Chapter 25! A quarter of the way to 100 (please, please, God don't let this story have 100 chapters.) thank you all again for your support. Truly this story would be nothing without my lovely readers and their unbelievably kind words. It's a serious boost to my ego though and I feel like I'm starting to believe I'm actually a capable writer, lol imagine that!

This chapter yet again is dedicated to 0peneyeZ! She did the translations and did a wonderful job at it once again! Thank you so much Kat, for working so far and giving up your time to help me out! 3

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving weekend to my fellow Canucks!


Chapter XXV

When Bucky awoke he was aware of a small, feminine hand grasping his own. He looked up and noticed how everyone was asleep except for Dugan. Bucky observed how the fire had mostly died out and all that was left were a few red embers. The logs had collapsed into themselves, and very little heat was still given off.

The crisp fall air made him shiver as it settled deep into his bones. Birds were chirping and singing their happy little songs. Sun was shining through the reddening leaves of the trees. Frost had settled over everything as they slept, coating the ground in a thin layer.

Bucky turned and saw Lucy sleeping about only a foot away from him. She had settled her blankets next to him the night prior, a smug smile on her face as she did so. Her evil twinkle in her eye caused his stomach to flip, and his groin to tighten ever so slightly.

Bucky knew he wouldn't get a wink of sleep knowing she was so close by. There was nothing more he wanted to do than take her in his arms and hold her pressed against him like he had the night before. It was torture to be so close to her yet so far, having to act appropriately since they were more public.

Yet, it didn't stop the two of them from getting under their individual blankets and facing one another before falling asleep. Lucy gave him a small smile as she rested her head against her arm. Bucky eagerly returned her grin, remembering what it felt like to be resting on top of her and between her legs in the field they had been in.

Their hands had found each other in the dark as they laid apart. Bucky wanted nothing more than to go beside her and wrap himself around her again but he knew he couldn't.

He settled with holding her hand in his. The two didn't separate the entire night, and when Bucky awoke he saw how she still slept. Her hair was strewn about, looking messy. Small twigs were in it and he couldn't help but chuckle as some drool trailed down from her mouth.

Dugan noticed how Bucky was awake and smirked when he saw how he and Lucy held hands. He gave him a suggestive wink and Bucky rolled his eyes. He released her hand and got up, stretching out his back after sleeping on the hard ground.

His joints popped and his body hurt in places he didn't even know could be hurting. He walked over to Dugan with sleepy eyes, where he saw he had been cooking over the last remaining heat of the dying flames.

"I still go by what I said on the plane," Dugan chuckled as he hovered over the fire he was attempting to rejuvenate. In a small pan that Bucky assumed had been in his pack, Dugan was cooking small bird eggs. Bucky hadn't seen eggs in months and his mouth practically dropped at the sight of them. Clearly, he had gone out early and found them as everyone slept.

"Which was?" He noticed how his stomach growled at the sight of the food.

"That you two will be engaged by the end of the year," The man spoke with a smug grin, looking up at Bucky with a cocked eyebrow.

Bucky rolled his eyes and shoved him lightly but he said nothing. Although he would never admit it, he liked it when Dugan would comment on his and Lucy's relationship. It proved to Bucky that it wasn't just obvious to him and others could see it too.

"What? No comment from the peanut gallery?" Dugan barked out another chuckle.

Bucky pursed his lips and shrugged, "I guess we'll see," He stared over to where Lucy slept. He knew he wanted to wake up with her like he had the last two days for the rest of his life.

"Are you actually entertaining the idea of it? What happened to always wanting to be a bachelor?"

Bucky had never wanted to get married. To him, it was too permanent. He could never imagine being with one woman forever. After all, only almost a year prior he was bedding a random woman in London. What was her name, again? Oh, that was right. It was Mary. Or Margery. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. Because at that time Bucky had never considered anything but the single life. Except for one brief moment three years prior when he first saw Lucy.

Now, he didn't mind the idea. Not one bit. In fact, after his fantasy his mind had played out the day earlier that focused on them being married, Bucky even enjoyed the idea of it.

In fact, it was what he wanted. More than anything, he just wanted her. He would be so lucky to be the man she called her own.

He only smirked as he sat down on a log that had been placed by the fire the night before. "I think I'm falling for her," Was all Bucky could respond with. His eyes flashed over to her once more, making sure she was asleep. Love was something he never really thought about. But when he looked at Lucy, he knew that she was who he had been waiting for his entire life.

He wasn't sure what love was exactly. He didn't think he had ever really been in love. Although he told an ex-girlfriend one time he loved her simply because she said it first. But it was nothing like how he felt for Lucy. Lucy made him miss her when she was in the same room. He wanted to spend all his time with her. And he wanted nothing more than to see her laugh and smile and to make her happy. And he constantly was worried something would happen to her. Bucky knew that if the occasion called for it, he wouldn't hesitate to protect her over himself. He figured that's what love was. And he was well on his way for falling for her.

"Oh yeah, I mean who could resist that?" Dugan teased as he gestured to Lucy as drool continued to lightly trail out of her mouth.

"It's adorable and you know it." The fact he found it endearing and sweet was another sign that he had it bad. Most fellas would take one look and run the other direction, but not Bucky. No, he wasn't going anywhere. He was in it for the long haul. "That's my future wife right there," He said with a large smile on his face.

"It's disgusting but that's what love will do to you." Dugan continued teasing, shaking his head and the two of them.

"Hey take it easy with the whole 'love' stuff, alright? I'm not there just yet." Although Bucky knew he would undoubtedly fall in love with her. It was only a matter of time. He was still in disbelief that someone could love someone else so quickly. To him, it seemed like they needed more time. But he was very, very close to getting there.

"Whatever you say. But uhh, say if you two do get married… Make sure you get me an invite," Dugan smiled up at him.

Bucky only clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. They said nothing more about it, but there wasn't much else that needed to be said.

As people began to wake up, Lucy remained asleep. Something told Bucky that she needed the rest after the long day they had. She had a hard time after the two of them returned from the clearing as she found out she was responsible for Otto's death. She had never killed anyone before, and Lucy had taken it pretty hard despite the man being the worst scum of the earth.

As people began to eat their breakfast, Dugan mentioned how he had only been able to find six bird eggs. Meaning, someone would be left out. With Lucy being asleep, she would be the one to not get any.

But Bucky had another idea. With him being the last one left, he grabbed the pan and walked over to where Lucy was sleeping.

He shook her awake gently and she opened her sleepy eyes and yawned.

"Mornin' sleeping beauty." Bucky smiled down at her. She sleepily stretched and then yawned. Her tired eyes looked dull and lacking the usual brightness they had. But despite her still not feeling like herself, she was still able to give him a small grin.

Lucy smiled and stretched again, her eyes catching on the pan, "Whatcha got there?"

"Breakfast in bed," Bucky showed her the contents in the pan and she gasped. It was a little different than the breakfast in bed he really wanted to give her. What he wanted was to make her pancakes and bacon and drink their morning coffee together. And then spend the rest of the morning in bed kissing, and later him on top of Lucy and having her calling out his name. But this would have to do for the time being.

"Oh my God!" She smiled, "I haven't had a fresh egg in months!" She sat up with her blanket draped around her shoulders.

Bucky passed her a fork and Lucy began to dig in. Everyone else was looking at Bucky with curiosity, wondering just why he would give up his breakfast like that.

She groaned in pleasure as she took the first bite and Bucky chuckled as he opened up his rations. Lucy looked at him mid-chew and then frowned.

"Did you not have any?"

"Nah, I wanted to make sure you had some. Plus I'm not that hungry." He lied, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Lucy smiled and then continued eating. She danced happily as she savored the flavour, despite it missing a little salt and pepper.

She stopped eating when she finished half the egg and passed the pan over to Bucky, "I'm not that hungry either." She smiled as she shared.

Bucky couldn't help but feel his heart well up from her generosity. He wanted to make sure she was getting taken care of, and Lucy wanted to do the same thing for him.

He happily accepted and sunk his teeth into the first bite. They said nothing as they continued eating. But Lucy was touched by his gesture of kindness, and also bringing her breakfast in bed. The thought of it instilled something in her as she thought about laying in bed on a Sunday morning and having him bring her food so they could eat together and spend the day under the covers wrapped up in one another.

It was a nice thought, and she smiled as her mind drifted to it. But her happiness was soon cut off when she realized that there was business to take care of.

After Lucy finished eating she stood up and brushed her hands on her pants. She looked around at the men and then spoke, "I decided to go to Sigegarsson Castle."

"And how do you suppose you do that?" Whitney replied snarkily, "You think they're just gonna let you waltz in there?"

"We only have to get past the guards at the front. We can pretend to be high ranking German officials and we take Otto's invitation. After that, we somehow get inside."

"And you think no one is gonna be suspicious of the obvious woman who is a high ranking German officer?" Whitney scoffed, "It's a nice thought but it's not gonna work, darlin'."

"It will, because I won't be the officer. Someone else will be, and I'll pretend to be a guest." Her plan required Bucky to come along. She would rather he was out of danger, but there wasn't much of a choice since she couldn't very well pretend to be a high commanding officer given the fact she was a woman.

"And you're gonna do that how?" Dugan asked her skeptically, thinking there might be a few holes in her plan.

Lucy shrugged, "I'll improvise I guess." She saw the looks of uncertainty flash in all of their eyes. Lucy watched them as their hope deflated, "Look, I know it's not a good plan but it's all I've got. So unless someone else has something better, this is what we're doing. And I can't force any of you to come. So, if I have to I'll do it on my own." Lucy explained. She knew she had to complete her mission. Failure wasn't an option for her anymore, and she knew she had to do this. Even if she was doing it by herself.

"Hard pass on this one, compadre." Whitney quickly said, opting out of not going.

Bucky nodded, "I'll do it." He said and Lucy gave him a small smile. She didn't expect him to volunteer, but she was thankful he was coming anyway.

"I will too," Dugan replied, giving Lucy a reassuring grin.

"Well, then that settles it!" Lucy noticed how no one else, not even Gabe Jones volunteered. "Bucky will pose as a high ranking officer and talk to the guards until we manage to get in. Then I'll get dressed and try to find out what Schmidt has done with the Tesseract." Lucy explained. She would have told Dugan to take Bucky's role, but he looked too Irish and no one would ever believe that he was a German officer. After all, she had heard his accent and it could use some work, to say the least.

Bucky cringed as Lucy spoke, "See, there might be a small problem when it comes to the whole me 'pretending to be a German' thing."

"What you do mean there's a slight problem?" She demanded, "You told me you spoke German!" She recalled back in the cavern under the church where they had first met Bucky told her speaking German wasn't a big accomplishment because he spoke it too.

He winced and then scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Here's the problem, doll." He looked at her, giving her a sorry look, "I may have exaggerated my abilities a bit,"

"I'm sure that's not the only abilities thing you've exaggerated about." Dum Dum found it the appropriate moment to make a joke. Bucky turned to him with an unamused expression, giving him a look that simply asked 'why'.

Dum Dum only put his hands up in surrender, "Sheesh, tough crowd." He said as no one reacted.

"Gentlemen, can we focus?" Lucy snapped. She realized they were going to have to go back to square one with her being the German officer.

"Hey, pige look I'm sorry. But I think you better do it." Bucky replied although he didn't like the idea of her going alone to try to convince guards of who she was.

She shot him a look and huffed, rolling her eyes, "I can't believe you lied to me about speaking German!" It was obvious she was pissed at him. Bucky had almost forgotten what it was like being on the other end of her wrath. He didn't like it. Not one bit.

"You were intimidatingly smart! I had to come up with something! And I wasn't lying when I said I spoke it. I just don't speak it well."

"Ugh, I still can't believe you!" Lucy replied frustratedly, rubbing her hands through her messy hair. She was frustrated at the fact he had lied. Now, they were going to be in a much more compromising position.

"Wow, they really are like a married couple." Gilbert Whitney made the smart ass reply to Lee Miller who was sitting beside him.

Lucy gave Whitney a look that told him to cut it out. He stopped immediately, especially after what happened yesterday when she shot Otto in the leg. Everyone knew better than to push Lucy's buttons when she was pissed off.

"We can still pull this off," Bucky nervously rubbed his knuckles and said reluctantly. He hated the idea of Lucy so it alone, but he knew she was capable.

"Yeah," Lucy nodded, trying to convince herself, "I can do this."


I can't do this. Was all that ran through Lucy's head as they pulled up to the gates in front of the very heavily guarded castle the day after they had that conversation.

Bucky drove the stolen car in which they were traveling in. Lucy sat in the back, as any high ranking officer could. She knew that German women weren't high ranking officers in the army, but she hoped to God that the guards were too dumb to question her.

As they approached the gates with caution, waiting as another car was checked and the guest presented their invitation, Lucy swallowed her nerves thickly.

Bucky turned to Lucy as he drove, he looked at her and they made eye contact. He didn't speak, but she knew what he intended to say through just by the look he gave her.

"I'll be okay," Lucy whispered. It was so odd seeing him in a muted grey Nazi uniform. She hated it and wished to see him in his blue jacket again. The one that brought out his eyes and made them sparkle.

"Should I turn away so you guys can kiss or somethin'?" Dugan asked.

Bucky turned to him with an annoyed look and exhaled frustratedly.

"Ah, sorry," Dugan replied with a smirk, "I forgot that's not your style, Sarg. If you kissed her you'd have to throw her out of this moving vehicle." He was referring back to the plane.

Bucky looked even more annoyed at his comment but Lucy had on a large smile. She chuckled, but her expression soon changed as soon as the automobile in front of them moved and suddenly it was time for her to get into character.

"Remember if anything goes south get yourself out of there." Bucky reminded her. He still couldn't believe that he was allowing the one person he was meant to protect in one of the most dangerous places possible.

Lucy nodded in understanding. Once more, their eyes met as Bucky glanced back at her through the rearview mirror. She gave him a reassuring smile just as they pulled up.

Bucky rolled down the window crank as the guard looked at him with an odd look. Dugan had his hand on his pistol in case things took a turn for the worst. He swallowed a lump in his throat and then gave a small smile to the guard who was staring down at him.

"Guten Abend" Good evening. He said with a pursed smile and in the best German he could muster.

"Name und Einladung, bitte" Name and invitation, was all the gruff guard could say as he looked on in suspicion at everyone in the car. He had a deep frown that creased his brows together and Lucy could feel her heart racing in her chest.

"Es gibt ein Problem." There is a problem, Bucky cringed as he spoke timidly, something Lucy had never seen before, "Jemand hat einen kleinen Fehler bei den Einladungen gemacht. An sich kein großes Problem... Aber jemand wird definitiv gefeuert weden." Someone made a slight error on my employers invite. It's not that big of a deal… But someone will definitely be getting fired. Bucky presented the invite, and then added for good measure, "Oder erschossen." Or shot.

The two guards looked at one another with a look of worry and then stared down at the invite. "der Name?" The name? They checked the list they had as they cross reference invitation.

"Hanna Sauer. Wie Sie sehen können, gab es ein Problem mit der Einladungsliste. Mein Otto steht nicht drauf. Bestimmt ein einfacher Fehler, aber eine sehr sehr große Beleidigung. Ich stelle mir vor, dass eine Kündingung der Verantwortlichen nicht zu viel verlangt wäre? Hanna Sauer. As you can see, there was a problem with the invitation list. Otto is on it. Surely a simple mistake, but a very very large insult. I'm sure that firing the one responsible isn't too much to ask for? Bucky then swallowed thickly before adding once more, "Oder derjenige könnte geköpft werden." Or that somebody could be beheaded.

The man realized that the name was feminine looked at his comrade and said something in a hushed tone. Bucky's threat did nothing to worry them. Since they returned the invite to him and then answer, "Wir werden Sie nicht reinlassen, wenn Ihre Einladung nicht zu Ihrem Namen passt." We will not be letting you in if your invite does not match the name.

Bucky was about to answer when suddenly Lucy made a move and got out of the vehicle.

"Jetzt haben Sie mich dazu gebracht, aus dem Austo auszusteigen. Sie haben mich dazu gebracht, auszusteigen! Schauen Sie was Sie angerichtet haben!" Now you made me get out of the car! You made me get out of the car! Look what you did! Lucy exclaimed, pulling all her acting skills out as the men looked confused. "Sind Sie so dumm wie Sie hässlich sind?" Are you as stupid as you are ugly?

"Es gibt ein Problem mit Ihrer Einladung, Fräulein" There is a problem with your invitation, Fräulein. They looked at her with an odd expression, never having seen a woman in such a masculine uniform before. Let alone a woman who would dare question them or yell at them in such a degrading manner.

"Fräulein? Fräulein?" She demanded angrily. The blatant disrespect of them calling her simply 'miss' when she was clearly an officer irked her even though she was only in character.

"Jetzt haben Sie es getan!" Now you've done it! Bucky exclaimed and worriedly pinched the bridge of his nose, looking stressed. "Wegen Ihnen ist sie ausgestiegen!" You've made her get out of the car! He was trying his best to be a sidekick, attempting to channel his finest impression of Charles.

"Diese Verwirrung und das Level des Unprofessionalismus hier ist unglaublich! Wie haben Sie es in die Armee unseres Vaterlandes geschafft? Muss doch schwer gewesen sein, so ganz ohne Hirn!" This confusion and the level of unprofessionalism is unbelievable! How did you make it into the army of our Vaterland? Must have been difficult, without any brains! Lucy demanded, and then grabbed the list of names right out of the soldier's hand. They were in shock at the way she was speaking to them, and looking as though they didn't know what to do. "Ein trainierter Affe könnte Ihren Job erledigen! Wussten Sie das? Ein Affe ist schlauer als Sie! Und er sieht auch besser aus." A trained monkey could do your job! Did you know that? A monkey is smarter than you! And they're better looking as well.

They looked on at her in shock. Their mouths open and closed like a fish's in disbelief. Flustered, they looked on at her uncomfortably, like children being scolded.

"Wie sind Sie an die Position gekommen, hmm? Stand in der Stellenbeschreibung, dass ein Trottel gesucht wird?! Können Sie nicht lesen? Mein Name ist genau hier, aber es muss einen Fehler gegeben haben, weil da ein anderer Vornahme steht!" How did you get these positions, hmm? Was the description under the job showing that they needed a moron!? Can you not read? My name is right here but there is a mistake since it was made out to another first name. She pointed to Otto's name on the chart.

"Aber die Namen stimmen können Sie nicht reinlassen." But the names don't match. We can't let you in. One of the men said rather shakily, looking nervous.

Lucy only cocked her head while she had exceptional posture, put her hands behind her back and stood up straight, "Vielleicht swollen Sie dem Führer erklären, dass seine Representanten am Tor aufgehalten wurden?" Well, perhaps you would like to be the one to tell the Führer as to why his representative wasn't allowed past the gates?

The man paled and he looked at his comrade, and then skeptically back at Lucy. She raised an eyebrow and then they looked shaken as they finally nodded.

"In Ordnung, Sie können rein." Alright, you can go in. They finally spoke and Lucy felt relief wash over her. She could have immediately let her shoulders drop and released a satisfied sigh but instead, she kept herself together. Muttering something about why morons shouldn't be allowed in the army, Lucy got back in the car and let out a shaky breath.

"We're good," Bucky said more to himself than to anyone else. His heart had been pounding in his chest as Lucy conversed with the guards.

He made sure to check back on her through the rearview mirror as he drove into the incredibly large castle entrance. The place was built a very long time ago but had since transformed into an incredibly lucrative home. Lucy looked up as they went up the drive to see the large stonework as well as all the intricate details in the architecture.

As Bucky looked back and saw her flustered Dugan made sure to compliment her performance. Bucky had been sure that it wouldn't work, but he should have known at that point Lucy knew what she was doing.

Lucy directed him not to pull up to the front, but rather the back where the valets had been parking the other automobiles. Bucky listened eagerly, not wanting to have to deal with any more Nazi's than what was necessary.

After they parked and got out of the car, Bucky looked to Lucy who was deep in thought and forming a plan. "Now what, Doc?" He asked her as she looked up and the castle and bit her lip.

"Not sure yet. I haven't planned that far," Was all she answered with. Lucy had no idea how she was going to sneak in without warranting suspicion as to why a woman was a military officer. Thankfully, the guards were too dumb and threatened by her, but higher officials wouldn't be and she likely would be apprehended on sight.

Lucy looked up to the castle and noticed how a window was open a couple of stories above. A drain pipe was right beside it, and suddenly Lucy got a flashback from her time in Egypt. She remembered having to climb to escape, and Lucy knew she would likely be able to do that again if she didn't have any more options.

Granted, this was much higher up than the simple one-story house in Egypt, but Lucy knew she might not have a choice.

Looking to Bucky, she sighed and then began taking off her jacket and hat. "What are you doing?" He asked her as she unbuttoned her shirt a bit to give her more flexibility and began rolling up the sleeves to her elbow.

"I'm gonna climb up there," She gestured to the window and Bucky immediately had his hit the ground.

"No, no way. That's not happening. I'm not watching you fall to your death." He insisted, getting nauseous just looking at the height of the window. He hated heights, and he wasn't about to let the woman he had feelings for climb that high up.

"Relax," Lucy shoved her jacket at him and winked. Bucky rolled his eyes at her nonchalant attitude and how she didn't seem worried. Meanwhile, he was worried sick at even the mere suggestion.

"Hard to do that when you're about to be climbing forty feet in the air," Bucky mumbled as Lucy stretched and then began her climb.

"Why?" She called back down with a smirk, "You worried?"

"I just don't wanna have to catch you if you fall." Bucky swallowed a lump in his throat as he saw the woman he wanted to protect more than anything start moving up the drain pipe.

He was shocked to see her doing it with remarkable ease, and Dum Dum chuckled as Bucky watched in minor surprise at seeing the nimble way she moved. "I guess you have nothing to worry about," He looked up and clicked his teeth, saying with a devilish tone, "Don't be so tense, she'll be fine."

Bucky hadn't even noticed how his fists were clenched and his jaw was locked. He felt like he could barely breathe as he watched Lucy climb higher and higher, her boots being carefully placed on the edge as she inched her body upward.

"Just enjoy the view," Dugan noted crassy, his eyebrows going up as they both realized they were at the perfect angle below to ogle Lucy's behind.

Bucky looked at the man, surprised by his inappropriate comment and scolding, "Knock it off!"

"Hey, I know you're into her and all that and that's good for you, pal. But the rest of us fellas don't have a lady in our bed to keep us warm at night. That ass is the highlight of my week," Dugan chuckled again as Lucy kept climbing.

Bucky sighed and rolled his eyes before admitting as he looked up, "Yeah, mine too."

He tried not to think of the way it was pressed against his groin the other night. Or how she felt as he rested between her legs as he was over top of her. Controlling his sexual thoughts about her was getting harder and harder with each day. And Bucky even found himself embracing them instead of trying to push them away like he had been doing since the moment he realized he had feelings for her.

They continued watching, Bucky cringing as Lucy lost her footing for a second but then regaining it. His heart was pounding in his chest, and he felt his adrenaline racing for her.

"She's like a spider monkey!" Bucky looked up in awe, his eyes squinting as she moved further and further up. The way she moved was so fluid and with such ease, Bucky would have guessed that she had done it before.

"That's one hell of a woman." Dugan spoke in admiration and look his head in disbelief as he watched her.

"Boy, don't I know it." Bucky looked up and suddenly felt pride well up as he watched her. He felt giddy as he turned to Dugan and with a big smile "I am definitely gonna marry her." He said it with the same confidence he told Steve when they had first met three years prior. This time though, he was determined to make it work. His mind flashed back to how she had told him she wanted him the night before and suddenly Bucky's stomach flipped. He couldn't believe that she reciprocated his feelings.

Dugan looked at him with a cocked an eyebrow, "Yeah I thought so too. Until now. She's too good for you."

Bucky just looked annoyed and gave him a questioning look, as a means to ask why he would say such a thing.

Dugan only shrugged and then replied with a smirk, "It's true!" He defended himself.

"I know, but don't say it." He rolled his eyes with a sigh at the man as he scowled.

Dugan patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, "Yeah, yeah don't worry. That dame's crazy about you. You've got a good one. Let's hope if you do end up getting hitched that your kids take after her; because no offense, but she is far more impressive than you."

Bucky smirked as he watched Lucy safely fall safety through the window a little clumsily. "God, I hope so. We're gonna make some damn cute babies one day."

"Not too soon I hope," Dugan cocked an eyebrow and watched as Lucy's feet disappeared inside as she fell into the castle and a loud banging noise was heard as she landed on the floor, "Hate to lose that one due to you not putting on a jimmy hat."

"She's not going anywhere." Bucky couldn't imagine having to be separated due to carelessness or the army finding out they were romantically involved. He finally just got Lucy back, he didn't need to lose her again. "Plus, we're gonna need years of practice of making kids before finally gettin' it right." Bucky added just for good measure, sounding like the smuggest bastard in the world as he thought of all the times they could 'practice'.

Dugan only looked at him as Bucky spoke and shook his head, "You're one lucky son of a bitch, you know that?"

Bucky shrugged, once again thinking back to how Lucy had asked him to kiss her the night before. "Yeah, I know."


Lucy's muscles were shaking by the time she climbed through the window. She clumsily fell as soon as she got in, smacking against the hard floor and feeling something topple over her as she laid on the ground breathlessly for only a moment.

The boys were both still waiting for her to get to safety, and she figured that they would figure out on their own how to get into the castle.

As Lucy looked around, she noticed she was in some sort of powder room. It was nicely decorated, with a mix of furnishing from the turn of the century but also some more modern inclusions. She stood up and noticed the large vase with an intricate bouquet in it and Lucy looked at it in shock. She never expected Nazi's too be too concerned with flora and making things look pretty and full of life.

As Lucy stood up and tried to catch her breath she soon realized she wasn't alone in the powder room. A woman emerged in shock at Lucy looking disheveled and in a uniform.

She squealed in surprise and was about to head out of the room when Lucy had her eyes catch on her.

"Wait!" She requested. The woman was suddenly curious and Lucy looked down her dress in surprise. They looked roughly the same size, and Lucy realIzed what she had to do and sighed. Closing the door with her hand and standing in the way so the woman couldn't leave, Lucy looked at the red satin dress she was wearing up and down.

She sighed, before apologizing, "I am so sorry to do this,"

It took only a whack in the head with the vase Lucy had just been admiring for the woman to hit the ground like a sack of flour. The vase was shattered all over the ground, the flowers scattered. Lucy looked again with pity at the woman's unconscious figure but she knew that it was necessary to carry out her mission.

As Lucy began to strip down, the only thought that ran through her head was: here goes nothing. It wasn't necessarily easy to be calm while about to partake in a suicide mission but Lucy knew it was just something she had to do.

It took her only a few moments to get the woman out of her dress and place Lucy's uniform on her to preserve her decency. Lucy shimmed in the dress, realizing it was a little snugger than she was used to due to her curves.

She jumped around a bit trying to get the zipper all the way up. Once she finally got it on, Lucy had to take a moment to look at herself in the mirror.

The red silk brought out all the dark hues in her hair and eyes. She hadn't seen herself in a dress in nearly a year. As she stared at herself Lucy didn't even recognize the woman looking back at her in the mirror.

Trying to do something with her hair, Lucy did a simple updo, stealing some of the woman's bobby pins and placing them in her dark locks.

Finally, she rummaged through the small clutch the woman had brought and fished out a red lipstick. Lucy painted it on her lips, smearing the crimson tones over it. She had to blink a couple of times as she realized that this was the most beautiful she had been in so long. Lucy hadn't felt that way in a while, and only until recently with Bucky did she know she was still desirable.

Looking at the strangers' reflection in the mirror and staring herself in the eye, Lucy convinced herself one thing. The opposite of what she was thinking when she first began the mission … I can do this.


So sorry this chapter was slightly uneventful. The next one will have a toonnn of action! Plus some fluff for all my romantics out there. ;) I'll try to update as soon as I can (hopefully within the next 24 hours!) Because I'm very excited to share what I've been cooking up!

Please review! They inspire me so much and are so lovely and touching to know you are all enjoying the story so far. And don't forget to follow/favourite.

-A