Comfort (B.B)
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x female!Reader.
Summary: In which the reader indulges in a comfort food late at night.
Warnings: swearing, mild descriptions of gore and violence. Spoilers for Endgame + Infinity War. Lots of fluff.
As humans, we fear change. Change interferes the normality of our lives. As humans we’ve come to rely on the order of life, it puts us into a place of security. Chaos only interrupts our security; with security comes the feeling of comfort and peace. But chaos brings no order. Instead, it’s changes the way we accept and come to terms with the new life ahead of us. It induces us with a feeling of being at a loss of control over the situation at hand.
That is why the world had leaders.
Leaders lead the way. Often times leaders are symbols of freedom, courage and sacrifice. Examples would be Steve Rodgers himself. The symbol of leadership in America. But he’s gone now, a figure of the past. A distant icon; however, he’s not forgotten. Remains of the battle of Earth lay memorialized. Such as Thanos’ gauntlet and the bloodshed. But most of it was dedicated towards Tony.
If he could see me now. You’d think.
Leaning over a stove top at three o’clock in the morning, cooking Mac n’ cheese. He wouldn’t be the proudest man in the world. But he’d understand. Maybe? Just maybe he would.
Maybe it was the way your mum used to make the creamy meal when you had a bad day. Or maybe it was the way she’d kiss your temple; muttering apologizes when a date went south. But no matter what you said to cover up why you loved the food, it was a connection to the past you missed deeply. A connection you mourned silently.
“Fuck” a soft breath escaped your very chapped lips.
“Language” Steve would say. But he’s not here anymore.
Chaos, that’s all you could ever describe in one word. Put it into all the reconstruction of New York and the overwhelming amount of change that came with the atmosphere of New York, people weren’t at ease. Even though Sam had addressed the concerns of a new Captain America and if new threats were to enter into Earth’s atmosphere, people still weren’t happy. It had all taken a toll on everyone. Including you.
“What smells so good?” A husky voice shook you from your thoughts. Turning, you saw the newest resident to the Avengers facility.
Well, let’s be clear, he made it clear he wasn’t planning on a permanent stay. You had understood. Sam had convinced the super soldier that it was a step up from his apartment in Bucharest. (Which was obvious to anyone but Bucky) Sam convinced him to do a lot of things lately. Coming to Tony’s funeral was tricky to do for Bucky. Especially with his doubts on wether the man of the hour would want him there. Hence why, he hadn’t wore a tuxedo at the funeral.
“Mac n cheese?” He questioned.
At first, you had pondered for a quick second why he was so interested. But as you did, as if on que, he got off the stool he was sitting on and went to the fridge. But in the end, you nodded.
Instinctively, as he strolled to the fridge, your eyes caught the untied loose strings in his sweatpants. How they dangled just short of his thighs. How they swayed with his hips, your eyes found themselves flying upwards onto his tight sleeveless tank. Too tight from the looks of it. A messy stock bun to pull off his sleep attire.
“What?” His eyes found yours
“What- I- nothing.” You coyly avoided his gaze.
What have I done. I said that aloud? Why!
“Do- would you like some?” A croak came from your foul lips. He raised an eyebrow but shrugged. “Sure”
You and him hadn’t really talked much since he moved in. You’d find him down in the gym, outside doing laps around the facility, or just watching tv in the common room. Even so, he was reserved. Never said much and only spoke when talked to. Sam was the closest to Bucky. You had heard what HYDRA did to him in the past, and what he’d done. But you always wanted to hear it from him. You weren’t one to judge based on the outside of a person. Rather, only on the inside of people. Reporters often harassed him, fans wrote about him in rather disturbing sexual detail. Privacy in the public wasn’t something Bucky was given, rather it was taken away from him in the most brutal way. But in the Avengers “tower” it was given back to him in a way. The reporters outside of the gates wouldn’t let up, and his fans wouldn’t give up hope on getting a relationship with him. But it was what it... was. What could you do about it?
Two scoops of macaroni and cheese later, you’d found an easy conversation with him. You were surprised he had even stayed to talk with you. Every so often you’d find his enchanting blue eyes roaming your body. It wasn’t in the suggestive way you felt men in clubs or bars would. Was he was deciding wether he was to trust you? Or to pull out a pistol and shoot you point blank in the head?
You decided on if he was wondering if her were to trust you or not. The second option was more grisly. Besides you didn’t feel like loosing your appetite anyways.
“How’d you make this?” you looked over at him, swallowing another bite of the creamy goodness.
“Family recipe. If you want, I could teach you” it was more of a statement that you said. Something you would’ve used back then to tell your mother to get her off your back.
“Really?” His voice cracked. Maybe because of the late night drowsiness?
He smiled. A smile that spread throughout his face. A type of smile that made your stomach flip with happiness. Even if it was the ass crack of dawn, you were glad to be awake.
So you decided to make it your mission to make Bucky smile more often. Even if it meant being awake at three in the morning.
