Hello there!
Welcome to Lace and Leather
This is my new fic about an Original Character and Bucky Barnes.
I, along with pretty much everyone else, just finished The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (no spoilers here!) and it reignited my love for James Buchanan Barnes. So I knew I just had to write a story about him.
This is only my second fic, my other is a story is a modern universe story about Arya Stark and Jaqen H'Ghar, as well as Sansa Stark and Sandor Clegane.
To be completely honest with you, I haven't even finished my chapter outlines, I just had to get to work on this chapter because I was so excited with this idea.
I am addicted to TikTok and recently there has been the trend about Soul Mates not seeing colour until they see each other, and I loved that idea, so that will be what this story is about.
Please check it out if you think this is something you might enjoy, and please review regardless of if you like it or not!
I've also found some songs I think fit the story, so if that's your thing, please give them a listen.
Bouncing Off the Walls - Sugarcult
Tik Tok - Kesha
Thunderstruck - AC/DC
The Night We Met - Lord Huron
I hope you enjoy it!
all my love.
xoxo
Cassiopeia
(All recognizable characters are entirely property of Marvel Studios and their parent company The Walt Disney Company. I make no profit from their inclusion in my story.)
CONTENT WARNING: LANGUAGE
Chapter One: Infinity
"Shit. Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit." Cass said to herself as she ran around her one bedroom apartment in the Garment District of New York City. She was running late, again. Manage money? She was great at that; she had over 3000 in a savings account. She ate well and exercised, she really took great care of herself. There was just one thing she could never seem to correctly manage, and that was her time.
Sure, she wasn't great at keeping her apartment tidy either and that would definitely have helped her now as she searched through her mess looking for her left shoe and her wallet, but hey, that's just Cass. At least that's what Holly, her sister, always said. She might be more interested in keeping her apartment tidy if she could see colours. Right now, it was just a jumbled mess of different shades of grey.
You see, Cass had yet to meet her soul mate, and that's just how it was in this world. Everyone saw black and white. Their lives completely devoid of colour, at least until they met their soul mate. Cass' parents, before their car accident when she was 19, were soul mates, and Holly and her husband Arthur had been high school sweethearts. So it had all worked out. For everyone but her it seemed. She wasn't upset by it, that was just how it was, and there were many others in the same position as her. Patiently waiting.
She found her shoe underneath the plant stand, by the window, in her bedroom. She slipped it on thinking of where she could have possibly left her wallet. She checked her phone again, to see the time was now 7:33pm. "Dammit!" she said aloud. She planned to leave at 7:30 for her 8pm shift at Infinity, a premium nightclub right in the heart of Times Square. She had been working there for almost two years now, and she really enjoyed it. It was a great job. The pay was decent, and the tips were great. Being in Times Square, at such a premium location meant that only the affluent were patrons of Infinity, and that meant more tips.
"YES!" she screamed as she located her wallet underneath her small sofa. She checked her phone again as she grabbed her keys from the bowl in the kitchen next to the fridge, where she always kept them. She had loss them three times before and her landlords had told her they were no longer making her a copy and that if she lost them again, she would pay for a locksmith to come and make a new key. She simply couldn't afford that if she wanted to get a nicer apartment. She put all she could into her savings and that was going to go towards a new place in a safer and cleaner area of Manhattan.
She gave herself one final look over, in the mirror she had hanging from the back of her door. She smoothed her black, lace dress down the front, as she turned around to make sure there were no runs in her stockings. She liked the outfit she chose for this evening. It was one of her favourites. A simple dark lace (she assumed it was black but she didn't know for sure) dress, with an open back. She paired it with dark stockings that had a line travelling all the way, up the back of each of her legs and a simple pair of dark, open toed heels. Her outfit looked good, and her hair, which she had left down and slightly curled for the evening, looked amazing. It came down to her chest and was a nice dark colour. Her hair stylist told her it was a beautiful shade of mahogany and she took her word for it. She had no idea how she managed to succeed in her desired hairstyle today, she was horrible when she tried to curl her hair with her straightener. She grabbed her clear lip gloss out of her purse and put on a coat before putting it back into her purse. She nodded at herself in approval.
She headed out the door and walked down the three flights of stairs to get to the street. Once on the sidewalk she looked both ways and hailed the first cab she saw. She gave the driver the address of the nightclub and off they went.
XXXXXXX
When she arrived at the club, it was 7:58. She had just made it by the skin of her teeth.
"Cutting it close today, are we?" Sierra, her blonde and bubbly co-worker teased. "How about we don't talk about it?" Cass said to her, sticking her tongue out, as she put her small purse in her cubby, in the office. Both the girls laughed.
"Do I hear laughter in here?" their boss, Jake, said as he walked into his office. "No sir, we wouldn't dream of it." Cass replied, standing at attention with a mock salute. "Get out of here and get to work. Both of you." Jake told her and Sierra.
The girls made their way over to the main bar, where the other two bartenders were already washing glasses. The girls quickly started cutting and preparing garnishes for drinks. Once that was finished they went to the stockroom to grab extra bottles to keep under the counter, in case there was a rush. It was a Friday night, so the chances were high that there would be.
"Can you believe it's been a year since the Battle of Wakanda?" Sierra asked Cass. She had completely forgotten. Everyone knew what had happened when The Avengers and their allies in Wakanda took on the Mad Titan Thanos, as he tried to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet to rid the universe of half its population. It was a miracle that the losses on the Avenger's side were so minimal. Only several members of the Wakandan forces had perished in the battle. They had all heard the story of Thor's arrival, armed with Stormbreaker, his new axe, where he used it to cut off the Mad Titan's head, thus ending the battle quickly. No one could have imagined what the world would have been like had they failed.
"It's insane right? Think of how different it might have been. We might not even be here." Cass replied. "I think if any of the Avenger's ever come in here, I'll buy them a drink!" she informed Sierra, laughing as she grabbed a bottle of Jameson 18 year old Irish Whiskey and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch, from the shelf. Sierra rolled her eyes at her friend. "I'd love to meet any of them. Damn, imagine if one was my match? I think I'd prefer Thor or Captain America. Those two are the hottest men on the planet…well universe in Thor's case!" Sierra suggested. Cass rolled her eyes at her friend's comment. What are the chances that that would ever happen? Cass knew neither of them could be so lucky.
XXXXX
"Are we ready to blow this popsicle stand?" They heard Tony Stark voice, shouting from the speakers throughout the apartments in Stark Tower. Steve looked to his best friend on the other side of his room. "What do you say Buck? Ready to go?" he asked him.
James Buchanan Barnes looked to his oldest friend and replied with a smirk, "I have never wanted to do anything less." Bars, and especially nightclubs, were not his and Steve's idea of a good time. He knew there was no way of getting out of it however, so he might as well go along for the ride. Bucky had decided on a dark leather jacket, which Friday had told him was blue, dark jeans and dark t-shirt. Steve had decided on a grey shirt, dark jeans and his brown leather jacket. He didn't know which colours they were, but Friday had assured him he looked good.
"Oh come on man. Don't be such a downer. This could be fun!" Sam Wilson said as he walked into the room to join them. "Even if tonight is a bust, at least there will be all the booze we can drink and maybe we'll even be lucky enough to meet some pretty ladies." He continued, raising his eyebrows to his friends. Steve chuckled to himself as Bucky rolled his eyes. "This is supposed to be a really nice club. Tony was just talking about it to Nat and Wanda. It's called Infinity or something. Right in Times Square." Sam mentioned. "So get your asses up! Scott started drinking an hour ago and I've got 50 against Clint and Banner that he'll be on the pole in the bus before we even make it to the club."
"Mr. Rogers, Mr. Stark has asked me to inform everyone that, 'this party bus is moving out' and has asked everyone to hurry up or he will leave you here." Friday informed them, through the speakers in Steve's room.
"Sounds like that's our cue boys. Thanks Friday." Steve said. "Certainly Mr. Rogers." Friday had replied. Bucky got up from his seat on the sofa in Steve's room and followed his friends out the door.
XXXXXXX
It was 10:30pm and the club had been open for an hour and a half now. Jake had received a phone call from someone prominent, who had informed him that he and his large party would be arriving shortly.
"Who do you think it is?" Sierra asked Cass. "I don't have a clue. Maybe it's a Broadway cast? They did just premiere Frozen AND Mean Girls, so I mean it could be one of those groups, I guess." Cass replied. "I hope it's a movie cast. I heard they finished filming a romantic comedy with Rebel Wilson and Luke Hemsworth recently. God, he's so hot!" Sierra commented. They girls both laughed as they manned the main bar together. That was how it worked at Infinity, the boys manned one bar and the girls manned the other. The club had two floors and the guys decided they wanted the upstairs this evening. That was fine with Cass; she hated climbing the stairs in heels anyways, even if it meant they would be busier. That meant more tips for her!
Suddenly the DJ's song had cut short and there was no longer music playing within the club, everyone looked around to try and figure out what had happened when suddenly the Kesha song "Tik Tok" started blaring throughout the speakers.
With my hands up.
Put your hands up.
Put your hands up.
When it got to the next line, before the song picked back up again, there was suddenly a man's voice joining Kesha's.
"Now the party don't start til I walk in!" he shouted, and everyone looked to the entrance of the club.
Lo and behold, Tony Stark was standing in the entrance way bathed in the glow of a spotlight.
"Holy fucking shit." Cass muttered to herself as she looked at the man the world knew as Iron Man.
"Sorry, I had Friday hack into the sound system. I like to make an entrance." Tony said as he winked to no one in particular. Jake went over quickly, to introduce himself, Cass was sure. She saw the men talking and shaking hands as Jake gestured to the club.
She then saw Tony Stark hand Jake something. A credit card, Cass assumed. Obviously he was here to celebrate something. It was at that moment when the rest of The Avengers had also made their way into the club.
"Oh. My. God!" Sierra said, looking to Cass with a look of awe on her face. All of the sudden, the club had begun clapping for the heroes who saved the world. Many of them looked bashful at the applause. Others, like Tony, Loki and Thor, seemed to enjoy the attention.
Cass knew that, realistically, at least one, and likely more of the Avengers who come to her in search of a drink. She immediately turned around and poured herself a shot of Jack Daniels and tossed it back. She knew she would need some courage to face these heroes.
As she turned around to put the shot glass in the sink, she came face to face with the God of Thunder himself.
"Hello beautiful woman." He said to her with a wink. Cass immediately flushed and looked down to try and hide her embarrassment. Thor, God of Thunder, the man who LITERALLY saved the world, just called her beautiful. She had to be dreaming. She covertly pinched her left wrist with her right hand, only to discover that this was, indeed, happening.
"Hello…." She didn't know what to call him. So she just said hello and stopped talking. "God, I'm an idiot." She thought to herself. What was she supposed to call him? Thor? Mr. Thor? Sir? God. The silence was continuing and she knew she was looking more and more like an idiot by the second.
Thor clearly noticed her awkwardness as he chuckled quietly to himself. "What is your name beautiful?" he asked her. "Cassandra" she told him. Why did she say her full name? No one called her that. "Uh…Cass that is. Everyone just calls me Cass." She continued, as she nodded to herself. "Well, Lady Cassandra, I am Thor, of Asgard, and I would love a drink." He said to her, as he held out his hand to shake.
She put her hand in his very large hand to shake, and instead of shaking it, he brought it towards his lips and kissed its back. She blushed again and he smiled in return.
"Well," she said, as she pulled her hand back, "if a drink is what you're looking for, then I'm your girl." She told him, as she lifted her arms to show the bottles of liquor behind her. "What will it be?" she asked. "Surprise me, Lady Cassandra." She got to work quickly, deciding on a simple Jack and Coke. It was then when Jake came behind her and Sierra and informed them that Tony Stark was taking care of everyone's drinks for the evening, and to make them whatever they wanted, no matter the cost.
She decided she would need to make it a double, no, make that a triple, to ensure he had a large enough glass, and since Tony Stark was handling the money situation, she thought that would work.
"Here you go." She told Thor, as she placed his drink on a small napkin, on the bar top. "Thank you, my lady." He replied, nodding to her as he turned around. He stopped and looked back to her, "I shall return, oh beautiful lady!" as he held up his drink in a toast. Clearly, flirty was this man's personality. She laughed to herself as she nodded in return.
XXXXXXX
She thought that after the metaphorical ice had been broken, it would get easier serving The Avengers. She was wrong. She was very wrong.
She had served The Black Widow and Scarlet Witch, who were currently sitting at the bar in front of her, Hawkeye, Thor again, twice (and the last time he brought Dr. Bruce Banner with him), Loki, and even Tony Stark himself. The latter flirted just as much, if not more than Thor, and Cass blushed just as much as before.
She turned around to head to the stockroom, she was running low on Jack Daniel's Whiskey and Silver Patron Tequila, which Thor had discovered he very much enjoyed and insisted on taking the entire bottle with him to the table. She took a breather for a minute in the cool stockroom, and Sierra quickly joined her.
"OH MY GOD! How insane is this?!" Sierra remarked, as she grabbed two bottled of grenadine. "This is the best night of my life!" She said as she walked back out to the bar.
Cass put her hands on her knees, and took one last deep breath; before she grabbed the two bottles she needed and walked back out to serve.
She put the patron behind her station, where she knew it would be easily accessible for Thor's inevitable return, when she heard a deep, husky, voice ask "Excuse me, do you have Tiger Beer?"
"Sorry sir, we don't actually carry that brand." she replied, as she turned around to put the bottle of Jack Daniels at her station.
She then met a pair of eyes, blue eyes and then everything changed. Her world exploded in colour, and before she realized what she was doing, she dropped the bottle.