Marvel Imagines

Bucky Barnes - Rose Tattoo

Warnings: Mild language
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Some may be from showing up, others are from growing up. Sometimes I was so messed up and didn't have a clue. I ain't winning no one over. I wear it just for you. I got your name written here, in a rose tattoo.

You have gotten an assortment of tattoos in your lifetime. Some of them were to preserve memories, some were for people you wanted to keep with you forever. One in specific, was very important to you.

A dark, red-purple rose with emerald leaves. Under it was a tattered banner with a name scrawled across it in fanciful cursive: James B. Barnes.

You looked at the tattoo every time you possibly could. It was placed perfectly in the crook of your hip bone. If you were ever anxious, your hand found its way over the ink.

You had gotten the tattoo in remembrance of your significant other when you woke up in the 21st century. It didn't matter to you that it was supposedly a curse on relationships. He was dead anyway, what could it do at this point?

Well, apparently it brings him back from the dead.

Steve has always had a bit of a problem taking orders, and an even bigger problem taking them from the government, so when they told him not to engage the Winter Soldier, he did just the opposite

He banded together a group of skilled soldiers and assassins: Natasha Romanoff, a close friend of yours from the beginning of the Avengers Protocol, Sam Wilson, who met Steve a while back, gaining his trust enough that he went to him for help, and you, who were put through the same tests as Steven Rogers himself. Erskine wanted to see how the test affected both sexes, and Peggy Carter denied the roll.

It took weeks to track down Barnes, but when you finally did, it wasn't actually you. Steve fought him, tried to make him remember, and failed. At least, that's what it seemed like.

Today you were spending the day in bed, as you had for the passed week. You hadn't been feeling well since your impromptu mission, and SHIELD isn't going to be assigning new ones anytime soon. With Bucky on the run, and Steve obsessing over finding him, you were left alone with your thoughts.

You couldn't help but wonder if he was scared, or if he was starving, or if he was even alive still.

You flung the covers off your body and sprung into your clothes. You were going to find him, no matter what it took.

***

It took two months. After Natasha leaked all of SHIELD's secure files, it was easy to pull together his file, but it was still a pain in the ass to try and pinpoint his location. From what you could gather, he hadn't left the States. It finally came to the day you noticed his pattern, and you burst out of your apartment when everything clicked into place.

On Monday morning he went to McNamara's Cafè for breakfast, his Wednesday night's were spent at the pier, and on Saturday he spent almost all day at the Smithsonian.

It just so happened to be a Saturday.

You speedwalked through the museum until you found the right exhibit: Captain America and the Howling Commandos.

"Excuse me, sir?" you questioned softly, "could you help me please?" Bucky looked at you with a hazy gaze. His eyes didn't seem to focus on you. "You see, I'm trying to find someone who I haven't seen in a long time, and I'm worried that he won't know who I am."

When his eyes finally looked into yours, the fog cleared and was replaced by rain. His eyebrows drew together as tears slipped down his cheeks.

"(Y/n)?"

"It's me, Buck." You grasped his hand gently, as not to overwhelm him. "I've missed you." The smile on your face was calm, but pained. You waited so long for this moment.

"I'm so sorry," Bucky rasped.

"No, you don't have anything to be sorry for. All that matters is that you're here. All that matters is that we're together." Your thumb brushed away some of the tears before he pulled you into a hug. His ribs shook while he burried his face into the crook of your neck.

"I love you," he cried into your skin.

"I love you too, Darling." You noticed a few camera flashes but ignored them. "Let's go home."

On the way back to your apartment, Bucky had to ask something.

"How did you find me?"

"You remembered our days: Mondays at McNamara's for coffee and Wednesdays at the pier to watch the sunset on the water." You pulled him to a stop. "But there's one thing you skipped.

Bucky's eyebrows furrowed. "What's that?"

Setting your hand over your tattoo, you placed a soft kiss to his Bucky's lips. His hand made it to the back of your head, drawing you in closer.

"Saturday nights we snuck off base to go dancing. I never got my last kiss good night. You and Steve decided to run off before our date was over."

"I made a huge mistake that night." Bucky swept back down to capture your lips once more.