It's late night when the party is over and the group ends up being right. Sam ends up drunk way before Natasha, who is slightly drunk nonetheless. It is more than amusing to Steve, Bucky and [Y/N] to watch them, feeling completely sober themselves.
They stay up some longer than their drunk friends and keep talking about random stuff until Steve begins to yawn as well and heads to bed, leaving Bucky and [Y/N] alone.
After some more sweet conversation, [Y/N] looks at all the empty bottles and glasses on the table and the scattered crumbs of nibbles, a slight smirk laying on her lips, a certain kind of sadness in her eyes. "What a shame we can't get drunk. It'd sure have been fun."
Bucky, sitting next to her ever since it's just been the three of them, his right hand drawing random patterns on her back, chuckles. "I'd love to see you drunk. Who knows what you'd be like."
"I don't remember it. The times I was drunk. But I remember the feeling of being dizzy and stuff" [Y/N] says while Bucky lets his fingers wander her back upwards, along her spine, his blue eyes staring at her from the side, taking in every single detail of her face until his fingers brush along her shoulder and then her neck.
"That's like the worst part about it" Bucky laughs. "Well, this and the hangover."
"I'm sure you had quite a few" [Y/N] answers, a smirk on her lips as she feels Bucky chuckle from next to her.
"I was just a typical young man." His fingers continue his journey now, brushing further until he reaches the back of her head, thumb stroking her jawline. Her gaze still lies on the table in front of her but he can feel the goosebumbs on her skin under his touch. A smile creeps upon his lips, feeling happy about the effect he has on her.
[Y/N] gets up from her seat now and takes a few empty glasses. "What a shame. I'm sure the best drunk stories happen when you get older."
"Do you wanna feel like Sam?" Bucky laughs and watches her. "What are you doing? You're not going to clean this mess now..."
"We're the only two left awake and sober. I am cleaning that mess now."
Bucky sighs and gets up from his seat as well and picks up some empty bottles. He glances at her from the side, longing to get closer to her through trust and intimacy. "I can get tipsy" he says and [Y/N] finally turns her head to look at him. The moment he meets her [y/ec] eyes, he feels blown away and loses himself briefly in their beauty. "If I drink fast enough, I mean" he continues. "It takes the cells some time to recover. It's not for long though."
A smirk lies on [Y/N]'s lips as she's trying to figure out if he's just messing with her and as usual, his eyes give him away. He's telling the truth. Bucky sees the playful spark in her own eyes and chuckles. "I know that look!" he says.
"Don't worry, Buck" she chuckles. "The amount of alcohol we'd need wouldn't be worth the two minutes of fun."
A loud laugh coming from Bucky's lips fills the room. "You have no idea how wrong that sounded" he says as he throws the bottles away and then turns back around to face her. He licks his lips as his gaze wanders from top to bottom, checking out every detail of her outfit. The only thing missing are her shoes, her bare feet touching the cold floor but she doesn't care.
A soft smile lies on her lips when she turns around to continue cleaning. "How'd you find out? That you couldn't get drunk?" she asks softly as Bucky follows her, taking the rest of the empty beer bottles.
"Haven't you tried getting drunk?" he asks and watches her pick up some stuff before they both head to the kitchen again.
"Right after I had escaped. Took me a few tries to figure out it is due to the injections. Was a real bummer" [Y/N] says and Bucky can hear a certain kind of sadness in her voice. She takes a short break as they continue to clean until she ties up the trash bag, her back facing him. Her voice is much quieter now, almost a whisper as she speaks up again. "Steve tried to get drunk, too. You know. When he thought you had died."
"Oh really?" Bucky asks as he watches her with his eyebrow raised, not that surprised to hear about Steve but that she knows about it.
"He told me. When he came back from God knows where he was hiding. In Wakanda, too, I guess." She takes a pause and looks at the bag in her hand, not daring to turn around to look into Bucky's beautiful blue eyes. She wasn't with Steve when he tried to drown his sorrows but she could feel the pain when he told her and still feels it, just by the thought of it. The thought of losing Bucky Barnes feeling unbearable to her. "We just knew you were important to the both of us and that we'd have to find a way to get along with each other. So he told me about your friendship. And everything after that. I guess he knew it'd help me to open up."
Bucky flinches at her words, imaging how Steve had to tell her about the day he was still the Winter Soldier and tried to kill Steve, attacking him on the streets. A shiver runs down his spine but he shakes his head to push these memories away. He's no more the Winter Soldier.
He walks closer to her until he can grab her hands and turns her around to face him. "No sad thoughts tonight, okay? I'm here now. With Steve and you." He grimaces at his own words as he realizes what they sounded like, making [Y/N] giggle and the sound of it warms his heart.
"Don't worry, I know about your 'Till the end of the line-thing. You can't talk your way out of your relationship."
Bucky sticks out his tongue as he grimaces again and then lets go of her with his right hand that wanders to her face now, caressing her cheek. Her [y/ec] stare at him, her look full of affection. He brings her head closer to place a kiss on her forehead and then turns around to walk to the fridge, taking out two new beers and handing one of it to her as soon as it's opened. "One more game before we go to bed. Who downs first, wins" Bucky says, chinking bottles.
[Y/N] chuckles, not knowing where that comes from but feels releaved about the distraction from the painful memories. Memories when James 'Bucky' Barnes wasn't with them. When he wasn't with her.
They both lift the bottles to their lips and Bucky winks at her before they start drinking, trying to win.
It's [Y/N] who finishes first, lifting up the empty bottle cheerfully, a proud expression on her face. "What have I won?" she asks when she takes Bucky's empty bottle to throw them both away but Bucky stops her hand the moment it touches his. His left arm wraps around her waist and he pulls her closer so she bumps into his chest. "You've won me" he says, their lips feeling wet from the alcohol when he connects them.
[Y/N] groans within the kiss that is quickly infensifying and feels Bucky's fingers wrap around the bottles in their hands, taking them and throwing them in the trash as her arms wrap around his neck. "You're not afraid we're going to get caught?" [Y/N] asks him as they pull back to gasp for air.
"Wilson wouldn't be able to walk down the stairs in his state" Bucky breathes against her lips before pecking on them.
"I'm afraid they already guess that something is going on between the two of us" [Y/N] answers smirking and quickly steals a kiss as well.
"Mhmm.. And what would that be?" Bucky mumbles, not willing to stop kissing her just yet. He licks over her lips with the tip of his tongue, asking for entrance and she chuckles before deepening the kiss again and opening her mouth for him.
[Y/N] feels his hands move from her waist and side to her legs where Bucky picks her up just seconds later and her legs wrap around his waist. Her right arm is wrapped around his shoulders to grab a hold of him and her left hand wanders to his hair, fingers digging into it. Bucky moans against her lips, sending a shiver down her spine and he begins to move.
He walks them back to the living room, sitting down on the couch, [Y/N] sitting on his lap. Their tongues move in rhythm in her mouth, his tongue always fighting for dominance. His hands move back from her legs up to her sides, thumbs stroking along them, making her moan against his lips once more. He groans in response before they pull back to gasp for air when [Y/N] takes off her shirt, sitting in front of Bucky only in her bra and skirt.
"No. No no no" he quickly responses and stops her right hand from throwing her piece of clothing away. "Not here. Not like this" he responses and looks deep into her [y/ec] eyes. He can see the veil in her eyes, coming from lust and desire and he's sure she can feel the bulge in his pants.
"It's okay, Buck" [Y/N] says in a rough voice, her one hand still held tightly by Bucky, her other one stroking through his hair.
"I know it is" he answers sighing. "Trust me, I know it is" he repeats and tries to keep his eyes up but gazes down to her body just for a second before he lifts it up to look into her eyes again. His cheeks are slightly reddened. His free hand cups her face, thumb stroking her cheek again. "And I want it, too. But you deserve better."
"Better than you?" [Y/N] asks softly.
"You deserve to be asked out" Bucky answers just as softly and takes her shirt, putting it back on. "And not end up in the living room where Rogers or anyone else could interrupt" he adds, smirking slightly. His right hand comes to a hold at the back of her head, holding her gently. He checks her gaze for any hint of feeling hurt or rejected or any hint of sadness and other negative emotions. He makes sure that she's fine.
"You're right, we can't do that. If we'd end up dating, it'd mean we really like each other" [Y/N] replies with a slight smirk and moves her hand through his hair, making it a complete mess now.
"Imagine if we started talking instead of staying away from me like you should."
"What a terrible thought" answers [Y/N] and watches Bucky's tiny sloppy smirk. "And it'd mean you were wrong about warning me about you."
"Hell, someone should've warned me about you instead" Bucky jokes and proudly watches [Y/N] laugh slightly. She then crawls off him and gets onto her feet, reaching her hand out to Bucky who gets up as well.
"You're right, James. It's good we kept things the way they were. Just being strangers in the same building."
Bucky chluckles slightly as they both walk up the stairs and to their rooms. They stop in front of [Y/N]'s door and Bucky puts his left arm around her waist, his hand on her back to pull her close. "Go out with me, [Y/N]" he says when they lock eyes.
[Y/N] raises her eyebrow but smirks sligthly. "I should warn you before, Barnes. I can be real danger."
Bucky chuckles but tightens his hold on her to pull her even closer. "I mean it" he murmurs against her lips. "No excuses, no intimations" he says. "Just say yes finally. I'm making a fool out of myself here."
[Y/N] chuckles again. "You were pretty hot until now actually."
Bucky groans, pressing their bodies together. "You're turning me on on purpose now, aren't you?"
"Maybe" [Y/N] smirks as she wraps her arms around his neck. "Is it working?"
"Don't act like you don't know" he mutters because he's sure she can feel the bulge that's growing again.
[Y/N] fingers begin to caress the back of his head now, pulling him closer until their lips almost touch. "We've broken the rules so many times, James. Screw them tonight" she whispers and then presses their lips together, kissing him passionately, making Bucky groan again, turning her on even more.
But Bucky breaks the kiss, lets go of [Y/N] and brings some distance between the two of them. "No matter how much I'd like that, I don't want to until we had a proper date to which, and I can't believe I even have to mention that, you have not agreed to yet."
Chuckling, [Y/N] puts her hands up in a defensive gesture. "I get it, I'm not coming near you again." She then loosens up and smiles at him. "I'd love go on a date with you, James. But why does it matter so much?"
"Because it's not just Bucky Barnes spending the night with you but all of who I am now. I'm not the man I used to be and I want things to be different. For you. For us."
"Us, mhm?" [Y/N] answers softly. "I think I like the sound of that."
"I'm sure you do, doll" Bucky chuckles as he rolls his eyes. The woman can't stay serious for once. And even though it drives him mad, he likes it. "Go to sleep now."
"You're not coming with me?"
"I'm not falling for that" he winks at her. "We're keeping our hands off of each other tonight." He then leans in and places a kiss on her cheek. "Be ready at five tomorrow" he then adds, turns around and heads to his own room, leaving [Y/N] frowning but blushing. She has a real date with Bucky Barnes.