A/N: Welcome to my new series, Starcrossed! A New Journey will be the first installment, and I'm excited to share it with you all.
Brooklyn, New York, July 1922
Josephine Howard walked beside her mother on the way to their new apartment. Josephine looked around and huffed in irritation. She was absolutely devastated that her family had to move from Oakland, California all the way to Brooklyn, New York. She had been ripped away from her best friend and taken all the way across the country, much to her dismay.
"Mama, I don't want to be here," Josephine complained.
Anna looked down at her five-year-old daughter and sighed heavily. She and her husband had had this argument with their daughter since they told her that they were moving and honestly, it was exhausting at this point.
"Josephine, we haven't even been in Brooklyn for one day," she chastised her daughter. "How can you know if don't like something when you haven't even given it a chance?"
Josephine looked up at her mother and a pout took over her features. "It doesn't have Mary or my other friends."
Anna pursed her lips, understanding where her daughter was coming from. "I know it's a big adjustment, Josephine. But we have Mary's address, you can always send her a letter. And I'm sure that you'll make new friends."
Josephine let out a 'humph' and folded her arms across her chest petulantly. "I guess so."
While Anna did empathize with her daughter and understood that this move was going to be a big adjustment, she refused to accept that kind of attitude. She had raised her daughter to be better than that.
"Josephine, do I need to tell your father about your attitude?" Anna raised her eyebrows.
Josephine looked up at her mother and chewed on her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her father, and she knew that her mother would follow through on her threat.
"No, Mama," Josephine mumbled. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, sweetheart. I know this is a lot." Anna assured gently. "It's a lot for me and your father as well. But we'll all learn to like it here."
As Anna led Josephine into their new apartment, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes spied on them through the crack of Steve's front door.
"Look at that, Stevie," Bucky whispered to his best friend. "A new kid in the neighborhood!"
"She looked upset," Steve noted with furrowed brows.
"Maybe she just needs new friends," Bucky muttered, excited at the possibility of adding to their little friend group. "We should get your ma to take us over."
~/~\~
The next day, after the Howards had settled into their new home, Sarah Rogers walked over with a plate of cookies in her hands and the boys on her heels. Even though she was more than a little confused that the boys brought this up to her, she was always happy to welcome people to the neighborhood.
Sarah knocked on the door politely and waited until Anna opened the door.
"Hello?" Anna asked, her brows furrowing slightly.
"Hi!" Sarah beamed. "I'm Sarah Rogers, I live just down the hall in 4C. I just wanted to welcome your family to the neighborhood."
"Oh!" Anna's face switched from confused to excited. "How thoughtful of you. Josephine, Milton, come here please!"
Milton walked over to the front door with Josephine and took his place next to his wife. He adjusted so that Josephine stood in front of them.
"This is Sarah Rogers," Anna looked up at her husband.
"Hi," Milton smiled politely. "I'm Milton Howard, this is my wife Anna, and our five-year-old daughter, Josephine."
"Oh, it's so exciting to have a new child in the neighborhood," Sarah gushed. "This is my son, Steve," she gestured to the small blond boy. "And this is his best friend, James Barnes. His family lives on the floor below."
"Everyone calls me Bucky though!" he added with a large smile.
Josephine studied the boys closely. Steve seemed much smaller and slightly younger than Bucky. Meanwhile, Bucky had messy brown hair and slightly darker blue eyes than Steve had.
"It's nice to meet you," Josephine replied politely.
"Wanna come play with us sometime?" Bucky asked hopefully.
Josephine looked up at her parents, who nodded in encouragement. This is just what she needed to settle into their new home better.
Josephine looked back at Steve and Bucky, a small smile gracing her face. "Yes, please."
"Well, we can set something up for tomorrow," Sarah smiled as she handed the cookies to Anna. "We'll leave you to it, but if you need anything, just come by."
"Thank you," Anna replied sincerely, excited at the possibility of making a new friend herself.
The small family watched as Sarah, Steve, and Bucky walked back to their respective home. Milton ruffled Josephine's hair and smiled down at his daughter.
"See, sweetheart? Making new friends already," he assured her.
Josephine looked up at her parents and smiled slightly. She still wasn't in love with the idea of living in New York, but at least she might make some new friends after all.
~/~\~
A few days later, Bucky and Steve ran up to the Howards' door and Bucky knocked, practically bouncing with excitement. Anna opened the door and smiled sweetly at the boys.
"Hi, boys," she greeted.
"Hi Mrs. Howard," Bucky replied politely. "Can Josephine come to play with us at Steve's house?"
"Well, I don't see why not," Anna replied. "Josephine! Sweetheart, come here please!"
Josephine walked over to her mother, holding one of her dolls that she had been playing with. "Yes, Mama?"
"Steve and Bucky are here," Anna started. "They wanted to see if you would like to play with them at Steve's house."
Josephine looked at the two boys, who were smiling hopefully. "That would be fun. Thank you."
"Alright, have fun, sweetheart," Anna told her daughter. "I'll come get you in an hour when it's time for supper."
"Okay, Mama. I love you."
"I love you, too, sweetheart."
Josephine followed the two boys to Steve's apartment. When they walked in, Mrs. Rogers was cleaning up a little bit and smiled when she saw Josephine.
"Oh, hi, Josephine!" Sarah beamed. "I'm so happy that you came over."
"Thank you, Mrs. Rogers," Josephine replied politely.
"Oh, darlin', you can just call me Sarah," she assured. "The boys were just drawing in Steve's room."
"We also have checkers," Steve added, almost shyly.
"C'mon," Bucky beamed as he grabbed Josephine's arm and tugged her toward Steve's room. "Where'd ya move from?"
Josephine sat down on the floor of Steve's room and held her doll on her lap. "California."
"Whoa," Bucky muttered. "That's pretty far away. Why'd ya move all the way to Brooklyn?"
"Daddy's job moved here. So we had to." Josephine shrugged. "I kinda miss my old home."
"I bet you'll start to like Brooklyn, at least a little bit," Bucky replied. "Stevie and I can show you all sorts of neat things around here. Can't we, Stevie?"
"Yeah. Plus, Buck also has sisters that you can meet." Steve added.
Josephine perked up at the idea of meeting new girls. She appreciated that Steve and Bucky had invited her to play with them, but she didn't exactly have a lot in common with the boys. Josephine also realized that she hadn't really asked any questions about either of the boys.
"How old are you?"
"Oh, well I just turned five on July 4th," Steve replied.
"And I turned six this past March," Bucky added.
"Well, how'd you both meet?" Josephine's brows furrowed slightly.
"We've lived in the same place since we were born," Bucky answered. "But now we go to the same school. You'll probably be in Stevie's class next year."
Josephine nodded and studied Bucky slightly. "If your name is James, why does everyone call you Bucky?"
"My middle name is Buchanan," Bucky answered.
Josephine quirked a brow slightly. "What if I wanna call you James?"
Bucky shrugged, slightly confused as to why anyone besides his own mother and Mrs. Rogers would want to call him James. "I guess you can."
"That's a neat doll." Steve pointed at the doll in Josephine's lap.
Josephine grinned and looked down at her doll. "It's called a Raggedy Ann doll. She's my favorite. I got it as a present for my birthday in May!"
Bucky smiled at Josephine, enjoying her excitement as she raved about her doll. Even at six years old, Bucky became enamored with this girl. Of course, at this point in his life, he wasn't really sure what that meant at all.
For the next hour, the three children colored and played checkers with one another until there was a knock on the door.
"Josephine!" Sarah called out. "Your mother is here!"
Josephine's shoulders sagged slightly in disappointment. She was quite ready to end her time with Steve and Bucky.
"Thank you for letting me play with you both," she smiled at the boys.
"We can always play tomorrow," Bucky assured, sensing the girl's change in emotion.
"You can come to my home," Josephine suggested.
"Josephine!" Anna called out. "Time to go!"
Josephine waved at the boys before rushing out of the room before her mother could get upset. What she had yet to realize was that she had forgotten her Raggedy Ann doll in Steve's room.
"Sorry, Mama." Josephine apologized. "I just wanted to say goodbye to Steve and Bucky."
"Well, it seems like you've had fun," Anna smiled. "Ready to go?"
Josephine nodded and smiled up at Mrs. Rogers. "Thank you for letting me come over."
"Of course, sweetheart. Anytime."
Just as Anna and Josephine were about to walk out of the door, Bucky came rushing into the room.
"Wait! Wait!" he called out.
Josephine frowned and turned to look at him with her brows pulled together in confusion. However, she realized why he had stopped them when her eyes zeroed in on the Raggedy Ann doll in his hand.
"You almost forgot this," Bucky handed her the doll.
Josephine hugged the doll to her chest and smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you, James."
Bucky just smiled back at her and before she knew it, Josephine was hugging him tightly. Anna smiled softly at the sight, genuinely happy that her daughter had been able to make new friends so quickly.
"Bye," Bucky whispered as Anna and Josephine walked out of the apartment.
Anna looked down at her daughter as they walked down the hall. "I'm glad you had fun with the boys."
Josephine nodded in agreement. "I guess New York isn't so bad."
