Wakanda, August 11, 2016

𝙸 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚊 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎. 𝙸 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙽𝚒𝚔𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚒'𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎. 𝙸𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸, 𝚝𝚘𝚘, 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝙸 𝚔𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚎𝚝. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚔. 𝙸𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍, 𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎, 𝚉𝚘𝚕𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍'𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚞𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝙿𝚎𝚐𝚐𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚏𝚊𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜. 𝙷𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍'𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚎, 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚞𝚜.
𝚈𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚎. 𝙸 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜. 𝙸𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝙸 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝙸'𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍, 𝚊𝚍𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢, 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎, 𝚜𝚘 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚛. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞.
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝙱𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚢. 𝙸𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙸 𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚘. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝙷𝚈𝙳𝚁𝙰 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚖𝚎. 𝙸𝚏 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚛𝚞𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚜, 𝚒𝚏 𝙸'𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢.

"Steve, come in."

Natasha raised her head when Bucky radioed Steve over comms. She frowned but said nothing. 

"Steve, come in," repeated Bucky, more urgently this time. 

"I'm here," replied Steve. "You got somethin'?"

"Maybe. Evelyn mentions an incident at the docks. You know what she's talkin' about?"

"You don't remember?"

"Obviously not, otherwise I wouldn't be asking. What happened?"

Silence. And then... "November 12, 1941. There was an explosion in the main warehouse. You and Evy were trapped together. It took several hours for rescue workers to get you out."

Bucky's mind was spinning, trying to process what Steve said. He remembered most of his life before HYDRA, but not this. If this was another significant moment with Evelyn, then it stood to reason it'd been erased or suppressed by their reprogramming. He had to remember, though. Evelyn mentioned it specifically in her journal, and she wouldn't have done if it wasn't important. It meant something. But what, damn it?

"Here." Bucky looked up when Natasha slid the tablet across the table. "Newspaper articles on the incident and the aftermath. It might jog something."

Why didn't it surprise him she'd been listening in on the conversation through her own ear piece? Any other time, he would've been peeved, but right now, he was grateful. This could be just what he needed. 
Bucky disconnected comms and scrolled through the articles on the screen, reading every word carefully. Two explosions at the docks led to the death of fifteen men. Another seven were so severely injured they needed medical care for the rest of their lives. Picture after picture showed the horrors that transpired that day. 
Suddenly, a black-and-white photograph of a young teenage boy popped up. Bucky stared at the kid's face. He knew him. What was his name again? His eyes traveled down to the writing underneath — Thomas Johnson, age seventeen. 

Thomas... Tommy... Yes, of course, I remember now. We tried to save him, but there was nothing we could do. And that night... I took Evelyn home with me. 

***

Brooklyn, November 12, 1941

"All right, just a little pinch now."

Bucky grimaced as Evelyn jabbed the needle into his upper arm. He glimpsed up to see her smirking. Lord, the things he allowed this woman to do to him. 

"There, that wasn't so bad, right?" She swiftly removed the syringe and wiped away the blood welling up at the puncture wound. 

"Well, it ain't no pick nick either." Bucky scoffed as she put a bandaid on him. "How 'bout I stick you with one of these, huh? See how you like it."

"I already had my shot," reacted Evelyn. "And I was more man about it than you."

The other dockers waiting their turn snickered at the insult. They expectantly looked at Bucky, waiting for him to react. Were he and Evelyn always this entertaining to them? They were goggling them as if they were front row in the local cinema. All that was missing was some popcorn.

"All right, that's enough," warned Lucas in a scolding, unyielding tone. "We finally got the okay from management to distribute the smallpox vaccine among the regular crew, and I'm not about to have any of you ruin this. Get your shot and then get your ass back to work."

Everyone fell silent at the union rep's harsh words. Bucky furrowed his brow. Lucas'd been walking around all grim for over three weeks now. He hadn't even come around the Poppy Lounge. Something was up, and whatever it was, it wasn't good. 
With a final worried glance from Lucas to Evelyn, Bucky got up and exited the office. He inconspicuously made his way to the alley at the back of the main warehouse, where the dockers sometimes snuck a smoke during their breaks. The fixed crew was already back at work, but the day workers were still at lunch, so he had to be careful. He opened the door to a sliver and walked out upon finding the alley empty, apart from a few harbor rats scurrying about. 

Bucky sat behind a mountain of empty crates, hidden from sight in case anyone but the person he was waiting for came into the alley. He rubbed his sore arm, wondering if management was really going to keep their word. They would probably find some way to knock a percentile from their wages, putting it down as a cockamamy tax or necessary admin cost to cover the expenses of the vaccines. Those corporate bastards were devious enough. Anything to keep them from losing even a single dime.
They'd already started making cuts on the workers as well. Four men from the fixed crew got sacked only last week, and daily hires were down to half. Everyone was forced to work overtime, but they barely received any compensation for it. Management shifted the blame for the budget cuts and lingering poor economy after the Recession on the war, but that was a load of bull. 
Now that Bucky had a moment to reflect on things, Lucas's sour demeanor these past weeks made sense. He was the one who had to deal with all the crap. Boxed in between the board of directors and the workers, but with hands completely tied. Something had to be done. 

The screeching sound of the door made Bucky look up between the slivers of the wooden crates. He smiled when he recognized the person's clothes and heard the heels of her shoes clicking against the cobblestones. At the agreed whistle signal, he came out of hiding. 
The vision that was Evelyn Rogers never failed to make Bucky's heart skip a beat. Even in the shadows of the alley, her caramel hair shone like a radiant halo as it framed her beautiful face. By now, he was certain she was an angel. No human woman could be that stunning.

"Hi," said Evelyn, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Hi," said Bucky. 

"Your arm doin' okay?" She approached.

"Little sore." He met her halfway.

"Sorry." She halted. "Anything I can do to make ya feel better?" 

He dragged his teeth slowly over his lip. "I can think of somethin'." 

Their eyes met. Time seemed to stand still. All the noises from the docks faded away. Then, spurred on by the desire that had been bubbling beneath the surface since waking up that morning, Bucky took Evelyn's face and crashed his mouth against hers. She responded eagerly, parting her lips just enough for him to slip through. Their tongues danced together on soundless music as they themselves did so often in the Poppy Lounge after everyone left in the late hours of the night. 
Evelyn pulled Bucky along with her, hands on the nape of his neck. When her back touched the wall, her leg hooked around his, capturing him so that their hips connected. Heat rushed through Bucky. He moved one hand to Evelyn's thigh, raising it higher, squeezing her through the fabric of her skirt. She moaned softly in their kiss. It was the most arousing sound Bucky had ever heard. Still, he forced himself to stop. They'd already taken a risk in meeting like this and couldn't stay too long. People would notice they were missing. 

"Thanks, Blondie." He breathed against her lips.

"Anytime, James." She nudged the tip of his nose with her own. 

"Don't call me James."

"Don't call me Blondie."

They chuckled in unison. Words once spoken in sheer hatred for each other were now playful banter between them. Bucky still couldn't quite believe it. He'd been in a daze for two straight days after Evelyn kissed him at Miss Lettie's. When things'd appeared business as usual between them, he'd shrugged it off, thinking it must've been a woman-thing, a momentary lapse that'd made her swoon after seeing him with Baby Sammy. But then, almost a week later, she'd pulled him into an empty room at the clinic after he dropped Rebecca off for class and had kissed him again. Ever since then, Bucky had walked through life in a perpetual state of bliss.

Nobody knew. Not even Steve or Lucas. They'd be so smug to learn they were a couple now, especially since Bucky'd been so adamant nothing would ever happen between him and Evelyn. Though... were they really a couple?
So far, he and Evelyn had only stolen moments with each other — some more passionate than others, from heated kisses in alleys and backrooms to holding hands while walking home from the Poppy Lounge — but hadn't gone on a date yet because they were both so busy (technically, they had on her birthday, but that one didn't count). He definitely had to do something about that. What, though? What little remained from his paycheck after paying for expenses at home wouldn't be enough to take Evelyn out on a proper date.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Evelyn caressed Bucky's jawline with the tip of her fingers when she caught his pensive expression.

"Hm? Oh, sorry, I was just... wonderin' if maybe you'd like to come over tonight? Pops and Becca are visiting relatives in Indiana, so we'd have the house for ourselves."

Evelyn stiffened. She unhooked her leg from his and slowly pushed him away, keeping him at arm's length. Wide-eyed and with her mouth slightly agape, she stared at him with a face stricken with... panic? Disbelief, maybe?

What's goin' on? Why is she reacting like I — oh, wait, does she think I wanna...? Oh no, no, no!

"I didn't mean it like that," Bucky said hastily. "I-I'm not askin' ya to sleep with me, I swear. It's just... Well, we haven't been on a date yet, and with things being tight now, I thought I could cook. I-If you'd like, that is."

"Just dinner?" she asked in a little voice. 

"Just dinner. Evelyn, all I want is to spend time with you. I don't expect anything from you, and I'm definitely not gonna ask you to do somethin' ya don't want to do. If you wanna wait, we wait. Promise."

Evelyn licked her lips before pressing them together. Bucky detected the doubt in her eyes as she silently mulled over his words. Had he already blown it? 

"All right," she said, her shoulders visibly relaxing. "Dinner tonight at your place."

"Great." Bucky sighed in relief. "I'm sorry I scared ya."

"No, it's my fault. I misinterpreted your intent and jumped to conclusions. Occupational hazard of needin' to quickly assess the situation. Besides, I ain't exactly coy when we're kissing. I get I might've... given ya mixed signals. This is still new for me."

Bucky cocked his head curiously. Was she talking about kissing or dating? Wait a minute... Was he her first boyfriend? No, surely not. She was a drop-dead gorgeous woman who had a string of men trailing after her every time she went to the Atalanta, hoping to get a dance with her. And she mentioned that thing about men's body heat when they were at Miss Lettie's for Baby Sammy. She must've been with a guy before to know that, right? Then it occurred to him he had never seen Evelyn with someone in all the years he'd known her.

She got all scared and pushed me away when she thought I was suggesting we... Oh, God, I'm her first! That's why she freaked out! Oh, Barnes, you better not screw this up! 

"I, um... I better get back to work," he said, slightly flustered at his deduction. "They'll be wonderin' where I am. Meet at my place around seven?"

"I'll be there," said Evelyn. "Be careful out there today."

"Always."

They kissed goodbye, lingering over each other's lips before finally parting ways. Bucky walked out of the alley as Evelyn went back inside. He felt giddy.
Finally, he had a proper date with his girlfriend. He'd cook one of his best dishes, put on some music, maybe see if he could sneak a dance with her, and then walk her home so they could both tell Steve they were a couple. This was the beginning of his life with her. And he wouldn't let anything get in the way of it. Absolutely no—

A roaring blast threw Bucky forward. The air was forced out of his lungs when he smacked against the ground. It felt as he'd been swung from the Coney Island Loop-O-Plane into the rollercoaster, only to crash at the end of the ride.
Groaning, Bucky rolled over onto his back. The ringing in his ears morphed into loud screams. He pushed himself up, trying to find the cause of whatever had knocked him to the ground. His blood chilled in his veins when he faced the devastating scene before him, eyes widening in horror. 

The main warehouse was on fire.

***

Smoke blackened the sky above, blotting out the sun. Flames licked steel and wood hungrily. The salty sea-air was rancid with the smell of charred flesh. Warning bells rang, but none could penetrate through the screams of those burning and dying. The workers on the docks ran toward those crawling and stumbling away to get them to safety. Buckets of harbor water were being passed down a line in a vain effort to fight the blazing inferno. It was utter chaos. 

"EVELYN!"

Bucky called her name as loudly as he could. He fervently search every group of people he passed, but didn't see her anywhere. Fearing the worst, he hurried to the burning building. The scorching heat was making it near-impossible to see anything. He hastily brushed away the tears stinging in his eyes. Then he saw someone he recognized.

"Lucas!"

The union rep looked up at Bucky's shout. Blood stuck to his forehead, and he had a nasty gash on his arm, but it didn't look like he was badly injured.

"What the hell happened?" Bucky ran up to help him with an unconscious worker swung over his shoulder. 

"The wiring loosened!" yelled Lucas. "The sparks must've hit one of the gas pipes! We gotta move everyone away from here now!"

"Where's Evelyn?"

"I don't know!" 

The moment they were far enough, Bucky put the worker on the ground and spun on his heels to run back. 

"Bucky, no!" Lucas snatched at his clothes, pulling him to a stop. 

"Let me go! I gotta find Evelyn!" 

"There's a full container of TNT in the back of the warehouse! If the fire reaches it, It's gonna blow everything away! You'll never make it!"

Bucky shoved Lucas off, not caring if he injured him even further. All that mattered was finding Evelyn and getting her to safety. If there really was TNT, he didn't have a moment to waste. He made his way through the burning debris, looking everywhere for her. 

"EVELYN! EVELYN, WHERE ARE YOU?" 

Suddenly, he heard something. Someone was yelling. There! A slender hand waved for help. Bucky ran toward it, praying he wouldn't find the woman he loved grievously injured. Relief and terror washed over him when he found one of the young day workers trapped under a support beam with his leg. 

"Tommy!"

"Mr. Barnes! Please help me!"

"Hang on, kid!"

Bucky tried to lift the beam, but it was too heavy to move on his own. He looked around to see if anyone was near him, but they were alone. A container in the distance drew his attention. It had a military sign on it. The TNT...
He had to run. There was no way he would survive if he got caught in that explosion. But as his survival instinct nearly kicked in, the fighter in him took the upper hand. What was he thinking? He couldn't leave Tommy to die like this. But there was no time to get help either. He couldn't risk another person's life for the slight chance of saving this one. And Evelyn! He had to find Evelyn! Steve would never forgive him for abandoning her. Could he leave Tommy now and hope there was still enough time to get him out once he found Evelyn? Was she even still alive? What the hell was he supposed to do?

"Bucky!"

His head whipped around. As if she'd heard his inner turmoil, Evelyn appeared out of nowhere. By some miracle, she didn't appear to be hurt and was even carrying her nursing bag over her shoulder. 

"Oh, thank God!" Bucky quickly took her in his arms and then pushed her past him. "Get as far away from here as you can, ya hear me? Just run and don't look back! I'll help Tommy!"

"No, I ain't leavin' you!"

"Evelyn, this isn't a debate! Get out of here now!"

"No!"  

A rumbling reverberated above them. Bucky looked up and instantly grabbed Evelyn, diving out of the way. Another beam fell on the one Tommy was trapped under, making the poor boy scream in agonizing pain as his leg was crushed. Then, there was another rumbling, beneath them this time.
The rusty latch to the underground storage room gave way. Tommy plummeted down, followed by the beams. Evelyn slipped from Bucky's grasp, the terrified echo of her cry stopping his heart completely. The last thing he saw before he, too, was cast into the darkness below was the blinding light of a catastrophic supernova.