Cuddle Bug (Bucky x reader)

Medicine

After Bucky kissed you Sam shifted uncomfortably in his chair and cleared his throat.
"You keep kissing her like that, I'm going to be expecting you to ask me permission to marry her" Sam quipped coolly. You flushed and saw Bucky give you his flirty grin before he took a step away from you and took his seat back. He looked proud of himself, and curiously enough, never bothered responding to Sam. You had barely started dating anyways, but if there was anyone that you could see yourself spending the rest of your life with, it would be him. Nothing quite compared to Bucky. You didn't want to admit it out loud, but the memories you had of being with Bucky, as short of a time period it had been, and the memories you had with Sam or the team, had really pulled you through the last three weeks. You had sworn to focus on the good memories while they tortured you, and thought about how they were going to rescue you, instead of giving into what could possibly be the end of your life. Bucky reached out and held one of your hands and caressed your hand while the four of you sat in near silence. You felt your eyelids getting heavy again, but the pain was surging forward and you let out a bit of a groan. Sam was quick on his phone, and Sarah appeared a few minutes later with a soft smile on her face.
"How is the pain?" she asked, holding a needle in her hand.
"It's coming back tenfold" you flinched at the thought of her injecting you again. She gave a small smile and she stepped between you and Bucky, forcing him to let go of your hand. She injected the needle into the IV line, and checked the fluids, taking a fresh bag of fluids out of her pocket and switching them out quickly. You looked up curiously watching, seeing that there were two bags on the IV pole, and you couldn't help but ask the question on the tip of your tongue. "What's that?" you asked softly.
"The needle was the pain medication, this bag is saline which keeps you hydrated, and this smaller bag is the antibiotic that's fighting the massive infections that you have" she answered simply. "The pain medication is on an as needed basis, but the rest of it needs to keep getting checked. We also will be doing blood work every morning to monitor the infection to see when we can move to just the pill format. We don't want to keep you on an IV for too long" she gave a simple smile.
"How did you know I was in pain?" you queried softly.
"Sam texted me" she had a small flush to her cheeks as she looked at Sam. He gave a flirty smile, and gave her a wink, and you wondered if you had missed more than you thought while you were gone. To the best of your knowledge, Sam didn't have a love interest, but now you could definitely see some chemistry. "To be honest, Tony also has us on speed dial" she added quickly.
"I guess I'll be seeing a lot of you then" you gave a soft smile and she quickly nodded.
"I'm doing twelve hour shifts for the week, since it's unlimited overtime. Doctor Cho will probably be popping in pretty often too. She's taking advantage as well" she gave you a quick wink. "I'd better get back, but tomorrow we can take another bath if you are up for it. I had fun talking about the zoo with you" she waved and hurried back out, giving Sam another quick smile before exiting the room.
"Sam, you sly man. When did that happen?" you whispered as soon as she left the room.
"She's been on site the last three weeks, waiting for your return. She's cute. It's kind of weird she has the same name as my sister though" Sam admitted.
"How is your family?" you asked, realizing that you hadn't even thought to ask.
"Everyone's good. We've been face timing a bit more. Your disappearance drove home the thought that any of us can be taken at any time. Scott and Clint have been face timing with their families while you were gone too. No one went home while you were gone, we were just doing straight missions almost the whole time. I think even poor Steve was getting tired" Sam admitted. "He said he was going to come down later and visit, but I think Tony tried warning him to stay away too"
"Is Bruce on the list of people not allowed in here too?" you asked in surprise. Tony really seemed to have locked down your room. You wanted to remedy that as soon as possible.
"Yes, he's been told he must stay away as well" Thor nodded, advising you quickly.
"Well, this just won't do" you huffed. "Sam, I need some clothes"
"Hell no sexy legs, you ain't leaving this room" Sam shook his head.
"I will walk out there in these hospital gowns if I have to" you glared at him.
"Then you'll have to, I don't agree with you moving too quickly this soon" Sam shook his head again. He was clearly against seeing you outside of the panic room.
"Brother" Loki came back to the room. "I'll take my place"
"Until tomorrow, fair maiden" Thor stood up and gave a slight bow before leaving the room.
"All was well?" Loki asked before taking his seat.
"I'm not impressed no one is allowed to come in" you huffed.
"It's until the infection is gone, did Tony not advise you?" Loki asked quickly. "His reasoning is once the infection is gone, you'll be more free to move around the compound, granted he wants to make sure there are no threats on your well being first"
"I think he's already making sure of that" you could hear movement outside of the room, but no one was coming in. You quirked an eyebrow, but Loki just matched your gaze.
"He is" he finally said, not sparing outside of the room a glance. "It's Pietro and Peter" he finally looked over. "They put another potted plant on your desk" he gave a soft smile. "You now have three. Yellow gerber daisies from Bruce and Natasha, a mini rose plant from your soldier, and now an aloe vera plant from the boys"
"You got me roses?" you looked at Bucky in surprise.
"Every week I made sure there were fresh roses in your bedroom, and the roses here in the room are also from me" Bucky gave a proud smile, seeming to be content with himself.
"Save that kiss your thinking about for later, Sam still feel's awkward from the last one" Loki advised you quickly.
"The hell with that" Bucky stood up and quickly captured your lips in a quick, chaste kiss.
"Thank you" you gushed slightly, and took his hand quickly before he even fully sat back down. You looked around the room, really taking in how almost every flat surface was covered in flowers in vases. You really felt the love in that moment. You noticed you were starting to feel tired again, and rested back against the pillows, closing your eyes if only for a moment, and trying to not fully fall asleep just yet. You were terrified of the nightmares that might ensue.

"She's finally resting" Bucky looked up from his computer, having had to type one handed on his laptop. He slowly took his hand away, and went back to typing with both hands.
"She needs it," Sam sighed softly. "Why do you gotta keep kissing her man?"
"I just spent over three weeks thinking I would never get to do it again" Bucky replied soberly. Sam gnawed at his lip, but didn't respond, realizing that losing you had hit Bucky almost as hard as it had hit him. Maybe just as much, but he didn't know for sure.
Bucky looked at your sleeping face and hummed to himself slightly. Nothing had changed for him in the time that you were gone. He had yearned for you for so long, and had gotten so terribly awkward even at just a little bit of your attention. He was still upset that he had finally gotten you, and you were stolen away from him. Now he was just relieved to have you back. He watched your sleeping face, and wanted to reach out and touch the side of your cheek with the pads of his fingers. He already knew the texture was like silk, but he wanted the reminder anyway. If it wasn't at the risk of waking you up, he would risk it. He mused how you were like a rose garden, perfectly manicured in the middle of a forest. He saw you give a slight shiver in your sleep and he grabbed the fluffy dark blue blanket and he spread it across you again. He wished he had a moment of yours to himself. He promised himself he was going to celebrate your one month anniversary, regardless of the time missed and enjoy it with you. You were like his true north, and his compass was always going to be pointing towards you. Sam had brought up marriage, and Bucky couldn't help but muse that it seemed like the most natural progression for the relationship he shared with you. He had known you long enough to know you were exactly what he wanted for the rest of his life. He thought about how when he was younger, he always wanted that white picket fence, and a family. But he had so much selection, and he just didn't want to settle down before the war. Then the war started, and he almost regretted not having a dame to come home to. With everything that had happened, he recognized now, it must have been fate. Everything in his life had built him up to spend it with you, and he wasn't going to waste the chance. He was going to take it as slow or as fast as it needed to go. You twitched slightly in your sleep and Loki raised his hand, letting off a soft green glow and whispered a few words in foreign tongue with his eyes closed. He then lowered his hand after a minute and seemed to go back to his guard duty.
"What did you do?" Bucky asked curiously.
"She was starting to have a nightmare, I simply changed the course of her dream to be one of her memories" Loki gave a soft smile. "The one that she used often to remind her that the team was going to come for her. I believe a kiss was involved on a motorcycle" he gave a knowing grin. Bucky had the good sense to flush a bit, and he chuckled to himself. It was good to know those memories were still fresh in your mind, regardless of the circumstances you had been put through. Sam reached past Bucky for your phone, and opened it up and turned on some of the love songs Bucky had heard you play numerous times in the past. He unconsciously started humming to the music, and it was Sam's turn to chuckle.
"You're in love with her, Tinman?" Sam finally broke the silence after a few songs, since Bucky had gone back to his report.
"Since the day we first kissed, I knew I had been in love with her since the day I met her," Bucky blushed a bit. "It's a bit early to tell her," he admitted. "It feels like just yesterday I met her in the compound and took too long to shake her hand. I remember that look in her eyes, and I was dumbfounded. A woman like her doesn't come around every day"
"Indeed" Loki agreed quickly. "I have enjoyed watching this unfold, but honestly the courtship has been too brief thus far"
"I intend on continuing that courtship" Bucky frowned a little at Loki's words.
"You better" Sam growled a little bit.
Bucky brought his attention back to you, and smiled softly thinking of all the things he wanted to do with you. He planned to bring you outside for a picnic on Friday if you were off the IV by then. If not, he was kicking Sam and Loki out, come Hell or high water, and spending an afternoon with just the two of you. He knew Loki would have a lot more fight in him, but also seemed to be understanding of the relationship between the two of you. You moved softly in your sleep again, and he saw a message ping from Steve that it was supper time. Bucky just closed his computer and put it to the side, sighing to himself. He intended on finishing his report, he just couldn't concentrate. Alpine gave a meow and jumped up on his lap and he started petting him with a small smile on his face. The poor cat had likely been feeling a little out of sorts the last few weeks, not getting as much attention from anyone besides Aurora. Aurora let out a loud purr and moved up more on your chest. Bucky thought back to the kiss earlier, and thought about how it really did feel like electricity between the two of you. He could have sworn he felt it on his lips as his tongue had massaged against yours.
"Steve just texted me, it's supper time" Sam announced.
"I'm not leaving" Bucky shook his head.
"I'll go get it and bring it here," Sam sighed and stood up, putting his laptop to the side.