This is probably the shortest chapter I've written, and I didn't want to make it this short, but it was the best place to cut it off or it'd be like 4k words…Lemme know what you guys think.

Chapter 34

"I'm not ready for you to go." Her voice was like a whisper, her hands cold against his cheeks. "I want more time."

"I know, I do, too," he murmured back, tucking her scarf closer to her cheeks. "And we will. As soon as I win this war and we can all come home, alright?"

Connie allowed a small smirk to grace her features as her hands dropped from his face to his wrists. "Who says I'll wait for you?"

"I don't expect you to," he said, oddly serious, and all amusement left her face. Bucky reached up and dragged a thumb between her brows, trying to smooth out the lines there. "I'm serious. If I don't—"

"Stop it," she demanded harshly.

He tucked a hair behind her ear that the wind had blown in her face. "If I don't come back, make someone else as happy as you've made me, alright?"

"Stop it," she repeated, voice breaking this time.

"All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy."

She pushed on his chest lightly with a huff. "What about you, Buck? What about your happiness? What if you come back and I'm married to another man with a house and kids—"

"I'm happy if you're happy, Doll," he told her with an easy smile and a peck on the cheek.

She narrowed her eyes at him as he straightened and she grabbed him by the lapels of his uniform, pulling him back down to her and kissing him properly, long and hard. She could feel the tears running down her face now and he reached up with a hand to brush them away as he pulled back.

"Do me a favor," he murmured, resting his forehead on hers.

"Anything," she breathed.

"Watch out for Steve and my sister?"

Connie let out a genuine laugh. "Not sure if I'll be as effective keeping Steve out of trouble, but I'll give it my best."

"That's all I ask." He glanced behind him at the train, where Steve was speaking with a few other men shipping out. "I've got to go. I want to talk to Steve—"

"I understand," she said quickly, noting the regret and clouded emotions on his face. She knew he wished he could stand there and talk with her forever, she felt the same. She felt so much more, but she couldn't force the words out of her mouth. If only he would say them first, she thought selfishly. "I have to get to work soon anyways."

He kissed her once more. "I said my goodbyes to Ma and Rebecca this morning, you and Steve were the only ones left."

"Well," she said, smoothing out the front of his jacket. "Get it over with so you can come back to us soon, alright? And don't go finding some new dame in one of those nurses, you hear me?"

Bucky chuckled at her undying façade of optimism. He loved that about her. "Yes, ma'am. Only nurse for me is you, Doll." She reached up and poked him in the nose with a giggle, but he didn't miss the way her cold-bitten cheeks grew just a few shades redder.

"Do great things, Sergeant Barnes," she grinned before bouncing on her toes and pecking his cheek. She nudged him in Steve's direction, who was standing alone on the platform now. Most of the other soldiers had finished their partings and had made their way into the cars. "Now, go tell him to make my job of watching him easy, alright?"

"I'll write to you," he promised, backing away slowly.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I'll write back if I'm not too busy."

"Of course," he laughed. And then his back was to her and the smile dropped from his face, his heart pounding fiercely in his chest. There was a pinch behind his eyes that he refused to acknowledge, and he fought the tears tooth and nail.

He focused on Steve, now, throwing an arm around the smaller man as he guided them towards the car he needed to board.

"I have a job for you," he said sternly, and Steve looked up at him. "I need you to watch over Connie and Rebecca."

"Is that all?" Steve chuckled, pulling away. "Buck, I woulda done that, you didn't have to ask."

"Alright, fine," Bucky conceded, crossing his arms. "Then the only job I have for you is to please, please stay outta trouble, alright?"

"No promises," Steve grinned and Bucky rolled his eyes.

"No, I need you to promise me."

Steve continued his grin and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I promise I'll try."

"I told Connie to watch after you, too, you hear me?" Bucky dropped a hand on Steve's shoulder. "Don't make her job harder than it needs to be." With that, Bucky pulled Steve to him.

"Be careful, Buck," Steve murmured as they pulled back.

"Yeah, I'll try."

Bucky blinked, eyes focusing on the toaster across the kitchen from where he was sitting at the island. Slowly, the ringing in his ears dulled and he let out a loud, long breath. It was like he'd been daydreaming, but he knew he'd been pushing off that memory too long. As soon as he'd sat down after leaving Clara in her apartment, it had hit him like a truck.

He spun in the stool to turn towards the living room where Steve was still sitting on the couch watching the TV. He was looking back at him over his shoulder.

"Finally back with us?" Steve asked. "It's been like an hour."

"I gave you one job," he said instead.

"What?" Steve sat up and turned to face him properly. "When?"

"I told you to stay out of trouble," Bucky said, standing and walking over to the couch. "I told you I asked Connie to watch after you, and to not make her job harder than necessary because I figured putting someone else out would keep you in line."

"To be fair, they both made out alright," Steve muttered. "I mean, Buck. You were shipping off to war. I'd tell you anything to keep your mind at ease."

"You had no intention of staying out of trouble," Bucky grumbled, dropping down onto the couch next to Steve and rubbing his eyes with the fingers of his flesh hand.

Steve shrugged. "By then, I already knew I was going to participate in the program."

"So you had no intentions of actually staying out of trouble, so you just lied to me."

Steve stayed silent until Bucky glanced up at him with raise eyebrows. "Pretty much, yeah," he shrugged.

Bucky's retort was cut off by Steve's phone ringing. The conversation was short, Steve leaned over to jot down an address and phone number on a scrap of an envelope on the coffee table at one point.

"You're sure he's clean?" Steve had glanced at Bucky briefly, and he knew then they were talking about him in some capacity. "Alright, I'll let him know."

"Well?" Bucky prompted, slouching into the couch cushions as Steve ended the call.

"Dr. Lindley is here in DC still," Steve said, handing over the paper. "He's who I saw after I woke up. Tony checked him over, and nothing in the leaked files has anything negative to say about him. Tony couldn't find anything more than speeding tickets."

"Do you trust him?"

"I do."

Bucky frowned, but finally nodded. "Alright. Fine."