Bucky had been in a foul mood since you’d woken up that morning. At first, you thought maybe he hadn’t slept well. Then you remembered the multiple times you woke up last night and saw him snoring away beside you, so that wasn’t it

Then you thought, maybe he’s grumpy because he knows you have a long mission coming up - but saying that, he’s usually fine when it’s stealth missions

It takes a good few hours for it to click, the actual reason

It happens whilst you’re watching him spar with Steve. He’s turning to his right every hit, bearing more weight on his left leg, shielding his chest. When you look really close, you even notice a slight tremble to his figure

Of course. He’s in pain, a lot of pain by the looks of it, but he’s being a typical man - and hiding it

You wait patiently till he takes a break, before approaching with a faux disinterested expression

“How you feeling, baby? Achey, at all?”

You ask pointedly. Bucky freezes like he’s been caught, before clearing his throat and shrugging - followed by a wince when he realises that was a bad idea

“Just- my shoulder. It’s botherin’ me a bit, but I’ll live. I’m fine, doll”