, accusations of cheating, not proofread
note: this was written on november 9, 2021.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
You knew Steve didn't like you. You just didn't know why. You knew it had something to do with the fact that you were dating Bucky. But, it felt like it was more than that. It felt personal. You remembered when Bucky first introduced you to his best friend. Swore up and down that the two of you would get along. You had to! You were his girlfriend, Steve was his best friend since childhood—it only made sense that the two most important people in his life would become two peas in a pod. And yet, the exact opposite happened. Steve had given you the cold shoulder since the beginning. You'd done your best to be kind to him, to consider him and his interests, to make sure he was comfortable whenever the three of you were together, but it was never enough.
In Steve's eyes, you would never be enough for Bucky.
Bucky was none the wiser. You both played nice when you were in front of Bucky. But the second Bucky stepped out of the room, Steve was going at you. To anyone on the outside, it would seem innocent enough. But you knew his true intent—he was ripping you to shreds in the most subtle way imaginable. Kept his good guy image intact and ruined your day all in the same breath. If you weren't on the receiving end of his anger, you would've been impressed by his skills.
Steve would probably never like you, but you were sure that Bucky would always love you.
You couldn't be more wrong, it seemed.
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" you said, staring at Bucky with wide eyes.
He had just gotten back from a mission with Nat, Steve, and Sam. You'd become accustomed to grumpy Bucky in the aftermath of his missions, but this was different. He looked...Why did he look so angry? And why was this anger directed at you?
"Steve fucking told me!" he shouted.
"Told you what?! I don't understand what you're so upset about!"
"Yeah, you fucking do!"
You didn't understand. God, you'd never seen Bucky look so angry. And even when you had seen him angry, it was never directed at you. Never. Bucky never wanted you to be at the receiving end of his anger. He'd always stepped out of the room when he felt the rage bubble over, take time to himself before he was ready to talk about what upset him. This wasn't him. This wasn't him.
"Clearly I don't, so tell me what's got you this angry!"
"You seriously couldn't expect to try and cheat on me and me to not be upset about it!"
You froze.
What?
That...No. You'd never once tried to cheat on Bucky. You loved him with all your heart and soul. You would never hurt him like that. Not when people had hurt you like that before. You knew how much it hurt, how much it ached, to know that your significant other didn't want you, that they sought out the comfort of another. You would never subject Bucky to that kind of pain. And you thought he knew that.
"Excuse me?"
"Steve told me what happened."
"Well, can you tell me what happened?"
"Stop playing dumb!" Bucky shouted. "He told me how you went up to his room before we left for the mission!"
You had seen Steve before the mission. But you hadn't gone to his room. No, you had went to the kitchen, seeking out a midnight snack. Steve had been in there, too. He had pinned you against the counter, saying something about how you'd be happier if you just left Bucky, if you dated someone who could keep up with you. Someone like him, he'd said.
You bit him. Ran away. Went straight back to your room, to Bucky's arms, and tried to forget that that had ever happened. Prayed that Steve wouldn't say anything to Bucky—why would he? He'd be admitting to his best friend that he came onto Bucky's girl. You thought you were safe.
And yet...you weren't.
"That's not what happened."
"I was going to propose..."
"Bucky, I didn't—"
"I had this whole thing planned out. It'd be on Christmas morning. I'd make you breakfast, bring it to you in bed. Feed you and shower you in love. And when we go to open presents, I'd distract you and get on one knee and ask you..."
"Y-You can still do that! I didn't try to cheat on you, Buck. I would never—"
"Steve wouldn't lie to me."
"But he did. I-I know you've known him longer than me, and that you trust him, but I'm telling you: I would never cheat on you. I love you too much to do that."
"Then why don't I believe you?"
You stared at him, trying to figure out what to say. But he'd already made up his mind.
"Please leave."
"Bucky, baby, please listen—"
"I won't repeat myself." He turned away from you. "I'll have Nat bring any of your stuff you have here over tomorrow. You can send my stuff back with her. I...I don't want to see you again."
"Bucky—"
"Bye."
You stumbled backwards, not quite believing this was real. You ran from the room, not quite sure where you were going. You just needed to get away. To get far away from here. To run and hide and cry and pretend that this wasn't happening to you.
But life had another plan for you.
You ran straight into a solid chest, nearly falling to your feet had it not been for a pair of hands steadying. An apology was on the tip of your tongue, but it quickly died as you realized who you'd run into. "You bastard!" you spat.
"Now, that's not very nice is it?" Steve smirked.
You grit your teeth. "You don't get to talk about nice. Not after what you did."
"And what did I do?" he pouted. "I just took out the competition."
"By breaking Bucky's heart! By lying to him! By, by ruining his happiness! What kind of sick monster are you?"
"He shouldn't have taken what's mine."
"I'm not yours, asshole!"
"Not yet. But you will be." His smirk grew. "This'll be your last Christmas without me. By this time next year, you'll be my pretty little girlfriend."
"I'll never date you. Not in a million years."
"You say that now." He leaned in, his breath fanning over your face. "But I can be quite persuasive."
