𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐘

༻ ❁ ༺

  
March 10, 1944

          BUCKY WAS practically vibrating with anticipation. He had no idea how Steve had pulled this off.

The factory they were after was close to the Italian-Austrian border this time, although there were certainly faster routes to get there than overland from the British advance operating base.

They were airlifted into Italy shortly before sunset, securely behind Allied lines. The squad, their truck, and Steve's bike were all suspended from silk hundreds of feet in the air.

One of the most nerve-wracking aspects of joining Steve's squad had been learning to parachute. When they weren't jumping into enemy territory, it was a lot more enjoyable.

They had loaded the bike into the truck after landing, climbed in around it, and began driving. It had been almost ten hours since then. Gabe was now behind the wheel, guiding them down the winding Italian route to their destination.

Bucky peeked out the side of the truck. Trees and abandoned fields. The exact same view it had been all night. "How much further?"

"One more check point." Morita said, pouring over a map in the front seat. "We should be there by nine."

Bucky glanced down at the wristwatch he was wearing. It'll only be a few more hours. And then maybe a couple more if she wasn't working nights this week, which she wasn't. His knee jiggled unintentionally.

Without glancing up from the briefing he was trying to interpret in the dark, Steve reached over and stopped him.

"Someone's eager to get back in the fray." Falsworth teased.

"Excited to see his girl for his birthday you mean." Dugan chuckled and lit a cigar. Bucky had no ideas where the man got them, but he never seemed to run out.

"Yeah? You gonna get lucky, Barnes?" Junior leaned forward on his elbows across the truck. He always acted as if he had something to prove as the youngest. "Your girl got a special treat waiting for you back at camp?"

"Watch your mouth." Bucky growled.

Junior was the youngest and newest member of their company, and today, apparently, he had decided he was going to prove he was just as worldly and experienced as the rest of them.

Picking Alice as his target was a serious miscalculation. Bucky wasn't about to let anyone badmouth his girl. Least of all some punk kid with a chip on his shoulder.

"What's the point of being a war hero if there are no side benefits?" Junior said with a lewd hand gesture.

Before anyone else could react, Bucky leapt across the short space. That was too far. Junior's lapels were seized by him, and he was dragged half way over the back of the bike. The spare gas tank had to be digging into his gut. But Bucky didn't care.

"Alice is a lady. She's a nurse, so you'd do best to have a bit of respect. She isn't your run-of-the-mill floozy. I'll take your tongue out if you don't keep it respectful."

Junior twisted out of his grip, falling back into his seat heavily. He smoothed his jacket back down. "Yeah? Carter's a lady too. You think that means she's never gone to her knees for the Captain?"

The atmosphere in the caddy descended as Steve went dangerously still.

Junior was shunned by the rest of the Commandos, as if he had suddenly turned red. Peggy was off limits. Much like Alice was. It was an unspoken rule that they all agreed to. As he finally leaned forward, Steve's voice was low and threatening.

"Bucky warned you. You won't like it if I have to. A filthy mouth doesn't make you a tough guy."
  

༻ ❁ ༺
 

Alice chaffed her arms as she stepped into the cool air outside.

The minor injury ward was full today. The tent was cramped, but comfortable, with twenty-odd guys and three nurses inside. The fog had begun to engulf her. Even though it was frigid, she needed to get some fresh air.

The commotion had offered the ideal excuse. She could go outdoors to see what was going on and, as an added bonus, breathe air that hadn't been contaminated by a dozen other people.

A truck had pulled into the open area in the camp's center. Men were making their way out. A motorcycle was rolled down a ramp at the back. She kept a wary eye on them.

The fact that the majority of them appeared to be out of uniform was strange. They appeared to be men off duty, although they were all on the job. Even a few officers stood around observing them, seemingly unconcerned by the breach of etiquette.

A dark blue figure leapt from the back of the truck. Alice's breath was trapped in her throat. She could recognize those shoulders from a mile away. "Bucky!"

"Ally!" Bucky sprinted over to her, scooping her up and twirling her around as soon as she was within reach. With his arms wrapped around her, he sat her back down on the ground. "Didn't think I'd get to see you before lunch."

"What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised. "I didn't think you'd be back for -- " Well, she didn't know when he'd be back.

"Top secret." Bucky winked. Everything he did was top secret these days. "You've got me all night though."

She beamed up at him, not even bothering to hide her joy. "Then we'll have to make the most of it."

Unfortunately, a call from inside cut short anything she was about to say next. Her disappearance had been noticed by Matron. She needed to return.

Alice sighed. "Duty calls. Meet you in the mess for lunch?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Bucky purred, sincerely wishing they weren't in the midst of camp, where everyone could see them, so he could kiss her the way he wanted.

Before she could second-guess herself, Alice rose to her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips before vanishing back into the tent.

It was going to be a long time 'til lunch.
  

༻ ❁ ༺

Alice was a little late for lunch, but as soon as she was released, she hurried for her tent, retrieving the paper-wrapped present from her footlocker before heading to the mess tent.

Dugan was already regaling those present with no-doubt-exaggerated stories of their most recent escapades, with Morita elbowing him anytime he ventured too close to something classified.

Steve and Bucky had taken a seat at the next table over, amused at their teammates' good-natured squabbling. It was good to be at home, or at least that's how it felt nowadays.

He looked happy, Alice thought as she watched them from the doorway. They both did. More relaxed than the last time she'd seen them. And they'd cleaned up a little in the last couple of hours, their hair damp from the quick showers they'd managed to get once they'd settled down. She had an overwhelming urge to run her fingers through that hair and see if she could make it stick up in ridiculous little spikes.

Bucky looked up, his eyes finding hers, and the smile that lighted up his face was enough to power the entire camp through a blackout.

"Hey there, Darlin'," he said as she crossed the mess tent towards them, tugging her down to sit on the bench next to him. "What you got there?"

"A surprise," she answered, swatting away his curious hands with a fond smile. "Hi, Steve."

"Alice." Steve smiled back at her with a warm and knowing look. She had his seal of approval when it came to dating his best friend.

"How was the trip?" Alice shifted a little closer to Bucky, pressing their legs together from ankle to hip. "I didn't think you'd be back with us so soon."

Steve shrugged, his gaze flicking over to his best friend. A solid lead on Schmidt's location. A plan of action cooked up with help from Peggy. A slight abuse of power because he loved his best friend. And here they were.

"Call it a birthday present."

"Well then, I should probably give him mine, shouldn't I?" And she passed the parcel into Bucky's eager hands.

He tore into the paper without a care, grinning when he saw the knit gloves and scarf.

"I'm sorry they were late," Alice said. "Or... would have been. They took a little longer to make than I wanted."

"They're perfect," He told her this as he put on the gloves, a smile on his lips as he noticed what she'd stitched on the inside of the cuffs: the outline of a small heart on the left and a small sun on the right. It's a secret that only they know about. He drew her in close and kissed her on the cheek. "I love them."

As he unfolded the scarf, a small, hand-bound notebook tumbled into his lap. "Oho! What's this?"

"Ah -- just... something extra." She set her hand on top of his and pushed his hands and the little book to the table when he tried to open it. "For later."

Oh, now he was very curious. He would, however, go over it with her later if she requested it. He slipped one arm around her waist and slid the other under her wimple to cradle her neck and draw her as near as he could without lifting her off the bench, still beaming. "Thank you, doll."

She returned the hug, taking in his warmth, his calm and solid presence. "Happy Birthday, Bucky."

The words were slightly muffled by his chest, but she thought that might make them sound even better.

Alice stayed as long as she could with them, eating her lunch and catching up with Steve and Bucky on whatever they could tell her. Before leaving for work, she gave Bucky a kiss on the cheek when her time was up.

After she'd left, Steve nodded down at the little book. "What is it?"

"No clue." But he was dying to open it.

The paper within was oddly proportioned, with some scraps and others taken from a notepad. Dozens of fragmented letters she'd written to him while they were apart and never mailed. There was one for practically every day between when they split up and when they reconciled.

Bucky touched one of the shortest ones reverently. Five words that made him feel like his world was shifting. 

She loved him. Alice, his sweet, brilliant, amazing girl, loved him. 

All those days he'd been afraid she would find someone better for her, she had written to him. Thought of him. Loved him. Just like he loved her.
  

༻ ❁ ༺

Alice saw them again over dinner. This time with the delightful addition of Peggy and Gwen.

The addition of her witty friends and the rest of the Howling Commandos, who were now all seated at the same table as their captain, made for wonderful conversation throughout the majority of the meal. Alice didn't start to become antsy until everyone had finished eating and had drifted off to different pursuits.

She wanted to stay and get to know Bucky's friends better. He and Steve were close enough that the latter was willing to plunge headlong into nearly certain death in the hopes of saving him. Alice hoped he would like her. But now that it was a small group, she was having trouble stepping up on the conversation.

Peggy and Steve kept getting sidetracked by a conversation about supply chain disruptions. To Alice, the majority of their conversation was incomprehensible.

It wasn't a facet of the war she had ever considered, not for the other side at least. But, she thought as she listened, a vital one.

If thier army, or even the civilian population, can't access food or supplies, it'll only be a matter of time before they're forced to surrender. The need to balance the impacts of that enormous disruption against unnecessarily harsh treatment of civilians added more layers of complexity to the strategy debates than she was used to.

Bucky read the conflict in Alice's posture. He had heard Steve and Peggy have this debate enough times to know that they wouldn't let anyone distract them. He and his girl would be better off finding their own entertainment. He leaned over to whisper in her ear, the soft curls of her hair brushing his cheek. "Take a walk with me?"

Alice nodded, slipping her hand into his and letting him lead her from the tent.

The scale on which Steve and Peggy thought was truly intimidating. These were the people who were going to end the war. As encouraging as it was to know that they were on the same side, watching them work scared her.

She would rather spend time with Bucky. Together they dashed through the camp. Alice felt like a naughty child skipping out on her homework to do something her mother had specifically forbidden.

She understood for the first time why some of her friends had let boys coax them into climbing out their bedroom windows for midnight assignments.

As they slipped into the trees, Alice gripped his hand, relishing the warm sensation of him close to her. Technically, the woodlands were on the outskirts of the main boundary. On the other edge of the grove, there was a second ring of sentries, and the front was facing the opposite direction, making it a pretty safe spot to find some privacy.

Alice craved that privacy right now. She wanted to be alone with Bucky. To be together and not have to worry about anyone overhearing or interrupting them.

Alice danced ahead of him playfully. Stealing a quick brush of lips. The way he followed her down reminded her of a summer day when they had played tag together a long time ago. They couldn't have a flower bed since it was too early in the year, but the spring woods were almost as lovely.

Bucky's mouth had a cheeky grin tugging at the corners. They were finally on their own. He snatched her up and spun her around in his arms, making her laugh and cling to him.

Planting her back against the rough bark of a tree, he kissed her. It was a different kind of kiss from most of the ones they had shared before.

All of them had been honey, sweet, smooth, and pure. This was whiskey, bitter and peppery and absolutely intoxicating, searing her tongue. She was terrified by how much she craved more.

Bucky slipped a knee between her legs and pressed hard against her. She was incredibly sweet and gentle. He was helpless when she looked up at him with those large blue eyes. He pushed up the skirt that covered her hips with his fists.

A surge of panic broke through the pleasant buzzing feeling as Alice grasped his forearms. "Bucky."

He stopped immediately, reading the tension in her movements. "Tell me what you're thinking, doll."

She slid her hands up his chest, pushing him back to gain a few inches of sanity. "I'm not ready."

"Okay. We can wait." Bucky stepped away, smoothing her skirt back down over her hips. "You are worth waiting for. Christ, Ally. Sometimes you're all I can think about."

He was there, putting into words what she'd been feeling for months. She'd yearned before, but never with such fervor. Every glance, every touch was a seduction. But, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't take this chance. Not right now. No, not yet. But it didn't mean she couldn't savor her time with him alone for a little longer.

She ran her hands back down his chest. The hard muscle trapped under dark blue fabric acted as another layer of temptation. "Bucky?"

"Hmmm?" Bucky's thinking had gone ahead of him and his hands, and he was having more trouble than he cared to admit reining it in. Fantasies of how her skin would feel or how she would appear with her legs wrapped around him pressed for his attention.

Alice licked her lips. This was probably a bad idea. "You can...You can kiss me a little more...If you want to."

Bucky smiled and wrapped his hands back around her waist. "Yeah, I can handle that."

She wasn't quite ready to commit to him completely, but she was ready to kiss him until they both forgot how to breathe. She pulled her fingers through his hair, dragging him down to smash his mouth against hers once again, savoring the small, helpless moan he made and the way his fingers clenched around her waist as she dragged her teeth over his lower lip. She did it again, encouraged.

As her mouth pressed urgently against his, he had a fleeting notion that she was going to be the end of him. He'd never known how hot the sun could be, but when her hands gently tugged at his hair, sending a shiver of pleasure through him, he couldn't think of a finer way to die.

He had her back against the tree once more, her small body pressed tightly against his. Those gentle hands tugged at her again, and she pulled her mouth away from his, kissing him along the line of his jaw. And he kept kissing her until he felt her teeth scrape above his jacket's collar, just nipping the skin ever so slightly.

The sound he made in response was involuntary, desperate, and Alice very much wanted to hear it again.

Bucky slipped his hands down her hips once more, this time holding his grip firmly over her skirt. He had to keep his grip on her or he'd drown on dry land. He still has a chance. He was driving himself insane with the woman he adored kissing his neck and driving him insane.

He was okay with that.