The Sharpest Lies [Bucky x ReaderxSteve]

Twenty-nine

"Bucky?" you ask sleepily, hours later as he slides into the bed next to you.

Mentally cursing himself out for waking you as he wraps an arm around your waist and presses a kiss to your hair. "Go back to sleep, malishka."

Instead of settling back down, you roll in his arms so you're facing him, hooking your leg comfortably around his, and reaching up to play with his St. Jude necklace. "What did you do to him?"

"To whom, baby girl?" Bucky asks, hand stroking along your spine. He's bone weary, exhausted, which is something that doesn't happen often.

"Rumlow."

Biting back a sigh, Bucky presses a soft kiss to your forehead. "It's not important, baby, just put him out of your mind."

But you don't want to let it go. "Did you kill him?"

The eyes he just closed snap open. He looks down at you in surprise. Bucky's always made it a point to be completely honest with you, but he can't say he expected you to ask something like this. So far, you'd mostly ignored the darker parts of his world–accepting that it exists without paying attention to the details. The sudden curiosity is a surprise, but he's not about to stop being open with you now.

"I didn't," he finally answers.

"Why not?"

Bucky shifts, nudging you to your back and leaning on his elbow next to you. Brushing hair out of your face, he says, "Because, while he disrespected you and that couldn't be left as is, if I kill all the men who can't keep their eyes off you, I'd be drowning in blood."

"There are not enough men staring at me to have that happen," you say lightly.

"Stop it." Bucky's voice is harsher than he intends so to soften that he strokes his knuckles across your cheek. "Baby, you are stunning. Inside and out. And it kills me that people in your life have made it so that you struggle to see your worth."

"Bucky," you murmur.

His thumb rests on your lips to stop your comment before his lips meet yours in a kiss that's more sweet than passionate. When your hand rests against his stubbled cheek, he lifts away and presses a quick kiss to your nose and says, "So, no, I can't go killing off all the men who look at you. But I won't hesitate to end anyone who thinks they can touch you."

"Is it bad that turns me on?" you ask.

Rolling over you, thighs pushing yours apart, Bucky smirks down at you. That you have a bloodthirsty streak is just another reason you are perfect for me."

~*~*~*~

"Oof." You land on your back, the air whooshing out of you in a rush. A little dazed, you stare at the ceiling as you struggle to catch your breath. Steve's face appears upside down above you.

"Better," he declares.

"Tell that to my ass," you mutter as you sit up.

"Turn over and I will."

He smirks when you squint at him. "Are you trying to be cute right now?"

"Awe don't be grumpy, sugar pants," Steve teases, offering you his arm to help pull you to your feet. Three weeks of training on, and you felt like you weren't making much progress, no matter what Steve tells you.

"Sugar pants?"

"What? I can't mix it up from time-to-time?" Steve asks. "Now, I'm gonna come at you from behind, let's see if you remember what I taught you."

"Like how Garrett did?" you ask, moving to the middle of the mat.

Steve pauses, eyes closing briefly as the anger that still lingers about that whole situation, before he says, "Not exactly, eyes forward though."