A/N: New chapter! Yay!
Over the next twenty four hours, Bucky's mind is reeling about the text he got yesterday. Who the hell sent him that text? However, he couldn't focus on that now because he is going on a "date". Bucky walks up to the restaurant and sees Izzy wiping down the bar. He clenches the flowers in his hand a little tighter as he walks through the door.
"Well, if that's not the most adorably, old-fashioned thing anyone's ever done." She smiles as she takes the flowers from him and goes to put them in a vase. Bucky awkwardly stands for a moment, wondering what he should do. "Grab a seat, I'll be done in a few."
"Okay." Bucky says as she disappears behind a curtain. Bucky takes a seat at the bar and looks around a little. He keeps getting the sneaking suspicion that someone is watching him but like his therapist said, he's probably just being paranoid. He looks out the window and sees a few people walking past the window, in their own little worlds. As he continues to wait, he continues to people watch. Then something catches his eye. A group of 8 people are standing across the street talking and it looks pretty heated. He can't really see any of their faces or make out any detail but he can tell that there are four girls and four guys. Bucky cringes a little as he sees one of the female members of the group smack one of the male members across the back of their head. Almost like he said something he probably shouldn't have. Suddenly all of them turn their heads in the same direction and all but one girl takes off running. The girl who remains just stands there and leans against the building across the street, like she's waiting for someone. He's about to go over to the window to see if he can get a better view, but he hears movement behind him and turns to see Izzy emerge from where she went. Izzy goes behind the bar, pulls up a beer, and silently offers it to him. He nods at her. Izzy smiles as she opens the bottle and puts it in front of him.
"So, have you dated much since half the fish in the sea came back?" Izzy asks as she starts cleaning some of the glasses. Bucky chuckles to himself because this is probably the first "real" date he's been on since 1943. He doesn't really count his online dating as actual dates.
"Not really. I tried the whole online dating thing. It's pretty crazy. A lot of weird pictures." Bucky voices what he's seen and immediately regrets it.
"What kind of weird?" Izzy asks as she puts a few bowls away.
"I mean, tiger photos? Half the time I don't even know what I'm looking at. It's… It's a lot." He says as he takes a sip of his beer. Izzy looks at him and chuckles.
"You sound like my dad." She takes a sip of her own drink with a smile on her face. He hums as he swishes his beer bottle around. Suddenly something dawns on her. "Wait, how old are you?" On a reflex, without thinking, he answers.
"A hundred and six…" He then realizes that he probably shouldn't have said that. Izzy looks at him for a moment before laughing. He gives a weak chuckle before silencing himself.
"What's up with your gloves?" Izzy questions, gesturing to the black, leather gloves on his hands. Bucky begins to panic a little as he has to think of a lie.
"I uh… have, uh… poor circulation." He tries, and hopes she buys it. Izzy hums in acknowledgement. She wipes her hands with a white towel and puts it on the bar as she walks a little closer to him.
"Let's play a game." Izzy says as she bends down to pick something up. Bucky turns around for a moment and sees that the girl is still standing there. "You like games?" Bucky turns his attention back to Izzy.
"Love'em." He responds as she brings up Battleship.
"We keep some games around for boring shifts. I'll go grab a couple of beers." She smiles as she walks to grab some more alcohol. After she leaves, Bucky turns his attention toward the gold cat that is placed next to him on the bar. A little annoyed by the constant waving, Bucky reaches over and stops the cat's hand. After he let's go of it, the cat's little hand continues to move. Izzy comes back and places another beer in front of him. After a few rounds of Battleship, Bucky looks up to see Izzy staring at him.
"What are you doing?" Bucky asks, genuinely curious.
"I'm reading your mind." Izzy says, staring dead at him. Bucky immediately feels uncomfortable with the idea of anyone reading his mind. Joking or not.
"Please don't." Bucky looks back down at his ship placement.
"B-8, sucker." She says with a smile. Bucky looks at said place and sighs.
"Uh, hit!" He says, placing the little red piece in it's slot and chuckling.
"Drink! Come on, drink." Bucky sighs loudly.
"All right. Okay." Bucky picks up his beer, takes a swig and places it back on the bar. Izzy looks at him with astonishment.
"Wow, you really can drink." Izzy comments as she looks at the already empty beer bottles.
"Yeah… well." Bucky avoids eye contact as he continues to fumble with the pieces.
"Do you have any siblings?" Izzy questions as they continue to play. Thinking quickly, Bucky responds.
"I have a sister. F-4." He picks a random spot on the board.
"Miss. Drink." Izzy looks at the board for a split second before responding. "Are you close with your parents?" She asks, genuinely curious about the man in front of her.
"I was. They passed away." Ok, so he didn't lie but he didn't tell the whole truth. "Um… D-5." Bucky quickly changes the subject.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Um, miss." Izzy looks down in embarrassment for bringing up the subject of parents. Bucky silently cheers her and gives a light smile before taking another sip. "I think it's really sweet you're spending time with Yori. It's been hard for him, his son died." She looks at him before looking at the bar again. Bucky slightly tenses at the mention of Yori's son. "I think not knowing how it happened is the hardest part for him." Bucky nods in agreement but remains silent. "Mmm, it really messed him up. You know how you call a guy whose wife died a widower? Or, if your parents die, you're an orphan. You know, there's no word for someone whose kids die because it's the worst thing that could happen." The conversation becomes too much for Bucky to bear.
"Yeah, excuse me." Bucky quickly puts his bottle back on the bar and makes his way to the door.
"You good?" Izzy questions and instead of answering, Bucky walks out the door and onto the street. Bucky immediately begins to walk toward Yori's place but he quickly remembers the girl who was standing across the street. He turns around and sees the silhouette of a petite figure standing exactly where that girl was before. Bucky crosses the street and begins to walk fast toward her. However, once he gets a little closer, she quickly ducks into the alley she was standing in front of. Bucky jogs up to where she was but when he peers around the corner there is absolutely no sign that anyone is there. He slowly walks into the alley, looking for any sign of where she went.
"Hey, look I'm not gonna hurt you. I want to help you. You can come out from wherever you're hiding." Bucky says, only to be met with no response. Bucky sighs and turns around to see something on the ground behind him. On the ground behind him is a little bouquet of bright blue Morning Glory, held together with a blue ribbon. Bucky's breath hitches in his throat as he thinks back to the meaning of this flower.
*Flashback*
After meeting Madison for the first time, Bucky immediately felt like there was some kind of connection between them. Steve pushed his friend to ask her on a date, but he chickened out every single time. However, after four years of knowing her and dancing around his feelings for her, here he is, standing on her front porch, ready to knock on her door and ask her to be his date to a party the Nelson family was having. His hands are sweating and he feels like his lungs are collapsing but he musters up a little courage and knocks. After a minute or two, he begins to think that this might be a sign that he shouldn't try to mess with anything but just as he is about to make a break for it, the door opens to reveal Madison in a white, thin strap dress and her soft brown hair being held up by a simple black barrette.
"Hey Ace!" She chirps happily, using the nickname only she's allowed to call him. He is so busy staring at her that he doesn't even realize she's said something until she speaks again. "Are you ok, Bucky?" She asks.
"What?" Suddenly, realization slaps him in the face. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just wondering what you were up to." Madison giggles at his attempt to cover his little zone out.
"I was just doing some gardening." Madison responds.
"I didn't think you gardened." Bucky says, a little surprised.
"I do. I find it calming and peaceful. That is, when my siblings aren't around to annoy me." She rolls her eyes at the thought of her peace and tranquility being interrupted by her brothers and sisters fighting and bickering.
"After all this time, I thought I knew everything about you." Bucky says, putting his hand in his pocket.
"Honey, you've barely scratched the surface." She puts a hand on his chest and beams at him.
"Well, I wanna see this garden." Madison laughs as she steps aside to let him into the house. She leads him through the house, out the back door, and into the backyard. He looks at the backyard in complete shock and amazement. The backyard is covered in all sorts of flowers and herbs. Roses, lilies, tulips, daffodils, daisies, morning glories, carnations, and even plants that he couldn't recognize, all different colors. "This is absolutely beautiful. You're telling me, you did all of this?"
"I did. I also love the fact that there are so many meanings behind different flowers and different flower colors." Madison smiles as she kneels back down by the hole she was digging before Bucky got there.
"What do you mean?" Bucky asks as he takes a seat next to her.
"Well… for example. If you give someone a yellow lily, it shows gratitude. A pink carnation means 'I will never forget you'. A red rose means you feel passion for someone. Daisies mean innocence. Red tulips are used as a declaration of love. Amaryllis signifies pride. The list goes on." She lists off some of the flowers, while pointing at them in the garden.
"And what about those little suckers right there?" Bucky points to a sea of little blue flowers. Madison follows his point and chuckles.
"Those are called Morning Glory. More often than not, they symbolize affection. They're a really sweet flower to give to someone in your life who's very special to you." Madison explains before turning back to her flowers. Bucky smiles as an idea pops into his head. He stands up from his spot, walks over to the Morning Glory and plucks one tiny flower off it's stem. He then returns to his spot, concealing the flower behind his back. "Was there another reason you came by?" Madison asks as she sits back and reaches for her barrette. She unclips it and shakes out her hair, letting it fall down to her mid back.
"Yes, actually. I had an important question to ask you." He says, suddenly becoming nervous again. Madison, sensing Bucky's nerves, turns to face him completely.
"Bucky, you seem really freaked out. Are you ok? You know you can ask me anything." Madison looks at him with her bright green eyes and he suddenly gets a whole new wave of confidence.
"I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the Nelson's party tomorrow night." Bucky holds the flower up and looks at her with pleading eyes.
"You mean, you want me to be your date to this party?" Madison looks at him while cocking an eyebrow. Bucky's lungs and heart stop functioning for a moment but he decides to be a man and to bite the bullet.
"Yes. Yes, I do." Bucky says with a big, cheesy smile on his face, still holding the bright blue Morning Glory.
"Bucky Barnes, I would love to go with you." She takes the flower with a bright smile that makes his heart flutter. He lets out the breath he had been holding and leans back to lay in the grass. Madison chuckles as she moves to lay next to him.
"Was that what you were so stressed about?" Madison asks.
"Could you tell I was stressed?" Bucky turns his head to look at her.
"I've known you for four years, Bucky. You have certain tells about you. Plus I can pretty much read your mind." She smiles.
"Really… Well what are some of my tells?" Bucky questions with a smirk on his face.
"I'm not gonna tell you because then I lose my edge." Madison turns her head to look at him and giggles.
"Oh, come on." Bucky says, poking her in the side, causing her to squeal a little. "Are you ticklish?"
"James Buchanan Barnes, don't you dare…" She gets cut off when he reaches for her side again and tickles her. She begins to squeal with laughter as she swats his hands away. Once she gets his hand away, she stands up and runs deeper into the garden with Bucky right on her tail. She manages to lose him for a moment so she goes right by the water fountain and looks at the lotus flowers growing in the water. Suddenly, Bucky wraps his arms around her and causes both of them to go falling into the fountain. When the two resurface, the two burst out laughing and they begin splashing each other. After a few minutes, they decide to get out. Bucky stands up first and offers Madison some help.
"Need a hand, doll?" Bucky extends his hand to Madison. Madison laughs as she takes his larger calloused hand in her smaller one as he pulls her up to her feet. To him, even when she's soaked to the bone, she's absolutely breath-taking. The two stare at each other for a moment, still holding hands.
"What is going on back here?" A light voice breaks the silence. The two look over to see Virginia standing there with a smirk on her face.
"You just had to ruin the moment, didn't ya?" Madison laughs as she rolls her eyes at her sister.
"Of course." Virginia chuckles as she turns and walks back into the house.
"I gotta go but I will pick you up tomorrow at 6:00." Bucky says. Madison nods and the two of them climb out of the fountain. As they begin walking toward the house, Madison's mother, Clara, meets them at the back porch with two towels.
"I figured you would need these." Clara smiles as she hands the two towels over to them.
"Thanks mom." Madison says as she takes a towel and wraps herself in it.
"Thank you, ma'am." Bucky says, taking the other towel and wrapping it around his shoulders.
"Bucky, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Clara? You're family." Clara smiles at the fact that both Bucky and Steve have been coming around their family for over four years and they still show respect not only to Clara, but Madison's brothers as well. Madison and Bucky both smile as Clara walks back into the house. The two look at each other before walking into the house and toward the front door. Madison opens the door and Bucky steps out onto the porch while handing her the towel.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Bucky smiles as Madison nods in understanding. Bucky quickly steps in a places a light kiss on her cheek before turning around and walking down the front stairs. Once he sees the door is closed, he begins cheering at the top of his lungs and jumping all over the streets. Little does he know that Clara and Madison watch him from the window with huge grins on their faces.
"He really is a special boy, isn't he?" Clara asks bringing her daughter into a one arm hug.
"You have no idea, mom." Madison smiles.
Fast Forward to the Next Night
Bucky is standing at Madison's door, while straightening and fidgeting with his black tie. The realization that Madison said yes just hit him and now he feels like his tie is choking him a little. After ten minutes of him fidgeting and fixing pretty much everything on his person, he takes a deep breath and knocks on the door. After a minute, Joyce opens the door and smiles when she sees it's Bucky.
"Hi Bucky!" Joyce says with a huge grin on her face before she wraps her arms around him in a hug.
"Hi, cutie. I'm here to pick up your sister." Bucky says as he returns the hug.
"Which one? You gotta be specific around here." Joyce says as she pulls back.
"You and your sister have a very similar sense of humor." He responds with a smirk. "I'm here for Madsy."
"Of course you are." Joyce smiles as she turns around and walks toward the stairs. "Maddy, your boyfriend is here!" Joyce screams up the staircase. If she had been facing Bucky, she would have seen the intense blush creeping up his neck and onto his face. "You know, you're the only one she allows to call her Madsy." Joyce turns around and looks at Bucky with a smug look on her face. This catches Bucky by surprise.
"Really?" Bucky asks, scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah, Jack called Maddy that the other day and she nearly broke his leg. She said that that name was reserved for one person and one person alone. I'm guessing that would be you." Joyce leans against the wall.
"She's never said anything when I call her that…" Bucky says. He thinks back and he realizes that he's only ever heard people call her either Madison or Maddy. Did she really only let him call her that?
"Joyce Elizabeth Brook, what on earth did you say to the poor boy? He looks like he's about to have a heart attack." Clara comes out from the kitchen and scolds her youngest, who quickly scurries up the stairs. "Hi Bucky. You look very handsome tonight."
"Thanks Mrs. Brook." Bucky says looking down at his suit then back up at Clara with a proud smile.
"Bucky, I feel like everytime you come here, I'm going to have to tell you to call me Clara." Clara smiles at the boy.
"I guess the manners have been drilled into me by my parents. It's hard to break that." Bucky responds, shyly.
"I'll go see if Maddy is almost ready." Clara smiles and as she walks by, she pats Bucky's shoulder. "Relax." She walks up the stairs. Bucky lets out a deep breath and looks around the foyer. He spots a picture hanging up and goes to look at it. It appears to be a family picture taken a few years ago when everyone was still pretty young. Bucky can tell who's who and then he spots an older man standing with Clara. He guessed that the man was Madison's dad but then he realized that Madison, or really anyone in the family, never talked about her dad.
"Hey Bucky." Another voice pulls him out of his trance. He looks over to see Kathleen standing in the doorway.
"Hi Kath. Didn't see you there." Bucky says as he steps away from the photo.
"Clearly. Are you excited for tonight?" Kathleen asks.
"More like 'so terrified that I might actually end the night with having a full blown heart attack'." Bucky replies honestly.
"Trust me. Maddy has been a stark-raving lunatic since yesterday, when you asked her." Kathleen remarks with an annoyed yet amused expression. "It's been non-stop 'what should I do with my hair' and 'what am I going to wear'. She's literally been on the verge of exploding."
"Really? She's always been so calm. It's hard to picture her all flustered like that." Bucky says.
"You should have been here an hour ago, is all I'm saying." Kathleen turns around and walks back into the kitchen and disappears around the corner. A noise from the staircase causes Bucky to turn his attention there and he sees Clara walking down the stairs with a huge grin on her face.
"She's ready. Have fun and enjoy yourselves." Clara also retreats back to the kitchen. When yet another noise comes from the staircase, Bucky turns his head and every organ in his body stops. At the top of the stairs stands Madison in a knee length light blue dress with white flowers stitched all over it. Light blue heels are on her feet and her hair is pulled back into a half up half down look that is secured with a silver and blue hair barrette that her mother had given her for her birthday earlier that year. Simple silver earrings match a silver and blue pendant that Bucky has never seen her without, and a silver charm bracelet that he noticed all the women of her family have. Even though he never thought she needed it, her light make-up just seemed to make her glow and made her look that much more beautiful.
"Hi." She says as she walks down the stairs. Once she gets close to the bottom, Bucky makes his way over to her and reaches his hand out. She takes it and he immediately pulls her hand to his lips, giving her knuckles a gentle kiss.
"You look absolutely stunning, but to be fair, you always do." Bucky breathes out, once he gains a little control of his heart rate and breathing.
"Thank you. You look very handsome, as you always do." Madison smiles as she looks him up and down before resting on his bright blue eyes. The two stare at each other for a moment, but the moment quickly comes to an end. A sudden flash causes the two of them to turn their attention to Clara, who is standing there with her camera. "And thank you to my mother for blinding me." Madison blinks to try and get rid of the floating lights that are currently dancing in her vision.
"Sorry honey, but I had to capture the moment." Clara says with a smile.
"Well next time you want to 'capture the moment', give us a little warning so we can run out the door." Madison remarks, causing Bucky to chuckle. He had always admired how Madison said exactly what was on her mind and never apologized for it.
"Nice try, sweetie." Clara smiles at her daughter. "Oh let me get another…"
"And we will be going now. Bye mom." Madison quickly grabs Bucky's hand and all but drags him out the door. The two run down the front stairs and down the street. Once they're far enough from the house, they slow down to a walk. "Sorry about her. She just wants to document every little part of our lives and it's driving me insane."
"I think it's sweet of her." Bucky responds with a sweet smile on his face, which in turn makes Madison smile. She looks down to see that they are still holding hands but instead of taking her hand back, she laces their fingers together and walks a little closer to Bucky. This action doesn't go unnoticed by said boy and in response, he squeezes her hand a little tighter. As they walk in comfortable silence, something keeps bugging Bucky. "So Joyce said something that has been buzzing around in my head…"
"What did the little brat say?" Madison groans at the thought of her sister saying something she shouldn't have. Bucky chuckles at Madison calling Joyce a brat when Joyce is the farthest thing from that.
"She told me that I'm the only person you let call you Madsy, is that true?" Bucky questioned, hoping that what Joyce told him was true.
"Of course. It's YOUR nickname for me just like Ace is the nickname I gave you. Those are between you and me. It's our thing." Madison answered. Bucky can feel his heart swell. A big, cheesy grin crosses his face and remains there for the rest of the night. After having an absolute blast at the party, Bucky walks Madison home but on the way it starts storming. Bucky grabs her hand and tugs at it slightly.
"We should try to find some cover." Bucky yells over the sound of the heavy rain hitting the street. Instead of agreeing, Madison continues to just stand there.
"Dance with me." Madison says.
"What?" Bucky asks to make sure he heard her clearly.
"Dance with me. Please. I've always wanted to dance in the rain." Madison smiles up at him.
"Then let's dance." Bucky grabs her hand and wraps the other one around her waist while Madison puts her free hand on his shoulder near the base of his neck. The two begin to slowly sway in the rain to some invisible song they both know. After a moment, Bucky begins to feel a little bold and slowly dips her. Madison's angelic laugh fills his ear and causes him to smile too. When he pulls her back up, their faces are inches apart. Bucky moves a piece of wet hair from in front of her eyes and allows his hand to rest on her cheek. They slowly begin to move toward each other and just as their lips are about to meet, lightning strikes the tree not far from them. The explosion causes both of them to jump and Bucky instinctively pulls Madison closer to his body.
"We should get inside." Madison says as the two of them run to the safety of Madison's front porch. "Thanks for tonight, Bucky. I had so much fun."
"Even this?" Bucky gestures to them being dripping wet. Madison laughs as she takes the barrette out and shakes her hair loose.
"Especially this." Both laugh at how ridiculous they probably look.
"I should probably start heading home." Bucky says as he's about to turn around Madison stops him.
"Bucky, you are not walking home in this weather. Just stay here for the night." Madison opens the front door and pulls him in.
"Are you sure that's ok with your mother? The last thing I wanna do is end up on her bad side." Bucky responds as he cautiously looks around. Madison can't help but roll her eyes at the nervous boy. Both Bucky and Steve have spent the night at her house a few thousand times so this is nothing new.
"As compared to the hundreds of other times both you and Steve have spent the night here…" Madison replies with her usual level of snark. Bucky looks over at her and seeing her smile makes him feel a little better. Madison walks over to the hall closet and pulls out a pillow and a few spare blankets. She then walks over to the couch and drops the pillow and blankets on the end of the couch. "You know the drill." Bucky nods as he shifts from one foot to the other. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Bucky." Madison walks over and wraps her arms around Bucky's neck while Bucky wraps his own arms around her waist and rests his chin on her shoulder.
"Goodnight Madsy." Once they pull away from each other, Madison looks into his bright blue eyes, smiles and walks over to the staircase. She turns back to Bucky, who is staring after her.
"Sweet dreams." She begins her climb up the stairs.
"You too, doll." Bucky responds as he walks over to the couch, puts his makeshift bed together and laid down. Once comfortable under the blankets, he stares at the ceiling with a big grin on his face.
*End of Flashback*
Bucky bends down and picks up the small bouquet of flowers. When he straightens up, the familiar smell hits him and takes him back to those days. For the first time in a very long time, a genuine smile creeps onto his face. Suddenly remembering what he was going to do, Bucky tucks the bouquet into the inside pocket of his jacket, exits the alley, and begins walking toward Yori's place. Unknown to him, a figure was watching Bucky from the shadows.
"Don't worry Buck. Everything will make sense. Soon." The figure pulls her hood up over her head and walks in the opposite direction on Bucky, disappearing into a cloud of dark gray smoke.