The Black Swan (Bucky Barnes x OC)

Chapter 1

Brooklyn
March 16th, 1943

Bucky's head lifted up when he heard the sound of the bell. He had been waiting there for almost twenty minutes and neither Steve or Katherine had arrived when he got there.

It was weird that Steve wasn't there yet since he was always so punctual.

Katherine on the other hand...

It wasn't much of a surprise for him that she was late because she was used to doing everything in slow motion, like she had all the time in the world. It would take her half an hour to do her makeup, one to get dressed and another hour to decide which shoes to wear – even though she always ended up choosing the black ones with the small diamonds on the tip.

Despite how much Bucky enjoyed joking about those horrible shoes she never took off, he loved how cute they looked on her. It was a pair of black stilettos that made her look taller, but not making a great height difference when she stood next to him. He loved that too.

When he heard those same shoes getting closer, the widest of smiles spread across his face as he watched Katherine walking towards him. Her hands were all over her hair trying to fix the mess the wind had made.

"Look who decided to show up" he said as he got up from his seat to help her take off her coat. She smiled right at him and opened her arms to hug him. They hadn't seen each other for over a week now, and even though it would not seem like a very long time for most people, for them it felt like a lifetime.

They weren't used to spending much time apart. Ever since Steve introduced them when they were little, they'd be together at least three or four times a week. When they weren't busy, they'd hang out every day, actually.

God, they missed those days when their only problem was to pick a movie to watch on a Saturday afternoon at Bucky's while his mother made them cookies.

Katherine's red colored face looked directly at Bucky and he smiled at the sight of her. How could someone be so cute without trying? She'd always been so much smaller than him, and he could never get used to the fact that she still looked so much younger in spite of being in her early twenties. Right there with rosy cheeks and a red nose that matched her beautiful red hair, he couldn't help but think that she looked exactly like the little girl he met back twelve years ago.

He would always tell her that if he didn't knew her, he'd think she was a teenager and she'd laugh, shaking her head with resignation.

Her smile was the best part of it all... always genuine. The world seemed to be a better place when she was happy, and Bucky was incredibly proud of how strong she was to stay happy and positive despite everything she'd been through. Since the day he met her, Katherine would always have a smile on her face.

But then there was this smile...the one she was giving him right now with her eyes locked on his face as if she was memorizing every single feature. This smile was different. Good different. Especially because, deep down, he'd always had the feeling that it was only for him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you waiting" she apologized, kissing him on the cheek and pulling away. "But I see that Steve hasn't bothered to show up in time either"

"It's okay. I've actually been reading this article about that book you loved so much. A flower..."

" 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'. Yes, what about it?"