- MCU Short 2 -
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Ship: Bucky/Yelena/GN!Reader

Summary: After another long shift, (& a week of ingnoring your building stress), your girlfriend & boyfriend are there for you.

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Your key rattled in the lock as you attempted to open your front door in your exhausted state. You worked in a busy restaurant kitchen, the food certainly wasn't gourmet but it was still pretty good. The shifts weren't normally that bad but today had been the worst for a while. It had been a 12 hour shift to start with, and having your manager ignoring you over a botched inventory order didn't help. To top it off, the customers had been particularly frustrating; complaining loudly about the most mundane issues and blowing them out of proportion. It was one of those shifts that made you dream about handing in your notice the next day.

Finally you managed to get the door unlocked, and you slumped inside your apartment, or rather the one you shared with your boyfriend and girlfriend. Walking down the short corridor and into the living room, you found your boyfriend Bucky. He lay asleep on the couch with his head hanging off the end, deaf to the late night news playing on the TV. You moved a pillow under his head for support, and pressed a kiss onto his forehead. You yearned to wake him and rant about your horror shift, but you knew he couldn't have been back from his mission long. A week in Mexico sounded lovely, but Bucky had been hunting down a cartel leader and had been on a strict 'no outside contact' directive. Yelena and you had really missed him, more than usual this time, though neither of you really knew why.

Speaking of, you could her Yelena's muffled voice coming from the bedroom. She sounded like she was on the phone, so it was probably to her pseudo-sister Natasha. They'd been getting on a lot better recently, and you were happy for her. You suspected that her mental health had taken a downward turn a few weeks ago, and then Bucky's no contact mission hadn't helped. You hadn't found the right moment to bring it up, but then you supposed that there never was a good time for those sorts of conversations. Instead you'd opted to pick up extra shifts, and that had just made things worse. The two of you hadn't argued but there had been growing moments of tension and important conversations left unsaid. Now that your boyfriend was back, you hoped that the atmosphere would ease.

You moved into the kitchen, putting your backpack down lightly on the counter and moving to fix yourself a coffee. It was far too late for caffeine but you needed a boost. Just as you'd picked a mug, you caught movement out the corner of your eye.

Yelena.

"Hello Y/N. How was work?"

"Same old, same old. How was your day?"

"No, no more of this Y/N. I know you are lying."

"Yelena I'm not-"

"You always come find me when you get home, and you never drink coffee this late. You look tired as well."

"Wow thanks."

The woman moved you to face her, taking your hands. "Y/N, please talk to me."

You nodded, exhausted tears threatening to fall as Yelena led you to the bedroom, the half made coffee abandoned. The two of you didn't speak until you were both sitting on the bed.

"How was work?"

"Shit. The customers were more frustrating than usual and my boss ignored me because I messed up the inventory order for the week. I'm just so tired of working there Yelana." You finished, slumping into your girlfriend's side.

Yelena carded her fingers through your hair, "I know darling I know. You'll find something soon, then you can quit that place."

You nodded against her, adding nothing. You'd had this conversation, in all its varieties, many times with them both since graduating last fall. They were often there to offer comfort and advice, both wishing that someone would take a chance on you; appreciate your talents and skills.

"I am sorry Yelena."

"No no, you know that word is banned in this house."

You smiled to yourself, "Apartment."

"And your smart ass replies will be next on the list." She playfully admonished.

After a beat you spoke again, "I know you've worried about Bucky's mission, I didn't want to put my stuff on you as well. It wasn't the right time."

"There hardly ever is one." Your boyfriend said from the open doorway, causing yourself and Yelana to whip round.

"Sorry Bucky, did we wake you?" You asked, as you rushed to hug him.

"Yelena Y/N said the word." He said, making Yelena laugh loudly behind you.

"No stop, let me enjoy this hug." You mumbled into Bucky's chest, as he steered you back to the bed.

Now sitting between them, you flopped your legs up into his lap, laying your head in Yelana's.

"How's Natasha?" You asked, looking up at your girlfriend.

"Good, she joked that I need to talk through my feelings with you two instead of her."

"So that's why you seemed off?" Bucky asked.

"Tomorrow? I can't now, not after my shift - too stressful." You said, failing to stifle a yawn at the end.

"As long as we don't leave it another week."

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I'm open to requests for both the 1k+ words 'Oneshots' or the under-1k words 'Shorts' series.