Bikini
Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader
Summary: Y/n hasn’t worn a bikini in a long time and it brings up some insecurities, but Bucky makes sure to remind his girl how beautiful she is. (A surprise at the end!)
Warnings: none i think! I didn’t specify the body type or insecurities, only the scars bc its part of her character as an avenger :)
A/N: I’m sorry I know it seems like all I write is Hurt/Comfort 😭 it’s very self indulgent of me. Pls request one shots in my inbox if you’d like! <3 as always, happy reading and feedback is greatly appreciated.
Y/n looked at herself in the mirror with furrowed brows. She’s wearing a bikini for the first time in a while, in fact she couldn’t remember the last time she wore one.
Y/n was well aware, perhaps too much, of how different her body was to the other women in the team like Nat or Wanda. While the differences could be small and unimportant to others, they made Y/n terribly self conscious. She accepted her fate a long time ago, saving the world numerous times would surely cost her some scars here and there, and she couldn’t help the way her body presented itself, she couldn’t change genetics. Still, that small, sinister voice in the back of her head, reminded her how different she was and it was adamant on convincing her what a bad thing it was.
“Y/n! Honey are you ready? We’re leaving for the beach in like 10 minutes! Tony’s getting impatient” Bucky called her from outside the door. Just as tears had started to gather in he waterline, Bucky entered the bathroom and startled her slightly, breaking her out of her self deprecating inner monologue.
“Sweetheart, whats wrong?” He noticed the redness in her eyes and the sadness in her features almost immediately.
She sniffled and pushed the knot in her throat back down.
“Uh” she realized there was no point in lying and saying she’s fine, Bucky always saw right through her “first time wearing a bikini in a long time” she looked at the floor, her own reflection and Bucky’s gaze feeling hot on her skin.
“Oh, Baby” he walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, and rubbed her arms up and down comfortingly “and you look fucking amazing. I’m the luckiest man alive” under any other circumstances, she would’ve thought he was teasing her, but the conviction in his voice was unmistakable and it made the knot in her throat arise once again.
“I just don’t get it, Buck” Y/n looked him straight in the eyes and her voice wavered.
“What don’t you get, sweets?” He asked, concern heavy on his tongue. She gulped and looked away “Hm?” He cupped her cheek and caressed it with his thumb.
“Why you chose me” your voice trembled horribly “I don’t look like the other girls, Bucky. I don’t understand why you would chose me when you could have any girl in the world. One that doesn’t look like me o-or has scars like mine-“
“Y/n,” he interrupted her, sternly “I want you to listen to me.” His own voice failed him, her words felt like a dagger to his chest “I don’t want anyone else. I want you.” He moved her face so she would look at him. Tears started to run down her cheeks “You’re beautiful. The most beautiful woman in the world” she almost laughed and shook her head “and I’m gonna spend the rest of my life telling you until you believe it. These scars? They just remind me of how strong you are. The strongest person I’ve ever met.” He sniffled and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear “I love you and I love your soul and every single little thing about you. Your body is perfect because it’s yours.”
A wave of emotion rushed over her and she hugged him in a tight embrace “I love you so much” the way her shoulders shook slightly with her mellow cries broke Bucky’s heart and shattered it into dust.
“I love you more” he kissed the top of her head and tightened his arms around her “you’re the only one I want. And I want you wholeheartedly. I’ve never had a shadow of a doubt of my love for you. Know that, always”
Bucky had rendered Y/n speechless, so instead of saying anything, she gave him a kiss that spoke a thousand words.
After breaking away from their kiss, he kissed her nose adoringly and it made her smile, making Bucky’s heart skip a beat.
Bucky, Y/n, and the rest of the team were now at the beach. Tony was tanning while others were playing beach volley ball or having a beer by the little kiosk that was rented.
“Wanna go swim a little?” Bucky asked Y/n. They were sitting next to each other on the chairs under the shade, Holding hands and enjoying comfortable silence.
“Yeah” she nodded and answered after thinking it over for a few seconds.
She was still wearing one of Bucky’s shirts and he noticed her hands started to tremble as she reached for the hem to take it off.
“You don’t have to take it off if you’re not ready,” he told her quietly, placing his hand on her hip.
She shook her head, convinced she could do this. I should be able to enjoy my day at the beach, god damn it!, she thought, to hell with insecurities
She took it off quickly and smiled, seemingly proud at herself. Bucky’s heart also leapt with pride. “Let’s go before I regret this” she said through a nervous laugh.
She started walking towards the beach and Bucky crept up behind her, picking Y/n up and throwing her over his shoulder.
“Bucky!” She squealed and giggled loudly. Bucky thought the sound of her laughter could have him smiling like a teenager in love for days.
He walked quickly and set her down once they had reached the shore, your hands on each of his shoulders “Did I tell you,” his voice dropped and she felt her heartbeat quicken “how absolutely fucking delicious you look in this?” He hooked his finger on the fabric of the bikini bottoms that covered her hipbone, pulling her closer to him. She merely gulped and shook her head, eyes wide like saucers. “Well, you do” he kissed her shoulder, and trailer several quick kisses along her neck until he reached the back of her ear “but I think it would look better on my bedroom floor, don’tcha think?”
She gasped and her cheeks warmed “Bucky!” She yelled in a whisper “we’re in public you can’t just say stuff like that! You’re gonna make me crumble and pass out” she scolded him, flustered and he threw his head back in laughter.
“Sorry, doll” he was definitely not sorry “I can’t help myself”
“Come on” she rolled her eyes playfully and started walking into the water “before you make me melt”
Once they were both in the water, she hooked her legs around Bucky’s legs and her arms around his neck, partially floating but still held in his arms. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Buck” the sound of her voice and the soft ripple of the waves provoked a serenity inside Bucky’s chest that he doesn’t remember feeling in a long time.
“You’d do just fine, Honey” he replied.
“No” she nudged her nose against his and kissed him softly “no I don’t think so.” She traced his features tenderly with her index finger, with an eagerness to admire and memorize every inch of his face “you make me inexplicably happy. So much so, that every time I look at you I feel as though the wind has been knocked off my chest” she said earnestly
“You’d make a wonderful poet” he says, almost as if thinking out loud “the way you manage to put your feelings into words, it’s lovely, really”
“You do that to me” you shrug “ I wasn’t such a hopeless romantic until you came along, you know?”
“I’ve been known to have that effect on people” he says with feigned and clearly sarcastic confidence.
She laughed and her eyes crinkled adorably, Bucky wished he could’ve taken a picture of how cute Y/n looked in that moment, hair slicked back, wet and messy, and glowy sun-kissed skin. “Yeah you can joke about that all you want but I know the stories” she said defiantly, the smile evident in her voice “James Buchanan Barnes, 1940’s known lady killer and playboy” she announced as if she were reading a headline.
He rolled his eyes, blushing “has Steve been running his mouth again?”
“Perhaps” she teased. She laid her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the salt water air, the warm beams of sunshine posed upon her skin, Bucky’s flesh (and metal) wrapped around her like a blanket of love and care.
With her flush against his chest, Bucky realized he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life with anyone if it wasn’t Y/n. He didn’t want to see another sunset if it wasn’t with her, he didn’t want to hear another song if not sung by her voice, he didn’t want to grow old if it wasn’t by her side. He wanted her to be his one and only until his dying days.
The both of them stayed like that for a while, before Bucky broke the silence “Marry me.”
His proposal makes Y/n lift her head off his shoulder and look at him with her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.
“What?” She asked, bewildered.
“Marry me” he repeated himself.
“You want to marry me?” She asked, unable to shake off the shock
“Of course I do” he said, almost offended that she would question it.
“Are you sure?” She couldn’t believe it.
Bucky laughed “Yeah, Sweetheart. Never been more sure of anything in my entire life.” He held her face in his hands, her feet now touching the sand “I wanna spend the rest of my life with you” he kissed her cheek “wanna fight the bad guys with you, side by side” he kissed her other cheek “get a nice country house, like the ones you like” he kissed her nose “put a baby or two in you” he smiled wider and her breath hitched.
“Yes, god, yes!” She said a little to loudly and her eyes filled with tears of pure joy. She smacked his lips against his in a messy yet passionate kiss “Fuck, Bucky of course I wanna marry you” she held his face in her hands now and sniffled. Bucky was smiling so big his cheeks hurt “I love you, James” she kissed him quickly again.
“I love you, future Mrs. Barnes” Her heart did about a hundred flips in her chest. “Shit,” realization struck him “I can’t wait to call you my wife”
She giggled and he kissed her softly and slowly “my wife…” he rested his forehead against hers “my husband” she said gingerly as she rubbed the back his neck.
“Fuck me, say that again I’m close” he said.
Y/n laughed out loud and Bucky’s stomach filled with butterflies at the sight of her almost crying with laughter. He’s sure every time he makes her laugh, another year is added to his lifetime.
She pecked his cheek quickly and sweetly “when we get the house we should get a cat”
“Definitely” he couldn’t stop smiling.
“Hey Barnes!” Sam appeared by the shore “You gonna come help me beat Steve at volleyball or are you too busy sucking up to your girlfriend?!”
Bucky couldn’t find it in him to be annoyed at Sam’s teasing “it’s Fiancé!” He corrected loudly, a ridiculously big smile still plastered on his and Y/n’s face.
