Sebastian Stan/Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier Imagines

Heart Strings

I rolled my eyes as I walked back into the small cafe.

"I forgot this." I said coldly, picking up my phone and not even looking at Sebastian who was sitting right where I left him.

"Is that the only thing you forgot?" he croaked, his voice low and raspy from all the crying that he had done not even two minutes ago.

"Yup, I'm pretty sure." I said as I walked away from the table. I shoved the cafe's door open and left, tears welling up in my eyes. I blinked them back, not feeling in the mood to cry. I was in the mood to punch something. Anything.

I walked past the cafe's big window-the window that me and Seb were sitting by. I paused for a minute to look in and see him still sitting there with his head in his hands, his body shaking and tears falling on the polished, wooden table. He had called me there to talk about something that had been on his chest for some time. I had noticed that ever since I got back from my business trip in Cali about two weeks ago he had been acting strange around me. I just never thought it would be a situation as unlikely and unbelievable as this.

He had cheated on me.

Still couldn't comprehend those words floating through my mind.

Cheated. Even I, being a writer for New York Times, have gone to plenty of high-end events at which tons of very attractive celebrities have attended and never cheated on Sebastian with a single one of them. Ever since I met him at the Captain America 4 premiere in Cali and he had asked me out during an interview, I had remained faithful to him. Heck, I even met Liam Hemsworth and that man is F I N E. But none compared to Sebastian Stan; I'll admit-I was a huge fan of his when I was in my teen years and was determined to meet him. So when my boss told me that I'd be going to the premiere I was ecstatic.

We had been going strong for two years despite the fifteen-year age difference.

Until he decided to put those two years in jeopardy.

I didn't realize how long I'd been watching Seb through the window and when I finally snapped back to the real world, he was looking at me with his red, puffy eyes that were once blue and full of joy. He offered a sad smile and I turned on my heel and walked away, not stopping until I reached my townhouse apartment.

***

It was "Old Movie Night" on FX and I was alone. Seb and I usually watched it, but after our escapade today in the cafe-he wasn't going to be here.

And of course, the universe is against me today, and CATWS is the first movie of the night.

I was halfway through the movie, right after The Winter Soldier demanded who the hell this Bucky guy was, when I heard a knock on the door.

"It better not freaking be Sebastian." I said to myself, pressing pause on the remote and shuffling to the door. I unlocked it and opened it, a bit disappointed (surprisingly) to find that it was not Sebastian. It was my best friend, Maria, and she had a look of urgency on her face. Like me, she was a writer for the New York Times and had attended the Gala in Cali that I went on two weeks ago. She had also been my best friend since we were freshmen in high school and put up with all my fangirling over Sebastian. So when me and Seb met, she started believing in miracles.

"Hey, what do you need?" I said, opening the door a bit wider to let her come in.

"No time to explain just come with me." she said, grabbing my arm and leading me down the short hallway. I managed to close my door behind me (and thank God it locked automatically) and patted myself on the back for wearing something comfy, yet casual to sit by myself at home. I didn't look to shabby for a girl who just broke up with her boyfriend of two years.

"What's happening, Maria?" I prodded as we stood in the elevator that was heading to the lobby. She stayed silent the entire way down and on the short trip to the pool area. I had only been down here twice but I knew for sure that it wasn't supposed to be decorated like this at night. White lights hung from every cabana and little, golden lights were strewn all over every plant. The only person that understood my appreciation for year-round Christmas light decor, was Sebastian.

And there he was, standing under a cabana, with a smug look on his face. Maria lead him over to me and then left. It was just me and Sebastian now. I dreaded the lecture about how he shouldn't have cheated and all the reasons why he loved me and would never do it again and the puppy-dog look that accompanied his plea for me to take him back.

But what he said surprised me.

"I love you." He said, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"That's it?" I scoffed. "No long speech about how cheating was wrong? No begging on your knees for me to take you back?" My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"I know how much you hate lectures." Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. So, I slapped him. Hard.

"That was for cheating on me." I said. As he was recovering from my slap, he opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off by grabbing his face and pulling his lips to mine. I kissed him with everything I had left in me, for those seven hours that I had to go through without hearing his voice or seeing his face.

"And that, was for making me miss you so much for seven freaking hours. I even sat through half of one of your movies just to see you and hear your voice. I just couldn't stay mad at you. And you know how long I can hold a grudge." I panted, still out of breath from the kiss.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to stay mad at me for long." Sebastian said, a smile smearing across his face.

"I hate you." I said, not being able to contain my smile.

"No, you don't." He put one hand in his pocket. "You just didn't know what else to say instead of, 'I forgive you,' and 'I love you,'. Besides, if you really did hate me-oh, your shoe's untied-" Sebastian pointed to my bare feet. And of course, I fell for the trick, and by the time I looked back up, Sebastian was about a foot shorter than me.

"-you wouldn't say yes." Sebastian smiled up at me. I then realized that he was on one knee, holding an open, black velvet box with a ring inside. I tried to say something but apparently by lungs had run away.

"I'll explain. Like I said before, I love you. And I honestly don't even know what was going through my head when I cheated on you. You're the only woman that has ever tugged on my heart strings and ever will continue to tug on them. This ring is a promise of that to you. I love you, [y/n], and I want you to marry me." Sebastian said, smiling up at me with his vast, ocean-blue eyes.

He was right-if I truly had hated him, I wouldn't have said yes.