Readers Assemble!

Rumors (Bucky Barnes x fem!reader)

Your eyes darted to Bucky yet again and you swore you saw him staring at you. You shook it off, knowing it couldn't possibly be true. Bucky didn't like you the way you liked him. You turned your attention back to your lunch and quickly finished eating so you wouldn't have to talk to the former Winter Soldier. The others watched you leave the room and the gossip began.

"She likes him," Natasha said matter-of-factly as Bucky left through the opposite door and Sam nodded. "He likes her, too," Sam announced, making Steve roll his eyes. "Guys, I really don't think we should be talking about this. Spreading rumors about our friends." Natasha and Sam turned to him, mouths agape. "They're not rumors if they're true. Have you not seen the way they act around each other?" Steve shrugged and left the room.

Later that day, Natasha cornered you in the hall and dragged you to the nearest empty room. "So, something you want to share?" she asked you and you looked at her confused. "Something about Barnes?" Your face heated up at the mention of Bucky. "I, uh, don't know what you're talking about." Natasha scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Look, I can tell how you feel and so can everyone else."

You sighed and ran your hand through your hair. You'd been hiding your feelings for so long, you weren't even sure you could say them out loud. "Do you like Barnes or not?" You exhaled loudly and said, "Yes. Probably more than I should. I just...can't tell him." Natasha wrapped an arm around your shoulders. "Yes you can. The rumors are already circulating around the Tower. By the time they reach Barnes, who knows what he'll actually hear? Better you tell him." You shook your head and left the room, unaware of the two sets of ears that had overheard your conversation. Bucky's and Tony's.

Bucky couldn't believe what he'd heard. Why would someone like you possibly like him? He was damaged. He was certain he misheard what you'd said so he chose to ignore it. He'd managed to keep his crush on you a secret for this long, he could handle keeping it in forever, no matter what rumors about you were floating around the Tower. Rumors could be ignored. Tony, on the other hand, decided to take matters into his own hands now that he knew you liked Bucky. He was going to see if the other half of the rumor was true.

Tony rounded up the rest of the Avengers. After all, with all the bad in their job, it was nice to have some good in the team and, for Tony, that meant playing cupid this time. "Come on, guys! It's genius!" The team looked at each other hesitantly. "I told you guys not to spread rumors," Steve muttered, glancing at Sam. Sam just shrugged. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" Tony asked and Bruce sighed. "If you're wrong about this, they could kill us all." Tony chuckled because he knew they'd go along with him anyway.

That was how you found yourself being shoved into room with the door locking behind you. "What?" you whispered before you heard a soft chuckle. You whipped around to see Bucky standing there. "You too, huh Doll?" You nodded and sank to the floor. "Any idea why they locked us in here?" Bucky shrugged. "Could be the rumors floating around," he said side-eyeing you to gauge your reaction. You swallowed thickly. "R-Rumors?"

Bucky made his way over and slid down to sit next to you. "Yeah." For several minutes, nothing was said between the two of you. The room was silent until someone pounded on the door, causing you to jump. "You two aren't coming out of there until you talk!" Tony called out in a sing-song voice. You groaned and leaned your head back against the door. "Why?" you whispered to yourself, but Bucky heard you anyway.

"Are they true? The rumors?" You looked at him and bit your lip. "Yes," you told him, avoiding those sparkling blue eyes that made you weak in the knees. You felt Bucky's metal hand gently grasp your chin and turn your face to look at him. "Good," he said softly before he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. You felt your eyes close as you melted into the kiss that was much too short for your taste.

"Good?" Bucky nodded in response. "I've liked you for a long time, Y/N. I just didn't want to make a fool of myself." You giggled, making Bucky smile. "How about we see where this goes?" you finally got up the nerve to ask him. "I'd love that, Doll." You beamed and pressed your lips to his again. You were so lost in the kiss, you didn't hear the door unlocking or opening. You fell backwards into the hallway, your lips barely moving from Bucky's. "Yeah...we should have left them in there," Steve said, his face a bright red.

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