too sweet

by anonymityisfun

Summary:

he knows you're too sweet, but it won't stop him from trying to enter heaven's gate.

not to be annoying about this, but i am convinced people are not hearing this song. convinced.

like the wedding bells as he rejects you?

he’s literally hearing wedding bells as he says you’re too sweet for him, as he tries to hold you at arms' length.

you’re sweet as a grape, soft as a vine?? if you could sit in a barrel he’ll wait???

he'll wait. he'll wait until he can have you all to himself. because really, at the root of the song... is gluttony.

wanting someone that you know is too sweet for you. wanting them anyway. wanting far more than just your fill. wanting everything and more. the taste of you will never be enough.

pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth.

the seven deadly sins.

and gluttony was always bucky's poison.

down to his core, he was a glutton. a glutton for punishment. a glutton for love. a glutton for you.

he knew it from the moment his eyes feasted upon you, taking you in as the newly minted SHIELD agent. his own personal circle of hell.

he's starving, desperate to put his lips to something. he just knows there would be something so especially gluttonous about wrapping his teeth around you.

he's not sure how long he can wait, but he knows he has no choice but to wait.

his teeth would rot if he allowed himself a taste.

he'd miss the feeling of bitter whiskey sliding down this throat if he allowed himself a taste.

you're simply too sweet. but he's nothing if not a patient man. he'll build the barrel for you to sit in, if you'd like.

after all, even the sweetest grapes eventually turn into wine.

you're so blissfully unaware of it, of his scheming, his puppeteering, pulling your strings from the moment he'd set his sights on you.

that very first night, he invites you - and other agents to avoid suspicion - to drink with him.

you're all so eager for the team's approval. clamoring for a taste of their approval.

and yet, you're the only one brave enough to look him in the eye.

he has to admire your nerve as you, without invitation, slide into the barstool from beside him. "thank you for inviting us. i'm sure you had better things to do than be here with new recruits."

he shifts in his barstool, his eyes gleaming with amusement, "what makes you so sure about that?"

"oh, i just - i guess i just assumed."

he really likes the faint blush of your cheeks in the dim bar light. he's sure in that moment. sure that you're far too good. far too sweet.

and more sure than ever that he'll wait however long it'll take if he can keep you.

"i'll take a whiskey. neat." he juts his chin at you. "you?"

you shake your head, offering a twitch of a smile. "oh, just a water. thanks."

"not much of a drinker?"

"no, not really."

too sweet.

too sweet.

too sweet.

he knows that. he knows he's inhaled too much smoke in his life. even considering dragging you down to the pits of his hell has to be blasphemy. he knows it all.

and yet, he can see it.

he can see you waking by his side, dark as a lake.

he can hear it, the wedding bells clanging through his bones like a death knell.

he can taste your lips, sweet as ambrosia.

he may not be a virtuous man, but patience he would have. for you. he'll kneel and worship at your altar for the rest of his life if you'll let him enter heaven's gate.

and like any good man, he bides his time. sitting and waiting. you're an early riser. you're up before he's even hit his bed for the night.

the smell of a dark roast wafts through the air of the compound kitchen when he pads through on his way to bed.

he sees you standing at island, offering a gentle wave of your fingers, "hey, sarge. i didn't take you for an early bird."

he grunts, the corner of his mouth twitching up, "'m not. still haven't gone to bed."

"you haven't gone to bed," your eyes widen slightly like you can't believe it. "it's five in the morning."

he cocks an eyebrow at you, "then what are you doin' up?"

the smile that forms on your face is far too bright for him this early in the morning. "i like to watch the sunrise."

bucky snorts. "of course you do."

he wants to tell you, to show you. you can watch the sunrise with him. you keep him company in the noon of night and sleep just as the sun hits the horizon.

he wants to show you the other side of life. don't you know that the moon shines just as bright as the sun? no. you have no idea, but you'll get there eventually.

he just has to wait...

a few months later...

"bucky! bucky!" you crouch down before him, looking panicked. he's not the only injured, not even the most severely injured in your field of view. and yet, here you are, on your knees, lavishing him with your attention. "are you okay?"

he waves you off, doing his best to play the part of the noble, self sacrificing hero, all while he relishes in your attention. "i'm fine."

"you could've been killed."

was it true? sure. was it likely? no.

he looks up at you. he knows his face is littered with bruises and scrapes of all shapes and sizes. "at least the job got done."

"you have to be more careful, bucky. you're not expendable."

this time, his smile is genuine. he doesn't think he's ever head you call him that. bucky. he likes how it falls from your lips.

his eyes flash over to you, his ocean blue eyes swimming with mischief, "well, who wants to live forever, doll?"

you suck in a shaky breath. there's a part of you that he knows wants to bridge the gap between the two of you.

he can see it. your edges fraying. he swears he can see you stepping out of the barrel of your own making. he can smell your liquor soaked bones.

there's a part of you, that wants to join bucky in his gluttony. but not quite yet. not while you're still bright as the morning, soft as the rain. just a little longer. he could practically hear the gates creaking open for him.

it doesn't take much. not with the temptation bucky so dutifully lays before you. he's not sure what it was. the constant torment of unending missions. the fact that he could see your willpower slipping every time he got too close.

it was almost like a switch flipped.

no, you were no longer as bright as the morning sky, but shimmering like the night sky.

and beautiful just the same.

he watches as you stare at the counter of the bar from that very first night. it's like you know he's near. your eyes lift, finding his.

you look at him, then at the bartender.

without ever breaking eye contact, you mutter a drink to the bartender. "i'll take a whiskey. neat."

a smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth, he nods at the bartender, then turns to you. "i'll have the same."

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 24 of Bucky Barnes x Reader