For the Love of the Game // Bucky Barnes

At Home Plate - Oneshot

You were almost late that day. The night before, Bucky had stayed up with you as you stressed over a textbook and tugged at your hair. He wanted to make sure you weren't overworking yourself, but you just wanted to make sure you understood organic chemistry.

"C'mon, doll, you'll have all weekend to study. Come lay down with me—just ten minutes. I'll set an alarm and everything."

You knew he was lying. His hands were far too gentle on your shoulders and his eyelids were drooping.

"Buck, you go to bed, okay? I don't want you to be tired at your game."

He had scoffed at you. "Yeah, sure thing. How am I supposed to sleep when I know you're out here? I can barely sleep when you stay at your dorm."

That had become a bit of a problem. A few months into your relationship, you began spending the night at Bucky's apartment very frequently. Sam pretended to complain about it at first, but soon he just greeted you in the kitchen as if you lived there. The only issue was that Bucky now found it hard to sleep when you weren't there.

So when you were in his living room, bundled up in the throw blankets from the couch, how was he supposed to sleep? You were right there; could anyone really blame him for wanting to keep you as close as possible?

You both ended up falling asleep on the couch. Your textbook was hanging off your lap and Bucky had his hands tangled in your hair. You woke up a few hours later to Sam's panicked tone, urging Bucky to get ready for the game. He did so haphazardly, throwing his gear together and tossing you one of his sweaters.

He didn't really have time to check everything over like he usually did.

Luckily, there was no traffic. Bucky gave you a swift kiss on the head before jogging out on the field. His movements were a bit sluggish and his uniform was wrinkled. He downed an energy drink before warming up and you felt awful about keeping him up. You had no idea how he could call you stubborn when he stayed up until four in the morning just to watch you look at a textbook.

Men.

"What's up with you today?" Wanda nudged your side.

"What? Oh, I'm just tired. I stayed up all night trying to study for Smith's test."

"For organic chem? Y/n, it's not till Monday."

You gave her an unconvincing smile. "I need all the help I can get. Trust me."

Natasha showed up a few minutes later with a very large coffee in hand and a little smirk on her face that told you she didn't believe your story. "Why's Bucky so tired? He's not in your class."

"Oh please," you dismissed. "You know how he gets. He wouldn't go to sleep while I was still up, so we passed out on the couch. We're not all like you, Natasha."

She snorted and handed you the coffee. It warmed your hands and gave you enough energy to at least keep your eyes open. You knew Bucky would take you to lunch after this and then insist you took a nap at his apartment. Honestly, you weren't going to fight it; a calm lunch followed by Bucky's arms sounded much better than crying over chemical bonds.

It took about fifteen minutes for the game to start. Everything was going smoothly with the guys on the field and you prayed that the sun would start warming you up. Morning games definitely weren't your favorite. But you'd still never miss one.

When it was the team's turn to bat, Bucky sent you a tired smile as he ran in. You would never get over how naturally charming he was; how his smiles left you nervous and his laugh made your stomach flip. You were pretty sure he knew what he was doing.