March 13th, 1940. Brooklyn, New York, 1900 Hours
"Come on, Goldlilocks, keep up!"
"Bucky, my legs aren't as long as your, you'll be gone with the wind by the time I even attempt to catch up!"
"Don't get snappy with me just 'cause you have legs like your brother, Lizzy."
A gasp. "I hope you know, my legs are longer than his. I'm actually normal sized!"
"Uh-huh, sure you are baby."
Bucky Barnes, hand tightly grasped around Elizabeth Roger's slightly smaller one, pulled her down a dimly lit alley near his apartment. He pressed her against the nearest wall, sealing his lips to her's, supressing her high pitched giggles in the shadows of the alleyway. They both kept their hands in modest places, her's around his neck and one of his on her waist(the other was pressed up on the wall above her head, though he wished he could put it somewhere else), realizing that anyone could walk up on them getting frisky in the alleyway. That thought only added to the thrill as it crossed his mind. He pressed one, two, three more pecks onto her lips before pulling away and resting his forehead on her's.
"I love you, you know that?" He said with a huskiness to his voice.
She smiled, redden lips stretching over bright, white teeth before she leaned up to kiss him. "I love you too, James."
He let out a groan which caused laughter to fall from her lips once again. If he was being honest with himself, her laugh was like a drug to him. Cigarettes and alcohol were addicting enough but add the myrthful laugh of Elizabeth Rogers into that sinful mix and he was a goner, an enternal buzz forever coursing through his veins. Luckily enough he was completely sober (for the most part) due to Steve hiding his beer, the shortie spouting some nonsense that he had to be 'completely aware for the next couple of hours'.
Bucky mused he could probably do this better when buzzed.
"Come on, Elizabeth, we've got somewhere to be."
He grabbed her hand again and pulled her out of the alley. Giggling, Elizabeth began to swat at his hand as he pulled her down the streets. Older couples watched as the two twenty-somethings hurried down the street filling it with laughter. They were a subtle blur of dulled down blues and grays in the hazy evening lights.
Eventually they reached their stop, a small pear looking over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was darker than the streets, the incandescent lights overhead bathing the pavement below in a soft yellow. Bucky brought her over to the fencing in front of the water front. Her smile was breathtaking as she surveyed the water and only grew larger as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Why'd you take me here?" She asked him as she leaned back into his embrace.
"It's probably the last night I'll be able to spend alone with you before Steve decides he's gonna take all your time." He mumbled as he nuzzled his head into her neck. His breath met her neck as he began to speak, "Also, I'm not gonna let my girl go across seas without somethin' to remember me by."
She sighed and brought one hand into his neatly combed hair. "Bucky, you know I won't forget you. I promised I'd write you every week, and us Rogers keep our promises."
"I know you do, baby, but I gotta let those Englishmen know that you're already taken."
Bucky unwrapped himself from around her and began to fiddle in his jacket pocket. Elizabeth, too curious for her own good, turned around to face him. His usually calm, confident face was marred with nervousness and fear.
"Bucky…what's wrong?"
He breathed out before taking one of her hands in his, the other tucked into his pocket still.
"Elizabeth Rogers, my love, my heart, I never thought I'd see you like this. You're beautiful, intelligent, witty, and kind. You're truly the apple of my eye, even if you tried to poke 'em out with rocks and slingshots when we were younger with your damned good aim, and I'm so happy you decided you wanna deal with me." A small smile appeared on her face as he talked, spurring him to continue. "I know we've only been together a year, but I've known you almost my whole life. I know you hate the color red and they way your brother parts his hair. I know you hate cookin' even if you're very very good at it. I know you always like to wear blue because it reminds you of your pa. You're probably my best friend besides Steve. You're an incredibly woman, baby, and I'm so happy to have you at my side as my girl." He tightened his grip on her hand, using it as a balance as he slipped down on one knee.
She gasped, tears beginning to form in her eyes as her free hand went up to her mouth in shock.
"Will you do me the honor of having you by my side as a wife?"
Her head was nodding and a quiet 'yes' slipped her lips before he even pulled the ring out from his pocket, but she knew she didn't have to see the small piece of jewelry for the commitment. Albeit, it was a nice sentiment to have a glittering rock on her finger to show her friends, but she knew that if he asked her to marry her without the rock she'd say yes. When he pulled out the small, oval cut diamond encased in a silver band she knew he was the right one. It was just like her, simple yet elegant.
"Baby, you gotta give me your hand so I can slip the ring on." He teased, yanking lightly on the hand he had clutched in his.
The shaky hand came down from her mouth far enough for him to grasp it and slip the ring on the correct finger. Pressing a kiss into the palm of her hand, Bucky got up from his knee and collected Elizabeth into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck again, pressing a tear stained face into his black jacket. Pulling away just enough to look at her, Bucky leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. He herded her against the fence, one hand gripping the iron tightly while the other dug into her side crinkling the fabric of her shirt. She let out a small, almost inaudible moan before letting one of her hands snake up to his hair. He took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth, plundering the cavern only to find another moan buried deep. By now his smoothed back hair was all kinds of mused but it didn't really matter to him. All that mattered was the girl he held tightly against him.
"I love you." She stated proudly when she pulled away from him. "I love you so much Bucky."
"I love you too, baby." He replied in the same tone. He brought the other hand to her side and squeezed, "We should probably head back. Steve'll be worried about us and you know how his asthma acts up when he's nervous."
"He knew? How'd he manage to keep it a secret?"
Bucky laughed as he pulled away from her, his hand slotting comfortable into hers. "Well we've been practically family for years. He thought it was time we make it official. He's the one that suggested I take you here."
"Bucky, you're not takin' on the Rogers name. The guys at the docks won't let you hear the end of it."
"They're not gonna let me hear the end of it when they find out I popped the question to you and you agreed. Readily. They said they were takin' a bet to if you'd say yes. More than half thought you were gonna say no."
She rolled her eyes and squeezed his hand. "I wouldn't dream of sayin' no to you."
He cracked a smile. "That's what I told 'em."
The pair kept light conversation as they walked, possibly getting side tracked in an alley or two on the way back. Bucky kept bringing their twined hands to his mouth for a kiss before he'd be swatted away by her free hand and blessed with a rosy blush dusting her pale cheeks. By the time they reached his and Steve's apartment her face was beat red like a tomato. Bucky was laughing at her redden face as he pushed open the door, knowing full well that Steve kept it unlocked when he was home.
"Steve, we're back!"
A thump could be heard from somewhere in the apartment followed by a string of not-so-nice words. Bucky and Elizabeth shared an amused looked as a small, blond haired man came stumbling out of one of the two closed doors. With charcoal smeared on his hands and face, Steve approached the couple with an uneasy look.
"And?"
Bucky's grin grew almost chesire. "She said yes."
The screams of happiness could probably be heard from down the street due to the thin walls of their shared apartment, but Steve couldn't bring himself to care as he wrapped his sister in a hug. Their heads were almost level with each other, Elizabeth's only a bit above his. Pulling away quickly, Steve moved to wrap his arms around his friend.
"Welcome to the family, Buck." Steve exclaimed happily.
"I didn't know I'd left!"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and left the pair, letting herself relax in the slightly stiff couch nearby. Despite the nerves of flying and leaving home she knew she'd have to enjoy this night.
And enjoy it she did, especially a couple of hours later as she was wrapped in the arms of her love. She was sweaty, hot, and aching, but she wouldn't had traded it for the world. Bucky was flush to her back pressing light kisses and whispering sweet nothings into her neck. It was perfect, and she knew she'd never want to be anywhere else.
Little did she know it would be a long time until she was wrapped in his arms once again.
March 15th, 1940. Brooklyn, New York. 1000 hours
Bucky was working away at the docks, lugging and throwing boxes onto and off of ships. It was routine for him this manual labor. The almost-too-big shirt he wore was sliding off his shoulders from the stretching and sweat, but he wasn't uncomfortable. Joey, one of his coworkers, had thrown on some jazz tunes to give them a rhythm while working. Bucky let the smooth trumpet flow through his veins as the boxes he lifted tried so hard to rupture them.
"Breaking news-"
All the men groaned loudly from the music stop. The station had recently just put on one of his favorite from that flat musical Steve made him go see. Cole Porter's voice began to pour from the beaten speakers before the clipped, radio voice began to broadcast instead of the catchy tunes.
"-Ten university students, chosen by scholars at Oxford, were en route to the prestigious school late yesterday evening. Their bus flipped in what could have been some type of Nazi scheme. With the tensions in Europe building, it is possible that this could have been an act of war against America. No one is for sure. Among the ten students were: Anthony Collidge from Western Michigan, Howard Cloud from North Dakota State-"
He let his eyes shut, not wanting the tears to roll down his face. He was a man, and men didn't cry. He didn't want to seem like a sap for Christ's sake. As the names were listed, his heart began to beat faster and faster. Maybe it wouldn't be her. Maybe it was a different group of students.
"-and the last, a young woman from her in our hometown of Brooklyn, Elizabeth Rogers from Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institue."