Buck uses a word that I really don't like, but he was mad so I'll forgive him...

"You're not gonna get me sick, are you?" Bucky groaned with a look of disgust crossing his face as he watched you all but crawl across the living room at the compound and onto the couch. "Because we have a mission to prep for and, honestly, I don't want to be anywhere near you right now."

"You're such a compassionate jerk."

He shrugged and sat on a chair far enough away for him to feel safe. "I do what I do. But seriously, are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be...fine..." you faded away, tipping your head forward with a violent sneeze, followed by a relentless coughing fit. "Once this kills me, I'm sure I'll feel great."

~~~

Despite the burning and scratching in your throat that had nearly robbed you of your voice, the pain in your ear, and the incessant congestion that made your breathing sound like a snoring grizzly bear, Steve and Bucky insisted that you attend the mission briefing to plan for departure later in the day. They knew that you weren't the type to sit any mission out unless you were literally on your deathbed, so for them to hear you request a pass on the job was basically the same thing.

"Okay, I'm completely worried now," Steve said anxiously, standing as you entered the conference room and gently placing the back of his hand on your forehead. "You're so hot, (Y/N)."

"Why, thank you," you tried to smile coyly but failed, only looking more pitiful when another round of coughing began.

"Sit down, right now. Maybe try not to cough on me."

"I think I might actually die, Steve. I'm ready," you sighed, dropping heavily into the chair he had held out for you. Just before you closed your eyes and leaned back into the seat, you saw the Captain nod slightly towards you, directing Bucky to rest the cool metal of his hand on your cheek to try to lower your temperature. You jumped at the surprise sensation and turned around to face him, though your tone was harsh and bitter, and not what you meant it to be at all. "Can you please not touch me with that thing?"

"That thing?" he snapped back almost immediately. "That thing happens to be my arm. Just because you feel like whining about your inconvenient cold, it doesn't mean that you have to be such a raging bitch."

"Woah, guys," Steve stepped forward with his hands up and trying to interject, but he was shot down when you and Bucky both stood to continue.

"I'm sorry, what did you just call me?"

"Raging. Bitch."

Your hand reflexively shot up and slapped him with a resounding hit across his cheek, though it barely moved him or caused a visible reaction other than to ignite the angry fire in his eyes. You held his gaze for a moment, and you felt the shift; he was about to take a step forward to retaliate but you were quickly interrupted.

"Okay, that's enough!" Steve pushed himself between you, facing you to take your hands in his so that he might not be your next target. "Bucky, sit down and wait until I get back. (Y/N), you come with me." He grabbed your arm and all but dragged you across the room and to the elevator bays, pushing you in and hitting the button for your floor hard enough to crack the casing over the number. "I don't know what the hell that was, but you went from zero to a hundred in a flash. I'm not putting up with that kind of crap from you two, you understand? Not here."

"Yes, Captain." Your voice was soft and full of remorse, let alone the scratchiness that had only worsened with the tears that were brewing and soon to break loose. "I'm sorry, I don't know what that was. I think I'm just exhausted, but I was way out of line. Twice," you whispered, your voice finally began to crack and waver. Your emotions were always heightened anytime that you were sick, but this time it felt beyond anything you had ever experienced when Bucky had come at you with such venom.

"He wasn't exactly on his best behavior either," Steve replied quietly, his arms folded tightly over his chest as he stood motionless, watching the numbers flash by on the screen as the lift continued on. "I swear, sometimes it's like the two of you together are a time bomb, and when it finally explodes, I have no idea if it'll be good or bad...hey, you okay?" he asked when he caught your body beginning to wobble slightly in his peripheral vision.

"I'm just a little dizzy."

In one step he was at your side with an arm around your back and the other lifting you up and into his chest, tipping you against him to rest your head on his shoulder. "This is why I told you to sit. I'm calling in the team doctor."

"I'm sure Bruce can take care of it, it's a cold. I'm tired, that's all."

"Banner's gone for a month, remember? I know you hate the new guy, but I'm not backing down on this, so deal with it."

The doors of the elevator finally opened to your floor, but Steve stopped abruptly when Bucky was unexpectedly standing in his way. "How did you get up here so fast?" he asked his friend with a confused look that was immediately returned.

"What happened to her?" Bucky asked quietly but urgently, reaching out to move a stray strand of hair from your face. "Jesus, Steve, she's really pale. Here..." he offered, with his hands extended to take you, "you go call the doc and I'll take her to her room."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, you look fine," he scoffed, hugging you tighter against him. Being this tight against his chest was only adding to the heat from your fever, making your dizziness that much worse. You reached across to the hand that held your shoulders, the metal hand, and took it to press against your neck for the coolness of it. "Oh, so now that thing's of use?"

"I'm really so sorry, Bucky," you began to cry, not only from your remorse and anger at yourself, but just from the terrible way that your body felt and the exhaustion ravaging it. "I didn't mean it. Never once have I thought that way about your arm and I don't know why it came out now. And I hit you," you said with a shake of your head, "I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't deserve it."

Bucky approached your door and reached out to slowly open it, taking special care to hold you steady and still tightly against him to be sure you didn't slip from his grasp. With a quick kick of his foot, the door opened enough for the two of you to enter; he took you straight to your bed and put you under the blankets, reaching up to give your pillows a quick fluff before taking a seat next to you. He sat silently for several minutes, sitting still and watching you with an expression wrought with concern.

"(Y/N), tell me you're okay."

"I'm okay."

"Okay, again, but this time mean it."

"I'm okay, Buck, promise."

He stood finally and walked to the large windows overlooking the city as dusk darkened the skyline, stopping for just a moment to consider his next move. He didn't want to leave you alone, but he really shouldn't stay here; he felt inappropriate staying in your room with you, particularly when his room was only a few doors away and he could be here in seconds if you needed anything. But he just didn't want to leave.

"Can you stay?" you asked, surprising him that you were thinking the same thing, smiling faintly as he turned to face you.

"I'll take the couch." Bucky pulled the heavy curtains together and turned off your lights, but you stopped him from making the room completely dark with the final switch. You were never a fan of the dark, even with him here at your side now.

"Maybe just leave one on. If we know Steve, he'll have the doc here any second now, only for us to send him on his way...again...I'm...fine..." you panted, waiting and trying to let your sneeze go, but nothing happened. "Really? Nothing?" you chuckled. "What a disappointment that was." You could hear him rummaging around in your closet until he emerged with one of your extra blankets and a few pillows, throwing them haphazardly onto your small couch. When he opened the blanket, he paused with a loud laugh.

"Where did you get this?" he smirked, holding up the Captain America blanket across his chest. "Has Steve seen it?"

"Of course. Who do you think bought it?"

~~~

After the doctor had come and gone, agreeing that you would live after all, the two of you watched a movie that ended with you curled up with your head on Bucky's lap, his metal hand resting on your back, and both of you sound asleep. When the movie stopped and the room became almost completely silent, his eyes slowly and hesitantly opened to look down at you with both a thankfulness that you were still there, and a concern that he wouldn't be able to move without waking you when you looked so content. Ever so slowly, he slid one leg out at a time, holding your head gently until he was clear. After tucking you back into the blankets, he made his way to the couch and smirked at the giant Captain America likeness that was now covering him as he drifted back to sleep.

"Buck?" you mumbled in a barely-awake state, having been woken by the sound of soft cries and talking from the other side of your room, where he had gone to sleep. "Buck? You okay?" you tried again, still with no reply. As you sat up, you waited to regain your balance and wake just enough to go to him, sitting on the floor next to him for several minutes, watching him breathe, hearing him mumble Russian words that you didn't know, and seeing his face contort into painful and sad expressions over the matter of seconds. He was suffering a range of emotions that you couldn't clearly distinguish.

You gently pushed his arm up and slid beneath it, curling yourself up against him with your back to his chest, wrapping his metal arm around you and pulling the blanket up. "Cap and I have you, Buck," you whispered quietly, "you're safe."

"I didn't mean it either," he replied sleepily, much to your surprise that he had woken. "I would never mean what I said. I was just angry."

"Steve said that we're a time bomb."

"Steve's right."

"He is? Why would you say that?"

You felt the expansion of his chest against you when he took a deep breath, considering his choice of words given that he had just apologized for using the wrong ones earlier. The joints of his arm shifted ever so slightly as he tightened it around you, pulling you in just a little closer to him. "Because I think we're too much alike. We just say the first thing that pops out without a second thought, and it's bound to clash, right? Maybe that's why I liked you right from the start, because you're as passionate as I am about stuff, and just as stupid about not knowing when to shut up." Bucky quieted for a moment, and you thought maybe he drifted back to sleep until his voice returned, almost shy now. "I think I got so mad because it hurt to hear you think that way of me. I know other people do, but I didn't think that you were one of them."

"I'm not," you replied urgently, rolling over to face him. "I promise you, I'm not."

"I know," he exhaled heavily, "it just caught me off guard, and I'm sorry I called you that."

"Well, there are times when you would be right."

"Oh, I know that too," he smiled, closing his eyes again and wrapping both arms around you, flipping you back away from him but pulling you in tighter than before. "You keep that gorgeous face aimed that way. You think you're a bitch when you're sick? Sweetheart, you ain't seen nothin'."