Work Text:
This has not been your week. Between several meetings getting cancelled, complications with the latest company acquisition, and a main server going down for several hours on Tuesday, the last few days had been an utter nightmare at work, but today especially was a complete disaster.
You had been formulating a proposal all week for a contract renewal with one of your largest clients and you had a meeting planned with them first thing this morning to discuss finalizations. As you approach your desk, you see the voicemail indicator on your phone blinking. Setting your bag down, you pick up the receiver and dial out to your mailbox. A feminine voice lets you know you have one message and begins to play it for you as you begin the process of pulling up your computer for the day.
“Hello Y/N, this is Hugo Quinn. I’m calling to inform you that Hatchworks Inc. has decided against renewing our contract with Cypress Technologies. We have appreciated your work and commitment over the last few years, however our CEO does not believe that the values and principles of Cypress Tech. align with ours anymore. We will be taking our needs elsewhere. That being said, our meeting that we had scheduled for this morning is no longer needed. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you…”
Devastated, you hang the receiver back on the hook not bothering to listen to the half hearted goodbye at the end of the message.
This can’t be happening! you think to yourself.
You try calling the main office for Hatchworks Inc., but the line is busy. You try calling your contact Mr. Quinn directly, and are greeted with a message saying that the number is no longer in service. Letting out a huff of frustration and not knowing what else to do, you head to the office of your department head to tell her the grim news. After a brief explanation, you sit on the edge of your seat, bracing for the lecture that is sure to come.
“Well this is… unexpected, to say the least. You know how important that renewal was for the company! I trust you will learn from this unfortunate event, figure out what you must have done wrong and prevent this from happening again in the future,” she pauses, looking over the top of her readers to give a curt glare at you.
“You’re dismissed,” she waves you off as she goes back to the reports she had been reviewing.
“Of course, thank you ma’am,” You smooth down the front of your shirt as you stand, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. You make your way to the large wooden door and just as you reach for the handle, the door starts to swing open, narrowly missing your face. It was the department head’s newest secretary carrying a tray of coffees. The sleight girl jumps and yelps in surprise at almost ramming the door into you and proceeds to dump a cup of hot liquid down your front.
Wincing at the steaming coffee now covering your once-pristine top, you skirt around the new girl in order to make your escape. You hurry down the hall and away from the sounds of the head yelling; you only manage to catch something about “Clumsiness and compete incompetence!” before rounding another corner. You feel bad for the poor girl, she’s only been on the job for a couple of weeks and this is not the first time you’ve heard her getting yelled at by the head. You hadn’t even had a chance to learn her name yet.
You hear a door slam shut, followed the sharp click clack of the heels the nameless secretary had on as she brushes past you down the hall, practically running. You can spot people glancing over the tops of their cubicle walls having been intrigued by the scene that just unfolded. Ducking your head down in embarrassment, you make your way to the bathroom to try and clean the coffee stain off your shirt.
After scrubbing at the stain with no luck, you give up with a heavy sigh. You thank the heavens that you brought an extra cardigan with you this morning; at least you don’t have to walk around with a giant coffee stain on you to draw even more attention.
———
The rest of the day goes by in a blur. Around lunch time you start to feel the beginnings of a tension headache in the back of your neck, but decide to ignore it and your rumbling stomach in favor of getting more work done. The afternoon comes and goes, and by the time you’re ready to call it quits for the night, the tension headache has turned into a full-blown migraine. You rub at your temples and neck to try and relieve some of the pressure but it doesn’t help at all. You gather your bag and jacket and take the elevator down to the lobby, hoping that a cab will be close so you can get home quick. The elevator doors ding open and your head pounds a little harder with the loud noise.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding!” Of course it’s pouring rain as you head through the revolving doors. Several of your colleagues are taking shelter under the small awning on the front of your office building, also not having expected this surprise late-spring storm. The forecast this morning had called for clear skies all day, so you had had no need to grab your umbrella before going to work; but apparently the universe had other plans in mind. This was just the icing on the cake of your horrible day.
Clutching your bag against your chest, you pull the hood of your jacket up over your head to shield yourself from the rain and run out to the curb to hail a cab. Luckily you don’t have to wait long. Even still, your coat is nearly soaked through by the time a familiar yellow car pulls up in front of you. You climb into the back seat and give the cabbie directions to your apartment.
The cabbie tries to make friendly conversation with you over the long ride. You give short answers to his questions, not really feeling up for conversation. It feels like there’s a jackhammer running in your head and the pain is starting to get to you.
You jump a little when you feel your phone vibrating in your bag. You locate the device after digging through the depths of the bag and smile a little when you see the caller ID: it reads Bucky Barnes.
“Hey, stranger,” you answer.
“Hello, beautiful,” you hear on the other end. Bucky has been off on a mission with the rest of the avengers for the last three weeks and neither of you have had a lot of time to chat.
“When are you coming home, babe? I miss you.” You wince when you hear the tension in your voice.
“Soon, baby, I promise,” he replies.
You heave a heavy sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose.
“What’s the matter, Y/N? You okay?” he questions.
“What do you mean? I’m fine.” That didn’t even sound convincing to you.
“Come on baby, talk to me.”
Another sigh from you. “It’s just been a really shitty week; lot’s of drama at work.”
“I’m sorry, babe. Have you been taking care of yourself? I know you forget to eat when you get super busy with your work.” Silence drags as you hesitate to answer.
“Y/N, hon, come on, I know you. Have you eaten today?” You pause to think about that.
“I think I had a banana for breakfast…” you trail off. Your stomach rolls a bit. Even thinking about food right now makes you want to vomit. You let out a small noise as you clutch your pounding head, willing the pain to go away. You notice the cabbie shoot a worried glance back at you in the rear view mirror.
“Y/N? Baby, come on…”
“I’ll be fine, Buck, really. It’s ok.” You’re surprised at how small your voice sounds.
“You’ve got a migraine, don’t you.” Damn. He knows you well.
“Yeah, but—” Bucky cuts you off.
“No butts — are you on your way home from work?”
“… Yes,” you reply meekly.
“Okay, when you get home please make yourself something to eat. I know you don’t want to, but you need to in order to make the pain stop. Can you do that for me, baby? Please?” You wonder how you got so lucky with Bucky. He always takes such good care of you.
“Okay, I will. I promise.”
“Alright. I gotta go baby, but I love you. So damn much.” he emphasizes the last few words.
“I love you too.” You hang up the phone just as the cab is pulling up to your apartment building. You thank the cabbie and hand him the fare. He tips his hat to you as you step back out into the rain.
Not even bothering with your hood, you hurry through the rain into your building and slowly make your way up the nine flights of stairs to your floor. The stupid elevator had been “Out of Service” for months now, and unsurprisingly there hasn’t been any sign of any technicians to come out and make repairs.
You appreciated that Bucky still let you have a place of your own, although he had been hinting about you moving to the tower for several months now. You suppose it would make even more sense now that the two of you were engaged. But you liked your independence, and Bucky respected that about you.
Finally, you reached the floor your apartment was on and trudge to your door. The effort of making your way up the stairs was making your head pound even harder and your stomach start to roll. Fumbling with your keys, you manage to get the door unlocked. Flipping the deadbolt behind you, you drop your keys in the little dish on the small entrance table. You peel your wet coat off and hang it on a hook by the door to deal with later and dump your bag on the ground next to it. You spy your umbrella leaning against the back of the couch and halfheartedly glare at it.
With a huff you sit on the couch and stare at nothing for a moment, hoping for the nausea to pass. You sluggishly toe your sopping wet shoes off and kick them off to the side.
The nausea hits again with a pang and you bolt to the bathroom. You make it in front of the toilet just in time before you start emptying the measly contents of your stomach into the porcelain bowl.
After heaving up your stomach, you sit back against the wall and catch your breath. Everything is spinning and you feel like crap. You know you promised Bucky that you would eat something, but the last thing you want to do right now is move from the safety of your bathroom. You lean over slightly to flush your bile down the toilet.
You decide that you’ll sit there for a little while longer, at least until you no longer feel like any movement will make you vomit again, and end up dozing off for a while without realizing.
———
A few hours later, the sound of keys jingling in the lock on the front door rouses you from your nap. You move to get up off the floor but your pounding head and rolling stomach remind you why you were there in the first place. Your vision is swimming a bit and you try blinking to clear your eyes to no avail. You hear your name being called and recognize the voice as Bucky’s. You try to call back to him but all that comes out is a small muffled groan. You see his figure come into your line of sight.
“Oh, Y/N…” He kneels down in front of you and cups your face with his metal hand.
You blink sluggishly up at him. “I’m sorry…” you mumble as you lean your face into his cool touch. Your eyes start to prickle with tears and before you know it, your face crumples and you’re crying. All of the stress of the last few weeks and the intense pain in your head comes pouring out in your tears. Bucky gathers you into a hug and begins rubbing your back in soothing circles.
“Shh, I know, baby, I know.” You both sit there on the bathroom floor, Bucky holding and grounding you, you crying into his chest. Your tears start to dry up after a while and it hits you then that he’s still supposed to be on a mission, not here with you. You glance up at him in confusion.
“Wait a minute, how are you here?” you ask with a sniffle. Bucky wipes a stray tear from your cheek.
“We finished the mission a few days earlier than scheduled. I was planning on surprising you tomorrow morning, but I didn’t want to wait that long after I talked to you on the phone earlier.” You nod and put your head on his chest again as he continues rubbing your back. A few more moments go by before you hear his voice rumbling in his chest.
“Do you think you can stand?” he asks. You take a moment to take stock of how you’re feeling.
“I’m afraid I’ll throw up on you if I move too much,” you say sheepishly.
“That’s okay. Hold on tight.” He scoops you up bridal-style and carefully maneuvers his way out to the couch. He sets you down on the soft cushions and kisses your forehead before he stands upright again.
“Why don’t we go back to the tower and get you cleaned up. How does that sound?”
You nod your head in approval and move to stand up, but Bucky places a hand on your shoulder and gently pushes you back down. You quirk your eyebrow in questioning up at him.
“Let’s have a sip of water first, yeah?”
“M’kay.” Water is a good idea. You lean back into the couch and your eyes drift closed of their own accord. You hear Bucky walk to the kitchen, grab a glass from the cupboard and fill it with water from the sink. His footsteps shuffle back in front of you and you feel the cushion depress next to you as he sits down. You peel your eyes open and sit up a little straighter as he presses the cool glass into your hand. You bring the glass to your lips, but you find your hands are shaking too bad and the water begins sloshing around. Bucky steadies the glass for you as you take small sips.
“Better?” he inquires when you’ve finished.
“Lil’ bit, thank you,” you say handing the glass back to him and he sets it on the coffee table.
“Do you have another jacket? That one looks pretty drenched,” he asks, eyeing the dripping coat hanging by the door.
“Yeah, I have a few hanging in my closet.” You realize then that you are still barefoot.
“Could you also grab my sneakers for me, please? I really don’t want to put sopping shoes back on.”
“Of course - be back in a flash.” he says before heading in the direction of your room and returning moments later with a fresh pair of socks, your trusty old sneakers, and one of your warmer pea-coats draped over his arm. He lays the coat next to you before kneeling down in front of you to help you with your shoes. He pulls the socks over your toes with the utmost care, followed by each shoe, making sure not to tie the laces too tight. Standing up to his full height, he places a hand under your upper arm to steady you as you slowly stand from the couch. You tried to go slow, but even the small movement makes your head swim and you clutch your head as the pounding crescendos. You can feel Bucky’s worried gaze searching your face, knowing how much pain you are in.
“You doin’ ok?” he asks. You nod a little and reach for the coat on the couch, but Bucky manages to grab it before you can. He slips behind you and eases the coat up your arms and shoulders, making sure its on snugly. You thank him and start towards the front door with Bucky trailing behind you. You retrieve your keys from the little dish on the entry table and your bag from the ground where you had plopped it earlier, and head out the door. Bucky closes it behind you and locks it back up.
Keeping a light grip on your arm, Bucky then leads you to the stairs and you both begin the painfully slow journey back down to the main lobby. He seems to have unlimited patience with you as you take each individual stair one by one, leaving one hand on your arm and the other resting lightly on the small of your back to keep you steady, whispering sweet little nothings in your ear. You feel safe knowing that he won’t let you topple down the stairs if you lose your balance.
Finally, after what feels like ages, you make it to the bottom. You make your way to a nearby wall and brace yourself against it as the world around you dangerously tilts and your head jackhammers away.
“Take your time, love. You’re okay, it's alright.” he murmurs softly, gently squeezing your arm in reassurance. You nod again when you’re ready to continue. Before you go through the front doors, Bucky pulls your hood over your head and you smile up at him in appreciation. He pulls his own hood up before linking arms again and pushing the door open, waiting for you to go first.
A sleek black car is idling at the curb with a man in a suit standing near the rear doors holding a large umbrella. When he spots you and Bucky coming through the building doors, he opens the car door and holds out a hand to help you in.
“Good to see you again, Y/N.” he smiles at you.
“You too, Happy.” You take his hand and climb into the back seat, sliding to the far side so Bucky can get in behind you. Once he’s seated next to you, Bucky makes sure you’re buckled in tight and fastens his own seat belt as Happy eases the car away from the curb and into the flow of traffic.
Bucky wraps his arm around your shoulders and you lean your head against his chest, settling in for the ride. You know it takes almost an hour to get to the Avengers Tower from your apartment with traffic, so you mumble something about taking a nap to Bucky. You feel his arm squeeze a little tighter around you and he plants a light kiss on the crown of your head as you drift off. You doze in and out of consciousness and you can hear Happy and Bucky making light conversation, but you can tell they are keeping their voices low so as not to disturb you.
After a little while you feel the car stop and hear Happy get out, but he leaves the car running.
“We’re not there yet, are we?” you ask as you lift your head groggily and peer outside. You see the painted window of a small soup shop that you know Bucky is fond of.
“Just making a quick pitstop first, it’s ok. Go back to sleep, love.” Bucky shushes you as he guides your head back to his shoulder. Still feeling exhausted, you drift off again. You hear Happy come back a short while later and the rustling of a plastic bag as he places whatever he just got on the passenger seat before buckling up and pulling back out into the street. You tilt your head back a little and place a few light kisses along Bucky’s jaw.
“I’m so happy you’re home.” you whisper to him. Bucky cups your face lightly and tilts your head up a little more and gazes into your eyes.
“Me too, baby. Me too.” He plants a small kiss on the tip of your nose and another on your forehead and you close your eyes as you position your head back on his chest. Bucky rubs his thumb on your arm soothingly and you nuzzle a little closer and make a small noise of contentment as you settle back in for the rest of the drive. You hear Happy quietly humming a little tune to himself as he navigates the busy New York streets. His humming and the sound Bucky’s steady heart beating under your ear lull you back into a light slumber.
———
You wake to Bucky lightly shaking your shoulder and telling you that you’ve arrived at the tower. You slowly sit up from your slumped position against Bucky’s shoulder and rub your neck with a little yawn. Your head is still pounding but you notice it doesn’t hurt as bad as before. You guess your little nap must have helped a bit. Now fully awake, you reach for the door handle to get out, but Bucky beats you to it having already gotten out and around to your side of the car.
He holds the door open and offers you his hand which you take, and climb out. You are pleasantly surprised when the action doesn’t make your stomach roll, but your head does throb a little harder. You squint slightly against the bright lights of the private parking garage that’s beneath the tower. After closing the car door, Bucky links your arms again and steers you towards the elevator that will take you to the upper floors where you know the rest of the team will be.
Happy is walking slightly ahead of you and you notice him carrying a large container of soup in a plastic bag. He reaches the elevator and pushes the button to go up, then turns to Bucky and hands him the bag of soup. Bucky hums a little in thanks and Happy nods and turns back to wait for the elevator.
It doesn’t take very long for the elevator car to arrive and the doors slide smoothly open with a soft ding. As you step in, you are greeted by the voice of the AI that’s integrated throughout the whole tower.
“Welcome back, Sergeant Barnes, Y/N, Mr. Hogan,” says the distinctly British voice.
“Thanks, JARVIS,” You smile up at the ceiling. You don’t think you’ll ever get used to that.
The elevator ride up to the main floors is quick, and before you know it, the car eases to a stop and the doors open again. The motion of the elevator stopping makes your stomach lurch and you gasp slightly as a wave of nausea hits you. Bucky is quick to steady you as you sway a little on your feet. Once the nausea passes, you slowly walk out to the main living space that the Avengers occupy. The arrival of the elevator had drawn the attention of the few occupants that were lounging in the room and they glanced over just in time to see the whole ordeal. You notice a few sets of eyes looking worriedly at you as you make your way across the floor being supported by Bucky. You feel your cheeks warm in embarrassment with this much attention on you.
You see Thor get up from the large sofa and approach you and Bucky.
“What is the matter? You do not look well,” he says in his deep voice.
You motion vaguely at your head and cringe a little, “Migraine,” you reply and let your hand flop back to your side.
Thor looks at you with sympathy and pats your shoulder lightly, nodding in understanding. You nod your thanks and Thor steps aside a little and watches you and Bucky walk past him as you head down the hallway that leads to Bucky’s private suite.
———
You reach the end of the hall and Bucky opens the door for you to go in. You step inside the cozy, dimly-lit room and make your way over to the large wall of windows to gaze down on the bustling city. As you walk across the floor, you hear soft music coming from a small stereo on the far side of the room and the fireplace crackling with a nice fire. You know the fire isn’t real, just a large screen that plays a video of a fire on a loop. But you know it lets off heat and makes the crackling noises to add to the effect.
As you stand by the window you hear Bucky place the soup container on a small table by the door. Approaching you from behind, he lazily wraps his arms around your waist and dips his head to nuzzle his nose behind your ear and kisses his way down your neck. He then slowly turns you to face him and moves his metal hand to your face. The cool of the metal feels nice and you lean into the light touch.
Bucky strokes your cheek a few times with his thumb and leans down to kiss you softly on your lips. He lingers there for a moment before pulling back, then begins to slowly unbutton your jacket. He slips it off your shoulders and drapes it over the back of a nearby chair, then turns back to you and begins to unbutton your cardigan. About half-way down he pauses when he spots a large brown stain on your blouse underneath. He quirks an eyebrow and glances up to look at your face. You had completely forgotten about the coffee mishap earlier in the day; it felt like that had been weeks ago.
“It’s a bit of a long story… I’ll tell you about it later.” you say. He simply shrugs and finishes with the buttons before sliding the soft sweater down your arms and adding it to the chair with the coat. With your jacket and sweater off, you feel a slight shiver run down your spine as Bucky trails his fingers up and down the smooth skin of your now exposed arms. He takes both your hands and leads you to the edge of his large bed and has you sit. Once you are seated he kneels before you and begins to untie your sneakers and carefully removes them, followed by your socks, and sets them out of the way at the foot of the bed.
He stands again and begins to remove his own jacket, laying it over the chair he had placed yours on earlier. He has just a dark t-shirt on underneath. Your gaze follows him as he makes his way back in your direction. He toes off his shoes and places them next to yours by the bed before taking a seat next to you.
“Do you think you can stomach a little bit of soup?” he asks.
“I can try.”
“I’ll be right back,” He stands again, grabs the soup from the table by the door and heads out to the hall and back in the direction of the common area. He returns a short while later with a small bowl of the steaming broth and a spoon. You get a whiff of the delicious smelling broth as he makes his way to you after shutting the door. Your stomach audibly growls.
Bucky tilts his head with a smirk and asks, “Was that a good grumble or a bad grumble?” He carefully hands the bowl to you and sprawls behind you on the bed, propping himself up on his right arm.
“Good, I think.” You grin back at him. You blow on the soup a little to cool it down and watch the steam dance around on the surface of the liquid. Taking a deep breath, you let the aroma of all the different spices in the soup fill your lungs. You stomach grumbles again, much louder this time, making you and Bucky laugh a little.
Not bothering with the spoon, you bring the bowl up to your lips and take a small sip of the liquid. You feel its warmth trail down your throat and you let out a small hum.
“Good?” Bucky inquires.
“Very.” you reply with a small grin.
As you continue to sip at the soup, you can feel Bucky’s gaze wandering up and down your body. His fingers have been absentmindedly drawing patterns along your back and around your shoulders. It tickles a little but feels nice.
You drain the bowl fairly quickly, and with the last few drops, you lower the bowl to your lap and smack your lips happily, already starting to feel better. Bucky chuckles lightly behind you. You feel the mattress move a little as he pushes himself upright and scooches to the edge where you’re sitting. He takes the bowl gently from your hands, leans around you, and sets it on the nightstand before getting to his feet. Standing in front of you again, he cups your face with both hands and leans in for another kiss. You linger for a little while before Bucky pulls back and says with a smirk, “You taste like soup.”
You snicker a little and hook your fingers into the belt loops of his dark jeans and tug him closer. With his knees touching yours now, you wind your arms around his hips and hug his midsection. You inhale deeply and relish in his scent. He wraps his left arm around your shoulders, and with his right caresses your hair with slow, methodical movements. As you sit there soaking up each other’s presence, you notice the song that’s currently playing on his stereo. Smiling to yourself, you begin to hum the melody — you know this was one of Bucky’s favorite tunes back in the war. You feel Bucky begin to sway slightly with the slow rhythm of the song and he starts to hum along with you.
As the song fades into the next one, Bucky taps your shoulder lightly and you tilt your face up to look at him. With a small grin, he motions with one finger for you to follow him before turning and walking to the large bathroom. Wondering what he’s up to, you follow shortly behind him.
As you walk over the threshold into the bathroom, you hear the water start as he begins to fill the bathtub. He turns to a set of cupboards under the sink and rummages for a minute before pulling out a small bag of bath salts and setting it on the counter. Next he moves to another set of cupboards and emerges with a lighter and several small candles, which he sets in small bunches around the edge of the tub and lights them. Turning back to the counter, he grabs the bag of bath salt and pours a generous amount into the water. The room starts to fill with the calming scent of lavender as the tub slowly fills.
With that all set, Bucky turns to find you leaning against the door frame. He pads over to you and takes your hands in his metal one. He briefly leans around you to flick off the light switch, leaving the room to be lit only by the flickering candles. He leads you away from the wall and into the center of the bathroom. Slowly, he untucks your blouse from the waistline of your slacks and gently pulls it up over your head, then drops it in a heap on the floor. He then hooks two fingers in the waistline of your pants and slowly begins to inch them down off your hips and adds them to the pile with your blouse, leaving you standing there in only your undergarments. He slowly turns you to face away from him and you meet each other's gaze in the large mirror in front of you.
Bucky dips his head down and begins placing feather-light kisses along your shoulders as he lazily runs his hands along your hips and up your back, leaving a trail of goosebumps. He reaches the clasp of your bra and unhooks it. You pull the straps down your shoulders and drop your bra to the floor with your other clothes.
Bucky’s hands continue to glide up your back until he reaches the nape of your neck where he undoes the clip holding your hair and your long, silky locks cascade down your bare back. Turning you to face him again, Bucky reaches for the waistline of your panties, but your place your hands over his to halt his motions.
Tisking a couple of times, you smile up at him and whisper, “My turn.”
Bucky grins in return and removes his hands from your hips. You reach for the hem of his t-shirt and slowly pull it up and over his head, letting the fabric drop to the floor to join the rest of your clothes. You begin to run your hands slowly along his firm chest, up and over his shoulders, then trail your fingers down his strong arms to his hands, lacing your fingers in his. Letting go of his left hand, you place your palm over his chest above his heart. Leaning in, you plant a trail of kisses along his chest, slowly moving to the seam where his metal arm is attached to his shoulder. He shudders a little at the sensation of your lips traveling across his skin.
You know that he still very much despises the arm. You’ve told him time and time again that it doesn’t bother you and that you accept it as a part of who he is, but you know that he still has trouble believing that. As you place a final kiss along the marred flesh, you glance up into Bucky’s eyes and share a meaningful look. He knows that you trust him implicitly.
Untangling your fingers from his, you move both your hands to his hips. You unbutton his jeans and unzip the fly, then slowly pull the fabric down to reveal the waistband of his boxers, the jeans dropping to pool around Bucky’s ankles. He steps out of the legs of his pants and softly kicks them out of the way.
You glance over Bucky’s shoulder and notice that the tub is sufficiently full. Seeing you look behind him, Bucky reaches back to turn the water off; the sound of the water quietly lapping at the sides of the tub is the only noise in the room.
Bucky then strips the rest of the way down, tossing his boxers and socks onto the growing pile of clothes on the ground, and steps carefully into the tub. As he settles down into the steaming water, you remove your panties and cast them onto the pile as well. You climb into the tub and settle yourself in front of Bucky between his legs with your back resting on his chest. A small groan escapes your lips as the warm water cradles you.
Bucky asks if he can wash your hair for you, and you happily oblige. He begins to ladle water over your hair with his hands. As he wets your hair down, he asks you about your week. Plucking your shampoo bottle from the edge of the tub, he squirts a dollop onto his hand and begins to lather it into your hair, massaging your scalp as he goes. You close your eyes as the scent of lavender and coconut fill your nose and he continues to run his hands through your hair. You tell him about all the meetings that were cancelled, the server going down, and all the other small details from your nightmare week with Bucky throwing in little comments here and there. He rinses the shampoo, then begins with the conditioner, making sure each strand is coated. He continues to massage your head and temples, and you can practically feel the pain drain away as you continue talking.
As you begin to tell him about this morning, he rinses the conditioner out and tells you to sit up slightly as he pulls your hair over one shoulder. Sitting forward, you feel him begin to gently rub out the knots in your shoulders and neck. You continue on with your tale, recounting how you came to get the coffee stain on your favorite blouse and Bucky continues kneading your shoulders and back, slowly working his way down. By the time you’ve completed your story, Bucky has successfully worked out each and every knot he could find. You lean back against his chest, feeling like a wet noodle.
Bucky begins ladling handfuls of water over your chest and watches the water droplets roll down over the curves of your breasts.
“How are you feeling?” he asks quietly, continuing to cup the warm water over your front.
“Like I’m floating on a cloud,” you softly hum; you can feel yourself getting sleepier with each second that passes by. You feel Bucky chuckle lightly behind you. He begins softly dancing the fingers of his right hand up and down your thigh, slowly moving further between your legs.
“Is this ok?” he asks.
“Oh, that’s more than okay,” you grin lazily up at him and spread your legs slightly.
As his hand dances along your leg, he begins trailing small kisses along the side of your face, starting at your temple and working his way down, the kisses getting sloppier and sloppier the farther he goes. You lean your neck to the side and he finds the pulse point at the side of your throat. He sucks at the spot lightly, knowing that it’s a very sensitive spot for you, all the while slowly caressing his hand up and down your leg. You let out a small gasp and feel a jolt of electricity move down your spine when he nips your neck a little then smooths his tongue over it.
Twisting a little bit, you crane your neck around in search of his mouth. His lips find yours and he kisses you, hesitantly at first but he deepens the kiss after a few moments. Your mouth parts in a gasp when you feel his tongue working its way to yours, just as his hand finally reaches your center. Jolts of pleasure go racing through you as he begins to slowly rub circles around you. You feel his left hand slowly creep up to cup your left breast and give it a little squeeze. The contrast of cool metal with the warm water around you sends even more jolts to your core as his pace quickens.
You break the kiss to suck in a deep breath of air and his lips attack your neck again. You let out a moan of pleasure as he pushes a finger inside of you, then another one while continuing the rapid circling, then squeezes your breast again before playing with your nipple. Your hips start to buck a little and you dig your nails into his thighs as you start to feel the familiar little knot building down in your abdomen. He lets out a light hiss and a grunt at your nails digging into his legs, and begins panting a little in your ear as he quickens the pace between your legs.
Your heart is racing and your breath is coming fast as you let out another moan, the knot growing tighter and tighter in your abdomen. Bucky tweaks your nipple a little and nips at your neck again; that sends you racing over the edge as the knot releases in your abdomen and you see stars, Bucky’s name tumbling from your lips as pleasure rips through your body. Bucky slows his pace, your breathing returns to normal and your grip on Bucky’s leg releases as you come back to yourself.
Still reeling from the release, you can feel Bucky trailing small kisses back up your neck and along your jaw, before stilling with his lips next to your ear.
“And how about now? Feeling any better?” You feel a small smirk playing on his lips as his teeth graze your earlobe.
With a small shiver, you reply, “Infinitely better, my dear. Thank you.”
You both sit in the warm water, Bucky tracing absentminded patterns all along your exposed body, enjoying the steam and being near one another again. Feeling safe. Feeling comforted. You had nearly drifted to sleep again when Bucky whispers in your ear, “Let’s go to bed, hmm?” You feel the deep rumble in his chest behind you with that last syllable. After getting a nod and hum in agreement from you, Bucky gently turns you to the side, scoops you up in his arms and stands from the tub, water dripping off of both your naked bodies.
He carefully steps out of the tub and places you gently to sit on the lip, before grabbing a couple of soft and fluffy towels to dry you both off. After patting the last of the dampness from your skin and tossing the towels on top of your previously discarded clothing, he leans down to pull you into his strong arms once more, and makes his way out of the bathroom and over to the large bed.
He pulls the soft silken covers back and deposits you into the sheets, your head touching down on a fluffy pillow. Pulling the covers over you, you nuzzle into the warmth and Bucky makes his way around to the other side of the bed and easily slides in next to you. Turning to face him, you snuggle up next to his warm body and lay your head on his firm chest and tucked just below his chin. He tilts his head down to place a soft kiss on the crown of your still damp hair; you return it with a small kiss of your own on his abdomen, letting your nose nuzzle the warm skin there slightly. Bucky begins to softly hum the same tune from before, his voice rumbling low, thumb caressing your shoulder. Surrounded by warmth and his strong arms, you drift off into the best sleep you’ve had in weeks.