As I mentioned in the last chapter, this is the original Bucky/Beth the Waitress one-shot that ozhawk wrote, chapter 130 of "Soulmate Shorts AKA Crackship Armada."

Chapter 2: Soulmate Short – A Really Long Story

"See ya tomorrow, Steve," Beth sang out cheerfully as she saw Steve get up from his usual table, folding his newspaper. He blushed slightly, as he always did, and waved. She thought occasionally about asking him out for a coffee date – goodness knew he was her type, tall and muscular, but – well, she liked her men with a bit more of an edge to them. She sighed, clearing Steve's coffee cup and pocketing the folded twenty-dollar bill he'd left under it with a smile. Always the same. A twenty-buck tip for a six-dollar coffee. Such a sweet guy.

She wiped the table down and looked around. Her section was empty, and her shift was over, so she headed inside and took off her apron, cheerfully farewelling her co-workers. It was a beautiful spring day and the sun was shining; she decided to walk home instead of taking the bus.

Beth was only five blocks from home when she began to get the oddest sensation that she was being followed. She looked all around but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. There were plenty of people about and it was broad daylight too; she didn't feel too worried. She wasn't even carrying a bag, wasn't much of a target for a mugging.

Arriving back at her building, she made her way up the stairs, fishing her key out of her pocket. She was already regretting her decision to walk home; her feet were aching. Well, perhaps she could put them up for a few hours before she headed out for her evening classes. Waitress by day, nursing student by night, that was Beth's life.

On the way home after class, Beth began to get the feeling that she was being followed again. What hadn't bothered her by day took on an entirely different feeling at night and she found herself looking around nervously, hurrying her steps home from the bus stop.

There was a homeless guy sitting on the steps of her building. She'd seen him around a bit lately, and while she'd never spoken to him she'd smiled at him once and he'd actually smiled back, the expression turning his stubbled face to one of handsomeness. Beth raced up the steps past him, digging frantically in her pocket for her key, oh where was the damned thing?

"Are you all right, ma'am?" came a low voice. She froze, looking down at the homeless guy wide-eyed. Surely not. Oh, that would be just my luck. Homeless dude. Fantastic.

"I think I might be being followed," Beth blurted, throwing caution to the winds. Watching for his reaction. But instead of a start or a wide-eyed stare, he moved smoothly to his feet and down the steps, looking down the street.

"Huh. You're right. Get inside." And just like that, he was gone, off down the street in a dead run – and quicker by far than your average starving homeless dude. Beth stood staring after him for a moment, mouth open with shock, before coming back to herself and scrabbling for her key again. She still hadn't found it when he returned.

"HYDRA," he said crisply, "we're going to have to go."

"I – what? HYDRA, the Nazi terrorist group?"

"Yup," he took her hand, quite firmly, and pulled her down the steps after him. "Come on, Beth. Time to go. I dealt with that one, but there'll be more of them coming."

"But… how do you know my name?"

He paused, cursed under his breath. "You know Stevie. I was – getting up the courage to ask you to give him a message from me."

"Stevie who?" she said plaintively, utterly lost now. "I don't understand. Why would HYDRA be after me… oh my God." She put it together suddenly. HYDRA and Steve Rogers.

"You're his friend, and about the only one of those who's vulnerable. The rest of them live in Avengers Tower or are SHIELD agents. But you, you're an easy target, Beth."

"I – we're not exactly close!" she was letting him pull her along the street, walking quickly. "Why would anyone come after me to get to him? And wait, how do I know you're not HYDRA?"

He stopped, turned to her suddenly, and she found herself staring up into eyes that were incredibly blue, beneath the streetlight they were standing under. "Do you think you could be soulmates with someone who was HYDRA, Beth?"

Staring up into his eyes, she could only shake her head. "You – are?"

"You said my words, and judging from your reaction when I asked if you were all right, I said yours. Now's not a real auspicious time to be comparing handwriting, though."

The shocks were coming a bit too thick and fast for Beth, but she nodded bravely. He was quite right. "Where are we going? And – what's your name?"

He hesitated a moment. "Call me Bucky. And as for where we're going," he made a face. "I'm afraid we've no real choice. Not if I'm going to keep you safe from HYDRA."

"So – where?"

For answer, he pointed wordlessly up into the sky.

"Oh, no," Beth said, looking at the massive A.

"I'm not all that keen on the idea myself," Bucky said wryly, "but I'm not entirely sure that I can keep you safe without help. And I'm not willing to risk you, Beth."

She melted a little bit at the soft note in his voice then, and let him pull her onwards again. He drew her in close to his side, put his arm around her, his hand closing gently on her shoulder.

"If I tell you to run," he said quietly, "you run like hell and don't stop until you're inside the Tower, all right? Tell them Bucky sent you. That you're my soulmate."

"What…" Beth started, but then there was the screech of brakes behind them and Bucky pushed her forward.

"Run, Beth!"

The command in his voice was so powerful she was running before she even thought about it. And she didn't look back, she was only two blocks from the Tower and there was help there, surely…

She was intercepted even as she pelted in through the doors, her hair askew, sweating and panting.

"Now now, miss," a tall, heavily built man intercepted her. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I need to see Steve Rogers," Beth panted frantically. She didn't miss the not at all discreet eye-roll that statement bought her. "My name's Beth, he's a friend of mine, Bucky's my soulmate, tell him Bucky needs help!" She ran out of breath and collapsed to lean against a marble column.

"Did you say Bucky?" the man said, staring.

"Yes! Please, just call Steve!"

A siren suddenly started wailing. Beth flinched, eyes going wide with panic, her eyes going to the doors – but there was nobody there.

"I took the liberty of transmitting our guest's information to Mr Rogers and Mr Stark," a disembodied English voice said.

"What the hell?" Beth looked around frantically.

"That's JARVIS. He's the AI that runs the Tower." The man surveyed her critically. "Well,apparently somebody thinks what you have to say is important enough to set off the Assemble alarm."

"The what?" Beth thought vaguely that she really needed to stop saying what? But then it would also be really nice if her life stopped being totally insane today, thanks very much.

"Here they come now…"

Elevator doors pinged open and all of a sudden Beth was surrounded by costumed superheroes. The only reason she didn't scream her head off was because Steve was there, in his full Captain America paraphernalia, but she'd seen him that way before. She put her hands on the rim of his shield and looked up into his eyes.

"HYDRA came to try and grab me, to get to you because we're friends. Bucky stopped them. He's my soulmate. There's more of them out there…"

Steve's jaw actually dropped. And then he was bolting out the Tower doors.

"Safe room," a solidly built man with a bow in his hand shouted over his shoulder before racing out the door after Steve and the others.

"Come on then, miss. I'm Happy, we'd better get you secured…"

By now utterly bemused, as well as quite frightened, Beth followed docilely. The elevator took them downwards and within minutes they were indeed in a safe room, quite a comfortable one. Happy stayed with her, trying to talk to her, but she was in no mood for it, just paced up and down until the disembodied voice spoke again.

"The mission is completed; the Avengers are returning to the Tower. All HYDRA elements have been subdued."

"What about Bucky?" Beth demanded.

"Mr Barnes is returning to the Tower with the Avengers," JARVIS told her.

"His name is Bucky Barnes?" Beth blinked. "Huh. Must have been named after the wartime hero."

Happy was looking at her pityingly. He called up an image on a computer screen and turned the monitor to face her. "Is this the man?"

"Yes," she nodded, seeing the long dark hair, thick black stubble and piercingly blue eyes.

Happy tapped another key and the image was replaced by another, a young man in WWII-era military uniform.

"Wait," Beth leaned forward, staring disbelievingly. "That's not possible."

"Miss Beth, you're in Avengers Tower. Impossible is pretty much a daily event around here. You kinda get used to it. Eventually."

She was still staring at the monitor when Happy opened the safe room door to admit Bucky and Steve, walking side by side.

"Beth," Steve said, and then saw what she was looking at. "Ah. Yes. That."

She wheeled around, pointed a shaking finger at Bucky. "How. The. Fuck!"

"Ah," Bucky winced slightly, "that's a kinda long story, doll."

"And why the hell are you pretending to be a homeless hobo?"

"Well, technically, until about five minutes ago…" he grinned at her expression. "Really long story."

Steve was grinning as he watched the pair of them. Happy had discreetly slipped out. "Y'know," Steve said with a grin, "I always thought Beth was a sassy dame, Buck. Should have known she'd be a match for you."

They both turned and stared at him.

"Aaaaand I'll leave you alone. There's a guest apartment upstairs when you're ready. JARVIS will direct you." He backed hastily out and closed the door behind him.

"I am really officially done with today," Beth said, and to her horror she felt tears welling in her eyes. Bucky crossed the room to her in three giant strides, pulling her into his arms. And – why was one of them making strange squeaking and whining noises under the sleeve of his hoodie? She just wasn't ready to deal, and she found herself pressing her forehead against his shoulder as he held her close.

"It's all right, Beth," Bucky murmured softly. "Everything's going to be all right."