Chapter Text
Reader’s POV
After a leisurely walk on the beach with Bucky and Steve, talking about random things that got your attention; the three of you sit down on the sand and relax for a while watching the waves crash on the shore, enjoying the breeze blowing in the late afternoon.
Your eyes are closed as you let the breeze blow against your face, smiling at the feel of setting sun’s rays of light and the smell of the ocean; you finally open your eyes and look between Bucky and Steve.
“So, I wanted to talk to you both about something.” You say in a soft voice.
“Okay.” Bucky and Steve say in unison, with smiles on their faces.
“I know you both hear the conversation I had with Marge on the phone when Bucky handed me my phone in the gym.” You state in a neutral tone, Bucky and Steve look guilty and blush a little at your statement.
“Well, I have never seen a reason to doubt Marge’s requests for as long as I’ve known her and I’ve known her since she was born.” You say with a laugh, as you look over at the ocean waves before you continue to speak.
“So I would like to invite you both to come with me to meet Marge if you’re interested.” You say with a sweet smile.
Bucky immediately pipes up “Yeah, of course, I’ll go with you to visit Marge.”
You turn to look at Steve, he looks a little apprehensive; so you wait patiently for his response.
After a few minutes, you clear your throat and say “Steve, you don’t have to give me a decision right now. I’m leaving in three days, so take some time think about it.”
Steve looks at you sheepishly and blushes slightly as he looks down at the sand.
“I think the main concern for this punk over here (Y/N), is that he thinks that Marge has been putting voodoo spells on you.” Bucky states with a smirk on his face, shifting his eyes from your face to look at Steve.
You look in shock at Bucky and turn to look at Steve, to see if Bucky was telling the truth. Steve meets Bucky’s eyes with a glare “Damn jerk.”
Steve meets your gaze as his facial features soften “I’m sorry (Y/N).”
You smile at Steve before you answer him.
“Steve, you think she did voodoo magic on me?” you say, trying not to laugh.
“You told us about the spell that stops you from feeling any romantic feelings towards anyone.” Steve states as a matter of fact “That isn’t normal (Y/N), she could be doing strange things that could hurt you.”
You can’t help but chuckle a little before you comment on his concern for you.
“I know it’s strange to understand Steve, but it’s not evil voodoo magic. I’ve known Marge’s family for nearly two hundred years, and they have always had a close connection with the earth; they’re healers and yes they do spells, but the spells are only meant to help you, only if they deem it necessary.” You say with a gentle smile, placing your hand on Steve’s forearm to ease his worries.
“But it’s unnatural to deny yourself all your emotions; don’t you want to have control over yourself completely?” Steve asks, pressing the matter further.
You shake your head; clearly, you were going to have to explain your past a little more than you wanted to Bucky and Steve.
“Remember how, I told Logan and Remy that I had to leave them because if I stayed they would have died?” you ask Steve.
Steve nods his head and keeps looking at you.
“If I hadn’t asked Marge to put that spell on me, I wouldn’t have been able to stay away from Logan and Remy; I would have wanted to go back to them because I loved them.” You state in a monotone voice.
Steve is about to interrupt you when you hold up your hand.
“I know it sounds stupid and silly, but I can’t have a romantic relationship with them; because they will die. So the best thing to do was to ‘cut out my heart’ in a sense, so I could move in and they could live.” You say with a soft smile.
“But it’s wrong (Y/N).” Steve mutters in a timid voice, placing his hand over yours.
“Pal, I think you need to realise something; if (Y/N) had never left the X-men and gone to Marge, we would have never met her and she won’t have joined the Avengers.” Bucky says with a smile.
“That is very true Bucky.” You state with a smile and playful punch Bucky on the shoulder, as he pretends to be injured.
Looking over at Steve, you can see that the whole thing between you and Marge is churning in his head.
“Steve, it’s okay. Just think about and let me know if you don’t want to go; I’ll be okay with it.” You say with a Steve, as he seems to come back to the present “I’m leaving in three days, so for now let’s just enjoy each other’s company.”
Steve sighs and drops his head a little, ‘He looks so conflicted.’ You think to yourself.
“How about we grab a bite to eat?” Bucky pipes up with a smile, as Steve’s stomach growls.
You all look at each other and burst out laughing; clearly, the three of you were becoming more in tune with when one or the other was hungry.
“I’ll second that motion.” You chime in, trying to control your laughter.
Steve gently shoves you into Bucky; which in turn has you and Bucky jumping on top of Steve tickling him mercilessly as he tries to get you both off and catch his breath.
After a few more minutes, you and Bucky decide that Steve’s had enough punishment. Everyone gets up and dusts off their clothes before heading over to a little local diner on the pier.
The places was a little gem in the rough, with amazing food and a view that got most of your attention; amid the casual chatting about the team, the three of you finish eating and make your way back to the car.
Bucky opts to drive back to the compound, with you calling shout gun, leaving Steve to sit in the back seat. The drive is mostly quiet with the music playing on the car interface, which had you singing along and Steve and Bucky looking at you every few minutes with broad smiles on their faces.
Once you were back at the compound, the three of you made your way to the kitchen to hang out before heading to your respective apartments.
“So how long are we going for?” Bucky asks in a curious tone.
You see Steve out of the corner of your eye, looking at both of you before he looks away to pour himself a cup of coffee.
“I usually spend about a month with Marge.” You reply with a smile, spending time with Marge was amazing; Marge lived in a house in the middle of nowhere, completely surrounded by nature and a beautiful waterfall about two kilometres away.
“So what do you do for a whole month?” Bucky asks, with increasing interest.
“Well, I help Marge gather items that she needs for her homemade medicines for the community.” You say with a smile.
“That sounds like fun, kind of like the old days when woman gathered and men hunted.” Bucky says with a mischievous smirk.
You can’t help but laugh at Bucky’s comment, this man seemed to enjoy making you laugh every chance he got.
“Something like that.” You say with a chuckle.
Steve is about to join your conversation with Bucky; when Tony, Bruce, Nat and Clint walked into the kitchen.
“Hey (Y/N), you finally home.” Nat says with a smile and walks over to give you a hug, which you return.
“Where have you three been the whole day?” Tony asks in an amused voice, wiggling his eyebrows at you.
‘Really Tony...’ you ponder to yourself, feeling a little exhausted with Tony’s constant suggestive remarks, ‘Fine you wanna play this game, we’ll play it.’ You think to yourself.
“I’ve been having copious amounts of unprotected sex with Steve and Bucky, on every possible surface and location we could think of.” You say with a sinister smile on your face.
You hear Steve cough into his mug of coffee.
Tony’s face goes pale and shock riddles his facial features “What?!” Tony practically shouts.
Bucky has seemed to have caught onto your little prank and steps closer to you and places his metal arm around your waist and pulls you into his chest; which makes you smile up at Bucky as Tony looks on in utter astonishment.
“I can’t believe it… How could have I been so off on my bet?” Tony mutters under his breath.
That seems to catch your attention “What bet?” you ask with intrigue, as you meet Tony’s gaze.
Steve moves in closer to you and Bucky “(Y/N) do you really want them to believe we’re sleeping together?” Steve whispers in your ears.
You grab Steve’s shirt and pull him in closer to you “Steve, I think it’s about time that Tony learns a little lesson.” You whisper back in his ear, making it look like you were whispering sweet nothings into his ear as the team looked on.
Steve gives you a little nod and gently places his arm around your shoulder since Bucky was quite content with holding onto (Y/N)’s waist.
“Oh... Um, nothing.” Tony stammers, as he quickly moves over to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup.
“You and the team bet on how long it would take for me to have sex with Bucky and/ or Steve?” you ask in an astonished voice.
“Actually (Y/N), it was not the whole team that chose to participate in the aforementioned bet.” Vision states as he phases through the kitchen wall with Wanda in his arms.
“Specifically it was Clint, Sam, Thor, Loki, Tony and I; who are taking part in the bet.” Nat says with a smirk, but before you can answer her, Nat continues “And the bet is still going because I know that you aren’t sleeping with Steve or Bucky... Yet.”
You can’t help but laugh at Nat’s last comment; she always could read you better than most people could.
You turn to look at Bucky who is still smiling mischievously and Steve who looks like he wants nothing more than to throw himself into a hole in the floor.
“Oh thank God, because I don’t want to be the loser of this bet.” Tony sighs in relief, sipping his coffee with complete satisfaction.
“Thanks, Tony, I’m so glad that my lack of a sex life has you so relaxed and confident.” You say in a sarcastic tone, which seems to ignite a yawn out of you.
“Well, that’s our cue to let you get some rest.” Nat says with a gentle smile on her face, as she moves towards the fridge with Bruce.
“I think you’re right Nat.” You say as another yawn makes itself know; you place your hand in front of your mouth.
“I’ll walk you to your apartment.” Steve says with a smile.
“Thank...*yawn*... you *yawn*” you manage to get out.
Bucky gently removes his hand from you and whispers “Good night (Y/N), sleep tight.”
You respond by hugging Bucky close before you let go of him.
The team say their goodnights, as you and Steve leave the kitchen and head towards the elevator.
“You gonna be okay tonight?” Steve asks you in a hushed tone.
You look up at him, as the elevator doors open “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
Steve gives you a little nod and enters the elevator with you, not a word is said as the elevator eventually stops on your floor and the doors.
Both of you make it to your apartment and you let Steve inside, he moves over to the kitchen next to the lounge, as you make your way into the bedroom.
You walk up to your chest of drawers and pull out an old pink T-shirt and black boy leg panties, before heading to the bathroom to brush your teeth and change your clothes.
Once you head back into your bedroom, Steve walks in with a cup of water for you; upon seeing you in your sleeping attire Steve blushes like a ripe tomato; quickly placing the cup on your bedside table.
“Um, I’m really sorry for just barging into your room (Y/N).” Steve mumbles as he keeps his eyes on the floor.
You smile at Steve’s ever-present gentleman ways, as you climb under the covers of the bed; lying down and wiggling into a comfortable position.
“It’s okay Steve, you’ve seen less on me than this.” You say with a laugh when you remember one of your missions; that had resulted in your tactical suit being cut off of your body, leaving you in just your bra and panties.
Steve’s blush deepens a little “Do you need anything else?” Steve asks in a soft voice.
‘I really don’t want to fall asleep alone.’ You think to yourself ‘Should I ask him to stay?’ you question yourself internally.
“I’ll get going, so you can rest.” Steve asks as he turns to leave.
“Steve, no wait please.” You blurt out.
Steve turns to look at you with concern in his eyes.
“Please...” you swallow down the doubt in yourself “Please stay with me... Just until I’m asleep...” you ask in a timid voice.
Steve seems to be pondering your request, and after a few moments he moves over to the empty side of your bed and takes a seat before he removes his shoes and lies down on the bed.
You look on as he turns onto his side and meets your eyes, which makes you smile.
“Thank you, Steve.” You say as you shuffle closer to him on the bed.
Steve wraps his arms around you and pulls you as close as possible to his chest.
Not a word is spoken, as you feel sleep begin to take over your body and mind; the rhythmic beat of Steve’s heart lulling you into a comfort and safe place.
------------
Steve’s POV
You feel (Y/N)’s body relax against you, as she fell asleep in your arms; how many times had you imagined this moment.
‘Stop trying to find something, that isn’t there.’ You berate yourself.
You feel (Y/N)’s breathing even out over the next couple of minutes, focusing on her heartbeat; as your body relaxes with (Y/N) in your arms.
Looking around the room, you see the two stuffed animals that you and Bucky had won for (Y/N) at the Carnival; which brings a smile to your face, as you see all the changes that have taken place over the past few months and you allow yourself to drift a little ‘A nap would be nice.’ You think to yourself.
You’re not sure when sleep overtook you, but you’re brought out of your slumber by thrashing next to you.
Opening your eyes, you see (Y/N) thrashing under the covers of her bed; tears streaming down her face and you panic.
“(Y/N)?!” You say, gently shaking her.
(Y/N)’s hiccups as she mumbles in her sleep “Please… No, I’ll do anything… Not them please…”
“(Y/N) please wake up.” You say a bit louder, hoping to bring her back from the nightmare.
As you rub your hands along her arms, you hear the bracelets give off a beeping noise; and look on in horror.
“FRIDAY, keep track on the levels of (Y/N)’s powers and if the bracelet can handle the output.” You say in a stern voice.
“Of course, Captain Rogers.” FRIDAY replies to your request.
Looking at (Y/N) thrashing around makes you feel a bit helpless, but you pull yourself together and draw the covers back; gently lifting (Y/N)’s upper body against your chest, hoping the warmth would comfort her.
But (Y/N)’s hands and legs won’t be calmed, so you make the difficult decision to restrain her with your own body instead.
Laying on your side, you secure your arms around her upper body; ensuring that her arms are kept by her sides.
Next, you shift your pelvis and place your leg over both of (Y/N)’s, pinning her to the bed so she doesn’t hurt herself.
(Y/N) continues to cry uncontrollably, her body wiggling around as you continue to restrain her.
“It’s okay (Y/N), I’m here.” You whisper in her ear “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
You find yourself whispering reassurances over and over again as the minutes tick by, and you begin to worry that (Y/N) won’t come out of the nightmare; but as you’re about to ask FRIDAY to get Bruce in here with a sedative, (Y/N) slowly starts to calm down.
Once the crying becomes more of a whimper, you gently loosen your grip on her; rubbing your hands up and down her back and arms.
“I’ve got you (Y/N), it’s going to be okay.” You whisper, more to yourself at this point.
You hear a knock on the bedroom door “Com in.” you say in a soft tone.
The door opens and Bucky walks in, concern etched on his face.
“Steve, what’s going on?” Bucky whispers to you, as he makes his way over to you and (Y/N).
“Nightmare…” you say “She’s just started to settle.”
Bucky looks from you to (Y/N) and you can see the worry grow on his face; as he takes a seat on the bed facing you.
Just as Bucky is about to speak; (Y/N) coughs and starts to wake from her nightmare.
Bucky grabs the glass of water from the bedside table and hands it to you, as (Y/N) sits up in bed.
“Here (Y/N), sip some water.” You say, bringing the glass to (Y/N)’s lips.
(Y/N) opens her eyes and looks between you and Bucky, as she takes a sip of water from the glass. Once she’s had enough, you move the glass away from her mouth and hand it back to Bucky, who returns it to the bedside table.
“You okay?” you ask (Y/N) in concern.
“I will be…” (Y/N) replies in a distant voice, as she rubs her eyelids before shuffling down in the bed.
“Do you want us to stay with you?” Bucky asks in a worried tone.
(Y/N) seems to think on the offer that Bucky is making, you almost think she’s going to say no; when she finally speaks.
“Um… Yeah… Please…” (Y/N) says in a timid voice.
Your heart wants to break at hearing how broken (Y/N) sounds, you meet (Y/N)’s gaze and give her a small nod before you lie down on the bed on your back with your hands behind your head.
Bucky seems to meet your gaze, as (Y/N) wiggles closer to you and onto her side, placing her arm across your chest and her leg over yours.
You watch as Bucky doesn’t get too close as he lies down on the other side of (Y/N).
A few moments go by, and (Y/N) lifts her head and turns to look at Bucky; without so much a remake or comment (Y/N) grabs hold of Bucky’s hand and pulls him closer to herself, placing Bucky’s arm around her waist.
Bucky shifts a little to get comfortable and moves his leg over (Y/N)’s leg that is straight next to your leg.
You and Bucky, lay quietly on either side of (Y/N) as she slowly drifts back to sleep; once (Y/N)’s breathing had evened out, you meet Bucky’s gaze and give him a smile.
“So this is what you were up to while I was training?” Bucky whispers in a teasing voice.
“Yeah, I got to be a step ahead of you.” You jokingly state with a chuckle.
Bucky shakes his head at your comment before he shifts his gaze to (Y/N)’s sleeping form.
“You know, you could have called me…” Bucky says in a low voice.
“I’m sorry Buck, it happened so suddenly and I panicked.” You say somewhat embarrassed.
“It’s okay pal, really.” Bucky says with a smile.
You watch in amusement as Bucky nuzzles his face between (Y/N)’s shoulder and neck and falls asleep.
‘That’s going to be difficult to explain.’ You think with a laugh.
Watching over Bucky and (Y/N) for a while, as you eventually let your eyes droop closed and allow sleep with welcome you with open arms.
----------
Three Days Later
Bucky’s POV
“Come on guys.” (Y/N) yells from the elevator, as you and Steve make your way to the elevator with your duffle bags.
“Someone’s excited to get out of the compound.” You say with a chuckle.
“Well (Y/N) is driving most of the way, so maybe you should be a little nicer.” Steve says in a chiding tone.
“You gonna mother hen me punk?” you say with a smirk.
“Steve’s not trying to mother hen you Bucky.” (Y/N) says with an evil smile “He’s protecting you from what I’ll do to you if you keep wasting time.”
You can’t help but laugh as you enter the elevator with Steve and turn to see the doors close.
As the elevator makes its way to the garage, you can’t help but look impressed that (Y/N) only has one duffle bag and a backpack.
“Well, clearly we’re the girls on this trip, Stevie.” You says with a chuckle, as you meet (Y/N)’s gaze.
“Or maybe I just know how to pack better than you both do.” (Y/N) pipes up with a smirk.
“I love it when you’ve got an attitude.” You say with a broad smirk.
That seemed to get (Y/N) to laugh and Steve to shake his head at the situation.
The elevator doors open on the garage level; the three of you grab your luggage and get out of the elevator, to find the whole team near a black Toyota double cab truck, with four-wheel drive.
The team look at the three of you with smiles on their faces.
“What are you guys up too?” (Y/N) asks with a quirked eyebrow.
“Nothing actually.” Tony states in a nonchalant tone “Just thought I’d let you take this bad boy for a run.” As he throws the keys to the truck at you; which you catch in your free hand with ease.
“So you finished playing with it?” (Y/N) asks in a curious tone.
“Well I knew you’d need it for the trip, so yeah I pulled an all-nighter.” Tony said in a confident tone, giving (Y/N) his signature smile.
(Y/N) drops her duffle bag and pulls Tony into a hug, which catches Tony off guard and makes him laugh.
“Now that’s appreciation for ya.” Tony says with a chuckle.
You can’t help but roll your eyes at Tony’s comment, ever since the party; Tony seemed hell-bent on making you feel jealous, but like the mature adult that you were, you didn’t rise to the occasion.
Nope not once ‘That’s a lie.’ Your mind tells you and you heave out a sigh.
“Ah Bucky, what’s the matter; do public displays of affection bother you?” Sam says in a patronizing tone.
“Nope, looking at your sorry mug does though.” You say with a wicked smirk.
“Oh, that was cold.” Clint pipes up with a laugh.
Steve moves forward and picks up (Y/N)’s duffle, and walks to the back of the truck, pulling the waterproof cover open and places his and (Y/N)’s bag into the back of the truck.
You make your way over and place your bags in before you pull the cover back into place.
The whole team take turns hugging the three of you and wishing you a safe trip, though Sam’s goodbye seemed a bit insincere.
“Have a good trip; at least you won’t irritate anyone asking them to pull their seat forward.” Sam stated with a wide smirk on his face.
You try to punch him, but Sam moves out of the way for Nat to give you a hug; you look at Nat with quirked eyebrows as she pulls you into a hug.
“Look after her Bucky, if anything happens to her; I’ll personally kill you.” Nat whispers and pulls out of the hug and give you a big and sinister smile before heading over to Bruce.
Once all the goodbyes are said; the three of you getting into the truck, (Y/N) taking the driver’s seat and putting her phone into the console built-in the dashboard.
Tony jumps up onto the driver’s side door and pokes his head through the open window “Don’t forget to try out the features.” Tony says to (Y/N) with a smirk on his face.
“Will do kiddo.” (Y/N) says with a broad smile on her face.
‘What are these two up too?’ you ponder to yourself.
Tony jumps down and (Y/N) pulls out of the garage and heads out of the compound.
Looking at the interior of the truck, you notice a broad box behind the driver’s seat and move to open it out of curiosity.
What you find has you opening your mouth in surprise and excitement; the box is filled with all the snacks and drinks that the three of you love.
“Don’t even think about it Bucky.” (Y/N) states in a stern voice and you look up to see her looking at the rearview mirror to watch you.
You smile and close the box before Steve can see what’s inside.
“What was Bucky thinking about?” Steve asks as he looks up at you as puts his phone back in his jeans pocket.
“Nothing at all punk.” You teasingly say to Steve, as you move forward and ruffle his hair.
“Oh, I can see this trip is going to be fun.” (Y/N) says with a chuckle, as a small tussle starts between you and Steve.
You can’t help but laugh, as (Y/N) inputs the navigation coordinates and allows FRIDAY to take over driving, as she sets up the music playlist for the three of you to enjoy.
The three of you connect your phones to the console and select all the songs that get some sort of a reaction, so the first half of the ride is filled with three voices singing along with the music, making pit stops to take photo’s for a scrapbook that Steve wants to start and to take a little break from the confines of the truck.
Once you were all ready to leave, it was back onto the road for the rest of the journey; with Steve taking the backseat this time while you sat up front with (Y/N).
You notice a motorcycle at a distance behind the truck and you narrow your eyes ‘That doesn’t seem right.’ You think to yourself, but before you can make any further investigations; the bike speeds up and overtakes you.
The motorist doesn’t even pay the truck any attention and you feel yourself relax once the bike is completely out of sight.
‘You’re getting paranoid.’ You think to yourself, 'But how often had you been wrong with the feeling you get in your gut?'