February 23, 1943 – The Tree, Camp McCoy, Wisconsin

Quentin was a complete gentleman about the situation. We walked in a calm silence to the mess hall together where we picked up our food. Well, they called it food. I wasn't really sure what it was. The menu said Sloppy Joes. I was pretty sure Sloppy Joes weren't supposed to be that shade of brown.

As back-up, I grabbed an apple, thankful that my appetite wasn't huge. With any luck, the apple would fill me up and I wouldn't even have to touch the odd colored meat.

After we got our food, Quentin walked me over to the tree where I'd talked to Bucky earlier that day. I saw three men sitting underneath, but I couldn't quite make out what they looked like, except for Bucky. It was easy to pick him out of the bunch. He had his back to the tree, one knee pulled to his chest, tossing something up and down in his hand. He must've seen me because he lifted his hand and signaled me over.

Quentin and I stopped once we'd gotten close enough that I could see their faces. "Are you good from here?" he asked me.

I glanced at him and then back at the tree. Bucky's friends were smiling at me and I couldn't help but feel welcome. I hoped they were as nice as Bucky, or even Nate and Quentin. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I have it from here, Quentin." I smiled at him. "Thank you."

Quentin smiled back. Not a shy smile, but a full smile, teeth and all. "You're welcome, AJ. If you need anything...me and Nate are here. It's tough starting out, with all the soldiers and Sharkbait. We understand."

"That means a lot. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah. See you around," he said softly and turned to walk back to the lab. I could hear him whistling softly as he strolled, one hand in his pocket, the other holding his tray.

I looked back at the tree and made my way over, nodding to the guys as I went. Bucky immediately shifted to the right a little bit and patted the grass next to him. I could finally see he what he was tossing around. It was an apple, half eaten. "Have a seat, Frosty! Frosty, I'd like you to meet Anthony James and Russel Caldwell." Bucky signaled to each man as he said their names.

Anthony James sat closest to Bucky. He was hunched over slightly with a half grin on his clean shaven face as he waved at me. His dark hair was wild and unruly and in poor need of a trim, and his dark eyes danced with amusement, like he was having the best time of his life. He looked young, younger than Bucky and I, even. Maybe just twenty years old.

Russell Caldwell was beside Anthony. His had his knees pulled up to his chest and balanced his elbows on them. He was a bit pale, his curly rust-colored hair and scruff was a stark contrast to his skin color. His eyes were the color of honey and they twinkled as the sun hit them. His teeth were bright as he smiled at me, and they probably should have come with warning labels.

"So this is the infamous AJ Frost, huh? Barnes hasn't shut up about ya," said Anthony.

Bucky shoved his shoulder lightly. "Can it, James. You didn't shut up about the girl from the automat for three weeks when we first got here."

"Neither of you ever shut up about girls," drawled Russell while he twiddled a piece of grass between his thumb and forefinger.

I sat down, putting my back against the tree beside Bucky and picking up my apple, taking a small bite out of it. It was juicy and crisp, the best combination for a good apple. After I swallowed, I grinned at Russell. "What, no special girl back home for you?"

Russell raised an eyebrow and made a face. "Well...there was this one, now that ya mention it..."

Bucky groaned beside me. "Now look what ya did!" I glanced over at him and he was grinning at me, all excited like. He looked as if Christmas had come early.

"I'm just kiddin'," said Russell. "No one special, no one I had my eye on. I hail from Arizona and there's sorta a whole bunch of nothin' out there. Our closest neighbors are about six miles down the road."

I looked over Anthony. "What about you?"

"Chicago, born and raised. Moved to Detroit when I was fifteen. Not a good trade off," he said. "And you, Frosty?"

"First of all, don't call me that—"

"Yeah, it's my thing!" interjected Bucky.

"Neither of you call me that," I said, shooting a halfhearted glare at Bucky, who just grinned cheekily back at me, "and I'm from Manhattan, but I have an apartment in Brooklyn."

"A girl after my own heart," mused Bucky as he tossed his partially eaten apple in the air once more, before catching it and taking a large bite out of it. "Brooklyn, born and raised."

"That's nice and all," drawled Anthony with a mischievous grin, "but I was talkin' about someone special."

I felt my face heat up a tad and I realized the guys were all looking at me expectantly, especially Bucky, which made me a bit uncomfortable. I chanced a glance at him and his blue eyes were fixed on me like I was suspenseful motion picture and he was waiting to see what would happen next. Tearing my eyes away from him, I looked back at Anthony.

"Erm, yeah, there's someone—"

"What?!" squawked Bucky.

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "I said, yes, there's someone special," I said a bit more firmly, Frank's smiling face and crinkled eyes imprinted in my vision. "We had been seeing each other for a while before he got called overseas." I left out the part about him asking me to marry him. I wasn't sure why, but that felt like something personal and I didn't feel like it needed to be shared.

"You never told me," Bucky said quietly. "I'm happy for ya, Jay. He's a lucky fella." I looked at him full on this time. He didn't look fazed at all from what I could see, his face all smiles, but his tone said something different. He didn't sound as cheerful as he usually did, but I wasn't going to look into it. There was no reason to analyze something that wouldn't hold significance in the end. We'd probably never see each other again after this month, with the exception of when I saw Steve.

The four of us were quiet, and it was getting uncomfortable fast. Luckily, Anthony took it as his own social cue and broke the silence. Unluckily, he decided to ask all the wrong questions. "Well, Barnes is right about one thing. That's one lucky gentleman. How'd ya meet him?"

"I did his exam for basic, and after he got back, he tracked me down. Out first date was in Brooklyn." I paused. "It sounds a bit stalker-ish when I say it that way."

Anthony laughed and Russell grinned at me. "Well, I'm sure he's a great guy. I wish you two the best 'a luck."

I smiled at Russell's kind wishes and decided I liked Bucky's friends. They were sweet, and that was nice. All of the guys I'd met so far had been, except Geoffrey Rogers and Sharkbait. It was nice to be proved wrong. I'd assumed the worst.

"Ya know, I've never been to Brooklyn, or New York City, for that matter," said Russell, scrunching his nose up and scratching his scruff. "I've heard my fair share of stories, though. Dames on every corner, high end dance halls and bars...sounds like my kinda town."

"You're missin' out," said Anthony. "Been there once when I was a kid. Central Park was my favorite place."

"Steve and I go there—er, I guess we used to go there every Friday for a walk after a long day. It was a good way to wind down," said Bucky idly, though I could tell he was still a bit bothered. I chalked it down as him missing his best friend. After all, from what I'd heard, the two had been practically inseparable, and now they hadn't seen each other for well over two months.

"I miss it," I said with a sad smile, and then took another bite of my apple.

"We'll be back soon," said Bucky. "A month or so left and we can go to all the dance halls your little heart desires before I get my orders."

"And who says I'm gonna keep hanging out with you after basic?" I teased.

Bucky frowned at me. "Well, I mean, ya don't have to. But I figure you and Steve are good pals now, and where Steve goes, I go. You're stuck with me, darlin'." The frown turned into his trademark grin and I suppressed an eye roll.

"You're insufferable."

"You love me."

"False, I love Steve," I corrected.

"Ya know, that hurts, Frosty. I might just die from a broken heart."

"I'm sure you'll pull through."

"You didn't correct me on calling you 'Frosty'," pointed out Bucky.

I sent him a withering glare. "I actually can't stand you."

"Oh-kay!" said a voice, and I had completely forgotten that Anthony and Russell had been sitting with Bucky and I. They were both staring at us with wide eyes and Russell was smirking like he knew something we didn't. It was Anthony who had spoken and he was clearing his throat. "I have letters to write to the family, and this is the only time I really have to do it." He started to stand up. "You comin', Russ?"

Russell got up as well. "Yeah, I'll tag along. I promised Ma I'd write her a thorough letter about my time here and all my exploits. I dunno what exploits she's thinkin' we do here..." he said, putting air quotes around 'exploits'. "All I've done so far is not get enough sleep, eat nasty food, and work my tail off." Russell frowned like he was thinking hard and then shook his head. "Anyway, you two good here?" he asked.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Bucky beat me to it. "Yeah, we're fine." He waved them away. "Go on, I'll catch up with ya after dinner's over."

"Sure. It was nice meetin' ya, AJ," said Russ with a kind smile. "I hope I'll see you around. You're nice to talk to compared to all these other meatheads," he joked.

"Who you callin' a meathead, pork-for-brains?" snipped Anthony.

Russell snorted. "See what I mean?"

Anthony just grinned down at me. "I deal with this all day. I bunk right beside both of 'em, so feel free to come visit me and save me from these idiots at any time."

I laughed. "Noted."

The two smiled and nodded to Bucky and I before walking off, already deep in their own conversation by the time they had their backs to us. "I like them," I said, surprising myself.

"Yeah," agreed Bucky while he watched after them. "They're nice fellas. Probably the nicest I could'a got stuck with in this entire camp. They're gonna be my squad mates when the time comes."

I looked over at him curiously. "How do you know?"

Bucky smirked at me and took a finishing bite of his apple, swallowing it before he spoke. "I just do."

"That's oddly unsettling," I commented with a raised eyebrow.

Bucky chuckled and threw the apple core off into the tall grass before fully relaxing against the tree. He didn't say anything and the two of us sat there in silence. It was uncomfortable like it had been when Anthony asked me about Frank, but rather serene and complacent, with the exception of the random gunshots of the soldiers at the firing range.

I finished my apple, slowly, nothing really on my mind, and that rarely happened. Usually I was deep in thought if I wasn't talking or if I wasn't busy. I wasn't used to being so relaxed and a strange sense of calm washed over me. Other than the shots, I could only hear the distant voice of a drill sergeant and Bucky's soft breathing. I glanced beside me and couldn't help but grin when I saw his eyes closed with his mouth slightly open. His chest rose and fell steadily and at some point while I was finishing my apple, he must've dozed off. I hadn't noticed.

Tossing the apple core in the direction Bucky had thrown his, I bumped my shoulder lightly into his.

"Hey. Bucky, wake up."

No response.

"Bucky? James?" I pushed his shoulder a bit roughly. "James!"

He jerked awake. "I didn't do it!" he yelped and I snorted. He looked around and then fixed his eyes on me, pupils dilated so large that you could only see a small ring of his blue irises. He groaned. "Why'd ya have to wake me up?" he grumbled as he shut his eyes once more.

I bumped him again. "Because dinner is about over, and you have places to be, soldier."

"I do not," he muttered. "I have drills for the next three hours and those are the worst." One of his eyes opened as he seemed to consider his options. "Ya wanna blow it off with me?"

I rolled my eyes and stood up, brushing off my skirt and grabbing my tray, throwing the questionable sandwich out in the grass. "As much as I'd love to spend another three hours with you, I have things to do, too, mister."

Bucky knitted his eyebrows together and frowned while he lazily pushed himself off of the ground. "Like what?"

"Like my initial reports for the candidates?" I said with a grin at Bucky's confused look. "For the project I'm working on? With the lab? You know, 'change the tide of the war'?" I quoted.

"Right, you're smart 'n' all that," he mumbled, stretching his arms high above his head and scrubbing a hand down his face.

"Yeah, and if I wasn't 'smart 'n' all that', I wouldn't be here," I joked.

Before either of us could say anything else, a whistle sounded and Bucky made an annoyed sound that I couldn't decipher.

"That's my cue." He scowled in the direction the noise came from scratched his neck. "So, I gotta run...can't exactly escort you back to the lab without getting chewed out by my sarge...you gonna be alright?"

I rolled my eyes and grinned. "Go," I said. "Don't get in trouble on my account. Quentin is a pretty good tour guide."

Bucky scrunched up his nose, a pout firmly on his face. "But I'm supposed to be your tour guide."

"You're a soldier who needs to get to his drills. Right now," I insisted. "You can give me a tour tomorrow, if either of us find time."

"Find time? Sweetheart, I'll make time," Bucky said as he stuck his hands in his pockets and his lazy grin replaced his pout.

"Bucky..." I warned.

"Right, right, sorry, AJ," he said, putting a sarcastic emphasis on my name. "You're really touchy about the name thing," he noted.

"You literally made me start to call you 'Bucky'," I reminded him.

He paused and shrugged. "That's a fair point."

The whistle blew again.

"...Dammit," Bucky muttered, looking in the direction of the noise. He looked at me apologetically, "I really gotta—"

"Go, I know," I finished for him, pushing his shoulder. "I'll be fine."

"And if you're not—"

"Scream, I know!" I finished again with an incredulous grin. "Now go!"

"Alright," Bucky said, backing away from me as he walked, but he didn't turn around.

"Alright," I said.

"Okay, I'm going," he said a bit louder, so I could hear him. There was distance between us now, and yet he refused to turn his back on me. He was seriously too much for me to handle.

"James, go!" I said, but I couldn't hold back my laugh.

Bucky's face lit up like a Christmas tree when I laughed. "I'm goin'!" He waved as he turned around. "See ya later, Frosty!"

I watched his retreating figure as I leaned against the tree we'd be sitting under, not bothering to correct him on him calling me 'Frosty'. I hated the nickname, I really did, but there was something about it that didn't bother me as much when Bucky said it. Usually it was used to make fun of me of sorts, but it didn't feel like that with James. To be honest, I wasn't sure about much at all when it came to James.

He looked like he'd be an open book when I'd first met him, easy to read, easy to measure his intentions, but so far, he was nothing but a giant puzzle, challenging me to try and solve it. I didn't like it, but I loved it at the same time.

Shaking my head, I pushed myself off the tree and began my walk back to the mess hall to drop off my tray, and then back to the lab, bracing myself to deal with Sharkbait. Of course, the moment Bucky was gone, my brain reverted back into full time think mode, and I couldn't help but wonder why the only time I was really relaxed was around James Buchanan Barnes.

It was probably nothing, of course. Like I'd thought earlier, there was no reason to read into something that wouldn't matter in the end.

At least, that's what I'd started to tell myself.