Savage

by awalkerlifeforme

She was everything people feared. She wanted to defend the world but also wanted revenge on those who wrecked hers. The ones who forced her to leave Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Now she's back and while Steve attempts to get back the woman he's always considered his sister, Bucky hopes to thaw the ice that has formed around her heart. A heart that he had always believed was his.

16. Chapter 16

Walking on clouds was an expression that I'd heard a few times before. I'd never known that I would really feel it one day. But here I was, on the second to last day of training, feeling like I was walking on clouds. Finally, there was nothing left to do. We were arranging the finishing touches of the graduation ceremony tomorrow, but there wasn't much left to do. And today was family day. That meant that most people were expected to be socializing. No formal work.

That wasn't really the case for me. As per usual, there was always something to be done. For myself, it was with Operation Rebirth. I'd decided earlier on that I would leave Bucky to spend most of the day with his family. As much as I wanted to spend the day with him, this day was about what he wanted, not what I wanted. So I would be spending the day tucked away with Howard and Peggy. Perhaps Abraham too if we could convince him to come out of his office and work with us for a while. He tended to like working in silence and away from everyone else. But maybe we could talk him into sitting, even if it was just for a little while.

Currently I was still in the bedroom that Peggy and I shared. We were laughing as the two of us tossed things to each other. We had become close enough that we shared things. Most of the time we actually forgot whose things were whose and we ended up using each other's stuff. I watched as Peggy finished curling the last section of my hair. She had been begging for me to let her do it for weeks. Today I'd finally allowed her to. She pushed it over one shoulder and pinned back my long bangs.

The two of us were smiling at each other in the mirror. Normally in the mornings we could hear the recruits yelling back and forth and the Drill Sergeants barking orders. This morning it was all laughter and crying. From happiness though. We could hear the recruits reuniting with their loved ones. After two and a half months they were ready to see their families. Some part of me wondered how Bucky felt. His parents were gone but he did have his siblings. But he had never been overly close to them. If Steve wasn't working, he probably would have been here. He was the closest thing to family that Bucky really had. But what about me?

Was there a chance that I was the family that he really wanted around? He seemed closer to me than he was to his siblings. And we shared a much different bond together than he did with Steve. It didn't matter. Even though we weren't going to be together on family day, we would be together on his graduation tomorrow. I would be up on the stage while Chester called his name. He would finally be given his ranking and orders. Something that diminished the joy that was building in my chest.

Peggy and I had since moved away from the vanity in the corner of the bathroom. She was putting the finishing touches on her outfit - since she was always dressed to perfection - and so was I. As usual, she looked better. She smiled at me and walked over, fixing the little mistakes that were on my outfit. She wanted to present me nicely in front of Bucky today. She had me in a white silk blouse (one of hers), a red knee-length skirt (also hers), and a pair of black Mary-Jane's. The shoes were the only thing that were mine.

Buckling the belt on the shoes tightly, I stood from the chair and headed towards the door. "Smile, Vicky!" I heard Peggy chirp from across the room. I glanced over at her to see that she was holding a camera that was identical to the one that Bucky had taken my picture with.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Making memories. You refuse to take pictures but I know that this is a day that you'll want to remember," she said as she walked up to me. I rolled my eyes at her. I hated pictures. "So come here!"

If I had really wanted to I could have either ordered her to put the camera away or I could have ripped it from her hands. But I knew that she meant well. So I sighed and nodded at her. She wrapped an arm around my waist and I wrapped mine around hers. We kept close to each other as Peggy brought the camera up in front of us. She seemed to know that she had the right angle when she broke into a smile, myself following. The flash was bright and for a moment we were both blinded. But as our vision came back we broke the embrace and Peggy placed the camera back on her side table.

Grinning at the girl, I turned back to her before leaving. "What are you going to do today?" I asked.

"I'll be in the labs today. As it's just a recruit day with their families, I have no reason to be out and about. I assume that you'll be out with Private Barnes's family?" she asked me.

I nodded at her. I had some explaining to do to the Barnes children. "I invited them, so I should probably go tell them how they ended up here," I said.

She laughed and waved me off. "Have fun."

I turned to leave once more before whirling back around towards her. "Mind if I hang around with you for the rest of the day?" I asked.

Her brows rose as she glanced up from the vanity. She had turned to doing her own makeup since I had told her a strict no when she'd asked to do mine. "You're not staying with him all day?" she asked me.

I shook my head at her. "Not all day. I'm going to go say hello and whatnot, but its family day. Bucky doesn't have his parents anymore but he does have his siblings. They don't see each other much so I want to give them time together," I told her.

"That's sweet of you," Peggy said, giving me a small smile.

"I'll be with him all day tomorrow anyways." I turned towards the door and grabbed the handle, yanking it open. I could hear some celebrations out in the hallway. "I'll see you later, Pegs." Before I could leave the room I glanced back at her. "Lunch today?" I asked.

She called back, "I'll be in your office waiting!"

A small smile fell over my face as I walked out of the room and let the door click shut softly behind me. On my way through the halls I said hello to a few of the recruits and their families. I could tell that they were all excited to be giving their families a tour. Some of them were also showing off the skills that they had learned. They would be spending the day doing that. It was to show that they really had made some progress over the last two and a half months. I was more than happy to see that many of the recruits had their girls with them.

Near the stage for the graduation ceremony tomorrow I spotted Bucky and his siblings. They were all laughing and embracing each other. Bucky looked shocked but thrilled to see them. Jessica was standing there with her stomach slightly swollen. She looked to be about four or five months pregnant. It was nice to see that she was having her first child. It was late for a woman. She was twenty-six. Her husband was standing with her, shaking hands with Bucky. Rebecca was laughing, twisting nervously at the ring on her finger. Justin was laughing loudly with his arm around Bucky. He was only nineteen.

The family embraced each other for a minute before taking a step back. "I don't get it, I'm thrilled that you're all here but I didn't invite you," Bucky said softly, so not to offend them.

They all looked confused. "The letters were signed by you," Rebecca said.

Deciding that I should explain, I hesitantly took a step forward. "Perhaps I can shed some light on the situation," I said softly. Their heads turned back to me and for a moment there was confusion, but after a moment, the recognition dawned. Bucky was staring at me with a smile, looking me over. I blushed and looked back towards the family that looked like they had seen a ghost. "Today is family day and I knew that Bucky hadn't invited anyone yet. I didn't want him to be alone today. It's good to see you all again."

No one was able to speak for a long while. Finally, someone did. "Victoria... Victoria, is that you?" Jessica asked.

"It is."

Jessica's face broke into a smile as she hobbled towards me. "Oh my! Look at you, you're gorgeous! Come here!" she cried. She always had been the friendliest with me, outside of Bucky. She embraced me tightly for a few moments before releasing me and holding me by the arms, looking me over. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I work here. I train the recruits for half of my time and I spend the other half of my time in the labs. We're working on a project. I'd tell you all about it, but then I'd have to kill you," I said with a smile. They all broke into happy laughter. If only you knew that I was telling the truth. My hands began to buzz and I pushed it back. I would need another one of Howard's pills soon. "And, honestly, it probably sounds a little boring right now."

Actually it was quite fascinating, but that was just because I liked the science behind it. "How did you get here?" Jessica asked.

I knew what she was talking about. She wanted to know where I had gone. But I was trying to avoid that. "Honestly, Colonel Phillips - my adoptive father - got me the job." Eyebrows rose but no one questioned it. "No one in the Army wants to hire a woman. But he managed. If this project that we're working on goes well I'll be accepting a degree in Genetics from Harvard."

"You always were the smartest person we'd ever met," Rebecca said, moving forward to give me a hug.

Once she had let go of me, Jessica came forward, this time dragging her husband with her. "This is my husband, Jacob," she said. I moved to shake his hand. He looked a little surprised that I had even bothered. Most women just smiled when they met other women's spouses.

"Nice to meet you. And congratulations to you both," I said to the couple. Jessica always had liked kids. It was nice that she would get her own. "Actually, congratulations to you too, Rebecca."

She had gotten engaged recently. She had always wanted to be married. I just hoped that her fiance came back from the war. "Just Becca, Victoria, you know that," she said.

I smiled at her, but it didn't last long. A moment later Justin had come up to me and grabbed me in a tight hug. "Hey, pretty girl, where have you been for all of these years?" he asked.

A lump formed in my throat. I had been hoping so desperately to get away without having to give the lame excuse as to where I had been. "It's a long story, actually. And really, I'm not the person that you're here to see. Take today and talk to each other. Catch up. That's what I wrote the letters for," I said, moving to back away.

"Thank you for doing this, Victoria," Jessica told me.

"You're welcome. You should be very proud of your brother, he's done so well out here," I said, giving Bucky a proud grin.

"We are," Justin said.

The siblings shared a grin and I took a step back, knowing that it was time for me to take my leave. "I'll leave you all be. See you at the graduation ceremony tomorrow, Bucky," I told him.

Every part of me wanted to give him a kiss but I knew that this was the wrong time. We had kept it a secret for so long. We couldn't screw up right now. So I settled for a longing gaze with him. "Thank you for doing this, Vika. You have no idea what it means to me," he said, wrapping an arm around Jessica and Rebecca.

Once more I gave him a small smile. "Trust me, I do. Go be with them. We'll talk tomorrow," I told him.

He nodded at me and the small group watched as I turned back to leave. Very briefly I heard Bucky's thoughts and I couldn't help the red tinge that flooded my face. He certainly wasn't thinking anything that any man should be thinking about a woman he was not married to. Of course, it didn't help that I was thinking something very similar. So I shook my head, forcing the thoughts out, and headed towards the labs.

I walked into the office and spotted that Howard and Peggy were already there. As expected, Abraham was nowhere to be found. It turned out that he had been on the lookout for someone to be a potential candidate for Operation Rebirth. So the three of us sat and ate lunch together. We went back and forth between laughing and working for the day, but we all knew that there was far more laughter than actual work being done. Perhaps it was the knowledge that even though the war was still going on - and that's what we were all doing here in the first place - there was still some room for fun.

Bucky's P.O.V.

He could barely remember the last time that he had really spent the day with his siblings like this. He had left home at eighteen. Rebecca and Jessica had already been gone. Justin had gone to live with their Aunt and Uncle until he had graduated high school. He hadn't really seen them all at once in seven years. He hadn't seen any of his siblings in three years. So he spent the day catching up with each other. But he also made sure to show them around and telling them all about training. It was almost like they'd never left each other's company. He assumed that it was the point of siblings. He could be away from them for extended periods of time, but it didn't matter.

It wasn't just his siblings learning about what he had been up to. He had also learned what had been going on in their lives. Jessica had gone to college after high school to be a teacher. She was now teaching third grade. She always had enjoyed working with young children. However, she was taking some time off to prepare for the baby and motherhood. Their child would be born in about five months. Her husband was currently working as an accountant at a small law firm.

He was proud of his oldest sibling. They'd never been extraordinarily close, but that was the way that it was. Brothers and sisters weren't close. They were too different from each other. But he did love them. Rebecca was currently waiting for her fiancé to come back from the war-front. He'd been deployed for about seven months already. He could tell that she was already worried for her fiancé and now she was worried for her brother too. He almost felt bad for doing this to her. But at least she had something to keep herself occupied. She worked full-time as a nurse at her local hospital.

She always had liked treating her stuffed animals for fake injuries when she was a child. He couldn't be surprised. His only brother was currently a factory worker. He worked not far from the factory that Bucky was trying to get Steve to work at. Justin was weighing back and forth with the curiosity on whether or not he should enlist. Bucky knew that his brother could manage. So he had been spending much of their time together telling him about training and all that it takes to be an Army Soldier.

The sun had set about an hour ago and the family members were getting ready to leave. That included Bucky's siblings. He had been thrilled to see them but he was almost ready for them to leave. It was a little overwhelming. And, honestly, he wanted to be with her. He walked them over towards the fences near the entrance of Camp Lehigh. Most of the family members were leaving, telling their Soldiers that they would be back in the morning. Bucky's siblings would not be there tomorrow, but it was okay. She would be.

They stood outside of Jessica's car - she would be taking the others home - as they said their goodbyes. "So, how long has that thing with Victoria been going on?" Jessica asked Bucky.

His jaw dropped. Were they really that obvious? "What?" Bucky asked stupidly.

"Don't be thick," Rebecca snapped.

It clearly wasn't just the girls that thought that something was going on. Justin came forward and wrapped an arm over Bucky's shoulder, grinning up at his big brother. "Come on, man, she's a bird. She always has been." Yes she is. "And everyone always knew that you had a crush on her," Justin continued.

Bucky sighed. They were right. He'd had a crush on her since the moment that he saw her. She'd always been special to him. It had just taken far too long for them to realize it. "No point in trying to convince you that nothing is going on?" Bucky asked his brother and sisters.

Jacob stood back, smiling at the remaining members of the Barnes family. "None," Jessica, Rebecca, and Justin all said together.

Bucky smiled at them and laughed. "About a month." Rebecca and Jessica were smiling widely. "She was gone for so long, without a word." There were pained looks. Victoria's absence had been painful for everyone. She had been a part of the family and they had all thought that she was dead when she vanished without a word. "And then I got here and she was right there. The Sergeant of my unit, if you could believe it. And we just... we clicked. We always have."

They all nodded at him. Jessica, always the mother since their own had passed on, took a step forward. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Take it, Bucky. It's nice. People don't get enough of that these days."

"When do you deploy?" Justin asked.

"Day after tomorrow."

Bucky wasn't sure where he was going or who he would be with, but they deployed first thing after graduation. They had all already been informed to say their goodbyes today or tomorrow. They didn't have much time left. "Tell her that you love her before you go," Rebecca said.

Bucky's jaw dropped. "I -"

He didn't get very far. "We're your siblings, Bucky," Jessica interrupted. "We know you better than you might think. You've loved her since the day that you laid eyes on her. So tell her. Before you leave," she added as a last minute thought.

They were right. Just in case something happened, he would tell her. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if she never knew what she really meant to him. "Get outta here, it's a long drive back," he said.

They all laughed. Jessica was the first to come forward and give him a hug. "Bye, Bucky, be safe out there," she said.

"Write to us when you get the chance. Let us know what's going on. We'll be here when you get back," Rebecca added.

"Stay strong out there, bud," Justin said. He gave Jacob a firm handshake.

Bucky stood as they all got into the car and gave them a wave. "Bye, guys," he called.

The car was thrown into gear by Jacob and Bucky stood and waved to them until they had gone over the hill. Once they had, he turned and headed back to the barracks. Saying goodbye to them had been hard. They loved him. He loved them. But he knew that it wasn't anything compared to how hard it would be to say goodbye to Steve and Vika in two days. But he still had a few things to look forward to. Like the fact that in twelve hours he would finally be graduated. He'd have his orders, his rank, and his girl.

Victoria's P.O.V.

The sun had long since set but I couldn't say that I had managed to get much done. I'd spent most of my day with Howard and Peggy. It wasn't often that the three of us got to spend the day together without having something to do. In all honesty, we probably should have been doing work. But with the happy atmosphere of the camp, it was hard to try and be professional. So even though we had sat together with our work out in front of us, we'd gotten almost nothing done.

But that was almost. We had managed to get a few things done after work. Mostly because Abraham had asked us to come and help him out with a few things. Today we had tested the Vita-Ray Chamber again. We would start with only one soldier to ensure that the process worked. Once we could work out the bugs in the operation we would use it again. The chamber still worked, but we had a feeling that it would eventually have to be replaced. There were already char marks on the inside of the chamber.

We weren't ready to put humans or animals into the chamber yet, but we had moved on to animal testing. We'd been doing it for the past two weeks, but we'd finally managed to get somewhere. We had used the serum - injection - on a small rat. It had actually worked. Our group had laughed and nearly cried. It was a major step in the right direction. The metabolism in the rat increased and after doing a few tests on the rat we saw that it was faster and smarter than it once had been. The rat was being monitored closely for side effects. So far there were none.

But that was the most work that we'd actually managed to do. After that success, Abraham had told everyone to take the day to themselves. He knew that everyone that wasn't strictly one of the workers for the Strategic Science Reserve was busy taking care of the graduation ceremony. So we'd all gone - Howard headed into the city to prepare for his demonstration tomorrow - and Peggy and I had taken care of the set-up for the graduation and learning the program. Unfortunately I was doing the speech. I had Chester to thank for that.

Of course I couldn't really complain. I wouldn't even have the job if it weren't for him. So Peggy snoozed as I tried to figure out what I wanted to say tomorrow. She had gone to bed nearly an hour ago. I couldn't sleep. After we'd gone to dinner - after the success of the rat test - we had come back to the room. We'd spent hours together laughing and gossiping. I'd told her all about Bucky's siblings and the way that they had all been when we were kids. Peggy had seemed happy to hear about my childhood.

But eventually it had gotten late and Peggy had fallen asleep, leaving me to my thoughts. Not exactly somewhere that I wanted to be. So I sighed and laid down on the pillows. I was trying to think about something irrelevant or even about Operation Rebirth. But I couldn't. I kept coming back to the graduation. In some ways I was excited but in other ways I was petrified. I would lose my ability to protect Bucky. He would be out there on his own. I just had to trust that I had trained him properly. As I laid down in bed and closed my eyes, I drifted off into a fitful sleep, dreaming of standing with Steve at Bucky's funeral.

The next morning I woke at the insistence of Peggy that we were running late. Springing from the bed - knowing that both Chester and Bucky would kill me if I were late to the graduation - I began to quickly get ready. I wore a white long-sleeved shirt that flowed slightly with a blue blazer over the top of it. A pair of beige dress pants went underneath and I slid my black Mary-Jane's onto my feet, praying that I wouldn't fall today. Thankfully the curls that Peggy placed in my hair were still there as I pinned it over one shoulder and dragged her out of the room while she was still tightening the strap of her left shoe.

She hopped in place as she walked before straightening up and grasping my hand tightly. "It's going to be alright," Peggy muttered to me, running her fingers through the tangles in her hair.

"I know. Sometimes it didn't feel like we'd ever get to this day," I mumbled.

Peggy smiled. "But we're here."

The two of us walked into the yard where I saw that the ceremony was already set. There were rows upon rows of bleachers for all of the family and friends to be sitting in. It looked like everyone was already seated. The men were currently nowhere to be found. They would walk in before the National Anthem. Chester was standing with the other higher-ups on the stage. The microphone was in the center of the stage and I gulped, knowing that I would have to be the first person to speak into it.

The bell began to toll that it was nine in the morning. Time for the beginning of the ceremony. "Looks like they're almost done and ready for the ceremony. Shall we?" Peggy asked me.

"We shall."

The two of us walked up the aisle together, heading towards the stage. Peggy leaned over to me when we were halfway up the aisle, keeping her voice low. "Where's Howard?" she asked.

"He's in the city getting ready for the Modern Marvels of Tomorrow Exhibition. He's the main event this year," I whispered back.

We stood at the stage a moment later and climbed together. Peggy took her spot next to Chester. They would be the first two that the new Soldiers would salute. Some of the other Drill Sergeants, two other Sergeants, and a General were standing up on the stage as well. General Holst was the man that would be handing out the orders. I could see the diplomas and orders in his hands, leaning them on the podium. A lump formed in my throat as I walked over to the microphone. One of those had Bucky's name on them.

A call from the back of the auditorium sounded and I watched as the recruits began to file in. They all looked extremely proud. Nervous, but proud. They stood to the side of the auditorium and I glanced over to look at them, very briefly taking in their stances. There wasn't a thing wrong with them. If anyone had had any doubts about them being ready to be deployed, they would be eating their words right about now. They looked every bit the part of an Army Soldier.

The recruits didn't dare look away from the American Flag as I spoke. "Please rise for the National Anthem," I said.

My voice echoed across the field as men and women stood. Some children in the audience were pulled up by their mothers. As the Anthem began to play, I glanced at them, trying to picture myself like that. But I couldn't. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't imagine being like that. A wife and a mother. Having a child to play with and entertain every day and a husband to take care of. No matter how appealing that life might ever be - it was not very appealing right now - I would never have it.

Hand placed over my heart and a content smile on my face, I looked back towards the flag, gently singing the words to the Anthem. For a brief second I broke eye contact with the flag - knowing that no one was watching me - and glanced over at the recruits. Bucky was standing in the middle of the pack with perfect posture and his hand over his heart. He was looking directly at the flag, completely oblivious to the fact that I was watching him, and softly miming the words. His pride was dripping off of him in waves.

The Anthem finally ended and the audience took their seats. I waited a moment before speaking. "Thank you," I said, waiting for the crowd to go absolutely silent. "Here we are. It's been a long time coming. For all of us. Those of who have been here, watching the recruits go through each phase of their training. Watching them grow into the soldiers that we know they can be. It's been a long time coming for all of you, the loved ones that sit here, waiting for them to graduate and for this day to come.

"But it hasn't been longer for anyone other than the men standing right there," I said, motioning to the men. "The Army's newest Soldiers. We are proud of each and every one of you. You've proven to us that you have what it takes to be an Army Soldier. There's more to being a Soldier than just being able to fire a gun or learn to fight. It's about camaraderie. Learning to live with and for your other men. You have all managed to show us that you are the prime examples of what a United States citizen is. You should all be very proud. I know that I am.

"Much of these ten weeks is about learning the United States Army Soldier's Creed and the Army Values that the Soldiers will fit into their everyday lives once deployed. You had all damn well better know them." There was scattered laughter around the audience. Most of the Soldiers laughed. "Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. These principles define who Soldiers are and who they aspire to become, as individuals and as part of a team. It has been an absolute pleasure to watch you all learn what these Army Values mean and how they have affected you in this new stage of your lives.

"Remember them when you're deployed. Remember them in times of weakness and strength. My father always says the same thing to all of the new recruits," I said, giving Chester a pointed smile. "I've always felt that it's a good thing to say to them. Something of an encouragement. But I think that it's a good chance to say it now too. General Patton has said, 'Wars are fought with weapons but they are won by men.' We are going to win this war, because we have the best men. Our goal is to create the best army in history. You will all be a part of that Army. And, in the wise words of my father, they will personally escort Adolph Hitler through the gates of hell."

There was more scattered laughter from the crowd. But this time it was a little louder. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. War is like learning how to walk. You simply put one foot in front of the other until one day you look down to find yourself running. Make us proud out there. Win the war. Come back home," I said. Bucky that means you. My comment earned a loud round of applause from everyone. "Now, for the moment that we've all been waiting for. Colonel Phillips, if you will," I said.

Taking my place near the edge of the stage, I watched in silence as the new companies and battalions were called. I greeted each of the new Soldiers and gave them my well-wishes. I knew that I would be waiting a while for Bucky's name to be called. Chester had been kind enough to tell me that he was assigned to the 107th. I saluted a man that had not been in my division and saw Peggy do the same. She gave me an encouraging smile when I turned to her briefly.

Ten minutes after my speech, I heard the call that nearly made my heart stop. "To the 107th..." Chester said, trailing off as he searched for the names.

Taking in a deep breath, I steeled myself up on the stage. Two unfamiliar names were called first. They would be heading to the exact same place Bucky would be. I saluted them and gave them a quick once-over. These two men were good and strong. They were large and appeared to be in their prime physical state. It made me sick to my stomach, and also very glad that I hadn't eaten anything today. I knew that these men would all be placed on the front lines.

Finally his name was called. "James Buchanan Barnes. Sergeant."

I glanced over towards the other staircase - one of the only times that I had dared look away from the men that came to stand in front of me. He grabbed his orders, giving a salute to each man that he passed, Peggy too. I noticed Chester give him a little glare. He eventually came to stand in front of me. He was in a light beige suit. His uniform. It was perfectly tailored to him. His hat was tight on his head and tilted ever so slightly off to the side. His jacket was buttoned up with the brown belt cinching it. A deep green button-down shirt with a beige tie was underneath. His pants hung on his frame and his black dress shoes just barely poked out.

He looked quite the handsome devil. He saluted the General Holst handed Bucky his orders - the pair saluting each other - before he moved on to me. We both gave each other a formal salute. "Congratulations James," I said.

It was protocol to call the new Soldiers by their names, not rank. Bucky laughed and twisted his orders nervously. "Sergeant. Look at that. I'm on the same level as you now," he teased.

My grin twisted slightly. "Don't get too big of a head."

"I've got you to keep me grounded."

He leaned into me and my heart skipped a beat as he pressed a small kiss to the corner of my mouth, holding a hand right above my waist. He was smart not to make a big deal about it. We could both still get in trouble for acting out while in uniform. There was a loud round of applause from the audience, mostly from the other recruits. They had been right all along. There was something here. I could see Chester gritting his teeth in the background. Peggy was one of the loudest cheers. Bucky gently let his arm drop from my waist and I saluted him once more as he moved off of the stage, allowing the ceremony to continue.

Knowing that my stance had slipped slightly, I tried to push myself back into proper position. But I couldn't help my shaking knees. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Bucky shooting me smiles from time to time. I tried to ignore the pointed looks from everyone else that had been in my unit as they walked across the stage. The entire ceremony ran about another fifteen minutes with nothing else exciting happening. Merely polite applause and bright smiles.

Finally the last man was given his orders. The Soldiers stood together as one of the Drill Sergeants made their way in front of them. "Salute! About face!" he cried.

The men turned towards the flag and I stepped in front of the microphone again. "Please rise for the National Anthem once more," I called.

The National Anthem began to play again as the audience rose to their feet. It went by quickly before everyone stood and left the arena. I noticed the Soldiers give each other a warm goodbye before moving to find their loved ones. I walked over to Chester first - ignoring his pointed glare - and told him that I would be back to camp soon. He already knew my plans. Although he did tell me to keep Bucky's 'crumb pickers' off of me. I smiled and moved over to Peggy. We embraced each other and I told her that I would be back soon enough. She told me to enjoy myself, tell Bucky a goodbye from her, and tell Howard hello when I went up on stage with him later.

She also told me to give Bucky the best goodbye I could think of, but I didn't stick around to hear her suggestions. She laughed me off as I walked over to Bucky. He was standing and waiting for me, arms crossed behind his back. He had a bright smile on his face as he watched me walk and I blushed. If only he knew that I can hear his thoughts. He wouldn't even be able to look at me.

Of course, I was thinking something very similar to what he was. I pushed down the urge to drag him behind a bush and have my way. I definitely need another one of those pills soon. "Soldier," I greeted, walking up to him.

Bucky laughed and closed the distance between us. "Come here," he told me. I laughed as his arms wrapped around my waist and he lifted me up slightly, pressing a sweet kiss against my lips. We broke far sooner than I would have liked at the sound of the other Soldiers howling in the background at us.

"We knew it!" Jeremy said, wrapping an arm around Bucky. He laughed as his friends grabbed onto him.

"Sorry about your bet, boys," I said.

Their faces went from their deep tans - after so much time spent in the sun - to stark white. They clearly hadn't thought that I knew about it. "You knew about that?" Collin asked me.

I nodded at them. "Of course I did. I know about everything that goes around out here," I said. They all laughed and I moved forward to say goodbye, giving them all hugs. Once I had said my goodbyes I took a step back towards Bucky. "Good luck out there gentlemen. Make me proud," I said. They all hooted back at me and headed towards their loved ones. Once they were gone I glanced back at Bucky. "Shall we move along?" I asked him.

He nodded at me. "Absolutely. Come on," he told me, dragging me along.

We walked out towards the parking lot weaving back and forth between the other families that were taking their men with them for one last night before having to say goodbye in the morning. Bucky had an arm around my hip as we walked into the main parking area. There were about twenty cars lined up. Bucky moved us in front of one of the ones in the middle. It was an Oldsmobile Series 60 that looked to be in good shape. It was in a pretty dark blue and I smiled. I didn't even know that he had a car.

"You have a car?" I asked.

He shook his head at me. "Rented from the Army. It goes back in the morning. It's just enough to get us back and forth for the day," he said. I nodded at him and allowed him to open my door. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, hopping into the driver's side.

I nodded at him. "Yeah. Let's go," I said, sinking back into the seat. It wasn't one of Howard's luxury cars but I much preferred this. Bucky pushed the keys into the ignition but just before he could drive off, I placed my hand over his. "Hang on. Have you looked at the orders yet?" I asked slowly.

I hadn't seen him looking at them. Bucky's face fell slightly as he shook his head. "I was gonna look at them later," he muttered.

My heart skipped a beat as I shook my head at him. "Look at them now. Please," I begged.

He stared at me for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright." He grabbed the letter out of his jacket and slid his thumb underneath. His eyes scanned over the paper once or twice before he folded it back up. I couldn't read his face, whether or not he was concerned. I forced myself not to read his mind. "Shipping out to England at six in the morning tomorrow," he finally said.

They sent him exactly where I recommended. If something happened to him... It was on me. "Okay," I said, unable to say anything else.

We set off down the road and sat in silence for a while. As we turned onto the main road, Bucky seemed to find his voice again. "Is that where you recommended me?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, not finding a point in lying.

Bucky nodded at me and placed his hand over mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. I wanted to squeeze his hand back but I wasn't quite sure that I trusted myself not to break it. "It's okay, Vika, it's okay," he muttered.

He would be fine. I trained him. He'd be fine. "I know. Bucky, you had better be safe out there. Because if you do die out there, I'm going to bring you back and kill you myself," I said. He laughed but I was completely serious. If he died, I'd shock his heart and bring him back just to kill him myself. "Do you think Steve will be happy to see me?" I asked suddenly.

Bucky's head spot over to me and he nodded. "I hope he's gone to the bathroom recently," he joked. The two of us both laughed. "He's gonna be thrilled to see you, Vika. Maybe not as happy as I was, but still happy," he added.

"Do you know where he'll be?" I asked.

I wasn't sure if we were going back to their apartment to grab him or if we were meeting in the middle somewhere. "Probably at the movies. I wrote him a letter and he said that he'd be somewhere around the city center. You know how he likes to go see the little movies that they play from time to time," he said.

"Not really," I muttered.

And it was the complete truth. I didn't know what Bucky or Steve really liked anymore. It had been so long since I'd seen them just enjoying themselves. When we had been at Camp Lehigh, Bucky hadn't told me what he really liked to do outside of training. When we were kids he liked to play football and baseball. He'd try and teach Steve all of the moves that he knew. He'd teach me too and I'd pretend to be a weak thrower. Steve would play puzzles with me sometimes and the three of us would destroy the kitchen when we attempted to make something.

I knew them as kids. Not as adults. Shaking off the depressed thoughts, I glanced over at Bucky. "Hey, promise me something?" He hummed at me. "Don't go out there and find some new English girl to dance with."

He gave me a quick glance and smiled. "Never. You're the only one that I'll ever want," he said. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand, letting it linger on my knees as I pulled them up to my chest and leaned back.

The two of us chatted back and forth happily as we drove into the city. Bucky told me all sorts of things as we drove. He told me about his time in high school and that he had graduated with honors. He had said that he knew somewhere out there I would have been proud of him so he'd focused on school and managed to get good grades. He'd wanted to go into the Army immediately after school but he had stayed to protect Steve for a while longer. He also told me about family day yesterday and what they had done.

He had made it very obvious that he was thrilled that I had invited his family. I knew that he wasn't close to them, but I wanted to give them a chance to see each other. A few hours passed before we pulled into the City Center and parked. Bucky and I climbed out of the car and headed towards the movie theater. It had gotten bigger since I'd been here. Of course, I'd only been twice before. Steve, Bucky, and I had gone to see both King Kong and Frankenstein here.

We walked into the lobby to check for Steve but he was nowhere to be found. I'd even managed to distract the ticket master long enough for Bucky to slip inside the theater to check for him. Bucky had gone through all of the seats before coming back out and telling me that Steve was nowhere to be found. We'd checked through the parking lot - empty - the front of the theater - empty - and the shopping plaza - empty - before stopping. He was nowhere to be found.

We were about to head to their apartment to see if Steve was there when I saw it. We were passing the back alleyway on the way back to the car when I spotted a fight going on. I could see past the larger man but I could tell that it was a fight. And the poor thing that was standing near the trash cans was losing the fight. I grabbed onto Bucky's arm to stop him.

There was no way that either one of us would let this happen. "Hey, what's going on over there?" I asked Bucky.

He glanced over and I heard the sigh escape his throat. "Not again," he groaned.

That was when I realized that Bucky knew the boy that was being beaten to a pulp. And that was when I realized that I knew him too. He barely looked different. "Is that Steve?" I asked.

"Stay here," Bucky warned me.

Even though I could have ended the fight immediately, I decided to patronize Bucky and stand back. He wanted to be the brave man and I'd let him. After all, he was the man. I supposed that he was supposed to protect me. And it might make my reappearance for Steve a little less shocking if he saw Bucky first. Steve had clearly just been hit as he laid on the ground. The bully was standing back, watching my smaller friend. Steve pushed himself back to his feet, his hands up in front of his face. He was staggering around, probably seeing stars.

The bully very clearly couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You just don't know when to give up, do you?" he asked.

"I can do this all day," Steve said, barely able to breath.

Despite the situation I smiled at him. Same old Steve. Although I really didn't want to see him get hit again. He reared back his fist to punch the bully but the larger man was expecting it. He caught Steve's fist with his forearm and used his free right hand to deck Steve across the face. Steve fell backwards and knocked into the trash cans hard. The bully went to advance on Steve once more.

But before he could, Bucky stepped in. He grabbed the bully by the arm and shoved him backwards. "Hey, pick on someone your own size," he growled. The bully attempted to hit Bucky, who dodged out of the way and punched the bully in the face. He stumbled backwards and I watched as Bucky raised his leg and literally kicked him in the ass. The bully stumbled back towards me.

He spotted me quickly and straightened up. "Coming to your boyfriends rescue?" he asked me.

He was breathing heavily as he took a few steps towards me. In the background I could see both Steve and Bucky stiffen. Bucky made to walk over to us and so did Steve - who hadn't realized who I was yet. I smirked. He'd have been dead thirty seconds ago if I really wanted it. I stared at him for a moment looking for weaknesses. Past injury to right arm. Fractured ulna. Approximately ten years old. Regrown improperly; mal-union. Two centimeter difference. Weak. Susceptible to new breaks. The bully reached out and grabbed for my arm. Before he could touch me I wrapped my arm around his old break and wrenched it behind his back, feeling the bones stretch.

He was trying desperately not to scream. "Lay a hand on me and I'll rip yours off. Find something better to do," I snarled. Giving his arm a rough squeeze, the bone snapped and I shoved him backwards.

With wide eyes - and stumbling movements - he ran away from me, cradling his arm gently. "Freak!" he snapped back at me.

At least I'm not the one with the broken arm. I scoffed and brushed myself off. "Yeah, like that's the worst thing that anyone's called me," I said to myself before turning to face the boys. Bucky was grinning at me and Steve's jaw was hanging limply. "Still getting in fights that you can't win, I see," I told him softly, wearing a small smirk.

I had been terrified to see Bucky because of my feelings for him. My heart soared when I saw Steve. Here we were, all three of us back together after so long. "Victoria. Vic?" Steve breathed out.

He probably couldn't believe that I was really here. "Last time I checked," I joked.

His face turned upwards as he smiled at me. "Vic!" he called out.

Bucky stood back and watched with a smile as Steve ran up to me. He grabbed me in a tight hug and I smiled, wrapping my arms around him. I wanted to tighten them but I was afraid of hurting him. I could feel every bone in him. He was so small and frail. It almost made me nervous. We stood together for a few moments before he backed away from me. He brushed a few stray hairs off of my face and smiled down at me. Down? He was taller than me now. Just by half of an inch, but still. It made me laugh. I was always taller than him. I could see the tears in his eyes as he grabbed my hand, looking me over.

Unlike Bucky, Steve had barely changed. His blue eyes were still glittering with a hidden smile and he was still a scrawny little thing. "My God. You're here. You're really here," he whispered.

"You're taller than me now," I said, unsure of what else to say.

He grinned at me and nodded. "Still not smarter I'd be willing to bet," he joked.

"You'd win that bet," I quipped back. We both smiled at each other.

Finally the question that I'd been waiting for came. "What happened? Where have you been?" Bile rose in my throat. I wasn't ready to tell them. Not yet. Not when this was supposed to be a happy day. "And how did you two find each other again?" he asked, motioning between myself and Bucky.

"It's - It's not really important where I went," I stuttered. I could tell that even Bucky had been hoping that I would answer the question. One day I would. But not today. "Just know that I went because I didn't really have a choice. I would have told you both where I went, but I couldn't. I've regretted leaving every day since. Just so you know. When Bucky said that you'd be here I knew that I had to come. I've missed you. The two of us have so much to catch up on," I said, running my hand over his arm.

Steve looked a little thrown. "Just the two of us?" he asked.

His head was turned towards Bucky. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. My adoptive father is Colonel Chester Phillips. He's in the Army. He placed me as a Sergeant in the Army with him last training season. It just so happens that Bucky was in my unit. We've been getting to know each other again for the last two and a half months," I said.

Steve smiled at me. "Wow. So you work for the Army now?" he asked. I nodded at him. "Doing what?"

My eyebrows rose. No one ever asked what I did. Usually there was only one of two choices. I either worked as a nurse or I worked in the offices. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"I can't imagine that you're a nurse and something tells me that you wouldn't dare be caught doing something like paperwork as a clerical worker," he told me.

A grin passed over my face. He knew me well. "See?" Bucky asked, throwing an arm over my shoulder and Steve's bringing us into him. "It's almost like eight years never passed," he said.

Shoving him off of me gently, I turned back towards Steve. "You're right. I work with the recruits. I train them and oversee a science division on the Army training grounds. The Strategic Science Reserve. That's the subdivision that I work for. If the project that we're working on goes well I'll be receiving an honorary degree in Genetics from Harvard. And today I'll be announcing my new position as Corporate Operations Officer at Stark Industries," I said.

Now that I said it all out loud I realized that I sounded extremely busy and impressive. "That's all incredible," Steve said. I smiled at him and nodded. "Have you learned to cook yet?" he asked seriously.

My face fell as we all stood in silence for a moment. Eventually the three of us broke into a loud bought of laughter. I walked towards Steve and wrapped him in a hug. "Of course not," I said.

The three of us chuckled for a moment before sobering. "How did you meet Howard Stark?" Steve asked me.

Bucky rolled his eyes and I grinned. "He works with us at Camp Lehigh. We got to know each other and he decided that he wanted another worker there with him. So he offered me the position. Once our project is done, I'll be joining his team," I said.

"Sounds like everything that you ever wanted is working out."

"In their own ways," I said, giving Bucky a sad stare for a moment. Steve caught the passing moment but said nothing. I was grateful for it. "I just wish that I would have never left you boys. You always were my family," I said softly.

Steve moved forward and grabbed my hand, placing me in between himself and Bucky. "Always are, Vic. We're always gonna be here for you. And when you're ready to talk and tell us about whatever happened to you all of those years ago, we'll be here to listen," he told me.

My eyes watered for a moment and I pushed it back. This was a happy moment. "I've sworn to you both that I will tell you the truth about what happened. And I will. But not today. This is a happy occasion. We're here to celebrate Bucky's Army graduation," I said, giving him a gentle shove, trying to boost my spirits. "So that's enough about me. We've got forever to talk about me and catch up. What about you?" I asked, trying to turn the conversation. "What were you doing out here with him?"

Steve ran a hand through his blonde hair. "He was talking during an advertisement about the troops and joining the military. He kept telling everyone to get on with it and play the cartoon. It's disrespectful," he told us.

Moving forward, I brushed back Steve's hair and checked him for the quickly forming bruise on his cheek. I sighed at him. "You're too nice for your own good," I said.

"Sometimes I think you like getting punched," Bucky told him.

"I had him on the ropes," Steve argued.

I smiled at him and wiped off some dirt from his chin. "We could see that by the way that you were making friends with that trash can," I teased. Steve shoved me as I glanced down at his pocket. He had a packet that looked very similar to an Army application hanging out. "And what's this?" I asked. He was trying to tuck the piece of paper back into his pocket.

Smacking his hand away I grabbed it and wrenched it away from him, stepping back two paces out of his reach. "Haven't slowed down at all," Steve panted as he gave up trying to get the paper back.

"Never," I grinned at him before handing the paper over to Bucky. "Here."

He opened it and the first thing that I saw was the red 4F. He sighed as he read it over. "How many times is this?" How many times had he done this? "Oh, you're from Paramus now. You know it's illegal to lie on your enlistment form," Bucky told Steve as seriously as I'd ever heard him. "Seriously, Jersey?" he asked, his tone getting a little lighter.

Steve merely stared at Bucky. He seemed to finally be really seeing what he was wearing. "You get your orders?" he asked Bucky.

A lump formed in my throat as Bucky nodded proudly. "Sergeant James Barnes. Shipping out for England first thing tomorrow. That's why Vika is here. We're celebrating together," he said.

Steve and I exchanged a sad stare. "I should be going," he said.

No way. Bucky smiled before wrapping an arm around his shoulder and dragging him along. He motioned for me to follow them and I picked up my pace a little. "Come on, man. My last night. Gotta get you cleaned off," Bucky said.

"Why, where we going?" Steve asked as Bucky took Steve's enlistment form and tossed it to the ground.

Bucky smiled off in the distance. "The future," he said. He handed Steve the newspaper that was advertising the fair. Steve read over the paper blindly following Bucky and I towards the area.

"Also you get to see me speak with Howard Stark for the first time," I said once he had finished reading.

Steve glanced up at me and smiled. "You'll do great."

"I'm going to vomit all over the audience. I'm not exactly fond of giving speeches," I said weakly.

There would be so many people there. And they were all going to want to see Howard. No one had signed up to see me speaking. Maybe I'd make the speech fast. "You gave speeches in front of the recruits every day," Bucky told me.

Glancing over at him, I gave a smile. "That's different. I could beat you guys up if you irritated me," I teased.

He laughed and so did Steve, coming to stand at my side. "Same old Vic," he said. I smiled and tucked my hands into my pocket. "I really should be going out there. Come on, Bucky. You're deploying. Even Vic is working with the Army on something. So why not me?" he asked.

My eyes narrowed at him. "What is that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

He knew almost immediately that he had screwed up. He blushed and shook his head at me. "Nothing. Sorry," he said before looking back at Bucky. "But I should be out there. You know that I could help," he said.

Before Bucky could say anything, I spoke. "I love you to death, Steve, but you'd be flattened out there. We say this because we love you. There are people that aren't cut out to be out there. You've got the soul of a soldier," I said, pressing my hand over his heart. There wasn't the slightest bit of muscle there. "Use it back here. Show everyone that there's a reason to be cheering back home. Help keep spirits high. Things get a little dark back home sometimes," I said, meaning all civilian areas.

It looked like Steve appreciated my comment but I could tell that he still wanted to be out there. "I could be making a real difference out there," Steve said softly.

"You will,' I insisted. And I genuinely meant it. "One way or another, you will. I believe that. If a little girl can get out there and make a different, so can a little pain in the ass shrimp like you," I said, giving him a nudge in the ribs.

Steve laughed at me, rubbing his ribs in pain. Oops. "You must've been a good motivational speaker back at Camp Lehigh," he said once he had recovered.

Bucky stepped in to my defense. "Oh she was," he said, poking at me. I rolled my eyes at him. "Come on, man. I don't see what the problem is. You're about to be the last eligible man in New York. You know there's three and a half million women here," Bucky told Steve as we headed towards the entrance of the fair.

"Yeah, I'd settle for just one," Steve said, glancing down at the ground as we descended the small staircase.

Suddenly a thought popped into my head. Payback for all of the times that Peggy had embarrassed me. "How do you like Brits?" I asked Steve, whose head shot up towards me.

"What?" Steve and Bucky both asked me at the same time.

I waved them off with a smile. "Nothing. Never mind," I said.

Steve looked back towards the ground but Bucky moved over to me with a little glare. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't do it," he said. I gave him a wicked grin, shaking my head. He'd be gone, I could do whatever I wanted with him away. He looked back over at Steve. "And about the girls, good thing I took care of that," he said.

Raising my brow, I realized that he was waving at someone. A brunette girl that was standing under an archway perked up and stood on her toes, waving back at him. "Hey, Bucky!" she chirped playfully.

And she wasn't alone. She was with a blonde girl. "Who are they?" I asked Bucky, glaring at him.

"The brunette is Connie. The blonde is Bonnie. I knew that Steve would be here so I called her. We worked in the same factory for a while. She worked in records and I was on the line. Got Connie on the phone asking if she would come out on a double-date for Steve. She wouldn't come without her friend so I told her to bring her friend too. Two of them to pick from," he said stupidly.

I rolled my eyes at him. Why was it that boys were so clueless? Steve looked terrified at the sight of the two girls. "You do realize that she's only here because she likes you," I told Bucky.

His head shot over to me and he shook his head. "No she's not."

"Yes she is."

A flash of color flooded his face for a moment before fading out. He coughed awkwardly and threw an arm over my shoulder. Steve was trailing behind us. We had agreed that I would tell him about us after Bucky left. Just so we didn't make tonight feel awkward. "Doesn't matter. There's only one girl here I have eyes for," Bucky told me.

"Charmer," I dryly commented. I grabbed his chin playfully and squeezed his face. He laughed at me as the two of us slowed down to stand next to Steve. He was staring at the ground with his hands tucked deeply into his pockets. This time it was me that threw my arms over his shoulder. He glanced up at me. "Buck up, buddy. I bet she has a great personality," I laughed.

The two of us laughed, leaning into each other. "I've missed you so much," he told me before releasing me. He glanced back over at Bucky. "What'd you tell them about me?" he asked accusingly.

"Only the good stuff," Bucky said. Steve brushed his hair out of his face and straightened up. I snorted at him, earning myself an elbow in the ribs from Bucky. We walked up to the girls and I looked them over. "Connie and Bonnie, this is Steve and Victoria," Bucky introduced.

"Hi. Nice to meet you," the blonde, Connie, said. She shook my hand and Steve's albeit hesitantly.

"How are you?" Bonnie offered.

Steve and Bucky kept the introductions moving as I gave the girls a once-over. Not that I really meant to. It was just in my nature. I observed everything and everyone. And perhaps I didn't like that the two of them were very obviously hoping to get Bucky away from me. Connie's hair was perfectly curled and settled just below her shoulders. She had her bangs pulled back with a pink pin. She was wearing a quarter-sleeved white vest with pink flowers going up and down the sides. She had on a pink knee-length dress underneath that was pulled into place by a pink belt. A pink flowered bracelet and pink purse finished off her disgustingly bright ensemble.

She was about Steve's height but she seemed to think that she fitted better with Bucky. I laughed at her and glanced over at her friend. She was just a touch taller than her friend. But thankfully she was wearing a lot less pink. Her blonde hair was also curled perfectly and brushed back but it hung at her chest. She was wearing a red dress with little flowers all over them that went down to her knees. There were tiny flowing sleeves on it and I noticed that she was deliberately trying to pull the neckline down a little every time that Bucky looked at her. She had a pink jacket hung over her arm.

It was easy to tell that my eyes, appearance, and general attitude put them off. They stayed far away from me, only speaking to me when prompted by Bucky. They were speaking a little bit with Steve but for the most part they were trying to speak with Bucky. So I sighed and fell back with Steve, dragging him up to walk with us. I didn't want him to feel left out. After all, they were supposed to be his dates. We were heading towards the convention hall and I finally allowed myself to look around.

I'd never been to something like this before so it was interesting getting to see it for the first time. I could tell that Bucky and Steve were both enamored. Connie and Bonnie kept trying to draw attention to themselves. There was a large crowd and it got a little hard to walk. There was a large steel globe behind us that was coated in gold paint. Fireworks were exploding around us and I smiled. Some were actually the color of my eyes. A hanging train from the tracks above us was running back and forth, carrying more people wanting to come to the fair. As we walked into the hall I glanced up and saw that there were spotlights shining everywhere.

Inside the hall was a little different but no less crowded. There were cases all over the room that were displaying all of the new technology that was being developed. We were walking past Dr. Phineas Horton's Synthetic Man and I glanced up. My eyes narrowed and I shook my head. It wouldn't work. Not without something that was able to reverse the atoms of the human body. A suit wouldn't be enough to start stretching someone out like a piece of taffy. I said nothing though. Steve bought a bag of popcorn and I munched on it with him as we continued to walk through all of the exhibits, nothing particularly impressing me.

None of it would work. As we pressed through the crowd in the hall Bucky fell back to stand next to me. He leaned into me so that he didn't need to shout. "Just think, next year you might have a hand in designing some of this stuff," he said.

"You better be there to cheer me on," I said, jamming my finger into his chest.

He grinned at me. "Wouldn't miss it," he said.

And I knew that he was telling me the truth. An automated male voice over the speaker system called out the repeating greeting. "Welcome to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and the world of tomorrow. A greater world. A better world," it said.

Applause began all around us and I glanced up to see what was happening. The crowd was rushing towards the far corner of the hall. I realized that it was Howard's exhibit getting ready to start. The audience was excited to see him. "Oh my god. It's starting," Connie said, dragging all of us off with him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark," a woman called over the microphone.

My heart skipped a beat. He told me that it was starting at eight! I glanced down at my watch and realized that it was eight-oh-two. Why is my time management so bad? "Oh, damn it, I'm supposed to be up there!" I cried.

"You his new fling?" Connie asked me dryly.

The image of myself snapping her neck flashed through my mind and I choked it back. I was not going to do something like that. No matter how much I wanted to. "Actually, I'm his Corporate Operations Officer. He hired me to work as a geneticist for Stark Industries. My boyfriend isn't up on that stage right now," I snarled. I noticed Bucky's eyes twinkling. "If you'll excuse me."

I was pushing my way through the crowd but before I could, Steve grabbed my arm. "Boyfriend?" he asked me. I rolled my eyes and shoved through the throng of people. "You always did have good time management skills," he called out to me.

"Shut up. Excuse me, move please!" I hollered.

"Knock 'em dead!" Bucky shouted.

As I shoved my way through the crowd I watched Howard begin his presentation. The flying car was up on the stage and I rolled my eyes. It was going to collapse. But whatever he wanted, I supposed. There were five scantily-clad girls up on the stage. They were in black Mary-Jane's with fishnet stockings. Their shorts were about halfway down their thighs - also black. They had black and white striped vests on with black jackets over the top. A stupid black top hat with a red rose pinned on topped off their outfits.

The girls all gradually leaned over and motioned towards Howard, who was running out onto the stage. He'd clearly dressed up his best for tonight. He was wearing a tailored black suit with a white shirt on underneath. He, too, had the red rose pinned onto his jacket. And he also had a top hat on. The brunette girl on the far end of the group broke her stance and walked over to meet Howard in the middle of the stage. He handed her the black top hat before kissing her on the mouth. A sickened feeling sunk in my stomach at the wonder of how many times he'd kissed someone before me. Good thing I'm not a germaphobe. She handed him the microphone before walking off, smirking the whole way.

I did it first. Howard wiped off her kiss and I rolled my eyes at him as I made it to the edge of the stage. Howard motioned for the guard to let me up. "Ladies and Gentlemen, before we get started, I'd like to introduce a friend of mine. This is Sergeant Victoria Phillips. She's currently a geneticist for the Army. Time management is not one of the many skills she possess," he joked.

The audience gave chipper laughs as I walked into the middle of the stage. Many people seemed shocked to see me. I could hear their thoughts. They all thought that I was his new girlfriend. Although they used much cruder terms. I blushed when I could hear both Steve and Bucky cheering loudly for me. I grinned at them before smiling a very fake smile at Howard. He was extremely amused to see me up here, trying to impress a crowd.

Keeping my jaw clamped, I spoke through my teeth to him. "If you kiss me I'll break your jaw," I said as he gave me a peck on the cheek.

Howard mimed my actions. "You mean kiss you again."

"Shut up."

Finally we broke apart and faced the crowd. I gave a small wave. "One day very soon she'll be the Corporate Operations Officer for Stark Industries. She might just be a little bit brighter than me. Just a little bit," he insisted. I smiled at him as scattered laughter was shared by the crowd. "Victoria, would you like to say a few words?" he offered.

He held out the microphone to me and I nodded, moving forward. "Sure. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. And not to worry Howard, it'd be hard to live up to you," I said. There was some more laughter from the crowd. "I'm so grateful for this opportunity. All of my life I've wanted to do something to make a difference in the world. And this is our chance. With Howard, myself, and all of the rest of the wonderful men and women and Stark Industries, I know that we'll be able to change the tide of the war. And if we can't do that, we'll take opportunities like this to make lives just a little bit brighter. Now, I'm not an official member of the Stark team, but I look forward to the day that I am."

Howard walked back over to me but didn't take the microphone yet. "And that day will be soon. Thank you, Victoria. You're a part of the family now," he told me.

I smiled, knowing that his words meant so much more than what everyone else thought. "Thank you. I've taken up enough of your time. Show us what Stark Industries can do," I said, stepping back.

Howard took the microphone and I walked over to the control panel. "Ladies and Gentlemen." I spotted Steve trying to give Bonnie some popcorn, a gesture that she ignored. I grit my teeth at her. "What if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground, at all? Yes." The girls came back to take the tires away from the car. "Thanks, Mandy. With Stark's Gravitic reversion technology. You'll be able to do just that," Howard said.

He turned a button to the side and threw the lever. The car immediately started hovering and I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. The gravity reversal panels were already overheating. Even from here I could hear Bucky. "Holy cow," he muttered.

Howard proudly stepped back and motioned to the car. The audience applauded and I watched as a circuit shorted and the car sputtered, dropping with a loud crash to the ground, sparks and smoke flying everywhere. Taking the opportunity to make the accident a joke, I grabbed the microphone from Howard. "It'll actually work once I'm a part of the team," I said.

This time there was a loud bought of laughter as Howard took the microphone back. "Well I did say a few years, didn't I?" Howard chuckled. I glanced out at the crowd to see Steve walking off to the recruitment center. I sighed and motioned to Howard that I needed to leave. "Thank you for introducing yourself, Victoria," Howard said, understanding me perfectly.

"Thank you, Howard. Enjoy the show everyone!" I called out before heading off of the stage.

I was able to make my way back to Bucky quickly as Howard continued the show. Bucky wrapped me in a tight hug. I could tell that Connie and Bonnie wanted to set me on fire. If only you knew that I could do just that. "You did great up there. And you looked as gorgeous as ever," Bucky told me, pressing his thumb under my chin.

I rolled my eyes and yanked away from him. "Shut up," I snapped playfully.

"I'm serious," Bucky told me before glancing back to speak to Steve, who he didn't know had walked off. "Hey, Steve. What do you say we treat these girls..." he trailed off when he saw that he wasn't there.

"He saw the Army recruitment center back there. He walked off during the presentation," I said.

Bucky sighed and nodded at me. "Let's go get him." We walked over towards the recruitment center, leaving Connie and Bonnie over by two pillars so that we could grab Steve. He was staring at a poster of a faceless Soldier. Bucky shoved Steve on the shoulder. He turned back and stared blankly at us. "Come on, Soldier," he teased.

We were inside of the recruitment center and I glared as everyone gave me dirty looks. "Sorry about that, Vic. I heard you. You sounded great up there. Stark Industries won't ever have someone better working there," he told me.

"Thanks."

"Come on, kinda missing the point of a double date. We're taking the girls dancing," Bucky said.

Steve began to walk away from the poster. His hands were still stuffed inside of his pockets. I could tell that he was heartbroken to have to see everyone else enlisting and be unable to do it himself. "You go ahead, I'll catch up with you," Steve said.

Bucky sighed and glanced over at Steve. I stood back at a slight distance, allowing the boys to fight it out among themselves. "You really gonna do this again?" Bucky asked.

"Well it's a fair, I'm going to try my luck."

"As who, Steve from Ohio? They'll catch you or worse they'll actually take you."

My heart gave a painful twist. He had no idea that it was exactly how I felt about him going off into the war. "Look I know you don't think I can do this," Steve told Bucky, who cut him off.

"This isn't a back alley, Steve, its war," he snapped.

The two went back and forth barking at each other. "I know it's a war."

"Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs."

"What am I going to do, collect scrap in my little red wagon?"

"Yes, why not?"

"I'm not going to sit in a factory, Bucky. Bucky," Steve said, cutting off whatever argument that Bucky had come up with now, "come on, there are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me."

The war was never about the individual Soldiers. But they were always the ones that ended up sent home in droves of caskets. I cringed as Bucky stood over Steve, probably trying to intimidate him out of wanting to go. "Right. 'Cause you got nothing to prove," Bucky told him.

That was when I'd had enough of listening to the two of them argue. I stepped forward and shoved them both apart. They each stumbled, looking slightly thrown by my sudden intervention. "Knock it off! Both of you. This is your last night together for a while. Do you really want to spend it fighting or do you want to go dancing?" I asked them, trying to diffuse the situation.

We all stood in silence and watched each other for a little while. "Hey Barnes," Connie called out, breaking the tense silence. "Are we going dancing?" she asked.

Bucky turned back to them and threw his arms out to the side with a big smile. "Yes we are," he chirped. He turned back to Steve with a sad stare as he began to back away. I didn't move yet. I found myself rooted to my spot at Steve's side. "Don't do anything stupid until I get back," Bucky warned Steve.

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you," Steve said.

I smiled at the two of them. They could fight like cats and dogs and still love each other only a second afterwards. Bucky shook his head and smirked, walking back up to Steve. "You're a punk," he said.

"Jerk," Steve quipped, wrapping Bucky in a quick but loving embrace. "Careful. Don't win the war 'til I get there," Steve said as Bucky backed off a little bit again. Bucky gave him a very improper salute that I glared at him for. Brothers as always. Steve turned to me a moment later. "Are you coming back to the apartment afterwards?" he asked.

Awkwardly I shuffled around. In all honesty I hadn't really thought that far. I was actually probably going to go on a walk all night long. I wouldn't be able to sleep. But I didn't think that would be the best thing for me to. "I was going to just go back to the base and come back in the morning," I lied.

Bucky moved forward and shook his head at me. "That's ridiculous. It's an hour drive both ways. You shouldn't have to do something like that. Just stay at our place. We don't have a spare room but you can take mine. I'll sleep on the couch," he offered.

It wasn't at all proper for me to do something like that, but if they were offering I would take it. Plus, it wouldn't just be Bucky and I. Steve would be there too. "You're sure?" I asked Bucky. He nodded at me. I glanced over at Steve to make sure that he was okay with it too. "Both of you?" I asked him.

He nodded at me. "Of course," he told me.

"Not a problem. It makes more sense that way," Bucky added.

Steve grinned at me and wrapped an arm over my shoulder. "It'll be like old times," Steve told me. I laughed softly and nodded. It would be like old times. Something that I never thought that I would get again.

"Okay," I smiled at the two of them. I walked towards Bucky before stopping and turning back towards Steve. I had been hoping that he would still come with us. I would look like a little bit less of a fool if he were there with me. "Still not gonna come dancing?" I asked him.

Steve shook his head. "I'll meet you guys back home," he told us.

Bucky nodded at him. "Alright," he said. Over Steve's shoulder - who was walking away from us - I spotted Abraham watching us. My eyebrows rose as I glanced at the older scientist, wondering what in the world he was doing here. "Come on girls, playing our song," Bucky said, walking back towards Connie and Bonnie. He stopped when he realized that I wasn't following him. "Vika?" he asked.

Glancing back towards Abraham, I saw that he was giving me a pointed look. I knew when he wanted to speak to me. "You go ahead, alright? I'll catch up with you guys in a few minutes," I told him.

"You know, the point of a date is actually being here," Bucky teased me.

Smiling at him, I gave him a gentle shove. "I know, I know. I'll be there in twenty minutes, alright?" I offered him.

He nodded at me and tucked my hair back behind my ear. "Save you a dance," he told me. I smiled and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. His hand tightened on my back for a moment before releasing me. I could hear him speak as he ran to catch up with the girls. "She's gonna catch up with us in a few minutes," Bucky said.

I rolled my eyes. I doubt that they care what happens to me. I walked up to Abraham adopting my professional attitude. "Dr. Erskine. What are you doing out here?" I asked him.

He didn't seem slightly interested in being a professional. He was grinning brightly. "Victoria! Come, I've found our Soldier," he said.

My eyebrow rose. "You have?" I asked.

He nodded at me and walked me off into one of the hallways. "He's already prepared. I've yet to speak with him. Come, we'll talk to him together," he told me.

I glanced back at where I had left Bucky but he was already gone. "I need to be -"

Abraham spoke over me. "I won't have you more than twenty minutes," he told me.

A small blush fell over my face as I shook my head. Part of me wanted to walk away but I walked with him anyways. We walked through the halls together - both of us earning some strange looks - before stopping in front of one of the inspection rooms. We walked in - Abraham holding the curtain for me. I saw that a Soldier was standing in the room and I glanced over to see a smaller man placing his shoes on his feet. I gave a small start when I realized that it was Steve. Abraham cleared the Soldier from the room with a small 'Thank you.' Steve looked as startled to see me as I was to see him. The curtain closed behind us.

"Vic?" Steve asked curiously.

Abraham wanted to use Steve. No way in hell. Not when I had promised him that I would keep Steve out of trouble. "No," I said.

Both Steve and Abraham looked surprised. "No?" they asked me.

"Absolutely not."

Abraham sighed and switched over to German. Neither one of us wanted Steve to know what we were talking about until we had made a decision. "Why not?" he asked.

"Because he'll die," I answered simply. Steve looked shocked to see that I knew how to speak German. "I just promised his best friend that I wouldn't let anything happen to him. This probably falls under the category of anything," I howled at him.

If he went in here there was a damn good chance that he would die. And Bucky would never forgive me. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him that I could have stopped. Abraham sighed and walked towards me, taking his glasses off momentarily. "This is what he wants, no?" he asked me.

"Of course it is!" I snapped. "And that's why we can't let him."

Abraham moved towards me and I desperately avoided looking at Steve's confused face. "I will ensure that it is safe. Together, we will make sure that no harm will come to your friend," he told me. I still wasn't convinced and Abraham knew that. "Did we deny you of your right to come work for us and show how a woman can be better than a man?"

"He could die," I argued weakly.

Abraham knew that I was running out of arguments for why Steve shouldn't be considered for Operation Rebirth. "We will ensure that he won't. You know what it's like to be told you can't do something because of the way that you look. Because of who you are. Is it fair to do the same to him?" he asked me.

Damn it. "No."

"So?" Abraham asked.

I took in a deep breath and glanced at him. I had conditions if Steve was going to go and try. "Swear to me that we won't undergo Operation Rebirth until we're absolutely positive that whoever is in that chamber, even if it isn't him, will come out of there unharmed," I growled at Abraham.

"Of course."

Giving one last deep sigh, I glanced up at the ceiling at let out a long breath. I closed my eyes, praying that Bucky would never find out about this. "Forgive me, Bucky," I muttered.

"I have your approval?"

I rolled my eyes at my friend. "Even if I didn't give it to you, I somehow figure that the two of you will manage to get him into the Vita-Ray Chamber anyways." He grinned at me, letting me know that I was right. "You're right, I can't deny him something. We might be different, but we're fighting for the same thing. A chance to be looked at as something more than we are right now." I took in a deep breath and spit out my answer before I could change my mind. "Do it."

"He will make you proud. And there's still a chance that it might not be him. After all, he still needs to be chosen, correct?" Abraham offered.

"I suppose."

Steve seemed to have finally managed to remember how to speak. He had been looking very concerned during Abraham and my conversation. "Vic?" he asked awkwardly.

"Don't talk," I ordered.

He nodded at me as Abraham grabbed Steve's file as began looking through it. I had a feeling that he had read it already. "So. You want to go overseas. Kill some Nazis," he said in his thick accent.

Abraham closed the file and looked at Steve. "Excuse me," Steve said, looking shocked.

I rolled my eyes at him. Idiot. That was not the right thing to say. Abraham didn't seem surprised. "Doctor Abraham Erskine. You know your friend." Steve stood and shook Abraham's hand, looking a little more reassured after I nodded at him. "We represent Strategic Scientific Research," he said.

"Steve Rogers. You know him?" Steve asked me, glancing away from Abraham. I nodded at him. Abraham walked over to the small chest and placed down Steve's file, still opened. "Where are you from?" Steve asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I had been a little surprised when I'd heard Abraham's German accent the first time that I had heard him too. "Queens. Seventy-Third Street and Utopia Parkway. Before that, Germany," he answered. Abraham knew that Steve was surprised at his origin. "This troubles you?" he asked.

"No," Steve said immediately.

"Where are you from, Mr. Rogers? Hmm? Is it, New Haven? Or, Paramus?" Abraham asked. I could see the little bit of color in Steve's face drain. "Five exams in five different -"

Steve cut him off. "It might not be the right file," he offered.

Abraham shook his head at Steve. "It's not the exams I'm interested in. It's the five tries." Steve nodded awkwardly at Abraham, clearly not understanding where this was going. "But you didn't answer my question. Do you want to kill Nazis?" he asked.

Steve was silent for a few moments. "Is this a test?" he finally asked.

"Yes," Abraham answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Steve stared in silence for a moment to gather his thoughts. Finally he spoke and his answer made me smile. "I don't want to kill anyone. I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from," he said.

Abraham and I exchanged a bright smile. I didn't want Steve in that Vita-Ray Chamber, but I knew that he would be the perfect man for the job. "Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is a little guy," Abraham said. I smiled at the pair. "Huh? I can offer you a chance." Abraham turned and walked out of the room, pushing the curtain off to the side. I followed him quickly, Steve jumping out and walking with us. "Only a chance."

"I'll take it," Steve said without hesitation as we stood at the front desk.

Abraham nodded at Steve as he opened the file and began fiddling with it. "Good. So where is the little guy from? Actually," he said.

Steve gave a bashful smile. "Brooklyn."

Abraham stamped the file and glanced up at Steve. "Congratulations. Soldier," he said. He handed Steve the closed file and walked off. I saw that he was waiting for me at the edge of the building. Steve opened the file and I heard his gasp of disbelief. A sick feeling sunk in my stomach when I saw the black 1A stamped across the bottom of the file.

Steve looked up at me with wide eyes. I glared at him. "You mention absolutely none of this to Bucky, you hear me? As far as he's concerned, you went back to the apartment and you're going to work in the factory. Understood?" I growled.

Steve knew that I was not kidding. "Understood," he gulped.

I adopted a reasonably friendly smile. "Then I'll see you soon," I told him before strutting off.

Abraham fell into step with me as we left the recruitment center. The dancing hall wasn't far from here. It was just two blocks over and the fair covered the entire area. "He'll be fine," Abraham reassured me.

"If he dies, I'm coming after you," I told Abraham seriously.

"He may not be chosen."

I let out a little scoff and rolled my eyes. "Just look at him," I growled. As much as I hated to think about it I knew that Steve would be the man that ended up in the chamber. "I'll see you at Camp Lehigh in a few days," I greeted, heading off.

As I walked over to the dancing hall I sighed. There went my promise to Bucky that I would keep Steve out of trouble. I just had to pray that nothing would happen to him. Hopefully the serum either wouldn't work and he would be fine, or it would work and I would have time to figure out how to explain to Bucky what had happened with Steve. Maybe I could tell him that we'd taken him to the gym a lot. One way or another, I'd manage. Bucky would be a war hero and Steve would get to make a difference in the world.

And as for me... I wasn't sure. Something would happen for me one day, I was sure of that. But as for now, my life was dependent on the two boys. Steve's attempt in the Vita-Ray Chamber and Bucky's deployment to the war front. One day I would manage to find something to do for myself. But that day wasn't today.

My feet led me blindly over to the dancing hall and I smiled. Fireworks were exploding overhead and the dancing couples were spinning around on the wooden floor. None of them were moves that I knew. A jazz band in the corner was roaring loudly. Almost immediately I spotted Connie and Bonnie - who were standing together and giggling - but Bucky was nowhere in sight. I walked up to the two girls, neither of whom looked thrilled to see me.

"Where's Bucky?" I asked them.

Connie turned over to me. "He's getting the three of us drinks," she said. I didn't miss the way that she said the three of us. Of course she meant herself, Bonnie, and Bucky. "Where's Steve?" she asked after a beat. I was mildly surprised that she'd bothered asking.

"He headed home."

The three of us stood in a tense silence for a few moments before Connie spoke up again. "How exactly did you meet Howard Stark?" she asked with a haughty snarl.

My eyes narrowed at me and I felt my nails dig into my palms, breaking the skin that sealed itself together again immediately. When I let go of my palms I saw that Chronicle was staining the tips of my nails. "We're working on a project together for the Army," I answered simply.

"What is it?" Connie asked me.

"Classified, actually," I said.

Bucky's laugh filled the air and I turned back to see him. He had two glasses of champagne and a glass of gin for himself. "She hasn't even told me what it is," he said, slinging an arm over my shoulder. I wanted to burn him for even knowing these two but I restrained myself. "Sorry. I didn't know that you'd be back already. I'll go get you a drink too," he told me.

"Thank you," I bit out.

We waited until Bucky had gone out of earshot before Connie spoke again. "Why would he want to hire you though?" she asked me.

Once more I rolled my eyes. If only I was born a man. "Because I happen to be very good at what I do. I'm a geneticist and I specialize in human mutation," I told her.

Their eyes went wide. I assumed that they had no idea what I meant. "Who taught you?" Bonnie asked me.

My eyebrows rose at her. Did someone have to teach me? "No one. I'm self-taught. I've just always been good at everything. Math, science; I'm good at everything like that," I told them.

They both scoffed at me. "Are you a good cook?" Connie asked.

"No."

"Can you sew?" Bonnie asked.

"No."

"Have you ever taken care of kids or a boyfriend?" Connie stepped in again.

"No."

They didn't look the least bit impressed with my answers. I wondered if they would be impressed if I showed them what I could really do. "So you aren't really good with anything that actually matters?" My jaws ground together as sparks flew off of my fingertips and an animalistic growl escaped my throat. "As sweet as it is that you're good at those types of things, they aren't things that women can do. You sound like you actually want to be out on the battlefield. It's for men," Connie said.

My eyes narrowed at her and for a moment I debated flashing them their true color. "And its small-minded thinking like that that would have kept us in the Stone Age. Time passes and we have to progress. The day will come that women are Soldiers. Mark my words," I told them.

"Those will be sad days," Bonnie quipped.

I took a step towards the two girls and watched as they both stumbled back. I could smell the adrenaline norepinephrine releasing. Their flight responses were working and their muscles were tensing, ready to run. They were scared of me. "Why? Because we'll actually be equal?" I snarled at them.

"Because we'll be savages!" Connie howled at me. Savage. If only you knew. "Women don't fight. It isn't in us. We're meant to stay at home and take care of our families," she added.

I grinned at her. "The world will always need women like you. The ones that stay at home and take care of the house. But the world will also need people like me. That aren't afraid to get out there and do what needs to be done," I told her.

"Bucky doesn't want something like that. He's just like every other guy," Connie said.

My eyebrows rose at her. He was nothing like every other guy. And that was why he meant so much to me. "You know nothing about him if that's what you think," I told her.

They were both standing with their arms crossed over their chests. "He wants the kind of girl that's going to be at home waiting for him with a hot meal and their kids on her arms. Not some girl that thinks that rolling around in the mud is pretending to be one of the boys," Connie snapped at me.

"Really?" I asked, smiling. "Then why is he here with me?"

That seemed to be the last straw with the two of them. They both scoffed loudly and whipped around on their heels, slamming down their drinks and storming off. As they walked off I could hear their curses. The two of them were complaining about me all the way out of the hall and I knew that they would still be complaining about me when they got back home. Not even a minute after they were out of sight, Bucky walked up behind me with a drink in his hand. Bourbon. I smiled at him. He knew me so well.

"Here you are," he said, handing me the drink. "Where are they going?" he asked, spotting Connie and Bonnie hailing a cab.

I shrugged my shoulders at him. "Not a clue."

"Really? Because they seemed perfectly content until you came back. What did you say to them?" he asked me. He didn't seem bothered that they had left. More amused than anything else.

"I don't remember," I lied.

"Sure. Wanna dance?" Bucky offered.

I shook my head at him, placing our drinks down on a table. I wasn't really sure that I wanted one right about now. "Why don't we head back? Steve is there and waiting. You two should be together on your last night home. For a while at least," I said softly.

The tune changed from the upbeat jazz to a slow ballad. Look for the Silver Lining. It was the first song that I had ever heard. Bucky had shown it to me not long after we'd met and he'd had me dance with him. To this day, it was the only time that I had ever danced. I smiled at the song, knowing that Bucky had requested it. He was standing towards me with his hand held out to me.

"One dance," he asked softly.

Smiling at him, I nodded, stepping forward and into him. The dance was informal - which was good considering I still couldn't dance. I clasped my right hand in his left and let one hand rest on his chest, unable to reach his shoulder. His spare hand laid gently at my waist. Couples were spinning slowly around us as I leaned my head on Bucky's shoulder. He had me tucked gently into him. Halfway through the dance he leaned down and pressed a small kiss against my forehead.

My heart was fluttering gently in my chest. "You had better come back, you hear me?" I said softly.

"Yes ma'am."

We swayed towards the edge of the dance floor. Finally I worked up the courage to ask him the question that I'd been meaning to all night. "Do you know how long you'll be deployed?" I asked him softly.

Bucky shook his head at me. "It doesn't say." Of course not. Most men would die beforehand anyways. They needed a certain amount of points too before they could come home. And most men would be staying out there until the end of the war. "It doesn't matter though. I'll be back before you know it. You're gonna wait for me, right?" he teased.

"Who else would put up with my crap?"

"No one sane," he quipped back.

The two of us laughed, falling back into the rhythm of the dance. Bucky swayed us back and forth, definitely leading the dance. I made sure to tease him that this was the only time that he would ever lead when it came to the two of us. He agreed with me. We stood together for a few minutes more before the song ended. Bucky pressed a kiss against my lips and I smiled into it. The dimmed lights came back up and we bowed sweetly to each other before leaving hand-in-hand towards the car.

We walked back through the fair and past the theater before getting to the car. Bucky opened the door for me and I climbed in, tucking my legs underneath myself and leaning against the window. We headed back to Bucky and Steve's apartment, laughing at each other the whole time. Bucky told me that I had completely outshone Howard. He told me that I might have been a little biased. We chatted happily the entire time, trying to ignore the impending departure in the morning.

As we headed into the building I smiled. It looked very much like the older apartment building that we all used to live in. It was a little taller and looked a little nicer. Bucky walked us up to the second floor and we headed towards the door in the back of the building. He unlocked the door and I felt a pang of guilt as I walked in. It had been a damn long time since I had last been in Steve or Bucky's home. Steve walked out of the kitchen with a sandwich in hand. He looked a little surprised to see us back so early.

I glanced up at the pictures and smiled. In the very corner of the room was a picture of the three of us as kids, laughing and playing on a swing set. "Back already?" Steve asked. We both nodded. "You two have fun dancing?"

"We only got through one dance," Bucky said.

"How?"

Bucky sent me a playful glare. "Ask friendly over there," he said.

I rolled my eyes at him and gave Steve a gentle shove when he laughed at me. "I really didn't say anything to either of them." Neither boy seemed to believe me. "Can one of you show me to the bathroom? I'm going to get washed up," I said.

Bucky pointed back through a hallway set in between the kitchen and living room. "Third door back on the left. You can use anything that you need. You can use my robe too, if you want," he said. I smiled and nodded at them, flipping on the light in the hallway and heading into the small bathroom.

Bucky's P.O.V.

Vika hadn't been gone for fifteen seconds when Steve spoke up. "She's beautiful," he said softly, knowing that Victoria had astoundingly good hearing. Bucky smiled at Steve. He knew that it was like something a brother would say about his sister after not seeing her for a long time. It was how he felt seeing Jessica and Rebecca yesterday.

"Yeah. She is," Bucky said softly, staring after her.

"Is she doing alright?" Steve asked.

Bucky doubted that there was ever a time in her life when she wasn't alright. She was the one person that he knew that could have managed herself even if the Earth was on fire. "She's alright. I know that she's worried about me. Honestly, I'm more worried about her. She doesn't think before she acts. Sometimes I think that she forgets that she's not indestructible," he sighed.

He loved her, but he knew that she didn't think things through. She was reckless. It was an attribute that she shared with Steve. "She loves you. She always has. Just make sure that you write her," Steve said. He nodded. He ensured to write her as much as he could. "She's no fool. She's not going to hurt herself. I'll keep an eye out for her," he said.

"And who's going to keep an eye on you?" Bucky asked.

Steve smiled and walked into the kitchen, grabbing three beers. He wasn't sure what Victoria thought about beer, but they didn't have any wine. "The two of you, it's nice," he finally said.

Bucky's head snapped over at Steve. "What?" he asked dumbly.

Steve smiled at his best friend. He was no fool. He could see it the moment that they had looked at each other in the alleyway after saving him. They were together. "Come on, Bucky. I don't have the best vision but I'm not blind." Bucky grinned. "The way that you look at her. The way that she looks at you. The two of you are together, aren't you?" he asked.

Bucky stood in silence for a moment, opening the bottle in his hand and taking a long sip before nodding. "It happened when we were at training together. We met up again and it was like no time had even passed. And one day... it just happened. And it felt right. Still feels right. Almost makes me wish that I wasn't leaving," he sighed.

"You'll be back. And I'll take care of her in the meantime," Steve reassured Bucky.

The two of them stood against the car in the kitchen for a moment before Bucky laughed. "She'd kill us if she knew that we were talking about taking care of her," he said. They both laughed at that one. Because it was completely true. She was always so determined that she could manage everything on her own. "I damn well better come back," Bucky said.

Steve knew exactly why he wanted Bucky to come back. That was his brother. And he knew that Bucky didn't want to die. But he also knew that there was something more than that. "Why's that?" he asked.

Bucky grinned at Steve. "Because I'm gonna marry her," he said.

And for the first time in years, he felt like he might really have a chance. Steve smiled at him. He always knew that one day he would be at their wedding. "Good to see that your aspiration still hasn't faded. The two of you belong together, Bucky. Whenever you're ready to ask her, she's gonna say yes," he said.

"I hope so," Bucky muttered. He wasn't sure how she felt about settling down, but he hoped that if it were with him, she'd at least give it a chance. "Now come here and help me. I have a plan."

Victoria's P.O.V.

Wringing out my hair that I had washed in the sink - Peggy had put far too much product in it for my liking - I walked into the living room. My hands were tucked in the pockets of Bucky's fluffy bathrobe. It was way more comfortable than my military uniform. Turning the corner my jaw dropped and I laughed loudly. On the floor there was food and candy everywhere. A few bottles of beer were set up on the counter too. I grabbed one and took my seat next to the boys that were already in their pajamas. The coffee table had been pushed out of the way and in its place was now a few board games.

"What is this?" I asked, fighting back laughter.

Bucky stood and grabbed my hand, pulling me with him towards the floor. I laughed and collapsed onto my knees. "You were gone for so long that you missed out on a lot of fun nights. Plus it's my last night. Thought I'd spend it the same way that I spent some of my best," Bucky said.

"Come on!" Steve said, dragging me over towards the board games. "Time for something that we can actually beat you at."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right," I snorted.

We played one of my personal favorites first. It had been a long time since I had played it, but it turned out that I hadn't forgotten it. It was called Hex and it was a strategy game. It was played on a hexagonal grid, ours was eleven inches by eleven inches. It was played by alternating placing markers or stones on unoccupied spaces in an attempt to link the opposite sides of the board in an unbroken chain. It was only meant for two players so we had to take turns. I beat both Bucky and Steve, and Steve beat Bucky when they played. They wouldn't let me play anymore when I'd managed to win playing just myself against the two of them as a team.

After that we'd moved onto another strategy game. Chess. Definitely not my favorite game but I was still good at it. Stryker had forced me to play against him after not eating or drinking for days. Especially after they'd spent the day injuring me. I almost always won. We played against each other and a few times I let the boys win. They seemed to know that my heart wasn't really into the game so they'd decided to move on with another game.

Finally - after losing to a few other strategy games - the boys wanted to play something that they didn't think would take strategy. And they were right. We played Monopoly, and we spent most of the night playing. They didn't think that strategy did come into play in trying to buy the right properties. I also knew the physics to spin the dice exactly where I wanted it to go. I wasn't even playing to win fairly. I was enjoying the looks on their faces when they kept having to take loans from the banker - myself - because I kept bankrupting them.

It was after one in the morning when we finally finished the game. I'd won. We were now up on the couch after finishing off the last few beers and talking with each other. The drinks had probably gone to Steve's head a while ago. He had passed out in the middle of a sentence. Bucky and I had both laughed for a long time over that. He was now laying pressed up against me, his head on my waist. I was laying against Bucky, pressed into his side, my head on his chest.

Our hands were twined with each other. He was poking at my nails and I was running my free hand against his pants. I could feel him shivering underneath me and I smirked at his thoughts. "I can't even remember the last time that I had this much fun," I whispered.

We didn't want to speak too loudly. The moment was perfect and if we spoke too loudly, it felt like we might shatter it. "You know that you've missed all of this," Bucky teased.

"Believe it or not, I have."

Bucky glanced over at Steve and gave him a gentle nudge. He might as well have been dead. He didn't move a muscle. Bucky and I both chuckled. "I guess we aren't actually going to sleep in the rooms," he said.

"I don't want to wake him up," I said softly, tucking myself into Bucky's robe. "Plus I've got a good enough pillow right here," I teased, settling into Bucky's chest.

He grinned at me and leaned onto the edge of the couch. He had one arm laid over my arm and the other wrapped around my waist. "What are you going to do without me?" Bucky teased.

Worry. "Actually manage to get my work done."

Bucky glanced down at me and laughed, turning the lights off. There was one still on in the kitchen but neither one of us wanted to move. "You're going to miss me," Bucky said.

"I'm going to throw a party," I teased. We both laughed softly at each other. "You should get to sleep. You've got an early day tomorrow," I whispered, almost wishing that I hadn't said anything.

Bucky nodded, pressing his lips to my forehead. "I'll wake you up when it's time to leave. Goodnight Vika," he said softly.

I leaned backwards, grabbing his head and pulling him into a gentle kiss. Far sooner than I would have liked, I let go of him, smiling at the kiss he pressed into my hair. "Goodnight Bucky."

Even as I laid there, my head gently resting against his chest, I wished that we could have remained in that moment from earlier tonight. Standing together, spinning in the middle of the dance floor, wrapped in each other. Without a damn care in the world. It was the moment that I would have to hang onto in the coming months. Because no matter what happened tonight, that was the way that I wanted to remember Bucky and I. Happy and healthy. Hopefully the way that we would always be.

A/N: I know this is a long chapter! But I really didn't want to cut it up and I'm going to probably have a few shorter chapters coming up so I decided to just go with it. Steve is back! How did we like having him back? So the next chapter will be the last to feature Bucky for a while. So sad. Question: Would you like to see some Bucky P.O.V. moments in the coming chapters during the early days of his deployment? Let me know! Anyways, thanks for all of the follows and favorites! You guys rock! Until next time -A

rebelforcauses: Thank you! I hope you're still enjoying!

kuppcake: Thank you! I try to balance out the story without focusing solely on one aspect. As you can probably tell, I love detail lol. Hope you like this chapter :)