bucky barnes imagines

xiii. CLINGY

You and Bucky had been dating for almost two years. Steve introduced you to him and the two of you instantly felt at ease around each other, as if you had some kind of unspoken bond. The rest was history. You rarely argued and it was clear to everyone that you were meant to be together.

Ever since he first asked you to be his girlfriend, you had basically spent every waking second with Bucky. You loved being around him at all times and doing little things like holding his hand, hugging him often, kissing his cheek and playing with his hair. With him, you were happier than you'd ever been before and you wouldn't change a thing about your relationship.

So naturally, it came as a shock when Bucky made one small, misunderstood comment that would definitely change the dynamic between you for a while.

You arrived home from your favourite restaurant where you'd just had lunch with one of your best friends. Of course, you immediately called out to your boyfriend as you shut the door.

"Bucky, I'm home!"

There was no reply, so you assumed that he simply hadn't heard you. After taking off your coat and shoes, you peeked into the living room and saw him on the couch, watching Netflix. You smiled happily at the sight – even though you'd only been gone for a few hours, you were glad to be home with him.

"Hey, Y/N. Did you have fun?" Bucky acknowledged your presence without looking away from the screen, which was odd. Usually, he'd call you "doll" or "sweetheart", or he'd at least send a smile in your direction. You immediately sensed that something wasn't right.

"Yeah, it was great," you replied, jumping on to the couch beside him. You kissed his cheek and snuggled into his chest. "I missed you, though."

Instead of giving a proper response, Bucky grumbled incoherently. You twisted your head round to look at him, noticing that he was frowning. His eyes looked slightly red, as if he'd been crying.

"Buck, are you okay?" You reached across and took the television remote to pause the show he'd been watching.

He nodded and grabbed the remote from you. You saw his thumb hovering over the play button so you quickly snatched it back from him, this time holding it out of his reach so he had no other option but to open up and tell you what was bothering him.

However, as it turned out, there was another option; Bucky instantly became angry. "Jesus, Y/N, why are you always so clingy? Just stay away from me for once!" He raised his voice slightly and you flinched, tears filling your eyes.

You has known that something was wrong, but you didn't expect the problem to be you.

"I-I'm sorry," you mumbled. Respecting his wishes, you left the room and sat down on the edge of your bed, resting your head in your hands.

You felt unbelievably selfish. You didn't realise that your behaviour had been annoying Bucky. What if he'd felt that way the whole time you'd been together? What if you'd been slowly driving him away without even thinking about how he felt?

From that point, you were careful to keep your distance from Bucky. You would still do simple things, such as kissing him goodnight and sometimes holding his hand, but other than that, you steered clear of any sort of affection that might annoy him. But, to your dismay, he didn't seem to be any happier than he was when he told you to leave him alone.

After three long days of tiptoeing around each other, Bucky finally walked up to you, a serious look on his face. "Can I talk to you?"

Suddenly, it hit you that he was probably going to break up with you. There was no other logical explanation. You immediately burst into tears. You'd never imagined that this would happen – you always thought that you would end up marrying Bucky. At this point, you weren't even sure if you wanted to live without him by your side.

However, it turned out that you were worrying for no reason. As soon as Bucky noticed how upset you were, he sat down on the couch and pulled you on to his lap, wrapping his arms around you. Almost as if he could tell what you were thinking, he spoke to you softly and calmly. "Shh, it's okay, I'm not leaving. I'm staying right here with you."

"You are?" You looked at Bucky in confusion. "But I thought..."

"I know what I said to you," he sighed sadly, "and I'm so, so sorry, doll. While you were out, I just... I couldn't stop thinking about how many people I've hurt, Y/N, what if I hurt you one day? I would never forgive myself, you're my whole world and I love you too much to ever put you in danger. So I guess I figured that if I just pushed you away and made you hate me, you'd be safer and happier. I don't deserve you, Y/N, I'm a monster..."

You cut him off. Your voice sounded shaky, but your words were firm. "Don't say that, none of that is true." You gently put your hand on his cheek, tilting his head to make him look at you. "If I had any doubts about you, I would've walked away the second Steve introduced us. But we're here, two years later, and I can honestly say I trust you with my life. I know you would never hurt me. Without you, I would be lost, Bucky, I need you. Please, just... never do this to me again."

You chuckled quietly, feeling extremely relieved. Bucky gave a small smile and gently wiped the tears from your eyes.

"I won't, darling. I love you so much."

You shyly hid your face in the crook of his neck as you replied "I love you too."

The two of you stayed on the couch for hours, not wanting to move. You spoke a little, but mainly just enjoyed each other's company. Eventually, you began to feel tired, so you shut your eyes and relaxed. The last thing you felt was Bucky softly kissing the top of your head before both of you drifted to sleep.