pov- imagines

DREAM GIRL- B. BARNES

pairings: bucky barnes x reader, platonic!sam wilson
warnings: mentions of blood, mentions of mission dangers
about: prompt "you're my dream girl."
a/n: found this in my drafts and i actually?? really?? like this??

it's not your most glamorous moment.

you've just finished one of your dirtier missions, clear in the dirt that sticks to your cheeks and the blood that stains your fingers, its splatters of red light on your jawline. you're tired, and every single muscle in your body aches and burns, but your head is tilted towards sam next to you, a tired but genuine grin playing on your lips while you joke with him.

bucky's in front of you, observing you and the winces you make when you move in a way that stresses one of your injuries, cracking a smile when your own lips curve upwards and listing all the places that make you hurt, reminding himself to massage your shoulders and force you to go to the medbay so you don't feel the pain of your wounds.

the shadow of the spirit you wear when fighting is still ghosted on your features, laced in your tone when you push sam's shoulder lightly or playfully jab at steve. the presence you have when you're out on the field trails after the movements of the fingers that elicit deep green swirls, the playfulness of your teasing words when you effortlessly knock someone out, the ease of the routine you've learned well enough to do in your sleep painfully obvious as bodies drop in your wake. although the struggle is evident in the slashes of your suit, bloodied skin poking through the rips.

your face is dirty- everyone is- you look tired, but none of what should diminish the glow you carry with you, laced in the tug of your smile and the crinkles of your eyes, does.

as if you can feel bucky's eyes on you (and you probably can, you constantly let him know his stare weighs heavy), you turn from your conversation with sam to lock eyes with him, gifting him a grin and a cheesy blown kiss that sam catches and gags at. you jab a finger into his shoulder and push him lightly. bucky can't help the chuckle that escapes him before you stand and walk over to him.

"what?" you ask softly, sitting next to him. he's filled with a feeling he didn't think he would ever feel again when you let yourself slump against him, relaxing your body on his shoulder, letting your head fall on his shoulder as if it has been aching to do so for decades.

"what what?" he counters, wrapping an arm around you. "you're staring, buck," you inform, looking up at him. "ooh," you scrunch your nose, "am i that dirty? i swear, if it wasn't for those disgusting aliens-" bucky shakes his head with a laugh, "no, it's not that at all, just..."

he looks down at you when you turn your chin to your front again. even the top of your head is a piece of artwork, stray leaves and all. "i just really love you," he starts, his fingers unconsciously drawing his confessions of love on your arm. "i don't know how i got so lucky," he continues.

"you? buck, you're the catch-" you begin with a laugh that tells him you think the cheesy poetry lines about you that run through his mind hourly are ridiculous- not because of what they say, rather what they imply: that he thinks you're perfect, but you confer.

"you don't get it- you're my dream girl, y/n," bucky confesses, leaving your wide eyes and parted lips staring up at him in slight disbelief, your warm cheeks warming him. "you're who i've dreamt of my whole life, hell, darlin', you're even better."

"bucky," you breathe, sitting up straight to look at him properly. self-consciously tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you begin to shake your head, "i don't- i don't know what-"

"you don't have to say anything," bucky promises, "i just want you to know," he says honestly. because bucky values honesty after so many years of being manipulated and lied to. which is why his words are so much more real when he says them.

you're his dream girl. you're his dream girl in the elegant gowns and done-up hair and you're his dream girl in dirty tac suits with dirt staining your skin and you're his dream girl when you're wearing clothing that is almost all his while you lounge on the couch next to him.

you're bucky barnes' dream girl, but you're even better, because you're real.