Red in my Ledger

Chapter Thirty-Six

I woke up in the morning feeling strange.
My head felt warm, yet the rest of my body was freezing. I pulled the covers over my head and hid under the sheets, but I was still shivering.
My nose felt tingly. I sneezed.
"Oohhhhhhh" I moaned as I got out of bed.
I thought perhaps a work out could warm me up, so I headed to the training room.
No one was in there.
I put on some headphones and started training alone.
-
After a while, Steve and Bucky joined you, but you didn't notice.
You had your back turned as you repeatedly hit at a punching bag, and you didn't hear them due to the volume of the music in your headphones.
Steve approached you.
-
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I instinctively grabbed it, rapidly turned and kneed Steve in the stomach before I saw it was him.
It didn't hurt him, but I apologised regardless.
"That's okay" he chuckled, then tilted his head with concern. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."
"I'm fine."
My voice croaked, disproving my own point. My throat felt a little sore, and it worsened as I swallowed a cough.
"Y/n you're sick."
"No I'm not-" I laughed, but a coughing fit overcame me.
"Yes, you are. Let's go back to your room so you can rest."
I cleared my throat and stood up straight in front of him.
"I don't get sick, Steve. I'm going to breakfast" I said.
I pushed past him and met Bucky's eyes over by the door.
Neither of us said a word as I walked past him to get to the kitchen.
---
The others entered the kitchen and immediately spotted you in a chair, asleep on the table.
Tony slammed the door shut and you sat up straight.
"Oh hey guys" you grinned tiredly.
"Are you okay?" Tony asked.
"I'm fine" you rolled your eyes.
"If you say so" Tony shrugged, and started to prepare some food.
It didn't take long for the table to be filled with a selection of breakfast options.
You helped yourself to some plain toast, as you weren't that hungry.
"Y/n can you pass me the butter" Tony requested.
You picked it up and reached across the table to hand it to Tony, but couldn't help sneezing a little.
Tony stared at the plate of butter in your hand.
"You know what, never-mind."
You rolled your eyes and put it back on the table, then rubbed your nose to try and avoid sneezing again.
"Y/n are you sick?" Natasha asked.
"No, I don't get sick" you sniffed.
She ignored your answer and leaned across the table, pressing the back of her hand against your forehead.
"You're sick. You should get some rest."
"I don't need to rest. I feel like I've done nothing but rest for days."
"Well, yeah. There's nothing else to do" Yelena pointed out.
"But, y/n, if you're sick, getting some sleep will help you get better" Steve argued.
"I'm not tired" you lied.
You suddenly felt a foot brush up your leg, and you subtly looked over at Bucky.
You knew he wanted you to rest too, and he probably wanted to stay with you himself. But if you were sick, the others would check on you too much for him to be able to do that.
"Look, guys, I'm fine" you reiterated.
You stood up and took your crumby plate to the sink, then started walking towards the door.
"Y/n if you're 'not sick', what are you going to do now?" Tony enquired.
"I don't know. Train some more" you shrugged.
"Will you at least take some medicine?"
"I don't need medicine. I am not sick-" you trailed off as you started sneezing again. You wiped your nose on your sleeve then looked at the others.
"Sure you're not" Yelena frowned.
"In almost twenty-three years, I have never had a cold or the flu or been seriously sick, 'cause I don't get sick" you said one last time, before leaving the room to do some training.
---
A blanket wrapped tightly around me, sniffing every other second, I knocked weakly on the door.
Bucky opened the door and smiled when he saw me.
"I'm sick" I mumbled miserably, and went to settle myself on his bed.
"Took you long enough" he chuckled and sat next to me.
I moaned as I lay down and crawled under his duvet.
"I hate this."
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I'll just wait here until you get sick too, then we can be miserable together."
"As fun as that sounds, I don't get sick doll."
"What? No fair."
I heard him laugh lightly, then felt his hand place down on top of the duvet.
"Okay, I'm gonna head out for a while" he randomly declared.
"Where are you going?"
"Out."
"Oh. How long will you be gone?"
"I promise no longer than an hour. But if you go to sleep, it won't seem as long."
"Hmm. Fine."
He pulled the covers over my head back slightly so he could kiss me goodbye.
I was too tired to hold back my smile, and I rolled over to kiss him back.
---
True to his word, Bucky was back in his room only an hour after he had left.
You didn't notice as you had managed to get some rest as Bucky suggested. You looked rather peaceful, but Bucky woke you anyway.
"Hey doll" he shook your shoulder gently until you woke up.
You sat up and rubbed your eyes, and then covered your mouth as you yawned.
"Hm?"
"I got you some food" he smiled as he placed a McDonalds takeaway bag by your side. He then placed another bag next to it, his backpack. "And some cough medicine, this Vaporub stuff, a hot water bottle, and these sweets that are meant to help a sore throat. I also bought tea, coffee, hot chocolate, in case you wanted a hot drink, and I bought some chocolates for if you wanted a snack later."
He took each item out the bag, one by one, until it was pretty much empty. Then he looked at you, and saw tears in your eyes.
"Oh, no, what's wrong?" he asked.
"N-nothing" you smiled weakly. "Thank you for taking care of me baby."
"You're very welcome" Bucky smiled back. His metal hand held your cheek, an icy touch against your burning skin. He softly brushed away your falling tears. "Oh and I got tissues" he remembered. He pulled them out his bag, opened them, and gently dabbed at your face.
"You're sure you don't get sick?"
"I'm sure."
"Good."
You leaned forward in bed and pressed your lips against Bucky's. He pulled you into his lap and you stopped kissing him to lean against his chest. You reached for the McDonalds bag and started eating fries from inside it.
Bucky still had one arm around you. He reached for the remote on the bedside table with his other hand, then pointed it at the TV to turn it on. Bucky stroked through your hair as you finished your food. Then you slipped off his chest onto the mattress beside him.
"Do you mind getting me some tea?" you asked.
"Of course I don't mind. Do you need anything else?"
"Just tea please."
"Back in a minute" he smiled.
While he was out the room, someone came to knock on Bucky's door. It couldn't be him, you thought, he wouldn't knock. So, you started to worry. You still didn't want the others knowing about you and Bucky yet, and you couldn't think of an excuse as to why you were in his room right now.
You stayed quiet, hoping they would go away.
"Bucky?"
It was Steve. He knocked again.
"You in there?"
You heard the door handle make a sound, and watched it slowly turn. It pushed open a fraction, but luckily something outside stopped him. Someone.
"Steve" Bucky called. "What are you doing?"
"Oh I was just looking for you."
"Why?"
"Checking up on you. Is that tea?"
"Yeah."
"Since when do you like tea?"
"I don't know... What did you want Steve?"
"Oh. Um, I have this friend who's looking to date, and she asked if I knew anyone... I was wondering if you'd be up to going on a blind date with her?"
"Seriously?"
"I thought, maybe, it could be a good opportunity to, you know, move on."
"I already moved on."
"I think you should give this a chance. It could be fun."
"I'll think about it, okay?"
"Okay. I'll give her your number."
"Fine. Bye, Steve."
"See you later Buck."
A few seconds later, Bucky walked through the door and closed it behind him.
"Sorry that took so long" he said, handing you the cup of tea. "Steve was just-"
"Yeah I heard."
"Hm. You know I'm not going to do it, right?"
You slipped your tea and then paused for a moment.
"Maybe you should."
"What?"
"Go on the date."
"Why would I do that?"
"Avoid suspicion" you shrugged.
"Suspicion?"
"Yeah, I mean, no one would ask questions about why you're not going."
"I could just tell them I'm not ready to date."
"Aren't you worried someone will think you still like me?"
"But I-"
"I'm not ready to tell anyone Buck. Could you please just do this for me?"
"I... I'm not going to win this argument, am I?"
"Wouldn't count on it."
"Okay doll, I'll go."
"Thank you. It's just one date, it won't mean anything."
"I know" Bucky smiled. "Nothing but you means anything to me."
"You're so great baby."
You put your tea on the bedside table and cuddled up to him to sleep.