𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗬 𝗕𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗦

Us

SONG REQUEST FOR THIS CHAPTER: US by GRACIE ABRAMS, TAYLOR SWIFT

916 Words

This story was recommended to me by IndiaSimmons4 (I hope I got something that you imagined)

Time flies by for some people, and whilst that's somewhat true for me since I never thought I would get to this point, right now, time is moving at a snail's pace. Not only is everything moving in slow motion around me as I sit in my chair in the front row, but this can't seem to end. More people constantly keep walking into the room, but they are never the bride.

Bucky stands at the front of the aisle, in his black tux which he keeps smoothing down with nerves. Steve stands beside him, talking in his ear and trying to calm him down. It wasn't a surprise when Bucky asked Steve to be his best man, but it was shocking when I got my invite in the mail. Considering our history that no one knew of but us, I didn't think he would want me there. Maybe it was out of pity since he's in a much better place in his life than me, getting married, moving in with his soon-to-be-wife, and having a well-paying job, or he felt obligated to since Steve is my family. I knew Bucky had to be the one to invite me since I'd never met his fiance, after everything we went through, I distanced myself from that whole situation.

And we went through a lot.

My favourite time together was not that far from the end. He had invited me to meet him at the park late in the evening, meeting in secret. Steve was asleep after a long day of football practice and my parents were watching TV in the living room, probably falling asleep. I snuck out my bedroom window, climbed down the large tree and ran down the street towards the park. He was standing behind a tree, pacing back and forth whilst his hands were in his pockets. It wasn't unusual for us to meet up this late in random spots since no one knew about us. But, he seemed different this time.

We sat together behind the tree, him leaning against the bark whilst I sat in between his legs, both of us watching the sun set. He would stroke my hair, kiss my temple, and hold me close. At the time, I thought of this moment as one of my flashing memories before death, and I was right since it stuck with me, but what led after it, stung. He sat up, stopping his random touches and moved me to face him.

"I wanted to give you this," He reaches into his pocket. "My friend got this for his girlfriend and she really liked it, so I thought I would get you one." He pulls out a small rope bracelet with two tiny coloured pearls wrapped in the middle. A light blue one for his birth month and a deep orange one for mine. "Can I?" I nod my head, allowing him to tie it around my wrist, where it fits perfectly.

"It's beautiful, Bucky,"

"I'm glad you liked it," He smiles. "Cause I wanna tell you something." He takes a deep breath. "It's weird actually, 'cause we haven't been together that long, but you are an amazing person. You have this hold over me that scared me but I like it. I like the way you make me feel. I love it. And I'm falling in love with you."

I froze at that moment, not because I wasn't expecting it since I was falling in love with him too. And not because it scared me, the idea of loving him made me feel tingly and free, but because I'd never had someone love me the way he does. And I never thought that in my whole life, I would be presented with the opportunity to tell someone I love them too. But, with every fibre of my being, I said it back and I meant every word.

"I do," I'm brought back into the room.

I must have missed when his fiance walked down the aisle and the majority of the service. I have to admit, she looks beautiful in her dress, but it hurts to see the way she looks at Bucky. The same way I used to look at him. As the priest talks, I fiddle with the bracelet that still hangs on my wrist. I never had the heart of the courage to take it off after me and Bucky broke up. And even though he hurt me, and it was painful having to go through the breakup alone, I think I will always love him.

"James Buchanan Barnes," The priest speaks. "Do you take her to be your bride?"

Everyone looks at him, waiting for him to speak. He opens his lips, but no words come out of them. Small murmurs scatter around the room the longer he waits, and his fiance stares up at him, getting more agitated and nervous.

"James?" The priest tries again.

Bucky's head swivels around the room, finally landing on me. It takes me a few seconds to realise he's looking directly at me as if I could give him the answer to the most simple question. He doesn't move and doesn't say anything, only looking at me and not breaking eye contact for anything. Everyone must have seen him looking because now everyone is also looking at me. Steve, Bucky's fiance, her parents, Bucky's parents, and my parents. But I'm only looking at him. And I can't look away.

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