I Will Wait For You [ stucky ]

prologue

get ready. this is a long beginning.

4,187 words

xxx

When a person turns 18, their Soulmate tattoo materialises on their body. The tattoo is a symbol of their lover and a hint as to who the person is. Everyone knows how the Soulmate tattoos work, but not everyone is able to figure out who their soulmate is.

James Buchanan Barnes, unfortunately, was one of those people. On his 18th birthday, he found his tattoo on the inside of his right bicep. It was a circle with three rings inside, the colour pattern red, white, red. Inside of those rings was a blue circle that held a white star in the middle of it. Bucky had no clue what it was or what it was suppose to hint at. A shield, maybe, for someone? But what kind of shield was red, white, and blue? A shield for America. Something like that sounded idiotic, even more so if it were to be accompanied by a matching outfit. If Bucky knew his lover would be wearing such a ridiculous costume in the future, he would shit himself laughing.

He had tried for weeks to figure out what his tattoo was, with no avail. Never did he show it to Steve, who had been asking for quite a while what his best pal's tattoo was. Bucky never ceased to push away the idea of his tattoo.

("Oh, no, Steve, it doesn't matter what my tattoo is. I could have any girl I want without some symbol telling me who to be with.")

("But that's the thing about the Soulmate tattoos, Buck. They help you find your true love.")

Steve had always been a sap, talking about 'true love' and gushing about getting his tattoo and finding a nice woman to settle down with. Bucky was the one who had always gotten the ladies, but for some reason, their admiration for him wasn't as satisfying as it had been in the past.

Slowly but surely, Bucky began to lose interest in finding a lover, until one day, he just couldn't see any woman as being worth his time.

It wasn't that he thought lowly of any of them--hell, he had met plenty of respectable and beautiful women--but that they just didn't mean anything to him. No matter how many girls he took out and brought home, none of them seemed right for him.

Only one person meant anything to Bucky, and it wasn't a woman.  It was, in fact, his best pal, Steve Rogers. Needless to say, he could never tell Steve. One, because it was illegal to love a man, and two, there was no reason to tell him since Steve wasn't his soulmate.

So that is what led Bucky to stay silent about his tattoo. Any time the topic came up, he tried vigorously to switch the conversation around. Any time Steve inquired about Bucky's soulmate, Bucky waved away the topic, instead talking about whatever girl he picked as his cover for the week.

It was on July 4th, 1936, that Steven Grant Rogers' Soulmate tattoo appeared on his left wrist. Bucky had spent the night at the Rogers' house, only to be woken up by a grinning Steve at seven in the morning.

"Buck! Bucky! Guess what!" Steve exclaimed as he shook Bucky into consciousness.

Bucky furrowed his brows and swung his arm out, knowing he met his target when Steve let out a little grunt. Bucky smiled softly as he sat up and saw Steve rubbing the side of his face with a scowl. "Happy birthday, punk." Bucky said, smirking and leaning back against the bedframe.

"Thanks, ya jerk." Steve gave him a lopsided smile before sitting on his knees. "Can I tell you now?" Steve asked excitedly.

Bucky lazily scratched his neck before nodding. "Yeah... what was it you wanted to tell me, Stevie?" He asked, yawning.