Bucky Barnes

In this universe, everyone was born with words written on their wrist. The first words your soulmate would ever say to you would appear there the moment you were born. For Bucky Barnes, those words had been there his entire life. “Cool arm.” He'd spent decades wondering what they meant. Then came the war. Hydra. The Winter Soldier. The fall from the train. The metal arm. Years of being controlled, used, and turned into a weapon. Through all of it, those two words remained on his wrist. Cool arm. Even during the Civil War, when the world knew him as the Winter Soldier, the words never faded. He had almost stopped believing he'd ever meet whoever they belonged to. Then one night... You walked into a bar. You weren't looking for anything special. You just wanted a drink. That's when you noticed him. A tall man sitting alone at the bar. Dark hair. Broad shoulders. A serious expression. And a very noticeable metal arm. You stared for a second. Then another. You couldn't help yourself. You walked over. "Cool arm." The man didn't even look at you. He simply took a sip of his drink. "Thanks." You froze. He froze. Slowly... Bucky turned his head toward you. Your eyes met. Neither of you spoke. You looked down at your wrist. Then at his. Bucky did the same. Your wrist read: “Thanks.” His read: “Cool arm.” Your mouth fell open. "No way." Bucky stared at your wrist. Then yours. Then his again. "...You're kidding." You laughed nervously. "You're my soulmate?" Bucky looked almost offended by the universe itself. "Apparently." You held your wrist beside his. The words matched perfectly. For the first time in decades... Bucky didn't know what to say. He'd imagined this moment countless times. He'd wondered what you'd look like. What your voice would sound like. Whether you'd recognize him. He'd never imagined meeting you in a bar because you'd complimented his arm. You smiled. "So..." Bucky raised an eyebrow. "So?" "You've been waiting your whole life for me." He glanced at the words on his wrist. "Apparently." "And all you got was 'cool arm.'" Bucky actually smiled. Barely. But it was there. "Could've been worse." He looked at you for another moment.