#SHIT THAT WAS AN UNINTENDED PUN DAMNIT

[passerinesoncaffeine]

oh no hes fun to draw . I love him. Shit how do I keep gaining more blorbos Im running out of headspace for them

I need to draw Basil immediately.

[jamesbuchananxsteviegrant]

Don’t Let Me Drown | Bucky x Steve x Reader (Fluff, Angst)

Category: Fluff, Angst (Suggested) Age: 15+ Trigger Warnings: Drowning, PTSD, physical violence Ship: Bucky x Steve x Reader Summary: Steve And Bucky Both Fear The Cold But Reader Almost Drowns Request: “imagine idea: so both our boys have a bit of a fear of the cold because it brings back memories of being frozen. But when their girl almost drowns on a mission you can BET they shove everything aside to get to her & revive her” Contains Spoilers for: N/A Word Count: 3,287

---

“This doesn’t even feel real.” (Y/N) comments, watching her family play around on the beach. Wanda chuckles from the sun bed beside her.

“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” She agrees.

Tony is running away from Nat who’s attempting to splash him with water, Rhodey and Sam and floating on rubber rings on the waves, Steve and Bucky are sitting on the sand, Bruce is chatting away to Pepper. It’s heaven.

“(Y/N)!” Rhodey calls, prompting the woman to look over at him. “CAN YOU PLEASE TELL SAM THAT PINK ISN’T A COLOUR OF THE RAINBOW!”

Everyone stops their actions and looks over at Sam with a questioning glance.

“What?! There’s that song! You know, the red and orange and pink and green one!” Sam attempts to defend, (Y/N) giggle and shaking her head.

“Sam, the rainbow doesn’t unfortunately include pink.” She tells the man. He frowns.

“Nope, not believing it.” He states, turning back toward the sea to go back floating.

“Sam, come on, man! You’ve gotta be kidding!” Steve calls, Bucky laughing beside him.

“I’m so holding this against you!” The brunet soldier calls, watching Sam turn around and scowl.

(Y/N) giggles again and Sam moves his gaze from Bucky to her.

“Hey, that’s our girl, Wilson.” Steve jokes, grinning ear-to-ear.

Bucky tuns his head one-eight degrees and winks at his girl, watching her bite her lip in response.

Everyone goes back to their own activities, (Y/N)’s being sunbathing, catching the tan she never manages to get as they’re always working. Once upon a time, (Y/N) loved the beach because of the ocean, until that mission all those months ago.

*** Flashback ***

It was a kick to the stomach that sent the woman stumbling backwards, shattering the glass barrier of the balcony, her body falling to the ground.

“NO!” Tony exclaims, shoving every enemy aside as he sprints as fast as his feet in the suit will take him.

“TONY!” Rhodey yells after the man, but he doesn’t stop recklessly sprinting toward the edge.

The billionaire doesn’t respond, jumping over the edge of the balcony and flying down toward the woman who’s already submerged in the water. They were well over three-hundred feet high in the building so the impact on the water won’t have been painless, knocking the breath out of her lungs.

“FRIDAY, FIND HER!” The man shouts before he too submerges, frantically searching around for her.

The second he sees her body slowly sinking under, he wraps his arm around her and uses the other to direct himself, blasting out of the water and flying up in the air, finding a less hostile zone for her to go. Once he lands safely, he’s instantly panicking. 

“Come on, (Y/N), open those eyes for me.” He pleads, opening up his mask so he can get a proper look at her, instantly checking her pulse and beginning CPR as he receives no response from her body.

He’s panicking. Panicking for two main reasons. One being it’s his (Y/N), the woman he sees as his sister, the woman who brings him a sense of calm and relief whenever she’s nearby, the woman who has helped him through nightmares and panic attacks when he doesn’t want to tell Pepper.

“You don’t get to do this, (Y/N). You don’t get to die on me!” Tony screams, his own tears streaming as he continues to pump her chest and give her air from his mouth.

The second main reason he’s panicking, which is really not at the forefront of his mind, but it’s there, is not wanting to be the one to tell Steve and Bucky. How could he? How could he go back to the tower, to his old friend and his boyfriend, look them in the eye and tell them that he lost her? That he didn’t protect her properly? That he failed the most important job on the mission. He couldn’t. He remembers what they said to him before they left.

“She’s our fucking girl, Stark. You bring her back without a single God-damn scratch on her body. Have I made myself clear?” Bucky threatened, Steve not disagreeing.

Tony nodded his head at that. He fucking lied.

“(Y/N), GOD-DAMNIT, BREATHE!” He cries out, not stopping his actions until she’s finally coughing.

Breathing out a handful of oh my God’s, he assists her onto her side where she coughs up the buckets of water she inhaled, emptying up her lungs.

“That’s it, honey, that’s it. You’re okay, (Y/N), you’re gonna be okay.” He continues to soothe, stroking her back as she spits the last of the liquid out of her mouth.

The woman glances up and meets Tony’s petrified gaze, tears filling her eyes.

“You saved my life.” She whimpers, lips trembling.

The playboy’s heart breaks at the sight and he nods, forcing a smile.

“I would do it every time, (Y/N).” His voice is strained, also on the verge of breaking. “Come here, cupcake.” He mumbles, opening his arms up as he uses the nickname he knows she claims she hates him for using, but knows it makes her smile.

(Y/N) dives into the man’s arms and sobs, body trembling all over as the coldness pricks her skin.

“I’ve gotta get you back to the jet, (Y/N), you’re freezing.” He mumbles, feeling her nod.

It was when they got back and she was being looked after my Bruce that Tony had to face his fears. Well, one of the three he has.

“When did you get back? I told you to call me-“ Steve trails off his scolding as he takes in Tony’s solemn expression, the fact that he’s not even rolling his eyes and muttering a sarcastic yeah, yeah, whatever tells the soldier that something’s not right. “Tony, what’s wrong?” The Captain opts for instead.

Bucky also furrowing his brows at the man.

“I couldn’t have stopped it, you have to understand that.” Are the first words he says. Those get Bucky up off of the Sofa, standing by his boyfriend.

“Is she okay?!” The brunet demands. Tony flinches at his tone.

Steve’s hand reaches aside and he presses his palm to Bucky’s chest, silently asking him to calm down and not many any rash assumptions, despite the fact that his own brain is making those very same assumptions.

“Tony, what happened?”

Cap knows the man in front of him doesn’t give a shit about anything, so what happened that’s caused him to look so… broken?

“She was pushed off the edge, shattered straight through the barrier on the balcony and landed in the ocean below us.” The man begins, both super soldiers tensing up and widening their eyes. Bucky goes to take a step forward but Steve forces his hand. “I jumped in straight after, managed to get her out and got us away from the fight, did CPR on her and she came back.” He finishes, speaking incredibly quickly and staring off to the side, feeling the tears streak his face.

“Where is she?” Bucky asks, voice tense but not accusing.

“With Bruce in the med bay.” Tony confirms, finally turning his head to face the men. “I swear to God, I’m so fucking sorry.”

The Winter Soldier’s tension almost shatters at the raw emotions and sincerity lacing the man’s apology, knowing Tony doesn’t apologise for anything.

“Tony,” Steve speaks up. “You saved our girl’s life, why are you sorry?”

Iron Man’s face contorts into confusion. Shock. Uncertainty. Steve strides toward him, Bucky following behind. He rests his hand on Tony’s shoulder and turns to look at the side of his head, the billionaire not daring to face Captain America.

“Thank you for saving her. You did incredible, as always.”

Bucky nods at the man, showing his agreement but not being ready to vocalise it, before following Steve out of the room.

*** Flashback End ***

Since then, she remains on the shore, often reading a book or just catching a tan, like now, but the last time she went to a beach for relaxation purposes was more years ago than she can remember.

It’s not so much that Steve and Bucky don’t like the ocean, it’s more the temperature of it. A given, the sun is in the sky and the temperature of the air is about twenty-five degrees Celsius (seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit), but the water still remains mega cold. Even Sam waddled into it, body tensed up as he got used to the coldness, Rhodey calling him a pussy as he was already floating around, neck deep. Steve and Bucky both talked about it one night as Buck found the blond having a panic attack in the shower of their ensuite because the hot water failed in the building, the sudden icy temperatures throwing Steve into some crazy PTSD.

They talked and Bucky confirmed that he also can’t handle it, and so they make sure they’re attentive of one another whenever they’re near anything that may be cold enough to trigger them. (Y/N) knew this information of course and was often the one to talk them out of situations they don’t want to be in, neither of them willing to confess their fears and struggles. They also told Sam - just in case - and he’s never one to judge them. They’re the strong super soldiers - they daren’t show weakness. Similarly, no-one but the girl’s lovers and Tony know about her fear of water since the mission and she intends to keep it that way.

That plan was going swimmingly well (pun unintended) until Clint came over and wrapped his arms under the woman, lifting her bridal style.

“Come on, Marian,” He greets, referring to Robin Hood’s lover, Lady Marian, since she addresses him as Robin. It’s an ongoing joke between the pair and it makes Bucky and Steve laugh, knowing they’re like brother and sister.

“Where’re we going?” (Y/N) laughs, wrapping her arms around the man’s neck as he wanders around the beach with her in his arms.

“I found this cracking view atop those rocks and wanted to show you, if that’s alright?” The man asks, glancing down and flashing a wink her way.

She giggles again and shakes her head.

“Go on then, Robin. Since it’s you.”

“Attagirl.” His smile is contagious, as is his laughter as he playfully prances in the middle of Nat and Tony’s volleyball game.

The man strides up the rocks and when he finally hits the top, they can just about see the sun beginning to set. The gradient colour of the sky.

“It’s gorgeous, oh my gosh…” (Y/N) whispers, hands now looser around the archer’s neck as she moves her head around to truly admire the view.

“Isn’t it just?” Clint agrees, nodding, also taking in the view for a fourth - maybe fifth - time that day. “Thinking about it, it’s getting to sunset…”

“That it is.” The girl chuckles at his obvious statement.

“And you’ve been sunbathing all day,”

“That I have. It’s been lush.”

“And, so, you know what’s still left to do before we head home?” The man questions, hearing her hum in question. “Go in the water.”

He registers her head snapping around and looking at him with wide eyes before he lightly throws her off the edge, knowing full well that it’s deep enough that she won’t hit any rocks or anything as she splashes, but didn’t register for her fear.

“Wait!” Is all the girl manages to gasp as she’s tossed into the water, the splash being so loud it makes the others look over.

“What was that?” Nat calls over, raising a brow as she catches the ball that Tony knocks over to her.

“Sent (Y/N) for a swim since she hasn’t been in yet.” Clint grins, only for it to falter as he watches Steve and Bucky jump up, staring with wide eyes as Tony’s expression does the same.

The super soldiers don’t think about anything else in that moment. They both sprint over to the rocks that Clint is stood atop of, knowing it’ll be quicker than trying to stride through the water from the shoreline to the deepest part below where he is.

“What’s going on?” The archer questions.

“Woah, what’re you doing?” Rhodey follows up, watching Steve and Bucky sprint up the rocks like they were running from death.

Steve and Bucky both acknowledge their fears but it’s gone as quick as it appeared as they both dive off of the edge of the rock, nearly knocking Clint off in the process. They hit the water with wide eyes, frantically searching for their girl.

Tony had ran over to the shore on the other side of the rocks where they’ll most likely resurface, his eyes wide as he scans for any signs as to where they could be.

“STARK, WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Sam yells, all of them now beside the man, Clint looking traumatised.

“The mission in Miami, when she fell in the ocean, she got a fear of water, she can’t be under it, not like this.” He explains, eyes wide, not moving his gaze.

“Steve and Buck get PTSD from cold water.” Sam whispers, Tony now turning to look at him, even more worry in his eyes.

No-one needs an explanation as to why the super soldiers get PTSD from the cold water - it’s fairly obvious.

“Someone’s got to-“ Wanda is cut off as another splash occurs and they see the two men both surface at the same time, (Y/N) in the arms of Steve who Bucky is holding onto.

“STEVE, BUCKY, HERE!” Nat yells, catching their attention and Bucky nodding and swimming over, keeping his hold on Steve’s arm as the blond focuses on holding onto (Y/N).

The group help them all out of the water but the two men instantly disregard them as they focus back on (Y/N).

“(Y/N)! Come on, sweetheart, open those eyes for me. Give me those gorgeous eyes.” Steve pleads, stroking her messy hair out of her face, resting a hand on her cheek for a second before checking her pulse.

“Come on, doll. Breathe for us.” Bucky adds, leaning down to listen for any breaths coming through her mouth or nose.

Tony feels like he’s gonna collapse. He’s there all over again. In Miami. She’s gone. She’s not gonna make it. He has to live in a world where she doesn’t exist because he failed to protect her. Steve and Bucky are going to go crazy. He failed. He’s responsible.

“TONY!” Rhodey yells, making the man snap back to reality.

“MOVE!” Bruce’s voice suddenly bellow, making Steve and Bucky back up as the medical professional gets to work on CPR.

“Tony, she’s going to be fine. It’s (Y/N), she’s done this before, she’s a drowning professional now.” Rhodey continues to try and make light of the situation, only receiving a few forced smiles as everyone worries for the woman’s wellbeing.

“I’m so sorry…” Clint finally speaks, voice low and tense. His eyes also wide as they stare at the woman’s almost lifeless body.

With so much emotion running through him, Bucky jumps up and grabs the man by his neck, lifting him up with his metal arm, choking him.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH, WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!” The brunet roars, eyes wide.

“BUCKY, STOP!” Nat yells, only to fall on deaf ears.

“THOUGHT IT’D BE FUN TO DROP MY GIRLFRIEND INTO THE FUCKING OCEAN LIKE IT WAS FUCKING FUNNY?! WHO DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!”

Clint’s worry for (Y/N) momentarily turns into fear for his own wellbeing. The man has a wife and kids. He needs to stay alive.

“Buck,” Steve’s voice catches the soldier’s attention, looking down at Steve who’s trembling. “Stop, please.”

Hearing the sadness in his man’s voice, he instantly slackens his grip, Clint dropping to the ground onto his knees, clutching at his throat. Bucky also drops to his knees, reaching his arms around Steve’s trembling state and pulls him into a tight embrace.

“I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you.” The brunet rasps, his own voice trembling as he looks back at Bruce frantically working on (Y/N).

Steve can only nod, gripping onto the man, not caring that he’s shirtless and his nails are digging into his skin. Bucky probably doesn’t even register the pain.

The loud coughing suddenly gets everyones attention, the two soldiers pulling back from one another and staring at their girl who’s choking up water. Tony releasing his uncontrollable sob at the sight. Nat rubs his back and gives him a worried stare.

“She’s okay, Tony. She’s strong.”

The billionaire can only nod, palm covering his agape mouth.

When (Y/N) comes round, she looks around her with wide eyes, acknowledging everyone looking at her with fear. Her gaze lands on Tony but she can’t render enough energy to worry about him right now - Nat doing the job is okay - but then she sees her two lovers and she sobs, diving toward both of them.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay, doll, we’ve got you. We’ve got you, you’re safe, you’re okay.” Bucky soothes, knowing Steve is still too choked up from his own experience in the cold, as well as dealing with the near-loss of their girlfriend.

The blond gulps and nods.

“You’re okay, sweetheart.” He whispers. “You’re okay.”

///

“How’re you feeling?” Bucky whispers, taking the glass of water from the woman as she finishes drinking it.

“Horrible.” (Y/N) groans, leaning back against their oversized, plush headboard. “Hot and cold, sick and tired.”

Steve makes a hum in disapproval and leans over to kiss her forehead.

“Do you want me to put on another episode?” He asks, referring to the TV show she’s been in bed watching all day, recovering from - what feels like - her never-ending cold.

The woman nods and forces a small smile of appreciation.

“M’sorry I don’t wanna sleep with you guys.” She whispers, not referencing sex.

She’s been in her own bed in her own room whilst unwell, the feeling of being sandwiched between two men not helping her already claustrophobic feeling.

“Shh. You don’t need to apologise for that, doll. You’re ill and we’re happy to give you whatever you need until you feel better, and if that means I can only cuddle Stevie for a few nights then so be it.” Bucky smiles, stroking her cheek.

“You love Rogers’ cuddles.” (Y/N) whispers, eyes flickering as exhaustion takes over her.

“That I do.” The brunet chuckles, watching her doze off almost instantly.

A knock on the door catches the mens’ attention.

“How is she?” Clint asks, looking almost scared to take more than one step in the room.

“Just a basic cold. She’s improving though. Will be back to usual in no more than maybe four, maybe five, days I reckon.” Steve responds, continuing to put on the girl’s TV show in case she wakes up.

Bucky cautiously lays her down properly and tucks her in, kissing her forehead.

“I’m sorry.” The archers sighs.

“Clint, we’ve been through this-“ Cap attempts, but the man shakes his head.

“I know, but, fuck I almost killed her!”

The two soldiers tense at his words but they look at her and remember she’s safe.

“You didn’t know, Clint.” Buck states for the nth time, reminding himself just as much as his associate.

“I love her like a sister.”

“We know.” Steve smiles, patting his friend on the shoulder. “So stop beating yourself up over it.”

The man reluctantly nods and smiles.

“She’s lucky to have you two.”

“Damn straight she is.” The blond jokes, prompting a laugh from both Bucky and Clint.

“Damn straight indeed.”