For the next few years, Steve's life was almost perfect. They were poor, but he and Bucky managed to scrape a life together as best they could. Bucky worked down at the docks and Steve took small jobs here and there whenever he could. Whenever he wasn't ill.

He felt bad that Bucky had to bear most of the financial burden, but Bucky had never gotten frustrated with his inability to hold down a job or pointed out how Steve's frequent illnesses were costing them money they could really use for other things.

That was the beauty of a soulmate, Steve supposed. At the moment, Bucky was the one person biologically wired to love him unconditionally and never dream of leaving him, no matter how bad things got. Thanks to him, they'd probably be living on the streets by the time they found their omega, but they would still be happy together. Steve was sure of it. With each birthday, he ached more and more for their omega. He loved Bucky, but there was a steadily-growing hole in his heart that kept him from being truly happy.

Still, Steve was pretty content with his life. Even the whispers of war and rationing did little to bother him. They were poor anyway, used to going without. Steve felt bad for the rest of Europe, struggling against the Nazis, but it didn't really affect his life.

Until the day Bucky came home in a soldier's uniform.

"What are you doing?" Steve hissed. "You're going to get yourself killed."

Bucky gave him a weary look. "They would have drafted me sooner or later anyway. Volunteering gives me a better position."

"For what? Getting shot at? Come on, Buck. This isn't a game. What about our soulmate?"

Bucky's eyes took on a faraway look. "I've been thinking," he said slowly. "What if our soulmate comes from, say, Oregon or Michigan? We'd never find them, except through this war. What if that was what's meant to happen?" Bucky traced a finger over his mark. "The eagle, our national symbol. A symbol of strength and power. Military might."

"I think that might be a bit of a reach."

"No, it all fits. Wrenches are used to fix things, right? And nurses fix people. I bet you our omega's a nurse on the front lines."

"Or maybe one of the enlisted men," Steve countered.

"Omegas aren't allowed in the army. You know that."

Steve shrugged. "He could have lied on the enlistment form. Passed himself off as a beta."

Bucky's eyes crinkled at the corners. "He's got spunk then, our omega. I like that."

"So do I."

Bucky smiled faintly. "I'll be sure to tell him that if I meet him."

"What about me, then?" Steve asked quietly. They would probably draft an omega before they ever thought twice about an alpha with his ailments.

Bucky clapped a hand on his shoulder. "With most of the alphas off to war, you'll have all the omegas in the city coming up to you. Maybe you'll get lucky and find them here, hiding in plain sight."

"You don't really believe that, do you?"

"No," Bucky admitted, his smile dimming a little.

Steve squeezed his eyes closed and let out a heavy sigh. "Alright," he said. "But you better come back."

"With our soulmate," Bucky said with a winning smile.

They made the best of the short time they had before Bucky got shipped out.

Bucky had so many people to say goodbye to. His family, his friends, his coworkers. And Steve didn't begrudge giving him a few days to see the rest of the people he cared about. He wanted Bucky to be happy, even if he would miss spending time with him.

If the army would only take him, he wouldn't have to miss Bucky at all. But every time he tried enlisting, he was turned down. The pitying looks before they turned him away made his blood boil. All he wanted was to march into battle with Bucky at his side. Why was that too much to ask?

Still, Steve supported Bucky fully. He hated not being able to go with him, but he felt proud of Bucky for being willing to fight for what he believed in. And he picked fights with anybody who suggested the war effort was pointless.

Bucky always managed to show up right when Steve was in serious trouble. Maybe soulmates had a sixth sense that told them their mates were about to get their asses kicked. Or maybe Bucky just knew him too well.

"And here I thought I was gonna be the one in danger of getting killed," Bucky said with a shake of his head as he steered Steve home after a particularly nasty fight. "But I guess if you can't get to the war, you bring the war to you."

"Shut up," Steve muttered. "He was a bully."

"Oh really? I'm pretty sure you antagonized him."

Steve leveled him with a glare. "They were telling us about the war effort before the movie. And this jerk kept talking over the whole thing and saying how nobody wanted to hear about the war, they just wanted to see the movie. And I told him that I wanted to hear it. And if he couldn't be quiet so I could hear about the troops, he needed to take it outside. And so we did."

"For Christ's sake, Steve," Bucky began heatedly. "Do you always have to-" He took a deep breath and scrubbed at his face. "No, we're not doing this again. Don't want to argue with you on my last week."

Bucky had arranged to spend his last week entirely with Steve, which was exactly what he needed. They went to see a few movies together, even attended the World's Fair.

"This is incredible," Steve said as he watched Howard Stark make a car hover briefly in midair, to the delight of his audience.

Bucky made a dismissive sound. "They think that's amazing? They should get a load of you."

"Aw, Buck."

"No, I'm being serious. Your ma told me she thought you'd die as a baby. But I know you. Too stubborn to die." Bucky cupped his hands around Steve's face. "Promise me you won't get yourself killed in some alleyway while I'm gone. Because after all we've been through, that would be a pathetic way to go."

Steve smiled. "I promise."

Bucky kissed his cheek. "Good. Let's get home. I ship out in the morning and I want to get to bed early."

But Steve's eyes were drawn to the recruitment center nearby. He felt magnetized to the spot, unable to look away. For some reason, he knew he had to try enlisting again.

Bucky groaned. "Come on, Stevie. They won't take you. You know that."

"So?" Steve said stubbornly. "No harm in trying."

Bucky sighed. "Fine. If you need to hear somebody say it before you'll believe it, be my guest. But I'm not going to feel sorry for you when you come home all mopey."

Steve pushed into the recruiting center and began filling out the paperwork, confident that this time, he would finally be accepted into the army. He could feel it.

He waited in the examination room until the doctor walked in and began looking over his paperwork. "Steven Rogers, is it?"

Steve sat up a little straighter. "Yes, sir."

The doctor looked at him knowingly. "This is not the first time you have applied, is it?"

Steve swallowed. "No, sir."

The doctor flipped through a folder, producing six more enlistment forms, including the one where Steve had, in desperation, given a false name.

"That's, uh, not me," Steve said quickly. "Must have gotten mixed up with somebody else's stuff."

"No? The description fits." And the doctor began reading out his height, his weight, his blood type.

Steve slumped down onto the bench. "You're going to arrest me, aren't you?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Why are you so eager to join the army, Mr. Rogers?" He tapped his pen against Steve's bruised knuckles. "For the thrill of the fight, perhaps?"

Steve stuck his chin out defiantly. "I don't like to fight. I just hate bullies."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Look," Steve said earnestly. "I want to fight for my country, for my best friend, for my future omega. I want to fight for all the people in Europe who are being picked on by bullies like the Nazis. I keep getting told to stand back and let other people keep me safe, but it's my fight, too. And I want to help however I can."

"Interesting," said the doctor. "Very interesting. No, you are not under arrest, Steven. But I require your cooperation in exchange. You will return here tomorrow morning, after seeing your friend off."

Steve opened his mouth in surprise.

The doctor's eyes twinkled. "Yes, I have been watching you for quite some time. And I think you are just what we need."

Steve walked home, puzzled and a little unsettled. He had no idea what he was getting himself into, but at least he wasn't getting arrested.