A/N This is during the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) time period, by the way!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Doctor Who or Captain America: The First Avenger / Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The sound of fingers tapping woke up the man from his daze. He looked down to realize the finger tapping was him. Scanning his surroundings, he tried to figure out where he was. He was sitting at a table, with a hot coffee on top of it. It finally clicked in his head. He was in London, sitting at a Café. He was attempting to replenish his memories after meeting the man on the bridge. He was going to figure out his past self… James. That was his name. It did not feel like it was his. He had become so synonymous with The Winter Soldier that any other name did not feel right. Of course, the man 'Steve' had called him Bucky. He guessed that was a nickname of sorts.
A whooshing sound distracted his train of thoughts, and he looked up to see a girl hanging outside of a blue box. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. This… this was not normal. And that was honestly saying something. The girl looked oddly familiar to him, for some reason.
"Hey!" Clara yelled at the blue box, irritated that The Doctor wasn't responding. She knocked violently, slamming her hands against the door. "DOCTOR!" She yelled, unaware that there was another man present, staring at her questionably. Both of his hands automatically tightened into fists. He was too paranoid, he knew that. He didn't know who was after him, it could be anybody. He had to be ready.
The box disappeared, and Bucky closed his eyes. Was he dreaming? He never dreamed. This had to be real… it just seemed crazy. Even for him. He opened his eyes again to look at the girl.
Clara sighed, shaking her head. She turned around to see a strange man sitting at a table, staring at her. She jumped at the sight of him. Something seemed dark and ominous about him, but in a non-aggressive way. No, that didn't make sense. Trying to make conversation with him, she smiled at him. "This one is bit more fussy. Takes some getting used to, that's for sure." She murmured, still annoyed about The Doctor.
At first, he didn't respond. He just stared at her. People hadn't tried to have a casual conversation with him for a long time. "I have… seen you before." Bucky said, glancing up at Clara. It stung every time he looked at her. Just like how he looked at Steve. So familiar… He was still trying to place where he had seen her before. She had a small nose, and brown eyes with hair up in a bun. Her hair was down the last time he had seen her. He could remember that much. It was odd, she almost seemed… cute, to him. It was a feeling he did not like.
"Hmmmm. Well, maybe you have? When was it?" She asked, curious about this strange man.
"The… 1950's." Bucky muttered, afraid to hear her response. He knew he'd be called crazy, but something felt different about this girl. That she would maybe, just once out of all the people who didn't, believe him.
She stood there and tapped her foot, unsure of how to respond. The 1950's? She knew she had past versions of herself, but she had never ran into anyone expect for The Doctor who had met one of them.
"It's impossible, though." Bucky said, interrupting her thoughts. She realized that she had not answered him all this time she was thinking. Maybe The Doctor was right. She was bossy and thought too much. Nope. She would never tell him that.
"Nothing's impossible." She replied, smiling. After all, she was the Impossible Girl. "So, are you some sort of alien or something?" She added. He looked very young for someone who was around in the 1950s, that's for sure. She figured he had to be an alien, or perhaps a robot. Something along the lines of that, she guessed.
"What? No… I'm not an alien… I…" Bucky couldn't find the right words to say. He squinted at her, confused by how calm this girl was. She stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish. Just as he was opening his mouth to say something, a loud whooshing sound interrupted him.
An older man stepped out of the blue box, immediately rushing over where Bucky sat. Bucky flinched as the man gazed at him with skeptical eyes. He didn't like being examined; he had already been examined for so much of his life. He glared up at the man, getting a good look at his face. The only thing he could focus on was the man's large bushy eyebrows.
"A time-lord with the worst timing ever, funny how that works." Clara murmured, glaring at The Doctor. The Doctor ignored her comment, and pulled out a funny looking tool. It glowed, making a buzzing sound as he scanned Bucky up and down with it. Bucky shut his eyes, the noise hurting his head. It reminded him too much of the experiments. He didn't want to look weak. He could not look weak. He shook his head, trying to ignore it and all the voices.
"Stop bothering him, Doctor!" Clara scowled.
"Has he told you about his arm?" The Doctor asked, still scanning over Bucky with his weird buzzing tool thing. Bucky raised his eyebrows in confusion, staring down at his left arm. How did this weird old man know about his arm? He was wearing a jacket and gloves so they would be covered. It must have been the strange device he was scanning him with.
"His… what now?" Clara inquired, taking a step closer to Bucky.
"This." The Doctor pulled up Bucky's sleeve to reveal a shiny metal arm.
"Ah, well maybe that explains the whole 1950's thing." She said, smiling at Bucky. He tried to muster a smile back, but he couldn't. It ended up looking like a fake smile. He looked down in embarrassment, knowing he should have been working harder on being normal. He was never going to be normal, though.
"What 1950's thing?" The Doctor asked.
"He said he met me in the 1950's. He's some sort of robot, right?" Clara glanced over at Bucky. She could tell he was feeling uncomfortable, with the two talking about him like he wasn't there.
"No, he's human. Not sure how he's so young looking. Maybe he just uses nice facial products. Or he's really healthy." The Doctor tucked his device back into his coat.
"What's your story… oh, I didn't catch your name!" Clara realized. She felt stupid that she forgot such a simple question.
"James…" He responded. He didn't like saying it; in fact he didn't like talking. This was the most talking he had done in a long time, and it felt strange. It was almost soothing, though. To be able to have people who seemed fine with who he was.
"Alright then, James. I am Clara. Instead of him poking and prodding you…" Clara glared over at the Doctor. He mouthed an innocent 'What?" back. She turned her head back around to look at Bucky again. "How about you tell me what your story is?" She asked.
"There's… really not much to it." He said, letting out a small laugh. He immediately frowned, unsure of how he just laughed. It was a nice feeling, but it made him feel a rush of nostalgia.
"Alright-y then! There's not much to it! You heard the man. Let's get a move on!" The Doctor exclaimed, his thick Scottish accent becoming more aggressive as he spoke. It was clear he was getting bored with Bucky.
"Well, how about James comes along with us?" Clara asked, standing up. The Doctor squinted at her, unsure of how to respond.
"You're not a Soldier, are you?" The Doctor asked. It was a strange question to ask someone, but it had been a theme reoccurring in the Doctor's head. He had a rule, and he was not going to break it.
Bucky shifted in his seat, uncomfortable. The words made his tongue taste sour. His head buzzed, and he had to grind his teeth to keep from not panicking. Don't panic. You're not The Winter Soldier anymore. You are James Buchanan Barnes. You were friends with the man on the bridge. You aren't a soldier.
"No. I am not a Soldier." He said between clenched teeth. Letting out a heavy breath, he stood up. Normally, he wouldn't take up on an offer like this. Depending on others was not his strong suit, but something about this Clara was different. The Doctor was a strange and impatient man, but maybe these two could help him. He could learn about his past, and about Steve.
The Doctor sighed, rubbing his temples. He would take James on one trip, that was all. He would have refused, but The Doctor could see the way Clara stared at James. She wanted to know more about him. Perhaps this James could provide some moral support for Clara, since The Doctor had been failing in that department recently. "Fine. But he is YOUR responsibility, Clara!" He answered, marching off to the TARDIS.
"Well, James, would you like to join us?" Clara asked.
Bucky looked over at the strange blue box, still pondering the thought. "Yes, I would like that." He replied, smiling. This is what he needed; an escape.
"Well, are you going to stare at each other, or are we getting this show on the road?" The Doctor asked, peaking his head out from the TARDIS.
"We're coming!" Clara grumbled, grabbing Bucky's hand. He flinched, but held on. This was a new start for him. She pulled his hand, walking over to the TARDIS. "Are you ready for an adventure, then?"
"Where are we going, exactly?" He asked.
"To the future!" She replied, with a smile.
A/N I got inspired to write this fanfiction because Jenna appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger and I thought it would be cool if I made it so it was another version of her! If you really want to see a second chapter, please do let me know! By the way, the end part where he asks her where they are going / she responds with 'To the future!' is supposed to be a vague reference to Captain America: The First Avenger. Thanks for reading!