Bucky Barnes spent two hours pacing his apartment before your date, trying to decide whether to wear his leather jacket or something that said “less brooding, no more emotionally available.” He ended up wearing the leather jacket anyway… and then unzipped it halfway like that made it friendlier.

He showed up five minutes early and stood awkwardly outside the cafe until exactly the agreed time because he didn’t want to seem too eager.

When he saw you walk in, he stood up so fast he knocked over his chair. Then apologized to the chair. Then apologized to you. And then just… stood there like a deer in headlights until he said, “Hi, I’m Bucky,” with a smile that broke the tension.

He got you flowers; of course he did. He knew that red roses would be a little too much, so he spent twenty minutes in the flower shop picking the most beautiful and matching flowers. He didn’t accept any help by the ladies working there.

He googled “what do people talk about on first dates” and opened five different articles. He memorized three conversation starters, forgot them immediately, and ended up blurting out: “So… do you believe in aliens?” as his first real question.

The charmer still shines through, though. He makes you laugh, tells wholesome stories about him and Steve before the war and makes you compliments in the right moments.

But he’s also affected by you. You brush his hand? He momentarily forgets how to breathe. You say “I’m really glad we did this”? His brain shuts down.

When you teased him about how many questions he asked, he looked embarrassed and said: “Sorry. I just… want to remember everything. You. This.” You had to take a second to recover from it.

He writes and deletes multiple post-date texts. Eventually, he sends: “Thanks again. I had a good time tonight. You’re… really easy to be around. That’s rare for me.” Then stares at it like it’s a live grenade.

When you text back with something like, “I had a great time too :) Hope this means there’ll be a second date?” - he lets out a sound that’s half a laugh, half a stunned “holy shit.”