Here's another request from Lalelu10001! I think they might like a certain Marvel character... could never guess who though...

You and Bucky were one of the oddest couples. A coffee shop owner and an ex-Hydra assassin who's over a hundred years old? Yeah, people thought it was a bit nuts.

You, of course, didn't care about what other people thought. Your friends caught on pretty quick that Bucky was everything to you and moved away from the teasing. Instead, they calmed you down when he had to go away for missions.

Sometimes one of them would stay with you at your apartment until you fell asleep because you were so scared of what was happening with Bucky. Especially when it ends up on the news.

Several times he's come home and found you sleeping on the couch, having waited up for him. He never tries to wake you up, but always manages to, and you help him patch up any injuries he sustained.

Other than how stressful the wait was, you didn't mind it at all. In fact, you found the moments between you two at three in the morning to be intimate and genuine. You didn't mind them, just the waiting sucked.

And it scared you what caused the injuries. Of course you knew what he was going out and doing, what people he was going up against. Every now and then you'd wake up in a cold sweat, having had a nightmare about him being captured or even killed.

You didn't want to bring it up to Bucky, in fear of upsetting him or even causing an argument, so you brought it up to a friend of yours.

"I just... I just can't break up with him because he's amazing! Everything about Bucky is just amazing. The only thing is- the only thing- is how worried I get over him. He risks his life for good things, but it's still risking his life."

Your friend nodded along to what you were saying. "Babes, I'm going to be honest here, I think you need to talk to him about this. Like, ASAP. He has a right to hear your worries."

Of course you knew they were right, but then a sudden thought hit you. "Would they even call me?" you asked, quiet.

"Who?" your friend asked, lost on where you went and how you got there.

"The Avengers. What if something really bad happened to him. Would they call me? Maybe I wouldn't be the first person they'd call, but would I ever know what happened? Or would I just have to sit and worry away?"

Your friend looked at you sadly. They stood up and hugged you, then pulled away and held your shoulders while looking into your eyes. "Talk to him. This isn't something you should worry about. At the very least, tell him you want the Avengers to call you if something bad were to happen to him."

You smiled, and pulled your friend back into the hug. "Thank you."

After finishing work that night, you got back to your apartment and made some dinner. Bucky was going to be home that night- he didn't have a mission or team meeting or any sort- so you wanted to make something for the two of you.

Bucky came in as you were starting to get some stuff plated up. Pasta and salad. Simple, but pasta was your absolute wheel house, and Bucky absolutely loved your pasta.

"Hey doll, that smells amazing," Bucky said, coming behind you and wrapping his arms around your waist.

You smiled, and leaned into him for a second. "All right, now go get some wine while I get this stuff plated up," you said.

"Yes ma'am," he said, chuckling bit as he walked off to get the bottle.

The two of you worked in quiet as you got things plated and Bucky got napkins, silverware, and drinks. Once everything was set out and the two of you sat, you guys got into your days.

You told Bucky about the coffee shop, how nice people always were and some ideas you had for upcoming holiday promotions.

He told you about the Avengers. You loved his little inside scoops into Avengers life, they were just regular people and Bucky made that clear when he told you about Steve fighting with the coffee pot. Honestly, you could never meet the Avengers, because you knew too much about them.

Near the end of the meal, you friend's nagging words became too much for you. "Hey, Buck?" you asked, breaking the peaceful silence.

He looked up at you as he took in a giant bite of pasta.

"I... I need to get serious for just a second, and then we can watch a show or movie or something after but..." How does one start this kind of conversation?

Bucky waited patiently, knowing sometimes you just needed to take a moment to get your words together.

Finally, you did. "I was talking with my friend today- the one you met at the book event I held at the shop the other day?" Bucky nodded. "They... they wanted me to tell you about how worried I get."

Bucky swallowed his bite. "What do you mean?" he asked. He had an idea, worried that this would come up one day, but he had hoped it would be later down the line. His own worries were starting to fight their way to the surface.

You sighed. "I know you can't control anything, and it's your job, but I get so scared and worried when you're away on missions that... I've woken up several times after having a nightmare that- that something horrible happened to you."

"You don't have to stay." The sudden words sent a jolt through you, as if they had scared you. They did. "You can go."

The phrases left your reeling. What was worse was the way Bucky spoke. He wasn't mad that you told him about this. He sounded like he had been expecting this.

"B-Bucky... what?" you asked, your initial point so far forgotten. "What are you talking about, I'm not just gonna... up and leave you over this."

He shook his head and got up from the table with his empty plate and dirty silverware in his hands. "It's fine. I knew it was going to happen. Steve told me it'd work, but I... I worry you too much, and I don't deserve all of that."

You sat in a stunned silence as Bucky methodically scrubbed his plate with the washcloth in the sink before he put it in the dishwasher. The sound of it closing seemed to snap you from whatever you state you were in.

"What?" you asked again, this time louder, angrier, and you stood up for it. Bucky turned to look at you, slightly shocked at your outburst. "James Buchanan Barnes, what the hell are you talking about right now?"

"Look, it's... it's okay, I get it. You should be with someone who doesn't give you nightmares-"

"That's not what I fucking said!" Even you were starting to shock yourself with this outburst. "I said I worried a lot, okay? That's it! I love you so much that I get worried about you! I never said I- I- I wanted to leave you because of it! Or- or that I blamed you for it! I just wanted to find out if something really bad were to happen to you, would the Avengers know to call me!"

Bucky was closing himself off, shaking his head more and crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I don't think I'm worth all of this, though. I don't deserve all this love and worry."

Suddenly, the anger you felt vanished. Now you just felt downright sad for him and sad that he didn't seem to believe you. "Bucky, please stop saying those things. I never once said them, so clearly I don't think that way. I know... I know you've had a hard past, and so I understand where this is coming from but it's not true."

As you talked, you walked closer to Bucky to where you could take a hold of the hand you could and squeezed it.

However, he was too far gone. Bucky shook his head and pulled away from you. He picked up the things he had dropped near the door.

"I'm going to stay at the facility tonight, okay? I... I can talk to you in the morning."

And he left.

You stood in the kitchen, still in shock about what the hell had just happened. The entire time you washed all the dishes and put leftovers away in the fridge, you felt weirdly numb. You didn't even think you could tell your friend what had happened. None of it felt real.

When you went to bed, it suddenly felt all too real, and you realized you might have some how just screwed up one of the best relationships you've ever had.

~~

In the morning, you hadn't gotten any texts from Bucky. You thought that was it.

As you did your opening routine, you felt so heavy. You didn't know if you'd be able to make it through the day. Most of the people that came by knew you, and knew how to read you. Just thinking about people constantly asking what was wrong/were you okay made you feel horrible.

The first couple hours were like swimming in molasses. Time crawled and everyone had pitiful looks to give you. At a certain point, you let someone else take over the ordering so you could go in the back and get restock stuff ready to go for the order in...

Two weeks.

Still, couldn't hurt to be prepared.

The next hour and a half felt about the same, but at least you weren't getting anymore depressing looks from people.

"Hey (Y/n)?"

You looked up and saw the girl you put on register peeking in. "Someone wants to see you. I already tried to tell him you couldn't talk, but he insisted he'd wait until you could."

You sighed and thanked the poor girl. She turned and walked back out quickly to take care of the rest of the patrons. You took your time getting everything put away and set so you could continue after whatever interaction you were about to have.

In all honesty, you expected one of the regulars wanting to see you. The people who you called your regulars were sweet and always meant well. You'd entertain whoever it was for a minute before hiding away again.

When you popped out from the back, you were ready to hear the pity and the "oh there you are!"

Instead, you looked up and saw an extremely nervous Bucky standing there. You froze and blinked several times. "Bucky."

He gave you a shy smile. "Hey, doll. Do you mind if we talk?" he asked, and with those sweet puppy dog eyes, too. How could anyone say no?

It even drew a small smile from you. "Sure," you said, nodding lightly.

You came around the counter and Bucky followed you to a more secluded corner of the shop.

The two of you sat and Bucky immediately started talking. "I'm so sorry, (Y/n). I-" He cut himself off with a sigh. You remained quiet so he could get his thoughts together. "When you started talking about how worried you were, I was scared that meant you wanted to leave me, and so I wanted to do it first so I wouldn't get hurt, which was a stupid move. I didn't even realize that until Sam and Steve sat me down and yelled at me."

You laughed at the image that came to mind. You needed to meet these guys, and soon, so you could thank them.

"I'm sorry I assumed and I'm so sorry I hurt you in the process," Bucky said, and he gently took one of your hands to hold.

You accepted the gesture and squeezed his hand. "I forgive you Bucky- of course I forgive you. You mean the world to me. And I didn't mean to scare you like that, I just... I just didn't want to suffer in silence, I guess. There's not much you or I can do about that, I know... but it was weighing me down and I just wanted to tell you."

Bucky nodded along with your words. "Well, I don't think this'll fix it, but I did give Stark and his weird AI your information with instructions to call you if anything bad ever happened to me. I remember you mentioning that."

You smiled brightly, then stood up and dragged Bucky up with you. You pulled him into a hug and enjoyed being back in his arms.

"If you ever do something like last night again, I'll be the one doing something bad to you, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'd let you."

~Fin~

A/n: I can't tell if I like the fact that the ending lines sound a bit dirty or not... I don't want to change them, though, so they shall stay.

Also, IT'S FINALS WEEK! Which means I am genuinely no longer stressed and have some more free time. Not a lot, though, because I have to pack for three separate things kind of at once, which is annoying but also stressful.

Aaaaand... I may or may not be working on a very special book that will make at least one person happy... but I won't share anything else about it ;)

See you next week Lovelies (for a special imagine, I can't wait for y'all to read it)!!!!!!!!!