Pressure's On! - Bucky x Anxious! Reader

This was it. The week that could make or break you.

Finals Week.

Your fingers threaded through your [h/c] hair in anxiety. ‘What about I mess up?’ you thought frightened, ‘If I screw up on my finals my grades would be a disaster for sure!’

Unbeknownst to you, Bucky was silently sitting on the couch at the other side of the living room reading a book titled, “Relationships for Dummies”. Generally he would have never picked up such an insulting book but after all the failed attempts to try to ask you out, he eventually caved in and bought the damn book.

However when he heard your distressed sighs he quickly hid the book and went over to you.

“You seem stressed” He spoke in monotone.

Feebly you rose your head from the Pre-Calculus book on the table. “Bucky. I didn’t see you there”

“I was on the couch”

“Oh” Slowly you straightened your position only to immediately freak out, “I don’t know if I could do this!”

Bucky sat in the chair right next to you, “Do what, {First}?”

“If I can even go to school to start and finish Finals Week” You put a shaky hand to your head, “I feel my pre-test anxiety coming back”

Not sure what to do in this situation, Bucky’s quick mind remembered a passage from the relationship book’:

‘If a loved one is feeling sad or stressed don’t be afraid to squeeze their shoulder. And if they really are in need of a hug don’t be afraid to give it to them’

Of course, Bucky flinched at the idea of hugging. No way would he do that right now; he had his own Winter Soldier persona to deal with. Deciding it was best with the first option, he commanded his hand to move to touch your shoulder.

 A slight squeak came from your lips as you stared at the huge callous hand on your shoulder. “Bucky?” This seemed so unlike him. 'He has been acting strange lately...'

The former Winter Soldier reigned in his blush as he lightly squeezed your shoulder, “It will be okay. I know you can do it. Just take it one at a time”

A rosy color bloomed across your cheekbones, “Wow. Thank you for the advice Bucky” You broke into a huge grin, “And people thought you were an unfeeling block of muscle. How wrong they were!” You touched his hand on your shoulder undoubtedly ecstatic that your infatuation Bucky was now growing closer to you.

Bucky’s eyes narrowed in confusion. When his mouth opened to ask what you meant with that statement Steve came into the room.

“Hey guys did you see Tony come in here?” Steve scanned the room for the mischievous billionaire, “He took my shield saying he was ‘modifying it’” It wasn’t until Steve saw Bucky’s hand resting on your shoulder and somewhat close to your body that he became embarrassed, “Oh gosh am I interrupting something?”

Almost in unison, you and Bucky took one look at each other flustered before pulling away.

You coughed into your hand trying to play nonchalant, “N-No, nothing at all is happening here”

Steve rose an eyebrow puzzled, “Are you sure?”

“Yep” In a flash, your stomach turned to knots when the alarm for school went off. Burying your face into your hands, you cried. “I don’t want to take my finals! The pressure is too much”

Being the kind person he was, Steve put his arm around your shoulder causing Bucky to seethe in jealousy. “Its alright {First}. I believe you will ace all of them”

Your eyes flickered to Steve in gratitude while Bucky sharply cut in, “Its getting late. You don’t want to be tardy on your first final do you?”

“You are right!” You stood up from your chair and hugged Steve. “Thanks Steve” Bucky’s expression turned sour until you turned to him.

It took a moment to decide what you wanted to do. You had never hugged Bucky before so this would be the first time; though you were somewhat frightened that he would become hostile and throw you off. Taking a leap of faith, you embraced him.

Hearing a sharp intake of breath, you squeezed a bit tighter before letting go. “Thank you Bucky” Turning on your heel while grabbing your schoolbag, you waved. “Bye guys see you later!”

Steve and Bucky merely looked at each other when Tony quietly came into the room to taunt them when he found an interesting book hiding underneath the couch cushions…

~~~~~Timeskip Of a Mildly Blushing Winter Soldier and A Stressed Reader~~~~~~

They really weren’t lying when the ‘pressure would be turned up’ when it came to finals week.

Inside the classroom there was an atmosphere of dread. Everyone wearily talked to each other waiting for the teacher to come in. It wasn’t until the teacher came in thrusting the door open did everyone wince in fear.

Flickering your eyes to Professor Kaneki, you watched him calmly passing out the test of different versions making sure any two people sitting next to each other had the same test. In his soft voice he finally said, “Great job class for coming in on time. I believe you will all do well. Good luck. You may now start the test”

Staring down at the test booklet, the lettering seemed to swim right before your very eyes and your hands stared to feel clammy. A bead of sweat started to form on your forehead.

It wasn’t until you were five minutes into the test did you realize that you wrote absolutely nothing down for an answer!

Tears cruelly jabbed against your eyelids wanting to spill over. You bit your knuckles straining to not have a panic attack.

‘I have to look away from this test or else I will break down in front of everybody!’ you screamed inside your head. Needing to stare at anything but the test in front of you, looking at the window was the best bet. As your [e/c] eyes turned to look outside, everything around you became meaningless.

Across the school courtyard was Bucky leaning against the wall staring up at the sky. His hands were tucked into his pockets and his short brown hair shivered with the slight breeze.

Gazing at him triggered a memory when he told you, “I know you can do it. Just take it one at a time”

‘One at a time?’ You faced your test again and commanded your body to relax, ‘One at a time. I just have to tackle each problem one at a time!’

Right before your eyes like magic, each problem unveiled itself. Smiling and grateful for Bucky's support, you quickly grabbed your pencil and slowly answered the numerous problems.

~~~~Another Timeskip Of The Reader Feeling Empowered~~~~~

Each day you had a final you would always find Bucky waiting outside the school’s parameters.

Noticing his kindness you would always thank him only for him to answer the same way, “Don’t mention it”.

Although you would never know but he enjoyed walking with you instead of being couped up in that blasted tower where the Avengers got into the most ridiculous situations.

Now you were in the tower trying to study when Tony came up behind you thus making your heart tremble. “Tony!” you scolded, “How many times have I told you to stop sneaking up on me like that?”

He shrugged, “Too many times to count”

“See? You don’t listen to people. And you wonder why everyone gets angry towards you” Shaking your head you went to work on your science problem when Tony baited, “I think you would like to hear what I have to say~”

Knowing the man wouldn’t leave if you didn’t play along you glared at him, “What Tony?”

“Well since you asked so nicely I will tell you” he answered sarcastically. He then took out a book from behind him and dropped it on your desk. Peering over to it, your eyebrows knitted together.

“Last time I checked you were great with the ladies. Why do you have this?”

“Its not mine! It obviously belongs to a certain somebody in the tower” He wiggled his eyebrows at you hoping you were understand.

You on the other hand still glowered at him unamused, “Its not mine if that’s what you are implying”

Understanding you weren’t going to get it anytime soon Tony blurted, “Its Bucky’s! Jeez and I thought Steve was slow in grasping things”

Not hearing the end of his comment, you grabbed the book in your hands stunned. “This is Bucky’s?”

“It sure is, Captain Obvious”

You opened the book for it to land on a dog-eared page. Interested to as why this page was mark so, you read the title of the page: “How to Ask a Girl Out”. In that chapter was full of absurd things that no regular person would do.

Tony took one look at the page and started to die from laughter. “That is the funniest thing I have ever seen!”

Ignoring Tony you gently brushed the page in awe. “This must be the reason why Bucky has been acting out of context these past few weeks” Walking away from Tony and taking the book with you, the pressure of the situation was making your heart flutter uncontrollably.

Willing for your anxiety to leave your body, you now faced a new kind of pressure.

To tell Bucky you wanted the same thing.

***

After your last final, you wanted to collapse from exhaustion. Five full days of these heart-wrenching tests put your body into overdrive leaving you feeling weak.

Coming out of the classroom, your eyes landed on Bucky and you went to hug him. “I. Am. Finished!”

A hint of a smile graced his features. He was finally getting used to being hugged by you. “Happier?”

“Yep. Your advice really propelled me forward” His heart warmed that he helped you in some way. You smiled before your face broke into a smirk. “I found what you were reading the other day”

Bucky’s eyes widened slightly; he thought he had taken it back to his room to its proper hiding place; he must have forgotten. “That’s impossible”

You giggled, “I was actually kidding” Bucky froze; baffled he fell into your trap. “Ha so Tony was right! You own that relationship book” You winked at him, “If you wanted me to go on a date with you, you could have just asked”

Bucky’s blue eyes flickered to your form. “Really? It was that easy?”

“Yeah I would have said yes...I feel strongly for you Bucky"” You bumped your hip with his feeling more confident about yourself, “Now why don’t we start now?” You observed him hoping he didn't change his mind.

“Already?” He didn’t even have a place to take you!

You took this as a yes. “Why not? Besides you can take me out to my favorite restaurant for-“ You snapped your fingers in an epiphany, “-for me finishing my finals” Hesitantly you grabbed his hand only to chuckle at Bucky’s dumbfounded look. "Its alright Bucky. I will lead you through it. One step at a time"

"Fine" was all he said to hide his flustered emotions.

You couldn't help but grin at the guy. For a trained assassin he really was a cute clueless man when it came to dating.