"We looked for you after," Bucky followed Steve up the stairs to his apartment, his face young and handsome. "My folks wanted to give you a ride from the cemetery."

"I know, I'm sorry," Steve mumbled, pushing his blonde hair out of his face. "I just...kind of wanted to be alone."

"How was it?"

"It was okay..." Steve' voiced trailed away. "She's next to Dad."

"There's that, right?" Ally tried, lacing her hand with Steve's and giving him a gentle squeeze. "It was a beautiful ceremony if that counts for anything."

"Thank you Ally," Steve said honestly. "It wouldn't be very bearable without you two."

"I was gonna ask..." Bucky budded in, his usually tousled brown hair, slicked back.

"I know what you're gonna say, Buck," Steve stopped him, looking in his trousers for his key. "I just–"

"We can put the couch cushion on the floor like when we were kids. It'll be fun. All you gotta do is shine my shoes, maybe take out the trash," Bucky kicked aside a brick and handed Steve the spare key from underneath. "Come on."

"Or you could live with me," Ally attempted. "You might have to share a room with Kepler but I wouldn't make you shine my shoes or take out the trash. We've got plenty of room."

"Thank you guys, but I can get by on my own."

"The thing is, you don't have to," Bucky extended his hand and firmly planted it on Steve's shoulder. "I'm with you till the end of the line, pal."

"Together remember?" Ally wrapped an arm around Steve and the other around Bucky.

"Together," Steve confirmed, opening up the apartment door. "I'll see you guys later."

Ally watched as Steve shut the door behind him, laying her head against Bucky's shoulder. She was freshly eighteen, finally an adult and what a way to start off adulthood then attending Steve's mother's funeral. "He's going to be alright, right?"

Bucky nodded. "Yeah, he'll be alright."

She looked up at him, completely swooning over how thoughtful and considerate he was. Her heart skipped a beat when he draped an arm over her shoulders and began walking away from Steve's apartment with her. "Are we still on to star gaze next Friday?"

"I don't see why not but—"

"Uh-oh."

"What?" Ally questioned, her hair pulled curled into tight ringlets. "Why'd you say that?"

"There is always something else with you Alchemy," Bucky claimed. "We are going star gazing but–"

"My father is a little worried."

"Why? Because you're hanging out with a handsome twenty-year-old?" Bucky pulled out his collar. "I'd be a little worried too."

"You're so full of yourself," Ally snorted. "He's worried that one of us might catch the flu, it's going around."

"Oh," Bucky dropped his cocky attitude. "That wasn't as scary as I thought it was gonna be."

"Shut up," she giggled, her cheeks turning a bright red. "The flu is very serious Mr. Barnes, you could become very ill."

"I don't get sick," Bucky told her. "I make the flu sick."

"Dear god you're cocky today," she snickered, tucking a hazel curl behind her ear. "I might as well diagnose you with severe cockiness."

"Today is a day of mourning Ms. Jones," Bucky pointed out. "Don't laugh."

"But–"

"No, no laughing," he glared at her seriously before laughing too. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

"You don't have to Bucky, nobody likes going to the slums."

"Don't worry about it," he pushed. "Somebody has got to protect you if some weirdo comes out from the alley."

"Looks like we need to find someone to protect us," she teased. "Who is big, strong, not cocky at all, doesn't laugh after a funeral and is afraid of the flu?"

Bucky made a face. "Jeez, I wonder."

They walked in silence for awhile, admiring each other's company and their ability to just be quiet around one another without it being awkward. Ally fiddled with her hands, trying to keep her silly, girly crush on Bucky as unknown as possible. Bucky on the other hand, continued to constantly flirt with Ally who didn't even notice. It was rather funny.

Ally fished for her house key in her purse, stopping to smile at Bucky. "I'll see you later Bucky."

"Yeah," he mumbled, unsure if he should make a move or not. "Later." He then put a hand through his glossed hair and turned on his heel, walking down the steps of Ally's then-apartment. Ally sighed, unlocking her door and walked inside...

—

"I told you," Ally retorted, shaking her head as she fixed her hat on her head. "I told you one of us were going to catch the flu. I said it a million times last week and nobody listened to me."

"I get it," Bucky huffed, pulling his jacket over his shoulders. "Steve should have taken his vitamins every morning, shame on him."

She glared at him, fiddling with her lace gloves before grabbing her coat. "Your sarcasm isn't needed. He's missing out, again! He can't catch a break– this was supposed to be for my birthday."

"Would you quit whining doll?" Bucky smirked slightly, ruffling out his hair before placing a cap on his head. "He wants us to go still."

"It's not fair to Steve though," Ally sighed, feeling rather upset. "He's always missing out."

"Your heart is too big Ally, it'll get you killed one day or make you stonecold."

"Shut up and get in the car."

The car ride outside of the city was quick and easy. Less than a ten minute route until they hit the country area. Ally had lived in the slums most of her life, her father being a well-respected doctor in the community. It wasn't until last week that her parents announced they'd be moving outside of Brooklyn. That excited not just Ally, but Steve and Bucky too.

Bucky pulled out a blanket from the back of Ally's father's car. He covered a small patch of grass and sat on the cotton fabric, waving for Ally to come join him. She smiled slightly, pulling out a bag of sweets from her coat pocket. Both adults, grinned like children when they popped the sugary treat in their mouths, watching the stars glisten in the dark.

A starry night loomed above, each star glowing in the complete darkness. They clustered together like carefully painted dots on a canvas, a piece of art that couldn't be given a price tag. All they cared about was their slow breathing and how no amount of starlight could illuminate their faces.

"Orion is outlined by four bright stars at the corners of an imaginary trapezoid," Ally explained, looking at the sky. "There's a pattern– a row of three stars tilted at an angle. They all connect somehow and make his belt and his sword." Bucky listened thoughtfully, paying more attention to her than the actual stars. "Then there's Big Dipper, it depends which season we are in to see it. Right now it appears to be an upside down spoon."

"It's easy to find that one," Bucky pointed out. "I remember learning about that briefly in high school."

"Because that was so far away," she rolled her eyes. "Two years ago Bucky, you graduated two years ago."

"And you graduated four months ago, Ms. Valedictorian," Bucky reminded her. "Which one of us do you think is actually going to use any of that knowledge?"

She nudged him in the ribs. "You're a smart man, a kind and smart man. You can do whatever you want with that knowledge. I'm going to be a doctor and you can be whoever, as long as I'm there to see what you become."

"Of course," he promised. "You're my best girl."

Her stomach did a flip and she felt her cheeks become hot. Trying to get ahold of herself from blushing any harder, she continued. "Anyways, the Little Dipper or also known as Ursa Minor, is a constellation in the Northern Sky."

—

"I'm with you till the end of the line, pal."