Weddings weren't your scene, they never had been. Too much socialisation, you were not a people person. Making small talk all day and all night with people you had never met and would probably never meet again? Ugh disgusting.
All the happy couples slow dancing while you sat there watching was just a reminder that you were lonely and single. Sure you were happy being independent and single, but at a wedding it would be nice to have someone to share the moment and the love with.
You had become a pro at avoiding weddings, purposely scheduling overtime and using 'sorry I have to work and I am unable to change my shift' as an excuse.
But you knew that one wouldn't work when it was your best friend getting married and you were the goddamn bridesmaid.
Natasha, your best friend, was marrying Steve Rogers, a tall blonde man from Brooklyn. They had met through work and clicked instantly. He was drawn to her independent and courageous attitude and the two had hit it off straight away.
Natashas adopted sister, Yelena, who you had met on a few occasions and became close friends fast with was to be the maid of honour. Despite the distance between them due to Yelena living overseas, the two had stayed extremely close.
Steve's side of the family however you had no knowledge about. Nat had only met his parents a few times, and mentioned that he had a best friend who was to be the best man, who he was so close to that he considered him to be a brother. You knew that Nat spoke to him often due to him being in their house a lot, but despite being there yourself very often, you and Steve's mystery best friend were yet to cross paths.
Steve was amazing, he was a perfect match for Nat, he was a great person and you assumed his best friend who he thought so highly of would be the same.
"It's close now, huh?" You said with a smirk, raising your wine glass to your lips and taking a sip of the scarlet liquid.
"Tell me about it." Nat sighed, mirroring your actions with the wine.
"Second thoughts?"
"No, of course not. I mean, I'm fucking terrified, but you know, whenever I see Steve I get a reminder of how much I love him and why I'm doing this."
You watched as the way Nats face lit up as she spoke about her fiancée, whether you would ever allow yourself to talk about someone like that again was unknown, but for now you were content being happy for Natasha and Steve.
"I'm so happy for you guys." You said with a grin.
Nat grinned back before her expression shifted to a smirk.
"Enough about me, what about you. Have you got a plus one for my wedding yet?"
"Oh god, no." You said with a sigh. "Definitely not."
"Oh come on, for me?"
Ha. She really thought guilt tripping you into starting to date again would work? Nice try.
"Nat, I love you, but I will not get a date, even for you."
Nat signed in defeat and refilled her wine glass and you reminded yourself that you were a strong, independent woman who didn't need to be in another relationship, no matter how nice it sounded.
You didn't need a broken heart again. Been there, done that. And it's definitely not worth it.
Your night passed like any other, girls nights were always something you looked forward too, wine, crappy Netflix shows and gossip, what's there not to love? All of the stress from work and outside life just faded as soon as you began talking to Nat. That's how you knew that you were destined to be best friends, you made each other better people.
"Hey, you haven't met Bucky, have you?" Nat asked, as you were clearing up to end your night together.
"Bucky?"
She nodded, "Yeah, Steve's best friend, he's the best man at the wedding."
"Oh right," You nodded, "I remember you mentioning him, but no, I haven't met him yet."
"He's arriving tomorrow, he's going to stay here until the wedding." She said before pausing, "You should stop by and meet him."
"Sure," You replied, "I'll stop by after work."
—
Popping the lid on your disposable coffee cup you allowed the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee to breathe through your nose, a small smile appearing on the corner of your lips.
You double checked your office was locked before swinging your bag over your shoulder and making your way down the corridor towards the exit.
That was until you crashed right into someone's chest, your coffee flying everywhere and completely soaking your previously crisp white shirt.
"Fuck." You groaned, as fresh, hot coffee dripped down your now soggy clothes.
Ugh, all because some asshole was texting while walking and not paying any attention to where he was going.
"Oops, are you alright?" The guy asked.
Oops? Seriously? God, you hate this man already.
You looked up, a grim expression on your face.
You quickly took in the mans appearance, he had short chestnut brown hair combed back and held in position with what you guessed was hair gel, he had striking blue eyes that reminded you of sunny days on the beach, a practically perfect jawline, and a workout shirt that clung to his chest that was obviously the total wall of muscle you just walked into.
"Do I look okay?" You snapped, bending down and gathering up the books that had fallen out of your bag.
He knelt down to help you pick up your books, glancing at each title as he done so.
"You like astronomy?" He asked, as he handed you a book on the subject.
Why is this guy asking me questions? I'm running late for Nats and can't be bothered with this shit today, especially everything that's happened today...
"I'm writing an article on it, the books were for research." You replied, hoping that if you answered then he would just leave you the fuck alone. "But yeah, I'm fascinated by it."
After you replied you screwed your eyes shut, realising that by saying you did in fact like the subject he would be interested in talking to you for longer. Maybe if after you opened your eyes this annoying man would just disappear.
You internally groaned as you noticed his face light up now knowing that you were interested in the subject.
"I'm sorry about your coffee, I should have been more careful."
"It's fine." You lied, the tone in your voice making it blatantly obvious that you were lying.
"I'm James by the way." He said, flashing a flirtatious smile.
"Nice."
Great now you sounded like a bitch, well when you were cold and wet and pissed off at some random man that you just met.
You mentally cursed yourself for not telling him your name back, you might have been angry but it didn't mean you had to be rude.
"Again, I'm sorry about the coffee." He signed, gesturing towards the empty coffee cup in your hand. "I can replace it if you want, Saturday afternoon maybe?"
God, the audacity. Now the guy that completely drenched you in expresso and put you in an even more awful mood than you had already been that day was asking you out on a date?
Kill me now. You thought to yourself.
"I'm sorry, you seem really nice," You lied, again being blatantly obvious you were lying about the really nice part. "But I'll have to pass, I'm running late and-" You pointed towards the door.
"Right, I understand." He said, plastering a fake smile on his face and walking in the opposite direction.
In all honesty, this James guy gave you I met you at a rundown bar where they haven't bought any new alcohol since 1993 and give you all the out of date stuff and we fucked in my car and I left you 5 minutes later vibes.
Well those vibes plus raging astronomy geek.
—
"What's got you in a mood?" Steve asked as his friend barged into his apartment without knocking with a frown replacing his usual appealing smile.
"Nothing, I'm fine."
"That's a lie and we both know it." Steve said as he watched Bucky sink into the sofa in his unusually depressing state.
"Steve just drop it."
The blonde frowned as his best friend snapped back at him, he usually opened up quite easily, the two had a good relationship when it came to opening up to each other.
"What's Steve to drop?" Nat asked as she walked into the room as if on cue.
"Someones put Bucky in a mood."
"Well that's a change from Barnes being the one to put other people in moods."
"Ha ha. Very funny Romanoff."
Nat smirked. "From your body language, I can tell that someone has either died, or you have girl trouble."
"Girl trouble?" Steve asked. "Buck, are you seeing someone?"
"No." Bucky groaned, "God, no."
He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
"It's just, I met someone and asked her out. And she said no." He sighed, "And then cause I had been working all day, I introduced myself as James, of course she turned me down who the fuck wants to date a guy called James?"
Suddenly Nat let out a screech of uncontrollable laughter.
"Someone turned Bucky fucking Barnes down?" She laughed. "That's like the first time you've ever been rejected. God, that's gotta hurt your rep."
She laughed some more as Bucky rolled his eyes.
"Whoever she is, I love her."
"She liked astronomy." He huffed, a small pout threatening to appear on his lips.
"Too bad, Barnes. You can't get them all."
Bucky sulked, sipping from the beer bottle Steve had handed him.
"Rejection sucks."
—
You tightened your coat around your body, hoping that it would cover the coffee stains on your white shirt, you walked down the street in the direction of Nat and Steve's, and decided to stop by an independent bakery to buy whatever cakes they had left to take to their house.
The bakery was cute, it had white walls and mismatched furniture, a nice take on modern-vintage. When you looked to the bakery counter where they kept all the cakes, you frowned slightly when you realised there was not much left.
You weren't surprised though, this place was popular and what you had heard the owner was lovely, you just had been to busy to visit it since the place opened.
"Hello! Welcome to Monica's bakery, I'm Monica." She said with a smile from behind the counter.
You returned the friendly smile and walked up to the counter, holding your coat tight, embarrassed that she might see the coffee stains that jackass you met at the office had caused you to have.
"Hello!" You replied.
"What can I get for you?" She asked politely, "Sorry we don't have much left today I'm afraid."
"I'll take four slices of chocolate fudge cake, and four rocky roads, please." You said with a smile.
You watched as the woman packed up the cakes you bought, and you slid in your credit card to the card machine.
"Thank you!" You said on your way out, closing the door behind you.
—
"Hey, Nat!" You said, bursting open the door, knocking was overrated.
"Can I borrow a shirt? I didn't have time to go home and change and some total dickhead asshole spilled coffee all over me-"
And then your eyes locked with the guy on the sofa.
The same guy from the office.
"Oh, you've got to be shitting me."
Steve and Natasha exchanged confused looks, but Buckys attitude had changed completely, his depressed frown had flipped upside down to a smirk which looked like he had practiced it many times in the mirror just waiting for a moment like this.