I've wanted to write some more BuckyNat for a while now; but when this idea hit me late last night I dismissed it because I wanted to write something more...serious. But then I was like, "What the hell, let's give it a shot, see what happens," and, well, this happened.
English isn't my native language, so there might be some mistakes. Enjoy :)
They enter the coffee shop and Bucky is almost overwhelmed by how many people they find inside. There are excited teenage kids, business people in power suits, young girls carrying shopping bags and giggling, whole families trying to figure out what each member would like to have.
He's comfortable around people now. His hoodie hides his metal arm, and he no longer looks like someone who ended up in a deserted island after his plane crashed - his hair is washed an soft, and his face is clean shaven, revealing sharp cheekbones, a strong jawline and cheeks that are no longer hollow. His complexion is less pale now, his skin healthy and full of life.
He is not the Winter Soldier anymore.
He is not a fugitive.
He is not lost.
"You go find us a table and I'll get our drinks, okay, James?"
He is James Buchanan Barnes.
He looks at the woman standing next to him, with her delicate but deadly hand safely tucked into his metal one. He looks at her flaming red hair, a feature that haunted him even when he didn't remember her, even when he didn't remember himself.
He smiles at her. "Okay," he says and lets go of her hand - not reluctantly like he used to, because this time he has sworn to himself that he is not going to let anyone separate them again. "What are you going to get for me?"
A small, dangerous grin appears on her lovely face. "It'll be a surprise, lover boy."
He returns the grin, knowing that she is up to no good but not caring at all. He walks towards the tables, letting the promising and tantalizing smells envelop him. Freshly brewed coffee, whipped cream, maple syrup, and so many more. He wonders what will end up in his cup.
He watches her from afar and remembers doing the same thing back in Odessa. He remembers shooting his target through her. He could have planted a bullet in her head and be done with her as well, two birds with one stone; and yet, he shifted his rifle in the last second, hitting her stomach instead. There was something about the way she moved; but most importantly, there was something about her hair. Red hair, soft and smelling like coconut, framing a most beautiful face. Of course, at the time, he could only see the colour, but it had been enough.
He thinks of everything both of them have been through, all the tests they have been subjected to, all the pain they have endured. Then he looks around, at the cozy and welcoming coffee shop, at all the people filled with joy and unaware of who the two of them are. It is all so normal, and for a moment he fears that all of it will be snatched from him as if it has never been.
And then she joins him, his radiant Natalia, and blows all his dark thoughts away like a cloud of smoke. She has two cups in her hand and hands him one before she takes her seat. He looks at the green logo on the white paper of the cup, but then something else catches his eye. Something written in black.
"Who the hell is Barny?"
I know that Natasha calls him James, but I wanted this ending (reference to CA:WS "Who the hell is Bucky?), so let's have her call him Bucky to the barista :P
To give credit where credit's due, I took the idea of him shooting her on the stomach instead of the head from the epic story "Prisoners" by Annalynn01.
Feedback is love xxx