bucky barnes imagines

xvi. SURPRISE

You wrapped your blanket tightly around your body as you stood in the kitchen at the Avengers facility, pouring your favourite cereal into a bowl. As you began to eat, you glanced at your phone and, when you saw the date, you suddenly remembered something. Bucky's birthday was in four days, on March 10th.

You'd known Bucky for a little under a year and the two of you had formed an extremely close bond. You told each other pretty much everything, you trained together, you paired up on missions, you were practically inseparable. Most of the time, you couldn't help but wish that you were a little more than friends – after all, he was definitely ideal boyfriend material – but you would never do anything to mess up the friendship you had.

This being the first time you would celebrate his birthday, you wanted to do something special, especially because you knew he'd never really enjoyed the day properly before. You'd brought it up in conversation and he'd insisted "there's nothing to get excited about, it's just me staying alive for another year." Of course, you disagreed and you wanted to show him that his birthday could be fun.

As you finished your cereal, you came to a decision. Although it was risky, you were going to plan a surprise party for Bucky.

Obviously, you would need some help, but that wasn't an issue. With Bucky conveniently out of the tower on his daily run with Steve, you instructed F.R.I.D.A.Y to call a team meeting in the living room and sat down on the couch as the other Avengers began to walk in, silently questioning your sudden decision.

Once you explained your idea, everyone was instantly willing to help you. Together, you came up with detailed list of everything that was needed; food, gifts, balloons, streamers, banners, music and more. As for the game plan, that was simple. You would inform Steve of everything he'd missed from the meeting, and on the morning of Bucky's birthday, they would go on a much longer run than usual, giving everyone else time to set things up in time for their return.

After about an hour of discussion, everything was finally arranged, You thanked your friends and jumped up excitedly.

"This is going to be the best..."

You immediately shut up when you saw Bucky walking out of the elevator. He frowned, confused, when he saw the whole team sitting together, but his face brightened when he saw you happily skipping over to greet him. You left the room together and neither of you heard the soft coos of "aww" and "they would be such a cute couple!"

As you walked, you asked Bucky what he wanted for his birthday. He pouted, instantly disliking your chosen topic of conversation, but he sighed softly as you gave him a pleading look.

"Nothing, doll. I have everything I want right here with me." He smiled sweetly at you and your heart flipped over because that sounded an awful lot like he was flirting with you. You dismissed the thought, telling yourself that he was just being friendly, as always.

The next few days ran smoothly, with every single part of your plan being carefully put together. Before you knew it, it was the 10th already.You woke up early, as did everyone else, and a soon as you heard Bucky and Steve leave the tower at 7am, you sprung out of bed, quickly got ready and began to set everything up.

In the living room, there was a huge banner reading "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUCKY!" When everything was in place, you stood in front of it with the rest of the team, everyone holding party poppers and streamers. After a while, F.R.I.D.A.Y informed you that Steve and Bucky had just reentered the building and were on their way up. You squealed with nervous excitement before frantically shushing everyone. After about ten seconds of silence, the elevator pinged and the doors quickly slid open.

"SURPRISE!"

Bucky flinched slightly at the sudden yelling and cheering, but after a second he recovered and the room fell silent, waiting for his reaction. He looked around with an unreadable expression on his face; it appeared to be a mixture of confusion, annoyance and of course, surprise. You couldn't help but stare at him, concerned. What if you'd made a huge mistake? What if he hated you for planning this?

You stepped towards him, holding your arms out in defeat. Just as you were about to apologise, Bucky stepped forward into your outstretched arms and hugged you tightly. "You planned all this? For me?"

"I did, but I couldn't have done it without these guys," you admitted, relieved. As you pulled away from Bucky, you could see that he had an adorable little smile on his face.

"Thank you so much, Y/N. Thank you, everyone." He suddenly laughed loudly. "I wish I could've seen the look on my own face, you scared the shit out of me!"

His amusing comment broke any remaining tension in the room and the party officially began in good spirits. For hours on end, everyone played games, ate food, sang karaoke, danced and drank a little too much. Bucky was never far from your side and you were beyond happy to see him enjoying himself.

You were also pretty sure that you hadn't stopped blushing since you gave him a few gifts that you bought for him, because he grabbed your hand and kissed you on the cheek as he thanked you. After that, you couldn't escape the annoying and suggestive comments from anyone who noticed, particularly Sam, Nat and Scott. Despite their constant teasing, you tried to ignore them and the night was a success nonetheless.

After most people began to get tired and decided to head to their rooms, you attempted to clear some of the mess before giving up and sitting on the couch. However, you heard someone clear their throat and you stood up again to see Bucky casually leaning against the doorframe, one hand behind his back.

Before you had a chance to speak, he moved his hand and offered you something; a small black box. Confused, you opened it slowly and gasped. Inside, there was a necklace, a simple gold chain with two crystal encrusted charms attached. Your first initial, followed by a heart.

"Buck, it's beautiful, I love it... but it's your birthday, not mine."

"I know, and thanks to you it's been amazing." Bucky's piercing eyes bore into yours as he stepped closer to you. "There's just one thing that could make it better..."

Blushing, he took hold of the necklace and secured the clasp around your neck. "Perfect," he whispered, no longer looking at the jewels, but gazing at you. Slowly, he leaned in and your eyes fluttered closed as your lips met in a soft, delicate kiss. When you finally pulled away, you were speechless.

"Y/N," Bucky spoke quietly, "I've had this necklace in my pocket for months. I just wanted to wait for the right time to give it to you and tell you that I really, really like you. A lot. So, if it's okay with you... will you be my girlfriend?"

You wanted to jump for joy, but of course, you didn't. Instead, you nodded happily and smiled as Bucky wrapped his arms around your waist, kissing you again with more passion and leaving you breathless, before gently resting his forehead against yours.

"This is the best birthday ever."