Unsinkable, Part 1
Rating: T (M for later content)
Word Count: 2.8k
Pairing: Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes
Summary: April 10th, 1912. James Buchanan Barnes is engaged and leaving England for his wedding in America, but his true desires make him feel trapped. Worldly artist Steve Rogers and his best friend Fabrizio win tickets to the RMS Titanic in a lucky hand of poker. Fate intervenes when Bucky decides to end it all rather than spend the rest of his life with a woman he cannot and does not love.
A/N: I know it’s been 84 years since I’ve written an original piece but my creativity has been in a dry spell for a while. What motivated me to finish this first part was that today is @mischievousbellerina ‘s birthday!! So this is my gift to her, since I promised I would finish part 1 as soon as I could. Happy birthday to an amazing woman who has been my biggest cheerleader, my biggest flan, since she found me on AO3. (I know I have another birthday story to finish, and I will as soon as I can ^_^)
Anyway, this is a Stucky AU piece, taking place on the Titanic. Basically, Steve is Jack Dawson and Bucky is Rose Dewitt Bukater, but an adult instead of a minor.
I hope you folks like it!
Masterlist / AO3
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CHAPTER 1
Seven minutes.
The seaside pub was quieter than usual, seeming to teeter on the edge of chaos as the poker game that would decide the fate of the four men playing crept toward its final moments. Framed beautifully in the front window of the pub was the Titanic, the ship of dreams, and Steve Rogers was not about to let her leave port without him aboard. Perhaps he was a fool to bet every cent he and Fabrizio had against the third class tickets Olaf and Sven had, but he was nothing if not a lucky fool.
Steve stole a glance to his left at Fabrizio with his cards closely guarded. He was less than reassured at the thinly cloaked panic just under the surface of his friend's stoic expression, but the cards he already had showed promise. Carefully he balanced his cigarette in the corner of his lips and studied his cards to see which one he would discard, his expression stern and unreadable.
“Steve,” Fabrizio whispered to him as the two Swedes across the table continued to sweat. “You are pazzo, you bet everything we have.”
Lips curling up in a wicked smile, Steve took a quick drag from his cigarette and leaned close. “When you got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose,” he reminded his friend.
Last call to trade and discard cards came and went. Olaf's cheeks burned bright red but he refused, and Sven looked like he was about to burst.
Six minutes.
“Alright, moment of truth.” Steve slowly exhaled and kept his face steady and his cards hidden. “Somebody's life is about to change. Fabrizio?”
Fabrizio stared daggers at him and laid his cards down without a word.
“ Niente? ” Steve guessed, unruffled at his friend's useless hand.
“ Niente .” Nothing.
“Olaf?”
The sweaty man across the table from Steve stared him down and reluctantly slammed his worthless cards in front of him. Steve's heart leapt into breakneck speed but he didn't let it show.
Nothing.
“Sven?”
Sitting to Steve's right, Sven grinned smugly and showed his hand. Two sevens and two fives on either side of a single jack.
“Two pair, huh?” Steve let out an exaggerated sigh, turning to Fabrizio with a frown. “I'm sorry.”
Fabrizio gaped at Steve, panicked and rising from his chair in anger. “ Che ‘sorry?’ Ma vaffanculo ! You bet all the money-”
“I'm sorry ,” Steve interrupted, “but you're not gonna see your mom again for a long time.”
Stunned silence stretched out for a moment before Steve grinned wide and slammed his cards down on the table, making the loose coins jingle. “Because we're goin’ to America! Full house, boys!”
Applause erupted from the rest of the pub, an ear-bursting cacophony of hoots and stomping feet. Steve glanced at the clock above the door and froze when he saw the time - Titanic would be leaving port in five short minutes. He tugged on Fabrizio’s jacket and gestured with his head toward the open door, ignoring the fistfight that had just broken out between Sven and Olaf. A wicked smile spread across his face.
“Let’s go home,” Steve whispered, and he and Fabrizio ducked through the crowd and away to the port.
………………………………….
“It’s not even that big.”
The young woman seated next to Bucky Barnes frowned and crossed her arms as she waited for him to get out and help her out of the escort car. Bucky simply shook his head; he was in no mood to get in another argument with his snobby fiancée before they even got to their room on the ship. The only reason he was even going was because her family wanted to have their wedding in America, and his mother was tagging along to ensure he didn’t “ruin” anything.
Bucky begrudgingly pasted a smile on his face and exited the car, weaving through the sea of second and third class passengers to the other side so he could open the door for Mary. If he kept her waiting her father would scold him, and the last thing he needed was his disapproval. She took his hand and climbed down, frowning even deeper at the throng of dirty faces surrounding their cars.
“All this talk of a world-changing ship, and it looks to be the same size as the Mauretania.”
“Now, Mary,” her father spoke, once he paid off the men carrying their luggage, “this ship is at least 100 feet longer than the Mauretania, and far more luxurious. I even met with the captain yesterday - the Titanic is nigh unsinkable. God himself could not sink this ship. Your suite will not disappoint, I promise.”
Titanic was being hailed in papers around the world as the ship of dreams. The ship that was supposed to redefine sea travel, to set a new standard. To Bucky it felt like a cursed train, dragging him back to hell without a chance of escape. A familiar numb feeling crept into his mind as he went through the motions of escorting his fiancée to their rooms and ensuring all of their luggage boxes, as well as the paintings he bought from a man named Picasso, were undamaged. The reality of being forced to marry this woman simply because she was from a wealthy family was becoming more and more real with each passing day, and he was ashamed by the disgust he felt when they slept together at night. No one else knew, and the burden of his true desires weighed heavily on his shoulders. It was all he could do to get through the day in one piece anymore.
As the day wore on, he thought more and more about the life that awaited him once they reached America’s shores, and he made up his mind as the sun fell below the horizon.
That first night aboard, after the detour to Ireland when the ship was well out at sea, Bucky put on the navy blue suit that Mary picked out for him and went up on deck for dinner. He spoke when spoken to, wore his fake smile, and drank until he didn’t care if anyone saw him slip away from the table.
Head held high, he slipped out of the dining room as the rest of the men excused themselves to enjoy their cigars and brandy, and he strode through the few groups of people still on deck until no one was around, then he broke into a run, tears finally falling, stopping only once to catch his breath. At last he reached the stern of the ship, where the freezing waves crashed against the hull at a speed he wasn’t able to fathom. Bucky guessed that since no one was around, no one would know he was gone until morning, and then it would be too late. He felt a fierce longing in his heart to jump over the rail and sink to the icy depths below, to let oblivion swallow him and carry his secrets away with him. No more wedding, no more Mary, no more hating himself for being unable to do something as simple as love a woman.
Adrenaline coursed through Bucky’s veins as he approached the railing that overlooked an endless expanse of dark sky and almost equally dark ocean. His father’s words echoed in his mind, words spat at him like poison, accusations of throwing away his own immortal soul out of spite for him. He had tried his best, he truly had, but Bucky just couldn’t bring himself to fall in love with Mary, no matter how much money her family had or how much guilt his mother dumped on him on a daily basis. Hands shaking, Bucky gripped the metal rails, freezing droplets of water splashing against his skin. Slowly he lifted one foot onto the bottom rail, readying himself to step up and jump.
…………………………
There was no better feeling in the world than standing on the deck of a ship in the middle of the ocean. The last time Steve had been at sea was when he snuck aboard a cargo ship heading for France. He had had to hide from the crew so there was no strolling along the deck with the ocean wind in his face. The ocean at night was like a mirror, the stars and moon perfectly reflected, making it difficult to tell where the horizon was. Steve took a deep drag from his cigarette, watching the smoke trail toward the back of the ship like steam from a train. His life wasn’t perfect - far from it - but this was one experience he would remember for the rest of his life.
A movement and the sound of shoes hitting the wooden deck caught Steve’s eye and he looked to his right, toward the stern of the ship. A man in a blue suit was standing in front of the railing, leaning slightly forward, almost like he was trying to gather the nerve to do something. Instinct prickled at the back of his neck; something felt wrong. He was about to shout to the man when a big hand gripped his upper arm and flung him bodily against a wall.
The stink of cheap beer burned Steve’s eyes as the man held him by the collar and leaned in close. “I don’t appreciate you hittin’ on my wife like that,” he slurred with a thick London accent. “Do you know what happens to men who make a pass at my wife, eh?”
“I, uh, think you’ve got the wrong guy,” Steve said quietly, in attempt to placate him enough to let him go. He had been up on deck most of the evening and wasn’t sure who this man was, let alone his wife.
“I don’t think so. See, it was a bony little yellow headed coward. And you…” He paused briefly, blinking slowly as though to clear his thoughts. “You’s a bony little yellow headed coward. Ain’t ya?’
Never one to back down from a fight, Steve chuckled. “Well I think ‘coward’ is a bit strong, but-”
“That’s it!” The man lifted Steve off the deck several inches and staggered a bit. “I’m gonna kick your skinny arse!”
Steve squirmed out of the drunk man’s grip and landed on his feet, moving quickly to dodge the first punch. He may not have been as strong, but he definitely had the advantage of sobriety and years of dealing with men bigger than this one. He ducked when a fist came flying at him again, this time giving the other man a swift kick in the shins, which only served to make him angrier.
“Hey!”
Both Steve and the drunk man looked up to see the man in the blue suit walking toward them with his fists clenched by his side. His face red and blotchy, suit rumpled, slate gray eyes wild with fury, Steve could tell this man was at the end of his rope and likely felt he had nothing to lose. He watched him unbutton and roll up his sleeves and tried to get out of the way while this rich man took his anger out on a stranger, but the drunk man kept a tight hold on his arm.
…………………………….
Bucky glanced around to see if any officers were patrolling the deck. He wasn’t much of a fighting man but he knew how to defend himself and others when he needed to. The larger, drunk man looked up at him, a stupid expression on his florid face. “Pick on someone your own size, huh?”
While the drunk man was distracted the smaller man ducked between his legs and knocked him off balance. Bucky ran faster when he saw a huge hand wrap around a skinny ankle, and before the drunk man could land his blow Bucky leapt in front of him and took the hit square in the jaw. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle, so he shook off the stars in his vision and hit him back. Blood poured from the drunk man’s nose but he somehow rose to his feet and ran off, clutching his face.
Still on the floor, Bucky gently touched his sore fingers to his jaw and sighed with relief when they came away clean. No blood, but there would definitely be a bruise there in the morning, and he did not look forward to explaining it. A groan to his left made him remember the other man involved, so he stood up and offered his hand to him.
“You alright there?”
Bright blue eyes full of what seemed to be suspicion peered up at him from behind shaggy blond hair. He allowed Bucky to help him to his feet but pulled away quickly once he was steady.
“I’m fine,” the young man spat at him, wiping a small drop of blood from the corner of his mouth. “Could’ve handled it myself.”
Bucky laughed under his breath, trying to suppress the butterflies forming in his stomach. “You’re welcome, I guess,” he mumbled awkwardly. “So what’s your name?”
“Steve Rogers,” he said, his stance changing to make him appear larger. “And, uh, thanks.”
“I’m James Barnes, but you can call me Bucky. So what was that all about?” Bucky gestured in the general direction of the drunk man’s receding footsteps, and Steve rolled his eyes.
“Just another idiot trying to prove he’s big and bad by beating up the smallest guy on the ship I guess,” Steve said. “It’s not the first time and it probably won’t be the last.”
Bucky didn’t know what to say. The way Steve was making him feel just standing there made him want to run away before he did or said something he would live to regret. He remembered just moments ago how he was ready to jump from the back of the ship, but now that idea felt foolish. He turned back toward the stern and an uncomfortable tightness formed in his chest.
“So what made you decide to jump?”
Bucky whirled around again, preparing to argue with Steve, but no words came. He fidgeted with his hands, his hair, the buttons on his jacket.
“I know what you must be thinking,” he said after a few moments’ silence. To Bucky’s surprise, Steve wasn’t frowning anymore. Instead his expression had softened and something about him made Bucky want to tell him everything. “Poor little rich boy . I have everything in the world and don’t want it. Right?”
“Actually, no,” Steve said quietly, folding his hands behind his back. “When I saw you from back here I wondered what could have happened to you to make you think there was no other way out. I had no idea you were… affluent … until you came closer and I saw your suit. If I’m honest, I’m glad that idiot roped me into a fight, because it made you realize you didn’t actually want to jump.” He paused, watching Bucky’s reactions. “Didn’t it?”
A wave shook the ship slightly, and Bucky looked out over the ocean, his eyes slowly drifting up to watch the stars go by. His head spun with the weight of what Steve had said. He didn’t want to admit it but he was absolutely right. With each passing second the words he wanted to say pushed at the back of his throat until he couldn’t hold them in anymore.
“Would you… join myself and my family at dinner tomorrow evening? As thanks, for...” He glanced back at the stern, that same uneasy feeling threatening to swallow him whole.
Steve’s shocked look quickly gave way to amusement. “Sure,” he joked, “I’ll bet they allow riffraff like me in the first class dining room all the time.”
Steve’s smile made Bucky’s stomach clench, and he was instantly grateful it was nighttime or the heat creeping into his cheeks would have given him away.
“I’ll tell the doormen and my family that you’re coming. It’s the least I could do - you saved my life.”
Bucky stared at his feet, hoping Steve would walk away first, but when neither man moved he braved a look at his face again. For a man of his stature, Steve sure did carry himself like everything he did was on purpose. He watched Steve bend down and pick up his cigarette - discarded by accident during the tussle, no doubt - and for the briefest of moments imagined himself kissing him right there where anyone could see them.
What’s wrong with me?
“I’ll come,” Steve said, patting down his pockets until he found his matchbook. “I just don’t have anything to wear to a fancy dinner but the clothes on my back.”
Steve had a point, Bucky realized. He would be highly conspicuous dressed as he was in a dining room full of women in formal gowns and men in tailored suits.
“Come to suite B52 around sunset,” Bucky offered. “That’s where my fiancée and I are staying. I still have some suits from when I was younger that will probably fit you.”
