Author's Note: I adore the Marvel fandom so very much. This was written for the Marvel-ous Gift Exchange which started through the Facebook group, Marvel Fanfiction Extravaganza! It's a great place to find and share all Marvel fanfiction. I'm thankful to be a part of it seeing as there are not many places to share my Marvel fics. I'd like to thank starrnobella for beta reading and Squarepeg72 for alpha reading, as well as GaeilgeRua for combing through this with her grammar Nazi skills! Any other mistakes you may find are my own. Much love, xxDustNight

Disclaimer: All non-original characters, plot points, quotes, and information belongs to Marvel and Marvel Studios, and anyone else that may own any part of it. The story plot and dialogue belongs to me. I do not write for profit.

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Starlight Wishes
Rated: T
Pairing: Darcy/Bucky
Summary: New Year's Eve is a time for making resolutions, or wishing on shooting stars in Bucky's case. It just so happens that his wish for a fruitful New Year comes in the form of one Darcy Lewis. Luckily, she doesn't seem to mind…

Written for articcat621 as part of the Marvel-ous Gift Exchange 2017. I love that I was able to gift you not one, but two fics this holiday season! I hope this is everything you wanted! It turned out super fluffy!

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Starlight Wishes

New Year's Eve. It was a time for making resolutions, a time for new beginnings. Unfortunately, Bucky felt like that was always going to be a pipe dream for him. Glaring at the star-filled sky, the Winter Soldier decided that he really should just sneak back to his room and go to sleep. At this point, there was no reason for him to stay up and ring in the New Year. Sighing, he was about to do just that when a shooting star blazed across the sky. It was gone so quickly, he wasn't even sure it was really there.

Nevertheless, Bucky closed his eyes and made a silent wish that this year could be different. Maybe he'd wipe out some of the red on his ledger, make friends with the Avengers who still hated him, and possibly find someone to love. Laughing as he opened his eyes to the now cloudy sky, Bucky thought he had a better chance of magically regrowing his arm than falling in love this year. As he thought about this, the door to the roof was thrown open, but he chose to ignore it, hanging his head and waiting for whoever it was to go away once they figured out he was the one up there.

"Oh," Darcy faltered at seeing Bucky standing against the rail. He was staring down into the training field below, his hair partially shielding his face from view. Upon hearing her voice, he turned, however, his eyes trained solely on her. "Sorry… It's Bucky, right?"

Surprised she'd used his real name, Bucky nodded.

"Oh good. I was afraid I'd got it wrong and it was really Bradley or Benji or some other random shit." She walked forward, the door closing behind her so she could stand at the rail too. "I'm always getting names wrong. There's so many to learn these days.. Sam, James...but he goes by Rhodey, Wanda, Steve… It's neverending."

As she continued rambling on, Bucky stared at her with curious eyes. Why was she up here and so willingly talking to him of all people? Wasn't she friends with that doctor that was seeing Thor? Why wasn't she downstairs with them, drinking and enjoying the party? Quirking an eyebrow, Bucky turned his attention back to the sky as if to say, Did you do this? There was no answer save a chilly breeze ruffling their hair so he turned back to his surprising companion.

"I'm Darcy, by the way. Not sure if you knew. Anyway…" she trailed off there, realizing she'd been doing all of the talking. Although, she sort of knew he wasn't big on talking. Usually when he was around, he either stood or sat in the corner and just watched what was happening. She was probably disturbing him with her sudden intrusion. "I hope you don't mind me interrupting whatever it is you were doing. I just needed a break from Thor and Tony's singing and felt like up here was the best place to be."

"You can stay," Bucky said with a small smirk. "I can't imagine my company will be much better."

"What were you doing anyway?" Darcy asked, leaning her arms on the rail and heaving a sigh. "It's fracking cold up here."

"Making stupid wishes on shooting stars," he told her, figuring there was no reason to lie.

"Really?" Darcy startled, sending him an amused grin. "I just… I wouldn't take you as the type of person to wish on a star and believe it to come true." Take down an entire army on his own, sure, but wish on a shooting star, hell no.

"Normally, I'm not. Felt like the right thing to do." Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "New Year's Eve and all that."

"What did you wish for?"

"If I tell you, it won't come true," he replied, playfully nudging her with his elbow. When she said nothing, he grew worried he'd overstepped his boundaries so he turned to look at her. She was staring at him with her mouth hanging open. Now, he was really worried. He didn't need this chick running to Stark and having him thrown back into the deep freeze. "What's wrong?"

"It's… I feel like I've been here before." Frowning, she glanced back and forth before meeting his stare. "Like deja vu or some shit. I felt it when I opened the door too, but it was really strong just now, hearing you say that to me."

"Weird," Bucky remarked, suddenly feeling that maybe his wish on the shooting star wasn't so frivolous as originally thought. Clearing his throat, he had to admit that since Darcy arrived on the roof, he too had been feeling rather different. Something about her drew him in, making him smile and be honest more than he'd been with anyone since coming back here, aside from Steve. "I'm sure it's nothing. Not like we're destined to be together or something…"

"What?" Darcy was taken aback. What did he just say? Shaking her head, she tried to get rid of this feeling.

"Don't mind me," Bucky muttered, returning his gaze to the training field below. "Just an old man rattling on about wishes and what ifs." Damn it, he knew he should have just gone to bed earlier when he'd thought about it. Now he was trying to field off questions and feelings that had no explanation behind them.

Darcy gave Bucky one last sharp glance before staring up at the sky. She said nothing, wondering if what she felt was more than simply deja vu. It wouldn't be the strangest thing that ever happened to her. No, that was probably when those birds just flew up from the ground… Or when Jane disappeared for five hours or… Yeah, okay. She'd dealt with some weird shit over the years. Had Bucky wished for her or something else? Maybe she was just in the right place at the right time… Either way, it wouldn't be so bad.

Trying to be sneaky, she peered at him through the curtain of her curls. He wasn't ugly. Far from it, not that it really mattered. It was a perk. He was muscular, like something out of one of those wrestling magazines. She smiled, definitely a perk. He had scars and that metal arm, but it somehow made him mysterious and intriguing. Okay, yeah. If she was destined to be with this guy, things could definitely be worse. Smirking, she decided to test the waters...

"You ever think that maybe soulmates really exist?" Darcy asked, gripping the rail and staring up at the night sky. She laughed at her own question, shaking her head briefly to get the curls out of her face. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she second guessed it. Bucky wasn't going to honestly answer that. "Don't mind me… In fact, ignore that entirely."

Slowly turning so he could see her more fully, Bucky decided to take another look at this woman. Darcy, was still smiling, her head upturned as she watched the clouds roll through the night sky. She was pretty, unconventionally so, and for some odd reason, she'd chosen to come up to this roof and talk with him. No one else would have done that, especially given his dark and murderous past.

"Actually," he said with a small laugh of his own. "I guess if superhumans can be created, then there could be a possibility of someone having a soulmate." He shrugged when she glanced at him suddenly, her hair whipping in the breeze. He smiled. "What?"

"I just never took you for the type to believe in such a thing… Being all, cold and…"

"A killer?" he finished for her, feeling a sadness radiate within him when she flinched at his bluntness. "I guess people forget that I used to be a normal guy before I was programmed into the Winter Soldier."

"Yikes. When you put it that way." She crossed her arms and regarded him for another moment, feeling like the mood had changed. "I didn't mean anything by it, really. I just felt like-"

"Like we've been here before?" Boldly, he took a step toward her, reaching out with his nonmetal hand. Whether it was deja vu or something else, he wanted to see how she'd react.

Raising both eyebrows, Darcy stared at his extended hand for a minute, unsure what she was supposed to do. When he wiggled his fingers, she blinked and then placed hers on top. When their skin made contact, that feeling of deja vu returned tenfold. Feeling her lips quirk into a smile, she lifted her gaze and found him staring at her with just as much intensity as before.

"What does it mean?" she asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

"Hell if I know," Bucky replied honestly, closing his hand around hers and tugging her forward.

"Oof!" Darcy hit Bucky's chest a bit harder than he probably intended, but she used her free hand to grab hold of his shoulder so she wouldn't topple over.

"Sorry," he apologized, smirking in a way that told her he was far from sorry.

"Hey," she started to protest, "I'm not the type of girl who just falls into some guy's arms just because-"

Bucky decided it was time to take a chance on his fate, if he even believed in such a thing. It was New Year's Eve, a night for making promises so the coming year could be better. He was starting now, before the clock struck midnight. He wanted happiness. He wanted a chance at love. Maybe he could have that with Darcy… It was worth a shot and so he kissed her, effectively stopping her from managing to talk the both of them out of this thing.

In the end, Darcy decided it wasn't so bad, being kissed by the Winter Soldier. No, it was Bucky. This was Bucky, and aside from the chill of his metal arm through her sweater, he felt warm and real and whole. Eyes fluttering closed, she slid her hands up into his hair and kissed him back, embracing the feeling that she'd been here before because maybe she had. Maybe this was how it was supposed to be, her and Bucky coming together on New Year's Eve and falling in love in the New Year…

When it was over, they simply stared at one another, both speechless and unsure of what to do or say next. In the end, it was Darcy who spoke, a sly grin on her lips. "Okay… Apparently, I am the type of girl to just randomly kiss a guy on a rooftop."

Bucky laughed, literally threw his head backward and laughed, and Darcy found she absolutely loved the sound of it. She'd never heard him laugh before, didn't even know it was possible. Frowning as he continued to laugh, she was just about to punch him in the shoulder to remind the him she was there when he stopped and took her face in both hands.

"I needed a good laugh. Thanks, doll," Bucky muttered before placing a kiss to her forehead. Taking a step back out her personal space, Bucky smirked at Darcy and again took her hand. "It's been a weird night. Care to go rejoin the festivities with me...as my date? I mean, I think they'll send a search party if I don't return you before the clock strikes twelve."

"And to think they say chivalry is dead?" Darcy laughed, shaking her head at Bucky and finding herself smiling like a god damned moron. What was happening to her? "I'm no Cinderella and I hardly think you're Prince Charming, but I'll accept your request anyway." She pretended to curtsy and then cringed. "Oh please never tell anyone I did that."

"You got it," Bucky said with a grin, squeezing her hand and tugging her toward the door. When she sighed in relief, Bucky felt his heartbeat quicken. This woman was fun and free and somehow willing to accept him for who he was. As they made their way back inside to the party, Bucky decided that this might be the New Year he'd wished for, after all. And even if it wasn't, he'd have a damned good time with Darcy at his side.