lelokerr
What if Bucky Barnes never fell from that train? He would have remained Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes - maybe got a promotion, returned home to Brooklyn a hero?
And Polina... Polina would have stayed in Leningrad. Survived the siege, endured - and afterwards, become the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre. Her name would have resounded throughout the Union, her portraits would hang in shop windows, and admirers would shower her with flowers.
The fateful evening began with an annoying mistake: after the concert, Boris forgot to meet her.