a new life || (bucky x reader)

ten

"Okay, maybe I've taught you enough for today."
You were training with Steve in the gym, practicing your fighting. It was nothing like fighting with Bucky though. Steve still treated you as fragile, as if you couldn't fend for yourself. He was going too easy on you, and while you knew he was just trying to do the right thing, you wanted a challenge and you wanted to actually learn something. You had to show the team that you could be independent and fend for yourself, without them all acting so cautious around you.

"Come on Steve, I can handle a little more challenging practice," you said, but he shook his head.
"Y/N, I don't want to hurt you."
"I don't care!" You pleaded, but he continued to to walk away.
"How about a new opponent?" You turned around to find Bucky, leaning against the doorway. You couldn't help but feel a smile spread across your face. He always seemed to show up at the right time, with a fancy one-liner that always made you laugh.
"I don't think so, Buck. You're gonna hurt her," Steve said.
"Come on Cap, she's stronger than she looks. You gotta give her a chance."
Steve sighed. "Fine, but go easy on her."

"You ready, doll?" He grinned.
"Oh, come on, I could beat you any day."
"Sure, sure."
You swung the first punch this time, which he easily dodged and retaliated with kicking his leg out. You had gotten used to his fighting style, however, and jumped over his leg. You tried your favourite move, sliding down onto the floor and grabbing his wrist, pulling him down towards the ground. He was still too strong for you however, and the move didn't phase him one bit. As you stood up, it was his turn to slide onto the floor. You didn't see it coming when he kicked your legs out from underneath you and you ended up on the floor.

"Bucky!" Steve shouted, shaking his head in disapproval. You didn't care though, you just started laughing uncontrollably. After the long boring fight with Steve, it was fun to fight a more challenging fight with Bucky. He lifted his hand out, helping you up.
"I'll beat you next time," you said with a grin.
He laughed. "Sure you will, doll."
"Are you okay Y/N? Are you hurt?" You smiled at Steve's worry.
"Hey, Cap, I'm fine. The only thing that's hurt is my ego," you quoted a previous line of Bucky's, which makes him grin. Steve looks between you both, confused.
"Okay, fine. But next time go a little easier Bucky." Bucky slings his arm around you playfully, and you could feel your cheeks heat up from the contact.
"Like I said Steve, she's more than capable of handling herself. Heck, she almost put up a challenge for me. Almost, though."
"Hey," you said, glaring at him and he laughed. "Well, thanks for fighting boys, but all this training has made me hungry. Catch you later." You waved goodbye to the boys, almost upset that you had to leave the warmth and comfort of being under Bucky's arm. But you were becoming kind of sick of Steve's worry. It was nice that he cared, but you wished he would start to trust in your capabilities a bit more.

Bucky POV~
I couldn't help but smile as I watched Y/N leave the gym. That fight we'd had was one of our best. She was becoming really, really good, and I was happy to see her starting to come out of her shell a bit more around me.

"Ahem," Steve coughed, distracting me from my thoughts. I turned to him.
"God, I haven't seen you that smitten over a girl since the 40's," he said, giving you a knowing look.
"Smitten? We're friends."
He draped his arm over my shoulder, mimicking my earlier actions. "Like I said Steve, she's more than capable of handling herself."
I stepped out from underneath him. "I don't sound like that."
"Look, just don't lead her on, okay? She's been through enough already," he said.
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "I'm not leading her on because I don't like her."
"Like who?" I turned around to find Nat standing there, her arms crossed.
"No one-"
"Y/N? Because it's pretty obvious."
Steve laughed. "Thank you, see, I'm not the only one who sees it."
"Well, she doesn't see it whatsoever. She's the most oblivious person in the entire world. But, she's also never dated anybody, so I guess it makes some sense," Nat said.
"She doesn't? I mean, not that I care-"
Steve placed a hand on my shoulder. "Sure buddy," he said as he left the room.
Nat shook her head. "You're as lost as a deer in headlights. Keep being nice to Y/N, no matter what feelings aren't or are there. After all she's been through, she deserves all the kindness in the world, and you seem to be her grounding rock at the moment." I swallowed, nodding, as she too left the gym. I was being tasked with the mission to do what's best for Y/N. And that would start with not showing up to the gym. As much as I wanted to, she needed sleep more than anything. She was still weak, no matter how good of a fighter she was, and she needed to regain her strength as quickly as possible.