#college Bucky and the community of sports and him being loved no matter what

[helahades]

bucky barnes… bucky…. bucky playing sports and wearing a baseball cap with his hair tied back under it and strands poking from the bun,,;bucky running across a field… bucky sliding in the dirt playing baseball… bucky barnes being slapped on the back by his team after winning them the game… bucky seeing a pretty girl in the bleachers and stealing glances and hoping to see her at the big party later:… bucky barnes playing college sports bucky being sleepy in class because of all his sports bucky bucky bucky

[captainscanadian]

Better | Bucky Barnes x Reader (Epilogue 2)

My Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Summary: You did good. No, you did better than good.

Word Count: 2505

Pairing: Doctor!Bucky x Doctor!Reader, Portia Barnes, Grant Barnes, Sarah Rogers

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Abuse, Mentions of Death

A/N: This is it. This is the end of an era. This is the end of me writing Better. I cannot believe I actually managed to finish a fic. Most importantly, I cannot believe so many of you have taken your time to read this and to love this story and Better!Bucky as much as I do. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you all. I am forever grateful for every single one of you. This one’s dedicated to @dramadreamer14​ because after the torture that I put her through, she needs this domestic, fluffy, “growing old together” kind of wrap-up for this fic. Pic’s not mine, credit to the owners!

20 years later...

New Hope, Pennsylvania was a quiet little town. No one ever knew that it had even existed. Even Bucky had only come to know of this small town until he had met you. Over the years, you had not questioned why your husband had been sending money orders to your hometown every single month. You knew the answer to that. But you also knew that a few years into your marriage, the payments had stopped. Bucky had not mentioned it to you, but you knew that they had stopped. You did not live under the biggest rock on earth for crying out loud.

When you had asked Bucky about it though, he did not try to hide it from you. He did not lie to your face in the name of wanting to protect you, even if he knew how much pain was behind the answer to your query. Your biological parents had tragically passed away after your childhood home had caught fire and burnt down. A kitchen fire, apparently. It had spread so quickly by the time one of the neighbors had found out and managed to call the fire department, that your parents could not be saved.

Bucky had believed that you had every right to grieve your parents, to feel completely free from them now that they were really gone for good. A fire accident in your childhood home, he had told you. Neither of them survived. As it turned out, your mother had left a will before her death, stating that whatever the remaining amount of money she had left in her bank account should go to the science teacher at your school. After all, she had signed a contract saying that she would cut all ties with you. Of course, she was not going to leave you that money. But it seemed as though, after all these years of never being able to be on the same page, your mother did understand you at some point. She knew that you owed your old teacher so much for that one night of shelter and your mother also owed her that much for ensuring that her only child had not frozen to death. And that was the end of that.

Portia Natalia Barnes never got to know her maternal grandparents, but she knew from a very young age that her mother had not been as lucky as she had been when it came to being the recipient of unconditional parental love. You and Bucky had made sure to let both of your children know that they were loved from the day they were born. You never took them or the responsibility that you had taken on as being their parents for granted. You were honest with them, allowing them to understand that their parents were not perfect. But they were human beings with their own flaws, who thrived to be better. You had given them the space and the openness to be honest with you too. If they ever felt like your parenting was unfair to them, they would tell you. You communicated with them to make sure that they understood the boundaries that you had set for them as their parents and they felt understood as well. You were much better parents that the ones you had.

As the years rolled on, Portia had left your nest to go off to Harvard. Having inherited her father photographic memory, she had been quite a smart kid. When it came to her going to college, she had managed to grab an acceptance to multiple Ivy League schools. Her father had taken it personally that she had chosen Harvard over Columbia, his own alma mater. But truth be told, Bucky was simply not willing to see his little girl go off to live on her own. He had been a very protective father.

While your daughter was attending university in Boston, your son was freaking out over the football tryouts at his high school. While neither you nor your husband was athletically talented, it seemed as though Grant had taken a particular liking to playing sport. Now a senior in high school, he was well under way of getting a football scholarship. Both of your children were doing well for themselves and you could not be any prouder.

And as for you and your James, the two of you had resigned from the hospital when your children were starting school. The two of you had agreed that the unpredictable work schedule that came with working at the hospital was not ideal when you wanted to be raising two children. Bucky had admitted that he wanted to be more present in their lives. As much as he had been raised by a nanny, he was against the idea of you hiring one.

But the time had been right, for Bucky’s friend T’Challa, who had taken over your in-laws’ private practice from them had sold it back to the two of you before moving back to Africa. You and James began working together as partners, dictating your own work hours to accommodate your school runs and running your own clinic at the shelter. The two of you had really built yourselves a life together, just for the two of you.

Of course, this did not mean that you did not get to see your friends at all. Every weekend and the holidays were spent in each other’s company, no matter how far away from each other your lives had taken you all. Even if you all had your own families now, you still made time for each other. In the end, you were all each other’s families and that was never going to change all that easily.

“Mooooom!” Your son whined as he made his way down the stairs, his feet stomping across the hardwood floor with every step he took until he reached the kitchen. For a seventeen year old, he was quite broad and tall. He sure had the built for a football player, towering over your height too. According to your mother-in-law, he certainly took on after his father. But you would not say that he only took on Bucky’s appearance; he had his father’s heart too. “Mom, Portia says she needs the car tomorrow but I’ve got practice. Can you please remind her that she doesn’t live here anymore and the car’s mine now?”

You let out a sigh as you finished chopping up the vegetables, discarding the scraps in the compost bin before walking over to the stove to check on the pasta.

“I told you. I’ll even drop you off and pick you up, you punk.” Your daughter’s voice echoed through the hallway as she followed after her brother. “Mom, I’m just meeting up with my friend for coffee. We have our project due after spring break and we were going to be working on it together.”

“It’s spring break. Why aren’t you taking a road trip to Canada and getting pissed drunk or something like a proper college kid?”

“It’s spring break. Why do you have practice, huh?” She asked her brother.

You turned off the stove before turning around to face your children, letting out a sigh of disbelief. “Have you two seriously forgotten what day it is?” You asked them as you crossed your arms against your chest.

They both looked at each other for a moment before their eyes grew wide in realization of what day it was.

“Oh shit-” Portia quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry, mom! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to forget, I... I’ll text my friend right now and cancel our study session. I promise, I’m not leaving the house for the whole day.”

“Sorry, mom...” Grant frowned as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. “I’m calling the coach and telling him that I can’t make it. Family comes first.”

“As much as I’m a little disappointed that the two of you forgot your father’s birthday, I’m glad that you two are at least fighting about study sessions and football practice.” You admitted, chuckling softly. “Help me finish up with dinner and set the table? Dad will be home soon and it’s been a while since we’ve had a family meal with all four of us.”

“Of course.” Your daughter smiled as she walked around the kitchen counter to wash her hands. “I’ll roast the vegetables.”

“I’ll drain the pasta.”

“And I’ll finish up the sauce!” You announced and the three of you worked together to finish cooking before your husband got home.

Dr. James Barnes was a lucky man. At sixty years of age, he was happily married to his wife of twenty-two years. With a successful private practice and a part-time position teaching anatomy at Columbia Medical School, he had learned to keep himself busy with work while still managing to have a family of his own. He had two wonderful children who loved him dearly and were well onto becoming responsible adults. He was not worried about their future; they were good kids.

His goddaughter on the other hand though, he was worried about her for sure. “Sarah, I’m telling you. Being my little niece does not mean that you’re going to get special treatment in my class.” With an eye roll, Bucky made his way upstairs right after he entered his home.

“But that doesn’t give you any reason to be twice as hard on me, Dr. Barnes.” She told him sternly as she watched him ascend up the stairs. She walked into the dining room, her expression a little softer as she greeted you. “Hey, Aunty Y/N.”

“Hey, sweetheart... will you be joining us for dinner this evening?” You asked your beloved niece as you finished setting the table. Just as you had been a regular visitor of the Rogers-Carter household when you had first started working with Steve and Peggy, Sarah was a frequent dinner guest as your house as well.

“Do I have a choice? I have an anatomy quiz after the break that I’m supposed to study for and my professor’s a jerk. Uncle Bucky... offered to help me study tonight.” Sarah Rogers, in the way she carried herself and spoke her mind, was her mother’s daughter. But when it came to her constant banter with Bucky, she was all Steve. “I’m telling you. If I end up dropping out of med school, it was your husband’s fault.”

“This... is exactly why I went off to Harvard.” Portia pointed out as she walked over to Sarah and pulled her into a hug. “Cheer up, Rogers.”

“Wait, I thought Uncle Bucky is your professor...”

The girls turned around to give Grant a look of disbelief.

You gave him a pat on the back. “Let’s finish setting the table, baby.”

Your husband made his way downstairs after freshening up, having changed into a pair of sweatpants and a Henley. Even after years, he still liked to separate his personal and professional lives with how he dressed. When the two of you were home, you rarely spoke of work. Your children had always been your priorities.

James’ hair had a hint of grey now. But that only made him look much more attractive to you. The years had been kind to the two of you, despite a few wrinkles here and there. Your physical appearance did not matter much to you though, for your hearts were still the same? You loved each other just as much as you did that night in your hospital room and that was never going to change.

After a long-awaited family meal, the children got busy with doing the dishes while you found yourself heading up to your room for a quick shower. By the time you had changed into a pair of pyjamas and made your way downstairs, you found Sarah and Portia huddled on the living room floor with their textbooks laying wide open around them. Grant had followed their example and grabbed himself a book to read while he laid on the couch – The Merchant of Venice, which was apparently now being taught in his high school English class. He really was his father’s son.

Bucky sat in his study, reading through his emails. As you knocked on the door and poked your head through, he looked up at you with a smile. “I wasn’t expecting any visitors at this time, doll. But I’ll take it.”

You walked into the room, making sure to close the door around you. “So, this is where you spend all of your free time after... a hard day’s work and a good family meal.” You told him with a wink.

He chuckled softly as he stood up from his seat. “Well, I do think that there’s a lot more value to my time if it’s spent in the presence of my wife.” There was a teasing tone in his voice and you knew that he had caught on.

“Hm... flattery will get you everywhere, Dr. Barnes.” You giggled as you walked up to him, leaving up to quickly peck his lips. You were cautious, for you did not want the children to see you like this. “A wise man once told me that I was capable of being so much better than what life had to offer me. Happy birthday to him, I guess.”

“I think there’s still a few hours until midnight.” He said, his eyes darting to the wall clock behind you.

You reached into the pockets of your robe and pulled out an envelope. “I just thought I might give you your present a little earlier...”

“What’s this?” Bucky asked you as he took the envelope, his eyebrow raised at you as he stepped back to retrieve the letter opener from his desk. He carefully tore through the envelope before retrieving the tickets to your romantic vacation destination.

You watched as he looked down at the tickets. “A wise man also told me that if I really wanted to live like I’m in the Merchant of Venice, all I had to do was hop on a plane.”

He turned around to give you a cheeky grin. “A romantic getaway to Venice? Really, doll?”

“I think we both need one, don’t you think? Now that Portia’s out of the house and Grant will be moving out soon.” You shrugged. “We can just travel the world like free birds, just you and me.”

“I think I’d like that.” He agreed as he walked back to you and kissed you softly.

You giggled as you kissed him back, wrapping your arms tightly around him as you took in his scent. “We did good, James...” You admitted, laying your head against his shoulder and shutting you eyes for a moment. You wanted to savor this, for every single intimate the two of you shared was precious. You still saw it as a blessing, having a wonderful husband like him and beautiful children.

“No, I think we did better, Y/N.”

[viollettes]

“Carnations” (Part 4)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (College AU)

Summary: A carnation fundraiser, an iota of possibility, and a longtime secret crush on your hot best friend - what could go wrong?

all thanks to the stupendous @buckyywiththegoodhair for beta-reading! you’re an opalescent pineapple-unicorn who deserves all the kettle corn in the world!

Last year, you and Bucky thought it’d be fun to make holiday wreaths while under the influence. Bucky stole a bottle of expensive vodka from his parents’ liquor cabinet, and both of you got embarrassingly drunk over a weird game of Truth and arguments about who got to use the hot glue gun first.

You gave him your drunken creation, which he gamely took and hung on his apartment door. Sam hated it –“The hell is – oh God, is that Barbie head glued on the side?”– but Bucky refused to throw it away.

A sense of amusement usually washed over you whenever you took in the fabric unattractively bunched up or the Barbie head randomly glued on the side. But today, the ugly wreath made your heart lodge itself in your throat. The Barbie head was scrutinizing you, its blue eyes judging you in a hawkish way.

You spin on your heel. “Sharon, I’ve changed my mind, I can’t do –” You smack your palm against your forehead as you remember that Sharon had already driven away.

The car ride to Bucky’s off-campus apartment had been an interesting one. Your blood coursed with adrenaline as you reassured yourself you’d be okay no matter what; you’d already gone through an emotional hurricane - what was one more time? Now you wanted to build a time machine and tell your past self to shut up and maintain anonymity.

“Nope,” you mutter under your breath, forcing yourself to face the ugly wreath again. “Channel your inner Romeo. Confess your love, but communicate thoroughly so you don’t die in the end.”

You poise your fist over the apartment door, but the door flies open and a figure skids to a stop to prevent him from bumping into you. “Whoa!”

“Steve!” you yelp, your voice jumping up a few octaves in surprise.

“Whew, I wasn’t expecting to see you. Are you here to see Bucky?”

Guilt floods through you as he flashes his signature kind smile at you. Without uttering a word, you tackle the blonde with a hug. Steve slightly stumbles backwards but quickly catches his balance. “I’m so sorry, Steve. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to,” you mumble into his heather-gray shirt.

“(Y/N), I don’t understand. What are you apologizing for? Are you okay?”

Ignoring Steve’s questions of concern, you babble incoherent apologies. Your mind runs over the crude insults you mentally hurled at the blonde a few hours ago, eliciting stronger apologies.

Though confused, Steve gently rubs his hand against your back until you calm down. He tilts his head to make direct eye contact with you and says, “I have no idea why you’re sorry, but it’s okay. You’re, um, forgiven for whatever it is that you’ve done.”

“Really?” you squeak.

“Yeah,” Steve chuckles while shaking his head in amusement. “Something must be in the air, because both you and Bucky are being weirdly dramatic today,” he muses. Not noticing your look of curiosity, Steve nods at the apartment door. “You’ll find Bucky being extra on the balcony. Go.”

Squeezing the blonde’s taut waist one last time, you make your way into the apartment. Bucky has his back leaning against the balcony railing, and he sports a pensive look while staring into the inky blue skies. His shoulders are slumped, and his normally dynamic blue eyes are dull in an aching way.

Before hesitation can make its move in you, you step onto the balcony and close the sliding door behind you. Bucky pushes himself away from the railing, his eyes growing wide in surprise. “(Y/N)? What are you doing here?”

“I have something to tell you.”

“What? Oh, are you here to get the earphones you left here?” Bucky beckons for you to follow. “They’re somewhere in the kitchen –”

Squeezing your eyes shut, you blurt out, “Bucky, I really like you.”

“ – we could probably, wait, what?”

The floodgates have burst open, and you can’t stop. “I know this is out of left-field, but I’ve felt this way for a really long time. Also, I don’t really know what it’s like to be in love, but I think I may be in love with you.”

There. You finally said it, and you can’t take it back.

Trepidation starts to blanket itself over the balcony. Hands shaking and tightly clasped, you slowly open one eye, meeting the round blue eyes of your best friend. “Please say something?” you squeak when Bucky continues to remain silent.

The brunette’s eyes fall downwards, but when he brings them back up to meet your eyes, he breaks out into a face-splitting smile. Yes, that was the smile you loved, the smile that made you feel like the only girl in the world.

“Wow,” Bucky breathes.

“Wow?”

“Wow,” he confirms. Bucky steps closer to you and places his hands on the sides of your arms. “I’m not dreaming, right?” he asks.

You crinkle your brow in confusion. “Um, you’re not, this is very much real life. But I don’t –”

“You have no idea how many times I’ve dreamt about hearing you say those words.” Bucky scrapes his teeth against his bottom lip as he casts a boyish smile at his shoes. “I really like you too, doll. And,” his eyes flick upwards to meet yours, “I think I may be in love with you too.”

Whoa. You’d juggled a number of possible outcomes in Sharon’s car, but this wasn’t one that you had even contemplated. Your heart is busting out a drum solo, and a weightless feeling has invaded your stomach. You search his eyes for a clarification, finally squeaking out, “What?”

Running a hand through his hair, your best friend bashfully chuckles. “I thought I was being obvious. The constant touching, me calling you ‘doll’, the little looks here and there – that was me sending you signals, but I obviously didn’t do a very good job.”

“But… The carnations, I -” You wildly gesture with your hands, wishing that you aren’t at a loss for words. “You didn’t send them, right? Do you know who sent them?” you finally spit out.

 “Doll, I don’t know who sent you the flowers, but he’s someone I could lose you to, and God… I hate that. I hate that so much.”

Melting. You’re melting from the inside out. This entire time, you weren’t the only one harboring a secret. This entire time, you weren’t the only one stressing out from a one-sided love.

Bucky likes you. Holy hell, Bucky likes –maybe loves– you!

You tell him everything. You tell him how you convinced yourself to keep mum in order to save the friendship. You tell him about the carnation fantasy that took a life of its own, only to crash and burn in the hands of Dot. You tell him about your misconstrued thoughts about Steve and how Sharon swooped into clear the air.

Bucky intently listens, his eyes never leaving yours, and it’s when you take a breather that you realize his arms have snaked across your back and waist, pulling you flush against him, chest to chest. He’s close. Almost too close.

“I wish you would have told me sooner,” Bucky says. His voice is low and velvet-smooth, and it makes you feel all tingly. “But,” he pauses to twist your baseball cap around so the bill faces the back, “better now than never,” he winks. His hand slides against the curve of your jaw before leaning down and pressing his mouth to yours.

The kiss is gentle but captivating. Your arms move on their own volition, looping around his neck and bringing in closer to you. Everything around you disappears, and the world goes mute as your senses go haywire.

Bucky’s eyes appear to be more gray than blue when he broke the kiss. With a soft smile, he looks down at you. His tender gaze elicits a giggle out of you, to which he joins in with a carefree laugh. Bucky’s arms grow tight around you, and he holds you like you’ll disappear if he lets go.

“Hey, doll?” Bucky suddenly asks.

“Yeah?”

“Is there a 24-hour flower shop around here? I need to do something that I should’ve done during the flower sale.”

You lean back so Bucky can see you dramatically raise an eyebrow. “What? Buy me a dozen white carnations?”

“No, doll. I’m not too big on the carnations. I’m all about the red roses – twelve red roses for the girl I’m utterly in love with.”

You bury your face into his chest, trying to hide the huge smile breaking onto your face. Yes, carnations were beautiful, but you have a feeling that roses are going to be your new favorite flower from this day on.

Epilogue

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