“Hey Cutes.”
You heard his voice before you saw him your head snapped toward the left when you heard the nickname you hadn’t heard in years. Leaning against the wall of the tailor shop you worked at was the one and only James Buchanan Barnes, back from war. He was even more handsome and breathtaking than you remembered. The navy suit he wore and slicked back hair only made his bright blue eyes pop more. The butterflies in your stomach were brought back to life with just his voice.
“James, welcome home.” You smile at him.
“That’s all I get?” He asks teasingly as he pushes off the building and walks closer to you. “Not even a kiss on the cheek, Cutes?”
You tilt your head to the side, your eyes roaming his face. “Seems like you’ve received enough kisses.” You say as you wipe away a bit of pink lipstick off his cheek.
“Oh come on, that was just my Ma.”
You roll your eyes before turning to head home for the day. Bucky follows you.
“She’s just happy her only son is back from war, is all.”
“James, I saw your mother earlier and she wasn’t wearing pink lipstick. We both know who that lipstick belongs to.”
“Ok fine, it was hers but I promise, Dot just launched herself at me. I was heading here when I ran into her.”
“Mmhhm.” You hum as you reach the intersection.
“Pretty face come dance with me.”
“James…”
“Cutes, don’t make me beg. Just put on that pretty pink dress and your dancing shoes and let me pick you up tonight.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Remember what happened last time?” You look up at him quickly before crossing the street while he follows.
“You can’t seriously hold that against me for the rest of our lives. I mean how is our marriage supposed to last if you keep bringing up the girls I’ve danced with before.” He quips and you turn your head so that he can’t see your smile.
“You think we’re going to get married?”
“Oh I know it, Cutes. We could’ve been planning a wedding right now if you weren’t so stubborn.”
“I am not stubborn.” You stop in the middle of the sidewalk and glare up at him.
“It’s ok, it's one of the things I love about ya. Except when it comes to you not letting me take you out on a date.”
“Well how am I supposed to take you seriously if you’re always dating a new girl each week, James?”
He steps closer to you, his hand on your waist as he moves both of you out of the path of other people.
“One chance, it’s all I’m asking for, Cutes.” He said, his body still close enough to you that you were afraid that he could feel your heart beating out of your chest.
What was the harm in going to one dance with him? The truth was that you’ve always liked James. You more than liked him, you were in love. It just worried you that he’d realize you had nothing in common. In all honesty you had missed him since he’d gone off to war and you hadn’t been happier than when Mrs. Barnes stopped by to pick up a dress and mentioned that her son was back. With nothing to lose you give him an answer.
“Ok.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He beamed, his eyes were brighter and then he took your hand in his and placed a kiss on your knuckles.
“Tonight at 7:00?”
“Pick me up?” You ask.
“Of course, Cutes.” He offers you his arm and you take it. “Let me walk you home.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There’s a knock at your door at 7:00 pm sharp. Your nerves had gotten the better of you and you were ready with more than enough time to spare. There’s another knock and you look at yourself in the mirror one last time to make sure your hair looks good and your pink dress is wrinkle free. You take a deep breath as you check through the peephole.
“Hi Cutes.” Bucky flashes you his most charming smile. He’s dressed in his army uniform and the sight was enough to make you swoon. “You look beautiful.” He tells you as he presents a bouquet of flowers.
“Thank you, please come in.” You step back to let him in. “You look very handsome in your uniform.”
“Only in my uniform, cutes?”
You chuckle when you see his pout. With the flowers in a vase you turn back to see Bucky looking at some pictures you had hanging on your wall.
“Ok I’m all set.”
“Alright, let’s get this party started.”
Once you’re outside and the door is locked Bucky offers you his arm again. As you move to place your hand around his arm he grabs it and places a kiss on your knuckles. You bite down lightly on your bottom lip to try and keep your smile from showing but you fail.
Bucky had always been the charming guy you knew. At school with the teachers, at dances with the girls, at family gatherings with the parents. So sometimes it would catch you off guard when he always seeked you out. He charmed the teachers so that his seat was moved next to yours, he’d always wanted to have the last dance with you and he always made sure to have a conversation with your parents.
He opens the car door for you and once you’re settled he closes the door and jogs over to the driver’s side. Bucky smiles over at you again causing butterflies to take flight.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The dance hall was packed, mostly with returning soldiers and their sweethearts. The band was playing something upbeat and the dance floor couldn’t hold one more couple. Bucky held your hand as he walked through the crowd to get to his best friend, Steve and his girl. From what Bucky told you in the car they had met after Steve was rejected yet again from joining the army. He wasn’t as torn up about it now that he found the girl he wanted to marry.
“Hi Steve.” you leaned in and hugged him.
“Y/N, It’s good to see you again.” He said as he pulled away to quickly introduce his date to you.
You chatted for a little bit before Bucky asked you for the first dance of the night. The song was a quick one but not too fast. Bucky found a way to keep you pressed up against him even if the song called for spins and dips. Without having to ask him you knew he had seen truly horrible things during his time overseas. So to see him happy and carefree filled you with joy, so did being in his arms.
Song after song neither of you wanted to stop but you had to for just a moment to freshen up.
“Seems like you finally got your girl.” Steve said with a smile once Bucky sat down, his jacket and tie were long abandoned.
“Almost, pal. I’m gonna ask her tonight when I drop her off.”
“You shouldn’t have a problem, I see the way she looks at you.”
“You think?”
“Of course, you’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know Steve. I’ve liked her for so long and she barely ever gave me the time of day when we were in school.”
“Don’t lose your nerve.” Steve places a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “Just be yourself and tell her how you feel.”
“You’re right. I’ll just be myself and tell her how I feel.” Bucky takes a deep breath. “I need a drink for this.”
Bucky gets up and walks toward the other side of the room where the bar is. He orders his drink and waits.
“I thought I saw you earlier.” Dot, the girl who had been practically throwing herself at him since high school, walks up to him.
She’s too close to him and he takes a small step back. Bucky doesn’t want you to think that anything is going on between him and Dot. She steps closer, placing a hand on his chest.
“Aren’t you going to ask me to dance?”
“No Dot, I came here with Y/N and she’s the only one I want to dance with. Why don’t you go back to your date.”
She pouts. Her perfectly red lips arched into a frown as she looked up at him. “I don’t understand what you see in her. She’ll never treat you like I could.” She wrapped her arms around Bucky’s neck. He grabs her arms to try and push her away gently. “I could treat you so much better.” Her lips are on his.
~~~~~~~~~~
You and Steve’s sweetheart took a bit longer than you’d liked waiting to use the restroom. But you were able to get to know her better. It was easy to see why Steve was so smitten and the term of endearment fit her perfectly.
“Would you say yes if he asked you to be his girl?” She asked as you left the restroom.
“Yes, I would. He’s always been so sweet but I thought he was like that with everyone. Truth is I’ve had a crush on him since school.”
She puts her hand over her chest. “That is so sweet, and you two look so good together.”
You had just entered the main room in the building and you tensed next to Steve's girl. She followed your gaze and gasped. At the bar you saw Bucky and Dot kissing. Tears immediately burned your eyes and you headed toward the door. Sweetheart tried to stop you but you wouldn’t. You needed to get out of there quickly.
~~~~~~~~~
Bucky pushed Dot away from him and immediately tried to wipe away the lipstick stain he knew would be there. He was angry, Bucky had tried to be a gentleman but he had had enough.
“Why can’t you understand that I’m not interested in you? I never was and I never will. I tried to be nice about it because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings but enough is enough. I’m in love with Y/N. She’s who I want.”
The other people around had stopped their conversation and turned their attention to the scene that was unfolding. Dot felt humiliated, her cheeks were crimson as she looked around to see who was paying attention. In her own anger, before she realized what she was doing her hand connected with Bucky’s face. She huffed and turned to leave as quickly as she could.
“Bucky,” Steve’s girl pushed through the crowd. “James, you have to go.” She was panting when she got to him.
“Hey, just breathe. What’s wrong?”
“We were walking out of the bathroom, and Y/N saw you kissing that girl. She left.”
“Shit. Thanks, tell Steve I left.” Bucky didn’t wait for a reply. He focused on pushing his way through the crowd and hoped he could catch you outside.
~~~~~~~~~
You made it outside and took a deep breath before thinking about what you should do. Part of you wanted to go back in there and let Bucky know you never wanted to see him again. But the other part wanted to go home and so you started walking in the direction of your home. You’re halfway up the block when you hear Bucky call your name followed by fast approaching footsteps. It only makes you walk faster.
Bucky catches up to you and softly wraps his hand around your wrist. You turn to look at him reluctantly and wait until he catches his breath. When he looks at you, you avert your eyes but he can see the unshed tears.
“Cutes, it’s not what you think,” He says once he’s finally slowed his breathing. “I promise. You can ask anyone, even Steve’s sweetheart. I don’t care about Dot.”
“Then why does she keep thinking she can just kiss you whenever she wants?”
“I don’t know. But I told her that I’m not interested in her. I only want you.”
You shake your head mostly in disbelief. Bucky’s hands cups your cheeks and turns your head so that you have to look at him.
“What do I have to do to prove it? Tell me and I’ll do it.”
“I don’t know. I don’t even understand why me?”
Bucky groans in frustration. “What is there not to get? You’re everything.”
“Maybe you’re better off with Dot.”
“I don’t want Dot, I want you. Do you want to know why?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Because from the moment I left to go to that damned war all I could think about was seeing you again. Whenever I was able to sleep I dreamt of you. Any time I thought I wasn’t going to make it I looked at your picture to remember that I never got to tell you that I’m in love with you.” Bucky said as his heart was about to beat out of his chest.
“You had my picture?” You asked in a whisper.
Bucky didn’t hesitate to take out a cigarette holder and show you a withered photo of you hidden behind the left over cigarettes.
“Listen if you don-“
You didn’t let him finish his sentence. Shutting him up with your lips on his and your arms around his neck. It takes Bucky a second to realize what’s happening but then his arms are wrapped around your waist and he’s pulling you closer to himself. His lips moved in sync to yours. When you finally pulled back both your lips were slightly swollen and held matching smiles.
“For the record, I’m in love with you too.” You whisper.
“So you’ll be my girl?”
“Yes.” Bucky lifted you by your waist and spun you around before kissing you again.
After that night Bucky loved dancing with you at any chance he got. At Steve’s wedding and at yours. In your living room and kitchen. At birthday parties or bbqs. No matter when or where he always wanted to have you in his arms. And it always started the same.
“Hey cutes, come dance with me.” He offered you his hand.
And every single time you took it.