Work Text:
Warnings: swearing, angst with a happy ending
Y/N woke up early to go to the gym and keep up on the training Bucky insisted she start. Even though he had been gone on a mission for 2 months she had promised to stick with it. As she dressed in her tank top she noticed the red scaly patches on her neck and back. Upon further inspection it started on the crown of her head and was spreading. She had seen it starting a couple of days ago but ignored it, hoping it would calm itself but no such luck.
She shook her head and swore "Damnit, not this mess again. FRIDAY? Can you see if Helen Cho has any time to see me today?"
"Of course, Miss Y/N." After a moment she spoke again "Dr Cho can see you at 12:30. Is that alright for you?"
"Yea, FRIDAY. Thank you."
"Of course, Miss Y/N."
Y\N sighed in frustration at her condition, traded the tank top for long sleeves and her shorts for yoga pants, then put on a headband to cover her hairline. Satisfied that most of the plaques were out of sight she went to meet Nat.
When she opened the door to the gym she saw Natasha leaned up against a wall while Clint worked on the weights. When she saw Y/N enter she waved and started walking over to greet her.
Nat furrowed her brow before she spoke "What's with the long sleeves? I didn't bruise you up too much yesterday, did I?
Y/N chuckled "No, it wasn't you. The crunge is back."
Nat looked concerned "Oh no! Maybe the stress of missing your boy toy? Have you even heard from him?"
Y/N shook her head "No. They're on a total comms blackout. Nothing in or out but I'm sure we would have heard if something horrible happened." She smiled sadly "I just miss him. My bed is cold and I'm not sleeping well."
Nat put an arm around her shoulder "I know but he'll be back. How about a 3 martini lunch to distract you?"
Clint looked up "I'm down for a liquid lunch"
Y/N laughed "I have an appointment with Helen at 12:30 so it'll have to be a late lunch but sure as long as you order in. No one wants to see this mess." She pointed at herself.
Nat shook her head "I don't want to hear that talk. It's not like you have any control over it."
Y/N sighed "that doesn't matter. People see my skin and treat me like a leper. I'm not up for being a public service announcement for psoriasis."
"Alright kid. We'll meet in Tony's lounge at 2:00. That should give you plenty of time with Helen." Clint hugged her.
Nat pipes in "I'll tell Betty(Y/N's boss) I need you for the afternoon.'
After the gym, Y/N went to the common room kitchen to find something for breakfast. She settled on a couple of hard boiled eggs, a banana and some orange juice.
Then a long shower, not too hot so her skin isn't irritated, moisturizing her scalp and dressing in a pair of slacks and long sleeved blouse. It took a few minutes to style her hair to cover the rash to her satisfaction.
She went to work in the PR department on the other side of the compound. She was the only ops employee who had quarters near the Avengers, being friends with Tony and Nat was definitely helpful. Dating Bucky was her bonus for living next to the team.
Her boss, Betty, greeted her with a grim smile "Agent Romanoff has requested your help this afternoon so she will meet you in the Avengers common room after your lunch at 2." She looked Y/N up and down "It is convenient how the Avengers always need your help and never any other employees."
Betty was a control freak and didn't like how Y/N was assigned to her but always pulled away by the team. She wouldn't dare complain but it did rub her the wrong way.
Y/N smiled "We've built up a rapport since I'm over there all the time with Sargent Barnes."
Betty sneered "I cant imagine what anyone would see in-"
Y/N snapped "Don't tax yourself trying, some people can only see in one dimension so I'm sure it's beyond your abilities"
Betty scoffed "You might be their pet right now but they'll get bored, he'll get bored if he doesn't kill you first, and you'll be stuck with me"
"Yeah, sure Betty. Why don't you let me get some work done while I'm here." Y/N smiled and went to her office.
She spent 3 hours working on her paperwork and projects before her phone went off to remind her of her appointment. She cleaned up her desk and waved goodbye to Betty who shot her a dirty look.
Y/N went to the medical wing and saw Helen. This wasn't a new problem so Helen gave her a refill on her meds and a new moisturizing steroid cream with vitamin d. Y/N was grateful for Starks medical coverage since most insurance wouldn't cover such a new medicine.
After scheduling an appointment for 2 weeks to see how she was responding to the new meds Y/N went to her apartment to change into something more comfortable. She picked a long sleeve maxi dress and sandals.
When she arrived at Tony's lounge she saw Nat had already started drinking and Clint came in right after her with the food. They sat in the comfy leather chairs eating tacos and drinking margaritas until dinnertime when they decided to watch a movie. They were all half drunk and argued over what to watch but Y/N and Nat ganged up on Clint and they ended up watching Heathers.
Clint passed out before the movie ended so drunk Nat and Y/N made his face up and put ribbons all over his hair then left him there, giggling as they tip-toed away.
Y/N was a little unsteady so decided to go to her room and sleep it off. She tried to explain that to Nat but it came out sounding like gibberish in between her laughter. Nat decided to follow her to make sure she made it ok and they both ended up passed out in Y/N's room.
Over the next 2 weeks she took good care of her skin but the rash wouldn't back down. The meds kept it from growing but didn't help much beyond that.
It was Friday nite and Y/N was on the roof hitting a joint and tequila shots with Nat. "Where is Clint anyhow?"
Nat scoffed "Some shit about seeing his family. Lame."
After they finished the joint they each had a brownie and slowly made their way back to the residential floor.
Y/N passed out fully clothed but she did remember to take her shoes off.
"Miss Y/N?" She heard her name like it was coming from far away and grunted in reply. FRIDAY tried again "Miss Y/N?" She grumbled then shouted "What" instantly regretting it as her head pounded. "Sargeant Barnes tried to call but you were asleep. He left a message to let you know he will be home this evening"
Y/N sat up quickly to find Nat passed out next to her. "Oh my head!" She grumbled and shoved Nat. "Natasha! What did you do to me? My head is pounding"
Nat rolled off the bed onto the floor "I didn't do anything, you're the one who drank too much. You should know you can't keep up with me."
Nat stood up a little unstable but her eyes were clear and bright.
Y/N was thinking "FRIDAY? What did you just say?"
"Sargeant Barnes sent a message to let you know he will be home this evening."
Y/N looked at Nat "Tonite? But look at me? I can't let Bucky see me like this. He'll never want to touch me again." Her eyes teared up.
Nat put an arm around her "Come on, Barnes is crazy about you, he won't let this stupid rash stop him."
Y/N shook her head, then groaned "But, Nat, I haven't had a flare up since before we started dating. I haven't told him about it yet." She got up slowly and went to look in her bathroom mirror and squealed "No, no, no! It's worse than yesterday. All over my head and down my back." She sat down and looked closer "And look Nat, a bald spot. No two. I can't even cover them up, make up just makes it worse."
Y/N spent the whole day stressing even more than she had been, scared that Bucky would be disgusted by her condition. The itch was making her crazy and nothing was helping, all her usual tricks only seemed to exacerbate the problem.
Her phone rang and she saw it was Bucky "Hey Buck" she answered "You almost here? FRIDAY said tonite but it's not even lunch time."
Bucky chuckled and she felt her insides flutter. "Not yet, doll but I couldn't wait to hear your voice. Feels like forever. I can't wait to see you, hold you. We should land around 4"
She smiled, excited to see him too "Any injuries I should know about?"
"Not me this time, Sam is a little beat up but nothing serious"
"I'll make something for dinner. Any requests?"
Bucky growled lowly "What I want has nothing to do with food doll. I can't wait to show you how bad I've missed you."
Her stomach dropped "Oh well I missed you too. You should probably get a good meal and some rest before, you know, anything else."
Bucky sounded concerned "Is everything alright Doll? You sound stressed. Are you ok?"
She forced a small laugh "Of course, baby. I'm just excited to see you."
"Well, make sure you take a nap after lunch. You're gonna need your strength. Good thing tomorrow is Sunday so we can sleep late.
I'll see you soon, beautiful"
"Bye Bucky"
Y/N spent the day doing chores and trying not to worry too much about Bucky coming home. Even took a nap after lunch, she needed it more than he could know. When she woke up her head was clearer so she showered and then went to make dinner for the team. She picked spaghetti since it was easy to make for a large group. She left the sauce to simmer and had noodles and garlic bread ready to go when they landed.
She went to the hangar to meet the team after changing into a long sleeved shirt and long skirt with a headband covering the rash that had gone past her hairline.
She stood humming and bouncing with excitement and nerves. A little yelp slipped out when she first saw him. He looked tired and dirty but broke out in a huge grin as soon as he saw her.
Y/N ran and threw herself into his arms, he squeezed her tight and buried his head in her hair, breathing her in. "Damn I missed you doll. Felt like forever."
She pulled back so she could kiss him "Same sarge, this dump ain't the same without you"
Bucky smiled while Tony was offended "Dump? You got a lot of nerve there Y/L/N" and strode away grumbling.
Bucky set her down "Come on doll, let me go get a shower"
She kissed him again "Ok, I'll get dinner finished and meet you in the kitchen."
The entire team minus Clint sat at the table as Y/N brought all the food out. She looked at everyone "I hope I made enough pasta"
Bucky smiled "It smells delicious, doll."
She smiled back at him, his smile still gave her butterflies, she couldn't understand how someone like him was into her. She felt like he's way out of her league. Especially with her skin acting up.
After dinner she offered everyone brownies, special or plain. Bucky grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder and grabbed a couple of brownies "Night all, I need some alone time with my girl."
When they got to his room he tossed her onto the bed and climbed on top of her "Do you have any idea how badly I missed you Y/N? Sam was getting tired of me talking in my sleep."
He gently grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her in to kiss him. She tensed when his hand rubbed her neck and he pulled back, noting that the normally soft skin felt dry and crusty "Is everything ok baby? Am I hurting you?" He rubbed her neck gently.
Y/N felt her skin heat up "No Buck, you didn't hurt me. It's just this skin thing that I get. I know it's nasty, I understand if you dont want to touch me." She looked away.
Bucky sighed and gently turned her face to him. She could see the sadness and sincerity in his stormy blue eyes. "Y/N, I always want to touch you but not if it hurts. I never want to hurt you." He kissed her softly "Why didn't you tell me?"
She shrugged "It's gross and embarrassing. People look at me like I have the plague. I haven't had a flare in over a year but stress can bring it on."
Bucky kissed her again and pulled her close "What are you stressed about? Has Betty been on your case again? I can talk to Tony about her if you want."
She giggled "No, that's not it even though she really is awful. Besides, Tony likes me better than you so I could talk to him myself if it was that bad."
"Then what doll?"
Y/N squeezed him and let herself drown in his presence. "I just missed you and was worried. Everything feels so empty without you here."
Bucky kissed her forehead "I know what you mean doll, Sam just isn't as good company as you are."
He held her for a few minutes before a thought crossed his mind. He kissed her on the lips then pulled back to look her in the eyes. "You know what I've heard is a great stress reliever?"
She shook her head "No, what?"
Buckys eyes darkened and he smirked "Orgasms"