pairings: bucky barnes x reader, unnamed ex x reader
warnings: cheating, a break up, friends to lovers, fighting, blood, bucky breaking your ex's nose lol
about: a DF 41 or DA 19?(DF41) "are you going to cry? please don't cry." (DA19) "touch her, and i'll murder you."

letters blur together as you stare at the text on your phone. sweet, undeserving words concerned over your boyfriend sent hours ago, offering to bring soup and take care of him because nobody deserves to be alone on new year's day; a response you'd thought representative of who you thought he was following only a few seconds after. you figure your boyfriend didn't want you to arrive at his lonely house to discover his lies.

ex-boyfriend. right.

you sniffle when you remember, pressing the back button to go back to your message list, only to receive another reminder of the betrayal as you see the apologies from your friends, the girl who had sent you the video of him making out with another girl only a string of numbers with a gray sentence underneath reading i'm sorry.

you roll your eyes at everything—him, you being so upset, the entirety of your relationship—trying to pretend like you aren't as hurt as you are; as if you cared about him about as much as he cared about you. tears rush to your eyes before you can help it, your racing mind bringing up thoughts all too sadly realistic for you right now. trying to concentrate on anything else, your eyes only gravitate towards the piece of cake you'd wrapped in tinfoil to bring him later today, all of the things on your desk that showed that you cared so much more than he cared about you.

you uselessly wipe at your nose when you hear your door being pushed open, shoving your phone underneath your thigh as you look up to meet baby blue.

"hey, doll," bucky starts, voice soft. "are you okay? i saw you rush out earlier after you got a message, 'nd i wanted to see if you were okay."

your bottom lip juts out without your permission, the lump that had been lodged in your throat growing far enough to hurt your jaw when you think back getting the text in the middle of celebrating. the mere act of coming to see if you were okay—of noticing, just makes you feel dumber because he never did that and you feel like you should've known. how must the girl who sent the video of it feel about you?"

"y/n?" bucky asks apprehensively, "sweetheart, are you okay?" worry threaded in his words, rooted deep enough for you to never doubt if it's real. "are you gonna cry? oh, honey, please don't cry."

you feel the warmth of tears as they slide down your cheeks, shoulders slumping, exhausted from faking it even if it was just for a few moments. bucky's has shown more care than your ex has shown you in a month, and the honey of it begins to drip down your face. bucky steps towards you in quick, long strides until he's in front of you.

"he cheated on me," you admit, feeling ashamed even though you're not the one who it should be put on. he should be embarrassed, he should be crying. "god, i'm so stupid," you cry, dropping your head into your hands. bucky bends down to his knees.

"what?" bucky whispers, confusion clear in his tone and the pinch of his features, "how could he... you're not—you're not stupid, dolly, he is. he is the stupidest man in the universe for doing that to you."

"he told me he was sick. i made him fucking chicken soup while he was with some other girl," you snivel. bucky gives you a tissue you didn't notice he grabbed from your dresser, using another one to gently dab underneath your eyes.

"he's so stupid, y/n. i wish i could do something. i'm so sorry, doll."

you shake your head, "it's not your fault."

"it's not yours, either." bucky's voice is strained with his truth, begging for you to believe him. it only makes the lump swell larger, your chin tilting up. bucky takes away the tissue to wrap his arms around your abdomen, laying his head on your lap as he feels you accept his comfort, your chin on his head.

"i just don't get it," you mumble tearily, "i'm a good girlfriend."

"you are," bucky affirms, "you don't know how many people would die for you to be their girlfriend. you are the best girlfr—the best girl."

you shut your eyes, tears continuing to slide down your cheeks, darkening the color of bucky's hair. "then why do i get the worst boyfriends?"

"because the ones that would treat you like you deserve can't get the gall to tell you. 'm sorry, that's on me."

you finally huff something other than a sob, a gentle laugh that still accompanies salt slipping from cracked lips, "it's my fault, too."

bowing your chin into your neck, you nuzzle your nose into the strands of bucky's hair, inhaling the sweet scent of his shampoo, familiar, safe.

your phone breaks the moment with a vibration, a notification from the contact name you still haven't brought yourself to change with frantic words underneath it. you roll your eyes, leaning further into bucky.

"s'that him?" bucky asks.

you nod bitterly, "he probably found out i know. i don't care what he's saying."

your phone continues to vibrate, low music eventually accompanying it when he begins to call. you can feel yourself beginning to get frustrated, your sadness beginning to burn away to anger. nevertheless, it continues to weigh you down enough to hesitate yelling at him at the risk of hearing his voice, the sweet apologies bouncing off the same tongue that was in another girl's throat just a few hours prior.

your phone goes silent after a minute, but it continues to vibrate ever few seconds until the music begins to chime again.

annoyed, you sit up, glaring at your phone but not wanting to touch it.

bucky seems to read your mind, reaching for it to silence it, but at the opportunity, his finger hovers over the answer button, looking up at you for confirmation. at the stretch of your hand toward it, he hands it to you. you take a deep breath before answering,

your entire body seems to slump in the exhaustion of listening to his strung sorries, the only words you offer being arguments that you saw it with your own eyes, asking him if he'd like to see the video in case he somehow forgot living it.

at some point, you drop your phone on your thighs, your fingers massaging your temples.

bucky grabs it without a second thought, "hey, asshole. shut the fuck up or i will go to your house to snap your neck.."

he hangs up, red tinging his skin, enough anger running through his veins for you to hear the vibranium plates of his arm as they shift.

"thank you," you say.

at the sound of your voice, bucky's tense jaw begins to relax, the fury that managed to slip past his exterior immediately easing back when he looks up at your soft eyes.

"i'm so tired," you admit, squeezing the fingers that wrap around your own. "will you just... lay with me for a little? please?"

bucky isn't sure if the possibility of saying no even exists, raising your hand to his lips so he can press a kiss to your knuckles, "whatever you want, sweetheart."

-

the both of you don't wake up again until the next morning, too wrapped up in each other to pay attention to anything else. only few more tears were shed, all more of anger than the sadness still weighing down your heart. bucky blinks himself awake before you do, a stupid smile tugging at his lips when he notices you're in his arms.

you seem so much calmer as you sleep, the stress lines that decorate your forehead disappearing with your even breaths. tear stains aren't as prominent, especially after bucky tenderly brushes some away with his thumb, unable to help the little smile that peeks out when you lean into his touch.

you don't seem as troubled, which makes it even worse when harsh knocking interrupts the peace of your room, a loud voice calling for you which bucky instantly recognizes as your ex-boyfriend's. you snap awake, blinking disorientedly, "what... is that—what is he doing here?"

"do you want me to deal with it?" bucky asks you, his words laced with please let me deal with it, but you refuse, shaking your head to wake yourself up and wiping at your cheeks.

"what are you doing here?" you question angrily once you open the door, only to have it pushed open completely, your ex barging inside.

"you weren't answering, and this guy answered your phone, i wanted to make sure you were okay."

"if i'm okay? that is so—you have to be kidding. get out." you go to shut the door, feeling all the sadness that was left in you leave your body when you see the guy you were feeling it over.

"y/n," he sighs, a hand reaching out for you when bucky intercepts it, suddenly next to you.

"touch a hair on her head and i will murder you. i promise you."

he freezes, retracting his hand, but decided he still has a chance, "who is this?"

"don't tell me you're—you are ridiculous! get out!"

seeing your ex with no intention of leaving, bucky decides his patience has run out, already able to see the headlines as he shoves him out of your room roughly until he's in the elevator, "'think she said to leave."

sensing an argument, bucky rolls his eyes and decides fuck it. for you, he'd do anything, breaking the guys' nose is nothing.

bucky throws a punch that makes your ex's eyes roll back. he hears you exclaim his name in surprise.

"stay away from y/n."

bucky pushes the first button on the elevator before stepping out, breathing heavily.

"bucky!" your eyes are wide, "you didn't—he wasn't worth it."

"but you are," bucky states, "anything for my girl."

the pull of your cheeks is involuntary, you think vaguely that you shouldn't be able to smile after th enight you had, but bucky's words continue to echo in your mind, only widening the small smile on your face, "your girl, huh?"

bucky blushes, looking down. "uh huh."

"i think i like the sound of that."