If you've met Steve Rogers then you've heard of his best friend, Bucky Barnes. Steve used to bring him up every now and then, but of course it was a sore subject. Before we'd known about the Winter Soldier, none of us had known Bucky was still alive.
It took Steve forever to get over what they'd done to Bucky, especially after they'd fought and Bucky hadn't remembered him at all. That'd been the worst part. But Steve realized how much his friend needed him, and his worries shifted from what Hydra had done to what needed to be done. Bucky needed a lot of TLC. He was depressed, his mind was in shambles. After Steve dragged him back into civilization, after four days of convincing him to leave the musty hotel he'd holed up in, Bucky moved in with Steve in a safe-house.
That's how I actually met Bucky. Before he'd just been a story character, a dark haired loyal friend to Steve, that had been lost too soon...
"I'm Maria," I said, trying not to let on that I was swooning.
I saw a glimmer of something in his eyes. "James," he responded, shaking my hand.
"What, you're not going to keep the nickname in 2014?" Steve pestered, punching Bucky in the arm.
"Only you get to call me Bucky," he laughed, "Otherwise I start to feel like I should be a beaver."
"James is fine," I say, unsure of how to respond, "It's nice to finally meet you."
"Hey Steve, why didn't you tell me SHIELD was full of pretty women? I would have stopped working for Hydra years ago," Bucky winked at me and went to pour himself a coffee. It was just after lunch, but it appeared he had just woken up. There was a hint of stubble covering his chin, bags under his eyes, and tufts of his hair stuck every-which-way. But something struck me about him, he was charming despite all odds.
"That's all it would have taken, huh? One phone call to Russia and you'd have come running?" Steve looked over at me, "Sorry for his lack of tact, Ms. Hill. His brain was on ice for a bit too long, he's lost his touch."
I shook my head, "It's okay, really."
"So, what did they need me to fill out for paperwork?" Steve asked, coming over next to me.
"Just a few more forms about Nick Fury and his disappearance. They want to make sure we've got all our bases covered when it comes to information leakage. They figure the more papers you sign, the less likely you are to talk to the press." I handed him the manila envelope and nodded, "Okay, well I'll be off then. Enjoy the rest of your day, Steve, James."
"Going so soon?" Bucky asked, "Aw come on, at least stay for a cup of coffee."
I felt myself yearning to take that as a flirtatious invite, but I suppressed it. "Maybe another time, but thank you."
"Bucky wants to know if you're up for a coffee date tomorrow," Steve asks me the next time he calls.
"Excuse me?" I find it hard not to be taken aback. Somehow I've stopped accepting that a guy could be interested in dating me since Coulson passed away. Whatever we had, however brief it was, meant something to me. With him gone I focused on work and stopped intercepting anyone's interest in me, until now for some reason.
"He wants to get coffee, with you. Is that okay?"
"Um yeah, that's… fine. Just unexpected."
"Okay, I'll let him know. He doesn't have a modern license yet so you'll have to pick him up, but he'll be excited."
Steve hangs up and I'm left facing the fact that I was just inadvertently asked out by a guy from the forties.
"You look nice," he says shyly. He's holding his mug of coffee with two hands like he's worried he'll drop it. His metallic arm is mostly covered by a long sleeve grey shirt, but I can tell how uneasily he uses his metal fingers. That's why he's using two hands, I realize, he's unfamiliar with his own body parts.
"Thank you," I reply, fiddling with the hem of my skirt. I don't know why I'm wearing it, there was no reason to have worn a blouse and skirt to work. I usually get away with slacks and a blazer… "You too," I sputter before I can stop myself. He does look nice. The dark circles have started to fade from under his eyes.
He looks slightly uneasy but he fights it away with a small smile. He sets the coffee down and instantly, he's clasping his hands together, trying to keep the metal one concealed in his fleshy one. "Thanks," he says, "I've been… Trying to get use to this, all of this…" he gestures around. "Everything is so different."
I think about the one photo I've seen of him, and how much has changed since that photo was taken, and how little of it he actually got to experience. "It's not too bad, right?"
He shrugs, "Somethings are better than others. And then there are somethings I just … Don't understand."
"Like what?"
He reaches into his pocket and holds out a small cellphone that's probably from the 90s, "Like these, what do you do with them?"
I stifle a laugh, "They're just phones, that you can take with you."
"I always see people typing into them," he sighs, "What are they writing?"
"Text messages," I explain, "They're just letters, but not on paper."
"Ah," Bucky says, "Well that's… Boring."
I take out my phone and point to the small camera on the back, "The best thing about these is that you can take memories with you," I begin. Bucky leans over, interested all of a sudden.
I pull up my photo album. "See? You can keep pictures on here."
"How did you get this one?" he asks, pointing to a photo of me from years ago, standing with some of the new SHIELD recruits.
"Oh, someone sent it to me, so I could have it on my phone."
"You look pretty," he mumbles, "I… really like that, um, dress."
"Oh," I try not to sound too shocked, "Thanks, James."
"I'm sorry…" he says very quietly, pulling away.
"No, no. Its fine."
"I'm being far too forward, Ms. Hill, I'm sorry…"
"It's okay," I say again, "And it's Maria, you don't have to call me Ms. Hill."
That something glimmers in his eyes again and I realize a bit late that he's into me.
"Maria," he says slowly, "Forgive me if I'm a bit behind the times, but… Well, my romantic skills are apparently a bit outdated…"
I had to think for a moment, but then I realize that this coffee date was supposed to be a date-date. Bucky was actually trying to court me...
My stomach twirls and I feel my lips twitch into a smile. How lucky can a girl be? To walk straight into an old school romance?
"Don't worry about it," I say with a grin, "You're doing just fine."