Bucky gets dragged to a speed dating event by Sam and Kate. He's exasperated and unimpressed by everyone he connects with, until he comes face to face with Nora, the owner of a book store. She's sweet, kind, and funny, but she's not interested in a...
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Hi! I'm Thea, and I am a fucking ADHD disaster! ...Anyway, here's a fic!
I came up with this plot in ten minutes while struggling to study for my comprehensive exam, and writing a journal article because when I'm stressed, my brain comes up with more book ideas instead of doing the actual work that will hold my life together. Right now, Mr. James Buchanan Barnes is holding my life together.
This is my brain 24/7:
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I love it here. It's so fun. So now, you all get to benefit from the chaos.
SYNOPSIS
It's a year after the Blip, and Bucky Barnes is living in Brooklyn with his cat, Alpine, and working as part of the Avengers. He's content, going through therapy, and catching up on everything he's missed while he was on ice (he loves Bruce Lee movies). Slowly but surely, he's becoming a citizen of the 21st century.
But, Bucky still doesn't trust himself with people outside of his inner circle. He's afraid of branching out and making real connections. So, Sam Wilson and Kate Bishop decide to stage an intervention. Bucky needs a girlfriend, or at the very least, a date to a fundraiser hosted by Captain America.
They take him to a speed dating event where, after several rounds of strange and off-putting bachelors and bachelorettes, Bucky meets Nora, the owner of a bookstore near Bucky's apartment. Nora is funny, smart, pretty, and sweet. She's perfect, but the problem is, her friends dragged her to the speed dating event too, and she's not ready for a relationship.
Bucky and Nora decide to connect anyway and strike up a friendship. They both like whiskey, Bruce Lee movies, literature, cats, and pizza. He comes into her book store and helps her close every night while she makes him tea and they chat about life, literature, and everything in between.
Finally, Bucky finds himself being able to trust her and as scary as it is, he lets Nora into his world. The two become closer, insisting to everyone around them that they're just friends, but that relationship is threatened when Nora asks Bucky to be her fake boyfriend and accompany her to her brother's wedding in Paris.
For two weeks, they have to fake it, until faking it turns into something more and neither of them can hold back their feelings.
I know, I get cold 'Cause I can't leave things well alone Understand I'm accident prone - Natalie Imbruglia, "Wishing I Was There"
THIS FIC IS NON-CANON COMPLIANT WITH THE MCU OR THE COMICS, DESPITE BEING SET IN THE MCU. That means that I get to mess with things like people's height and a bunch of other stuff. Yes, Sebastian is 6'0", this Bucky is 6'4". Look at me, doing whatever I want!
Please keep this in mind and resist the temptation to a) correct me or b) comment "this isn't canon" or "in the comic books..." - if you want canon, go watch the MCU or read the comics. I'm interested in messing with things. That's the fun of fanfiction. Cool? Cool. 👍🏻
And as always, if you're going to be rude in my comments, I'll block you. For any reason.
TROPES: - Friends to lovers - Fake dating (I'm BEYOND excited to write this) - Idiots in love and everyone knows it but them - Soft!Bucky - Mutual pining - Slow-ish burn (I know, I know... it's so not my style 😂) - Grumpy/Sunshine - A dash of secret romance
This will not be a dark romance. It's just fluffy, romantic, sweet, and soft. A lot of falling asleep on shoulders, arms touching, hand touches, THIGH TOUCHES, hand holding (call an ambulance I'm fuckin' weak), longing glances, and YEARNING. OH MY GOOOOODDD.
In the words of my friend Mattie, the world sucks right now, and we need some softness.
I have to tell you, it's exhausting to write dark romances. I do enjoy them, but they take the wind out of my sails psychologically if that's all I'm writing. It's a lot of emotional labour. So, I'm kind of augmenting the dark stuff with a place I can go to write soft, sweet Bucky. I really, really miss him. There will be touches on serious topics like PTSD and sometimes I'll wallop you over the head with a dash of angst, but I really want to keep this light and romantic.
Think Attachment Theory Bucky mixed with Lux Brumalis Bucky (and maybe a dash of Discretion Bucky) -- that will be this Bucky.
