Simple & Plain

Chapter 1

Bucky was doing what he does best, hiding in the shadows as the scent of freshly baked pie fills the air around him. He knows he shouldn't be here, everyone had warned him to stay away before he left for this mission. But in his defense, how could he possibly not take advantage of this opportunity? It's like the universe was trying to make amends for all the shit it put him through for seventy years. Consequences be damned, it wasn't his fault they had sent him back a little too far and it was only a few hours, so what the hell he was gonna treat himself for once.

He can't help but feel so incredibly proud of you as he watches you perform in that waitress uniform. He knows how hard you worked you to end up on a Broadway stage, all the failed auditions you went on and the bit parts in other less successful musicals before being cast as the lead in this musical. Bucky knows that in a few short weeks you'll be nominated for a Tony award, he has the video of your reaction to the nomination on saved on his phone that he watches whenever he's away on missions and misses you.

One thing that Bucky looks forward to more than anything right now, is the fact that in 143 days from tonight he's going to meet you for the very first time.

You'll be performing at Stark charity event to raise money to fund art and music programs in the city schools. Bucky, of course didn't want to be there since he still had a problem with crowds and the suit he was forced to wear felt like it was suffocating him. He finds himself hiding out in a hallway far from the party when he hears you doing vocal warm ups and then singing to yourself. Your voice calls out to him, it soothes his anxiety ridden mind. Bucky leans against a wall and just listens to you and that's where Steve finds him right before you go on stage.

The world around him disappeared when you were on stage singing that night, it was just you and Bucky and each song was meant just for him. For the briefest of moments, you made Bucky believe in the myth of the siren. If it meant being close to you, Bucky would crash a thousand ships.

All too quickly, the play has reached it's intermission and Bucky so badly wants to run into your dressing room and take you into his arms, but he knows that this not how your story together begins. But it could be if he wants it to and there's nothing in this universe that he wants more than those extra days with you.

He wants to be the one by your side when you're woken up with the Tony nomination, he'll even put aside his hatred of large crowds and tuxedos if it means he can be next to you to hold your hand and comfort you when you don't win.

Bucky wants a second shot at being with you because he knows he can get it right this time. He wants to take those extra 143 days and run head first into loving you instead of wasting precious time second guessing himself and denying the fact that it will always be you and only you. He wants to take all the days he tried to convince himself that someone as amazing as you could never love a damaged man like him and replace them with mornings spent tangled up together and nights falling asleep in each other's arms.

It's reckless for him to stand so close to the stage where he runs the chance of being seen, but right now he doesn't care. The mission and his reason for being in the past are forgotten as he picks up the scent of your shampoo in the air. He can hear you making your way back towards the stage. Bucky has it all planned out in his head, it would be so easy for him to literally run into you. Bucky would apologize for running into you, you'd give him that smile that always makes his day better and if he's lucky maybe earn a laugh that he misses more than he can explain. He'd conjure up that charming Bucky Barnes from the 1940s and win your heart.

He is so close to you now, all he'd have to do is reach out and say hello but he's frozen in place as he watches you pass him by. Bucky sits back in his hiding spot and only pays attention to the play when you're on stage.