What was it with the new guy? Why was he such a pain in the ass?

Steve hit you square in the jaw, knocking you to the hard gym floor. "Oh god, I'm sorry (Y/N)! I thought you were ready for me! Are you okay?"

"So when they say 'seeing stars', they really mean it, huh?" You chuckled a bit, trying to keep the Captain from feeling any worse than he already did. "I'm okay. Sorry, I was just lost in thought. My fault." You stood slowly, shaking your head a bit, trying to regain your equilibrium. "Damn, Cap. That was a good one."

Taking your hand and guiding you to the nearby bench, he sat by you with his arm around your shoulder, watching you. "You sure you're okay? I can take you down to the infirmary-"

"Steve, I can take a hit. I just wasn't paying attention." Now that you were taking an unplanned break, you figured this was as good a time as any to ask him about Bucky. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Go."

"So, you had asked that I work with Bucky to help him here at the tower, right?" He nodded, now looking more solemn and quiet. "Well, I've been meeting with him almost every day, and I feel like we aren't getting anywhere. He won't open up to me, even though he claims to trust me. He acts like he can't stand to even be in the same room with me."

He contemplated this for a few moments, then nodded his head slightly. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. It's okay."

"It's not that, really. I was just hoping for some insight." Standing, you tapped him on the knee, attempting to reassure him. "I've got this. Captain's orders."

~~~

"Miss? Miss (Y/L/N), wake up."

Groaning, you reluctantly rolled to your back, having fallen asleep only moments ago. "What is it, FRIDAY?"

"Mr. Barnes is calling for you. He is in distress."

Throwing your blankets off, you ran from your room and rushed to Bucky's, charging thru his door to see him curled up on the ground next to his bed. You rushed to his side and sat next to him, resting your hand on his. "Hey, hey, hey. You're okay. Buck, you're ok, I'm here."

As he looked up at you, his eyes were unfamiliar and distant. He looked at you with confusion and fear. Clearly he had a nightmare, and looked as if he hadn't fully awakened from it. "James..."

His eyes widened, alight with terror. He jolted upright, his metal hand grabbing you and throwing you against the wall. "FRIDAY, I need Steve!" He charged towards you, his hand now around your throat, lifting you off the ground. "B-Buck-" The room darkened just as you heard Steve rushing towards you.

~~~

You hated the infirmary. It was cold and much too bright. It smelled of antiseptic and the incessant beeping of the monitors was maddening. You opened your eyes to find Steve sitting next to you, staring ahead, motionless.

"I can't do it anymore, Cap." Your words were barely a whisper, burning your throat.

He quickly stood by you, holding your hand. His worried expression softened as he looked at you. "I know. I won't let you. I don't know what I was thinking. This is for me to figure out, for me to help him. I put this on you, and I'm so sorry."

~~~

Several weeks had passed since what became known as 'the incident' between you and Bucky. You had become quite skilled at avoiding each other when you were both in the tower. The team had also become skilled at facilitating this; pulling you to the common room when they knew he was entering the building, Steve taking Bucky to the gym when you were in the kitchen, Tony taking you out for coffee when Bucky wanted to watch a movie. It was a perfected dance.

The problem was, neither of you were happy. Despite it all, you still worried about him. You had worked together for months, and even though there weren't many, you had days when you thought you were bonding, making progress. You were the first to see Bucky laugh; a real, genuine, belly-shaking laugh. When he called you to his room that night, you thought you had finally broken thru, until...well, until he tried to kill you. Yes, he pissed you off. Yes, he was stubborn. But he was also kind...and gentle...and his eyes were soft...and his lips were...were...perfect. Shit.

~~~

It had to happen eventually; the team couldn't orchestrate this dance forever. You strolled into the gym, music blasting thru your earbuds, oblivious to Bucky punching the bag furiously. As you taped your hands, you turned to see him, sweaty and breathless. You hadn't realized how long you had been staring when he finally snapped you back to reality.

"Hello, (Y/N)."

"Hello, Bucky." You cleared your throat, continuing to prepare for your workout. "How have you been?"

He slowly walked towards you, his posture slouched, his eyes sad. "Terrible. I'm so sorry for that night. I can't believe that I would do that to you. I swear that's not who I am anymore. That's not who I want to be." He shook his head and took a deep breath. "You're the only other person here that I trust, other than Steve. I feel so alone now."

You carefully took a few steps closer to him, being sure to keep yourself positioned between him and the door, still a little fearful. "It's ok. You had a nightmare. I should have been more careful until I knew that you were awake."

Bucky sat on the bench as you began to work on the punching bag. You had expected him to leave, but instead he sat and watched you for nearly an hour. His quiet voice broke your concentration.

"I miss you."

Steadying the bag, you could do nothing other than stare at him. Did he really just say what you think he said? He looked like a lost puppy, afraid that you would reject him.

"I've missed you, too."  

Part 2

It took only that moment to swing your relationship with Bucky the entirely other direction, and now he became an ever-present part of your day, no matter what you were doing. If you were working out, he was too. If you were making dinner for the team, he insisted on helping. Even a quick run to the store included him. It wasn't that you minded; he was welcome company and the two of you had built a rapport that finally felt comfortable and he felt safe with you. That was really all you had wanted for him, but now you worried that he wasn't seeking any other friendships or relationships beyond you and Steve and that he wasn't acclimating at all; that you were failing the mission that Steve had given you.

"Cap," you panted, ducking from his swing, "can we talk about Bucky for a minute before he shows up?"

"Sure, what's going on?"

His hand came back quickly as you straightened your stance and you barely had a chance to step out of its way this time, tipping slightly off your footing. "Could you maybe stop swinging at me though?"

"Nope," he smirked. "Talk while you work. It's good to have a distraction."

"Jerk," you mumbled under your breath, hooking your arm under his shoulder and throwing him onto his back with a harsh thud on the mat. "He follows me around like a puppy."

Steve's hand wrapped around your ankle tight enough to make you wince, slamming you against the mat next to him with enough force to knock the wind from your chest for a moment. "I thought you liked puppies?" He sat up and rolled himself over to attempt to straddle you in a hold but you wiggled free before he could get a grip on you.

"Seriously, Steve, I don't think he's talking to anyone other than us." When he pushed himself from the floor, you jumped onto his back and wrapped your legs around his throat, spinning him onto the mat once again, but this time you had the upper hand and pulled his arms tightly to his back in a hold.

"He talks to people," he groaned, struggling slightly under your force, "I've seen it."

"But you were there, right?" you panted as he began to free himself. "I've had FRIDAY run surveillance, and I haven't seen anything promising." Steve's head snapped back and clipped your jaw, throwing you from him and startling you enough to lay on the mat without returning the effort. "Woah, there's those stars again..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." he whispered frantically, leaning down next to you. "I'm really gonna give you a concussion one day, aren't I?" He watched you intently as you regained your senses and tried sitting up slowly but reluctantly laid back down. "You okay?"

"What the hell did you do?" Bucky asked with worry, rushing into the room to kneel down at your other side and taking your hand. "Jesus, Steve, how hard did you hit her?"

"I'm fine, Buck."

"Steve, you need to be more careful."

"I said I'm okay."

"I didn't think I connected that hard, I'm really sorry, (Y/N)."

"You guys, calm down," you huffed, waving Bucky away and pushing yourself up to stand with a slight wobble. "I told you...I'm...fine..." you faded, lucky that Steve turned immediately and had his arms beneath you just before your body limply hit the mat at his feet.

~~~

When you woke just a few minutes later, you opened your eyes to harsh lights and a flurry of noises around you. Once your eyes adjusted to the brightness, you were able to see that you were in the infirmary; Bucky and Steve were standing by the door, appearing to be in an animated discussion that didn't look very friendly.

"See? I'm fine."

"(Y/N), I'm so sorry," Steve apologized yet again, moving to your side but standing behind Bucky as if he wouldn't let the Captain any closer to you. "I want you to take a few days off, okay?"

"Don't coddle me, Steve. You know how I can't stand that."

"Would you just do what you're told for once?" Bucky snapped. "Take the time off. All you do is work and run from here to there to take care of everyone when it's obvious that you don't know how to take care of yourself. I'm with you almost every day and you never slow down. You need to do what he says, (Y/N)."

"Wait," you said firmly as you pushed yourself up to sit, refusing his hand to help, "is that why you've been following me everywhere? Are you...babysitting me?" He cast his eyes away and to Steve for a second before settling his gaze to the floor. "Bucky, answer me."

"No," he scoffed, "why would you think that?"

"Because you're always there."

Steve took a long few steps back and away, not really wanting to be a part of the uncomfortable conversation. He took a seat on a bench by the door, unable to fight the urge to hear this play out.

"I follow you everywhere because I like you," he spat angrily, but pulled back and changed his expression to one of embarrassment before the last syllable was said. "I like to spend time with you."

"Oh. I...I like to spend time with you too."

"But it's too much, right?"

"I was just worried that you weren't talking to anyone other than Steve and I. I worried that you weren't finding your way within the team." You took a long breath and shook your head at the realization that he was building relationships as you had hoped, but the one he was working on the most was with you. "I'm sorry that I snapped, Buck. It's not too much."

"Sure it is," he smiled, glancing back to Steve, "but I'm just glad that you'll put up with it. I can hang out with that kid for only so long. All he ever wants to do anymore is work out. We get it, Captain Obvious," he called out over his shoulder, "you've got muscles. You're hot now." He turned back to you with a crooked grin and a whisper, "not as hot as me, though, am I right?"

When you simply groaned and laid back on the gurney, his expression changed quickly to concern and a little disbelief. "Hey, I'm right. Right?"