[ 1943 ]

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Being back in Camp Lehigh always made (Y/N) feel in two distinct emotions, either good or bad. Yes, she was thrilled to have a position where she could help in fighting the war, one where — in the bare minimum — she was treated with a decent amount of respect. On the other hand, she felt terrible for leaving her friends and life behind in Brooklyn, always counting down days where she was allowed to take a day off.

It was an early morning in camp, and the recruits were already out of their racks and changed into their identical uniforms, lining up after their drill sergeants. (Y/N) monitored from an off far spot, leaning against a tent as she watched the trucks bring in new cadets. She was in her uniform like the rest of the authorities in camp, her military green matching blazer and pencil skirt being smooth against her fingertips. Her hair was styled back so it wouldn't blow into her face with the wind, and she didn't know how long she'd been standing alone until someone else came in.

"I sure hope you're right," Peggy's sultry voice rang through her ears. She was in the same attire as her, the difference was in the makeup. Peggy was quite known for her bright red lipstick.

(Y/N) didn't have any idea what she was talking about. "About what?"

"Your friend, Rogers."

"However do you mean?" At the mention of Steve's name, (Y/N) couldn't help but grow a lot more curious than she already was. Why was Peggy bringing this up now? She didn't know.

"Didn't you recommend him for the program with Dr. Erskine?"

"I might've. When I first joined," (Y/N) crossed her arms defensively over her chest. She shook her head as she turned her body to look at Peggy in the eye. "But I told you, he doesn't fit in the requirements. And I know that doesn't define him as a whole, but I. . ."

She exhaled a long breath. Peggy still had her eyes on her form, waiting for her to speak with a familiar look in her eye. They'd been working together for two years now, and it was almost as if they could read each others' thoughts. When they first became acquaintances and then friends, Howard had told the two that they were so alike, yet so different at the same time. Neither of them knew if he meant that as a compliment or not.

"If something bad happened to him in battle. . .," (Y/N) spoke up after formulating her words in her head. "and I was the one who recommended him in the first place, I would never forgive myself."

Peggy placed a hand on her shoulder, which was odd since she wasn't one for physical affection. "(Y/N), the point of this program, this experiment, is to make an indestructible army."

"I know," she nodded to her words, implying that she understood that, yet her irrational fear wouldn't leave her alone.

She wished Peggy was able to understand. If she had grown up with Steve by her side just like (Y/N) did, then she would understand how much of a heavy toll it was causing her. She'd known him since she was a kid, and the thought of living in a world without him or Bucky made her sick in the stomach.

"It's all right," Peggy said, backtracking from her close position. "I understand."

(Y/N) lifted her eyes to look at the brunette, since she detected some sort of hesitation in her words. Damn, this job, she thought. If she hadn't signed up for it she would've never caught up on that. When Peggy's irises locked with hers, (Y/N) couldn't quite place why she had a guilt-ridden expression in her face.

"What? What's wrong?"

"You might need to take a look at the list of new cadets."

(Y/N) raised her eyebrows in question, ready to voice her thoughts when a whistle sounded in the distance. The loud noise startled both women and they looked over the source of the sound, seeing how a group of new cadets were being lined up in the middle of the field with long strides. Some were even lifting some of the dirt along the way. A silent look was exchanged between (Y/N) and Peggy, knowing this was their indication to start their job and that the conversation was going to have to wait.

As they made their way closer to the group, (Y/N) raised her voice to make herself known to them. "Recruits, attention!"

At the sound of her voice, all of the men in line straightened their postures. All of them were wearing a green combat helmet with simple green clothes. Peggy was following beside her, and behind them was one of the other soldiers with a box of the forms inside. Unknowingly for her, a certain cadet nearly broke their neck at the sound of her voice.

"Gentlemen, I am Agent Carter, this is Agent Dewitt," Peggy announced herself to the group. "We supervise all operations for this division."

"What's with the accent, Queen Victoria?" one of the cadets spoke up in a snarky manner. At this remark, Peggy slowly turned her head to him. "I thought I was signing up for the U.S. Army."

(Y/N) hid her laugh behind a clear of her throat, knowing this was going to be entertaining. When she stepped back and let Peggy take control, she saw the faces of all cadets, her eyes settling in a particular one. There, in his small and skinny nature, stood her friend Steve wearing the uniform as the rest of the group. In shock, her eyes widened like saucers, yet she couldn't quite make a scene in the middle of her job. She could tell he was asking himself some questions because of the look in his eyes.

"What's your name, soldier?" Peggy faced the cadet.

"Gilmore Hodge, Your Majesty."

"Step forward, Hodge," she ordered. Hodge followed her instruction with a smug smile, amusement behind his eyes. "Put your right foot forward."

Hodge eyed her up and down, his grin getting wider. "Mmm. . .We gotta wrassle? 'Cause I got a few moves I know you'll like."

He only got the chance to wink at Peggy before she delivered a square punch to his face. The force of the punch threw him back against the ground, making the other cadets in line stare down at him.

"Anyone else?" (Y/N) placed her arms behind her back innocently as she moved her gaze to everyone else in line, catching Steve's impressed smile as she set eyes on him.

"Agent Carter! Agent Dewitt!"

At the sound of their superior's voice, (Y/N) turned around along with Peggy, who didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that she had punched a cadet. Behind them, one of the jeeps used to move around the camp came to a stop, and the two men inside it, Colonel Phillips and Dr. Abraham Erskine, were ready to jump out of it.

"Colonel Phillips," both women saluted him.

"I can see that you are breaking in the candidates. That's good!" Colonel Phillips joined their side in an instant. His eyes trailed down to the cadet in the ground. "Get your ass up out of that dirt and stand in that line at attention till somebody comes tells you what to do."

Cadet Hodge quickly got up to his feet and stood in line, sniffing to stop the blood out of his nose. "Yes, sir!"

Colonel Phillips stayed silent for a moment before continuing. "General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best. . .men."

His eyes set on Steve's skinny form and he paused for a moment, contradicting his last words. Incredulous, he stared back at Dr. Erskine, who avoided his gaze as if to avoid confrontation.

"And because they are going to get better. Much better," Colonel Phillips marched across the other side of the line. The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an Allied effort made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army starts with one man."

"At the end of this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldier," the Colonel's eyes were on every cadet on the line. "And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler to the gates of hell."

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On that very afternoon, after all squads were sent to dinner or were already making their way back to their bunks, (Y/N) found herself wondering through the enormous camp. She, of course, had an objective behind her mindless wondering, yet she wanted to appear as if nothing was bothering her. She knew how fast the word spread out through camps like this, and she did not want any gossip tainting her already built reputation in camp.

When the person she was looking for came out of the dining hall, (Y/N) marched her way toward him. Steve was minding his own business as he tried to find his way through the dark over to his assigned cabin, but then an arm grabbed him. He jolted in surprise, not expecting to have someone grabbing onto him until his eyes adjusted to the dark and he was able to see who it was.

Before he could question her, (Y/N) pressed a finger to her lips and silently told him to act normal. Steve understood this and didn't say a word until (Y/N) guided them to a hidden spot in camp, hiding on the side of a military tank.

Now, allowed to speak, Steve opened his mouth. "What — "

"What are you doing here?" (Y/N) interrupted him with a question of her own. It wasn't accusatory or incredulous, it was much more as a genuine curious question mixed with worry.

"I got recruited," Steve stated the obvious, flashing his typical smile.

(Y/N) resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. "I can see that. But how? You were declined more than once. You — " she gasped and placed her hands over her mouth as another thought came to her head. "Please don't tell me you snuck into one of the trucks as it was making its way here. That's low, and I've seen you pull lots of stunts back in the day, Steve."

"No! Of course I didn't!" Steve jumped into defending himself from the accusation.

"Does Bucky know?"

"Happened after you both left."

"What? — Tell me what happened."

"There was this doctor. Dr. Erskine, I think."

"Dr. Erskine?" (Y/N) repeated with confusion. She'd requested the idea of Steve joining the program two years ago, and although he was merely interested in her friend's valuable traits, he hadn't given her a straight up answer.

"Yes," Steve nodded with his words. "He approved my enlisting form."

(Y/N) pressed her lips into a thin line. Her arms were crossed over her chest defensively, as if she was hugging herself. The idea of Dr. Erskine approving Steve for the war hadn't wrapped itself around her mind yet, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. She felt selfish in some way, and she despised herself for it. There thousands of people — men, women, children — being murdered by the worst group of people known to mankind and Steve wanted to be a part in taking them down; but here she was silently begging to any god that could hear her to not let him go.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steve asked next, eyes set on her. (Y/N) only hummed in response, inquiring for him to add context. "Why didn't you tell me you worked here? Agent Dewitt? What's up with that?"

(Y/N) placed her hands on her hips. "I couldn't give out that much information. And I still can't."

"Nobody else knows?" Steve raised his eyebrows, lifting his head higher to look at her. "Not even Bucky?"

"He knows the general idea of it," (Y/N) looked both sides to make sure no one heard them. "He was the one who recommended me in the first place."

"What?" Steve was shushed by (Y/N) to lower his volume. He also made sure no one was sneaking around and spying on their conversation.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Look, Steve," (Y/N) huffed out a breath from frustration. He didn't want him to take it the wrong way. "It's. . .it's complicated and confidential to explain. But I promise I'm not hiding anything else."

"You sure?"

"Mmm-hmm."

Silence filled the atmosphere. Crickets were heard buzzing from all corners, not sure which direction they were coming from. The camp was almost in full darkness if it weren't for the lampposts on several spots around the area. (Y/N) didn't know how much time she'd spent talking to him, but she knew Steve would get in trouble if he arrived late to his assigned cabin.

Steve noticed this too. "I better go."

(Y/N) nodded and couldn't resist the urge or pulling him in for a hug. Surprised like always when she hugged him, Steve didn't move for a few seconds before embracing her too. He patted her in the back in a friendly way before both of them pulled back.

"Watch your back out there tomorrow," (Y/N) told him, pointing him with an accusatory finger. "It's against protocol to show favoritism over any recruits."

"Yes, ma'am," Steve saluted mockingly.

(Y/N) pushed his shoulder playfully, careful not to hurt his already sensitive bones. "Go, cadet."

"Oh, that's how it's gonna be?"

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It was that way. Just like she had said on that Monday night, (Y/N) followed protocol and did her job as usual, not showing any sort of favoritism over Steve. But that didn't quite stop her from being insanely worried every time he failed to complete an obstacle course and was sent to the camp's infirmary. What she could do was in fact punish Hodge along the rules of camp because of his bully demeanor against Steve, something she was already used to do.

Days kept going, and Steve wasn't actually doing any progress. He had dangled upside down a rope and managed to hurt himself because of it. He couldn't drag himself through the mud in one of the many obstacle courses. It took everything in (Y/N)'s entire body not to write a letter to Bucky updating him on Steve, since the latter has specifically asked her not to do it.

Since Peggy and (Y/N) were the ones monitoring the division, they often exchanged places to see the progress of the recruits. This time, it was (Y/N)'s turn, and she was waiting in the copilot seat of one camp vehicle with a notepad on her hand, ready to take notes on the squad. This time, their drill sergeant had taken them out on a run across camp, making them carry their heavy equipment.

"Let's go, let's go! Double time! Come on! Faster! Faster! Move! Move!" the officer kept yelling as he ran right beside the group. As his voice was getting closer, (Y/N) turned back to the the squad approaching her spot.

"Squad, halt!"

They all stopped in their tracks after the order, making them look at the drill sergeant. Meanwhile, Steve had barely caught up with the squad and was panting to catch his breath.

"That flag means we're only at the halfway point," the drill sergeant pointed over to the flagpole on the grass. "First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Dewitt. Move, move!"

With speed, the entire squad rushed over to the flagpole. They pushed each other out of the way in desperate attempts to climb up the pole with no avail. One of them even knelt to the ground to support the other and climb up, but this didn't work either. The pressure on getting the flag only increased when the drill sergeant kept yelling. If one of them did manage to get the flag, (Y/N) just wished they didn't unnecessarily flirt with her like some recruits had done over the week.

"If that's all you got, this army's in trouble!"

Hodge had been helped by the other members of the squad to gain height on the flagpole. He gripped onto it with all the strength he had as he tried to pull himself upward.

"Get up there, Hodge!" the drill sergeant encouraged, watching how he was able to pull himself up. "Come on! Get up there!"

But in a split second, Hodge was back on the floor. This gave the others the perfect opportunity to scramble over to the pole and push over themselves again, all grabbing onto it for a few seconds before losing balance.

"Nobody's got that flag in 17 years!" the drill sergeant crossed his arms, tired of hearing the squad's yells. "Now fall back into line! Come on, fall in! Let's go! Get back into formation!"

Everyone ran back into the road into their respective positions, everyone except Steve. When the drill sergeant noticed one member of his squad was missing, he turned back and saw him eyeing the flag with no worry in the world.

"Rogers! I said fall in!"

(Y/N) turned her head back at the call of Steve's name. She had turned around just in time to see him kneel down to pull the screws out of the bottom of the flagpole. Because of this, the pole lost balance and fell forward, bringing the flag down to the grass just like the officer had instructed. When she realized this, (Y/N) fought back the huge grin threatening to come out of her lips.

Steve calmly grabbed the flag from the pole and handed it to the drill sergeant. "Thank you, sir."

(Y/N) was able to form a smirk on her lips as Steve climbed onto the passenger with not a single bother. She looked back at the soldier driving the vehicle and instructed for him to continue the path, leaving the rest of the squad and it's officer astonished.

If (Y/N) had a say in it, Steve would've already been picked for the experiment. What she didn't know is that a particular doctor also shared the same thought.

weird ending i apologize lol. also, foreshadowing in the first part ;) haha, im sorry

i find it funny how both steve and y/n's instant reactions to them discovering something new about the other is 'DID YOU TELL BUCKY?' they radiate so much sibling energy idk about you

-see you soon, bex