One of Loki's illusions was in the elevator when Bucky got stormed on. Loki had noted Bucky's sudden change in mood and his sudden anger with the lady he fancied and he decided he needed to see what was wrong with his friend. "What is the problem, Sergeant?" he asked. He would start this conversation pleasantly, he could always change tactics later.
"What isn't?" Bucky snarled, pacing the elevator and practically radiating anger. "I finally like a woman and she's a rescue. Which is off limits. Then she made a joke of me today!" His voice rose as his temper and anger did.
Loki raised an eyebrow, wondering where all of this came from. The pair had been getting along all day. Loki would know, he'd been checking on them. "The rescue thing can be overcome," he said with a shrug. "She moves in, she's no longer a rescue. Problem solved. But making a joke out of you? I do not see it and jokes are one of my specialties." He hadn't seen her making fun of him. He didn't think she had the capacity to make fun of anyone or anything, not maliciously anyway. She was an omega after all.
Bucky tried to calm down enough to have a reasonable conversation with Loki. It was hard with how pissed he was. "She has been talking to me all day. She never once mentioned her knowledge in the medical field or as a doctor!" Bucky explained, his voice still heated. Loki gave him a look and he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. I think my mind is just trying to push her away. I'm not lovable. Not in a romantic way."
"You are plenty lovable," Loki replied immediately. He had to nip that nonsense in the bud. "And so what about the medical knowledge? Perhaps it simply did not come up. She is too kindhearted to attempt to hurt anyone. I know this and I have barely met the girl. Perhaps you should give you, and her, a chance," Loki suggested. His friend sometimes needed a swift kick in the ass to get his head on straight.
"So I'm supposed to let her put herself in danger, if she goes on a mission without me?! I don't think I could." Bucky protested, his emotions getting the better of him again. He didn't want the omega in danger.
Loki shrugged, antagonizing little shit that he was. "If you do not wish to try, I can hurry her on her way," he told Bucky innocently. "One word from me that I dislike her and she's gone, for her own safety of course," he could arrange it quickly. There was an understanding that if Loki didn't like someone and that person would be sent out of the tower immediately for their own safety. He had a habit of stabbing first and asking questions later. If the stabee survived. "Perhaps Shield will take in the stray..." he baited Bucky's temper, knowing he would get real answers from his friend if he got him to speak with emotions. Bucky was usually too quiet and didn't say anything at all unless his emotions were brought into it.
Bucky's shock dropped him out of his temper. "What? You just said she's a kind hearted person. Why would you joke about attacking her?" he asked Loki, shocked and concerned that Loki would even joke about hurting the omega.
Loki shrugged, looking nonchalant. "If you want her out of here that badly, if you do not wish to even try to court her, to try for happiness for yourself and her, then I would do the favor for you and get her out of here quickly before she causes more trouble." He made it sound like it would be no big deal to threaten the omega, to get her kicked out of the tower to help his friend.
Bucky finally realized that it wasn't a joke. Loki really would threaten her to help Bucky if that's what his friend needed. "No, that's not necessary," he reassured Loki quickly. He didn't want Gwen hurt. He didn't want her to leave.
"Oh, good," Loki said as if this were news and not exactly what he knew was going to happen. Annoying god. "Then you will stop being an idiot?" he asked pleasantly. Sometimes it was hard to tell why Bucky was friends with the annoying little shit of a god.
Bucky flinched. "You know what goes on in my fucked up head," Loki had spent awhile fixing Bucky's Hydra-blended mind. "My head and heart don't line up often. And my heart hasn't wanted any other rescues before now," he admitted softly. He didn't talk often or well about his emotions.
Loki gave him a warm smile. "Then I would suggest listening to your heart, my friend. You've found an opportunity. I have seen how happy you've been with her just in one day. Don't squander it because of fear," he gave his friend the advice he so clearly needed.
Bucky sighed again. "I've already ruined things, haven't I?" he grumbled, wondering if he should go apologize to her or wait up for her until she got to her room.
Loki noted his conflicting emotions and knew that Bucky had finally gotten over his anger and realized he was an idiot. Loki laughed. "Hardly," he told Bucky as they reached Bucky's room. His eyes got that slightly glazed look that he got when he was focusing on his magic, especially when he was checking on illusions in other areas or speaking telepathically. "Oh, she's making an excuse about wanting to turn in early, how cute," he said fondly, amused at the little liar attempting to pass off the lie. "She's a better liar than most," he added, amused, and sounding impressed. It was hard to impress the god of lies. "She will be up shortly," he informed Bucky, his eyes going back to normal and vanished in a shimmer of green magic.
Bucky was grateful for his magical friend. Sometimes Loki was a pain in the ass, but he made up for it. Usually. Especially when he liked someone, which is why Bucky went out of his way to stay on the god's good side.
Bucky was just about to walk into his room when Gwen stepped off the elevator later looking sad, her ears and tail drooped.
Of course Loki had stalled him on purpose in the hallway. Annoying ass god.
Gwen paused when she saw Bucky and blushed, looking down and fidgeting with her hands. "I'm sorry I upset you," she finally said softly. Sad omegas were pretty high on the list of the worst things ever.
Bucky felt worse that he could ever remember feeling at the sight of the sad omega. And he'd suffered a lot of terrible things in his life. He wanted to hug her, hold her and beg for forgiveness. He wanted to throw himself at her feet if that's what it took to make her smile again. Holding back, he said instead: "It's me who should apologize. I acted inappropriately and it was beyond rude of me. My mother would have beat my ass for it," he said with a self-deprecating smirk.
"I should have told you," she insisted, sounding distressed. "It just didn't seem important at the time..." besides, if the possible concussion was just an excuse to watch her, then he would've had to come up with a new excuse to stay with her. It was easier to let him have his excuse.
"I do feel like an idiot. The doctors told me, so I had no reason to doubt them. Maybe they lied?" he suggested. He didn't know more than battlefield first aid.
She shrugged "I bet they just don't know how fast I heal. And you know how doctors are with head injures, better safe than sorry..."
Bucky had his hands in his pockets, to keep from reaching them out to her. He wanted to pull her into his arms. She looked like she needed a cuddle. His natural reaction was to do anything and everything to make her happy. "I mean it, you don't owe me an apology. I was an ass. Forgive me?"
She gave him a warm smile and suddenly everything seemed right in Bucky's world again. "Of course, Bucky," she replied brightly, almost desperate to be forgiven.
He wanted to pick her up again, hold her to him. Bucky was surprised by all these sudden romantic ideas. Romance wasn't something he was experienced in. "Did you eat?" he asked her instead.
She nodded and rolled her eyes, huffing in exasperation. "Two steaks because your captain friend decided I hadn't eaten enough," she whined. The entire team was overprotective. They usually were to the rescues, but this one in particular was striking up that instinct in the superheroes.
Bucky laughed, "That's worse than the couple of extra brownies I made you eat, I suppose," he teased her.
"Then the annoying god decided that it was a crime that I couldn't ever remember eating chocolate cake and set the biggest slice ever in front of me," she added with a huff. "Are you all so overprotective?" she teased.
"Of someone who looks so innocent and fragile, apparently we are. And you should have said you had chocolate at lunch."
"Apparently brownies and cake are completely different," she replied, repeating Loki's argument back at her. She'd tried it. It hadn't appeased Loki who thought not having dessert was a crime. Bucky realized that she would be just fine living with the team if they were all going to go out of their way to keep her safe. They already showed that they would.
"Just wait until the morning, he's gonna to get you hyped up on chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter sauce and syrup," he informed her. Loki was obsessed with sweets and making his already sweet pancakes even sweeter. "My favorite is French toast," he added as if she would care.
She laughed, the sound lighting up his soul. Or so it seemed. "Your friend is weird," she informed him dryly. "I'll have to try the french toast, though," whatever it was, it sounded more reasonable than Loki's creation. "Don't forget Nat is taking me out after breakfast," she reminded him that he was free of babysitting duty while Nat dragged her out of the tower. She was perfectly safe with the assassin.
"Maybe I should go along, if that's alright. Maybe buy some sweaters and shirts. I complained to Steve again. He thinks it's funny," he complained. Steve hadn't taken him seriously at all.
She giggled. "Poor Bucky, no one takes your too tight shirt problem seriously," she teased with a hint of flirting. "I don't mind if you come, but won't you be bored?" She thought she remembered that men hated shopping. Especially for clothes.
"What is there to do here? I'm bored either way."
"And the girls are much better company?" she teased
"Oh, I can just stay in my room, all alone," he mock-pouted at her, over emphasizing it to let her know he was teasing. He did want to go with her. He wanted her safe and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.
She giggled and hugged him, her arms going around his waist. He looked like he needed a hug. Especially with how he kept his hands in his pockets to avoid hugging her, to avoid pressuring her into contact she might not want. "Just come with us, silly," she told him, grinning up at him.
His arms wrapped around her easily once she had initiated the contact. "You've talked me into it."
"Good," she told him warmly. "I'd hate for you to be stuck here all alone and bored," she said and after another moment enjoying his warmth and comfort, she took a step back and hid a yawn behind a hand. "I should turn in. I'll see you in the morning, Bucky,"
He waved her goodnight. "I'll knock around 7am. Sweet dreams," he bid her warmly, wanting nothing more than to kiss her goodnight and knowing he couldn't do that.
Not yet. "And to you," she told him warmly and ducked into her room to get some rest. Bucky watched her go before he went to his own room, falling asleep that night to dream of a particular little werewolf.