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Two hours. It's been two hours since a loud scream had pulled her out of her sleep, nearly made her jump out of bed and grab the handgun she was hiding under her pillow only to realise, with a sleep clouded head, that the pained noises came from her next-door neighbour. This had been going on for a while now and she pitied him.
Y/N glanced to the side, it was currently 4:30am and the rest of the Avengers tower was deep asleep. She stretched, mentally giving up on getting more sleep for the day and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
Sharing a wall with Bucky Barnes had sounded promising when Steve brought his lost childhood friend to the tower after finding him again. So, when he joined the Avengers, she immediately knew that the mysterious man with the softest smile and the long dark hair made her heart weak from the moment their eyes met, but it was hard to get on more than a very casual friendship level with him. She didn't know much about the old Army Veteran and if she'd be honest.. it bothered her from time to time. Still, she was sure that she had a crush on him.
Bucky stuck to Steve like a lost puppy and rarely participated in conversations. But he loved the breakfast she made for the whole team from time to time and that was enough to make her heart melt.
Now 5am the noises had stilled. Confirming that Bucky was probably sitting awake in his bed now. Y/N quickly grabbed a pair of shorts and tip-toed in fuzzy socks out of her room into the silent hallway. Four steps and she was in front of his door. This could either be a great or a dumb idea but she had to try her idea first before she would know what would be the end result. A firm knock was placed against the door.
"Bucky? It's me Y/N. Can I come in?" Silence. It was broken by a sigh coming from her lips. Tip-toeing back she had a secret weapon to make him open the door. From the observing she did and the shared conversations between him and Steve in the kitchen she knew that he had a weak spot for M&Ms as they had been invented in the 40s. To her joy she had bought a new bag recently and could use it now. A few minutes later she was back in front of his door.
"Buck, come on let me in. I also have M&Ms with me! Maybe some chocolate and some talking would be nice?" there was shuffling behind the door before it was opened slowly. A sweaty Bucky now in the doorframe. The rings underneath his eyes were deep, the shirt he was wearing clung to his muscular chest but that wasn't what caught her attention, it was the way his fingers were shaking while holding the edge of the door and how messy and knotted his hair looked
"Hi.." it was small, barely noticeable as the male in front of her rasped the greeting before he stepped to the side to let her into the trashed room. His blankets were on the floor, bedsheet torn where his metal hand gripped it too harsh. He sighed, keeping his eyes on the floor, embarrassed. "Good morning b-" she was about to reply as she shut the door but she was stopped by his bright blue eyes snapping up again. "It was my screams that woke you, right? Stupid nightmares.." he mumbled and she gently placed a hand on his arm to gain his attention back. "It's fine, I shouldn't sleep in that much anyways. " Trying to lift the mood a little she made her way over to the big windows, opening one of them to let some fresh air in.
"How about you take a quick shower and I fix the bed? After that we can maybe watch something?" they both had this thing where they met up randomly in the living room and started a movie without communicating much. Last time they weren't able to finish the Disney movie so maybe this was a good time to keep watching it.
Bucky frowned a little, looking down at his hands before he slowly nodded. "Maybe that's a good idea.. I'll see you in a minute?" he was about to move his fingers through his hair but he was stopped by the knots in it. This only made him escape into the bathroom faster, leaving Y/N to herself.
Turning the lights on she clapped her hands together, motivated to tidy this up before Bucky came back. Making him feel at ease was her top priority right now and so she hurried to remove the bedsheet, hoping that he kept his own in the same spot as most of the other Avengers and she was right. A dark one was pulled out of a dresser and replaced with ease. The pillows were back in their original spot and the blanket as well. It looked comfy again.
The shower was still running when she closed the window and sat down on the edge of the bed. Turning the TV on to pull up the last bit of Tangled she smiled as she recalled how Bucky had a constant smile on his face while they had watched the first half of the movie.
"Y/N?" she had been so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice the shower shutting off and the bathroom door opening halfway. "You have long hair.. could you..maybe help me with detangling my hair? I mean only if you want." Bucky was stumbling over his words, a hint of pink on his cheeks that was now visible as he poked his head out of the door, hiding most of his hair from that angle. It was the most endearing thing she had ever seen. "Of course, Buck, come here. Do you have a brush? Detangling spray? Maybe some hair oil?" Bucky returned with a small comb between his human fingers, the frown back on his face as he mumbled that this was the only thing he had. This small thing would have never survived her own hair, and judging by the way it was missing some teeth it wasn't the best match for Bucky's hair either.
"Don't worry about it. I will grab my stuff quickly. Don't run away." She smiled at him before getting up to leave to her own room. Leaving the door open behind her for easier access again. It might have been too much stuff that she had piled into her arms but she didn't really care. She would pamper him if he would allow her.
"Ready?" she smiled and he was distracted by it for a moment. She looked so effortless pretty in just a shirt and shorts and those silly fluffy socks. He was only able to nod so she placed the things she carried with her on the bed and climbed behind him. He was wearing a tank top, the white contrasting with his metal arm and dark hair but it looked so good on him. Gentle fingers settled on his shoulders, making him jump slightly and Y/N giggled a little. "You really created a mess here.." she eyed his hair, already sure that her detangling spray would be used a lot tonight. Her thumbs moved with slight pressure up his neck and the Soldier in front of her noticeable relaxed. "If anything hurts, please tell me, alright? " She was shaking the spray bottle a little, mixing the liquid inside before she sprayed it all over his towel dry hair. A sweet scent filled the room from it, soaking into Bucky's hair and making him sigh because now.. he smelled just like you and that made his stomach feel a little.. funny. The smile on his lips wasn't forced like he sometimes did in social situations, it felt easy.
Y/N went from bottom to top, gently brushing his hair with an actual brush made to detangle hair . He was sitting relaxed in front of her, eyes trained on the movie he was glad that she turned on. "Rapunzel is getting her hair brushed here too.. I guess you're my Disney Princess now." it was a bold move from the y/h/c woman behind him but it made him laugh, a full-hearted laugh that made his shoulders shake and he looked back at her for a moment, blue eyes twinkling with amusement and nightmares forgotten for a moment.
While she worked, he had also found the bag of M&Ms, from time to time he offered her a few as well which she took happily. But she also noticed how he made sure to not use his metal hand to offer the sweets. She didn't press the topic, just kept brushing until Bucky's hair was soft and slipping smooth through her fingers.
"I think we are done here." she hummed, fingers still in his hair to play with it, it just felt too nice and the broad man in front of her didn't seem to mind it either. His shoulders were relaxed and he let out comforting sighs from time to time.
"I like this movie.." he had settled next to her, Tangled long finished and now Alice in Wonderland was playing. The lights were off and Y/N had her legs halfway under his blankets. It had started raining outside and the Atmosphere got even more comfortable when Bucky slowly, with a hint of shyness on his facial features decided to place his head on her thighs. Eyes fixed on the TV to not look at hers he coughed slightly. "Could you.. play with my hair again?" came the soft request of the big man in her lap and how could she say no? Gentle her hand settled on his hand, massaging his scalp while her free hand settled on his temple, rubbing gentle circles there. While Bucky was literally purring, they both felt how tired they really were. With a sigh Bucky nuzzled deeper against the soft skin of her thighs, looking up to her for a split second to find her already asleep.
"Thank you, Doll."