Cuddle Bug (Bucky x reader)

Bucky's worries

"Are you seeing this?" Bucky stood still on top of you, watching the lights almost as though he was enchanted by them. Your heart was pounding, and almost felt as though it was in your throat as you watched the pulsing of the electricity in tune with your heartbeat. You purposely took in a slow breath and your heart beat slowly started to slow down, and in turn did the pulsing of the electricity.
"Seeing, working on believing" you murmured softly, watching the soft blue lights slowly start to get brighter as your heart was still racing. You squirmed under Bucky, and knew that private time was likely over.
"I'd better go ask Tony if he's working on any new projects, this is weird'' Bucky crawled off of you and you pouted at the loss of contact. The lights fluctuated slightly as he moved away from you, and you watched him as he slipped back on his shoes, trying to be careful of the broken glass. He tied them up and the glass crunched under his shoes as he made his way to the bedroom door and he opened it up. He quickly left, and your eyes went back to the flickering lights, and you watched them entranced. They were pulsing, and you just wanted to reach out and touch it curiously, because it didn't seem real. You started to give into that need for the bedside lamp when you heard footsteps coming back into the room and to your surprise it was Bruce first.
"Be careful sunshine" Bruce warned you. "I had to see it for myself..." he drifted off.
"It feels..." you started to speak, but words failed you. You could almost feel the electricity calling to you, like a siren. Bruce looked between you and the lamp, and he quickly came over and took your pulse, his eyes never leaving the lamp.
"Bruce, I said no visiting her until the infection is gone" Tony came into the room and stopped short looking around. "That's unexpected"
"I have a few theories," Bruce gulped audibly, his hand not leaving your wrist. Your gaze finally left the blue pulsing light and you looked fully at Bruce and he gave one of his smiles that told you he was feeling uneasy. "Do you mind giving an extra blood sample today, Sunshine?" Bruce almost whispered to you. You shook your head, confirming that it was going to be okay. You saw Bucky come into the room and you started to calm down. The blue lights dimmed down and you took in another calming breath before they disappeared entirely.
"Looks like I need to replace the bulbs in the room, and have someone come in and clean this up" Tony looked around the now darkened room. You looked at him hopefully, wondering if you could finally leave the room if it needed to be cleaned.
"Can I leave the room for a few minutes then?" you asked, hope clearly written all over your face.
"I don't want you too close to the windows" he nodded in agreement and Bruce hurried around the bed to grab your IV pole while Bucky seemed to anticipate what Bruce was thinking, and he scooped you out of the bed like he would a bride. Bucky tried not to jostle you as he carried you out of the room carefully. You got as far as the living room space and you noticed none of the lightbulbs had burst out there. You blinked as the lights seemed to be brighter outside of the bedroom. Bruce quickly followed behind, pulling the IV pole with him as you went through the lab next. You saw your desk in the lab with the three new plants, and cooed at them slightly as Bucky strode confidently past them and made his way out to the hallway. You saw Steve, Loki, Thor and Sam speaking to one another in the living room and you looked at Bucky who had quite suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway. You were so close to them, but so far away at the same time.
"Can't we go into the living room?" you whispered to Bucky.
"Too many windows" Bucky shook his head.
"Stevie!" you called out to him to get his attention. He looked up and a huge smile went across his face and the four men started making their way over.
"This isn't safe" Loki pursed his lips in dissatisfaction.
"All the lightbulbs burst at once in her room, Tony's getting it cleaned" Bucky quickly explained.
"You are looking a lot better" Steve got closer and looked you over, as though worried he would see the previous damage on your body.
"I feel a lot stronger" you nodded with a smile lighting up your face. "Bucky, may I stand?"
"Just for a few minutes" he seemed to weigh heavily on his decision before consenting. He slowly placed you back on your feet and you fumbled slightly as you got your footing. Loki, Sam and Bucky all reached out at the same time as though worried you would fall over, but you kept a serene smile on your face and did a small stretch.
"Did you need a chair, Sunshine?" Bruce asked softly.
"No, standing up is doing me some good to be honest. I didn't get to do this often over the last week. Thank you though" you sighed, enjoying the feel of the wood floors beneath your feet. You looked over and saw that Aurora and Alpine were eating on a small table near the kitchen and smiled at the two white little marshmallows, your heart warming at how close they were.
"Nat's going to be so disappointed she didn't get to see you" Bruce frowned a little.
"Why don't you text her and Wanda? I would, but my phone is in the bedroom" you admitted.
"I think I will, we aren't breaking the rules if you come to us" Bruce grinned, taking out his phone quickly and sending off a text. "I would prepare yourself for some hugs" he warned you.
"They will be welcome" you sighed happily and leaned back slightly onto Bucky who wrapped his arms around you automatically. You saw some of the cleaning staff rushing by with their supplies and turned away, feeling a little embarrassed that they had to clean your room.
"Alright, now that's getting sorted" Tony came out clapping his hands together. "Any idea how that happened?" He looked at you curiously.
"No, we just finished our strawberries and we were talking..." you told a white lie. You didn't want to admit that you had just started kissing when it happened. Bucky cleared his throat a little from behind you, and rubbed his hands up and down your arms for a moment.
"We were enjoying our one month anniversary, Tony" Bucky interjected, trying to let Tony know gently that this line of questioning was no longer up for grabs.
"How were the crepes? I miss going for our Sunday morning walks" Steve gave a sly smile.
"They were sublime, I can't believe how much I missed them" you admitted with a slight flush on your cheeks. "I miss the walks too"
"You should probably be sitting down" Tony gave a sigh, now that there was a pulse of silence.
"Let me get the chair," Thor offered quickly.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to stand, please" you shook your head. "I want to be standing if anyone else sees me"
"The intention is that no one sees you, remember?" Tony asked quickly.
"There she is!" Wanda's voice filled the room with a squeal as she came down the hallway with Nat right beside her. She ran right up to you and wrapped her arms around your shoulders, since Bucky was still technically holding you and she took a step back and Nat quickly pulled you away from Bucky and gave you a full hug, heaving a sigh of relief.
"Tony's been keeping all of us away from you" Nat didn't mince words. You could tell she was a bit miffed. "Even Bruce," she added quickly.
"It's just until the infection is gone" Tony hurriedly interjected.
"I've had plenty of company. Bucky and Loki rarely leave, neither does Sam" you flushed a little, and Wanda reached out a hand and placed it on the small of your back.
"We need a ladies night" Wanda announced after a moment. "Just the girls in there instead"
"I'll be joining as a lady if that happens" Loki warned.
"I expect nothing less from you Loki" you giggled. "You do make a stunning woman"
"Thank you" Loki preened a bit.
"You look a lot better than I imagined" Nat reached up and touched the side of your face.
"I feel better than I did, I miss working" you admitted.
"You won't be working for a little bit" Tony shook his head automatically. "We still don't know what they did to you"
"I have a few theories, but I need another blood sample" Bruce spoke softly.
"I'll text Sarah, she's been good with getting the blood samples painlessly" Sam went to his phone. Small conversation went around the group, with you as the main focus as they looked you over. Bucky protectively wrapped his arms around you, not wanting you to feel overwhelmed, and knowing that cuddles always made you feel better. You were starting to get tired when you heard the clean up crew all come out, and you noticed in their arms they had also changed your bedding.
"Are you doing okay, sexy legs?" Sam raised an eyebrow as you felt yourself getting a little pale.
"Just tired, I suppose," you whispered.
"I'll carry you back in and let you rest," Bucky decided.
"No" you had a slight whine to your tone as you turned in his arms. He gave a good natured chuckle and tightened his grip on you.
"Did you want me to lay with you again?" Bucky whispered and you eagerly nodded in response.
"Sarah is on her way, she was just finishing up something in the lab" Sam reported, looking up from his phone.
"We will come see you as soon as the infection is over" Nat promised.
"We will bring you more treats too" Wanda gave a small giggle.
"Thank you" you looked at them both appreciatively. Bucky reached down and picked you up to bring you back to your room while Bruce pulled on the IV. You wrapped your arms around Bucky's shoulders as he walked back through the lab to the panic room again and brought you back into your room. You saw the bed was made with fresh linen, and had the big fluffy dark blue blanket that Bucky had brought down for you as the main cover. Bruce went over and pulled back the cover and Bucky slipped you into the bed. You sat up quickly and moved around Bucky to hug Bruce for a moment, who paused and seemed to be taking in the moment.
"Alright Sunshine, you need to get that blood sample and some rest" Bruce chuckled and moved back. Sarah took that moment to walk in and she made a beeline for you on the other side of the bed. She was already prepared with her blood drawing kit. Bruce stood back, patiently waiting as Sarah took the arm that she hadn't drawn blood from that morning and quickly took a few vials. As soon as she finished she handed them to Bruce who put them in his pocket. Bucky kicked off his shoes and slid into bed beside you and you turned so you were laying more across his chest and he wrapped his arms around you easily.
"I'll see you soon, Sunshine" Bruce promised and swept out of the room. Sam decided to stay away, however Loki resumed his post, just inside the door in his chair. Bucky reached down and pulled the blanket up around you more before resuming his hold on you.
"I sense you didn't tell us everything we need to know" Loki broke the small silence.
"I said enough" you yawned a little bit.
"You were emotionally heightened at the time of the incident" he responded with a casual grace.
"I don't think the first thing we want to admit is we had just started making out when the lightbulbs all burst" Bucky said with a slight flush on his cheeks. "Besides, it could be something Tony and Bruce are working on"
"Possibly" Loki responded a little cryptically.
"Want me to turn on some music?" Bucky whispered to you and you eagerly nodded against his chest. He reached behind him for your cell phone and turned on your liked songs playlist before putting your phone back down. Dive by Luke Combs filled the room, and Bucky strengthened his hold on you. He waited until your breathing evened out again before he gave a sigh of relief. The trick with the lights had concerned him quite a bit, and he wondered silently about it, but didn't want to worry you. It wasn't lost on him how you gazed at the flickering electricity, you seemed almost entranced by it. He wasn't sure if it had to do with the torture you had endured, or if it was something else. He couldn't help but be worried.