"God, you shouldn't have talked to this idiot, now your nose is bleeding." I sigh, trying my best to clean Steve's bloody nose with a tissue. All we wanted to do was watch the new cartoon in the cinema after his attempt to register for the army failed again thanks to his diseases. Then there was this guy who couldn't shut up and of course, it led to an alley fight. Luckily, I could convince the guy to stop and leave. I hate alleys.

"I had to." He mutters, wiping the blood roughly away like a toddler. It's like I have a little brother to take care of. "He didn't show any respect."

"Stop it, you're ruining your jacket." I sigh at his blood smudged sleeves. "If it's because of the enlistment form, don't be angry. I know that you tried your best, even though you lied on your enlistment form, and it'll eventually work but... seriously, Paramus? Did it have to be Jersey? Shame on you, Brooklyn kid."

"Sometimes I think you like getting punched." My eyes widen at the familiar voice behind me, the voice that I missed for two whole months. My heart makes a jump as I turn around and desperately want to pull him into a tight hug. I have missed him way too much, but the uniform makes me stop. The army uniform.

"Bucky, you're back!" Steve rejoices happily and Bucky just smirks confidently. He looks even more muscular than before, also his position is different, more stiff and stricter. Like a soldier.

"You got your orders..." My voice loses its strength and although it should have come out as a question, it's more a statement that I try not to be terrified of. I know what I'm doing is not much better, but I'm just scared to lose him, not to die.

"The 1- 0- 7th. Sergeant James Barnes." He introduces himself, slightly faking a proud tone. "Shipping out for England first thing tomorrow."

"I should be going." Disappointment runs through Steve's voice and I press my lips together, trying not to be too shocked that we just have one day left till he's leaving. Less than 24 hours till he's gone and I have no idea what I should do. But on the other hand, I'll be leaving, too, soon, next week. An agent should pick me up, yet I have no idea how to tell Bucky about it.

"Come on, man!" Bucky puts an arm around Steve, being all enthusiastic like the Bucky Barnes that I know. "It's my last night. Gotta get you cleaned up. I organized dates for us, so you need to be dressed prettier than usual, canary."

"Wait a moment, dates?" I tilt my head, finding that idea horrible because I'm not interested in dating some strangers. Even Steve doesn't seem to be all too excited about that. Bucky hands Steve the newspaper while he gets closer to me as I feel his breath on my skin.

"Don't worry, I just got a nice dame for Steve. He really needs to start talking to other women than you." He assures me and I slightly frown.

"And who's the guy you got for me? Is it a friend from the camp?"

"Well, he wears a uniform and- oh, surprise, it's me. I'm gonna be your date." He grins and I forget to breathe for a second, falling completely silent and speechless. It's the first time that he calls us hanging out a date which is really huge progress for me.

"Where are we going?" Steve asks him curiously and Bucky's smirk just widens.

"The future."

***

"It's starting!" Bucky shouts excitedly as we are standing in the crowd of the World Exposition fair. Fireworks recolor the night and the sound of all the people clapping fills the air. It's pretty crowded but we get to stand in the first line, having a good view of the stage where a red automobile is placed. "By the way, have I told you that you look really beautiful in this violet dress?"

"Oh, uh- well..." I slightly stammer, not used to this kind of blunt behavior. He's usually  like that just to others but not to me, it's almost like he's flirting. I glance at Steve, trying to get help but he's still struggling with his blonde date. She isn't nice at all, more ignorant and unfriendly, I don't even know how Bucky knows her. Confronting myself with the situation, I just smile and try not to blush. "Thanks."

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Howard Stark!" A woman introduces a brunette man with a mustache who pulls the announcer into a long kiss. As he backs off, she goes to the other tightly dressed women, probably just to function as the decoration.

"I love you, Howard!" A female voice shrieks from the crowd, making him grin while he wipes away the red lipstick with a tissue. I don't know why, but somehow he leaves an annoyingly conceited impression. Maybe it's because he looks like a playboy, to phrase it nicely.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won't even have to touch the ground at all." Howard Stark addresses to the audience and the female helpers take the wheels of the automobile. "Yes, thanks, Mandy. With Stark robotic reversion technology, you'll be able to do just that."

"Holy cow." Bucky mutters impressed when the scientist turns on the switch of his machine and the car starts hovering off the ground. Howard Stark wiggles his eyebrows, pride, actually more conceit is in his brown eyes.

"He seems to be pretty cocksure of himself." I whisper, not paying much attention to Stark's presentation and just noticing that the automobile falls back on the stage with a loud noise. I still need to find a way how to tell Bucky about Project Reborn without influencing his last night. Maybe I should ask Steve. "Hey, Steve- "

I turn around but the spot where Steve's supposed to be is empty. His date is still standing there but she looks clearly annoyed and doesn't seem to care about the absence of her date at all. I shoot her an unfriendly glare before I tap on Bucky's shoulder. "Steve's disappeared and I bet my life that he's at a recruitment center."

"That punk." Bucky swears annoyed by his friend's never ending attempts to register for the army. "C'mon, let's find him before they find out that he lied on the enlistment form."

I nod and we leave after Bucky apologizes to the blonde girl for this date although she doesn't deserve his kind words at all. It doesn't take us long to find the recruitment center and we find Steve in front of the mirror where a soldier is pictured. Steve, the little blonde guy, the only one of all men who wants to fight with his big heart.

"You really gonna do this again?" Bucky huffs in disappointment and Steve just shrugs casually.

"Well, it's a fair. I'm gonna try my luck."

"As who?" He almost asks provokingly, anger slips through his voice. "Steve from Ohio? They'll catch you. Or worse, they'll actually take you."

"Actually, Ohio is still better than Jersey." I comment, trying to brighten up the mood but Bucky just stares disbelievingly at me. 

"Since when are you okay with this? The last time I was here, you stopped him by jumping on his back and dragging him to the ground." Bucky turns back to Steve, not letting me answer. I can tell that he's furious. "And why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs, just collecting scrap metal is already- "

"I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky." Steve protests and interrupts his friend before he can do more than open his mouth. "Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me."

"Right. 'Cause you got nothing to prove." Bucky scoffs sarcastically, not believing how Steve is able to make such a stupid decision.

"Let's talk about this tomorrow at the train station, okay? This is your last night, you two should go have some fun while I try to register. I don't know, go dancing or something, you still have your date." Steve reminds us and I get slightly nervous again.

"You're a punk." Bucky lets out a sigh and pulls Steve into a hug. "Don't do anything stupid until I get back."

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you, jerk." Steve responds jokingly and pats Bucky's back before they let go of each other. Then he walks to me and whispers quietly, so Bucky won't hear us. "You need to tell him about the project."

"I know." I press my lips together before Steve walks into the recruitment center.

"Let's listen to this idiot for once and go dancing, canary." Bucky suggests smirking and I hide my red cheeks behind a smile.

"Before one of us runs in and drags him out." I look back at the center. "I'm serious, Bucky, hold me back before I get this stubborn fool out of this place."

He laughs and links his arm with mine to drag me slightly away. It's new but still comfortable to go out with him like this, making me smile like a lovesick fool. A familiar song is in the air as we get closer to a pub and I widen my eyes in excitement when I recognize the song.

"That's In the Mood by Glenn Miller!" I shout enthusiastically and drag a bright smiling Bucky into the pub. "Come on! I love this song!"

We enter the pub, crowded with dancing people who are joyful and happy. The air is muggy and warm and the scent of beer and wood gets into my nose, smelling like a typical pub. The mixture of laughter and a trombone with other instruments makes me wanna dance and in exact this moment, Bucky suddenly grabs my hand and spins me around myself. It goes so fast that I don't even have time to react and just chuckle slightly.

"I promised you a dance." He grins and places his other hand around my waist as my free hand lands on his shoulder. He leads, I follow. The swing music is so agile that we just dance to the rhythm as my heart beats faster and faster, a passionate fire runs through my veins.

We keep dancing and swinging, feeling lighthearted like never before and forgetting the whole world and its problems. No war. No people. Just us. When he spins me around for the last time, we don't continue dancing, instead I land in his arms, my forehead almost touching his. It's hot and we breathe heavily from dancing, sharing the air between us. I don't even look at him, I just stare at his lips and can't resist imagining how they would feel on mine.

And in this second, I am almost sure that he thinks the same because he doesn't back off, he just stays like that, ignoring the dancing people around us. No one says anything, the intimacy speaks for itself. He slowly gets closer, savoring every single second that passes and signaling for something that I've been waiting for an eternity. My heart crashes against  my rib cage, making it even harder to breathe for me but then one thought ruins it. A single thought ruins everything. Project Reborn.

"I need to tell you something." I blurt out without thinking, overwhelmed by guilt and he backs off, frowning in confusion. "Can we go out, please?"

He notices my begging look and nods, following me outside to an alley. I've seen the disappointment in his eyes when I broke up the almost kiss and although it's not the right time for that, I'm glad that he's disappointed because it means that it meant something for him. I held back my feelings through all those years, afraid to ruin our friendship but now I'm not even sure if we can call ourselves friends.

"What's wrong?" He tries to stay calm and casual but his stiff position reveals his flurry. I take a last deep breath before I tell him the truth. He needs to know.

"A month ago, an agent from the SSR visited me. It turns out that this secret organization has been the one giving me all that money this whole time because my mother was an agent before she left. I... there is this experiment, Project Reborn. It's a serum to make someone stronger, basically a super-soldier, for war. And they chose me. I'm leaving next week." I summarize what he missed and press my lips together, waiting for an answer.

He first stays quiet, too quiet, his eyes glance at the ground. The only thing I hear is my nervous heartbeat, being slightly afraid. He's never that silent, he's always loud and noisy. It feels like an awful trial. "Don't tell me that you're selling your body to bloody science."

"Bucky, they didn't force me to do this, it's my choice. It's the legacy from my family, the only thing that actually belongs to me." I try not to be intimidated by his cold voice.

"For the woman who left you behind?!" Now he gets louder, frustration and anger is in his voice. "She left you! She doesn't deserve you and she certainly doesn't deserve your life! Why the hell would you run straight into the arms of death for a person like her?!"

"And you're not doing the same?!" I defend myself, the question escapes my mouth before I can prevent it and confusion is seen on his face.

"What? Are you serious?"

"You're going to war, Bucky, war! I may walk into the arms of death but you even throw a parade for the end and that's why, I'm doing it! I'm about to lose you and Steve, the two most important people in my life, so what do you expect?! That I'm gonna sit around until the letter arrives where your death is certified? No, I'm not gonna wait for this crap and be useless, I rather help! I refuse to be the lonely orphan again. And I can't just live this horrible life again." That's what I've been afraid of the whole time. Telling him about my true feelings, about my fear.

"Dammit, Eve, I'm not gonna die! Okay?!" He runs with his hands furiously through his hair, the rage takes over him but then his voice starts shaking. "I won't die but I will if I don't have a reason to fight because my reason will be dead! I will die if I come back and you're not here!"

I try to hold back the tears and to stay strong, not letting his words effect me but my voice breaks. "Don't do this. Don't give me false hope, don't you even dare to make me think you'll survive. Don't make promises you can't keep. Why are you saying this?"

"I can't let you die." He simply responds, his deviant answer makes me mad.

"But I have to let you die?! Why are you allowed to stop me but I'm not allowed to stop you?!" I shout and he falls silent, driving me crazy. "Tell me! Don't be a coward and tell me why I can't stop- "

Bucky suddenly interrupts me by cupping my face with his hands and crashing his lips against mine. The shock overwhelms me, not expecting that but soon I get too weak to fight the emotions and can't help but kiss him back. I have waited so long for this and although the situation isn't right at all, I just can't control my desire and feelings for him. The kiss tastes like anger, frustration and a sad goodbye, we both don't want to let go of each other, being way too afraid to lose the other. It feels so good to feel his soft lips on mine, leaving a happy dizziness in my mind.

After a little eternity, he pulls back and stays close, his breath still touching my skin. We both pant heavily and I slowly open my eyes that had fallen closed, meeting his blue eyes.

"I love you." His words hit me unexpectedly as I widen my eyes and feel an awful pain in my heart. "Since we met. I always have and always will. I don't want to come back from war and then there's no one I could love. Please, don't do this to me. Don't kill me."

His head sinks down on my shoulder and I feel his burden on me, making my heart heavy. Why does it need to end like that? What have we done to deserve this? My voice sounds broken, still fighting the tears. "I'm sorry. But I cannot say no. I have the chance to lower the amount of victims. Bucky, I have the chance to be useful for the world, the same chance you have. And that's the legacy my mum left me, I have to do it."

He lifts his head and looks at me, now I see that his eyes are red and tearing which makes me feel even more guilty. He steps backwards and his voice makes me hear his affliction. "You're killing me."

I bite on my lip and now I can't prevent the tears that steam down my face. Bucky turns around and walks away, leaving me in this alley. My heart breaks into a million pieces and it just hurts so bad. We're killing each other.