Hii:) so sorry if this is a weird ask or not allowed and I just didn’t see that but do you know of any Bucky fics where the reader was from the 40s (or general past) too?
I hope you will like them
✳️ The Soldier and The Vixen by @danysdaughter
✳️Boulevard Confessions by @elixirfromthestars
✳️Five Moments in Time by @pellucid-constellations
Summary: Bucky meets a tough nurse during the war, she doesn’t like all the flirty comments but he keeps coming back anyways.
Pairing: 40′s!Bucky x reader
Prompt: “put your arm around my-or just fall on me.”
Words: 4,413
Warning: detailed descriptions of injuries like amputation, vomiting, mentions of blood
A/N: this is a my submission for the @pellucid-constellations writing challenge, go read the other submissions and check out their page as well!
Main Materlist
Bucky stumbled back from the woods into the tent grounds. There was a beige hue to everything and it matched with the beige uniforms, everything seemed to be bland and dry; including the food. The beige on his uniform made the patch of blood stand out, he tried to cover it with his hands but the second people saw him they moved him to the medical tent. As Bucky was placed on a bed he looked out of the open tent flap, seeing two skinny dogs fight over a bone.
He was pulled back when a hand grabbed at his neck, he hadn’t gotten used to how the nurses grabbed someone’s dog tags instead of asking for a name. “James Barnes,” the lady muttered, “did you get shot?”
“No, I sneezed.” Bucky deadpanned then pushed up and rested on his forearms so he wasn’t lying flat, “can I be treated by that nurse,” he pointed at you. You were standing by a table and were reading through papers quickly, when you itched your neck Bucky saw your dirty hands. Even though your back was to him, he could tell you were pretty. The one thing that intrigued him was your confused look, you seemed annoyed as you read through the papers. “We’re, uh, friends from school.” Bucky smiled.
The nurse walked away and Bucky watched as you looked over and then walked up to him. “I don’t know you,” was all you said before unbuttoning his shirt to see the bullet wound.
“I know,” Bucky winced, “if I’m about to die then I need to see an angle in real life first so I know what to expect when I get to those pearly gates.” He smiled through the pain.
“God,” you rolled your eyes, “you men are like dogs fighting over a bone, not everyone wants to fuck you.”
“Woah,” Bucky laid back and let you assess his wound, “you don’t need to get so vulgar, you looked stressed so I thought I’d lighten the mood, damn.”
You just clenched your jaw and found the needle to stitch, “this is going to hurt,” you whispered and began stitching him.
“Shouldn’t your hands look somewhat clean when doing this?” Bucky asked, there was dirt caked under your nails. The more he looked the more he saw blood mixed in as well.
You froze before looking at him, “we’re short on soap,” you rolled your eyes before going back to stitching.
“What?” he laughed, “I don’t know who ran through all that because I know for a fact that no guy here has washed-ow!” Bucky flinched, “it’s always that ending stitch that gets me.”
“Well, we’re getting short on supplies here as well,” you used the back of your hand to wipe your brow, “I mean, in about a week we’ll have nothing left, no one is listening to us either. Nurses are getting sick and we’re losing ladies left and right,” you looked around, “but no one cares because we’re ladies, all anyone wants to do is lift up our skirts.” you wiped your hands on your skirt that had bloodstains all over it, creating more.
“Sorry,” he muttered, “you just looked stressed and I was an ass.”
“Apology accepted,” you said without really paying attention, he could tell you were looking around to see if anyone new had walked in. “Just make my life easier by not getting shot.”
Bucky laughed, “I like you, you’re funny,” he took some gauze and placed it over his stitches, taping it down. “But, uh, If I’m going to do something for you, I kinda need to know your name, doll.”
“Huh,” you shook your head, “then it’s on behalf of all the nurses.”
“Soon you’ll be the only nurse, you don’t look like the type to fall sick. You’re gonna have to tell me your name at some point,” Bucky stood up and watched you walk back to your workbench, “so just tell me now.”
“Y/N,” you slowly looked over.
“Pretty name,” he said quickly, “it suits you.”
“Whatever…” you reached up to his neck but this time Bucky didn’t flinch, “Barnes.”
“Bucky,” he corrected, “call me Bucky.”
“Alright, Bucky, rest and clean that wound, alright?”
“Alright,” he copied, “see you around?”
“I’ll be here.”
“Perfect.”
********
Bucky casually walked into the medical tent, he saw you running around again while yelling at other people. He took a seat on his cot and waited, his hands folded nicely in his lap. No one came up to him right away, a few nurses looked over but since he wasn’t bleeding out no one cared. His legs swung around for a bit, trying to cure his boredom as he watched you help someone with your back to him.
He looked down at his hands, his nails were covered with dirt. His hands had never looked so grimy, he began picking out the dirt with his thumbnail. It mingled with the ground that was also dirt, there was also blood mixed as well. The one thing he hated about this tent was the smell, death was the only way to describe it.
His posture fixed when he saw you walking over, trying to cover a smile that was growing on your lips. When you walked up he looked up at you, letting his back curve so he leaned towards you more.
“Is it your bullet?” you asked.
“No,” Bucky shook his head.
You looked over your shoulder to see if anyone was paying attention, when no one was you looked back at him. “What do you want then?” you fiddled with your skirt.
“I just…” Bucky looked around to also make sure no one was listening, “want to check in with you, maybe provide moral support for my best girl?” Bucky laughed at your stunned face.
“Your best girl,” you repeated, “I met you yesterday,” you laughed and covered your face.
“Oh well,” Bucky shrugged, “people always tell me when I fall I go hard and fast.”
You shook your head, “you can be moral support but go sit on my chair over there, you’re taking up and bed,” you walked with him over to the dest with all the papers on it, “and don’t look through those,” you pushed them all to the side.
“Do you have like a needle or something really thin?” Bucky asked as he held up his hands so his nails faced you, “I need to get all this dirt out.”
“Yeah,” you leaned over him and picked up a sewing needle, “this good?”
“Yeah,” Bucky plucked it from your hands, “thanks.”
“No worries,” you smiled, “it’s been such a busy day and I’m so happy you stopped by, I needed a little breather.”
“I’ll do it every day,” Bucky looked from the needle before smiling up at you.
Your mouth opened to speak but before you could get anything out there was a scream from behind you, without thinking you left Bucky right away and ran over. He couldn’t blame you, it was instinct for the both of them to drop everything and run towards screams, he knew you’d come over later.
Bucky began picking away all the dirt under his nail, flicking it onto the floor. By the time he got to his left hand he was watching you while working on his nails, unconsciously smiling at the way you worked.
After that day, Bucky stopped by after lunch to see you like clockwork. He’d find a chair and grab a needle to look somewhat occupied. You’d smile and wave and continue with his work, sometimes coming over and talking with him. He looked forward to it, even cancelling plans with buddies to see you.
He knew he was falling, hard and fast.
********
It had been six days since his side got stitched up, it was starting to hurt if he grazed a finger over the cut. He’d heard a lot of guys leaving their bullets in for two reasons: it made getting them out later easier and the ladies love a scar. As much as Bucky wanted you to swoon over him, he knew seeing a scar would make you repulse simply from how often you see them. There hadn’t been any updates for the next attack so it gave him time to really take care of his wound, more than he normally would. It wasn’t so he wouldn’t need to see you again, it was because he wanted to make you proud that he took care of himself. It was getting harder, all he wanted to do was open his tiches and rip the bullet from how much it hurt.
The days were getting hotter, men walked around without their uniform shirts on while the nurses kept their many skirt layers to keep away from infection. Bucky walked in and saw you rubbing your hands up and down your face, there were papers in front of you and you probably didn’t have anything nice.
“Hey, doll,” Bucky said as he took a seat on the same bed, groaning when he moved too quickly.
You seemed to get scared at the voice, with one look you walked over. “You’re bullet is up,” you muttered to yourself and gently touched his shoulders to lie him down, “can you unbutton your shirt for me?” You smiled before walking away, your professional voice was on.
“Woah, by me a drink first,” Bucky smirked, slowly working on the buttons. You came back but weren’t smiling, “come on, that was a funny one.”
You slowly peeled away the gauze, “I’ll laugh when you don’t make a sex joke,” you took a second to look at his eyes before going back.
“I took good care of my stitches for you, doll,” Bucky filled the silence, “wanted to make your life easier.”
“That’s sweet,” it sounded real, “you did make my life easier, so thanks.” you smiled as you slowly pulled the bullet out, “you wanna keep it?”
“What?” Bucky moved away from the bloody bullet being held by the tweezers.
“What?” you copied, “tons of guys keep it to send it back to their doll,” you raised an eyebrow before dropping it into a small tin that had rust on in the corners.
“You’re my only doll, doll,” Bucky groaned when you stitched the cut back together.
When you were done you began to walk away, not looking over your shoulder. Bucky stayed on the bed, slowly sitting up but still looking at you. It looked like a slower day, but you still looked swamped. The papers rustled and some fell to the floor as you flipped them around, he walked over and looked over your shoulder.
The papers were inventory, he saw the steady declining numbers. He couldn’t tell if you were aware he was standing there, he wasn’t breathing down your neck but he knew if you tried you could see him from where you were standing.
“Excuse me” a voice made you turn around, you did a double-take to see Bucky standing there. “Sorry,” the man sat on the bed Bucky was just at, “my eyes, they’re- I don’t know what’s wrong with them.”
You walked over and cupped the man’s face in your hands, slowly tilting his head around. Bucky scoffed, “he’s just trying to gaze into your eyes,” Bucky crossed his arms and leaned on the desk, “don’t tell me you’re falling for it.”
You didn’t listen and walked back over to the bench, “he’s going to lose his sight, so shut the fuck up.” you whispered so the man wouldn’t freak out, “there’s so much debris in there, he’s lucky he found his way here,” spoke quickly as you gathered everything you needed.
“Oh,” Bucky lowered his head.
“Yeah, not everyone comes here to gaze into my eyes,” you shook your head when you looked up at him, “don’t you have a job to do, Sargent?” Bucky was stunned as you walked away, going over to man again and changing your voice. “Hey there, can you see me?” when you talked to the man your voice was like a soft bed, clean sheets and a few blankets. When you talked to Bucky it sounded like his bed in the tents, straw and wood.
Bucky bit hard on his lip, nodding his head in defeat as he walked out of the tent. He didn’t look over his shoulder, he knew you were dealing with the other man because he heard screams of fear. He cringed when he heard the man weeping, screaming for someone to help him see again. When he got back to his tent he found no one in there, his buddies were probably sitting near a lake with how hot it was getting.
He sat on at the small desk all four people share and took off his shirt, letting his new stitches air out for a while. One tent-mate kept tons of paper because he had a wife and kids he wrote to every day, Bucky took one without thinking. He leaned back in the chair and thought of the apology letter he’d write.
Bucky just began to write, letting his emotions control the words he was scribbling down. Without even thinking, he was smiling as he wrote. He pictured your smile and the way your brows creased when you were thinking. Bucky was planning on leaving it with the messed up inventory papers so when you were stressing and rummaging through them like you always did, you would stumble upon a little note to brighten your day.
My Dearest, Y/N,
I’ve never written a letter more important than this one, I’m going to try my best to do it right.
Even though I met you not too long ago I felt like I have known you forever. I don’t get hurt too often on the battlefield -if you couldn’t tell, I’m quite smart- but one time I had got a nasty cut from running back and retreating, I think it was barbed wire. When I showed up at the medical tent I saw you running around, you probably remember that day, your skirt was covered in blood; more than it normally does. I wasn’t treated by you, another nurse walked up and began stitching my leg. But while she was bent down and began working on my cut it gave me the best view to look at you, the way you were bossing people around and running the show. I had barely noticed the nurse had finished working on my leg, you encapsulated me so much that I didn’t feel a needle weave in and out of my skin. I’ve never met anyone who has done that before.
Before I continue I must address the obvious, the little altercation we had about the man who was about to lose his sight. I know you have probably heard apologies too often in your life, I feel like too many people have done you wrong. But please, know that I am sorry for putting you in an awkward position and belittling the man you were working on. My plan is to find him and apologies because I know he heard me. With the war being so gloomy and sad I try my best to lighten people up with humour, it works very well with the other men when we’re sitting by the fire. I now know it doesn’t work with you, and by ‘you’ I mean all nurses. I don’t think I have ever seen you take a break before, it’s scary because I think it’s true. Whereas us guys get warm fires and nice tents to relax in when we don’t have an attack that day.
I am so unbelievably sorry for how I made you feel, I want a friendship with you. And I know what you’re thinking, “does he want to be my friend or does he want to get close so he can screw me?” and I get why you would think that, most people don’t start a friendship with a terrible pickup line but I honestly wanted to make you laugh that day.
You’ve got such a wonderful personality, you’re funny but you’re also strong. You’ve got this ability to make everyone in the room look at you and trust you, I’m jealous of the way you can lead all your nurses. I also understand that nurses aren’t getting the attention they deserve, I’ve seen the inventory files and papers, you’ve also told me. You’re being left on your own when in reality, you guys are the reason we’re winning this war right now.
I’m sorry for everything, I hope we can still be friends.
Love, JBB
********
It was the next day and Bucky stood outside the tent out of eyesight. He rocked back and forth on his feet while creasing the paper in his hand, he folded it once so no one else would see that he wrote. A couple of men had walked in with a confused look on their faces, wondering why Bucky was just standing there.
“Might want to get out of the way,” one man who was bleeding from his head said, “massive explosion and people got hurt,” he walked right in and was swarmed by nurses.
Bucky took one deep breath and walked in, he saw you stitching someone. He slowly made his way to the desk but before he got there you saw him, running over with a worried look on your face.
“Were in the explosion, where are you hurt?” Your arm gripped tightly on his forearms to bring him to a cot.
Bucky held his ground, “no, I’m not hurt, I want to give you this, I didn’t know you guys were swamped I can come back later to talk about it.”
“About what?” Your fingers tried to grab the note but Bucky held onto that as well.
“An apology,” Bucky sighed, trying to talk quietly, “but we can talk about it later, you’re busy and I want to respect that.”
“Okay,” you nodded with wide eyes, “okay, I’ll find you-”
Before you could finish there was a massive scream that sounded far away. Though it was faint, everyone stopped what they were doing, listening for it to either get quieter or louder. You still had a grip on Bucky’s forearm, your eyes looked out of the tent and waited for whoever to walk in.
The scream happened again and it was louder this time, crisper. “It’s getting closer,” you whispered and before, “it’s something big,” you turned around to see cots full and very few skirts running around, “fuck.”
The blood-curdling scream happened again, the ground shook as the man cried out. Bucky had heard that scream before, he’d heard it a few times. People getting shot multiple times and slowly bleeding out on the ground, other times it was to call for help; either way, the scream was a last-ditch effort for something to happen.
Finally, it came through the tent flaps. The sight before him was ungodly, he’d never seen anything like it before. A man was being carried in on a stretcher, he had lost his leg and was bleeding quickly. A buddy was carrying the right leg behind him, the limb had already blackened. The man on the stretcher rolled and shook as he screamed for help, tears and blood rolled down his face. There were muscles and bone visible, a few strings handing off the man’s thigh that must have been veins or nerves.
The second wave that hit him was the smell, it was nauseating. The smell of death that lingered in the tent slapped him in the face, gripping his throat and forcing him to look at the massacre that was before him. The third thing he noticed was the men himself, the more he looked the more he realized it wasn’t a man, but a kid. The boy was probably sixteen, maybe lied about his age to get in. Rebecca, Bucky’s sister, was sixteen.
“All hands on deck!” you yelled, getting into leader mode even though you look terrified, “I need bed cleared and people who are stable out of here, infections are going to run high after this!” you ran away from Bucky, helping people up. Bucky did the same, being a human crutch for others. “I’m going to need blood bags from the icebox in the back, I’m going to need everything that we’ve saved used on this kid right now! Let’s go!” you screamed at the nurses who stood there frozen.
Bucky walked back in, his vision was blurry and his heart was beating in his ears. “I-I can help,” Bucky walked up to you but kept looking at the inside of someone’s limb, “I- gave my sister, Rebecca, the Heimlich maneuver wh-when she was s-six…” Bucky gasped for air as you slowly walked him to the outside, the smell was starting to make him dizzy.
“You’ve done so much, thank you,” your voice was calming to him, but there was a shake to it.
“I-I can help…” Bucky gripped your shoulders as he watched the kids continue to flip around on the cot, “I-...” he fall to the floor easily, leaning against the outside of the tent.
“It’s okay,” you hushed, “you’re in shock, alright?” you brushed his hair off his sweaty head, “I’m going to be back here in no time, alright, keep breathing for me, okay?”
“...I did it… on my sister once…” Bucky incoherently mumbled.
His eyes focused on the ground as he heard shouting coming from inside the tent. Most of it was either screams of pain or you giving orders, he tried to follow your voice. The familiar sound grounded him and attempted to bring him back to reality, no one else could. The more he focused the less he could see, his vision tunnelling. Words started to mix and the smell of rotten flesh made his eyes roll back into his skull. He was still hearing things but he couldn’t piece them together or figure out when they were said.
“Get the saw!”
“-mean no more blood?”
“Hurry!”
“Fuck!”
“Someone-!”
“No, we can’t just stop!”
“Time of death-.”
“Where’s Bucky?”
And then his head hit the ground, hard and fast.
Bucky woke up to the sun in his eyes, the warm blast was felt all around his body. His feet were colder than normal, the feeling of a current running over them. His fingers ran over blades of grass and dirt that were under his hands.
“What…” he slowly sat up to see a stream in front of him, the running water moved over his bare feet. He felt a hand touch him, he looked over and saw you sitting there. “Hi,” he lazily smiled.
“Hi,” you said sadly, “you passed out, a few others did.” you tried to smile but Bucky noticed it didn’t reach your eyes. “You’ve been lying here for three hours I’d say, you were in the shade but the sun moved and you were really dead weight and I got tired, so…” you pressed your lips to a thin line, “we can move to the shade if you’d like.”
“Yeah,” Bucky’s lip felt dry as he walked, “let’s move to that tree so my feet can stay in the water.”
You reached out and grabbed his arm, “put your arm around my-or just fall on me.” the two of you stumbled into the shade, letting out a huff when Bucky landed on you. His head rested on your stomach after you adjusted to lean your back against the tree trunk, his feet stayed in the water.
“Perfect,” he whispered.
Your hands found his hair, gently running through the short hair every soldier was slowly growing out because there were no haircuts. There were a few curls you played with, coiling them around your finger.
“He died, didn’t he?” Bucky broke the silence. You didn’t respond, continuing to play with his hair. Only then did he notice he was only in his tank top and cargo pants, his shirt laid against a bush and was in the sun. there seemed to be a wet spot on it, most likely threw up because of the stench of the dead limb.
“I read your letter,” you changed the subject after some time, “it was really sweet, I forgive you,” you looked down at him as he tilted his head up to meet your eyes, “and thanks for the complements.”
“They came naturally,” Bucky flirted.
You scoffed and looked out at the water, “even after fainting you’re still trying to flirt.”
“What can I say?” Bucky shrugged and sat up, “it’s real easy.”
“In the letter,” you continued to play with his hair, “you said you wanted to be friends,” there was more to the sentence but Bucky knew you were leaving it to him.
“In my perfect world we’d be more than friends, but in the world of war I don’t know if falling in love is the best idea.” Bucky looked at the clear water, “but you know me,” he laughed.
You smiled and leaned your head against the tree, “you’ve already fallen hard.”
“And fast.”
“And fast,” you repeated. “I have a question,” you looked over at him.
“Anything,” Bucky looked as well, smiling.
“How do you know you’ve fallen hard and fast?” You smirked, “because I think I’m experiencing some symptoms, Doc.”
Bucky didn’t say anything, all he did was cup your cheek and saw the way you closed your eyes with a smile. “I think I have a diagnosis.”
“What’s the cure?”
“Hmm,” Bucky leaned in, “that’s up to you.”
Your hand moved to his jaw, feeling some stubble. The other hand moved to his exposed muscles, feeling around as you connected your lips. It was a small kiss, one that left you pulling away but staying close enough to rest your forehead against his. The two of you laughed as he leaned in again, and again, and again until you were giggling on your back as Bucky kissed all over your face, his hands holding your head still.
“I threw up on my shirt, didn’t I?” Bucky pulled away randomly, when he saw your smile grow he kissed you again, “actually, don’t answer that.”
“You did-”
He pulled away with a howling laugh, “I said don’t tell me!”
** all works are x reader (written as x fem!reader but most are/can be read as gender neutral)
** all of these works are inherently angsty and WILL INCLUDE CHARACTER DEATH - if that makes you uncomfortable - not the stories for you
my full masterlist
everything for all fandoms in one place
K E Y
indicators
⌲ - one shots
│ - blurbs (under 1000 words)
concept
for those confused, this is basically a series of drabbles and oneshots of different characters based on the song 'the end of the world' by rob dickinson. particularly, the line(s) "the moment of truth between you and me / if we had 5 more minutes”
they are not connected to each other.
Plot: Bucky Barnes falls in love with the most amazing girl he had ever met in the 1940s shortly before being deployed to war.
Now, in the 21st century, he knows that he will never see her again, and isn’t sure if he will ever love, or could love ever again.
But one day, he runs into you...Her complete doppelganger.
NOTE: Can we pretend that the song ‘It’s Been A Long, Long Time’ came out earlier in the 40s than in 1945? Okay, thanks.
It wasn't a shock in any way, shape, or form to me. I knew that it was a matter of time before we had orders sent to us. It was what I signed up for.
But to Zelda? It hit her like a tidal wave.
When I told her, she was speechless. The only thing that she could do was sob in my arms.
I did the best I could to comfort her; to look into her hazel eyes and brush the tears away from her rosy cheeks, and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But there was nothing I could do to convince her.
“Please don’t go,” she sobbed as she wrapped her arms around my torso tighter and tighter. She held on as though the sheer force of her grip could take it all away. To outweigh orders. To end the war.
And for a moment...I hoped that it could.
“I’m sorry, love,” I whispered on the top of her head.
Oh God, how I would miss her. How I'd miss the sweet smell of her perfume; or how her dark chocolate-brown hair bounced when she shook her head. And I would especially miss the way her beautiful face would illuminate when she smiled. That smile alone could launch a thousand ships.
And despite the desperate tears and sadness written all over her face, she was still the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
It may have been a month since I met her at the front of a Brooklyn café, but I was sure that I loved her. Part of me thought, or rather…hoped that she felt the same. Maybe it didn’t matter at this point.
But I hoped that it did.
“What am I going to do without you?” she asked pulling away to attempt to compose herself.
“We can still write,” I suggested, hoping that she wouldn't suddenly get angry with me for having to leave her. And I wanted to reassure her that I still wanted her in my life.
“You promise?” she sniffled, wiping her face.
How could she ask me that question?
Did she not know about the absolute torture I would be feeling to not see that smile every day? To hear that laugh? Or the sound of her sweet, and kind voice?
“So we have a week, right?” She asked putting herself together. The slight tremble in her voice indicated that she was suppressing the need to cry with all of her might.
“We do.”
...
We spent our last few days…the last few moments that we could possibly have together running around Brooklyn. She took me to her favorite parks; I took her to my favorite restaurants, and she showed me her favorite bookstore. When we arrived, she grabbed a whole stack and bought all of them
before I even had a chance to see what she was doing as I browsed.
At the end of that particular day, she walked into my apartment and set the books on my bed telling me that they were actually for me.
They were books that she held so dearly to her heart, and she wanted me to have my very own copies so that I would think of her as I read every page, sentence, and word.
“Now you’ll know what to talk about when you write to me,” she stated.
I held that stack of books and told her that I couldn't wait to finish the whole stack. I would never forget the excitement that her smile held.
It was as though me reading those books while I was away was the equivalent to me taking a piece of her heart along with me. And in the best way possible, I was sure that I was.
On our last evening together she invited me to her place. It was a small, but beautiful space.
The walls were plain white, but to our right, there was an intricately decorated with a wall designated for artwork. Another wall was for her large bookshelf filled with a vast collection of books, and the other wall that wasn’t designated for her bed was where a record player stood next to an open chest filled with records. She always spoke about how much she loved music. When she decided to move into her place, her father passed on his collection to her.
She walked over to the record player and set the needle down to start the music. She then pulled me close to her so that we could dance.
“You have to dance with me to at least this song,” she ordered softly.
I unreservedly obliged.
We swayed, and held each other close listening to the lyrics that resonated so deeply between us.
‘Kiss me once, and kiss me twice, and kiss me once again; it’s been a long, long time.’
It was a beautiful song. One that I would play over and over again in my head thinking about this particular moment on our last evening together.
We spent more time talking with the music in the background and then would sporadically get back up to dance once again. Before we knew it, it was already one o’clock in the morning.
"Zelda, doll," I said with her head resting upon my chest.
“I think it’s time for me to go.”
She pulled away, and her face dropped faster than I had ever seen before. She carried pure fear in her eyes, and tears began to form rapidly.
“No,” she croaked.
“I know, love.”
She paused as though she were pondering something.
"Will you stay with me tonight?"
Her eyes expressed her plea more than her voice did.
“Zelda, I don’t know—”
"No, I don't mean...I didn't mean," she stuttered.
"I mean, I want to just...Not until you come back to me."
It wasn't.
I looked down into her big, teary eyes wondering how it was possible to say no.
I pulled her closer to me and kissed her tenderly.
“Okay,” I whispered against her soft, pink lips.
We went under the covers and wrapped our arms around each other. We were nothing but content laying silently under the blankets in a cocoon of body heat.
We were content with the calming sound of our symbiotic breaths. Content with the occasional soft kisses exchanged. Content with the new, but certain exchanges of the words ‘I love you’.
There was no denying what we felt about each other.
Before she faded away into a deep sleep, I whispered once again,
"Zelda. I love you."
And before she fell asleep she drowsily replied,
“I know.”
I would never forget that day.
You (Modern time).
You walked out of your favorite bookstore with a bag full of new books.
You really did feel some mild form of shame about the fact that you spent so much money that you didn’t really have on books. Especially on books that you had already read a million times, and could easily just get from the library for free.
But you could never deny that something was gratifying about owning it yourself.
You loved books; and when you meticulously set them on your bookshelf, they stood proudly like golden trophies. That, and you just loved that extra kick of dopamine your brain released whenever you added to your collection. You were basically a shopaholic for books…And music…And movies. Mostly books and movies.
As you walked down the streets of Brooklyn, you accidentally ran face-first into someone. Something that you guessed was pretty inevitable considering the fact that you were too busy looking down at your phone trying to find the next song to play on Spotify. (Oops).
He was tall, and since his torso was hard as a rock, you could tell that he was very muscular before even cautiously looking up at him.
You weren't sure what kind of reaction you were expecting. Maybe a, "Watch where you're going, bitch." Or a, "Fuck off." But what you weren't expecting was this down at you in an odd manner. Looking was actually a bit of an understatement. He was glaring.
"I'm sorry, I—" You attempted not to stutter, or look too intimidated.
This guy looked really tough. He was tall and had broad shoulders, had a light beard going on, and his hair was long enough to cover his ears. But he had these piercing blue eyes. Kind eyes.
Frankly, if it weren't for those eyes, you would be afraid that if you angered him enough, he would probably beat you up with a thumb.
But he wasn't angry. (Thank God.) He just seemed…Shocked? Like he was looking at a ghost.
You decided to reason that this guy was probably just hard to read, and he just thought you were some clumsy asshole.
“Zelda?” He asked. (Definitely recognition. But in a crazy person way.)
‘Who the hell is Zelda?’ you thought to yourself.
And why did he think that Zelda was your name?
"I…Who?" You stuttered, still not knowing that to think about this him.
“I’m sorry, I just…You look a lot like,”
“Zelda?” You interrupted, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean, I have no idea who she is, but she’s definitely not me.”
You tried your best not to sound like a bitch. You tended to come off that way to new ones.
"You must have me mistaken for someone else, my name's Y/N," you said, outstretching your hand to shake his.
He looked not quite convinced that you were telling the truth. (Like at all.)
You were starting to wonder if you had a twin that you were separated from at birth. Now your main concern was to have a stern talking-to with your parents.
Despite the impromptu interaction, you didn’t feel weird about it. Well, you felt weird about it, but not about him anymore. In fact, you felt oddly calm around this weirdo.
Maybe it was because he wasn’t looking at you like a creep, or like some fuckboy using that line as an excuse to get you into bed within the next two hours. His eyes expressed
shock, and awe all at the same time.
Honestly, you kind of felt bad that you weren’t Zelda. Zelda was a pretty cool, old, and elegant name if you could say so yourself. It made you think about Zelda Fitzgerald, the oh so troubled wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
"I'm sorry that I'm not her," you said sincerely still staring into those striking eyes that belonged to a man that looked nothing but broken.
“No, I mean it’s nowhere near your fault,” he replied.
“I’m sorry to bother you, uh, Y/N you said it was?”
You nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’ll let you get on with your day,” he said quickly.
When you both made your way in opposite directions, you realized that you didn't even get his name?
Did it matter? Why did you suddenly want to know?
Wow, Y/N nice going.
When you turned around, he was already gone.
You guessed that you would probably never know.
…
Okay, you had to know.
You could not stop thinking about him for whatever reason. Why could you not stop thinking about him?
You decided eventually to get proactive about it.
But you realized that it would be a little trickier than you would have liked it to be. It wasn't as though you crossed paths with him on some internet dating website and you could just look him up by name, or photo.
You rationalized that if he was around that area that one time, maybe you’d cross paths with him again if you just lingered around there at approximately the same time. He hardly seemed lost, so maybe he was familiar with the area. Well…From what you could gather. (You were too busy looking at your phone to truly notice those types of details.) Fortunately, your plan worked in your favor because you were off work by that time.
So, you spent a few afternoons hanging out in that one little area of Brooklyn. It wasn’t as though you hadn’t spent a lot of time there. You loved it. It hardly felt as though you changed anything with your routine. But because you were on the hunt, you just had to keep your eyes peeled for that someone.
There was a café down the street, a bookstore, a record store, and a beautiful live-show theatre. You spent countless hours and days in that little oasis not too far from your loft apartment.
On the third day, you finally spotted him. He sat alone in the outdoor dining area of that little café reading a book.
You walked up to the short gate that separated the café from the sidewalk right next to where he was.
“Well, well, well if it isn’t—”
You paused. You forgot that you didn't even get his name.
He jolted and turned to you. That same heart-melting look in his eyes came back the second he looked at you; accompanied with a warm smile. If you didn’t know better, you could have sworn that he might have been happy to see you.
“You like this place?” you asked.
“It’s been one of my favorites for a long time,” he replied warmly.
He then nonchalantly invited you to sit on the chair across from him. So, you stepped over the gate and sat yourself down.
He set his book down on the table.
'The Sound and the Fury'.
“That’s a good one,” you pointed out.
"I bought it yesterday. I'm almost halfway through it. A friend of mine suggested it."
You saw the way his face changed with that fondness in his eyes.
“Zelda?” you inquired.
You really wanted to smack yourself on the forehead for just blurting her name out like that. Who were you to presume the intimate parts of his life?
But he stayed calm. Not only that, but his lips started to curl into a little smile.
“So, who is this girl?” you asked.
You were pretty sure that you had legitimately proven yourself to be an idiot.
He raised an eyebrow.
"I mean if she looks so much like me to the point where you almost didn't believe I wasn't her, the least I could do is…Well…I don't know."
He looked somewhat amused. And you were pretty sure that he was just about as confused about your ramblings as you were.
“I’m sorry,” you apologized no longer wanting to smack yourself but to hide your face in your hands.
"I'm overstepping. I'm totally overstepping, aren't I? I mean, you can just tell me to fuck off any time now."
He chuckled and shook his head.
Gosh, why did he have such an amazing smile?
“No, it’s fine,” he replied.
You hoped that he meant it and wasn’t just trying to be nice. But, you had to admit that there was something genuine in the way he looked at you.
You ended up sitting at that table talking for at the very least two hours.
You were surprised at how comfortable you were with him considering the fact that you were strangers. But he just made it so easy. You already felt as though you could call each other friends.
Even so, he wasn’t exactly what one called an open book. You could tell that there a lot that he was holding back. Granted, he had only met you not that long ago. Who were you to think that he was going to spill all of his deepest, darkest secrets in one afternoon?
He got around to asking you about your interests; what you liked to do when you wandered about the city, what kind of books you enjoyed reading, movies you loved watching, or any type of music you liked. And he listened as though he were soaking up every single word.
When you asked him about what he liked, you learned that a lot of his artistic tastes were very vintage. Honestly, you didn't expect that from the muscular, leather jacket wielding guy that wore one leather glove. But who were you to judge a book by its cover?
He seemed like a bit of a lonely guy. Like a guy who didn't normally seek company. Yet, he didn’t seem to mind spending time with you; a complete stranger. In fact, you were almost certain that he enjoyed your company just as much as you enjoyed his.
“So…” you asked nervously.
“Zelda.”
“Zelda,” he repeated.
He no longer seemed too reserved to talk about her. He seemed to want to talk about her.
“She was a lot like you,” he replied.
"Well apparently I look like her," you pointed out.
“I mean, sure. You look exactly like her. You’re this eerie spitting image of her. But it’s not just your looks,” he stated.
“You talk like her. Your smiles are identical, and she carried the same enthusiasm about things that she was excited about when talking about the same interests that had had just spoken about.”
Something you learned early into the two hours that you had spent together. The more he opened up, the more you were curious you were. The more answers you got, the more questions it would leave you with.
“You miss her, don’t you?”
He nodded and smiled, but his eyes carried all of the pain and sadness that he felt thinking about her.
“She was a very special person.”
You both paused, taking in his statement.
“Once again, disclaimer,” you said, breaking the silence.
“You can at any time tell me to fuck off if you get annoyed with me and my ramblings, but I have to ask."
He laughed, and then cleared his throat.
“You seem like you still really love this girl, right?”
He stared at you, waiting for you to finish your point.
"Well, if you feel so strongly about her, have you considered trying to find her? Maybe reconnecting?"
He shook his head.
“I did actually,” he replied and proceeded to take a long sip out of his third cup of coffee.
“The thing is, we weren’t separated because we wanted to. It couldn’t be any more opposite than that. There were just…There were just complicated circumstances that came up where we had to be apart for a while. Because of it, we eventually lost touch.”
He paused, and you didn’t push for much more.
You could see the torment in his eyes growing and taking over. You wondered if just sitting in front of him made it worse.
"I looked for her."
His eyes were then concentrated on the table as he continued his story.
“I even found her. She um…she got married. Had a couple of kids, lived a good life it seemed.”
He seemed as though he were genuinely happy for her. Happy with a simultaneous feeling of melancholy.
"But unfortunately, she died a couple of years ago."
You suddenly regretted ever bringing her up. How could you? How could you make him have to relive something like that? You were such an idiot.
“It’s okay,” he told you, placing his hand atop yours.
“Wow,” you sniffled.
“Here you are comforting me. How pathetic.”
“No need to feel sorry,” he told you while brushing his thumb against your hand.
The feeling of his warm hand on yours gave you a sense of calm that you had never felt before from a simple touch. And it was from someone that you had only gotten to know for a few hours.
"You know, Zelda and I met here." He pointed to the corner to your left.
“Right there.”
You smiled as though the memory were your own. You wondered what they talked about. If he approached her, or if it was vice versa the same way that you did.
Was it love at first sight? Or was it something that grew and flourished through time before everything turned to crap?
"Sir, Ma'am?" said the waitress.
You jumped, not even realizing that she was there.
“Sorry to break this up, but we’re actually about to close.”
She was so sweet and seemed genuinely apologetic.
“Oh my gosh,” I gasped looking down at my watch.
“I had no idea.”
Bucky left cash on the table for her, which was certainly more than the coffee would cost. And he told her to keep the rest.
When you both got up, you made your way to the doorway.
“Y/N?” he asked.
Your heart skipped a beat. What was he going to ask? What was he going to say?
“I-um…” he stuttered.
“Can I see you again?”
Okay, your heart skipping a beat morphed into full-on butterflies.
You let out a nervous exhale and gave him a big smile.
“I’d love to.”
Epilogue
One year you had been together. One year. And you could honestly say that through the ups, and downs it had to be the best year of your life.
As you grew closer, and as time went on, you both learned a lot about each other. He may have opened up little by little, but eventually, you got to know all of him.
Stories that he had told you when you were in the early stages of your relationship unfolded into scrolls upon scrolls of information to unpack behind one little story he told you. For example; Zelda was dead because their relationship was in the 1940s, and they were separated because he went to war.
It took a while to get to that point though. For him, it was the scariest thing in the world for him to tell you about his dark past. He thought that as soon as he unfolded the truth before you, you would run away in terror. But by that point, you had seen his heart. You knew who he was, and the person that you met was all that you cared about.
A lot of insecurity wasn't all about him and his past. You had had your fears about the relationship as well.
There were moments where you went into a panic because of his past with his previous love. You feared that he was in love with you because he was still in love with her. The only thing that brought you two together was because for whatever reason in ways you would never understand, you were the spitting image of her. You were quite literally her doppelgänger. (You even did a DNA test to see if she was anywhere in your genealogical history. The answer? Niet.)
But eventually, Bucky made it clear that that was only the thing that initially brought you two together.
"That day at the café," he once said while holding you after you fell into a complete frenzy.
“That day I began falling in love with you. No one else.”
No one else.
He never even spoke about her anymore. And he showed all of the love in the world that any human could show another to you. Your love for one-another was undeniably solid, no matter what.
“Y/N?” Bucky asked as he held you in his arms under the warm sheets.
You pulled yourself up higher to bring your face closer to his exposing your bare chest.
(Not that he was complaining.)
“You know I love you, right?”
You nodded and planted a soft kiss along his jawline. Something you knew sent shivers down his spine.
He brought his cool, metal hand to your chin and raising it slightly so that you were staring deep into his beautiful eyes.
“Marry me,” he whispered.
Before you could even fully process the words that came out of his mouth, you responded with an immediate,
“Yes.”
…
That night, you spent the eve together in that one small part of Brooklyn where you had first met. It was summer once again.
As you walked around, you could hear music in the distance.
“Let’s check it out,” you urged.
Because his hand was tightly attached to yours, he had no real choice but to follow.
As you approached the area, you saw many couples holding each other closely, swaying to an old song on the cobblestone. A song that was most definitely from his era.
You brought him over to where the like illuminated over all of the couples and wrapped your arms around his neck. He followed by setting his hands on your waist and began to softly sway you side to side.
All you heard in the background was the music in the background like white noise as he stared at you like that first time. In awe.
" Kiss me once, and kiss me twice, and kiss me once again," you sang along in whispers.
And he did.
He kissed you once. Kissed you twice, and kissed you once again for a long, long time.
A/N: Hey lovelies!!! I am so so so sorry that this took so long to get out! I hope that it’s worth it and that you guys are still here and like my writing! I love you all so much and I hope that you don’t hate me too much! I’ll try to get the final part of this up as soon as I can and if any of you have ideas for something that you want me to write please leave a suggestion in the comments or message me, luv you all so so much!!! <3
Summary: Bucky x reader. Bucky and reader have liked each other for a long time but they’re both in denial of the other’s feelings. What will happen when Tony’s new invention accidentally brings 40sBucky and 40sSteve to the present? If this were to go in the actual MCU timeline it would probably be sometime before infinity war and before they actually figured out time travel. And for anytime that 40sBucky or 40sSteve are mentioned I used * to make it less confusing for which Steve or Bucky it is.
Word Count: 1613
Other Chapters: Time Fluff Masterlist
That morning was possibly one of the most stressful of my life, and that includes every mission that I’ve had to prepare for. I decided not to wear anything fancy, maybe if I act like it’s a normal day I will feel less nauseous thinking about leaving my room. I take a deep breath before stepping out the door and heading down to the kitchen. It feels eerily quiet throughout the compound and I figure out why once I check my phone and notice a text from Wanda.
Wanda: the rest of the team went out to show Bucky* and Steve* around New York, have fun you two ;)
I roll my eyes and decide against responding. I finish walking to the kitchen and get coffee to sip on while I wait for Bucky to (hopefully) come downstairs. I start having second thoughts once I hear heavy footsteps coming from the hallway. I scroll through my phone so I won’t be creepily watching him as he walks in but I can tell as soon as he makes it into the kitchen. “Hey Bucky, you sleep well?” I ask before looking up but I know the answer once I see his face, he looks like he hasn’t slept in a week.
He looks over at me and smiles softly before getting coffee for himself “Yeah, what about you doll?” I can tell that he has something on his mind and can only hope that he wants to tell me what I want him to.
“I slept pretty good, there was kind of something I wanted to talk to you about though…” I bite my lip anxiously hoping that he won’t reject me.
He rubs the back of his neck and looks almost everywhere except for me “I’d love to Y/N but I should go train for a while, can’t break the schedule ya know?” he walks out quickly without even finishing his coffee.
I groan loudly and rest my head on my arms when he’s gone. So much for trying to get this over with quickly, how in the world am I supposed to tell him how I feel if he runs away before I can tell him anything?
*Bucky’s POV*
I debated whether I should even get out of bed this morning knowing the I was eventually going to have to tell Y/N how I feel about her. I somehow convinced myself to get out of bed and go downstairs to get coffee at least. I barely slept last night from nightmares, but not the usual ones. This time they were filled with Y/N turning me down and losing her forever.
As I made my way down to the kitchen I check my phone, noticing the absence of personality throughout the compound. I see a text notification from Steve.
Steve: Hey pal. The rest of us went out to show our past selves around New York today, tell Y/N how you feel! I promise that she feels the same
I smile skeptically at my phone, still unsure of how she feels about me, and ridiculously nervous about confessing my heart to her. I start walking down to the kitchen again and once I get down there I notice Y/N sitting at the table on her phone. I take a deep breath, wondering if she’s going to want to talk about last night. “Hey Bucky, you sleep well?” she asks me. Obviously I’m not going to tell her what I’m really thinking, nah actually I didn’t sleep that great because all I could think about last night was you rejecting my feelings and me never getting to see you again. I’m sure that would go over amazingly.
I smile a little at her anyway out of habit while I get my coffee, “Yeah, what about you doll?” I’m genuinely curious about whether or not she had the same problem that I had.
“I slept pretty good, there was kind of something I wanted to talk to you about though…” She started biting her lip and I couldn’t handle her doing that without being able to kiss her.
I glance away from her and start rubbing my neck, a nervous habit of mine “I’d love to Y/N but I should go train for a while, can’t break the schedule ya know?” I set down my coffee and walked out of the kitchen as quickly as I could. I felt bad for avoiding her like that but I’m sure she doesn’t care too much.
*Y/N’s POV*
I stayed in the kitchen for a while longer while trying to decide my best next move. Once I got a text from Natasha and Tony I decided to grow a pair and go down to the gym to make Bucky hear what I have to say.
Nat: Have you talked to him yet?! I’m tired of waiting for the two of you to admit how you feel about each other so get on with it!! I want to have a niece to be named after! >:(
Tony: Hey kid, how’s it going? I’m just checking in to tell you to finally tell Barnes how you feel and once you admit your feelings to each other don’t do it on my couches k thx bye.
I took a deep breath and walked over to the elevator, telling Friday where I wanted to go. Once the doors opened back up I saw him at a bench lifting dumbbells, he looked up as soon as I entered the large room. I cleared my throat before speaking “Uhm, hey Buck. So, there’s something that I really need to talk to you about and I need you to hear it” I swallowed hard, waiting for him to say something before I continue.
His brow furrowed and he looked away from me again, this time seeming to be very interested in his shoes. “Bucky please, I just need you to listen to what I have to say. After I’m done you can leave or ignore me forever or whatever you want, just please listen to this” he seemed very confused for a second and glanced back up at me for only a moment before looking away again.
I ran a hand over my face and shook my head in an attempt to clear it, ignoring the tears beginning to form in my eyes I began to speak. “Okay, this is something that I’ve wanted to get off my chest for a while now because I’ve felt this way for basically the entire time that I’ve known you. I like you Bucky, a lot. I’ve had these really strong feelings as soon as I started to get to know you. I know that you can’t possibly feel the same way that I do because you’re you and you’re so amazing and you deserve so much more than me and I was so afraid of telling you all of this because I don’t want to lose you but I think you deserve to know how I really feel about you. Oh, that felt so good to finally say everything out loud” I sit down on a nearby bench and rest my head in my hands.
I look up after a while and see Bucky still looking straight ahead of him “Can you please say something?” I beg him, needing to know if this is the end of our friendship or if by some miracle he feels the same way that I do.
He stood up slowly and started walking towards me. “Doll, you are the most incredible woman that I’ve ever met. How could you possibly think that I deserve better than you? You deserve the whole world, and so so much more than I have to offer you. I have really strong feelings for you too Y/N. I think I’m in love with you, and I think I have been since the day that I met you. I didn’t think that you would feel the same about me, but I’m so happy that you feel the way about me that I do about you” he sat next to me on the bench and placed his hand on the side of my face.
“Y/N, I really want to kiss you right now” he glanced down at my lips for a moment before looking into my eyes once more.
“I really want to kiss you too James” once our lips touched it felt like time immediately stopped. He pulled me closer with one of his hands on my waist, I placed one hand on his face and my other got tangled in his hair. I tugged at it a little to see his reaction, the moan he gave in response was one of the best sounds I had ever heard. “I’m really glad that I finally told you how I feel” I said after we both pulled away for breath, smiling like idiots.
“I’m glad that I know how you feel too, and now I get to ask you to be my girlfriend. Y/N, will you be my girl?” he asked shyly with a cute little smile.
“Of course I will be you goof” I smile at him widely, feeling like I’m on cloud nine.
“You’re so beautiful, and perfect doll” he leaned in once more for a kiss that felt just as amazing as the first one, only this one got a bit more heated as it turned into a heavy make out session. That is, until everyone else came back from their day trip and Steve walked into the gym and accidentally saw two of his best friends making out in the middle of the gym.
Bucky fluff with Christmas themed bath bombs and fluffy pajamas!!
Walking into the apartment you shared with Bucky after your last day of work before your Christmas break felt like a weight was lifted off of your shoulders. You had to contain yourself from letting out a preemptive giggle of pure excitement as you threw your bag onto the couch and shrugged off your coat, hanging it up in the closet.
Typically, Bucky would have already greeted you, but for some reason he had yet to show up at the door. You knew he wasn’t needed at the Tower for anything, and the missions halted until at least the new year, so his absence confused you.
“Buck?” You called out, but there was no reply.
You hummed to yourself, listening for him anywhere in the house. Within a few seconds, you heard the sound of the bath running.
You cocked your head to the side, curiosity taking over as you walked up stairs towards the bathroom.
When you reached the door, you gently pressed your ear to it to try and listen in and get an idea as to what exactly was going on in there.
The faintest of noises caught your attention, a simply melody playing over the sound of running water. A Christmas song, one of your favourites.
On top of that, you heard a gentle humming, the voice belonging to Bucky. You reached for the doorknob, twisting it and nudging the door open just enough to get a glimpse of him.
He, of course, was waiting upon your arrival.
“Hey there.” He beamed as you opened the door even further to catch the full view of the scene in front of you.
The bathroom was only lit by the light of candles, the scent of spices and evergreen filling your nose as you made your way in. Bucky sat on the edge of the tub, a line of different bath bombs next to him.
“Buck.” You said, a smile on your face.
“Figured you could use a break after your last day.” He grinned, clearly proud of himself.
You let out a breathy laugh, unable to comprehend how you could’ve gotten so lucky.
“Quit standin’ there,” He laughed as he shut off the tap, “The water’s gonna get cold.”
You finally stepped fully into the bathroom, closing the door behind you. You still stared, still in awe of him. Bucky eventually realized that you weren’t going to cooperate by yourself, so he took the liberty of getting up off the bath and beginning to remove your sweater, your undershirt, and pants.
Once everything had been removed, you stood naked as he lead you over to the bath. You held back a purr when you stepped into the piping hot water.
When you were settled in the tub, Bucky had situated himself on his knees in front of the basin, watching you intently before shifting his eyes down to the array of bath bombs that resided next to you.
“And just what do we have here?” You asked him.
“An assortment of holiday scented bath bombs for the lady.” He mock bowed his head.
“I’ll make you a deal, kind sir,” You laughed and Bucky’s head perked up, “I’ll absolutely indulge in such luxuries, but only if you join me.”
A coy grin appeared on his face, and you could’ve sworn you’d never seen him whip his shirt off so fast.
When he got in, he sat behind you so your back was pressed against his chest, legs sprawled outwards together. You glanced at the line of bath bombs, deciding on one that smelled like gingerbread.
You stayed in the bath, happily receiving a shoulder massage from Bucky, for what felt like hours until the water turned cold.
You each got out, quick to get into the coziest pairs of pajamas you could find, and settled in front of the roaring fire that Bucky set up, sipping chai tea and kissing until you fell asleep.
