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Dating was still a fairly new experience for Bucky Barnes. Sure he used to be a bit of a sweet talker back in his younger years but now, things were just different. So two months ago when Sam set him up on a blind date Barnes was nothing but hesitant. That was until he arrived at the diner that Sam had made the reservation for, that hesitation instantly warped into irritation and slight anger. The little classic diner was going all out on a special ‘Dapper Days’ event. Everyone was dressed in their best classic looks. Sam, while laughing, definitely got an earful from Bucky after the date. Though he now understood why Sam suggested he wear a modified version of his old army uniform, since he no longer fit the original. In the diner, he noticed that most women were dressed in more of the later ‘vintage’ looks popular from around the 50s and 60s which made it very easy for one woman in particular to stand out.
She was dressed in the same style he was so familiar with seeing ladies in from his younger days. From the slouch hat tipped on her perfectly styled hair, down to the Oxfords on her feet she looked something straight out of the thirties. Better yet, she was sitting at the same table Sam had reserved for him and his blind date.
(Y/n) (L/n) was friends with Sarah Wilson, and had been since Sam left for the Airforce. The two bonded over having someone in the service. So when Sarah agreed to have her go on the blind date Sam set up she agreed as well. (Y/n)’s grandmother was a seamstress so she knew all about women’s fashion and she always has a soft spot for the look from the 30s so when she found out the location of the date and the dress code she dug through a few boxes of her grandmother’s things till she pulled out the outfit she would wear. After much research she figured out how to do her hair and make up to match that most commonly done during the time and she was pleasantly surprised how well her look came out.
Needless to say that one dinner between the two turned into two and then more dates happened. It was a month into their relationship when (Y/n) finally trusted Bucky enough to tell him about her son, Sammy James. SJ was five, turning six in a few short months, when Bucky met him the first time. The little boy was unsure about Bucky at first but it didn’t take long, one soothed nightmare, for the boy to become attached to the super soldier. Bucky would go on a few missions with Sam never being gone longer than a few days. That was until now.
Bucky was sitting in (Y/n)’s kitchen waiting for her and SJ to get home from the store. He had just gotten off the phone with Sam about a mission that would keep him away from home for over a week. He didn’t know how he was going to talk about this. His body tensed as the door opened. SJ ran in yelling a ‘hello’ to Bucky before running to his room to play. (Y/n) entered the kitchen, Bucky jumping up to help her with the bags in her arms. “Thank you James.” She set down the bags and turned to kiss his cheek. As she leaned away she instantly could see the furrows in his brow from his deep thoughts. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Her voice was soft and gentle. Her hands pulled him closer making him wrap his arms around her.
Bucky’s head tilted forward till he rested his forehead on hers. “James,” She cooed his name in encouragement. The blue eyes looking down at her closed for a moment as he took a deep breath. “Sam called. We have a job to do.” He spoke softly not wanting to draw SJ’s attention. “This isn’t the first time you’ve gone on a mission James.” She caressed his cheek gently. Eyes fluttered open, blue eyes once again looking down at her. “I’ll be gone longer this time.” That did catch her attention.
“You’ll come back to me, soldier boy. You always do.” She smiled up at him after taking a moment to realize how much this was bothering him. Bucky rose his head, pressing his lips to her forehead. “You’re so good to me.” He mumbled before stepping back to help her put away the groceries while talking about when he would leave in the morning.
That night Bucky spent time with his girl and his little man who after dinner showed him what he was working on at school. Bucky didn’t want the night to end. Yet he knew it would happen even as he stood at the door to say goodnight. As Barnes went to leave the house (Y/n) caught him by the dog tags hanging by his neck. “Whoa there soldier. If you’re going to be gone I expect a kiss before you go.” The smile she got in return was wide and bright, his head ducking down to kiss her. “Doll, will you do something for me?” He asked her. The woman nods her head. The man pulled the chain off of his neck before draping it over her head. “Keep these safe for me? I’ll be back for them.”
It had been two weeks since Bucky left. Sam had contacted Sarah to update both his sister and (Y/n) to the prolonged return. The delay did make the woman worry for her boyfriend but she never let her mind dwell on the thought until late at night after her son was already in bed. Like tonight, it was nearly ten, SJ had been asleep for two hours now and she was on her second glass of wine, curled up on the bench in the nook of the window. Normally she would be reading but tonight she was staring at the stars lost in wandering thoughts about if James Buchanan Barnes was okay.
A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. Her eyes glanced at the clock on the wall as she set down the empty wine class that she was holding. On her way to the door she grabbed the metal bat that she had a habit of keeping near the door for protection. With one peek out of the peephole in the door the bat clattered to the wood floor. With fumbling fingers she rushed to unlock and open the door. There on the other side was Bucky, backpack hanging over his shoulder, still dressed in his usual suit and tired eyes as the corner of his mouth turned upwards. “Hey doll.”
(Y/n) jumped, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. The backpack hit the ground as his arms wrapped around her. “I’m sorry it’s so late.” He mumbled kissing her head before they pulled apart. “It’s fine I’m just glad you’re home.” She smiled up at him. Bucky’s eyes lowered down from her face to her neck where he expected to see at least the chain from his tags but nothing other than the neckline of her shirt was visible. The gleam in his eyes dimmed as he looked back up and she knew instantly.
With a bend of her finger the two entered the house, Bucky locked the door behind him and left his bag by the door. (Y/n) led him up the stairs, down the hall to the door of her son’s room. The sleeping boy didn’t stir as she flicked on the light. Bucky leaned over her shoulder looking in at the sleeping boy, there around his neck was the chain of his dog tags. Blue eyes trailed down the chain to the two metal tags clasped tightly in the boy’s hand. The boy on the bed shifted, his eyes fluttering open for a moment before shutting again. A heartbeat later his eyes were open again, looking at the door with a sleepy smile, “Daddy?”
Shock filled the super soldier as he glanced down at the woman in front of him for some kind of sign. He saw her encouraging smile and tilt of her head and that was all it took for him to move into the room. He knelt down next to the bed and reached out to push the boy’s hair back like he had many times before. “Hey kid. I just wanted to see you, go back to sleep.” He told the boy kissing his head. “Missed you.” The tired boy mumbled, closing his eyes again. Bucky stood and left the room once the boy was asleep again. Standing in the hallway his face now contorting in confusion he looked over at the woman a foot away.
“He woke up from a nightmare a week ago. AJ told him a scary story and he thought the monster was coming after him. I might have told him that you were out there fighting the monster before it got to him. I gave him the tags because he kept playing with them, he hasn’t taken them off since. He called you dad for the first time yesterday. If you’re not okay with it we can talk to him about it.” She explained before starting to ramble as she got nervous about how he might feel about the situation.
Lips pressed to her stopping her worried rambles long enough for her to notice the smile on his face. “Doll, I love you and I love SJ. I told you I would be back and here I am. I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
