This is one of Lalelu10001's many requests! Here's the first, the others are soon to come. I hope I did it justice :) (also giving a small shoutout to  because they also wanted some more Bucky!)

AFAB!reader (please let me know if you like it when I use this tagging system, and if you have a request, feel free to request different genders!)

You had gone through something. Something awful. Before, the Avengers knew you as the fun and upbeat member. Everyone else already had their own depressing stuff weighing them down, you were a good breath of fresh air.

Then the... incident happened. They never realized how much they took you for granted until it happened. You were hospitalized for a while, had a couple close calls, and then were able to come back to the facility to get through your bedrest.

Of course they all expected you to be in recovery, and not for you to be a happy person. But now it's been a year and you had really only gotten worse. None of them knew what to do. None of them were exactly happy people.

Doesn't mean they didn't try. At first you just responded with an empty look. Then you would get pissed and throw things. This was part of the reason Steve refused to clear you for missions.

Which means you weren't there when they got Bucky. In fact, it took a couple days before you even knew he was at the tower. You didn't exactly spend much time out and about in the tower.

You picked your times wisely, and one of them was near midnight. People weren't exactly asleep, but they usually weren't out in the kitchen, so you'd take that time to grab a bit of food and sit by the window. Some nights you would just curl up on the floor. It felt like that kind of night.

But when you got out there, someone else was sitting on the couch. You didn't recognize them at first which caused you to panic, thinking about what happened.

Then Steve walked out from the kitchen area and saw you, standing in the hallway entrance, your chest rising and falling a bit too quickly.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, it's okay," he immediately said, hurrying over to you. He placed his hands on your arms and tried to regain your attention.

You switched your focus to Steve and found yourself coming back to reality. "Sorry," you whispered, flicking your gaze briefly to the stranger before going back to Steve. "Sorry."

You shook Steve's hands off of your arms, made a quick turn, and hurried back off to your room. Thankfully, Steve knew not to chase after you. He might see you in the morning.

He walked back over to Bucky and saw the expression on his best friends face. "I'm sorry," Bucky said once Steve sat down.

The man shook his head. "It's not your fault, Buck-"

"I don't care what you say, the Winter Soldier's problems are mine, too. Even if I didn't cause them..."

Steve continued to shake his head. "No, Bucky, really it's not your fault. She..." Steve sighed, unsure of how to go about this without revealing more than you'd like. "She had a bad experience a little over a year ago that... that still sticks around. Nothing to do with you or the Winter Soldier."

It made Bucky actually feel a little better knowing he had nothing to do with your reaction, but he still felt bad because he still caused you distress.

"Would it be okay if I apologized? In the morning," Bucky asked.

It made Steve smile and he nodded. "Sure, Buck. I'll be there, just since..."

Bucky nodded. "Yeah, I get it."

The next morning, you heard a knock on your door and carefully opened it up. You saw Steve first.

"Hey, I hope we're not disturbing you. Uh, Bucky just wanted to apologize for last night," he said, and then carefully stepped aside to show Bucky standing a couple feet behind.

Now that you saw him in the day light, instead of just a silhouette, you could see how upset he was and how non-threatening he was. You felt bad for how you reacted.

"Hi," you said, starting off slow.

Bucky smiled. "Hi. I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to freak you out at all."

You shook your head. "It's- it's okay. You're okay. I- it just caught me off guard. I didn't mean to make you feel bad or anything."

Steve watched the two of you interact, and saw something in Bucky he hadn't seen in a long time. Even you seemed to have a small spark back. It wasn't huge, though, so he didn't want to scare it away. But he'd make sure you two saw each other again (in the broad daylight).

And you did. Steve decided to bring you in for a training session- the first one you'd been willing to do in quite honestly forever- and he made sure you'd get there at the end of his session with Bucky.

He smirked internally when he saw you walk in. "Hey (Y/n), I'm just finishing up."

You nodded and sat on a nearby bench to get your hands wrapped and ready to warm up. The motions of wrapping your hands came back to you easily, so you were able to do that while watching the finishing session.

The way they worked told you a lot. For starters, they knew each other. That was obvious from everything you'd seen. But they knew each other very well. Even though there was hesitation to how Bucky would move every now and then, there was familiarity.

You found your eyes lingering on Bucky a bit more than you realized and pulled your attention back to wrapping your hands. Luckily, it seemed that no one noticed.

Steve did, though, and he kept the mental notes to himself as he finished up his training with Bucky. "All right, sorry (Y/n). You good to go?"

You nodded, and then the two of you got started for the day. It was weird getting back in, but you managed to find a rhythm. For a decent amount of the training, Bucky stayed. You tried not to look over at him too much, but you couldn't help it. He looked nice. Really nice.

Later that night, you went to the kitchen to find some quiet solace. You went over to your spot by the window and let yourself relax for a second. The world looked peaceful from up here, despite how chaotic it actually was. Being far away made you feel more... in control.

Footsteps were approaching, but they were far enough away that you anticipated their arrival and weren't too scared. Hearing the person told you they weren't a threat.

You looked over to the doorway they were about to exit from and saw it was Bucky. "Hey," he said, seeing you already "expecting" him.

"Hi," you said with a smile. He stayed in the doorway awkwardly, do you waved your hand. "You can come over if you'd like, it's okay."

He carefully made his way over and sat across from you by the window, about four feet away where the next window pane sort of started. Neither of you spoke for a second, and just looked out the window.

"It's so much more peaceful from up here," Bucky quietly said.

You nodded. "That's why I like it here. Up here, I'm in control." Even though your words were quiet, Bucky heard you so loud and clear. He didn't know yours, and you didn't know his, but your traumas were more related than you realized.

The two of you continued you to sit in the quiet, and you found so much more comfort with him being there. It was new to you. Since... it happened, you couldn't be along with anyone for an extended period of time without feeling pure fear.

This was new. It was a bit scary, but it was also nice.

Over the next few weeks, you and Bucky would spend a few nights a week just sitting and enjoying each other's presence. After a while you two started sitting closer and even talking more.

But it was the physical touch that you really needed. Bucky didn't get it, maybe because you never explained it. A month and a half after you and Bucky first spent that night together, you two laid in your bed, just holding each other. It was the first time since it happened that you could feel comfortable with someone else touching you. Even those training sessions with Steve made you feel horribly on edge.

With Bucky, it was nice. He was gentle- you could see how differently he acted with his metal arm in comparison to his flesh one. You knew it was a sore spot for him, so you made sure to show you weren't afraid.

The others could see the change, but didn't know what was happening to cause it. They were very grateful for it, though. Seeing you come back in bits was more than they ever thought they'd get.

However, one night, as you and Bucky cuddled in your quiet world, you started letting yourself go and it made you freeze.

Bucky felt it. "What's wrong?" he asked, worried he had done something.

You shook your head and said, "Nothing, nothing."

The next night, Bucky had to go somewhere with Steve. You didn't know where they went, mainly because you didn't need to know. While you and Bucky had this strange physical connection, you weren't anything.

Though, you couldn't find your comfort or sleep that night. You felt wrong without him being there and realized you hadn't even considered possibly developing an attachment to him. You had been so glad to feel even slightly normal again, you didn't even think.

Even worse, it was Bucky you had the attachment to. You couldn't go and talk to anyone else because the thought still made you uneasy. Avengers you once considered your confidants no longer felt safe. Only he did. And it scared you.

When he came back a couple days later- a couple very long days later- you two sat in your room to talk. He seemed to be in a good place, so you figured it would be okay.

"Are you okay?" Bucky asked, worried by how cautious you were being. Again, he didn't know what had happened to you, but he knew it was bad by the way everyone acted and how you had acted before.

You almost nodded your head, then almost shook it, then settled for keeping still and trying to get some words out. "I... I couldn't sleep while you were away. I think I got too attached which honestly scares me a bit? But I don't think it makes me want to... stop..."

Bucky almost sighed with relief. "I feel it, too. It was weird being away and I nearly made Steve go back."

For a second, neither of you spoke. Mainly because you were scared of how you felt. It was more than attachment you realized, now that he was sitting here, back in front of you. The thought of scaring him off with your feelings was too scary. You couldn't lose someone you just got. Not after everything else.

So you remained quiet, and you and Bucky continued your routine.

He could see something was off with you, but never said anything in fear of ruining this. Something he desperately needed after Hydra. Something he never thought possible. Bucky even started to feel like the man he used to be.

Everyone still saw the difference in you, and saw you getting better and better as weeks went by. Steve, of course, knew why. The other Avengers finally started to see as well when you and Bucky would be together during the day. Outside of your room.

Natasha finally decided to risk it and talk to you. She saw you in the kitchen, making some pasta, and knew this was her time to ask.

"Hey, how's it going?" she asked as she came in, making sure to stay in a spot where you could easily see her. When you didn't immediately tense up at her presence, she hoped this would go well.

"Pretty good actually. Want some?" you asked, pointing the spoon you were using to stir at the pasta still cooking.

Natasha nodded. "Yeah, sure. If you don't mind."

You shook your head. "Not at all. I accidentally poured in too much anyway, so there would have been leftovers."

Natasha got out two bowls and other things necessary for the meal before sitting down on at the counter. The pasta was done pretty quickly, so a couple minutes later the two of you were eating.

"Can I ask you something?" Natasha suddenly asked after finishing a bite. You nodded, shoving another bite into your mouth. "You seem... happier."

You shook you heard and laughed a bit, swallowing the bite. "Not a question."

Natasha smiled and let out a small chuckle. "I guess... if you don't mind me asking, what helped?" she finally asked. She hoped she phrased it all right.

When you didn't retreat back into your shell, Natasha did a small victory dance in her head. Instead, you looked to be in thought. Maybe even a bit red? "Well, uh..." Then you smiled. "Bucky. We started... helping each other out."

Natasha sat up. The look on your face when you started talking about Bucky was one she hadn't seen in a long time, but she knew it well. "(Y/n)... please be honest with me... do you... like Bucky?"

Your face turning a deep red answered her question. "I mean... I think- I think it's more than that," you answered quietly, playing around with the pasta in your bowl. "But I'm too scared to tell him and freak him out. I'm freaking out myself over here."

Natasha smiled gently and reached across the counter to hold your hand. "It is scary. That kind of thing can't be downplayed. But I think you'll find he feels the same way. Just... just trust me and tell him. Please?"

You nodded and felt a smile coming back to your face. "Yeah... yeah, I think I will."

That night, when you and Bucky were holding each other, you knew you had to tell him. If he didn't feel the same... god, let's just hope he feels the same.

"Hey, Buck?" He hummed. "I... I love you."

At the whispered words, Bucky felt his heart swell. He didn't answer right away, too caught up in the revelation. When he felt you start to pull away, he just pulled you closer.

"I do, too. I love you, too," he said back. "I was scared to tell you."

"Me too. I was scared you wouldn't feel the same."

"But you did. And I do."

After that night, you weren't the exact same as before. There were still scars that would honestly never heal. But you were close. You were happy again.

~Fin~

A/n: I hope I did okay! I left the trauma the reader experiences open because 1) everyone has different thresholds and 2) I didn't want to open up any wounds for you guys. That being said, it made it a little harder to write this (that and I don't have a lot of personal experience that fits here) so I hope it turned out okay!

I'm on spring break finally oh my god and am so happy to be home. I'm trying to write like a whole bunch while I can because I'll be super busy during the month of May and then from mid-June onward through the end of December. I'll try to keep posting, but I'll keep you guys updated on what I'll be doing.

I love you guys so much for your continuous support on this book and just appreciate every single one of you for sticking with me. It means the world to me :')

Anyway, I'll see you next week Lovelies!!!!!!!!!!!