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The night was pretty causal in the Avengers Tower, Tony and Bruce were talking scientific jargon on the sofa while Rhodey and Sam were discussing military tactics on the other. The television was on, but no-one was really paying attention apart from Wanda and Vision who were both curled up on the sofa together. Most of the noise was coming from the two rowdy super soldiers, Clint and Thor who were all having a game of pair’s pool, Bucky and Thor versus Steve and Clint. Everyone was there apart from you and Natasha who had decided to go spar in the gym.
Since everyone was too absorbed in what they were doing, they failed to notice the dark, ominous clouds that had formed over the city while the evening had been drawing in for its occupants. A sudden flash lit up the whole room, startling everyone and caused them to stop what they were doing. There was no time for anyone to say anything because the flash of lightning was quickly followed by a massive clap of thunder.
It caught Bucky’s attention immediately, his gaze drawn to the window only to see another lightning strike, illuminating the clouds in a misty purple haze, the jagged edges of the bolt splitting in the sky. The sight was truly a beautiful thing to witness, but that was the least of his worries, watching the storm as tiny droplets of water began to hit the large ceiling to floor windows. Before anyone had the chance to say anything, Bucky rushed out of the room and sprinted down the corridor to the elevator, his destination was your room. You had texted him not too long ago to tell him that you and Natasha had finished in the gym and you’d been joining the rest of the team after a shower.
Reaching the elevator, Bucky opted for the stairwell beside it, you were only two floors down and in this storm, there might be a chance of a power cut. Bucky didn’t fancy getting stuck in an elevator. He raced down the steps, taking two at a time and sprinted down the corridor to your room, stopping just in time. Gently calling out your name, Bucky knocked on the door only to find there was no answer from you, glancing down at the doorknob he tried it and slowly opened the door to not startle you.
Your room was empty, so he checked the bedroom, knocking on the door again, wincing as another boom rumbled from the sky and he heard a small shriek come from the bathroom. Bucky immediately retraced his steps to the bathroom, pushing the door open to find you huddled in the corner of the room, hugging your knees tight to your chest, lips slightly apart in some sort of an attempt to regulate your breathing. He knew you were trying to grasp some sense of control over your trembling body, but he also heard the quiet sobs too.
“Doll?” He asked softly and you lifted your head slowly for Buck to see the terror in your eyes.
“Bucky?” Your voice was barely above a whisper.
Within three strides, Bucky was by your side, kneeling, never tearing his gaze away from yours and stretched out his arms to invite you into them. You did so immediately, scrambling over to him and collapsing on his body and he immediately wrapped his arms around you.
“Hey, you’re okay, sweetheart.” Bucky murmured softly in your hair. “You’re okay.”
Bucky held you close to his chest; he knew you hated thunderstorms but he didn’t know they affected you this much. He had never seen you so scared before, you were so fearless out in the field and kept your head up high within the walls of the Tower. Planting a kiss on the top of your head, he rubbed your back in soothing circles, waiting for you to relax and calm down.
You, on the other hand, were absolutely terrified, but Bucky’s warm body and natural scent were just enough to keep you grounded as you tried to shut out the storm. The rain was coming down heavier now, able to hear it on the window of your room despite being in the bathroom where there was no window. There was another loud clap of thunder, this time so loud that you felt the floor vibrate beneath you, causing you to jolt and grip onto Bucky tighter than before. Your heart felt like it was being constricted and your whole body paralyzed with the anticipation when the thunder would return.
“Bucky?” You lifted your head from his chest to look up at him, to be met with his concerned yet gorgeous blue eyes.
“Yeah?” He hummed.
“I wanna lie down.” God, you felt weak saying that, but your bed was your safe place in a storm like this one, where you could hide under the blankets until it was all over.
Bucky didn’t hesitate to answer. “Sure, doll. Come on.”
He carefully lifted you off him so he could stand and helped you get to your feet too. You were a little shaky on your legs and your hand found his Bucky gave it a quick, comforting squeeze, encouraging you to follow him. However, when you both walked through the threshold, there was another flash from the sky and you braced yourself for the loud rumble of thunder to follow. It came, deafening you almost and caused you to practically jump on Bucky, who immediately closed his arms around you. Bucky was about to speak when suddenly the room was plunged into darkness, the unexpected loss of light made you jump and shriek.
“Bucky?” He heard your small voice.
“Still here, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. The back-up power will be on soon.” You nodded against his chest, squeezing your eyes shut.
Bucky started to rub your upper back again, his fingertips brushing softly against the tank top you were wearing, and he wished he had more of these moments with you. The circumstances weren’t great, but he was going to relish every single second of it nonetheless. As predicted, the lights came back on after about thirty seconds, albeit a little dimmer than before but you didn’t move from where Bucky held you in his arms. It was only when he said your name did you move slightly away from his chest and he planted a kiss on the top of your forehead.
You peeked up at him, giving him, a small smile and he returned it before slipping his fingers in between yours again, leading you into your bedroom.
“Can you stay with me for a little bit?” You asked.
Bucky nodded. “Course I can.” He replied softly and let go of you so you could get yourself under the blankets and comfy.
Bucky hesitated slightly, unsure whether to lay on top of the blankets of underneath with you, but when you pulled them back for him, he slipped in, resting up against the headboard. Almost immediately you curled up into his side, resting your head against his chest and Bucky decided right there and then he loved the feeling of it. He had a small crush on you for a while now, keeping it well hidden from pretty much everyone apart from Steve who could read his best friend like a book.
Naturally, his right arm came to curl around you and already he noticed how much more relaxed you were, but the rain battering the windows wasn’t exactly helping.
“Thank you, Bucky.” You told him.
“Anytime, doll. Didn’t realise how bad you hate thunderstorms.”
“How did you know?”
“You told me.” He paused. “You were a little drunk, though,” Bucky added with a small laugh, the small vibrations from his chest almost made you catch your breath.
“Oh god, was is that time from a few weeks ago?” You grimaced.
“Yup.”
“We are not speaking of that night.”
Bucky laughed. “Why not?” There was a teasing tone to his voice.
“You know why.” You replied sternly. “And I don’t remember half of it.”
“That’s because you had some of Thor’s mead.” He said as a matter-of-factly.
“Uh, don’t remind me.” You lifted your head slightly to look at him. “I bet you’ve got some drunk stories hidden up there.” You tapped on his temple.
“I can remember a few.” Bucky admitted as you settled back down on him.
“Tell me. It’ll distract me from the storm.”
Bucky sighed. “Okay, only because you’re not Sam.” His comment got a giggle out of you, Sam was notorious for teasing everyone on the team.
Gosh, the sound you made almost sent Bucky dizzy, he cleared his throat and dived into his story. One from before he went off to war, out drinking with Steve although Steve didn’t drink much because of his various medical conditions. Still, as you listened to his voice you started to notice how much it was starting to ease your fear of the storm, he sounded so soothing and calm. You reached out and grabbed his metal forearm, dragging it across his body and tracing the golden lines with your fingers.
When you did, Bucky tried his hardest to not let the pressure of your hand on his arm affect him, swallowing hard before continuing his story. He felt your curl your arms around his arm, hugging it close to your chest like a toy and was that your head becoming heavier on his chest too? Nevertheless, Bucky carried on talking, using it as a distraction as much as you were, a distraction from the silly schoolboy crush he had on you, you were way too good for him.
After Bucky had finished, he asked you what you thought of it, but he didn’t receive a response. Glancing down he noticed you’d fallen asleep on him cuddling his arm of all things, yes, this arm might’ve not killed good people, but it was just as capable, if not even more deadly than the other. Bucky placed a kiss on the top of your head, he couldn’t bear the thought of trying to move in fear of waking you up, you looked so peaceful. The storm was still howling outside, minus the thunder and lightning but he wasn’t going anywhere.
For the next two hours, Bucky watched you sleep, listening to the rain rhythmically pounding on the windows as the wind slowly died down. Within the last hour the rain eventually stopped, the storm was over, yet that didn’t mean that he was going to move, he was right where he wanted to be. It wasn’t the first time Bucky had been in close proximity of you like this, you frequently curled up with him on the sofa much to your friends knowing looks because they all knew the crush you harboured on him as he did on you. However, both of you were too blind to see it. So, Bucky let you sleep.
When you finally stirred, your head wasn’t resting on the normal fluffy pillow you usually slept on, no, it was something hard and firm instead. Warm with a slight movement. There was something cold too with an odd texture to it, quite close to your body as if you were cuddling it. Slowly coming around, the first thing you saw was a dark coloured object which closely resembled an arm, it was then you realised that you were with Bucky and remembered falling asleep on him.
“Ah, she lives,” Bucky commented playfully and you groaned in response.
“Has it stopped storming?” You asked, your voice still full of sleep.
“Yeah, about an hour ago.”
You glanced up at him. “An hour ago?” You repeated and he nodded. “You shoulda just gone, Buck.”
“Wouldn’t be right to wake ya up.” You smiled at his chivalry; he really was unlike anyone you’d ever met. “You looked so peaceful.” Bucky purred and ran his hand through your hair.
“Thank you. For staying.”
“Anything for you, doll.” He placed a chaste kiss on your forehead.
“Bucky.” You sighed. “You gotta stop doing that.”
“Doin’ what?”
Bucky locked his eyes with yours, making it incredibly easy to get lost in them and that’s what happened. Every part of him was beautiful, from the dusting of stubble he was sporting, covering his sharp jawline to the scars on his left shoulder from his metal arm. You’d accidentally seen them when you walked into the kitchen in the early hours of a morning to find him in there. His lips parted slightly, bringing his metal hand across and swiped his thumb across your cheek.
His actions made your breath hitch, his touch was gentle, fingers almost ghosting across your skin as they came to rest on your jaw. Bucky knew exactly what he was doing, you could see the tiniest hint of a playful gleam in his eyes. Involuntarily you leaned into his touch, felt Bucky’s grip on your waist tighten and you could’ve sworn his eyes darkened just a bit. Your heart started to beat faster and you knew he could feel it. God, he was beautiful.
“Can I kiss you?” He whispered softly, and you nodded with a smile.
Without further questions, Bucky leaned down and pressed his lips to yours in a slow kiss, taking his time to make this moment last. Your arms went around his neck, pulling him further down to deepen it and if you weren’t smitten before then you were now. He was a little rusty, but who wouldn’t be after spending seventy years as HYDRA’s assassin? Nevertheless, you weren’t complaining that you were finally kissing the man you had liked for a while now.
Bucky slowly broke off you and nudged your nose with a smile, causing a small giggle to escape your lips.
“Feel better?” He asked.
“A lot.” You replied with a smile of your own. “I don’t think I’m gonna be scared of storms anymore. I’ve got a handsome super soldier to protect me.”
Bucky chuckled and pulled you closer to him. “You sure do, doll.”