bucky barnes imagines

xlvii. WHISPERS

You giggled drunkenly as you sat cross legged on the floor next to Nat. Your drink sloshed over the edge of your cup as you leaned across to give her a huge bear hug, but you barely noticed.

You and the rest of the Avengers were having a game night at the tower – Tony's idea, of course, hence why everyone (excluding Steve, Bucky and Thor) was intoxicated. After several rowdy games of everything from Monopoly to Twister, somebody had suggested playing Chinese Whispers.

After a brief explanation of how the extremely simple game would work, everyone formed a line. Bucky was at the start, with you at the other end, the last to hear whatever message he would come up with.

"Ready? Okay, Buckaroo, you start," Clint slurred.

Bucky looked slightly displeased with the strange nickname, but he leaned across to whisper into Steve's ear, ensuring that nobody else heard.

"Uh, Steve sucks at Mario Kart," he murmured, smiling smugly.

Of course, with somewhat enhanced hearing, Steve heard every word perfectly. However, as soon as the game was suggested, he'd come up with a mischievous idea to make things a little more interesting. He smirked slightly as he nodded, feigning innocence, before pretending to transfer the message to the next person in line.

"Bucky has a crush on Y/N," Steve muttered to Thor, who gasped dramatically before letting out a deafening belly laugh.

The message slowly made its way down the line, getting closer to you. Every time somebody heard the words, they would chuckle and turn to look at Bucky, who was miraculously still oblivious.

After a few minutes, Sam passed the message onto Nat, who rolled her eyes and shook her head playfully. "Really, Barnes? You wait for months to make a move, and this is how you do it? Are you sure you're not drunk?"

Finally, it began to dawn on Bucky that something was clearly going on. His eyes widened in shock and Sam snorted at his incompetence.

"Wait, what—"

You didn't hear the rest of his sentence, because Nat had started to whisper in your ear.

"Bucky has a crush on Y/N."

"Uh, come again?" You frowned, positive that you'd misheard.

"That's not how the game works, Y/N. And I'm telling you, you heard me right, no matter how drunk you are right now."

Slowly, you set your drink on the floor before shuffling forward, just far enough so that you could crane your neck to make eye contact with Bucky, who looked as if he'd just seen a ghost. He cleared his throat and ducked his head, defeated.

"What did you hear, Y/N? Because I'm pretty sure that whatever it is, it's not what I said at the start of the game."

"Oh," you muttered, disappointed. Truthfully, you desperately wanted Bucky to make a move and, after watching the two of you flirt back and forth for months, everybody else knew it too.

By now, the rest of the group were miraculously silent, waiting for you to speak.

"She, uh... she said 'Bucky has a crush on Y/N'. But it's okay, I know you don't, so..."

Your words trailed off. At the other end of the line, Bucky was glaring daggers at Steve, knowing that he'd purposely changed the message. Meanwhile, you could feel tears stinging your eyes, so you abruptly stood up and left the room.

"Ooh, melodrama. I like it," Tony deadpanned, raising his eyebrows as Wanda sighed at his insensitivity to the situation.

Steve opened his mouth to apologise. However, without saying a word, Bucky quickly followed you out of the room, walking slightly faster than usual as he attempted to catch up with you.

You were halfway to your room, still trying not to burst out sobbing in the middle of the corridor. You no longer felt tipsy, just a little unsteady on your feet as you tried to come to terms with the fact that you'd been wrong about Bucky the entire time. You were sure he liked you just as much as you liked him, but clearly not. It was just a game to him.

Coincidentally, Bucky was also panic stricken. He did like you – he was in love with you, but he was nowhere near ready to tell you. This wasn't how he wanted you to find out, but now he had to do it. He couldn't back down, it would make things so much worse.

As he rounded the corner, Bucky caught sight of you, about to enter your room.

"Doll!" he called, picking up his pace until he was jogging towards you. You silently cursed your stupid heart for beating faster at the mere sound of his voice.

In a matter of seconds, he was standing behind you. You reluctantly spun around to face him, and the tears finally began to roll down your face. Bucky looked crestfallen.

"Oh no, sweetheart, don't cry," he murmured, absentmindedly stepping forward to comfort you. He gently cupped your jaw and used his thumb to wipe away your tears. You sniffled and leaned into his touch, while Bucky sighed quietly as his heart fluttered.

"Can I... can I come in? To explain, I mean," he asked uncertainly, gesturing to the door of your room, which was ajar. You silently let him in and motioned for him to sit next to you on the edge of your bed, braving yourself for the imminent rejection that you'd have to face.

There was an awkward silence for a few uncomfortable moments, before Bucky took a deep breath and spoke up.

"I don't have a crush on you..."

You huffed, nodding your head a little. His words stung, but you knew you'd have to get used to it.

"Y/N, I'm in love with you."

"What?" you gasped, incredulous. In your state of shock, you accidentally inhaled too sharply and began to choke on air. Bucky chuckled and thumped your back, before waiting for you to recover.

"You love me?" you croaked. "I must still be more drunk than I thought, now I'm hearing things."

As you frowned, Bucky decided to take a chance. He gently tipped your head to the side and captured your lips in his. You smiled into the kiss; it was slow and loving, and it left you breathless. Everything you'd dreamed of.

Neither of you spoke for a few seconds after you pulled away. You desperately wanted to kiss Bucky again, but you sensed that he wanted to say something, which was true. He shyly met your gaze as he sighed happily.

"The game..." he began, "Steve changed what I said. He was sick of me waiting around, getting all nervous around you, I guess. This isn't how I wanted you to find out, I-I wanted it to be romantic and perfect, because you deserve the best, but... I couldn't bring myself to tell you, I mean, what if you didn't like me back? You're already way out of my league—"

You cut off Bucky's anxious babbling by kissing him again, more firmly this time, as if you were trying to prove a point. As you pulled away, you smiled and grabbed his hand, entwining your fingers together with his.

"I love you too."