#neighbourbucky
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ASHES TO EMBERS MASTERLIST
PAIRING: Firefighter!Neighbor!Bucky x Fem!Reader
WARNINGS: Night terrors (Bucky), copious amounts of fluff, angst, smut, firefighter bucky is a warning in itself
SUMMARY: When an unfortunate event forces you to confront the crush you’ve had on your neighbour since you moved in, you learn that Bucky knows you better than you know yourself. As the two of you grow closer, how does he deal with his past without pushing you away?
CHAPTERS: 5 - Ongoing
tap whichever chapter title you want and enjoy reading <3
ONE: Forgotten Alarms
WARNINGS: Mentions of night terrors, trapped in small spaces, brief mention of reader being worried about bucky holding her weight, nothing else other than bucky being cute af
SUMMARY: When you get stuck in an elevator with your neighbour (who also happens to be your crush), you discover your interest in the firefighter isn’t as one-sided as you thought.
TWO: Shadows
WARNINGS: Fluff, talk about night terrors, ALPINEEE, reader continues to be oblivious, bucky being a flirt
SUMMARY: After yesterday’s elevator fiasco, you’re left with the guilt of overstepping in Bucky’s business. He could barely look at you when you went to the firehouse to thank the crew, so it’s fair to say you’re surprised when he turns up at the cafe you work at.
THREE: For You
WARNINGS: Mention of night terrors, Bucky being upset, fluff, flashbacks containing the death of a child, plenty of unholy thoughts, half naked bucky, dirty talk???, sexual tension, please let me know if i’ve missed something!!!
SUMMARY: You find Bucky at his most vulnerable when he’s sent home from work at 2 in the morning. While doing everything you can to comfort him, you realise you’re falling for him.
FOUR: Home Cooked Meal
WARNINGS: Smut (finally) - dirty talk, pet names, oral f and m receiving, fingering, tit play, praise kink, hand kink?, ball play, hair pulling, unprotected PinV sex, aftercare, reader and bucky have dinner, swearing, fluff, let me know if i missed anything!
SUMMARY: You surprise Bucky with a home cooked meal after his shift, and it’s the best damn thing he’s had in years. The pasta was pretty good too.
FIVE:
a/n: please lmk if you know the creator of the ai bucky images, full credit to them!!!!!
comment if you’d like to be added to my ashes to embers taglist 🧡
#bucky barnes#james buchanan barnes#james bucky barnes#bucky x reader#bucky x you#bucky barnes x reader#bucky fanfic#bucky fic#buckybarnesbirthday#james bucky buchanan barnes#bucky smut#bucky barnes fanfic#bucky#bucky x y/n#bucky x female reader#bucky barnes au#firefighter!bucky#firefighter bucky#bucky au#marvel#marvel au#marvel x reader#bucky fluff#redfics#redwing4life#sebastian stan#neighbourbucky#neighbor!bucky#neighbor bucky
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Incorrect mail and an interrupting neighbour
bucky x black!reader
summary: you: a tired university professor, find yourself periodically returning mail to rightful receiver: a brooding brunette haired man, who always happens to be everywhere, or no where.
warning; hints of nsfw, slow burn (yes it’s a hazard people), bucky being bucky, mentions of exam season (yet another hazard!), tooth rotting fluff & an interrupting neighbour. pls tell me if i’ve missed anything!
notes: so..let’s not talk about me creeping back into my hole for a month. let’s instead talk about this slow burn of bucky that isn’t featuring a 20 year old, woohoo! wrote this on my phone in my notes app during my 10 minute work break, so let’s not get into the spelling or grammar. kind of the first installment of my series with bucky and well you, so buckle in people, this is gonna be a fun ride :)
Gliding down the lit corridor of your apartment, you tirelessly balance ungraded papers and books in one hand whilst gripping your burgundy satchel in the other.
You grimaced as you bent down, sore legs from countless hours on your feet amusing a room full of post graduates who for some reason took a class in archive history.
You reach for the cold metallic feel of your keys, but before you can grasp your saviour to a long day you notice a small box, wrapped in chestnut paper with a ribbon securing its sides. It was the third time this week you groaned, hastily picking it up and unsecurely balancing it on top of an already crumbling pile. Opening the door to your overly expensive apartment, you’re met with the sweet scents of your home, vanilla bean and hazelnut wafts from secular corners and the diffuser prepped on the foyer spurt out scents of eucalyptus. A gift from your mother after she’d gone on a wellness retreat, nothing cures stress then a corporate bought overly expensive mister.
Sighing you slowly put down the heaped piles in your hands, relief from the cramped position.
Slowly undressing yourself, from the crinkled button up and suit pants you swiftly jump into the warm heathen that is your shower. The scent of coconut and shea butter wafting into your bloodstreams, the practically scalding water working your kinks and knots. After glinting with droplets of water and wrapped in a rough towel (they work better..trust me) you quickly make work of shuffling into your cotton undergarments and apply your lotion. You loved applying the cold softness of your shea butter cream over your heat emitting skin, pressing into your crevices and folds and rubbing into the soft streaks that went down your inner thighs. You made sure to relax during this intimate moment with your body, a form of therapy to the tubules relationship that was intimacy and body acceptance.
Slipping into your worn checkered oversized top paired with the soft burns of your trusted pajama pants you feel only fully completed once you’ve finally put on your calf high fuzzy socks.
Almost as if you forget you finally noticed the imbalanced box on your table wall. It wasn’t the first time you’d gotten strange mail that most certainly not yours, always misplaced from your neighbor across.
Something about a ups error in their system, still not being fixed till this day despite the countless phone calls and emails sent, left you having to deal with finding the appropriate receiver yourself. You’ve got better things to do..you lie, you don’t.
You hesitate to pick up the misplaced postage, half because you couldn’t be bothered taking the damn mail across the hallway after just having a bit of leisure time, and half because of your neighbour himself. 6ft tall, muscle on muscle taut against whatever tshirt he knew was 2 sizes too small, with a face you can’t look to hard at or you’ll go blind.
He was an always ever brooding man, with dark features seperated only by his steel blue eyes, slanted and heavy, half lid as though even looking was too meticulous for him.
He moved in a few months after you had, and although you had taken the impression that he did not want to be bothered, something in you keened and itched to find out who he was. The insatiable need to just know him, whether simply aquantedly or something..more, grew from months of being surrounded by facts and knowledge. What more historic that investigating a practical fossil? (Redacted..I’m sorry lmao)
You had ferociously berated yourself after that thought, even IF it had been so long since you’ve left the dating world, you were not at all ready to be thrown back in. Enough nightmare first dates and ruined relationships told you that much. Yet, there was always an emptiness that resides in you when you came home to house that was empty. Something in you wanted a person, wanted someone to hold, someone to love.
It was hard, if you took a the time to be honest, to watch as family and friends moved into adulthood. Married, some with kids, some without, whilst you were still in the eager transition of single life. Hopeless in finding the one, if there even was one. You convinced yourself that your work was enough, and it was, for a while. You enjoyed, no loved, teaching. Walking into a lecture room filled with bright eyed college students who wanted to actually learn. But even then, the lie had seeped fast and quick. Long hours grading papers may take your mind of what a hopeless failure you were in love, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
What hurt worse was that you didn’t really give up, putting on a facade that you were happy single was tiring and was felt by everyone around you. Side glances when you talked about your job as if it was your husband steered you away from ever having that conversation again.
After everything, after you stripped of the makeup and tore off your heels, after you were in bed amongst the sheets, illuminated by the crescent moonlight, was when you were truly and utterly honest with yourself. It was then that you knew you still yearned for the heavy weight of someone else on the bed. The scent and weight of a man, a woman, someone. God you were pathetic. When the man moved in across from you, there was a flash of hope, that maybe he would be the one. Call it a fairytale or some wicked thing called fate, but it wasn’t soon that you where reminded your reality of dissapointment. You brushed of the hope, it disappearing as quickly as it came.
You were happy you did, because if the silent closeted expressions he always wore when he glanced to you told you anything, it was that he clearly wasn’t interested.
Reluctantly grabbing the postage you quietly marched over to his door. He’s macho exterior wasn’t going to stop you from being a model citizen, you’d decided it was final. Slowly wrapping a hand to knock the door suddenly opened swiftly.
Almost as if he knew you were coming, he stared down at your frame, as tall and as godlike as ever. A black henley stretched over the massive muscle that was his chest, rippled towards his abdomen outlining every single indentation that bore his skin. Black sweatpants hung low on his hips, the peek of skin giving way to the indentation that lead to his... god you were sick. Quickly looking away from the outline of his crotch you took notice of his sharped face.
His chestnut hair curled towards his sides was pushed behind his ears, reaching just below his ticked jaw. It wasn’t too long enough to characterise him as a hipster, no, the length was just right, exuding a sense of difference and ominous attraction. His lips were curved into a comfortable line, tethering on nonchalant and..happy? Stubble bore his jaw, grazing againts his flushed skin. Your fingers itched to scratch them, how would they feel? On your hands? Between your legs? Steering at the irrational thought you looked up to his steel blue slated eyes, assessing you descritely, almost in scrutiny.
The way he looked at you made you feel naked, his gaze like an X-ray, like he could see through everything. All the insecurities, all the thoughts, everything you hid that your body kept score of. Suddenly you felt insecure, something you never felt.
Here you were, cowering amongst a fucking god, while your hair was in a messy updo, frazzled curls framing your face. He quirked up an eyebrow, almost noticing your sudden discomfort reeling you back into his frame. Realizing why you were here in the first place you softly shook your head in disbelief, god you were practically drooling on this poor man’s front door step.
“Sorry to bother you, but your mail ended up at my place, atleast I think it’s your mail?” You said chirpy, sick with fake enthusiasm. You were tired.
He tore his eyes from your face and glanced at the package in your hands.
His face turned gleefully.
“Thank you! I was wondering were these went”
You keened at his expression, his voice, scruff like he was recovering from a cold, but smooth and silky, like a jazz record glinting bright against a speakeasy ceiling. His quirked expression was gorgeous, half sheepish and half giddy at the return of a supposedly awaiting package. You nodded smiling, handing him the package grasped between your hands.
He reached for it, fingertips brushing against your wrist, a ghost of affection you’ve gone far too long without. Suddenly squeaking at the touch, he pulles away swiftly, misunderstanding your sudden desire for uneasiness. You looked up at him through your lashes, eyes glinting with mischief and desire. You weren’t usually this upfront, this open to what you were wanted, but it’s been enough god damn time without. He looked down, eyes glinting in the same manner, turning dark with lust. Suddenly pulled from your transaction a neighbour, Holly..? Hope? Something called your name.
“Hey! I heard the university has been pulling you at your wits end! At least exams periods are over huh?” She smiled eyes gliding over yours and Bucky hands entangled.
“Oh, was I interrupting something?” She said, her grocieries in a bag, keys dangling in the keyhole
Bucky looked back towards you, eyebrows quirking up almost to ask “what next”?
Pulled back to the realm of adulthood, you slowly unlatched your fingers from Bucky’s, shaking slightly from just the touch.
Clearing your throat you replied swiftly
“No uh, just being a good neighbour” you said eyes travelling to Holly and back to Bucky who nodded slowly, biting back a grin that was oh so close to peeking out. You swallowed thickly, the remnants of the practically soft porn scene leaving a aftertaste in your mouth.
“Well see you, you too Bucky” she said smiling, looking towards Bucky, you turn towards him, half expecting him to be looking towards Holly. But he was already looking at you, whispering a bye to your neighbour not taking a moment to take his eyes off of you.
“Thank you, it’s not always that someone will do this, take time out of their day I mean” he says gingerly scratching the nape of his neck, his tousled auburn hair reaching to the point of unruly. He made it look good though, always.
“Yeah, uh no problem, it’s only civil duty” You smiled, you could feel it crinkle into the croons of your eyes.
His eyes crinkled at the comment, a chuckle reaching his throat but not quite fully escaping.
“Is it civic duty to open the door to such a beauty?” He whispered lowly, taking a moments to look down your frame, half nodding in what you hoped was appreciation
You blushed, the heat spilling into your cheeks, your bloodstream, your heart, everywhere. Compliments always made you cower, no matter how many you received it was always a surprise to catch the eye of a stranger, forever holding them to your heart.
Tucking a loose curl behind your ear, you tried to compose yourself before you turned into a heaping sweaty mess on the carpeted floor, not very neighbourly huh?
“Yes, well my parents taught me well, and anyways, I had to get a smile out of you somehow” You replied looking down as you said the last few words, shyness creeping into your frame.
At that he laughed, sharp canines peeking from redden lips as he threw his head back, gripping his chest in exhalation
“You got me there, I guess my cold exterior couldn’t last that long huh?”
“You bet it won’t” you replied smiling now along with him, it was infectious, his laugh, and you willed everything in your being to bring another one out of him.
“Seriously, thank you, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time”
You smiled, nodding your head.
“None of that, it’s fine really, we’re neighbours now yeah?
You smiled taking out your palm from inside your elbow, hanging in the air, awaiting his own.
“Of course, weren’t we always?”
He replied gripping his long manicured five inch acrylics fingers around my own. (I couldn’t resist)
“Yes, but not neighbours, you know?”
He chuckled, clearly understanding the obvious difference in pronounciation
“Well then neighbour, I hope to see you around” he replied eyes boring into my frame, seriousness taking over his eyes, away from the charming goofy glint of before
“Oh you’ll see me, but I’m not that convinced I’ll see you” you said in a pointed expression towards him.
“Oh no doll, for you, for you I’ll be around”. He replied softly, nodding in amusement as if it was a known fact.
He slowly stepped back into his emulsifying apartment, hints of toffee and apples wafting through the encrusted chestnut door. Slowly walking back, you don’t hear the click of the door until you’re in your apartment. He watched you, made sure you made your way back, you don’t know why but that lit up something in you, be it uncautionary hope for love, or just the depths of your desire begging for release.
I back myself against my door, whilst inside my apartment. The eucalyptus diffuser still spitting out puffs of air, the stack of stacked papers still left untouched and ungraded, everything is completely the same. Nothing, absolutely nothing, has shifted, you chant this to yourself like a mantra. So why do you feel like everything has?
You feel this unerving sensation of missing something, and it takes you until you’ve sat down for dinner at your oak blanched dining to realise, it’s him. You miss him. His tousled auburn hair, his crinkled slanted eyes, his high cheekbones dusted with the forgetfulness of shaving. Even his sarcastic comments and stoic stature was something you yearned to have within your space.
At heart, you were a romantic, and even through bundles of work and lectures from family friends who knew more, you realised nothing had changed. Your encounter with James has ruined any sense of accomplishment you thought you had, blown over like a pyramid of cards to the wind. You thought you’d be mad, thought you’d try and distance yourself from him to avoid the inevitable heartache that would come to a love dreamt, but whilst you were tucking into the cold pressed sheets of your king size bed, what was the expected regret, instead was content.
You were content with your glass box shattering, as long as James was the one throwing the axe.
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Forgotten Alarms
CHAPTER 1 | ASHES TO EMBERS
PAIRING: Firefighter!Neighbour!Bucky x Fem!Reader
WARNINGS: Mentions of night terrors, trapped in small spaces, brief mention of reader being worried about bucky holding her weight, nothing else other than bucky being cute af
SUMMARY: When you get stuck in an elevator with your neighbour (who also happens to be your crush), you discover your interest in the firefighter isn’t as one-sided as you thought.
WORD COUNT: 2736
NEXT CHAPTER
“You’re late, doll.”
The teasing voice of your neighbour catches you off guard when you open your front door; your hand slaps over your heart as you jump from shock.
“Says you” you smirk as you come down from the surprise. You step out of your door fully, turning and pulling it shut behind you.
Bucky chuckles, locking his own door while you do the same. He can’t help but sneak another glance your way - a light blush creeping up your neck under his gaze.
You think you’d be used to him by now, have your little crush under control seeing as you find yourselves leaving for work at the same time regularly. And yet here you are, heart beating faster than you’d like while you fumble with your keys.
Despite being late for work, Bucky waits for you to finish locking up before falling into step beside you as you walk down the hallway to the elevator.
“So let me guess, you slept through your alarm again?” The firefighter raises a brow, amused by your flushed appearance - unsure if that’s his effect on you or the fact your shift started five minutes ago.
“Worse,” you wince, “didn’t even set the damn thing.”
If you didn’t love it so much so much, you’d be inclined to be offended at the snort of a laugh he lets out. “Oh, doll.” Bucky shakes his head with a grin still left on his lips.
“What ‘bout you, Barnes? Spend too much time doing your hair?”
One unamused glare your way and now you’re the one giggling. Walking up to the elevator, you press the button to go down before stepping back to face Bucky.
“I’ll have you know, I woke up looking this good” He winks at you, hoping you’ll accept his non-answer for an answer. But you both know why he woke up late.
He barely even fell asleep, now that his nightmares are back.
His screams travel through the thin walls at night, falling on concerned ears. You pretend as though you don’t hear his night terrors but he sees the slight tug at your brows the next morning, the way you’re desperate to ask if he’s okay. But you never do; you don’t want to make him uncomfortable. You offered your help once, and you’re not sure you have the right to ask again.
“Who said you look good?” You tease, hoping to lighten the mood.
The elevator dings and the doors open. “Well the old lady whose cat we saved yesterday said I was the most handsome man in town” He smirks as you both step inside.
“Oh that’s high praise, Barnes” You reply, watching as he presses the ground floor button.
A comfortable silence falls upon the elevator as it roars back to life. Pulling out your phone, you fire a quick text to your boss to apologise for being late before shoving it back into your back pocket.
Bucky turns to you, “What time do you fin-“
A loud clunk sounds from above the lift and it stops moving, dropping a couple inches before coming to a halt again.
“Oh, shit” You all but whisper, almost afraid of speaking too loudly in case it sends you tumbling down.
“Well,” Bucky’s eyes are on the ceiling, “that didn’t sound great”
If you weren’t so nervous, you might slap him for stating the fucking obvious. Your eyes fall to your hand that’s grabbed his, not even realising you’d reached for him when the lift stopped.
Your cheeks burn crimson before you release the death grip you had on his wrist, ignoring the sparks resting beneath your fingertips.
“You okay, doll?” His voice softens when he sees the fear in your eyes.
“Umm..” You stutter, voice as shaky as your hands are.
“Hey, hey,” Bucky’s hands are on your shoulders now, “you’re shaking, Y/n. What’s wrong? What do you need me to do?”
Clenching your eyes shut, you take a deep breath. “Tell me we’re not about to fall to our deaths, please”
Your neighbour lets out a breathy ‘Oh, doll’ and strokes his thumbs over your shoulders. When you open your eyes, his blue ones bear into yours reassuringly, “We’re not gonna fall to our deaths.”
“This hunk of junk hasn’t been serviced in years but i’m pretty sure it’s just jammed or the powers cut out. Either way, we’re gonna be just fine” He continues.
You let out a wavering breath and nod slowly. “Okay. So what now?” You ask.
Bucky drops one of his hands to get his phone (much to your dismay), “I’m gonna call for the crew to come get us”
“Wait,” You frown, “why not press the help button?”
Bringing his phone to his ear, Bucky replies as it starts ringing. “Well, after Mr Garvey lugs his ass outta bed, he’d be calling them anyways. Might as well avoid being stuck here longer than we have to”
Ahh, Mr Garvey; the landlord to the whole building who also happens to be the laziest fucker around.
You mumble and ‘okay’ and roll your bottom lip between your teeth - completely unaware of the admiring eyes on you.
Eventually, a voice sounds from the other side of the phone and Bucky explains the situation, rambling off the information they need to find you. With a quick thank you, the call is over and you’re left with nothing but time to waste.
Your eyes follow the man before you as he approaches the far wall, sliding down it till he’s sat with one leg stretched out, the other bent at the knee where he rests his elbow.
“It’s alright, doll. You can sit down, it won’t break anything” He cocks his head to side, eyeing up your hesitant features.
You choose to trust him; after all, he is the one best qualified to know what will and won’t make this obnoxiously small lift crash to the ground.
Letting yourself drop to the floor, you sit with your knees up due to the lack of space to stretch your legs. Bucky is right in front of you, the tight squeeze seemingly not bothering him.
“Great day to be late, huh” You scoff lightly.
“Yeah well, at least we’re together”
A laugh escapes you, drawing a confused expression from your neighbour. “Let’s not pretend as though you need me here. If it weren’t for me you’d probably be climbing outta this thing”
“You overestimate my abilities, sweets. I’m no spider-man” He replies. Those damn pet names make you blush every time.
“You know,” you tilt your head a little to the left, “I can’t think of anyone who still uses ‘doll’ or ‘sweets’ aside from you”
You swear there’s a glint in Bucky’s eye when he replies, “Do you blush when someone calls you ‘baby’ as much as you do when I call you ‘doll’?”
Thinking for a moment, you shyly shake your head in response; he raises his brows at you, as though your answer proves his point. You wonder if he’s old fashioned in other ways. If he’s one to buy his girl flowers or open a car door for them. Maybe he’s just as polite in bed, though you find yourself disappointed at the thought. God, you need to stop thinking of him like that, no matter how hot he would look between your-
“You seeing that fella from last week again?”
Bucky’s question brings you out of your day dreams and you’re surprised by it, unaware he had any interest in your love life.
“Peter?” He nods. “No, I don’t think so. We weren’t really one the same page, if that makes sense”
“How so?”
You shrug slightly, “He’s fresh out of college and looking for a fuck buddy, not a genuine relationship.” You look away from Bucky as you continue. “And even if I wanted that, he’s hardly mature enough to know what he’s doing”
With your gaze settled on your hands, you miss the way Bucky starts biting his lip as he wonders what type of man would fulfil your needs. He shakes his head clear of those thoughts, not wanting to make a fool of himself.
“What about you? Haven’t heard any visitors at yours for a little while” You comment, hoping he doesn’t think you’ve been spying on him.
He lets out a dry laugh, “Lets just say I prefer my nights off with a beer and listening to you play the piano.”
“Oh god, you hear that?” You cover your face with your hands when he nods. “I hope I don’t disturb you. I didn’t think it-“
“It’s fine, doll,” he nudges your thigh with his boot, “I like it”
Your cheeks burn yet again as you drop your hands. “You do?”
“How could I not? You play beautifully. I’ve thought of slipping a request under your door but I didn’t wanna be the creep next door”
You giggle, “You couldn’t be creepy if you tried, Barnes”
“In that case, you should know my cat loves your music too”
With a gasp, you lean closer to Bucky till you’re sat cross legged barely a foot away from him. “James Barnes, the firefighter, has a cat!?”
You revel in his hearty laugh, eyes dancing across his face. From the crinkles at the corners of his eyes to the deep smile lines framing his mouth, you can’t help but be drawn to his beauty.
He sobers up. “Her name’s Alpine.” He says, “She was left at the firehouse a couple of years ago so I took her home with me. She’s probably the only thing that loves your music more than me”
A grin tugs at your lips as you enjoy the thought of your neighbour cuddled up with a little cat.
“If we make it outta here alive, I wanna meet her”
“We’ll be fine, doll. The crew’ll be here any minute now”
You hum and silence consumes the air once more. The soft dim glow of the overhead lights falls gracefully on your features and Bucky can’t pull his eyes away. He knows you’re not too fond of the situation you’re both in and yet he can’t help but thank whatever beings made this happen; to finally have an excuse to talk to you longer than your usual small talk, to tell you how much he’s in awe your piano playing.
He’s not ready to tell you that he’s rather in awe of you, too. Maybe next time you’re stuck in a lift together.
With the silence so heavy on your ears, your mind drifts to the reason you’re here in the first place. The reason he is here.
The nightmares.
You know he hasn’t slept properly in weeks; the dark circles beneath his eyes are just a glimpse of his exhaustion. And as much as you’re scared of pushing him away, the weight on your chest is growing too heavy to bear.
“I know you’re having nightmares again.”
Bucky stills.
“Those screams, James, I-“
“It’s nothing” He cuts you off with stern words. Your brows pull together, eyes laced with worry.
“It doesn’t sound like nothing. I thought they got better.“
His head falls back against the wall behind him, “Well you thought wrong.”
You curse yourself beneath your breath as you run your hands through your hair, searching for the right thing to say.
“I’m worried about you, James.” You breathe, eyes fluttering shut. You’re scared that if you look at him, you’ll cave in and promise to never ask about it again. “I get that i’m just your neighbour but I can’t keep acting like I can’t see there’s something wrong.“
“There is nothing wrong!” Bucky’s tone is sharp, not quite shouting but no longer calm.
Your eyes snap open, training on the clench of his jaw, the sole hint of any emotion on his face.
“I’m dealing with it. So you need to stop acting like you know me because you don’t.”
And there it goes. The worry in your chest morphs into regret. Regret for bringing it up, regret for thinking you could help, regret for hearing his screams in the first place.
“Okay”
Bucky hates how timid your voice is, barely loud enough over the ringing of his own heartbeat. That and the voice in his head telling him he’s a piece of shit. He wishes he could take it all back but he doesn’t know how to, so he decides that silence is better than opening his damn mouth and making things worse.
The pair of you sit there in silence, one that’s far less comfortable than before, and stare at the ceiling, waiting for help to arrive.
When it does, you count your lucky stars that the lift stopped just at the doors to the second floor. Bucky helps the crew pull the doors open enough for you both to climb through. You feel his blue eyes on you as you wait for them to stabilise the lift, avoiding his gaze at all costs.
“Okay, Ma’am,” One of the firefighters calls, the name ‘Rogers’ written on his jacket, “we need you guys to climb up here and we’ll pull you out.”
Your eyes widen at the thought of pulling yourself up there, suddenly very aware of your frankly appalling upper body strength.
Rogers catches the hesitation on your face. “Don’t worry, Buck will help you up so you can get out first”
Turning to look at your neighbour, you lock eyes for the first time in ten minutes. His lips are turned into an awkward half smile, changing his entire demeanour from one of a brooding firefighter to a sheepish kid.
You don’t know how long the pair of you stand there staring at each other, but it’s long enough for Roger’s to clear his throat in attempt to regain your attention.
Bucky steps closer to you while the crew get ready above you. “You okay with this, doll?”
You nod, “As long as this thing doesn’t fall while i’m half way through and snap my body in half, i’m good”
That heartwarming laugh fills your ears and the firefighter shakes his head in amusement. At least he doesn’t hate you enough to leave you to get out on your own.
“Well lucky for you, that ain’t gonna happen”
You roll your bottom lip between your teeth. “Okay, how is this gonna work?”
Bucky moves to stand below the gap, facing you. He lowers himself down to one knee before reaching for your hand.
His skin is warm but rough, gentle but strong as he pulls you closer to him. The unexpected tug on your hand sends you tumbling toward him, your right hand bracing yourself on his shoulder to regain your balance while his free hand lands on your hip.
You mumble an apology, flustered at the intense heat beneath his hands and the way Bucky is looking up at you.
“You good?” He asks, voice dripping with awe, though you’re oblivious to the admiration, still plagued by the way he shut you down earlier.
When you nod, Bucky removes his hand from your hip and taps his knee. “You’re gonna step on my knee, then on my shoulder and you then should be close enough for Steve to grab you and pull you out”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you” You admit, nervous at the thought of letting Bucky take your body weight on his shoulders.
He looks up at you through his lashes “Do you trust me, sweets?”
“Yes” You reply, not even having to think about it. There may be some walls between you, but you know he’s on the other side, waiting.
“Good, then get up here”
Bucky shouts up to the crew that he’s giving you a boost now and after hearing them shout back that they’re ready, you place your foot on Bucky’s knee and push yourself up.
“Don’t drop me” You warn, reaching up to the gap in preparation.
“Wouldn’t dream of it”
And with that, you climb onto your neighbours shoulders and stretch up for Steve to grab your hands.
Along with Bucky pushing your feet up, Steve pulls you out and you slide through the gap until you’re free of that god forsaken elevator.
“Well thank fuck for that” You groan, spread across the floor on your back, making the crew laugh.
You barely have time to recover before Bucky is stood above you, having lugged himself out with ease.
“Guess you won’t be forgetting to set your alarm again, ay?”
NEXT CHAPTER
a/n: first chapterrrrrr! hope you enjoyed, if you have any questions dm me or drop an ask <3
new chapter will be out soon, thanks to everyone to voted on the poll i put out, i hope it’s as good as you wished it would be :)
comment if you’d like to be added to my ashes to embers taglist 🧡
#bucky barnes#james buchanan barnes#james bucky barnes#bucky x reader#bucky x you#bucky barnes x reader#bucky fanfic#bucky fic#james bucky buchanan barnes#bucky barnes oneshot#bucky barnes fanfic#bucky#bucky x y/n#bucky x female reader#firefighter!bucky#firefighter bucky#bucky barnes au#bucky au#bucky angst#marvel#marvel au#marvel x reader#redwing4life#redfics#neighbourbucky#neighbor!bucky#neighbor bucky
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