The next two months went by in a flash for Bucky and Ruth. They met for coffee every morning Bucky wasn't gone on a mission. They went out for dinner almost every weekend. They had really started to get to know each other and shared a few more sweet kisses. Bucky had made it official about a month after they met by asking her while they were strolling through Central Park if she'd go steady with him. She, of course, agreed immediately.
About two and a half months after they met found Ruth sitting on her couch on a Saturday night by herself, reading. Bucky and the rest of the Avengers were away on a mission. It was about 11 o'clock at night when Ruth's phone buzzed next to her on the couch. She picked it up and found a text from Tony.
'You should probably come down to the Tower.'
'Why…?'
'Barnes is in kind of rough shape.'
'What kind of rough shape?'
'He took quite the beating on the mission.'
'I'll be there in 20.'
'Your key will get you where you need to go.'
Ruth ran to her bedroom and changed quickly into jeans and a t-shirt, threw her hair in a ponytail, and pulled it through a baseball hat. She grabbed her purse and slipped into her gym shoes and was out the door. It took her just over 10 minutes to get the 5 blocks to Stark Tower and about 5 more minutes to clear evening security and get to the private elevator and up to the floor where Steve and Bucky's apartment was.
She knocked on the door and a moment later Steve answered. He was in sweatpants and a t-shirt and had a cut along his right cheek. He looked surprised to see her for a moment then smiled softly,
"Tony called you, didn't he?"
"Texted but yeah. He said Bucky had taken quite the beating. Tony Stark has a big heart so if he tells me I should be here, I don't argue."
Steve just smiled a little wider and stepped aside to let her in.
"Feel free to hang your stuff up by the door. He's in the shower now but should be out in a minute."
She hung her purse and hat on the hook by the door then turned to Steve, she reached up and gently touched his cheek just under the cut.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine."
"You sure? I can only imagine the force it takes to draw blood in a fight with you."
Steve laughed.
"I'm good. Just got sucker punched."
Just then the door to Bucky's bedroom opened and he stepped out in sweatpants and a sleeveless shirt. It was the first time Ruth had seen anything more than his hand on his prosthetic. He stopped short when he saw her,
"Ruth. What are you doing here? Is everything ok?"
Steve gave her a little nudge as he walked past.
"I'm heading to bed. G'night you two."
Ruth walked toward Bucky and took in his appearance. His face was cut up and there were bruises that already appeared to be healing all over his chest, arm and around a few of the cuts on his face. She could feel his eyes on her as she moved closer.
"Tony texted me. Told me you'd taken quite the beating and suggested that I came by. Upgraded my key and everything. Are you ok, Bucky?"
"I'm fine."
"Don't lie to me Sergeant. I have eyes. You may be enhanced but you're still human."
A slight smile tilted on his lips.
"You don't have to tell me what happened. Just tell me what I can do to help."
She stepped closer until she was right in front of him. She laced her fingers with his metal hand, knowing that wasn't injured, then gently lifted his right hand so she could inspect the damage.
"Well I see you at least got quite a few licks in."
Bucky let out a short laugh but stopped abruptly. Clearly that was painful.
"Alright Sarge. Go get comfy. I'll get some ice. I assume pain killers don't really work on you?"
"Unfortunately, no."
Ruth pursed her lips. That answer was unexpectedly heartbreaking knowing all he'd been through. She walked to the kitchen to root through the freezer. She looked up to see Bucky hadn't moved.
"James."
"Ruth."
"Why are you still standing there? I'm serious. I'm here to take care of you. Whatever you need. Couch, bed wherever, just go relax and I'll be there in a moment with some ice for your wrist."
Bucky slowly turned back toward his bedroom. Ruth whispered,
"Hey Jarvis."
"Yes Ms. Wood?"
"Please tell Mr. Stark thank you for me."
"Of course."
"And can you tell me where a spare dish cloth would be?"
"Second drawer to your left."
Ruth smiled.
"Thank you, Jarvis."
She grabbed the extra dish cloth and pulled an ice pack from the back of the freezer and wrapped it in the cloth. She filled a glass with water then turned off the light as she headed toward the door. She tried to keep her mind off the fact that this was Bucky's bedroom and gently closed the door behind her. Bucky was standing at the floor to ceiling window at one end of the room watching the city below. Ruth placed the glass of water on the nightstand and walked toward Bucky.
She placed her hand gently on his shoulder to get his attention. The view from where he was standing was incredible. He turned to look down at her. She could see in his eyes that something was troubling him, but she had learned that if he wanted to talk about it, he would. She gently took his hand and placed the ice pack on it. She had noticed right away that it was sprained.
"I know you'll probably be all healed up by morning but if I can make it feel better until then I will."
"Thank you, Ruth. This is very kind of you, but I know it's late and you were probably sleeping, and you didn't have to come all this way for me."
Ruth brought a hand to his cheek and made him look in her eyes.
"Bucky. I will come as far as I have to for you even if it's the middle of the night. You are worth it. I care for you. Deeply."
He brought his left hand up to cup her cheek and she let her hand fall to rest on his forearm.
"If you want to talk about what happened, or anything for that matter, I am always here to listen. If you'd like for me to leave, I will. If you want me to stay, I can crash on the couch if you want. I'm here for you Bucky."
He leaned down and kissed her. There was something different in that kiss, a need almost. Ruth tried to pour all the comfort she could back into the kiss. After a few moments, Bucky pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.
A few quiet moments passed.
"Stay the night? Please."
"Of course."
He kissed her once more then took a small step back and let his hand fall.
"Thanks for the ice."
"Anything for you Bucky. I can take it back to the freezer on my way to the couch. Can I borrow a pillow?"
"Is there something wrong with my bed?"
Ruth stammered,
"Uh…no…I just…"
"Bed's plenty big for two people, Ruth."
The smirk on his face reminded Ruth of the charming ladies man she'd heard stories of. Her cheeks grew hot and she smiled.
"Alright then. Give me that ice pack. I'll be right back."
When she returned to the bedroom, Bucky was standing next to the bed with something in his hand. He turned to her when she closed the door and held a shirt and pants out to her. She smiled, took them and headed for the open bathroom door. She closed the door and changed into the t-shirt Bucky had handed her. It was plenty big on her and she forewent the pants. She took a moment to stare at her reflection and take a few deep breaths to calm her jitters.
When she stepped out, she found Bucky under the covers without a shirt on. He looked up and stared.
"What? Is something wrong?"
Bucky shook his head,
"No. You look cute."
Ruth looked at the ceiling and shyly replied,
"Thank you."
Ruth dropped her phone on the nightstand and crawled under the covers and snuggled in. Bucky rolled onto his side and Ruth couldn't suppress the shiver when the cool weight of his left arm settled over her side. Bucky noticed.
"You ok? Does this make you uncomfortable?"
"No. I mean yes I'm ok. No, it doesn't make me uncomfortable. Quite the opposite in fact."
Ruth felt him raise up a bit to look down at her. She turned her head slightly to look at his face. His eyebrows were furrowed as though he didn't believe her and was trying to figure her out.
"What?"
He didn't respond, just kept looking at her. She rolled onto her back so she could look at him better as he hovered over her.
"I have no illusions about who you are or who you were. Your arm and your past do not scare me or make me the least bit uncomfortable. It's a part of you. No different than any of your other limbs. And you're not going to scare me off. There is nothing you can tell me about your past or present that is going to make me look at you poorly. I love you, Bucky Barnes."
His blue eyes widened.
"What did you say?"
"I love you, Bucky Barnes."
The release of tension in his body was visible.
"I love you too, Ruth. I didn't want to scare you off, but you've changed my world in two months, and I didn't think I'd ever find someone outside of the Avengers, mostly Steve, to share anything with. Never thought love was an option for me."
Ruth simply leaned up and kissed him sweetly. She buried her hand in the hair at the base of his head to hold him there. When they broke apart, Ruth's voice was quiet,
"You'll never scare me off. Now let's get some sleep."
They both snuggled back under the covers and drifted off to sleep quickly.
A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Comments fuel the muses
