#because my brain understood it as John Kennedy. Like. The US president.

[avengemebucky]

Beatle Fever

A/N: I really love The Beatles and this era of history so it was really fun writing this! I’ve been on a super long hiatus but with summer finally beginning, I hope that I can finally begin to crank more stuff out.  Hope you enjoy!

W.C.: 3952

MASTERLIST

“She’s still not over it?” Steve leaned over to Bucky as he rummaged through his messy locker.

Y/N was just a few lockers down from the boys, dressed fully in black, from head to toe. It was a stark difference from her usual colorful pencil skirts.

Bucky huffs and shuts his locker.

“I mean, I get it. J.F.K.’s… passing… was rough on all of us, but it’s been- what? Five months? She’s got to snap out of it. I miss my best girl.”

Bucky let the last part of his confession trail off as he and Steve walked to their next class. He never could have imagined Y/N being this devastated by the whole ordeal.

-

The young couple stared blankly at the television, Y/N clutching closer to Bucky than he’d ever recalled.

“This… this is nuts.”

That’s all Bucky could say. The images that kept looping on the screen were too early to have any true meaning to the two. The footage of Jackie reaching behind the Cadillac for her husband’s skull had repeated for what had to be the tenth time. Walter Cronkite was explaining the situation over the scenes, repeating the small portions of information they already knew:

John F. Kennedy, America’s youngest and first Catholic president was killed during a parade in Houston, Texas. Death through a shot to the head.

“Buck, he was supposed to change the world.”

Bucky looked down at his girl and saw tears in her eyes. He didn’t know what to do to help Y/N at that moment. He knew how much Kennedy meant to her. He couldn’t count all the Saturdays Y/N had chosen door to door campaigning over dancing with him in support of the politician. The number of weekends she’d even convinced him to come help trailed out of sight. Because of her, he’d had grown fond of the Bostonian.

Not bearing to see the same grotesque spray of red one more time, Bucky turned off the television. Y/N stayed, eyes blank glued to the television. Their shock only allowed silence in Y/N’s small living room as both continued to stare at the television set, not knowing what to do.

With a sharp breath, Bucky slipped off the couch to kneel in front of Y/N. Taking her face into both hands, it took a startling amount of time to finally catch her attention and bring her back to reality.

“Baby it’s going to be okay. This… this has happened before, hasn’t it? In our past? I know you know it has.”

“I know but-”

“Tell me when it’s happened before. Specifically”

“Well…” She sniffed and broke from Bucky’s glare to concentrate. Even at her lowest, she was always the A+ student. His A+ student.  

“Abraham Lincoln, after the Civil War… Ford Theatre, I think?” She bit her lip, taking time to collect herself before a little spark finally returned to her eyes. “John Wilkes Booth actually shot him in that theatre because he acted-”  

Bucky shook his head. “Sweetheart, I love that big brain of yours but my point here isn't for you to give me a history lesson. What happened after Lincoln was shot?”

“Andrew Johnson took office.”

“And life went on, and everything turned out to be okay.”

Bucky took her in his arms and held her close. He didn’t know whether his message got across but knew that he needed her in his arms. Bucky stayed on his knees and Y/N slouched over in their awkward embrace before finally parting.

Y/N smiled sadly and sniffled, wiping away a few tears that happened to escape. Bucky wiped them away and tried again to assess her feelings. She understood that he was trying to console her but she knew better than thinking things could be normal once again.

“Buck, being okay isn’t the same as being back to how things were. We’ll never be the same… “

Bucky shook his head and tried to interrupt her but Y/N stopped him before he got the chance.

“We’ll never be the same without him.”

Her hoarse whisper was all she left him as she walked up to her room. Bucky sat silent and broken in her empty living room.

-

Y/N’s line still haunted Bucky then, five months later. She was by far the smartest person that he knew, arguably even more than Bruce Banner. If the smartest person was this pessimistic about a tragedy as monumental as Kennedy’s fate, he didn’t know what to believe anymore.

The bell marking the end of fifth hour woke Bucky out of his trance. He grabbed his bag and ran after Steve to lunch.

“We still meeting up with the girls today?” Bucky asked as he finally met Steve’s pace.

“Yep! Haven’t heard any different.”

When the boys finally reached the cafeteria, they didn’t expect the large hoard of girls crowding near the back corner nor the two girls pushing past behind them, running towards the commotion.

Steve and Bucky, dumbfounded, found Clint at their usual table, without Natasha. He seemed to almost be as confused as they were.

“Clint, where’s Natasha? Don’t you two always walk together?”

Steve tried to poke some fun at Clint’s obvious crush on the redhead but he seemed completely unbothered, still consumed by the growing group of chittering girls.

“Don’t be too quick, Rogers. I wonder where your two gals could be…”

Steve quirked his eyebrow.  

“What, you think Peggy and Y/N are in that?” Steve incredulously emphasized, not taking any of the girls giggling in the back of the room.

“Wouldn’t be too quick to assume, pal. It’s all over the news. I think they’re calling ‘this’,” Clint motioned his head toward the girls, “‘Beatle Fever’.”

“What the hell do bugs have to do with our girls not meeting us for lunch?” Bucky quipped.

Clint laughed. “You have no idea…”

Having enough of Clint’s elusiveness, the two boys ventured their way to the back of the cafeteria to see for themselves. Steve and Bucky fought their way through the crazed girls, still not understanding the purpose of their current congregation. They were packed together like sardines. Some of the unlucky ones near the back were forced to stand on tables to get a clear view of whatever everyone was watching.

When they finally reached the epicenter of the girls, they found the capture of their attention:

A small television, no more than a foot wide, the cafeteria staff used during their down times throughout the day. The girls seemed to have taken the set hostage, all clamoring around about the boys on the screen.

“Who are they?” Bucky whispered to Steve, seeing no difference between the four men who kept appearing on the screen, with identical long haircuts and black suit and ties.

“You two have to be kidding, right?”

Pepper Potts, who had happened to be standing by the two, piped in.

“They’re The Beatles! John, Paul, Ringo and George?”

The boys gave her no reaction or realization to the names and she was extremely unimpressed with the two.

“They’re from England and they’ve been on the top of Billboard’s weekly for at least three weeks. Where have you two been?  Living under a rock, or too busy with football?”

Bucky scoffed at Pepper’s jab but Steve elbowed him.

“Pepper, have you seen Peggy or Y/N? We can’t seem to find them.”

She pointed just across the opening surrounding the television and the boys instantly found the objects of their search. Peggy was giggling like the rest of the girls, complimenting whichever band member she’d already found a liking for. On the other hand, Y/N sat silently, awestruck with her head in her hands, not taking her eyes off the screen for a second.

“Sorry Barnes, but your girl’s got it bad…”

Pepper smirked as she followed Bucky’s line of sight to his steady, totally transfixed by the Brits.

Bucky scoffed, but knew deep down that Pepper was right. He’d only seen Y/N’s eyes that bright once before when her ACT score came back as a perfect 36. He’d helped her study for the entire previous month and she gave him one of the greatest kisses of his life when she got the news about her score.

Steve and Bucky thanked Pepper and parted towards the girls. They struggled but eventually got the Peggy and Y/N back to their lunch table. When everyone was finally settled and their normal lunch routine began, Steve and Bucky shared a look only they two understood.

We’re screwed.

-

It started with buttons. Magnetic buttons of Paul McCartney hanging in Y/N’s locker, buttons of McCartney littering her book bag and eventually on her denim jacket. The same denim jacket that housed Bucky’s new pin he’d gifted her after she’d lost his last one down the drain. Bucky hadn’t really been bothered by Y/N’s new “hobby”. Sure, he was a little jealous some dofus with a name like Paul was special enough to catch this much attention from his girl, but he still was her number one. He just didn’t really understand it.

-

“Nice shirts, ladies.”

Steve had meant for the comment to be snarky but Peggy and Y/N didn’t seem to catch his drift. The girls were wearing almost identical shirts of what had become to be known as the Fab Four, running down what looked like the streets of London. Other than the corresponding kiss stain over John Lennon for Peggy and Paul McCartney for Y/N, their shirts would have looked exactly the same. Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Thanks, Steve! I’m really glad you said that, you’ve reminded me of a special announcement Y/N and I have to share. We’ve got to dress the part as…” Peggy trails off as she turns to Y/N giddily, the latter sharing the same if not more giddiness from the news as Peggy.

“Vice President and President of our school's chapter of the International Beatles Fan Club!” Y/N announced giggling and triumphantly as she slung her shoulder over Peggy’s.

Steve and Bucky both gave each other a look before turning back to their girls.

“I’m President and Y/N’s my Vice because of her duties with the Academic Decathlon.” Peggy filled the boy’s silence with pride.

“I really wanted to head the group, but I didn’t think I could handle it. I know Paul would understand, though…” Y/N and Peggy both laughed as she looked down at her shirt as if talking to the man on her clothing.

“Doll… really? You’re talkin’ to him like that in front of me?” Bucky was joking but it wasn’t hard to see there was something deeper running through Bucky at the moment.

“Oh come on, Buck. I’d never have a chance with him. Let me have my fun.” Y/N stuck her tongue out at him but he quickly chimed back in.

“Oh no… If he got one look at you, he’d try to steal you away from me.” Bucky reached across the table and grabbed for one of Y/N’s hands, taking it in his own and bringing it to his lips for a kiss.

Y/N’s cheeks blushed and Peggy awed over Steve’s fake gag.

“I guess it’s just that I don’t get it. You’d always made fun of all the girls who’d gone googly-eyed at Elvis or any of those goofy crooners. What makes these dorks different?” Bucky asked Y/N sincerely.

Y/N wasn’t quite sure how to answer. She took a while before replying to her boyfriend.

“I don’t quite know. Things are just different, I guess!”

Y/N shrugged and threw her hands up without a care in the world. The bell signifying the end of lunch rang throughout the cafeteria and the girls parted from Steve and Bucky towards their next class.

Even as she was walking away, Bucky recognized a light shining through Y/N as she talked to Peggy. It was a light he hadn’t seen in what felt like months. He had caught glimpses of it before when she had reorganized her pins on her bag or straightened her coveted shirt.

Bucky scoffed and laughed to himself as things finally clicked.

Steve waited at the cafeteria door until Bucky arrived.

“What are you laughing about?”

“Nothin’.”

Never thought some British punks could bring my girl back.

-

“How could I dance with another

When I saw her standing there…”

Bucky snuck up behind Y/N, singing into her ear as she tended to her locker, wrapping his arms around her waist and swaying a bit.

“Bucky, come on. We’re at school.” Y/N tried to scold Bucky for his public display of affection, but the smile peeking through her attempt of scolding let Bucky know he was off the hook.

“Man… I’d really thought the song reference would’ve softened you up.”

Bucky kept her in his arms and slipped in a small peck to her cheek just to see the hue of pink he’d become infatuated with.

“Buck, I love the attention, I really do, but I have to go to the fan club meeting. It starts in five minutes.” She returns his previous affection with a kiss of his own on the cheek as she snuck her way out of his arms.

Bucky caught Y/N’s wrist before she completely slipped away.

“Before you go… I’ve got a surprise for you.”

Bucky handed her a white envelope and received a perplexed look in return.

“Buck, what’s this for? It’s not my birthday and our anniversary was just last month.”

Bucky smiled shyly, kicking at the ground.

“Just open the envelope, doll.”

As she opened it, she only got more confused.

“Two train tickets to New York City? I don’t understand...”

“I just got a call from my cousin Maurice, last night. Remember how he got a job on that Ed Sullivan show?”

Y/N didn’t quite get where Bucky was going, but she nodded her head.

“Yeah, it’s a sweet gig he swung. I still don’t understand…”

Bucky took a deep breath and prepared himself for Y/N’s reaction.

“Well, he called me late last night saying that Ol’ Eddie booked a band Tuesday night for the Friday show. He got me and you tickets!”

Y/N scrunched her nose, still not picking up the hints Bucky was dropping.

“A Friday night show in New York? I don’t know Buck, I usually study-”

“It’s a pretty cool band, doll.”

“But for a two-hour train ride? Who’s cool enough-”

“A band you really like, doll.”

“What band’s worth all that trouble?”

“Y/N, I got us tickets to the Beatles!”

Everything went quiet for Y/N as she stood stiffly in front of Bucky.

Bucky definitely wasn’t expecting this reaction. He waved his hand in front of her face a few times but got no reaction or change from her previous expression.

“Jesus, did I just break my girlfriend?”

Bucky laughed dryly, realizing the scene Y/N was causing with her statuesque posture in the middle of the busy school hallway. He apologized to a few passer-byers before turning back and taking Y/N by the shoulders.

“Doll, you’re going to get to see that punk Peter or Paul you like so much… just don’t leave him for me, okay?”

The mention of Paul brought Y/N out of her stupor and Bucky’s ending joke was drowned out by the deafening scream Y/N let out. All the students passing sent looks and annoyed glances.

“I’m going to see The Beatles?!”

She almost beat her previously volume and Bucky was quick to shush her.

“We are going to see the Beatles.”

Y/N jumped into his arms and he almost didn’t catch her in time. When he put her back down, Y/N was shining brighter than Bucky had truly ever seen before and it left him speechless.

The two had a habit of getting so caught up in each other that they’d be in their own universes. This was a prime example and neither Y/N or Bucky saw anything else but each other in the crowded passageway.

The bell rang for the hour and the couple was thrown back into the school hallway they were standing in. Y/N squeaked, realizing what the time was.

“I’m gonna be late for the meeting! Call me tonight, Buck!”

Bucky watched as Y/N ran down the crowded hallways skipping every so often. He laughed at her childish antics. A warmth suddenly spread throughout his chest at the sight. A feeling similar to leaving a cold movie theatre to a hot summer night or putting on a just dried sweater. He’d never let her know but that same red hue flooded his cheeks as he watched her run down the hallway, bumping into multiple strangers with her happy distractedness.

His girl was back, better than ever, and he had the Brits to thank.

-

“Buck, baby pinch me, please. I want to make sure again.”

Bucky rolled his eyes at Y/N and pinched her forearm again as they waited in the audience of the Ed Sullivan show.

“You’re not dreaming, doll…”

“I know Buck, I’m just- I’m freaking out!”

Bucky would be lying if he didn’t say he felt the same. It wasn’t the performance starting in a half hour that was raising his blood pressure, it was the inevitable craze that would rip through the heavy crowd he and Y/N were currently standing in. Bucky never really liked big groups of people, large quantities of crazed teenage girls even less.

He and Y/N had already made a plan if they lost each other during the show including a meetup place and a mini bottle of mace Y/N had refused to take from Bucky that he’d slipped into her purse during the train ride over. He wanted to know that his girl was safe if anyone tried to mess with her.

“I kind of am too, doll…” Bucky replied shakily to Y/N.

“Really? I can’t believe it! You’re finally a groupie like me?” The excitement of the show had clouded Y/N’s usual detection of any sarcasm or deeper meaning to Bucky’s reply. He couldn’t blame her but needed to get some fresh air before the true chaos ensued.

“Babe, I’m gonna smoke a quick one, kay?”

“Bucky… You’d said you quit-”

“I know, doll. I’m just stressed, is all. I can barely handle you when you go full-fledged ‘member of the Beatles Fan Club’, I’m not sure if I’m ready for a room full of gals just like that or even more so.”

Y/N realized the situation for Bucky and nodded her head.

“Just promise me you’ll be back before the show begins.”

“Of course, sweetheart.”

Bucky gave Y/N a quick kiss on the cheek before beelining to the side exit of the theatre. The cold air of the night was tangible relief for Bucky as he took a few deep breaths of the city air. The exit had led him to an empty alley cutting into a side street. Other than the few technicians still working on the lights and the stage for the performance, the alley was completely free of people.

Bucky pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one up, inhaling and exhaling the stress reliever.

God, he hated boy bands. He wasn’t a music snob, he actually liked a few Beatles records. It’s the craze they cause he disliked. Some of those girls won’t be in their right freaking minds when the band starts. He’s going be in the middle of all of it with Y/N. For Y/N.

A sudden door opening stopped Bucky’s inner rant as he watched four identically dressed men pile out into the alley from a separate door than he’d exited from before. One with far less traffic flow.

“Ah, George! Ya really done us in now!”

“Georgie forgot the cigarettes?”

Two of the men were clearly bullying one, who had his hands up in the air in protest.

“Oy, it’s not my fault. Paul there was too busy flirting with the birds to remind me!”

The shortest one who hadn’t spoken a word finally chimed in dopely.

“Boys, why ya fightin’? I brought mi’ lighter!”

“Ringo, what the hell ah we goin’ to light up if we don’t have any smokes. You bloke-”

Bucky stands a bit starstruck as he watches the men bicker. If it weren’t for the clear name dropping, he wouldn’t even have realized the group arguing so childishly in front of him were The Beatles.

“Hey… um I have a few extras.”

The group of four fall silent as they all turn in Bucky’s direction, not even noticing then man smoking there until now.

“You not goin’ to kidnap us if we smoke w’you?” Ringo, the shortest, said wearily.

“Ringo, don’t be so full of yourself. No one wants to kidnap ya!” John joked and Ringo sarcastically laughed along.

“Thanks, mate. We really appreciate it. It’s a big show we’re about to put on.”  Paul is the first to approach Bucky and gladly takes one of his cigarettes from the pack. Ringo lights it and it isn’t too soon until all the men are smoking happily in the alleyway.

“I’m here for your concert actually,” Bucky confessed as he stomped out his cigarette.

Ringo visibly tensed and was berated once again by John, clearly reminding him that no one would ever want him enough to kidnap him.

“I’m here for my girl, she loves you guys a lot.” Bucky took his picture of Y/N out of his wallet and let the boys pass it around amongst themselves.

“Wow…  she’s a looker. You’re real lucky, lad.” Paul patted Bucky on the back,

“Actually, Paul, you’re her favorite.”

“Really?”

“Don’t try anythin’ Paul. We met the man here in an alleyway. He could beat ya up quicker than any of the lads in Liverpool ever did.” George joked and Paul agreed.

The band stomped out their cigarettes and headed back inside seeing there was about fifteen minutes left until the show.

“Here, mate. For ya girl. You’ll be the best boyfriend in the country.”

Ringo handed Bucky his lighter as the band made their way back inside for their sound check. They left as soon as they came and Bucky was again alone in the alleyway.

Leaning back against the wall, Bucky pinched himself. That couldn’t have just happened. He couldn’t have just shared smokes with the band. The lighter in his hand was proof enough that the event had actually happened but he couldn’t wrap his head around it.

You’re no better than those groupies inside, idiot.

Bucky chided himself as opened the door back into the venue in a daze.

-

“I’m glad you made it back in time! You had me worried there for a second!”

Y/N laughed as Bucky silently approached her from his smoke break. Sensing something wasn’t quite right, she turned her full attention onto her boyfriend. His eyes were squinted, straight ahead and had a bit of blush to his cheeks.

“Buck… are you okay? You look a bit pale.”

He remained silent for a while longer, fiddling with something in his hands. Frustrated because she felt like he wasn’t paying attention to her, Y/n snatched out whatever was in Bucky’s hands. She inspected the silver lighter that he’d been holding, reading the engravement R.S. on the lid.

“Buck, answer me please-”

“I think I just met the Beatles.”

“WHAT!?!?”

-

Hope you enjoyed! Sorry for any mistakes/things that don’t sound write. My writing may be a little rough around the edges. Requests are always open!