Bucky/Hermione
"You didn't see that coming?"
Trope: Love at first sight
Petra, Sarah, Leah and Sophia. All of his girls were tucked away safely in their enclosure for the night after a day of grazing in the shade of the mountain. Goats are for good companions. They never complained about him whining all day, about his arm, or lack thereof, about Steve and his absence, or about his many memory gaps.
Bucky knew he was a mess, best left alone, but when he saw her, the pale lady with the riot of dark curls streaming behind her as she landed in his field on top of a giant half-bird, half-horse mount, he couldn't help but follow her.
He had seen his fair share of weird shit since becoming himself in the future, but he was pretty sure this was not normal.
However, after only five minutes of dogging her steps as she made her way to the city, she suddenly whirled around and shot a red light at him. He sidestepped the strange discharge easily, then rose his arm in surrender.
"I'm not an enemy!" he said, voice rusty from disuse.
"That's exactly what an enemy would say," she replied, right before she shot him again, the light blue this time.
He had to jump aside, but not far enough and his leg felt numb after the light grazed him. Instead of fear, he found he was fascinated by her and what she could do.
"And you're definitely not from around here," she added, having somehow sneaked up behind him in the blink of an eye. Startled, his instincts kicked in and he lashed out. Thankfully, he only had his flesh arm, and it had only immobilized her arm as it wielded a… piece of wood? Unexpected. Fascinating. Like everything else about her.
"You're not from around here either," he stated the obvious, their noses an inch apart.
"True, but I'm not the one being a creepy stalker."
Creepy? Did he look creepy? He guessed he could use a haircut. And a shower. She tried yanking her wrist free, but he held tight.
"You landed in my field on your giant four-legged chicken. I was… curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," she said with a wicked smile, pulling on her arm and forcing him to pivot or risk hurting her. It was almost as if they were dancing under the moonlight, and he found himself smiling back.
That is, until a large, sharp beak nipped his shoulder. Bucky froze, knowing a threat when he saw one.
"Bet you didn't see that coming," she said.
"Are you threatening me with a chicken?"
The beak tightened its hold on him.
"Meet Plume. I'm sorry to inform you her kind is very susceptible. The ladies doubly so."
Deciding he would rather keep his remaining arm attached to his body, Bucky let go of the dame and apologized to the giant horse-chicken, hoping to God Steve never got wind of this.
"We good?" he then asked her.
"On one condition."
He raised an eyebrow in challenge, but he knew he would do anything she asked of him, if only so he could spend a few more minutes in her company.
"Can you lead me to Khero?"
"The Breeder?"
"Exactly," she said with a bright smile. "Plume is here to choose a mate. Wakanda's herd of Hippogriffs has been thinning down over the centuries. They were really happy to learn we have a thriving population."
"So you're a Hippogriff shepherd?" he asked dubiously.
She glanced behind him as his girls bleeted at them, apparently enjoying the spectacle, then at his missing arm.
"Are you a goat shepherd?" she retorted.
"Good point," he conceded.
She was smart too. Beautiful and smart and strong. He had it bad, and he had always been the one to scoff at the very idea of love at first sight, but…
"I'm Hermione," she said, offering her hand. "Hermione Granger."
Bucky glanced at her hand. She was obviously waiting for him to shake it, so he gave her his best smile instead, the old one that used to get him all the girls when he was young and carefree.
"Bucky Barnes," he replied, then brought her hand up to brush his lips against he knuckles. "A pleasure to meet you Ma'am."
Finally, a faint blush coloured her cheeks. He still had it.
