August 14th, 1945
Her skirt swirled around her knees, threatening to get caught up in the thrones of people who were gathered in Times Square. Her white blouse was tucked into the hemline, her wool Barathea jacket perfectly pressed even on this momentous day. The headlines were everywhere and the words rang over and over again not only in her head, but in her heart.
The Great War was over.
It electrified the air around her, everyone buzzing with excitement and joy. Soldiers who had returned from Europe let out hollers and shouts, grabbing women by the waist and kissing them deeply.
She had managed to evade the few who had tried to grab her. They weren't hurt by her rejection, all it took was a simple flash of her left hand for them to simply kiss her cheek instead.
"It's over, darling!" One had shouted above the crowd, a smile threatening to break his face in two.
Her kisses were only kept for one man. A man who she hadn't seen in the past nine months.
Her soft brown eyes scanned the crowds, the twenty five year old balancing on the base of a lamppost in an attempt to see above. His last letter hadn't said when he would be coming home, but she could feel it in her heart, he was here.
Somehow, she just knew.
"Rosie!" Her heart caught in her throat at the familiar voice, her head whipping around, her eyes desperately searching through the crowd. "Rosie!" She heard him again, his Brooklyn accent shining through and making her heart skip a beat.
When she finally found him – shoving his way through the crowd towards her in his dress uniform – the tears started down her face immediately.
Rosie hopped down from the lamp post and started pushing her way through the sea of celebrating people towards him.
It would be the longest ten yards of her life, but when she finally made it to him, Rosie launched herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck as tears of joy streamed down her face. He caught her easily, lifting her up off her feet and spinning her around in a circle as he laughed, hugging her tightly.
Her nurse's hat flew off her head, but neither of them noticed or cared. "Bucky." His name caught in her throat and a tear slipped down his face at the sound of his name.
He hadn't heard her say it in so long.
Bucky put her back on her feet, caressing her face in his calloused hands he look straight into her eyes. "It's over." The words came out in a sigh and they both smiled widely at one another, Rosie nodding her head.
Instead of answering, she pulled his face closer to hers, pressing her lips against his for the first time in over two hundred and fifty days. It was long and desperate, and they were both breathless as they pulled apart, Rosie taking a step back to look him over.
He had scars on his face and she could see one just under the collar of his suit coat on his neck, but he was otherwise alive. And he was, "You're home." She realized it all at once, the thought going through her mind and sending joy through her heart. "You're home for good." Bucky's smile was bright enough to light up all of Times Square.
Rosie's eyes found the lapel of his coat, her lips pulling up even more as she ran her fingers over the rank bars, looking up at him after a moment, "Sergeant First Class?" Bucky chuckled.
"I got a promotion." She giggled, the sound making Bucky's heart sing. He leaned forwards, grabbing a hold of her hands in his before peppering kisses along her freckled nose.
"Bucky!" She turned her face away, laughing at him and not caring about those who stared around them. "Stop it!" She giggled again, stopping only when his mouth covered hers briefly.
"I love you." He whispered, meaning every word of it. She squeezed his hand, smiling as he ran his thumb over the engagement ring on her left hand.
"I love you too."
Just wrote this for fun when the idea popped into my head. Let me know what you thought!
