bucky barnes imagines

xxx. RIVALRY (two)

After the torturous training session was over, Bucky headed back to his room to shower and take a nap.

He ended up sleeping for much longer than he'd originally intended – around four hours in total. When he finally woke up, he opened his eyes and shot bolt upright when he noticed Steve sitting on the end of his bed.

"Jesus fu– you scared the shit out of me, Steve! How did you even get in here?"

Bucky ran a hand through his hair – a nervous habit. Steve shook his head as he answered, struggling to keep himself from laughing.

"You left your door unlocked, Buck. And anyway, I need to talk to you."

Unsurprisingly, Bucky already knew what his best friend was going to say. He remained silent, allowing Steve to continue talking.

"What happened back there with Y/N?"

"How should I know?" Bucky lied, his eyes widening in faux innocence. "She probably just decided that she hated me too much to be in the same room as me any longer. The feeling's mutual."

"Yeah?" Steve cocked an eyebrow. "Then why did you look so upset when she left?"

After another brief silence, Bucky groaned. "Is there anything you don't notice?"

He went on to describe the situation, not leaving out a single detail. Steve listened as Bucky explained the tension between the two of you.

"I don't know, Steve – she's so rude sometimes and I hate it, I can't handle it when she says something bad about me, but... there's something about her, I just want to be around her all the time. I can't explain it. And earlier, when I had her pinned to the ground... God, I wanted to kiss her. I wish I did."

"Why didn't you?"

"Were you not listening? She hates me!"

Much to Bucky's dismay, Steve chuckled, shaking his head. "For someone who supposedly has a lot of experience with girls, Buck, you're really missing the point here. You act as if you hate Y/N, right? Even though you actually really like her?"

Bucky nodded hesitantly. "I-I suppose I do."

"Then how do you know she's not doing the exact same thing?"

Once again, Bucky didn't reply. Sensing that he needed some time to think things through, Steve stood up, patted him firmly on the shoulder and left the room, closing the door behind him.

It didn't take long for Bucky to decide what he needed to do – he had to tell you about his newfound feelings as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, you stood under the shower in your en suite bathroom. You closed your eyes and tilted your head back as the hot water cascaded down your body, soothing your aching muscles.

Yet again, you found your mind wandering to Bucky. You were beginning to realise that maybe you didn't hate him at all; that maybe your constant bickering came as a result of you wanting his attention.

The longer you thought about the whole situation, the more upset you became. You'd taken so long to realise that you had a crush on Bucky and now it was far too late. He couldn't stand you.

"Idiot," you muttered to yourself as tears stung your eyes. You forcibly blinked them away as you turned off the shower and wrapped a warm, fluffy towel around your body.

You got the shock of a lifetime when you walked back into your bedroom to see Bucky standing awkwardly by your bed, just a few feet away. You gasped and almost dropped your towel, but you managed to catch it at the last minute.

You noticed how Bucky's eyes scanned you up and down, and how he bit his lip slightly as he stepped towards you. Before you had a chance to comprehend what was happening, his arms were around your waist and his lips were on yours.

Despite your surprise, you didn't take long to react. Your eyes slipped closed as your lips moved slowly against his. The kiss was heaven – soft and loving but a little rough at the same time. By the time you finally pulled away, you were breathless (and amazed that your towel was somehow still intact).

Bucky kept his arms around your waist as he rested his forehead against yours, looking deeply into your eyes. After a few seconds, you pulled away from his embrace, smiling.

"I need to get dressed. Turn around."

As soon as Bucky obeyed your command, you quickly pulled on some clothes before shutting the closet and walking over to your bed. You sat down and motioned for Bucky to sit beside you, which he did, his leg resting against yours.

Once again, he wrapped his arms around your waist and rested his head on your shoulder, causing you to giggle.

"What?" he questioned, curious.

"You always act so tough, but look at you now. You have a secret soft side." You paused for a moment. "Speaking of which... where did this come from, Bucky? Up until a few minutes ago, I thought you hated me."

"Trust me, I was surprised too. I can't really explain it, I just realised that... I really like you, Y/N. And I'm sorry for everything I've said to you. God, you probably can't stand me—"

You cut him off by tilting his head up and kissing him again, more gently this time. You laced your fingers with his as you pulled away.

"I like you too."

Bucky breathed a sigh of relief, a small smile upon his lips. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"I can't believe it took us so long."

You nodded in agreement, laughing with him. Bucky kissed your cheek affectionately and hugged you tightly, causing you to blush a little.

"You know what they say," you mumbled, "good things come to those who wait."