They say confession is good for the soul and in this case that was the truth. It seemed as soon as you shared all your secrets, all your fears, you and Bucky became inseparable. If you were in a room together you gravitated to each other, always touching one another in some manner. You were just as likely to be found curled up in his lap as training together in the gym. The only one that was unhappy about this development was Wade who told off Bucky for stealing his bestie until Matt dragged him away.

At the moment it was the early hours of morning. You were padding barefoot around your floor dressed in one of Bucky's shirts that you'd worn to bed and a pair of boy short panties. He'd been on mission with Steve and Natasha for the last four days. You'd exchanged the occasional text but you missed him. You felt sort of empty without him around. And you were having trouble sleeping.

You chewed on the end of your thumb for a bit before heading to the elevator to go to Bucky's floor. Even though he wasn't home, perhaps being in his bed would help. Though the two of you had yet to actually have sex, you ended up sleeping in each other's beds more often than not. It was his comfort you sought to chase away the bad dreams now.

When you arrived at his room, you locked the door behind you and climbed into the bed. You sighed as the cool sheets slid against your skin. His scent flooded your senses when you buried your face in his pillow and you were asleep in no time.

A warm hand running up the length of your spine woke you several hours later. You frowned as your eyes fluttered open. It transformed into a smile as your gaze fell on your soulmate. He grinned at you. "Didn't expect to find you in my bed when I got home. Can't say I was disappointed though."

"You're home." You shifted so your arms were wrapped around him as your head nestled against his chest. "I missed you."

He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around you and kissed the top of your head. "I missed you too, baby."

***

A month later you returned in the middle of the night from a mission of your own. You'd been gone for just over a week and hadn't talked to Buck at all as outside communication had been banned. Bucky almost punched Steve when he found out that little detail. The reminder made you smile.

You thought briefly of heading straight to your soulmate's room knowing that he wouldn't mind but you needed a shower in the worst way. You didn't want to wake him if he was sleeping well. And by the time you'd scrubbed yourself clean you were too exhausted to go any further than your own bed.

You'd only been asleep a couple of hours when you sat bolt upright in bed. Your room was dark and your heart was pounding but you weren't certain why. Your dreams had been rather mundane all things considered. A glance at the clock showed it to be just a bit before five in the morning.

Suddenly a wave of pure fear and sorrow slammed into you. What the fuck was going on? It only took a second for realization to dawn on you. Bucky. You hopped from your bed and took the stairs up to his floor. You told Jarvis to unlock his door even as you ran down the hall. When you reached his room, you found him lost in a nightmare.

"Jarvis, bring up the lights and play something soothing."

"Of course, Miss."

The combination served to wake Bucky just as you'd hoped it would. He sat up, panting as he swiped a hand down his face. You sat on the side of the bed and waited for him to come back to himself. When he felt the mattress move his attention darted to you. You smiled and he grabbed your upper arms to haul you across the bed. Once he'd settled you in his lap, he wrapped his arms around you and buried his nose in your neck. "Mine."

You ran a hand through his hair. "Yours," you agreed.

The two of you stayed that way for a long time. Finally, he instructed Jarvis to turn off the lights and music and laid down with you still in his arms. He tucked you into his side and pulled one of your legs to drape across his waist. His fingers played with your hair a bit and he kissed your forehead. "I'm glad you're home, doll."

"I'll always come home to you, Bucky."

You were unable to get anymore sleep, your mind racing as you thought about the implications of you being able to feel your soulmate's emotions. That was only supposed to be possible if the two of you were in love.

Did you love him? You'd never given it much thought to be honest. Content to just be with him, you tried not to label what you were to each other, what you meant to one another.

You didn't have to think about it long to realize that you had indeed fallen in love with him. That you would be devastated if he disappeared from your life. That he was the be all end all for you and you wouldn't have it any other way. Now, you just had to tell him.

***

Bucky woke in the morning to the sound of his door closing. He opened his eyes to find you standing beside the bed with a plate and coffee mug in your hands. "What's this?" he asked as he sat up.

"Breakfast in bed," you answered with a grin. "Scoot back."

He moved so he rested against the headboard. You handed him the coffee first, made just the way he liked it. He took a drink, humming in contentment and sat it on the nightstand beside him. Then you handed him his breakfast. Eggs, bacon, and potatoes. Perfect. You sat beside his legs and watched him as he ate. His eyes studied you as he did so. Something was off with you, he just couldn't pinpoint what.

"What's this all about then?" he asked between bites.

You reached over and stole a piece of his bacon as you shrugged. "Just thought I'd make you breakfast is all."

"Shouldn't I be taking care of you today? You're the one that just got back from a mission."

"Eh. Couldn't sleep." His gaze ran over you again, picking up the slight darkening beneath your eyes and the slump of your shoulders. You were exhausted.

His brow furrowed in worry. "Everything okay?"

You hummed in answer and nodded your head. "Just thinking."

"What about?"

"You."

His breath hitched. He shouldn't worry, he knew that. But damned if he wasn't certain you'd realize he wasn't good enough for you someday. He cleared his throat. "Should I be worried?"

You smiled, your eyes crinkling in amusement. "Are you done?" You gestured to his plate.

"Uh, yeah." It didn't escape his notice that you hadn't answered his question.

You took his plate and carried it over to set it on his desk. When you returned you climbed on the bed and tossed one of your legs over his so you straddled him. His hands automatically found your hips as his eyes went wide. You settled so you were sitting on his thighs and rested your hands on his shoulders.

"We need to talk about last night."

His brow furrowed. "What about last night? Did something happen?"

You smiled and ran your thumbs back and forth along his collarbones. "Don't freak out. Everything's fine. When I got home from the mission last night, I went to my room to clean up and sleep. I woke up because of your nightmare."

What the hell were you talking about? "You're going to have to explain that one to me, baby."

You studied his face for a moment, a sparkle of happiness in your eyes. "I felt your emotions from the dream. They woke me."

"You felt my emotions? But that only happens—" Bucky cut off as realization slammed into him. A slow smile stretched across his face. His hands tightened on your hips as he licked his lips. "You love me."

You hummed in agreement before donning a grin to match his own. "And you love me."

"Have for a while. I was just waiting for you to catch up."

You smacked his chest and he laughed. One hand found the back of your head to pull you to his lips for a lingering kiss. When you separated, he looked into your eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, Bucky. So much."

He leaned forward to leave kisses all over your face saying "I love you" between each one.

Your laughter trailed off as he ran his lips along your jaw and down the side of your neck. His nose traced back up the line of your throat. "Bucky." His name on your lips was breathy, wanting.

"I don't know what I ever did to deserve you but I am so fucking glad you're mine."

The kiss this time was hungry, needy. A prelude to what was to come.