Real or Not Real?

Going Home

Bucky woke you up the next morning, he was still in bed and was gently shaking your arm. You groaned and pulled the cover over your eyes.

"Babe, c'mon. We still have to pack and Nat and Steve have to leave in an hour. Tony needs them back for work."

He got up and opened both of your suitcases, making an effort to be a little loud so you'd wake up. You finally got out of bed and started throwing things in your suitcase without bothering to fold or organize anything.

You went to take a shower and brush your teeth and when you came out of the bathroom, Bucky was holding two cups of coffee and a muffin from the free breakfast downstairs. He knew you too well.

"I know you're not a morning person so I thought I'd help out."

"Thank you."

You kissed him and took a sip of the drink. He split the muffin in half and you ate it in silence on the bed, enjoying the last few minutes of the vacation.

"So I was thinking, and maybe we should tell Nat and Steve everything. About us," Bucky said.

"Wait, what? Why?" You were surprised, the whole point was for him to win the bet.

"I don't care about the bet anymore, and I want to see how they'll react. I feel bad for lying about it all too. If you don't want to, we won't."

"If you're sure you want to do it, I think we should."

"I'm sure, they deserve to know."

Bucky grabbed both of your suitcases and you left the hotel room for the last time. Steve and Nat were already waiting down in the lobby. You looked over at Bucky and waited for him to say something. He waited until everyone was in the car.

"So, we have something we want to admit," Bucky said.

"Go on," Steve said.

"I had completely forgotten about the bet, and I was dead set on winning. So, I asked Y/N to be my fake girlfriend for the trip and somehow she was on board right away. We never really broke up, there was just a misunderstanding because we both started to actually like each other. We're officially together now, but we felt weird about lying. So...yeah."

"It sounds crazy, but when he asked me, I thought it'd be fun. I wanted to spend more time with you guys and see New York, and this was a perfect way to do it. I had so much fun this past week, and I hope this doesn't change your opinion on either of this or the trip," you said.

It was silent while they processed what you and Bucky said. At first you thought they'd be mad, but then Nat started laughing.

"Wow, that's honestly impressive you went that far so you wouldn't lose. You definitely fooled me though," she said.

"I never questioned it, it seemed real, which makes sense now that you're actually dating. Maybe you two should consider being actors," Steve added with a laugh.

"You guys aren't mad?" You asked.

"No, it's not a big deal. I get why he did it, being a third wheel can be annoying," Nat shrugged.

"Something good came out of it too, how can we be mad about that?"

It was a relief they weren't upset, they both seemed more impressed that it worked in the first place. The ride was mainly quiet except for the radio playing, everyone was pretty tired and ready to be home. You were going to miss New York, but you knew you and Bucky would come back at some point. Maybe you'd even be living there together soon. There was no rush though, you'd be happy anywhere with him.

You pulled your phone and headphones out and Bucky took one. He wanted to listen to more music from this decade, so you'd been showing him some of your favorites and what was popular. It took him a minute to get used to it all, but he liked most of what you showed him. You were on the last album on the list you made, and you both listened to it the rest of the way home.

- - - -

Steve and Nat dropped you and Bucky off at his place, they were in a rush to get back to the tower for whatever Tony needed. Once you were inside his apartment, you both went and laid on the couch. In between the cushions was a piece of paper, it was the list of rules. Bucky pulled it out and you both read it over again, laughing at how different things were just a few weeks ago.

"I remember asking you to promise not to fall in love with me. You said it wouldn't be a problem, but now look at us," you teased.

"Hey, we both broke the last rule, not just me."

"I'm happy about it though."

Then a thought came into your head and your mood noticeably shifted. Even when things were going so well, you had to question it.

"What's wrong?"

You took a deep breath. "Do you think we still would've started dating if you wouldn't have invited me?"

"Of course I do. It might've taken a bit longer, but at some point we would've realized how we felt. I mean, even Steve and Nat knew. I don't think we were hiding them as well as we thought," he laughed. "And when you asked if we would've been friends or something else back in the 40's, just know I definitely would've loved you then too."

He kissed you and you felt all of your worries melt away. Bucky was right, you two would've ended up together no matter what, even if it was months or years later. Steve was right too, no time period would change your love for each other. All that mattered is that you and Bucky are together now, both so happy and in love.