BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The early morning calm was broken by the piercing shriek of my alarm clock. I groaned as I pulled myself from bed, popping my back as I did so. I mentally cursed myself for setting an alarm for 4:30. Pulling clothes from my closet, I began my zombie-like shuffle to the shower. Once I finished my morning hygiene, I crept downstairs to my kitchen to find a note and a cup of coffee waiting for me.

      'Hey. Heard your alarm go off, so there's coffee for you. Probably won't be home tonight. Toni has me working a double shift at the diner. Catch you later. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. XOXO, Lizzy.' I took a sip of my coffee and took a moment to evaluate my dress choice – black leather pants, white tank top, leather jacket, knee high, heeled black boots, my red hair in a mocking jay-esque braid – not bad, not bad at all.

      I finished my small cup of happiness and grabbed my laptop, heading out the door and mounting my motorcycle. I drove down the road, enjoying the feeling of the wind in my face. I pulled into a small 'hipster' coffee shop on the corner, relishing the scents that assaulted me as I opened the door. "G'morning, Lexi. The usual?" the barista called out happily.

      "Yes, please, Marci!" I replied.

    I went to go plug in my laptop at a small corner table, but as I was approaching, the floor seemed determined to greet my face as I tripped and spilled someone's drink down their sleeve. I continued to fall as the same someone's arms wrapped around my waist, preventing the floor from showering my face with kisses.

     "Oh, my god! I'm so sorry! I'll buy you another drink. Is there anything I can do?" I stammered, grabbing a pile of napkins and starting to wipe up the spilled beverage.

     "That's alright, doll. It didn't hurt much. Let me sit with you, and we'll call it even," the man said, gesturing towards the table in the corner. "Deal," I replied.

     I still bought him another drink when my own was called out. I sat down at the table again, both drinks in hand. "I'm Lexi, by the way."

    He smirked. "Friends call me Bucky. Sweet bike you got, by the way."

     "Thanks. So, sorry again for spilling coffee on you. You're not too badly burned are you?"

     "No, doll. I'm fine," he smiled.

     "You sure are," I mumbled, taking in his features. Long brown hair framing his roguishly handsome face, jawbone that could cut someone, smile that would melt a person, but what caught me most were his eyes, so emotional, full of life and sadness and so blue I thought I'd drown in them.

     "What was that, doll?" Bucky asked.

      "Oh, um....nothing...." I blushed.

    "Alright, well, my friend Steve is expecting me, so I'll catch you later, frumusetea mea cu părul roşu *." The man said, sighing at its sudden notification spam.

     "Catch you later, mea preţioase rulou scortisoara**." I replied.

     The look on his face was priceless as he walked out the door. I walked over to the counter. "Have you seen him before?" I asked Marci, munching on my all but neglected danish.

    "Yeah, all the time. He comes in here early in the mornings with a bunch of notebooks. He's always alone and always writing or drawing."

    "Oh. Well, thanks! I'll see you tomorrow." With that, I walked out of the cafe and once again mounted my bike. I decided to head back home instead to start writing.

I could hardly concentrate on homicidal psychopaths their poor defenseless victims when the tall stranger kept creeping into my thoughts. I tried to focus on the killings that filled the pages on my computer, but I just couldn't. My mind would just keep meandering and skipping to the tortured eyes of the man at the cafe. His Romanian shocked me at first because not many people speak it in New York, but the look on his face when I replied with my favorite Tumblr pet name made up for the look on my face...I think. Then again, I just seduce people with my awkwardness. Which is why I'm single and living with my sister.

Realizing that trying to concentrate was completely and utterly futile, I decided to take a walk around Central Park. As I walk around, I plugged in my headphones and hit shuffle. The first song to come on was 'The War Was In Color' by Carbon Leaf. I started singing along with the track, tears streaking my vision slightly, threatening to spill over. I didn't even notice that I had started running until I felt a sharp pain in my side. I jogged over to a tree and sat down. My vision slowly faded to black.

***

My eyes slowly opened when I felt someone shaking my shoulder. "Cinci minute mai, mama! Bunul Dumnezeu. Cât e ceasul?***" The one shaking me chuckled lightly. "E amiaza, frumusetea mea cu părul roşu. And you passed out. Alone. In New York." I shot up, hitting...Bucky's...? head. "Sorry. And I thought you had to go see your friend."

"Yeah.... Six hours ago. Why were you passed out under a tree?"

"I came here for a walk, turned into a run, and passed out. Why did you wake me up?"

"I didn't want anything to happen to you," he muttered. "Anyway, what's Lexi short for? Assuming it's short for anything of course." He sat down, crossing his legs in front of him.

"Alexandreina. Alexandreina Fulger. What's Bucky short for? 'Assuming it's short for anything, of course.' And how do you know Romanian?"

"James Buchanan Barnes. And that's a long story.... It kinda goes hand in hand, pun intended, with this." He raised his left arm, and I noticed it was made of metal.

"'Soldat de iarna.' The Winter Soldier. Oh my god." I muttered, putting the pieces together. Bucky looked shocked. He paled as he looked up at me sadly. "How do you know that name?" I looked at him, seeing the hurt that name caused him. ''A friend of mine works with SHIELD. Natalia Romanova." ''Black Widow. Then, you know Steve? Right?" I shook my head. ''No. Nat doesn't want me getting involved with the Avengers....supposedly for my safety. I don't see why...I can protect myself...But she asked, so I've done my best."

Bucky nodded. "Preferred fighting style? Boxing, street fighting, jujitsu, tai kwon do?"

I grinned mischievously and raised my hand, summoning lightning to my fingertips. His eyes widened. "Fulger," he murmured, "Lightning. How are you not on Fury's radar yet?"

"Being friends with his top secret agent-slash-spy has its benefits," I shrugged. "So, you're a 90-odd year old trapped in a 20-something body? How did you not age if you've been active since the 40s?"

"Hydra. They gave me a serum, a sort of variation on Erskine's formula that Stark gave Steve. I did such awful things.... I hated not being in control of my own body. I couldn't remember anything or anyone.... Hydra turned me into a monster." By this point, Bucky was shaking, so I did the only thing I could think of. I leaned forward and wrapped him in a hug. "Nu sunt un monstru, dragoste. Nimic Hydra a făcut pentru tine va schimba asta. Sunteţi James Buchanan Barnes. Tu eşti Căpitanul America cel mai bun prieten. Ai fost un soldat. Eşti om. Sunteţi un rulou scortisoara preţioase, prea bun pentru lumea aceasta. ****" He pulled away from the embrace and murmured, " Chiar crezi acest lucru?*****" I looked into his hurting blue eyes and nodded,"I really do." Just then, my stomach growled. Bucky grinned at me. "How about some lunch? There's someone I'd like you to meet." He pulled me to my feet and dragged me to my motorcycle. He told me to hop on, and I obliged. I asked if he could ride, and he replied by revving the engine and pulling out onto the street. A few minutes later we pulled into a Minnetta Tavern. The small 1930s style bistro immediately brought a smile to Bucky's eyes as he spotted someone sitting at the bar. The figure turned around towards us and grinned. "C'mon, Buck, I thought you didn't bring girls here until the third date at least." I felt my face redden. "I'm Steve, and you are, ma'am?" he said, noticing my discomfort. "Call me Lexi. It's nice to finally meet you. As much as Natalia talks about you, she has basically refused to let me meet any of her coworkers." Steve blushed a bit, "Nat talks about me?" I nodded. "She talks about all of the Avengers. She talks about you the most. Seriously, if the two of you ever have a moment, ask her out. Don't tell her I told you this, but really, Captasha needs to happen." "Captasha? Do I even want to know?" "Your fans have decided that you and Nat belong together, and when the peoples of the Internet decide something like that, they put the two people's names together into a singular unit, a ship name, an OTP, if you will. You two are all over Tumblr." I tell Steve, pulling out my phone and scrolling down my dash at the fan pages. "Just another thing I have yet to learn about." I took a seat at the bar alongside the two fossils. The reality that both of them were SHIELD assets finally struck me, and I sighed.

 Nat's gonna kill me.

Authors NoteI love you guys so much and hope you guys like it. Any hints, tips, etc. For me? Please comment, vote, follow, or not. Your choice. Thanks for reading guys. Love you!

 * My red haired beauty

** My precious cinnamon roll

*** Five more minutes, mom! Good God. What time is it?

****You are not a monster, love. Nothing Hydra did to you will change that. You are James Buchanan Barnes. You are Captain America's best friend. You were a soldier. You are human. You are a precious cinnamon roll too good for this world.

***** Do you really think so?