Hello there everyone!

I'm so happy to see interest in my story. I even have five reviews on my first chapter! I'm very flattered and I appreciate all of them.

Here is chapter two of Lace and Leather.

I plan on writing another chapter for my other story, Strong, before I come back for chapter three. So it may be a few weeks before another update.

Songs for this chapter are:

Love Again - Alok

Beautiful - Bazzi

Something Just Like This - The Chainsmokers and Coldplay

Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna

Can't wait to hear what you think!

all my love,

xoxo

Cassiopeia

As always, any recognizable characters are entirely property of the Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios and I receive nothing from their inclusion in this story.

CONTENT WARNING: Language

Chapter Two: Sergeant

"Cass?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Jake shouted at her, from her left as he stood in the doorway to his office. "That's coming out of your pay tonight. That's an entire bottle of whiskey wasted." he continued.

"I'm sorry Jake. It was an accident. Of course I'll pay for it." Cass replied, dejectedly.

"Sir, I'll pay for it." the blue eyed stranger said to him. "It was my fault really." Cass looked between the two men. "Absolutely not Sergeant Barnes. This was her fault and she should have been more careful." Jake told him.

Sergeant Barnes. Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky Barnes. Steve Rogers' best friend and closest ally. The Winter Soldier.

All of the names she's heard him called when through her head on a loop. "The Winter Soldier is my soul mate. Holy Fuck." She thought to herself.

"Really sir, I insist." Bucky reiterated, holding out a credit card to the club owner. Jake quickly took his card and processed the transaction to pay for the lost bottle. Bucky looked at Cass with a crooked smile.

"Cass, go take a 15 minute break. It's almost last call and you obviously need to calm down." Jake said when he returned from his office, handing the card back to Sergeant Barnes.

"Thanks Jake. Sorry again." Cass told him as she quickly walked past both him and Bucky to quickly exit the club.

"Wait!" Bucky called after her, as he tried to follow closely behind.

XXXXXXX

She took the stairs and ran as quickly as she could down the four flights to get to the street level, hearing him call after her the whole way down.

She pushed the door of the stairwell open and ran through the lobby on the main floor to reach the rotating doors.

When she felt the cool air of the outdoors, she quickly braced herself on her knees and breathed as deeply as she could.

"It happened. I can't believe it happened. I was so sure that I was never going to find anyone." She said aloud to herself. She raised her head and looked around a colourful New York City for the first time.

There were so many colours. So many different things to look at. She had never seen anything so beautiful. So beautiful and yet so overwhelming.

She started to hyperventilate again, and she felt herself get light headed. The world seemed to be spinning around her, and just as she felt herself beginning to lose her balance, she felt two hands grasp her around her waist. One hand, much cooler than the other.

"I've got you." He whispered in her ear as he supported her while trying to get her to stand again. "Let's get you away from these doors and out of the way." He said, as he guided her to the left to an empty space on the wall, next to the entrance to the department store underneath the nightclub.

She was still light headed as he leaned her against the wall. "Hey hey hey!" he said to her in a soft voice. "Focus on me. Just focus on my eyes. Look at my eyes. Deep breaths. In. Out" he said, trying to coach her to breathe calmly.

She focused on his blue eyes, like he told her to. She breathed deeply, copying the breaths of the man in front of her.

When he felt that she was finally calm he spoke again.

"So…it's you huh?" He said, smiling at her.

"Uh…yea. It's me I guess." She replied, as she tried to give him a smile in return, not sure if she was succeeding.

"So, who is me? Or should I just keep calling you that?" he asked her playfully.

"Cass Fischer. Well, Cassandra Fischer actually, but everyone just calls me Cass." She said, giving him a genuine smile this time.

He smiled back. "Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, at your service." He said to her with a flourished bow.

"God. This man knows exactly what he's doing." She thought to herself, smirking involuntarily.

"It's nice to meet you James." She replied, with a curtsy. Where that came from, she had no idea. She mentally slapped herself in the forehead and told herself to get it together.

He laughed, as he walked to the wall to lean against it beside her.

"You know, I haven't been called James in a long time." He informed her. "Hell, even Steve just calls me Buck."

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she said quickly. "Do you not like it?"

"Beautiful, you can call me anything you want." He answered, winking at her. "So long as you call me."

She looked down as a blush came to her cheeks. He couldn't help but think how lovely the shade looked on her cheeks, now that he could see the lovely rosey colour that came along with it.

"So, now that introductions have been made, what next?" He asked her, looking at her with a smile.

"Actually I think I have to get back to work. I think we may have spent too much time down here, and I don't need to get in anymore trouble with my boss tonight." She told him, laughing lightly.

"Of course." he replied, as he offered her his right hand to help her as she stepped away from the wall. "Are you alright to walk yourself?" he asked, not wanting to overstep.

"Yes. I think I'm over the initial shock." She informed him, as they walked back towards the entrance. They walked into the building, her going through the rotating doors before him. "I would like to take the elevator back up though." She told him, gesturing to the elevators on their right.

He said nothing as she pushed the button to go up. The elevator was prompt and they quickly filed inside. They were the only two patrons and they couldn't help but to sneak glances at one another. At one point they both caught each other looking, and laughed at the silliness of it all.

"God, her smile is absolutely beautiful." Bucky thought to himself. "She's beautiful. How could I have been so lucky?" He couldn't help but smile at the thought.

The elevator dinged, as they reached their floor and the doors opened to the crowded and noisy club.

As she walked towards her station at the bar, he placed his metal hand on the small of her back to help guide her through the sea of bodies.

She noticed it immediately, and blushed again at the thought of the intimate touch of the absolutely stunning man that was revealed to be her match.

XXXXXXX

As she returned to her station, Bucky took the open seat directly in front of her and sat down.

Nat and Wanda, who were sitting just a couple seats away, had watched them both as they walked by, his hand on her back, and looked to each other quickly.

"Oh my god. So what do you think that's all about?" Wanda said as she gestured to the two at the end of the bar. "I don't know, but I'm excited to find out." Natasha replied, as she took a sip of her Martini.

They weren't the only two that had noticed the two walking back. Sierra had also seen them and couldn't help but drop her jaw in surprise. "There is no fucking way I have been here all night and 'Plain Jane' Cass is the one who's captured the attention of not one, but several of The Avengers." She thought to herself. She felt the rage building as she removed the caps from the two bottles she was serving the two random and average looking college guys who had been trying to flirt with her all evening, with no success. "We'll fucking see." Sierra muttered to herself, as she looked over at her "friend."

XXXXXXX

"So," Bucky started, "Have you worked here long?" Cass smiled at James, glad to see one of them was calm enough to try to get to know the other. "Uh, I guess it depends on how long you consider 'long'. I've worked here for almost two years." She told him, as she washed some glasses at her station, glad that the club was starting to empty as they got closer and closer to closing. She looked past James to see Tony Stark, dancing on a table. She laughed to herself and shook her head.

Bucky turned around to see what she was laughing at, to discover that Steve and Sam were making their way over to the bar where he was sitting.

"Hey Buck. We were wondering where you had gone off to. We were looking for you." Steve told him, as he gripped his best friend on this right shoulder.

"Well, I was just accompanying Cass here, outside so she could get some fresh air." Bucky informed Steve, as he gestured towards the brunette bartender, smirking. She smirked back at him.

"Well hello Cass!" Sam said to her, reaching forward to kiss her hand. She humoured him and gave him her right hand, while rolling her eyes. Bucky and Steve laughed at their friend. "My name is Sam Wilson, but you may know me better as "The Falcon." he told her, as he leaned against the bar, raising an eyebrow.

"This guy is hilarious and I like him already." Cass thought to herself. She decided to give him some sass in return.

"Oh, I know who you are 'Sam Wilson; The Falcon'" she replied, raising an eyebrow in return. "That goes for you too, Steve Rogers; Captain America." She continued, as she sent a wink his way.

She noticed James laugh at the embarrassment of his friends, particularly Steve, whose cheeks immediately reddened as he looked to the floor.

Bucky thought of something in that moment. An opportunity had arisen for him to let his two closest friends learn what had transpired between himself and their beautiful bartender.

"So Steve," he said, looking to his right, "Don't you think that Cass has the most beautiful eyes?" he asked. It was Cass' turn to blush. She tried to focus her attention towards the glasses she was now putting away, to no avail.

"Um, yea. They're pretty beautiful Buck." Steve answered awkwardly, looking to his friend confused. He thought maybe Bucky was trying to set him up with the girl.

"I really love how blue they are." Bucky told him, with a smile that lit up the room.

"Holy shit!" Sam, Natasha and Wanda all said in unison. Cass turned to look towards the two female voices she had heard. She couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. She also thought she heard a glass drop somewhere, but put it out of her mind, assuming it was just a patron who took may have had too much to drink.

"Bucky, are you telling me this is her?" Steve asked, looking to his best friend with a serious expression.

"Yea punk, this is her." He said, as he turned back to Cass with a genuine smile on his face. Cass thought that it was such a wonderful smile and was very contagious, so naturally, she couldn't help but smile in return.

"Yes, apparently it is me." She said as she smiled at James' group of friends.

"Congratulations man." Steve told him, as he wrapped his oldest friend in a hug. Sam also gave his congratulations as he put James in a headlock, while messing up his hair.

This was when Cass noticed Natasha and Wanda, a couple seats down from James, looking towards her. When Cass made eye contact with Natasha, she and Wanda both raised their cocktails as their sign of congratulations. Cass smiled at the two women, and nodded in return.

What no one had noticed, was that the blonde bartender had broken a glass in her shock, hearing what had happened right in front of her eyes.

XXXXXXX

Suddenly the lights had begun to turn on throughout the nightclub, a sign that last call had struck and the nightclub would closing in 10 minutes, as the time was now 1:50am.

As James talked amongst his friends, Cass got to work cleaning her station for the night, and continuing to serve any last minute patrons.

She noticed Tony Stark making his way towards the bar.

"What is going on?!" he yelled to the bartenders, clearly having had the time of his life.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark, but the music is off and the lights have turned on because it's last call and Infinity will be closing in 10 minutes." Jake told Tony, having come from his office after turning the lights on.

"But the night it still young!" Tony exclaimed, raising his arms, and the two cocktails he had in his hands into the air, losing their contents in the process.

He brought his cocktail glasses back to his face, after noticing what he had done. He looked into the now empty glasses and pouted.

Cass couldn't help but laugh out loud. She quickly made him another Manhattan, which had been his drink of choice for the evening. After garnishing his drink with a cherry, she quickly ran it over, taking the two empty glasses from him.

"I like you. You bring me booze." He said to her, slurring his words slightly. "This girl deserves a raise!" He exclaimed, as he took a sip of his new drink. She simply smirked at him as she took the two empty glasses back behind the bar.

"I am truly sorry Mr. Stark, but we can't actually continue serving, our closing time is 2am and we do not stay open past then. So unfortunately, you and the rest of your party are going to have to leave. You are all more than welcome to join us here at Infinity any other time." Jake said, trying his best not to anger one of the world's greatest superheroes and one of the richest men in the country.

"Fine we'll leave. But you can expect to see us again real soon." Tony told Jake, with a finger pointing at his face. He then walked over to where Cass stood behind the bar. She watched as he quickly drank the rest of his drink, before placing the empty glass on the counter in front of the two of them.

Then, he grabbed her arm. "But we're taking this one with us!" he informed Jake. "No cleaning for her tonight. She's a party and she's coming with us!" he continued, as he pulled her around the bar and starting walking to the entrance to the club.

Cass knew there was no stopping him, so as she passed the two female Avengers still seated at the bar, she quickly said "Please grab my purse from Jake!" Natasha smiled at Tony's antics and at Cass as she nodded to her.

"Avengers, Assemble! We're taking this party home!" Tony yelled, as he stopped at the entrance of the club. Cass watched as the Avengers had all rounded up and were making their way to the exit. What Cass didn't notice however, was the hateful expression that her coworker was sending her way.

XXXXXXX

Tony then started to pull her towards the elevator. As he pushed the button, more of the Avengers had caught up to them, including Natasha, Wanda and The Vision, who was wearing a handsome suit, complete with a black, paisley patterned tie.

As they followed Tony into the elevator, the older of the women spoke up.

"Hi, I'm Natasha, but almost everyone calls me Nat. Here's your purse." She told Cass, as she passed her the black clutch.

"Oh my god! Thank you so much! My phone and keys are in here, so I absolutely couldn't leave it behind." Cass replied. "My name is Cass by the way." She said smiling at Nat. "Well, I'm Wanda, and this is Vision." The other woman informed her, gesturing to herself and her companion. Cass smiled at the both of them. "It's nice to meet you both." She replied.

As their elevator reached the ground floor, Tony quickly made his exit, clearly forgetting his company in his drunken state.

As the girls and Vision made their way out of the elevator and through the lobby, Nat spoke up again.

"So you are coming back to Avenger's Tower with us right? I mean Tony did technically invite you, with or without your permission." Natasha asked her while laughing.

"Uh…well…I don't really know." Cass started before Wanda chimed in.

"Of course you're coming! We barely got to introduce ourselves and we could always use more girls in the group. Me and Nat get pretty lonely sometimes." Wanda stated. "And of course, you need to get to know your soul mate too!" she said, as she waggled her eyebrows up and down at Cass.

Cass looked down, blushing. She still wasn't used to hearing that. Seeing all the colours the world had to offer was one thing, but having her soul mate to go along with it, well, that was just crazy.

The group made their way through the rotating doors at the entrance to the building, and were greeted by the large party bus that had delivered The Avengers to Infinity for the evening.

As Cass stood in front of the bus with Natasha and Wanda, she felt an arm appear on her lower back.

She turned to her left to see James looking down at her.

"I thought you had left without me, Doll." he said to her, his signature smirk appearing again.

She smiled at him in return as she replied, "Terribly sorry. I was taken against my will. What's a girl to do?" while she raised her hands in a shrugging gesture.

He laughed at her rebuttal. "So you are going to come back with us right? I'd love to get to know you some more. Maybe this time you won't even have to serve drinks at the same time." he offered, as he bumped her shoulder with his own.

"I'd like that James." She said back to him.

"Well, my lady, your chariot awaits." He told her, as he offered her his hand as they made their way to the entrance of the bus.

She took his hand gladly, before stepping on to the bus, not knowing what was in store for the rest of the night.