bucky barnes imagines

xii. STARGAZING

[ 40's ]

It was almost 11pm when you decided that you'd studied enough for the day. After a quick shower, you pulled on your pyjamas and sighed happily as you climbed into bed.

However, just as you were drifting to sleep, you heard a tapping at your window. The sound was so faint that you thought you were imagining it, but as you tilted your head to listen, you recognised the pattern. Three quick taps followed by two slower ones.

Despite being pretty tired, you immediately stood up, pushed the curtains to the side and opened the window as wide as possible. Your best friend of almost ten years, Bucky Barnes, smiled at you from outside. Your heart flipped at the sight of his adorable, cheeky grin. He looked ridiculously cute when he smiled – not that you'd ever have enough courage to tell him that.

"Bucky, what are you doing? I told you I have an exam tomorrow!" You kept glancing towards the door, knowing that if either of your parents woke up, you would be in trouble.

"I know," Bucky replied quietly, "but come with me, it won't take long, I promise." Seeing your uncertain look, he sighed. "Okay, never mind, I'm sorry. I just really wanted to..."

His speech was cut off by you quickly pulling on a pair of shoes and jumping out of the ground floor window, not caring about your pyjamas. You almost never turned down an opportunity to spend time with Bucky, no matter the circumstances.

"You're a bad influence, Barnes. What's so important that you couldn't wait until a decent hour to show me?"

"You'll see." You couldn't see Bucky's face very well in the dark, but from what you could tell, he looked almost... nervous?

The two of you walked side by side, talking and laughing quietly. Whenever he thought you weren't looking, Bucky would steal glances at you, smiling softly. You noticed his actions a few times, but thought nothing of it.

After around ten minutes, you found yourselves standing in front of a lake; the moonlight was reflected in the rippling water and the trees swayed slightly in the gentle breeze. When you looked up, you had a perfect view of all the stars.

"Buck, this is beautiful," you whispered in awe. He mumbled something that sounded a lot like "just like you, then," but you put it down to wishful thinking.

You both carefully laid down on the grass, silently enjoying the view. Once again, you got the feeling that Bucky wanted to say something. You propped yourself up on one elbow and turned to face him.

He was even more beautiful than the stars.

"Hey... are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, I just..." Bucky stuttered anxiously and you patiently waited for him to continue. "I wanted to bring you here because... God, this is more difficult than I thought it would be."

After a few seconds, he sighed and sat up to face you properly. Hesitantly, he reached across and took hold of your hand, interlacing your fingers. Your heart felt like it was beating out of your chest.

"I know you have a test tomorrow and I'm sorry for doing this today. But I just... I couldn't wait any longer to tell you and I thought you'd like it here, so..." After a short pause, he continued, sounding slightly more confident. "I really like you, Y/N. I have for a long time, but I couldn't bring myself to tell you and risk losing you. I even tried to force myself into dating other girls, but it never worked. None of them could ever compare to you. You're just... you're my whole world, you're everything to me and I can honestly see myself spending the rest of my life with you. I don't know if you feel the same way, you probably don't... but I couldn't keep it in any longer, it was killing me. I'm... I think I'm falling in love with you, Y/N."

Once he finished speaking, Bucky looked at you, waiting for some sort of reaction. You didn't speak – there were no words to express how you felt. Instead, you leaned forward and kissed him. Bucky was surprised, but he gently kissed you back. When you pulled away, he wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you closer to him. You contentedly rested your head on his shoulder.

"So... you like me too?" He joked, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Of course I do. I have since... forever."

"Thank God," Bucky laughed.

You both knew that soon you'd have to go home, but neither of you moved. You would be happy to sit like this forever, just you and Bucky, cuddled in each other's arms under the stars.

If you failed your exam, it was definitely worth it.