A/N: I'm not even going to talk about the name... So, apparently when I wrote this I pictured Bucky being a helpless little kitten that needs to be taken care of 24/7. Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, haha. Hope you'll like this imagine!

Warning(s): Arguing between Steve and the reader, jealous Steve, platonic!Bucky x reader

"FRIDAY, I'm putting the quinjet on autopilot. Inform me if something's wrong."

"Sure thing, Ms Y/L/N."

You stood up from the pilot's seat and walked over to Bucky who was pacing back and forth the quinjet, flipping one of his pocketknives in his hand.

"Bucky?" You called out from a few feet away just to be safe, he was feeling a little anxious. "You okay?"

Bucky turned to you, gripping the knife tightly in his hand and he breathed loudly. His lips were pressed in a thin line and his eyes were wide. He nodded, but it didn't convince you.

You sat down on the table in front of him and placed your hand on his forearm. You pulled him closer to you only slightly. "Buck, talk to me."

He sighed and placed the knife back in its holder. He moved closer to you and let you place your hands on his. "I'm scared." He told you truthfully.

"What are you scared of?" You asked and pulled him to sit beside you.

"Of meeting them."

You let out a quiet sigh and placed your hand on his shoulder. You were scared of meeting them too. After what had happened between the Avengers everyone was feeling a bit tense. They were a team again, sure, but there was still a lot of tension between the former opposite teams. Things weren't like they used to be.

"It might take some time for them to warm up to you," by them you meant Tony, "but everything is going to turn out alright." You told him with a small smile playing on your lips.

He nodded and rested his head on your shoulder. "Okay." He muttered.

You rested your head on his and smiled, throwing your arm over his back and ran your hand up and down his right arm.

After the war between the Avengers, everyone else had gone home but Bucky had decided to stay away for a while. You were assigned to a mission to get him back. Nobody else other than you and Fury knew.

You couldn't blame him for being so scared. He and Tony did not end on good terms. They never started in good terms either. Tony had his issues with Bucky but he had calmed down a bit. He was still not fully happy about having "that cyborg murderer" in the Avengers headquarters.

You wished with all of your heart that the others would warm up to him. He was, without a doubt, the sweetest guy you had ever met. He was just a poor innocent soul who was made to do all those horrible things. He didn't have control over it. It was not his fault. And you were ready to fight anyone who claimed otherwise.

You didn't mean 'fight' figuratively, no. You meant literally fight anyone. You felt like Bucky deserved all the protection from you. You didn't mean it as if he was weak or anything but people were out there to get to him and you sure as hell were not going to let them lay a finger on him.

"We should both get some sleep. Big day tomorrow." You sent Bucky a small smile and jumped off the table. "Wake me up if you need me." You patted his cheek before lying down on one of the benches in the back. Although it was not as comfortable as being in your own bed, you could still muster up some sleep.

***

"Y/N." You heard someone say. "Y/N," the voice repeated.

You opened one of your eyes to see Bucky slightly shaking you. You sat up, took his face in your hands and looked at his eyes, searching for signs of panic but fortunately you didn't find any. You sighed in relief and removed your hands from him. "What's up?"

"FRIDAY's calling for you." He said and you nodded.

"Thank you, Buck."

You walked to the pilot's seat again, rubbing some sleep from your eyes as you yawned. "What's the sitch?" You asked as you put the jet off autopilot.

"We're ready to land."

As you heard FRIDAY say those words, you felt yourself tense up. Truth be told, you hadn't been that scared to see them all again but now that it was happening, you were scared shitless.

You shrugged it off and sat up straight on your chair. You decided to lock the feeling inside so Bucky wouldn't freak out. You had to stay strong for now. You knew Bucky needed you to although he did not say so.

"Thanks, FRIDAY." You thanked the artificial intelligence quietly.

You landed the quinjet safely on the roof top of the quarters, sighing in relief, knowing you did not do any harm to the quinjet you had taken with you few months ago.

Usually a mission like this would have lasted for a few hours, minus the long flights, but when it came to Bucky, it was different. He was hurting, he was in need of help, he needed someone to trust. Gladly, he had chosen to let you in and he learned to trust you.

You took Bucky's hand in yours and guided him out of the quinjet. You felt his hand grip yours tighter as you entered the building. You sent him a reassuring smile and tugged him inside as the doors opened.

The team was there, waiting for you two. They all looked a bit tense. "Hey, everyone." You said quietly and looked at each person in the eye until your eyes landed on Steve. Your ex-boyfriend Steve.

You two had broken up after the Avengers devided into two teams. You chose Tony's side, you believed it was the right choice. After all that happened, you realised you should have chosen your boyfriend's side. That didn't mean you thought it was wrong to be on team Iron Man, but you realised you belonged to team Cap. You couldn't let the governments of the world take control of you. You didn't trust them with gifted people. When people were in need, the Avengers would be there in a heartbeat. If they were in charge, you might had not been able to help as many people.

You quickly adverted your gaze from Steve's sad one and turned to Bucky. "Are you okay?" You wanted to ask him before you introduced him to everyone (although they already knew him).

He nodded. "Are you?" He asked, clearly sensing your discomfort.

You just shrugged it off and turned to the others. "This is Bucky." You told them, "Hasn't been the Winter Soldier for months. Let's not break that streak." You warned the others. "Now, I know we all have not been in the best of terms with each other but we have made some improvement. Let's not stop, alright?" You asked and the others nodded hesitantly.

Steve stepped towards you with his hands rubbing the sides of his thighs, he was clearly nervous. "Hey, Buck." He sent his friend a small smile.

Bucky clearly tensed beside you and you moved your hand to his, giving it a small squeeze to calm him down. You saw Steve's gaze drop to your and Bucky's intertwined hands and something changed in his facial features. You didn't have quite enough time to take a better look when you heard Bucky whisper, "I can't do this, Y/N." He said with a pained tone. You turned your attention to him and saw his sad, panicked gaze.

"I'm sorry," you turned to the others, "We'll have to do this another time." You told them and guided Bucky to his new room.

You closed the door behind you and sat Bucky down at the edge of the bed. You placed your hands firmly on his shoulders, kneeled down in front of him and looked him in the eye. "Are you okay?" You asked him.

Bucky nodded but he still looked a bit unsure. "It was just a little overwhelming." He muttered but managed to send you a small smile.

"I understand. It's going to take some time for you to get accustomed to this new life. We're all just going to have to be patient."

Bucky nodded again and now he dropped his gaze down to his hands that were fiddling on his lap. "Steve seemed mad."

You sighed, "He's not mad at you, Bucky. If he is mad, he's mad at me."

Bucky's brows furrowed and he looked up at you again. "Why would he be mad at you?"

"I made a mistake. At the time I didn't know that I did. But when I finally realised, it was too late."

Bucky stayed quiet for a moment just studying your face and how discussing your and Steve's relationship made such noticeable switch in your emotion. He saw the tears forming in your eyes, the crease that made its way between your brows. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

You shrugged it off, "Do you want to be left alone or do you want me to stay?"

Bucky pondered for a moment. He glanced at the door then turned his attention back to you. "Will you stay for a while?" He asked hopefully.

You nodded and sat down next to him.

***

"Well at least they're both whole." Natasha muttered as you and Bucky left.

Steve kept his eyes on you until you turned around the corner and he couldn't see you from where he was standing.  He tore his eyes away from where he'd last seen you and ran his hand over his forehead.

"Steve?" Wanda said, sensing his distress.

Steve shook his head and his hand found its way to the back of his neck. He rubbed his palm against the skin and sighed. "I don't know." He said.

"I-I didn't ask anything yet." Wanda said in confusion.

"Well, I don't know." He said quietly and walked over to his own bedroom, leaving everyone else standing behind him, confused.

He was sad, sad to see you after what happened, saddened by the fact that Bucky couldn't even say hi to him after everything they went through few months ago. He was sad because his best friend would rather be with the woman who Steve used to call his girlfriend instead of him.

Although he was sad, he was angry also. Why was he angry? He couldn't quite comprehend. Was it because after all that had happened, just seeing you made him realise how much he loved you? Or was he feeling angry because you were the one who was sent to save Bucky and that's why you were the only one he trusted? The anger could have also been caused by the way Bucky looked at you like a lion cub looked at its mother. Pure admiration.

Then a thought popped into Steve's head. Was he jealous?

***

Days went by and you continued being the only person Bucky trusted, even after all that he and Steve had went through. Steve continued to feel anger and sadness. Still he refused to admit he was jealous.

You had noticed that Steve had been avoiding you but he was also avoiding Bucky which to you, was odd. You'd thought when you brought Bucky back, Steve would have made every kind of attempt to get closer to Bucky. Steve missed Bucky dearly. He used to always talk about their time together before the war.

You understood why he'd been avoiding you. You didn't end on the best terms. You hurt him by choosing Tony's side. You were just fooling yourself, you always knew you couldn't handle being controlled like that. You needed your freedom but you were too scared of risking your life and everyone else's.

"Y/N?" Bucky's voice made you shudder slightly. You got lost in your thoughts.

You let out a quiet, dry chuckle and ran your fingers through your hair. "Sorry." You apologised, crossed your fingers and leaned your forearms on the dinner table in front of you. "Did you say something?"

He narrowed his eyes at you. "You're thinking about Steve again, aren't you?" He asked.

You sighed and sent him a glare. "No."

"Yes you were," he said with a small smirk. "Why don't you just go talk to him? You're obviously still in love with him."

"Why don't you go talk to him?" You asked. "You seem to have made such good progress. He misses his best friend."

"Not as much as he misses his best girl." He smiled at you. Bucky liked to tease you a lot. You didn't mind it, really. It gave you a glimpse of how far he'd gone in recovering.

"Shut up and eat your plums." You tossed him one from the bag you had bought for him.

Bucky poked his tongue at you and you couldn't help smiling. He was doing so well and you knew that he would soon be ready to speak to Steve. If Steve let him...

"I think..." Bucky started and took a bite of the plum. You raised your brow at him and waited him to continue. He held up his finger and chewed on the piece of plum, making sure he had swallowed it before speaking up again. "I think I'm ready to... To talk to him." He said as his gaze dropped down to the plum in his hand.

You let your hands fall on the table you were sitting by, your palms hitting the wooden surface with a loud thud. Your eyes were wide and your jaw dropped. "Really?" You asked as you found your voice again. As he nodded, you stood up abruptly and walked over to the other side of the table, walking behind the chair he was sitting on and you wrapped your arms around him, pulling him back on his chair. "That's so great!" You cried out and kissed the top of his head before cuddling him from behind.

Bucky let out a groan placed the cool palm of his metal hand on your face and pushed you away. You let out a yelp that was muffled by Bucky's hand. He chuckled and moved his hand away from your face. He smiled up at you and you sent him a toothy grin back.

As you looked up from him, you saw Steve standing at the doorway. Your smile fell and you pulled away from Bucky completely. "Hi Steve." You said, dropping your gaze down to your feet. "Bucky wants to talk to you." You said and started walking out of the room.

Steve grabbed your arm tightly, preventing you from leaving. You quickly looked up and saw the frown on his face. He pushed you back gently and told you to sit down at the table.

You gave him a confused look but sat down. Your movements were slow and careful. You had no idea what was happening.

Steve sat down at the end of the table and crossed his arms on his chest. Bucky arched his brow, silently asking you what was going on. You only shook your head, the situation was a bit freaky.

Steve opened his mouth but quickly closed it afterwards, debating on whether to say anything.

"Steve?" You asked after a moment of complete silence. "What's going on?" You asked with concern.

Steve looked at you with sadness in his eyes. He uncrossed his arms and placed them on the table. He looked at you, then at Bucky, then back at you again.

"Steve, you're freaking us both out." You stated as you looked at Bucky who was clearly feeling uncomfortable because of the situation you three were in.

"This is the most you've talked to me in weeks." He muttered quietly but not so quiet you couldn't hear.

"What?"

"I know we broke up and we were both hurting because of it," he said and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. "I thought we could still be able to talk to each other."

"Steve, you're the one who's been avoiding me!"

"Maybe, but that's because you're always with him," he said, pointing at Bucky. "Wherever you are, he's there. You're always together!"

Bucky cleared his throat and you turned your attention towards him. "I'm sorry, Steve."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," you said. "Steve, I thought you understood tha—"

"Why are you the one he comes to, huh? I'm his best friend and have been for over 70 years! I should be the one to help him go through all this." Steve yelled at you both. The sadness that he had in his eyes had turned into anger by now. He was very angry.

"I can't believe—" you stopped mid sentence. "Are you jealous?" You asked him and his body tensed. "You are. You're jealous because Bucky is spending time with me and not you."

Bucky furrowed his brows and looked between the two of you. He didn't say anything yet, he wanted to know how Steve reacted.

Steve's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. He looked down at his lap and let out a sigh. "I guess." He admitted with a mumble.

"Bucky," you said and looked at your friend who was sat on the seat opposite from you with a confused look on his face. You took his hand in yours and squeezed it slightly. "Is it okay if I talk to Steve alone?" You asked and waited for him to nod. When he did, you sent him a small smile and he got up. You held his hand until he walked too far. You followed him with your gaze until he turned around the corner. You took a deep breath before turning your attention towards your ex-boyfriend who seemed pretty mad.

"I can't stand to see him look at you like that." He spoke up before you could ask him to. That's what Steve always was like when he was with you. You didn't have to ask what was bothering him, he'd always tell you because he trusted you and he knew you cared for him. "Like you're the light of his life. And then you hold hands in front of me," he groans and places his head in his hands.

"Steve, I am the only person Bucky trusts at the moment. He's comfortable with me. He needs to know that he's loved. He is still in a very vulnerable place."

"Loved?" Steve asked with his voice cracking.

"Yes. Loved." You said firmly. "Not in the way you think, though."

"Well what about him?" He asked. "What if he feels... That way."

You shook your head, "Do you really think that after all that he's been through, he's ready to fall in love with someone?" You asked him with a raised eyebrow. "He's still learning to love himself after everything he was made to do."

"What about after he's done that?" Steve challenged you. "How do you know he won't fall in love with you?" He asked with sad eyes.

"He won't." You assured him. "Our friendship is completely platonic. And even if he started to have even the slightest of feelings for me, he wouldn't let himself fall in love with me." You said softly. "He wouldn't want to hurt his best friend."

Steve lifted his head up and looked at you with wide eyes. "Has he—"

"He's talked about you a lot," you couldn't help but let a grin make its way to your lips. "Right before you came here he told me he might be ready to talk to you." And with that, Steve's whole face lit up. "Until you, you know... Screamed at us."

He stood up which made the chair make a creaking noise against the floor. "I better go talk to him."

"Wait, before you go." You began and he stopped in his tracks. "Why exactly are you jealous?" You asked and his brows knitted. "Because Bucky is spending time with me and not you or because seeing me with another man makes you mad?"

Steve sighed and crossed his arms on his chest, shrugging. "It doesn't make me mad. It makes me livid." He chuckles slightly. "Maybe a bit of both."

Your lips tightened into a line and you bit the inside of your cheek. "I'm sorry." You apologised.

"No, I should—"

"About what happened months ago." You still felt bad. If you would have made the right choice at first, you would have probably still been together. You loved him and he loved you. You could have gone to the distance with him.

"Y/N," he said with a warning tone. "Don't." He pleaded.

"But—"

"Don't." He said strictly.

You stopped talking. It was silent between the two of you for a few seconds. The only sound that was heard was the humming of the fridge. "You do know... That I still love you, right?"

"I know," Steve nodded. "You do know that I still love you too, right?" He asked and brought his hand up to the back of his neck.

"I know."

And there was another moment of silence. "Well," Steve spoke up. "I should go." He said, pointing behind him. "Time to catch up with an old friend."

"Have fun," you smiled. "Don't push him. Be patient."

"I will." He sent you a one last smile and left.

You stayed in the kitchen, fighting the urge to follow Steve and go eavesdrop on their conversation. You also found yourself smiling from the moment you and Steve had only few seconds before. It was nice to hear that he still loved you back. You weren't planning on getting back together with him no matter how much you missed him nor were you planning on being just friends either. You weren't planning on anything yet. You were just going to see how things were going to turn out. You knew, no matter what was going to happen, that Steve would always be around and maybe that's just what you needed. You and Steve both needed.