Bucky's Diary

March 7, 2026

Eye of The Storm – Ivy & Gold
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Dear Diary,

Since my birthday is coming up in a few days, Steve decided that we should go out to dinner and that I should pick the place. Originally, I wasn't sure where to go because I wasn't sure what was too fancy or expensive or not enough of either, so we decided to pick something together. 

After a few minutes of back and forth ideas, we picked 'Il Mulino,' an Italian place downtown. It's relatively fancy and fairly expensive, but he said it was perfect and something we needed to do considering that we were finally engaged and together 'for real,' that the price didn't matter. 

I shrugged it off, and he made the reservation for today, considering that it's the Saturday before my birthday and I couldn't be more excited. 

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I was getting ready in our room, fixing my tie to be exact, when the glimmer from my new wedding band caught my eye. Ever since it was placed on my finger, I catch myself looking at it constantly. As a matter of fact, I asked Tony to weld it to my metal finger a few days after the proposal because it kept slipping off. Now, it was perfectly in place and wasn't messing with my ability to use this new arm. 

Sure, it saddened me a little bit knowing that I'd never really be able to wear the ring on my finger like Steve does, on a real, flesh finger that was truly a part of me, but it was the next best thing, what I had now. 

Steve walked in and stood in the doorway, watching me as I continued doing what I had been before I saw him there. 

"Ready?" He asked. 

I nodded. "Yes I am," I replied with a smile, taking one last look at my ring. "We wouldn't want to miss our reservation."

We headed out a few moments later, arriving right on time for our reservation.

"Good evening, gentlemen," a young, Italian looking man greeted us at the front.

"Yes, good evening," Steve answered. "We have a reservation for," he checked his watch. "Three minutes from now."

"Certainly," the man replied. "Are you gentlemen part of the business group tonight?"

"No, we have a reservation just the two of us," I told him, stepping in front of Steve because he was too innocent to see what was happening. "You see, it's my birthday and my fiancé decided he wanted to take me out on a date," I smiled at him with wide eyes. 

"Of course, sir," he came back, the word sir sending chills down my spine. "The name for the reservation?"

"Steve," he stepped in front of me again. "Steve Rogers."

"Steve Rogers," his voice hitched like he recognized the name, but he didn't say a word about it. "Right this way, please."

We followed him to the table for two and sat as he handed us menus, leaving us be. 

"Bucky-"

"Damn it, Steve, don't even start," I smirked at him and he made a face at me. "No one ever assumes we're together, so I've taken it upon myself to make it clear to everyone."

"But-"

"I wasn't nearly as loud about it this time as I was the last," I pointed out. "Seriously, it's 2026, not 1926 and trust me, I would know the difference considering I've been alive for both."

"Okay, okay," he agreed. "You're right. But we should probably start looking at these menus if we want to order by the time the waiter gets here."

Within the next ten minutes, we ordered, Costoletta di Vitello for me and Dentice alla Livornese for him. The waiting that followed was filled with conversation.

"How's it feel to be a hundred and nine?" He questioned. 

I chuckled. "I'm only really forty-six, but I feel pretty good if I'm honest."

"And to think that I'm only forty-one," he pointed out. 

"A hundred and eight, really," I reminded him. "Chronologically we're only a year apart, but biologically, I'm five years older than you. It's weird."

"I was thinking the same thing. We grew up with only really nine months difference in age and now it's completely different," he surmised. "There's no changing it, though, that's just the reality of the situation."

"Considering how much work I did for HYDRA, aging only four more years than I was supposed to is pretty impressive," I added. "I guess it'd be even more weird if I was younger than you."

"That's true too," he concurred. 

"And to think that I'm free of them now, of that life I once never dreamed I'd escape," I smiled to myself. "And here we are."

"I was actually thinking about that, about our future," he mentioned. "When do you want to have this wedding? Sure, there's no rush and I have no opposition to a long engagement, but we have been dating for nearly a hundred years so as long as we're married within the next half-century, I'm all right."

I chuckled. "It won't be another fifty years, Stevie," I paused. "Next year? Do you have any dates in mind?"

"Well, I did," he started. "But I wasn't sure what you'd think."

"Lay it on me."

He shrugged. "July tenth?"

I thought about it for a second, not really seeing what that date meant to us. "Sure?" I phrased more like a question than an agreement. 

"You don't remember, do you?" He said.

I shook my head solemnly. "I'm sorry, I don't."

"Don't be sorry, it was traumatizing for you and it makes sense that you're blocking it out," he answered. "And if it brings back too many memories to have the wedding on July tenth, we can have it some other day."

"What happened on July tenth?" I wanted to know first before making  choice. 

"It was the first time I saw you since your death," he put air quotes around death.

I smiled. "I think that's perfect. And we can do it next year so we have enough time to plan rather than this year where we'd only have three months."

He looked incredibly happy that we finally picked a date. 

The main courses were soon brought out and we ate, still talking smalltalk about the wedding. 

"And after?" He asked. 

"Honeymoon, obviously," I flashed a smile at him. "Wherever you want."

"Well, isn't it obvious? We have to go camping."

"Oh, obviously," I smiled again at the homage the idea paid to our past. "And, maybe we could, I don't know, get our own place after?"

"We have our own place, though," he interrupted the thought. 

"We have a place that was probably built in the 1800s, Steve," I reminded him. "I've kind of been looking into places in the area near Sarah's place and I think I've found something nice."

"Well, you'll have to show me," he looked excited. "I don't mind finding a more permanent residence as long as we keep the old place too."

"Of course, Steve, I couldn't imagine getting rid of that place," I told him wholeheartedly. "Not now, not ever."

He nodded, his eyes glassy. 

I knew what he felt right now. He felt our future opening, and our past following us through to the end. We were a product of our pasts, of our experiences... and those things would walk us through to our future together. 

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Tonight felt emotional even though it probably wasn't in actuality.

After all, we made a few important decisions. One being the date of our wedding, the next being our honeymoon theme and the last being the fact that we're buying a new place to live after both of those. It's exciting to finally be able to start our lives together even after everything being against us up until this point. 

We've really redefined 'defying all odds,' haven't we?

~James Buchanan Barnes