Give It To You

Chapter Three

"Can you not?" You whined playfully as you turned around to settle against the headboard. You pouted at him, catching the teasing glint in his eyes.

"Can I not do what, darling?" He bit his lip, looking up at you with innocent eyes, when you huffed and turned over to grab your book. Bucky laid his head in your lap and said, "Read it to me, please." You hummed and started to read the passage.

In just a few minutes, you had started yawning between words, untangling your hands from his hair to place a bookmark between the pages. Bucky easily moved away from your lap to sleep on his pillow, waiting for you to lay your head on his shoulder. You yawned once more before sliding down and snuggling up against Bucky's heated body. He brought his lips to your temple, mumbling a soft 'I love you' against your skin, one that you could feel in your soul.

"I love you more," you whispered, closing your eyes when he let out an 'impossible' and brought his hand to be sprawled on your stomach. He shifted even closer to you, back tightly pressed against his chest, and nuzzled his face into your hair to soothe himself with your fragrance, lulling him to sleep.

———

"Seriously?" You stirred awake to Bucky's anger strained voice, his warmth far gone from your bed—he had been up for a while. "You said tomorrow." He paused while a muffled voice said something. "Stop being a smartass and—" You shifted around, catching the way Bucky stopped talking at your movement. You sat up, looking at Bucky standing in the doorway while a sympathetic Steve stood outside. Bucky looked back at you with tired eyes before he said, "Go to sleep, doll."

"Can't," you answered, voice raspy while your eyes shifted between Bucky and Steve. "Wanna tell me what's so important that had to be shared at—" you glanced at Bucky's phone laying on his pillow, turning it on and off— "four in the morning?" Your hand glided over your stomach when you started to move the blanket off.

"No," Bucky replied without hesitation while Steve cut off after saying, "The mission—"

You scoffed and rolled your eyes at Bucky, shoving the blanket off of you. Bucky huffed out a breath of annoyance, making you glare at him while you walked over to them. Steve was wearing his tactical suit—a black one that you guessed was made for stealth missions—already giving you more than enough to guess what they were talking about. Bucky leaned against the doorframe, his body posture throwing off a sort of defeat.

"When do you have to go?" You asked, not bothering to hear them fill in the details of what you already knew. You were looking straight at Steve, ignoring the way you could feel Bucky's eyes on you. His gaze was almost warming, but you just couldn't look at him—you would break down completely if you did.

"Instead of going at six in the afternoon," Steve started, giving you a soft look, "we're going at six in the morning. Heavy snow and winds start around that time again. According to Stark, at least."

"Oh," was all you said after that, feeling a dread creep up your spine. Bucky's hand came to the small of your back, only for you to turn around and retreat back to your room, his hand falling to his side again.

"Bucky..." Steve trailed off, making eye contact with him, hoping that his eyes spoke more than what he could say. Bucky seemed to notice this and only nodded with a tight-lipped smile, jaw clenched in a bit of self-hatred. Steve walked off, going ahead to Sam's room.

Bucky sighed before walking into the room, eyes trailing to the bathroom door where you had hid yourself. Everytime, Bucky thought with a sad smile, fading away quickly, as his feet led him to the door. He raised his hand, curled into a fist, stopping just an inch away from the wood. He inhaled and exhaled deeply before knocking. He didn't wait for a response, instead barged in knowing that you would never lock the door if he was just outside. His heart clenched when he saw you sitting against the wall, between the shower and toilet, knees brought up to your chest while your forehead laid against them.