I feel a pair of lips on my skin that slowly wake me up. A trail of kisses are planted on my forehead, my nose, my cheek and the corner of my lips, leaving a familiar prickle. My eyes open dozily and have to adjust to the light of the lamp, soon facing Bucky's bright smile. Although I'm exhausted, I still manage to smile back. "Can I always wake up like that?"

"I have no objections." He grins cheekily, giving me a little peck on the lips before pulling me to his chest, placing his arm around me. I can hear his heartbeat and breathe calmly, it's like a dream. I've never been so happy in my whole life. "You're so beautiful."

I look up at him, catching his gaze on me and breathing out a little chuckle, trying to mask the heat in my face. "Don't be corny, James."

"Don't use my name to hide your blushing." He smirks and presses his lips softly on my hair. "I can't believe that you didn't notice my efforts during all these years."

"I'm not quite experienced with love, you know." I remind him sheepishly and his grin just widens.

"Didn't feel like that yesterday- "

"Shut up!" I interrupt him, blushing and try to refrain from laughing by pressing my lips together but it results in a big failure.

"Make me." He flirts with me challenging and I can't prevent the smirk on my lips. I lean in as if I would kiss him but stop right before his lips meet mine, just to tease him. He groans impatiently and a whimsical smile plays around his lips. "Geez, you can't be serious."

"Then watch me, Barnes." I shrug playfully and decrease the distance but he pulls back to press his lips on mine. I smile dreamily into the kiss as my hands rest on his cheeks and every fiber of my body demands for more.

"Hey, Bucky, have you seen- Oh, my God!!!" Steve rushes into the room and his eyes widen, immediately covering them with his hands when he sees what we're doing. "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything!"

"Steve!" I shriek in embarrassment with widened eyes. In this moment, I can't be thankful enough for blankets.

"Get out, man!" Bucky yells annoyed, half glaring at his best friend.

"I'm just looking for Eve because she should take a look on her new uniform!" Steve defends himself, still covering his eyes. His cheeks redden in embarrassment and he takes a few steps backwards, slowly leaving the room. "I, uh, I-I'm just gonna wait in front of library for you, you have a half hour."

Bucky groans when the door gets closed again and I can't help but suddenly burst out into laughter, being amused by the whole situation. Steve must be traumatized for his whole life now.

***

After a shower and getting dressed in my army uniform that is similar to Peggy's, I walk to the library while Bucky has decided to have a breakfast with Dugan and the others. Steve is standing there, waiting for me and his face is less red now but there's still the revealing pink tone.

"Morning." I smile awkwardly at him and he just nods before we start walking to the lab. An uncomfortable silence arises between us until he opens his mouth, seeming to explode of curiosity.

"So did you, uh, did you two... fondue?"

"Fon- what?" I scrunch up my face in confusion, staring at him in disbelief.

"You know... uh, sex." Now his cheeks flush pink again as his hand runs down his face, being ashamed of using the word. What a dork. "I asked Bucky about it because I want to know what kind of relationship you two are having now and he just said 'mine' and 'You're a punk' and ignored me."

"Steve, first off, fondue is just bread and cheese for the rich. Mr Jarvis told me that."

"Really?" He's more surprised than he should be and I tilt my head, shooting him a seriously look. How can he sexualize food?

"Second off, I can't believe that he just answered that." I snort amused, shaking my head. "And well, he's my boyfriend now... is that weird for you? Your best friends dating?"

"It's weird that I had to wait eight years for that." Steve laughs slightly, brightening up the mood. "He was so jealous of me when I moved into your apartment, he couldn't stop glaring at me for a week."

I grin widely at that thought and chuckle, then I nudge him playfully. "Speaking of love, what's going on between you and Peggy? You two have this tension that makes everyone else wanna leave the room."

"Complicated." He admits, sighing. "She's a beautiful woman and I admire and respect her, she's just amazing and reliable. And she also respected me before the serum. But now she seems to be pretty angry with me because I got kissed by another woman."

"You kissed someone?!" I repeat completely shocked, although it's understandable. He's always been a good guy, now thanks to the serum he's like perfect.

"You fondued with Bucky." He shrugs, making me laugh.

"Stop!" I slap his chest playfully, feeling his stone-hard muscles beneath his shirt. I guess, I have to get used to this now, even though I will forever see the small skinny boy in him. Arriving at the lab, we enter with wide smirks on our faces which Howard immediately notices.

"Is there a reason for these happy faces?" He raises a brow in the air and we both quickly shake our heads, resulting him to a casual shrug. "I thought that your uniform could be similar to Steve's, with the difference that it doesn't cover your face and the suit is just navy blue."

"True, I don't wanna be dressed as the American flag." I giggle, earning a nudge from Steve.

"You're giggling. Why are you giggling?" Howard frowns while taking out the uniform. "I've never seen more than a smirk from you, let alone a laugh."

"I'm just happy." I shrug, grinning and being mesmerized by the outfit. "That looks damn impressive."

"I know, right? I'm proud myself." He comments cockily and starts explaining every detail. "The hood is just a stylish addition or in case, you wanna hide your face. I figured that you don't wanna necessarily wear a mask that cover your eyes like Steve's Captain America costume, I mean, you shouldn't be forgotten, right? The pockets are inside and the belt has little bags. The boots are useful for climbing and are waterproof and the black gauntlets regulate your pulse. Of course, gloves would be useless in this case, you'd just burn them. I used the best cloth that protects you from cold and added a small lightning symbol on your chest."

"I hate to say it but Howard, you're a genius." I smile at him, feeling the cloth with my thumb. It truly feels amazing that there's an uniform, just made for me.

"I know, I know." He shrugs casually and I roll with my eyes.

"Your second mission, if I count saving Mr Barnes as the first, is to invade Hydra's facilities and destroy their weapon production. Thanks to Mr Rogers, we have a certain knowledge about their whereabouts and you'll start with Munich." Mr Jarvis explains. "Tomorrow you'll leave."

"Sounds good." I nod contently. "Steve, who's in our team?"

"Bucky, Dum Dum Dugan, Jim Morita, Gabe Jones, Jacques Dernier, James Falsworth, Junior Juniper, Pinky Pinkerton and Happy Sam Sawyer." He lists and I raise a brow in the air.

"These are not their real names, right?"

"Nicknames but at least the last names are real." Steve confirms and I just shrug. I don't know if Bucky should really be there, the concern gnaws at me and I'm way too afraid to lose him. I was close to losing him once, I'm not gonna let that happen again.

"Steve, I've got your vibranium shield. It's colored like the American flag but the bullet scars that Peggy left remained." Noticing my confused look, Howard enlightens me. "She was mad at him and shot at him while he was holding the shield."

"Oh, Stevie, you screwed it up." I nudge him playfully and he sighs. Bucky rushes into the lab, a newspaper is in his hand and his face beams with joy. His chest goes down and up, signaling his excitement.

"I was allowed to call at my mom's workplace. She and Rebecca, the twins of course too, are really proud of you two."

"Wait, how did she know about me? Unlike Steve, I didn't go on tour and walk around like the flag." I tease my blonde friend and he just sighs again, knowing that he won't easily get rid of these jokes. Bucky grins at Steve's face and takes out the newspaper.

"You two are on the cover." In fact, Steve and I are seen on the first page with the 1-0-7th behind us, the headline is Captain America and Voltricity save 200 men. "Congrats, Eve, the whole world knows you under this name now. You are known."

"How do they know about my code name?" I question and notice the pride in Bucky's blue eyes. He really seems to be happy for me and I can't resist to return his smile.

"I helped out." Howard shouts from the table where he's working on his weapons. "You can thank me later with lunch. This time I'll get the apple pie."

"What does he mean with lunch? And this time?" Bucky arches his eyebrows in disapproval and I sigh. I told him everything about Howard and yet, he still seems to dislike him for some reasons. Even when I mentioned that Howard is the reason why I survived, he still didn't change his mind.

"Nothing that really matters. We just always lunch together." I shrug as if it wouldn't be problematic. "And I once stole his pie which was like months ago." The last sentence is more directed to the multimillionaire.

"Just the two of you?!" He asks upset and I shake my head, not understanding the fuss about it.

"Mr Jarvis too. Right, Mr Jarvis?" I turn around and the butler nods affirming.

"You and Mr Stark had a lot disagreements about his behavior. I'm capable of assuring you that there's no need to be jealous, Mr Barnes." Jarvis confuses me, causing me to raise a brow in the air. Bucky is jealous?

"I-I'm not jealous." The suspect scoffs, shaking his head. "That's ridiculous."

"You really don't need to be jealous, Buck. Howard doesn't flirt with her as much as he does with other women." Steve pats his friend's shoulder and Bucky groans.

"I'm not- wait, did you just say he's flirting with her???"

"Don't worry, buddy, I'm not a home wrecker." Howard pauses. "Not when it concerns my friends."

"I'm completely confused." I admit, sighing. Love is just not my area. My confession earns a stare from Steve and Jarvis while Howard and Bucky are busy with glaring and chuckling at each other.

"Oh, Eve." My best friend sighs but laughs slightly. "Bucky gets  jealous really fast, especially when it's about you. You should get used to it, now he's your boyfriend."

My boyfriend. I smile at that thought and can't help but be consumed by the dizzy happiness that Bucky causes in my heart. I'm happy. I couldn't ask for more and for the first time in my whole life, I'm happy with who I am. I'm happy to be Eve Farrell.

***

"Our plan is easy, we're just gonna attack them." Steve announces loudly on the truck, leading all bossy as he points at the building of the map. "Sawyer, you and your team are gonna take care of the east building, here. Give 'em hell. And if there are problems, just shoot three bullets in the air. Dugan, your team will come from the west building and mine from the the south."

"And I'll be coming from the north!" I add excitedly, grinning widely with confidence. Everyone on the troop carrier looks at me surprised. "Surprising the crap out of them with my magical abilities."

"I love it when you're so cheerful and confident." Bucky smirks and presses a kiss on my hair, placing his arm around me. His smell and closeness make me feel comfortable, strengthening me even more.

"You two better make me stop missing my non-existent wife." Dugan fakes a groan and laughs, leading us to chuckle.

"Don't be bitter, Dum Dum." Juniper nudges his friend, not stopping to laugh. "You've got us now, the Howling Commandos! What's better than a badass team that saves the world?"

"A wife who waits for you to come home." He responds without hesitation. "And how many times do I have to tell ya that I absolutely despise this name?"

I playfully slap Dugan's helmet, a sly smile appears on my lips. "Nobody waits for you to come home. We are home."

"If you call war zone home, then something must be wrong with ya, dame."

"Hey, watch how you talk to my girl." Bucky warns him half teasingly and I laugh, shaking my head. Steve sighs, being done with the little disaster and running his hand down his face as the truck arrives with a safe distance at the facility.

"C'mon, guys, we gotta focus now."

"You heard him!" I call out with an exaggerated enthusiasm, causing the group to listen to me. "Captain America, the righteous and patriotic poster boy of our beloved nation, needs us! And his cologne smells of freedom!"

"I hate you." Steve groans, half jokingly and Bucky smiles at me, pressing slightly my shoulder.

"And I love you even more."

Steve nonetheless stands up from the carrier, his red-blue-white uniform beams pride and authority. I stand up as well, smiling brightly. My uniform fits perfectly and the gauntlets are like made for me, giving me even more control over my powers, thanks to the regulating pressure. "Howling Commandos, assemble!"