Tethered In Time by Emma-Louise McAlinden at Inkitt

Summary

Brooklyn, 1933. Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth McKinnon arrives from the windswept coast of Scotland, grieving and alone, with nothing but a suitcase and the weight of her past. She isn't looking for love. But when she meets Bucky Barnes-a charming, sharp-tongued boy with a heart bigger than his bravado-everything begins to change. As the world inches toward war, their bond deepens into something unshakable. But when Bucky is drafted into the army, their love is tested by distance, duty, and the devastating tides of history. After his fall from the train in the Alps, Bucky disappears-captured, broken, and remade by HYDRA. The world believes he's dead. Elizabeth doesn't. Armed with a secret serum from Dr. Erskine that halts her aging, she waits-decades passing as she searches for the man the world forgot. She carries their wedding rings with her always, a promise never broken. This is a story of love that defies time, memory, and war itself. Because some hearts never stop fighting to find their way back.

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Author: Emma-Louise McAlinden

Status: Ongoing

Chapters: 2

Rating: n/a

Age Rating: 18+

Overview and Warning

Title: Tethered in Time

Author: @evansdirtysocks

Genre: Historical Romance | Marvel AU | Angst | Drama | Slow Burn

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Original Character (Elizabeth McKinnon)

Chapters: 100 (planned)

Status: Ongoing

In 1933 Brooklyn, Elizabeth McKinnon flees her broken past in the Scottish Highlands and builds a life in the shadows of a city that never sleeps. She never expected to fall in love with James Buchanan Barnes—the charming, street-smart boy with a protective streak and a soft spot for a certain scowling Steve Rogers. But as the world plunges into war, so do their lives.

When Bucky is drafted, their quiet love is put to the test. Then he's captured. Lost. Broken. Reborn as the Winter Soldier.

Elizabeth never stops looking.

Armed with a secret from Dr. Erskine that defies time, she waits—through decades, heartbreak, and the world's silence—for the man they tried to erase. And when she finds him, she refuses to let him go again.

This is a story of war, memory, identity—and a love that survives even when everything else has burned to ash.

WARNINGS-

This story contains mature and potentially triggering themes, including:

• War violence and trauma

• Psychological manipulation (HYDRA)

• Period-typical sexism and discrimination

• Grief and loss

• Identity crisis/dissociation

• Mild language

• Slow-burn romance and emotional intensity

• Brief mentions of illness (consumption tuberculosis, PTSD)

• Eventual action sequences involving death/injury

Note: Everything is handled with care and purpose, and each chapter will carry individual content warnings as needed.

This is a work of fan fiction created purely for entertainment. All Marvel characters, settings, and themes are the property of Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics. I do not claim ownership of Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, or any related Marvel entities.

Elizabeth McKinnon, original plotlines, and all original characters, scenes, and dialogue are the intellectual property of me (evansdirtysocks).

Please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate this work without explicit permission. Sharing is welcome—just credit the author and respect the story.