5.
Brooklyn, New York
June 7th, 1942
Bucky hastily begins searching for past times to take Steve's mind off his recent fairly rejection from the army. Quickly, he settles on a day trip to Coney Island. He and Steve haven't been in years, not since they were thirteen and spent their train money on a second hot dog each at lunch time and got caught riding without a ticket on the way home. He drags Connie Capone along with him to keep him company with Steve and Isabel, not explicitly calling it a "double date" but hoping that will be the end result. That's always the plan for these outings, and while it hasn't ended that way yet, Bucky's never been a quitter.
The air by the beach is significantly cooler than in the city, blowing off the water and over the pier. Still, under the hot sun the four friends almost swelter, trying to keep to the shade provided by the buildings and sideshows to protect them from sunburn. Bucky can handle a little sun, thanks to working in the docks, but Isabel and Steve are both rather fair-skinned, and sunburn is not overly flattering.
The beach to the left and right of the boardwalk is an amass of brightly coloured swimsuits, an array of visitors flocking in the water and swimming around the jetty. Despite how enticing the cool, blue water looks from afar, they decide to stay away from the beach itself, since there's hardly an inch of sand available for any of them to sit anyway. The crowds on the pier aren't much better, but the pier also has an availability of food, sideshows and rides. As the four friends step onto the wooden planks, the Cyclone rollercoaster rattles on its tracks above them, screams filling the air. All around them, the boardwalk games produce pleasant melodies and catchy tunes, and sideshow hosts call out to them to have a try of their games. The place is familiar and comfortable, immediately stirring a childlike freedom within them.
"Ah, I missed these sounds," Bucky says appreciatively, like a child in a candy shop upon returning to his boyhood hangout. Bucky takes Connie's hand and leads her down the boardwalk, pointing out things of interest and providing comedic anecdotes for Connie's benefit, since Isabel and Steve either know them all or where present at the time. Isabel and Steve stay back from the couple, following them quietly and enjoying the smell of the fresh sea air. They've all got pocketsful of coin to waste on the games, Steve's coins jingling in his pocket as he walks.
In the far corner of the boardwalk, right up against the ocean, stands a shooting gallery. Little yellow ducks are scattered on a backboard along metal brackets, with a plastic gun sitting on the front bench waiting for someone to use it. The eye-catching sight, however, is the row of teddy bears lining the top of the stall, almost as big as the girls' themselves.
"Oh, they are so cute!" Connie coos, eyeing the teddy on the far end with the pink bow tied around its neck.
"You want one? I'll win it for you," Bucky says confidently, striding toward the booth and handing over the requestioned coinage to the carnie. Connie gushes over Bucky, going up to his side to watch as he picks up the small plastic gun. Steve and Isabel loiter behind, silently waiting for Bucky to make an absolute fool of himself in the name of love. They both know he's never played a shooting galley sideshow before since their parents had always warned them against playing the scheming sideshow games, let alone shot a gun, and the odds of him actually winning the game are pretty slim. Still, he could probably stand to have his ego knocked down a notch.
The game, on the hardest setting in order to win the largest teddies, starts up with a loud melody, the ten tiny ducks flying around the board in random patterns. It would be impossible to hit them all, and that's the entire point of the game; it's nothing but a money-making scheme. Bucky raises the gun anyway and takes his time aiming, closing one eye to see better and pouting his mouth slightly. He pulls the trigger, shooting the bullet, which is nothing more than another piece of plastic. It hits one duck right in the centre of its painted target, causing it to fall backward out of sight. He aims again, and again, firing each shot precisely and taking down all of the ducks, except one. Steve's jaw drops open at the sight.
The stall-owner clearly thinks Bucky's efforts were a fluke, and maybe they were, because he's only slightly reluctant when he hands over the pink-ribboned teddy to a gleaming Connie, who giggles and kisses Bucky's cheek. Bucky looks behind him to smirk cockily at Steve, catching sight of Isabel eyeing the teddy.
"I'd better get one for my sister, too," Bucky tells the man, handing over another coin and waiting for the game to begin again. The carnie watches eagerly, expecting Bucky to not be able to repeat his past actions, but Bucky proves everyone wrong when this time he scores ten for ten, not missing any of the ducks.
The carnie stares open-mouthed at the board, before whirling on his customer. "You're a rotten cheat," the stall-owner growls at Bucky, getting very close to Bucky's face and jabbing his finger into his chest.
"Not a cheater, just a hidden talent I didn't know I had," Bucky says simply, smiling innocently at the man, not in the slightest unnerved by his aggression. "I believe I won a bear, fair and square. Are you really going to deny the prize to such a beautiful doll like my sister?" He asks the man, smirking back at Isabel, who's still rather gobsmacked by Bucky's newly found talent for shooting.
The stall-owner glares at Bucky for a moment, conceding defeat as there really is no way to cheat at this particular sideshow game anyway, before turning his attention to Isabel. "Which one you want, girl?" He asks gruffly.
Isabel points hastily to a blonde, extremely fluffy teddy with bright blue eyes, which the carnie gets down and begrudgingly hands over. She hugs it to her chest protectively as Bucky puts a hand on the small of her back, leading her and Connie away from the fuming sideshow worker. "Let's go, girls."
Connie rushes forward to show Steve her bear, and he feigns interest, even petting it to feel its soft texture when Connie provokes him to.
"Thanks, Buck," Isabel thanks Bucky, lifting the stuffed bear so that it can place a kiss on Bucky's cheek.
"No problem, sis," Bucky chuckles, pretending to push away the bear's advances. He takes another second to look more closely at the bear, his head cocking to the side in thought, before meeting Isabel's eyes. "Kinda reminds me of Steve," Bucky mumbles only loud enough for Isabel to hear, winking at her before walking off with Connie, leaving Isabel red-faced. Steve looks at her questioningly, waiting for her so they can catch up to Bucky and Connie, who are making their way further down the boardwalk.
"I think we should ride on something," Bucky announces to the group. "Before lunch, so that we don't lose whatever we eat."
"Sounds good," Isabel says. "But where will we put the teddies?"
"I'm sure we can find somewhere," Bucky says offhandedly, scouring the area in search for the perfect ride. They've really only got enough money to waste on one ride each, so they have to choose wisely. Overhead, the Cyclone carriage flies past again, giving Bucky his plan.
"Ah, the Cyclone. Perfect."
"Oh, no," Connie says, waving her free hand in surrender. "That's too much for me."
"Yeah, not really my style, Bucky. I thought you meant more the merry-go-round or something," Isabel agrees. "Connie and I can stay with our stuff and you boys can ride. You may as well, we don't know when we'll be back next."
Bucky tuts. "Girls," he says to Steve, rolling his eyes for emphasis. "What do you say, Steve? You up for the Cyclone?" Bucky's look is challenging, as though daring Steve to cave like the "girls" did, though there is some hesitance in his stance since it's likely Steve won't be able to ride the rollercoaster due to his ailments. But Steve squares his shoulders and nods, not one to back down from a challenge. He looks upward into the sky at the towering wood structure just as another cart flies down the side of the drop, rattling loudly along the rails.
"We'll be back," Steve tells the women with a determined smirk.
"Blondes have more fun," Bucky tells the girls as he passes them, following Steve across the boardwalk to the entrance. The line extends in a winding queue, so the girls settle in for a long wait. They make small talk as Steve and Bucky slowly trudge up to the front, managing to snag the very front seat on the carriage. Bucky rubs his hands together excitedly as Steve clambers into the seat in front of him. He drops in beside the blonde and they strap themselves in, Steve already gripping the handrail in front of them in preparation.
"It'll be good, Stevie, I promise. I remember riding it when I was a kid."
"Yeah, sure. Except you don't have life-threatening asthma or vertigo, among other things," Steve says, but there isn't any heat behind his words.
"Well, forgive me for being healthy," Bucky shoots back as the car lurches forward and they begin the ascent up the tracks.
They spot the girls on a nearby bench as the car is pulled up the hill, clacking along on the rails. Bucky waves wildly down to them and they wave back, smiling brightly.
From the top of the incline they have a view over the ocean to their left, and the entire New York region to their right, the Empire State Building stretching upward like a marvel amidst the shorter buildings of Manhattan and its surroundings. Steve takes a second to admire the beauty of his city, the feel of the wind rustling his hair, the feeling of weightlessness beneath him.
Then he literally is weightless, his stomach rising into his throat as they plunge over the edge of the drop, plummeting fast toward the ground along the tracks. Steve's scream catches in his throat. He grips the bar in front of them until his knuckles turn white, holding on for dear life whilst Bucky cackles beside him having the time of his life. Bucky whoops, the cheer lost in the screaming wind. The coaster seems to go forever, winding up, down and around the track and making Steve's stomach lurch uncomfortably repeatedly.
By the time the car stops roughly back in the docking bay, Steve's face is hot and his stomach is churning. Bucky and Steve clamber back out of the car and down the ramp toward the girls. While Steve focuses on not throwing up, Bucky rambles on behind him about the adrenaline rush and the amazing technology behind that kind of ride. Isabel and Connie notice the boys exiting the coaster and make their way over through the building crowds.
"Didn't you like it, Steve? Or was it a little too much for you?" Bucky asks playfully, knocking Steve's shoulder with his own.
"That was a bad idea," Steve says quietly.
Connie reaches Bucky, slipping easily into his embrace. "We saw you guys up the top looking over the city! I wish we'd have been able to see your faces when you dropped over the edge!" She tells Bucky.
"Oh, Steve was a real sight. He was terrified!" Bucky hollers in laughter as he remembers the sight of Steve's terror. "He was all like," Bucky pulls a face of terror, mocking Steve and making Connie burst out laughing.
Isabel, however, isn't laughing, instead looking concernedly at Steve, who's face has turned an unpleasant shade of green-grey. "Steve, are you–"
Steve turns suddenly and leans over a nearby trashcan, coughing and spluttering and depositing his breakfast into the bin.
"Bucky!" Isabel hisses, rushing over the rub Steve's back comfortingly as he throws up. "You shouldn't have forced him to go on the rollercoaster."
"It isn't my fault the little punk can't back away from a challenge!" Bucky defends himself. He pulls a handkerchief from his back pocket and puts it into Steve's hand that holds the edge of the bin.
"Don't look, Is," Steve manages to say, using the handkerchief to wipe at his mouth. "You shouldn't have to see this."
"Steve, I think you're forgetting I'm a nurse. It's fine, I've seen worse," Isabel reassures him.
"No, I–" Steve's protest is cut off by a fresh wave of nausea and he turns to throw up again.
Isabel glares at her brother over Steve's blonde head, and Bucky at least has the sense to look guilty. Even though Bucky knows Steve's an adult and can make his own decisions, he still feels guilty enough to buy Steve a lemonade to settle his stomach on the walk home, punctuating it with a delightful nickname.
Early the next morning, Bucky sits at the kitchen table, wolfing down a quick meal before he's due to leave for the docks. It's barely light outside, the sun only just beginning to rise above the horizon, but the world is already starting to rumble to life, the purr of cars increasing as they drive along the streets of Brooklyn in the direction of the big smoke.
Beside Bucky's coffee and plate of toast is the evening before's newspaper, which he hadn't had time to read last night. He scans the pages quickly as he takes another bite of his toast, bypassing the boring material. His eyes pause on a middle page, an overbearing article taking up an entire page in the paper that usually only has room for small advertisements.
"U.S. Army struggles to find voluntary enlistments". Bucky swallows the lump in his throat and reads on. "On September 16, 1940, the United States instituted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft. This was the first peacetime draft in United States' history. At that time, those selected from the draft lottery were required to serve at least one year in the armed forces. With the entering of the U.S. into World War II, draft terms have been extended to span the duration of the fight. Up until this time, the U.S. Army have not had to rely solely on the draft for enlistment, as after the Attack on Pearl Harbour, voluntary enlistments have flooded recruitment agencies at a steady rate. Unfortunately, the list of willing, qualified candidates had dwindled, and so the Selective Service (draft) will be employed to fill the gaps. This notice is to inform that conscription evasion, an attempt to elude government-imposed obligation to serve in the military forces or refusal to comply with military conscription laws, is a criminal offence. While it is possible to apply for a conscientious objector status, many applications will be rejected if they are seen as irrelevant. It must be noted that the options for conscientious objector include serving as a noncombatant in the military, serving time in federal prison, or taking an in-between position as a specially organized domestic Civilian Public Servant. Immigration to–"
Bucky stops reading. He pushes his chair back and takes his plate to the sink, dumping the rest of his toast in the bin. He's lost his appetite. Then, he grabs the newspaper and tears it angrily, throwing the wrinkled paper in the bin.
He and Steve both registered for the draft back in October 1940, as they was required to do, but in all honesty, Bucky had thought the war would be over well before he'd ever be called up for service. He's spent the last few months humouring Steve, trying to get his friend to realise the error in his ideals. He'd supported Steve, but tried to give him firm pushes in the right direction. Now, karma of some sort seems to be catching up to him. Anytime, anyplace, he could be called up. From now on, he'll be constantly haunted by the suspense of waiting for drafting. He thinks of Steve being called up in the draft lottery, along with himself, and shudders at the thought.
Slipping on his work boots, Bucky makes his way out the door and walks down the street to work, avoiding looking in the apartment's mailbox in the lobby. The image of a small white card summoning him for service burns a hole in his mind before he's even ever seen one.
Seven days after the announcement in the paper, Bucky finds the card in the mail slot, hidden between the other bills and letters. He stands in the lobby for a few minutes looking at the envelope, holding the offending piece in his suddenly shaking hand. He turns it over slowly, reading it over and over.
NOTICE TO REGISTRANT TO APPEAR FOR PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
June 14, 1941
You, James Buchanan Barnes, are hereby directed to report to the Brooklyn Recruitment Office for a physical examination at 9:00am on June 16, 1941. Failure to do so is an act punishable by imprisonment and fine, and may also result in your losing valuable rights and in your immediate induction into military service.
He's been conscripted. So soon after he'd read it in the paper. He guesses it's kind of a relief, since he won't have to spend the next few months or years waiting for the dreaded notice. The suspense is over, fizzled out like a dying fire. Now, all that lies in Bucky's heart is the loitering black smoke of fear.
He has a momentary vision of himself crossing the border to Canada, or even Mexico, but he doesn't see how that would ever work for him, and he immediately pushes it from his mind. It's not that he's a coward. He really isn't. He just knows he's got enough to live for at home that he doesn't need to die for someone else's fight.
He also has no idea how he'll tell Steve. Of course, he's been drafted, and Steve has every possibility of being drafted too, but Steve could show up for the physical examination and still be turned away. Bucky knows he won't be. He ponders for a moment on his course of action, whether to lie or be truthful. How do you tell your best friend that you're reluctantly doing the thing they want most in the world because you haven't got a choice, when you know they'd jump at the chance to be in your position?
Bucky's thoughts are broken off by the sound of the door to the lobby opening, a gust of hot air blowing in. He turns dumbly, meeting the eyes of his sister. Isabel smiles at Bucky, then she notices the card in his hand, and her entire face drops.
"What is that?" She asks quietly, moving forward and plucking the card out of Bucky's limp hand. She reads it momentarily, her eyes scanning over and over as if she can't believe it either. Then, she looks up at Bucky, her grey eyes steely, but heartbroken. "Buck," she breathes.
"Yeah. I saw it coming," Bucky manages to say, taking the card from her. He turns away and starts up the stairs, Isabel following in silence.
Bucky makes it all the way to his room without hearing another word, and he thinks maybe Isabel has decided to leave him be. He stops by the door and leans over, taking off his work boots. She passes him and puts her handbag down on the kitchen table, watching as he walks down the hallway to his room. He hears her footsteps follow him, and hher voice speaks up from the doorway. "You didn't enlist voluntarily, did you?"
"Of course not. I only registered for the draft like we were told to back in '40," Bucky says, sitting down heavily on his cot. "I don't want to go."
"I don't blame you," Isabel mumbles, moving to sit down beside him. She takes his hand in her own, despite how dirty it is. "It's just a physical examination, right?"
"Yeah. Then, when I pass it, I'll be shipped off somewhere for basic training within the hour. That's what happened to everyone else. They're getting desperate for recruits now. They want to send them out straight away."
Isabel nods, her eyes looking glassy. "What are you going to tell Steve?"
"The truth," Bucky decides. "I can't lie to him. He'd never think I'm ungrateful or anything, but he'll be upset that I'm going and he isn't. It's his dream, and it's one of the things he can never do."
"I know, and it's a shame, in a way."
Bucky takes a deep breath, and then smiles at his sister. "Still, I'm surely not the only unlucky bastard that won't want to be there."
"I'm sure you won't be," Isabel agrees. She squeezes Bucky's hand gently, and Bucky's thankful because it seems to ground him when his mind wants to race off with unnecessary mental images of what's awaiting him. "Promise me you'll be careful."
"Always," Bucky promises, smirking at his sister. He puts his other hand over hers and squeezes even tighter.