[ 1943 ]

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(Y/N) wanted nothing more than the earth to swallow her whole and never see the light of day again. The constant stares she got as she innocently strolled through the crowded streets of New York were something that she'd never going to get used to, and neither does she want to. She pretended to not notice them and keep her head high up front as her shoes clicked on the concrete floor. Even though she had her friend Bucky by her side to glare off whomever laid eyes on her, she still couldn't shake them all off. It astounded her to see how men only shared a certain amount of decency when another man came into the picture instead of just backing off when a woman asks them to.

"One of these days I'll throw a punch, doll, and you won't be able to hold me back," Bucky said with his eyes still glaring onto a man walking by before he got out of his sight, his voice easily drowned by the honking noises in the street.

(Y/N) rolled her eyes at his words and smacked his arm due to the nickname. "And I'll be there to bail you out of jail when you do so."

"Who says I'll be caught?" Bucky added in his usual playful manner, despite the other heavy topics hovering over them.

(Y/N) did her best to distract herself from those negative thoughts and tried to enjoy one of the  rare moments of the year when she was allowed a break from her 'secret job'. After completing the training and basic tasks two years ago when she fist got the offer, (Y/N) was forced to completely quit her other two jobs and focus all of her time on the mission in hand, which limited her time with her friends. And the worst part of all, is that she couldn't tell them the entire truth about her job. Which made it even harder for her to manage her entire shift in routine, but she was able to control it over the past years.

So, because of this, whenever (Y/N) was allowed a break from the stressing nature of her job, she took it upon herself to spend as much time as possible with Steve and Bucky.

"Doll? Are you there?" Bucky placed a hand in front of her face to knock her out of her tunnel of thoughts. Because of this, (Y/N) blinked twice and regained her full senses.

(Y/N) was about to respond to him, when she heard a grunt coming from a nearby alley, followed by loud clattering. The sound of a fist being met with skin was audible, especially considering the noise in the city. When (Y/N) looked back at Bucky, they shared a common deadpanned expression. They didn't have to be psychic to know who was in that alley, even so when this was near the place they were meeting up with that certain person.

The look between (Y/N) and Bucky always included a silent question of 'who should intervene this time?', and they seemed to follow a pattern only both of them kept track of. This time, it was Bucky's, so he was the one to take lead inside the alley as the sounds of grunts and thrown punches was growing louder. (Y/N) walked behind him in a normal pace, trying her best to catch up with him and his angry strut.

" — I can do this all day," she heard Steve's panting voice say.

She was able to see how the man standing above him threw another punch at Steve before Bucky reached him. He grabbed him by the arm forcefully, while (Y/N) went up to get Steve off the dirty ground. Boy, this was giving her a sense of deja vu.

"Hey!" Bucky pulled the man away by a single tug of the arm. "Pick on someone your own size."

The man did a pathetic attempt to throw a punch at Bucky, but he easily dodged it before throwing one of his own. The impact made the man grunt and stagger back, but this didn't seem to satisfy Bucky. He kicked him in the behind for extra measure before watching him cowardly run away the alley, staggering on his way out.

(Y/N) was able to get Steve to his feet because of his compliant behavior. He was doubled over trying to clean the blood off his nose with a handkerchief that (Y/N) handed to him, as she rubbed a hand on his back. She noticed that the man had fled the scene and she sagged her shoulders in disappointment, since she wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine too.

"Sometimes I think you like getting punched," Bucky was the first to speak as he reached his two friends, still holding the newspaper in his hand.

"I had him on the ropes," Steve tried to reassure, though he gritted his teeth in pain. (Y/N) had stopped rubbing his back, knowing he could take care of himself after he got to his full height, which was just the same level as her shoulder.

Bucky noticed a note on the floor and picked it up, his eyes recognizing the page instantly. "How many times is this?"

(Y/N) shot her head to look at Steve incredulously, knowing what this was about. "Really? Again?"

It was of common knowledge to both Bucky and (Y/N) on how badly Steve wanted to join the army, despite being told several times that he couldn't. He was enlisted at the same time as Bucky, though he was declined right away due to his long list of illnesses and his skinny figure. (Y/N) knew how perseverant he could be, and it was one of the things she admired about him, but she couldn't help but worry for him.

"Oh, you're from Paramus now?" Bucky read out from the enlistment form before continuing. "You know it's illegal to lie on the enlistment form. And seriously, Jersey?"

Steve ignored all of Bucky's scolding and removed his attention off the handkerchief. He finally noticed the uniform Bucky was wearing, and his eyes squinted in confusion. "You get your orders?"

"The 107th," Bucky raised his chin proudly. "Sergeant James Barnes, shipping out for England first thing tomorrow."

An unreadable look flashed through Steve's eyes at those words, though he didn't say anything right away. (Y/N) knew this was going to be hard for him. His two friends were leaving off to help fight the war and he was going to stay behind. (Y/N) wanted nothing more than to help him out with his problem.

"I should be going," Steve said solemnly.

(Y/N) gave him a softened look, and Bucky's lips broke out into a grin to change his mood, easily pulling Steve toward him in a side hug. "Come on, man."

Bucky opened his other arm to bring (Y/N) close to him on his other side, and the three of them began to make their way out of the alley. Steve still wasn't in the brightest of moods because of the news he'd just received, but in the deal on his friendship with Bucky and (Y/N) it included that they'd want to cheer him up whenever he needed.

"Mine and (Y/N)'s last night! I got to get you cleaned up," Bucky told him enthusiastically.

"Why? Where are we going?" Steve asked the usual question, already used to being dragged into surprises like these.

(Y/N) took the newspaper out of Bucky's hands and gave it to Steve, the front page announcing the World Exposition of Tomorrow on the front page.

"The future."

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Night arrived pretty quickly, and so the fireworks that were exploding in the sky were able to give their full glow on the New York skyline. The exposition was filled with dazzling lights and monorails, which were impressive to (Y/N)'s eye. The round structure of the globe, also known as the face of the exposition, sat in the center of the area where people were able to spot it even from a mile away.

"I don't see what the problem is," Bucky was still talking Steve's ear off on him finding a date. (Y/N) was used to these talks by now, and she was asked for her opinion every now and then to help the poor guy out. "You're about to be the last eligible man in New York. You know there's three and a half million women here?"

"Well, I'd settle for just one," Steve answered with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Good thing I took care of that," Bucky grinned mischievously before raising his hand to wave at two women, one blonde and the other a brunette, waiting a few feet away.

One of them, the brunette, raised their arm up in greeting too. "Hey, Bucky!"

(Y/N) could already imagine the annoyed look on Steve's face, and she resisted the urge to laugh.

"What'd you tell her about me?"

"Only the good stuff."

(Y/N) smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes as she kept on walking with Steve and Bucky, watching from the corner of her eye how the blond was doing his best to adjust his hair. The two women introduced themselves as Bonnie and Connie, and they were pretty nice and welcoming. Bonnie, the blonde, had complimented on how the color of (Y/N)'s clothes matched with her skin color, and (Y/N) asked for the color of Connie's lipstick, since it caught her attention.

The group kept strolling through the exposition until they entered a specific area that drew the attention of a lot of people. Since most of them were admiring the displayed new car models or life-sized action figures, they were careful not to push through the crowds as they walked deeper into the pavilion.

"Welcome to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and the World of Tomorrow," an announcer said on the speakers. "A greater world. A better world."

People were clamoring nearby a stage and the shuffle caught Connie's attention. She bounced off her feet in excitement and her curls were jumping up and down with her. "Oh, my God! It's starting!"

She giggled and tugged on Bucky's hand to fasten his pace. Bonnie ran after them too, meanwhile Steve and (Y/N) walked behind them at their own pace. She didn't have to be a genius to tell that Steve wasn't particularly enjoying himself on his date, but she didn't want to be rude and say anything about it. Instead, the two of them caught up with the others and blended into the crowd staring at the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!"

(Y/N)'s eyes widened at the name, also letting out an exasperated sigh too. Steve, since he was standing close to her, heard and noticed this right away and raised his eyebrows in question. She didn't have any explanation to give him at the moment, and so she stayed quiet.

Five women dressed in beautiful black and white costumes standing in front of a car were smiling at the crowd as the one and only Howard Stark ran into the stage with music playing in the background. He grinned at the crowd and removed the hat from his head as one of the women was ready to give him the microphone in exchange of the hat. In his ordinary fashion, Howard pulled the woman close and placed a kiss on her lips to which the crowd cheered. (Y/N) rolled her eyes at the sight and shook her head.

"I love you, Howard!"

Howard brushed off the random woman in the crowd with a smile as he cleaned off the excess of lipstick in his lips. He grabbed the microphone and turned to the crowd once and for all.

"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?"

The crowd oohed in response, and the women removed the wheels off the car model to show a hidden device on them with the name of his company on them as Howard stepped to the side. On the other hand, Steve had attempted to offer part of his bag of peanuts to Bonnie, and was only received by a dirty look. (Y/N) couldn't believe her eyes, and she saw the way Steve's figure deflated at the action, and so she took it upon herself to distract him and extend her hand for a peanut herself.

"With Stark Gravitic Reversion Technology you'll be able to do just that," Howard smirked at the crowd, his eyes looking all over the unfamiliar faces until his eyes sat on (Y/N) blended on the crowd. He maintained a second of eye contact with her amongst the crowd, faltering for a second before he returned his attention to the machine behind him.

He turned a knob to one side and a mechanical humming was heard through the stage. Slowly, the devices on the place where the wheels were supposed to be ignited, and they were able to lift the car off the ground. People were watching in amazement from their place in the audience, thinking they were witnessing a change in technology as they knew it. (Y/N) watched curiously too, her eyes widening as the car was still in the air. If there was one thing she liked about Howard Stark after working with him these past years, it would be his brain.

"Holy cow," Bucky murmured to himself.

The car was still hovering in the air and Howard displayed it with pride before the devices glitched and immediately let out sparks. This caused the car to fall back to the ground harshly, causing people to jump back still looking impressed.

"I did say a few years, didn't I?" Howard saved with a chuckle.

The crowd broke in laughter, and (Y/N) was dusting off the crumbs from the peanuts she'd been stealing from Steve's bag with her eyes still set on the stage.

Bucky, on the other hand,  turned around to grab the attention of his friend. "Hey, Steve, what do you say we treat these girls. . ."

(Y/N) heard how Bucky paused and that's when she noticed that Steve wasn't there anymore. She cursed herself for being distracted and not paying attention to him, but also hated on how easily Steve was able to slip out of places without being noticed.

"Did you — "

"I'll find him," (Y/N) reassured Bucky with a smile. "You don't want to disappoint your dates."

Bucky's demeanor relaxed at her reassurance but there was still tension in his face. "I'll catch up with you."

(Y/N) nodded and slipped away from the pavilion quite easily. She knew Steve pretty well, so there was a high probability that he'd be in the exact same place she thought he'd be in. She had spotted the several posters of Uncle Sam in the walls encouraging people to join the army, and so she knew that Steve might be in another enlistment office. She quite admired his ambition, though she didn't like how he was easily deciding to jump into the battleground.

She searched the entrance of the office before stepping inside, seeing how several other men were going inside with her girlfriends or spouses by the arm. Since he was an easy person to spot, (Y/N) found Steve standing nearby a picture, staring at it in silence.

"Something tells me you're not enjoying your double date," (Y/N) made her presence known.

"Was I that obvious?" Steve turned around and asked the rhetorical question. "Go ahead with them. I'll catch up with you."

(Y/N) knew that he was deflecting. "Are you seriously trying this again?"

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

"As who now, Steve from Iowa? Ohio?" (Y/N) crossed her arms over her chest. "They'll catch you. Or even worse, they might take you."

"Look, I know you don't think I can do this."

"This isn't any alley, it's war," She started to notice the similarity between this conversation and the one she had two years ago.

"I know it's a war."

"Then why are you so keen to fight?" Bucky jumped into the conversation, standing on (Y/N)'s side with his taller frame towering over. "There are so many important jobs."

"What do you want me to do? Collect scrap metal in my little red wagon?"

"Yes! Why not?"

"I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky. Bucky come on," Steve argued firmly. "There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. You should understand that better than anyone else, (Y/N). You got your chance, why shouldn't I? This isn't about me."

"Right. 'Cause you got nothing to prove," Bucky responded back with a shake of his head.

"Hey, Sarge! Are we going dancing?" Bonnie called out from the outside of the office.

Bucky turned around. "Yes, we are."

He whirled on his heel to eye Steve again, this time backing down on the steps of the recruitment office with a firm look. "Don't do anything stupid until I get back."

"How can I?" Steve yelled out to him. "You're taking all the stupid with you."

Bucky backtracked all the steps he'd taken and leaned downward to embrace his friend. "You're a punk."

"Jerk," Steve patted him in the back.

"How lovely," (Y/N) muttered under her breath. But when she saw the secret look both men shared, she knew what they were thinking and tried to take a step backward. "No, wait — "

Steve and Bucky wrapped their arms around her figure, as tightly as they could. (Y/N) squirmed underneath their embrace but didn't resist and wrapped her own arms around them, not knowing if this was a goodbye or not, so she wanted to make it memorable.

Once they pulled away, Steve eyed his friends. "Be careful. Both of you."

Bucky was now walking back to join Connie and Bonnie outside, meanwhile (Y/N) embraced Steve one last time. She pressed a platonic kiss to his cheek and he smiled warmly at her.

"Don't win the war till I get there!"

"Got it, Cap'n!"

here we are with a new chapter. sorry if the time jump is a bit confusing. also, i'm obsessed with bucky's, steve's and y/n's sibling dynamics.

i wanted to add that i'll be describing the outfits y/n is going to be wearing throughout the book or even show pictures of them. it's a different time period, so it's going to be a bit unrealistic if you're picturing yourself wearing tees or ripped jeans and sneakers. don't worry though, i'll make sure they're neutral enough for all of you to tolerate them lol.

-see you soon, bex :)